Quality articles from April 2004

Quality archives from April 2004

Pols need to find jobs.(From The Editor)(politicians)
April 1, 2004... We've all seen one of those horrible movies where the American travels abroad to a place where English isn't spoken. The American tries to communicate with a local, who can't understand him, and the tourist reacts by speaking louder. After...

Coming events.(Industry News)(Calendar)
April 1, 2004... MAY * Understanding and Implementing ISO/TS 16949: 2002, Detroit, May 3-4. BSI Management Systems, (800) 862-4977. * Process Mapping, Chicago, May 6-7. The University of Chicago, (800) 997-9689. * IDW 2004, Nashville, TN, May...

Hexagon buys Sheffield CMM business.(Industry News; Sheffield Automation LLC )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... NORTH KINGSTOWN, RI-Hexagon AB of Sweden, parent company of Brown & Sharpe Inc. (North Kingstown, RI), has purchased the coordinate measuring machine (CMM) business of Sheffield Automation LLC (Fond du Lac, WI). Sheffield Automation,...

MagCap Engineering LLC.(Business News)(International Organization for Standardization certification)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... MagCap Engineering LLC (Canton, MA), a custom designer and manufacturer of magnetics, has achieved ISO 9001:2000 registration.

Specialized Technology Resources Inc.(Business News)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Specialized Technology Resources Inc. (Enfield, CT), a consumer product quality assurance testing and compliance monitoring company, has expanded two of its quality testing and inspection laboratories in China. Its Shanghai laboratory has been...

MEC Northwest.(ISO 9001:2000 certification)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... MEC Northwest (Portland, OR), a manufacturer of custom circuit board assemblies, has received ISO 9001:2000 certification.

InterTech Development Co.(Business News)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... InterTech Development Co. (Skokie, IL), a producer of automated production-line leak and flow testing systems, has achieved ISO 9001:2000 certification.

Larson Davis Inc.(Business News)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Larson Davis Inc. (Provo, UT), a supplier of sound and vibration monitors, has achieved ISO 9001 : 2000 certification.

Salvagnini America.(Business News)(manufacturing department)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Salvagnini America (Hamilton, OH) opened a tooling manufacturing department to machine punching tools for its machines.

Beta LaserMike.(Business News)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Beta LaserMike (Dayton, OH), a manufacturer of precision measurement and control systems, has received the patent for the "Snap Technology" software contained within the UltraScan DSP ultrasonic wall thickness measurement system. Used by...

Northwest Analytical Inc. (Portland, OR), a provider of statistical process control (SPC) software, and ASECO Integrated Systems, a manufacturing consulting and system integration firm, have formed a partnership that delivers a new approach to quality information systems.(Business News)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Northwest Analytical Inc. (Portland, OR), a provider of statistical process control (SPC) software, and ASECO Integrated Systems, a manufacturing consulting and system integration firm, have formed a partnership that delivers a new approach to...

Gekko Engineering LLC.(Business News)(services)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... The newly formed Gekko Engineering LLC (Albuquerque, NM) provides product design and development expertise to deliver ideas and products to markets from anywhere in the world. The company's focus is on manufacturability and desirable products...

Governors challenged to support manufacturing.
April 1, 2004... WASHINGTON, D.C. -- "State governors have a critical role to play in advocating the interests of U.S. manufacturing," says Richard E. Dauch, co-founder, chairman and chief executive officer of American Axle & Manufacturing. Dauch, who also...

Marine Biological Laboratory.(People News)(James A. Sharp appointed)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... The board of trustees of the Marine Biological Laboratory (Woods Hold, MA) have elected James A. Sharp, president of Carl Zeiss MicroImaging (Thornwood, NY), as a member of the board.

Enterprise Technologies Inc.(People News)(Indy S. Panchi and Derek Cooper are appointed)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Indy S. Panchi has been appointed director, president and CEO of Enterprise Technologies Inc. (Vancouver), Derek Cooper has been appointed to the board of directors and as the company's secretary and treasurer.

PXI Systems Alliance.(People News)(Loofie Gutterman appointed)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Loofie Gutterman has been elected president of PXI Systems Alliance (Irvine, CA), a group of 60 companies that share a common commitment to end-user success with open, multivendor CompactPCl systems for applications in test and measurement,...

National Technical Systems Inc.(People News)(Derek Coppinger appointed)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Derek Coppinger has been named national sales manager of National Technical Systems Inc. (Calabasas, CA), an integrated engineering solutions company.

SGS Tool Co.(People News)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... David Toomey has been hired as sales engineer of SGS Tool Co. (Munroe Falls, OH).

