Metrology isn’t everything – but without metrology nothing is anything

I just want to share to all of you a very interesting editorial piece I received from METAV 2014 team written by Walter Frick, a journalist from WeikersheimWalter Frick. Its about Metrology from all aspects.

METAV 2014 will be showcasing quality assurance within the framework of the Quality Road

To ensure that innovative products are available in the desired quantity, quality assurance within the product creation process must never be the bottleneck. The METAV 2014 in Düsseldorf will be examining this issue from all aspects, and with the “Quality Road” forum will be looking at the latest trends and developments – after all, like health, “metrology isn’t everything, but without metrology nothing is anything!”

Practical quality assurance for optimising processes and products also possesses crucial importance in regard to Industry 4.0 and smart factories. The contribution made by modern-day metrology is succinctly summarised by Stephan Greulich, Sales Manager at Diatest Hermann Költgen GmbH, Darmstadt, as follows: “In metrological systems, information is generated that is of vital importance for quality assurance and thus for the product itself. To ensure that this information meets the stipulations of Industry 4.0 in regard to adaptability or resource-efficiency, it not only has to be acquired quickly, it also has to be promptly interpreted and translated into appropriate action.”

Like all processes involved in a production operation, he continues, the metrological elements also have to be integrated into a network of information that in dependence on all process data and the stipulations entered either formulates decision-making options for the human operator or changes the production processes autonomously. But the next industrial revolution, says Greulich, “is still quite a long way off”. ‘Industry 4.0’ is so far only a term connoting a multitude of intentions and even more expectations”.

It’s perfectly feasible, of course, he adds, to transfer measured data by cable or radio to terminals or web portals, in regard to Industry 4.0, “however, this is at best an interim solution. It is not ‘smart’ in the sense of intelligent or clever, since the measured data are merely transmitted, but this does not necessarily result in a (networked) action”.

Simulation does not replace a practical test
For acquiring and evaluating measured data, he continues, there are already some well-thought-out software solutions today. It is still, however, “the human being who has to make decisions on the basis of data evaluated by the software, and whose stipulations in the software will where appropriate automatically control the production process”.

The expert also has a dispassionate appraisal for the importance of simulation technologies for process optimisation: “Properly planned and well-thought-out simulation technologies can, in some cases at least, replace elaborate test set-ups and trials. However, these will never replace final trialling of a process optimisation in actual practice, since in most cases the reality will be more multi-layered than can be imaged in a simulation.” Greulich sees the “Quality Road” forum at the METAV 2014 primarily as a topical information platform for the latest trends and developments in quality assurance. He would also be interested, moreover, to get some feedback on the expectations expressed by visitors to the fair.

Speed and operator-friendliness are crucial

Heinrich Leutenberger, Subsidiary Manager der Vicivision GmbH, Heilbronn, is singing from the same hymnsheet: “Modern-day metrological technology can ensure fast and accurate information in regard to dimensions and other product characteristics. A stable, effective production process can be achieved only with this kind of information. In this context, speed and in particular operator-friendliness are crucial, because this information also has to be available without specialised expertise.”

Of course, he adds, in large-scale mass production (in the automotive industry, for instance), there are already approaches involving ‘smart’ metrological and testing technologies through portals or smartphone apps, but “by and large this is not yet an issue in dimensional metrology, since as yet the expenditure is not justified by the number of possible applications”.

In dimensional metrology, simulation techniques do not as yet play a significant role for process optimisation, either. Unfortunately, he believes, the potential of modern-day metrological capabilities is not yet being utilised to the full. In his estimation, this is due not least to inadequate knowledge of metrological basics, and to continuing reservations on the part of small and mid-tier companies, in particular, who tend to think that substantial investments in metrological technology should be avoided – “you can’t turn a profit with it...”

From the “Quality Road” forum at the METAV 2014, Leutenberger as an exhibitor expects “above all, of course, that visitors will find it interesting and will perhaps gain a few insights into how modern-day metrological technology can be used”.

Intuitive and intelligent – a highly promising solutional approach
Enhanced transparency and higher measuring and reaction speeds in the quality assurance systems of the future are what Andrzej Grzesiak, Head of Metrology Systems at Carl Zeiss Industrielle Messtechnik GmbH, Oberkochen, expects from Industry 4.0 “with digitisation on the one hand and the use of modern-day man-machine interfaces on the other”. Given the rising levels of complexity involved, “without modern-day metrological and testing technology, proper quality assurance is not possible”. This, however, is increasingly required to adapt to the turbulent production environment involved: “Whether it’s intuitive operator interfaces to the measuring instrument that adapt to human needs or intelligent metrological machines – Industry 4.0 is definitely a most promising solutional approach for the future.”

The influence that Industry 4.0 is having on the development of metrological equipment in industrial production operations is explained by his colleague Dr.-Ing. Dietrich Imkamp, Head of Visual Systems & Partner of Carl Zeiss Industrielle Messtechnik: “Worldwide industrial production processes, in which there is an unbroken trend towards high product quality, are characterised by globally interlinked production chains. In this situational environment, the exchange of information for assuring quality takes on ever-increasing importance.”

The expert was also cautiously optimistic regarding process-dependable options for implementing close-to-production quality assurance in a web-based manufacturing environment – using smartphone apps, for example: “Technologies that we are nowadays familiar with more from the consumer environment will indubitably come into use for quality assurance in the manufacturing environment as well. In this context, however, special requirements will have to be met, for example, in terms of the dependability and security of data transmission.”

In the field of coordinate metrology, too, organised information and communication management is assuming progressively more importance. For this purpose, technologies are needed with which machines, programs, logs and knowledge can be organised at a central location. Most knowledge portals and document management systems, however, are too global, without any optimised functions for coordinate measuring technology. Here, the best option is secure-access, server-based solutions for company intranets, though these have to be amenable to intuitive operation and simple to administer.

Intelligent systems help in quality monitoring
Nowadays, adds Andrzej Grzesiak, a manufacturing company “has to be able to respond swiftly to changes. Thanks to standardisation of the quality processes and the use of software tools, a higher degree of modularisation and flexibility can be achieved for metrological and testing technology. Intelligent systems process data decentrally, and are able to support staff in monitoring quality levels. This is not just futurological dreaming, it’s already possible today”.

Due to the high degree of automation being incorporated into modern-day production operations, the quantity of measured and process data is steadily rising. In order to derive the maximum benefits from this abundance of data, flexible system solutions are required, such as quality data management systems that provide harmonised evaluation and analysis of measured and process data. To quote Andrzej Grzesiak: “Virtual technologies like tablets or data glasses constitute an up-to-the future development trend here. With the aid of virtual technologies, moreover, effective assistance systems can be developed, thus rendering metrological technology more intuitive and more transparent.”

Tactile measuring is among the most commonly used methods for reliably acquiring the shape and condition of cutting edges of high-precision tools and making these data available to the machining process for purposes of optimisation. This measuring job, says Grzesiak, “is nowadays mostly restricted to optical systems operating in planar mode, because the handling and measuring speed involved are significantly better. Tactile methods score in terms of the relatively reliable quality of the measured data, which is independent of the optical surface characteristics.” But in the field of metrology, too, the human factor plays an important role. This is why the measuring machine, as an instrument for quality assurance, has to provide active and intelligent support for the operator.

The Zeiss expert Grzesiak has high hopes of the “Quality Road” forum at the METAV 2014: “Here, in a dialogue between users, the challenges and opportunities of Industry 4.0 will be examined, and new options for modern-day testing and metrological technology mapped out.”