Technical Q&A: industrial metrology

Smart, connected and easy to use metrology solutions are a key component of any advanced manufacturing operation but how can engineering firms ensure that they’re tapping into the full capabilities of the technology? The Engineer approached experts from some of the leading organisations in this sector – Bowers Group; Sempre, and Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence - to learn more about the trends and technologies that are driving developments in the field.

Geoff Jackson: De-skilling the measurement process and, where possible, removing operator influence has always been a driver to improved process capability but I’m now seeing a clear desire to migrate away from attribute based gauging.

More than ever, our customers want to report and analyse variable measurement data. We have therefore added significant reporting functionality allowing the user to customise how and where data is reported for any given component. Wireless data acquisition and closed loop process control is also on customers’ wish lists so the ability to export data as well as report locally is paramount.