CIMdata PLM Industry Summary Online Archive
12 March 2008
Implementation Investments
Delcam’s PowerINSPECT Aids Transition to More Complex Work
W. H. Tildesley has filled the niche market for small-batch quantity forgings for many years but is now moving into higher precision, more complex forgings and finished machined components. As part of this transition, the company has invested in a FARO PowerGAGE together with Delcam’s PowerINSPECT software. The combination was selected because it offers great flexibility in application. "It will serve both our Quality Department in component checking and our tool room for monitoring die production and condition,” explained Managing Director, John Tildesley.
W. H. Tildesley, which is based in Willenhall in the UK’s West Midlands, prides itself on having one of the most advanced tool and die making facilities in Europe. A purpose-built factory houses the most modern CAM milling machines available. Highly accurate and complicated impressions are able to be produced competitively at great speed, which gives the company the ability to offer a great flexibility of service.
The forging process is unique in its ability to transform high-strength steels and alloys into complex shapes. Many of the components incorporate hard-to-measure blend radii, draft angles and non-symmetrical features. The PowerINSPECT software will be invaluable in producing first-off sample reports and in monitoring production. Once the software has imported the CAD data, a single touch of the PowerGAGE probe on any part of a component or die cavity will register whether or not it is in tolerance of the original design. The system is also portable enough to be used to check tooling parts whilst they are on machines without taking them out of their fixtures.
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