FARO Sponsors Two Andretti Racecars

If you didn't already know, FARO is the proud sponsor of two of the cars on the Andretti race team. That's right, we are true race fans at heart! Official sponsors of the #26 car, driven by Marco Andretti, and the #37 car, driven by Ryan Hunter-Reay, we are pleased to support the team.

Not only does FARO support the team on the track, but off the track as well. Andretti Autosport uses several pieces of FARO equipment to work on their cars and make them even better on race day. In their continuing goal of excellence, Andretti reverse engineers full-size race car parts to improve the accuracy of the team’s wind tunnel models. They use this information as a starting point for design modifications.

In the past, getting the data took a very long time, and Andretti needed the information faster with more freedom and flexibility. This is where we came in to help. With the Laser ScanArm, Andretti was able to complete tasks quickly such as verifying the position of aerodynamic parts on race cars. With the ScanArm, Andretti saved about 2-3 days on average per project that needed surface scans. This increased data is extremely valuable to the team and thier continued success.

The next race you can watch the Andretti team in is the 2010 Indianapolis 500, live on ABC at 12:00pm on Sunday, May 30th from Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indiana.

Learn more about the FARO Laser ScanArm.
Follow the Andretti Race Team.

Importance of Inspection

In order for manufacturers today to be competitive and reduce costs, it is critical for them to find production mistakes before their customer does. An article in Quality Magazine recently detailed this point.

One of the first things that companies need to do is change the way they think about inspection. It can no longer be seen as an “expensive, complicated and time-consuming operation that limits their profitability”. Years ago that may have been the case, but advancements in technology have brought high-tech inspection methods to the masses and have made it both easy to use and affordable.

The earlier a problem is discovered, the more money is saved. If the product is too far along in the manufacturing process, more re-work will need to be done, taking more time and resources. Also, the part may even be at a point where it would need to be scrapped, and the process would need to start over.

One of the advances in inspection technology is the development of portable CMMs (coordinate measuring machines). While fixed CMMs have been used for decades, many times they are not the most flexible solution. It can take a considerable amount of time (especially for larger parts) to move the part to the CMM. For many manufacturers, portable CMMs are preferred as they enable you to get the high accuracy inspection results, but with the flexibility of being able to measure “in situ” directly on the machine producing the part.

Read the entire article

Read a white paper on portable CMMs

Laser Scanning Gains Acceptance in Manufacturing Factories

With the current economy and that slow recovery ahead of American businesses, corporations have been forced to look at their business model to make drastic improvements. One of the most popular used terminologies that came from business restructuring was “lean manufacturing.” Lean manufacturing is defined as a production practice that considers the expenditure of resources for any goal other than the creation of value for the end customer to be wasteful. It is a concept that encourages improved efficiencies in manufacturing and cutting down of any overhead.

In order to do this many factories and manufacturing facilities have to reassess their plants and make modifications. Thousands of square foot space full of machinery and assembly lines has to be moved, realigned or replaced. The analyzing and management of these resources is known as Facility Management.

Facility management has typically been conducted using tape measures and older methods of documenting existing equipment and floor space. It is known to be a long and arduous process. However, in recent years laser scanning technology has given hope to engineers and surveyors. Products like the FARO Laser Scanner Photon can provide a 3D point cloud of any environment within minutes. Scanning at almost a millions points per second, the Photon provides accurate documentation that be measured, layered and used to model asset improvements in any plant environment.

The article titled “Creating Virtual Factories” discusses more details on the progressive usage of laser scanning technology and the key benefits.

To read the full article laser scanning in a global economic recovery, click HERE.

Manufacturing Stabilizes - Time to Invest in Technology

Despite the fact that the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's general economic index fell to 19.1 from 31.9 in April, it seems as though manufacturing is still continuing to do well. Rather than focusing on the slower May pace, the report reveals that manufacturing seems to be leveling out to a stable, sustainable pace of growth.

"Corporate America has underinvested in capital growth, so we're in for a period of very solid growth of equipment and software spending and that will provide a support for manufacturing," said Eric Green, chief market economist at TD Securities, Inc. in New York.

As companies continue to see an increase in demand, more and more will start capital spending once again. With leaner work forces and higher volume, manufacturing companies need to find ways to become more efficient in their processes and continue to do more with less. Investment in technology is definitely one of the best ways to gain efficiency and increase productivity. For manufacturing companies, technology such as portable coordinate measurement machines is a likely solution.

