All News
(InnovMetric: Quebec City, Canada) -- InnovMetric Software, a leading provider of universal 3D metrology software solutions, has launched PolyWorks 2016, the latest release of the company’s universal 3D metrology software platform. PolyWorks 2016 fully supports probing and laser scanning on…
When the PrecisionPath Consortium concluded its second working meeting on February 25, 2016, noteworthy progress was made in the roadmapping process for advanced, large-scale manufacturing. More than 20 members of the consortium participated in this pivotal "“Needs Assessment and Gap Analysis”…
(Delcam: Birmingham, UK) -- During the past five years, German automotive toolmaker Konrad Schäfer Modell und Formenbau has switched all its static and portable CMMs, as well as its hand scanners, to Delcam’s PowerINSPECT inspection software. The results of standardizing on a single software have…
(Creaform: Lévis, Canada ) -- Creaform, a global leader in portable 3D measurement solutions and engineering services, has unveiled its new 3D scanner for shop-floor operation, the MetraSCAN 3D. Re-engineered to address increasing manufacturing quality standards, it offers the best possible…
(API: Tampa, FL) - EMS, one of the largest single-source providers of advanced 3D scanning and printing solutions, and API (Automated Precision) have agreed to a formal reseller partnership to distribute API’s advanced laser-tracker metrology products in the United States.
“API’s laser tracking…
(CMS: Weatherford, TX) -- The Coordinate Metrology Society (CMS) has selected a slate of 25 technical papers and presentations for the 2016 Coordinate Metrology Society Conference (CMSC). The 32nd annual gathering of the CMS will be held July 25–29, 2016, at the Embassy Suites by Hilton in…
(Basis: Redmond, WA) -- Basis Software has introduced the Surphaser Model 10 laser scanner, the first in a new product line of compact lightweight scanners. The new model was presented April 2–5, 2015, at the SPAR 3D Expo and Conference in Woodlands, Texas.
The Surphaser Model 10 represents an…
In greater Downeast Maine, boat builder Hodgdon Yachts plans for the construction of the 100-ft racing yacht called “New3” (also known as “New Cubed”). Set to be constructed and finished toward the end of the year, the vessel will be shipped to Australia for its first race. As Tim Hacket, the…
We are all cursed with “surprises” at work. We come in, sit down, get ready for the day. We select a task to start on, and about halfway through, it explodes on us. The seemingly simple task now has 30 subtasks all lined up, ready to destroy our day.
This is stressful. Since we’re likely already…
I’ve mentioned that design of experiments (DOE) is one of the few things worth salvaging from typical statistical training, and I thought I’d talk a bit more about DOE in the next couple of columns. The needed discipline for a good design is similar when using rapid-cycle plan-do-study-act (PDSA…
Depending on whom you ask, May (or August or April—it would be great if someone were to standardize this, but we’re going with May) is National Inventor’s Month. Lots of people have dreams of being a famous inventor. Even I’ve had “ideas” for inventions before.
For instance, during the 1990s,…
The healthcare industry is in a state of constant change, and with change comes opportunity. With the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA), healthcare providers are, or will be, paid differently for their services. No longer can they…
When Marissa Meyer became Yahoo’s CEO in July 2012, employees and shareholders saw the glamorous ex-Googler, former vice president of product search and teacher of programming, as their savior. She made some big bets on everything from blogging to digital magazines, buying Tumblr, a blogging…
(Manufacturing Institute: Washington, D.C.) -- The Manufacturing Institute has released the first Community College Consortium for Bioscience Credentials (c3bc) spotlight on Forsyth Technical Community College. This is the first of five best practices that the institute will release during the…
They sound like words and have a mysterious dignity rolling off the tongue. Their meanings seem both apparent and elusive. If an alien delegation landed on Earth, words like these might feature in their formal greetings. They are the most expensively researched neologisms in use around the globe.…
(ANSI: Washington, D.C.) -- The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has circulated a proposal for a new field of activity: ”Chain of custody—Transparency and traceability—Generic requirements for supply chain actors.” As the U.S. member body to ISO, the American National Standards…
I find that I’ve become increasingly irritated with the narrow interpretations and self-serving definitions of what is, or is not, innovation. One of the most common scapegoats for innovation is brainstorming. No other activity is more frequently miscast, and often blamed, for failed innovation.…
The Quality System Regulation (QSR) 21 CFR Part 820, aka FDA current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) for Medical Devices, is what regulatory professionals should be referencing in their quality system procedures. Part 820 embodies all the major parts of the FDA quality system that are shared…
Quiz time: What significance does the yin and the yang have in discussing standardized training? I suggest that you pause and guess (and then read on for the answer).
OK, we all get it, standards are a part of our lives in the business world, and they are gaining more and more focus as companies…
Put your hands together. Now move them back and forth to rub them against each other. Feel that heat? That’s from friction. No matter if it’s between siblings or the gears of an engine, we usually think of friction as a bad thing, and often it is. Friction can cause things to heat up, wear down,…
(ISO: Geneva) -- Exposure to ionizing radiation is a potential risk in many situations, and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has a score of standards that help ensure exposure levels are kept within safe limits. Now, two new standards have been published that focus on the…
“It is a common experience that a problem difficult at night is resolved in the morning after the committee of sleep has worked on it.” —John Steinbeck
In Personal Kanban (Modus Cooperandi Press, 2011), Jim Benson and I discuss how workflow should be optimized for throughput, not capacity. Work…
Most of the time when I’m consulting, the problem that my clients think they have is not the real problem. That makes sense, because if people understood their real problem, they would just fix it. The fact that the problem still exists is a likely indicator that the real issue hasn’t been…
(U.S. Dept of Labor: Washington, D.C.) -- The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has announced the availability of a total of $4.6 million in funds in the Susan Harwood Training Grant Program.
The grants will fund the creation of in-person, hands-on training…
Today I’d like to talk about kaizen—specifically, the order for kaizen. The term has come to mean “continuous improvement,” but kaizen originally translates from Japanese as “change for better.” To help clarify this useful concept, I’ll present three different views for approaching kaizen: Taiichi…
