Renishaw opens the world of precision manufacturing

RENISHAW is a company that specialises in measurement, motion control, spectroscopy, and precision machining. Over the past 40 years, they have helped their clients in various fields to create more efficient manufacturing technologies and a higher quality of products and usage. The company has grown to multi-national proportions, with over 60 offices in over 32 countries.

Some of their most beneficial technologies include machine probe solutions. The company says that probe solutions can improve process control, save scrap, and reduce set-up times up to 90%. INTERNATIONAL METALWORKING NEWS FOR ASIA managed to speak to STEVE BELL, GENERAL MANAGER OF ASEAN, Steve introduced us to their new Primo System.

“If you look at a country like Germany [who has a mature manufacturing market], maybe something like 80% of machine tools have a probe, and 90% have a tool setter,” says Steve. “Then if you look at a place like China, only 1% have a tool setter and .5% have a probe. So certainly there's a massive difference and we wanted to look at why there was such a big variance.”

After conducting market testing, Renishaw found that the reasons why there were barriers in penetrating the market in Asia were because manufacturers believed that the initial investment was high, that the technology was difficult to use, and that because the manufacturer believed the probe to be expensive, they worried that they worried that if they crashed such an expensive item, they would lose a significant amount of money. In response, Renishaw created the innovative and flexible Primo System.

The Primo System works by offering manufactures a lowup-front investment and easy to use package. It includes a “pay-as-you-go” solution in the form of using Primo Credit Tokens, GoProbe software and training kit, and a Primo Total Protect.

“The Primo Credit Tokens contain six months of Primo credit. That means that the customer can use the Primo for six months and at the end of that time, providing it's proved useful, he buys another credit token,” says Steve. “It's the first time that it has been done in our industry. It's very flexible and it means that the initial investment for the customer is significantly lower than anything ever before. At any time the customer can also buy a lifetime token, so they can convert it back to a standard product.”

The Primo Total Protect, on the other hand, is there for those that might worry that the probe might crash while they're using it. If the probe is accidentally broken when it is in credit, Renishaw will replace the probe without charge, with no questions asked. 

With a lower barrier for Asian manufacturers to adopt probing solutions as well as a large and relatively untapped market for Renishaw to discover, the company is confident. 

“As manufacturing develops in a country, the probe fitment rate goes up,” says Steve. “But from our point of view, we want to try and accelerate the process. The Primo System is a low cost entry product. There's no risk, easy to use, and hopefully it – even if you're not buying the most expensive machine tool – it still makes commercial sense. We're putting the probe out there at a very affordable price. We're saying that we believe enough in how the product will improve the production process that you will buy another credit.”

In addition, registration of a valid credit token activates Primo Total Protect, which provides cover against accidental probe damage. If any hardware element of the system is damaged, Renishaw will replace it immediately, free of charge. Primo Total Protect provides the same level of coverage that long-term contracted customers of more sophisticated systems benefit from.

Finally, the GoProbe software and supporting training kit makes these already easy-to-use machine tool probes even simpler. A comprehensive self-study package with a range of training tools and modules guides users through everything they need to get the most out of the Renishaw Primo system.