With a tradition dating back to 1581, Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca – also known as UBB – is the oldest university in Romania, standing as one of the pinnacle institutions of Romanian academia. This is due to both its centuries-old heritage and its constant focus on future areas of study, research, and innovation. Recently, the Faculty of Engineering in Reșița, a branch of UBB, was able to access a program funded by the West Regional Development Agency to equip the research laboratory with a Mitutoyo coordinate measuring machine, with the aim of training students’ skills.
Ranked among the top universities in Romania, Babeș-Bolyai University of Cluj-Napoca currently houses 50,000 students and features a distinctive multicultural profile in the European university landscape. The university has three major lines of study: the Romanian line of study, the Hungarian line of study, and the German line of study, offering also other languages for instruction, such as French, English, etc.
Although UBB took over the responsibility for the Faculty of Engineering in 2020, the academic history of Reșița goes back even further. The first technical students began their studies here in 1971. At that time, Reșița’s rapidly developing industry needed engineers, and they filled this need.
As an integral part of UBB Cluj-Napoca, the Faculty of Engineering aims to provide initial and continuing professional training through bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degree programs, as well as specialization/advanced training courses in fields relevant to the regional needs. Another component of the Faculty of Engineering’s mission is to support the business and public institutional environments through applied research on relevant topics to this region. The high number of engineers from Reșița recruited to research and production teams in the country and abroad, is a testament to the high quality professional training provided by the University.
“The Faculty of Engineering has – and has had over the years – teaching staff with rich experience in the industrial environment, who bring added value to teaching and research activities. The major fields of study addressed are mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, and applied computer science. In addition to coursework, our students also carry out activities within student circles, develop their own research (at their level), and manage to participate in many national competitions on technical topics,” said Prof. Univ. Dr. Ing. Gilbert-Rainer Gillich, the dean of the Faculty of Engineering.
To ensure students the best mix of academic education and practical experience, the Faculty of Engineering decided to invest in high-performance technological equipment. Thus, through a program financed by the West Regional Development Agency, the educational institution managed to access the necessary funds to equip its own research laboratory with a Mitutoyo MiSTAR 555 coordinate measuring machine (CMM).
MiSTAR 555 is a 3D CNC coordinate measuring machine, which is highly reliable because of real-time temperature compensation technology that guarantees accuracy over a wide temperature range.
Commenting on the new Mitutoyo measuring machine purchase, Prof. Gillich said: “We wanted this machine because it is a high-performance piece of equipment, and with the educational software packages provided, we can train students, provide them with skills and competencies that are required by private company in the region. We were fortunate enough to receive a good offer from Mitutoyo, which led to our purchase of a top-notch machine.”
Relying on decades of experience, Mitutoyo equipment is precise, reliable, and robust, a prerequisite when these machines are used frequently by students. In addition, Mitutoyo offers educational software packages with 20 licenses, high-quality training, and technical support. The software is easy to use, intuitive, and provides detailed reports, which is another critical request for both teaching staff and researchers.
“MiSTAR 555 is used in numerous laboratory experiments across several disciplines. We manage to create applications very close to industrial ones, in the sense that measurements are taken on parts received from industry partners, new parts, or parts with a certain degree of wear. The dimensions that this machine can accommodate are 500x500x500 mm, and the accuracy is 2.2 microns,” Prof. Gilbert-Rainer Gillich said.
Components manufactured today are more complex than ever, with a greater diversity of parts and tighter tolerances than ever before. This necessitates the enhancement of quality control and other metrological processes in the manufacturing process.
“The machine uses MCosmos software for dimensional measurements, and with the Geopak, CAT1000, and Scanpak component modules, you can perform precise measurements by touch scanning or point measurements for parts across the industry.”
At an advanced level of research, for both master’s and doctoral students, a high-tech solution like this was the best choice for keeping up with future engineering and technological concepts. Now, with the help of Mitutoyo Romania, this was possible.
“Why do we like this machine? Besides its capabilities, the machine offers a user-friendly interface and allows the generation of measurement programs in an intuitive way. The educational software packages allow us to work simultaneously with groups of students. We particularly appreciate the availability, flexibility, and promptness with which Mitutoyo Romania offered us support, both for laboratory activities and for industrial applications. The training on how to use the machine was interactive and oriented towards practical applications. I confidently recommend Mitutoyo coordinate measuring machines to both private company and universities,” Prof. Gilbert-Rainer Gillich concluded.
Images:
1. The dimension inspection process for the workpiece reference. The measurement software interface is displayed on the system monitor, which includes a 3D model of the measured surface of the part and the parameters of the inspection program.
2. Determining Z-axis orientation (leveling). To perform programmed measurements, the Mitutoyo MiSTAR 555 coordinate measuring machine must first determine the orientation and positioning of the part in three-dimensional space.
3. Defining the X and Y axes by measuring the part’s outer cylinder.
4. Prof. Dr. Eng. Gilbert-Rainer Gillich, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering Reșița, UBB, Cluj-Napoca.
