Verus Precision UK Opens in May

May 22, 2015

Verus Precision UK Opens in May

May 22, 2015

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Nottingham Opens in May - Verus Precision

Verus Precision is proud to announce the official opening of its Nottingham Metrology laboratory – Verus Precision UK.

Since 2008, Verus Precision has been offering new product engineering services to indigenous and leading multinationals. With a core expertise of Metrology Fixture design, Subcontract Metrology, and Inspection and Autodesk Moldflow analysis, Verus Precision has always had a strong UK client base. The time was right for the investment in a new UK Operation.

“This investment, backed by client sentiment and market research positions Verus Precision UK to offer a dedicated and independent Metrology service to our Customers”. Des Forde, Operations & Sales Director.

Jon Banner Announced as General Manager – Verus UK

Jon Banner has been appointed General Manager of Verus Precision UK. He has great plans to quickly expand Verus Precision into the UK’s largest Metrology services company. Jon’s background consists of 30 years in the Industry from CMM programming, Fixture Design, Applications Engineering, Metrology Sales and Management, including the last 10 years with OGP. Therefore, making him the ideal candidate to help establish this new and exciting UK venture.

“I believe that with our collective experience and knowledge of the industry, we can firmly establish ourselves as the metrology partner of choice for many UK manufacturers”. said Jon.

Verus Precision UK

Verus Precision UK will be offering a full subcontract Inspection service. Additionally, this will include contact and non-contact measurement solutions utilizing a variety of metrology systems. In conjunction with this, a full Metrology Fixture Design and Gage R&R service will also be supported.

“Metrology and Metrology Fixtures go hand-in-hand and Verus are taking this philosophy to the next level with our approach”. says Michael Nugent, Technical Director.

Nottingham was selected due to its central location and proximity to existing and new UK clients and access to a skilled workforce.

“Being located in the Science and Technology Park gives us direct access to Nottingham University and their high calibre graduates. We have already established links to the university. As a result, we’re looking forward to working with them on Metrology projects and graduate internships in the near future”. states Jon Banner, General Manager.

Verus Precision UK has long been on the cards for the Verus Precision group. Therefore, the pressure from clients to establish a UK operation was the best incentive they could have.

“The catalyst for our expansion into the UK Market grew from existing clients” says Andrew Hodson, Managing Director. “You couldn’t ask for a better confirmation of your services and value to clients.”

Andrew Hodson further states “It was an easy decision for us, as a management team. We are comfortable both working and living in the UK. In addition, we’ve had wonderful support from Invest UK regional team, Nottingham City Council and the Chamber of Commerce. All of which helped us find and investigate premises and business supports.”

The planning for the Verus Precision UK operation started 12 months ago and has steadily gained momentum. With the identification of the location and premises, the Die was Cast.

What’s next For Verus?

Over the next 12 months, Verus Precision has plans to double staff and metrology capacity. With an emphasis on customer service, Jon and the Verus Team will be actively looking for new clients and opportunities to add value to their Client service offering.

Download the full press release and contact details here – Press Release 2015 Verus UK opens in May.

To find out more about the Metrology services we provide at Verus Precision UK, contact Jon Banner, UK General Manager on +44 (0)115 7841934. To request a quote click here. Moreover, be sure to subscribe to our NEWSLETTER to receive our technical blogs, customer updates, and latest developments.

Introduction 

As 2024 unfolds, the field of metrology is witnessing transformative changes. At Verus Metrology, we recognize the importance of keeping pace with technological advancements and new trends in the science of measurement. In this rapidly evolving landscape, innovations in metrology are not just about achieving precision; they are about meeting the evolving challenges of industries like medical devices, where accuracy is critical for ensuring safety and quality. This article explores the emerging trends and technological breakthroughs shaping metrology’s future. 

As 2024 unfolds, the field of metrology is witnessing transformative changes. At Verus Metrology, we recognize the importance of keeping pace with technological advancements and new trends in the science of measurement. In this rapidly evolving landscape, innovations in metrology are not just about achieving precision; they are about meeting the evolving challenges of industries like medical devices, where accuracy is critical for ensuring safety and quality. This article explores the emerging trends and technological breakthroughs shaping metrology’s future. 

Metrology Fixture Types – What’s Available, and Which is Best?

9 February 2023

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Fixture type and use cases

Metrology fixturing technologies continue to develop at a rapid pace, offering manufacturers in the medical device industry new and innovative solutions. Those solutions don’t just meet inspection and quality process requirements, but they also deliver efficiency savings and productivity gains. How do you know what metrology fixture types are available and which is best for your application? In this blog, we’ll outline the main options, their underlying technologies, and the use cases they are best suited for. 

However, it is also important to point out that the fixture types described in this blog represent broad categories. Within those categories, there is an infinite number of ways that a fixturing solution can be developed to meet your specific needs, reduce risk, and take advantage of opportunity

While there are metrology fixture types that we can explore, every fixture solution that we develop here at Verus Metrology is completely unique. In other words, fully customised for the product or component being measured, as well as the inspection machine, quality department workflows, production processes, and any other influencing factor. 

