Flexibility and quality measuring technologies
Schneider Electric Group - France
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True to its strong commitment to sustainable development, it makes substantial investments in technology, specifically Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence solutions within its quality department, in order to promote innovation and differentiation.
In its 180 years of history, Schneider Electric has progressed from the steel industry to heavy mechanics, naval construction and now energy and automation management. Schneider Electric now creates solutions which fuel, automate and control the environment in which we live and work.
The quality department at its Eybens headquarters has been operational since 2005 and now has a pool of four Hexagon machines. The five employees mainly use them to measure and analyse all parts related to developing products for new and future Schneider ranges. The quality department is also responsible for the final checking of parts, which are measured in different Schneider factories around the world.
Measuring more parts more quickly
As is always the case, the department is required to work ever faster to keep up with the exponential development of the group’s projects. Flexibility and speed are frequently required to meet the challenges resulting from the growing complexity of the parts being made. “Since buying our first machine in 2005, we have seen first-hand the enormous progress made in measuring technology. This is why Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence is such a great help in terms of production development and checking parts”, explains Pierre Charpentier, Technical Director of Metrology at Schneider Electric. “Our department has a great reputation thanks to our team’s competence and our cutting-edge machine pool. And when we are asked to complete projects more and more quickly, we can say yes!”
The department checks all kinds of parts: small, large, medium and those made from different materials. “Having Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence in our facilities means having the privilege of a single contact for all of our metrology needs. And Hexagon does this job perfectly!”, adds Charpentier.
Adapting to new technologies by relying on suppliers’ progress
The metrology team gets information at trade shows but also from its current suppliers as it searches for new technology to meet current and future demand and stand out from its competitors.
“As a benchmark at Schneider, we need a varied machine pool: a 3D machine, a probe, a vision system, a scanner, etc., and we are committed to being at the forefront of technology, just as our products are”, explains Charpentier. Having a single contact offering a large range of solutions is a real advantage.
A long-term partnership
Building a long-term metrology partnership is not an easy task. Pierre Charpentier explains: “We started with a MAGNUS machine around ten years ago, which Hexagon retrofitted perfectly to our needs. Schneider then invested in a GLOBAL and we obviously stayed with Hexagon for the next machine, a TESA vision system. We are always very satisfied with the results and precision of both machines.”
Having proven the solidity of this partnership based on the flexibility and competent advice offered by Hexagon, the group has now acquired a ROMER Absolute Arm with Integrated Laser Scanner to complete its measuring range.
But a successful partnership also depends on after-sales support. “The arm training went really well. We quickly got to grips with it thanks to the excellent training from the Hexagon team”, recalls Charpentier.
Vision for the future
“For us, progress is working faster and being able to check parts more quickly, because projects are getting ever faster, so we need to work faster too! But it’s also about being able to check parts and elements that we don’t manage to check today, tomorrow. And we are relying on the future innovations of our partner Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence to support us in this!”, concludes Charpentier.
