Harmonic Drives ROI

Harmonic Drive located in Peabody, MA is a leading manufacturer of precision gears, gearheads, servo actuators and motion control systems.  The Pratt and Whitney Labmaster Universal has helped Harmonic Drive achieve the high precision they need.  Accurate to 0.000002-inch (2 millionths of an inch) [ 0.05 microns], this high accuracy measuring instrument has stopped discrepancies between gages and other types of measuring devices. 

Mike Cestone,  Manager of Harmonic Drive, detailed the problem. “We would inspect parts after they were completed and sometimes find problems.  Often they were only 0.0001 to 0.0002-inch apart [ 2.5 - 5.0 microns].  However, one was in tolerance and one was out of tolerance.  The gauge the operator had, said it was in tolerance and our CMM said it was out of tolerance.  The stated accuracy of the CMM was only +/-0.0002 inches.  The Labmaster Universal stopped that.”

What sets the Labmaster Universal apart from other measuring machines is the accuracy. “We did look at 4 competing machines in the same price range.  The Labmaster Universal was by far the most accurate.  In addition to measuring, the Labmaster Universals return on investment was less than 3 years.  We now perform most calibrations in house, which saves about $24,000 per year.”