“You break it, we mend it.” That’s a common phrase for members of the 6th Maintenance Squadron’s Fabrication Flight at MacDill Air Force Base, just outside of Tampa, Florida. The flight of more than 40 Airmen is divided into Structural Maintenance, Metals Technology, and Non-Destructive Inspection. Part of their mission is to repair and maintain various parts of the KC-135 Stratotankers located on the base.
“There’s no structure or part required to keep the KC-135 Stratotankers flying that we can’t make,” said Senior Master Sgt. David Loop, 6 MXS fabrication flight chief. “Given the time and manpower to get the job done, our team will do it.” To assist them in their effort, the Maintenance Squadron uses state of the art machines like the FaroArm®. Devices like the FaroArm help the Fabrication Flight members design, weld, or create material that has been discontinued.
“The FARO is a three dimensional machine that we use to create or design materials needed that no longer exists,” said Staff Sgt. Henry Dungan, 6 MXS metals technology craftsman. “We use the machine to map out the object which appears virtually on the FARO after which we use the OMAX water jet to create (it).”
Not only is creating, mending, and welding the material to be used on the aircraft a part of their specialty, but so is inspecting particular parts brought to them from the maintenance crews. Basically, the Flight’s mission extends to whatever is asked or needed of them.
During the Haitian Relief efforts, the Fabrication Flight members worked hand in hand with the other maintainers to keep the MacDill tankers flying and mission ready to successful carry out the tasks given.
The term “You break it, we mend it” extends to include, “If you suspect it, we check it, if you break it, me make it.” As Sergeant Loops says, “The Fantastic Fab Flight keeps the aircraft flying high and safe.”
Read the full article in the MacDill AFB News
Learn more about the FaroArm
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Lessons from Toyota: Importance of Quality Control
While the investigation into what caused the safety-related problems with Toyota vehicles continues, the situation reminds us all of the importance that quality control plays in almost every industry.
The term quality control became common in the 1950s. W. Edward Deming proposed the process known as “statistical quality control” to counter the process in place for inspecting manufactured products after the war. Even though these statistical controls could be expensive, he argued that implementing these measures ultimately saved companies money. (Small Business Encyclopedia)
According to the Wall Street Journal, “Toyota Motor Corp. is considering ways to bolster procedures for checking the quality and reliability of cars” and “is aiming to announce changes to its quality and disclosure practices”.
Not learning from this very public mistake would be a shame, as Toyota will need to spend a lot of time and money not only on fixing the problem, but also on rebuilding its brand and confidence among consumers.
One important lesson to be learned from this is that although there is a cost associated with implementing proper quality procedures, purchasing quality control devices, and refining manufacturing processes, simply not ending up in a situation where your entire brand is on the line can be priceless.
Learn more about FARO’s quality control devices.
The term quality control became common in the 1950s. W. Edward Deming proposed the process known as “statistical quality control” to counter the process in place for inspecting manufactured products after the war. Even though these statistical controls could be expensive, he argued that implementing these measures ultimately saved companies money. (Small Business Encyclopedia)
According to the Wall Street Journal, “Toyota Motor Corp. is considering ways to bolster procedures for checking the quality and reliability of cars” and “is aiming to announce changes to its quality and disclosure practices”.
Not learning from this very public mistake would be a shame, as Toyota will need to spend a lot of time and money not only on fixing the problem, but also on rebuilding its brand and confidence among consumers.
One important lesson to be learned from this is that although there is a cost associated with implementing proper quality procedures, purchasing quality control devices, and refining manufacturing processes, simply not ending up in a situation where your entire brand is on the line can be priceless.
Learn more about FARO’s quality control devices.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Economists Urge US to Invest in Manufacturing
Steve Minter of IndustryWeek wrote yesterday about the reasons why the US needs to invest in manufacturing. One economist pointed out that "our ability to field competitive domestic manufacturing industries is deteriorating and too few understand the implications for the U.S. economy."
