Quality articles from May 2003

Quality archives from May 2003

Get off this ride. (From The Editor).(the stock market is a roller coaster)(Editorial)
May 1, 2003... In my younger days, I had a penchant for roller coasters. I would ride the highest, fastest and most twisting roller coasters that I could find--over and over again. Then I had to stop riding them. Not because of fear or lack of excitement, but...

Coming events. (Industry News).(listing of various quality management events)(Brief Article)(Calendar)
May 1, 2003... JUNE * Third Pan-American Conference for Nondestructive Testing, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, June 2-6. Abende, (55 11) 5071 0400. * 2003 Brown & Sharpe Knowledge and Technology Tour, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, June 3-4. Brown & Sharpe,...

Gage makers face challenges, get some answers. (Industry News).
May 1, 2003... PHOENIX -- Nearly 25 gaging company representatives gathered in the warm desert sun to discuss the current state of affairs in their industry. What they shared was a general improvement in the economy, with bright spots in specific industry...

Leica Geosystems. (Business News).(Ford Motor Co. has purchased eight of company's laser tracking systems)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Leica Geosystems (Norcross, GA) announced that the Ford Motor Co. has purchased eight laser tracking systems for inspection and measurement operations in Ford's production plants.

Rockwell Automation (Milwaukee) and InfinityQS International (Manassas, VA) have partnered to integrate InfinityQS' statistical process control applications with Rockwell Software products such as RSBizWare manufacturing execution software and RSView human-machine interface software. (Business News).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Rockwell Automation (Milwaukee) and InfinityQS International (Manassas, VA) have partnered to integrate InfinityQS' statistical process control applications with Rockwell Software products such as RSBizWare manufacturing execution software and...

Fryer Co. Inc. (Business News).(created the Industrial Solutions Team to offer manufacturers a single source solution for inspection, measurement, analysis and data collection needs)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Fryer Co. Inc. (Huntley, IL), a supplier of optical and imaging products, has created the Industrial Solutions Team to offer manufacturers a single source solution for inspection, measurement, analysis and data collection needs.

DataFlux Corp. (Cary, NC), a SAS Co., has formed partnerships with Decision Support Inc. (Charlotte, NC), a consulting company, and Seena Technologies (Santa Monica, CA) a business intelligence and data management consulting firm. (Business News).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... DataFlux Corp. (Cary, NC), a SAS Co., has formed partnerships with Decision Support Inc. (Charlotte, NC), a consulting company, and Seena Technologies (Santa Monica, CA) a business intelligence and data management consulting firm. The...

Det Norske Veritas. (Business News).(has sold Avitas Inc. and Avitas Engineering Inc.)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Det Norske Veritas (DNV) (Oslo, Norway) has sold two companies in the United States: Avitas Inc. (Chantilly, VA), which provides financial services to aviation, and Avitas Engineering Inc. (Miami), which advises on new aircraft equipment. DNV's...

Six Sigma Academy. (Business News).(has been purchased by Jack Finney)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Six Sigma Academy (Scottsdale, AZ) has been purchased by Jack Finney, who assumes the role of owner, president and CEO. Finney had been a member of the company's board of directors and one of three shareholders. The other shareholders, Dr....

The Industrial Metrology Business Group of Carl Zeiss (Oberkochen, German) and software developer Metrologic Group (Meylan, France). (Business News).(are working together to support the new Dimensional Measurement Equipment control interface)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... The Industrial Metrology Business Group of Carl Zeiss (Oberkochen, German) and software developer Metrologic Group (Meylan, France) are working together to support the new Dimensional Measurement Equipment control interface.

Steel group earns victory. (Industry News).(in battle against section 201 steel tariffs)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... CLEVELAND -- The fight to end the section 201 steel tariffs took a step forward in March when the House Ways and Means Committee submitted a request to the International Trade Commission (ITC) that it conduct an investigation to examine the...

Manufacturers' knowledge of lean varies. (Industry News).(lean manufacturing)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... DEARBORN, MI -- Only one in four small to midsized manufacturers in the Northeast are pursuing lean manufacturing, according to a survey by the Society of Manufacturing Engineers. About half of the respondents said they were either not...

Gage Assembly celebrates 50 years. (Industry News).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... LINCOLNWOOD, IL -- Gage Assembly Co., a specialized manufacturer of thread plug and ring gages, celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. Founded in Chicago in 1953, Gage Assembly came to serve as a hub for Midwest manufacturers. Over the...

Smithers Scientific reorganizes. (Industry News).(Smithers Scientific Services Inc. has reorganized as The Smithers Group)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... AKRON, OH -- Smithers Scientific Services Inc. has reorganized as The Smithers Group. The new corporate structure consists of three independently operated companies: Smithers Scientific Services, Smithers Quality Assessments and Springborn...

Innovation, not cost, drives profits. (Industry News).(findings of survey of manufacturing companies)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... ATLANTA -- Manufacturers that compete based on innovation in products and processes rather than on low cost earn higher profits and benefit from higher wages. According to a biannual survey of Georgia manufacturers conducted by the Georgia...

