Electronic Gauging in Robot Precision Engineering Cell at British Aerospace, Stevenage

Abstract

Components for the ground‐launched weapons produced at the British Aerospace Aerodynamics Group factory at Stevenage must be produced to precision engineering standards from high grade materials, which are often aluminium alloys with a high silica content which wears tools rapidly. To meet this problem, the machine shop and quality control departments at Stevenage have developed very close co‐operation in the introduction and integrated use of new CNC machine tools and electronic measuring equipment capable of assuring quality with improved work flow. Every workpiece produced by CNC machining is gauged after each machining operation or multi‐gauged as it comes off the machine. This constant monitoring detects sudden errors due, for example, to chipped tools and allows the correction of trends before they go outside set tolerances.

Citation

(1983), "Electronic Gauging in Robot Precision Engineering Cell at British Aerospace, Stevenage", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 55 No. 2, pp. 14-20. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb035850