The Romer Portable Coordinate Measuring Machine (PCMM) has given inspection and quality control a new level of ease, increasing productivity and revolutionizing the world of portable measurements. There are countless applications for the Romer, whether it's GM making cars, or Smith & Wesson using Romer laser scanning to reengineer the process that has produced the finest guns in the world, the Romer Articulating Arm, pun intended, has reached out and touched someone.

GM is one of the finest automakers in the world, and two new cars built in General Motors Corp.'s assembly operations in Lansing, Michigan, currently rank Number 1 and Number 3 in a crucial quality audit. This puts Lansing, the biggest assembly plant in North America, at the pinnacle of the automaker's ceaseless efforts to build better cars.

"It has never happened before for any car to rank Number One in its first production year," Plant Manager Jim Zubkus said. Alero reached the Number Three spot after just six weeks of production, an unprecedented quality achievement. The Grand Am and Alero were evaluated against more than five dozen car and truck models turned out by GM's 32 North American plants.

"There are a huge number of factors behind this success, a lot of new methods, processes and technologies" and one of these is a standout, namely the portable coordinate measuring machines (PCMM) from Romer. "The only change I would make in this whole experience is that I wish I had had this business case sooner," he concluded. "We would have been able to get started sooner. The portable CMM is a great innovation in this industry."

It's a similar story at Smith & Wesson, the largest manufacturer of handguns in the U.S., who uses the Romer Laser Scanning system to reverse engineer handguns, which produces a fraction of scrap. Directly off the forging area, Smith & Wesson built a separate room for their new quality assurance equipment. Inside is a Laser Scanning Inspection system from Romer Inc. with a 7-axis INFINITE portable CMM and a ScanShark laser scanner. This combination of articulating arm measurement with laser scanning enables maximum surface inspection of a work piece.

"Our goal in this department is to get our scrap rate down to almost nothing," states Joe Dombkowski, Forge Manager. "Just a few years ago, our scrap per unit produced was at its historical lowest level. In this fiscal year, we have lowered the rate down to one-sixth of what it was. Percentage wise, we have made substantial progress. This is due to the new inspection system, the experience of our forgers, and better practices in place to spot possible problems." "This technology is helping us in many ways," states Larry Flatley, Business Manager of Specialty Services at Smith & Wesson. "We are focused on early detection of inconsistencies in our manufacturing processes, and this solution makes our forging process almost foolproof. When we consider ROI on this purchase, we have reduced setup time on inspection by nearly 40%. We have tried other measurement methods with hard gauges and layouts with less than satisfactory results. Also, those tools do not support design changes readily, which was another drawback. "Reverse engineering has shown us how we could get to a better part. This is what sold me on the inspection technology. Using digital data, you speed up the process and there is less chance of error. We save the most when an error is caught early in the process. The cost savings in decreased inspection time and reduced scrap in this department alone has paid for itself in less than one year," concludes Flatley.

So no matter what your application, if you need portability, accuracy, and increased efficiency, the Romer line of products may be the solution that can help take your business to the next level.

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Leica Absolute Tracker AT401
Absolutely Portable!
A new level of portability and durability, The complete measurement system weighs less than 15 kg (33 lbs.) including the case and in a minimum configuration it will fit into the overhead compartment of most commercial airliners. This is truly the world’s most portable CMM.

Click to learn more about Leica

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