July 2020 - 15: Hardness test accuracy up 60% for bearing manufacturer
To ensure accurate testing of parts, the Bowers Group has provided NMB Minebea UK Ltd with an INNOVATEST Falcon 507 Vickers, Knoop & Brinell Hardness Tester. The Falcon tester has enabled NMB Minebea to increase its PTP testing results from Class 3 to Class 1, deliver faster turnaround of samples and increase accuracy of the tests.
NMB Minebea manufactures a variety of aerospace and military parts like bearings and landing gear. Producing precision-engineered products means that testing and quality assurance is key to NMB Minebea UK success.
Jason Woodhouse, Laboratory Manager at NMB Minebea UK Ltd said: “Since investing in the Falcon, the accuracy of our hardness testing has improved by 60%. It’s not just accurate, it’s really simple and easy to use too.”
Precise and accurate hardness measurement is of the utmost importance to performance-critical parts made using the cold form process. Hardness needs to be accurately measured to prevent fracture during the cold form process, which can result in components having to be scrapped, and also damage to the dies and tooling on machines.
Jason Woodhouse continued: “We chose the Falcon 507 because it offered us all the features we needed at the right price. It was the perfect balance for us. Most people in the metallurgy lab use the hardness tester daily.”
Testing for aerospace companies and their supply chains must be carried out in accordance with a Proficiency Testing Program (PTP), which refer to a series of tests established by a number of aerospace firms including Airbus, Safran, GE, MTU, GKN, Airbus Helicopters and Rolls Royce in order to qualify Laboratories around the world based on ISO:13528:2015 standard.
NMB Minebea UK Ltd can now test to ASTM and British Standards on the hardness tester, validate paperwork, and export all results to Microsoft Windows. To ensure the hardness tester is as accurate as it can be it is calibrated by an external company every 6 months. NMB Minebea UK Ltd also has some dimensional metrology equipment from Bowers Group including 3 point bore gauges used for bore measurements, stick mics and thread mics.