Allen-Bradley marks 100 years. (Industry News).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... MILWAUKEE -- Rockwell Automation Inc. is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Allen-Bradley brand. Lynde Bradley and Stanton Allen, Ph.D., founded the Compression Rheostat Co. in 1903 and renamed it Allen-Bradley Co. in 1910. What...

Manufacturers don't communicate well with investors. (Industry News).(survey findings)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... NEW YORK -- Manufacturers are not communicating with investors and analysts as effectively as they think they are. According to a survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers, just 8% of investors and 3% of analysts believe that manufacturers maintain...

Trumpf Inc. (People News).(Rolf Biekert, president)(Peter Leibinger, president, Trumpf Laser GmbH & Co)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Rolf Biekert has been named president of Trumpf Inc., the North American subsidiary of the Trumpf Group. He succeeds Peter Leibinger who has been named president of Trumpf Laser GmbH & Co.

Borisch Manufacturing Corp. (People News).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Leslie White has been named a materials engineer at Borisch Manufacturing Corp. (Grand Rapids, MI), an electronics manufacturing services provider. In addition, Jamie Miller has been hired as lean implementation engineer for the company.

Struers Inc. (People News).(Huong Luu and Dave Moloney, sales and service representatives)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Huong Luu and Dave Moloney have joined Struers Inc. (Westlake, OH) as sales and service representatives. Luu will serve the central and western Canadian markets, while Moloney will cover eastern Canada.

Electrical Discharge Machining Div. of Methods Machine Tools Inc. (People News).(Stephen L. Bond, general manager)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Stephen L. Bond has been appointed general manager of the Electrical Discharge Machining Div. of Methods Machine Tools Inc. (Sudbury, MA).

Genesis Systems Group. (People News).(Roger Christensen, tooling design engineer)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Roger Christensen has been hired as a tooling design engineer for the New Dimension Tooling business unit of Genesis Systems Group (Davenport, IA), a manufacturer of robotic welding and cutting workcells.

Indigo Systems Corp. (People News).(Thomas A. Surran, chief financial officer)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Thomas A. Surran has joined Indigo Systems Corp. (Goleta, CA) as its chief financial officer. Indigo makes infrared cameras and components.

TUV America Inc. (People News).(Christopher M. Iezzi, account executive)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Christopher M. Iezzi has joined the East Coast account executive team of quality management consulting firm TUV America Inc. (Danvers, MA).

Trigent Software. (People News).(Ed Smith, director of sales)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Ed Smith has been appointed director of sales at Trigent Software (Southborough, MA).

Beta LaserMike USA. (People News).(Bob Stockholm, regional sales manager)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Bob Stockholm has joined Beta LaserMike USA (Dayton, OH) as its regional sales manager for the North Central United States.

DataFlux Corp., a SAS Co. (People News).(Martin Query, director, sales and business development)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Martin Query has been named director of sales and business development for DataFlux Corp., a SAS Co. (Cary, NC)

ERP systems improve quality. (Industry News).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... FORT LAUDERDALE, FL -- Quality can be improved with an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system because manufacturers are forced to implement standard procedures and maintain accurate data for the system to work effectively. According to...

Precision Metalforming Association. (Association News).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... The Precision Metalforming Association (Cleveland) has earned ISO 9001:2000 certification.

Michigan Quality Council. (Association News).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... The Michigan Quality Council (Rochester, MI) is celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2003. In addition, the organization has announced new officers for 2003-2004. The officers include: Gerald T. Darnell, chairman of the board; Jack Bourget, vice...

ODVA and the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) have signed a Cooperation and Cross License Agreement for the purpose of building common industrial Ethernet specifications. (Association News).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... ODVA and the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) have signed a Cooperation and Cross License Agreement for the purpose of building common industrial Ethernet specifications. The groups will share information regarding standards that...

Still a skeptic. (Mailbag).(Letter to the Editor)
May 1, 2003... Dear Editor, I noticed that you didn't mention Motorola among the companies that claimed success with Six Sigma, (Six Sigma is Legit, March 2003, p.6) even though it is my understanding that they coined and trademarked the term. If you had...

Can't compete. (Mailbag).(Letter to the Editor)
May 1, 2003... Dear Editor, Your comparison of manufacturing in China to Pandora's Box (February 2003) is a good one. Unfortunately, as soon as the box top is cracked open, there is no practical way of dosing it again. I am deeply concerned about the...

Are product development projects doomed to fail? The soft side of project management offers clues that can lead to successful product development. (Probing The Limits).
May 1, 2003... I've been working on new product development projects for more than 15 years, and I've only rarely been on what I would call a successful project. Success being measured as a project that was on-time, on-budget, and that met product...

Calibrate your criteria: tool acceptability isn't a 'standard' decision. (Other Dimensions).
May 1, 2003... Let's imagine the unthinkable occurs, and an accident takes place that involves a product you manufacture. Your company becomes the target of legal action, and before you know it, a plaintiff's lawyer has subpoenaed your quality records,...

