USER STORY - FARO Asia

USER STORY
was gradually faced with issues concerning
measurement consistencies. The company
wanted to reduce the amount of time spent on
inspection, as well as eliminate factors such as
human and equipment error that was inherent
with the usage of traditional hand tools.
PROTON achieved higher accuracy levels and
repeatability in its inspection checks using the FaroArm.
Fueled by a personal commitment to improve
on quality, Zulhasni and his team went in
search for a viable solution at the Malaysia
MetalTech tradeshow. The exhibition allowed
PROTON the opportunity to see, touch and
witness the technical prowess of all available
measurement equipment in the market.
The PROTON team first considered a handful
of brands, and then with PROTON’s stringent
procurement process, they narrowed the
options down to 2 brands, of which FARO was
one of them. “In a final accuracy test using a
step gauge master tool, we found that FARO
gave us better repeatability and accuracy,”
mentioned the PROTON team. “Comparatively,
FARO offered lower variation than the
competing brand, yet the systems were rather
closely priced. We concluded it was a better
investment to purchase the FaroArm, and
decisively made our investment.”
■ Enhanced Efficiency and Capability
In late 2008, PROTON purchased a set of
FARO Laser ScanArm V3 and a set of FaroArm
Platinum, for the QC Body and Jig Shop
departments respectively. These are portable
CMMs that enable operators the liberty to
perform high-accuracy measurements right
on the assembly line. The FaroArm Platinum
performs contact measurement by means of
probing, while the FARO Laser ScanArm ® has
the additional ability to obtain scans of objects
without making contact.
With FARO solutions, PROTON achieved higher
accuracy levels and repeatability during its
inspection checks. PROTON managed to
achieve tighter tolerances, with an accuracy
of 0.02mm to 1mm, for the entire range
of measurement volume. The device offers
portability and versatility, on top of its efficient
and accurate scanning capabilities.
PROTON also enjoyed significant time- and
manpower-savings with the implementation
of the FaroArm, which greatly boosted the
company’s efficiency. “1 portable CMM now
replaces the multitude of conventional hand
tools we used in the past,” continued the
Project Head. “Coupled with the arm’s user
friendliness, we have saved plenty of time.
On average, it used to take us up to 4 days to
properly inspect 1 car unit — from measuring,
to inspecting and producing reports. Now,
we only need 2 days to complete the entire
task!”
In addition, PROTON also managed to
have substantial manpower-savings on its
inspection checks. The company was able to
deploy the FaroArm anywhere on the shop
floor, whenever required. This eliminated the
need to move objects to a fixed machine,
which saved PROTON time and labor. In fact,
PROTON managed to free some staff members
for other tasks, requiring only 1 inspector
for quality checks, instead of 3 or 4 in the past.
■ Exceeding Expectations on Return On
Investment
Due to an extremely high frequency of use in
the first 2 years, PROTON managed to achieve
full returns on investment (ROI) in just half the
time that was originally expected. “Based on
our conservative calculations, we targeted to
reach ROI at the end of 3 years,” indicated the
Project Head. “However, requests to utilize the
FaroArm were coming from other departments
in PROTON, as well as from external parties
such as research units of the local universities.
So with the FaroArm in operation for 75% of
the time, we promptly realized a positive ROI
within the first 18 months.”