MAY 2018, VOLUME 57/NUMBER 5

WWW.QUALITYMAG.COM

GREEN
NEW WORLD
p. 20
NONCONTACT LASER MEASUREMENT p. 26
QUALITY SOFTWARE AND THE FUTURE p. 30
GETTING THE BEST OUT OF BORE GAGES p. 34

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CONTENTS QUALITY MAGAZINE | MAY 2018 | VOLUME 57 | NUMBER 5

DEPARTMENTS
26 37
6 FROM THE EDITOR

8 INDUSTRY NEWS

14 FACE OF QUALITY
FEATURES Avoid the Blame Game

ALTERNATIVE ENERGY 15 OTHER DIMENSIONS

20 GREEN NEW WORLD Dispute Resolution
Two innovative manufacturing companies share their secrets to energy
16 SPEAKING OF QUALITY
efficiency and sustainability.
Improvement for All
MEASUREMENT
26 NONCONTACT LASER MEASUREMENT
Noncontact laser measurement devices are saving manufacturers time,
money and resources by increasing efficiencies in quality checks.

SOFTWARE
30 QUALITY SOFTWARE AND THE FUTURE
There is a war going on and it is presently being fought in the cloud.

MEASUREMENT
34 GETTING THE BEST OUT OF BORE GAGES
Data collection capability, careful selection and use are key. 18 QUALITY 101
Air Gaging in a High Production,
TEST & INSPECTION Automated Manufacturing
37 STREAMLINING AUTOMOTIVE PRODUCTION WITH Environment
ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING
47 CASE STUDY
Using additive manufacturing not only can reduce lead times, it can
Vision System Assures Glass Act
provide significant cost savings through reduced material consumption
at California Shop
and improved design.
59 CLASSIFIEDS
STANDARDS
40 RISK MITIGATION FOR COUNTERFEIT ELECTRONIC PARTS 60 ADVERTISING INDEX
IEC Electronics Analysis and Testing Laboratory in Albuquerque, NM, once
again received ISO/IEC 17025:2005 accreditation from the ANSI-ASQ
National Accreditation Board (ANAB). NEXT MONTH
 Color Measurement
MANAGEMENT
44 LEAN’S IMPACT ON QUALITY  Medical Device Testing
Lean isn’t about speed—it’s about value.  Gage Management Software
MAY 2018, VOLUME 57/NUMBER 5

WWW.QUALITYMAG.COM  State of the Profession

 CMMs
GREEN
NEW WORLD
ABOUT THE COVER
p. 20
NONCONTACT LASER MEASUREMENT p. 26
QUALITY SOFTWARE AND THE FUTURE p. 30
GETTING THE BEST OUT OF BORE GAGES p. 34
Johnson Controls’ 12-volt Lithium-ion technology helps automakers to meet fuel efficiency and emissions regulations.
Here, a worker assembles a li-ion battery pack at Johnson Controls’ Holland, MI facility. Source: Johnson Controls

FOR THE LATEST QUALITY NEWS AND INFORMATION, VISIT US AT WWW.QUALITYMAG.COM.

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Industry experts share their views on the latest in quality

and manufacturing:
 Jim’s Gems: Weekly Updates!
 Shifting the Paradigm
3D PRINTING REPORT ENEWSLETTER
 Quality Remix
COSINE LOOKS TO CHANGE INDUSTRIAL 3D PRINTING BUSINESS
Company’s debut 3D printer built QUALITY WEBINARS
with open hardware philosophy
Today, most industrial 3D printing is a closed shop – AVAILABLE ON-DEMAND:
printers are tied to brand-specific polymers and proprietary
 When Metrology Meets the Road...Exactly
software. That’s an obstacle to growth and antithetical to
the rest of the manufacturing world, says Cosine Additive  Smart Cameras
Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer Andrew McCalip.

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4 QUALITY | May 2018 www.qualitymag.com

 FROM THE EDITOR
GARBAGE IN
GARBAGE OUT.
G arbage in, garbage out. It’s a term born in the early
days of the computer and computer programming.
The phrase, and its popular acronym, GIGO, are said
to have been taken from the business strategies of LIFO
and FIFO—last in, first out and first in, first out—as it
pertains to inventory management.
It is also said to date back to November 10, 1957,
DARRYL when it appeared in an article detailing the work of
SELAND U.S. Army mathematicians and the development of
the computer. Army Specialist William D. Mellin
explained that “computers cannot think for them-
selves, and that ‘sloppily programmed’ inputs inevita-
bly lead to incorrect outputs.”
Even more simply, bad inputs will lead to bad outputs.
Because of its logic and simplicity, the term has come to
be used to describe a host of practices across a number
of disciplines. For example, many a chef complimented
for the preparation of a good meal has replied, “It helps
when you cook with the right ingredients.”
It’s an oft-heard sentiment in publishing, particu-
larly back in the days of print superiority. The publish-
ers of the eye-catching and breath-taking photographs
of Life Magazine would have been hard pressed to
wow anyone, or even sufficiently reproduce the world
around us, with fuzzy, low resolution images.
Take, for instance, the Hubble Space Telescope (HST).
Launched in 1990, the HST’s technology and position in
outer space “allows it to take extremely high-resolution
images... Many Hubble observations have led to break-
throughs in astrophysics, such as accurately determin-
ing the rate of expansion of the universe.”
However, none of this would have been possible
when the HST was first launched, as its main mirror
was found to have been ground incorrectly, com-
Editorial offices: 155 N. Pfingsten Rd., Suite 205, Deerfield, IL 60015
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pickettl@bnpmedia.com Erin Mygal, Directory Development Manager
Ed McMenamin, Associate Editor
mcmenamine@bnpmedia.com
6 QUALITY | May 2018
promising the telescope’s capabilities. Fortunately, a
1993 mission was able to repair the optics and return
Hubble to its intended level of quality, making possible
the list of accomplishments above.
GIGO is also prevalent in research studies, sur-
veys, and polls. Consider just one aspect of corrupted
data collection, the health bias, as described by
Charles Wheelan—a former correspondent for The
Economist—of his book “Naked Statistics”:
“Suppose public health officials promulgate a theory
that all new parents should put their children to bed
only in purple pajamas, because that helps stimulate
brain development. Twenty years later, longitudinal
research confirms that having worn purple paja-
mas as a child does have an overwhelmingly large
positive association with success in life. We find, for
example, that 98 percent of entering Harvard fresh-
men wore purple pajamas as children (and many still
do) compared with only 3 percent of inmates in the
Massachusetts state prison system.
“Of course, the purple pajamas do not matter; but
having the kind of parents who put their children
in purple pajamas does matter. Even when we try to
control for factors like parental education, we are still
going to be left with unobservable differences between
those parents who obsess about putting their children
in purple pajamas and those who don’t.” 
Not surprisingly, quality is a discipline affected by
GIGO as well. As author Paul W. Critchley writes,
“Lean isn’t going to help you if your quality is bad.
Why just make bad stuff faster?” So read “Lean’s
Impact on Quality” and all else we have to offer in this
month’s Quality.
Enjoy and thanks for reading!
Proud Members of
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PEOPLE NEWS
Kordt GmbH & Co. KG named SYLVAIN JULIEN
as its new key account manager for interna-
tional projects.
Julien comes from various metrology back-
grounds, and has dealt with numerous technical
projects involving automotive, aerospace and
heavy industry. French born, Julien has lived in
North America for about 20 years, and is totally
fluent in French and English.
The National Association of Manufacturers
announced that MELANIE COOK , chief operat-
ing officer, GE Appliances, a Haier company, has
been named to the NAM Board of Directors.
Founded in 1895, the NAM is the largest
industrial trade association in the United States
with 14,000 members.
The NAM’s membership includes some of the
world’s most iconic brands and many of the small
manufacturers that power the U.S. economy.
More than 90% of its members are small and
medium-sized businesses.
“I am honored to be a part of the NAM Board
and continue to fight for policies that will ensure
our continued growth and success as manufac-
turers,” said Cook. “Washington, D.C., needs to
understand how their policies affect the more
than 12 million men and women employed in
manufacturing. I look forward to sharing my story
and my experiences—and the stories of all manu-
facturers—to strengthen our economy and create
more opportunities for working families.”
X-Rite and Pantone appointed ONDREJ KRUK to
the role of president.
Kruk brings a combination of commercial and
operational experience to Pantone and X-Rite.
Kruk will lead the continued expansion of Pan-
tone and X-Rite’s product and solution portfolio
beyond color to material appearance.
“I am extremely excited about the opportunity
to lead a company with such a legacy of innova-
tion in creating tools and technologies for color
selection, communication, formulation and
measurement,” said Kruk. “Pantone and X-Rite’s
latest developments go beyond color, enabling
customers to advance the creation, communica-
tion and delivery of color and appearance as
they transition to digital processes and use more
complex materials. Our ability to solve important
customer problems, today and in the future, posi-
tions Pantone and X-Rite for long-term growth.”
For the last three years, Kruk has been the gen-
eral manager of Alltec, a Danaher business offering
laser marking and engraving technology under the
Alltec and FOBA brands. At Alltec, Kruk defined
and executed on a multi-industry growth strategy.
Kruk has also held numerous management roles at
Videojet, a global leader in coding, marking and vari-
able data printing solutions. He was instrumental in
growing Videojet’s secondary packaging and product
decoration businesses into mature global ventures.
Kruk earned his MBA from Harvard Business
School and graduated from the University of
Economics in Prague with a Master’s Degree in
Economics. He has lived, studied and worked in
several European countries, Latin America and
the United States. He is fluent in Czech, English,
German and Spanish.
8 QUALITY | May 2018
INDUSTRY
BUSINESS NEWS | COMING EVENTS | PEOPLE NEWS | MERGERS
COORDINATE METROLOGY nize critical knowledge and skill sets
SOCIETY TO OFFER NEW needed in manufacturing and scientific
CERTIFICATION PROGRAMS FOR research,” states Randy Gruver, chair of
MEASUREMENT PROFESSIONALS the CMS Certification Committee. “We
WEATHERFORD, TX – The are pleased to expand our traditional
Coordinate Metrology Society (CMS) membership of portable metrology
plans to launch two new certification users to include CMM professionals, a
programs in 2018. community that has lacked the oppor-
The CMS Certification Committee tunity to gain credentials for their
will offer a pilot examination for the specialized expertise in measurement
industry’s first Level-One Certification and inspection. The pilot testing phase
for coordinate measuring machines is an important step in the development
(CMM) operators. The proctored, of the CMS Level-One Certification
online assessment consists of about for CMMs and the CMS Level-Two
200 multiple choice questions covering Certification for 3D Scanners. Users are
foundational theory and CMM com- encouraged to take the pilot exams to
mon practices. The CMM community prepare for the official assessments to
is invited to take the pilot exam at no be rolled out later in the year.”
cost during the Coordinate Metrology The organization offers a comprehen-
Society Conference (CMSC) in Reno, sive, two-tiered certification program for
NV, from July 23-27. metrologists to reach their professional
To participate, candidates must development goals. The portfolio includes
register online at cmscevents.org/2018_ a Level-One Certification for 3D portable
CMM_pilot.html. metrology users that covers foundational
The Coordinate Metrology Society theory and best practices. Level-Two
will also offer a pilot assessment for Certifications recognize specialized
a new CMS Level-Two Certification hands-on knowledge used to perform
program for 3D scanner users dur- tasks with specific measurement devices.
ing their upcoming conference. The The CMS Level-Two Certification
3D scanner community is invited to examinations are conducted by CMS-
take the pilot exam at no cost during authorized proctors for articulating arm
CMSC 2018. The hands-on, device spe- and laser tracker users. All candidates
cific assessment will be conducted by must complete the application process
CMS-authorized proctors. Applicants and qualify to take the assessments.
for CMS Level-Two Certifications Level-One Certification applicants
must register online at cmscevents. must meet eligibility requirements, sign
org/2018_3dLaserScannerPilot.html. the CMS code of ethics, and pass a peer
First come, first served. Early registra- review. CMS Level-Two Certification
tion is encouraged. applicants must have a Level-One
“Industry demand is driving Certification, two years’ experience
our efforts behind these two new (minimum 400 hours) on an articulat-
Certifications designed to recog- ing arm or laser tracker, and submit an
View the latest in quality industry news by visiting
our headlines at qualitymag.com—updated daily. Just
click the tag now and see what you’re missing. If you
don’t have the mobile app on your smart phone, visit
http://gettag.mobi to get started.
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application with two references who BUSINESS NEWS ing into the U.K. In order to work
can attest to their hands-on expertise. ADDITIVE INDUSTRIES is expanding its closely on mature applications in aero-
operations for industrial 3D metal space, high performance motorsports,
U.S. CUTTING TOOL printing equipment and software medical implants and high-tech equip-
CONSUMPTION GREW 8.3% development, sales and service to the ment, Additive Industries will expand
IN 2017 United Kingdom and Ireland. its process and application development
MCLEAN, VA — December U.S. cut- After implementation of its systems network with a center in the U.K.
ting tool consumption totaled $175 in Europe at companies like Airbus, The new center will be run by Mark
million, according to the U.S. Cutting Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 team and GKN Beard, who has over 14 years of experi-
Tool Institute and The Association For and setting up a similar foothold in the ence in the additive manufacturing
Manufacturing Technology. U.S., Additive Industries is now expand- (AM) industry and was previously the
This total, as reported by compa-
nies participating in the Cutting Tool
Market Report collaboration, was
down 5.4% from November’s $185
million and up 10% when compared
with the $159.17 million reported for
December 2016. With a year-to-date
total of $2.2 billion, 2017 is up 8.3%
when compared with 2016.
These numbers and all data in this
report are based on the totals reported
by the companies participating in the
CTMR program. The totals here repre-
sent the majority of the U.S. market for
cutting tools.
“After posting two years of a shrink-
ing cutting tool market, it is great to
see 2017 turned the corner and fin-
ished in the black with a solid increase
over 2016. The economy appears to
be firing on all cylinders with compa-
nies expanding, manufacturing jobs
being added and overall productivity
improving,” said Phil Kurtz, president
of USCTI. “These trends all look to
continue into 2018. The last-minute
new tax cuts will further bolster the
growth as companies use the savings to
replace old machines or buy new ones
to expand capacity. We hope for con-
tinued growth through 2018.”
“Because cutting tool demand is
directly associated with industrial out-
put, it is my opinion that our cutting tool
data is a leading indicator of industrial
activity,” said Costikyan Jarvis, president
of Jarvis Cutting Tools. “Early in 2015,
the cutting tool data started showing
year-over-year contraction, and unfortu- See why 50,000 QVI systems
nately, the data was correct and 2015 and are trusted in over 75 countries.
2016 saw declining demand. Happily, Visit www.qvii.com.
2017 ends with total cutting tool demand
showing very strong growth. When
you combine the cutting tool data with
other December indicators (PMI of 59.3,
Manufacturing Capacity Utilization at
76.4%, and Consumer Confidence at
122.1), all indicators are pointing to a
strong 2018.”

www.qualitymag.com May 2018 | QUALITY 9

 INDUSTRY

NEWS
technical director at 3TRPD, a provider
of metal additive manufacturing and
3D printing.
“Over several decades, the U.K. has
established itself as one of the global
leaders in knowledge and successful
application of additive manufactur-
ing in series production and end use
components,” explained Beard. “Strong
academic research and established AM
users in medical, aerospace, industrial
and motorsport sectors have developed
a mature, standardized and qualified
supply chain for these markets. The
MetalFAB1 is next logical step for these
users as it is the first AM machine
capable of true series production.”
IDEAGEN , a U.K.-based software
firm, is expanding its operations in
Southeast Asia.
The project involves Ideagen’s office
in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and will
enhance the company’s support, devel-
opment and service capability for its
client base.
The expansion, relocation and
refurbishment will aim to strengthen
Ideagen’s operational foundations
across the Asia-Pacific region as well
as “future proof” the business against
potential operational risk.
The new Kuala Lumpur office
will act as a central hub for Ideagen’s
expanding business in the region
following prominent projects with
AirAsia, Lion Air, HKExpress and
Haeco. Around 40 members of staff will
be located there, with Ideagen already
adding software development expertise.
“In recent years, we have witnessed
rapid growth both through acquisi-
tions and organically and this expan-
sion project is a natural next step in
Ideagen’s journey,” said Barnaby Kent,
Ideagen’s chief operations officer. “As
we expand as a business, we recognized
that to truly meet the needs of our
worldwide client base and operate suc-
cessfully and efficiently on that global
scale, we had to look at expansion in
certain global regions.
“Strategically, the recent acquisition
of PleaseTech Ltd provided us with the
opportunity to do just that. With our
presence and reputation growing rap-
idly across Asia Pacific, our new office
in Malaysia will provide excellent
operational and business continuity
benefits. We have secured some high
profile projects in the region, and a
dedicated and modern office there will
only enhance our ability to meet the
demands of these projects.”
Ideagen’s expansion plan centers
on the company’s operations in Kuala
Lumpur, where it acquired office space
and staff as part of the company’s acqui-
sition of PleaseTech in March 2017.
Staff have since been relocated into
brand new premises in the sought after
Petaling business district. The develop-
ment in Southeast Asia comes months
after Ideagen announced plans to launch
a 24/7 support service in response to its
expanding international client base.
Ideagen’s expansion represents the
next phase in the organization’s growth
strategy in the global GRC market.
That market is estimated to be worth
$4.4 billion globally according to tech-
nology analyst, Gartner, and is forecast
to grow at a rate of 13%, reaching $7.3
billion by 2020.

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 FIXED LIMIT
GAGES
The ELIPSE SOFTWARE team was visited by WORKS SYSTEMS’S CEOs,
an American company whose research and development centers
are located in Taiwan and China. The objective of the meeting
was to discuss details about the development of platforms on the
cloud based on IoT and Industry 4.0 concepts and technologies,
using products of both companies in an integrated way.
The initial plan is to later market these solutions with the
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excellence in aerospace testing and customer service.
The laboratory is one of only 85 suppliers to be awarded the
Gold level of recognition, with a further 329 suppliers receiv-
ing the Silver level.
Rick Sluiters, EVP for aerospace, Element, added, “We are
delighted to receive this award from Boeing and confirm our
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ADDITIVE INDUSTRIES will move its Eindhoven, Netherlands, head-

quarters to a brand new factory close to its current location.
The new site will consolidate headquarters, development,
system assembly and test operations, which are currently
spread over two locations in Eindhoven. This move will enable
the fast growing team of Additive Industries to expand further
since the total floor space is roughly seven times more than its
current combined facilities.
The new factory is located in a beautifully renovated MEYER GAGE
former Philips Electronics building from the 1950s. It is
equipped with the typical bright “northern lights” roof struc-
ture and lots of glass walls as an expression of sustainability
COMPANY, INC.
and transparency. After the complete renovation, the building
is fully in line with modern standards and has the highest 230 Burnham Street, South Windsor, CT 06074
energy-efficiency and offers the best work environment for
WWW.MEYERGAGE.COM
the Additive Industries teams.

www.qualitymag.com May 2018 | QUALITY 11

 INDUSTRY

NEWS
“We are proud to again move into a
great example of Dutch industrial heri-
tage where we have been able to preserve
the great architecture of the past and
simultaneously add a touch of modern-
ism. This makes a fantastic home for a
fast growing digital manufacturing tech-
nology company like us,” said Daan A.J.
Kersten, CEO of Additive Industries.
The official opening is scheduled for
after the summer holidays.
Create measurement plans
HMS INDUSTRIES INC., manufacturer of
custom metal stamping and indus-
trial tooling, selected the RIZE ONE 3D
printer to produce functional jigs and
fixtures for holding parts in machines
during CMM quality inspections.
HMS cited Rize’s zero-post-pro-
cessing, isotropic part strength, ease
of use and low cost for the purchase
of their first 3D printer, enabling
on-demand production of custom
and replacement jigs and fixtures
at the point of consumption in the
Company’s tool and die shop.
Based in Blairsville, PA, HMS
Industries Inc. provides manufacturing
services, including product and proto-
type development, EDM, tool design, tool
and die manufacturing, as well as high-
volume stampings and CNC machining,
to manufacturers across all industries.
HMS sought a fast and afford-
able way to produce—in their tool
shop—strong jigs and fixtures that
could secure parts during production
to ensure the parts they manufacture
are consistent. They consulted with
Cimquest Inc., a Rize Authorized
Reseller, about the best 3D printer to

offline using simple objects.

meet their unique needs and selected
Rize One.
Previously, HMS built jigs and fix-
ZEISS CALYPSO Planner value package offer tures from aluminum, costing as much
as $1,000 each. This required a spe-

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cially trained team member to be taken
off another job to produce the part.
e
offlin re With their Rize One 3D printer, HMS
a
softw employees design and print parts on
demand in one day, freeing up a team
member and saving up to two days per
fixture vs. producing aluminum fix-
tures, and only costing approximately
$40 per part. Moreover, Rize’s biocom-
patible materials and process, without
any VOCs or post-processing, enables
the HMS team to operate Rize One in
their tool shop without the need for
any special ventilation, storage or dis-
posal equipment.

CONVENTION NEWS
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12 QUALITY | May 2018 www.qualitymag.com

HxGN SMART Quality, Hexagon’s
online quality data and measurement
resource management platform, is one
of the prime tech highlights in The
Zone. The innovative solution deliv-
ers information automation to qual-
ity management, so manufacturers
and quality control professionals can
shape smarter workflows and actively
improve efficiency and productivity.
“This year at HxGN LIVE, attend-
ees will experience the full impact
of the digital thread through our
Manufacturing Intelligence Track
sessions, expert forums, user group
meetings and live demonstrations pro-
vided by highly knowledgeable product
developers and application engineers,”
said Norbert Hanke, president and
CEO of Hexagon Manufacturing
Intelligence. “The power of predic-
tive quality within the Smart Factory
will become evident, as they gain deep
insights into production and multiple
areas of the supply chain. A new fron-
tier unfolds as product quality becomes
a shared responsibility between stake-
holders at every stage of the process.”
HONORS AND AWARDS
X-Rite and Pantone won this year’s
IF DESIGN AWARD for its Virtual Light
Booth (VLB).
The VLB is part of a comprehensive
solution for the capture, communica-
tion and digital presentation of physi-
cal materials in the virtual world. A
team of 63 judges, made up of indepen-
dent experts from all over the world,
reviewed a total of 6,400 entries and
selected the VLB as a winner in the
product discipline.
“It’s a great honor to win the pres-
tigious iF Design Award for our Total
Appearance Capture solution for the
second consecutive year,” said Dr.
Francis Lamy, executive vice president
and chief technology officer, X-Rite.
“Total Appearance Capture, of which
VLB is a key component, is the cul-
mination of sixty years of color and
appearance science. I’m very proud of
the entire TAC development team that
has brought this innovation to life.”
X-Rite’s Total Appearance Capture
(TAC) ecosystem addresses a key chal-
lenge in product design – the ability
to accurately capture and virtualize
today’s increasingly complex materials
such as special effect paints and syn-
thetic fabrics. The VLB is the indus-
try’s first 3D visualization environ-
ment for evaluating material appear-
ance. It allows users to accurately and
efficiently visualize and compare 3D
digital material renderings side-by-
side with physical samples under a
variety of lighting conditions. This
helps ensure consistency between digi-
tal prototypes and final physical prod-
ucts. It empowers designers to make
more informed material selection
decisions reducing approval cycles and
time to market.
The full TAC ecosystem enables
product designers, 3D artists, material
specifiers and marketers to create digi-
tal materials representations that simu-
late physical appearance characteristics
such as color, texture, gloss, refraction,
transparency, special effects (sparkles)
and reflection properties. This helps
streamline the overall design and man-
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www.qualitymag.com May 2018 | QUALITY 13

 FACE OF QUALITY
AVOID THE BLAME GAME
ROOT CAUSE ANALYSIS CAN SOLVE PROBLEMS EFFECTIVELY.
T his may sound familiar. Manufacturer’s efforts to do
more for less have resulted in the purchasing depart-
ment sourcing products to the cheapest provider. Such
cost-cutting certainly makes purchasing groups look
like heroes to management, but the effect on manufac-
turing and quality may be just the opposite.
Many times, sourcing to the lowest cost supplier results
JIM L. SMITH in part defects, increased internal non-quality costs,
production delays and other undesirable side effects like
higher warranty costs and disgruntled customers.
Experts like Dr. W. Edwards Deming, in point 4
of his 14 points for management, stressed to “end the
practice of awarding business on the basis of the price
tag alone.” The focus should be on minimizing the
total cost. “Price has no meaning without a measure of
the quality being purchased.”
Cost-cutting pressures and global sourcing chal-
lenges are now the norm, so how can quality profes-
sionals combat these challenges? One answer is root
cause analysis (RCA) which, when fully utilized, can
eliminate defects occurring in operations as well as
defects inherited from suppliers, ultimately helping to
maintain satisfied customers.
No doubt this example will sound familiar. The end
customer is upset because Apex Inc.’s (fictitious) prod-
uct doesn’t meet expectations. The end customer noti-
fies Apex’s customer service department, which passes
the complaint along to its product quality group or
manufacturing department.
Based on the initial information, the conclusion is
that the issue originated at Disco Ltd. (also fictitious),
one of their suppliers. Apex cracks down on Disco by
issuing threats and other demands.
Disco scrambles to perform damage control and
disciplines people suspected of producing nonconfor-
mances. Meanwhile, Apex tells its customer that it’s
very sorry and the problem has been solved. The cus-
tomer wants to know what actions were taken. “The
operators were disciplined.” Everyone has been told
what they wanted to hear. Blame has been fixed and
business has resumed as usual.
Did any of the players in this scenario really make
changes that will solve the problem? Does Apex really
understand its end customer’s issue? Does Disco know
what the problem really is, let alone what will meet the
end customer’s needs? For that matter, does the end cus-
tomer really believe that Apex is being totally honest?
In this scenario, there is a disconnect in problem
investigation and resolution, but this is common in
the flow of information. With decentralization of
14 QUALITY | May 2018
sourcing, there are more levels and players, which
means more layers between the end customer who has
a problem and the solution that will solve it. The result
is that players in the supply chain, in an effort to han-
dle customer complaints quickly, may not even realize
that they are restricting the flow of information that
would enable actual problem resolution.
There are better solutions than the one presented
above. Quality professionals are actually in an envi-
able position to facilitate more effective solutions. A
few years ago I was asked to intervene between a com-
pany and supplier (we’ll call them Apex and Disco).
The first step was to immediately encourage rep-
resentatives of both parties to stop viewing the issue
as Apex vs. Disco and start thinking it’s “us” against
the problem. Next, they were asked to resist the urge
to point fingers or make premature assessments, but
instead to allow the RCA process to unfold.
Although people did need to vent, they were able to
move on to identify causes and back them up with evi-
dence. By focusing on the cause and effect relationships,
Apex and Disco were able to reach these conclusions:
1. Both parties were responsible. Apex’s specifications and
requirements were less than adequate. Disco, mean-
while, was providing inferior product characteristics.
2. Each party had significant challenges to overcome
in their processes, due to the cutting-edge nature of
their product lines.
By creating a visual picture of the problem with a
simple flowchart and cause-and-effect diagram, every-
one could see the entire system of causation. An empa-
thetic environment was established because facts, not
emotion, prevailed.
During two full days mutual brainstorming of
solutions occurred, and the mood became one of col-
laboration. They uncovered and realized a host of
related issues that, in themselves, weren’t big deals,
but when combined created significant problems for
all concerned.
Quality professionals are in a unique position to use
their expertise with RCA tools to improve relations with
both customers and suppliers by involving them in root
cause analysis. Along the way, the parties will improve
communications, effectively solve problems, keep cus-
tomers happy and, ultimately, enjoy greater success.
Jim L. Smith has more than 45 years of industry experience in
operations, engineering, research & development and quality
management. You can reach Jim at faceofquality@qualitymag.com.
www.qualitymag.com
 OTHER DIMENSIONS

DISPUTE RESOLUTION
AND SOME ADVICE TO AVOID SUCH DISPUTES IN THE FIRST PLACE.

