Inspection

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We at Star Prototype are determined to ensure that our customer’s quality requirements are met. That is why we have invested heavily in our inspection department. Amongst our latest investments are an Optical Emission Spectrometer (OES) which is used to positively identify metals. With this equipment we can without any doubt guarantee that the materials that we use are what they are supposed to be. The engineers out there know the huge difference between different grades of Aluminium for example, but how can you know for sure? The simple answer is you can’t , unless you get the material analyzed using OES or possibly XRF . If a customer specifies a part to be made from Aluminium 7075, then the chances are that this part is going to be subjected to some load. If the part is made from a lower grade Aluminium it could well fail, causing an untold amount of damage. It has happened before, and it will happen again, but not to us. The OES machine that we bought is state of the art and was purchased from Oxford Instruments along with the whole range of calibrations. This means that we can Identify Aluminium, Steels, Copper, Brass, Zinc, Nickel, and Titanium Etc. The unit is portable also, so we are able to offer this as a service to anybody needing PMI (Positive Material Identification) in the Guangdong Province.

So now we know the material is the correct composition, but what about the hardness, or temper of the material? To ensure we know the hardness/ temper we have bought an Ultrasonic Hardness tester, this unit is used to check the hardness of a full range of metals from soft Aluminum up to fully hardened tool steels. Again, it is portable so that we can use it off site as and when the need arises.

We also have a Faro laser scanner with touch probe. This is the latest high precision Faro Quantum Arm and is used to measure virtually any part. If we have 3D CAD data then we can use the laser scanner to measure a part and compare the measurement to the CAD file, to check for any deviations or missed features. We also have a touch probe just like on a traditional CMM that we can use to measure very tightly toleranced features more accurately. This equipment is ideally suited to rapid prototyping/rapid tooling because of the ease of use and flexibility to inspect complex geometries quickly and reliably. Again, this piece of equipment is portable and can be used to inspect off site as and when required.

If a specific surface finish is specified, we have a Mitutoyo Surfometer which we us to ensure the correct surface roughness is achieved and you guessed it, also portable.

If you do have any inspection needs, please just give us a call and we would be happy to discuss how we can be of service to you.