Risbridger Ltd, a UK manufacturer, has built a reputation for designing specialised engineering products for the international aircraft servicing and petrochemical industries. Working in these safety critical industries means maintaining the highest standards for their equipment and processes is essential. Over more than 100 years, Risbridger has built a solid reputation for reliability and safety.
But Risbridger isn’t standing still. They’re always looking ahead, with a clear ambition to grow and improve. To stay competitive in industries where precision and innovation are so critical, they recognised the need to invest in technology not only to enhance current manufacturing processes but also to expand their offering.
Risbridger identified growing demand for more complex components and recognised they needed to modernise and expand their measuring solution.
Risbridger were seeking to extend their precision engineering capabilities and realised that they needed a reliable measuring system that could support that development. Producing equipment for industries like aviation and motorsports demand exacting standards for every component.
The existing manual measurement processes had been sufficient for many years and remain so for many aspects of their workflow. However, those tools come with limitations that curbed the expansion of their production capability. Risbridger identified growing demand for more complex components and recognised that – coupled with the tight tolerances required in a safety-critical industries – they needed to modernise and expand their measuring solutions.
The Challenge
The type of challenges faced when using manual measurement tools such as gauges and callipers, are:
- Inconsistent measurements: Manual methods were subject to human error, which can lead to occasional inconsistencies, especially when working with intricate or small parts.
- Time-consuming: Manual inspections slow down production, but customers expectations are forever- quicker turnaround. Striking a balance between maintaining reliability and improving time-efficiency is key.
- Reporting capability: There are increasing demands for reporting accuracy and traceability, which are time-consuming with manual processes and, indeed, simply not possible for smaller, more intricate parts.
Risbridger didn’t just want to improve their existing capabilities, they wanted to set themselves up for future growth, widening their opportunities, while continuing to improve the quality for which they are known.
The Solution
The Swift PRO Edge bench-top optical measuring system gave Risbridger exactly what they needed: a way to improve precision, enhance reliability, and expand their capabilities.
Swift PRO Edge offers several key advantages:
- Precision measurement: The 6.5x indexed optical zoom makes it easy for you to measure components of different shapes and sizes with precision reducing the potential for human error and ensuring consistency across parts.
- Improved efficiency: With a faster, more automated inspection process, measuring times reduce significantly. The system’s intuitive user interface means that operators could easily inspect parts with minimal training, leading to quicker throughput.
- Straightforward reporting: Intuitive yet powerful M3 software simplifies the measurement process and there is additional software options are available for measuring standard threads and spur gears. You can also import DXF files to create measurement programmes and digital overlays for shadowgraph-style comparison. This all supports the generation of documentation to evidence product quality and compliance with safety standards.
Risbridger was impressed with their experience with Vision Engineering from start to finish. After their initial inquiry, they received expert advice and guidance on the best solution for their needs. They were advised to wait for the launch of Swift PRO Edge, and it turned out to be well worth it!
Hands-on training was delivered soon after the product arrived, and the team found it both engaging and informative. Despite most of the staff having no prior experience with such a system, they were impressed by how powerful yet user-friendly it was. While it will take some practice to fully master, the team left the training feeling more confident with each measurement.
Conclusion
For companies like Risbridger that operate in safety-critical industries, precision and efficiency are essential. The purchase of Swift PRO Edge system means they have positioned themselves to meet increasing demand while maintaining their longstanding commitment to quality. The system will not just improve their processes—it is also giving them the confidence to scale their operations and take on new opportunities.