Human Synergistics International.(People News)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Amy Gillespie has been hired as an account executive in Human Synergistics International's (Plymouth, MI) sales department. She will sell the company's training and assessment materials and simulations to university, manufacturing and...

NSF welcomes Bement.(Industry News)(National Science Foundation, Arden L. Bement Jr.)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Arden L. Bement Jr. became acting director of the National Science Foundation (NSF) on February 22, 2004. He joins NSF from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), where he has been director since December...

FARO wins Gold.(Industry News)(FARO Technologies Inc., Euromold Gold Award)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... LAKE MARY, FL -- FARO Technologies Inc. was awarded the Euromold Gold Award, a European engineering honor. The honor, bestowed on the most innovative new-product launch during the year, is in recognition for the company's portable coordinate...

China is top consumer of machine tools.(Industry News)
April 1, 2004... CINCINNATI -- China is the leading consumer of machine tools, according to an annual survey. The 2004 World Tool Output & Consumption Survey, released by Gardner Publications Inc., states Chinese factories acquired an estimated $6.5 billion...

DVT becomes NASCAR sponsor.(Industry News)(National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... DULUTH, GA -- DVT Corp., a provider of machine vision products, is a major associate sponsor for the 2004 NASCAR Busch Series season. The DVT logo will appear on Joe Gibbs Racing's number 20 car driven by Mike Bliss, as well as on the uniforms...

Heidenhain donates scales.(Industry News)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... SCHAUMBURG, IL -- Heidenhain Corp. donated almost a dozen high-precision linear scales to universities around the country that have mechanical engineering and aerospace programs. The LIP 400 linear scales were donated to the University of North...

Make tough quality decisions with the TV test: defining quality remains elusive, but a litmus test can help.(Probing The Limits)(Column)
April 1, 2004... I find it interesting and ironic that the quality profession struggles to define the word "quality." It is a difficult word to define, but as a quality manager that is interested in shipping quality products, I must define it. In some...

It's all in the details: manufacturers must balance the amount of information in calibration procedures.(Other Dimensions)(Editorial)
April 1, 2004... Editor's note: Columnist Hill Cox has put together a series that focuses on developing custom calibration procedures particular to an individual manufacturer's circumstances. Accurately written calibration procedures are critical in today's...

Calibrating micrometers: regular calibration intervals help ensure micrometer accuracy.(quality 101)
April 1, 2004... The inventor of the modern micrometer, Jean Laurent Palmer, introduced the basic principles of magnification based on screw threads. His design is based on a 1-millimeter, single-pitch open screw thread. One rotation, or 1 millimeter, was...

Electrical noise in circuits.(Quality Brain Teasers)
April 1, 2004... Anyone 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 workers...

Modular arm makes custom lengths: portable arm reaches new lengths.(Quality Innovations)
April 1, 2004... The quality tech is jammed in, measuring under the dash. The portable coordinate measuring machine (CMM) articulating arm is stretched to the limit, and the probe head is rotating toward the part to be measured. It won't reach. But, if the...

Measurement made mobile: wireless connections increase mobility on the manufacturing floor.(quality measurement)
April 1, 2004... In a society that is inundated with cell phones, PDAs, laptops and Internet cafes, it is little wonder that digital handheld tools have followed suit in the wireless trend. No longer tethered to a computer, users of digital handheld tools have...

Duplicate efforts: replication materials enable high resolution metrology on hard-to-measure surfaces.(quality test and inspection)(replication of surfaces)
April 1, 2004... Quantifying finish and wear on oversized or inaccessible parts presents a challenge in applications from machining to shipbuilding. In some cases, measurement instruments cannot access surfaces to characterize them directly. In other instances,...

CMM software solves scanning problems: as coordinate measuring machine capabilities grow, software improvements attempt to match these gains.(Quality Software & Analysis)
April 1, 2004... Coordinate measuring machines (CMMs) and the software packages used to program and operate them are locked in a classic "Catch 22" relationship. Getting the most out of a CMM requires powerful software, yet powerful software cannot deliver its...

Lean helps company soar; under the guidance of experienced manufacturing consultants, golden opportunities await those manufacturers who learn to adopt lean manufacturing techniques.(Quality Management)
April 1, 2004... The national economic storm that began in the latter half of 2000 has hit many states, but in California alone, more than 300,000 manufacturing jobs have been lost. The aerospace sector, in particular, has sustained some of the heaviest...

Flowcharts document ISO procedures.(Case Studies)
April 1, 2004... Managing quality processes at Ametek APT (Clauson, MI), makers of 150 electronic liquid-level sensing devises, automation controls and other instruments, is no easy task, especially when the production is spread across two plants and the...

