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The manufacturing industry continues to push the conventional boundaries of creating larger and more complex parts. The potential for costly errors also increases exponentially when producing large-scale, intricate components and assemblies. 

The United States ranks as one of the top manufacturing locations in the world. According to Brookings Institution’s Global Manufacturing Scorecard released in July, the United Kingdom and Switzerland were the top ranked nations in overall manufacturing environment (both with 78 points out of 100). However, the United States was just behind with 77 points.

Computed radiography, a form of X-ray imaging, has been embraced widely by many major manufacturing companies. Its application is now core for testing within a range of sectors including aerospace, oil and gas, industrial gas turbines, medical implants and prosthetics.

True or false: Measuring products, unlike other processes, is not subject to variation.

Amongst the pile of tools in my garage is a nice six-inch caliper, which I use for the occasional minor project around the house. And even though I work in one of the finest dimensional calibration laboratories in the country, where we calibrate thousands of calipers every year, my own personal caliper has not been calibrated in over 20 years.

Hyperspectral imaging allows us to look deep under the surface of objects. Machine vision, in particular, uses this innovative camera technology and thus paves the way for entirely new possibilities in quality management. This benefits a wide range of industries, such as food and beverages, agriculture, and pharmaceuticals.

Recent record growth in the machine vision industry has been driven in part by continued advances in machine vision technology and components.

Real-world objects have depth, width and height, and automated systems such as robots need to “see” in these three dimensions if they are to operate successfully. 

The manufacturing industry is a very competitive environment. Customers demand the highest quality at the lowest cost and are able to easily search a global economy for that perfect component. 

Fracture mechanics testing including fracture toughness and fatigue crack growth testing is important to the safe design and operation of structures. In this paradigm, the fracture toughness of a material describes the ability of the material to withstand a static load before failure.