So what are those implications? Well, it has become clear over the passing yearst hat the rest of the world has stepped up to the plate and raised its game for manufacturing superiority. It can be argued that we are simply evolving toward more high-tech industries and therefore our traditional manufacturing is declining. Gregory Tassey, economist for the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST), points out that "the high-income economy must be the high-tech economy" and that manufacturing is a necessary element as it supports 70% of industry R&D spending.
He continues to say that many mainstream economists have failed to appreciate the complexity of the manufacturing sector and the need for multi-tiered supply chains and clusters of facilities that facilitate the communication and collaboration needed for product development, testing and rapid entry into commercial production.
To support a technology-based manufacturing sector, Tassey recommends tax incentives that would boost the average R&D intesity for domestic manufacturers to 6%, twice what the Obama administration is proposing. It is important that we maintain a strong domestic manufacturing front and that its supported throughout the entire technology lifecycle. With other countries such as China and Japan just barely trailing the US in patent applicaiton rates, we need to make sure we are investing in our future through manufacturing.
Read the full story.
So what are those implications? Well, it has become clear over the passing yearst hat the rest of the world has stepped up to the plate and raised its game for manufacturing superiority. It can be argued that we are simply evolving toward more high-tech industries and therefore our traditional manufacturing is declining. Gregory Tassey, economist for the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST), points out that "the high-income economy must be the high-tech economy" and that manufacturing is a necessary element as it supports 70% of industry R&D spending.
He continues to say that many mainstream economists have failed to appreciate the complexity of the manufacturing sector and the need for multi-tiered supply chains and clusters of facilities that facilitate the communication and collaboration needed for product development, testing and rapid entry into commercial production.
To support a technology-based manufacturing sector, Tassey recommends tax incentives that would boost the average R&D intesity for domestic manufacturers to 6%, twice what the Obama administration is proposing. It is important that we maintain a strong domestic manufacturing front and that its supported throughout the entire technology lifecycle. With other countries such as China and Japan just barely trailing the US in patent applicaiton rates, we need to make sure we are investing in our future through manufacturing.
Read the full story.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
FARO Releases FARO Scene 4.7 at SPAR Conference 2010
This year’s SPAR Conference in Houston, Texas was filled with excitement, big hits and a lot of scoring. No, we’re not just talking about the Super Bowl event. We’re talking about FARO’s newest release of FARO Scene Software for the Laser Scanner. FARO officially released FARO Scene 4.7 which continues to bring the most innovative laser scanning processing software to the 3D market.
The new Scene 4.7 features more efficient point cloud handling and visualization due to the new 64 bit architecture which extends the usable memory to view scan files. This new version also incorporates “one-click” Web-Share functionality. Completed scanned images can now be exported to the Internet, thus enabling industries such as architecture, engineering and law enforcement to share scan information with customers, suppliers and partners without the need of additional software. The new Web-Share functionality s natively built into the FARO Scene 4.7 software and requires no additional software add-ons to publish scan data on the web.
In order to publish scan data onto the Internet, FARO has created a security feature which enables the user to create a login name and password so that files are protected. With this security feature, scan data is protected and shared with only authorized users, clients and partners of any particular project.
FARO Scene 4.7 will be delivered with every Laser Scanner. Current users of any version of FARO Scene 4.X will be provided an upgrade at no cost. The new version of FARO Scene 4.7 will be available in April 2010.
The new Scene 4.7 features more efficient point cloud handling and visualization due to the new 64 bit architecture which extends the usable memory to view scan files. This new version also incorporates “one-click” Web-Share functionality. Completed scanned images can now be exported to the Internet, thus enabling industries such as architecture, engineering and law enforcement to share scan information with customers, suppliers and partners without the need of additional software. The new Web-Share functionality s natively built into the FARO Scene 4.7 software and requires no additional software add-ons to publish scan data on the web.
In order to publish scan data onto the Internet, FARO has created a security feature which enables the user to create a login name and password so that files are protected. With this security feature, scan data is protected and shared with only authorized users, clients and partners of any particular project.