I f you want to get technical, this topic is better dealt

with by others since it is a quality matter rather
than dimensional metrology where I hide out. But,
tion and their report says the item is not as good as
your source says it is.
The good news in all of this is that you and your
disputes go on every day over measurements and customer are not engaging in hand-to-hand combat
sometimes resolving them can be quite challenging— over it. Paid mercenaries—the cal labs—are now on the
when possible. Yes, there are protocols in this area front lines and become the targets.
but when the shouting stops it always comes down to Save time by advising both labs of the dispute
HILL COX basic metrology so that’s my excuse for wading into and give them the opportunity to review their work
treacherous waters. because someone could have been having a bad hair
I would be remiss if I didn’t offer some advice to day. After all, they’re using humans (usually) and we
avoid such disputes in the first place. The easiest way know they slip up sometimes. Similarly, the digital
is to determine how your wonder one of them used may have lost a digit along
customer will check the way. Assuming both will fight to the death over
what you’re supplying their results, another approach may be required.
I would be remiss before you switch on the One approach is to have both labs agree on a third
machines. If they have party lab to do the work and whichever set of numbers
better toys than you, closely matches theirs, a winner can be declared. You
if I didn’t offer some you’ll have to upgrade. If should get agreement on who will pay the third party
they have worse or don’t for their work, but usually, the loser pays. Depending
advice to avoid such know what they’re doing, on the calibration, you could send the disputed item
you could get techni- off to NIST if it is something they usually do but be
disputes in the first cal and point this out prepared to wait for it and expect a much higher bill
to them to avoid future than you get from a local lab.
place. The easiest way battles. If they don’t like The reports issued by the labs should be shared and
to hear this, you have to reviewed to see if the labs are ‘equal’ in capability. This
is to determine how revert to politics. This
means get them to agree
means a check to see if their accreditation matches the
work they have done. And speaking of accreditation, it
with you using the same is a given that if they don’t have any, all bets are off.
your customer will methods and hardware Take a hard look at the scopes of the labs
they are using and ignore involved. If both are accredited and show practically
check what you’re the metrology involved. the same uncertainties, there’s a possibility some-
The product measure- one’s assessor wasn’t up to speed on the metrology
supplying before you ments may not be worth part of the process so a check of the actual hardware
squat, but at least you used can be revealing. Sometimes assessors and/or
switch on the machines. won’t be fighting over it. quality auditors are dazzled by expensive all-sing-
And if they discover this, ing-and-dancing digital hardware that is not up to
you’ll have their agree- speed from a metrology point of view despite clever
ment on method to cover software and tweaking. It could be that the device
your end. Not the way things should be, but remember is providing a derived value rather than a directly
it’s politics so you know how that system works. measured one or is set up using a dodgy master that
I’m assuming the dispute is between you and your doesn’t directly replicate the feature being measured
customer and that your gage or instrument is being such as pitch diameter.
hung out to dry in the process. Being the clever type Like all disputes, you have to go back to the basics to
that you are (like all my readers), you fire said suspect sort things out.
off to a cal lab and get a report back indicating it’s
good. However, your customer won’t accept this and Hill Cox is president of Frank Cox Metrology Ltd. (Brampton, Ontario,
does the same thing with his ‘go to’ source for calibra- Canada). He may be reached at hill@frankcox.com.

www.qualitymag.com May 2018 | QUALITY 15

 SPEAKING OF QUALITY
IMPROVEMENT FOR ALL
IMPROVEMENT OCCURS WHEN THE PROCESSES ALLOW FOR CHANGE.
“Q uality improvement will result from people
improving their processes and from man-
agement improving the system,” says Thomas
Pyzdek, ASQ Fellow.
Improvement occurs when the processes allow
for change. But, the processes won’t improve
without the people making the effort to change
them. While improvement is the job of the qual-
ity “people,” it can often feel that it always falls on
your shoulders. The burden gets tiresome but not
insurmountable. At these times, the best action
is to stand up and be heard. Or, as Brenda Fisk,
director, project management office, Software
Quality Solutions, offered during an interview
with ASQTV: “Get involved. Get involved right
now!” She was addressing her response directly to
new quality professionals, but these words are also
applicable to quality veterans.
The quality profession has existed for nearly three-
quarters of a century. In 1946, quality professionals
rallied together to create the American Society for
Quality Control. Throughout the association’s 68
years, the profession has evolved as roles and respon-
sibilities have changed and expanded. In the early
21st century the quality practitioner had been firmly
planted into the quality community as it became clear
that, for organizations to thrive, quality professionals
couldn’t work in a silo away from other, traditionally
“nonquality” departments. To survive, quality must
become everyone’s job.
The statement on its own—Quality is everyone’s
job—has the look and sound of a slogan, a rousing,
easily remembered and repeated phrase. The fact
is, according to ASQ’s past three research stud-
ies—The Future of Quality (2015), The Global State
of Quality (2016, with APQC), and the Culture of
Quality (2017, with Forbes Insights)—organizations
have been making attempts to break down silos and
get tools into the hands of everyone. The change can
be painfully slow. It is a culture shift. Those outside
of the traditional quality profession are asked to
do “one more thing,” while the quality professional
is left to question job stability. But there is a great
need for the quality professional’s skill set. To make
“quality is everyone’s job” a reality, the subject mat-
ter experts, the quality professionals, need to offer
guidance and support every step of the way. The
benefits can be many.
“It’s a lot more collaborative than it used to be,”
says Laura Methfessel in an ASQTV interview. “I’ve
16 QUALITY | May 2018
only been doing this for seven years, and when I
started at my company quality was still seen as
(one) of the bad guys. But since [then], and since
I’ve been able to train through ASQ, I’ve been able
to take all those skills and bring them to our cor-
porate culture. And now we have cross-functional
groups. We are helping to promote quality basically
from the bottom up and getting all our employees
involved. And that’s how I see quality work going
throughout the whole company, making everything
work better.” 
Breaking down the silos is good for communica-
tion and business. It gets people teaming together,
problem solving in more effective and efficient ways.
When quality departments move effectively around
to other departments, matters go smoother and
quicker. These organizations have—or strive for—a
culture of quality.
 “Generally what I have found is that when we think
about quality, it is a very narrow understanding about
quality in a manufacturing environment,” says Jigar
Vadia, senior manager of strategic initiatives, KYB
Americas Corp. “Generally when thinking of qual-
ity, it is getting a customer issue, doing root cause
analysis, and do[ing] corrective actions, which is an
extremely important part of quality but not the only
part of quality systems.”
Vadia continues to say in the ASQTV interview that
you need to broaden your thinking to process quality.
This type of thinking doesn’t usually start at the top,
it comes from the quality professionals. Quality pro-
fessionals have control in these areas to broaden their
areas of expertise and value to the organization.  
There is plenty for the quality professional to
learn. At the recent ASQ Quality 4.0 Summit, held
in Dallas, attendees heard about many opportunities
quality professionals have to help their organizations
maneuver the challenges of cybersecurity, artificial
intelligence, and robotics. Speakers stressed that
quality professionals don’t need to become robotics
engineers to navigate their companies through the
future of business, but they do need to have working
knowledge of the current and upcoming technologies
that face organizations.
Leaders need assistance to keep their organizations
relevant—and in business. Quality professionals—the
people with improvement skills and knowledge—have
the opportunity to orchestrate that assistance.
Go, quality professional, learn, share. Improve your-
self, improve your team, improve all.
www.qualitymag.com
 Sponsored by
InfoCenter

MATERIALS TESTING
& ANALYSIS

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Application Testing & Testing & Testing &
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 QUALITY 101

 A multi-circuited air probe

is shown here.

stations to perform 100% inspection

and provide feedback to the machine
tool for offsetting. The air gaging rings
and probes haven’t changed much over
the years except for being able to mea-
sure smaller and smaller diameters.
The major advancements have come
in the control units. They are often
referred to as comparators, columns, or
measuring computers. These devices
can have digital inputs and outputs,
analog inputs and outputs, Ethernet,
Profibus, USB, RS232 and many oth-
ers. These communication protocols
allow for the gages to function in semi-
automatic or fully automatic measuring
modes including calibration.

THE
HE MEASUREMENT PROCEDURE
Here
ere is an example of how the measur-

AIR GAGING
ing
ng procedure could be set up. The first
thing
hing that would happen is the calibra-
tion
ion of the gaging system. This can be
done
one either manually or automatically.
Typically, if it is done automatically,

IN A HIGH PRODUCTION, AUTOMATED the MIN and MAX masters will be in

the form of the workpiece being mea-

MANUFACTURING ENVIRONMENT
sured.
ured. This makes it much easier for the
robot
obot to load the masters onto the gage
because
ecause the robot is already configured
Air gaging continues to evolve and stay relevant in today’s to
o pick up and load the workpieces. In
either case, the MIN master is loaded
automated world. BY CHRIS KOEHN onto the gage and then either the start
button is pushed manually or is trig-

T he biggest trend we are seeing in

the manufacturing industry is
automating the inspection process
ing hiring strains across the market.
Another factor for the rise of the
robots is continuous improvement
gered from the PLC (programmable
logic controller) through one of the
communication protocols such as the
using robots. According to a projec- and the desire to inspect 100% of the digital input/outputs. The MIN calibra-
tion from ABI Research, the number critical dimensions of a given part. Air tion can then be stopped through sever-
of industrial robots sold in the U.S. gaging continues to evolve and remain al procedures. You could manually press
will jump nearly 300% in less than a a relevant form of metrology in today’s the stop button, or it can be triggered
decade. There were automated world. through the digital input/output or a
40% more robots So how could air countdown cycle could have been start-
sold in 2016 in the gaging fit into this ed from the start procedure. You would
U.S. than in the environment? Isn’t then remove the MIN master from the
four years prior, air gaging basically gage and place the MAX master on the
according to data used as a go/no go gage and repeat the cycle. This calibra-
collected from the gage to simply check tion cycle can be controlled either using
Robotic Industries if the parts are good a timer to trigger the cycle, a parts
Association. This or bad? The answer: counter, manual trigger, or some other
trend continues not anymore. Air trigger. Calibration is typically done
because the cost of gaging has evolved one time per shift, but some customers
the robot is declining with the demands require it more or less frequently.
even as the capability of customer require-
of the robot is rising ments and is being THE MEASUREMENT CYCLE
as well as a difficult Here is a four channel column with used in fully auto- The measurement cycle of the work-
labor market plac- digital inputs/outputs. mated measuring pieces is very similar. The robot

18 QUALITY | May 2018 www.qualitymag.com

A robotic cell with six measuring stations using a robot is shown here.
would load the workpiece onto the
gage and then signal the start of the
measurement. There could either be
a countdown cycle and then the gage
would stop on its own or it can wait
for the signal from the PLC to stop
the measurement. The control unit
would then report a signal if the part
was good or bad. The robot would use
this signal to sort good and bad parts.
The control unit could
then report offset values
back to the machine so
that adjustments could
be made without human
intervention. This is
typically done using an
algorithm and normally
uses at least a three
piece average for making
adjustments. The control
device has full statistical
process control (SPC)
that can be monitored
to see your manufactur- This is a scanning device for
ing process and can be measuring IDs and ODs
exported out of the sys-
tem to be saved.
This setup could be used to check
only one diameter or there could be
multiple stations for the robot to pick
and place allowing the measurement
of many features. To date, the most
features we have measured on a single
station is just over 200 but the capabil-
ity is much higher. We have also inte-
grated tracking serial numbers read
from a data matrix engraved on the
part so that the measurement data for
www.qualitymag.com
FISCHERSCOPE®
each individual part is stored and can
be recalled at any time. The capabil-
X-RAY XAN® 500
ity of these devices is growing rapidly
and will allow for more integration
Coating Thickness
in the future to match the continued Measurement and
demands of today’s quality profession- Compositional Analysis
als. Air gaging can measure more than
just simple inside and outside diam-
eters. It can measure perpendicularity, Quality and process control of
taper, parallelism, runout, flatness, electroplated multilayer and
and many others. alloy coatings. Great for large or
Now that we have
discussed some of
irregularly shaped parts
the capabilities and Lightweight and mobile for quick,
a sample of how the accurate, non-destructive testing
automation works,
let’s talk a little about Can be used as a handheld
the cost of a system device, as a fully enclosed desk-
like this. With all top unit or integrated directly into
the capabilities, you
might think that an
production lines
automated measuring
cell will cost a lot of
money. Surprisingly Contact us for More Information
with the cost of robots www.fischer-technology.com
and the measuring info@fischer-technology.com
system itself declin- 860.683.0781
ing in recent years, you can get into
a simple automated cell for under
$40,000. This device can run 24/7 so
the return on investment on a system
like this might be as short as three
months. With that type of return, it Coating Thickness Material Analysis Nanoindentation Material Testing
is hard not to take a serious look at
automating your measuring system.
Chris Koehn is the president of Air Gaging LLC.
For more information, call (815) 242-0027, email
ckoehn@airgaging.com or visit www.airgaging.com.
May 2018 | QUALITY 19
 ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
Green New World
Two innovative manufacturing companies share their secrets
to energy efficiency and sustainability. BY LEAH PICKETT
L ast year, the U.S. Department of
Energy (DOE) introduced the
Better Practice and Better Project
awards to honor exceptional energy-
efficiency solutions.
Charter Steel, Saint-Gobain, Johnson
Controls, United Technologies, Nissan,
and Harley-Davidson each received
the Better Practice Award, which rec-
ognizes outstanding accomplishments
in implementing and promoting the
practices, principles, and procedures of
20 QUALITY | May 2018
energy management in industry. The
Better Project Award, which highlights
achievements in implementing energy-
efficiency projects at individual facili-
ties, went to C.F. Martin & Company,
Eastman Chemical Company,
Ingersoll Rand, the Narragansett Bay
Commission, and the Victor Valley
Wastewater Reclamation Authority.
All of the winners participate in the
DOE Better Buildings’ Better Practice
Program and Challenge, which part-
ners with American manufacturers
and water utilities to improve energy
efficiency and competitiveness in the
industrial sector.
This year, Quality reached out to two
of the awardees, Johnson Controls and
United Technologies, to see how their
multifaceted energy and sustainability
initiatives are shaping up.
According to the DOE, Johnson
Controls merited their Better Practice
Award for establishing a company-wide
Energy Hunt program, which resulted
in a threefold increase in identified
energy savings projects and helped
the company meet its Better Plants
Challenge goal two years early. United
www.qualitymag.com
 Taking a systems approach to drive sustainability in aviation provides synergies that enable less weight, less drag, and less waste.
Source: United Technologies

Technologies earned the same honor

for creating the Natural Leader energy
efficiency improvement program,
which has saved millions in cumulative
energy costs.

JOHNSON CONTROLS
Since Warren Johnson invented the
electric thermostat in 1885, Johnson
Controls International Plc, currently
headquartered in Cork, Ireland, has
been committed to improving energy
efficiency in buildings, including in
their own manufacturing facilities.
As a longtime producer of automotive
parts such as batteries and HVAC equip-
ment for buildings, the company also is
part of the U.S. Environmental Agency
(EPA)’s Green Power Partnership pro-
gram, which encourages organizations
to use green power as a way to reduce
the environmental impacts associated
with conventional electricity use.
According to Clay Nesler, vice
president of energy and sustainability
at Johnson Controls, the company is Absorbent Glass Mat batteries (AGM) are ideal for Start Stop systems due to their
increasingly purchasing green power, cycling performance. With $550 million in investments between 2011 and 2020,
either directly from utilities or through Johnson Controls is implementing plans to expand AGM production capacity worldwide.
Source: Johnson Controls
renewable energy certificates (RECs),
and installing solar panels in their
manufacturing facilities. Nesler also
views power purchase agreements
(PPAs) as “very innovative models for
being able to increase investment.”
But job number one for Johnson
Controls in terms of energy, Nesler
says, is the combination of energy pro-
ductivity improvements and reducing
waste—and then, based on reduced
energy footprint, being able to more
cost-effectively use renewable energy to
balance the scale.

REDUCING ENERGY INTENSITY (EI)

Upon joining the EPA Climate Leaders
program in 2002, Johnson Controls set
a 10-year goal to reduce greenhouse
gas emissions by 25 percent. Six years
later, they’d already reached their goal,
reducing both carbon and energy,
Nesler says.
With the Better Plants Challenge,
which began in 2009, Johnson Controls
made another 10-year commitment, Johnson Controls’ 12-volt Lithium-ion technology helps automakers to meet fuel effi-
this time to 25 percent reduction in ciency and emissions regulations. Here, a worker assembles a li-ion battery pack at
energy intensity (EI), or energy con- Johnson Controls’ Holland, MI facility. Source: Johnson Controls

www.qualitymag.com May 2018 | QUALITY 21

 ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
Researchers at Harvard University’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health and SUNY Upstate Medical University found that working
in green-certified buildings was associated with higher cognitive function scores, fewer sick building symptoms, and higher sleep
quality scores. Source: United Technologies
sumption. This time, they reached
their goal in seven years.
“A lot of people are concerned about
making that second commitment, that
they would have harvested all of the
low-hanging fruit—lighting upgrades,
fixing leaks and compressors—and that
it will become increasingly expensive
and more difficult to achieve,” Nesler
says. “And that hasn’t been our experi-
ence. We like to say that the low-hang-
ing fruit grows very quickly.”
“Every couple years there’s a new
technology change,” Nesler continues.
“We went from T12s to T8s, from T8s
to T5s, and then to LED lighting in
our plants; and there have been similar
improvements for controls in manu-
facturing facilities and technologies for
monitoring compressed air. We’ve real-
ly been able to maintain our savings.”
IMPROVING ENERGY
PRODUCTIVITY (EP)
Johnson Controls’ current energy
commitment, launched in 2016, is the
EP100 (short for Energy Productivity
100). Headed by the company’s Climate
Group and the Alliance to Save Energy
in the U.S., the EP100 includes a global
portfolio of businesses that have agreed
22 QUALITY | May 2018
to double their energy productiv-
ity within 25 years, or increase it by
2.5 percent annually, by investing in
power-saving equipment and technol-
ogy. Johnson Controls was the first
U.S. business to sign the EP100 pledge,
Nesler says, and the company commit-
ted to double its EP by 2030.
As Nesler explains, EP is the inverse
of EI: your revenue divided by your
energy use, in gigajoules or BTUs or
whatever unit you want to use.
“In 21 years, we’re going to hit 50
percent energy intensity improvement,
which is equivalent to 100 percent
energy productivity improvement,”
Nesler continues. “And this time, we’re
including our entire global footprint in
the commitment.”
FOCUSING ON QUALITY,
COMMUNITY
One of the company’s implementation
models is the Energy Hunt program,
which Nesler calls a “light version” of
ISO 50001, the energy management
standard. He adds that the process
came in part from what Johnson
Controls learned from one of its pre-
vious suppliers, Toyota, and from
the best business practices already
employed by Johnson Controls’ qual-
ity team.
“The tool we use for logging projects
and tracking savings is the same tool we
use within our quality teams for contin-
uous improvement, and we use Kaizan
processes to identify opportunities,”
Nesler says. “We’ve been able to find a
tremendous synergy between the quality
practices we’ve applied in our plants and
the energy and sustainability practices.”
At the same time, Johnson Controls
is dedicated to helping smaller suppli-
ers—particularly small and medium-
sized enterprises that are women and
minority-owned, Nesler says—achieve
their energy goals.
“If you look at the environmental
footprint of our operations–energy,
water, waste, carbon–our upstream
supply chain uses five times as much
energy as our own internal operations,”
Nesler says. “So we have 5-1 leverage in
taking our best practices to our suppli-
ers and helping them.”
“We’re doing exactly what Toyota
did for us a decade ago,” he continues.
“We go to our suppliers and offer them
technical assistance, because we want
them to be as efficient as possible. It
puts them in a better cost position,
www.qualitymag.com
makes them more competitive, and it
stimulates jobs in their local communi-
ties, which are often very close to our
local communities.”
LEVERAGING DIGITALIZATION
That Johnson Controls manufactures
computerized energy management
systems and advanced HVAC building
control systems also gives the company
leg-up, as its own technologies power
its facilities worldwide.
With Johnson Controls’ own energy
metering and monitoring systems,
Nesler explains, “we can collect all of
the data and analyze it: we can com-
pare energy use shift by shift, by day
“The latest goal set on which we’re
operating we can measure back to 1997;
since that time, we’ve tripled the size
of our business,” says Mandyck. “Over
that same period, we reduced our water
consumption by 62 percent and our
greenhouse gas emissions by 33 per-
cent. And given that track record, we
can see that we’re on the trajectory to
reduce our greenhouse gas emissions
by 80 percent by 2050.”
MAKING BUSINESS SENSE
Headquartered in Farmington, CT with
facilities worldwide, UTC researches,
develops, and manufactures aerospace
systems, aircraft engines, elevators,
escalators, HVAC, and building sys-
tems, among other products. According
to Mandyck, one of the keys to the com-
pany’s success is setting big, bold energy
goals at the central, corporate level, and
then allowing factory managers at the

P R OBL E M S OLV E D
of the week, and across different parts
of the plant; and we’re able to bench-
mark our energy use performance and
compare to different plants in differ-
ent regions.”
Nesler believes that the combina-
tion of a structured process with
goals, accountability, key perfor-
mance indicators, and the ability to
report—essentially, the whole Plan, Do,
Check, Act (PDCA) quality process
from American engineer W. Edwards
Deming—is essential to reaping the
benefits of digitalization.
“Just collecting the data and putting
it on a pretty dashboard and display-
ing it in the lobby of the plant will not
result in energy savings,” Nesler insists.
“You need to build it into a process—
just like you build quality metrics into
a quality process, or environmental
metrics into an environmental man-
agement system.”
“Building data analytics and energy
metering into an energy management
system is the best way to maximize
performance,” he continues, “and we’ve
proven that to be the case across our
global enterprise.”

