Global Leadership in precision measurement

On Jun 4, 2019

Paul Weaver, Vice President, Renishaw Metrology Systems Ltd

Q. RENISHAW has leadership position in metrology industry, how did RENISHAW India managed this significant growth?

Renishaw is one of the world’s leading engineering and scientific technology companies, with expertise in precision measurement and healthcare The Renishaw Group currently has more than 70 offices in 35 countries, with over 4,000 employees worldwide. Around 2,800 people are employed within the UK where the company carries out the majority of its research and development and its manufacturing. Renishaw has been recognised with 18 Queen’s awards for business innovation and export showing how we continue to strive for excellence, and continue developing. In India, Renishaw have been trading for around 36 years, and set up a local company in 2000. Since then, we have added an 80000 square foot manufacturing facility and now employ in excess of 400 people in the market. Renishaw tend towards investing in markets at the beginning of their development, and as India is the worlds’ second most populous country it was always going to be a high potential market so the decision was taken to enter the market before it was considered as a developing market by many companies. Since that time we have continued to invest as the market has begun to realise its’ potential. Having skilled and knowledgeable people continues to be the key factor in this development, and as a business we invest in our staff heavily in order to continue to offer the best support possible.

Renishaw, in 2016 opened Additive Manufacturing Solutions Centre in Pune, India. The facility is providing a secure development environment in which customers can expand their knowledge and confidence using additive manufacturing (AM) technology. The Solutions Centre is equipped with the latest AM systems and staffed by knowledgeable engineers to allow fast access to deploying the technology, all at fixed predictable costs.

Q. How about RENISHAW’s initiatives in measurement technology space? Which are your focus areas?

Renishaw PLC is founded on Research and Development, and as it has grown has continued to invest around 15% of its’ annual budget into R&D. Renishaw is not just the leader in the metrology field – it actually created many of the technologies that are in use today, beginning back in 1973 with the invention of the touch trigger CMM probe in order to measure the fuel pipes for the Concorde Supersonic Airliner. This emphasis on R&D is probably the single largest focus for the entire company – never standing still as we believe that there is always a better way. Clearly we are placing significant emphasis on our metal additive manufacturing (3d printing) offer, with continual developments taking place as the market develops in maturity. Outside of that we are focused on developing techniques and products that will improve accuracy and throughput such as the Revo 5 axis CMM scanning system, Sprint Analog Machine tool scanning probes, Equator 500 Gauging solutions and the revolutionary XM-60 calibration system able to calibrate all 6 degrees of freedom in a single setup.

I think the best way I can sum up our approach is that our focus areas are to continually seek technology innovations across our product ranges, from machine calibration, in process measurement & gauging up to post process inspection. If we develop a process that we feel advances measurement technology then we will try to commercialise it into a product, as the ethos of Renishaw is a genuine desire to help global industry become increasingly productive & less wasteful.

Q. What are the market opportunities for RENISHAW products in India? How do you plan to position these products?

It is clear that the market in India is already sizeable, and growing – and the government initiatives around ‘Make in India’ are further fueling the interest and growth in the manufacturing sector. As India moves away from being a sub-contract supplier base in the lower tiers of the manufacturing pyramid towards having an entire domestic supply chain, the complexity of components and requirement for process control accuracy greatly increases. This is where Renishaw can really add the most value to the market. We have a unique offer in that we can add significant value to the machining process from ensuring that machines are capable of manufacturing to required tolerances and standards (through our Calibration offer), ensuring tool integrity and condition & in cycle metrology (through our Machine Tool offer), and then post process measurements (through our Gauging and CMM offers). Add to this our offer in the technology of the future in Additive Manufacturing then Renishaw is extremely well positioned to assist Indian manufacturing in the leap from a high potential market into an advanced manufacturing economy. In summary, the application of Renishaw technology in a manufacturing process can ensure increases in productivity, scrap reduction, increasing production utilization and ultimately increase profitability. Our positioning of the offer is based around the points above – that process control pays for itself and can significantly improve production processes.

Q. Can you brief us more about RENISHAW’s top line product range?

Renishaw is one of the world’s leading engineering and scientific technology companies, with expertise in precision measurement and healthcare. The company supplies products and services used in applications as diverse as jet engine and wind turbine manufacture, through to dentistry and brain surgery. It is also a world leader in the field of additive manufacturing (also referred to as metal 3D printing), where it is the only UK business that designs and makes industrial machines which ‘print’ parts from metal powder.

Q. What are the key technological trends that are driving metrology industry?

Globally, a shift towards smarter, leaner & efficient manufacturing is taking place through data-driven manufacturing and automation. Technology has changed the nature of manufacturing, with robotics, process and measurement machinery & IT systems now an integral part of the factory floor. Sensor technology is developing rapidly and becoming more integral. Metal cutting tools equipped with a range of new generation sensors that enable extensive monitoring of equipment and process attributes (spindle health, tool wear, coolant temperature, power usage etc) will become commonplace. Therefore, machine tool connectivity is becoming easier & seamless. Combined with developments in cloud computing & big data analytics this will provide users with the ability to make informed decisions. Cost Management, productivity gains, decreased downtime and improved quality will be the result of this.

We will also see an increased range of automation solutions. Robot technology will increase, however automation will not be only limited to robots. Automation extends beyond robots and there will be increases in integration of simpler automation solutions with metal cutting machines too. This will make a big impact in productivity, quality & safety. These simpler solutions will include tool pre-setters, pallet changers, machine tool probes, inventory management systems, tool condition monitoring systems etc. All of these advances are ultimately being driven by the Global requirement for increasingly complex products with ever increasing capabilities. This increases the need for more efficient manufacturing, tighter tolerances and improved production repeatability and accuracy.

Q. What is your vision for RENISHAW India for 2020?

Renishaw see India as a growth market. With the current rate of change, India will be classed as a high tech, advanced economy in the near future & the Make in India Strategy will drive this through the domestic production of increasingly more complex and critical systems for Aerospace, Space, Defence and Automotive projects. Our metal additive manufacturing (3d printing) offer means we are well placed to move forward as this technology moves from disruptive into the mainstream – this is already happening in certain segments such as Aerospace where production parts are now being printed.

Renishaw has always heavily invested in Research and Development – this continues at pace. With the market conditions, our leading edge technology & a strong local team, my vision is to continue to lead the market in metrology and further strengthen this position through education. Educating customers of the massive benefits that process control brings to them in productivity & quality gains. This ultimately leads to increased profitability, which makes Indian industry more competitive in a Global marketplace.