All Features
For process manufacturers, regular calibration of instruments across a manufacturing plant is common practice. In plant areas where instrument accuracy is critical to product quality or safety, calibration every six months—and even more frequently—is not unusual. However, the final step in any…
Ultrasonic leak detection has been used for a variety of applications ranging from energy reduction by locating compressed air leaks to quality assurance inspections, such as locating wind noise and water leaks in automobiles. The secret to success is to understand the nature of what type of leak…
Phillip Smith
Automated inspection and gauging systems can help companies to improve overall product quality and grow their business while reducing manufacturing costs, helping them to become more competitive in this difficult business climate. Whether they are producing automotive, medical, consumer, or…
Gary Johanning
Three-dimensional (3-D) assembly refers to the use of high-accuracy, in-place, 3-D coordinate measurement devices for the digital assembly of parts. This process is often referred to as computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) or gaugeless manufacturing. Whatever the name, 3-D assembly is replacing…
Dirk Dusharme @ Quality Digest
Investing in capital equipment always involves an analysis of the return on investment (ROI), but never as much as during a recession. The question this year is often, "Our company is already tightening its belt, is this equipment going to help us save a lot of money in a relatively short time…
Robert Sanville
There are several different tools available for the measurement and inspection of parts and products. The specific application often determines the best choice as each tool has its own benefits and drawbacks. Over the years, these tools have become more advanced to keep up with improved quality…
Larry Carlberg
You have a carefully crafted clay prototype made by a top design artist. Each detail is exquisite and you want to make sure every last one is molded into the finished article. Contact measurement isn't an option, because the piece is too complex and too malleable for touch probes. You need…
Donald J. Wheeler
Some authors recommend that you have to wait until you have the range chart “in control” before you can compute the limits for the average chart or the X chart. Why this is not true will be the subject of this column.
To illustrate the issues we will once again use the NB10 data. The 100 values are…
Geomagic
Besides the fact that it flies, an airship—better known as a blimp—has about as much in common with other aircraft as a whale has with fellow sea creatures.
Among a blimp’s unique design elements are custom fan blades used to cool its engine. The fan blades were especially problematic for…
Bob Bridges Ph.D.
Many industries, including the automotive and aerospace industries, must precisely measure the three-dimensional features of large objects. An increasingly popular way to do this is with the laser tracker, a device first introduced in the late 1980s. As its name suggests, the laser tracker…
David C. Crosby
The most important element in producing a quality product or service is the attitude of the people doing the work—not only the worker—but the attitude of all levels of management. Employee attitude about the product, about the work, about the boss, and about the company will pretty well determine…
Dale Hershfield
Twitter is the latest new thing. Want to follow John McCain or Al Gore throughout their day? Easy. Just sign up to receive their tweets. While their tweets may provide insights, or just entertainment (Ashton Kutcher and 50 Cent also tweet), does Twitter have value for business management?
The…
Mark Symonds
It’s no secret to anyone, anywhere, that we’re experiencing a global business challenge, especially in manufacturing.
One could argue that for too long, manufacturers in the United States have been complacent and indifferent to signs of market change, steadily losing market share to offshore…
Steve Daum
With several generations of statistical process control (SPC) technology under our belts, it may be time to rethink how we apply SPC in the 21st century. Basic techniques have been practiced since the 1930s. Some companies will soon be able to say, “we’ve been practicing SPC for 100 years.”…
James Odom
Charles Kettering, the famous inventor, once said: “A problem well stated is a problem half solved.” This implies that a good portion of problem solving should be devoted to a thorough understanding of what’s going on before any corrective action steps are taken.
In many cases, too much time is…
FARO
Laser line scanning is ideal for non-contact measurement applications - including inspection, cloud- to-CAD comparison, rapid prototyping, reverse engineering, and 3-D modeling. Laser line probes use a triangulation process to find the position of objects in space. A high performance laser diode…
(Mahr Federal: Providence, Rhode Island) -- Tapers play an important role in orthopaedic devices. Most hip and knee implants use tapers because they provide good alignment and can be "locked" into position. In manufacturing these devices, the control of taper and size determines how well an…
Walter Pastorius
Assemblers of large objects, such as automotive bodies, have strongly recognized the need to continually improve processes to enhance dimensional integrity of assemblies, maximize customer aesthetic perception, and optimize product performance.
Implementing laser sensors for dimensional…
SURVICE Metrology was recently awarded a U.S. government research grant to improve upon the current methods used to measure and repair damage to composite materials associated with next-generation aircraft. The problem is that current ways of measuring and repairing damage (as a result of…
CMSC
Technology is changing the face of aerospace manufacturing and quality assurance. No place is that change more welcome and dramatic than at Vought Aircraft Industries Inc. in Hawthorne, California.
According to Paul Evans, quality assurance lead, changes in processes and systems at his…
Robert Clem
Hello readers, and welcome to the latest issue of CMSC World, which is packed with the latest news and features in the metrology arena.
Registration for CMSC 2009 in Louisville, Kentucky, is now open! As most of you know, this year is an historical landmark for the CMSC. In two months, the…
John W. Stoneback
Is your toolholder showing wear in the areas indicated on the toolholder shown?
We’ve been asking this question for some time now, and we know the answer. Normally, close inspection of the tapered area will show a difference in finish at the threaded area a
Toolholder…
Mark Albert
Many shops have implemented computerized systems to gather data for production reporting, quality control, statistical process control (SPC), and tool management. Stephen Birman, president of High Tech Research Inc. of Deerfield, Illinois, believes one knowledge-based system that integrates all of…
Philip Colet
P
roduct information and label code verification are important parts of the packaging and quality control process for manufacturers and consumers in the food and beverage industry. Machine vision is increasingly being used to help improve the accuracy of the inspection process in these…
The Infrared GPS system (iGPS) from Metris Inc. can be used to locate and track any point in a rugged indoor environment precisely and accurately. It was used by the Systems, Controls, and Components Research division at Caterpillar Inc., to calibrate the various sensors on a 420 E-series backhoe…
