... your product becomes a synonym for an entire industry. Which is precisely in the case of Renishaw - or renishaw.
The
Renishaw company was founded by two Englishmen: Sir David McMurtry
and John Deer in 1973. McMurtry had needed to measure fuel pipes on a
prototypejet engine. At the time, measuring machine sensors featured a
rigid 'tip' which required manual positioning and which
yielded poor repeatability when measuring delicate components. To meet
this need, McMurtry invented a spring-loaded touch-trigger probe device
tip, which he then patented. The new instrument tip was an elegant
solution and was quickly adopted by leading manufacturers who needed
measurements of ultra precision.
Our
Kern mill arrived equipped with a renishaw probe. What a
beautiful instrument! A glass enclosure reviling an electronics 'brain';
micro ruby ball on the tip of the styli; rigid - yet at the same time, a
fragile, delicate instrument. The renishaw is mounted on the tool
holder and can be 'grabbed and attached' on the main milling spindle
automatically. Of course, for those of you who are into fine machining
or coordinate
measurement systems, this precision instrument is something you commonly
see in action, on perhaps a daily basis. But for us, who have just
started our journey into watchmaking, this renishaw is a very exciting
newcomer to our workshop.
Made in the UK. Cool!
And
here is one more bit. Unlike the watch industry where every brand is
working hard to 'stamp' its name on every single component claiming that
the dial, hands, cases and all movement components are made 'in house'
(when they are clearly not) it is really refreshing to see that true
engineering companies which specialise in
high-end manufacturing are actually proud to disclose their association
with other industry leaders. And when you think of it - why would Kern
even want to make their own renishaw when Renishaw has already invented a
damn good one? Why would a world leader in the milling industry want to
make collets for its machine when Schaublin, the leader in collets, has
already reached the levels of precision required? And the list goes on -
Erowa, Siemens, Zeiss, Boch... all supplying parts and technology to
each other, for a common benefit.
While
100% 'made in-house' may be great marketing news, such a
watch mechanism is doomed to be a very average performer. Like it or
not, sooner or later, 'in house' will become a synonym for a product
which will lack the future; a product developed to please the brand
itself rather than a consumer, at the cost of innovation and technical
advancement. Open for cooperation, open for learning and sharing, an
open mind.
Quite frankly, I am so glad we are not in the watch industry anymore.
Nick
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