MEASUREMENT
INSTANT HIGH-PRECISION MEASUREMENT SYSTEM CUTS INSPECTION TIME FOR PRESSPAHN
Specialist engineering solutions provider Presspahn built a reputation for supplying a range of industries with materials and components for electrical insulation, thermal insulation and mica-based insulation. The company has remained ahead of the market by adopting modern manufacturing techniques driven by innovation, precision and consistency backed by low costs and minimal lead times.
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nspection is a key part of Presspahn’s stringent quality control systems for its manufactured products but the company found that using conventional manual technology meant allocating a significant amount of time to inspecting a wide range of its complex parts.
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As demand from customers increased for Presspahn’s products, it became clear that it was no longer feasible to rely on traditional methods of measurement such as digital callipers and manual shadowgraphs. For example, checking some dimensions could mean having to plot points on a CAD system to determine features that it was not possible to measure directly. This presented a particular challenge for parts with repeating features that needed to be plotted each time, not least because Presspahn found itself having to invest huge amounts of time on inspection while simultaneously reducing the level of detail that was being checked at intermediate inspections.
24 | Industry EMEA | April 2020
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Furthermore, it wasn’t unusual for a first article inspection (FAI) to take over an hour to complete. The company also found that increasing numbers of customers were looking to have products checked via such inspection methods as initial sample inspection reporting (ISIR), AS9102 FAI (sometimes called production process verification) and the production part approval process (PPAP) which is favoured by supply chains to the automotive industry. Customers were also demanding detailed inspection reports as well as statistical analysis of parts. The solution Presspahn had often considered taking advantage of the advanced inspection technology developed by Keyence, a company with a global reputation for the highest standards of part measurement. Presspahn had used some Keyence measurement devices in the past and had been impressed by the compact design of the products as well as their ease of use and the high-quality statistical reports that could be generated.
