QC10 Ballbar System
Boosting company performance, whatever you do.
Since its launch some 10 years ago, the Renishaw QC10 ballbar has established itself as THE system for quick machine tool and motion system analysis and diagnosis. With an easy set up and test procedure (often less than 10 minutes per machine) and powerful reporting, the system justifies its claim to be the most powerful and flexible diagnostic tool available.
The highly portable QC10 ballbar automatically detects and diagnoses a range of machine geometry, and motion errors. Recognized in many international standards for machine performance testing, the system is widely used by machine tool end users and OEMs alike and is a vital item for many calibration service companies.
With some international companies already specifying ballbar machine commissioning as part of their vendor assurance programs and the general increase in the application of quality standards, the demand for ballbar testing continues to grow.
However, the QC10 is far more than a QA compliance tool. Whatever your job, using a QC10 can bring you real benefits and in turn boost your company's performance. Maintenance, production, engineering, purchasing and field service can all benefit from the diagnostic information that only the QC10 can supply so easily. Even sales and marketing departments can benefit from the credibility that using QC10 gives and the edge that can give them over your competitors.
It's not just a tool for larger companies. Many smaller companies have found that savings in unnecessary maintenance and service call-outs alone have paid back the system cost in a few months. Using a QC10 puts you back in control.
Renishaw has produced an information packed CD giving examples of user benefits together with a system description and real life case studies. If you want to see just how using QC10 can save you money then contact Renishaw for a free copy.
The system and software have been updated frequently since their launch. This year is no exception, with IMTS 2002 seeing the launch of the significantly enhanced Ballbar 5 HPS software.
Ballbar 5 is a Windows® based software package (compatible with Windows® 95 to XP systems) with familiar and easy-to-use on-screen graphics and a host of features designed to encourage regular and repeatable machine testing. This new version significantly extends the power of Renishaw's QC10 ballbar test by adding a historic review function, machine performance acceptance limits, part program generator and ballbar plot simulator.
Historic review allows variations in the performance of each machine to be displayed graphically. You can now clearly see how any of the machine performance characteristics measured by the ballbar, (e.g. ISO230-4 circular and radial deviations, positional tolerance, squareness, backlash etc.) has varied over a period of time. Clearly visible plot trends allow maintenance requirements to be scheduled in advance and plot discontinuities help fault diagnosis after a machine crash.
You can also set warning and failure tolerances on any of the machine characteristics measured by the QC10 ballbar. Once set these tolerances are displayed on the history graphs and are also used to instantly check the results of every ballbar test as it is carried out.
The part program generator can be used to automatically generate ballbar test part programs and can be customized to suit the requirements of your controllers and ballbar tests.
The ballbar plot simulator allows the user to see his test results on screen and then to change various machine geometry, play and dynamic parameters to try "what if" scenarios on the ballbar plot and on circularity and positional tolerance values.
The software is available at no extra cost with new QC10 ballbar systems, or as a low-cost upgrade for users of existing systems. The improved software puts the QC10 Ballbar even further ahead of the competition. There really is no comparable system!