Cylindrical CMM handles orthopedic implants

Adcole Corp. has entered the medical manufacturing industry with its Cylindrical CMM technology. Entry into this market started with the successful inspection of an artificial orthopedic knee being machined to strict tolerances prior to implant.

The artificial knee is traditionally measured with conventional CMMs. With the Cylindrical CMM, four profile scans are taken of the knee (2 in each plane with 3,600 data points/scan) for a total of 14,400 data points in 65 sec., with part setup requiring approximately 30 sec. Additional scans are available, adding 7 sec. for each scan to the cycle time. Data is then presented as actual, or as a deviation from the design specification.

According to the company, Adcole's contact gauging offers accuracy which is not available in optical gauges. The contact gauges also resist environmental contaminants in the air and on the part.

"This level of precision may seem exceptional for the end product, but it allows more of the tolerance budget to be allocated to the machining operations," says Darren Dawes, Adcole's medical applications manager. "This reduces cost at the product level. When we add speed to the equation, the advantages over a conventional CMM are quickly realized, as one Adcole gauge can do the work of multiple CMMs. Rather than using a bank of CMMs, the customer is using one piece of equipment that is more than 15X faster," continues Dawes.

Capital investment in the Adcole gauge is similar to the cost of a single conventional CMM. Additionally, these gauges may be placed on the shop floor, without need for filtered air or controlled environments. This further reduces user costs. "All of our equipment is floor- hardened and designed to operate in more hostile environments than the customer is likely to encounter. And, while our traditional markets are in automotive and aerospace components, the technology can be applied to most non-prismatic parts," states Dawes.

For additional information on this product and application, contact Darren Dawes (DarrenD@adcoledetroit.com).

Adcole Corp.
Marlborough, MA
adcole.com