cmm rotary table factory

Coordinate measuring machines (CMMs) play a vital part in precision engineering and quality control in the aerospace industry. Indeed, the global dimensional metrology market in the aerospace industry generated $482.9 million in 2012, with the CMM segment expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 4.0% by 2017 according to some commentators.

It’s no secret that all major aerospace manufacturers use CMM machines, sometimes as intensely as 16 hours a day, to measure the physical geometrical characteristics of aerospace components. But what is less well known is that using a rotary table on a CMM machine will help it work smarter.

So what’s the benefit of using a rotary table on a CMM machine? According to Jim Palmer from RPI, a leader in rotational innovation, the answer is simple:

“When it comes to measuring symmetrical or prismatic components, it’s all about simplifying your measuring procedures, increasing your CMM’s application range and effective measuring volume which in turn will increase the flexibility, productivity and efficiency of your CMM.”

Matt Brady at Nikon Metrology UK agrees that rotary tables bring significant benefits to CMM machines. Nikon, whose range of coordinate measuring machines represent the ultimate in CMM technology, is a longstanding customer of RPI and has been fitting RPI’s rotary tables to its CMM machines for decades.

Commenting on RPI’s rotary tables, Brady said: “We supply CMMs to aerospace customers all over the world and many of our customers say that using RPI rotary tables significantly reduce inspection time. Indeed, one such customer reduced inspection times by four hours, a saving of 40% by using a CMM machine fitted with an RPI rotary table.

Rotary tables are therefore an ideal addition to CMM machines - particularly for measuring complex parts such as rotor discs. For example, using a rotary table on a CMM machine will improve process efficiency and productivity by reducing set up and process times. A rotary table will also greatly increase a CMM machine’s available measuring volume thereby providing greater flexibility in what can be measured. And last, but by no means least; a rotary table will also significantly improve overall measurement accuracy of a CMM machine thereby reducing uncertainty.

Bath-based RPI has a very large share of the market in those CMMs which use rotary tables and can boast more than 500 successful installations worldwide. RPI grew out of acquisitions from Airmatic, Optical Measuring Tools, and Eimeldingen. Since the 1950s it has been one of the world’s largest designers and manufacturers of precision rotary tables and a leading supplier of rotary tables to the aerospace, automotive, power generation, machine tool, scientific and general engineering industries.

RPI’s rotary tables are widely used by all leading CMM manufacturers, including Nikon, Mitutoyo, Hexagon and Renishaw, and have been specifically designed as a fourth axis for all types of precision CMM machines. They are accurate to ±0.5 arcs seconds, which is the equivalent to hitting a golf ball at a hole more than 22km away and scoring a hole in one every time.

“Let’s say you wanted to measure a rotor disc,” continues Palmer. “Simply using a standard CMM over one fitted with a rotary table would require a machine with a much larger overall measuring volume. This is because the volume of the CMM machine is directly related to the diameter of the disc as voluminous styli systems are usually required to measure a workpiece from all sides which means a large proportion of its measuring range is required just to ensure collision-free movement of the stylus around the part.”

However, the introduction of the rotary table removes this requirement as the rotor can be presented directly to the stylus removing the requirement to access all sides. This in turn simplifies the stylus system allowing the measurement of larger workpieces in relation to the available measuring range, saving aerospace manufacturers both time and money.

RPI’s rotary tables come in a wide size range; from 400mm to 1,200mm and can be fully integrated to the host machine controller. One of the unique selling points of RPI’s CMM rotary tables is their multiple bearing configurations: mechanical or air combination bearing.

The mechanical bearing rotary table combines a high precision, high load capacity, roller thrust bearing resulting in excellent rotational characteristics with a pre-loaded; double row journal bearing to eliminate radial movement in the table’s axis; ideal for heavy off centred loads.

Whereas RPI’s combination bearing rotary table combines the same pre-loaded; double row journal bearing as the mechanical bearing table with a high load capacity thin film air thrust bearing. The thrust bearing uses a thin layer of air trapped between the underside of the table top and the top of the base assembly. The thrust bearing is supplied using a series of orifice plugs machined into the table base; ideal for heavy centred loads.

