Avoid the High Cost of Production Downtime with Deviation Analysis

How Deviation Analysis aids Inspection in Aerospace & Defense.

When it comes to production downtimes, the tangible and intangible costs can be overwhelming as well as detrimental to manufacturing organizations. One of the best ways to quickly jump these costly and time-consuming hurdles is to use Deviation Analysis in your inspection process.

Deviation Analysis for Inspection.

While deviation analysis is referred to by a number of terms such as comparative analysis, computer-aided inspection (CAI), computer aided verification (CAV), or color map, the process is the same. Point cloud data is overlaid to an existing CAD model or scan data of another part to show deviation. Not only is it used for rapid inspection, it is also used for rapid design verification, part-to-part comparison, and tooling validation.

Accuracy and Speed.

Because accuracy and speed are paramount in the Aerospace and Defense industry, deviation analysis is the inspection process of choice for many. It clearly indicates out of tolerance conditions with far more data than traditional coordinate measuring machine (CMM) reports. Producing point clouds gives engineers the ability to measure everywhere, instead of being restricted to only certain parts of a drawing. Furthermore, it provides rapid solutions to help swiftly move through production downtimes.

Experience.

“In my ten years of experience working for QC Engineering, I’ve seen a range of customers that have experienced the cost and time benefits of deviation analysis,” says Steve Traynor, Engineering Manager at The QC Group. “When traditional inspection methods don’t always paint the full picture, deviation analysis offers a clearer and more transparent insight into your part’s final performance. Most manufacturing design is done digitally, and now, using deviation analysis with a CAD database makes it easy to do the same for inspection. Additionally, if done during the design phase, it can even prevent the product from failing inspection which would ultimately save even more time and money.”

Analysis of the color map can provide valuable insight into how the parts fit together and function in an assembly, as well as deviation of individual components. A single laser scan can produce data for a multitude of inspections.

Download a few of our sample files and see what a typical deliverable would look like, and how it can help you avoid manufacturing downtimes, keep your customers happy, and save you time and money.