UNITED TECHNOLOGIES M A RP OS S P L UG A ND P L AY SOL U T IONS

In 1988, United Technologies
Corporation (UTC) was among the The innovative iWave2 wireless handle displays the
first companies in the U.S. to set measurement value in the operator’s hand. Communication
energy reduction goals in factories and software developed by MARPOSS gives the opportunity
to connect the iWave2 to any commercial computer.
to publicly declare tracked progress
ALL MEASUREMENTS IN YOUR HANDS!
on those goals. According to John
Mandyck, chief sustainability officer at
UTC, tracking progress eventually led
to more formal goal-setting, in order
to reduce the environmental health
and safety impacts of UTC’s manufac-
turing operations.

www.qualitymag.com May 2018 | QUALITY 23

 ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
Over a 16-year period, Harvard researchers studied a subset of green-certified buildings
in six countries: the U.S., China, India, Brazil, Germany and Turkey. Known as HEALTHfx,
the study found nearly $6 billion in combined health and climate benefits.
Source: United Technologies
decentralized, local levels to develop
their own strategies to achieve them.
“A couple of years ago, when announc-
ing our goals for 2020, we declared that
we would reduce our greenhouse gas
emission by 15 percent over five years,
or 3 percent a year,” Mandyck says. “We
hold our factory managers accountable
for this 3 percent per year reduction over
a five-year period, but we don’t tell them
how to do it. That leads to creativity and
market conditions on what makes sense
at the right place.”
“In some places we have factories
employing renewable energy strategies
that are cost-effective; in other places,
we have factories changing out lighting
and air compressors for more energy
efficient devices within the factories,”
Mandyck continues. “There’s no strat-
egy we’ve found that works across all
of our global operations. But the secret
sauce that has worked for us is setting
these big goals and allowing local man-
agement to find the best, most cost-
effective ways to meet them.”
In addition, Mandyck says that UTC
embraces renewable forms of energy
where it makes sense at the local level
and where it’s cost-effective. For exam-
ple, one of UTC’s Carrier factories in
France became the first in that coun-
try to sign a contract for 100 percent
renewable power.
“In other places, we’ve tried to do
solar and the paybacks haven’t been
so good,” Mandyck explains, “So it’s
really on a case-by-case basis with what
makes sense with the local geography.”
24 QUALITY | May 2018
“The money we use or the invest-
ments we use to lower our greenhouse
gases comes from the same pot of money
that we use for research and develop-
ment, and for acquisitions,” he contin-
ues. “So, it has to make business sense;
and this is why we’re really optimistic
about the future of sustainability. We’ve
seen that we can significantly grow our
business while at the same time sig-
nificantly reducing our greenhouse gas
emissions, and in a cost-effective way.”
PROPELLING GREEN AVIATION
A big trend that UTC is reacting
to and developing technologies for,
Mandyck says, is a historic ramp in the
aviation industry.
“We think we’re in a big, connected
world, but the fact of the matter is
that less than 18 percent of the world’s
population has stepped foot on an air-
plane,” Mandyck says. “And because
of urbanization and rising global
incomes, the forecast is that aviation
will double in the next 20 years. And
we look at that and we say, as one of
the world’s largest providers of avia-
tion technologies, ‘How can we provide
technologies to accommodate that
ramp in a more sustainable way?’”
According to Mandyck, UTC defines
green aviation as comprising three
essential components. The first starts
on the ground by improving the energy
efficiency of airports
“A large airport will use as much
energy as a city of 100,000 people;
they’re very energy intensive operations”
Mandyck explains, “So we look at ways
to reduce energy intensity at airports
through very high efficiency HVAC sys-
tems, or through very energy efficient
elevator and escalator systems from our
Building Systems groups that can help
airports meet lower carbon goals.”
The second component is reducing
the aviation factory footprint, Mandyck
says, and the third is greening aviation
in the air. For the latter, UTC employs
a three-pronged approach.
“First, what are the breakthrough tech-
nologies needed to accommodate this his-
toric growth in aviation in a more sustain-
able way?” Mandyck says. “Our answer to
that is new jet engine technology.”
UTC has invested more than $10
million to develop and bring to market
the new Geared Turbofan jet engine,
which reduces fuel burn by 16 percent,
NOx emissions by 50 percent, and noise
footprint by 75 percent. And Mandyck
predicts that by 2050, “our jet engine
onboard our customers’ airplanes will
save 15 billion gallons of fuel, which is
enough fuel to go to Mars and back.”
Second, the UTC Aerospace Systems
Group holistically examines how it can
reduce the weight of the components
in its systems. “Because we know it’s a
simple equation less weight equals less
fuel burn,” Mandyck says. He gives the
example of wing actuators: the mechan-
ical devices that move the wing flaps
on an airplane. Previous technologies
for wing actuators were pneumatically
driven, but UTC made them electroni-
cally driven, thus eliminating the need
for hundreds of pounds of cables, tubes,
hoses, and oil on the aircraft.
Third, UTC investigates how it can
make aircraft more intelligent, such as
providing sensors that give pilots real-
time data on what’s going on with the
plane outside of the cockpit.
One of those sensors, for example,
senses headwinds. “So, if the aircraft
moves into a flight pattern that has stron-
ger headwinds than expected, the pilot
has the ability to plot a different route—
and use less fuel by literally finding a
path of lower resistance.” Mandyck says.
“That’s what intelligent aircraft are doing
today, and what they’ll do in the future.”
ACCELERATING GREEN
BUILDINGS, CITIES
Green aviation is one of three sustain-
ability platforms at UTC. The others
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focus on green buildings and the future
of food, though all three fit each of the
technology platforms of the company
itself and align with the company’s
overall goal of helping the world to
urbanize in a more sustainable way.
“What we’re seeing around the world—
and that we don’t often see or hear or feel
in the United States—are two global meg-
atrends that are fundamentally reshaping
societies and economies in real time:
population growth and urbanization,”
Mandyck says. “In the next 35 years, we’re
going to grow our global population 35
percent. By 2050, there will be more than
9 billion people on the planet, and nearly
70 percent of those people will live in cit-
ies. So, these trends have big implications
for environmental sustainability and the
ways that we can meet urbanization in a
more sustainable way.”
UTC was the first company to join
the U.S. Green Building Council in 1993.
Back then, that was the only national
green building in the world, Mandyck
says. Today, there are nearly 100.
“This is a global movement that is
transforming real estate,” Mandyck
www.qualitymag.com
continues. “[UTC has] been in it and
supporting it since the beginning and we
continue to do so today, because we know
green buildings are a big answer for how
we can urbanize more sustainably.”
Take UTC’s Otis elevator brand.
“Otis moves the equivalent of the
world’s population every three days,
Mandyck says. “You need energy to
send an elevator up, but it’s going to
come down by itself; we also know
that gravity can be a source of free
energy. [UTC was] one of the first
companies to put regenerative drives
on our elevators to capture the energy
creating through gravity on the ride
down and repurpose it to send the
elevator back up—and in doing that,
reduce elevator energy consumption
by 75 percent.”
UTC’s focus on green buildings also
extends to green cities, and thus, to
the future of food. As the co-author of
Food Foolish: The Hidden Connection
between Food Waste, Hunger, and
Climate Change, Mandyck is well-
versed in this issue, and believes that
UTC has a significant role to play in
answering what he calls “one of biggest
questions of our time,” which is how to
feed a growing population.
With increasing urbanization,
people are moving farther away from
their food sources; . But since UTC is a
world leader in refrigeration technolo-
gies, Mandyck says that the company is
exploring ways to make sure that more
food gets from the farm to our forks—
since less than 10 percent of the world’s
perishable foods are refrigerated today.
“I believe the most sustainable way
to feed the planet is to avoid the tre-
mendous amount of food waste that we
have around the world,” Mandyck says.
“We grow and produce enough food to
feed 10 billion people on the planet. We
live on a planet of 7 billion, and only
about 6 billion get enough food. So that
40 percent inefficiency is the food that
is lost or wasted every day, and refrig-
eration technologies are a key way that
we can extend the world’s food supply
to feed more people.” Q
Leah Pickett is an associate editor at Quality.
She can be reached at pickettl@bnpmedia.com.
May 2018 | QUALITY 25
 MEASUREMENT

Noncontact
Laser Measurement and reliable way while always ensuring
Noncontact laser measurement devices are saving quality is at the forefront.
manufacturers time, money and resources by increasing Sound familiar? For any manufac-
turer struggling with these demands,
efficiencies in quality checks. BY DENNIS DEROOS noncontact handheld and automated
laser measurement devices can play a

F or manufacturers in the 21st century,

ensuring the products they produce
are of the right quality is paramount.
As customers we demand quality
products that are competitively priced,
longer lasting and more fuel efficient.
We expect our cars to be water and
wind tight thanks to correctly fitted
panels, doors and seals. Similarly,
when we fly, we expect a smooth
touch down thanks to precisely fitted
landing gear.
Add to this regulators requiring
improvements in safety and reduc-
tions in noise, waste and carbon emis-
sions and a picture soon emerges of a
manufacturing world that is constantly
evolving. The pressure is on to make
ever more complex products with
tighter tolerances in a cost effective
big part in helping achieve this.
Optical metrology is the principle
behind noncontact laser measurement
devices that determines the dimension-
al profile of a part, by taking a series of
pictures of its surface.
The key to profile measurement is
to reliably report the surface in a lot
of detail. Laser triangulation technol-
ogy is used to collect measurements

26 QUALITY | May 2018 www.qualitymag.com

 Noncontact laser
measurement devices
save time, money and
resources by increas-
ing efficiencies in
quality checks.
by projecting a laser stripe across the
surface of a part to determine the
measureable feature. Simultaneously,
an integrated camera system takes
images of this static laser stripe. As
the angle is known between the cam-
era and the laser projection, an algo-
rithm can be written to calculate the
dimensions of the surface over which
the laser falls and the camera sees.
This measured data is then output to
point cloud format to generate a digi-
tal copy of the surface.
A point cloud is produced by software
that uses image processing to convert
the images of the profile into a series of
points which can be used to extrapolate
the shape of the feature. These points
allow the system to analyze the mea-
sured surface. Because a laser is a clean
form of structured light, measured data
www.qualitymag.com
The speed and accuracy of
noncontact laser measurement
devices means every single
car can be measured.
is highly reliable and can be used as a
stable light source for data analysis.
Today’s noncontact laser measure-
ment systems can scan a component’s
profile to measure features that include
angle, radius, edge break or scratch for
example. Measured data is then record-
ed for statistical process control and
traceability purposes and transferred
to a computer, enabling the operator
to rectify any mistakes in real time
on the production line. This ensures
components are the correct size and
fit together accurately without com-
promising the quality, cost or time to
complete the build.
Noncontact laser measurement
devices offer a repeatable set of rules
that do not require subjective interpre-
tation, which means that manufactur-
ers have the ability to measure lots of
profiles and surface finishes quickly,
repeatably and in well-defined ways.
It’s no exaggeration to say that non-
contact laser measurement devices have
revolutionized quality control.
Back in the 1980s manufacturers
inspected products using traditional
contact measurement devices such
as micrometers and Vernier calipers
(invented in late 16th/early 17th centu-
ries), which needed to touch the surface
of a product to determine its dimensions.
However, there are a number of
drawbacks to using a device which has
to physically touch the part it’s measur-
ing. First, the part could be damaged
or marked.
Second, if a part is unfixed, hinged,
or designed to move, contact is likely
to introduce an inherently unstable
measurement result which is unlikely
to be repeatable or produce consistent
results when further measurements
are collected.
Third, contact measurement devices
often have little capability to output
measurement data, meaning that
operators have to write down results
or input them into a computer. This is
laborious and prone to errors in terms
of interpretation and input.
For many years, optical noncontact
measurement was found in engineer-
ing workshops in the form of a shad-
owgraph or profile projector. These
devices worked by showing a magni-
fied image against a scale. Components
were either taken to the machine to
cast, prepare and then measure, or they
were cut up to provide samples and
placed upon a light table. This would
show a projection of its shape in much
greater detail so surface conditions
could be visually inspected.
Early designs were simply visual
checking devices, although later ver-
sions also had some digitalization
capabilities with additional electronic
measurement capability. Nonetheless,
the process was slow and not suited to
an inline inspection environment.
Today’s noncontact measurement
systems have developed to include far
more advanced imaging and inspec-
tion methods, including handheld and
automated optical measurement which
means that accurate and repeatable
dimensional data is achievable faster
and more simply than ever before.
May 2018 | QUALITY 27
 MEASUREMENT

Speed is one of the main reasons why

noncontact laser measurement devices Noncontact laser measurement devices
are popular as they allow manufactur- help improve engine efficiency in the
aerospace sector.
ers to make more quality checks, at a
lower cost, with greater repeatability
and consistency of measurement.

A CLOSER LOOK
So, let’s take a look at how several
industries are using this new way
of measuring.
Train carriage manufacturers use
noncontact laser measurement devices
to check each panel along the length of
the production line so they can head
off problems before they arise, thereby
speeding up the production process.
Traceability is also key. Measured
results from noncontact laser measure- plane engines. This decreases the amount When it comes to inspecting heli-
ment devices go directly into a data- of air passing though the gap as lost ener- copter panels, a manual process using
base and are hard to falsify, especially gy, decreases noise levels, improves fuel a depth gage takes approximately 2.5
important in safety critical areas such efficiency, lowers environmental impact hours, whereas using a noncontact laser
as aircraft engines and reduces running costs. measurement device takes just 20 min-
Noncontact laser measurement devices The fast and accurate data collec- utes, giving a very quick indication as to
are being used to help improve engine tion afforded by noncontact laser mea- whether the damaged area, or perceived
efficiency in the aerospace sector by min- surement devices also contributes to damaged area, is within acceptable limits.
imizing the clearance gap between the a quicker production line and inspec- In the automotive sector noncontact
turbine blade tip and the casing on air- tion process. laser measurement devices are indis-

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28 QUALITY | May 2018 www.qualitymag.com

 HIGH RESOLUTION

pensable for helping to find potential
problems. Devices are used to mea-
sure the gap and flush of everything
from the fuel cap to the seal gap void
BORE
The renewable energy sector is also
using noncontact laser measurement
devices to measure the size and depth
of scratches on the surface of wind tur-

between the body and door—they even
measure the thickness of the glue bead
applied to panels to ensure it’s the right
size to prevent leaks!
Reducing downtime is also a fac-
tor as to why manufacturers have
embraced noncontact laser measure-
ment devices. Production doesn’t
have to stop to check quality as the
devices provide manufacturers with
a fully auditable trail of every prod-
uct measured. Furthermore, the fact
that the device can transfer data to a
computer means any modifications
can be done on the production line in
real time.
Before noncontact laser measure-
ment devices, automotive manufactur-
ers could only measure one out of every
three cars. Thanks to the speed and
accuracy of laser measurement, every
single car can be measured to see if
anything has changed during one par-
ticular shift.
GAGE
bine blades, as well as the height and
width of deformations in the blades
layering which can reduce its lifespan
or even cause a catastrophic failure.
Noncontact measurement devices are
even been used to measure the gap and
flush of high-end white goods in our
homes, such as with washing machines
to ensure they don’t spring a leak.
Be it planes, trains, cars or tur-
bine blades, quality is paramount for
manufacturers today. The ability to
quality control using a noncontact
laser measurement device not only
helps save time, money and resources
but it can also improve fuel efficiency
and reduce environmental impact
and running costs. That’s got to be a
win-win-win for consumer, regulator
and manufacturer. Q
Dennis DeRoos is the chief sales & marketing
officer of UK-based Third Dimension. For more
information, visit www.third.com.

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 SOFTWARE
Quality Software and th
There is a war going on and it is presently being fought
in the cloud. BY PETER SANDERSON
T oday’s software systems are advanc-
ing faster than any other time in
history. Each is going in different
directions. The competition is not
necessarily with the software company
that creates and sells a specific software
such as a calibration or quality man-
agement solution—the real differences
are the platforms behind the scenes.
There is a war going on and it is
presently being fought in the cloud
and by cloud providers by both the
main players like Google, Microsoft,
and Amazon, and many others. Each
development platform offers a differ-
ent pricing and billing structure and
a completely different backbone and
approach to programming. So the
software company wanting to build an
30 QUALITY | May 2018
app and offer it to their clients must
first buy into one of these program-
ming systems.
For example, software that was
developed three or four years ago
using ASP.net and MS SQL may be
limited to features of new standards
offered to programmers by Google or
the latest AZURE. Often it is useful to
understand the app’s server capabili-
ties and the backbone to which the app
was developed.
OFF-LINE CAPABILITY
One of the most critical new require-
ments is the ability to synchronize
data between the cloud and individual
devices that are not always connected
to the internet. For example, a techni-
cian using a tablet in the field perform-
ing inspections may not have access
to the internet but would have the
software app on the tablet and could
enter the inspection results in the same
manner as if the tablet were connected
to the internet. Then, once the tablet
connects to the internet, it would auto-
matically synchronize the records and
the inspection results would be avail-
able on the cloud to everyone.
Additionally, the app should be
available on all platforms includ-
ing tablets and phones from Apple,
Android, and Windows.
This requirement ensures that man-
agement and users can work on their
system using any device while con-
nected or not connected to the internet.
GLITZ AND SHOW
Software and graphics have also come
a long way and often software apps are
focused on glitz and show rather than
www.qualitymag.com

he Future
complete functionality and integration.
Beautiful graphs, charts, icons, colors,
and layers all provide a tantalizing user
interface. However, these features may
limit certain software capabilities and
more importantly, increase the costs of
the software dramatically. Charting,
reporting and glitz is often a third-
party developer add-on to the app and
is normally licenced to the software
developer at huge costs, either by cost/
customer or by yearly licensing fees
which get passed on to the user.
There is a better way. Consider an
app as a data source. Organizations
may have multiple apps and may want
to combine and analyze data from
several of these. They may also want
to incorporate other interesting data
sources (such as weather). So instead of
having these wonderful graphic pro-
grams in each app and paying for each
of them, it may be better to own your
own charting and graphing app that
www.qualitymag.com
can interface with all your current and
future apps including additional data.
Having your own charting app
would enable the user to create charts
from data pulled from multiple data
sources such as the accounting soft-
ware, local weather data, quality
management software, and integrated
robotic inspection software. Perhaps
you want to create a graph comparing
repair costs, hours labor, inspection
rejects, additional production time,
and weather for a process. Your own
charting app would make this easier.
Therefore, it is more important
that all apps can share data
by providing you real-
time access to the
database data in
the cloud. Often
the app sends
periodic down-
loads to a serv-
er IP, but the
data may not
be as current as
real time access
to the database.
Finally, when
looking for an app,
remember that what
you see in the online dem-
onstrations is well thought out data
entered to provide beautiful graphs
that appear to be very useful. However,
we know that in the real world the data
rarely lends itself to nice graphics and
is often better analyzed in a spread-
sheet where we can compare numbers.
When evaluating apps don’t be too
influenced by glitz and stay focused
One of the most critical
new requirements is the
ability to synchronize data
between the cloud and
individual devices that are
not always connected to
the internet.
on functionality and real-time access
to the data. Look at your own pro-
cesses and identify your specific
needs, terminology, process flow and
ensure that the app can meet your
needs today and can grow and expand
to meet your future needs. You should
have the ability to completely custom-
ize the software to meet your present
and future requirements.
SEATS AND ACCESS TO
CUSTOMERS AND SUPPLIERS
Seats or user access is a dinosaur
from the eighties when bandwidth and
storage was a premium. But today
that simply isn’t the case.
Why would an organiza-
tion want to limit the
user interface with
When evaluating
costs, consider
the cost of full
access—includ-
ing future growth.
an app that is sup-
posed to help manage
the organization? Would
it not make sense in today’s
environment where everyone
has a certain level of computer experi-
ence that everyone in your organiza-
tion may have a need to access your
app for one reason or another?
Too few seats mean that a select few
are burdened with data entry when the
data entry could be performed at the
process by the operators. Often the cost
per seat is so expensive that organiza-
May 2018 | QUALITY 31
 SOFTWARE

Chart 1. Chart 2.

The first chart is one of these well-

planned data entries that demonstrate
a beautiful chart and data range. But
the repair costs may be far more than
$200 and are more likely to be thou-
sands of dollars. The graph would then
look completely different as seen in the
second chart, and a spreadsheet would
be more useful.

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32 QUALITY | May 2018 www.qualitymag.com


tions buy far fewer seats than they need
and then play a game of ping pong back
and forth between managers requiring
access to their app.
Furthermore, suppliers and
customers should have access to
participate in your management or
production systems with controlled
and limited access. But if each are
considered a seat and you have 1,000
customers, then the seat approach
may be very expensive.
Software should be software and user
access in most cases should be for every-
one in the organization. One example
is documentation and procedures. Why
would it not be desirable to have the pro-
cedures and work instructions available
online in the system to ALL employees?
A software that may have a few extra
benefits but limits the seats may be less
effective than a software missing a few
features but allowing full access to all
employees. Therefore, when evaluating
costs, consider the cost of full access
including future growth.
www.qualitymag.com
Ball Gage or Pin Gage?
In conclusion, today’s software
is becoming far more difficult for How many times have you mea-
the consumer to evaluate. Today’s
online demonstrations are designed sured holes with a pin gage only to
to highlight the best that the software
has to offer. Make sure you use that get it stuck?
opportunity to determine how well the
software meets your needs. Remember,
once an organization buys into an app
and pays the upfront fees, training, and
implementation fees it becomes too late
to reconsider the decision and they are
forced to work with what they have.
Smaller organizations may want to hire
an IT specialist to participate in the evalu-
ation processes and provide simple expla-
nations of the pros and cons of each evalu-
ated app. Smoke and mirrors has never See: www.precisionballs.com
being so prevalent as it is today when it
comes to evaluating expensive software
apps to help manage your business. Q You can save time with a Ball
Gage. The Ball Gage will always
Peter Sanderson is the president of TQMS.
For more information, call (613) 577-4417,
self align and slide right in a hole
email peter.sanderson@ outlook.com or
visit www.tqms.com. at any angle.
Even when a cylindrical hole is
bent or cambered the Ball Gage
will still faithfully measure the
true cylindrical diameter.
Is friction slowing you down?
Use a Ball Gage to measure that
internal cylindrical hole.
The contact line between a ball
and a parts surface is only an ex-
tremely narrow line. This line
leads to almost no friction so the
ball literally falls through the hole.
Micro Surface Engr., Inc.
1550 E. Slauson Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90011
323-582-7348
www.precisionballs.com
May 2018 | QUALITY 33
 MEASUREMENT
Getting the Best Out of
Bore Gages
Data collection capability, careful selection and use are key.
BY MICHAEL BUTLER
F or the most productive and efficient
bore gage measuring solutions, it is
beneficial to take some time to exam-
ine technology options. Choosing the
right gage for your application will
ultimately save tens of thousands of
dollars and lead to increased accuracy.
To begin the selection process, it is
useful to review how you collect and
record measurement data.
Machinists, inspectors and engi-
neers use bore gages to check inside
diameters of holes, cylinders and
pipes. Dimensional part data are usu-
34 QUALITY | May 2018
ally never collected. When collected,
the data are often manually collected
and entered into a Microsoft Excel
.csv or .xls file so that basic tolerances
can be controlled within a large lot
quantity of parts, or documentation
can be produced in the event of a
commercial discrepancy.
With manual inspection data col-
lection, the repetitive hand move-
ments required to pick up tools,
measure parts, put tools down and
then record results is time consum-
ing. Furthermore, hand writing or
 This electronic bore gage offers
Bluetooth capability.
keying in data is error prone, resulting
in scrap, excess inventory and even
rejected parts.
When collecting manually, the data
may be fragmented and only given to
a single individual (or just a few indi-
viduals). Although the data goes where
it needs to go to make an improvement,
execute the changes needed, or report
findings to management, the data trail
may end there with no opportunity
to use it again. Capturing the data to
uncover more efficiency is lost.
In the best case scenario, a feedback
model is in place and shop data are
reported to a quality team or other
areas of the shop. The data could range
from low coolant levels, broken/ bad
tooling, machine troubleshooting,
supplier material changes, customer
demands, etc.
Also, collecting data manually is not
the most efficient way to keep track of
a maintenance program which tracks
calibration dates and overall gage man-
agement system statistics. Relying on
randomly documented information to
create data histories would be challeng-
ing to use as a consistent resource.
Considered a level above manual
data collection, collecting the data via a
wired cable connected to an electronic
gage can be a useful option. However,
there are even more productive solu-
tions where wireless technologies in
tools such as a bore gage transmit the
measurement data wirelessly to another
device. Looking ahead to Industry 4.0
initiatives, it will be increasingly impor-
tant to instantly share consistent, accu-
rate data throughout an organization.
FIVE TIPS FOR EXAMINING YOUR
DATA COLLECTION PROCESS
1. Determine what you are
collecting now.
2. Determine how you are
collecting now.
3. Identify the “Big 3” problems your
operation is experiencing (for example,
incoming material issues, print-to-
build discrepancies, machine break-
downs, tooling expenses, areas where
bad parts are a continuous issue).
4. What dimensional metrology mea-
suring gages are you currently using?
www.qualitymag.com
This electronic bore gage set include gage, contacts, setting rings, instruc-
tions, certificate of calibration and a 3v battery in a protective carrying case.
5. What dimensional metrology tools/
gages could you upgrade to electron-
ic tools capable of data output?
WIRELESS BENEFITS
When it comes to measuring holes,
especially when there are a large quan-
tity of holes, Bluetooth enabled bore
gages can easily and wirelessly collect
this data. The technology enables users
to measure and collect error-free data
to output for statistical process control
(SPC) analysis and much more. Issues
with data cables are eliminated includ-
ing placement, installation, safety
and high cost, and gages can easily be
brought to the hole.
In addition to data collection
methods, there are other important
considerations when selecting a bore
gage solution.
PREVENT OUT-OF-ROUNDNESS
When machining bores, challenges with
fit and out-of-roundness may result in
lobing. Out-of-roundness can be caused
by centerless grinding (5-lobing), a worn
or out-of-balance spindle (irregular-
lobing), workholding with a three jaw
chuck (3-lobing), and other sources. In
an internal roundness scenario, lobing
often occurs when applied forces on a
limited wall thickness surpass the mate-
rial’s yield limits. The result impacts the
roundness of the internal diameter.
www.qualitymag.com
This electronic bore gage provides IP67 level of pro-
tection as well as Bluetooth capability.
Conversely, external roundness can
be impacted when machining a mate-
rial where its strength is inconsistent
through the workpiece (coatings, for
example). Out-of-roundness can be
uncovered by irregular travel of an
indicator or parts not fitting properly.
Out-of-roundness is either asymmetri-
cal (irregular lobing) or symmetrical
(regular lobing). Empirically discover-
ing that the fit is incorrect can be too
late and very costly to rework.
Selecting the most appropriate bore
gage will significantly minimize these
challenges. Sometimes, roundness
geometries are important enough to
have metrology equipment specially
designed to measure it. This is a costly,
but very effective way to profile the spe-
cific roundness of a part. If the param-
eters can be established for the finished
part, specific operations can then be
monitored in-line with a bore gage.
This can reduce the expertise required,
empower operators, and improve the
end results of the finished parts.
Roundness or ovality (a basic subset
of roundness) is typically not speci-
fied, however. But understanding the
character of an internal diameter
can build confidence when qualify-
ing your work. An effective internal
diameter requirement with an overall
tolerance is more typical. Bore gages
can improve confidence as opposed
to using a slide caliper or other two-
point instrument. The benefits include
greater resolution, accessibility to
depth, and ease-of-use.
SELECTION TIPS
Whether to use a two-point or three-
point contact measuring tool is an
important decision since there are
some differences. A two-point contact
rod-type inside micrometer is usually
lighter, easier to handle and more ver-
satile over long ranges from approxi-
mately six to 107 inches (150 mm
– 2,700 mm). Compared to a three-
point contact any two-point contact
micrometer, regardless of range, can
probe a hole better to find the geom-
etry of that hole.
Most three-point contact tools have
setting rings to ensure accuracy. If the
goal is very close tolerance work with
two-point contact inside micrometers,
it is recommended that they be set to a
ring gage or to an outside micrometer.
A three-point contact micrometer
has an advantage in that it can be
seated in position more quickly than a
two-point contact tool. The three-point
tool will tell the maximum true diame-
ter that can enter the hole a little faster
than a two-point contact tool. The
measuring heads used in these tools are
accurate to ±.0001 inch or 0.002 mm,
but overall accuracy on all measure-
May 2018 | QUALITY 35

