Case study: Spirax Sarco UK - New life for worn machines

New life for worn machines
In their new location, Spirax Sarco’s MoriSeiki MH50 and HG630 horizontal milling
machines are used to produce BSA bellows
valves in batch sizes determined by the
company’s Kanban system. Before the
relocation, however, the machines had
been integrated into Flexible Manufacturing
Systems (FMS) where, explains Richard
Morris – Spirax production engineer, “they
were worked very hard indeed for 16 years.”
Before dismantling the FMS set-ups and
moving the machines, Spirax management
wanted to be sure they were worth moving to know for certain that the machines could
still cut accurately or, if they couldn’t, what
parts would need to be replaced. If and
when the machines were deemed worthy
of relocation, the company also wanted to
perform subsequent checks for geometry,
ballscrew accuracy and backlash issues, once
they were installed in their new home.
IN506
Spirax Sarco UK invested in a Renishaw
QC20-W wireless ballbar to check the
geometry of its high-end machining
centres before and after they were
transferred to a new, purpose-built
facility. The move was part of a £30
million initiative - called ‘Project Unity’,
that brought together three Spirax
manufacturing sites under one roof at
Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.
Richard Morris, Spirax production engineer
The QC20-W wireless ballbar on a machining
centre at Spirax Sarco.
“Initially, the idea was to buy a laser-tracking
device to check geometries,” says Mr. Morris.
“But, the Renishaw ballbar was a far less
expensive option capable of performing all the
tasks we had planned.”
Spirax Sarco is the global leader in
manufacturing high quality products for
the control and efficient use of steam and
industrial fluids. The bellows-sealed design of
the company’s BSA valves ensures stem seal
leaks are completely eliminated, meeting the
most stringent worldwide emissions legislation.
“We’re not making parts for aerospace
applications,” says Mr. Morris, “so it’s important
not to be chasing microns of accuracy we
don’t need. But, we have very tight quality
standards. After leaving the machine shop,
parts go directly to assembly, and out-oftolerance dimensions can delay production.”
John Curtis, Spirax maintenance manager
Case study
Tight quality standards
The Renishaw QC20-W ballbar system offers
significant performance and operational benefits
to machine tool users such as Spirax Sarco.
Bluetooth wireless technology ensures no wire
handling issues, closed-door operation and the
reduced possibility of system damage. Also,
recently introduced, updated Renishaw hardware
and software allows a ‘partial arc’ (220°) test.
This gives users greater test flexibility, including:
improved Z-axis testing (no custom fixtures
required); tests where axis travel is limited
(typically the Z-axis on milling machines and
X-axis on lathes); and the ability to test three
planes from a single set-up.
Accurate parts, time after time
Monitoring machine tool accuracy is critical at
Spirax’s new Cheltenham site. The facility runs
three shifts a day, so there’s little leeway for
problems caused by machine tool error, and
maintenance has to be tightly scheduled to
minimise downtime. In any machining operation,
poor component accuracy can be attributed to a
variety of different factors, such as worn tooling,
spindle wear or incorrect clamping. However,
inaccurate parts can also result from machine
tool positioning errors. Regardless of whether
the machine is old or not, geometric, dynamic or
play errors can have significant, negative effects.
Intuitive software
“The Renishaw ballbar sounds more complex to
operate than it really is,” says Mr. Morris. “I attended
a one-day training course at Renishaw’s New
Mills headquarters, which covered everything I
needed to know. The Renishaw designed software
is intuitive and easy to use, so a day is sufficient.
When I returned we checked all the machines that
were due to be moved and discovered they were
definitely worth keeping. Many of them needed
new parts to bring them up to scratch, but it’s far
cheaper to install a new ballscrew, for example,
than replace an expensive machine tool.”
Spirax valve bodies
As well as using the Renishaw QC20-W ballbar in
Project Unity, Spirax management also wanted its
preventive maintenance to be more routine and
better managed, as part of a wider plan to reduce
scrap rates and increase overall quality.
Using a Renishaw QC20 wireless ballbar can
identify problems early and provide all-important
peace of mind for production managers: that
accurate parts will be produced, time after time,
day-after-day.
“We only have one ballbar, but it’s enough
for all of our machine tools,” adds Mr. Morris.
“We’re developing a plan where we check each
machine at least once a month, during routine
maintenance.”
www.renishaw.com/calibration
Valve body being loaded onto one of the company’s
HMCs
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