Featured Stories

RSS

Simply put, product quality is always on the mind of a production manager. But what exactly characterizes a quality product? Is it when CMM inspection data reads good versus bad?

Innovations in the electronics and semiconductor industries have birthed two relentless trends. Both profoundly impact both product designers and those charged with assuring that what was designed is what was manufactured. The trends are: higher densities for components, boards and processors, and the need for very high precision in the metal plating that enables functionality.

In the previous article, we touched upon NDT 4.0 and provided a glimpse into what it is and how it is transforming industries around the globe. Now we will dive into a segment of NDT 4.0, automation, and look at some examples that highlight how it is changing companies for the better.

Quality is often misunderstood. More specifically, the benefits of a well implemented quality management system (QMS) are not universally known and appreciated, and that can cost lives. Conversely, when executives and manufacturing personnel understand the benefits of a QMS, patient outcomes improve, the quality of life is enhanced, and manufacturers prosper.

In these highly competitive times, it may seem as though improving productivity is the key to market share. Manufacturers often focus on improving productivity and managing, controlling and reducing costs. 

If you’ve ever suffered through a difficult lesson, you were likely not in Gary Griffith’s class. Griffith teaches geometric dimensioning and tolerancing (GD&T), quality audits, measuring and gaging, and other quality-related subjects, and though the technical aspects could make for a dry learning experience, his students say Griffith makes it fun.

The power of smart cameras lies in their ability to combine a wide range of functions—locating objects, extracting data from barcodes, “reading” alphanumeric characters—into a single, compact device. 

What is Industry 4.0? This buzzword seems to have been thrown around for quite some time now. How is it affecting today’s NDT manufacturing processes compared to the past? What new technologies have risen from Industry 4.0 in the past few years to benefit NDT? To answer all these questions, it is important to look back and understand how it came to be.

According to ASTM E1316-17a and NET.net, a flaw is defined as ‘‘an imperfection or discontinuity that may be detectable by nondestructive testing and is not necessarily rejectable.” 

As one of the most common mechanical components in the world, roller elements are of critical importance. It is necessary for bearings and raceways to be carefully engineered and manufactured so that the machines which use them are as safe and stable as possible.