Important Quality Control Measures to Consider in Manufacturing
Quality control is one of the most crucial elements of modern manufacturing, especially where high-precision design and fabrication techniques have given way to very low tolerances throughout the manufacturing process. In many applications, components manufactured to a fraction of a millimeter outside of the original specifications can completely fail.
Precision measurement isn’t the only important quality control factor; materials analysis, process controls, and other parts of the manufacturing process all contribute to a component’s quality.
Precision Measuring and Gauging
Modern parts and components have the benefit of precision design, allowing them to be manufactured using the least amount of material possible. This benefit comes at a price, however: Tolerances are smaller than ever before, with many components becoming unusable if some dimension is off by even a fraction of an inch.
Of course, small tolerances aren’t the only reason precision measuring and gauging are important: Any product or component can benefit from precise manufacturing. With the right quality control throughout manufacturing (such as CNC machine quality control), the final product will be more functional and less prone to errors or faults.
Material Analysis
Just like with high precision, modern design has also allowed for more accurate representations of certain materials. In other words, manufacturers have more understanding than ever over how a certain material will behave under certain conditions.
As a result, materials analysis has become a crucial part of the quality control process. If the material used isn’t appropriate to the application, then design or manufacturing changes may be necessary.
Statistical Process Control
As the name suggests, statistical process control uses statistics to analyze the overall efficiency or performance of a certain process. While this method has several impacts on manufacturing, one of the most important impacts is on quality control.
With statistic process control, manufacturers can analyze their existing processes based on the quality of their end products. If processes ultimately lead to a high rate of fault products, for example, the manufacturer can use statistic process control to analyze and determine any contributing factors.
Process Parameters/Standard Operating Conditions
Often, it’s possible to eliminate most quality control issues by implementing the right process parameters and standard operating conditions. Although many aspects of manufacturing are now automated or machine-assisted, the process is ultimately overseen and handled by humans.
As a result, humans (i.e., the manufacturing staff) are ultimately responsible for ensuring quality throughout the production line—a responsibility best guaranteed through process parameters and standard operating conditions.
ISO 9001 Certification
The ISO 9001 certification represents a manufacturer’s commitment to the ISO 9001 family of quality control standards. Those looking for manufacturing services should, in most cases, look for the ISO 9001 certification before doing business with a manufacturer.
As of 2015, the ISO 9001 standards highlight quality control principles, including customer focus, relationship management, leadership, engagement of people, process approach, improvement, and evidence-based decision making. You may notice that these principles relate less to manufacturing themselves than the honesty and integrity a manufacturer is supposed to employ with their customers.
High-Quality Manufacturing Solutions
Ultimately, the best way to guarantee quality control in manufacturing is to go through a reputable manufacturer. With the right manufacturer, quality and process controls are essentially guaranteed throughout the process, ensuring a high-quality end product.
Since 1998, Laszeray Technology, LLC has provided custom-machined parts to a wide range of industries throughout North America and currently maintains the ISO 9001:2015 standard. For more information about our custom CNC parts and custom machining services, call our team at 440-582-8430.
