Removing Discrepancies Decreases Expenses
Brief Summary:
While excess spending occurs throughout the process, analysis of car production shows much of this spending comes from discrepancies of how well the product fits specifications. Employees deciding if a weld meets this standard differ in opinion. Using an automated system will decrease cost.
- How to reduce the total cost of weld quality
- The automotive industry is under extreme pressure to improve the productivity and quality of its operations. Tier 1 suppliers especially are being squeezed by a combination of very competitive upfront bidding for contracts and yearly price reductions. One area ripe for savings in most automotive companies is the total cost associated with welding quality.
- Using an objective calibrated system such as a hand-held laser gauge can eliminate this subjectivity, so that everyone can agree on what is good and bad. The best way to establish an acceptance standard is by developing workmanship samples representing typical defective welds. Measurements should be recorded with the laser vision sensor and also by the cross-section method to establish a good correlation. This will be helpful in future discussions about what automatic surface inspection tells about the overall weld quality.
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