Inspection & Quality

Most people know that using the right grade of insert can improve nproductivity dramatically. Few know that the proper grade is also important nwhen utilizing round tools.

A 10-question quiz tests the reader's knowledge of gage usage and maintenance. The answers, which are provided, help correct common misperceptions about gages and gaging.

This article describes how one aerospace manufacturer boosted production capacity by partnering with a supplier, which began machining parts formerly made in-house.

With close-tolerance machining, variances in the temperature of the part or gage can lead to out-of-tolerance work. This article describes the compensation systems that have been developed to measure temperatures and make the necessary adjustments to gage readings.

Experts offer advice for implementing an SPC program in shops. They emphasize that developing an SPC program isn't as difficult as many people think, and that a program can be implemented with few hassles.

Next-generation CMM software offers users a simple interface, the ability to program the machine directly from CAD data files and the opportunity to write programs off-line. This article describes the latest advancements in CMM software and shows how older machines can be retrofitted to take advantage of the software's features.

This article explains how state-of-the-art tool presetting-and-measuring machines can reduce a shop's tool setup time while increasing precision. The article also describes how the additional functions of these high-end units can turn them into sophisticated tool-management systems.

When digital calipers that did not have to be zeroed before each measurement were introduced, they represented a significant advancement in electronic gaging. This article explains the technology behind these absolute-reading instruments and how they are used to make typical shop-floor measurements.

CNCs have the power to dramatically increase productivity, yet many shops fail to make use of their controllers' full potential. This article suggests ways that a shop can fine tune its CNCs to create controllers that are optimized for the type of work being performed. The tips include many CNC features, capabilities and options that users often overlook.

In the lab, researchers are using artificial intelligence to turn CAD and CAM programs into systems that can think and make decisions. This article looks at several of these efforts and the capabilties of the systems that have been developed.

Manufacturing customers have begun demanding that their suppliers institute quality-control processes. At the same time, they are expecting their suppliers to adopt more efficient processes so that suppliers can reduce their prices while maintaining profitability. This article discusses these pressures and how even subtier suppliers are being affected by them.

Casting a pattern of light on a part and viewing that pattern at a different angle through a grating with the same pattern creates a moire pattern that can reveal small changes in the part's shape. This article tells how this phenomenon can be used by machine vision systems to measure part dimensions or pinpoint variations from a specified contour.