On every trade show floor featuring additive manufacturing, there’s a growing selection of additive processes for making production parts that stand alongside machines more commonly associated with prototyping. An essential aspect of additive’s transition from prototyping to production is data collection.
Why conduct these tests? There are many reasons to perform materials tests. Data from testing can be used by engineers, scientists, designers, and managers.
If you’re curious about what the plant down the road is buying, we have some answers for you. And if you’re wondering what types of equipment are popular right now, we’ve looked into that as well. In our 19th Annual Spending Survey, we also looked to identify the change in your approach to quality today as compared to a year ago, the spending on quality equipment and services overall, and the change in the budget within categories.
The obvious reasons for automating quality in manufacturing are to reduce scrap, rework, overtime and costs while simultaneously increasing productivity and customer satisfaction. The non-obvious reasons include employee satisfaction, customer referrals and market growth. Automation also give managers and line workers insights into ongoing production.
From calipers to micrometers, to indicators and all manner of gages and metrology equipment, there are literally hundreds of standard off the shelf solutions for measuring the vast array of parts that manufacturers make.
Quality doesn’t just happen. It doesn’t come as a result of just the corner office, but of countless people in the organization. Achievement of a robust quality culture is an outcome of the combined efforts of the minds and hearts of everyone working together toward a common cause.
While Taoist philosopher Lao Tsu was the first to make the statement, “Those who know do not speak. Those who speak do not know” part of his formal teachings, some form of the wisdom behind this statement has been attributed to such great philosophical minds as Socrates, Buddha, and Jesus.
ASQ has rebranded itself so it is now known simply by its acronym rather than as the American Society for Quality. The reason for this is simple: ASQ is a global entity. Headquartered in Milwaukee, WI, ASQ also operates regional centers in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East/Africa.
As you examine your future in quality, keep these items in mind.
January 15, 2019
The quality profession has existed for nearly three-quarters of a century. In 1946, quality professionals rallied together to create the American Society for Quality Control. Throughout the association’s 72 years, the profession has evolved as roles and responsibilities have changed and expanded.
There’s no question about this column. I accept the blame for what appears in this monthly effort for better or worse. This column is all about the standards I often refer to in my rants. I frequently encounter folks who question the information these standards contain and sometimes the question is valid but there are ways to challenge or change technical details within them.
A machine vision interface connects a camera to a computer, transferring image data for processing and analysis. What you choose will impact your application, your system component options, and your results for a long time to come.
Metrology software has challenges in most application environments… and LK Metrology’s new 8.5 version of their CAMIO CMM software has a range of new features to help meet those challenges.
The temptation when choosing a lens for a machine vision system is to want more of everything—resolution, field of view, temperature range—because the system is only as good as its lens.
Vision systems provide peace of mind when it comes to production quality but they can also generate valuable data that tracks process variability. Diving into the world of vision data can seem overwhelming, but with the right tips and tricks you can set up a system to work for you.
Since SPM specialists Image Metrology and Digital Surf joined forces in 2014, development teams from both companies have been working hard to create the next generation of SPM image analysis software.
JAI has introduced the SP-12401-USB, a new 12.4-megapixel camera in its Spark Series of high resolution area scan cameras. Two models are offered – a monochrome model (SP-12401M-USB) and a color model (SP-12401C-USB). Both models are built around the Sony PregiusTM IMX304 CMOS imager, which features 3.45-micron pixels and a dark noise rating of less than 2.5 electrons for excellent image quality even under low light conditions.
The L.S. Starrett Company has introduced its AV450 Automatic Vision System. Versatile, accurate, fast, and American made, the new 3-axis vision system allows users to cost-effectively achieve high throughput in their inspection process, and is ideal for both repetitive, larger part-run applications and routine quality assurance.
The L.S. Starrett Company has introduced a range of Digital Electronic Indicators conforming to true AGD (American Gage Design) Group 1 dimensions, providing the ability to replace traditional mechanical indicating applications in the smallest AGD size specification class.
R&R Fixtures created the QuickLoad™ corner (QLC) to locate and hold fixture base plates on vision systems. It has now developed a similar product for use on CMMs. The QuickLoad rail (QLR) is the latest product released by R&R Fixtures, continuing its quest to provide innovative fixturing products.
Bruker announced the launch of the new Luxendo InVi SPIM AIM next-generation lattice light-sheet microscope, which features an advanced illumination module (AIM) for lowest phototoxicity light-sheet fluorescence microscopy of live samples.