Metallo Ltd., a CNC subcontract manufacturing business based in Blantyre, South Lanarkshire, has strengthened its inspection capability after investing in an the Baty Velo FV automated optical measurement system by Bowers Group. The company delivers precision milling and turning services to customers across electronics, defence and general manufacturing, drawing on more than a century of combined engineering expertise. Supporting everything from prototype development through to full production volumes, Metallo offer services from machining materials such as include aluminium, stainless steel, brass to high-performance nickel-based alloys such as Inconel. With customers relying on tight tolerances and consistent quality, accurate and reliable inspection plays a critical role in maintaining delivery schedules and avoiding costly rework. Prior to automation, Metallo relied heavily on manual inspection techniques, including shadowgraphs, micrometres and handheld gauges. While effective for certain tasks, these methods were time consuming and highly dependent on operator technique, which introduced variation into results.
As demand increased, manual inspection placed growing pressure on engineers and quality staff, slowing down part approval and creating a bottleneck in the production workflow. The business recognised the need for a faster and more repeatable inspection solution to keep pace with customer requirements. To address this, Metallo invested in the new Baty Velo FV, a compact automated optical inspection system supplied by Bowers Group. Designed for fast, repeatable measurement of precision components, the system enables multiple features to be inspected in a single cycle with minimal operator input. The Velo FV is now used daily by both engineering and quality teams to measure a wide range of components, from parts as small as 1mm in diameter up to components measuring 40mm.
By automating inspection routines, the system has significantly reduced reliance on traditional manual measurement tools for many applications. Since installation, Metallo has achieved an average reduction in inspection times of around 30 percent on parts that were previously measured manually. This improvement has helped accelerate production flow while increasing confidence in measurement accuracy and consistency. The straightforward operation of the system has also meant it was adopted quickly, with minimal training required.
From the project
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