July 19th 2007
HEXAGON METROLOGY PROVIDES RED BULL TECHNOLOGY WITH GLOBAL ADVANTAGE
Formula One constructor signs deal for two world class Hexagon CMMs
Hexagon Metrology has clinched a deal to supply two DEA Global coordinate measuring machines (CMMs) to Red Bull Technology Ltd. The Milton Keynes-based technology company - which provides design and manufacturing services to Formula One team, Red Bull Racing - will use the Hexagon CMMs for dimensioning and inspection work on key components for the team’s current and future Formula One race cars.
The two bridge-type machines - a Global 7105 Performance and a Global 7107 Advantage - will be supplied with Hexagon Metrology's measurement and inspection software program, PC DMIS CAD++. The technology package also includes Hexagon TESASTAR-m probe heads fitted with touch trigger scanning probe kits for the geometric measurement and inspection of complex surfaces.
The kits' analogue scanning sensors will provide Red Bull Technology with tactile data collection in point-to-point and continuous path modes.The deal also includes PC-DMIS Direct CAD Interfaces (DCIs) which communicate directly with UGNX - Red Bull Technology's preferred CAD/CAM software - to provide an off-line programming capability. The facility - which permits the generation of inspection part programs in advance of the arrival of components for inspection - will enable Red Bull Technology to reduce lead times and CMM bottlenecks.
The two Global CMMs are to be installed between now and the end of September. As part of the deal, Hexagon will take in part-exchange Red Bull Technology’s incumbent equipment, which will undergo a comprehensive multi-point quality check and service - including an upgrade to PC-DMIS - before being resold as a Hexagon MetrologyQA approved pre-owned machine.
When installed, the two new DEA Global CMMs will join three Hexagon-supplied Leica Geosystems laser trackers at Red Bull Technology. The portable trackers - located at the company's Bedford and Bicester wind tunnels and its Milton Keynes-based Inspection Department - are used for wind tunnel model alignment and set up, tool and composite component inspections, car legality checks and specific car measurement checks.
"The order is the culmination of three years hard work by our sales team," said Gavin Bell, Hexagon's sales and marketing manager. "Initial discussions began soon after Red Bull took ownership of the Milton Keynes-based Formula One outfit at the end of the 2004 season. "Over that time we've been able to demonstrate the all-round capabilities of Hexagon Metrology and develop a strong working relationship with the company. "Apart from our ability to manufacture and supply world-class CMMs, we also provide wide-ranging after sales service and support - and that proved to be a key factor in clinching the deal."
Red Bull Technology's Quality Manager Chris Charnley said: "We chose Hexagon because we needed to refine our process and deliver accurate, clear, easily-understood and concise reports. "This industry has a very short 'time to market' and every minute is valuable. The PC-DMIS software is developing continuously, is very operator-friendly, and provides an improved interface with our CAD system. "We evaluated various CMM suppliers and Hexagon demonstrated their product best suited the needs of Red Bull Technology. "We've found Hexagon Metrology to be extremely proficient and professional when responding to issues and queries that have arisen. "Having developed an excellent working relationship with the company on the portable CMM side we now look forward to developing an equally productive partnership with them as we seek to extract maximum advantage from their fixed CMMs."
Hexagon Metrology is now working closely with Red Bull Technology to develop other inspection and measurement solutions that will enable it to provide the Red Bull Racing Formula One team with additional competitive advantage.
June 26, 2007, 12:43PM
Japan Bans Mitutoyo Device Exports © 2007 The Associated Press
TOKYO — Japanese precision equipment maker Mitutoyo Corp. has been banned for three years from exporting measuring devices that could be used in the production of nuclear weapons, the government said Tuesday.
Mitutoyo admitted in November 2006 it broke the law in a case involving the export of three-dimensional measuring devices without the required government permission.
The company has been banned from exporting any products anywhere for six months, starting July 3, and the measuring devices for another 2 1/2 years after that, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said in a statement.
The move marks the first time the ministry has handed down a three-year export ban _ the longest period permitted, Kyodo News agency reported, citing unidentified ministry officials.
On Monday, a court gave suspended sentences to four ex-employees of the company, and fined Mitutoyo 45 million yen ($365,290) over the case.
They exported five of the devices to a subsidiary in Malaysia via Singapore between October 2001 and July 2005 without obtaining government permission.
They were arrested in August 2006 for violating foreign exchange and customs laws. The four men admitted to the charges against them.
The devices measure cylinders with great precision and can be used on centrifuges employed in uranium enrichment, a process that can produce civilian nuclear fuel or fissile material for a nuclear weapon, government officials say.
Though Malaysia is not on Japan's export blacklist, Japanese law still requires companies to obtain government authorization for sensitive exports valued at more than $8,500, regardless of the country.
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
The Tokyo District Court gave four former executives of precision instrument maker Mitutoyo Corp. suspended prison sentences Monday for illegally exporting devices that could aid the production of nuclear weapons. Experts fear some of the devices found their way to North Korea and Iran.
Former Mitutoyo Vice Chairman Norio Takatsuji received a suspended three-year prison term for breaking the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Law by shipping three-dimensional measuring equipment overseas.
The presiding judge, Masahiro Hiraki, said in the ruling that the executives made profit their top priority at the Kanagawa Prefecture-based company, even though they were aware its products might be used by foreign governments to develop weapons of mass destruction. "The crimes committed generated fear of nuclear proliferation," Hiraki said.
On trial with Takatsuji, 72, who was described as the organizer of the scheme, was former Mitutoyo President Kazusaku Tezuka, 68, who was given a suspended 32-month prison term.
Hideyo Chikugo, 67, a former executive in charge of export control screening, was handed a suspended 28-month term and Tetsuo Kimura, 65, the company's former factory chief, received 24 months, suspended.
Hiraki handed down suspended terms on the grounds that the accused had repented for their actions and quit the company. Mitutoyo was also fined 45 million yen.
According to the ruling, the four arranged the export of five high-tech measuring devices to Malaysia and Singapore between 2001 and 2005 without getting authorization from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. Mitutoyo deceived the Tokyo Customs Office by handing export applications that downgraded the capabilities of the machinery, the ruling said. The measuring devices, which can perform detailed calculations of cylinders in centrifuges often used to enrich uranium, are essential to producing nuclear weapons.
According to prosecutors, an inspection team from the International Atomic Energy Agency came across a Mitutoyo device at a nuclear-related facility in Libya in 2003. Japanese investigators earlier said this was proof that some of the firm's exported devices were sold on the black market, adding that there was a possibility the devices may have been obtained by countries like Iran and North Korea for their nuclear programs.
The court said it was possible for Mitutoyo to foresee the possibility of its devices being diverted for use in nuclear programs, noting that the company sold its products without confirming the true identity of its clients or the final destinations for the exported devices.
At a court session in May, the prosecutors said the company's unlawful trade "damaged the international community's trust in Japan while ruining worldwide efforts to sustain peace and security."
Prosecutors alleged that Mitutoyo began exporting high-tech machinery without authorization as early as 1992, and that they sold about 10,000 similar devices without government approval to shorten delivery times.
They also alleged that a Libyan institute in 2004 contacted the company via e-mail and requested assistance in running the machinery — an indication that Mitutoyo executives knew their precision instruments had been resold to a third party.
The four executives, arrested last August, had pleaded guilty in the trial, which began in December.
A panel of experts working under METI proposed earlier this month that export control laws be strengthened and that illegal trade in high-tech devices convertible to military use be restrict by raising the fine for similar wrongdoings.
Hexagon Metrology CMM and Metrology Products
