Quality articles from January 2002

Quality archives from January 2002

Dear Detroit: (From The Editor).(Editorial)
January 1, 2002... Kudos to Detroit. And at the same time, a caution. First the praise. When the economy was hit with paralysis following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, no one can say that U.S. automakers didn't do their part to get things moving again. They...

Employees maintain confidence. (Industry News).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Despite the economic outlook, U.S. manufacturing employees maintain confidence in the future of their companies. A survey of 90,000 manufacturing workers conducted by International Survey Research (ISR, Chicago) reveals that 56% of employees...

Coming events. (Industry News).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... February * Basic Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing, Schaumburg, IL, Feb. 11-12. Applied Geometrics Inc., (888) 404-3304. * 10th International Conference on ISO 9000, Las Vegas, Feb. 25-27. European Quality Institute, (412)...

Meyer Gage. (Business News).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Meyer Gage (South Windsor, CT) has achieved ISO 9002 certification.

Fluke Corp.'s. (Business News).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Fluke Corp.'s (Everett, WA) calibration laboratory in San Diego has received accreditation to ISO/IEC 17025-1999 and ANSI/NCSL Z540-1-1994, and its laboratory in Norwich, Norfolk, UK, has been accredited to ISO/IEC 17025.

Control.com Inc. (Business News).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Control.com Inc. (Westborough, MA) has launched an open controls laboratory--an independent testing facility dedicated to the advancement of interoperability in the industrial controls industry.

Trace Laboratories-Central's Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) Testing Div. (Business News).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Trace Laboratories-Central's Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) Testing Div. (Palatine, IL) has received A2LA accreditation for EMC testing.

CimCore Inc. (Business News).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... CimCore Inc. (Farmington Hills, MI) has formed CimCore GmbH (Hannover, Germany). CimCore GmbH will provide European customers with sales and application support, training and services.

Motion Industries. (Business News).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Motion Industries' (Birmingham, AL) facility in Cookeville, TN, has achieved ISO 9002 registration.

Novotechnik U.S. Inc. (Business News).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Novotechnik U.S. Inc. (Southborough, MA), a manufacturer of position sensing technology for automotive applications, has been named Worldwide Supplier of the Year by Robert Bosch Corp. (Broadview, IL).

CEJohansson Metrology Services Laboratory. (Business News).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... CEJohansson Metrology Services Laboratory (Livonia, MI), Div. of Newport Corp., has received ISO/IEC 17025-1999 accreditation from A2LA for both calibration and mechanical testing fields, as well as ANSI/NCSL Z540-1-1994 compliance.

ElektroPhysik USA Inc. (Business News).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... ElektroPhysik USA Inc. (Arlington Heights, IL) has released its MikroTest gages in yellow to reflect their nickname, "banana gage." The MiniTest line of electronic gages will be supplied in red to differentiate the line from the mechanical...

King joins RAB. (Industry News).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Robert H. King Jr. has been named president of the Registrar Accreditation Board (RAB). In the newly structured position, King will be responsible for enhancing the strength of existing RAB programs and for market expansion into new areas. His...

NAM elects chairman. (Industry News).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Arthur D. "Don" Wainwright was elected chairman of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM). As chairman, Wainwright will advocate capital formation and other policies that promote strong, long-term economic growth. He also will focus on...

Baldrige winners named. (Industry News).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... President George W. Bush and Commerce Secretary Donald L. Evans announced the winners of the 2001 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. For the first time since the program's inception in 1987, winners were named in the education category....

Productivity Inc.'s.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Kevin Spencer Smith has been appointed to president of Productivity Inc.'s (Portland, OR) consulting and training group.

Instron Corp.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... James O. Garrison has been appointed president and CEO of Instron Corp. (Canton, MA).

Hunter Associates Laboratory Inc.s.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Mark Thesken has joined Hunter Associates Laboratory Inc.'s (Reston, VA) sales team.

Blum-Novotest Group.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Alexander Blum has been appointed general manager of Blum-Novotest Group (Ravensburg, Germany).

General Inspection Inc.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Dan Spiece has been hired as a mechanical engineer at General Inspection Inc. (Davisburg, MI).

Control.com. Inc.(appointed)(Steve Harr)(director of business development )(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Steve Harr has been appointed director of business development at Control.com Inc. (Westborough, MA).

US Inspection Services.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Mike Higgins has joined US Inspection Services (Dayton, OH) as the director of the materials testing division.

National Engineering Week is coming. (Industry News).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... National Engineering Week, Feb. 17 to 23, aims to promote the importance of engineering, technology and science to young audiences. The outreach initiative, Zoom Into Engineering, is an effort to get more people into the engineering profession...

Association for Manufacturing Technology. (Association News).(machine tools)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... The Blue Bulletin, an annual collection on the performance of major machine tool companies, is available, through The Association for Manufacturing Technology.

American Statistical Association. (Association News).(Robert L. Mason is the 2002 president-elect )(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Robert L. Mason is the 2002 president-elect of the American Statistical Association. He will begin his tenure as president on Jan. 1, 2003.

Society of Automotive Engineers. (Association News).(Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co.President Dain M. Hancock received the 2001 Society of Automotive Engineers Aerospace Engineering Leadership Award)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Dain M. Hancock, president of Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. and executive vice president of Lockheed Martin Corp. (Bethesda, MD), received the 2001 Society of Automotive Engineers Aerospace Engineering Leadership Award. The annual award...

