This can be achieved through a combination of containment through 100% inspections (eliminating bad parts) and correction through immediate feedback and adjustment.
Manufacturers of critical parts and assemblies such as airbag, wheel bearing and piston have now achieved this by adding SMAC XYZ measurement systems to their inline manufacturing process.
Compact, precise, positioning resolution to 100 nanometre, fast (>10G) these linear motor based systems incorporate a patented "softland" capability removes the need for expensive probes. Volumes up to 100 cubic mm can be covered by a single system.
Bore diameter & depth, finish surface, run-out, undercut, tri-lobing, taper and concentricity, all are measurable in time spans matching the production cycle thereby maintaining production efficiency. Presence of chips caught in grooves can also be checked during the gauging process.
Robust guiding and the direct drive linear motor greatly reduce the need for periodic offsets that are a major problem of standard commercial CMMs.
The ability to integrate multi axis systems and controllers means different faces of the parts can be simultaneously measured thus matching the production timing.
Operating Environment: SMAC devices can be used in machine shop floor environment where camera & vision systems as well as commercial large CMM systems fail due to the presence of oil on parts and in the air.
Gage Correlation: The SMAC actuators are able to be set up in a manner that will allow for them to be easily calibrated & correlated to proven manual or CMM inspection methods.
Output of Variable Data: All SMAC controllers allow for output of variable data in a variety of formats that the user can configure in their program. This allows for ease of use when interfacing the SMAC to another system.
The system integration of the high volume individual SMAC moving coil actuators combined with in house development of key components including encoders makes the systems cost effective solutions to 100% verification of parts and assemblies.