(Renishaw plc: Gloucestershire, UK) -- Renishaw’s new Equator system, a software-driven comparative gauge, is starting to soften up the cost for multiple hard gauges at aero-engine component maker Meyer Tool Inc. of Cincinnati. In its prelaunch application, one Renishaw Equator gauge has eliminated at least four costly hard gauges in a new work cell. That’s just the beginning of the impact the company anticipates for its inventory of custom hard gauges, which can cost up to $20,000 each to design, build, and maintain, according to Beau Easton, quality manager at Meyer Tool. The company designs, builds, and maintains dozens of these gauges every year for in-process measurement. Down the line, design changes on a part can add another $3,000 to $10,000 to reconfigure and qualify an existing gauge.

Cutting the cost of hard gauges

For in-process dimensional measurement, Meyer Tool principally relies on work cell-based, point-to-point contact gauges, using pneumatic digital probes. Hard gauges in the machining cell give fast feedback but are expensive. Designing and building the part nest can cost $6,000, along with the cost of probes at more than $500 each, verification studies, and maintenance, Easton explains.

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