Chelburn Precision Improves Efficiencies with Trimos Height Gauge from Bowers Group

With tolerances on components getting tighter and customer requirements getting stricter, Chelburn Precision was keen to improve their measurement abilities. Based in Rochdale, Greater Manchester the company found the solution in a Trimos V7 height gauge, supplied by Bowers Group.

As one of the UK’s leading suppliers of precision machined components to some of the world’s most demanding markets, Chelburn Precision’s philosophy has always been to satisfy the needs of its customers. Established in 1982, the business has prioritised investment in quality machine tools for production, as well as having quality verification equipment available for inspection purposes.

Chelburn Precision is a subcontract engineer making larger precision components, mostly for the canning, rubber and plastic, paper converting, and mining industries. Already working with a smaller height gauge, the team found it was holding them back when measuring larger sized components.

The team at Chelburn found that they were not able to reach the full height of components with the height gauge they had previously, resulting in the need to either turn jobs over to measure from a different plane, or make time and room on one of their precision machine tools to carry out checks. This not only required extra time, but also stopped the production of both the machine tools and their operators whilst the quality inspectors requested and verified checks to ensure parts conformed to specification.

The Trimos V7 is one of the tallest height gauges on the market, and highly suitable for workshop environments. The V7 is capable of tackling complex functions such as 2D, programming, and statistics, resulting in an unequalled ease of use and a substantial increase in productivity.

The height gauge features a pair of lateral insert holders, a testament to the research and development of generations of instruments that have forged Trimos’ reputation. Their great robustness and flexibility allow the use of very diverse probes up to 400 mm long with impressive repeatability.

Chelburn Precision also invested in the squareness electrical probe which enables the business to reach the full height of components, both for measuring positions and measuring squareness. The additional probe creates the efficiency of combining two instruments to make the measurement process quicker and easier, offering the team the ability to perform the precise measurements they needed.

Chelburn’s dedicated inspection department is manned full-time by two qualified inspectors who have access to a wide range of quality equipment. Because they can trust the readings given by the V7, the team know instantly if there is something that needs altering on the shop floor, allowing them to measure parts easily and quickly and get results before they reach the CMM.

Since having the Trimos V7 height gauge, Chelburn has found the height gauge extremely easy to use, with inspectors using it in preference to traditional methods of parts inspection, owing to the fact they can measure multiple sizes with the one device. Now using the Trimos V7 every day, the inspectors also use the height gauge on smaller manufactured parts, as they find it easier to use and more reliable than their previous unit.

Michael Horsfall, Production Director at Chelburn Precision said, “We have used Bowers Group before for a lot of different measuring devices we own, so we knew we were in good hands. They even loaned us a smaller unit for us to trial as they were confident that we would be impressed by the quality, accuracy and ease of use of the Trimos height gauge.”