A sticky situation. (Sophronia's Solutions).(Column)
January 1, 2002... (Editor's note: Beginning with this issue, Wheeler's Workshop has a new name--Sophronia's Solutions. The column is now named after its current author, Dr. Sophronia Ward.) Everyone who has faced a production problem with a need to solve...

Nondestructive testing through annihilation. (Quality Innovations).(Photon Induced Positron Annihilation )
January 1, 2002... Annihilation. The word itself brings to mind destruction and conflagration. In the atomic realm, however, the rules are different. One company has developed a way to play by those rules. It has developed a way to test materials nondestructively...

Making complex parts that fit together: Delphi's Brookhaven, MS, plant uses shop-floor vision measurement with integrated statistical process control to measure complex electrical housings. (Quality: measurement, test & inspection).(Delphi Automotive Systems' Bussed Electrical Center)(automobile electrical equipment)
January 1, 2002... Cars and trucks do more than just transport people, they control their environment, entertain the passengers and serve as mobile offices. Rear view mirrors are self-dimming, engines are self-monitoring and brakes are self-applying. Modern...

Future of APQP and PPAP in doubt: although APQP and PPAP have played major roles in U.S. auto industry quality, it is unclear where they stand in relation to the emerging ISO/TS 16949 international standard. (Quality: software & analysis).(Advanced Product Quality Planning, Production Parts Approval Process)
January 1, 2002... As ISO/TS 16949 moves toward becoming the newest standard in the automotive arena, Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP) and Production Parts Approval Process (PPAP) and their applications--which were born out of U.S. initiatives--will...

Through heat or dirt and dark of night ...: while a number of concerns must be addressed, many manufacturers have successfully moved coordinate measuring machines from the lab to the factory floor. (Quality: controlling the manufacturing process).
January 1, 2002... Ford Brazil recently integrated five of them onto its shop floor. Up north, in Michigan, GM Powertrain has eight of them that it uses to inspect cylinder blocks, heads and intake manifolds for automobile engines. DVD manufacturers have them, as...

Repeatable leak tests boost throughput. (Case Studies).(Cincinnati Test Systems Inc.'s pressure decay-based leak detection system)
January 1, 2002... The makers of faucets and related plumbing components have traditionally tested their products for leaks by pressurizing them, submersing them in water and then watching for bubbles. But Delta Faucet Co. (Indianapolis) has found a better...

Large Diameter Measurement.
January 1, 2002... The MIC 360 diameter gage measures internal and external diameters of parts up to 100 feet, while the part rotates at speeds up to 360 surface feet per minute. Measurement accuracies, traceable to NIST, are [+ or -] 0.0002 inch on diameters...

Portable Calibration Tool.
January 1, 2002... The 707 Loop Calibrator is a portable process calibration tool that can source, measure and simulate loop current. The six-inch, 12-ounce unit can be operated with one hand. It has a 0.015% accuracy and 1 microampere resolution in any current...

ISO/QS-9000 Software.
January 1, 2002... Qn Exponential Quality Software provides tools to implement a Microsoft Office-based quality system. The software is sold as a site license with all modules required for ISO/QS-9000 compliance. Key features include Document Control, Hyperlink...

Universal Test Machine.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... The LFPlus single-column universal testing machine is designed for material testing and force measurement applications up to 1kN (225 lbf). It operates independently or via remote computer control. It uses loadcells or hand-held digital force...

Nondestructive test: quick eddy current.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... SmartEddy automated system uses eddy current technology to check for cracks, pits, seams, tooling damage and other flaws. The system runs a test cycle in less than 5 seconds. SE Systems Inc. (510) 293-3000 Reply 105 on Reader Action...

Nondestructive test: Hi-Res measurement.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... CL3 and CL3 DL are ultrasonic thickness gages. These gages accurately measure as thin as 0.010 inch in steel and 0.005 inch of plastic, with a resolution to 0.0001 inch. Features include normal thickness measurement mode, material sound...

Nondestructive test: torque transducer.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... T258 rotary transformer torque transducer operates at speeds up to 35,000 rpm over extended periods of time with standard grease pack bearings. It has small diameter, low mass rotating torque shafts to reduce mass moment of inertia, and fully...

Nondestructive test: customizable tool.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Argus is a gaging and eddy current NDT tool for production measurement and testing systems. It can be customized to handle specific customer application requirements. It has an open system with user interface software, and it runs in Internet...

Nondestructive test: thickness measurement.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Dualscope MP20 measures coatings using magnetic induction and eddy current test methods. The tool has an LCD screen, full statistical evaluation of measurement series, and continuous measurement data display to indicate coating thickness. ...

Nondestructive test: noncontact measurement.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... NanoSurf 3-D noncontact measurement system is a scanning confocal microscope that uses whitelight-confocal technology. The system uses tactile sensors to measure surfaces. It captures data in real time, and uses analysis software for surface...

Nondestructive test: current transmitter.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... PX705 Series transducers use fused silicon strain gage technology. The transmitter is not affected by shock, vibration, mounting position or pressure pulsations. The pressure sensing element and process connection are a single piece. Omega...

Nondestructive test: laser.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Mai Tai is a compact laser that generates sub 100 femtosecond pulses over a continuously tunable wavelength range of 780 to 920 nanometers and an output power up to 1 watt. The laser offers hands-free operation. Spectra-Physics (650)...

Six Sigma gets its day: while Six Sigma is the livelihood of some companies, it is eschewed by others who claim it's just another fad. (Quality Online).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Some experts claim Six Sigma is just another passing quality trend, others say it offers nothing beyond what is covered by statistical process control and total quality management, while still others claim it is time to jump on the Six Sigma...