Why investing in quality CMM equipment pays off?

As a manufacturing business owner, you will need to justify your purchases, big or small. You analyze the costs, calculate the returns, and try to determine if the money could be better spent elsewhere. This is the right thing to do, however, when it comes to measuring equipment and more specifically cmm equipment, the less expensive option is the more tempting option. After all, it's a machine that just measur

The reality is more complex. A coordinate measuring machine is more than just another shop floor machine and it justifies the cost in multiple ways, from managing your quality and customer satisfaction to preserving your reputation. From the onset, superior quality measuring machines save money in a variety of ways. Let us explain far reaching advantages.

Reliable data comes from quality equipment

The goal for measurements is to understand if your parts are correct, If your measurement equipment isn’t telling you accurate data, you are going blind. Sure, a machine may be cheap, but if its quality is drifting out of calibration in a quick time frame, if the readings are inconsistent, and if the machine is unable to hold accuracy, what are you really spending your money on?

Quality CMM machines are to be trusted to give you consistent results. The materials used are of a better quality, making the construction and the electronics more stable. So when a machine tells you a dimension is within tolerances, you can rely on that. The same for out of spec. The machine gives you the data, and you need to be able to act on that data. For good quality control to be in place, data must be available, otherwise you are stuck in a guessing game.

Your reputation is on the line when you prevent escapes.

Letting a bad part reach the customer is a big risk in manufacturing. This happens everywhere once. The costs of an escape can be £€$’s for scrap costs, rework labour costs, shipping delays, and even business losses and contracts that were to be penalised.

An efficient coordinate measuring machine provides the opportunity to assess the quality of parts prior to shipment. With the right programming, and regular use, critical features on every part, or a statistically significant sample, can be evaluated. The machine does not get fatigued, or take days off. Each part is measured with the same criteria, providing uniformity. The consistency of the machine is the best preventative measure to allow defects to evade detection. A dependable machine provides the sense of security to know that inconsistent human judgment is being eliminated.

Resources are liberated with quicker inspections

If the process to conduct inspections is not efficient, you are wasting time and money, and creating a bottleneck. Parts are lined up waiting to be inspected, and operators are waiting to receive a pass or fail on the next step in the process. Ultimately, production is delayed. This is where quality CMM equipment can change the game.

A quality CMM will allow you to conduct inspections with greater speed and at a consistently high level of quality, meaning that the machine can be trusted to conduct inspections without the need for an operator to conduct a repeat inspection to validate the results. The time savings associated with inspections are extensive and over the course of a year, thousands of hours of labor can be returned to the organization for more productive work. The bottom line is that you can put money back in the organization’s pocket.

Manufacturing business with industry specific focus

Not all manufacturing jobs have the same payoff. High precision manufacturing jobs, such as those in aerospace and medical devices, tend pay better. However, customers in these sectors tend give higher demands and expectations. They tend to want to know that you possess adequate precision measuring capability and want to receive detailed inspection reports in addition to the usual measuement reports.

On the measurement side, having measurement capability accelerates the process in differentiating you from others and demonstrates your commitment and seriousness to quality. The tools you have speak to your capability. This is credibility that helps you win contracts that others do not have the quality measurement tools to win. It is the measurement tools that assists in advancing you into higher value work. This increases the type of jobs you can tackle and helps you develop better, longer lasting relationships with your customers.

Abbreviated cost of ownership

The initial purchase price is not the only cost to consider with a machine, the cost of maintenance, calibration, machine downtime and lifespan must be considered. A less expensive machine may look appealing on the surface, however, a machine that frequently breaks down may cost more in the long run, as may machines that have parts that are hard to  source, or machines that minimize their operational productive lifetime to  an unaaceptable cost by  a detrimental decline in dysfunctional operational accuracy.

Quality cmm equipment is built to last at least 15 years, provided that all maintenance is kept up to date. While the initial cost is higher, divided over the long lifespan, the cost comes out to an annual figure that is quite reasonable, and for all of those years, the equipment is consistently working and supporting production. That is a life span that is hard to beat.

What the users say

People who work with the equipment on a daily basis are often the best sources of information. One user said that a high quality video measuring machine completely changed how their quality control was done. They stated that inspection time was cut by a staggering 40 percent, and the machine was able to do all of that with the same level of precision. Another user stated that the equipment was able to handle both small components, and of large workpieces with the same level of precision. In situations like these, the versatility and reliability that is provided will be highly appreciated.

In situations like these, the stories give the people a lot more to work with in terms of how satisfied they are. They are buying more than just a machine, they are investing in capability, efficiency, and confidence.

Avoiding hidden costs

There is a hidden side when it comes to price. When a piece of measurement machinery is unreliable, your operators will lose confidence in it. They will begin double checking measurements, or even checking out measurement jobs. All of a sudden, measuring equipment becomes dead machinery, and operators revert to manual measuring. That is not saving money. That is wasting it.

A good measuring machine will become an integral tool. When operators become confident in it, they will use it as part of their measuring workflow. They will not develop workarounds. All of that trust, and your machine will become an asset instead of an expensive paperweight.

Longer term thinking is always better

Immediate costs can easily be focused on, and that comes without thinking. However, measuring machinery is better for the long term. It will give you data that will be better for measurements. It will take less time to check measurings, and will allow better work to be done. All of this will be spread over the long life expectancy of the equipment. Measuring machines will always be more worthwhile in the long term.

Your competition is not waiting for you so investing in top quality cmm equipment is not an expense; it is an investment for the future.

Conclusion

Measurement is about trust.  Trust in the process, the parts, and the data. Trust your customers will have quality measuring equipment. quality cmm equipment shows you trust your customers. Trust your cmms have your back day in and day out by verifying compliance.

The cheapest cmm equipment saves you money today, while the cmm equipment that makes you money and saves time is the better investment. The quality cmms prevent the cost of added rework, prevent escapes, most inspections, and missed opportunities cmm equipment that saves you the most money is the quality stuff, and it saves you the most money. It's the cost of cheap cmms versus the cost of cheap cmm Motivationally equipped cmms are designed for the future.