Renishaw
Assembly Line
50 not out: UK manufacturing success story, Renishaw, reaches a half century
Renishaw began its manufacturing journey back in 1973 when now Executive Chairman, Sir David McMurtry, worked as an Assistant Chief of Engine Design for Rolls-Royce. At the time the company was experiencing a dimensional measurement issue in relation to the manufacture of the Olympus engines that powered the supersonic Concorde aircraft. McMurtry had a reputation as a great innovator and troubleshooter and his ingenuity brought about the creation of a prototype touch-trigger probe for co-ordinate measuring machines (CMMs).
Although today, a significant amount of Renishaw’s business is still derived from contact and non-contact measurement systems for CMMs and machine tools, the company now supplies a wide range of metrology systems for calibration, position feedback and gauging, plus associated accessories including styli and fixturing. The company has also applied its core expertise in measurement, manufacturing and process control to develop systems for non-destructive testing using Raman spectroscopy, robots and drug delivery systems for brain surgery, and is also a technology leader in the field of metal additive manufacturing (3D printing).
As metrology equipment has been rolled out on the shop floor, and integrated into automation, process control has become increasingly close knit. The data that results can be utilised to keep processes running and for validation. However, it can also provide visualisation into what’s going on in the factory. The company has recently launched Renishaw Central, a data collection system that allows data consolidation from Renishaw and third-party devices. The system provides all the process history of the part as it’s gone through the factory.