Product category:
Measurement and Quality Software and SPC
News Release from: Cimworks UK | Subject: VisualSPC software
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 27 January 2004
SPC software tunes up manufacturing
consistency
SPC software introduces consistency of manufactured parts, reduces inspection time and scrap levels and increases customer satsifaction, says a racing engine manufacturer.
Cosworth Racing is a world leader in the design, development and manufacture of high performance engines for F1, CART and the World Rally Championship The company, based in Northampton in the UK, has been at the forefront of Formula One racing for over 35 years, supplying leading Formula One teams such as Jaguar, McLaren and Williams
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 20 Aug 2002 at 8.00am (UK)
Related stories
SPC software complies with FDA and is more open
CimWorks has enhanced its VisualSPC software to address the FDA's increasing enforcement of its 21 CFR, Part 11 regulation-the standard for controlling and protecting data.
Calibration management software ousts file cards
Calibration management software for an Airbus wing manufacturing and assembly plant replaced large, manual, card-based filing system and has increased the throughput of gauges for recalibration.
Cosworth Racing also holds the record for the most Grand Prix wins at 176, compared to Ferrari's 157.
The Formula One sector is reliant on suppliers being able to deliver parts that are consistently within the 'Designed Specification'.
Until the late 1990s, Cosworth Racing had been reliant on manual data recording of parts to deliver this service, but recognised that this activity could be carried out a lot more effectively if supported by electronic data capture.
Further reading
Test rig takes on any gearbox
Westland Transmissions in Yeovil has installed a new flexible transmissions test rig (FTTR), as part of a GBP9 million investment that is being used to test helicopters.
Airport gets 99% read rates on bag tags
Manchester Airport is achieving a very high read rate thanks to its investment in Accu-Sort's Model 24i baggage scanning arrays.
Dell eliminates the potential of packing errors
Thanks to its investment in a computer-aided pick-to-light system however, Dell's 'top box' contents accuracy is exceptionally high.
'We needed a method of understanding what our capabilities were, giving us a better understanding of what was being produced.
Historically this meant that every part had to be checked to ensure it was within the specification' says Ian Allan, Principal Quality Engineer at Cosworth Racing.
This approach was time consuming, operator dependent and had the potential to introduce inaccuracy and human error.
To increase efficiencies and improve repeatability as well as improving the process capability, Ian investigated a number of of statistical process control (SPC) data capture systems.
'We wanted a system that we could 'plug in' and start collecting data straight away'.
After a review of the market, Cosworth Racing purchased VisualSPC system from CimWorks UK.
'One of the main reasons we chose CimWorks was because the VisualSPC software was compatible with all types of electronic gauging.
This was a facility that no one else could provide' says Ian.
Cosworth Racing initially implemented VisualSPC in the piston manufacturing area where air gauging was used to check honed bores.
Electronic Height gauging was also used here to check the position of gudgeon pin bores.
Usage has since been extended to the Conrod, Camshaft and Crankshaft manufacturing areas.
Cosworth Racing has also written an application to provide information to their engine build section, electronically.
This provides lists of part serial numbers and their sizes.
Visual Importer has also been used in conjunction with Mahr, Mitutoyo and Brown and Sharp measurement machines.
Further extension to cylinder block and cylinder head manufacturing areas is planned next year.
The use of 'in machine probing ' is also being considered to collect measurements from CNC machines.
Cosworth Racing found VisualSPC extremely easy to use and systems were fully installed after a two-week period of parallel running.
An internal training course was run by CimWorks using a computer based SPC training and implementation programme.
A total of 50 users have now been trained using this approach with user training typically being achieved within three hours.
Four main benefits to Cosworth Racing of the CimWorks electronic data collection system - consistency of manufactured parts; reduced inspection time and operator intervention, reduced scrap levels and increased customer satisfaction.
' We can now tell our customers, with a high degree of confidence, that the tolerance specification on parts delivered have been met and that the proposed tolerance specification on new designs can or cannot be met.'.
• Cimworks UK: contact details and other news
• Email this article to a colleague
• Register for the free Manufacturingtalk email newsletter
• Manufacturingtalk Home Page
Search the Pro-Talk network of sites
