Creating A More Productive Plant

Anytime you are working on a new product that must meet critical dimensions to work correctly, you need to have a system in place to check the part from many perspectives. Working with a dimensional inspection lab is an excellent place to start and can offer you some significant benefits throughout the process.

Independent Inspection

Inspecting your product or part needs to be free from any bias. Using a dimensional inspection lab to go over the part for variation is an excellent way to ensure that the process remains independent and untainted. The lab has no vested interest in the product, so there are no reasons for them not to be straight forward about issues with the part or product.

When the lab reports back to you, they will include anything that they found to be an issue in the report so that you can make corrections or alter the design so that the part or product works properly. From the first inspection to the final one, the dimensional inspection lab will record the process to document changes and alterations made during the design process. 

Inspection Techniques and Equipment

It is crucial that the dimensional inspection lab you are working with has the right tools and equipment to inspect the part or product properly. Often, the lab will use instruments that can precisely measure things that are not possible to measure without these tools. The equipment is expensive, must be maintained properly, and must be calibrated regularly, making it impractical for most designers or manufacturers to have in-house.

Since the lab uses these tools to complete the tests their clients need, they maintain them to the highest accuracy possible and add new devices as they need them to continue testing parts in new and innovative ways. Often a dimensional inspection lab will have tests for size, shape, tolerance, and even material quality available to their clients, many of which the client may not even know they need or can benefit from. 

In some cases, the length and width are critical to the part, but other times the lab may be measuring things like angles on the part to ensure that the precise angle is met and verified. When the fit of a part is critical to the overall product or assembly to work correctly, these verifications may be required on every single part of the batch.

All the work done in these labs is documented for the client, and if the client is applying for a patent on the product, this level of precision is necessary. Often military or government contractors need to need these kinds of goals to maintain contracts.

To learn more, contact a dimensional inspection lab in your area.