The purpose of a manufacturing line is to achieve consistency at high-volume.
The problem, of course, is that every manufacturing floor is exposed to forces that push against consistency.
It might seem like your production lines are out of your control … after all, variations in operator performance, environmental conditions, and raw materials are unavoidable.
But you can go a long way toward getting rid of variation by adding a simple benchtop laser gauge. By doing so, you eliminate variation resulting from multiple operators performing manual measurements. With a laser gauge, all operators measure the exact same way every time.
Now, I get asked a ton of questions about our gauges. So I decided it would be a good idea to address some of the most common ones here:
1. Will the data I collect through laser gauging really be useful?
Knowing your plate thickness will help you understand your weight-to-thickness correlation. And you’ll finally know your true average baseline thickness – data you could never get from callipers. Furthermore, you’ll understand the variation between individual plates.
Once you have baseline thickness and variation data, you can set quantifiable goals to improve quality.
2. Will the results be tangible?
Improving quality early in the plate-making process will yield performance improvements in downstream processes, resulting in better finished batteries. There are two reasons for this:
First, your plate thickness will automatically be more consistent, which will improve the mechanical fit and efficiency of your battery cells.
Second, access to more/better data gives you the chance to optimize your designs, either by cutting size to achieve the same performance, or increasing performance while keeping the same form factor.
3. Will anyone care?
Your customers will appreciate the fact that you’ve gained closer control over the process that’s making their batteries. For OEMs, consistent quality is very important.
4. Will operators be able to adapt?
Your operators will appreciate a gauging solution that’s accurate, easy to use, and takes up as little of their time as possible. They’ll be able to spend more time on value-added tasks instead of tedious measurements.
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At Co-efficient, we’re hard at work to bring the best thickness control solutions to the lead battery industry.
This work is important. Afterall, you come to work day in, day out to give your all. Shouldn't you expect the same from your production lines?
Cheers, Steve