MSI is made up of people just like you, average Joes, making their living using, servicing and selling CMMs as well as other metrology equipment. But the CMMs we worked with were more than below average, until now.

Due to manufacturing cost CMM companies around the world tried to find a way to cut back. So, they moved away from granite and moved into aluminum. Aluminum could be easily molded to the size and shape they wanted and it could be done at a fraction of the cost. But there is a problem with aluminum and that is its temperature stability.  Aluminum grows and shrinks at an alarming rate especially, when you are depending on it for your measurement accuracy.  But then, these companies will toss in some other materials like a granite base and ceramic quill so now you have an even bigger problem and that is dissimilar materials that grows and shrinks at different rates.  Then companies tried to correct this by using temperature compensation and error correction in the error map.  Well this will work fine so long as your temperature never changes.  But let’s face it, your room is not perfect and it changes all the time, 2 degrees here and 5 degrees there and this can make a BIG difference in the accuracy of your machine.  Always remember it is more about the change in temperature than the temperature it’s self.  If you maintain 70 in your room that's fine, so long as you maintain that temp.  Once the temperature change starts you machine is changing and unstable.  Most temperature compensations only take the temperature reading when the program starts to run, so if your program runs for 30mins and the temperature has change by 5 degrees, your uncertainty is through the roof.  Your 10 micron machine just gained an uncertainty of about 50 microns or more depending on how much it has changed.  Now ask yourself how much tolerance does your part have?  50 microns could be half or more of your tolerance.

So, this is why the DaVinci machines were created.  DaVinci takes the best of the old regardless of cost and the best of the new and marries them together to create the machine you have always wanted.  100% Granite CMM Power by Renishaw equipment, (the controller, the jog box, the probing, scales and even the software is all Renishaw).  The Granite was chosen because of all the reason stated before, temperature stability, durability and longevity.  Once you have an all granite machine you can just keep updating with new technology to make it faster and more accurate. 

Q.  But what about that cost of mining the granite that everyone was worried about? 

A.  Back in the day the cost to mine granite was high compared to aluminum, but this is no longer the case.  The cost of aluminum as well as other metals has sky rocketed while the cost of granite has gone down because the demand is not there like it once was.  Yes, the DaVinci machine will cost the same or a little more than the aluminum machine, where the savings comes in is with the accuracy, stability and long life.  In other words you get the most bang for your buck in the long haul. 

Q.  But what about speed?  We hear how much faster an aluminum machine is than granite.

A.  Yes and aluminum machine is faster, but what good is that speed if it doesn’t translate into accuracy.  And how much speed do you really need?  I have seen, bought and sold machines of all kinds and never do I see anyone running there machine on a daily bases over 50 to 75% of its capability.  This all granite machine can run about 500 to 600 mm per sec. depending on the size.  So again I ask you why do you feel you need all that speed when you never use it other than a dog and pony show.

Q.  Ok I can see your reasoning for granite but why Renishaw, what does that do for me?

A.  Well that is easier to answer than the granite question.  Renishaw is THE BEST in the business, we all know that and have known that for years.  Renishaw is also worldwide, no matter where you are in the world there will be someone that is Renishaw trained to handle your needs.  These facts are undeniable.  But what I bet you didn’t know is that Renishaw is open architecture, which simply means anyone can work on it, there is NO code to keep you out of the controller.  Because of this you can go to the open market to get bids on repair and calibration of your equipment.  This means less cost of ownership.  Renishaw is also I++, which means you can put any software you want on it.  Any software that has an I++ interface can run on this machine.  Again it gives you the opportunity to shop the market for your best deal and favorite flavor of software.  Yes, we do hope you come back to us for all of your calibration and repair needs, but if you feel we are not treating you right then you should have the opportunity to go elsewhere and not be locked in paying high prices for something so simple.

Q.  But how do I get these parts if I don’t come back to you? 

A.  You just order what you need from Renishaw. 

Q.  But what about air bearings and drive systems and servos? 

A.  That again is easy because we used proven technology that is on the shelf, you can order these items right off the internet and we are going to show where, when you buy a DaVinci machine.

Now, having said all of that let me tell you this, I too can sell you an aluminum machine.  Yes we have them but it does not carry the DaVinci name and granite is so superior to the aluminum, why would you buy aluminum?

Keep in mind we do not sell cheap machines, but what we do sell we feel is far superior to any aluminum machine out there.

What’s funny about all of this is if you go and ask any CMM company out there to quote the most accurate machine they make they will always come back to you with an all granite machine.