Quite often in manufacturing, an inspection department is treated primarily as a necessary overhead expense required to assure compliance to customer specifications. Sometimes an inspection department may also be treated as a profit center for compliance to a variety of test protocols dictated by external agencies, or perhaps internal procedures to demonstrate traceability to certain quality standards.
When explaining surface finish measurement, it can be helpful to start with the classic metaphor of a desert, as often described by gage maker Taylor Hobson. Imagine grains of sand as roughness, the ripples of sand as waviness, and then the undulating dunes as the surface profile.
Robots manufacturer Stäubli Robotics and 3D measurement software company Metrologic Group jointly developed the first Coordinate Measuring Robot (CMR), achieving a 100-micron 3D absolute and trackless accuracy.
Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence announced the latest evolution of its Global S coordinate measuring machine (CMM) series, customizable for specific inspection work and changing manufacturing objectives.
Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence announced improvements to the operating temperature range of its TIGO SF shop-floor coordinate measurement machine (CMM).
Accuracy and repeatability is the lifeblood of all CMMs. If they aren’t accurate, there’s no point in having them. However, the degree of accuracy required is dependent on the particular application. For manufacturing gas turbines and aircraft engines, a very high degree of accuracy is often required.