Agile, accurate, portable inspection for automotive operators of all levels

Automotive manufacturers are under pressure to bring better products to market quicker than ever before. Competition is fierce from new entrants to the marketplace. And when already small margins continue to become even tighter, a seemingly small single issue can have major implications. Issues can occur at multiple points along the development and production of a car, but some are easier to control than others. Quality issues, for example, can put a large, unsightly fender dent in the single-digit margins commonplace today. So how can portable inspection make a difference? And while simultaneously having to compete against growing competition in a transitioning industry?

Digital technology reducing risk

In response to this challenging business environment, manufacturing technology is offering growing capabilities. Greater speed, agility, connectivity and accuracy. All of these values can combine to reduce risk in automotive manufacturing and ensure margins are healthy.

One of the major obstacles to protecting margins in the automotive industry is the dwindling skilled workforce. Across all manufacturing sectors, the skills gap is increasing, with highly skilled engineers retiring and not enough people to fill their places. In the US alone there will be over 2 million unfilled manufacturing jobs by 2030.

Making manufacturing technology more intuitive, usable and flexible means critical tasks such as measurement can be relied upon regardless of the experience level of the team. This brings a ‘safer’ approach to manufacturing in the automotive industry, making it less exposed to uncontrollable variables and more able to protect those tight margins.

Portable inspection: usability above all

For many years, a clear metrology trend in most sectors including the automotive industry is to put measurement directly in the manufacturing environment, where process improvements can be the most beneficial.

The importance of usability cannot be overstated; if a product is intuitive and easy-to-use, you will get the maximum from it, bringing greater return on investment. Even for the less experienced operators, they will be able to just get on with measurement.

A good example is with portable measuring arms. At Hexagon, we’re now on our eighth generation of our leading portable measuring solution – the Absolute Arm. We keep looking for ways to improve usability and productivity focusing on values such as robustness, accuracy and ease of use.

Since portable measuring arms made their debut over 50 years ago, user experience and innovation have led to today’s state-of-the-art arms. To ensure they continue to bring high value, they combine easy portability with simple usability to make the measurement of small to medium parts easier.

Shrinking the skills gap with portable inspection

In the latest revision the Absolute Arm introduced collaborative feedback, which consists of new sensors in the arm that notify the user if anything happens in the arm’s working environment that could compromise the quality of the measurement.

This type of support is invaluable at a time when more staff are needing to adopt non-specialist roles and conduct tasks historically carried out by other disciplines.

On a busy factory floor, vibrations can have an impact on measurements, even though it may have only moved by half a millimetre. The sensors in the Absolute Arm automatically alert the user about those vibrations and they can then decide how to mitigate without losing any of the measurement data already taken.

But ultimately, today, accuracy is not necessarily the main difference between a good measurement solution and a bad one. Of course, better accuracy is always a good thing. But judging by customer feedback the main priority is user experience. Users said a more ergonomic, more usable arm was increasingly important.

An inspection solution with the potential to provide ultimate accuracy offers far less value if that accuracy can only be achieved by one or two experts. What happens if one is off sick while the other is on holiday? What happens if they change careers or retire? Instead, the Absolute Arm offers ease of use, comfort and intuitive functionality, so that market-leading accuracy is always accessible to all users, regardless of the operator’s experience. This means all they need to do is switch on the arm and start measuring, with no complications.

Conclusion

With this approach, alongside features like collaborative feedback and an advanced frame structure, precise measurements are attainable by all users.

In today’s automotive industry, margins are razor-thin and the pressure to innovate is relentless. At the same time, precision, speed, and adaptability are key goals, and this is where portable measuring arms like the Absolute Arm have become indispensable. They are a powerful an agile tool for manufacturers aiming to maintain the highest quality standards while navigating challenges such as tightening margins, a shrinking skilled workforce, and increasing market competition. As part of Hexagon’s advanced metrology solutions, these solutions bring a ‘safer’ approach to manufacturing, prioritising right first time production and eliminating quality issues, helping to avoid costly rework or delays. And such is the level of technology today that even with manual processes, automated correction and adjustments of the measurements empowers operators of all levels.

Ultimately, portable measuring arms play a critical role in modern automotive manufacturing, enabling companies to stay competitive, protect their margins, and deliver exceptional products to market with confidence.

Learn more about our solutions for the automotive industry here: Driving efficiency with quality and automation | Hexagon