Columbia Manufacturing, a privately held manufacturer and supplier of precision metal components for turbine engines, has announced the completion of a capital investment to install a large-scale coordinate measuring machine (CMM). Located in Eastern Connecticut, Columbia Manufacturing is one of only a few specialty manufacturers in the country to offer large-scale CMM capabilities.
The aerospace industry demands exacting tolerances in the fabrication of turbine engine components. The new Mitutoyo machine will enable trained technicians to electronically inspect and verify large and bulky parts as big as five feet wide, nine feet long and five feet high with tolerances less than the width of a strand of hair.
This announcement caps a year-long resurgence at Columbia Manufacturing to position the company as a world-class supplier. Since being named president and CEO in November 2018, Robert Friedland has led efforts to modernize the 39-year-old company to be competitive in the 21st-century aerospace industry.
