Automated quality inspection cells help achieve zero-defect production and increase throughput through 24/7 operations. However, unexpected stops in complex, AI-powered cells can pose challenges due to unpredictable scenarios and edge cases.

AI, despite its hype, often causes delays in manufacturers' automation strategies due to confusion and fear. Fundamentally, AI complements machine vision, which uses handcrafted algorithms needing new formulas and trial-and-error development for each product type or feature.

Materials testing ensures quality by subjecting materials and products to controlled conditions to evaluate properties and behavior under stress. Learn how mechanical, physical, and chemical properties are evaluated to determine suitability for different applications.

As technology gets easier to use, vision and AI application design is no longer restricted to expert-level developers. A quality manager or IT operations staff can design, train, and deploy their own customizable workflow.

Getting products out the door quicker, and with less waste, can have significant impacts on both customer service and the bottom line. However, with businesses facing numerous challenges lately – chief among them being a prolonged labor shortage – achieving that goal has become more difficult.

Some people might be nervous about completely switching careers, but not Jared Curtis. For his dedication to quality, strong communication skills, and interest in always learning, Jared Curtis is our 2023 Quality Rookie of the Year.

For quality inspection, the key is developing a system that can reliably deliver product that is free of defects, and to do that it requires careful software selection.

Inspection reports are an invaluable part of the manufacturing process in many industries, and first article inspections are especially common in aerospace, defense, automotive and medical devices. In other words, if high quality is essential, these reports often are too.

If you’re not sure how to inspect components for E-mobility applications, there are a range of tools at the ready. As the world of electric vehicles continues to expand, technologies such as computed tomography, coordinate measuring machines, and microscopes all provide part of the puzzle.

For several years we have been reading about the ominous skills gap. In some trades, we are teetering on the edge of the gap; in others, we have already picked up several bumps and bruises on the trip down to the bottom of the canyon.