All Features
Mike Richman
The July 21, 2017, episode of QDL came to you from the 8,000-ft grandeur of Cliff Lodge in Snowbird, Utah—site of the 2017 Coordinate Metrology Society Conference. During this special episode, we toured the show floor, looked at some great portable 3D measurement solutions, and chatted with…
Fran Webber
Right now, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) museum in Gaithersburg, Maryland, is displaying a glass globe the size of a large beach ball. When visitors first come upon it, they’re not sure what to make of it. Is it a giant light bulb? A highly impractical fishbowl?…
Capture 3D
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Companies strategically adopt cutting-edge solutions to help solidify their position within a competitive marketplace. Years ago, blue-light 3D scanning technology was implemented to help product development and alleviate coordinate measuring machine (CMM) bottlenecks. Today,…
X-Rite
Would you choose a beverage off the store shelf if the same brand sitting next to it was a different color? The Bacardi Bottling Corp. knows the answer is probably no, which is why the company incorporates strict color standards into its Bacardi Mojito production process.
Bacardi Mojito is a mix…
Mike Richman
If there was one key takeaway from Hexagon’s impressive and impressively large user conference, styled “HxGN Live,” which took place earlier this month, it’s that finding actionable information, not merely acquiring mountains of data, is the key to developing a truly smart factory. “It’s always…
NIST
Printing 3D metal objects is a booming industry, with the market for products and services worth more than an estimated $2.3 billion in 2015—a nearly fivefold growth since 2010. For this type of manufacturing, a metal part is built up successively, layer by layer, over minutes or hours. Sometimes…
Mike Richman
The June 16, 2017, episode of QDL included my hot take on Hexagon’s ginormous user conference as well as interviews with two of our favorite guests, Chad Kymal of Omnex and Kelly Graves of Internal Business Solutions. Take a look:
“Field Report: Hexagon Live 2017”
I and more than 3,000 of my…
Ryan E. Day
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Building airplanes and spaceships poses some of the most unique engineering and manufacturing challenges mankind has ever encountered. Fortunately, you don’t have to build rockets to benefit from rocket science. Manufacturers of most any product can improve their efficiency and…
Olympus
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Digital microscopes combine high-quality optical systems with the ease of use of a digital device for the efficient management of industrial quality control workflows.
Accurate inspection and measurement no longer depend on in-depth microscopy knowledge. Digital microscopes…
NIST
How do jumbo-jet designers develop resilient materials for modern airframes, while still bringing in their projects on time and on budget? Before they prototype a new material, they depend heavily on computer simulations to indicate how it will perform—and scientists at the National Institute of…
Ryan E. Day
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Founded in 1927 to produce aluminum splints—cutting edge at the time—Zimmer Biomet is a medical device company commanding second place in the entire world’s overall orthopedic market share. The organization’s stated purpose is to “Restore mobility, alleviate pain, and improve the…
Dirk Dusharme @ Quality Digest
In last week’s Quality Digest Live: LEGO, do spacesuits make your butt look fat, and when reality smacks you in the face.
“What to Do When Reality Smacks You in the Face”
Three self-leadership techniques to use when reality smacks you in the face.
“The LEGO Group reaches 100% renewable energy…
Mike Richman
The episode of QDL from this past Fri., May 19, 2017, offered a wonderful example of Dirk geeking out about NIST and innovation in metrology, not to mention a great interview and a delicious take on the power of chefs as leaders.
“Move Over, Superman” Lots of people talk about infrastructure…
Dirk Dusharme @ Quality Digest
Technology is amazing. It’s amazing that I own a smartphone with more power than a 10-year-old laptop. It’s amazing that we have self-driving cars or smart appliances that tell you when you need to go shopping, ideas considered science fiction 20 years ago. It’s even amazing that you are reading…
NIST
Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have produced and precisely measured a spectrum of X-rays using a new, state-of-the-art machine. The instrument they used to measure the X-rays took 20 years to develop, and will help scientists working at the agency make…
FARO
A researcher from the University of Cambridge recently worked on the Bonavista Peninsula to get a better understanding of what’s left of some of the oldest organisms in the history of life on earth.
Paleontologist Emily Mitchell used portable 3D metrology equipment from FARO and Manchester…
Jean-Angelo Beraldin, David MacKinnon, Luc Cournoyer
Recent interest in portable coordinate measuring systems (CMS) has attracted the attention of industrial users and the technical community at large. Articulated arm coordinate measuring machines (CMMs) and optically tracked CMM (OTCMM) systems have emerged from being “nice-to-have” to “must-have”…
Keith Bevan
The 33rd annual Coordinate Metrology Society Conference (CMSC) is rapidly approaching in Snowbird, Utah from July 17–20. Preparations are moving forward at a land speed record pace, a reasonable expectation with the conference being held close to the Bonneville Salt Flats. The event has earned…
Ryan E. Day
During the 1950s, W. Edwards Deming championed quality management philosophies that helped Japan develop into a world-class industrial center. In 1954, Joseph M. Juran was invited to lecture by the Union of Japanese Scientists and Engineers. His visit marked a turning point in Japan’s quality…
Ryan E. Day
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Everyone in manufacturing has heard about the fantastic properties of composite materials, but if you’re not involved in satellite communications (SATCOM), you’ve probably never heard of Eclipse Composites. If you are into SATCOM and particularly SATCOM antennas, you know the…
Patrick Nugent
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Joe Gibbs Racing, a family business founded by former three-time Super Bowl champion Washington Redskins head coach Joe Gibbs, is one of today’s most successful racing teams. In its 25-year history, it has earned four NASCAR Cup Series championships, five NASCAR XFINITY Series…
Nick Butch
One of my favorite things about being a condensed matter physicist is how broadly defined the subject is. There are lots of interesting phenomena begging for scientific attention, so it’s never boring. One of my favorite topics lies at the crossroads of magnetism and superconductivity.
Magnets…
Ryan E. Day
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For manufacturers, big parts pose big challenges. How does one measure parts that are in excess of 15 ft and also have complex geometry? Design and inspection are part and parcel of all manufacturing operations, but as product size increases, and part geometry grows more complex…
Olympus
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Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) regulations help protect the public from the toxicity and pollution associated with consumer products and electronics. Beyond public health and safety concerns, the cost of noncompliance, including fines, product recalls, and decreased…
Henry Zumbrun
Imagine that a satellite is launched into space and communications are intermittent. This happens because the satellite is wobbling, which causes connection problems in the receiver. The cause of the wobbling is identified: It is the result of not using a calibration provider with a low enough…