Centerline Works in Microns
A human hair is about 100 microns; some of the tolerances Centerline works in are only 2 to 5. Martin Engster on precision spindle repair, reverse engineering parts, and why every small detail matters.
A human hair is about 100 microns. Some of the tolerances we work with are only 2 to 5 microns. That gives you an idea of how small the measurements can get in our world.
At Centerline, spindle repair is our main day-to-day work. But over time, we also started manufacturing parts. It began because we needed parts for our own spindle repairs. Just like with an older car, sometimes a spindle is old enough that the replacement part is no longer easy to find. When that happens, we can reverse engineer a part and manufacture what we need. Eventually, we opened that capability up to outside customers too.
The important part is precision. We're not talking about an eighth of an inch. We're working in microns, and our tolerances can be extremely small.
That kind of work changes the way you look at manufacturing. Something can look perfect to the eye and still not be within the tolerance needed for the job. When the measurement is only a few microns, every small detail matters.
