Renishaw's advanced engineering technologies on show at TCT

Renishaw's AM250 is part of the Company's additive manufacturing machine range, and is capable of producing fully dense metal parts direct from 3D CAD, using a high-powered fibre laser. Parts are built from a range of fine metal powders that are fully melted in a tightly controlled atmosphere, in layer thicknesses ranging from 20 to 100 microns.

Following the acquisition of the assets of LBC Laser Bearbeitungs Center GmbH in May 2013, Renishaw is now able to offer additional additive manufacturing services, including design and simulation, and the contract manufacture of metal prototypes and production parts. LBC was established in 2002, and specialises in conformally cooled mould tools and tool inserts for injection moulding and die-casting applications.

Also on show will be Renishaw's vacuum casting machines, which facilitate the production of high-quality colour-matched parts in glass-filled nylon. Vacuum casting enables the manufacture of individual prototypes or even a small batch production technology. Components are gas and water tight, suitable for crash testing, and are chemically resistant, resulting in the manufacture of high-performance polymer components in nylon PA6 for a range of demanding applications.

Renishaw will also exhibit its Equator gauging system, a lightweight, fast and highly repeatable inspection system that operators can use with "push-button' simplicity. A new option is the Equator 300 Extended Height system which offers extra fixturing space below the measuring volume, allowing components to be transferred onto the machine on their machining fixtures and also allows the use of automated systems such as robots and conveyors.

Another addition is a new process monitoring "window" which has been added to the shop-floor user interface for the Equator. This instantly displays measurement results of inspected features to the operator on a bar-graph display. It also shows the history of measurement on each feature so that process trends can be seen. The system's re-mastering process can now be managed based on temperature limits, number of parts or time since last master.

For further information on Renishaw products visit www.renishaw.com, or visit the company in hall 3A, stand D24 at TCT Live from 25-26 September 2013, at the NEC in Birmingham.