Pole position in terms of precision Thanks to ZEISS XENOS, precision technology manufacturer Stangl & Co. GmbH is moving into the pole position of precision and thus creates even more customer trust.

Located in the Bavarian town of Roding, Germany, Stangl & Co. GmbH often only has a few days to manufacturer prototypes and small batches featuring the necessary high-level of precision to fill the orders it receives from around the world. For the past several months, the company has been using the ZEISS XENOS, a high-end measuring machine, to ensure the quality of its products. It is the first company in Europe to do so, joining the laboratories and research institutions that have invested in this coordinate measuring machine launched by ZEISS in 2014.

How Stangl & Kulzer succeeds with ZEISS Solutions:
ZEISS XENOS
ZEISS CALYPSO
ZEISS VAST gold
Success:
  • Greater reliability for customers
  • Faster troubleshooting
  • Greater flexibility and ultimately faster production

Quality Control in Prototype and Small Series Production with ZEISS High-End Measuring Machine

The challenge: A significant increase in the measuring load

While the ramp up for mass production allows for multiple adjustment loops so that the machinery accommodates manufacturer requirements, prototypes must be within tolerance right from the get go. "This makes the manufacturing process exciting, like a good mystery," says Andreas Löffler. This industrial engineer at Stangl & Co. GmbH is responsible for quality and process management. If just one characteristic is not within tolerance, then companies are forced to invest a lot of time and effort in finding the cause, e.g. calculating the interactions of individual components or eliminating unwanted effects by performing adjustments in other areas. "This means a lot of work that eats up valuable development time which you simply do not have if you want to compete globally," says Löffler. This explains why the time and resources devoted to measurements during prototype construction has increased tenfold over the past five years. And that is not all. "The requirements for documenting the measuring results have kept pace with the effort needed for the measurements themselves."

For the first time, ZEISS developed a rotary table for the ZEISS XENOS system at Stangl & Co.
For the first time, ZEISS developed a rotary table for the ZEISS XENOS system at Stangl & Co.
Stefan Kulzer: “The precision and documentation requirements for prototypes have increased exponentially over the past years.”
Stefan Kulzer: “The precision and documentation requirements for prototypes have increased exponentially over the past years.”

The solution: reliable measurements with the ZEISS XENOS

To demonstrate to their customers that workpieces had been manufactured to specification, Stangl & Co. GmbH used to commission an external service provider when there were extremely demanding precision requirements. This service provider would then inspect the manufactured prototypes on a ZEISS PRISMO ultra. "The process always went smoothly, but it limited our flexibility," says Löffler. To get results more quickly and outdo the competition when it comes to quality assurance, the mid-sized Stangl & Co. GmbH became the first manufacturing company in Europe to invest in a ZEISS XENOS. "This ensured that we were off to a flying start when it came to precision," explains Stefan Kulzer, one of the company's two Managing Directors.

"The time and resources devoted to measurements during prototype construction has increased enormously over the past five years. With the ZEISS XENOS,we are extremely well-equipped for whatever comes next."

Stefan Kulzer, Managing Director

The benefit: faster troubleshooting

With the ZEISS XENOS, the length error is just 0.3 micrometers with a measuring range of just under one cubic meter. Thanks to this high level of precision, Löffler and his colleagues can, for example, determine if workpiece clamping has caused a roundness error. "This makes troubleshooting a lot faster and ultimately optimizes all our processes," says the Quality Engineer. Another system feature also impressed the company: measurements on the XENOS are performed more quickly thanks to the machine's linear drive. In order to speed up the measuring process even further, ZEISS developed a rotary table for the ZEISS XENOS. This add-on makes the measuring machine in Roding one-of-a-kind, reducing the number of stylus change outs, even when inspecting highly complex components. "We've already noticed how much time we've saved," reports Löffler.

Andreas Löffler assesses the surface of a component that must meet extremely strict specifications for a customer from the aerospace industry.
Andreas Löffler assesses the surface of a component that must meet extremely strict specifications for a customer from the aerospace industry.
Stangl & Co. GmbH Precision Technology

Stangl & Co. GmbH Precision Technology was founded in 1988 by Johann Stangl and Stefan Kulzer. The company is at the heart of the Stangl & Kulzer Group, which offers complete solutions in the areas of metal and plastic machining as well as lightweight design. This core competency of this consolidated group of companies is precision technology. Around 80% of the group‘s 370 employees work at Stangl & Co. GmbH Precision Technology, which produces prototypes and workpieces in one-off and small series for customers from different sectors. The two other companies in the group are: SK Carbon Roding GmbH, which develops and manufactures high-quality light weight structures made of plastics with reinforced fibers using special processes; and Roding Automobile GmbH, which specializes in the development and construction of functional prototypes and concept vehicles featuring a light weight design using carbon fibers and electric engines. The company has showcased its know-how by designing and constructing the Roding Roadster, a lightweight sports car that is manually produced in small batches. In 2016, the Group‘s revenue totaled 35 million euros.