Coordinate Measuring Machines, often referred to as CMMs, have been one of the major drivers of the return of the North American manufacturing industry. For decades, various combined factors — such as deregulation, low labour costs abroad and technological improvements in countries with historically smaller economies — decimated North American manufacturing.
But increased automation in production lines has helped to make North American manufacturing competitive again. CMMs played a significant role in this: they are the machines which perform quality control by inspecting parts and products ranging in size from micrometres to over a hundred feet. With great precision and reliability, they can tell whether or not there are any defects in newly produced parts.
But such sophisticated machines, capable of measuring so precisely, need to be taken care of properly if you want to get the most from your equipment. Here are some tips to keep in mind, to make sure you’re getting the best performance possible from your CMM machine.
Have It Professionally Installed
CMM machines are extremely sensitive, so even factors like the temperature or condition of the room in which it is operating can influence how the machine works. Be sure to have a well-trained metrologist install your machine, so that it’s calibrated properly for its environment from the beginning.
Consult Experts On Equipment
If you don’t already employ a metrology expert, hire one on contract to give you advice about calibration and replacement parts. They have expert knowledge about every kind of CMM machine. Consult with them to get tips on CMM equipment from industry professionals on probes and probe heads, as well as the newest software.
Teach Your Employees From The Best
Measurement solutions providers like Canadian Measurement Metrology engage North America’s foremost experts on metrology, and they offer CMM training and e-courses.
When it comes to knowledge transfer, it can be difficult for employees to get sufficient time to learn how to properly use new software —only 20% of all software training course content is actually retained, and there are additional problems when the employees who are familiar with the software get promoted and are replaced by workers who have not been trained on it.
E-Learning permits any employee to train at their own pace without having to leave the factory, and can serve as an online refresher course for employees who have already received proper training. Anybody can consult the library to brush up on individual software features. While CMM machines enable automation, there are aspects that still require a person at the helm, and in these cases, the machine is only as powerful as its operators. Make sure they are trained.
The conditions that made automation practically a necessity in the North American manufacturing industry are not disappearing any time soon. It’s essential that you get reliable, accurate measurement data—inaccurate measurements can be detrimental for productivity, and can even result in flawed products that harm the company’s reputation. But this risk is eliminated if the CMM machine works properly.CMM machines created new possibilities for efficiency on the production line — it’s fitting that to take your business to the next level, you need to make sure you’re getting the most efficiency from your CMM machine.
I hope you enjoyed this blog post about how to get the most from your CMM coordinated measuring machines for manufacturing work.
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