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Ah, the scientific method. How elegant, how useful—and how easily ignored. The process of studying a problem, formulating a hypothesis, running a controlled experiment, analyzing the resulting data, and then making an objective decision is so quickly cast aside in the interest of quick-and-dirty…
(Zontec: Cincinnati) -- Zontec, the international developer of statistical process control (SPC) software solutions, has released an update to its Synergy 2000 Multi-Function Toolbox for the worldwide market. The Multi-Function Toolbox is an easy-to-use utility program that automates data transfer…
As you browse through lean management pages on the Internet, you may have seen reports on companies having little success with lean, or comments about how misunderstanding lean can lead to bad consequences. From time to time I can sense the level of frustration from those comments, and I…
My career in quality engineering started off at the endoscopy division of Stryker Corp. in San Jose, California. The endoscopy equipment included scopes, cameras, and accessories, and I was in charge of the camera line. Mind you, I didn’t really have much of a clue what this role entailed. I’d…
(FARO: Lake Mary, FL) -- FARO Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:FARO), the world’s most trusted source for 3D measurement, imaging, and realization technology, announces the acquisition of kubit GmbH, a global leader in the development of software for surveying and as-built documentation. The acquisition…
E xtreme Fab Inc. is a structural metal fabrication company that has the tools and skills to build the massive machinery that the oil and gas, power, energy, and trucking industries require. One of their key customers is GE Aero Energy, a company that gives businesses and communities around the…
(NIST: Gaithersburg, MD) -- In April, the Dimensional Metrology Group from the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Physical Measurement Laboratory (PML) hosted a three-day hands-on training event for 13 industry and government attendees. The class was given in response to an industry-…
Large-volume metrology measurements are conducted at every major phase of alignment and integration of the Integrated Science Instrument Module (ISIM), which forms the main payload of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). Both ambient and cryogenic…
Earlier this spring, thousands of people from all over the nation gathered in Springfield, IL, to honor the life of our beloved President Abraham Lincoln. After his death in 1865, his body was carried hundreds of miles by a funeral train. It passed through more than a hundred cities, with formal…
Yesterday, May 20, 2015, we celebrated World Metrology Day. This is an annual commemoration of the signature by representatives of seventeen nations attending the Metre Convention, which was held on May 20, 1875. This convention set the stage for global acceptance and collaboration for “Metrology…
(Origin Technologies: Madison, AL) -- Origin Technologies Corp., a global provider of off-the-shelf contour measurement systems, has announced the availability of its latest LaserGauge DSP sensor, model HS770. This portable, hand-held Multi-Vector laser profiling system provides complete 3D…
(API Services: Newport News, VA) -- Konecranes Machine Tool Service recently invested approximately $300,000 in machine tool metrology equipment from Automated Precision Inc. (API). The new Radian laser tracker and four new 6D laser systems enable Konecranes Machine Tool Service to capture…
(Third Dimension: Bristol, UK) -- Third Dimension, the leading supplier of hand-held precision measurement solutions, recently celebrated its success in being named as winners of a Queen’s Award for Enterprise in the international trade category—the UK’s highest accolade for business success.…
(Capture 3D: Miami, FL) -- A GE Aviation open innovation challenge designed to uncover new methods of conducting high-speed, automated inspections of turbine airfoils garnered 51 entries from 48 different participants in 18 countries. The winning entry was submitted by Capture 3D, of Costa Mesa,…
(Verisurf: San Diego, CA) -- Verisurf Software has been selected by Workshops for Warriors to provide 20 fully licensed seats of Verisurf 3D measurement software, in support of the group’s mission to train, certify, and place veterans into advanced manufacturing careers. Each fully bundled seat of…
(Creaform: Lévis, Quebec, Canada) -- AMETEK Creaform has introduced VXinspect, a powerful and intuitive 3D inspection software platform that includes all the tools for first-article inspection (FAI) and quality control. VXinspect provides simple integration for contact (probing) and noncontact (…
(Hexagon: North Kingstown, RI) -- Hexagon Metrology today announced the release of the RS3 upgrade package delivering a dramatic performance improvement for the ROMER Absolute Arm with integrated laser scanner. The RS3 doubles the scan rate of the previous RS2 integrated scanner, enabling users to…
Management of change is a safety-related phrase from the chemical process industry that is adaptable to risk-based thinking. The basic premise is that anything new, different, or nonroutine (such as repairs or replacement of equipment, and process startups) creates a safety risk.
This principle…
(FARO: Lake Mary, FL) -- The FARO ScanArm HD is an attachment for the FaroArm that combines all of the advantages of a hard probing system with the capabilities of noncontact 3D laser scanning.
This combination provides rapid point-cloud collection with high-definition resolution and precise…
Methods Machine Tool Sales (MMTS) of Sudbury, Massachusetts, is the New England distributor and sole training center for Carl Zeiss inspection equipment. Customers can train in MMTS’s state-of-the art lab or send examples of problem parts to the lab for help with their inspection solutions.
To…
I was speaking last week with, Jen, a senior manager at a large manufacturer, and she commented to me, “I know it’s important for me to get to the floor, but the time involved for me and my staff to regularly visit two dozen different departments makes this seem like an impossible task.” She was…
(R&R: Grand Haven, MI) -- R&R Vision Fixtures’ new Quick Slide Plate in conjunction with its Quick Load Corner enables users to extend the reach of travel on their vision systems, making it possible to hold and stabilize parts while enabling complete access and viewing circumference around…
This June will you be wishing the Magna Carta a very happy birthday? An 800-year-old document might not necessarily warrant a lovely slice of cake, but I’m sure someone somewhere will be celebrating this anniversary. No doubt many readers will be wondering why I want to discuss the Magna Carta,…
A brand promise is an agreement between a company and its customers. Yet Gallup finds that companies are largely failing to make good on their agreements. Only half of the almost 18 million customers Gallup has surveyed strongly believe that the companies they do business with always deliver on…
Perhaps the biggest mistake business leaders make is to assume that people are resources like any other. The truth is that people are resources unlike any other. At the heart of many business disasters is the misunderstanding that people and man-hours are one and the same.
A close friend of mine…