Reserved, self-deprecating, and famously shy of the spotlight, Renishaw co-founder Sir David McMurtry was perhaps an unlikely engineering hero. But when it was announced late last year (Dec 2024) that he had passed away, the outpouring of tributes from industry peers, colleagues and just about anyone who had the good fortune to meet or work with him left no doubt that the world of engineering had lost one of its brightest and best-loved stars.
Born in Dublin in 1940, McMurtry began his career as an apprentice machinist and fitter at Bristol Aero Engines which ultimately became part of Rolls-Royce.
Distinguishing himself as an innovative, quick-thinking engineer he enjoyed a successful seventeen year long career at Rolls-Royce, putting his name to 47 patents, becoming the company’s youngest ever Assistant Chief of Engine Design and rising to the role of Deputy Chief Designer.
But it was in 1972, when he was asked for his advice on a problem measuring complex pipe runs for Concorde’s Olympus engines, that his remarkable innovation story really took off.
Using existing Coordinate Measuring Machine (CMM) technology it was proving exceptionally difficult to measure the narrowest of these pipes because they were deflected by the pressure of the CMM’s solid probe. Taking the problem home with him over the weekend, McMurtry designed and built the world’s first touch-trigger probe, a system equipped with a spiring loaded stylus which is capable of detecting contact with a surface with a very light force.
David was not only an inspiration to myself, but hundreds if not thousands of people directly associated with Renishaw and our markets
Paul Maxted, Renishaw’s Director of Industrial Metrology Applications
A year later - in 1973 - McMurtry and fellow Rolls-Royce engineer John Deer left the company and founded Renishaw to commercialise a technology that fundamentally changed the field of metrology and revolutionised the manufacture of precision products across industry.
But whilst McMurtry is best-known for that inspiring origin story, the touch-trigger probe was just one of many inventions (over 200 Renishaw patents carry his name) made during his prolific career: ranging from a fully automated and self-correcting machining cell (known as the Renishaw automated milling, turning and inspection centre or RAMTIC) the 3D Cyclone scanning machine - a standalone device used for high-speed, precise 3D scanning of physical objects machine which effectively replaced century’s old pantography processes, and the world’s first flexible tape scale for position encoders, an innovation that brought precision motion control to applications as diverse as digital printing and silicon wafer fabrication. McMurtry also led the company’s diversification into other areas of metrology, driving its activities in additive manufacturing - a particular passion - and robotic neurosurgery technology.
Commenting on this impressive legacy Paul Maxted, Renishaw’s Director of Industrial Metrology Applications said: “David was not only an inspiration to myself, but hundreds if not thousands of people directly associated with Renishaw and our markets. Unknowingly, billions of people around the world use products every day from smart phones to cars and planes and domestic devices that are efficient, precise, and aesthetically pleasing, benefitting from precision manufacturing enabled by Renishaw technology. David was ingenious beyond comparison, he was mischievous, humble and approachable at all times, he will be greatly missed.”
Stepping down as CEO in 2018 and as executive chairman in 2024 (whilst remaining on the board as a non-executive director) McMurtry became less involved in the day to day running of Renishaw in recent years, instead pouring his energy and enthusiasm into a new venture, McMurtry Automotive, developer of the record-breaking McMurtry Speirling electric track car. Nevertheless, he could still occasionally be found chatting to engineers, and puzzling over problems at Renishaw’s picturesque New Mills headquarters in Wotton-Under-Edge, Gloucestershire.
Celebrating its 50th anniversary last year, the company is now a globally respected business, employing over 5,000 people in 36 countries, including at five sites in the UK and generating £688 million of sales revenues in 2023. And whilst this success is clearly routed in McMurtry’s brilliant engineering mind, it is also underpinned by his values as person, which set the tone for an environment where there are genuine and clear pathways for career development and where all employees feel valued.
As Roxanne Didcott, Senior Mechanical Design Engineer at Renishaw said: “I first met Sir David when I was an apprentice working in Group Engineering and continued working alongside him on the latest Additive Manufacturing machines. He was an inspirational engineer due to his technical capability but also his kind personality and down to earth nature. I felt honoured to have been able to share so many conversations with him over the years, lunch time ‘technical chats’ and also very recently when he saw me return to work after having my children and held up traffic to wave to me.”
Given his achievements, it’s no surprise that McMurtry was showered with honours throughout his life, receiving doctorates from a number of leading UK universities and a multitude of awards and honours from around the world. In 1994 he received a CBE and was knighted in 2001 for “services to design and innovation.” Yet, despite the plaudits, he was a reserved man who avoided publicity, and was always more comfortable sharing his insights with young engineers, and it’s as a quiet, self-effacing, brilliant and inspiring engineer that he will be best remembered. As another former colleague - Renishaw Technical Fellow Jon Fuge - remarked: “David - I knew him before Sir was a prefix, I never thought he liked the title after receiving the well-deserved Knighthood - was a person who was respectful, creative, inspirational and able to help develop, support and grow people to achieve their full potential. A true role model.”
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