GKS Global Services is one of the leading laser scanning service providers in the laser scanning industry. They pride themselves on scanning complex large scale geometries and environments in which traditional measuring methods wouldn’t be an option. One particular project called for GKS to scan 2 million square feet of floor space of an old penitentiary prison. The data collected would be used to create a virtual walkthrough for a simulation game to aid in the planning and execution of prison riots drills.
GKS conducted its scanning of the prison within one week’s time using the FARO Laser Scanner Photon. Not only were the scans completed in time, but the accuracies of the data far exceeded the customer’s expectations.To read the full article on how GKS conducted its scanning on the prison, click HERE.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Thursday, March 25, 2010
The National Tooling and Machining Association
Organized in 1943, the National Tooling and Machining Association (NTMA) is the national representative of the custom precision manufacturing industry in the United States. The mission of the NTMA is to help its members achieve success in an ever increasing global economy through advocacy, advice, networking, information, programs, and services. Its nearly 2,000 members design and manufacture special tools, dies, jigs, fixtures, gages, special machines, and precision machined parts – generating sales in excess of $40 billion a year. Many of these members are small, privately owned and operated businesses.
Tooling is, essentially, the means of production. It is custom-designed and made to manufacture specific products, often in quantity. The products produced by this tooling must be made to desired levels of uniformity, accuracy, interchangeability, and quality.
Machining involves the use of a wide variety of machine tools – ranging in size from small automatic lathes for miniature parts to enormous boring mills – to cut or form material (most often metal) to precise shapes and dimensions. The industry is perhaps the most technologically-advanced of all small manufacturers and enjoys widespread use of computer-numerically-controlled (CNC) machines, computer-aided design (CAD), and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) techniques.
The tooling and machining industry is critical to the country’s economic health as it impacts nearly every other manufacturing industry. The industry supplies the necessary precision tooling and machining for such vital industries as defense, automotive, aerospace, transportation, nuclear, and many more. In fact, nearly every manufacturer interacts with the contract tooling and machining industry.
Learn more about the NTMA
Read a white paper on aerospace tooling
Tooling is, essentially, the means of production. It is custom-designed and made to manufacture specific products, often in quantity. The products produced by this tooling must be made to desired levels of uniformity, accuracy, interchangeability, and quality.
Machining involves the use of a wide variety of machine tools – ranging in size from small automatic lathes for miniature parts to enormous boring mills – to cut or form material (most often metal) to precise shapes and dimensions. The industry is perhaps the most technologically-advanced of all small manufacturers and enjoys widespread use of computer-numerically-controlled (CNC) machines, computer-aided design (CAD), and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) techniques.
The tooling and machining industry is critical to the country’s economic health as it impacts nearly every other manufacturing industry. The industry supplies the necessary precision tooling and machining for such vital industries as defense, automotive, aerospace, transportation, nuclear, and many more. In fact, nearly every manufacturer interacts with the contract tooling and machining industry.
Learn more about the NTMA
Read a white paper on aerospace tooling
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Visit FARO at WESTEC 2010 - Booth #2901
WESTEC 2010, the West Coast's definitive manufacturing event, starts today in Los Angeles, CA. If you are in the area and plan to attend, make sure to stop by Booth #2901 and visit us! We have all of our 3D measurement products on display, ready for you to come and see how easy they are to use - and how powerful they can be. Our team is on hand to help you understand how our products work and how they can best help you improve your processes and increase efficiency.
Showcased in the booth will be:
The FaroArm Quantum - Improving quality and reverse engineering processes by rapidly verifying or scanning parts with confidence and accuracy. Learn more about the FaroArm now!
The FARO Gage - A portable CMM that increases measurement productivity and flexibility while enhancing accuracying in any production environment. Learn more about the FARO Gage now!
The FARO Laser ScanArm - The perfect contact/non-contact measurement system for inspection, point cloud-to-CAD comparison, rapid prototyping, reverse engineering and 3D modeling. Learn more about the FARO Laser ScanArm now!
The FARO Laser Tracker ION - The most advanced, state-of-the-art FARO Laser Tracker ever introduced. This is the most accurate laser tracker available while still simple and easy to use and maintain. Learn more about the FARO Laser Tracker ION now!