Caring for your surface plates: increase the life of surface plates. (Training Trends).
May 1, 2003... Today's calibration equipment includes so many technological I advances that it is easy to forget about the importance of extreme flatness accuracy. Every manufacturing facility in the world relies on flatness accuracy to some extent, whether...

Entrances and exits. (Brain Teasers).
May 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...

At the center of quality: spotlighting the ideas, solutions, products and companies that impact our industry.(Brown & Sharpe)(Advertisement)
May 1, 2003... ideas Shaping the Future of Measurement Brown & Sharpe's strategic goal is to provide manufacturers throughout the world with the dimensional metrology equipment, services and technical expertise they need to achieve quality in their...

Control the Torque of an impact tool: a new controller measures the Torque of an impact tool. (Innovations).(Sioux Tools Inc.)
May 1, 2003... Controlling torque from an impact tool has never been easy. Until recently, the only way of doing so involved a rather unscientific method--the operator deciding to take his finger off the trigger. But science has stepped up to the plate in...

Re-engineering gives CMMs more sense: CMM capabilities can be expanded with additional tools. (Quality Measurement).(coordinate measurement machines)
May 1, 2003... In a perfect world, or in a fully integrated manufacturing environment, metrology systems would be able to measure all necessary parameters in one pass, without error, and feed back results seamlessly to computer-integrated manufacturing...

What you can't see, can hurt you: computed tomography inspects parts using 3-D images. (Quality Test & Inspection).
May 1, 2003... The complex geometries and miniaturization of critical components that are used by the automotive, electronics and aerospace industries require feature recognition down to the micron levels. But, achieving this level of feature recognition is...

CMM programming saves time and money: by programming coordinate measuring machines offline, companies can improve machine utilization and increase part accuracy. (Quality Software & Analysis).(coordinate measuring machine)
May 1, 2003... The term "virtual" has connotations of something in the future, but virtual programming of coordinate measuring machines is already here, and for many companies has been in use for many years. These companies have enjoyed the benefits of...

Computer inspection aids six sigma efforts: computer-aided inspection can be used as a Six Sigma tool for getting closer to zero defects. (Quality Management).
May 1, 2003... Six Sigma is a highly disciplined process that focuses on developing and delivering near-perfect products and services. This not-so-easily achievable goal is defined by its developer, Motorola, as a "business improvement process that focuses an...

Automated CMMs help build best-in-class engines. (Case Study).(International Truck and Engine Corp. uses Carl Zeiss Prismo coordinate measuring machines)
May 1, 2003... International Truck and Engine Corp. (International)--the operating company of Navistar International Corp. and the world's largest producer of mid-range diesel engines--has achieved new levels of quality verification, system productivity and...

Handheld universal machine. (New Products).
May 1, 2003... The Super "L" hydraulically-powered universal testing machine can test materials up to 3,000 kilonewton. For basic manual testing, it has a portable controller and LCD display that enables handheld operation at the icad frame. It allows...

X-ray inspection. (New Products).
May 1, 2003... The [micro]CT-F.O.X. combines in one system high-resolution 2-D X-ray technology with 3-D Computed Tomography techniques and high-end volume rendering software for detailed inspection and analysis of complex electronic devices. The system uses...

Data logger software. (New Products).
May 1, 2003... The viewLinc software is an alarm-enabled data logger software that is used for monitoring temperature' and humidity. It allows users to connect to data loggers over a network, view temperature and humidity readings, and receive alarm warnings....

Sorting system adds vision. (New Products).
May 1, 2003... A new vision option, the "V", is available for the USS-1000 and the V-100 sorting systems. Existing machines can be upgraded. Because only the profile of cylindrical parts are inspected by laser, adding the vision option allows the heads of...

Length detection system. (New Products).
May 1, 2003... The Fastener Length Detection system provides verification of the length of self-clinching studs and standoffs during the insertion process. The system, which is available as an option on Haeger's WindowTouch and OneTouch Insertion Machines,...

Leak tester. (New Products).
May 1, 2003... The Vector has a modular design that lets the user choose only the features that are needed while allowing the capabilities of the tester to be expanded as needed with the addition of software and hardware modules. It uses the company's...

In-process gage. (New Products).
May 1, 2003... The Unimar S in-process grinder gage meets tolerances under 2 microns. Coupled with a Marposs P5 or P7 amplifier, the Unimar S has a 2,000 per second sampling rate with a resolution of 0.01 micron. It has repeatability at less than 0.05 micron...

Mill tooling. (New Products).
May 1, 2003... The extended line of KM tooling includes a range of chucks, adapters, gage bars, extensions, and reducers that handle virtually any possible milling, drilling and turning operation. It features a quick-change tooling system that has a spindle...

Fiber optic illuminator. (New Products).
May 1, 2003... The Mille Luce (M1000) fiber optic illuminator provide a minimum of 1,000 hours of shadow-free, glare-free, cool illumination without any significant loss in light output. The company redesigned the fiber optic nosepiece and fiber optic port...

Product development software. (New Products).
May 1, 2003... The IXSpeed software promotes simultaneous product development. New features include tools for modeling surfaces, managing assemblies, creating reusable User-Defined Objects and for electronic communication of design data via the Internet. It...