Page 22 - MMI- Aug2022

COVER STORY

QUALITY CONTROL MATTERS

A high-precision shop producing medical and aerospace parts was about to
lose its quality management system. When it found a replacement, it also
found a partner that helped the shop bring a new level of automation to its
inspection process.

Source: Magic Wand Media

here are practical rea- When complex parts come with for ballooning, one for first ar-
T sons why machine stringent inspection require- ticle inspections (FAI), one for
in-process inspections, and so
shops might shy away
ments, the quality control process
from highly complex parts. begins with three core questions: on. Considering the sheer vol-
Small, multifaceted medical im- • Which part dimensions re- ume of data, trying to fine-tune
plants for the spine or jet en- quire inspection, and at what different software platforms to
gine components such as fuel point in the process? communicate effectively with
injection nozzles might feature • What equipment should be one another becomes a near-
hundreds of dimensions per used to check those dimen- ly impossible, thankless task.
part, with tolerance require- sions? Cross-channel data traffic gums
BRENT DONALDSON ments that routinely fall • At what frequency will those up the network. Operators try-
Executive Editor
Modern Machine Shop within two ten-thousandths dimensions be checked? ing to input inspection data are
bdonaldson@ (0.0002) of an inch. Even when For mid- to high-volume shops, greeted by spinning wheels
mmsonline.com
perfectly machined, the parts the amount of data required of death. The keepers of tribal
are worthless without the doc- to answer these questions can knowledge about each software
umentation required for com- become so overwhelming that system grow fewer in number.
pliance with medical and aero- shops turn to multiple soft- As for training new employees
space standards, such as ISO ware platforms to perform in- on the system? Good luck.
13485 or AS 9100. dividual tasks. One software This is exactly the situation

22 | July-August 2022 Modern Manufacturing India