All Features
FARO
Mission Support Inc. has pioneered the combination of sheet metal fabrication and modern computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) dimensioning technology for improved production capabilities. They have also been leaders and innovators in the implementation of real-time CAD/…
Michael Raphael
The year 2009 contains two significant anniversaries within the scientific community: the bicentennial of Charles Darwin’s birth and the 150th anniversary of the publication of his groundbreaking book On the Origin of Species. To honor these milestones, the National…
Capture 3D
Because of their size, wind turbines are transported in individual parts to their offshore setup destination. Because individual components are manufactured at different sites, they are often put together for the first time at the mounting site on high seas. Therefore, it is necessary to verify…
FARO
Most car drivers enjoy road tunnels without giving a second thought to the years of patient effort that go into the construction. In the case of the new 3.6 km-long, newly opened Vintebro tunnel near Oslo, Norway, in three minutes one can drive through a tunnel that took three years to finish and…
(Sensor Products Inc.: Madison, NJ) -- During tough economic times it is tempting to reduce quality control to cut costs. However Dolph Beyer, an engineer with Mohawk Fine Papers, asserts that doing this is actually counterproductive. He has determined that using pressure indicating sensor film as…
David Rideout
The field of surface metrology is one of the fastest growing areas of engineering and quality management. Because what happens at the interaction between two surfaces can affect the functionality and life span of a product, understanding the places where contact and interactions occur is vital for…
Steven Ouellette
You know how sometimes you think everyone knows a secret that they haven’t let you in on? Well, I had the opposite happen to me the other day. I assumed everyone knew the purpose for measurement system analysis (MSA), a.k.a. gauge repeatability and reproducibility; but I found out that a number of…
GKS Global Services
GKS Inspection Services has been a leading provider of dimensional inspection, 3-D laser scanning, terrestrial scanning, and CT scanning services for more than 25 years. The company’s metrologists and engineers are experienced in the automotive, defense, electronics, and many other manufacturing…
Figure 1: Measuring 3D CT METROTOM 1500 from Carl Zeiss
There are still no generally applicable standards for industrial computed tomography (CT). Manufacturers and users still must agree on de facto standards for the specification and certification of…
On behalf of the entire CMS Executive Committee, I would like to wish everyone an upcoming happy and joyous Holiday season. This is always a busy time of year with extra planning, shopping and travels and one sometimes wonders how everything gets accomplished. I am going to add one more item to…
Belinda Jones
It is no coincidence that Astronics-Luminescent Systems Inc. (LSI) is a prominent supplier of aerospace lighting systems in three aircraft markets: commercial transport, military and business jets. For nearly a decade, Astronics has focused on expanding their product line to become a major…
In partnership with Metris UK, in this article we will discuss the utilization of modeling and simulation methods in the development of a revolutionary 7-axis Robot CMM Arm (RCA). An offline virtual model is described, facilitating pre-emptive collision avoidance and assessment of optimal…
Turbines that are housed in aircraft engines are subjected to pretty tough conditions. They must perform at speeds of 30,000 rpm in temperatures greater than 800ºC for hours at a time.
The engine manufacturers fully understand that even small surface defects can reduce performance, increase…
GKS Global Services
Didrick Medical Inc. is a small privately owned company located in Naples, Florida, that designs and fabricates active-function artificial finger prostheses, called the X-Finger, for partial finger amputees. The owner refined the design for more than six years before he took it to the marketplace…
Everyday objects such as toothbrushes or shaving devices have to meet increasingly higher design and quality requirements. Shorter product life cycles place high demands on development and production processes. In between the single product development steps, the aesthetically shaped prototypes…
NIST
(NIST: Gaithersburg, MD) -- Finally, an optical frequency comb that visibly lives up to its name.
Scientists at the University of Konstanz in Germany and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in the United States have built the first optical frequency comb—a tool for…
Rickard Lindhé
ABB of Västerås, Sweden, is a pioneer among world industrial robot manufacturers when it comes to using laser-based measuring technology to ensure robot precision. ABB, with an installed base of 125,000 robots, stands out as the world’s largest in the arena of industrial automation. And Leica…
Metris
As Europe sets ambitious targets for energy that is clean and inexhaustible, wind energy is predicted to meet approximately 25 percent of Europe’s power demand within 25 years. Today’s wind turbines measure 70–150 meters and feature bladed rotor diameters of 100 meters or more, translating into a…
Dave Maxham
A joint project of NCMS called Volumetric Accuracy for Large Machine Tools (VALMT), partnering Automated Precision, Boeing, Siemens and Mag Cincinnati, has pioneered an innovative process and established new methodology in volumetric error compensation for large machine tools. Volumetric error…
Steve Arbogast
A quality management system is a framework of processes and procedures that are used to ensure that an organization can fulfill all tasks required to achieve its goals, strategies, and objectives.
The majority of businesses around the world have some sort of well-defined quality management…
Miriam Boudreaux
When you think about equipment that is used for measuring and test activities, you think about important equipment that is used to pass or fail product but may not necessarily see its correlation with a supply chain. However, this very equipment—whether it is calibrated in-house or off-site—does…
GKS Global Services
In this case study of reverse engineering and rapid prototyping we will look at a company that developed an initial prototype of an anti-snoring device based on many years of research in the field of dentistry. The company’s main dental advisor is a pioneering dentist in the research and…
Miriam Boudreaux
If you have ever found equipment that is out of calibration, then you know it is not something to take lightly. Whether you manufacture children’s toys or automobile tires, you know that the implications and ramifications of the decisions you make can be devastating for your company. Although the…
Patrick Lanthier
There are several challenges that can arise when you start the process of measuring micro and meso scale parts. Some important factors to consider before you begin the actual part measuring are: part handling, cleaning, and fixturing. Using a coordinate measuring machine (CMM) allows you to …
Alex Lucas
Top-100 automotive supplier, Kautex, relies on Metris XC50-LS Cross Scanner on LK CMM to verify the production quality of composite fuel tanks. Kautex engineers set up and execute automatic measurement routines that speed up the serial inspection process for fuel tank by 30 percent. Incorporating…