Many businesses have already benefitted from implementing portable CMMs, not only improving their processes but saving time and money as well. In some cases, measurements that were taking them weeks are now being completed in days. As signs point to this high level of production being the norm for quite some time to come, it's important to consider investing in technology to make it easy to get through it with smaller staff and less shifts.

Learn more about portable CMMs.

Read more about the recent index report.

Auto Part Suppliers Rebound

Last week, the AP reported that “Companies that crank out gears, hoses, gauges, and other parts for US automakers are making a comeback.” They went on to report that not only are many of these companies profitable again, but some are cautiously hiring after months of layoffs. The revival of these suppliers, and the auto industry as a whole, is driven by rising auto sales and the suppliers’ own painful cuts during the downturn.

These companies are among the more than 2000 US companies that make just about all of the 10,000 parts that make up a single car or truck. You name it and they make it. Though many of these suppliers are concentrated in the Great Lakes area, many more are in several southern states and Texas or California. They employ more than 420,000 people and are part of the complex supply chain that turns sheet metal and plastic into Chevys and Fords.

Some of the biggest suppliers like Gentex, BorgWarner, and Federal-Mogul have even reported millions in first quarter profits – a reversal of huge losses from early 2009 when the auto industry nearly collapsed. One supplier in particular, American Axle & Manufacturing (AAM), announced it had earned $16.3 million in the first quarter. By comparison, AAM posted a $32.7 million loss in the first quarter of 2009. AAM, which makes drive train and chassis systems, believes the profit turnaround came from higher production demands for sport utility vehicles and trucks at Chrysler and GM.

Michigan’s Oakland Press reported that AAM’s co-founder and CEO Richard Dauch said, “AAM’s financial results for the first quarter of 2010 continued a positive trend of improved profit and cash flow performance.” He also credited the “favorable impact of improving global industry conditions” and cost cutting as reasons for AAM’s turnaround.

AP Article by Tom Krisher

FARO and the Automotive Industry

Preparing for the Manufacturing Upswing

A recent study conducted worldwide by IBM, Hannover Messe, and Plant Engineering of more than 1,300 plant engineers found that over 60% of US plants and more than 70% of international plants do not have a maintenance strategy in place. The study also found that more than half of the global manufacturers used the recession to upgrade equipment and training.

For the companies that used the down-time to improve their processes and get better equipment, they are probably much better off coming out of the recession. Sometimes our instincts tell us to just sit tight, not to make any significant changes as we don’t know what the future will bring. But this is exactly the time to take advantage of slower schedules. The end result is what gives companies that competitive edge and allows them to hit the ground running when business starts to pick up again.

Results also indicated that the immediate future of manufacturing will focus on producing more with less. The only way to do that is by taking your processes, refining them, and making them more efficient.

There are several tools available to help with these tasks. For manufacturers of many products, quality control and assurance procedures are critical. To take this time to review the current QC processes that are in place, and ensure that the correct tools are being used, can result in greater success on the upswing. Portable coordinate measuring machines (Portable CMMs) allow manufacturers to quickly and easily perform quality checks on their parts. They allow the term “lean manufacturing” to actually become a reality.

Learn more about portable CMMs

Will the global economic recovery spur 3D laser scanning?

With such an uncertain economic future ahead of us, businesses are turning to lean manufacturing and newer technologies to become more efficient and profitable. Sustaining any kind of profit has been very difficult to achieve for most industrial and commercial companies.

The article “Will the global economy recovery spur 3D laser scanning?” describes how 3D laser scanning is a thriving geospatial technology. With the limitation on resources and labor, laser scanning allows businesses to conduct data collection and proper planning without having the enormous overhead that projects were so prone to in the past.

FARO has always provided customers with metrology devices that enhance their processes to be the best in the world. Our entire product line of Arms, Laser Trackers and Laser Scanners are designed to provide the quality that customers can stand by.

The FARO Laser Scanner Photon is no different. The FARO Photon is the most advanced and fastest phase-shift laser scanner in the industry. It allows engineers to scan large objects and environments in less time than most other laser scanners while still capturing accurate and detailed data. It is this type of advancing technology that will improve the business cycle for many companies from the recession into the next economic up -swing.

To read the full article laser scanning in a global economic recovery, click HERE.