Not all solutions are one-size-fits-all, and it can be a frustrating process to find an answer tailor-made to a specific need, especially when your customers move at 200 mph.
Such was the case for Driven Precision Engineering Ltd. Based in Havant, England, the shop mostly machines jigs, fixtures and molds for Formula One (F1) teams. Founded in 2015, the company specializes in five-axis CNC-machined components and tooling. The shop says its high-end machining centers are equipped to deliver a range of parts to suit varying customer requirements.
And when you’re making parts for high-speed, competitive automobile racing, precision inspection procedures and quality reports are essential. As such, owner Ray Harris found himself in the market for a coordinate measuring machine (CMM). But, for a small business, a simple, cursory transaction was not going to cut it. That’s what led the shop to British CMM manufacturer LK Metrology Ltd.
“These days, before you bring technology to the market you have to have good infrastructure for support,” notes James Miller, technical sales manager at LK Metrology. “(Harris) wanted a local solution and the support that goes with it.”
Founded by Norman Key and his father-in-law Jim Lowther in 1963, LK Metrology has a heritage in metrology dating back to the birth of CMM technology. In 2018, LK Metrology was relaunched as an independent CMM manufacturer after several years operating as a division of Nikon Metrology. Headquartered in the U.K., LK’s CMM development and production are at the company’s facility in Castle Donington.
Harris placed an order for LK Metrology’s Altera 10.7.7 ceramic-bridge CMMs, which can measure features much smaller than the portable arm that Driven Precision Engineering had previously used. Data is captured both by touch-probing discrete points and tactile scanning using a Renishaw SP25M probe.
More data is generated in a shorter time compared with touch-trigger probing only, enabling faster inspection and improved quality control, according to LK Metrology. And LK is able to offer a 10-year accuracy guarantee, thanks to the durable ceramic bridge, as opposed to the more common use of aluminum.
The improved accuracy attracted even more F1 work, mainly prismatic machining on three Hermle five-axis, high-speed machining centers, two of which are fitted with automatic pallet storage and retrieval systems for automated, 24/7 operation. The parts are typically used for hydraulic manifolds, as well as a race car’s front and rear wings and floor.
A lot of titanium is processed, plus stainless steel, aluminum and some engineering plastics. Unlike jigs and fixtures, which have fairly open tolerances, the latest parts have drawing tolerances down to 25 µm true position.
The pre-existing arm was supplied with a touch probe and a laser scanner, but now is used exclusively with the latter for speed of operation when inspecting, for example, one in five of a batch of 920 aluminum mold tool halves having a complex profile, machined for the aerospace industry. The CMM, on the other hand, was supplied with tactile probing capability only, although it was prepared for laser scanning with a view to adding that capability in the future. As part of the deal, a single license of PolyWorks Inspector software was supplied, which is swappable between the CMM and the arm.
While stressing that LK’s CMM are very well built, Harris notes there were some logistics issues before Driven Precision Engineering could get the machine in the shop—mainly, how to fit it through the door.
“We had to reduce the Z-axis to fit it into his metrology lab,” Miller notes. LK Metrology is based out of its own factory in Castle Donington, and its machines are virtually made to order. Harris’s CMM needed to be reduced in height by about 100 mm in order to fit through the entrance to Driven Precision Engineering’s Havant factory.
“And that was at no extra cost,” Miller says. “We came in, we looked at the site, we measured from curbside to the room and said ‘How are we were going to get this machine physically in.’ We did a full consultation prior to the order knowing that it would be clean.”
According to Miller, LK Metrology offers the same level of support to all its customers, regardless of size, a quality particularly important to Harris. “I got the impression that I would receive good support and back-up, which so far has been the case,” Harris says.
This includes software support from both LK Metrology and 3D Scanners Ltd., the resellers of PolyWorks software in the U.K. With PolyWorks, Harris picks the features and profiles he wants to inspect. The software then automatically sequences the points for the most efficient inspection routine, including all axis movements, head rotations and collision avoidance strategies. He describes the software as easy to use and ideal for someone new to CNC CMM operation.
As for hardware support, LK Metrology keeps a direct line to its customers within the U.K. “We are factory based, so you get frontline support from engineers that have grown up making the machines and they’re now servicing the machines directly,” Miller says. “We offer our customers in the U.K. direct CMM specialist support direct from the factory of origin, which is unique.”
This sort of aftermarket support can be business critical for any small- to medium-sized manufacturer, Miller asserts. “Small businesses probably need more support than some of the bigger guys, because obviously there’s more people at the bigger companies that we train,” he notes. “Whereas in the smaller businesses, they’re more vulnerable to change, more vulnerable to people leaving, then leaving them vulnerable and inoperative when they haven’t got the skill set they once had.”
According to LK Metrology, installation of the CMM has opened up a number of different avenues for Driven Precision Engineering, as availability of advanced metrology makes new business easier to win, especially tight-tolerance work.
As a race car driver himself, Harris purchased a Ginetta GT to hire out for events. And he intends to manufacture a proprietary range of parts for it, such as uprights, bearing supports, axle extensions and drive shafts.
For more information about Driven Precision Engineering, call 023-9435-0029. For more information about LK Metrology, visit www.lkmetrology.com or call 810-263-6100.
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