A working partnership between Morgan Advanced Materials and Renishaw, a global company specialising in industrial metrology and spectroscopy, continues to go from strength to strength.
For more than a quarter of a century, Morgan has helped ensure accuracy in the measurement of complex shapes through its ability to supply high-precision alumina ceramic stylus stems for touch trigger probes used for a variety of specialist applications.
In order to ensure optimal component performance and that components will fit where they need to, high-accuracy verification is needed and high-quality measurement tools are a fundamental part of this process.
Used in product development, manufacturing and assembly, the role of a touch trigger probe is to measure the physical geometrical characteristics of complex objects including products and tooling. Attached to co-ordinate measurement machines (CMMs) or high-speed computer controlled machines providing in-process measurement, the probe measures points on the surface of an object according to a three-dimensional coordinate system. As the contact probe moves around the object, it registers the position and quantifies the geometrical properties of the object, resulting in a highly accurate measurement offering precision to the micron range. This builds into a detailed virtual representation of the object for comparison against CAD and 3D models and provides measurement data for analysis.
Drawing on the company’s extensive experience in the field of advanced ceramic material technology, Morgan’s alumina materials offer high stiffness and are lightweight, inert, non-magnetic and stable during temperature fluctuations due to a low coefficient of thermal expansion.
Morgan’s ceramic styluses also provide crash damage protection to high-value measuring systems. The alumina stylus is designed to break in the event of a program setting error. This is not true of a stainless steel stylus, which may continue to transfer stress to the part it is measuring, causing damage to the probe and the wider system or the valuable component being measured.
Over the course of the relationship, Morgan has continuously proven itself to be a valued supplier, in more ways than one. Not only has Morgan provided a high-quality critical solution to Renishaw, it has done so reliably and consistently, maintaining it’s ‘A’ grade supplier status over the last 20 years. Perhaps more impressive though has been Morgan’s flexibility and willingness to meet Renishaw’s ever-evolving requirements; it now produces thousands of parts per year for Renishaw, whose presence within the engineering sector continues to increase, and is set to grow further. That the collaboration has lasted this length of time is testament to Morgan’s ability to deliver first-class solutions which harness cutting-edge ceramic material technology. It also speaks volumes about the quality of the working relationship between the two businesses and Renishaw’s loyalty to Morgan. To this day, Morgan continues to work closely with Renishaw’s team of engineers, helping to develop future product lines that will drive improvements within the measurement process.
The relationship between Morgan and Renishaw showcases the best in material science innovation. We work hard to understand our customers’ requirements as this is what allows us to develop optimised, cost effective solutions which help overcome their most demanding and technical challenges.
Oliver Ridd, International Sales & New Business Development Manager at Morgan Advanced Materials
To see the full range of products offered by the Technical Ceramics business of Morgan Advanced Materials, please visit www.morgantechnicalceramics.com/renishaw.