The FARO Laser Scanner Photon - With the Photon you have the ability to complete large scale measurements and get as-built documentation, all in a matter of a few minutes. Learn more about the FARO Laser Scanner Photon now!
Showcased in the booth will be:
The FaroArm Quantum - Improving quality and reverse engineering processes by rapidly verifying or scanning parts with confidence and accuracy. Learn more about the FaroArm now!
The FARO Gage - A portable CMM that increases measurement productivity and flexibility while enhancing accuracying in any production environment. Learn more about the FARO Gage now!
The FARO Laser ScanArm - The perfect contact/non-contact measurement system for inspection, point cloud-to-CAD comparison, rapid prototyping, reverse engineering and 3D modeling. Learn more about the FARO Laser ScanArm now!
The FARO Laser Tracker ION - The most advanced, state-of-the-art FARO Laser Tracker ever introduced. This is the most accurate laser tracker available while still simple and easy to use and maintain. Learn more about the FARO Laser Tracker ION now!
The FARO Laser Scanner Photon - With the Photon you have the ability to complete large scale measurements and get as-built documentation, all in a matter of a few minutes. Learn more about the FARO Laser Scanner Photon now!
Thursday, March 18, 2010
The Return of Manufacturing
While manufacturing jobs are still disappearing, US companies keep on producing. “American factories continue to churn out hundreds of billions of dollars worth of goods annually – everything from Ford trucks and Boeing airplanes to Gordon & Smith surfboards and Viking appliances.” (msnbc.com)
US manufacturing has been changing over the years focusing more on items that require fewer workers to produce them, and provide a much greater value. Even the lower cost items that are produced here are usually done so with less people and more automated machines.
The article on msnbc.com makes a good point, in that most people do think of American manufacturing as large companies such as Caterpillar, General Motors, and Boeing. However, there are many smaller businesses making items that support these companies by providing specialized parts and services.
In order for these smaller companies to remain competitive, it’s also important that the parts they produce and the services they provide are top-notch. Quality control and assurance procedures are an important part of this.
As we all continue to watch as the economy starts to slowly recover, we are reminded that having efficient business practices and lean manufacturing processes can help prepare us for the future – as we can never be sure what it will bring.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Laser Scanning an Ice Rink’s Mechanical Room for Facility Management
A very suitable application for 3D laser scanning is facility management. Facility management is defined as the maintenance and safe operation of a commercial or industrial plant, building or factory. Pre-planning and documentation of as-builts are critical when designing modifications to the infrastructure.
A recent example of such an event occurred at a municipal ice rink. An engineering firm was contracted to install a new geoexchange cooling system in the mechanical room. Downtime was a great concern to the client so incentives were actually included in the contract for the engineering firm.
In order to beat the deadline GKS Global Service was brought in to conduct 3D laser scans of the mechanical room with the existing system. Within an hour six scans were conducted to capture the 30’ x 50’ room. The resulting 3D CAD model allowed the mechanical engineers to plan the install within separate phases. New fittings could be installed without interfering with existing pipes and critical lines were shut down with only minimal downtime. The FARO laser Scanner Photon proved to be the tool to not only exceed the customer’s deadline, but to also provide accurate detailed modeling data which would have taken up to three weeks using old traditional methods.
To read the full article on Laser Scanning for Facility Management on Quality Digest, click HERE.
A recent example of such an event occurred at a municipal ice rink. An engineering firm was contracted to install a new geoexchange cooling system in the mechanical room. Downtime was a great concern to the client so incentives were actually included in the contract for the engineering firm.
In order to beat the deadline GKS Global Service was brought in to conduct 3D laser scans of the mechanical room with the existing system. Within an hour six scans were conducted to capture the 30’ x 50’ room. The resulting 3D CAD model allowed the mechanical engineers to plan the install within separate phases. New fittings could be installed without interfering with existing pipes and critical lines were shut down with only minimal downtime. The FARO laser Scanner Photon proved to be the tool to not only exceed the customer’s deadline, but to also provide accurate detailed modeling data which would have taken up to three weeks using old traditional methods.
To read the full article on Laser Scanning for Facility Management on Quality Digest, click HERE.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Antron Cuts Reverse Engineering Time in Half
As a leading innovator in the highly competitive contract manufacturing market, Antron Engineering and Machine specializes in design for manufacturability. Specifically, this means they focus on improving product design and lowering final product costs without sacrificing quality. With these goals and with proven results, Antron has become a value-added contract manufacturing partner to the world’s leading OEMs.
