Regardless of your industry, manufacturers face similar challenges—increasing costs of raw materials, labor and talent shortages, global competition, and other factors limiting profitability. More than ever, manufacturers must create products more quickly and efficiently while maintaining the highest quality standards.

Surface finish affects how a part will fit, reflect light, transmit heat, wear, distribute lubrication, accept coatings and more. The right finish should ultimately be determined by the part’s function and the engineering requirements of the application.

No one wants to spend time making scrap, and automation is one way to avoid or at least minimize quality issues. Rather than spending time making products that aren’t up to specification, operators will make good parts and catch quality issues earlier. 

Dr. Bonnie Dunbar, a five-time space shuttle astronaut who spent more than 50 days in space, described her experiences in flight – highlights included the 90-minute trip to circle the Earth and experiencing weightlessness – for a special Women in Metrology event at CMSC 2019.

Readers of this column are a gentle lot and not likely to run afoul of criminal law but can end up in a similarly frustrating situation that limits their working life.