
UK-based Renishaw is a global engineering and technology company with expertise in precision measurement and healthcare equipment. The company supplies products and services for a wide range of applications, from jet engine and wind turbine manufacture to dentistry and brain surgery. Its German branch is at EMO Hannover 2019 to present Renishaw's latest solution for non-contact tool setting.
The new NC4+ Blue system is the latest version of Renishaw's non-contact tool setting system. It is said to offer much greater precision in tool measurement than the existing NC4 series, with tool-to-tool performance proven to industry standards. NC4+ Blue features blue laser technology - an industry first - and enhanced optics. These two elements are set to deliver much greater accuracy in tool setting, which means workpieces can be machined more accurately and efficiently. Compared to the red laser sources used in most non-contact tool setting systems, blue laser technology has a shorter wavelength, resulting in improved diffraction effects and optimized laser beam geometry. This makes it possible to measure even very small tools accurately, while also reportedly minimizing tool-to-tool measurement errors.