Because they are so well made, RPI’s rotary tables last for decades only needing servicing to be as good as the day they rolled off the production line. As you’d expect, RPI provides a comprehensive rotary table, repair, overhaul and angular calibration service.

Clearly, you don’t have to go round in circles to see the significant benefits a rotary table can bring to CMM machines used in the aerospace industry. So, if your CMM machine isn’t benefitting from a rotary table, isn’t it time you invested in some rotational innovation?

RPI UK, a specialist developer and manufacturer of precision positioning devices for high accuracy rotary and angular inspection systems, has welcomed Mitutoyo as a new customer following the Japanese manufacturers decision to invest in 10 rotary tables.

Mitutoyo, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of precision measuring equipment, has integrated three QuadMatic and seven QuadSlimLine rotary tables into its high precision co-ordinate measurement machines (CMM) at its Japanese and UK operations. RPI engineers travelled to Japan to support Mitutoyo with training and maintenance and were also on hand to help integrate a two-axis rotary table at Mitutoyo in Halifax, UK.

Jim Palmer, RPI’s sales manager, said: “It’s great news that Mitutoyo has chosen to invest in 10 of our Quadrant range rotary tables.  As well as significantly improving overall measurement accuracy and reducing uncertainty, our rotary tables also greatly increase measuring volume, thereby improving the flexibility, productivity and efficiency of our customers’ CMM.”

The addition of Mitutoyo to RPI’s customer base means the Bath-based manufacturer now supplies all the major CMM manufacturers which use rotary tables, from Hexagon to Renishaw and LK to Wenzel. RPI has been supplying the CMM market since 1977 and can boast more than 750 successful installations worldwide.

The QuadSlimLine and QuadMatic are part of RPI’s Quadrant range of CMM tables which also includes the QuadDualPurpose, QuadProfile and the QuadUniversal. They come in a wide size range; from Ø200mm to Ø1500mm and can be fully integrated to the host CMM machine controller.

RPI grew out of acquisitions from Optical Measuring Tools, Airmatic, Horstmannn and Eimeldingen.   It is now one of the world’s largest designers and manufacturers of solution driven, highly accurate inspection systems and services that measure circular geometry and angular positioning.  Using its 75 years of rotary expertise, RPI supplies progressive engineering industries, including the aerospace, gas turbine and dimensional metrology sectors, with exceedingly dependable, low maintenance products with a service life measured in decades, not just years.

ZEISS #HandsOnMetrology has introduced its new ZEISS T-SCAN hawk 2, developed and produced in Germany and certified for the highest industry standards. ZEISS T-SCAN hawk 2 is a portable, reliable

Creaform has announced the addition of the high-accuracy handheld scanner HandySCAN BLACK|Elite Limited to its HandySCAN 3D | BLACK series lineup, an ongoing reference in portable metrology. Developed over the

ZEISS #HandsOnMetrology has introduced its new ZEISS T-SCAN hawk 2, developed and produced in Germany and certified for the highest industry standards. ZEISS T-SCAN hawk 2 is a portable, reliable

All measuring machines of the LH series can also be configured with an integrated rotary table. This enables both the precise 4-axis measurement of rotationally symmetrical components and the reliable measurement of the entire spectrum of prismatic components.

If you’re a CMM user who hasn’t had exposure to rotary tables previously, you might be asking yourself “What’s the big deal?”  Wonder no more as the answers are here!

CMMs are most commonly used with a stylus for measurement data collection.  This means that the part to be measured needs to be accessible from all sides.  This can be problematic when dealing with larger parts that are at the extremities of the CMM’s table size.

By using a rotary table in these situations, a part can be rotated and presented to the stylus.  This reduces the amount gantry movement required, so if the edges of the part are out of reach whilst static, they can simply be moved into a position where they can be reached.

