Tomoe Tritec Case Study

Tomoe Tritec is a renowned manufacturer of heavy duty pumps for industries such as oil and gas, food and drink, and water purification. Their products are used in a variety of demanding applications, including seawater and cryogenics. Employing more than 50 people at its facilities in Newport, Gwent, the growing firm is a model investment to provide world leading products.

Tomoe’s Newport operation specializes in the design and production of triple offset, metal seated butterfly valves, where parts up to 60 inches in diameter have to be precisely fitted and are elliptical in shape to provide the angle necessary for the correct approach when sealing.

In an attempt to achieve a ‘right first time’ process, Tomoe’s management identified the need to improve the reliability of its measurement operations. Traditional methods were found to be noncapable and therefore making it impossible to setup production operations without lengthy iterative adjustments.

“We were looking for a measurement system that would give us accurate repeatable data” says Jon Powell, production manager at the plant, he goes on, “vast amounts of time were being wasted because we couldn’t rely on the information we collected and this affected our products’ performance and the company’s profitability. We were testing our final assemblies and having to spend time reworking and shimming seals to meet out performance criteria.”

Tomoe evaluated a number of different machines but selected the OGP SmartScope Flash 700. “We were impressed with the SmartScopes versatility, accuracy and ease of use” adds John, “we expected to have to purchase two machines to meet our requirements, but the SmartScope’s multiprobe capability meant we could get both probe technologies on one machine, saving money on the capital purchase and cost of the ownership”.

Tomoe uses a number of different materials n component manfacture. These include stainless steel, bronze, titanium, graphite and super duplex. Seal holes are cut by water jet this improves accuracy, saves cost and speeds up production.

Vision measurement is used for speed on the majority of components but in some cases the inbuilt probe facility is used where three dimensional results are required, such as the measurement of the elliptical seating face on the seal side wall. A special table-top fixture, marked out for the various components, was provided by OGP and serves to accommodate rings of up to 640mm in diameter, though larger components can be measured in two parts using OGP’s standard software.

The SmartScope is also used for machine setup, its intuitive software prints out offset coordinates that can be programmed into the machining operations. In general, Tomoe check ‘first-offs’ and then every fifth part to maximise product confidence. This places a great reliance on the SmartScope and its speed operation has impressed.

“Moving to an automated measurement process can cause problems,” continues Jon Powell, “but the OGP machine is very quick so we can get important information without delaying production. This gives us the assurance that components are within tolerance before any expensive rejects are produced.”

Tomoe’s staff have been impressed by OGP’s support services, “We knew the SmartScope would meet our requirements” concludes Powell, “but we had to be sure the backup and support equally reliable, OGP have always met our expectations, their support services are first class.”