Shane Collins often hears people say that there aren’t any additive manufacturing standards. This is frustrating because he’s worked on additive standards for more than 10 years and there are dozens out now.

In management literature you will often encounter the concept of a best practice. However, until recently no method was available to assess a best practice. 

In Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing (GD&T) there has been a long-standing conflict between the worlds of specification and measurement. The goal of specification is to ensure that components will function; the goal of measurement is to ensure that manufactured components meet those functional requirements. 

Collaborative robots, or cobots, help humans and robots work together safely. Small, medium and large companies are increasingly choosing these human-friendly versions over traditional industrial robots, which are complex to use and are typically relegated to safety cages. 

Artificial intelligence, machine learning, and deep learning are interrelated concepts involved with computer-based learning from vast amounts of data – and then making predictions based on that information. This article will show how these technologies can provide good alternatives to traditional image processing, and how software works to make this happen. 

A smart sensor is simply a sensor that can communicate to provide real-time diagnostic data and adapt based on that data. The data can be used to optimize a system, reducing costly downtime and increasing quality. 

Cylindrical ring gages have a number of inspection purposes. They are used as Go/No-Go gages to inspect the outside diameter of a shaft or rod. They are masters for dial bore gages, internal micrometers and coordinate measuring machines (CMMs). 

Over the past 50 years, computer programming languages have made several significant advancements all focused on making a computer easier to use in a more human-readable format. If you wanted to learn programming in the early days you would have had to learn Assembly Language, a set of binary machine operation codes that instructed the microprocessor how to perform each step. 

The pandemic has turned the global supply chain on its head. Manufacturers of materials and finished items are under unprecedented pressure to manage a disrupted workforce, while responding to ever-changing customer demands, in many cases with profound urgency. It’s enough to make one’s head spin. 

Deciding whether to purchase a force tester for basic testing or a material tester for advance testing could be a challenge based on the multitude of options and functions which are available today to meet your test requirements.