In 2013 Ford Motor Company began a project aimed at global standardization of probe tooling for measurement systems in their powertrain operations. The company has been using Zeiss CMMs and probes for over 10 years, but probe tooling for each measurement task was being developed locally for individual plants, leading to variations in design from location to location. Engineers at each facility were “creating probe tooling configurations to meet their manufacturing needs,” says Ford Gauging Engineer James O’Kroy. While their configurations performed flawlessly, valuable engineering time, money and resources were being duplicated at each plant.
“Plants were measuring the same blocks, heads, and transmission cases at multiple sites,” says O’Kroy. “Standardizing on the same, consistent probe tooling and materials for all sites gave us the ability to have uniform reporting on accuracy and repeatability. Every location followed the same measuring process and used consistent scanning speeds to enhance throughput for the entire operation.”