Gauging sensors are a price-effective and cost-saving investment for manufacturing across multiple industries.
Here are seven reasons why gauging sensors are a cost-saving investment:
1. Reduced labour costs
By using gauging sensors on precision parts, you remove the need for manual checks with dial gauges. Sensors can be mounted onto a custom gauge and can check up to 150 points with one USB controller.
2. Quicker output
When you use gauging sensors, multiple points can be measured at once. As a result, parts can be measured quicker and cycle times are reduced. This leads to better profits for manufactured components.
3. Simpler processes
The process of setting up and mastering a gauge measurement system for quality checks is simpler, quicker and more cost-efficient when the system is part of a larger measurement network, such as the Solartron Orbit 3® Digital Network.
4. Greater durability
When set up properly, high-quality gauging sensors, such as those from Solartron, last for hundreds of millions of cycles. You benefit from better performance for longer, and from less expenditure on maintenance and replacements.
5. More efficient data tracking
Instead of manually entering and recording data, measurements are automatically delivered to a spreadsheet, or saved to a network via a PC, a PLC or another interface when you use gauging sensors.
6. Reduced scrap, fewer recalls
By using gauging sensors, human error is removed from the quality-checking process. As a result, you reduce the chance of defective parts leaving the factory. You also save on the costs associated with scrap, recalls and reworking parts.
7. No onsite calibration
If you choose gauging sensors that are calibrated in the UK, as Solartron gauging sensors are, there is no need for third-party calibration and the associated costs. Probes can be simply rigged into a gauge and mastered.
Solartron Gauging sensors are a cost-saving tool in the aerospace industry
At aircraft engine component factories, key parts such as a turbine mount are often cast and then machined to specific dimensions. To check that those specifications have been met, the operator must often remove the part from the machine or grinding centre, and place it on a coordinate measurement machine.
The operator can often wait an hour or more while the measurement is taken. This is not a cost-efficient process: a million-pound machining centre must sit idle, as it cannot be used for any other job at that time, and the wage earning operator must also sit and wait, doing nothing.
Gauging sensors reduce downtime, accelerate processes and increase output
The solution to this costly inefficiency for automotive industry manufacturers is to use high-quality gauging sensors, such as those from Solartron. For example, the manufacturer here used a gauge with approximately 90 Solartron digital probes. This allows the operator to remove a part from the machining centre, immediately place it into a gauge and instantly check dozens of critical dimensions. Then the operator can quickly carry on with more modifications.
As a result, manufacturers incur significant savings due to less downtime for machinery and operators, and benefit from quicker processes and higher output. Furthermore, if companies use gauging sensors as part of the Solartron Orbit 3® network, data can be more easily and accurately tracked and recorded.
Want to know more about what Solartron Metrology can do for your business?
Contact us on +44 (0)1243 833333 or sales.solartronmetrology@ametek.com.