All Features
Taran March @ Quality Digest
Although it takes longer to say, “Do we really need a leap second?” than to allow one to come and go, the ongoing wrangle over these troublesome if fleeting moments has spanned a decade now. Most of the debate has occurred off the clock, at least as far as everyday living goes. Alarms continue to…
On behalf of the Coordinate Metrology Society Executive Committee,
I would like to thank each of you for contributing to the 2010 Coordinate Measurement Systems Conference. Each member of the Coordinate Metrology Society (CMS) is responsible for adding to the exchange of technical ideas, concepts…
Automated Precision Inc.
Martin Säger, survey engineer at Wolz Nautic: The measurement of the templates clearly saved time.
Brothers Michael and Andreas Wolz manufactured 5,000 teak boat decks last year, a hand-crafted product with high requirements for quality. Their business, Wolz Nautic,…
The acronym MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul) has long been part of the aerospace vernacular. But only recently have service providers adopted automated tools to streamline the upfront process of capturing and digitally reconstructing physical parts that require repairs or redesign.
The…
At the Harris Corp. (Government Communications Systems Division—GCSD), solid carbon-fiber and aluminum-shaped reflector dishes are manufactured to support military ground, sea, and air communications. These reflectors range in size from 1 to 13 m. To meet performance requirements, the surface…
The foundation of any laboratory’s reputation is built on confidence in its ability to provide correct and reliable data. ISO/IEC 17025, subclause 4.1.5 d, requires that your management system “have policies and procedures to avoid involvement in any activities that would diminish confidence in…
Clamp-on ultrasonic flow meters are widely used throughout industrial processes in many industries because their noninvasive nature confers inherent advantages over other flow-meter technologies. Material compatibility, contamination, and corrosion risk factors are eliminated. Process integrity is…
Melanoma is one of the less common types of skin cancer, but it accounts for the majority of skin cancer deaths (about 75%). The five-year survival rate for early-stage melanoma is high (98%), but the rate drops precipitously if the cancer is detected late or there is recurrence.
So a great…
Dirk Dusharme @ Quality Digest
Story update 8/26/2010: We incorrectly stated that Dr. Richard A. Spritz was from the University of Colorado in Boulder. He is actually at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Denver.
Researchers at the University of Calgary, University of Colorado, and University of San…
Jacques Hoffmann
In part one of this series, we considered the pros and cons of pressure-decay testing. In part two, we’ll take a close look at a leak-testing method called “differential pressure decay.” This method is similar to simple pressure-decay testing discussed in part one.
ADVERTISEMENT…
Bob Cramblitt
Although he’s not one for clichés, Rus Emerick, process improvement specialist at Schneider-Electric, endorses this one: “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”
This concept, which dates back to Aristotle, is at the core of an approach called functional analysis that has implications…
Walter Pastorius
In sawmills, optimization is an in-process procedure that maximizes output of the highest-value board size and quality from the limited and environmentally valuable input of randomly shaped logs. During the optimization process, 3-D profiles of each raw board are analyzed before positioning saws.…
(The Modeling Agency: Pittsburgh) -- The Modeling Agency (TMA), a data-mining training, consulting, and solutions company, announces a restructuring of its popular “Predictive Analytics & Data Mining” course series. The two-course series offers two distinct orientations with complementary…
Dirk Dusharme @ Quality Digest
A dish-style radio telescope is being constructed in China that will allow astronomers to detect galaxies and pulsars at unprecedented distances. Not only will the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST) be almost 200 meters larger than the current largest telescope in the world, it…
Jay Elepano
For decades we were taught to believe that if you ever wanted to measure anything properly, you needed a coordinate measuring machine (CMM). A couple of decades ago, portable arms were released and although they were novel, nothing could compare to the rigidity and accuracy of three linear scales…
X-ray fluorescence spectrometry was done directly on the paintings in the Louvre Museum.
Copyright: V.A. Solé/ESRF
How did Leonardo da Vinci manage to paint such perfect faces? For the first time a quantitative chemical analysis has been done…
Regan Arndt
As the push to alternative energy technologies continues, the demand for photovoltaic modules is expected to increase exponentially. This article describes the specific performance tests found in IEC 61215:2005—“Crystalline silicon terrestrial photovoltaic (PV) modules—Design qualification and…
Brothers Jürgen and Andreas Hellgeth are entrepreneurs with a passion. Their interests, both business and leisure, center on motor sports and off-road vehicles. Their successful business designing and building off-road vehicles began by creating special vehicles for their own use. A converted…
GKS Global Services
A major manufacturer of high-tech bicycles with a worldwide distributorship and many professional endorsements to its name used 3-D laser scanning to maintain its competitive edge. Its mission is to promote bike riding through innovative products, and exceptional care for its dealers and…
Pierre Gouvin
Moles are invading Seattle. Not the small, furry mammals often reviled for destroying lawns, but the specialized boring machines used to excavate tunnels in urban environments. As part of its long-range capital investment plan, Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority, known simply as “Sound…
Laser Design Inc.
Kimberly-Clark and its well-known global brands are indispensable parts of life for people in more than 150 countries. Every day, 1.3 billion people—nearly a quarter of the world’s population—trust Kimberly-Clark brands (e.g., Kleenex, Scott, Huggies, Pull-Ups, Kotex, and Depend) and the solutions…
Emil Venere
This image shows a new “hybrid optoelectric” device, developed by researchers at Purdue. The device uses a combination of light and electric fields to position droplets and tiny particles, such as bacteria, viruses, and DNA, representing a potential new tool for…
Criterion NDT
(Criterion NDT: Auburn, WA) -- Doctors, hospitals, and individuals depend on the highest quality hypodermic needles to administer medicines and draw fluids. Unfortunately, 100-percent visual and/or water-leak test inspection of the needle tubing or finished product for microscopic cracks or…
Donald J. Wheeler
During the past 20 years it has become fashionable to condemn measurement processes that are less than perfect. Yet the reality is that we must always use imperfect data. Given this fact of life, how can we ever know if a measured item is or is not within the specifications? Put another way, how…
Raissa Carey
It took Gutzon Borglum 14 years to complete the carving of Mount Rushmore, one of the world’s most iconic monuments. Sixty-nine years later, thanks to ground-breaking 3-D laser scanning technology, the granite sculpture of Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and…
