A recent announcement stated that two more companies have been awarded GSA contracts, specifically Building Information Modeling & Laser Scanning contracts. Kristine Fallon Associates Inc. was awarded five year contract for BIM while Quantapoint was awarded a five year $30 million for their nationwide scanning services which includes BIM, building modifications and performance upgrades. With over 1,400 laser scanning projects over the past 18 years, Quantapoint relies heavily on portable and accurate laser scanning equipment. FARO is proud to be their supplier of the Laser Scanner Photon 120. With up to 976,000 measurement points per second, the Photon is perfect for areas such as historic restoration, refineries, power plants and off-shore platform facilities.
To see that the future of BIM is getting full GSA support is an encouraging sign for the laser scanning sector. With more and more companies adopting the process of managing building data, laser scanning is becoming an integral part of construction industry. TO see the full announcement of the GSA contracts follow the link below:
http://www.sparllc.rsvp1.com/archiveviewer.php?vol=07&num=19&file=vol07no19-02
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Optimism Returns to Manufacturing
A growing sense of optimism is returning to the manufacturing sector. According to the fourth Prime Advantage Group Outlook survey, this optimism is the result of improved revenues, customer demand, and hiring expectations. The “GO” survey seeks to determine the top economic concerns of midsized industrial manufacturers.
Among the highlights of the survey findings was that 80% of respondents expected revenue to stay the same or increase in the second half of 2009. This is a dramatic turnaround from the February GO survey, in which only 38% predicted revenue to stay the same or increase over 2008 numbers. Additionally, just 31% said that capital spending would likely decrease from the first half of 2009, whereas 66% indicated in February that capital spending would decrease from 2008 levels.
“The results of the latest Group Outlook survey show that small and midsized industrial manufacturers, across many sectors, are seeing new orders materialize,” says Louise O’Sullivan, president and founder of Prime Advantage. “These results indicate that the recovery is starting to gain traction across a broad spectrum of our economy.”
With several other survey results such as various cost pressures, purchasing, sourcing, and plans for the future, this article provides a keen insight into how manufacturers assess both the current situation and the prospects going forward.
Read the full article in Quality Magazine
Learn more about how to maximize returns in the recovery
Among the highlights of the survey findings was that 80% of respondents expected revenue to stay the same or increase in the second half of 2009. This is a dramatic turnaround from the February GO survey, in which only 38% predicted revenue to stay the same or increase over 2008 numbers. Additionally, just 31% said that capital spending would likely decrease from the first half of 2009, whereas 66% indicated in February that capital spending would decrease from 2008 levels.
“The results of the latest Group Outlook survey show that small and midsized industrial manufacturers, across many sectors, are seeing new orders materialize,” says Louise O’Sullivan, president and founder of Prime Advantage. “These results indicate that the recovery is starting to gain traction across a broad spectrum of our economy.”
With several other survey results such as various cost pressures, purchasing, sourcing, and plans for the future, this article provides a keen insight into how manufacturers assess both the current situation and the prospects going forward.
Read the full article in Quality Magazine
Learn more about how to maximize returns in the recovery
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
CNC Machines: Performing Alignments and Volumetric Compensation
CNC (Computer Numerical Control) machines have successfully transformed the manufacturing industry from using hard-wired machines, whose operating parameters could not be changed, to machines that can cut curves as easily as straight lines and can produce complex 3D structures with ease.
Thermwood Corporation is currently the oldest CNC router company and continues to offer products for the woodworking, plastics, and aerospace industries.
An important process for their CNC machines is axis alignment verification. Their tools, however, were very time-consuming and just weren’t providing the desired solution. They also wanted a solution to performing volumetric axis compensation.
The FARO Laser Tracker became that solution for Thermwood. The amount of time required for machine alignments has been cut to less than half. What once took up to eight hours to complete can now be accomplished in approximately three. In addition, they can now perform volumetric compensation, which would not have been possible without the Laser Tracker.
