(Renishaw: Hoffman Estates, IL) -- Renishaw, an engineering technologies company that develops products to advance operational performance, has received a Queen’s Award for Enterprise 2012 in the Innovations category for its highly innovative SP80 ultrahigh-accuracy analogue scanning probe. The SP80 is used on coordinate measuring machines (CMMs) for the precise measurement of complex parts such as automotive and power train components.

“We have won many Queen’s Awards, but each one is very special because the rigorous independent judging process continues to ensure that they are rightly regarded as the UK’s most prestigious awards for recognizing commercial and technological success,” says David McMurtry, Renishaw’s chairman and chief executive. “I would therefore like to thank all of our staff from around the world who have played a part in the success of the SP80, from the innovative designers and skilled manufacturing teams, through to the highly dedicated sales staff in our many subsidiaries.”

The SP80 is a quill-mounted “passive” scanning device, which means that the probe itself does not contain any internal drive system, leading to a lighter, less complex product with lower maintenance costs. It is designed for the highly accurate measurement of parts with deep features and can therefore carry very long styli up to 800 mm long with a mass of up to 500 g with no counterbalancing and no significant degradation in measuring performance.

The SP80 has an isolated optical method of motion detection, and digital scale and read-head technology that produces a transducer resolution of just 20 nanometers. The relative dynamic response of the probe enables accurate scanning at higher speeds than traditional quill-mounted scanning probes, thereby reducing production bottlenecks and improving process control.

Renishaw has received 15 Queen’s Awards since the company was established in 1973.

Visit www.renishaw.com for more information.