All Features
Davis Balestracci
My recent columns have emphasized the need for critical thinking to understand the process that produces any data. By just plotting data in their naturally occurring time order, many important questions arise about the data’s “pedigree” (a term coined by my respected colleagues Roger Hoerl and Ron…
Kevin Meyer
The other day, while skimming LinkedIn, I came across yet another one of those cheesy quotes that, unfortunately, have become all too common on the site: “Surround yourself with people on the same mission.” I proceeded to get into an online discussion with several people who have probably never…
William A. Levinson
The Golden Rule “do unto others as you would have them do unto you” may have applied in biblical times when the “others” lived in your village and shared your values and attitudes. Someone halfway around the world might not, on the other hand, want you to do unto him as you would have him do unto…
MIT Management Executive Education
The big data gold rush has become a stampede. Technology vendors are racing to bring big data solutions to the market, and companies with a never-ending flow of data are looking to big data to make better sense of their business—and to generate better value as a result.
The challenge is that…
Brian Maskell
I’m starting a new series (thought provoking or maybe just provoking…) about some of the oxymorons we find in the “traditional” manufacturing world.
An oxymoron is a figure of speech that combines contradictory terms. We hear these all the time in common speech, things like “open secret” or “…
Creaform Inc.
(Creaform: Lévis, Quebec, Canada) -- Creaform, a global leader in portable 3D measurement solutions and 3D engineering services, has launched two completely new versions of the Go!SCAN 3D scanner. Both versions provide unmatched fast and reliable 3D measurements, while offering the easiest portable…
FARO
(FARO: Lake Mary, FL) -- FARO Technologies, the world’s most trusted source for 3D measurement, imaging, and realization technology, has released the Focus3D X 130 laser scanner.
The Focus3D X 130, the newest member of Focus3D X Series range of laser scanners, delivers tremendous power, compact…
AICON 3D Systems
(AICON: Braunschweig, Germany) -- AICON’s 3D Arena will facilitate vehicle designers’ work in the future. The new tracking system enables them to determine the absolute position of machines in working space, i.e., processing machines such as mobile milling machines or measuring devices such as…
New River Kinematics
The Oasis of the Seas is the largest passenger ship in the world with a gross tonnage of 225,282 and room for more than 5,400 passengers. Not surprising, it creates a huge bow wave when sailing the seas and encounters waves of more than 60 ft when crossing the Atlantic Ocean.
When wave action…
InnovMetric Software
(Polyworks: Quebec, QC, Canada) -- To mark its 20th anniversary as an independent, hardware-neutral, 3D metrology software company, InnovMetric Software Inc. is has announced the release of PolyWorks 2014, a groundbreaking version of its universal 3D metrology software platform. PolyWorks 2014…
Origin Technologies Corp.
(Origin Technologies: Fort Worth, TX) -- Origin Technologies Corp., a global provider of off-the-shelf contour measurement systems, has released its latest LaserGauge sensor, model HS722. This handheld laser profiling system is the smallest of the LaserGauge product line.
“The HS722 is our…
Belinda Jones
The Certification Committee of the Coordinate Metrology Society (CMS) has been laser-locked on its target to deliver its first Level Two Certification, a device-specific performance assessment for users of portable coordinate measuring machines (CMMs). Those efforts will come to fruition at this…
Spectrum Metrology
(Spectrum Metrology: Leicester, UK) -- Spectrum Metrology will host a metrology open day at the National Space Centre in Leicester, United Kingdom, this June in conjunction with Taylor Hobson and FARO The event will take place Wednesday, June 25, 2014, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Spectrum Metrology is…
Ron Hicks
With the 30th anniversary of the Coordinate Metrology Systems Conference (CMSC) around the corner, I am happy to celebrate World Metrology Week with you. This year’s conference will be held in North Charleston, South Carolina, from July 21–25, 2014. Charleston is the oldest and second-largest city…
Basis Software Inc.
(Basis Software: Colorado Springs, CO) -- Basis Software Inc., announced the release of the Surphaser Model 50HS laser scanner, the first release in an upcoming line of competitively priced long-range scanning products.
The Surphaser Model 50HSX is an entry level version of the popular ER_100HSX…
Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence
(Hexagon Metrology: North Kingstown, RI) -- Hexagon Metrology has announced the next generation of the ROMER Absolute Arm. The enhanced portable measuring arm features optimized ergonomics, a new wrist design, and greater stability to create a better user experience while further reducing operator…
Laser trackers and the software that controls them have revolutionized the way metrology data have been taken. With software and hardware advances have come new and better ways to take measurements. One of these advances in metrology software is the ability to measure the angle normal to a mirrored…
NIST
Microscopes don’t exactly lie, but their limitations affect the truths they can tell. For example, scanning electron microscopes simply can’t see materials that don’t conduct electricity very well, and their high energies can actually damage some types of samples.
In an effort to extract a little…
Kelly Kuchinski
Editor’s note: A webinar on this topic will held on May 29, 2014, at 2:00 p.m. Eastern / 11:00 a.m. Pacific. Register here.
Food and beverage manufacturers have seen a considerable number of changes over the last decade. Mergers and acquisitions have expanded the footprint of many food and beverage…
The W. Edwards Deming Institute
“One requirement for innovation is faith that there will be a future. Innovation, the foundation of the future, cannot thrive unless the top management has declared unshakable commitment to quality and productivity.”—W. Edwards Deming
(W. Edwards Deming Institute: Washington, D.C.) -- The W.…
In 1927, my grandfather, A. N. Brunson, was 22 years old and repairing surveying instruments. That was the year he established Brunson Instrument Company in the back room of a map business in downtown Kansas City. When the Great Depression came along, he was fortunate to keep very busy. Because no…
Belinda Jones
M
etrologists employ numerous portable 3D metrology devices and techniques to acquire coordinate data to measure a manufactured article or assembly. There are many variables induced by an operator that can dramatically influence data collection. Although measurement equipment is calibrated to…
American Customer Satisfaction Index ACSI
(ACSI: Ann Arbor, MI) -- Subscription TV and Internet service providers (ISPs) sink to the bottom of the American Customer Satisfaction Index in its annual measure of communications industries. According to the latest ACSI results, ISPs drop 3.1% to an ACSI score of 63 on a 100-point scale, while…
CRC Press
(CRC Press: Boca Raton, FL) -- Value proposition, an old concept, is taking on new significance in today’s innovation-driven environment. Business focus has shifted from developing many creative ideas to developing only those that will successfully flow through the product cycle and fulfill a…
U.S. Air Force
The 2nd Maintenance Squadron’s Precision Measurement Equipment Laboratory (PMEL) at Barksdale Air Force Base in Bossier, Louisiana, calibrates and maintains an inventory of more than 6,700 pieces of equipment for Team Barksdale. With countless tools and test equipment used by ground crews every…