Axis Alignment Verification
How it’s done:
• Initial Laser Tracker measurement setup is performed in the early stages of machine assembly
• SMR (spherically mounted retroreflector) is fitted onto a special fixture, which allows it to be attached to each rail and moved manually along them
• Fixture is then fitted with precision rail bearings, which allows it to track the rail very precisely
• Machine assembly is completed
• Servo drive system is fitted
• Computer control is installed
• Machine is again checked using the Laser Tracker
• Additional minor calibration adjustments are performed if necessary
Volumetric Compensation
How it’s done:
• Positioning data is acquired in a matrix pattern on multiple planes
• The entire work envelope of the machine is mapped
• A correction table is developed by
-Triangulating between the various points in volumetric model space
-Measuring the error for each position
-Formulating a table of correction data to be loaded into the machine control and accessed during program execution
• Method of compensating for error during the program cycle is essentially the same as with linear compensation, except during program execution the control is required to
-Simultaneously track and compare axis movement on three distinct orthogonal paths
-Affect positional corrections correspondingly on all three axes, in phase with program execution
Read the full story
Thermwood Corporation is currently the oldest CNC router company and continues to offer products for the woodworking, plastics, and aerospace industries.
An important process for their CNC machines is axis alignment verification. Their tools, however, were very time-consuming and just weren’t providing the desired solution. They also wanted a solution to performing volumetric axis compensation.
The FARO Laser Tracker became that solution for Thermwood. The amount of time required for machine alignments has been cut to less than half. What once took up to eight hours to complete can now be accomplished in approximately three. In addition, they can now perform volumetric compensation, which would not have been possible without the Laser Tracker.
Axis Alignment Verification
How it’s done:
• Initial Laser Tracker measurement setup is performed in the early stages of machine assembly
• SMR (spherically mounted retroreflector) is fitted onto a special fixture, which allows it to be attached to each rail and moved manually along them
• Fixture is then fitted with precision rail bearings, which allows it to track the rail very precisely
• Machine assembly is completed
• Servo drive system is fitted
• Computer control is installed
• Machine is again checked using the Laser Tracker
• Additional minor calibration adjustments are performed if necessary
Volumetric Compensation
How it’s done:
• Positioning data is acquired in a matrix pattern on multiple planes
• The entire work envelope of the machine is mapped
• A correction table is developed by
-Triangulating between the various points in volumetric model space
-Measuring the error for each position
-Formulating a table of correction data to be loaded into the machine control and accessed during program execution
• Method of compensating for error during the program cycle is essentially the same as with linear compensation, except during program execution the control is required to
-Simultaneously track and compare axis movement on three distinct orthogonal paths
-Affect positional corrections correspondingly on all three axes, in phase with program execution
Read the full story
Friday, October 16, 2009
The Future of Manufacturing
So it seems as though things may actually be turning around and getting better. Slowly. Not to get ahead of ourselves, but with the recent close of the third quarter of 2009, there seems to be more and more positive news stories about the increase of business in the manufacturing industry.
For example, there was a story this week in the Charleston Regional Business Journal that stated the "Southern region sales of metal cutting and metal forming equipment rose in August to $23.59 million, 8.1% higher than July's $21.82 million." Again, let's not get ahead of ourselves - year over year the industry is still down almost 70%, but the point is that this is not the only story of Q3 increases.
In the November 2009 issue of Money magazine, "Mechanical Engineer" was ranked #38 on the list of best jobs in America. Bloomberg.com reported this morning that the New York Empire Factory Index surged to a 5-Year high, up 15.7 points since September, marking "the first time the measure has shown expansion for at least three months since a period ending in January 2008."
While it is clear that this recovery won't be overnight, you can definitely start to see a steady amount of positive stories coming to light.
Read the full articles:
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
The Fastest Payback on a Major Purchase in 37 years
Art Morrison has been building frames and suspensions for the drag racing and street market for over 37 years. His company, Art Morrison Enterprises of Tacoma, Washington, was honored by the Hot Rod Industry Alliance of SEMA with the 2007 Business of the Year award for its contributions to the industry.
AME reverse engineers and builds custom car chassis and suspension components. These can be 150-in long, sometimes well over 200-in. To measure these components, they used a variety of hand tools such as calipers, plumb bobs, and even measuring tape and paper. Using these traditional tools, it took up to 70 hours to fully dimension a chassis and even then it was often wrong had to be redone.
