Given that it is a revolution in measuring technology packed full of innovation, the Vertex machine looks oddly like a kitchen appliance as it sits in the workshop of Eley Metrology.

It is the latest in a long line of products imagined, designed and built by the Mansfield Road firm that has spent more than 30 years edging ever closer to perfection in the field of measuring technology.

The vertical measuring machine might resemble a futuristic blender to the untrained eye, but to quality-control departments in engineering firms across the world it is a dream come true.

This new machine can accurately measure to two microns - one micron being a millionth of a metre. If you split a human hair 75 times, the diameter of each slice would be about one micron.

The more precisely firms can measure components, the more reliable they will be, reliability being the benchmark of success in engineering.

Group chairman Jeff Eley said: "Development work started on it two years ago because I had been thinking about it for a while and thought that it was now-or-never time."

Of the five patents that the company has registered in connection to the Vertex machine, the most significant is the use of air bearings.

"A counterbalance system with mechanical bearings creates friction which affects precision when measuring."

His solution was to replace mechanical bearings with air.

Effectively, the carriage to which the measuring probe is attached slides up and down on a cushion of air, the friction between moving parts that affects accuracy has been removed, giving more precise readings.

"We launched the product at the MACH exhibition at the NEC last month and generated a huge amount of interest from potential customers and competitors."

The probe on the carriage takes the measurements then the machine uses Bluetooth technology to send the information to a computer or a printer.

The Vertex machines will sell for between £4,000 and £7,000 each, depending on their specification and size, and Jeff sees a big market for them, anticipating thousands of sales across the world.

Impressive figures for a small company that currently turns over about £1.5m a year and employs 25 people, both figures likely to increase in the next few years.

Accurate measurement is essential to any manufacturing company and the more accurate measuring tools become, the more possibilities open up.

The company's technical goal is to allow its customers to place stricter quality controls on components which will improve reliability and cut costs for manufacturers.

In this respect, there's always room for improvement.

"Measuring to zero is not attainable but we can get finer and finer measurements and get closer and closer.

"It's no different from running fast down a track and achieving better times."

The analogy is appropriate given that, in his youth, Jeff was a talented athlete whose achievements would be reported regularly in the sports pages of the Evening Telegraph.

"There's only one thing that I've ever wanted to be and that's to be the best in the world.

"That's what I felt when I was running and it's exactly the same in this industry.

"You might not get to the top but there's still satisfaction in knowing that you couldn't possibly have done any more."

Though his athletics days are behind him, he is striving to produce more accurate measurements with the same enthusiasm and drive that he took to the track.

"When I started out in this industry 30 years ago, you would be proud of being right to one thou, meaning a thousandth of an inch.

"Today, we can measure accurately to 0.001mm which is about 25 times finer than was possible in the mid-70s. The concept of fine measurement has changed completely.

"Years ago, you would see new cars being driven along slowly. They were being run in because there was a certain variance in the sizes of components in the engine.

"With the potential for cylinders and pistons grinding against one another, you would have to drive slowly to allow parts to be slowly worn down with a minimum of risk of the engine's seizing up.

"It was a very primitive way of doing it but better quality control and measuring technology has eliminated that need."

Eley Metrology started 32 years ago making flat-surface measuring tables. They were made of granite, which provided a very flat surface which did not change with variations in temperature.

It is still used today because anything being measured has to be on as flat a surface as possible in order to find out an object's precise dimensions.

From producing the surface tables, the company moved on to make master squares and master straight edges for manufacturers and gradually, over the years, the measuring machinery became more and more sophisticated.

In 1984, there was a watershed when the company started working with electronics and software, propelling Eley into the digital age.

"By the late '80s and early '90s, we were seen as a small but very capable company within the metrology industry and people would come to us for specialist bespoke equipment."

It was in 2002 when a commission arrived that would make engineering firms around the world sit up and take notice of Eley Metrology.

"The problem posed was that it was extremely difficult to measure components at distances down the shaft of a jet engine."

"A measuring probe at the end of an arm has to remain completely stable. The challenge was to be able to measure as precisely as possible both close up and far away with the same degree of accuracy."

The resulting product, derived from the company's Truth machine, was grandly titled precision Long Bore Measurement Co-ordinate Measuring Machine or LBM CNC CMM for short.

The price tag was just as impressive, this particular bit of kit checking out at a cool £250,000.

Every modern jet engine in every aeroplane in the sky will have been measured by this machine and its application goes beyond the aerospace industry. Both the oil and nuclear industries rely on this type of technology to ensure their machinery is in proper working order.

Since that machine came off the drawing board, the world of manufacturing has changed immeasurably, so to speak.

Just as Eley Metrology machines are designed to measure manufactured products, the demand for them can be used to gauge the state of British manufacturing.

During the '80s, there were significant orders coming from the UK, France, Italy and Germany. Nowadays, demand is coming from emerging markets in eastern Europe and, of course, the Far East.

Though enthused about his new product, Jeff is pessimistic about the future of British manufacturing.

"If you look at how the Japanese made their manufacturing industry a world leader in just 25 years, imagine what the Chinese will do with their resources and manpower.

"But before they do achieve dominance, they'll buy quite a few of these babies," he said, gazing with pride at the Vertex VMS.

Source: This Is Derbyshire

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