| A technician uses a Faro arm to check the bond-line interface on injection-molded, glass-filled polypropylene pressure-vessel parts. Inspections let Sloan Flushmate adjust manufacturing conditions for minimal part-to-part variations. |
A measuring arm from Faro Technologies Inc., Lake Mary, Fla. (www.faro.com), lets a design team conduct full dimensional inspections of key features faster and more consistently than manual methods. Plastic injection-molded pressure vessels hold water at 20 psi and release it during flushing. "Leak-free tanks depend on a good bond between dimensionally consistent mating surfaces," says Chuck Pelto, quality engineering manager at toilet-maker Sloan Flushmate, Hudson, Mich. (www.flushmate.com). The result is a pressure-assist toilet-flushing system that uses less than 1.6 gallons/flush without sacrificing performance.
"The Faro measuring arm monitors part-to part dimensional variations," adds Pelto. "And the arm's software generates statistical reports that help us tweak tooling and molding condition to lower part variations."
| CAM2 inspection software bundled with the Faro arm shows where to take a measurement. The monitor displays a wire-frame part model and probe location relative to the part. |
