A Global Role for Coordinate Metrology

Think global, measure local.

Published: Friday, September 3, 2010 - 11:43

On behalf of the Coordinate Metrology Society Executive Committee,
I would like to thank each of you for contributing to the 2010 Coordinate Measurement Systems Conference. Each member of the Coordinate Metrology Society (CMS) is responsible for adding to the exchange of technical ideas, concepts, and theory that flows freely among our attendees every year at the conference, from the experts who formally present their work in the open forum to the exhibitors who support our growth through their sponsorship.

CMS membership is rooted in the aerospace industry but has continued to grow to include many other sectors that are pillars of the world economy.
The benefits provided by advances in close tolerance, industrial coordinate measurement systems, and their applications can have a profound effect on both local and global economies.

To illustrate this point, consider the following example. In his 2010 State of the Union address, President Barack Obama set a new objective for U.S. exports. He followed that speech with an executive order titled the National Export Initiative. The goal of this initiative is to double U.S. exports in the next five years. The civilian aircraft industry accounts for the largest percentage of U.S. exports (7.1 percent of total exports in 2009, according to the U.S. Census Bureau). Another 9 percent of total U.S. exports can be accounted for within industrial equipment, excavation equipment, automobiles, and automotive components. In total, these industries contributed $173 billion toward U.S. exports in 2009.

To meet the goals of the National Export Initiative, these industries will have to play a major role. The CMS is well represented in each of these industries and our community will be called on to help meet these goals. As an international community, we also have the opportunity to contribute globally. The European Union, the world’s second-largest producer of civil aircraft, is also working to decrease its current trade deficit to China by increasing exports. The global investment in renewable energy sources and the resurgence in interest in nuclear energy production are also areas that can be affected by CMS members.

The executive committee has already begun to prepare for the 2011 CMSC to be held in Phoenix. We welcome support from you, the members, to help continue to grow our technical community. Thanks again for your contributions.

P.S. Are you a member of the Coordinate Metrology Society?

You should be! The CMS is the preeminent membership association for measurement professionals. The Coordinate Metrology Systems Conference is sponsored by CMS, a society of users, service providers, and manufacturers of high-precision portable coordinate measuring machine systems, software, and peripherals. The society membership assembles each year to get a firsthand look at the advancements and new developments in the use of portable measurement systems or software that produces and uses 3-D coordinate data.

The CMS is driven by its charter to educate the members about the utilization of 3-D metrology systems (including traditional coordinate measurement machines, laser trackers, photogrammetry, theodolites, laser projection systems, laser radar, noncontact scanning devices, and articulating arms) and their applications, such as reverse-engineering, tooling, inspection, metrology-assisted assembly, deformation analysis, robot calibration, and integration.

The organization also publishes The Journal of the CMSC. The white papers presented in the journal highlight the outstanding work being done in our industry. As a technical community, we should all take pride in offering this platform for authors to share their knowledge. The establishment of the journal, now in its 10th issue, has contributed to the significant increase in the number and quality of presentations submitted to the CMSC during the past four years. It is important to note that several papers submitted to this year’s CMSC cited papers previously published in The Journal of the CMSC. This acknowledgement of prior work is both a testament to the original author’s contribution, and an indicator that as a community, we are finding ways to build on our collective knowledge. Fully exploiting the knowledge present in our international technical community will be necessary to meet the current challenges faced by the manufacturing industry worldwide.

Yearly membership dues are $25, which are included in the yearly conference fee. To join the Coordinate Metrology Society or attend the yearly conference, contact registrar@cmsc.org. Our website is always available at www.cmsc.org.

About The Author

Talion Edwards

Talion Edwards is an associate technical fellow in 3-D imaging and reverse engineering and is the principle investigator for the Boeing Research and Technology reverse engineering development task. He also serves as co-chairman of the Boeing Enterprise 3D Imaging Community of Practice for which he coordinates a yearly workshop held in conjunction with the Coordinate Measurement Systems Conference (CMSC), and in 2008 he served as the presentations coordinator for CMSC. Edwards currently serves on the executive committee of CMSC and is leading an effort to establish a central certification for industrial metrologists. He is the CMSC 2011 chairperson.