Castle Precision, Glasgow

01/08/2019

Castle Precision operates in a high-value manufacturing environment machining precision components in a wide range of exotic and expensive materials. Manufacturing some of these components is often complex and time-consuming so getting it right first time and efficiency was of the highest importance to remain competitive.

Historically, much of their tool pre-setting was done on the machine tools as in cycle measurement.

Wanting to understand the benefits of offline presetting, the company contacted several top-end presetter suppliers to get a better understanding of each of their capability, all of which had the obvious benefit of setting the tools off their machines and not interrupting the machining cycle, ultimately giving Castle Precision an immediate increase in productivity by keeping the machines cutting.

The selection criteria was quite thorough and narrowed the choice down to the two market leaders. Although both manufacturers offered similar solutions, Castle Precision chose to go with NIKKEN. Citing choosing this option for a high accuracy product that didn’t rely on software compensation.

NIKKEN presetters are constructed from solid granite guaranteeing not only the accuracy but excellent repeatability of measurement in a fluctuating temperature environment. The added benefit of having an inspection mode allowed the company to inspect the cutting edge for wear or damage, eliminating possible in-cycle cutter issues, and scrap.

Finally, having worked with NIKKEN for some years using their other tooling systems and Rotary Table products the high quality of the aftersales and service was already proven.

Castle Precision installed the first Nikken ELBO presetter in 2011 and such was the success of this installation they now have 5 presetters covering all key manufacturing cells, all of which are performing very well.