Metrology Fixture Types 

There are six main metrology fixture types: 

  • Auto rotational 
  • Manual rotator 
  • Multi-station
  • Proof of Principle (POP) 
  • Vision system 
  • Docking station 

 

Auto-Rotational Fixtures

Isometric view of an auto rotational metrology checking fixture, the automatic part of the fixture is the turning of the rail by a motor. The fixture has white plastic components held in place using brown clips

 

At a fundamental level, the job of a metrology fixture is to hold a product or component securely in place so it can be effectively inspected and measured. However, there are situations where the inspection process requires the part to be presented at different orientations to enable all the relevant measurements to be taken. This requirement for measurement in multiple orientations is increasing as medical device products become more complex and intricate. 

Auto-rotational fixtures enable the inspection of products and components in multiple orientations with minimal operator intervention. An auto-rotational fixture can be a single-station set-up, but they more commonly come in multi-station designs to minimise the time it takes to achieve your required sample rate. 

The most important feature of an auto-rotational fixture is that you can measure multiple components in multiple orientations in a single setup. 

Manual Rotator Fixtures

Manual Rotator Metrology Fixtures by Verus Metrology

Manual rotator fixtures offer similar benefits to auto-rotational fixtures. The obvious main difference is that operators manually rotate components once they are loaded into the fixture. 

Manual rotator fixtures can be multi-station. They are also designed so that all measurements in all orientations can be taken in one set-up. So, while the operator will need to manually control the rotation mechanism, there is no requirement to touch or adjust the components as the fixture holds them securely in place during rotation. 

The benefits of manual rotator fixtures include: 

  • Significantly reduced operator intervention 
  • Improved measurement accuracy 
  • Elimination of errors 
  • Faster and more efficient metrology processes 

Furthermore, we can design your manual rotator fixture so it can be loaded with components away from your CMM. This improves CMM availability as the machine doesn’t have to sit idle while components are being loaded onto the fixture. 

Multi-Station Fixtures 

multi station rotator

According to FDA regulations and ISO 13485, it is essential that you can statistically justify sampling rates in your quality procedures using a risk-based approach. The operational part of this requirement isn’t covered in the guidelines, but it is an important business consideration. How do you efficiently, accurately, and cost-effectively inspect the number of products or components that are required to hit your sampling rate target? 

Multi-station fixtures are a common solution. We can design multi-station fixtures in any configuration. This could be a large cavity multi-station fixture, a fixture to inspect very small and complex medical devices, or solutions for products or components of any size, geometry, or characteristic. 

The benefits of multi-station fixtures include: 

  • Operator intervention is greatly reduced 
  • Fixtures only need to be loaded once before full inspection routines can take place on multiple products at the same time 
  • Reduce human error 
  • Speed up inspection processes while achieving your sampling rate target 
  • Reducing the cost of inspections 

 

Proof of Principle Multi-station Prototype Fixtures 

proof of principle

 

In many product development and process change situations, it is beneficial to have a POP fixture that can be used for verification and validation purposes. The approach we typically take at Verus Metrology is to design a multi-station fixture to deliver on your requirements. 

However, before this multi-station fixture design goes into manufacturing, we design and produce a single-station POP prototype fixture. This POP prototype can be manufactured quickly in our advanced manufacturing facility. We’ll then put it through a gage R&R study to give you confidence in its repeatability and reproducibility, before sending it to you for evaluation and testing. 

POP prototype fixtures offer a range of benefits: 

  • Facilitates design for inspection during the product development process 
  • Minimises delays in process verification 
  • Enhances and speeds up the design transfer process 
  • Reduces time to market in line with regulatory requirements 

 

Vision System Solutions

We also design and manufacture fixturing solutions for vision systems in addition to the fixtures we design for use on CMMs. Fixturing solutions that are optimised for vision systems have a number of specific and differentiating features, including ensuring there is a clean and clear view of the part. 

Vision system solutions can also allow for backlighting where necessary. Furthermore, a single set-up is all that is required for the full inspection routine to take place, with parts securely held with as little force as possible. 

 

Docking Systems 

Docking System Verus Metrolody

Docking systems enhance the efficiency of quality departments that use multiple fixtures and/or have high sampling rates. Docking systems are securely fixed to CMMs to make it quick and easy for technicians to load fixtures that are fully set up with components ready for inspection. Once the inspection routine for a fixture is complete, it can be quickly and easily removed from the docking system ready for the next fixture to be loaded. 

With a custom-designed docking system, you can have confidence that each changeover results in precisely secured fixtures for repeatable and reproduceable inspections. 

Choosing the Right Fixture for Your Requirements

There are many factors to consider when choosing the best type of metrology fixture for your requirements. Your budget is an important consideration, as are your ROI goals, quality processes, quality resources, and future requirements. 

The best approach is to speak to a fixture design expert to explore the options and get an understanding of what is possible. Contact us today to find out more. 

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About Verus Metrology Partners

Verus is committed to the enhancement of our client’s metrology laboratories, machine efficiencies, and inspection processes. Since our beginning, our expert metrology engineering team has partnered with some of the world’s largest MedTech multinationals.

 

We specialize in high quantity, difficult to measure, yet critically important, medical device parts. As well as working in the MedTech, Pharmaceutical and Personal Care industry, we also work with metrology departments in the FMCG and Aerospace industry.