Examples of the many parts that Antron must measure and inspect are the aluminum crank shafts and motor covers for various motorcycles. These parts have a variety of irregular and complex features and a large range of sizes. These parts were previously measured with a traditional fixed CMM, but this resulted in a very time-consuming reverse engineering process.
With a company goal of flexibility, diversification, and continual renewal of technology, Antron is committed to the use of new technology to answer both old and new problems. As they looked for a better solution than their fixed CMM, Antron considered several competing technologies. With the FaroArm Platinum, they were able to reverse engineer their parts and build native SolidWorks models without any intermediate steps. This reduction in needless steps resulted in a significant amount of saved time and reduced engineering costs.
As it is with any manufacturing company, time equals money and the FaroArm definitely saves them money.
“The time savings we have realized have been a great value to us,” said Engineer Don Clifford. “I would estimate that the FaroArm has cut our engineering time by 50-percent.”
Read the full story
Examples of the many parts that Antron must measure and inspect are the aluminum crank shafts and motor covers for various motorcycles. These parts have a variety of irregular and complex features and a large range of sizes. These parts were previously measured with a traditional fixed CMM, but this resulted in a very time-consuming reverse engineering process.
With a company goal of flexibility, diversification, and continual renewal of technology, Antron is committed to the use of new technology to answer both old and new problems. As they looked for a better solution than their fixed CMM, Antron considered several competing technologies. With the FaroArm Platinum, they were able to reverse engineer their parts and build native SolidWorks models without any intermediate steps. This reduction in needless steps resulted in a significant amount of saved time and reduced engineering costs.
As it is with any manufacturing company, time equals money and the FaroArm definitely saves them money.
“The time savings we have realized have been a great value to us,” said Engineer Don Clifford. “I would estimate that the FaroArm has cut our engineering time by 50-percent.”
Read the full story
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Avatar at the Oscars - Upset or Triumph?
As most of you well know, Avatar won three Oscars Sunday night: Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography and Best Visual Effects. Now, the majority of the headlines around will be screaming that this is a huge loss for Avatar, since they lost out for Best Picture to Hurt Locker. Of course, it is certainly a shame since Avatar has been touted the most successful film of all time, but you should not focus on what was not achieved. The focus should be on what WAS achieved...
The fact that a movie created and produced in 3D technology winning three Oscars shows the path our technology is on for the future. 3D technology is changing the way we view movies. In fact, 3D technology is changing the way we do everything. Forensic scene documentation, inspecting aircraft engines down to micrometers, recreating historic chapels and theaters - there are very few areas that 3D technology does not have its hand.
So, rather than focusing on the fact that Hurt Locker beat out Avatar for Best Picture, realize that winning three Oscars is really a tribute to 3D technology - and a glimpse of what is to come.
See the full list of Oscar winners.
Learn more about 3D Technology.
The fact that a movie created and produced in 3D technology winning three Oscars shows the path our technology is on for the future. 3D technology is changing the way we view movies. In fact, 3D technology is changing the way we do everything. Forensic scene documentation, inspecting aircraft engines down to micrometers, recreating historic chapels and theaters - there are very few areas that 3D technology does not have its hand.
So, rather than focusing on the fact that Hurt Locker beat out Avatar for Best Picture, realize that winning three Oscars is really a tribute to 3D technology - and a glimpse of what is to come.
See the full list of Oscar winners.
Learn more about 3D Technology.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Quality Control vs Quality Assurance
Two common terms in the metrology world are quality control and quality assurance. Some people may think these terms are interchangeable. However, each actually has its own meaning and is used in specific circumstances. So let’s explore them…
Quality control is defined as “a system for ensuring the maintenance of proper standards in manufactured goods, especially by periodic random inspection of the product” (answers.com). Examples of quality control are testing, inspections, etc. These activities are used to find defects in goods that are being manufactured – the deliverable itself is being validated.
Quality assurance “refers to a program for the systematic monitoring and evaluation of the various aspects of a project, service, or facility to ensure that standards of quality are being met” (Wikipedia). Examples of quality assurance are performing quality audits, defining processes, and training. The person performing the audit does not necessarily need any expertise regarding the deliverable – he/she can still successfully evaluate the process used to create the deliverable.
