Sunnen
Assembly Line
Electronic Bore Gage Automates Bore Data Acquisition
Manually writing down bore gage measurements and inputting them into a statistical process control (SPC) system is slow and risks transcription errors even when working on parts with standardized requirements — this process grows unacceptably riskier with custom precision parts and bearings, such as those made by Kamatics Corporation. When the high-mix, low-volume operation started searching for ways to reliably increase productivity and profitability, moving to a digital gaging approach was high on the list.
The company teamed up with Sunnen to produce a digital gage, using the analog PG-800 gage as a starting point and rapidly prototyping the experimental system. Phil Hanna, product manager at Sunnen, says the PG-800 was used as the starting point because it was a well-proven system that Kamatics was already using. The PG-800 can cover diameters from 0.370 inch to 3.00 inches (with optimal extension fingers) and is typically used with a Sunnen PG-400E or PG-500E setting fixture to eliminate the need for master rings.