Advanced manufacturers today are trending towards Industry 4.0—changing the way business runs. More emphasis is placed on access to real-time data from production and quality sources.
Surfaces are designed into products to reduce friction, “store” lubricants, provide a high luster finish or be the proper texture to hold paint (but not show the actual surface of the paint).
Quality is the most frequently cited reason for reshoring manufacturing to the United States. According to the Reshoring Initiative’s 2017 Data Report, quality cost ranked number one as the most frequently mentioned negative factor experienced offshore from 2010 through 2017.
To choose the right 3D surface measurement tool, an engineer must carefully consider the size of the object, the speed of the scan and analysis, and a customer’s tolerance requirements.
Computers have been used to automate manufacturing processes and tasks for many years. Until the 2010s, product assembly was centralized. Over the course of this decade, however, companies have been nudging organization-wide systems toward decentralization.
“Work smarter, not harder.” It’s a term often heard by just about anyone who has ever set out to perform a task. It can be found on inspirational posters and do-it-yourself home repair manuals as well as articles on life management and corporate handbooks.
Smart manufacturing is enabling the best decisions in the shortest time based on the most accurate and actual real-time data—whether those decisions are made by people, automated machines or cyber-physical systems.
CMMs are vital measurement systems for many quality departments. Of the many active components of these systems, the software used to control and record the measurement of parts is critical to getting the most complete performance out of your machine. It is important to be diligent in your search for the software package that will best fit your needs.
In recent columns I’ve commented on information requests accompanying calibration orders. Some of these are common and effective but some are not. Occasionally, they are brought about due to their inclusion in one standard or another but are misrepresented. In some cases, the standard they are from relates to in-house systems rather than calibration activities by outside parties.
Most organizational leaders know that quality makes them more competitive and yields improved bottom-line results. They know what they need to achieve—product and/or service quality—but many organizations struggle with how to consistently yield the quality they seek. This is where ASQ can best provide assistance.
If you’re old enough to remember The Lone Ranger, Tonto and Silver (the Lone Ranger’s trusty horse) you’ll also remember the famous silver bullets. Unfortunately, silver bullets only exist in Hollywood, not in the real world. I’ve had several conversations with people whose companies are using lean transformations to pursue the magical silver bullet.
Learn about the Method D liquid penetrant inspection nondestructive testing method, including basic steps for using a refractometer, preparing an emulsifier concentration chart, and determining hydrophilic emulsifier concentration.
Of the four available methods to remove surface penetrant during the fluorescent penetrant inspection process, the hydrophilic post emulsifiable penetrant process (Method D) is used when tighter control of the penetrant process is desired.
Portable phased array ultrasonic testing systems hit the market nearly 20 years ago, and today the latest generation of these tools delivers better amplitude resolution, faster data acquisition rates, and advanced data analysis in a single easy-to-handle package.
From airbags to air-conditioning units and fuel rails, from anything implanted in the body to hermetically sealed enclosures for integrated circuits, there are some instances where the acceptable leak rate is so small as to be practically zero. Few air leak test methods, such as pressure decay, have the necessary detection range.
The need for nondestructive evaluation on large quantity production components is becoming more achievable with CT technology due to the advances in machine hardware and processing techniques over the past few years.
It is true that magnetic particle testing (MT) is one of the oldest NDT methods, and over the years has proven itself to be not only reliable, but cost effective, when it is applied properly with qualified personnel.
"Data is the new oil!” Clive Humby said over a decade ago, and his words seem even more apropos today. The allure of data is all-consuming—open any newspaper on any day of the week and at least half a dozen articles will speak about data.
Cal Test Electronics introduces its new CT4200 series of passive voltage oscilloscope probes featuring compact 2.5 mm barrel size and bandwidths from 55 MHz to 1.5 GHz. The 8 model series includes 1x, 10x, 20x, and 100x attenuation ratios.
Magnaflux is introducing a new multi-direction magnetic particle wet bench – one that is specifically designed for speed. The Universal WE wet bench is designed with automotive customers in mind.
Carestream Non-Destructive Testing introduces the new wireless HPX-DR high resolution digital DR detector that provides higher resolution, heavy duty shielding, optimum portability and improved workflow for use in many NDT mobile and lab inspection applications.
Emergent Vision Technologies launched The Accel Series, 25GigE Line Scan cameras. The EVT Accel Series by Emergent Vision Technologies is the first ever to utilize the 25GigE interface standard.
Mahr Inc. announced a new family of Micromar 40EWRi-L digital micrometers with high speed measuring spindle positioning. The digital micrometers, with the latest MarConnect interface, allow measurements that are 10 times faster than a standard micrometer, saving the operator time when numerous different dimensions need to be measured on a single workpiece.
Eight years after the launch of the first ROMER Absolute Arm, Hexagon’s Manufacturing Intelligence division has unveiled its new Absolute Arm range. A ground-up redesign has seen one of the world’s most recognizable portable measuring arms modernized to meet the needs of today’s metrology users, with a key focus on improved usability and versatility without compromising on speed and accuracy.