“While many companies invest heavily in CNC machine tools and related equipment, the implementation of new metrology strategies tends to happen more slowly. However, today the call for more accountability when manufacturing large or small components is getting louder. In fact, it is reaching a crescendo because of ISO requirements, traceability, CE marking and many other regulatory rules and standards that are the norm rather than the exception as they were in the 20th century,” explains Bryn Labuschagne, Sales Director of B&R Metrology Solutions.
“The theme for EMO 2019 was ‘Smart technologies driving tomorrow’s production’. There is a paradigm shift in industrial production operations, which are no longer focusing (only) on ‘better, faster, more accurate machines’, but on the development and implementation of new functions within the framework of Industry 4.0. Digitalisation and intelligent networking in conjunction with numerous new developments, from Big Data, data analytics and artificial intelligence, all the way through to the platform economy, are creating the foundations for new business models, so that customers and suppliers can reach a new level of productivity.”
“The use of appropriate sensor technology in production is a basic prerequisite for the implementation of Industry 4.0. It collects data on process and machine status as it arises and makes it available for various process-relevant information services and workflows. This theme has been an integral requirement of quality and metrology processes for many years and is not a new trend. Precision engineering for many sectors, in particular the medical, aerospace and automotive sectors where very high tolerances and high repeatability are paramount, demands a proactive approach to meet the verification needs and deliver the tolerances and repeatability for part verification.”
“In the future, decision-making will involve a creative mix of data, analytics, and artificial intelligence (AI), with the added input of human judgment. The result is augmented intelligence where the analytical power and speed of AI takes over the majority of data processing, guiding human employees to make more agile and smarter decisions.”
“Augmented intelligence is defined as a design pattern for a human-centred partnership model of people and AI working together to enhance cognitive performance, including learning and decision making.”
“Most companies have mounds of data but few insights to promote it or use it as a positive business outcome. Augmented intelligence unites the strengths of people and machines when prospecting value from data. Namely, you can augment human instinct with smart algorithms that provide fast, data-driven predictive insights. These insights can help people redesign functions, detect patterns, and turn data into action.”
“Intended to extend human cognitive abilities, augmented intelligence is different from straight automation. Most processes in the future will be designed for straight-through processing, where there will be no humans involved in the process. Currently, that is not possible because in 25-30% of tasks, a human needs to step in. This is where Augmented Intelligence steps in and guides human interventions.”
“However, all this wonderful new technology and concepts such as additive procedures, machine learning, artificial intelligence and platform economics that are embraced by the Industrial Internet of Things will be rendered useless without a company and its employees having the tools at its disposal to optimise processes and component production, to boost value creation.”
“With all the media focus these days on smart factories with in-process, fully-integrated and closed-loop measurement systems, without the use of intelligent technology it will ultimately not be possible to achieve the ambitious climate protection targets, the demands for lower energy and material consumption levels and higher process efficiency coupled with higher product quality.”
“With an abundance of solutions that implement and complement these new concepts and services it is no excuse for a company not to invest in its metrology and quality processes. The focus is on industrial production and there has been considerable advances in the enablers – equipment and software – to embrace the requirements of efficiency and waste avoidance.”
“For example, portable metrology equipment has seen a dramatic rise in its role of supporting manufacturing over the past decade with applications including reverse engineering, prototype part inspection, low volume production measurements, tooling and fixture inspection and alignment and interrogation of product quality issues. One significant characteristic of all portable metrology equipment is its ability to be used at the ‘point of manufacture’, on the production floor, providing an almost immediate feedback of measurement data.”
“Today with 3D scanners small parts with complex shapes can be easily and quickly measured, computed and digitised for later analysis or in today’s environment corrective measures can be implemented immediately.”
Since 2015, B&R Metrology has provided a means of accountability and certainty in the production of products for the commercial industry, the testing and designing of automotive components, the functioning of large machinery, and in factories using rotating equipment during the manufacturing of their products.
“We specialise in CMMs, portable inspection, portable scanning, reverse engineering, probing, sheetmetal inspection equipment, shadow graphs, white light scanners, optical measuring equipment, gauging and many other production metrology solutions. Some of the manufacturers equipment that we sell and service include LK Metrology, Nikon, Tomelleri, Metronor, Plannar, Renishaw, Mahr, Starret, Inspecvision and Inexiv.”
“Manufacturing is changing, and with new applications come new instruments, software and sensors to meet those challenges. The pace of change remains rapid. Accuracy is everything to our business, and we now have the technology we need to deliver it well into the future.”
“Since its inception B&R Metrology Solutions has focused on supplying cost-effective metrology equipment for the manufacturing industry while providing metrology professionals with the knowledge, confidence and support that empowers them to make the critical decisions required in the role of quality management.”
“There are many forms of measuring and metrology equipment, whether it is hand-held, portable or a stand-alone unit. What equipment you purchase will be relevant to the application. Tight tolerances are no longer the domain of the high-tech industry. Accountability has transformed how companies manufacture product. With a fully capable quality inspection system, the inspection results for any characteristic of a part are not only traceable to the measuring equipment used to generate them, but also to the manufacturing processes used to create the characteristic. The success of your company can be measured, literally.”
For further details contact B&R Metrology Solutions on TEL: 082 852 6371 or 072 392 4934 or visit www.brmetrology.co.za