It is not at all uncommon within manufacturing facilities for CMMs to become an inspection bottleneck.  Often CMMs can be in use for multiple shifts, inspecting parts for perhaps over 16 hours or even longer.  That makes the reduction in inspection time that a rotary table affords a CMM a real benefit.

During inspection, this also applies, of course.  Further, the amount of time spent on probe movement is reduced, because the active measurement volume of the CMM has been reduced, as we have seen in the diagrams earlier.

These changes can have a stark effect:  It has been reported that use of a rotary table on a CMM can reduce inspection time by as much as 40%.  That kind of time reduction can mean less time measuring – or more parts measured, of course.  Either way, it’s a win-win outcome.

When you use a rotary table with a CMM, measurement certainty is also boosted.  Why is this?  Essentially it is due to the same key aspect that allows the other two benefits:  Reduced measurement area volume.  If the measurement stylus is traveling less distance to measure, less uncertainty is introduced.  A high quality CMM rotary table, such as offered by the Quadrant range, can offer positional repeatability of as little as 0.5 arc seconds (0.00014 degrees).  That means that the uncertainty contribution from the rotary table is minimal.

So there you have it – three reasons that integrating a rotary table with a CMM can be beneficial to your inspection process.  It would be well worth considering specifying a rotary table if you are in the process of purchasing a new CMM.  If you have an existing CMM fear not, in the vast majority of cases it is perfectly possible to retrofit a table to your CMM.  It acts as a fourth axis and is usually a straight forward device to integrate with.

Circular Geometric Inspection Systems - Roundness Checking (Run-out) Inspection Systems; Rotary Tables for Inspecting, Weighing, Assembly, Balancing, Stacking, Placing & Testing.

Rusach Internationalmetrology rotary tables, products, systems and solutions: Our air bearing rotary tables, inspection rotary tables and CMM rotary tables have been the benchmark of the inspection industry for decades.  We can offer bench‐top electronic moment weight scales built into our inspection rotary tables, in capacities from 100 to 10,000 g/mm and purpose‐built scales in other capacities.  Scales feature flexure bearing pivots and the latest connectivity interfaces for direct input of weight values into the BalancePoint program or other programs.  We work directly with Turbine Metrology for complete circular geometric inspection systems.  Call Rusach International for all of your inspection rotary tables, CMM rotary tables, roundness checking (run-out) inspecting systems needs.  We design, engineer and manufacture rotary tables for inspecting, weighing, assembly, balancing and metrology solutions.

Testing and inspecting parts has long been a part of our business.  From software to inspection rotary tables, CMM rotary tables for small parts to very large parts, working directly with an end user to working in a collaborative environment for an end user, call Rusach International!

Turbine Metrology"sParagon Inspection System along with Rusach International"s Very Accurate rotary tables allow for the necessary measurements to be taken with a single revolution of the table, 1.2 million samples per second!

Paragon Systems can take Hundreds of Thousands of Times More Data than a CMM in a Given Amount of  Time.  In Addition, the Data is Automatically Related to Provide Roundness, Eccentricity, Run‐out, Flatness and Parallelism Results. CMM’s are not Designed to do These Specialized Measurements and Operations.

Castle-Donnington-based Nikon Metrology took delivery of two RPI rotary tables measuring 400mm and 600mm diameter, whilst the other CMM manufacturer received two 400mm diameter rotary tables.

As well as improving overall measurement accuracy and reducing uncertainty in CMM machines, rotary tables also greatly increase a CMM machine’s available measuring volume thereby providing greater flexibility in what can be measured.

Jim Palmer, sales manager at RPI said: “We are delighted we’ve successfully supplied CMM rotary tables to two of the world’s leading CMM manufacturers. RPI’s rotary tables bring significant benefits to CMM machines and will help end users save money, time and resources by reducing set-up and process times, thereby greatly improving productivity.”

