Tech

A Quick Guide to Better CMM Maintenance

Published

2 months ago

February 2, 2023

A coordinate-measuring machine, also known as a CMM, is a specialized piece of equipment common in high-precision manufacturing. It uses coordinate technology to measure and replicate the dimensions of particular objects.

CMMs are a lot more accurate than regular measurement gauges. This characteristic makes them the equipment of choice for quality assurance in certain industries, like aerospace, defense, and medical manufacturing.

Despite being a powerful piece of equipment and the most versatile measuring tool in the metrology industry, CMMs can also be quite delicate. They require the right environment and proper maintenance practices to maintain accuracy and reliability.

The Importance of Proper CMM Maintenance

It’s essential to clean and inspect each part of your machine to ensure it stays efficient and accurate. Preventative maintenance ensures that your CMM remains accurate and performs at its best. It also improves your machine’s longevity.

Without proper CMM maintenance, you could risk damaging your CMM. Repairs would involve operational delays and additional costs.

CMM Preventative Maintenance Tips

Preventative maintenance practices are ones your team could do by yourselves. It’s best to schedule regular maintenance checks for your CMM daily, weekly, monthly, or quarterly. These checks can alert you immediately to possible problems with your CMM.

Remove dust and dirt regularly

Clean and well-maintained air bearings ensure your CMM works as it should. These frictionless and stable bearings help ensure accuracy and efficiency. Dust and dirt can clog your machine’s air bearings, affecting its overall performance.

Aside from your machine’s air bearings, dust could also get into other surfaces and crevices. These tiny particles could affect your machine’s accuracy.

Handle Stylus Tips Properly

The stylus is the tip that makes contact with the object you want to measure with your CMM. Despite this significant role, the stylus can be fragile and require careful handling. Too much force could cause it to bend or break.

Clean your stylus with a cleaning agent and a lint-free cloth. Make sure to remove any residue from workplace materials.

Ensure Good Air Quality

Most CMMs use air bearings, and good air quality is essential to keep them running smoothly. Various air quality issues could affect machine performance and even burn out machine motors.

For air quality maintenance, ask and address the following questions:

Do the lines have condensation, oil, or other contaminants?
Is the airflow constant?
Are you using the proper pressure?

When To Call a Professional

Most preventative maintenance practices are simple enough to be performed internally. However, some issues require professional attention. You can also conduct regular professional maintenance checks to ensure you don’t miss anything.

Below are some procedures that require professional assistance. Many CMM suppliers also offer maintenance services alongside their machinery.

Conducting CMM Training

CMMs are highly specialized pieces of equipment. To handle them properly, your staff needs professional training.

Training courses allow you to get trained by CMM experts on the tools and knowledge necessary within your industry. Regular training sessions also help keep you updated on industry trends and standards.

Sensor Malfunctions

CMM sensors are critical to your machine’s speed and accuracy. They should be professionally inspected and calibrated annually.

Routine sensor maintenance can significantly improve the efficiency and accuracy of your machine. CMM sensors include the following:

Scanning probe
Single point laser
Line laser
Electronic touch trigger probe
Video camera

Faulty Bearings

Neglected air bearings could cause them to falter in their accuracy and stability. Properly maintained air bearings ensure a smooth, stable, and accurate measurement process.

A professional metrology company can thoroughly inspect your air bearings to prevent further machine damage.

A CMM is a significant investment for any business. Good maintenance practices help your machine last and perform at its best, thus making the most out of this investment.

Tech

Redmi Note 12 Turbo teaser images reveal even more specs

Published

7 hours ago

March 25, 2023

Harry Miller

We already know that the Redmi Note 12 Turbo is on its way with an expected announcement time of 7 PM on March 28. We also already know quite a bit about the phone thanks to Weibo leaks and a visit to AnTuTu. A new set of teaser images has now surfaced online alongside some additional device specs.

Teaser images

Apparently, the Redmi Note 12 Turbo’s display will be 12-bit, support HDR10+ and feature a 120Hz refresh rate, 1920Hz PWM Dimming and SGS Low Blue Light Certification. Previous rumors have indicated a display diagonal of 6.67 inches and an FHD+ resolution. The phone will boast pretty thin bezels, measuring just 1.95mm on top, and 1.42mm on the sides of the display, with a 2.22mm chin underneath it and a 93.45% screen-to-body ratio. The phone’s entire body will measure 7.9mm in thickness and weigh 181 grams.

The Redmi Note 12 Turbo is also rumored to offer a stereo speaker setup with Dolby ATMOS and Hi-Res Audio support alongside a 3.5mm audio jack. Also on board is an IR blaster. Confirming earlier rumors, the handset is expected to be among the first, if not the very first, to rock a Qualcomm Snapdragon 7+ Gen 2 chipset, alongside up to 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 1TB of UFS3.1 storage. As per the new teaser, the chip will be cooled by a 3725mm² vapor chamber cooler.

Teaser images

In a rather conflicting report, the new source now claims that the Redmi Note 12 Turbo will feature a side-mounted fingerprint reader instead of an in-display one. Also on the list of expected specs is a large 5,000 mAh battery with 67W charging. The phone is expected to have a 64MP main camera with OIS, 8MP ultrawide and a 2MP macro shooter. It is also said to run Android 13 with MIUI 14 on top.

