Operations
Most manufacturing engineers have experienced some version of the same problem: A production process successfully completes validation. The production part approval process (PPAP) is approved. Yield is stable, customer requirements are being met, and everyone assumes the process is under control…
Imagine running a race where every second counts and your competition is constantly breathing down your neck. That’s the magic (or madness) of cycle time. It’s the secret ingredient that transforms a sluggish assembly line into a well-oiled machine churning out products faster than you can say “…
Operations leaders usually have more maintenance data than they can use.
They probably have access to dozens of dashboards, automated emails, and spreadsheets. But when an important asset fails, the “why” sticks around.
Effective maintenance reporting should act as a filter…
3D printing has matured from a speculative sci-fi fantasy into a practical tool. Plastic is the most commonly used material for 3D printing, but research at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is helping expand 3D printing into a new area—ceramics. Small details matter when…
Ask anyone who’s bought a handheld 3D scanner with optical tracking system in the last few years about what sold them, and you’ll hear about speed. More points per second. Larger scanning areas. Faster data capture.
Those improvements matter. But when you look at the entire…
The vision system scanned the part and logged a pass. The SPC chart stayed inside its control limits. The line kept moving.
Three weeks later, the customer complaint arrived. The defect had been there the whole time, sitting just inside the algorithm’s confidence threshold, close…