Then a customer asked Art if he had heard of FARO's portable CMM, the FaroArm®. He hadn’t, but within a week he had learned enough. “We went from no knowledge of the FaroArm to purchasing one in less than a week,” he said.
The FaroArm allows AME to do far more accurate drawings and translate those into very accurate finished products. They can now do even the most complex parts and get great results – the first time. Frame jobs that used to take up to 70 hours and still have mistakes can now be done right in just eight. Hundreds of man-hours have been saved using the FaroArm. Time savings is money savings and AME has done both.
“This is one of the few pieces of equipment that I have purchased that you can see the results from the first day, and it just gets better,” said Mr. Morrison. “For a major purchase, it will have a faster payback than anything I’ve bought in the 37 years that I’ve been in business.”
Read the full story
AME reverse engineers and builds custom car chassis and suspension components. These can be 150-in long, sometimes well over 200-in. To measure these components, they used a variety of hand tools such as calipers, plumb bobs, and even measuring tape and paper. Using these traditional tools, it took up to 70 hours to fully dimension a chassis and even then it was often wrong had to be redone.
Then a customer asked Art if he had heard of FARO's portable CMM, the FaroArm®. He hadn’t, but within a week he had learned enough. “We went from no knowledge of the FaroArm to purchasing one in less than a week,” he said.
The FaroArm allows AME to do far more accurate drawings and translate those into very accurate finished products. They can now do even the most complex parts and get great results – the first time. Frame jobs that used to take up to 70 hours and still have mistakes can now be done right in just eight. Hundreds of man-hours have been saved using the FaroArm. Time savings is money savings and AME has done both.
“This is one of the few pieces of equipment that I have purchased that you can see the results from the first day, and it just gets better,” said Mr. Morrison. “For a major purchase, it will have a faster payback than anything I’ve bought in the 37 years that I’ve been in business.”
Read the full story
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Gain More Favorable 3D Data from Your Scanning Process
The FARO Laser Scanner Photon provides high speed survey and documentation of any environment. It generates full detailed three dimensional replicas of complex environments and geometries in a matter of minutes. The resulting image is one with millions of 3D measurement points per scan. The Photon is capable of scanning at 976,000 points-per-second with a maximum reach of 120m, making it an ideal tool for documenting any world in three dimensions. Applications such as engineering, procurement, construction, heritage and even accident investigation require accurate and precise data generated from laser scanning.
In Quality Digest an interesting article called “The Quality Cycle in a Precision 3D Scanning Process” describes how to gain more favorable 3D data out of your scanning process.
As the advancement in laser scanning technology continues to improve, it’s no wonder that the data results stemming from this process must meet high expectations. While laser scanning provides detailed information for reverse engineering, critics will argue that it is too incomplete. This article discusses that it’s not the technology that lacks perfect results but the common practices for setting up a successful scanned project. This preparation is referred to as the Shewhart Cycle.
Learn more about the Shewhart Cycle.
Learn more about the Laser Scanner Photon.
In Quality Digest an interesting article called “The Quality Cycle in a Precision 3D Scanning Process” describes how to gain more favorable 3D data out of your scanning process.
As the advancement in laser scanning technology continues to improve, it’s no wonder that the data results stemming from this process must meet high expectations. While laser scanning provides detailed information for reverse engineering, critics will argue that it is too incomplete. This article discusses that it’s not the technology that lacks perfect results but the common practices for setting up a successful scanned project. This preparation is referred to as the Shewhart Cycle.
Learn more about the Shewhart Cycle.
Learn more about the Laser Scanner Photon.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Quality Improvements for Waterjet Cutting Machines
The science behind waterjet cutting has been around since the 1950s. However, it wasn’t until the 1980s that waterjet cutting systems became commonly used for cutting high-strength materials. The process is actually quite simple – water flows from a pump, through plumbing, and out through a cutting head. It is commonly used to fabricate and manufacture parts for machinery and other devices. As one of the fastest growing machine tool industries, waterjet cutting has proven to save time and money in countless applications.
WARDJet, Inc., located in Tallmadge, Ohio, is a manufacturer of waterjet cutting machines. WARDJet provides their customers with leading edge equipment and support for anything related to waterjet cutting.
