How good is quality control in your business? Are you struggling with delivering products or services on time? Do you receive negative reviews, customer complaints, or get product returns frequently? If the answer is yes to any or all of these questions, then your business is likely having problems with quality control and is in need of improving your business quality control management systems.
Mistakes can happen in the production of goods and services. This can be frustrating for both consumers and manufacturers, but the sooner you detect these problems, the better. This will allow you to find solutions and deliver products that meet or exceed your customers' expectations. But how do you act on quality control issues before they become actual catastrophes?
That's the role of a reliable quality management system. Such a system will help you take control of your production line and provide you with the highest quality goods and services. Below you’ll find out how you can improve your existing quality management system with the use of a coordinate measuring machine (CMM).
A coordinate-measuring machine (CMM) is a tool that can measure the dimensions of physical objects, including the height, width, and depth in the X, Y, and Z-axis. It uses a probing system to perform the measurements on the object's surfaces. CMM probes are available in three types:
Each time the probe contacts a point on the workpiece, they send a signal. These probes are most suitable for inspecting 3-dimensional geometric parts.
These CMM probes transmit a continuous data flow to the measurement system as they pass over a target's surface.
These work similarly to scanning probes. But instead of linear variable differential transformers (LVDTs), these probes use laser, capacitive, or video measurement technology.
The ability of these probes is essential to consider when you're looking to use CMM measuring equipment for your quality control operations.
If you're dealing with dozens of features or soft, deformable workpieces, non-contact probes are a better option for you. They can collect data from a larger surface area in less time, making them ideal for high sampling rates. The downside, however, is they are less accurate.
The same goes for when you prefer a higher degree of accuracy in measuring. Non-contact probes are still your best bet here but do note that they can slow things down since the probe must traverse the part from point-to-point.
Improving your company’s quality control metrics isn't only about delivering high-quality products and services. It also includes eliminating inefficiencies and cutting operating costs. You can achieve both with a coordinate-measuring machine.
Here's how you can use CMM as a quality control tool:
Ensuring the correct dimensions of every item you're producing is essential. Measuring the intricate parts of your product with manual inspection tools, however, can be time-consuming and prone to more errors.
A CMM can take accurate measurements from various angles in less time. It can also help you create products that match the customer's preferred designs and blueprint specifications. By using a CMM, you can ensure that every part is free from defects, no matter how complex the product is.
Equipment failure is a common problem in every type of business. It can disrupt production entirely and delay delivery schedules, depending on how serious the circumstances are.
A CMM will provide valuable data about machine degradation. Besides measuring complex surfaces and checking product quality, it allows you to monitor the health of your equipment. It can keep you up-to-date on tool wear, thermal drift, and other potential errors. Thus, it can help you save a lot of time and money brought about by sudden and costly production downtimes.
CMMs enable you to automate inspection processes, freeing the operator from doing repetitive tasks. All they need to do is press a button and the CMM will automatically measure every part of the product, even in large batches.
This gives them the opportunity to tend to more high-value tasks and activities. While ensuring quality control in your production process, you can also increase productivity in your overall business operations and thus achieve higher profitability.
Dependable and accurate inspections help ensure better quality products and higher productivity. Leveraging coordinate-measuring machines is an excellent way of improving your business quality management system. Just make sure to choose a CMM with the right probing system for unique production needs.
