English actor and author Alan Bennett once said, “We started off trying to set up a small anarchist community, but people wouldn’t obey the rules.”

In Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing (GD&T) there has been a long-standing conflict between the worlds of specification and measurement. The goal of specification is to ensure that components will function; the goal of measurement is to ensure that manufactured components meet those functional requirements. 

There is a long-standing practice in the computer aided inspection industry that includes CMMs to report in-tolerance values in green and out-of-tolerance values in red.

Those of us on the march towards Quality 4.0 in our manufacturing companies are grappling with the challenge of producing high quality parts with a minimal investment of time and resources into new inspection methodologies. 

Most quality technicians have been exposed to and probably use geometric dimensioning and tolerance (GD&T) information in their day-to-day work duties. 

Medical devices can present unique challenges for manufacturers. Consequences for malfunctioning equipment can be dire. Because of this, medical device manufacturers must work hard to ensure that their products never fail.

Today’s manufactured components are more complex than ever, with more parts diversity, more model year changes and tighter tolerances than ever before.

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.

Today’s manufacturing industry relies on the use of GD&T definitions, and the ability to verify parts directly to them for first article and production inspection and reporting. Only then do orders ship and the manufacturer gets paid. Price and scheduling are negotiable, quality is not!

A noticeable influx of people and activity fueled the second day of IMTS 2018 at McCormick Place.