Height Gages Make Short Work of Quality Assurance
Fowler’s Sylvac Z-Cal Height
Gages
The Swiss are highly acclaimed
for their craftsmanship of wristwatches, delectable chocolates
and anonymous bank accounts. In many ways, Switzerland has
become synonymous with quality, an idea that few consumers
care to dispute. If you’re looking for detractors
from this line of thought, don’t bother asking the
employees of Starn Tool and Manufacturing Co. in Meadville,
Pennsylvania. The company uses Sylvac of Switzerland’s
Z-Cal electronic height gage, distributed exclusively by
Fred V. Fowler Co., to cut inspection time on its precision
components by 75 percent.
Starn Tool and Manufacturing Co. manufactures thousands
of components for the automotive, medical and aerospace
industries, as well as for consumer products and prototype
machine parts. The components are fabricated on a large
number of machine tools that work on numerous materials,
including stainless steel, aluminum, copper and nonferrous
materials such as polycarbonates, nylon and delrin. “We
manufacture products from 0.01 to 10 in. thick with typical
tolerances as close as 0.0001 in.,” explains Ralph
Lindsey, vice president of manufacturing at Starn.
For a time, Starn used gage blocks, test indicators and
planer gages to evaluate measurements on its myriad parts.
Although this method was effective, it was also time-consuming
and required more inspectors. Recognizing an opportunity
for improvement, Starn outlined its top priorities--high
quality, low costs and rapid delivery of its final product--and
began searching for the optimum measurement instrument.
“We first saw the Z-Cal gages at the International
Manufacturing and Technology Show in Chicago a few years
ago and purchased three of them soon after,” says
Bill Starn, CEO of Starn. “The Z-Cal gages have shortened
our inspection time and enabled us to check fine tolerances
much faster.”
The ability to check angle positions, side corners and
the flat plane of angles is critical to the company’s
success. The versatility of the Z-Cal gage reduces the amount
of time needed to set up the numerous other tools that would
be required in its absence. Used for measuring slots, holes,
intricate forms and the location of each feature, the Z-Cal
gages offer a degree of flexibility that has greatly enhanced
Starn’s production capability. “With this electronic
height gage, we can get the measurements we need faster
than ever,” says Lindsey.
“The Z-Cal permits us to reduce inspection time
on each part, sometimes by as much as 75 percent,”
reports Joetta Catalano, Starn’s quality manager.
“The Z-Cal has also provided us with a much faster
way for checking roll dimensions by eliminating time-consuming
setups,” adds Jon King, CNC mill supervisor at Starn.
With customers such as Delphi, Boeing and Lockheed-Martin,
Starn couldn’t afford the glitches common to implementing
a new tool or system. A smooth transition to the new gages
was imperative, and the Z-Cal didn’t disappoint. Used
both on the production floor and in its climate-controlled
inspection laboratory, the Sylvac gages proved simple and
their use intuitive. “It’s relatively easy to
train people in their use,” says Lindsey. “The
instrument can be operated with only one hand, and it requires
extremely light measuring pressure. Within a half-hour of
receiving the gages, they were being used.”
Although Fowler’s Sylvac Z-Cal gages come in a larger
24 in. model, Starn’s production requirements necessitate
only the 6 in. and 12 in. models, which provide 0.00016
in. and 0.0002 in. degrees of accuracy, respectively. In
addition, all measuring functions of the Z-Cal gage are
controlled by a five-button keypad devoid of complicated
programming. The gage’s probe speed is proportional
to finger pressure on the control buttons, a feature that
allows Starn employees to monitor the pulse of the company’s
quality efforts with each measurement.
Fowler’s Sylvac Z-Cal Height Gages
- Reduces inspection time
- Ideal for exceptionally tight tolerances
- Versatility eliminates need for extra instruments
- Accurate to 0.00016 in.
www.fvfowler.com
|