Based in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, Moog Controls Ltd (www.moog.co.uk) manufactures servo-valves for a wide range of industrial applications, including the aerospace industry.

These are electro-hydraulic continuously acting valves that transform a changing analogue or digital input signal into a stepless hydraulic output (flow or pressure).

Used in aircraft systems for fuel control, motion control and landing gear applications, the components manufactured by Moog have tight tolerances and require the highest level of accuracy and quality.

A high level of surface finish is key to the operation of the finished parts, and accurate measurement of this is very important.

The company had been using a 20-year-old Talysurf, but problems were encountered when measuring the surface finish of valve components, due to their small size; manual intervention required during the measurement process resulted in frequent breaking of the probes, and replacing them was costing Moog about £12,000 per year.

The company was keen to find a new solution for measuring the radius of the flange and head part of particular components, as well as for determining the surface finish.

It contacted Camberley-based Bowers Group (www.bowersgroup.co.uk), which supplied an Accretech Surfcom 2000SD3-13-N roughness and contour detector.

This allows the capture of contours and surface roughness in a single measurement — quickly, simply and accurately — without having to change probes. This instrument also has the advantage of being automatic and hands-free, reducing
the possibility of errors.

Bowers also supplied a number of bespoke probes; and specially manufactured fixtures are used for each component type, ensuring accurate and repeatable profile measurements.

Moog typically manufactures these valve components in batches of 600-700, with first-offs and one component per shift fully measured to ensure quality.

The Surfcom takes about 10min to run each CNC program, which is a similar time to the old method carried out by the Talysurf.

However, the Surfcom can record multiple measurements in one run, making it significantly more cost-effective, especially when the cost of probe breakages is considered.

It also allows Moog to print out the results in one document, which shows if the measurements are within tolerance.

Gurpreet Singh Gill, Moog’s CMM roaming inspector, said: “The Surfcom certainly meets our needs, and we are very pleased with the accuracy the machine provides and the effectiveness of the program software.

"We considered various metrology companies to meet our measurement requirements, but we chose Bowers based on our previous good relationship with the company’s sales team.

“Moreover, the speed and effectiveness of the Surfcom, combined with the fact that we are no longer having to replace broken probes, means the unit will soon have paid for itself.”