Acu Twist Co. (Ridgeway, PA) was facing a dilemma. The company, a small manufacturer of special-order cutting tools, had a potential new customer who wanted a helical tapered tool with tight, angular tolerances of +/-2 minutes. Acu Twist could make the tool, relates President Marcus Young, but the company's optical comparator was inadequate to measure the part to the accuracy and documentation level required by the customer.
Young used metrology equipment at a friend's shop to confirm that the tool was within tolerance. "Then I took the tool to the customer, and he said, 'Everything looks good, but I need a report of the angle you got when you measured the tool, not just whether it's good or bad. If you can't check it, you can't make it,' " Young says.