Renishaw, a world leading metrology company, is supporting its increasing commitment to the Chinese market by attending the CCMT exhibition being held at the New International Expo Center, Shanghai, from 14th to 17th February 2006. Renishaw will be exhibiting at stand number W1-403. Renishaw is taking this opportunity to introduce Chinese visitors to a range of innovative metrology equipment.

Comments Jean-Marc Meffre, managing director of Renishaw (Hong Kong): 'Asian companies in general and Chinese companies in particular, are realising that lower labour costs can only offer a competitive advantage in the short term.

They know that long-term competitiveness relies on introducing more of the advanced technology offered by companies like Renishaw.' With the rapid growth in China's installed base of CNC machine tools, there is expected to be high levels of interest in products that improve the operating capabilities of these machines, including the OMP60 compact touch probe and a new tool recognition system for high-speed tool breakage detection.

For part measurement on co-ordinate measuring machines (CMMs), visitors will see a revolutionary new enabling technology that will allow highly accurate, ultra high speed five-axis scanning measurement, plus a compact probe head offering low-cost 'motorised' head functionality.

Other products of interest to CCMT visitors will include Renishaw's QC10 ballbar system for the fast analysis of machine tool performance, the ML10 laser interferometer measurement system for machine calibration, a new angle encoder for precision position feedback on rotary axes.

Renishaw's new OMP60 touch probe is the first of a new generation of optical transmission products designed for compatibility with all current Renishaw optical receivers and next generation optical systems.

It brings the benefits of touch probes to a wide range of machining centres and mill/turn machines, offering users set-up time reductions of up to 90%, reduced scrap, reduced fixture costs, and improved process control.

For high speed tool breakage detection, Renishaw's new TRS1 system projects a beam of laser light at a tool and monitors the scattered light that is reflected to determine if the tool has been broken.

This new tool recognition technology distinguishes between the tool and coolant or metal chips (swarf), whilst it is also fast and reliable under real machining conditions.

More reliable than conventional non-contact systems, the TRS1 comprises a single unit containing the laser source and detection electronics, enabling it to be mounted outside of the working envelope, safe from collision and saving valuable space on the table.

Launched at the recent EMO Hannover exhibition in Germany, Renishaw's ground breaking Renscan5 technology allows the development of a range of breakthrough five-axis CMM scanning products that will measure at speeds of up to 500mm/s, and virtually eliminates the measurement errors normally associated with existing three-axis scanning systems.

A five-axis system achieves this by allowing the lighter measuring head to perform most of the motion during inspection routines, minimising the dynamic errors caused when moving the larger mass of a CMM structure.

Receiving its debut in China is REVO, the first product to take advantage of the new Renscan5 technology.

The first in a family of revolutionary measuring head and probe systems, REVO will maximise inspection throughput, whilst maintaining a high-level of system accuracy.

REVO uses synchronised motion when scanning to quickly follow changes in part geometry, without introducing its own dynamic errors.

This allows the CMM to move at a constant velocity along a constant vector whilst measurements are being taken, removing the inertial errors that result from acceleration of the machine during conventional 3-axis scanning.

For visitors to CCMT interested in sensors for DCC CMMS will also see RTP20 ('round the pole'), a unique low-cost probe head with integral probe sensor, that offers the functionality and benefits of a motorised head system.

Based on Renishaw's existing MH20i probe head, it allows automatic repeatable 15 degree indexing which, combined with an integral TP20 touch probe, offers a flexible touch-trigger probe system that will significantly increase measurement productivity.

Since its launch some 10 years ago, the Renishaw QC10 ballbar has established itself as an industry standard system for rapid machine tool performance analysis and diagnosis.

CCMT 2006 visitors will see that the QC10 ballbar test typically takes about 15 minutes.

The ballbar attaches magnetically between the machining centre's spindle and table, and tracks machine movement to +/-0.5 microns.

A simple CNC circular program is run which allows the ballbar software to calculate machine circularity error, servo gain mismatch, vibration, stick-slip errors, backlash, repeatability and scale mismatch, as well as machine geometry.

Renishaw's ML10 laser interferometer measurement system is used by some of the largest OEMs and end users in industries such as metal cutting, semiconductor processing, flat panel display production and biotechnology.

The ML10's unique properties ensure that the system provides a linear position reading resolution of just 1.24nm, a range of up to 40m and accuracy better than 1 ppm.

This combination of resolution, accuracy and range makes the laser interferometer an ideal tool for characterising the performance of motion systems, both large and small.

Visitors to CCMT 2006 requiring a precision motion analysis system should also evaluate QuickView, a new software package from Renishaw designed to make the ML10 laser an even more flexible and powerful analysis tool.

For years, electronic engineers have relied on oscilloscopes to study high-speed variations in voltage or current.

Now, QuickView software provides mechanical engineers with a similar capability, allowing them to study minute variations in linear or angular displacement, velocity or acceleration.

With a simple graphical interface QuickView allows very flexible operation, avoiding the need for predefined measurement targets and sequences - just point and measure, ideal for ad-hoc system investigations.

CCMT was first held in 2000 and is the sister exhibition of the Chinese International Machine Tool show (CIMT) held bi-annually in Beijing.

Both exhibitions are organised by the China Machine Tool and Tool Builders' Association (CMTBA) and is billed by the organisers as giving priority to domestically-made machine tools.

However there will also be around 100 foreign exhibitors from 11 countries, which the CMTBA reports as including renowned international brands such as Heller, DMG, Siemens, Heidenhain, Renishaw, Agie and Mitsubishi.

The range of exhibits includes machine tools, EDM, CAD/CAM systems, cutting oils and chemicals, measurement and control technologies, and cutting tools.