FARO Scene 4.7 will be delivered with every Laser Scanner. Current users of any version of FARO Scene 4.X will be provided an upgrade at no cost. The new version of FARO Scene 4.7 will be available in April 2010.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Reverse Engineering Basics
Have you ever encountered instances where you do not have design documentation on the parts you need manufactured? What about the need to create accurate “as-built” documentation, or the need to perform reliable analysis of parts when you don’t have the design information available?
Popularity of and the necessity for reverse engineering has increased as the process has become a viable method of creating a 3D model of an existing physical part. Portable coordinate measuring machines (CMMs) have become an important tool in this process.
Join us on Wednesday, February 17th to learn how to use a portable CMM to recreate a 3D model of an existing part, using both contact and non-contact technology.
Click here to register.
Popularity of and the necessity for reverse engineering has increased as the process has become a viable method of creating a 3D model of an existing physical part. Portable coordinate measuring machines (CMMs) have become an important tool in this process.
Join us on Wednesday, February 17th to learn how to use a portable CMM to recreate a 3D model of an existing part, using both contact and non-contact technology.
Click here to register.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Software Tips & Tricks: Geomagic - Showing all the Polygons
When working in the software, it sometimes appears that the polygon model has many holes in it.
The reason for this is that the model has many polygons. To help the computer system, especially the graphics card, the software reduces the number of polygons on the screen. This is only graphical. If this is not preferred, you can go to the “Manager Panel” and press the little computer. Almost at the bottom you can change the settings for that particular model.
When you know your graphics card is good enough to handle many polygons in a model, it’s also possible to change the threshold to switch to less polygons on the screen in a more permanent way.
Go to: Tools – Options – under “Graphics” – Primitive Settings. Here you can change the number of points, ordered points, and/or polygons from where less will be shown on the screen.
The reason for this is that the model has many polygons. To help the computer system, especially the graphics card, the software reduces the number of polygons on the screen. This is only graphical. If this is not preferred, you can go to the “Manager Panel” and press the little computer. Almost at the bottom you can change the settings for that particular model.
When you know your graphics card is good enough to handle many polygons in a model, it’s also possible to change the threshold to switch to less polygons on the screen in a more permanent way.
Go to: Tools – Options – under “Graphics” – Primitive Settings. Here you can change the number of points, ordered points, and/or polygons from where less will be shown on the screen.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
3D Laser Scanning to Convert Building into BIM
Building Information Modeling or BIM is defined as: “the process of generating and managing building data during its life cycle. It typically uses 3-dimensional, real time, dynamic building modeling software to increase productivity in building design and construction.”
In today’s world of advancing technology, cost management systems, computer aided drafting and project management, the construction industry is steadily experiencing a revolutionary change. Life cycles of the building process are dramatically decreasing. With companies such as Clark Construction Group LLC and Hunt Construction Group leading the way with BIM, it’s no wonder why more projects will be built more efficiently than ever. Their most recent project is phase IV of the Veteran Administration’s Southern Nevada Healthcare System medical campus. Direct Dimensions was called in to laser scan the facility with the FARO Laser Scanner Photon. With a range of 395FT. the Photon was able to capture large areas with extreme detail. It is these high resolutions cans that provided the necessary information for the contractors to be used to avoid spatial issues prior to installing plant systems in the existing facility.
To read the full article on 3D Scanning in BIM and the FARO Photon, click HERE.
In today’s world of advancing technology, cost management systems, computer aided drafting and project management, the construction industry is steadily experiencing a revolutionary change. Life cycles of the building process are dramatically decreasing. With companies such as Clark Construction Group LLC and Hunt Construction Group leading the way with BIM, it’s no wonder why more projects will be built more efficiently than ever. Their most recent project is phase IV of the Veteran Administration’s Southern Nevada Healthcare System medical campus. Direct Dimensions was called in to laser scan the facility with the FARO Laser Scanner Photon. With a range of 395FT. the Photon was able to capture large areas with extreme detail. It is these high resolutions cans that provided the necessary information for the contractors to be used to avoid spatial issues prior to installing plant systems in the existing facility.
To read the full article on 3D Scanning in BIM and the FARO Photon, click HERE.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)