Quality articles from April 2003

Quality archives from April 2003

Our duty. (From The Editor).(quality management as a matter of national security)(Editorial)
April 1, 2003... "And so my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." John F. Kennedy spoke these words at his inauguration in 1961. It was a rallying cry for the Cold War. A call to think beyond...

Coming events. (Industry News).(Calendar)
April 1, 2003... * Process Design and Implementation, Cambridge, MA, May 5-8. Hammer and Co., (617) 354-5555. * Lean Boot Camp, Ohio, May 5-9. Advanced Integrated Technologies Group Inc., (800) 924-2517. * Principles of Metrology, Dallas, May 5-9....

Integral Solutions merges with ASI DataMyte. (Industry News).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... ROYAL OAK, MI--Integral Solutions Inc. has merged with ASI DataMyte Inc. (Plymouth, MN). Integral Solutions supplies quality documentation software. ASI DataMyte, which itself was formed a year ago by the merger of Applied Statistics and...

Calibration services to continue growth path. (Industry News).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA--The emerging calibration services industry will continue to experience growth from 2003 through 2007. According to a market research report by The Signal Group, the growth in calibration services will...

Faro Technologies Inc. (Business News).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... Faro Technologies Inc.'s (Lake Mary, FL) metrology software, CAM2 Open Measure, now operates on the Unigraphics CAD software engine from EDS PLM Solutions (Plano, TX).

Pinpoint Laser Systems. (Business News).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... Pinpoint Laser Systems (Newburyport, MA) has received a patent for its Laser Microgage alignment system.

Balluff Inc. (Business News).(adds two floors to US headquarters)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... Balluff Inc. has completed a two-story addition to its U.S. headquarters in Florence, KY. Expanding the facility by 45%, the addition will augment the company's design.

Tosoh SMD Inc. (Business News).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... Tosoh SMD Inc. (Grove City, OH) has renewed its ISO 9001 and QS-9000 registrations.

Ford Motor Co. (Dearborn, MI) has given its Preferred Supplier Award. (Business News).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... Ford Motor Co. (Dearborn, MI) has given its Preferred Supplier Award for inspection and sorting equipment to General Inspection Inc. (Davisburg, MI).

Ultimus (Cary, NC) has integrated its Process Designer software with statistical data analysis software from JMP (Cary, NC). (Business News).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... Ultimus (Cary, NC) has integrated its Process Designer software with statistical data analysis software from JMP (Cary, NC). Process analysts who are working to achieve Six Sigma performance can use Process Designer to create, model, measure...

MTI Systems Inc. (Business News).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... MTI Systems Inc. (West Springfield, MA) has begun offering on-line consulting services for cost estimating and cost management. Manufacturers can send their information to MTI via the Internet. MTI engineers will then use the company's...

Romi Machine Tools Ltd. (Erlanger, KY) will provide spare parts for EZPath lathes from Bridgeport Machines Inc. (Bridgeport, CT). (Business News).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... Romi Machine Tools Ltd. (Erlanger, KY) will provide spare parts for EZPath lathes from Bridgeport Machines Inc. (Bridgeport, CT). The lathes, which were manufactured by Romi for Bridgeport, will no longer be produced.

Entela Inc. (Business News).(offers medical device testing service)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... Entela Inc. (Grand Rapids, MI) now offers testing services for medical devices. The company is accredited under the Food and Drug Administration's 510(k) third-party review program. It's also certified to test medical devices according to...

Sales of machine tools increase. (Industry News).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... MCLEAN, VA--Sales of machine tools in the United States totaled $198.19 million in December 2002. That is an increase of 45.5% compared with sales in November 2002 and an increase of 18.1% compared with sales in December 2001. According to...

Congress saves MEP. (Industry News).(Manufacturing Extension Partnership)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... WASHINGTON--Congress has voted to restore funding to the federal Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) program. In February, Congress approved $105.9 million to fund the MEP this year. Administered by the National Institute of Standards...

Boeing plant earns quality awards. (Industry News).(California Council for Excellence)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... LONG BEACH, CA--The Boeing Co.'s operations have won two quality awards from the California Council for Excellence. Boeing's C-17 program won the only gold-level honor for the council's 2002 U.S. Senate Productivity Award, which recognizes...

Conference covers lean Six Sigma. (Industry News).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... LITTLE FALLS, NJ--Engineers can learn how to combine the concepts of lean manufacturing and Six Sigma at a conference to be held May 8 to 9 at the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago. The conference is sponsored by Human Capital Associates and...

High-wage jobs moving to China. (Industry News).
April 1, 2003... ITHICA, NY--At one time, most manufacturing jobs that left the United States for China were concentrated in relatively low-skill, low-wage jobs in light manufacturing industries, such as apparel and textiles. However, an increasing percentage...

Metal-forming industry is optimistic. (Industry News).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... CLEVELAND--One-third of manufacturers in the metal-forming industry expected economic activity to increase during the first quarter of 2003. According to the Precision Metal-forming Association's Business Conditions Report, 54% of...

Entelegence Software Solutions. (People News).(hires vice president of marketing Ken Sheehan)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... Ken Sheehan has joined Entelegence Software Solutions (Orange, CA) as vice president of marketing. Entelegence is a supplier of metrology software.

