Autosport engineering advances on show

Renishaw will show technologies that allow motorsport companies to carry out high speed manufacturing and product development at the Autosport Engineering show.

Renishaw will show technologies that allow motorsport companies to carry out high speed manufacturing and product development on Stand E36 of the Autosport Engineering show (13th and 14th January 2007, NEC).

Renishaw systems can maximise machine tool output, minimise quality costs and provide rugged low-cost rotary feedback for the vehicles themselves.

Systems to enable motorsport companies and their suppliers to get the most from their machine tools will be dynamically demonstrated on a machining centre.

These include OMP60, a compact touch probe for automated part set-up and inspection, the new TRS1 tool recognition system for high-speed broken tool detection, and Productivity+ Active Editor Pro, an easy-to-use PC-based software package for probe routine generation and on-machine process control.

Other products on show include Renishaw's QC10 ballbar system, that enables the fast analysis of machine tool performance and Renscan5, new technology for co-ordinate measuring machines (CMMs), that allows highly accurate, ultra high speed five-axis scanning measurement.

For design engineers within the motorsport industry, Renishaw's miniature low-cost magnetic rotary encoders are increasingly used in a variety of rotary feedback applications, providing class-leading performance along with ruggedness and durability.

Renishaw's new OMP60 touch probe is the first of a new generation of optical transmission products designed for compatibility with all current Renishaw optical receivers and next generation optical systems.

It brings the benefits of touch probing to a wide range of machine tools, offering users set-up time reductions of up to 90%, reduced scrap, reduced fixture costs, and improved process control.

The new TRS1 system for tool breakage detection projects a beam of laser light at a tool and monitors the scattered light that is reflected to determine if the tool has been broken.

Visitors to Autosport Engineering will see that this new tool recognition technology distinguishes between the tool and coolant or swarf, whilst it is also fast and reliable under real machining conditions.

More reliable than conventional noncontact systems, the TRS1 comprises a single unit containing the laser source and detection electronics, enabling it to be mounted outside of the working envelope, safe from collision and saving valuable space on the table.

A new PC-based software product offers significant time savings for users of machine tool probe systems.

Productivity+ Active Editor Pro is part of Renishaw's new generation of easy-to-use probing and process control software, which targets the entire spectrum of probe users.

The CAD front-end allows features to be identified with a single click, and the drag-and-drop interface uses the measured data to update machine parameters.

The result is a fully integrated metal cutting and probing program, which allows a machine tool to make intelligent decisions on the fly.

Since its launch some 10 years ago, the Renishaw QC10 ballbar has established itself as an industry standard system for rapid machine tool performance analysis and diagnosis.

Autosport Engineering visitors will learn that the QC10 ballbar test typically takes about 15 minutes.

The ballbar attaches magnetically between the machining centre's spindle and table, and tracks machine movement to +/-0.5um.

A simple CNC circular program is run which allows the ballbar software to calculate machine circularity error, servo gain mismatch, vibration, stick-slip errors, backlash, repeatability and scale mismatch, as well as machine geometry.

Renishaw's ground breaking Renscan5 technology allows the development of a range of breakthrough five-axis CMM scanning products that will measure at speeds of up to 500mm/s, and virtually eliminates the measurement errors normally associated with existing three-axis scanning systems.

A five-axis system achieves this by allowing the lighter measuring head to perform most of the motion during inspection routines, minimising the dynamic errors caused when moving the larger mass of a CMM structure.

Visitors to Autosport Engineering will also be able to see Revo, the first product to take advantage of the new Renscan5 technology.

The first in a family of revolutionary measuring head and probe systems, Revo will maximise inspection throughput, whilst maintaining a high-level of system accuracy.

Revo uses synchronised motion when scanning to quickly follow changes in part geometry, without introducing its own dynamic errors.

This allows the CMM to move at a constant velocity along a constant vector whilst measurements are being taken, removing the inertial errors that result from acceleration of the machine during conventional three-axis scanning.

With operating speeds of over 30,000rev/min, low-cost Renishaw magnetic rotary encoders are perfectly suited to provide rotary feedback on vehicle systems.

The compact noncontact magnetic design eliminates seals, bearings and moving parts for lifetime reliability.

Standard models provide excellent shock and vibration resistance, while optional sealed models allow application in harsh environments and even immersion.

Autosport show visitors will see that the magnetic encoders are available in component, modular and packaged shaft-style models.

The RM family of magnetic encoders offers up to 8192-count positioning resolution, and accuracy to 0.3 degrees.

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