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Not long ago, a manufacturer of needles for medical syringes was in the middle of another shift of quality assurance testing. The test involved three individuals side-by-side, with each grabbing the needles off the line and physically inserting them into a drill “chuck,” piercing a rubber slab to simulate the piercing of human skin.

Handheld XRF (HHXRF) is the go-to tool for QA/QC, alloy identification and failure analysis of incoming and in-use standard industrial metals and alloys. Advancements in technology and data analysis software now make it an indispensable tool for non-standard and challenging QA/QC situations. 

Short range guided wave testing (SRGWT) is an application of guided ultrasonic sound waves using special types of probes. When the guided waves hit the discontinuities, the mode converted sound is reflected back and received by the transducer.

Before selecting an X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analyzer, consider what you want to achieve. For example, if you are looking to confirm alloy grades for incoming goods QC, you will want to know what the important element in those grades should be.

In-process gaging for this discussion is the continuous measurement of the workpieces during the grinding process in the work area of the machine. 

“Remaining competitive” takes on many meanings, depending on your location in the world, but here are some thoughts on how American manufacturers can do it better today. By the time you finish reading this column, another entrepreneur will have figured out a way to make it happen for his or her company.  

Cost of quality is often misunderstood, improperly measured, and underutilized.

Every day I talk to customers who want to get off paper. They spend an inordinate amount of operators’ time manually capturing data on paper, and then often double-down when they have someone transfer those paper check sheets into a digital spreadsheet. 

It is generally agreed that engineering is about tradeoffs, and that has always been particularly true in regard to measurement machines. There are several types of measurement, and higher performance in one area generally meant less capability, or none, in other areas. 

In automotive manufacturing, reducing quality costs can be like trying to bail out a leaking boat. You can empty bucket after bucket over the side, but you can’t get above water until you plug the leaks themselves.