The Cross-Vector sensor utilizes
multiple lasers and multiple views at
crossing angles allowing the sensor to
see around edges of the radius. The
result is a complete surface profile and
the most accurate gap measurements.
Inspection Solutions...
80 different borescopes, and 20 years experience
VIDEO BORESCOPES
36 QUALITY | May 2018
- A more complete surface profile
- Accurate measurements in less than 2 seconds
- Handheld, standalone, battery-powered
- 3.5” hi-res color touchscreen
- 8 GB of memory to save data and scans
MEASUREMENT
Electronic bore gages have a high-
quality, trigger-activated, two and
three-point contact gaging system
with extended range.
ment equipment is dependent on good
practice and technique.
BEST PRACTICES WHEN USING
BORE GAGES
To ensure accuracy, these practices
should be followed when using a
bore gage:
• Always make sure that there are
no specks of dirt between the
clamping surfaces of the rods and
micrometer heads
• Tighten all rods uniformly and con-
sistently, not too tight or too loose,
but a fairly firm assembly
• Assembling long sections should
be done vertically or with support,
horizontally
• Because temperature can affect long
rods used in these tools, they should
be assembled in the same environ-
ment in which they will be used
Following these tips for selection
and use, combined with optimal data
collection will give you the best bore
gage solution. Whenever in doubt,
consult with the bore gage manufac-
turer for recommendations and tech-
nical know-how. Q
Michael Butler, product manager,
The L.S. Starrett Co. For more information,
visit www.starrett.com.
www.qualitymag.com
 TEST & INSPECTION

MAHLE engineer working with

automotive HVAC assembly and
check fixture for fit testing.

Streamlining Automotive Production with

Additive Manufacturing the limitations of additive manufac-

Using additive manufacturing not only can reduce lead turing, ideal applications for additive
manufacturing on the production floor
times, it can provide significant cost savings through and case studies from two automotive
reduced material consumption and improved design. manufacturers that are 3D printing jigs
BY CHUCK ALEXANDER
and fixtures today.

BENEFITS OF 3D PRINTING JIGS

Q uality and production perfor-

mance play a crucial role in
automotive manufacturing today.
With many automotive innovations
on the horizon, such as autonomous
vehicles and smart cars, OEMs and
suppliers are under pressure to adopt
new manufacturing techniques and
expertise to ensure design, cost and
labor efficiencies.
One simple, yet critical application
in automotive quality and production
ripe for transformation is the use of
manufacturing aids, like jigs, fixtures,
templates and gages. These often-
overlooked tools help manufacturers
deliver products reliably, repeatedly
and at a low cost in order to maximize
profits and product quality. Using
additive manufacturing (or 3D print-
ing) to produce jigs and fixtures not
only can reduce lead times, it can pro-
vide significant cost savings through
reduced material consumption and
improved design.
This article covers the benefits of 3D
printing jigs and fixtures over tradi-
tional fabrication methods, as well as
AND FIXTURES
Traditionally, manufacturers have CNC
machined or molded jigs and fixtures,
requiring a high investment with uncer-
tain returns. Additive manufacturing
has the ability to quickly produce new
parts in lightweight and inexpensive
materials and to provide significant cost
savings, reduced material consumption
and improved performance. And 3D
printing jigs and fixtures offers the fol-
lowing key advantages:
¥ Speed to market – With 3D printing
you can bring new production lines

www.qualitymag.com May 2018 | QUALITY 37

 TEST & INSPECTION
3D printed check fixture to verify HVAC assembly’s design,
accuracy and stability.
online faster because jigs and fix-
tures can be 3D printed on demand.
Lead times are 40-90% faster than
conventional fabrication.
• Design freedom – 3D printing
builds parts from the ground up,
layer by layer, which removes tra-
ditional design-for-manufacturing
constraints and opens up endless
opportunities for tool configura-
tion. Holes, contours and complex
organic structures are no longer an
obstacle when designing for addi-
tive manufacturing.
• Component consolidation – Tools
previously built with multiple
components requiring their own
assembly time can be redesigned and
combined into one part due to 3D
printing’s design freedom.
• Ergonomics – The additional design
freedom also allows you to create
curves and contours to help increase
worker comfort and ergonomics. With
no added cost or fabrication time, you
can design for functionality rather
38 QUALITY | May 2018
3D printed electronics assembly fixture.
than manufacturability to increase
safety and comfort for employees who
use and interact with tools.
• Weight reduction – Another com-
fort and safety advantage for pro-
duction floor employees is weight
reduction. There are many strong,
lightweight plastics available for 3D
printing vs. cumbersome and heavy
machined metals.
• Digital inventory – 3D printers build
directly from CAD data, so new
designs can be produced as-needed
and existing designs can be modified
with ease. For example, if the size
of the final part changes requiring
a new assembly jig, it’s just a matter
of updating the CAD file, ordering
a 3D printed part, and a new fixture
is on the production floor within a
matter of days.
All of these benefits lessen risk and
put more manufacturing aids on the
production floor for better accuracy and
consistent operational performance.
ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING
ON THE PRODUCTION FLOOR
While the terms “jigs” and “fixtures”
are often used together, they have
distinct differences and are used
in differing applications. Jigs are
customized tools used to guide and
control the location and motion of
a component during an operation.
They provide repeatability and accu-
racy to maximize efficiency when
manufacturing products. Fixtures,
on the other hand, are devices used
to locate and hold a component in
a fixed location during a machin-
ing operation or another industrial
process. Fixtures maintain consistent
quality, reduce the cost of production
and enable a variety of parts to be
made to correct specifications.
From assembly and quality control
to logistics, jigs and fixtures streamline
operations to manufacture a range of
automotive parts. Common applica-
tions for 3D printing jigs and fixtures
in the automotive industry include:
BMW used additive
manufacturing to build
lighter fixtures with
design complexities.
www.qualitymag.com
• Production & assembly – 3D printed
tools are most commonly imple-
mented in this stage of manufac-
turing for alignment and holding
devices, and guides for milling or
drilling components, either attached
to equipment or used by workers.
• Safety – Often workers are involved
in checking the safety of components
and equipment, so it’s important for
jigs and fixtures to be lightweight
and ergonomic for easier use.
• QC & inspection – 3D printing
delivers highly-accurate, customized
tools that meet stringent specifi-
cations for holding or inspecting
devices in quality and inspection
departments. Durable thermoplas-
tics formulated for additive manu-
facturing can also provide a non-
marring surface for final inspection.
• Packaging & logistics – The most
common application in packaging
and logistics is building customized
holding fixtures for the transportation
of products throughout the factory.
Additive manufacturing offers durable,
heat-resistant thermoplastics that can
withstand transportation stresses, such
as vibration, pressure and humidity.
LIMITATIONS OF USING ADDITIVE
MANUFACTURING FOR JIGS
AND FIXTURES
Despite the many opportunities and
advantages of 3D printed jigs and
fixtures there are some limitations
to consider when choosing additive
over conventional fabrication. Some
manufacturing environments and
processes require high heat-deflection
temperature (HDT). Although there
are additive manufacturing technolo-
gies that offer HDT materials, such
as fused deposition modeling (FDM)
and laser sintering (LS), some envi-
ronments may exceed their mechani-
cal properties. There also may be
mechanical stress requirements that
exceed the capabilities or mechanical
properties of additive materials. While
additive manufacturing technologies
offer a wide range of materials, there
are always instances in which poly-
mers formulated for 3D printing will
not meet the mechanical or chemical
resistance requirements. Lastly, there
may be high quantities or very simple
geometries that could be easier and
An automotive seat
manufacturer shaved
31% in costs and 90%
in weight with a 3D
printed check fixture.
more cost-effective to produce using
conventional manufacturing methods.
It’s an exciting and disruptive
time in the automotive industry.
Manufacturers who innovate beyond
vehicle design, and transform each
area of the design and production
process will gain a competitive edge.
Additively manufactured jigs and fix-
tures will continue to be a key element
to that success by improving worker
productivity, eliminating errors, and
increasing lead times for inspection
and delivery. Q
Chuck Alexander is the director of prod-
uct management at Stratasys Direct
Manufacturing. He has been a key influencer
in the 3D printing industry for over 20 years.
Learn more about streamlining production with
3D printed jigs and fixtures by downloading
Stratasys Direct Manufacturing’s white paper
available at www.stratasysdirect.com.

AUTOMOTIVE MANUFACTURERS IMPROVING QUALITY WITH 3D PRINTED FIXTURES

Many automotive manufacturers and suppliers are maintaining efficient production with complex and custom 3D printed manufacturing aids. Here are
two examples of automotive suppliers using additive manufacturing to streamline their production floors.
TS TECH
TS Tech Co., Ltd. is the world’s sixth-largest interior component manufacturer
with assembly plants in 13 countries across the globe and is the number
one seat supplier for an international automotive company. Stephen Mollett,
a tooling engineer who oversees the fixtures and tools used to inspect seat
frames, needed to improve the solid aluminum check fixture used to inspect
a back-seat hinge. Using the check fixture, workers visually, aesthetically and
mechanically validate hole placement and depth, part width, dimension and
form. Employees were often required to carry the original 40-pound fixtures by
hand or with a cart across the facility.
Mollett worked with Stratasys Direct Manufacturing to redesign and 3D
print a new fixture that not only addresses weight, but also incorporates new
functionality. The 3D printed tool is one-tenth of the weight of the original
aluminum fixture at four pounds. It also used half the metal and was produced
in just two weeks, while the original aluminum fixtures took six weeks or more to
manufacture. This rapid turnaround time means TS Tech can keep pace with the
frequent design changes of their seating systems. It also costs significantly less—
resulting in 31% direct cost savings.
The project has increased the priority of using 3D printing applications to
address other tooling needs on the factory floor. “It’s opened the floodgates for 3D
printed jigs and fixtures at TS Tech,” says Mollet.
MAHLE
MAHLE, a global automotive parts supplier, needed a check
fixture to verify an HVAC assembly’s design, accuracy and
stability. The fixture had to be designed, built and shipped
from the U.S. to South Korea within a week. Given the
timeline and internal 3D printing knowledge and technology
gaps, the team turned to Stratasys Direct Manufacturing
to help design and build the fixtures. Stratasys Direct
and MAHLE worked together to redesign the original part
for additive manufacturability and consolidate multiple
components into one. Stratasys Direct used the fused
deposition modeling (FDM) 3D printing process and ASA,
a production-grade thermoplastic with UV stability. In less
than a week, MAHLE had a redesigned dimensionally-
accurate and stable part shipped across the world—a
process that would have taken four to five weeks with
conventional manufacturing.
“Moving 3D printing forward within the company has been
my primary motivation in doing this project,” says Joe Czach,
prototype shop manager at MAHLE. “In the last few weeks, our
eyes have been opened in terms of what can be done with it.”

www.qualitymag.com May 2018 | QUALITY 39

 STANDARDS
Risk Mitigation
for Counterfeit Electronic Parts
IEC Electronics Analysis and Testing Laboratory once again
received ISO/IEC 17025:2005 accreditation.
T he scope of the ISO/IEC 17025:2005
accreditation includes several SAE
AS6171 test methods for suspect/coun-
terfeit electrical, electronic and elec-
tromechanical (EEE) parts. According
to the company, IEC is the first and
only electronic manufacturing services
(EMS) provider with an on-site testing
laboratory to receive this accredita-
tion with the addition of SAE AS6171
test methods. The ISO/IEC 17025:2005
accreditation is the internation-
ally accepted specification of general
requirements for the competence of
testing and calibration laboratories. The
SAE AS6171 test methods were devel-
oped specifically for laboratories for
40 QUALITY | May 2018
the detection and avoidance of suspect/
counterfeit parts. The company also
asserts that, currently, SAE AS6171 is
the only standard that provides uni-
form requirements, practices, and test
methods, making it more stringent than
other counterfeit avoidance protocols.
WHAT IS SAE AS6171?
This SAE Aerospace Standard stan-
dardizes inspection and test proce-
dures, workmanship criteria, and
minimum training and certifica-
tion requirements to detect suspect/
counterfeit electrical, electronic, and
electromechanical (EEE) parts. The
requirements of this document apply
once a decision is made to use parts
with unknown chain of custody that do
not have pedigree back to the original
component manufacturer, or have been
acquired from a broker or independent
distributor, or when there are other
known risk elements that result in the
user to have concerns about potential
counterfeit parts. The tests speci-
fied by this standard may also detect
occurrences of malicious tampering,
although the current version of this
standard is not designed specifically
for this purpose. This standard ensures
consistency across the supply chain
for test techniques and requirements
based on assessed risk associated with
the application, component, supplier,
and other relevant risk factors. The
requirements of this document supple-
ment the requirements of a higher level
quality standard (e.g., AS9100, AS9003,
www.qualitymag.com
3 IATL operator Nabahe Tewawina. Source: IATL

AS9120, ISO 9001) and other quality

management system documents. They
are not intended to stand alone, super-
sede, or cancel requirements found
in other quality management system
documents, or requirements imposed
by contracting authorities.
This standard should be utilized
when parts are not available from
sources with known traceability to
the original component manufacturer
(OCM), original equipment manufac-
turer (OEM) for electromechanical
parts, or authorized manufacturer.
The requirements of this document
specify testing based on acceptable lev-
els of risk for a program or customer,
to identify anomalies or performance
issues that may indicate suspect
counterfeit and counterfeit activity.
No amount of testing can confirm an
item as authentic; this would require
that there be a known, unbroken IATL operator Robert McMullens. Source: IATL
chain of custody to the OCM/OEM or
authorized manufacturer. This stan-
dard does not apply to parts obtained avoidance standards that take this referred to as ‘slash sheets’, as opposed
directly from a trustworthy authorized requirement from the original contrac- to the current procedures within SAE
supplier with traceability to the OCM/ tor through the company purchasing AS6081, which points to an embed-
OEM or authorized manufacturer. the electronics components from the ded lot sampling plan. For example,
open market. OEMs that are concerned an independent distributor will now
WHY SAE AS6171? with, or are required to mitigate the partner with a testing laboratory that is
Counterfeit electronic compo- risk of suspect counterfeit electronics 17025 accredited to perform the vari-
nents have caused many challenges components, can adopt and become ous tests required by AS6081-A.
in the electronics industry, especially certified to SAE AS5553, which will Lori LeRoy, principal at Global IC
when dealing with parts supply chain guide them on methods to avoid and Trading Group Inc., which is a QTSL
obsolescence management. One meth- detect suspect counterfeit electronics approved company and is compliant
od of addressing the problem has been components. A sister standard, SAE to the existing AS6081 requirements,
the creation of industry standards to AS6081 (QTSL), was created for inde- shared her thoughts on the pending
try and deal with it. Mark Northrup, pendent distributors to comply with an new release of AS6081:
vice president of technology for IEC SAE AS5553 compliant manufacturer’s “Until the final release, I can only
Electronics Corp., emphasizes, “There requirements, thus creating comple- speculate on the requirements of the
are so many counterfeit avoidance mentary standards. The SAE AS6171, published document. However, the
documents now that it is getting hard which is now published, provides the section of AS6081-A that addresses
to keep track of all of them.” detailed risk evaluation instructions, as verification of product will either
SAE, through their G19 commit- well as more detailed instructions on require testing per AS6171, or pro-
tee, has recently released the new SAE how to test suspect counterfeit elec- vide the organization more flex-
AS6171, the bookshelf of counterfeit tronic components. The ISO/IEC 17025 ibility for which standard they use
avoidance standards. A general over- standard is used for accrediting test to conduct the required inspection/
view of all of SAE G19 committee facilities, such as those performing the testing steps. If AS6171 is required,
standards, and related documents, tests prescribed in SAE AS6171. An ISO 17025 accreditation will also be
always helps those unfamiliar to accreditation confirms that the test lab- required. This will force independent
make sense of it all. It all begins with oratory and their staff have the proper distributors that have already made
an end customer, the government or equipment and training to be able to the investment in equipment and
private entity, placing requirements perform specific tests. SAE AS6081 training to either obtain ISO 17025
on their subcontractor to have a coun- (Revision A, which the SAE G19 com- accreditation for EACH required test,
terfeit risk mitigation testing plan in mittee is working on finalizing) points or to partner with a test facility with
place. The SAE G19 committee has to the now released SAE AS6171 for 17025 accreditation, such as IEC, to
completed their group of counterfeit the required product verification tests, perform the required tests on their

