The type of machinery your factory uses plays a crucial role in driving productivity, but you also need experienced and educated employees at the helm. Even equipment that drives automation, like coordinate measuring machines (CMM machines), doesn’t work solely on its own.
True, CMM machines were relied upon heavily once globalization unleashed overseas competition from factories with fewer regulations and lower labour costs. By performing quality control on production lines faster and more accurately than a human employee could, CMM machines brought much-needed efficiency to North American manufacturing.
But even today, in an era of Industry 4.0, many processes require human employees to work alongside their mechanical counterparts in automation. If you need to train your staff in metrology, here are some tips that will get you pointed in the right direction.
Authorized Dealers Also Teach
Often, authorized dealers in metrology equipment provide the best training. Look for a dealer that has been in operation for a few decades, as they have the best insights and the most experience.
The best dealers like Canadian Measurement Metrology have lessons for all kinds of machines at different levels, from Polyworks and PC-DMIS. Depending on the type of class and the difficulty-level, training should take up to five days.
Remote Learning
Ever since the start of the pandemic, remote learning has been the safest form of training, and this will be true for at least a while more. This type of learning also affords some wonderful training opportunities.
For example, the e-learning Modus for the Renishaw Equator sessions are a series of on-demand, interactive internet-based instructional videos. The courses will include summary sheets, Labs, and quizzes to ensure students have absorbed all the material.
Programming the Renishaw Equator with Modus will teach you how to create MODUS program and inspect any part, set up the graphical interface in the MODUS Organizer, use compare modes, and understand the basics of alignment, measurement, construction, and reporting.
In-class sessions let students use real CMM machines they’ll likely encounter in the field, but remote learning is not only convenient but a powerful educational tool. Optimize equipment use, cross-train employees, save travel times and costs associated with travel, increase throughput, and perform the training anywhere.
Training Certificates
After successful completion of the course, employees receive a training certificate to testify that they have learned all the material. Your employees will feel confident about their skills, and you’ll enjoy having employees who are surer of themselves.
Brush Up on Their Skills
The e-training modules are also comprehensive online libraries that provide the perfect way for employees to brush up on skills they may be rusty on or as a problem-solving tool for measurement issues they may run into. Having a resource like that at their disposal can provide invaluable information right when they need it.
Whether the student is in first grade or a Ph.D. candidate, nobody can retain all the information they learn. Even the best-trained employees need to have support from time to time, and the e-learning modules will be there to fall back on when needed.
Ongoing Training
An employee who currently knows their machines inside and out still has a lot to learn throughout the course of their career as technology and software continually evolves. Today’s CMM machine software allows for machines on the production line to communicate with each other.
For example, if there’s a machine breakdown, another CMM machine further downstream will know right away, so identifying and diagnosing the problem is instantaneous, and the costs of maintenance are reduced.
Precision and Accuracy
CMM machines need to provide reliable and repeatable results so there can’t be any errors in the measuring process, especially as they often provide quality control on the production lines. Reducing human error is an integral part of ensuring that your factory is making goods that meet or exceed your standards.
Metrology is the scientific study of measurement, and these complicated machines need to be overseen by people who can keep up. Make sure your team has comprehensive, up-to-date knowledge so these machines work with maximum efficiency.
A good carpenter never blames their tools, but a good tool isn’t of much use without a carpenter who knows what they’re doing. In the same way, it’s crucial to empower your employees and put them in a position to succeed by ensuring they know everything about their equipment. When it comes to metrology training, look to get comprehensive e-learning training from an experienced dealer.
