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The first thing most manufacturing businesses think about when purchasing a new CMM (coordinate measuring machine) is the price. It is a large investment. It is easy for shop owners and production managers to look at this purchase as a cost or expense. They think about how it takes money away from the budget. However, this viewpoint is short-sighted.
The reality is that the measuring CMM is not merely a cost you are forced to take. It is a long term asset that provides continual value year after year. CMM equipment returns value in excess of measuring metal parts. It provides value that is great enough to cover the cost of the CMM equipment. That value comes from the measurement equipment. CMM equipment justifies its purchase with the value it provides to a manufacturing business beyond the purchase price of the CMM equipment.
Transforming Measurement Into Productivity
Let's start with more obvious advantages. In any manufacturing operation, time is money. If you are using manual measuring tools like calipers, micrometers, or height gauges, you are doing time-consuming inspections for each and every part. Inspecting a piece means setting up the part, taking multiple measurements, recording the results, and then repeating the whole process for the next part. For hundreds or thousands of parts, the time spent on inspections adds up.
This is where a coordinate measuring machine (CMM) changes the equation. These tools allow you to automate the process of measuring each and every part. After the measuring program has been developed, the machine inspects each part in a quick, and reliable manner. What used to take minutes to inspect is now done in seconds in a lot of cases. This also means that CMM measurements allow you to redirect the effort of your skilled operators to other tasks. The time saved means you will now be able to generate even more parts in a 12 month period, which will generate even more labor savings. This is not a cost, this is a value that continues to generate savings.
Avoiding High Costs Due to Quality Issues
Determining the cost of low quality is often seen as a paradox. However, the implications of having a defective component leave the facility are enormous. You could incur scraps, reworks, shipment delays, and most importantly, lose your customers' trust. In some industries like aerospace, automotive, and medical devices, having a one-time quality issue can result in loss of contracts and even pose a risk of a lawsuit.
The risk mentioned above is minimized and managed through reliable CMM equipment. Having the CMM will ensure trust in your components due to the precise and reproducible measurements offered. With the appropriate program, the CMM will be able to measure the vital parameters of every component or a statistically significant portion of all the produced components. If a defect is captured prior to the end of the production run, significant loss in terms of time and money will be avoided. In relation to quality failures, the CMM is an asset and in contrary to insurance, it will help to eliminate the problem before it occurs and increase the efficiency of production.
Building Value Adding Opportunities
In addition to the machine directly producing value, it creates opportunities to do different, better manufacturing jobs. Not all manufacturing jobs are the same. For instance, jobs involving high precision work such as aerospace, medical, and mold making manufacturing, have high profit margins. However, such industries are very particular and demanding in terms of quality management, and want to see a manufacturing company's capability to perform quality verification.
Having a coordinate measuring machine in the workshop shows customers that the manufacturer is quality focused and is serious about it. They have the right tools for quality measurement, and the quality management credibility helps them win more contracts. Over time, and with the machine, the manufacturer moves upwards the value chain. They are no longer competing based on price for simple components. Now, they can take high paying work that is more intricate and demanding, and build better relationships with customers. The change in the mix offered by the manufacturer is a consequence of the asset of the machine.
Reliability and sustained value
A well made coordinate measuring machine is built to last. Unlike software that needs constant upgrades or handheld tools that wear out, a solid machine can provide reliable service for decades. With proper maintenance and regular calibration, it holds its accuracy year after year.
The initial investment almost always seems steep at first, but considering how long the payback period is, like 15-20 years, the annual payback seems more attractive, especially with the machine continuously working, keeping error from happening, performing inspections, and supporting the manufacturing process. Not much manufacturing equipment provides this much consistent value throughout their lifespan.
Using a coordinate measuring machine allows for a more flexible approach when it comes to the manufacturing process. It gives your business the opportunity to build upon anything already established. With the aid of coordinate measuring machine, manufacturing processes can increase their efficiency and capability through the accurate collection of measurement data. This data can then be analyzed to determine process variations to be improved, support the optimization of the manufacturing tooling, or the justification for the validation of new processes.
Having this data seems invisible, but with it comes a higher likelihood for ongoing improvements. This keeps your business at an advantage and allows for the flexibility to adapt to a constantly evolving market. The value of ongoing improvements is high for your business, but hard to calculate. It allows your business to maintain an edge in a competitive market and provides the flexibility necessary to adjust to the always changing environment of manufacturing.
The potential risk of lacking one
Values of an asset can be understood through imagining life without one. A shop without a coordinate measuring machine, for example, would be dealing with manual dimension checks. Inspections take longer, production operators lose time, and measurement misses become potential risks. A shop has to hurriedly produce inspection reports when customers request them. Lacking confidence to measure reliably results in turning away complex jobs.
Now consider the total cost of all these limitations. Time loss, opportunity loss, loss of customer trust. Often, absent tools can cost more than the tools themselves. This is the definition of an asset. It removes constraints and opens opportunities.
Conclusion
CMM equipment should be viewed as more than just a single budget line item or a cost. It is a multi-dimensional asset. It brings value by saving time, preventing quality failures, supporting more value-added work, lasting decades, and supplying valuable data that drives continuous improvement.
To any serious quality and efficiency focused manufacturer, this is more than a purchase. It is a future- focused investment of the business. Good investments have returns that are not just seen on the bottom line. They are seen in the capabilities gained, the customers retained, and the reputation built.