Tackling Shop Floor Inspection Challenges

Here’s how Wenzel’s SF 87 shop floor CMM helps improve quality and productivity at Ferratec GmbH. Article by Wenzel Group.

Since 1989, Ferratec GmbH has stood for quality and reliability in the fields of tool and mould making and plastics technology. The company offers complete solutions from a single source—from the conception and development of tools to sample parts and series production readiness, through to the assembly of the finished components. The range of activities includes mould construction for the company’s own plastic injection moulding shop as well as tool construction for special machines, jigs and fixtures, cutting tools, series production, assembly and contract manufacturing.

To guarantee the highest quality standards, Ferratec constantly invests in new technologies, including in the area of quality control. One of the latest acquisitions by the company for its workshop is the SF 87 coordinate measuring machine (CMM) from Wenzel Group. Featuring a large measuring volume, a small footprint and a wide operating temperature range, the SF 87 meets all the requirements for successful measurements in the direct production environment.

Wenzel’s SF 87 CMM is a universal measuring machine for the production environment. It requires little floor space and offers an optimized measuring volume of 800x700x700mm—making it ideal for a large part of the metal cutting and forming industry.

Featuring high measuring volumes, Wenzel’s SF 87 CMM has a compact design with a small footprint and is flexible and mobile for use in the workshop.

More Efficient Measuring And Testing Process

The machine concept offers a very good price-performance ratio with low space requirements. Its high traversing speeds and accelerations ensure high productivity. The combination of powerful probes and optical sensors also leads to a considerable increase in efficiency in the measuring and testing process.

According to René Kunkel, product manager for CMM at Wenzel, the system’s measuring volume is three times that of competing products with comparable footprints. “Further increases in efficiency can be achieved by using more powerful probes and optical sensors,” he adds.

The Wenzel SF 87 can also be operated at temperatures of up to 30 deg C. In contrast, conventional CMMs can only operate at up to 20 deg C—making them unsuitable for use in production halls. At Ferratec, the SF 87 is primarily used for the evaluation of dimensional accuracy and shape and position tolerances of plastic parts from a wide variety of areas.

SF 87’s bionic structure and unique low centre of gravity design make it efficient, ergonomic, productive, and insensitive to shop floor vibrations. In addition, it is multi-sensor capable and supports both optical and Renishaw tactile sensors. This includes the PH10MQ PLUS, which can be equipped with extensions and SP25M analogue scanning probes. SF 87 can also be configured with a tool-change rack to switch probes and extensions automatically, without requiring time-consuming requalification.

Another notable benefit of SF 87 is that it uses an active damping system and does not need air bearing technology, which eliminates the need for expensive clean air. Additionally, it can operate using only a 230V power supply.

“In order to be able to guarantee our customers’ quality products, we manufacture almost all tools ourselves. It doesn’t matter whether you want single pieces or small series. The measurement solutions from Wenzel contribute to product quality, productivity and satisfied customers,” said Kunkel.

The decision for this measuring solution was easy. “We have been working successfully for many years with Wenzel, using its LH series of bridge measuring device,” explains Gerhard Rosenberger, head of QS at Ferratec. The high quality of the Wenzel products, and the fast and good service, convinced him.

Wenzel complements its strong product offering with an optional comprehensive service package, wherein customers receive up to 60 months of maintenance, calibration, and inspection, as well as preventative replacement of worn parts, insurance machine coverage, exchange service, and online support.

Supporting Seamless Integration into Automation Solutions

While the LH series is in the measuring room for precision measurements, the SF 87 is integrated into the machine tool workflow. “The SF 87 stands in a typical shop floor environment with direct sunlight, for which it was designed,” reports Kunkel. In the next step, automated assembly and an initial visual check by optical sensors are planned.

The SF 87 is a directly usable production line and automation solution, and it can be integrated through the optional WENZEL Automation Interface (WAI) for material handling without expanding its footprint. The accessibility of the measuring volume from three sides is optimal for automated assembly by robots and can be flexibly adapted for more complex tasks, according to Kunkel. The ability to seamlessly integrate into automation solutions was also a key factor in Frost & Sullivan awarding the SF 87 its 2018 Global New Product Innovation Award last March.

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