Frame grabber.(New Products)
April 1, 2004... The MVS-8501 has been designed for the next generation of high-speed analog cameras that use progressive scan charge-coupled device (CCD) sensor technology. It provides high-speed acquisition capability in a single-channel architecture that...

Macroscope.(New Products)
April 1, 2004... The FS C comparison macroscope for real-time comparison, quality control and medical device inspection has a comparison bridge design that integrates a tilting binocular tube to accommodate users of all statures and to facilitate easy reach and...

TIC technique.(New Products)
April 1, 2004... The total interference contrast (TIC) measuring technique for step height and layer thickness measurement is used for materi als microscopy such as thick films, electronics, microsystems technologies, as well as in the glass, ceramics and...

Contour and form analysis.(New Products)
April 1, 2004... The Form Talysurf PGI 1240 delivers 0.8 nanometer resolution over a 12.5 millimeter range and has the ability to measure form, roughness, radius, inclination and contour in a single traverse. A 200-millimeter horizontal measuring traverse and...

Inspection gage.(New Products)
April 1, 2004... Computer-controlled dual laser micrometers measure diameter, average diameter, diameter total indicated runout ('FIR), TIR, composite TIR, length, roundness and straightness of transport rolls and shafts up to 10.5 inches in diameter and up to...

Shaft gaging system.(New Products)
April 1, 2004... The Opticline noncontact computer numerical controlled shaft gaging system measures form, dimensional and positional tolerances of symmetrical parts in submicron detail and records results almost instantaneously. Measurements are completed...

Dry-block calibrators.(New Products)
April 1, 2004... The Jofra ETC (easy temperature calibrator) series of dry-block calibrators has an easy-to-read display, one-key-one function technology, multiple bore blocks for a range of applications, programmable test setup and RS232 communications and...

Process control software.(New Products)
April 1, 2004... SterlingView provides real-time process control and integral data acquisition and recording. It can log machine and process faults and provide operators with diagnostic information. Developed to work with industry-standard protocols, the...

Process map software.(New Products)
April 1, 2004... ISOlutioner is a software tool that allows users to develop process maps by modifying a series of generic flow charts derived from the ISO 9001 : 2000 quality management systems standard. The tool is part of the alICLEAR flow-charting platform....

Inverted metallographs.(New Products)
April 1, 2004... The GX-Series of inverted metallographs provides solutions for image clarity and resolution in materials sciences. The modular GX51 and GX71 models offer a broad range of applications including production control, quality control and advanced...

Vision systems integration.(New Products)
April 1, 2004... The EZVIP software and vision systems integration has a point-and-click user interface that contains everything needed to set up vision applications. Along with the specified vision board and software libraries, the system can perform precision...

Combination lathes.(New Products)
April 1, 2004... The M Series of combination lathes can be used for mixed volume, short-run operations and dedicated high-volume applications. The M27 has a swing of 26.97 inches, and a 116.6 by 74.8 inch footprint. An optional electric automatic drum...

SmartScope Quest measuring systems from OGP.(Literature Review)(Advertisement)
April 1, 2004... SmartScope[R] Quest from OGP means high accuracy, multi-sensor dimensional measurement systems. From the benchtop 250 to the bridge-design 650 floor model. Quests feature fully tetecentric optics, heavy-duty stages, submicron precision,...

Coating thickness gages.(Literature Review)(Advertisement)
April 1, 2004... DeFelsko announces a new catalog featuring their line of coating thickness gages and inspection instruments. Included is the popular PosiTector 6000 series used to measure coating thickness or corn ferrous and non-ferrous metals quickly and...

JMP 5.1.(Literature Review)(Advertisement)
April 1, 2004... New! JMP 5.1 offers Linux operating system support, new statistical/DOE platforms and improvements, and enhanced Windows automation support. .IMP 5.1 also offers these Six Sigma enhancements: Attribute Gage R&R, an Agreement Report, and...

Measure color ... measure quality.(Literature Review)(Advertisement)
April 1, 2004... Product color or lack of color can be a Key indicator of quality. Learn the theory of how we see and measure Color from the educational CD entitled "The Basics of Color Perception and Measurement". Contact HunterLab for your free copy. ...

Certification / registration services.(Literature Review)(Advertisement)
April 1, 2004... NSF-ISR: NSF-International Strategic Registrations Ltd. (NSF-ISR) offers a wide range of third-party auditing services to meet your needs, from single sites to multi-site and multi-standard organizations. NSF-ISR provides management system...

