Quality articles from May 2001

Quality archives from May 2001

The Quality Mission.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Linking valued readers like you with the key practical information needed to improve manufacturing processes--and to help you succeed in your job--is Quality's goal. While Quality's mission remains unchanged, we are pleased this month to...

Engineers Look to Web for Resources.
May 1, 2001... The Internet is an excellent place to look for answers, especially for those in specialized industries. There are a bunch of Web sites that relate to engineering terms, technologies and engineering. This month's Web site review looks at a few...

Understanding Y14.5.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Dear Editor: I just read the commentary from Curtis Coates regarding the poor interpretations of the Y14.5-1994 standard (March 2001, p.14). I too have encountered numerous errors in the use of this standard. Countless times I have...

Quality Associations Announce Affiliation.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... The American Society for Quality (ASQ) and The Association for Quality and Participation (AQP) have agreed to an affiliation that could provide a broader range of products and services to both organizations' members. The affiliation is a...

May Quality Archives.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... 1967 "I think that managers are beginning to see zero defects as a concept that is aimed primarily at management of all levels rather than the workers. People get their standards from their leaders, and the quality of our products or service...

Business News.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Fox Valley Spring Co. (Greenville, WI), a custom spring and wire form manufacturer, has achieved ISO 9001 certification. Howmet Castings (Darien, CT) won a superior performance award from Boeing for its effort to supply titanium castings...

Brown and Sharpe Receives Award.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Brown and Sharpe (North Kingston, RI) has received the Competitive Strategy Award from Frost and Sullivan, a marketing consulting and training firm. Brown and Sharpe received the award in recognition of its flexible distribution network of...

NTMA Names Chairman.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... John D. Razzano was named as the 2001 chairman of the National Tooling and Machining Association (NTMA). Razzano, owner and president of Fulton Industries Inc. (Rochester, IN), presides over the organization's board of trustees, which is made...

MISI Awarded Government Contract.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Minolta Information Systems Inc. (MISI, Mahwah, NJ) has been awarded the Government Services Administration (GSA) contract for document imaging and management solutions and services. MISI's Doc-Xnet brings document management and workflow to...

Faro Adds Customer Service to Web Site.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Faro Technologies Inc. (Lake Mary, FL) has added a customer-exclusive support system to its Web site, www.faro.com, that provides responses to customer inquiries. At the Web site, customers log in to the customer service section and post a...

People News.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Sergio Mazza is on ISO9.com's (Oakland, CA) board of directors. Nilo Urbani is the vice president of sales and marketing for Nylok Fastener Corp. (Macomb, MI). Peter Kearns has been appointed the national sales manger of YCI Supermax...

CyberMetrix Enters NASA Initiative.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... CyberMetrix Inc. (Columbus, IN), a developer of product test systems and tools, was accepted into the NASA Garrett Morgan Commercialization Initiative program. Overseen by the Indiana Business Modernization and Technology Corp., the program...

IDW Calls for Papers.(International Dimensional Workshop)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... International Dimensional Workshop 2002 is scheduled for May 6 to 9, 2002, in Knoxville, TN. The theme is Dimensional Metrology, Standards and Accreditation: Their Impact. To present a paper at next year's workshop, contact Ed Pritchard,...

Rockwell Recognizes Team Effort.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... A team of Rockwell Automation (Greenville, SC) employees was presented with the Rockwell Annual Chairman's Team Award by Don Davis, chairman and CEO of Rockwell. The six-employee team was selected based on their collaborative effort to design...

NQA USA Earns Aerospace Accreditation.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... National Quality Assurance USA (NQA USA, Acton, MA), an international quality registrar, has earned accreditation to assess and register the management systems of companies for the international aerospace quality standard, AS EN 9100. The...

SAS Sells Technology.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... SAS, a software and services provider, has sold its patented video-reality technology and profiler application to Research Triangle Institute (Research Triangle Park, NC), a nonprofit research organization. Video reality allows developers to...

Powerway and Magna Sign Agreement.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Powerway Inc. (Indianapolis), a software manufacturer and service provider for the automotive industry, and Magna International Inc. (Aurora, Ontario, Canada), an automotive supplier, have signed an agreement that gives Magna access to...

Correction.(Brief Article)(Correction Notice)
May 1, 2001... The article, "Documentation Process Goes Automated," (March 2001, p. 54) contains an incorrect phone number. Quality System International's phone number is (781) 862-9002.

Variation in Cheese Slices, Part I.(a brain teaser)(Statistical Data Included)
May 1, 2001... Traditionally, brain teasers are thought of as puzzles to solve using logical thought processes in a sequential manner. Everyone who is faced with using the current data available in their organization will relate to this notion of a brain...

Wireless SPC Lets Operator Roam Free.(statistical process control)(Zontec Inc.)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Gathering test, measurement and inspection data from workstations throughout a manufacturing facility can be done the traditional way--with pen and paper. Or, quality control workers can use some of the handheld computers that are on the...

Measuring by Comparison.(the optical comparator)
May 1, 2001... An optical comparator by any other name would still be an industry workhorse. Call it an optical comparator, a profile projector, a contour projector, shadow graph or any other name attributed to this versatile instrument. But whatever its...

Evaluate Your Coordinate Measuring Machine.(Statistical Data Included)
May 1, 2001... Choosing the right tool for the job is key. The use of coordinate measuring machines (CMMs) has moved from the laboratory to the shop floor, and increasingly, from large factories into small job shops as well. As a result, there is growing...

Choose the Correct Tooling.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... The tooling used in turning is determined by the workpiece. When it comes to turning, no one style of tooling is better than the next. Both gang-style tooling and turret tooling offer their own sets of strengths and drawbacks, and the...

Quality Begins with Good Data.
May 1, 2001... The QS-9000 standard aims to prevent defects in procured parts, but many quality decisions are still made using incorrect information. Critical quality decisions are based on information from engineering tests, but many of the engineering...

Short, Sharp, Shock--High Strain Rate Material Testing.
May 1, 2001... Technology and software make possible high-strain rate testing of materials for efficient design of critical components. Under routine operating conditions, many structural materials are subjected--either by accident or design--to high...

Quality Methodology At Work With SPC Software.(Hamilton Sundstrand Corp.)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Many manufacturers have implemented quality assurance methodologies as a way to be consistent and improve manufacturing processes. For Hamilton Sundstrand, finding software that would help integrate its quality control program was important to...

Leak Detector Checks Fuel Tank Valves.(Piolax Corp.)(Intertech Development Co.)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... The hiss caused by removing a gas cap has been eliminated because of a vacuum cut valve that routes vapors to the engine instead of the gas tank. A supplier of these valves, Japanese-owned Piolax Corp., had been shipping these valves from Japan...

Raytheon Jet Production Takes Off.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... An aircraft made with a composite fuselage is 20% lighter, and costs less than one manufactured with an aluminum fuselage, and because of this, Raytheon Aircraft (Wichita, KS) decided to build its Premier I and Hawker Horizon business jets with...

NEW PRODUCTS.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Workholding system Simply Flexible System 5 is a workholding system that has snap-on jaws and faceplates. It comes in different sizes, configurations and with different accessories. This system is designed for computer numeric controlled...

Gage Block Calibration.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2001... Gage blocks provide a reference standard for comparison of linear measurement. Like most test, measurement and inspection equipment, gage blocks require regular calibration to maintain accuracy. Scratches, gashes and other damage caused by...