Portable CMM results in faster inspection

An Amercan tool and die company has chosen a portable CMM resulting in faster inspection of their metal stampings, many of which were too complex for a fixed CMM installation.

A well-known tool and die operation in the USA has a reputation for machining tough parts with a wide variety of sizes, tolerances, and geometries.

They fabricate and stamp parts ranging from 6in cubed components to 10ft castings for power generation.

The complexity of jobs created extreme measurement challenges for their fixed CMM and normal hand tools.

Many of the large parts they fabricated were too large or intricate for a fixed CMM.

Micrometers, custom gauges, and on-machine digital readouts were also either too expensive, too difficult to use, or provided less-than-desirable accuracy.

The company needed a tool capable of performing on-machine and in-process inspections quickly, accurately and consistently.

Furthermore, they required a solution that documented measurements electronically and generated custom inspection reports.

They chose the Platinum FaroArm for its speed, flexibility and price.

When compared to the option of adding another large fixed-bed CMM, choosing the FaroArm portable CMM at a fraction of the cost was an easy decision.

Built with an extended-life battery, up to seven axis joints - each with an infinite range of rotation - and weighing about 20 lb, the FaroArm is their quality inspector's tool of choice when he receives a call from the production floor to check parts on their machines.

The FaroArm operator simply collects measurement points using the Arm's hard probe.

The data is instantly translated into a CAD model with FARO's CAM2 software - or one of dozens of compatible software packages - via the system's laptop.

The FaroArm's tight accuracy allows the company to measure complex constructed features of large, machined bores by analysing data collected at theoretical intersection points and bore angles.

Saving time translates into dollars, and they reduced their production time by half or better on all of their parts.

Large parts that once took hours to inspect now take only 15 min to check.

"We can get things done in five minutes that would take four times as long on the CMM," the company's quality inspector said.

They also gained huge accuracy and reporting improvements over their traditional hand tools.

Better accuracy and the ability to prove it improved customer confidence, and has opened up a secondary line of business.

Many of their contacts, suppliers and customers contract the company to measure their own large or complex parts.

Back to top