RPI has supplied more than 245 rotary tables to Nikon since the business partnership began back in 1982. Matt Brady at Nikon Metrology UK said: “We’ve been fitting RPI’s tables to our CMM machines for decades and as far as we are concerned they deliver a fantastic product with excellent back up. If you want precision and accuracy, they’re the ones to go to.”

Tsudakoma had been providing best-in-class rotary tables for over 100 years, offering multiple models and configurations to ensure seamless integration with your machining centers. Koma Precision has been distributing Tsudakoma’s tables for over 40 of those years and our North American sales team and in-house engineers will work with you to determine which model best suits your machining needs.

is a specialist in the design and manufacture of a wide range of CNC rotary tables and index tables. At TANSHING we are dedicated to research and development and technological innovation continually.

From design, and precision machining, to rigorous quality control, great care is taken to ensure an international quality level. TANSHING"s products are widely recognized in both domestic and overseas markets. The innovative dual lead worm drive system has been patented in Taiwan which is indisputable proof of the superior R&D capability of TANSHING. TANSHING has been certified by AQSR ISO-9001 (U.S.A.). In order to ensure very high precision parts, TANSHING has invested heavily in various advanced machining equipment. 90% of our in-house parts machining allows us to fully control the accuracy of the parts, which provides a solid foundation for the superior quality of TANSHING CNC rotary tables and index tables.

The TruMotion range of precision, manual spin, mechanical bearing rotary tables is designed to inspect circular components in a shop floor environment, whilst maintaining world class accuracies more commonly seen in the standards laboratory. The inspection system will be available in two sizes (200mm and 400mm) with a maximum load capacity of 50kgs, offering radial and axial runout targeted at 3 microns. Its user-friendly interface with an optional touch screen display also offers single or double channel data capture.

The TruMotion will be launched at Quality Show 2019 in Rosemont, Illinois on October 22, 2019. Also being demonstrated at the show will be QuadProfile, a brand-new capability to the CMM market for 2019, as the smallest and most accurate rotary table for turbine blade inspection. The new addition to RPI’s Quadrant range, further enhances the product portfolio enabling the ultimate in low profile and compact rotary table design for the CMM market.

The Quadrant range of rotary tables provide an additional axis for any high precision CMM (Coordinate Measuring Machine) inspecting component parts such as gas turbine discs and fan blades. The part is simply rotated to meet the CMM’s measurement probe rather than the three-axis probe being programmed to reach multiple measurement points around a part.

This simplifies the measurement procedure, helping to deliver fast and accurate indexing as well as increase the CMM’s application range and effective measuring volume. Overall, this improves the flexibility, productivity and efficiency of the CMM inspection. RPI have more than 750 successful CMM rotary table installations worldwide.

Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence has extended the accessory range for the Optiv Performance 663 and Optiv Performance 664 coordinate measuring machines (CMMs) by adding two new computer numeric control (CNC) rotary tables and the Optiv Dual Rotary CNC stacked rotary tables as options, substantially widening the application potential of the multisensor machines.

The use of the fully-integrated CNC rotary axis increases the overall inspection performance, especially when measuring rotationally symmetrical parts. Such workpieces can be completely measured in a single setup as features distributed around the circumference of the part can be precisely rotated into a position which is optimal for the multisensor measurement. The PC-DMIS measuring software takes the rotation of the workpiece coordinate system relative to the machine coordinate system into account. The Optiv Dual Rotary option allows the entire rotary axis to swivel on an additional axis so the sensors can reach geometries that are inclined to the longitudinal axis of the workpiece.

The tactile measurement of prismatic workpieces on a rotary table or the stacked rotary tables also offers improved efficiency through the rotating and swivelling movement, which makes complex geometries easily accessible with only a few simple styli configurations. This reduces the necessary probe changes as well as the number of axis movements within the measuring volume.

The new mechanical bearing rotary tables for the Optiv Performance 663/664 provide high-precision rotational accuracy. Two sizes are available, offering different maximum torques (2 Nm or 10 Nm) and normal centred load capacities (900 N or 1800 N). Depending on the version, self-centring three-jaw precision chucks for diameters between 2 mm and 125 mm are optionally available. With the Optiv Dual Rotary option, two rotary tables are combined to enable two-axis rotations.

