Quality Magazine

Quality April 2021 cover

2021 April

Check out the April 2021 edition of Quality, featuring Navin S. Dedhia, 2021 Quality Professional of the Year, gage solutions, ERP, Automation, NDT, and much more!

Cover Story

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Features

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quality control lab

Special Gage Solutions Optimize Measurement for Many Unique Applications

Discover gaging solutions for manufacturers in the automotive, aerospace, power generation, food and medical industries.
L.S. Starrett Company Special Gage Division
April 7, 2021
One Comment

Even with the availability of hundreds of standard precision tools and gages, sometimes measuring challenges are best solved with a specially made gage. It is critical to work hand-in-hand with engineers who are dedicated to making sure that an accurate and easy-to-use custom-made solution can be attained for specific application requirements. 


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quality control lab

Guide to Contracting Calibration Services

Many organizations today require ISO/IEC 17025 accredited calibrations, but simply requesting an accredited calibration is not enough.
Jim Salsbury, PH.D.
April 7, 2021
One Comment

Quality standards require that measuring equipment be calibrated prior to being put into service. In addition, the maintenance of measuring equipment requires recalibrations at regular intervals. 


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Performing recall and analysis.

ERP is Key to Business Continuity and Quality in 2021

Louis Columbus
April 7, 2021
One Comment

In the middle of the most chaotic, uncertain months of 2020, manufacturers discovered that the perfect antidote was to double down on quality and reliable delivery—turning to their enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems for the timely insights needed to navigate rapid changes in market demand and resources across their supply chains. 


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CNCs

Four Things Your ERP System Should Do For You

ERP systems can vary widely in size, scope, features, and functionalities, depending on the needs of different manufacturers.
Dusty Alexander
April 7, 2021
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With the manufacturing industry growing more complex every day, it’s hard to imagine operating a manufacturing enterprise without an ERP system. The software provides a critical central communication point for the business, handling all activities from quote to cash and everything in between. 


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Laser trackers and six degrees of freedom

Six Ways Six Degrees of Freedom Probe Technology And Laser Trackers Can Enhance Your Business

In general 6DoF probes meet the dynamic measurement, speed, and accuracy requirements of the most challenging industrial applications.
Leo Martinez
April 7, 2021
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If January is the month of resolutions, April is the month of renewals, a time of spring cleaning. Like people, businesses of all sizes undergo a similar ritual. Instead of tackling overstuffed closets, C-suite executives update their quarterly economic forecasts and prepare for the second half of the year. 


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Columns

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Face of Quality
Face of Quality | Jim L. Smith

Organizational Culture

Workplace culture takes work but delivers value
Jimsmith 200
Jim L. Smith
April 8, 2021
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Even in today’s constantly evolving world, there remains a truism. Those who are more successful produce better results than many of their peers. They do it better and faster than their counterparts. This is not intuitive for everyone. It has to be developed or redefined. 


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From the Editor, Darryl Seland
From the Editor | Darryl Seland

Truth or Fallacy

Depends on how you look at it.
Darryl
Darryl Seland
April 8, 2021
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Sunk costs are defined as costs that have already been incurred and cannot be recovered. Proponents of the sunk cost fallacy argue that since it is a cost paid in the past and unrecoverable, it should be removed from any future decision making. 


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Other Dimensions
Other Dimensions | Hill Cox

Thread Ring Gage Calibration

The basic advantage of the solid thread ring is that it does not have a size adjustment that can be changed.
Hillcox 200
Hill Cox
April 8, 2021
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In my last column I listed some basic equipment requirements for the calibration of thread plug gages so I thought it would be helpful to give mating gages the same treatment. 


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NDT

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materials testing gages
Materials Testing

Force Testers Vs. Material Testers

Force testers and material testers have expanded into industries such as medical, plastic, and aerospace to assure that strict product performance and reliability standards are met.
Joel Schoubert
April 8, 2021
15 Comments

Deciding whether to purchase a force tester for basic testing or a material tester for advance testing could be a challenge based on the multitude of options and functions which are available today to meet your test requirements. 


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C-scan
Eddy Current

The Big Deal about ECA

With the latest instruments and probes, eddy current array strikes a balance in speed, POD, and cost effectiveness on big jobs.
Jesse Herrin
April 8, 2021
14 Comments

To a qualified and well-equipped nondestructive testing technician, few inspections present an insurmountable technical hurdle. Technicians have a range of testing methods at their disposal, from sophisticated ultrasound and eddy current technologies to manual processes like liquid penetrant.


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Handheld XRF analyzer
Back 2 Basics

The 101 on XRF Analyzers

Experts share details on the ins and outs of this technology
Genevieve Diesing
April 8, 2021
15 Comments

Handheld X-Ray Fluorescence (HHXRF) analyzers verify materials quickly, reliably and cost-efficiently. They can identify a material’s elemental makeup within seconds, making it easier for manufacturers to select the right metal grades and tolerances for their needs. 


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Automation

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robot vision

2.5D Vision Hits Sweet Spot for Collaborative Applications

Automation can be deployed without having to redesign large parts of your facility.
Kristian Hulgard
April 8, 2021
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The days when only large companies could adopt automation are long past. Collaborative robots (cobots), lightweight industrial robot arms (LIRAs) and affordable peripherals such as vision systems and grippers have created a new paradigm by making low cost, easy to use automation solutions available to small-to-medium sized companies for the first time. 


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man working with robots

Maximizing Quality, Minimizing Rework with Autonomous Robots

For most manufacturing firms, skilled labor was incredibly scarce before the COVID crisis struck.
Robert Ravensbergen
April 8, 2021
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High-mix, low-volume (HMLV) manufacturers have faced extensive challenges when it comes to automation. The need for detailed planning, programming and jigging that comes with most automation systems (especially robotics) makes them fundamentally inflexible in adapting to the varied parts, processes and work methods that HMLV manufacturers need to get the job done.


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automated robot
VISION GUIDED ROBOTICS

Best Practices for Implementing Vision Guided Robotics

An important first step in any application is a thorough project evaluation prior to system design and implementation.
David Dechow
April 8, 2021
3 Comments

Vision guided robotics (VGR) is an automation technology well-recognized for enabling greater flexibility and higher productivity in a diverse set of manufacturing tasks over a wide range of industries.


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