Measurement

More shops and builders are remotely monitoring machine tools, which quickens maintenance and repair.

END USER: Fox Valley Metrology Ltd., (920) 426-5894, www.foxvalleymetrology.com. CHALLENGE: Providing faster service when repairing hand-held instruments. SOLUTION: A honing tool that allows repairing measurement instruments at a customer's site. SOLUTION PROVIDER: Brush Research Manufacturing Co. Inc., (323) 261-2193, www.brushresearch.com.

The Look Ahead column features an economical "structured-light" scanner for inspecting parts.

One of the Look Ahead items in the September issue of Cutting Tool Engineering magazine features a robotic fiber laser machine without a working optical fiber in which the laser beam is integrated in the robot.

A second item in the Look Ahead section of the October 2012 issue of Cutting Tool Engineering magazine covers an automatic, scalable component-testing system that combines acoustic and functional testing.

Auto parts manufacturer Mann+Hummel reaps the benefits of optical scanning.

Careful consideration when implementing inspection processes yields efficiencies. Manufacturers continually search for ways to increase profits and reduce costs. Trying to find cost savings where chips are made makes sense and is usually where the most-significant improvements are found. However, efficiency gains can also be made in nonvalue-adding areas, like inspection.