Trumpf Inc. (People News).(names Burke Doar v.p. of sales, marketing)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... Burke Doar has been appointed vice president of sales and marketing at Trumpf Inc. (Farmington, CT), a manufacturer of industrial lasers and fabricating machinery.

Vision Engineering. (People News).(Dave Pickle joins firm as east coast regional metrology manager)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... Dave Pickle has joined Vision Engineering (New Milford, CT) as its East Coast regional metrology manager. Stewart McDougall has joined the microscope manufacturer as its West Coast regional metrology manager.

Six Sigma saves companies millions. (Industry News).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... CHAPEL HILL, NC--Managers can raise profit margins by implementing Six Sigma initiatives to cut costs, according to a report by consulting firm Best Practices LLC. The report details how companies have saved millions of dollars and...

Automakers demand price cuts. (Industry News).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... ANN ARBOR, MI--Faced with the growing costs of sales incentives and pension liabilities, automotive OEMs are demanding that their suppliers reduce their 2003 prices by 2% to 10%. According to the Altarum Institute's Center for Automotive...

Society of Automotive Engineers. (Association News).(sponsoring clinic on accelerated stress testing)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE, Warrendale, PA) is sponsoring an engineering clinic on accelerated stress testing. The clinic, "Bridging the Gap--Moving Toward Lean Implementation," will be held June 3 to 4 in Troy, MI. The goal of...

ASTM International. (Association News).(names Warren D. Ketola, Richard F. Kayser to board)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... ASTM International (West Conshocken, PA) has named two members to its board of directors. They are Warren D. Ketola and Richard F. Kayser. An ASTM fellow and chairman of the ASTM's Committee on Weathering and Durability, Ketola is a scientist...

A `neon' light. (Quality Mailbag).(Letter to the Editor)
April 1, 2003... Dear Editor, I just finished reading Scott Dalgliesh's comments in "Probing the Limits." I want to commend him on his efforts in trying to improve the role of the quality profession in today's business environment. My experience in this...

Long-term risks. (Quality Mailbag).(Letter to the Editor)
April 1, 2003... Dear Editor, I have been in manufacturing for more than 20. I have seen manufacturing shift from the United States to South America, then to Asia and India. Now to China. Sooner or later we will run out of countries willing to operate at...

We let them in. (Quality Mailbag).
April 1, 2003... Dear Editor, These Chinese manufacturers could go after most of the products we manufacture here if they knew how to gain entry into the specific markets. We open Pandora's Box (February 2003) by giving them the entree they desperately...

A revolution? (Quality Mailbag).
April 1, 2003... Dear Editor Do I detect a small revolution about ISO 9000? It's encouraging to see quality professionals speak out in Quality magazine and not just go along with the tide. However, I think the target should be Six Sigma and not ISO 9000....

Not `tolerant'. (Quality Mailbag).
April 1, 2003... Dear Editor, Scott Dalgliesh's "A Goldmine for Quality Improvement" (January 2003) is great. He has the guts to say what he knows. Engineers will be out to "tar and feather" him. I was trained by U.S. Steel in quality control in 1951...

Six Sigma? No thanks: despite good intentions, Six Sigma can be a harmful fad. (Probing The Limits).(is a repackaged quality trend)
April 1, 2003... I will never say that the content of Six Sigma is bad. I cannot say that because the content is built on the fundamental quality concepts that I am passionate about. What I can say, though, is that Six Sigma is another repackaged quality...

Digital disease runs rampant; fixating on numbers can be hazardous to your accuracy. (Other Dimensions).
April 1, 2003... While it has yet to make the psychiatric profession's growing list of common maladies, the condition I call "digital disease syndrome" continues to rapidly spread. The first sign of a patient's affliction with digital disease is abnormal...

Develop an SPC system: choosing a new SPC system is more than just picking out software. (Training Trends).
April 1, 2003... For many companies, sending statistical process control (SPC) data to a customer is mandatory, but where does one begin when choosing an SPC system? Creating a budget for a new SPC system requires taking many things into consideration. The type...

Scoring appearance. (Quality Brain Teasers).
April 1, 2003... Everyone who has faced a production problem with a need to solve the problem by using production data can relate to the notion of a brain teaser. The brain teasers presented here are based on real-world situations that are encountered by...

Software calibrates with certainty: new software allows users to calculate estimated measurement uncertainty. (Quality Innovations).
April 1, 2003... Historically, when considering calibration software, it is the administrative features of the software that first come to mind. In other words, receiving the equipment and tracking it through the laboratory. These are handy features considering...

Get precise with optics: optically scanning an entire surface takes into account surface information that is often overlooked by traditional methods. (Quality Measurement).
April 1, 2003... Measuring the form and finish of cylindrical surfaces used to require leaving key parameters unmeasured because of time and technology constraints. But with today's optical equipment, an entire surface can be scanned and the data that was once...

