Precision perfected: How Castle Precision Engineering leverages Hexagon’s expertise for growth

Castle Precision Engineering, based in Glasgow, Scotland, has been a leader in the precision engineering sector since its establishment in 1951. Known for its high-quality manufacturing of complex components, the company serves a diverse array of industries, with an emphasis on the aerospace sector. With a commitment to innovation and quality, Castle employs advanced manufacturing techniques and cutting-edge technology to meet the stringent requirements of its customers.

As Castle experiences significant growth post-COVID, the demand for precise and productive inspection has increased. The company recognises that investing in measurement systems is crucial to their operational capability. Every component, especially those for critical rotating aeroengine applications, undergoes thorough inspection, placing substantial demands on inspection capacity and resource.

“We’re going through a major growth phase at the moment, with a significant increase in production,” says Roy Yuile, Manufacturing Engineering Manager at Castle Precision. “We’re really rocketing out of the COVID curve and have made the right strategic decisions over the past five years, with every area of the business now growing simultaneously.”

Investing in innovation to optimise production processes

For over 22 years, Hexagon has been a key partner in Castle’s journey. The company operates eight coordinate measuring machines (CMMs) – seven GLOBAL CMMs and one LEITZ PMM – all supplied by Hexagon’s Manufacturing Intelligence division. Recently, Castle took advantage of Hexagon’s trade-in programme, upgrading two older GLOBAL 9.12.8 CMMs for two new GLOBAL S 12.22.10 models, equipped with the HP-S-X1 head for tactile scanning. This upgrade allows them to scan surfaces rather than taking point measurements, speeding up the measurement routine for complex profiles.

“The products we make and the industries we operate in, the majority are passed through the CMM. Critical aerospace products are 100% inspected so every part, every feature is checked, which can put significant demands on CMM capacity,” comments Yuile.

Maximising operational flexibility

Castle adopted a strategy prioritising flexibility across their fleet of CMMs. With the GLOBAL S systems, they can seamlessly allocate parts to any machine, ensuring productionised inspection is integrated into the process flow. The flexibility offered by having four of the same sized GLOBAL S CMMs with identical setups, including probe racks, is a real advantage. If one of the CMMs is undergoing a calibration, parts can be measured on other machines, making the inspection team more adaptable and maximising capacity by allowing parts to be measured on different CMMs to suit operational needs.

“Plug and play is key,” says Quality Assurance Manager Dominic McBride. “It gives us the ability to multiman, and part of the reason for having three CMMs in one room is that the inspection team are running all three between the two of them. Quite often on a night shift, one person will keep all three CMMs running.”

Castle operates a four-day week for production and inspection, with both day and night shifts. To maximise machine uptime, they run auto-calibration routines during weekends, saving time and ensuring efficiency. “We try to calibrate at times when the CMMs aren’t needed, so we’re not eating into our available capacity,” adds Yuile.

With eight CMMs, Castle needs speed, flexibility and accuracy without compromising reliability. The larger systems provide the versatility to measure both small and large parts, offering a one-size-fits-all solution. Among their fleet is a Leitz PMM-C, providing exceptional accuracy for products requiring tighter tolerances.

“The Leitz PMM-C is what we use for optimum accuracy. We also calibrate our own internal gauging using this CMM. It serves as the master for traceability on ring gauges or setting pieces. This enables us to certify our own bespoke gauging internally, rather than sending them externally, saving costs and offering more flexibility,” comments Yuile.

All CMMs are equipped with PC-DMIS software, which the Castle team have extensive experience in both running and programming.

Maintaining excellence with comprehensive support

Having a robust support team from Hexagon is crucial for Castle, and their partnership is strengthened by local Hexagon service presence in Scotland. “As a business at scale with eight CMMs, it’s essential to have local support to help us out and keep us going when needed,” says Yuile. “Any downtime can significantly impact the business, knowing we can access service and applications support in a hurry is crucial.”

Hexagon’s support extends beyond technical assistance – Castle benefit from a full customer care plan including hardware and software maintenance agreements across all CMMs and training allocations.

Hexagon’s training team have provided customised advanced onsite training for Castle’s offline programmers, ensuring their team is well-equipped to handle any challenges. This saw Hexagon’s training team visit the Glasgow site for one week of intense training, walking the team through different troubleshooting and optimisation scenarios.

Castle recognises that investing in their teams as well as their equipment is important to their future success, and that makes the training and support aspect of their relationship with Hexagon just as important as the accuracy and reliability of the hardware.

Inspection is a vital component of Castle’s process flow, as essential as the manufacturing itself. The partnership with Hexagon enhances Castle’s ability to meet growing demands while maintaining accuracy and reliability. “We wouldn’t be in business if we weren’t able to inspect and verify parts as quickly and as effectively as we machine them,” says Yuile.