www.qualitymag.com May 2018 | QUALITY 41

 STANDARDS
The IATL team. Source: IATL
behalf. Currently Global IC Trading is
ISO 9001, AS9120, ANSI /ESD S20.20,
CCAP Certified and a DLA QTSL. I
concur with Mark Northrup that all
the various standards, certifications
and accreditations can be confus-
ing. It is also very costly and time
consuming, and as a small business
one challenge we face is balancing the
costs associated with certifications and
accreditations along with the require-
ments of customers and government
contractors. We need to ensure there is
a return on investment and a correla-
tion with increased revenue.”
The October 2016 ‘Source of Electronic
Parts’ DFAR 252.246.7008 states:
“Contractor-approved supplier”
means a supplier that does not have a
contractual agreement with the original
component manufacturer for a transac-
tion, but has been identified as trust-
worthy by a contractor or subcontractor.
The term ‘trusted supplier’ was
introduced in 2012 NDAA, Section
42 QUALITY | May 2018
818 on April 10, 2012 and the industry
was optimistic that a clear definition
and requirement flow down would be
established to become a ‘trusted sup-
plier’. Six years later there is still no
clear definition of trusted supplier or
‘trustworthy,’ and no clear pathway
to become a trusted supplier. Today
there are so many more standards,
certifications and accreditations to
consider, making it more challenging
to understand what is actually neces-
sary. The goal for all of us is to reduce
the risk of counterfeit product enter-
ing the supply chain. Certifications,
accreditations and a solid education in
counterfeit prevention will reduce this
risk, but will not eliminate it. Another
suspect counterfeit electronic compo-
nent standard that has been added to
the mix is the SAE AS6496, which was
created for authorized distribution,
and primarily utilized for the return
of product from their customers. The
SAE’s G19 committee has been work-
ing very hard to create all of these
needed documents.
ISO/IEC 17025
ISO/IEC 17025:2005 specifies the
general requirements for the com-
petence to carry out tests and/or
calibrations, including sampling. It
covers testing and calibration per-
formed using standard methods,
non-standard methods, and laborato-
ry-developed methods. It is applicable
to all organizations performing tests
and/or calibrations. These include,
for example, first-, second- and third-
party laboratories, and laboratories
where testing and/or calibration
forms part of inspection and product
certification. ISO/IEC 17025:2005 is
applicable to all laboratories regard-
less of the number of personnel or the
extent of the scope of testing and/or
calibration activities. When a labora-
tory does not undertake one or more
of the activities covered by ISO/IEC
www.qualitymag.com
17025:2005, such as sampling and the
design/development of new methods,
the requirements of those clauses
do not apply. ISO/IEC 17025:2005 is
for use by laboratories in developing
their management system for quality,
administrative and technical opera-
tions. Laboratory customers, regula-
tory authorities and accreditation
bodies may also use it in confirming
or recognizing the competence of
laboratories. ISO/IEC 17025:2005 is
not intended to be used as the basis
for certification of laboratories.
Compliance with regulatory and
safety requirements on the operation
of laboratories is not covered by ISO/
IEC 17025:2005. Looking forward,
there is a joint effort between SAE
sub-committee G-19 Counterfeit
Electronic Parts Committee and
the accreditation bodies (ANAB,
A2LA) to develop a standard, AS6810
“Requirements for Accreditation
of Test Laboratories Performing
Detection of Suspect/Counterfeit EEE
Parts in Accordance with AS6171
General Requirements and the
Associated Test Methods.” Within
this standard there is clear defini-
tion as to the expectations of the
end users and laboratories that seek
accreditation to conduct the AS6171
tests. The standard will emphasize
the technical competence of the labo-
ratory personnel as well any report-
ing requirements. This standard will
be used in conjunction with ISO
17025 when laboratories seek accredi-
tation with the AS6171 test methods
within their scope of accreditation. It
is anticipated that this standard will
be in active in 2019.
CUSTOMER SOLUTIONS
IEC Electronics is an EMS provider
that employs a team of experts who
help to minimize the supply chain
risk for its customers by developing
custom risk mitigation test plans,
performing in-house testing, and
seamlessly integrating the testing
into its manufacturing environment.
IEC Electronics Analysis and Testing
Laboratory (IATL) on-site laborato-
ries use these advanced methodolo-
gies as requested by customers to
perform sophisticated manufacturing
process development and state of the
art testing for components, printed
www.qualitymag.com
circuit board assemblies, cables, and
system assemblies. IEC electronics
is the only EMS that has an on-site
ISO 17025 AS6171 Accredited and
is a DLA QTSL approved testing
lab that offers the full spectrum of
DPA testing per military standards.
Whether it is conducting failure
analysis, material evaluations, or
exhaustive tests like destructive or
nondestructive physical analysis IEC
can provide customers a suspect
counterfeit test mitigation methodol-
ogy solution.
ANAB
Upon determining its scope of accredi-
tation as its next critical step, IEC
Electronics contacted ANAB’s Roger
Muse for the ISO/IEC 17025 path to
the SAE AS6171 accreditation.The
ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation
Board is one of the largest accreditation
bodies in the United States. ANAB is a
nonprofit, non-government accredita-
tion body which plays an important
role in ensuring the safety and quality
of goods and services and in protect-
ing the environment. ANAB accredits
certification bodies, calibration and
testing labs, forensic science service
providers, inspection bodies, reference
material producers, and proficiency
test providers. ANAB conducts audits
to make sure clients follow interna-
tional standards and are competent to
do their work. The work that it does
helps facilitate international trade and
eliminates the expense of redundant
audits and tests.
The G19 Committee designated
ANAB as one of the accreditation
bodies required for registered testing
laboratories (RTL) for the SAE AS6171
accreditation. ANAB has a 97% cus-
tomer retention rate and is highly
regarded in the accreditation com-
munity. After undergoing an accredi-
tation assessment, IEC Electronics
Analysis and Testing Laboratory rec-
ognized ANAB assessor Steve Dale for
his skills and knowledge as well ashis
ability to engage in a courteous and
meaningful manner.
HOW BEST TO MITIGATE SUSPECT
COUNTERFEIT ELECTRONICS
One of the challenges facing the
electronics industry has been how
best to mitigate suspect counterfeit
electronic components from enter-
ing supply chain product reliability.
“Routinely, IEC Electronics Analysis
and Testing Laboratory is asked by
customers about suspect counterfeit
electronics components risk mitiga-
tion testing methodologies,” said
Northrup. The common testing
methods discussed are IDEA, CCAP,
QTSL (SAE AS 6081), SAE AS6171,
and DLA per military standards (e.g.,
202, 750, 883, and 1580). The com-
pany also mentioned many custom-
ers are confused about interpreting
accreditation, certification, and suit-
ability terminologies associated with
each of these testing methods. “Each
time the customer asks, we discuss
testing per each one these methods
requested, differences between each,
and we avoid answering which one
is the best. The recent evolution
of the SAE AS6171 from the G19
Committee Members is another path
for customers to select. Now when a
customer contacts us we always con-
vey that no amount of testing yields
‘zero risk.’”
DFARS 252.246.7008
GUIDANCE DOCUMENT
The recent DoD issued DFARS
252.246.7008 communicates new
guidance on how parts can be pro-
cured regarding liability and safe har-
bor for government contractors and
their supply chain. The three catego-
ries defined are:
• Category 1: Original Equipment
Manufacturer which is the pre-
ferred supplier
• Category 2: Contractor Approved
Supplier (CAS)
• Category 3: Appropriate Inspection
Test & Authentication (IT&A)
But DFAR 252.246.7008 falls short
by not specifying which of the testing
methods via IDEA, CCAP, QTSL (SAE
AS 6081), SAE AS6171, or DLA per
military standards (e.g., 202, 750, 883,
and 1580) is preferred. Q
ANAB
(414) 501-5455
IEC Electronics Analysis and Testing Laboratory
(IATL)
Albuquerque, NM
www.iec-electronics.com
May 2018 | QUALITY 43
 MANAGEMENT
Lean’s Impact
on Quality
Lean isn’t about speed—it’s about value.
“L ean isn’t going to help you if your
quality is bad. Why just make
bad stuff faster?”
I hear this comment, or ones like
it, more often than I’d like. It’s a mis-
nomer that for whatever reason has
caught on, even though it couldn’t be
more wrong. The fact is that lean and
quality are close cousins, and the rela-
tionship needs to be better understood
throughout industry.
A former employer learned this les-
son the hard way. The manufacturing
of one particular product was done in
Puerto Rico, but product testing (which
was performed on 100% of the product)
was being done in Connecticut, so right
away we knew we had a “waste of trans-
portation” problem. Units were about
the size and weight of a window air con-
ditioner, and by all accounts were being
assembled per specification with certi-
fied vendor-supplied parts. Units were
44 QUALITY | May 2018
BY PAUL W. CRITCHLEY
then shipped to us for testing. About
50% of the time units would fail, so back
to Puerto Rico they would go for repair.
Units would be fixed and shipped back
to Connecticut for another round of
testing. Fifty percent of those units
would fail once again, and the process
repeated itself until a unit passed. The
all-time round-trip record for a unit was
seven times until the unit finally passed.
As all of this was occurring, the cus-
tomer was waiting for their products
to be delivered per schedule, and we
were falling farther and farther behind
in that commitment. Weekly update
phone calls quickly turned into daily
ones, which eventually devolved into
little more than our customer scream-
ing obscenities at us before hanging up.
It wasn’t a fun time for anyone.
In true “big company” fashion, our
upper-level management decided that
they needed to get involved, since obvi-
ously we needed help. Help, though, isn’t
what we got. Instead, we had yet another
group of folks telling us what we should
be doing, and calling yet another set of
meetings that we then had to prepare for
to show them what we were (or weren’t)
doing. This meant even less time the
team had to troubleshoot the actual pro-
cess and its challenges.
In an effort to gain some breathing
room, we increased our throughput
at the plant. We increased overtime,
hoping that an increase in direct labor
would help us catch up to schedule, and
we increased our raw material inventory
to such high levels that we were stuff-
ing it anywhere we could find space.
We tossed any semblance of lot control
out the window—if we came upon a
new lot of materials that seemed to “run
good,” we sucked it into production
as fast as we could, pushing all others
to the side (for the record, this helped
us increase first-time test yield in the
short term, but the long-term remained
right around 50%—go figure!). Truly,
www.qualitymag.com
we thought we were doing whatever it
took to try and please the customer. We
knew we had problems, but given the
time and resources we had, we made the
calls we did thinking that if we could
run parallel paths (increase throughput
to get ahead while troubleshooting the
product), we’d eventually work our-
selves through the issue.
In retrospect, we should have done
a lot of things differently right from
the start. We didn’t follow any kind of
formalized problem solving method-
ology, didn’t track test data, and had
poor controls in manufacturing. When
units went back to Puerto Rico to get
repaired after failing test, there were no
instructions or guidance on what the
unit had failed for, so the folks there
would fix what they thought was the
Lean isn’t about speed—it’s about
value. Those are two different things
that are often mistakenly interchanged.
If a customer understands and agrees
that a process adds value (and will pay
for it), it doesn’t really matter how long
the cycle time takes (assuming it’s not
preventing you from meeting their
needs). Of course it helps to look for
ways to reduce overall cycle time if you
can, but more often than not reducing
InfoCenter
cycle times aren’t anywhere close to
being your biggest challenges to adding
value. Instead, it’s all of the “other” parts
that make up your lead time that need
help: the wasted time and effort things
spend waiting, being moved, being over
processed and overproduced. In our
example, we did all of these things, in
addition to adding extra inspections and
test protocols thinking that those added
operations would somehow help us fix
Sponsored by

PROCESS CONTROL
most likely problem component and
send it back to Connecticut to see if
what they had done worked.
So, considering all of this, would you
say that we had a lean problem, or a
quality problem?
It was both, really. Having interde-
IN MANUFACTURING
pendent groups so far apart in a matrix
organization all but guaranteed that
miscommunications and misunder-
standings would occur. Trips back and
forth (for people and for product) were
lengthy and expensive. Incomplete data
and record keeping made it impos-
sible to properly perform any kind of
root cause/corrective action analysis.
Increased raw material purchasing
caused more problems than it solved—
we were tying up more cash, and were
literally tripping over raw material
stock on the plant floor, undoubtedly
causing more damage. Running oodles
of overtime in a futile, non-descriptive
manner meant that folks were get-
ting tired and morale was suffering.
More mistakes than usual were being
made that weren’t caught until a
unit had made the 1,650 mile trip to
Connecticut. Managers understand-
ing nothing of the issue while making
decisions on its behalf and applying
misguided pressure further muddied
the water and caused folks unneeded
stress. In short, if we had had a strong Optimize Ensure
Process
Maintain Enable Fully
Machine First Cut In-Process Automated
quality management system, a solid Control in
Performance Accuracy Control Inspection
lean foundation and a management
team with some emotional intelligence,
I believe this whole situation would
have been easily handled, if it had hap- WWW.QUALITYMAG.COM/INFOCENTER/PROCESS-CONTROL-IN-MANUFACTURING
pened at all.

www.qualitymag.com May 2018 | QUALITY 45

 MANAGEMENT

our problems. All they really did was
slow the process down even more than
it already was, and kept us from focus-
ing on other, more important problem
solving methods.
Quality is about value as well, albeit
from a slightly different angle. All
quality comes at a cost, whether it be
good (prevention, appraisal) or poor
(internal failure, external failure). Each
one of those costs represent different
levels of value to the customer, and to
the parent organization. Customers
won’t pay you for defective product,
nor will they pay more for good prod-
uct because your efficiencies are poor.
The market determines what price you
can charge for your product or service;
it’s your organizational makeup and
internal processes that determine cost.
For instance, if processes yield suspect
product, the typical response is to
increase the inspection frequency/sam-
pling plan to ensure that our customers
are protected from receiving bad prod-
uct. That’s spending money on cost-
avoidance, which is a poor ROI. That
increased inspection ties up resources
with non-value added work (prevent-
ing internal failures from becoming
external failures), when they’d be better
utilized elsewhere, like helping prevent
non-conformances from being pro-
duced in the first place. That ROI, on
the other hand, is much more favorable,
since it has a positive effect on things
like available machine time, available
floor space, reduced inspection needs,
etc., which are all also benefits of lean.
It was within this whole “produc-
tion vs. quality” dichotomy where
Joseph Juran and Philip Crosby
proved their mettle as true lean think-
ers. Although neither generally get the
street cred for it, both helped to make
great strides for industry in under-
standing the true costs of quality,
which directly feeds into an organiza-
tion’s lean efforts. Without under-
standing how the two are intermin-
gled, neither can be fully achieved.
Once we realized this (which took
longer than it should have, admitted-
ly), life got easier. We stopped apply-
ing band aids and shotgun approaches
and started true root cause analysis
and problem solving methods. These
helped us to be able to answer some of
the issues that were plaguing our poor
initial test yield. Some of it was part
quality, but some was simply test spec
misinterpretation because we didn’t
have a standardized format to follow.
Still others were due to some uncon-
trolled manual operations on the shop
floor that everyone had just assumed
was being done correctly because
the person doing it had done it for so
long. All in all, we had lots of rocks
to turn over, and had we not finally
embraced tenets of both quality and
lean together, as a unit, I’m not con-
vinced that we’d ever have solved our
problems. Eventually, the management
and customer calls stopped, and we
were able to move on to other, more
proactive things. And that was good
for everyone! Q
Paul W. Critchley is the president of New
England Lean Consulting as well as a board
member of the Northeast Region of AME. For
more information, visit www.newenglandlean-
consulting.com.

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46 QUALITY | May 2018 www.qualitymag.com

 CASE STUDY
VISION SYSTEM
ASSURES GLASS ACT AT CALIFORNIA SHOP
With the vision system in place, PG&O has substantially
ramped up its inspection productivity. BY STARRETT
M achining metal has its challenges,
but machining glass is another
matter—one that Dan Bukaty Jr.,
president of Precision Glass & Optics
(PG&O) is well schooled in. Bukaty
and his 35 person shop manufacture
high-end precision glass optics for
customers such as IMAX, Intuitive
Surgical, Boeing and NASA, to name
a few. The products PG&O makes can
range from the ordinary to the extra-
terrestrial, such as mirrors that it fab-
ricated for the Hobby–Eberly Telescope
to measure dark energy in outer space.
Operating in an 18,000 sq. ft. build-
to-print optical fabrication facility in
Santa Ana, CA, approximately 80% of
the products PG&O manufactures are
termed “windows,” in that light travels
through them. Used for thousands of
applications, they are sold worldwide to
optical catalog companies or in indus-
tries such as defense, biomedical, auto-
motive, digital cinema and more.
www.qualitymag.com
A majority of these products are also
thin-film coated with advanced coat-
ings. Before the products are precision
ground on Blanchard grinders, polished
and coated, they are machined and fab-
ricated to specification on a HAAS CNC
machining center or Flow Waterjet and
other equipment as needed. They have a
full fabrication shop, three large coating
chambers and can anneal, grind, pol-
ish, drill, engrave and cut a full range of
glass substrates. The company also has
comprehensive design and engineering
services, and full inspection capabilities.
CRYSTAL CLEAR PROBLEM
Although the plano optic products
PG&O makes—prisms, laser filters,
beamsplitters, mirrors and more—vary
widely, they all have one requirement
in common: the need for highly accu-
rate measurement and quality control.
“Many of the products we make have
custom shapes and profiles and are
 Dan Bukaty Jr. at the Starrett AV300
measuring a part.
specified to tight tolerances,” explains
Bukaty. “We measure profiles such as
rectangles, diameters and ellipses to
within tenths, and angles, parallelism,
perpendicularity and anything in-
between, to within seconds.”
To say this regimen can present
challenges when measuring by con-
ventional or rudimentary means is an
understatement, and one that has test-
ed Bukaty and his team repeatedly. On
some occasions it has even driven them
to farm out their inspection, which has
been an expensive proposition.
Before Bukaty arrived at the most
optimal solution to these challenges,
their inspection protocol was clearly a
pain point.
M ASURE AND RE-MEASURE
MEASURE
“ tricate measurements were taken
“Intricate
e her by height gages on a granite
either
ssurface
face plate, an optical comparator or
e n an autocollimator for measuring
even
a gles,” says Bukaty. “The process was
angles,”
v y time-consuming, often required
very
m
mathth calculation and the results were
u reliable. We could not achieve the
unreliable.
a uracy we needed.” On many optical
accuracy
parts,
ts, PG&O needed to move the work
from one operation to another, mea-
suring and re-measuring.
“We would capture height and width
measurements from a height gage and
then move the part to an autocollima-
tor or interferometer,” says Greg Quinn,
PG&O QA manager. “A part with tight
tolerance angles could take hours to
measure and yield either non-repeatable
measurements or questionable accuracy.”
Amid all the uncertainty and time loss,
PG&O serendipitously discovered the
solution to its drag on quality. Pressed to
inspect a complex rounded pyramidal
part with four faces that needed to be
accurate to 15 arc seconds, PG&O noticed
that the measurement of this part which
they sub-contracted to a third party ven-
dor was being made on a Starrett AV300
Vision System. “We later inquired about
this machine ourselves and bought one
within a week,” says Bukaty.
ACCURACY – THE NEW VISION
The Starrett AV300 has enabled PG&O
to verify production parts quickly.
May 2018 | QUALITY 47
 CASE STUDY

Typical graphic model of measured part on the Starrett Probing a recess on a part.
AV300 screen.

“With the AV300, many, if not all,
attributes can be captured simultane-
ously, saving an enormous amount of
time. The machine’s programming
function allows us to insert the part,
hit go and walk away. The accuracy is
far superior to our previous inspection
methods,” says Bukaty. “Honestly I
don’t know how we got along without
the AV300.”
Print Packs
“The pre-programming CNC feature
is ideal for 100% inspection on a mul-
tiple quantity order of, say 150 pieces.
Once the tolerances and features of the
part are measured, recorded and stored
on the first piece, measurement on the
other 149 pieces can be automatically
repeated,” explains Quinn. “We can
also print out a professional looking
report for verification and our cus-
tomer’s documentation requirements—
something not possible with a height
gage or autocollimator.”
Versatility is another advantage
with the Starrett AV300 system.
“Similar to a CMM, the machine can
measure parts via touch probe or opti-
cally by zooming in on an edge or
artifact, aligning with the crosshair
reticle and taking the measurement

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48 QUALITY | May 2018 www.qualitymag.com

PG&O manufactures a broad range of plano optic products. Inspection at the Starrett AV300 workstation.

manually or automatically,” says Quinn. “The system is also
very easy to use.”
The Starrett AV300 Automatic Vision System is as f lex-
ible as it is powerful, enabling quality assurance personnel,
inspectors or machinists to achieve maximum throughput
parts while freeing up machines more quickly, which has
enabled us to take on more work,” says Bukaty. “We have
also been able to reduce our lead times, which is another
hidden benefit and a great selling point.”
From pain point to sales point, PG&O’s vision on inspec-
tion now appears to be 20/20.

The L.S. Starrett Co., Starrett Metrology Systems Division. For more infor-
mation, call (949) 348-1213, email sales@starrettkinemetric.com or visit
With the vision system in place, www.starrett.com.

PG&O has substantially ramped

up its inspection productivity.
LABMASTER UNIVERSAL Model 1000A
Measure with Confidence

of finished, accurate parts in their manufacturing opera-

NEW
tion. The system’s performance is enhanced by an excep-
tionally stable mechanical design with precision linear
bearings, in addition to high-resolution video zoom optics
and touch probe, that all combine to ensure accurate
3-axis measurement.
Another throughput-enhancing feature is the system soft-
ware which controls all video edge detection features and
multiple channel fiber optic or LED illumination. The system
has a travel of 12” x 6” x 5.5” (XYZ), which is ideal for PG&O,
since most of its parts are 6” or under.

SHATTERING THROUGHPUT GOALS

With the vision system in place, PG&O has substantially
ramped up its inspection productivity. “Our part verifica-
tion throughput has far exceeded expectations, dramatically • Automatic Probe Movement • ID/OD Measuring Capability
increasing by up to 50%,” says Bukaty. “This was due to fast • Automatic Part Alignment • 2 millionths Accuracy
first article inspection turnaround, as well as verification of
• 80 inch Capacity • Simple Software Scripting
both in-process work and even tooling.”
It was difficult for Bukaty to pinpoint any specific dol-
lar savings derived from the AV300. Still, their initial cal- 800-371-7174
culations demonstrated monthly savings in the thousands www.prattandwhitney.com
info@prattandwhitney.com
through productivity gains after factoring all benefits. “We
have not only realized improved part accuracy and through-
Length Metrology | Precision Gages | Comparators | Calibration Services
put. We have also saved man hours and reduced scrapped

www.qualitymag.com May 2018 | QUALITY 49

PRO
PRODUCTS
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ODUCTS
THE LATEST PRODUCTS TO HELP YOU IMPROVE YOUR MANUFACTURING PROCESS

L.S. STARRETT HVR100-
FLIP BENCHTOP VISION
MEASUREMENT SYSTEM
L.S. Starrett Company
announced the introduction of
the HVR100-FLIP, a new large
field-of-vision (FOV) Benchtop
Vision Measurement System
that is capable of being used
in either a vertical or hori-
zontal orientation, features a
high-resolution digital video
camera and minimal optical distortion for accurate FOV measure-
ments of up to 90mm (3.65 in.).
The FLIP horizontal or vertical orientation feature lends itself
to an extremely wide array of applications from flat parts such as
gaskets and seals, to turned and threaded parts. The system can
be easily changed over from vertical to horizontal and back within
minutes, and can be placed on most sturdy workbenches.
The compact Starrett HVR100-FLIP has a 24” LCD touch-screen
monitor, a 348mm x 165mm (13.7” x 6.5”) stationary top plate
and 165mm (6.5”) optics travel with a motorized power drive for
accommodating various part sizes and enhanced performance.
An LED ring light provides surface illumination and LED backlight
offers transmitted illumination.
The main operator interface of the FLIP displays a live video
image with software measurement tools and graphical digital read-
ing of measurements. A part image can be resized using pan, zoom
and measurements by simply tapping a feature on the monitor
screen. A wireless keyboard and pointing device are also provided
for entering file names and targeting key functions. MetLogix M3
software includes 2D geometric functions such as points, lines,
circles, arcs, rectangles, distances, slots, angles and skew, and
utilizing the part design DXF/ CAD file digital overlay makes part
inspection simple.
Additional features and options that offer enhanced measure-
ment capability and increased throughput include:
• “Auto Part Recognition” where the user simply places the part
anywhere in the FOV without any fixturing and the system rec-
ognizes and inspects the part in a few seconds.
• “Digital Comparator-DXF overlay”
• “Profile Fitting”
• “Thread Measurement”
L.S. STARRETT COMPANY
(978) 249-3551 | GENERAL@STARRETT.COM | WWW.STARRETT.COM

L.S. STARRETT BLUETOOTH-
ENABLED ELECTRONIC DIGITAL
BORE GAGES
The L.S. Starrett Company has introduced
two new Bluetooth® enabled series of
electronic digital bore gages with a range
of accuracy and convenience features for
increasing measurement throughput when
inspecting internal hole dimensions. The
781BXT AccuBore® Electronic Bore Gages
are a trigger-operated gaging system, and
the 770BXT Electronic Bore Gages, oper-
ated via thimble rotation, feature IP67
protection against dirt and coolant, mak-
ing them ideal in harsh machining environ-
ments. Bluetooth wireless technology in
both bore gage series enables fast, robust
measurement data acquisition capabili-
ties without the encumbrances and limita-
tions of cables. Wireless technology also
provides an ideal platform for manufactur-
ers bracing to meet the comprehensive
big data requirements of Industry 4.0.
AccuBore gages are a trigger-acti-
vated, two-point and three-point bore
gaging system with extended range.
Convenient single-hand operation pro-
vides increased mea-
surement speed, control
and throughput. A user
simply squeezes the trig-
ger, inserts the gage into
the bore and releases
the trigger, producing an
instant reading from a
large, easy-to-read digi-
tal display. Speed and convenience is
further enhanced by a repositionable
indicator for left, right hand, or vertical
viewing and Go/No-Go tolerance indica-
tor lights quickly display when a bore is
within a preset measurement range.
Superior design features include
mechanically driven parallel anvils that
extend simultaneously, establishing true
alignment to the axis of the bore, providing
consistent pressure and improved accu-
racy compared to spring-driven contacts
which are subject to pressure variations.
In addition to Bluetooth capability, the
770BXT Electronic Internal micrometers
feature IP67 level of protection against
coolant, water, dirt and dust in hostile shop
conditions, making them ideal for measur-
ing holes in work that is
in-process on a machine.
The 770BXT gages
offer extended travel,
reducing the need to
exchange anvils, provid-
ing a wide measurement
range. A precision ratch-
et stop provides correct
contact pressure for accurate readings on
the large easy-to-read LCD digital display.
Both the 781BXT and 770BXT Bore
Gage Series feature enhanced wear life
due to carbide-faced measuring con-
tacts that are available on sizes above
½ in. (12.5mm), resolution of .00005
in. (0.001mm), and accuracy of up to
.00015 in. (0.004mm). Gages also
feature push button inch/ metric conver-
sion. Wireless output capability for SPC
analysis is available via USB to a PC or
RS232 connection.
THE L.S. STARRETT COMPANY
(978) 249-3551
GENERAL@STARRETT.COM
WWW.STARRETT.COM

50 QUALITY | May 2018 www.qualitymag.com

 QUALITY SHOWCASE
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2018 | QUALITY 51
CASE STUDIES SPECIA L A DVERTISI N G SEC TI O N
This Case Studies Special Advertising Section features manufacturing companies with real-world

challenges using quality equipment, software and services to solve their problems and improve

their processes. These problem-solving stories describe myriad manufacturing challenges and how

the correct application of a supplier’s product or service made the difference, providing quantitative

benefits to quality and manufacturing issues.

The suppliers in this special section present these real-world problems and solutions to help Quality

Magazine subscribers who may have similar experiences.

