In the world of manufacturing, operational efficiency is paramount to bottom lines. Facing the demand for shorter cycle times, more and more manufacturers are focusing on enhancing equipment productivity.
Unlike planned downtime for necessary regular machine maintenance or repair, unplanned downtime – often caused by inadequate scheduling, poor time management, or various uncontrollable factors such as weather events – can severely disrupt processes and frequently leads to increased operational costs.
The ability to manage downtime is of particular concern for facilities with high fixed costs or workers on set salaries. While no business can run at 100% efficiency constantly, minimizing the occurrence of downtime when possible can boost productivity while reducing costs.
To overcome these challenges, keep machines running, and enable employees to spend more time measuring, there are several cost- and time-saving measuring strategies that can improve overall productivity.
Decreasing Downtime in Measurement Processes
Implementing a comprehensive inspection plan to gauge, assess, and improve measurement routines is critical to ensuring the continuous production of quality products. To maximize the efficiency of your measuring machine processes, the optimal inspection plan should include:
- A software program with an easy-to-use operator interface
- A system that provides for real-time manning of multiple machines across a manufacturing floor
- Software and hardware that allows for off-site monitoring, recording and cautionary alerts
Five Measurement Technologies that Help Turn Your Downtime into Uptime
As a leading metrology and manufacturing solution specialist,Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence is committed to helping our customers take control of quality at all the key stages of their various processes, with solutions that increase production speed, accelerate productivity and enhance product quality. These five optimization technologies enable manufacturers to elevate measuring machine performance and drive productivity:
PULSE: Connects and monitors coordinate measuring machines (CMMs), providing full status information and instant alerts about variations in vibration, temperature, humidity, luminosity, and air pressure, as well as crash notifications, all in one convenient place.
Absolute Encoders: Delivering both heightened productivity and unparalleled accuracy, Absolute Encoders placed in every articulated joint of the Absolute Arm completely eliminate encoder referencing and frustrating system warm-up times, boosting productivity while delivering high-end accuracy.
PowerLock Technology: With the PowerLock, interrupted line of sight is automatically re-established in a +/-5-degree field of view, requiring no user interaction, providing superior performance even in the most crowded measurement volumes.
Collaborative Robots: Collaborative robots automate and streamline repetitive tasks for manufacturers. When integrated with metrology hardware, productivity levels can be boosted to even higher levels.
Driving productivity is what we do at Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence. With our technologies, measurement processes can be improved exponentially with less downtime. Learn more about how you can embed quality throughout the product lifecycle by contacting us today.
