As recently as November 2008, Marlin Steel Wire Products LLC (Baltimore), manufacturer of steel wire baskets, hooks and shelves, used to make one check fixture every four to eight hours.

Inspection with thermal imaging can be accomplished on a range of budgets, and is particularly useful in the aerospace industry.

Ultraviolet inspection techniques are a staple in the nondestructive testing world to detect flaws and indications on a variety of parts.

Take a look at the product you shave with. If you own a store-brand razor, it’s likely that that razor came from our 2009 Quality Plant of the Year recipient in the small plant division, Personna American Safety Razor.

Choosing an appropriate stylus for an application means the difference between meeting the application’s needs and missing them. The stylus delivers the measurement or form information to the probe.

Many manufacturers have gone or are going through changes as the challenging economic times continue. Companies are consolidating-buying out competitors through mergers and acquisitions, thinning their workforces through layoffs or merging locations in an effort to save money-all while trying to maintain the highest level of quality.

Light sources may be an afterthought when completing a machine vision solution, but manufacturers should pay close attention to lighting in order to maximize their investment and minimize bad parts.

I appreciate the portability and availability of print newspapers and magazines, and often, you may find me reading the local newspaper while taking public transportation. However, I find that my schedule and lifestyle affords itself quite nicely to all the new media options available to me as a consumer of news and information.

With 40% of Quality readers citing increased importance placed on quality, compared to three years ago, according to our 2009 Quality Capital Spending Survey-planning your strategy and long-term goals becomes even more important.

Tales of a struggling economy can be heard just about anywhere you turn, but Quality Magazine’s 9th Annual Capital Spending Survey proves that the manufacturing industry is standing strong. Spending is projected to hit $4.46 billion in 2009-rivaling numbers not seen since 2006.