All Features
DP Technology
Founded in St. Petersburg, Russia, in 2001, Green Tools is a leading manufacturer of cutting tools, providing circular saws and other woodcutting machines for the sawmill, furniture, and woodworking industries throughout Russia.
Green Tools began as a small reseller of woodworking tools produced…
Dat Duthinh
One of the undergraduate engineering courses that left a deep and lasting impression on me was a course on innovation and aesthetics in engineering taught by David Billington at Princeton University. So, when I read the story of a skyscraper in New York that had to undergo secret emergency repairs…
ZEISS Industrial Quality Solutions
Decanter centrifuges from Hiller GmbH, headquartered in Vilsbiburg, Germany, are in demand globally. These centrifuges separate solid and fluid materials, such as in the production of olive oil or wine, or for wastewater treatment. The multiton machines achieve high yields unmatched by competitors…
Edward Herceg
Those of us old enough to remember the “good old days” recall that grade school focused on learning the three R’s: readin’, ’ritin’, and ’rithmetic. In the world of sensors, there are also three Rs: repeatability, resolution, and response. Despite how important these sensor parameters are, there is…
Tim Mouw
Spending too much time and money on incorrect color? Even if you use the best color measurement tools available, your color will still fail without quality control. You may think you’re doing everything right, but if you (or worse, your customers) are rejecting a lot of products, then there’s more…
Ryan E. Day
Industrial Custom Products (ICP) is a world leader in prototyping, developing, and manufacturing high-quality OEM and custom thermoformed and vacuum formed plastic components, as well as die cut and dieless knife-cut parts. What makes ICP unique among its competitors is its award-winning quality,…
NIST
Ordinarily, you won’t encounter a radiation thermometer until somebody puts one in your ear at the doctor’s office, or you point one at your forehead when you’re feeling feverish. But more sophisticated and highly calibrated, research-grade “noncontact” thermometers—which measure the infrared (heat…
Ryan E. Day
Midwest Metrology Solutions (MMS) is a company in Indiana that provides onsite precision measurement services using state-of-the-art metrology equipment and software. With an extensive knowledge of geometric dimensioning and tolerancing (GD&T), a primary focus on quality, and a proven track…
Jeremy Marvel
I was told there would be robots.
We are living in a world in which we are surrounded by technology tailored to our needs. Our clothes are treated with nanoparticles to resist wrinkles and stains. We have sent probes beyond the farthest reaches of our solar system, and we have selfie-taking…
Isaac Maw
In manufacturing today, data analysis tools can give management the information it needs to make better decisions in areas such as maintenance and labor. Unfortunately, however, many data analytics systems require large sets of historical data to generate accurate and useful results.
According to…
Mike Richman
On May 20, 1875, representatives from 17 of the leading industrial nations of the world met in Paris to set precise international standards for the meter and kilogram. Coming out of the meetings, the signatories to the Treaty of the Metre agreed to maintain internationally accepted standards and…
Calibrating an absolute distance meter (ADM) laser tracker requires long linear distances. For such distances, the room temperature is a significant factor. Even though the calibration room’s temperature is controlled within ± 2° C, actual temperature and temperature variation in one end of the…
Belinda Jones
The Coordinate Metrology Society is pleased to announce Michael Raphael, president of Direct Dimensions and a veteran metrologist, will give the keynote address at this year's Coordinate Metrology Society Conference (CMSC). Former NASA astronaut, engineer, and educator Dr. Bonnie Dunbar will be the…
Belinda Jones
There are plenty of opinions in the blogosphere about technical papers, their value to the marketplace, and the pros and cons of producing them. Despite all the debate on the topic, the tirelessly persisting technical paper is here to stay. For the measurement professional, there is no richer…
Scott Sandwith
No matter how much metrology experience you have gained as a practitioner, the 2019 Coordinate Metrology Society Conference (CMSC) is designed so every level of attendee can learn something new. CMSC provides the venue to explore new concepts, systems, interfaces, tools, and the opportunity to…
Ryan E. Day
Brodie International provides liquid flow-meters and equipment for the petroleum and industrial markets. The company specializes in producing high-precision meters and valves that are used in the custody transfer of petroleum products.
The challenge
Brodie products involve components with complex…
David H. Parker
A 154-page report by Moreu and LaFave in 2012 explains unique problems railroad bridge engineers must contend with. The gross weight of cars went from 200,000 pounds to 263,000 pounds in the 1970s, and to 286,000 pounds in 1991. The ratio of live to dead loads are much greater for railroads than…
Belinda Jones
Achieving Smart Factory initiatives requires a seismic shift toward data-driven processes, sensors, and advanced metrology solutions. Large-scale manufacturers bear the load of crushing backlogs and internal pressures to eke out more productivity. What are the roadblocks? Will existing measurement…
Scott Sandwith
A clear constant in the portable metrology market is “change and integration.” Almost every new product launch couples existing concepts and wraps them with tools that enable integration into hybrid metrology-guided systems. These deliver value by deploying the strengths of the technologies in a…
Mike Richman
A 35-year commitment is an impressive achievement, whether it be to a job, a marriage, or even a sports franchise. (New York Mets, why do you so consistently forsake my love?) When it comes to an all-volunteer organization working within an extremely complex and fast-changing technical field, that…
Belinda Jones
Shepherding the implementation of any new program takes strong leadership. Building a strong, legally defensible certification program calls for a herculean kind of dedication. Randy Gruver was just the guy for the job.
More than 10 years ago, a group of interested measurement professionals and…
George Orji
What are you looking to measure? This is one of the central questions for a metrologist (a measurement scientist) and is usually answered before measurements can proceed. It is impossible to make sense of the results without knowing the measurand—the actual physical dimension or other property of…
Ryan E. Day
If your manufacturing organization is going to grow, you know you need an inspection solution beyond the capabilities of micrometers and calipers. You know you need to gather more data in a faster and more reliable manner. It’s time to invest in a 3D inspection solution like a coordinate measuring…
Stephan Schlamminger
I discovered my affinity for attractive instruments while working a job before coming to NIST. My boss at the time had a love affair with the common hose clamp—the one with the worm gear.
Whenever we had to fasten a component to an apparatus he said, “Why don’t you use a hose clamp?” With every…
Ryan E. Day
Traditionally, technical jobs have been underrepresented by women. But that's changing, says Emily O'Dea, commercial services process manager at Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence.
“Without a doubt we're definitely outnumbered,” says O’Dea. “I started [my career] in a smaller company. It was…