TROY, MI — A majority of manufacturers in a recent Quality survey plan to maintain or increase spending on quality operations over the next year, and only 13% responded that they would expend fewer resources in the category.

In the survey, coordinate measurement machines remains a bedrock of the quality field, with 22% of respondents saying they planned to increase spending on the technology. CMMs ranked fifth in that category, behind gages, quality software, measurement software and laser measurement equipment. At 22%, CMMs hold steady with 2016’s result, when the same percentage of respondents intended to increase spending in the CMM category. That year, video measurement equipment finished ahead of CMMs instead of laser measurement equipment.

The survey reflects the competitive market for measurement solutions, as CMMs increasingly look to compete on the shop floor with automated solutions and other new technologies.

The findings come from Quality’s 17th annual State of the Profession survey. Respondents to the survey work in a variety of industries, with fabricated metal products, medical equipment and supplies, aerospace products/parts, and motor vehicle parts being the most common primary businesses. About 38% of respondents work for OEM companies, 30% work for components and parts manufactures and 12% work for a job shop.

An article reporting the full results of the survey can be found in the July edition of Quality.