Plastic Automotive Parts Manufacturer Invests in Measuring Arm For Continuous Quality Improvement
Of the many trim parts produced by Vi-Technik, rigid parts place higher demands on dimensional quality than soft parts and require a customised means of inspection. Parts produced in-house by plastic injection can present geometric faults, such as voids and distortions that appear during cooling and are likely to render them non-compliant with geometric standards. The Kreon Ace measuring arm is particularly useful during the fine-tuning stages, as it makes the faults visible to the naked eye. Injection is a complex process, and the Ace measuring arm ensures that the machine configuration is perfect and the parts series is ready to be manufactured under optimum conditions.
Inspections are also carried out during production to make sure that there are no deviations and quality is being maintained. PolyWorks Inspector generates reports for internal use. Data is used for statistical purposes in order to continually improve the production processes. The reports are also used to communicate with customers during the development stages.
On occasion, a support fixture can be created for the most delicate parts that are at risk of becoming distorted under their own weight. The part is simply placed onto the support without constraint, making it possible to isolate any manufacturing faults. This process ensures good inspection repeatability.
Lorenzo Vittore, Quality Engineer at Vi-Technik states “Since parts have evolved and become more complex, it has become necessary to obtain a more powerful measuring solution with the Kreon Ace measuring arm.”
Specifically, the Vi-Technik parts are inspected using the Ace measuring arm fitted with a Skyline Open 3D scanner. This scanner offers a good scanning speed and accurate acquisition tailored to the specifications of the plastic parts. The operator quickly scans the whole part and compares it to the CAD model in PolyWorks with the help of a coloured map. Such a complete part inspection only takes a few minutes.
For more information: www.kreon3d.com