CNC versions available.(Literature Review)(Advertisement)
April 1, 2004... Mitutoyo introduces CNC versions of its CV/CS/SV formtesters capable of automated contour/surface roughness measurements with independent/simultaneous multi-axis CNC control. Its drive speed of 200mm/s is 40 times faster than other machines in...

New "3700" series 14" horizontal beam comparator.(Literature Review)(Advertisement)
April 1, 2004... The new "3700" series S-T 14" horizontal beam comparator features a 5"X20" nickel plated stage with 100 pounds cad capacity, 12" X-axis and 6" Y-axis, erect image, duplex fiber optics surface illumination, digital screen protractor and NEW...

Spectrum CMM.(Literature Review)(Advertisement)
April 1, 2004... Add flexibility to your metrology inspection with a Carl Zeiss multi-sensor CMM. SPECTRUM is designed to provide companies with an economical, high-performance CMM with sensor upgrade capability. It offers users access to a variety of Carl...

Extensometers.(Literature Review)(Advertisement)
April 1, 2004... Compatible with nearly any brand of tester. High-accuracy strain measurement for all types of materials testing. Catalog covers tensile, compression and cyclic models, plus many others for specific test, Large variety covers gage lengths from...

GAGEtrak calibration management software.(Literature Review)(Advertisement)
April 1, 2004... GAGEtrak V5.5 calibration software has been upgraded to include Electronic Signatures, Custom Report Writer and Advance Audit Trail. Since 1988, JBL Systerns has provided world class software for Quality Management. Software packages include...

ISO 17025 compliance training.(Literature Review)(Advertisement)
April 1, 2004... Computer Based Training Module... content, terminology, concepts, graphics, formulas, real world examples, practice calculations questions and documentation all designed to satisfy ISO training requirements, while minimizing travel expenses....

Plug, ring, snap, and thread gages.(Literature Review)
April 1, 2004... Dundick product guide offers excellent opportunity for making significant savings in gauging costs, Descriptive 20-page catalog illustrates and provides complete informat on on the comprehensive line of plug gauges, gauge sets, and thread, ring...

Precision gages for quality assurance.(Literature Review)(Advertisement)
April 1, 2004... Call or go on line to order your next Thread Ring or Thread Plug gage. Gage Assembly Company offers a 50 year heritage of manufacturing excellence, value and matchless customer service. Thread gages are made with the finest fabrication and tool...

DNV certification.(Literature Review)(Advertisement)
April 1, 2004... DNV is a leading accredited registrar for ISO 9001:2000. QS-9000 and ISO 14001 and one of the few registrars recognized to provide ISO/TS 16949. In addition we offer AS9100 OHSAS 18001 and CE Mark registrations. DNV has five offices, throughout...

ASQ Six Sigma training.(Literature ReviewAdvertisement)(Advertisement)
April 1, 2004... Want to significantly improve your organization's operational and financial performance? Check out Six Sigma training from ASQ--the leader in quality improvement and performance excellence for over 57 years. You'll learn methods designed for...

Measuring instruments.(Literature Review)(Advertisement)
April 1, 2004... Mark-10 Corporation is a manufacturer of force and torque measuring instruments used in materials testing, product qualification, and R&D, Applications include peel force measurement, seal and joint strength determination, needle ans blade...

Birdsall Tool & Gage.(Literature Review)(Advertisement)
April 1, 2004... Birdsall Tool & Gage Co. designs and builds gages, fixtures, special tools and tooling with customer satisfaction in mind, We help our partner Customers focus on their Core product by providing the necessary resources to supply the blue print...

If it moves-sense it, count it, freeze it, record it, measure it.(Literature Review)(Advertisement)
April 1, 2004... Nidec-Shimpo America Corp., Instruments Division is proud to announce the release of their latest SHIMPO SPEED MEASUREMENT products mini catalog. This handy catalog highlights specifications and prices, the latest Laser non-contact/contact...

Instron[R] releases new materials testing accessories catalog.(Literature Review)(Advertisement)
April 1, 2004... Available in Both Print and Online Instron[R], a leading provider of testing equipment designed to evaluate the mechanical properties of materials and components, has released a new catalog featuring me company's complete range of grips,...

Automated quality control monitoring and Multivariate Statistical Process Control (MSPC).(Literature Review)(Advertisement)
April 1, 2004... StatSoft's STATISTICA Monitoring and Alerting Server (MAS) provides organizations with software to automate the continual monitoring of hundreds or thousands of critical process and product parameters, Multivariate Quality Control techniques...

New Starrett website.(Literature Review)(Advertisement)
April 1, 2004... Starrett Website The New Starrett website offers comprehensive information on Precision Tools, Gages, Metrology Systems, Calibration Services, Sawing Products and product catalog containing thousands of products with complete specifications....