Collecting Trustworthy 3D Measurements – The Smart Metrology Approach
Manufacturing companies monitor product quality every day by collecting dimensional measurement data. This data is used to investigate the stability of a manufacturing process, determine the ability of the process to ensure part quality and functionality, and establish indices to quantify the capability of the process to meet dimensional requirements.
It’s all part of their continuous improvement process. When introducing a new manufacturing process, problems may be perceived with the process stability without being able to pinpoint the cause and correct it. These problems are, in some cases, not related to the manufacturing process but rather to the measurement system itself. Metrologists know that a measurement is never exact. A multitude of sources of variation affect the performance of the measurement system, leading to uncertainty in the measurement.
By performing a Measurement System Analysis (MSA) through repeatability and Gauge R&R studies, the measurement system variation can be estimated. These studies allow metrologists to assess the validity of the measurement system and minimize the factors contributing to the total measured proces variation that are actually stemming from the measurement system.
An MSA study can be quite complex to set up and execute – even more so in the context of 3D metrology – and requires extensive knowledge of statistics to obtain actionable data.
A recently published free white paper from Innovmetric explains the key concepts of Measurement System Analysis and their practical application for 3D measurement devices. Explores a fully digital process from the setup and execution of repeatability and Gauge R&R studies and provide metrologists with recommendations to analyze study results. The MSA White Paper delivers a simple methodology that will enables an MSA to be performed for each new part produced, increasing part quality and guaranteeing actionable inspection results.
For more information: www.innovmetric.com
