Accretech, a multinational company with over 3,000 employees worldwide, belongs to the Japanese Tokyo Seimitsu group, a specialist in measurement and semiconductors.
The story of Accretech began in a small local factory in Tokyo, producing cutting tools used in the manufacture of machine-gun components, under the direction of the Japanese navy! Under the name of Tokyo Kiki Seisakusho, the company went on to manufacture more pacifist items, such as pots and kettles, after the war... The team then switched to the manufacture of machining tools for sewing machines, a more demanding technique requiring strong skills. They soon began looking for engineers capable of upgrading their machining technology. It was the arrival of one such engineer, Makoto Takagi, that enabled the company to become a manufacturer of precision machining tools. Tokyo Kiki now manufactures gear cutting tools and milling cutters for the industry.
A Japanese story
The company grew, and by 1957 the new Tokyo Seimitsu Kogu, founded in 1949, had become one of Japan's leading manufacturers of precision machines and was diversifying. "In the 1950s, Japanese communications technology made great strides with the development of transistor technology. In response to these changes, the company developed new products and gradually built up its presence in the global semiconductor market", explains President and CEO Hitoshi Yoshida.
In 1962, the company changed its name once again to Tokyo Seimitsu . Its shares were listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. It then achieved substantial growth, buoyed by the Japanese economic boom, while overcoming the oil crisis, the economic crisis in the semiconductor sector and the financial crisis caused by the collapse of Lehman Brothers...
"No industrial product can be manufactured without measuring its dimensions, to check whether a part conforms to specifications and whether all parts have the same shape. That's why, worldwide, Accretech provides industry with technology that enables very high-precision, high-speed measurements," the company states in a press release.
A European success story
Accretech's success is also based on a partnership with Zeiss. 28 years ago, the two major players in the metrology sector launched a cooperation aimed at providing the Japanese and world markets with the best products and services, a partnership based on the complementary nature of optical and surface measurement, as much as on mutual trust.
Based in Europe for 30 years, Accretech Europe is an engineering company eager to overcome technological challenges. It employs 85 people of 10 different nationalities, supporting over 3,000 systems running 24 hours a day in production at its customers' sites. "The world is changing very fast. It is entering new technological eras, which present new and stimulating challenges for a company that also has a strong sense of human responsibility and high social standards for its employees and their families," emphasizes Wolfgang Bonatz, President and CEO of Accretech Europe.
Constantly improving products
Among the recent products offered by Accretech, the new Surfcom Touch range was released on the European market in September 2018. It offers five models adapted to very different surface measurement needs. What makes them special? They're mobile, flexible devices that meet needs in the workshop as well as in the measurement room! The easy-to-use Surfcom Touch series is compatible with all surface parameters, including profiles, roughness, corrugations and textures.
Rondcom Crest was released in 2018. It's a world-class circularity / cylindricity measuring machine: according to Accretech, Crest achieved the highest accuracy ever, surpassing that of Rondcom 65B, which had been the top performer among the many models in the range. Positioned in the market for products with similar specifications, the equipment is widely used mainly in automotive parts manufacturing sites to measure bearings, pistons and cylinder blocks.
Opt-measure, allows multi-point monitoring with its standard system. The proliferation of optical measuring instruments with improvements in accuracy and speed is helping to shorten customers' product development cycles. Instead of taking a sample at a rate of 1/100, it is now possible to inspect at 100% using an optical measuring instrument in the same amount of time, improving product quality and reliability.
ACCTee is a complete measurement software package for many of our machines, measuring surface roughness / contours and roundness. According to Accretech, ACCTee's most important feature is its excellent operability. A series of measurement, analysis and printout operations can be carried out on a single document, known as the All-in-One Document function. All data can be linked when stored, improving the efficiency of measurement and analysis tasks.
ATC Run Out Detection System is a patented run-out detection system capable of detecting an error of 5 microns. A non-contact device, and therefore independent of the machine tool, it helps to solve quality problems and avoid costly rejects. The ATC prevents process errors due to chips in the tool chuck, thanks to eddy current sensors measuring runout deviations down to 5 μm. The ATC Run Out Detection System has already sold over 10,000 units worldwide, notably in Asia and the USA.
Towards more automated and interconnected 3D metrology
Metrologic Group reminds us that metrology 4.0 refers to the integration of digital technologies, automation and Industry 4.0 concepts into measurement and control processes...