ZEISS DuraMax HTG coordinate measuring machine is an enhancement to the standard model which is insensitive to mechanical vibrations and temperature fluctuations and is now even more insensitive to mechanical vibrations and temperature fluctuations. These properties make it ideal for use in a production environment – now at temperatures from 15-40 degrees C.
“Even in moderate climates, it is not uncommon for the temperatures in production areas to exceed 30 degrees C,” says Johannes Mohrle, Product Manager at ZEISS. Increasingly compact, modern production lines equipped with heat-generating machine tools contribute to room heating. However, limitations in air conditioning can also falsify the measured values on a coordinate measuring machine, e.g. as a result of gust-like air flows. Because heat and temperature fluctuations can impair the accuracy of measuring machines, quality assurance is faced with additional challenges.
Improving air conditioning is one solution, but operating and maintaining such systems is expensive. “This is what led us to enhance our ZEISS DuraMax compact coordinate measuring machine,” states Mohrle. The machine works as reliably as before at a temperature range that has more than doubled: ZEISS DuraMax High Temperature & Gradients (HTG) delivers accuracy down to 3.2 microns at ambient temperatures of 15-40 degrees C. ZEISS was able to not only increase the temperature range at which this machine can achieve this high accuracy, it also lifted the maximum permissible fluctuations over an hour and over a day. The measuring machine now operates flawlessly under temperature changes up to 50 percent per hour and 100 percent per day without compromising the measurement quality.
Reliable measuring results
This high precision was made possible even at these temperatures and fluctuations by the use of new, high-quality components. Developers insulated the Z axis of the machine with a hood. To further reduce the influence of temperatures, they equipped the basic body of the measuring machine with a reflecting stainless steel cover and special insulation. “The greater temperature resistance means a clear reduction of operating costs compared to air conditioning or a measuring lab near production – all this with more reliable measured values,” summarizes Mohrle. As a result, ZEISS DuraMax HTG is particularly well-suited for precise measurement in non-air conditioned production areas.