“We have extended the range of applications for the Optiv Performance 663/664 with the automatic workpiece rotation within one measurement routine,” says Wolfram Fröhlich, Business Unit Director PL sCMM for the Vision Unit at Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence. “With up to two additional rotary axes, our customers can make optimum use of the available measuring volume of the machine and perform complete multisensor measurements of complex components without re-clamping.”

Both CNC rotary tables and the CNC stacked rotary tables are available worldwide from today and can be ordered from local Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence commercial operations and dealers.

Accuracy and repeatability is the lifeblood of all CMMs. If they aren’t accurate, there’s no point in having them. However, the degree of accuracy required is dependent on the particular application. For manufacturing gas turbines and aircraft engines, a very high degree of accuracy is often required.

Well, that level of accuracy can be achieved with high precision rotary tables. These can deliver precision geometry with axial performance well below 0.0005mm and positional accuracies to ±0.5 arc-seconds (±0.00014°).

Using a rotary table on a CMM will improve process efficiency and productivity by reducing setup and process times. A rotary table will also greatly increase a CMM’s available measuring volume thereby providing greater flexibility in what can be measured. And last but by no means least, a rotary table will also significantly improve overall measurement accuracy of a CMM, thereby reducing uncertainty.

Rotary tables enable very precise measurement of many geometrical characteristics, including angle, roundness, concentricity, parallelism, flatness and runout. They are used with: probes such as plunger, transducer and capacitance; optical such as autocollimator and laser interferometer; and electrical: oscilloscope and voltmeter.

Rotary tables enable accurate measurement of symmetrical/prismatic components such as rotor discs. In the measurement of a rotor disc, a CMM without a rotary table would require a machine with a large measuring volume. However, deploying a rotary table will reduce this volume significantly. This is because the volume of the CMM is directly related to the diameter of the disc as voluminous styli systems are usually required to measure a workpiece from all sides. This means a large proportion of its measuring range is required just to ensure collision free movement of the stylus around the part.

However, the introduction of the rotary table removes this requirement as the rotor can be presented directly to the stylus removing the requirement to access all sides. This in turn simplifies the stylus system allowing the measurement of larger workpieces in relation to the available measuring range, saving aerospace manufacturers both time and money.

As well as significantly improving overall measurement accuracy and reducing uncertainty in CMMs, rotary tables also greatly increase a CMM’s available measuring volume thereby providing greater flexibility in what can be measured.

Some tables have been specifically designed as a fourth axis for any high precision CMM to simplify measurement procedures, increase application range and measuring volume of symmetrical or prismatic components, including scanning applications. This is particularly important for large turbine disks for gas turbines or for airplanes. However, they are also starting to gain traction for smaller, lower measurement volume applications typical in the automotive industry.

Air bearing spin tables are becoming more popular and rely on air lubricated hydrostatic bearings which provide very high radial and axial stiffness. This type of bearing offers significant advantages over conventional rolling element bearings permitting operation with minimal drag, vibration and mechanical noise.

These tables can be combined with direct drive motors and high accuracy angular encoders. The encoder couples directly to the motor control system, which has its own high-resolution interpolator ensuring precise positioning and repeatability.

It is possible to fit a table with a high accuracy Hirth Coupling, which provides location and angular positioning of the tabletop. This delivers fast, accurate indexing between pre-set positions.

Rotary tables are so accurate that they can be forgotten, when using a CMM. And that’s no bad thing for manufacturers who need precision time and time again.

The ZEISS Automation Interface allows you to easily automate your measuring device without any engineering effort. In addition to starting inspection plans and providing feedback on measurement results or machine status, the application allows you to control CMM peripherals. The interface is also preconfigured for all products in the ZEISS Integration Series. For example, the control of automatic fixtures or the pallet feed can be configured effortlessly with just a few clicks. Individual fixtures developed by you can also be controlled via configuration.