ADVERTISER CASE STUDY INDEX

ADVERTISER PAGE ADVERTISER PAGE

Ametek Inc. 55 Mark-10 Corporation 57

BSI Group America Inc. 54 Marposs Corp. 53

CyberMetrics Corp. 54 MSI-Viking Gage 53

JENOPTIK Industrial Metrology North America LLC 57 OGP (Optical Gaging Products) 55

Mahr Inc. 56 ZEISS Industrial Metrology 56

52 QUALITY | May 2018 www.qualitymag.com


Revolutionizing Handheld Gauging
The i-Wave2 by Marposs is the latest innova-
tion in handheld gauging. With its integrated
1.8” color display and wireless Bluetooth
technology, it puts the measurements directly
into the user’s hand, allowing the user to
Reliance Benefits from ViciVision High Accuracy Non-Contact Optical Inspection
VICIVISION, based in Rimini, Italy has been
developing optical systems since 2000.
VICIVISION measuring machines are used in
industries that demand the highest levels of
machining accuracy.
Reliance Precision Limited in the UK, a
supplier of high precision lead screws to the
highly regulated medical and lab automation
environments, chose VICIVISION to fulfill their
requirement for an automated lead screw
www.qualitymag.com
obtain measurements without a computer.
The 24/7 inductive charging system along
with its waterproof design creates a robust
product suitable for the most extreme shop
floor environments.
inspection machine to help ensure the neces-
sary quality levels are delivered.
The inspection of lead screws has his-
torically been a manual process, with the
experienced team inspecting product charac-
teristics for any deviations from specification.
Recognizing the limitations of this process,
and the potential consequences for custom-
ers, the company decided to invest in auto-
mated inspection technology.
ADVERTISEMENT
The i-Wave2’s ergonomic design combined
with its automatic orientation display makes it
easy for the user to measure a part and trans-
mit the data to an industrial computer. Based
on the gauge head, the i-Wave2 has the capa-
bility to measure I.D, O.D, depth, distances, and
countersinks. Furthermore, after acquiring a
measurement, the innovative guided sequence
system will light up the gauge’s screen, prompt-
ing the user to pick up the next i-Wave2 in the
cycle. The i-Wave2 can achieve guided sequenc-
ing with the help of the Merlin Plus family or an
E9066 industrial computer. In addition to this,
the Merlin Plus family and the E9066 grant the
ability to have statistical analysis generated
directly from the measurements of the i-Wave2.
This revolutionary handheld gauge is
changing the industry, creating new opportuni-
ties, minimizing human error and saving time
during measurements. The i-Wave2’s ability to
communicate directly to the Merlin Plus family
or an E9066 industrial computer brings the
user one step closer to the Marposs Smart
Solution for Industry 4.0, making the i-Wave2
perfect for advanced dimensional inspection
in any mass production plant.
www.marposs.com
Reliance selected VICIVISION for its
advanced optical, non-contact shaft measur-
ing machines, capable of analyzing very spe-
cific details on the lead screws. The machine
enables accurate inspection of the diameter,
length and geometry. The system records and
stores all data, allowing Reliance to access
historic measurement data at any time. This
is particularly useful for customers who may
require a First Article Inspection Report (FAIR)
or statistical information.
David Torr, Reliance’s Head of Metrology,
comments
“What is really important for Reliance is
ensuring a high level of quality for our cus-
tomers. Automation has an important part to
play; it allows for the collection of measure-
ments to be more efficient, ensuring a repeat-
able supply of quality product. Alongside
this, it is helping us broaden the scope of our
metrology analysis for the lead screw range.”
Reliance: www.reliance.co.uk
For more information contact VICIVision
America; www.vicivisionamerica.com; 480-
212-5172, or your MSI-Viking Gage sales
representative; 864-433-9771.
May 2018 | QUALITY 53
2018 CASE STUDIES
ADVERTISEMENT

Predicting the Next Accident can Prevent it -

A New Health & Safety Methodology
Safety leaders have long been cham-
pioning the need for effective pro-
cesses to reduce the risk of injuries
and illnesses. The golden thread is
that a focus on safety provides a sig-
nificant return on investment through
reduced disruption of incidents, lower
insurance costs, improved morale,
efficiency and productivity.
What happens when someone gets
hurt? What’s the cost to the injured?
Their family? The organization? The
range of direct costs such as workers’
compensation payments, medical
expenses, lost time, injury investiga-
tions and legal services can be stag-
gering, but must also be discussed
alongside the indirect costs such
as replacing/retraining employees,
employee morale, absenteeism, lost
productivity and damage to property.
However, if you compare the use of
common elements of safety programs
(such as safety meetings, committees
or job hazard analyses) at different
organizations, they will be highly effec-
tive in one place while ineffective in
another. Why? Leadership and culture
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BSI helps clients implement a
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based on broad-ranging precursors of
incidents to predict and prevent acci-
dents. This approach is outlined in a
whitepaper titled “EHS guide to injury
reduction,” which can be downloaded
here: http://page.bsigroup.com/ehs

AngioDynamics uses GAGEtrak® for FDA Audit Success

Founded in 1988 in Queensbury, N.Y., AngioDynamics is a leader
in the design, development and manufacturing of innovative thera-
peutic devices used for minimally invasive medical treatment and is
selling in over 50 markets worldwide.
Prior to 2004, AngioDynamics’ Ben Gleason used Excel to
manage his gages and calibrations and that worked fine for a
while. However, when his responsibilities grew to tracking nearly
4,000 instruments and performing over 2,000 calibrations annu-
ally, he needed a more robust, secure system; that’s when he
chose GAGEtrak.
Gleason is most impressed by GAGEtrak’s reporting features and
FDA compliance. “It is so much easier to get a list of what is required at
any given time and there’s a history of transactions for audits. Overall,
it’s a very good product. Pretty easy to use and the FDA has not been
able to find fault with our process since we started using it.”
Gleason also uses the GAGEtrak Calibration Label Kit to further
streamline his workflow and when asked about his experience with
the CyberMetrics support team, Gleason said, “Support has been
absolutely fantastic! They’re knowledgeable, courteous, patient and
good-humored - a real pleasure to work with.”
Making the leap from spreadsheets to GAGEtrak calibration
management software was an easy choice for AngioDynamics
and has proven invaluable for FDA audits. It’s no surprise that
GAGEtrak is consistently recommended by quality auditors… yet
another reason GAGEtrak is the #1 calibration management soft-
ware solution in the world.

54 QUALITY | May 2018 www.qualitymag.com

 ADVERTISEMENT

Easy, Low Cost Plastic Testing

CS2 Series force testers are an excellent
choice for plastic testing when accuracy,
repeatability and documentation of
results are important. They make plastic
testing easy and offer a low-cost alterna-
tive when advanced material testing func-
tionality is not required.
CS2 Series force testers are able
to perform most commonly used tests
within the plastic industry from basic
static force testing to multistage testing,
cyclic testing and more at a fraction of
the cost of an advanced materials tester.
CS2 Series testers feature a large work-
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The CS2 Series is available in two load
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updated individually. With ZONE3, though, a

design change within a family can be accom-
modated by a simple parameter modifica-
tion. This reduces redundancy and ensures
the program stays true-to-print throughout
design revisions.
ZONE3 parametric programming is not
limited to contact lenses, but may be used
on groups of similar parts exhibiting vari-
able features.

The Result: ZONE3 reduces programming

time by creating a single program for use by
the entire lens family, reducing setup costs,

ZONE3® Uses Variables to Measure Contact Lenses minimizing ongoing design change mainte-
nance and streamlining operator interaction.

Challenge: Contact lens measurement is
challenging due to their varying spherical
surfaces and optical zones. Lens families are
often produced in a series of sizes, only vary-
ing in a few dimensions. Conventional mea-
surement requires creating measurement
routines for each lens within a family, which
can be labor-intensive for large part families.
The ZONE3 Advantage: QVI® ZONE3® CAD-
based metrology software makes short work
of part families. With ZONE3, one measure-
ment routine with built-in variables can be cre-
ated and applied to the whole family. Variables
may be applied to critical dimensions including
the optical zone, spherical surface and orien-
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Through a popup, the operator specifies the
lens part number and ZONE3 takes care of the OGP® (Optical Gaging Products)
rest. Sometimes a distinguishing part feature 850 Hudson Avenue
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www.qualitymag.com May 2018 | QUALITY 55

2018 CASE STUDIES
ADVERTISEMENT

ing, a RONDCOM 60AS for form measure-

ments and a SURFCOM 5000 for surface
finish inspections. ZEISS also had a technical
center nearby in Brighton, Michigan.
Since bringing the inspection in house
and measuring with the ZEISS systems, the
GCH Group has seen significant time savings.
“Machine run-off time has been reduced
from a week to two days,” says
The GCH Group’s quality Dan. “And if there ever was a
lab includes three systems discrepancy with the measure-
from ZEISS: an ACCURA ments of the external measure-
CMM, a RONDCOM 60AS
ment company, we’d have to start
and a SURFCOM 5000.
the process all over again and it
could take two to three weeks.”
Machinery setup time has also been reduced
by 40 percent. In addition, their operators like

In-House Inspection Proves Machining Capabilities the graphical interface of CALYPSO metrology
software and find it easy to understand.

For a number of years, the GCH Group out
of Warren, MI had successfully used outside
resources for their quality inspection and
reverse engineering needs. Now they wanted
to bring precision inspection in house to
reduce machine setup and run-off times, and
more importantly to prove that their machin-
ing capabilities were top-notch. With a lot of
custom parts having target tolerances in the
micron and submicron range, they were look-
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could perform various types of measurements
with high accuracy and fast throughput.
The GCH Group’s goal was to have com-
mon service and software for all of their ZEISS Industrial Metrology
quality inspection systems, along with local 6250 Sycamore LN N
support in Michigan. They found the solutions Maple Grove, MN 55369
they needed from ZEISS: an ACCURA 9/18/7 www.zeiss.com/metrology
coordinate measuring machine (CMM) for metrology@zeiss.com
incoming inspections and reverse engineer- 1-800-327-9735

tools including micrometers and calipers.

Mahr® & Joe Gibbs Racing: Creating Precision Racecar Designs
Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR), one of today’s most suc-
cessful NASCAR teams, manufactures approxi-
mately 90% of its racecar parts and pieces
(more than 2,000) at its on-site race shop.
Engineers must ensure all parts and piec-
es are manufactured properly. That’s where
JGR’s state-of-the-art metrology lab comes in.
All parts and pieces — whether manufactured
by JGR or outside parties — go through its
metrology department before being assem-
bled into the cars.
A key element of JGR’s metrology lab is
precision measurement tools from Mahr.
All 35 stations in the lab feature Mahr hand
Additional equipment such as MarForm®
MMQ 400 universal form measuring
machines are used to check valves and test
features including roundness, cylindricity, the
form of cranks and cams, etc.
Engine builders use Mahr equipment
from micrometers to custom tools such as
specialized surface finish gages for criti-
cal, but hard-to-reach, areas in the engine.
The metrology lab also features MarForm®
Primar® for checking cranks and cams,
Precimar® PLM 600 precision length mea-
suring machines, MarShaft® SCOPE 250
plus optical shaft measuring machines,
MarSurf® XC 20 systems for evaluation of
contour profiles, specialized CNC systems to
automate surface finish measurements on
large batches of parts, and more.
“All of these parts have to be exactly right.
Mahr has been a great partner for more than
15 years, and helps Joe Gibbs Racing ensure
that the highest quality parts are going into
our cars with optimal performance.”
— Mark Bringle, Technical Sponsorship &
Marketing Director, Joe Gibbs Racing

56 QUALITY | May 2018 www.qualitymag.com

 ADVERTISEMENT

How a PM leader saved inspection time,

got better results
Keystone Powdered Metal Company,
St Marys, PA , a major powdered
metal component manufacturer,
was looking for a way to improve the
reliability, repeatability, and cost of
its tooling inspection. It found the
answer in the Jenoptik T8000 RC
automatic universal roughness and
contour measurement system.
The system is used for produc-
tion part justification and measuring
production tooling for powdered
metal automotive parts the company
makes, including transmission parts
and gears.
Details of the tooling that the lab
inspects include chamfers, radii,
face details, widths, and angles.
“Measuring these details the previ-
ous way was very time-consuming
and not highly repeatable,” said
Dennis Piccirillo, Keystone Director of
Corporate Quality Assurance.
A difficult feature to measure
on one piece of tooling was a small
degree of arc on an inside radius.
“We struggled to get repeatable
measurements on this feature,”
Piccirillo said. The degree of arc the
inspection department had to verify
was 15-20° of arc, which “we now
can accomplish very repeatably
with the Jenoptik T8000,” Piccirillo
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“The gage R&R is much more
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The PC-based skidless T8000
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for roughness measurement is 1 or 2
nm; for contour, 50 nm.

the force gauge. As the test stand moves the

Case Study: Bullet Insertion Force Testing
Characterizing the quality of bullet casings through force measurement
During the manufacturing process of a
firearm cartridge, the bullet is pressed into
the mouth of the casing. Whether done
by hand, or on a larger production scale,
the common expectation is that the inner
diameter of the mouth is manufactured pre-
cisely, allowing for a press-fit of appropriate
and consistent force.
A manufacturer of rifle bullet casings has
been using a Mark-10 ESM303 motorized test
stand and force gauge to check sample batch-
es in their production facility. The test stand
is set to a certain speed, for consistency from
test to test. A custom fixture engages the
extraction groove in the casing, while a cus-
tom tool simulating the bullet is attached to
force gauge downward and presses the tool
into the casing’s mouth, the gauge records
the maximum compression force. The test
stand then automatically reverses direction,
and the gauge also records the maximum ten-
sion force.
A high/low range of acceptable forces
was established by the manufacturer, giv-
ing them the data they need to adjust their
manufacturing process when needed. They
use MESURgauge Plus software to initiate test
stand motion and collect data from the sys-
tem. The data is collected either as multiple
peak force readings from a batch of samples,
or as continuous data from individual samples,
with corresponding graph of force vs. time. The
software can also collect force vs. travel infor-
mation for graphing and further analysis.
In using force measurement to charac-
terize insertion and withdrawal forces, the
manufacturer ensures a predictable and sat-
isfactory experience for their customers.
By Mark Fridman, Director of Sales & Marketing
mf@mark-10.com
Toll Free: 888-MARK-TEN | Tel: 631-842-9200 x13
Fax: 631-842-9201

www.qualitymag.com May 2018 | QUALITY 57

Buyers Guide

SEARCH FOR:
• Inspection, Measurement
& Testing Equipment
• Services
• Software Applications
• Vision & Sensors products

THE SUPPLIERS AND PRODUCTS

YOU NEED, ALL IN ONE PLACE!

qualitymag.com/buyersguide
 CL ASSIFIED

JOB POSITIONS SERVICES SERVICES

Mahr Inc. employees are the true

®
DIMENSIONAL INSPECTION
measurement of our success & GAGE CALIBRATION Metrology Services
‣ First Article Inspection Dimensional Calibration
For current job openings, ‣ Gage and Thread Calibration Contract Measurement
please visit: ‣ Gear Measurement
First-piece Inspection
Sharing Excellence
https://mahr.jobs.net/en-US/search ‣ Surface Finish Measurement in Industrial Metrology
Industrial Metrology
North America LLC
DIMENSIONAL MEASURING PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
1505 West Hamlin Rd,
Rochester Hills, MI 48309
www.inspectionengineering.com Tel: 248-853-5888
800-730-9277 1453.01 www.jenoptik.com/metrology
Mahr Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer Email: info-us@jenoptik-inc.com

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 ADVERTISING INDEX

ADVERTISER PAGE WEBSITE

Ametek Inc. 28 www.chatillon.com

Aven Inc. 29 www.aveninc.com

155 N. Pfingsten Rd.,
Suite 205 Bal-Tec Division, MicroSurface Engr. Inc. 33 www.precisionballs.com
Deerfield, IL 60015
BSI Group America Inc. 25 www.bsiamerica.com/9100transition

GROUP PUBLISHER
CyberMetrics Corp. BC www.cybermetrics.com
Darrell Dal Pozzo
(847) 405-4044 DeFelsko Corp. 32 www.defelsko.com
dalpozzod@bnpmedia.com
Diatest Gages & Tools Inc. 29 www.diatest.com
REGIONAL MARKETING
CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST Dorsey Metrology International 46 www.dorseymetrology.com
Bill DeYoe
Exact Metrology 10 www.exactmetrology.com
109 Willow Springs Trail,
Mt. Holly, NC 28120
Fischer Technology Inc. 19 www.fischer-technology.com
Phone: (704) 822-6434
FAX: (704) 822-6834 Gradient Lens Corporation 36 www.gradientlens.com
deyoeb@bnpmedia.com
JENOPTIK Industrial Metrology North America LLC 3 www.jenoptik.com/metrology
MIDWEST, NEW ENGLAND,
MID-ATLANTIC, Mahr Inc. 1 www.mahr.com
ALL COUNTRIES OUTSIDE THE U.S.
Mark-10 Corporation 7 www.mark-10.com
Buck Bicek
5820 Middaugh Ave.
Marposs Corp. 23 www.marposs.com
Downers Grove, IL 60516
Phone: (630) 971-0904 Meyer Gage 11 www.meyergage.com
FAX: (248) 502-1086
bicekb@bnpmedia.com MSI-Viking Gage 13 www.msi-viking.com

WEST OGP (Optical Gaging Products) 9 www.ogpnet.com

Nadine Graber
Origin Technologies Corp. 36 www.origintech.com
155 N. Pfingsten Rd., Suite 205
Deerfield, IL 60015
Pratt & Whitney Measurement Systems 49 www.prattandwhitney.com
Phone: (847) 405-4025
FAX: (248) 283-6587 Quality Vision International Inc. 5 www.qvii.com
grabern@bnpmedia.com
Renishaw 45 www.qualitymag.com/infocenter/process-control-in-manufacturing

QUALITY EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Shimadzu Scientific Instruments 17 www.qualitymag.com/infocenter/materials-testing-analysis
Roger Muse Bill Hangartner Sr.
Director - Sales and Marketing CEO Starrett Co., The L.S. IFC www.starrett.com
ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board Quality Calibration Service Inc.

Jim Smith Bob Friesen Stuhr Manufacturing 33 www.cdvcorp.com

ASQ Fellow Vice President of Marketing
S-T Industries Inc.
Praveen Gupta
Webster Instrument Inc. 46 www.webstertesters.com
Director Corporate Quality, Edward Morse, Ph.D.
Prysm Professor - Mechanical Engineering
Western Gage Corporation 10 www.westerngage.com
Center for Precision Metrology
Bridget Benedetti UNC Charlotte
Hexagon Metrology Inc. ZEISS Industrial Metrology 12, IBC www.zeiss.com
Ed Pritchard
Andreas Blind Consultant
Vice President of Sales Western Environmental Corp. This index is provided as a reader service. The publisher assumes no liability for errors or omissions.
JENOPTIK - Industrial Metrology
Hommel-Etamic America Corp. Don Moors
CEO
QUALITY MAGAZINE (ISSN: Print 0360-9936 and Digital 1937-4410) is published 13 times
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May 2018 www.qualitymag.com/v&s

5 CONSIDERATIONS FOR
MODERN
SMART
CAMERA
DESIGN
p. 14VS

VISION SENSORS SET NEW STANDARD FOR PASS/FAIL INSPECTIONS p. 05VS

OPTICS FOR HIGH ACCURACY MACHINE VISION p. 08VS
EMBEDDED VISION PUTS FULL POWER IN COMPACT FOOTPRINT p. 12VS
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are choosing Apex Series cameras for their color-critical AP-3200T AP-1600T
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VISION & SENSORS TA B L E O F C O N T E N T S

May 2018
14VS DEPARTMENTS

02VS News
21VS Product Spotlight
21VS Advertising Index

IN THE NEXT ISSUE

Smart Cameras
SENSORS High Speed Imaging
05VS VISION SENSORS SET NEW
STANDARD FOR PASS/FAIL INSPECTIONS Robotics
By combining powerful vision tools, simple setup and a modular design, Sensors
vision sensors set new standards for value, ease of use and flexibility.

OPTICS
May 2018 www.qualitymag.com/v&s

08VS OPTICS FOR HIGH ACCURACY

MACHINE VISION
The best lens for a machine vision application is one that’s specifically
selected for the sensor used in the camera.

EMBEDDED VISION
12VS EMBEDDED VISION PUTS FULL POWER 5 CONSIDERATIONS FOR
IN COMPACT FOOTPRINT MODERN
SMART
Developers are working to drive out cost and reduce system size CAMERA
while offering enhanced flexibility. DESIGN
p. 14VS

SMART CAMERAS VISION SENSORS SET NEW STANDARD FOR PASS/FAIL INSPECTIONS p. 05VS
OPTICS FOR HIGH ACCURACY MACHINE VISION p. 08VS

14VS 5 CONSIDERATIONS FOR EMBEDDED VISION PUTS FULL POWER IN COMPACT FOOTPRINT p. 12VS

MODERN SMART CAMERA DESIGN

The goal is to create smart cameras that can do it all. ABOUT THE COVER
How do we get there? Smart cameras can be attached to
MACHINE VISION 101 robots to help guide them in various
17VS LENS SELECTION GUIDE, PART 1 tasks. In such applications, precise
Understand the differences between the most common types timing is essential. Source: Omron
of lenses used in machine vision. Microscan Systems Inc.

VISIT VISION & SENSORS ONLINE AT

www.qualitymag.com/v&s

Efficient Automotive Production

with RFID Technology
There is a long road to travel between the body shop and the new
car’s first outing. Checks are required at many points along the
way to ensure that the car is being produced exactly as the customer had intended upon ordering. In
the German city of Neckarsulm, Audi is solving this task with the help of an RFID-based identification
solution that covers all the types of tasks being carried out at its plant.

www.qualitymag.com/v&s May 2018 | VISION & SENSORS 1VS

VISION & SENSORS NEWS

Robotics, Vision and Motion Control

BUSINESS NEWS
Industries Set New Growth Records in 2017 Robotic Vision Technologies Inc.
secured more than $10.5 million in
recent funding.
ANN ARBOR, MI — The North American robotics, machine vision and motion control The investment comes from a mix
markets continue to set new records, according to the Association for Advancing of CEO and director funding as
Automation’s annual report on automation and robotics market statistics. well as investments from technology
“What I find most telling about these results is not simply that the automation funds from Silicon Valley, Northern
market continues to grow, but that it is growing in such a wide variety of indus- Virginia, Canada and Germany.
tries,” says Jeff Burnstein, president of A3. “New industries continue to embrace To date, RVT has used its funding
robotics, vision, and motion, reaping the benefits of automation.” to focus heavily on R&D. The com-
pany is now in the phase of building
2017 was a milestone year for the North American robotics market as it sur-
out its sales and marketing capabili-
passed previous high water marks in all four statistical categories: order units,
ties to support growth and market
order revenue, shipment units, and shipment revenue. penetration in both the industrial
The amount of robots sold in North America last year surpassed all previous and collaborative robot markets.
records. Customers purchased 34,904 total units representing $1.9 billion in total “Our focus has been to perfect
sales. These numbers show growth of 0.9% in units and 0.1% in dollars from our quality and product line prior
2016. While automotive-related orders were down compared to the previous year to any major marketing effort,” said
(-7.3% in units and -3.8% in dollars), non-automotive orders fueled the rise in RVT Founder and Chief Executive
2017 with 20.5% growth in units and 7.3% in dollars. Officer Rick Weidinger. “With the
success we have achieved in early
The industry also set records for North American shipments in 2017: 33,575
implementations along with the
robots valued at $1.94 billion shipped to customers last year. This is an expan-
patents we’ve secured for our inno-
sion of 8.7% in units and 6.9% in dollars over 2016 levels, with non-automotive vation, now is the time to build our
related shipments once again providing the growth. 2017 shipments increased sales channels and lead the way in
29.7% in units and 19.7% in dollars from 2016 results. The largest growth rates 3D vision guidance software.”
for units shipped came from the plastics and rubber (59.6%), metals (53.9%), RVT and its partners were
and food and consumer goods (44.2%). Automotive shipments were fl at in both recently granted four new patents
units and dollars compared to 2016. for several aspects of its technol-
More imaging components and systems were sold than ever before last year as ogy, including visual sensing and
demand for machine vision solutions reached record levels in North America. In processing software that improves
the effi ciency and safety of auto-
2017, total machine vision financial transactions in North America grew 14.6%
mated robotic systems. RVT has
over 2016 to $2.633 billion. In 2017, total systems markets increased 14.8% to recently fi led for 14 patents for a
$2.262 billion, while total component markets grew 12.3% to $359 million. total portfolio of 20 vision guid-
The market began the year in the first quarter with $596.5 million in total ance patents. Major automotive
financial transactions, increased in the second quarter to $644.9 million, and and other manufacturers are
reached an all-time high of $696.4 million in the third quarter. already using RVT’s new technol-
Despite a slight contraction, the fourth quarter was still the second best quar- ogy in their factories, and more are
ter ever for total machine vision financial transactions in North America, bringing applying upgraded RVT software
increases of 16.7% to $694.8 million overall, 18.2% to $604.6 million in systems, into their production lines now.
“The reality of machine vision
and 5.7% to $87.8 million in components on a year-over-year basis.
will be one of the most disruptive
Industry experts are bullish on all component markets except imaging boards forces in all areas of manufacturing
(fl at) for the first half of 2017. The industry also expects application specific and transportation over the next
machine vision systems (ASMV) and smart camera sales to remain fl at over the decade,” said New York Times-
same period. bestselling author Ric Edelman,
Shipments of motion control and motor products grew 8.1%, from $3.25 billion RVT investor and founder and
in 2016 to $3.56 billion in 2017. The largest product category in terms of sales is executive chairman of Edelman
motors, comprising 38.1% of total shipments. Actuators and mechanical systems Financial Services, one of the larg-
is the second largest with 18.5% of shipments. Motion controllers was the fast- est investment management fi rms in
the nation, with $22 billion in assets
est growing category in 2017, increasing 20.7% to $196.4 million, followed by AC
under management. “RVT and its
drives (12.7% to $388.0 million) and actuators and mechanical systems (12.4% to technology are poised to transform
$658.2 million). the way robots function in multiple

