Blum Presents New BG60 Bore Gauge

13 June 2013

Blum-Novotest, a leading supplier of innovative high-quality measuring and testing technology has now launched its new BG60 bore gauge. The measuring system is used for the mass production of workpieces with close-tolerance bores. Even in a machining centre, the BG60 contributes significantly to improved productivity and continuous quality assurance.

"The BG60 bore gauge is ideal when it comes to minimising measurement times and maximising precision during bore production," explains Wolfgang Reiser, Technical Director at Blum-Novotest. "Particularly in the mass production of workpieces with identical bore diameters such as engine components – cylinder heads and blocks, connecting rods, valves or hydraulic components, the BG60 really comes into its own. Ultimately, it's measuring time of less than 0.5 seconds per diameter outperforms every other machine-integrated measuring system on the market."

Measurement is performed locally in the machining setup, thus ensuring that faulty workpieces are immediately detected. The gauge is handled in the machine like a standard tool and is loaded into the spindle for measurement. The entire measuring operation therefore runs automatically.

A major advantage of the BG60 is the way it generates measuring values. Unlike other process-oriented measuring systems, the diameter values recorded are not based on the machine's current axis positions. The BG60 is equipped with a dedicated analogue measuring mechanism that operates independently of the machine accuracy, thus offering genuine objectivity. The mechanism is float-mounted, which enables simple diameter measurement independent of the exact spindle position.

The measurement resolution in this case is 12 bit/0.15μm. As with all Blum equipment, the BG60 is an opto-electronic measuring system that offers wear-free operation and therefore exceptional reliability. The BG60 is supplied with a bore gauge for the specific application. Depending on the gauge used, bore diameters from 3 – 200mm can be measured. The analogue measuring value is then transmitted via radio signals to the receiver and transferred to the IF48 interface.

For many companies involved in mass production, the objective is to realise a closed process chain. To enable them to do this, Blum offers the optional IF48 graphical interface. If a deviation from the expected dimension is detected during measurement, the interface automatically corrects the adjustment value to mid-tolerance. For this purpose, the upper and lower tolerance can be specified in the IF48. If successive measurements reveal a trend caused by thermal drift of the machine or tool wear, the interface intervenes in the process accordingly. If a value is outside the tolerance, the machine stops automatically.

The IF48 logs individual measurements and allows users to perform statistic analysis and compile measuring reports. The reports can be accessed using computers connected to the company network or simply read out via USB interface. It is connected to the control system via Profibus or an Ethernet bus module.

Data is transmitted between the BG60 and the RC66 receiver using BRC radio technology developed by Blum, which has been used successfully for many years. The advantage of this technology is based on each single bit of the radio signal running across the entire width of the frequency band, thus making transmission particularly resistant to interference. On the other hand, BRC technology does not interfere with local Bluetooth or W-LAN networks. Up to 16 bore gauges can be activated sequentially by a single RC66.

"In highly-productive manufacturing, machining processes are optimised in the tenth of second range. Many production engineers rate the benefits of the bore gauge very highly because it cuts measuring times by at least 50%. The system then becomes a real problem solver and, in the process, helps slash unit costs," concludes Wolfgang Reiser.