All Features
The U.S. Department of Labor reported 13.9 million unemployed Americans in July 2011, and even the creation of 117,000 jobs last month didn’t put a dent in the 9.1-percent unemployment rate. In fact, there has been little change in the unemployment rate since December 2010. So why am I repeating…
NVision Inc.
Engineers from NVision Inc., using the company's HandHeld scanner, were able to quickly reverse engineer a large impeller for a major hydroelectric facility, sparing the facility what would have been an extended shutdown had they needed to produce a replacement impeller from scratch. In less than…
With a heavy focus on research and development, and innovation, Eltek Valere develops and manufactures advanced electronic power supplies. They were the first company to release and manufacture a high-efficiency power rectifier.
Eltek Valere is the world technology leader in energy conversion,…
Mike Richman
From the minute I arrived on site, I knew that this would be a Coordinate Metrology Systems Conference unlike any other. First of all, it was in Phoenix… in July. So, the 100-plus-degree temperature wasn’t unexpected; the humidity, on the other hand, was a bit of a surprise. The evening preceding…
NIST
The electromagnetic force has gotten a little stronger, gravity a little weaker, and the size of the smallest “quantum” of energy is now known a little better. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has posted the latest internationally recommended values of the fundamental…
NIST
Terahertz radiation can penetrate numerous materials—plastic, clothing, paper, and some biological tissues—making it an attractive candidate for applications such as concealed weapons detection, package inspection, and imaging skin tumors. However, to date there is no standard method for…
Tracker Handbook by Art Kietlinski
Despite a laser tracker’s many capabilities, its main function presents some limitations that can make it difficult to measure certain features of a part. Line-of-sight or scanning surfaces with a small radius or contour may be a challenge when using only a laser tracker.
Before other…
FARO
Variation Reduction Solutions Inc. (VRSI) is an independent integrator of machine vision and applied metrology technologies for automated manufacturing. The company focuses on achieving disruptive gains in assembly-process accuracy and efficiency through the innovative application of…
Cognex Corp.
Since 1975, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has required that all prescription tablets or capsules have a unique identification in terms of size, shape, color, and imprint. Drug makers use the imprints both to identify the chemical substance and dosage and for promotional purposes.…
Microscan
Machine vision systems rely on quality images for quality output. High-quality images enable a system to accurately interpret the information extracted from an object under inspection, resulting in reliable, repeatable system performance. The quality of the image acquired in any vision…
NIST
Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have created a tunable superconducting circuit on a chip that can place a single microwave photon (a particle of light) in two frequencies, or colors, at the same time.
This curious “superposition,” a hallmark of the quantum…
Daniel Brown
Traditionally, 3-D dimensional inspection was performed in the quiet, stable, spotless, and controlled environment of quality labs. But during the past few decades, manufacturers have been increasingly interested in measuring devices that are both comprehensive in scope and portable. Nowadays,…
Frost and Sullivan
Since 2009, there has been a recovery in the white-light scanner market, and the manufacturing industry and metrology vendors acknowledge this. However, research indicates that there is still uncertainty among end-user spending.
White-light scanner end-users are increasingly becoming aware and…
GKS Global Services
A Minnesota-based manufacturer of high-quality ATV, snowmobile, and motorcycle parts and accessories had a design and development problem with a snow blade that created a lot of time-consuming rework. Thanks to 3-D scanning from GKS Global Services, the problem was recently solved.
The…
Miriam Boudreaux
You’ve heard about “measuring training effectiveness” but aren’t quite sure how to do it. You’ve been filling out training attendance sheets for as long as you can recall, and they have served the purpose. So why is training effectiveness all of the sudden a topic of discussion, and what exactly is…
ZEISS Industrial Quality Solutions
Several of the polished gears are still standing on carpeted pedestals shortly after the InnoTrans—the world’s most important railway transport event. They were developed and manufactured by Henschel to help trains deliver their passengers quickly, safely, and reliably. One of the locomotive axle…
Rapidform Inc.
Cars scream around the track at speeds approaching 200 mph, yet a 500-mile NASCAR race can be decided by a few tenths of a second. To be a winner, NASCAR teams seek any advantage they can create. However, NASCAR has strict guidelines that specify nearly every aspect of the “stock” car. For BMI Corp…
Mike Richman
Any way you slice it, the Orlando World Center Marriott Resort is one big place. Total number of rooms? More than 2,000. Massive swimming pool? How about two of the biggest ones you’ve ever seen? Fine dining and refreshments? Take your choice of two terrific steakhouses (one American, one Japanese…
Donald Jasurda
Across the life cycle of delivering a product to market, engineers face many obstacles. They often find themselves spending a lot of time reworking or repairing parts that fail inspection but may fit and function properly when assembled; or, they might pass inspection but do not fit with other…
Creaform Inc.
A patient had to undergo the surgical ablation of most of her nose because of a skin cancer that had attacked her right nasal septum.
Following the surgery, a cicatrization period had to be observed before a rhinoplasty was even considered. If no action was taken meanwhile, the patient was at…
The need for learning and certification of knowledge in portable coordinate measurement and large-volume metrology has been recognized by professional organizations such as the Coordinate Metrology Society (CMS) and major industrial end-users. During the past year, the United Kingdom’s National…
Belinda Jones
If you think the Coordinate Metrology Systems Conference (CMSC) is a run-of-the-mill conference, be prepared to have those preconceived notions shattered. There is a comfortable grassroots feel to this five-day event. Experts and novices alike talk metrology shop. Ideas and theories abound.…
NIST
A metasurface or metafilm is a 2-D version of a metamaterial, popularized recently in technologies with seemingly unnatural properties, such as the illusion of invisibility. Metamaterials have special properties not found in nature, often because of a novel structure. NIST’s metasurface is a small…
FARO
Ariel Corp. is an innovative manufacturer of gas compression equipment. Based in Mt. Vernon, Ohio, Ariel has been at the forefront of modern compression technology with market-driven innovation. The company takes pride in its manufacturing processes and product designs. Quality is the foundation…
Mike Richman
Last month I wrote an article entitled “Being Comfortable in a World of Never-Ending Change.” Editor in Chief Dirk Dusharme and I also covered this story on the April 29th edition of Quality Digest Live (QDL). QDL, by the way, is our live video show wrap-up of the week’s top industry news and…
