All Features
Lucas M. Valdez, Mario O. Valdez, Joshua D. Montano, Ivan S. Trujillo
Tight-tolerance part inspection, whether for industrial applications or national laboratory requirements, is generally performed using cartesian coordinate measuring machines (CMMs). High-data density measurement sets to characterize part geometries are achieved using tactile probing or dynamic…
Gary Confalone
More than 30 years ago, a group of professionals formed an organization known today as the Coordinate Metrology Society (CMS). Their overall objective was to standardize the industry in terms of tooling and processes and share knowledge to educate and improve the future workforce. Some of these…
Keith Bevan
As the world heads into the fourth industrial revolution, we are still struggling with skills gaps and workforce shortages in the metrology industry. These skills are critical not only to manufacturers and scientists, but to virtually all growth sectors around the world. Taking a fresh look at how…
Paulina Kuo
I am a scientist. I am often wrong, and that’s OK.
You may have heard about major errors in science and engineering that made the news headlines, like the collapse of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, aka “Galloping Gertie,” or the 1999 crash of the Mars Climate Orbiter. Or maybe you’ve seen the recent…
Ryan E. Day
In part one of this article, we explored how Woodland Trade Co. (WTC) leveraged high-accuracy portable CMMs to help land tight-tolerance aerospace contracts, and even earn Boeing’s Supplier of the Year award. Here in part two, WTC’s QA manager William Shanks reveals the advanced technology that…
Dirk Dusharme @ Quality Digest
In our March 16, 2018, episode of QDL, we looked at universal basic income, management status quo, ISO 10018, and how a community college is teaching cutting-edge metrology skills.
“Public Split on Basic Income for Workers Replaced by Robots”
Gallup asks Americans if they would support a universal…
Mike McDonald
Fear. Anxiety. Stress. Anger. Not exactly the emotions we’re hoping to invoke in our employees, right? Not exactly the key to motivational management, anyway.
Unfortunately, those are the emotions many people feel when it’s time to discuss their work metrics. Employees dread the idea of their…
NIST
On February 14, 1929, gunmen working for Al Capone disguised themselves as police officers, entered the warehouse of a competing gang, and shot seven of their rivals dead. The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre is famous not only in the annals of gangland history, but also in the history of forensic…
Jennifer Lauren Lee
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is home to one of the most sensitive machines in the world for measuring objects’ dimensions. Customers who rely on the instrument include the military, academia, instrument manufacturers, private industry calibration labs, and more.…
Ryan E. Day
Manufacturing activities have strong ties to economic prosperity. Deloitte’s 2016 Global Manufacturing Competitiveness Index states, “Nations and companies are striving to advance to the next technology frontier and raise their economic well-being.” It’s no surprise that the manufacturing sector is…
Jennifer Lauren Lee
The “inconstant moon,” as Shakespeare called it in Romeo and Juliet, is more reliable than his pair of star-crossed lovers might have thought. Now researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) plan to make the Moon even more reliable with a new project to measure its…
NIST
Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have invented a new approach to testing multilayered, 3D computer chips that are now appearing in some of the latest consumer devices. The method may be the answer the semiconductor industry needs to quickly assess the…
Ryan E. Day
When your public motto is “staying on the cutting edge of technology,” you’ve set a bar for yourself. Thomas Paquin set that bar when he founded Laser Specialists Inc. (LSI) in 1986. Paquin’s untimely death in 1993 left the company with questionable leadership and direction. In 2004, Nick and Jon…
Mike Richman
During last Friday’s episode of Quality Digest Live, we looked at the far-reaching implications of a prospective merger, previewed our latest webinar with DNV, considered the importance of fun at work, and inspected some interesting stereo microscopes from Vision Engineering. Here’s a closer look…
Michael Moldover
How tall are you? How old? How much do you weigh? Do you care? Is it important to you that the measurements for height, age, and weight are accurate? What about the measurement of the gasoline that you pump into your tank? Is it important that the 12 gallons you pay for are truly 12 gallons?…
Michael Huda
We frequently get calls from customers who can’t figure out why their color measurements vary, even when they’re using maintained devices. Why would a sample read one way one day, then slightly different another? Many times the culprit is thermochromaticity, and it becomes an even bigger problem…
Cullen Hilkene
We’ve turned the corner and arrived in 2018. What will this year hold for 3D printing technology?
First, the arrival of extrusion metal printing. Today’s extrusion printers are the most prevalent and, arguably, the most user-friendly 3D printers on the market. Now, after years of there being zero…
Markus Grau
Industry 4.0, cyber-physical systems, or the internet of things (IoT): the paradigm shift in the production economy is cheerfully progressing under various names. What they all refer to is the digitalization and networking of production processes and environments. The idea is by no means new. The…
Jennifer Lauren Lee
Studio photographers may be familiar with the 1,000-watt quartz halogen lamps known as “FELs.” Scientists use them, too—specially calibrated ones, at least—to test the performance of light sensors that monitor Earth’s weather, plant life, and oceans, often from space.
A researcher at the National…
Mike Richman
Last Friday’s episode of QDL was our final show of the year, and we’re leaving 2017 on a high note! We brought you two great interviews and a terrific Tech Corner, not to mention some advice on increasing your productivity in 2018. Let’s take a look:
“AIAG and VDA Release Draft of Harmonized FMEA…
Ryan E. Day
Sponsored Content
Datum Metrology LLC (DM) is a metrology service provider specializing in jig building and bond tooling for various industries, including automotive, aerospace, naval, and nuclear energy. With decades of combined experience in multiple skilled-trade backgrounds, the DM team…
James Rawstron
Sponsored Content
Wichita, Kansas, is known as the “Air Capital of the World.” This is due in part to the National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) at Wichita State University, an advanced aircraft manufacturing laboratory. The area is home to notable aerospace and defense OEMs, including…
Michael Huda
Color is our perception of reflected light across the visible spectrum. When light hits an object, it absorbs some rays and reflects others. The color of light that reflects back into our eyes is the color we perceive. The more light an object absorbs, the darker it appears.
With black, very…
Dirk Dusharme @ Quality Digest
Our Nov. 17, 2017, episode of QDL looked at factories controlled by large-volume 3D metrology, the value (or not) of four-year degrees, and creepy Christmas.
“Developing the Light-Controlled Factory”
A UK development project directed by the University of Bath and supported by University College…
Dean Solberg
As technology rapidly advances, its uses are benefiting nearly every industry, and the world of art is no exception. Brad McConnell, a mechanical design instructor at John T. Blong Technology Center in Davenport, Iowa (Eastern Iowa Community College), wanted to expand the types of projects offered…