Baby coral and nondestructive testing (NDT) applications may not seem to have much in common, but a background in marine biology helped Charles Mazel develop a light for fluorescent NDT inspection. “When you work underwater, you have to think in terms of portability, ease of use and handling,” Mazel says.
The EXAscan, a self-positioning and portable handheld laser scanner, does not require an additional coordinate measuring machine (CMM) arm or other external tracking devices. The scanner, developed by Creaform (Québec, Canada), is able to scan highly detailed surfaces and small objects in many industries including automotive and aerospace. Its applications run from reverse engineering to design and manufacturing, inspection, digital mock-ups and simulation.
No one wants a product to fail. A materials test can prevent problems from occurring. “Materials testing is commonly performed to assess the performance of materials such as metals, plastics and ceramics under stress,” explains Mark Fridman, marketing manager at Mark-10 (Copiague, NY). As such, it is a growing area, with changes ranging from equipment to standards to software.
My latest adventures of roving editor-at-large in the world have recently taken me to Québec City, Canada. Although I’ve been to Ukraine, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Germany, Austria, France, Italy, England and Spain, along with Ecuador, Argentina and Mexico, I had never actually been to see our neighbors to the north.
While it is useful to have many special features, it is important to make sure they do not get in the way of functionality. That was the thinking behind the Quadra-Chek 300 digital readout system with video edge detection and image archiving, which allows operators to store snapshots of video images with part measurement data and user notations.
Integration is in the air these days, and microscopy is no different. If the microscope cannot “talk” to the computer or camera or software, it may find itself out of a job. All components of the system must be connected for best results.
Now that the dust has cleared-and the cicadas have gone-now is a good time to look back on the International Robots & Vision show held this summer just outside of Chicago, in Rosemont, IL.
INORAme stands for Intelligent Optimization Self Regulated Adjustment Math Engine, and according to Ingobert Schmadel, president of Inora Technologies, it automatically recognizes strengths and weaknesses within data and functional models to deal appropriately with unexpected deviations and constraints, outliers and blunders.
Freightliner Customizes Quality The Quality Magazine 2007 Plant of the Year, Freightliner’s Mt. Holly, NC, Truck Manufacturing Plant, is loud-bring earplugs-and busy, producing about 80 trucks per day, with plans to produce twice that in the coming years. The plant is constantly in motion, with 1,200 employees weaving throughout the shop floor, along with robots, automated carts and, of course, various parts on their way to becoming a truck.
