The Apex of Quality for Carville

Following the recent launch of the advanced Crysta-Apex V CNC Coordinate Measuring Machine (CMM) range, Mitutoyo UK has been enjoying high levels of sales of the new CMMs. In addition to sales made to new customers, Mitutoyo has been busy installing Crysta-Apex V machines at the premises of existing users. Typical of the loyal Mitutoyo customers that have embraced the innovative new CMM range is Dorking, Surrey based Carville Ltd.

Established in 1928, Carville is one of the world's oldest and most experienced precision plastic machining companies. Carville’s remarkable longevity and continuing success is due largely to the business’ ability to continuously evolve to meet contemporary needs and also to its reputation for supplying high-quality products and services.

Over the past 90 years Carville has developed many innovative new processes, major company advancements include pioneering the development of diffusion bonding in the 1960s and producing the first bonded medical manifolds in1980. Today, the company is an acknowledged expert across a wide range of demanding areas, including high-precision plastic machining and the production of multi-layer diffusion bonded manifolds and microfluidics.

Given the demands of its customers and the critical roles many of its manufactured products perform the ISO 9001:2015 certified business administers a strict QMS (quality management system) and is experienced in meeting the ISO 13485 requirements of its clients, including full traceability and the provision of quality reports with in-depth CMM data.

Carville purchased its first Mitutoyo CMM over 20 years ago, and since that time the business has installed a further three Mitutoyo CMMs in its quality department. After two decades of sterling service, the company’s original Mitutoyo’s CMM was recently replaced with a new Crysta-Apex V CNC CMM.

Carville MD Vince Ellis explained. “Carville supply many clients based in the medical device and In-Vitro Diagnostics markets, sectors that produce the highest safety class of products (such as Class III medical devices). Carville’s parts are often classed as “critical to function and safety”, therefore we support all of our clients’ ISO13485 requirements with our QMS including full traceability, testing, measurement and vigilance support. As our rigorous quality methods have been developed to satisfy the demands of the medical and life science sectors, we are able to apply similar, stringent quality control methods for our customers involved in other industries.

“Central to our inspection regime over the past 20 years has been our use of Mitutoyo CMMs. The fact that our original, well used machine remained in working order and within specification for nearly two decades bears witness to the quality of Mitutoyo’s products. Impressed by the improved specification and increased speed of Mitutoyo’s latest CMM, we recently replaced our oldest Mitutoyo model with a new Crysta-Apex V CNC CMM, bringing our Mitutoyo CMM count back to three machines. As the Crysta-Apex V is now the fourth Mitutoyo CMM we have purchased over the past two decades we have been able to witness the continual technical development of the company’s machines.

“Along with several other improvements, we have been very impressed with the increased precision, speed and automated nature of our new Crysta-Apex V CNC CMM, these advantages have already helped increase the throughput of work in our quality department. Along with our existing, two older Mitutoyo CMMs, our new model is now being kept busy measuring components, including first-offs, last-offs and mid-production run samples, and generating SPC data and in-depth inspection reports.” Mitutoyo’s new generation Crysta-Apex V CNC Coordinate Measuring Machine represents a quantum step in CMM technology and delivers advances in accuracy, speed, and versatility. Designed to meet both todays and tomorrow’s challenges, the future-proof machine is able to work within connected production environments and the smart factory of the future. The new Mitutoyo CMM range offers cutting-edge capability across a range of ten models, covering practically any measurement application within the small to mid-sized part range.

Unlike earlier generation CMMs, a controlled environment is now unnecessary as the Crysta-Apex V series machines maintain their accuracy over a wide temperature range of 16-26°C. An active scanning feature enables high-speed measurement by evaluating discrepancies between design values and actual workpiece dimensions while maintaining the advantages of 3D optimal-path scanning. The intricacies of some workpieces, such as turbine blades and impellers, can cause their accuracy to vary or makes them more susceptible to misalignment, making accurate measurement difficult. The new V Series enables the smooth and precise measurement of this type of complex workpiece.

When compared with conventional CNC CMMs, the V Series delivers higher maximum drive speed and acceleration of around + 20% and + 40% respectively. This rapid movement, combined with typically 60% higher measuring speed, significantly reduces inspection times.

Further aiding the V Series efficiency advantages, the new CMMs also feature Mitutoyo’s Quick Launch function, enabling simple and intuitive operation for easy part-program execution, including via barcodes and QR codes.

Mitutoyo utilises a wide choice of touch-trigger, scanning and non-contact probes to enable the Crysta-Apex-V Series to assess practically any component. An extensive choice of application software is also available for the automatic generating of part programs and for the efficient measurement and evaluation of simple or complex components.