There is still no word on pricing and availability. Though, it is worth noting that the Redmi Note 12 Turbo is expected to launch under the Poco F5 branding in India on April 5.

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Tech

Why can’t I sync blocked numbers to a new Android phone?

Published

8 hours ago

March 25, 2023

Harry Miller

Rita El Khoury / Android Authority

I don’t switch phones often, but when I do, I dread every single part of the process. Although Google has smoothed out some of the steps thanks to a more robust Android backup system and a new Fast Pair phone setup, a lot of tedious bits and pieces remain. It’s painful to re-pair wearables and Bluetooth accessories, adjust smart home gadgets to follow the new phone for geolocation automations, and sign into and re-customize apps to my liking. It can take a day and do all of that manually; what I can’t do, though, is transfer or sync my blocked numbers on my Android phone to a new phone.

And this little issue has been annoying me for a couple of years now. It baffles me that it hasn’t been fixed yet.

I trust Google to identify some spam numbers on its own and stop them from disrupting me, but I also make an effort to report as spam and block any other spammers and unwanted numbers that slip through. Still, every year or so, I find myself answering calls and looking at messages from these same unwanted numbers just because the blocklist didn’t carry over when I switched to a new phone.

My blocked numbers list doesn’t carry over when I switch phones. I end up answering calls and reading messages from the same unwanted numbers.

Spam and phishing are massive problems in some countries like the US and India. In my experience, they’ve been less of an issue in France, but they were a major annoyance in Lebanon where GDPR and privacy rules don’t exist. Since I was a practicing pharmacist, my number was registered with the union and was shared, without my consent, with hundreds of pharmaceutical and not-so-pharmaceutical companies. Even two years after shutting down my practice, I still get dozens of unwanted messages every week on my Lebanese number.

With spam being such an annoying everyday occurrence, you’d think that all the tools would be at your disposal to fight it. And yet, Google is fighting it with Assistant call screening and massive data collection from millions of users to identify spam before it annoys you, but it’s forgetting one very simple trick that could save everyone extra headache: Just sync my list of blocked numbers on Android across phones.

Spam, phishing, and abuse are massive issues. I should only have to block a number once, but Google is trying to solve the problem differently.

Beyond spam, the issue gets worse when you imagine that an ex or an abusive person from your past keeps calling you or messaging you. You block them and think you’re done with that crap, only to see their number pop up again when you switch to a new phone. If we’re intentionally choosing to block a number or mark it as spam, we don’t want to find ourselves looking at that same number again, ever.

Here are three ways this problem can be fixed, from simple and manual, to complex and automatic:

Add a manual export and import button to the blocked numbers list in the Google Phone and Messages apps.
Treat the blocked numbers list like the call history and make sure it backs up and restores when users switch phones.
Synchronize the blocked numbers list with my Google account (maybe as a part of Google Contacts?) so that it’s always updated across all my devices.

Apple does the latter with iCloud. You block a number on your iPhone and it’ll be synced to your iPad, iMac, and every other device you use. Google could and should do it the same way. Sure, this isn’t as sexy as Assistant call screening, but no one wants to keep blocking the same numbers again and again.

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Tech

New film by Calgary’s Tank Standing Buffalo streams on HBO

Published

14 hours ago

March 25, 2023

Harry Miller

A Calgary animator’s newest cartoon started streaming Thursday night on HBO Max.

Tank Standing Buffalo’s MONSTR was one of eight animated shorts chosen from more than 1,200 submissions to be part of the HBO Max series Only You: An Animated Shorts Collection.

MONSTR deals with Standing Buffalo’s fight with inner demons while apprenticing with a northwest totem carver following the death of his wife Marsha.

“My partner Marsha died suddenly in my arms of a brain aneurysm,” Standing Buffalo said in a release. “One moment she was there, the next she was gone. Without her, I was lost.

“I left Calgary to walk the west coast until I couldn’t walk, and ended up on carver Phil Ashbee’s doorstep. He saw I was in trouble, and took me in. I began a tough year-and -a-half apprenticeship, learning from him and another carver. The teachings were harsh, but helped me to heal.

Tank Standing Buffalo’s next project MONSTR is part of an HBO Max program for animators

“MONSTR takes place during my time with Phil, and brings to life how I confronted the grief of Marsha’s passing. It is my story, one only I can tell.”

Standing Buffalo worked with co-writer Xstine Coo, producer Amanda Miller and composers Cara Adu-Darko and Brandon Smith on the film, which features music by Walter MacDonald White Bear.

The film features the voices of Corey Feldman and Tristan Risk.

It’s Standing Buffalo’s third animated short, following RKLSS (2020), which screened at TIFF, and SAVJ (2021), which is currently being screened at a variety of film festivals.

HBO flew Standing Buffalo to Los Angeles for the Hollywood premiere of MONSTR Tuesday night.

Scene from MONSTR by Tank Standing Buffalo

In his artist statement, Standing Buffalo said art has literally saved his life – and his emergence as a rising animation star was launched by a scholarship he received to attend a Calgary animation workshop.

“I came to love animation six years ago when I received a scholarship through Quickdraw Animation Society in Calgary,” he said. “I am a person who thrives on routine and discipline. I appreciate the meditative repetition required to create animation.

“Through making my first two autobiographical shorts with monster and fantasy elements, I’ve found telling my story through animation is a form of time travel; my art is healing the person who I was in the past.”

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