Laser scanning technology has emerged as an increasingly popular solution for many measurement applications. The ins and outs of laser scanning are not as well understood as other mature metrology technologies.
Inspecting is the first step in determining the quality of manufactured parts. But how to react when the quality begins to drift is a key question many people ask. Real-time statistical process control (SPC) identifies a problem, but it may not be the right tool for reaction plan managing.
With the metrology industry’s seemingly boundless quest for ultra high accuracy and sophisticated designs, the question is begged, how much accuracy is absolutely necessary and at what cost? Fortunately, recent advancements in video measuring equipment design provide accurate, productive, cost-effective solutions that are well within the vast majority of even the most stringent metrology requirements.
GD&T is a communications protocol that is particularly helpful in a global economy where parts may be made in one part of the world and used in another. GD&T is increasingly being accepted as the best way of specifying 3-D design dimensions and tolerances on engineering design drawings.
Today, the majority of manufacturers have come to understand and accept the roughness profile, Ra. But how much does industry understand the importance of the related waviness profile, Wt? As the waviness profile is becoming more common in process control, operators should learn how to understand this parameter.
New innovations in laser scanning technology and point cloud processing software are key enablers of an entirely digital inspection process. The concept of digitizing parts up front and running inspection on the digital copies of the samples streamlines metrology operations and embeds them into the CAD-centric design-through-manufacturing process. From measurement preparation to final report, this approach is significantly faster, provides more profound insight, and takes advantage of the typical flexibility and automation benefits of a digital process.
There is growing popularity for a loosely defined class of shaft measuring systems that can accomplish checks faster than other methods, and do so directly on the shop floor where the shafts are made. Frequently used in Europe, shaft measuring systems are gaining U.S. popularity in a number of high-volume applications.
Affordable, compact scanning electron microscopes (SEMs) are providing fast, direct access to high- resolution imaging to an expanding number of engineers and technicians. A new generation of personal electron microscopes delivers usable magnifications up to 24,000X.
As workpieces become more complex and manufacturers are expected to provide fully inspected, documented parts, there is increasing interest in noncontact gaging, specifically optical gaging.