`Attack' your cal lab problems: Sikorsky Aircraft's cal lab technicians slash backlogs and improve processes. (Quality Test & Inspection)(Cover Story).
April 1, 2003... Manufacturers often have a way of throwing process improvement programs at problems. Many, if not most, are abandoned because a lack of interest translates into alack of results. The key, of course, is boosting interest, of exciting...

Five steps to cutting inspection costs: a step-by-step path to more productivity and less scrap with an automated quality process. (Quality Test & Inspection).
April 1, 2003... Quality inspection now has the burden of keeping pace with modern manufacturing. In addition to this challenge, ISO 9000 standards, shape complexity, dimensional tolerance and customers' increasing quality demands can create delays in...

Accelerate stress, increase productivity: accelerated stress testing can mean different things to different people, but if done correctly it can mean greater productivity and reduced costs. (Quality Test & Inspection).
April 1, 2003... Depending on whose job it is, accelerated stress testing (AST) can be thought of as preproduction design verification, production screening, temperature cycling or proactive product monitoring. It is all those things and more. In any context,...

Traceability key to cal lab compliance: traceability of measurement and measurement standards is key when examining a cal lab for proof of compliance with national standards. (Quality Software & Analysis).
April 1, 2003... Manufacturers searching for a commercial calibration laboratory to calibrate their test and measurement equipment need answers to tough questions. One of the toughest is the traceability of measurements and measurement standards to the National...

Audit your auditor: the switch to ISO/TS 16949 forces manufacturers to assess the assessors. (Quality Standards).
April 1, 2003... Armies of people make a living reading and interpreting standards. When a new standard is published, that "army" reads it carefully and then begins translating words into actions and evidence. Besides the published guides and checklists...

Simulation: making it real: manufacturers are spending big bucks on simulation programs to expand and upgrade employee training. (Quality Management).
April 1, 2003... During difficult economic times, the highest paid, most experienced employees are often some of the first to be let go. In some cases, the employees that remain do not have the experience or skill level to complete the tasks as quickly and...

Portable arms inspect body-in-white. (Case Studies).
April 1, 2003... Saturn Corp., known for its no-haggle pricing, takes a no-haggle approach to the quality of its sheet metal. It's done right. Period. At its Spring Hill, TN, plant, the company spares no effort to make sure the tooling, and the subsequent...

In-house "doctoring" saves hours of setup. (Case Studies).
April 1, 2003... Reductions in machine tool set-up time typically come in small increments. However, this is not the case on the four vertical machining centers used by the instrument department of Howmedica Osteonics (Allendale, New Jersey), a maker of...

Linear gage sensor. (New Products).
April 1, 2003... The BS-112 miniature linear gage sensor measures dimensions, thickness, curvature, eccentricity, displacement, height, depth, flatness, variation, run-out, roundness, distortion, deflection and position. It has a linear glass scale, so readings...

Laser for aligning machinery. (New Products).
April 1, 2003... The CLS-100 cylindrical laser transmitter can be inserted into a lathe, precision bores, and custom mounting fixtures to measure machinery straightness, flatness, parallelism and squareness to a tolerance of 0.0001 inch over a distance of 20...

Thickness gage for difficult materials. (New Products).
April 1, 2003... The Sonic 1000PG thickness gage has a 5.7-inch electroluminescent A-scan display that helps to verify readings on curved or difficult materials, such as Iconel, titanium, plastic, glass and composites. It measures a thickness range of 0.004 to...

Dual-channel leak tester. (New Products).
April 1, 2003... The M-1075 dual-channel, mass-flow leak tester can test two parts simultaneously at production-line speed. Test times range from 0.3 to 2 seconds on part volumes up to 25 cc. The sensing range is 80 standard cubic centimeters per minute at test...

Brinell tester. (New Products).
April 1, 2003... The 7000 Series large-capacity hydraulic Brinell tester uses a load cell to monitor the test force. The tester is unaffected by temperature changes or hydraulic warm-up periods. It has a 4-inch stroke, so it can be adjusted to test different...

Electronic gap gage. (New Products).
April 1, 2003... Gapman is a noncontact, portable, electronic thin-gap measurement gage. Capacitive sensors are located on each side of the wand for position-compensated measurement and insertion into gaps as small as 0.22 millimeter. Capacitec Inc. ...

Off-line inspection machine. (New Products).
April 1, 2003... Turnkey off-line inspection machine includes a machine vision system, optics, lighting and material handling equipment, such as vision-guided robots, feeder bowls, part-positioning tracks and conveyors. Options include laser marking equipment....

Automated laboratory microscope. (New Products).
April 1, 2003... The DM LAM laboratory microscope automatically analyzes images for applications such as particle counting and sizing, and tests of porosity, carbides and microhardness. It automatically sets the speed of the X-Y scanning stage and focus drive...

Surface texture measuring system. (New Products).
April 1, 2003... The MarSurf XR 20 surface texture measuring system includes a PC, touch-screen monitor, granite base, and a choice of three drive units and measuring stands. The touch-screen interface enables the machine to be used on the shop floor, where the...

UPS system. (New Products).
April 1, 2003... The Graphical Command Center is a color touch-screen display on the multi-module EPS 6000 and EPS 8000 uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) with power ratings up to 800 kilovolt amperes. Also available as an option for single-module systems,...