Automation in quality assurance

What is the current status of automation in quality assurance?

A CNC coordinate measuring machine itself has always been suitable for automation. In addition to many other advantages, automation also has the effect of eliminating the influence of the operator, on which the measurement results generally depend to a large extent. Using standardized software and hardware interfaces, our measurement solutions can easily work together and be integrated with automation systems.

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Has there been increased demand for automation solutions in measurement technology in recent years?

In any case, we notice that. In the past, individual parts were measured in the measurement room under optimal conditions. Much more is now being measured, tolerances are becoming tighter and series production is becoming more and more perfect. In competition with high cost pressure, suppliers must produce perfect parts with low variance. It must be measured continuously and quickly. The backflow of measurement results into the production process allows manufacturers to quickly identify trends and react immediately before, for example, waste occurs.

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When is automation worthwhile? Is this only the case when large quantities have to be tested or measured? What about smaller batch sizes, which are increasingly important in flexible production? How can automation go along with this?

For the measurement solution, it is irrelevant whether the same or different parts are always measured. However, new measurement programs or workpiece holders are required for each additional part. The entire process must be automatable. This requires at least a certain degree of similarity between the components so that the measurement system, the measurement range and the sensors fit. In most cases, there are already fixed manual processes that the customer then wants to automate. With our many years of experience, we can provide him with good support here.

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How is automation implemented? Who takes care of it — users, measurement technology manufacturers or automation experts?

It is often not the user who is our first point of contact when it comes to automation. It is more the production planners who talk to us. As a measurement technology manufacturer, we then take our automation partners on board. The other variant is that complete production lines are requested and we, as a partner, are responsible for the integration of an automated measuring cell or measuring machine.

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How does your company address the issue of automated quality assurance?

We have our own task force in this area and strong automation partners. Our measuring machines are already prepared for use in production lines and automation solutions and can be easily integrated via the WENZEL automation interface (WAI). Our automation projects are usually very individual and are often subject to high confidentiality guidelines, as manufacturers do not want to be looked at the cards. In the end, however, it boils down to adapting our standards and our large product portfolio individually to the respective customer processes.

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To what extent is the closed loop already a reality — i.e. using measurement and test results to optimize manufacturing processes?

In principle, close loop means that our measurement results at the end of the production chain are used again at the beginning of the next one to make adjustments if necessary. We deliver the target/actual variance to a statistics database. With the result, production can then be adjusted accordingly. When certain intervention limits are reached, the operator can react. However, it is not an easy task and is all the more complicated the more complex the component is. It is a practical challenge when measurement and production machines have different coordinate systems and axes. This requires algorithms that help with the conversion so that the processing machine can be converted. However, the effort definitely helps to optimize manufacturing processes.

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