By Mark Boucher, CMM Quarterly http://www.cmmquarterly.com/
With these pressing financial times may companies will be looking to cut costs. The Quality Control department will certainly be one of the areas that will be looked at. There have been some discussions about how often do we to have the coordinate measuring machine (CMM) calibrated. The standard for the industry has been yearly. Can this be pushed out to two years? Am I violating any customer specifications?
Yearly Calibrations
It has always been standard procedure to have the CMM calibrated yearly. This has been the accepted practice for good reason. One must look at how often your individual CMM is being used, the wear and tear, and the history of your CMM to properly determine if foregoing a calibration cycle is wise.
Before a decision is made about moving out the calibration cycle, it is highly recommended to check with your OEM to how this will affect the OEM warranty and how this will affect their standing behind the manufacturing specification of the CMM. Of course, this will be like checking with the oil company to see if the oil in a car really needs to be changed every 3,000 miles. Yearly calibration is a continuing revenue source for the OEMs but if you have already moved away from the OEM to a contracted 3rd party for calibrations then you have already addressed any concerns about the OEM warranty.
When looking at the CMM as a valued piece of your Quality department and your commitment to the customer to ensure you are producing a good product care must be given to your decision to push out the calibration. My personal recommendation is not to skip any calibration cycle unless the CMM is truly not being used on any regular basis. Even with some of the costs being demanded by the OEMs for calibration these days it is still important to have the preventative maintenance done yearly. Think about the cost associated with repairing a CMM that goes down during a production run. Trying to schedule a service repairman to get your CMM up and running in a timely manner can result in extra costs that may have been avoided if yearly maintenance had been done.
Important things to consider about the consequences of foregoing a yearly calibration:
How often do I use the CMM?
How will this affect my warranty?
How will this affect the OEMs standing behind the published accuracy specs?
Can I afford the cost and time associated with a ‘down’ machine?
Does my 3rd party calibration service offer preventative maintenance as part of their service?
Do I fully understand what my OEM offers when it comes to calibration?
How much money will I really be saving by pushing out the calibration cycle?
Will my customer be affected? Do they have any requirements that will prevent me from changing my calibration schedule?
3rd Party Calibration Services
When contracting a 3rd party calibration service it is important to establish trust in the contractor you choose. As with any contracting service I would recommend calling a few of their customers to get a good understanding how services that are offered where performed. Many of the contracted calibration services are former OEM service repairmen and are well qualified to perform calibrations and repair but it will be important to establish and understand exactly what services will be performed and what type of warranty comes with the service.
You can contact me at http://www.info@cmmquarterly.com/ if you would like a list of 3rd party calibration contractors.
This article is copyrighted. Please contact Mark Boucher at info@cmmquarterly.com for permission to reprint.
