As a service provider, Northern Machining & Repair of Escanaba, Michigan measures many different parts. They work in fabrication, welding, preventive maintenance, and repair. They machine and weld a broad range of shapes, sizes and materials, and their measurements range in size from an average part of a few inches to pieces larger than 15 feet.

In the past, NMR (northernmachining.com) used a great variety of measurement tools - as various as the parts they measured. They used micrometers, calipers, tape measures, and so forth. None provided them with the full functionality they needed, since each was limited by a lack of mobility, accuracy or an inability to measure large radii.

SOLUTION:

NMR considered many different approaches, but found none that fit as well as the Platinum FaroArm. For them, enhanced mobility was the primary deciding factor due to the size of the parts they measure and the need to go to those parts. The portable system allows them to take measurements where no others can, right on the job site. Not only is the FaroArm portable, but according to their manufacturing engineer, Patrick Weber, the accuracy gained has been ''fantastic''.

NMR found the FaroArm easy to learn and the system was quickly embraced by their staff. The CAM2 X software is intuitive and also easy to learn. They use their FaroArm on a daily basis. As more and more customers learn of their added capabilities, they get even more work with new-found applications.

ROI:

In one recent job, NMR needed to make custom gussets for an iron ore stacker. A traditional method for this task would be to make a cardboard template. This particular stacker had inward bulging sheet metal sides, so they needed to make 20 of these gussets at exact locations while minimizing hand cutting and fitting.

Using a box level, they laid out a series of vertical lines and then scanned each line freehand using the FaroArm. They saved each scan as an IGES file and then imported them all into CAD. Using their CAD system, they generated files that were readable by a CNC cutting table that plasma-cut the needed gussets. According to their field technicians, their new method using the FaroArm saved them 40 hours of hand cutting and fitting. They achieved line-to-line fit and produced a perfect repair.

''Our overall quality has significantly improved due to our ability to quantify our work,'' Weber said. ''We have a better overall feeling of what our true ability is and have raised the bar, so to speak, in regards to quality.''

''We save a lot of time - as well as money - by not making measuring mistakes and doing a quality job the first time.''