WARDJet had always ensured the linear accuracy of its waterjet cutting machines with laser interferometer readings and circularity with ball bar reports. However, they determined that they wanted to measure 3-D volumes with their new 5-axis machine and in their future product designs.
They realized that their current ability to innovate, measure, quantify, and advance using their existing tools had reached a ceiling. With their desire for constant improvement, they decided to look for an alternative.
“If you can measure it, you can improve it” is a philosophy WARDJet turned to in its decision to invest in the FARO Laser Tracker. This extremely accurate, portable coordinate measuring machine is opening doors that were simply not there without it.
The FARO Laser Tracker takes verification and quantification of all the static and dynamic variables of building a waterjet to the next level – volumetric mapping. Volumetric mapping measures the location of the cutting head in three dimensional space, which is different from the actual mapping of the X, XX, and Y axes, which requires interpolation to determine the position of the cutting head and is done in only two dimensions.
Volumetric mapping is especially important when it comes to the 5-axis cutting head. WARDJet is now able to quantify accuracy in all five axes (X, Y, Z, A, and B) while the system is in motion and is actually cutting.
The FARO Tracker also allows them to see a complete representation of a machine. Previously, they had to piece together data shots that didn’t always explain what was being seen. Now they not only take static measurements, but they can also take dynamic readings and compare them.
“With the use of the FARO Laser Tracker, we have been able to verify and analyze parts of our machine that we previously couldn’t,” said Dave Papania, Engineer at WARDJet. “It has taken our calibration, quality, and R&D to a whole new level.”
Using their previous methods, laser calibration of their waterjet machines would take up to three hours. With the FARO Laser Tracker, they can now do the same work in close to one hour.
The investment in tools like the FARO Laser Tracker has made WARDJet more efficient in production by gathering infinitely more data in a shorter period of time. The ultimate result has been a higher accuracy waterjet cutting machine with improved reliability.
“Everyone is amazed at the power and capability of the FARO Laser Tracker,” said Papania. “It is extremely versatile, allowing you to measure in many different scenarios that were previously unobtainable.”
WARDJet, Inc., located in Tallmadge, Ohio, is a manufacturer of waterjet cutting machines. WARDJet provides their customers with leading edge equipment and support for anything related to waterjet cutting.
WARDJet had always ensured the linear accuracy of its waterjet cutting machines with laser interferometer readings and circularity with ball bar reports. However, they determined that they wanted to measure 3-D volumes with their new 5-axis machine and in their future product designs.
They realized that their current ability to innovate, measure, quantify, and advance using their existing tools had reached a ceiling. With their desire for constant improvement, they decided to look for an alternative.
“If you can measure it, you can improve it” is a philosophy WARDJet turned to in its decision to invest in the FARO Laser Tracker. This extremely accurate, portable coordinate measuring machine is opening doors that were simply not there without it.
The FARO Laser Tracker takes verification and quantification of all the static and dynamic variables of building a waterjet to the next level – volumetric mapping. Volumetric mapping measures the location of the cutting head in three dimensional space, which is different from the actual mapping of the X, XX, and Y axes, which requires interpolation to determine the position of the cutting head and is done in only two dimensions.
Volumetric mapping is especially important when it comes to the 5-axis cutting head. WARDJet is now able to quantify accuracy in all five axes (X, Y, Z, A, and B) while the system is in motion and is actually cutting.
The FARO Tracker also allows them to see a complete representation of a machine. Previously, they had to piece together data shots that didn’t always explain what was being seen. Now they not only take static measurements, but they can also take dynamic readings and compare them.
“With the use of the FARO Laser Tracker, we have been able to verify and analyze parts of our machine that we previously couldn’t,” said Dave Papania, Engineer at WARDJet. “It has taken our calibration, quality, and R&D to a whole new level.”
Using their previous methods, laser calibration of their waterjet machines would take up to three hours. With the FARO Laser Tracker, they can now do the same work in close to one hour.
The investment in tools like the FARO Laser Tracker has made WARDJet more efficient in production by gathering infinitely more data in a shorter period of time. The ultimate result has been a higher accuracy waterjet cutting machine with improved reliability.
“Everyone is amazed at the power and capability of the FARO Laser Tracker,” said Papania. “It is extremely versatile, allowing you to measure in many different scenarios that were previously unobtainable.”
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