Both quality control and quality assurance are important in any manufacturing environment. Quality control is actually a part of the overall quality assurance process. Without proper quality control measures, quality assurance results will suffer.
There are many tools available to aid in performing quality control and quality assurance activities. Coordinate measuring machines (CMMs) are just one of the many options. A popular, easy-to-use type of CMM is the portable CMM. They are simple to operate and can be used directly on the shop floor.
Learn more about quality and portable CMMs.
Quality control is defined as “a system for ensuring the maintenance of proper standards in manufactured goods, especially by periodic random inspection of the product” (answers.com). Examples of quality control are testing, inspections, etc. These activities are used to find defects in goods that are being manufactured – the deliverable itself is being validated.
Quality assurance “refers to a program for the systematic monitoring and evaluation of the various aspects of a project, service, or facility to ensure that standards of quality are being met” (Wikipedia). Examples of quality assurance are performing quality audits, defining processes, and training. The person performing the audit does not necessarily need any expertise regarding the deliverable – he/she can still successfully evaluate the process used to create the deliverable.
Both quality control and quality assurance are important in any manufacturing environment. Quality control is actually a part of the overall quality assurance process. Without proper quality control measures, quality assurance results will suffer.
There are many tools available to aid in performing quality control and quality assurance activities. Coordinate measuring machines (CMMs) are just one of the many options. A popular, easy-to-use type of CMM is the portable CMM. They are simple to operate and can be used directly on the shop floor.
Learn more about quality and portable CMMs.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
A Look into the Latest Technology Tools for Crash & Crime Documentation
An interesting article appears on Lawofficer.com regarding the recent technology trends involved with accident & crime scene investigations.
If you’re a fan of CSI, Bones or Law & Order than you probably have come across typical items during the investigation such as caution tape, tape measures, tweezers and chalk lines. But have you ever noticed the more recent interesting scientific methods for forensic analysis or accident scene investigation? Next time you watch an episode, pay special attention to electronic devices such as laser scanners which are taking these types of investigations to another level.
The FARO Laser Scanner Photon 120 has the capability of scanning at a blistering rate of 976,000 points per second! The FARO Photon has a built-in adjustment feature that allows the investigator to balance speed and scan quality according to the scenario. What makes the FARO Photon the perfect tool for capturing spatial data for crime and accident scenes is that its field of view is the best in class for phase shift laser scanners. With a 360° horizontal and a 320° vertical field of view, the FARO Photon is able to capture more detail in an area without having to take multiple scans. It operates perfectly as a one man operation so scanning can be done quickly and effectively. The color camera option overlays high quality detailed photographic images over the point clouds. This can be critical to identify blood splatter, tread marks and other pieces of evidence that need to be visual. In the future, you’ll see more and more law enforcement and investigation bureaus using laser scanning technology to help solve the toughest cases.
To read the full article on 3D Scanning in Crash & Crime Diagramming, click HERE.
If you’re a fan of CSI, Bones or Law & Order than you probably have come across typical items during the investigation such as caution tape, tape measures, tweezers and chalk lines. But have you ever noticed the more recent interesting scientific methods for forensic analysis or accident scene investigation? Next time you watch an episode, pay special attention to electronic devices such as laser scanners which are taking these types of investigations to another level.
The FARO Laser Scanner Photon 120 has the capability of scanning at a blistering rate of 976,000 points per second! The FARO Photon has a built-in adjustment feature that allows the investigator to balance speed and scan quality according to the scenario. What makes the FARO Photon the perfect tool for capturing spatial data for crime and accident scenes is that its field of view is the best in class for phase shift laser scanners. With a 360° horizontal and a 320° vertical field of view, the FARO Photon is able to capture more detail in an area without having to take multiple scans. It operates perfectly as a one man operation so scanning can be done quickly and effectively. The color camera option overlays high quality detailed photographic images over the point clouds. This can be critical to identify blood splatter, tread marks and other pieces of evidence that need to be visual. In the future, you’ll see more and more law enforcement and investigation bureaus using laser scanning technology to help solve the toughest cases.
To read the full article on 3D Scanning in Crash & Crime Diagramming, click HERE.
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