Update on The Romer Arm: It's Here
A few months ago in this blog, we detailed an Ohio safety grant that Semco applied for. The grant, supporting businesses’ endeavors to improve workplace safety, would help Semco purchase a portable measuring arm. This state-of-the-art device would be used to perform difficult measurements of graphite components inside of large machines we use at Semco for graphite fabrication. Often, the component being manufactured must be measured while within the machine. In these cases, a quality inspector would have to go into the machine, compromising the quality of measurements (the machines are tight spaces for the inspectors and thus impeded accurate measuring). More significantly, the inspector walking (or more like crouching) into the machine could prove dangerous. To make the graphite manufacturing we do at Semco safer for our employees, we decided to apply for the safety grant which would allow us to purchase a Romer Arm. Last month we let you know that our grant application was approved by the state of Ohio and we proceeded with the purchase of the Romer Arm. This month, we’re happy to say that the Romer Arm is here and fully operational.
While we wouldn’t quite say our quality inspectors were like kids on Christmas with a new toy, the arrival of the Romer was very welcome on the shop floor of our graphite manufacturing facility. Where once our inspectors had to go into very uncomfortable spaces to do precision measurements, they can now use the flexible arm with the laser probe to effectively scan all the part features of a large component while they remain outside of the machine. The safety hazards of crawling into tight spaces of a large machine with slick flooring and hard surfaces have been eliminated. Our inspectors are happier and safer. The Romer Arm’s laser scan option also provides our inspectors with state-of-the-art measuring capabilities. Already, we’re seeing greatly reduced delta when it comes to measurement errors. The Romer Arm provides a virtually error-free dimensional report. Not only that, but the machine has capabilities to overlay actual measured surfaces against the part solid model and provide any deviation from it visually or with data. The only thing that’s hard to measure now is how happy out quality inspectors are about having the Romer Arm in their toolkit.
Quality graphite fabrication requires the most precise of measurements so that our clients’ components work exactly as they are designed to work. When our employees have the best tools to do their job and they feel safe doing it, then we have achieved work conditions even closer to our ideal. That all translates into higher quality graphite components for our customers. Semco would like to thank the state of Ohio for sponsoring this grant. We couldn’t be happier about its outcome.