2VS VISION & SENSORS | May 2018 www.qualitymag.com/V&S

markets. Their innovations in how
machines perceive and respond
to their environments are exactly
what customers are looking for as
they develop the next generation of
equipment and end user products.”
Nortech Systems Incorporated
expanded capabilities at its manu-
facturing facility in Suzhou, Jiangsu,
China, to support its regional
machine vision technology customers.
“Given the explosive growth of
machine vision, robotics and auto-
mation technology manufacturers in
Asia, it makes sense for us to expand
our regional Intercon 1 manufactur-
ing to support those customers,”
said Rich Wasielewski, president
and CEO of Nortech Systems. “This
facility allows us to provide faster,
local support for both engineering
solutions and product availability.”
The Suzhou facility, located in the
Jiangsu Province of China, began
production of Intercon 1 Camera
Link and USB 3.0 vision products
in the second quarter of 2017; capa-
bilities were expanded during 2017.
Central to both Beijing and Hong
Kong, the facility allows Intercon 1
to support growing machine vision
customers throughout China with
faster turnaround, reduced shipping
time and cost, and local, on-demand
engineering support.
“Often, the cable is the ‘weak-
est link’ in the entire machine
vision system architecture,” said
Ron Folkeringa, Nortech Systems’
Intercon 1 Group business manager.
“Intercon 1 interconnect solutions
eliminate unexpected downtime by
ensuring the transfer of critical data,
leading to superior solution perfor-
mance and reliability.”
InnovMetric Software Inc.
announced the acquisition of Prefixa
Vision Systems, its PolyWorks mas-
ter distributor in Mexico.
“The growth of the automotive
industry in Mexico has been so phe-
nomenal in recent years that in our
latest fiscal year Mexico became the
fifth largest PolyWorks market in
www.qualitymag.com/V&S
the world,” said Marc Soucy, presi-
dent of InnovMetric.
The acquisition allows InnovMetric
to expand the capabilities of its
local subsidiary, PolyWorks Mexico,
which include supporting and train-
ing Mexican customers and assisting
local metrology hardware partners.
PolyWorks Mexico will also market
PolyWorks to VIP accounts in the
automotive and aerospace industries
who want to standardize their por-
table and CNC CMM metrology
operations on a common platform.
Flextron Circuit Assembly added HIgH SPEEd
3D Solder Paste Inspection (SPI)
capability and Automated Optical THERmal ImagER
Inspection (AOI) to its PCBA manu- thermoIMAGER TIM 640
facturing lines to enhance quality high resolution
and reliability in its finished elec-
tronic assemblies.  NEW: Detector with 640 x 480 pixels
Flextron deployed two 3D SPI sys-  Range: -20°C up to 900°C
tems from Koh Young Technology in  Real-time thermography with 32Hz
addition to post-soldering Automated  Excellent thermal sensitivity
Optical Inspection (AOI) provided by
 Interchangeable lenses
a Nordson YESTECH F1S AOI sys-
tem. The two KY8030-2 full 3D SPI  Smallest camera in its class
systems provide inspection for defects  Complex image analysis software
and measurement data of printed  USB interface
solder paste, identifying defects such
as insufficient paste volumes, missing
prints, and print registration errors.
“Solder paste inspection, really
measurement, is one of the most
powerful process optimization tools
that a PCBA manufacturer can have
in his arsenal, given that fully 70% of
all soldering defects originate at the
solder paste printing step,” said Jay PRECISION
Vora, VP sales and engineering. “Our
Koh Young 3D SPI systems actu-
IR SENSORS
ally measure the solder paste volume  Range: -50°C up to +2200°C
deposited on the individual pads.”  Different wavelength for shiny metal
Flextron’s YESTECH YTV  Fast 1ms response time
F1S PCB AOI machine examines  Precision optics up to 300:1
PCBAs further downstream, after
 Full instrumentation with signal
the components have been attached processing
(soldered) to the assembly. The AOI
system uses machine vision to look
for solder defects, lead defects, com-
ponent presence and position, cor-
www.micro-epsilon.com
rect part or polarity, and more. MICRO-EPSILON
“Applying optical inspection Raleigh, NC 27617 / USA
Phone +1/919 787 9707
to as many aspects of the compo- me-usa@micro-epsilon.com
nents and solder joints on a PCB
May 2018 | VISION & SENSORS 3VS
VISION & SENSORS
as possible is the best approach to
improving the quality assurance
of assembled PCBs,” Vora said, by
utilizing true measurement tech-
nology with quantifiable measure-
ment thresholds. The AOI system
identifies lifted leads, missing
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4VS VISION & SENSORS | May 2018
NEWS
components, component markings,
skewed components, and more.
“We use AOI to increase product
quality, reliability and control of
processes. By combining the results
of both 3D SPI and AOI inspec-
tion and measurement, we are able
to achieve real-time process opti-
mization through powerful SPC
analytics to ensure that defects
that can result in costly rework or
compromise product reliability are
minimized or eliminated.”
“Flextron also has a Nikon XTV-
160 X-ray inspection system, 3D
X-ray capacity that enables us to
examine BGA spheres, for example,
with great precision,” Jay Vora
added. “We use this powerful qual-
ity assurance and failure analysis
system to analyze leadless packag-
es, wire bonds, PTH via fills, solder
joints, molded parts, lead frames,
and much more in a circumferential
and tilting pattern. This enables
detailed analysis, thus ensuring
process quality from lot to lot for
our customers.”
Humatics Corporation, a developer
of microlocation products, acquired
5D Robotics and its subsidiary
Time Domain.
Humatics is developing radio-
frequency (RF) sensors that measure
the positions of objects in three-
dimensional space with millimeter-
scale precision at up to 30-meter
ranges. 5D Robotics and Time
Domain make RF systems that
locate objects with centimeter-scale
precision at up to 500-meter ranges.
Together, the combined company
will offer products that measure
positions in industrial automation,
next-generation construction, auton-
omous vehicles, and smart cities.
Location matters. To interact
safely and seamlessly with people
and their environments, autonomous
systems such as drones, vehicles, and
robots need to know precisely where
they are at all times. GPS lacks the
required accuracy, and doesn’t work
indoors. Cameras and lasers help,
but they rely on data-intensive maps
and fail in dusty, rainy, foggy, or
snowy conditions. RF technologies
aim to overcome all these challenges.
5D Robotics and Time Domain
are providing centimeter-scale sen-
sors to the industrial automation
and manufacturing markets.
www.qualitymag.com/V&S
VISION & SENSORS SENSORS

Vision Sensors Set

New Standard for Pass/Fail Inspections
BY COMBINING POWERFUL VISION TOOLS, SIMPLE SETUP AND A MODULAR DESIGN, VISION SENSORS
SET NEW STANDARDS FOR VALUE, EASE OF USE AND FLEXIBILITY. By Brian Benoit

capabilities of photocells are limited;

by restricting the inspection to a sin-
gle point, photocells have no way of
knowing if the part is the one that
was expected, nor can they assess
the quality of the part or whether it
has been correctly assembled. Point
sensors also require tight alignment
between the source and the
Figure 1: Vision sen- detector. If unforeseen varia-
sors use an intuitive tion is added to the process,
interface for setup.
there is no way to adapt.
Many automated systems
have more complicated inspection
requirements, such as ensuring that
parts are not just present but prop-
erly positioned and aligned with
other parts or equipment, or deter-
mining whether the correct part is
present and in the proper orienta-
tion. The traditional approach in
A wide range of single-purpose point sensors such as these applications has been to install
proximity sensors, lasers and photocells have long an array of photoelectric sensors,
limit switches, proximity switches
played a key role in virtually all factory automation and other types of point sensors that
systems by detecting the presence of parts or assemblies, work together to address more com-
plicated issues. For such complex
inspections, engineers have been
performing measurements and iden- ROLE OF TRADITIONAL switching to machine vision systems
tifying colors, among other tasks. POINT SENSORS that employ image-based algorithms
Machine vision systems, on the For many years, developers of auto- to inspect parts and assemblies at
other hand, perform more compli- mated systems have used traditional critical stages of manufacturing.
cated operations such as complete point sensors to detect the presence One machine vision system can
inspection of a part. The work or absence of parts or assemblies replace many point sensors in an
performed by machine vision may for controlling machines and pro- area on the production line, poten-
include multiple dimensions and cesses. For example, photoelectric tially providing the customer very
presence or absence of various com- sensors generate a beam of light that large savings in initial integration
ponents or determining the position is typically aimed at a detector. At costs and ongoing maintenance.
and orientation of a component for some point in the process, the part
a subsequent operation. Simpler, is expected to make an appearance EVOLUTION OF VISION SENSORS
less expensive machine vision sen- at just the right position to inter- When machine vision systems were
sors have recently emerged to target rupt the light circuit. The sensor first introduced, their cost was high,
operations currently performed by provides a binary output depending and programming was complex
point sensors, as well as many other on the presence or absence of light and required extensive expertise.
inspection tasks, at a similar price at the detector. Point sensors are Following the same trend as other
point. Here we review the capabili- still relevant in applications where computing and electronics products
ties and potential applications of only verification of the presence or over the past decade, machine vision
vision sensors. absence of a part is required. But the systems have dropped substantially

www.qualitymag.com/V&S May 2018 | VISION & SENSORS 5VS

VISION & SENSORS
Figures 2 and 3: Vision sensor inspection of bad gasket (left) and good gasket (right).
Figures 4 and 5: Vision sensor inspection of thermostat with dial set to wrong position (left) and to
correction position (right).
in price, and they have become
much simpler to configure for spe-
cific applications. More recently, the
cost of machine vision has reached a
level where a new, more affordable
product category called vision sen-
sors has emerged. Relatively simple
and inexpensive, vision sensors can
replace conventional point sensors
and provide significantly greater
capabilities. As a general rule, vision
sensors are designed for pass/fail
inspection operations where the
objective is to determine whether
the correct part is present, a spe-
cific dimension is within a specified
range, the number of parts present
are within a range, and so on.
Vision sensors offer the ability
to perform these and many other
inspections at a lower cost and with
a much simpler setup than con-
ventional vision systems. A typical
vision sensor includes a complete
image formation system with lenses
and lighting. Some vision sensors
allow the lens and light to be
swapped out if necessary to meet the
6VS VISION & SENSORS | May 2018
SENSORS
requirements of specific applications.
Most vision sensors feature an intui-
tive point-and-click user interface for
setting up the device. For example,
a customer can inspect for the pres-
ence or absence of a part or feature
simply by focusing the sensor on the
object to be inspected and drawing
a box around the feature of interest.
Some vision sensors are also capable
of more complex inspection opera-
tions such as measuring distances,
angles and circle diameters.
VISION SENSOR CAPABILITIES
Vision sensors can be triggered
by a signal from the automated
system’s programmable logic con-
troller. Some vision sensors also
provide part-finding capabilities that
locate the position of a feature in
the image. Pattern-matching tools
available in today’s vision sensors
utilize advanced geometric pattern-
matching technology to reliably and
accurately locate parts despite visual
variations such as part contrast,
multiple parts, changes in lighting,
degraded appearance and partially
obscured features. Pattern-matching
tools make it possible in some cases
to reduce the need for mechanical
part fixturing, which can provide
significant cost savings.
TYPICAL VISION SENSOR
APPLICATIONS
Gasket inspection
Gaskets are used extensively in
automobile production to ensure a
tight seal between irregular mat-
ing surfaces. Because automation
is used throughout the automo-
tive assembly line, inspecting for a
proper hole punch on these gaskets
is critical to avoid upstream process
issues. In this case, a fixture jig and
13 individual photoelectric sensors
would be required to inspect the
part. The fixture design, cost of
sensing equipment, and high level
of maintenance required to keep
all 13 sensors and detectors in per-
fect alignment can be quite costly
and lead to a marginal return on
investment. A better way is to use
a single vision sensor to inspect
all 13 through holes in one image.
An edge-intersect tool is used to
locate the part, which eliminates
the need to fix the part precisely in
front of the camera. When the part
is properly located, 13 individual
pixel-count tools are used to detect
the presence of a through hole. Any
missing hole will cause the part to
fail. This solution does not require
any special fixturing or changes to
the work cell. For an application
like this, a vision sensor can be
integrated with existing equipment
in a day, minimizing the upfront
investment and delivering valuable
process data immediately.
Thermostat inspection
In some applications, it is impor-
tant that a dial be set to the right
location to ensure proper installa-
tion or final product configuration.
This is often difficult (and in some
applications, impossible) to accom-
plish with a traditional point sensor
designed to check for the presence
www.qualitymag.com/V&S
Figures 6 and 7: Vision sensor configured to check fill level and cap assembly.

or absence of a component rather
than subtle differences in its orienta-
tion. In contrast, a vision sensor can
easily inspect the dial on a thermo-
stat to confirm that it is in the cor-
rect position—in this case, set to the
lowest temperature.
By combining powerful vision
tools, simple setup and a modu-
lar design, vision sensors set new
standards for value, ease of use
and flexibility. V&S
Brian Benoit is the senior product marketing
manager at Cognex. For more information,
email brian.benoit@cognex.com or visit
www.cognex.com.

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Proper filling is critical in many
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vision sensors can perform mul-
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In this example, a bottle passes in
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both fill level and cap assembly » AUTOMATION
before the product is packaged.
The bottle is located using a pat-
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contrast and measurement tools. www.cincinnatiautomation.com

www.qualitymag.com/V&S May 2018 | VISION & SENSORS 7VS

VISION & SENSORS OPTICS

Optics for
High Accuracy Machine Vision
THE BEST LENS FOR A MACHINE VISION APPLICATION IS ONE THAT’S SPECIFICALLY SELECTED FOR
THE SENSOR USED IN THE CAMERA. By Mark Williamson

with blurring on the edges of

object’s image.
• Spherical aberration. Most lenses
are spherical and a consequence of
this is that the focal point for each
ray passing through the
Figure 1. lens is dependent on its
Correcting distance from the center
for chromatic
aberration of the lens. The resulting
images will show increas-
ing amounts of blur
towards the edges.
• Spatial distortion. All lenses suf-
fer from a certain amount of
distortion, in which the image is
either stretched or compressed in
a non-linear way, making accurate
measurements difficult. In general,
shorter focal length lenses experi-
ence more distortion than longer
High accuracy machine vision applications are dependent focal length lenses since the light
on the production of reproducible, high quality images, hits the sensor from a bigger angle.
• Non-uniform illumination and
whether for inspection or measurement purposes. This shading across the image. With
means that the images must have sufficient resolution any lens, image brightness is
reduced towards the edges and
this is known as vignetting. Cos4
and proper definition of the areas lenses used in machine vision appli- vignetting occurs because the light
of interest for the inspection or cations are fixed focus endocentric has to travel further to the edge of
measurement to take place. Each lenses which provide the same the image and reaches the sensor
element of a machine vision system perspective as the human eye. In a at a shallower angle. Mechanical
has an important role to play in the perfect lens, all rays of light from a vignetting occurs when the light
overall outcome, but the optical sys- single point on an object plane will beam is mechanically blocked,
tem is a critical component since it be focused to a single point on the usually by the lens mount.
forms the image of the object on the image plane. However, all lenses
camera sensor. The construction of suffer from imperfections that influ- Factors such as diffraction can
a lens system (lens radii, distances ence the resolution and quality of also affect image quality. Diffraction
between lenses) as well as the dis- the image produced by the lens. results from the slight bending of
tance between the lens and the sen- These include: light as it passes the edges of the
sor has an impact on the image. • Physical defects. Surface defects entrance aperture to the lens. The
will cause light rays to focus at a smaller the aperture, the larger the
FACTORS AFFECTING different point leading to blurring. percentage of light that is diffracted.
LENS PERFORMANCE • Chromatic aberration. The angle Diffraction causes a point of light
Once the field of view for the appli- of refraction of light through a to spread out into a so-called ‘blur
cation has been determined, resolu- lens is wavelength dependent, circle’ giving a reduction in the
tion and image quality are the most leading to color fringes on any sharpness of the image. The overall
important selection criteria. Most images produced using white light optical quality of a lens is defined

8VS VISION & SENSORS | May 2018 www.qualitymag.com/V&S

by the MTF (modulation transfer
function) relating to the influence in
detail contrast. Figure 2. Light collection using an
endocentric and telecentric lens
MAKING CORRECTIONS
There are a number of ways to
address the issues described above.
Surface defects can be minimized by
careful attention to the lens manu-
facturing and grinding process.
Provided no color information is
required, chromatic aberration can
be avoided by using monochromatic
illumination. This can be achieved
by using a monochromatic LED
source (often red, as it is the most
economic) in conjunction with a
matching filter to remove any extra-
neous wavelengths. Alternatively,
white light can be used with a suit- configuration. For short focal length vignetting. The lens also has to be
able bandpass filter. If color infor- lenses more complex lens designs able to resolve the pixel size of the
mation is needed from the image, are available to keep distortion camera sensor used. The magnifica-
‘color corrected’ lens assemblies are low. If distortion is likely to affect tion (or field of view) of a lens is
available where a number of lens ele- measurements, it is better to use a defined as the ratio of the image size
ments are combined to compensate longer focal length and increase the produced to the object size and is
for wavelength dependent variations working distance, depending on the determined by the focal length of the
in refraction (Figure 1). Spherical sensor size needed and the amount lens and the working distance (dis-
aberration can be significantly of headroom available. tance of the object from the lens). As
reduced by using aspheric lenses noted above, for the vast majority of
that have been shaped to maintain MAGNIFICATION, FOCUS industrial applications with a fixed
the same focal point across the AND PERSPECTIVE object size and a fixed working dis-
lens. Although there are software The best lens for a machine vision tance, fixed focal length lenses are
methods that can be used to correct application is one that’s specifically used. In order to resolve the details
spatial distortion, they cannot take selected for the sensor used in the of the object and to ensure definite
the physical depth of the object into camera. The lens has to be able edge detection, the detail should be
account, so it is better to correct to illuminate the complete sensor reproduced across about four pix-
by choosing the most suitable lens area in order to avoid shading and els on the sensor, thus the required

Figure 3. Use of telecentric imaging to eliminate perspective

www.qualitymag.com/V&S May 2018 | VISION & SENSORS 9VS

VISION & SENSORS
Figure 4. Drawn wire oscillating
as it emerges from the die
magnification is dependent on the
required object resolution and the
respective sensor pixel size.
For fixed focal length lenses, the
adjustments available are gener-
ally only focus and/or aperture
(iris) size. Reducing the aperture
size can reduce some of the aberra-
tions by preventing light travelling
through the extremities of the lens
and also increase the depth of field.
Increasing depth of field means that
the image will appear to be sharp
and focused over a wider range of
object distances. However, with a
fixed focal length and a fixed lens
position relative to the sensor, this
range of distances produces per-
spective effects where objects of the
same size have different magnifica-
tions depending on their distance
from the lens. This can significantly
compromise measurement accu-
racy. Aperture sizes are specified by
F-number, but care must be taken
since once an aperture is reduced
below F8, the diffraction effects
described earlier will limit the
sharpness of the image.
MACRO LENSES
Macro lenses are specifically
designed for small fields of view,
which are approximately equal to
the camera’s sensor size. Macro
10VS VISION & SENSORS | May 2018
OPTICS
lenses are specified in terms of
their magnification relative to the
camera sensor and are optimized
for ‘close-up’ focusing. Very good
MTF characteristics and negligible
distortion make them ideal for many
vision applications. However, they
lack flexibility because it is not pos-
sible to change the iris or working
distance. Special ‘reverse rings’ can
be used on some standard or high
resolution lenses, allowing them to
be used as a macro lens.
TELECENTRIC IMAGING
AND ILLUMINATION
Telecentric lenses are designed
specifically for use in specialist
measurement applications where
perspective projections and incorrect
image scaling can cause problems.
They are particularly suited to imag-
ing 3D objects where scaling can
often be misinterpreted. Telecentric
lenses collimate the light entering
the lens across the whole field of
view (Figure 2) meaning that all
objects in the image have the same
magnification irrespective of their
distance from the lens, removing
perspective distortion and making
it easier to make measurements.
Figure 3a shows an electrical assem-
bly that needs to be inspected for
damage. One of the pins is bent,
and the imaging system needs to
locate this fault. Figure 3b shows an
image from a standard endocentric
lens which shows perspective distor-
tion, making it difficult to detect
the problem. The pins appear to
‘fan out’ from the central axis of
the lens. The bent pin appears very
similar to the good pins and pres-
ents a much harder challenge to the
vision software. Figure 3c shows
an image of the same component
produced using a telecentric lens.
All the components except the bent
pin now appear perpendicular to
the lens, with no perspective dis-
tortion. The damaged pin is now
revealed very clearly, making the job
of recognition much easier. Another
example involves accurate check-
ing of the gauge of drawn wire as
it leaves the die. Due to the nature
of the process, a resonance often
occurs in the wire which causes its
position to fluctuate and this makes
conventional lensing insufficiently
accurate (Figure 4). As the distance
from the wire to the lens is con-
stantly changing, using a standard
lens results in the apparent width
or gauge of the wire also changing
(Figure 5a and 5b). Using a telecen-
tric lens however shows uniform
magnification and focus on the wire
irrespective of position (Figure 5c).
As a consequence of collimating the
light, the aperture of the lens needs
to be the same size as the field of
view, thus lenses with a large field
of view are physically large (Figure
2) and can be very expensive. For
the most demanding measurement
applications it is also possible to get
a double sided telecentric lens. This
helps to maintain accurate measure-
ments, even when the image starts
to move out of focus, while increas-
ing the depth of field further, and
providing even lower distortion.
Telecentric applications involving
the measurement and inspection of
flat surfaces and their defects place
greater demands on the illumination
system. For such applications, which
include recognition of silicon wafer
patterns and inspection of LCD dis-
www.qualitymag.com/V&S
 Figure 5. Use of
telecentric imag-
ing to provide
uniform measure-
ment and focus

plays, polished metal surfaces, plas-
tic and glass panels among others,
telecentric lenses are available with
integrated coaxial light sources to
homogeneously illuminate uneven
surfaces and detect small surface
defects such as scratches or grooves.
An integral built-in LED source can
provide excellent illumination stabil-
ity and homogeneity with a reduction
in the back-reflections often associ-
ated with conventional coaxial illu-
mination systems. They are especially
suitable for use when imaging highly
reflective flat surfaces with reflec-
tance greater than 30%. For applica-
tions where objects need to be back
illuminated, such as high accuracy
measurement of round or cylindrical
parts, there are high-performance
telecentric illuminators specifically
designed for use with telecentric lens-
es. These offer higher edge contrast
when compared to diffused back
light illuminators and therefore allow
higher measurement accuracy. It pro-
duces a distinct silhouette even when
imaging transparent items.
WHICH LENS IS BEST?
With so many tradeoffs to consider
when choosing the most appropri-
ate lens for a machine vision sys-
tem, understanding the application
requirements and technology capa-
bilities is essential. V&S
Mark Williamson is with Stemmer Imaging. For
more information, call +44 1252 780000,
email m.williamson@stemmer-imaging.co.uk or
visit www.stemmer-imaging.co.uk.

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www.qualitymag.com/V&S May 2018 | VISION & SENSORS 11VS

VISION & SENSORS EMBEDDED VISION

Embedded Vision Puts Full Power in

range from simple building block

Compact Footprint functions, such as color space con-

DEVELOPERS ARE WORKING TO DRIVE OUT COST AND REDUCE
SYSTEM SIZE WHILE OFFERING ENHANCED FLEXIBILITY.
By Alex Shikany
The introduction of the PC and the increasing func-
tionality of integrated circuits created a new market for
PC-based single-board computers, frame grabbers, I/O
peripherals, graphics, and communications boards—the
building blocks of today’s embedded
electronics and machine vision sys-
tems. Today, the choice of boards,
form factors, and functionality
is numerous and includes prod-
ucts based on OpenVPX, VME,
CompactPCI, cPCI Express, PC
104, PC/104 Plus, EPIC, EBX, and
COM Express standards.
Embedded vision can take two
tracks: open small-form-factor
image processing boards and periph-
erals based on these computing
platforms and aforementioned stan-
dards, or custom designs that use
cameras, processors, frame grab-
bers, I/O peripherals, and software.
While the hardware of open embed-
ded vision systems may be relatively
easy to reverse engineer, custom
embedded vision designs are more
complex, highly proprietary, and
may use custom-designed CMOS
imagers and custom Verilog hard-
ware description language (HDL)
embedded in FPGAs and ASICs.
HARDWIRING PROGRAMS
FOR EMBEDDED SPEED
In embedded vision design, many of
the image processing functions that
lend themselves to a parallel data-
flow are implemented in FPGAs.
Altera (now part of Intel) and Xilinx
offer libraries that can be used with
their FPGAs to speed these func-
tions. Intel’s FPGA Video and Image
Processing Suite, for example, is a
collection of Intel FPGA intellec-
tual property (IP) functions for the
development of custom video and
image processing (VIP) designs that
version, to video scaling functions.
Likewise, Xilinx offers many IP
functions for image processing func-
tions such as color filter interpola-
tion, gamma correction, and color
space conversion.
Both Intel and Xilinx offer third-
party IP as part of their partnership
programs. In its Xilinx Alliance
Program, Xilinx includes products
from companies such as Crucial IP,
iWave Systems Technologies, and
Xylon that offer IP to perform noise
reduction, video encoding, and vid-
eo-to-RGB converters, respectively.
Leveraging the power of FPGAs,
camera companies have not been
slow in recognizing the need for
peripherals that can be used in open
embedded systems. Indeed, compa-
nies such as Allied Vision and Basler
have already introduced camera
modules to meet such demands. To
reduce the host processing required,
camera modules with on-board pro-
cessing capability can be used to off-
load functions such as noise reduc-
tion and color debayering, allowing
the developer to concentrate on the
application software (Figure 1).
Embedded vision components are
being incorporated into a myriad
of applications. Even so, a handful
of industrial sectors are receiving
most of the attention, largely due to
economies of scale. These include
automotive, medical, security,

Figure 1: To reduce the host processing required, camera modules
with on-board processing capability can be used to off-load func-
tions such as noise reduction and color debayering, allowing the
developer to concentrate on the application software.
Source: Allied Vision
Figure 2: In a teardown of the iPhone X by iFixit, researchers identified that the
TrueDepth sensor cluster used in the device costs Apple $16.70. Apple refused to
comment on the price of such components, but such low costs are not unusual in
high-volume consumer products. Source: iFixit iPhone X Teardown

12VS VISION & SENSORS | May 2018 www.qualitymag.com/V&S

Figure 3: BIKI from Robosea is an
underwater drone shaped like a
fish that employs a 3840 x 2160
pixel camera, 32 GB memory, and
on-board features such as auto-
mated balance and obstacle avoid-
ance. Source: BIKI: First Bionic
Wireless Underwater Fish Drone
and consumer applications. Taken
together, they spotlight key trends:
developers are working to drive out
cost and reduce system size while
offering enhanced flexibility.
AUTOMOTIVE AND SECURITY
Advanced driver assistance systems
(ADAS) capabilities such as mir-
ror replacement, driver drowsiness
detection, and pedestrian protection
systems are pushing the need for
enhanced image processing within
automobiles. According to the
research firm Strategy Analytics,
most high-end mass-market vehicles
are expected to contain up to 12
cameras within the next few years.
In these applications, high-speed
computing with low energy con-
sumption is a critical factor, and
there are many opportunities for
vision innovation to have an impact
both inside and outside the vehicle.
In the future, custom solutions seem
almost inevitable as automakers
offer up their own branded cabin
configurations of entertainment and
information systems.
Data from automotive camera
modules must quickly process and
analyze images under the most
extreme conditions and do so in the
face of stringent automotive safety
standards. To address these challeng-
es, Arm has developed the Mali-C71,
a custom image signal processor
(ISP) capable of processing data from
up to four cameras and handling 24
stops of dynamic range to capture
detail from images taken in bright
sunlight or shadows. Reference soft-
ware controls the ISP, sensor, auto-
white balance, and auto-exposure.
To further leverage the device into
www.qualitymag.com/V&S
the automotive market, the company
has plans to develop Automotive
Safety Integrity Level (ASIL)–compli-
ant automotive software.
MEDICAL IMAGING
Two major applications of medical
embedded systems are endoscopy
imaging and X-ray imaging, which
in turn enhance diagnosis and
treatment. Use of embedded vision
within the medical imaging market
is growing rapidly, driven by a call
for minimally invasive diagnostic
and therapeutic procedures, the need
to accommodate aging populations,
and rising medical costs.
To develop portable products
for this market, developers often
turn to third-party companies for
help. Zibra Corp. turned to NET
USA for assistance in the design of
its coreVIEW series of borescopes
and endoscopes. NET developed a
remote camera with a 250 x 250
NanEye pixel imager from AWAIBA
and a camera main board that
incorporates an FPGA to perform
color adjustment and dead pixel cor-
rection. An HDMI output on the
controller board allows images cap-
tured by the camera to be displayed/
viewed at distances of up to 25 feet.
CONSUMER DEMANDS
New embedded vision markets want
vision without the PC, the GPU, or
a hard drive. They want the system
reduced to the minimum. Reducing
the system cost, however, poses a
conundrum for those companies
traditionally involved in the machine
vision market, where high-resolu-
tion, high-speed cameras can cost
thousands of dollars. In a teardown
May 2018 | VISION & SENSORS
of the iPhone X by iFixit, research-
ers identified that the TrueDepth
sensor cluster used in the device
costs Apple $16.70. Apple refused to
comment on the price of these com-
ponents, but such low costs are not
unusual in high-volume consumer
products (Figure 2).
While traditional machine vision
camera vendors might not want to
compete in the consumer market,
there are other opportunities for
vendors of smart camera modules.
These include pro-sumer drones
that can be used for industrial
applications such as thermography
to analyze the heat loss of build-
ings. For example, consider the BIKI
from Robosea, an underwater drone
created in the form of a fish that
employs a 3840 x 2160 pixel cam-
era, 32 GB memory, and on-board
features such as automated balance
and obstacle avoidance (Figure 3).
As embedded vision proliferates
in automobiles, medical imaging,
remote inspection, and consumer
electronics, opportunities will con-
tinue to arise for vision vendors
both traditional and nontraditional
in scope. Today, the biggest chal-
lenge facing the embedded vision
market may be educating an increas-
ingly image-savvy public on the ben-
efits of system-level machine vision
designs that can fit in extremely
compact locations—including a
front pants pocket.
Alex Shikany, vice president - AIA, Association
for the Advancing Automation (A3).
For more information, call (734) 994-6088,
email ashikany@visiononline.org or visit
www.visiononline.org.
13VS
VISION & SENSORS SMART CAMER AS

5 Considerations for
Modern Smart Camera Design
THE GOAL IS TO CREATE SMART CAMERAS THAT CAN DO IT ALL. HOW DO WE GET THERE? By Robin Kallsen

characters on the curved surface of

a metal part, you’ll need an entirely
different sort of light.
Today’s smart cameras
require high levels of
speed, power and flexibil- Adapt to the Surface
ity to take on an increas- When trying to read bar-
ing number of tasks. codes, or perform optical
character recognition, the
marking surface really matters. It
could be flat, bumpy, curved, shiny,
or a combination of the above, and
there are different lighting recom-
mendations for each. Almost any
light type is good for imaging non-
shiny, or flat diffuse surfaces. For
shiny surfaces, such as codes covered
in cellophane, special types of dif-
fuse and/or polarized light sources
make a huge difference.

Play with Color

When parts are marked with dif-
ferent ink colors, it’s possible to
enhance contrast by choosing illu-
mination from the opposite end of
Packaging, electronics, automotive, clinical diagnostics… the color spectrum. Blue markings
Smart cameras have made their way into all sorts of on metal, for instance, will show up
better under red light. Infrared and
industries and applications. Machine vision engineers UV light can also improve contrast
never get to rest on their laurels because there’s always for certain special types of ink that
respond to these wavelengths.
The takeaway point here is that
some new process to improve. 1. GET THE LIGHT JUST RIGHT smart cameras need to be able to
Today’s smart cameras need to be There’s a reason why “Lights… support numerous lighting arrange-
modular, scalable and customiz- Camera… Action!” is always in ments to deal effectively with the
able—as well as exceptionally pow- that order. Without proper light- wide variety of surface textures and
erful and high-performing—to meet ing, little else matters. Advanced color combinations that they may
ever-increasing demands in auto- software algorithms can enhance encounter. Changing the light source
matic identification, machine vision, contrast to some extent, but it’s color or bringing it in at a different
quality inspection, robot guidance much better to bring out the con- angle could make a huge difference
and automation in general. trast with smart use of illumina- in contrast. Modern smart cameras
Fortunately, there are many ways tion. One of the tricky aspects of won’t be able to incorporate all
that today’s smart cameras can be machine vision lighting is that no lighting options, but they should
designed to be versatile and powerful single light source is optimal for be able to support a wide variety of
at the same time. From lights to lens- all situations. Dark field illumina- lighting arrangements. The shape of
es to processing technology, machine tion, for example, is great when the lens also affects lighting options
vision experts have multiple oppor- you’re inspecting the raised edges because it determines the amount
tunities to enhance flexibility while of a part. However, if you’re trying of space on the camera that can be
maintaining speed and performance. to capture printed human-readable used for LED placement.

14VS VISION & SENSORS | May 2018 www.qualitymag.com/V&S

 3 Diffuse, uniform illumi-
nation can increase the
accuracy and repeat-
ability of machine
vision inspection.

4 Although a C-Mount
lens takes up a large
amount of space on
the front of a smart
camera, it can be very
helpful for tasks like
defect detection
and gaging.

2. CHOOSE THE BEST lenses are most pronounced in 3. EMBRACE REAL-TIME

LOOKING-GLASS demanding applications such as PSEUDO-HARDWARE
Viewing the world through rose- defect detection and gaging. Manufacturers always want their
colored glasses can make quite production lines to move as quickly
a difference, and machine vision Match the Sensor as possible. Smart cameras are
systems also have choices in how To work in harmony with the cam- expected to keep pace with parts
they “see” things. From variations era as a whole system, lenses need that could be moving past them
in field of view width to different to be on a par with sensors. For at more than a thousand units per
focus methods, each vision task has instance, a 1” format megapixel sen- minute. When these parts enter the
a specific lens requirement. There sor should be coupled with lenses camera’s view, the camera is trig-
are benefits and constraints for that are specifically designed to gered to take a picture. However, if
each type of lens, so a good smart work with 1” format megapixel the delay between the trigger input
camera will be able to support a sensors. The extra money spent and camera’s photo-taking is too
variety of them. on high-quality sensor technology long, the item might have moved
might be wasted if a lens can’t pro- out of the field of view before it
M12 Lenses vide the same level of quality. can be photographed. This is a
M12 optics typically come in
handy for applications best suited
to integrated lighting. Since these
lenses are small, they leave plenty
of room on the face of the camera
to incorporate lighting-related
accessories such as LEDs. M12
lenses can be either fixed focus, or
paired with an autofocus element,
so they’re versatile while also being
relatively affordable.

C-Mount Lenses
First used in cinematography (“C”
stands for cinema), C-Mount lenses
work well in applications where
high quality imaging is necessary.
They’re relatively large however,
so they don’t offer much room for
accessory light placement on the
face of the camera. They are typi- The addition of an FPGA has worked wonders for the
speed and processing power of today’s smart cameras.
cally used with remotely mounted
lights. The advantages of C-Mount

www.qualitymag.com/V&S May 2018 | VISION & SENSORS 15VS

VISION & SENSORS
Smart cameras can be attached to robots to help guide
them in various tasks. In such applications, precise
timing is essential.
major problem for cameras that
control the input, sensor and out-
puts using general-purpose input/
outputs and software.
Fortunately, there’s a much faster
option. The field-programmable gate
array, or FPGA for short, has prov-
en to be a great solution to the speed
problem for today’s smart cameras.
It controls the input, sensor and
output with a single, reconfigurable
integrated circuit so that these high-
ly time-sensitive operations can be
done in microseconds. Basically, the
FPGA is a piece of pseudo-hardware
that allows the camera to achieve a
real-time response to triggers.
FPGAs are also extremely helpful
in smart camera development and
testing because their logic is recon-
figurable, unlike that of application-
specific integrated circuits (ASICs),
which can’t be altered in any way
after they’re manufactured. Using
FPGAs, engineers can reap the ben-
efits of speedy, specialized hardware
coordination and also use a single
integrated circuit to test out multiple
pseudo-hardware configurations.
16VS VISION & SENSORS | May 2018
SMART CAMER AS
4. SYNC IT UP
Smart cameras are capturing data
at a rapid-fire pace on fast-moving
automation lines arrayed with many
other elements such as conveyors,
robots and reject mechanisms.
Synchronization between these
elements is extremely important.
Fortunately, there’s a fail-safe way
to keep smart cameras in concert
with one another and with the rest
of the production line. Also known
as IEEE 1588, the Precision Time
Protocol (PTP) produces synchro-
nized timestamps through a system
of multiple clocks that all of these
elements can use to stay in time-
step with one another. In fact, PTP
can synchronize multiple devices to
within just a few microseconds of
each other.
PTP uses a master-slave setup
in which clocks running on each
camera and other automation
components are coordinated with
a “master” clock running on the
network. The master clock sends
a signal across the network that is
picked up by the “slave” clocks and
used to synchronize their own time-
stamps based upon the calculated
delay in signal arrival. The precise
synchronization that results from
this process is used to record data
such as trigger time, part position
and conveyor belt speed and then
to guide actions that the robots or
machinery will take. It could, for
instance, direct a robot to grasp
a part in a specific location many
seconds later when it’s further down
the conveyor line.
5. KEEP IT SIMPLE
With so much functionality incor-
porated into a single device, it may
seem impossible to turn the resulting
product into a paragon of simplic-
ity. Nonetheless, simplicity—the
sort that makes it possible to start
reading and inspecting right out of
the box—is crucial to the power and
versatility of modern smart cam-
eras. If these devices were tricky to
integrate into the typical industrial
automation system, manufacturers
would be less likely to adopt them.
For this reason, the final consider-
ation for smart camera design is to
make sure that the most important
tasks can be accomplished with
intuitive, plug-and-play technology.
Simplicity and flexibility are,
to some extent, a trade-off. This
is where much of the challenge of
smart camera design lies, and it’s
also the driving force behind much
of the innovation. Engineers who
love a good puzzle will find an infi-
nite source of inspiration here. With
the demand for automation systems
to accomplish more without requir-
ing the constant input of experts,
the simplicity/flexibility trade-off
for machine vision will surely occu-
py the attention of engineers for
years to come. V&S
Robin Kallsen is the marketing content spe-
cialist for Omron Microscan Systems Inc. She
specializes in introducing the company’s new
products and covering topics such as machine
vision and industrial automation. For more infor-
mation, call (425) 203-4908, email rkallsen@
microscan.com or visit www.microscan.com.
www.qualitymag.com/V&S
VISION & SENSORS M A C H I N E V I S I O N 10 1

Lens Selection Guide, Part 1

UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE MOST COMMON TYPES OF LENSES
USED IN MACHINE VISION. By Nicholas Sischka

view. These lenses can still focus

Lenses are a complicated and nuanced component in
imaging systems. It is not always straightforward which
decisions to make when it comes time to choose a lens
and what tradeoffs are made as a direct result of those
decisions. Lens specification sheets
vary between manufacturers, which
can make comparisons a daunting
task. Oftentimes, however, the prob-
lem isn’t as complicated as minute
differences between lenses, as it can
be challenging enough to determine
even the type of lens that is required
for a particular application. Is a
prime lens the best choice? What
about a zoom lens? Or a telecentric?
A macro lens inspects a
printed circuit board.
• Zoom Lenses
In this two-part article, part one will
explain the differences between the
most common types of lenses used
in machine vision, and part two will
explain how best to choose what is
required for any given application.
VARIABLE MAGNIFICATION LENSES
• Fixed Focal Length Lenses
Fixed focal length lenses are lenses
that have a fixed angular field of
at different working distances,
and this is most often achieved by
moving all of the individual lens
elements together such that the
relative spacing between them
does not change. Fixed focal
length lenses should be used for
the vast majority of machine vision
applications, as they are flexible
and have great performance. Fixed
focal length lenses are also known
as prime lenses (a term that comes
from photography).
Figure 1 shows a 75 mm focal
length fixed focal length lens
focused at two different distances.
Note that the spacing between each
element did not change as it was
focused, but the distance between
the image plane and the last lens
element varies a great deal. The top
lens is focused at optical infinity,
and the bottom lens is focused at
200 mm away from it (a 200 mm
working distance).
It is important to note that
true fixed focal length lenses will
always behave as in Figure 1,
though some lenses exist that have
a “floating element focus,” where
the relative element spacing does
change through focus. This spac-
ing change does impart a change
in the focal length of the system,
though it is usually not enough to
classify them differently.
Where fixed focal length lenses
are lenses designed to have a
fixed angular field of view, zoom
lenses are designed to change
their focal length, and hence their
fields of view. Zoom lenses are
ideal for applications that require
the ultimate amount of flexibility
during use and do not require
high resolution; unless a field
of view actively needs to change
while imaging, it is likely not the

www.qualitymag.com/V&S May 2018 | VISION & SENSORS 17VS

VISION & SENSORS M A C H I N E V I S I O N 10 1

best choice. When this is the case,

stepper motors are required to
change the focal length quickly
and accurately. Manually chang-
ing the lens parameters will cause
the imaging system to lose cali-
bration as repeatability of adjust-
ments will suffer.
Zoom lenses are specified as
having particular zoom ratios,
which can be found by dividing
the longest focal length option by
the smallest for any given lens. For
example, if a zoom lens can vary
between an 8mm and a 48mm
focal length, it is said to be a 6X
zoom lens (48mm/8mm = 6X).
Figure 1: A 75 mm Double Gauss-type fixed focal length lens focused at two different working dis-
tances. Note that the spacing between each element did not change as working distance shifts.
This can also be expressed as a
ratio: for the aforementioned lens
it would be a 6:1 zoom ratio.
Figure 2 shows the same zoom
lens set to two different focal
lengths. Unlike in fixed focal
length lenses, both relative ele-
ment spacing and distance to the
image plane changes, despite the
fact that the working distance has
not changed. These complicated
mechanics add to the cost of the
lens system, as precise movements
are required to simultaneously
change the lens’s focal length and
keep it in focus. It is also not pos-
sible for a zoom lens to have as
high a resolution as in a compara-
bly priced fixed focal length lens,
as the complex mechanics and
optical elements are multitasking.
They are not only attempting to
get the best performance at a sin-
gle focal length, they are required
to function over a broad range of
focal lengths, which lowers the
overall performance.
There are some other interesting
optical properties that arise as a
direct result of the complex move-
ments in a zoom lens. Depending
on how the lens was designed, f/#
can change as the focal length is
changed. This type of design is
typically avoided for photography
or videography lenses, but for
machine vision lenses this is often
not the case. It is also important
Figure 2: A zoom lens at multiple optical magnifications. to note that the working f/# will

18VS VISION & SENSORS | May 2018 www.qualitymag.com/V&S

Figure 3: Macro lens inspecting a printed circuit board (left) and the resulting image (right)

still change as the magnification measurement in a system needs the distance from the lens, the
changes, resulting in differences in to take place. They are highly magnification will not change.
image quality and saturation. specialized, fixed magnifica- This means that telecentric lenses
By definition, as zoom lenses tion lenses that come with many can measure parts incredibly
change their field of view, they powerful optical capabilities, and accurately, even if there are part
remain in focus. If a lens is defo- their detailed working principles placement errors. (Much more
cused as its focal length is changed, are beyond the scope of this detail on telecentric lenses can
it is more accurately referred to as article. Telecentric lenses excel at be found in the September 8,
a varifocal lens, not a zoom lens. measurement when compared to 2015 article “Straight and True:
standard fixed focal length lenses Telecentric Lenses for Metrology
• Macro Lenses because they have no angular and Quality Assurance.”)
Macro lenses can be thought of field of view, and therefore no It is often thought that the
as a subset of fixed focal length parallax error; regardless of selection of a telecentric lens is
lenses, where the magnification is
around 1X (the sensor is the same
size as the object) or a bit greater,
and the working distance is
relatively small. Due to their high
magnifications, macro lenses tend
to run at an f/# that is generally
around a factor of two larger than
what is stated on their barrels.
Often, typical fixed focal length
lenses can be turned into macro
lenses with the use of spacers or
by reversing them such that they
image backwards. See Figure 3 for
a lens in macro configuration and
the resulting image.

FIXED MAGNIFICATION LENSES

• Telecentric Lenses
Telecentric lenses should be
Figure 4: Each microscope objective will have certain data printed on its side, explaining to the user
used any time a high accuracy what type of objective it is and what its optical properties are.

www.qualitymag.com/V&S May 2018 | VISION & SENSORS 19VS

VISION & SENSORS
more challenging than that of a
fixed focal length lens, though
this is almost always not the case.
The second part of this article
will explain in detail how to select
a telecentric lens.
GROW
in your industry knowledge
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20VS VISION & SENSORS | May 2018
M A C H I N E V I S I O N 10 1
¥ Microscope Objectives
Microscope objectives are used to
image very small objects, gener-
ally with magnifications much
greater than 1X. They are fixed
magnification optics that only
function properly at a single work-
Nicholas Sischka is a senior vision solutions
engineer at Edmund Optics (Barrington, NJ).
For more information, email NSischka@edmun-
doptics.com or visit www.edmundoptics.com.
ing distance, which is generally
quite small relative to other imag-
ing lenses. Microscope objectives
should be used when a high mag-
nification image is required and
there are no strict minimum work-
ing distance constraints. Other
than a few additional accessories,
like a tube lens (if using an infin-
ity corrected objective) and a tube,
the selection process for a micro-
scope objective is nearly identical
to that of a telecentric lens.
Microscope objectives
should be used when a
high magnification
image is required.
Objectives have various data
written on their sides to describe
certain optical properties of the
objective, which gives the user
clues on how to use it best. Figure
4 shows an image of a 20X opti-
cal magnification infinity cor-
rected (infinite conjugate) micro-
scope objective. It is designed for
a 0 mm cover glass thickness and
a 200 mm focal length tube lens,
which is required to focus it. It
has a numerical aperture of 0.42.
There are many different types
of machine vision lenses to choose
from, and each different type is
useful for different applications.
Fixed focal length lenses are use-
ful for general machine vision, tel-
ecentric lenses are ideal for mea-
surement, and microscope objec-
tives are useful when the highest
amount of detail is required.
Part 2 of this article will discuss
how to narrow down the actual
selection to the ideal lens for an
application, once the type of lens
has been chosen.
www.qualitymag.com/V&S
VISION & SENSORS PRODUCTS

JAI AREA SCAN CAMERAS
JAI announced the availability of
two additional interface types in
the company’s line of 3.2 mega-
pixel 3-CMOS prism-based area
scan cameras.
The new models are the AP-3200T-PGE with GigE
Vision interface delivering an output of 3 x 3.2-mega-
pixels at 12 frames/second, and the AP-3200T-PMCL
with a dual Mini Camera Link interface delivering an
output of 3 x 3.2-megapixels at 55 frames/second. The
two new models supplement the AP-3200T-USB with
USB3 Vision interface (3 x 3.2-megapixels at 38 frames/
second) released earlier this year. All three models feature
3 x CMOS PregiusTM IMX265 1/1.8-inch sensors with
2048 x 1544 pixels and pixel sizes of 3.45 µm x 3.45 µm.
Like the AP-3200T-USB model, the two new 3.2-mega-
pixel Apex cameras are loaded with a range of advanced
feature sets supporting the most challenging color imag-
ing applications. The color space conversion tool provides
great flexibility in on-board color space conversion:
including RGB to HSI color space conversion and RGB to
CIE-XYZ color space conversion. (sRGB and Adobe RGB
color spaces are also supported).
The gain (both analog and digital) and the exposure
time can be set independently for the red, green and blue
sensor channels allowing for better signal/noise condi-
tions. This maximizes the dynamic range for each color
channel resulting in improved image quality.
With the color enhancer tool it is possible to strength-
en certain colors in the image (double emphasis) for
additive hues (red, green and blue) and subtractive hues
(cyan, magenta and yellow). This feature is particularly
useful in certain applications such as microscopy and
medical imaging.
Other features include multi-ROI support, edge
enhancement, ALC (integrated auto gain and auto shut-
ter), color pixel binning and chunk data.
The new cameras utilizes a new prism design making
it more than 50 percent smaller and nearly 50 percent
lighter than JAI’s previous 3CCD models, despite hav-
ing much higher resolution. The camera is robustly built
with a 50G shock rating and 3G vibration rating which,
combined with an operating temperature range of -5°C to
+45°C (ambient), enables the cameras to operate reliably
in a wide range of industrial environments.
JAI | www.jai.com

TELEDYNE DALSA GENIE
NANO CAMERA
Teledyne DALSA intro-
duced its newest Genie™
Nano camera built around
the Sony® Pregius 5.1M
polarized image sensor. The Genie
Nano-M2450-Polarized model fea-
tures a monochrome quad polariza-
tion filter, resolution of 2448 x 2048
pixels, and image capture of 35
frames-per-second. With Teledyne
DALSA’s TurboDrive™ technology,
frame rates can increase by as much
as 50%.
With the addition of ent angled polarizers (90°, 45°, 135°
the Genie Nano polarized and 0°) are positioned on each pixel,
model, Teledyne DALSA is and every block of four pixels com-
the first company to offer prises a calculation unit.
polarization for both area Key Features:
and line scan (Piranha™4 • TurboDrive for fast frame rates and
polarization) cameras. Polarization full image quality
enables detectability of stress, bire- • Built around the Sony
fringence, through-reflection and IMX250MZR, monochrome
glare from surfaces like glass, plas- polarization CMOS image sensors
tic, and metal. Sony’s newest image • Small footprint and light weight
sensor, with its pixel-level polarizer frame at 21.2 mm x 29 mm x 44
structure, enables the detection of mm/ 47 grams
both the amount and angle of polar-
ized light across a scene. Four differ- Teledyne DALSA | www.teledynedalsa.com

VISION & SENSORS | AD INDEX

ADVERTISER PAGE WEB ADDRESS ADVERTISER PAGE WEB ADDRESS

Cincinnati Automation 7 www.cincinnatiautomation.com Messe Stuttgart 4 www.vision-fair.de

JAI Pulnix IFC www.jai.com Micro-Epsilon 3 www.micro-epsilon.com

Matrox Imaging BC www.matroximaging.com Pepperl+Fuchs 11 www.pepperl-fuchs.com

This index is provided as a reader service. The publisher assumes no liability for errors or omissions.

www.qualitymag.com/V&S May 2018 | VISION & SENSORS 21VS

Extending genius
For 25 years, Matrox Imaging Library (MIL) software has been at the
center of vision systems the world over performing critical guidance,
identification, and inspection tasks. More than ever, developers turn
to MIL for dependable, effective, and practical vision tools.
Our latest update highlights cutting-edge technical progress. The
classification tool employs Matrox-trained deep learning technology
for assigning images or image regions with challenging content to
pre-established classes for identification and detection. A dedicated
tool finds often-encountered rectangular shapes faster and with
greater flexibility than generic tools. A photometric stereo tool
produces a composite image from varied directional illumination
that emphasizes surface irregularities.

MIL 10: 25 years of know-how built in

Learn more
www.matrox.com/imaging/mil25years/vs