July PPC Meeting at the CMSC Conference Concludes Last Phase of Roadmap Project
Weatherford, TX – September 5, 2018 – The PrecisionPath Consortium (PPC) for Large-Scale Manufacturing today announced the release of their Technology Roadmap for Large-Scale Manufacturing. The Consortium is a collaboration of commercial-industry partners, the Coordinate Metrology Society, and UNC Charlotte working to determine and prioritize the technology requirements of manufacturers producing large-scale, high accuracy parts and products. The full report is available at the PPC website and can be downloaded here. The PrecisionPath Technology Roadmapping project was funded by an Advanced Manufacturing Technology Consortia (AMTech) Grant from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), an agency of the U.S. Commerce Department.
PrecisionPath Team leaders and participants of each working group have contributed a large body of research on technologies and drivers, usage applications, and other critical areas of study. An industry-at-large survey of users and managers of portable metrology systems was also conducted over a six-month period to capture valuable insights from professionals in the metrology field. The study inquired about existing capabilities and requirements, as well as anticipated future needs, for portable metrology systems used in large-scale precision manufacturing (LPM).
The PrecisionPath Technology Roadmap details all aspects of the metrology industry as it relates to the challenges of large scale manufacturing today. The research covers market drivers, technology families, usage scenarios, industry standards, data management, and workforce development. Based on data analysis and the industry survey, the report outlines a variety of trends that cut across multiple 3D measurement technology families. These findings are expected to drive consequential changes in both hardware and software solutions as manufacturers make incremental moves toward Smart Factory initiatives. The Roadmap also identified serious vulnerabilities within the industry due to the lack of a vibrant workforce, current skillsets, and the shedding of nearly 25% of the metrology workforce retiring in the next 5 years. The consortium provides a checklist of urgent actions to develop a future, sustainable workforce. The 70+ page roadmap captures the mindshare of industry professionals, the scope and potential of the next-generation, data-driven factory, and the evolution of measurement technologies needed to support the future of the large-scale manufacturing industry.
The team recently convened at the Coordinate Metrology Society Conference, Reno, NV in July 2018. The closing draft of the PPC Technology Roadmap was presented to all PPC members for a final review prior to its launch. The consortium also discussed the importance of the current workforce issues in the field of metrology and will focus on research in this area for its next project, which will curtail into upcoming initiatives of the CMS Education Sub-Committee. Interested metrology professionals who can commit to attending PrecisionPath technical meetings and conferences are urged to contact CMS Committee Chair Ron Hicks at ron.hicks@apisensor.com or Dr. Ed Morse at emorse@uncc.edu.
The PrecisionPath Consortium is comprised of representatives from leading manufacturing companies including Lockheed Martin, Newport News Shipbuilding, BMW, The Boeing Company, Caterpillar, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Spirit AeroSystems, Brookhaven National Laboratory, and Siemens. Participating OEMs and metrology service providers included Automated Precision (API), New River Kinematics (NRK), Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence, ECM Global Measurement Solutions, Nikon Metrology, FARO Technologies, Brunson Instrument Company, Verisurf Software and Planet Tool and Engineering. Consortium organizers are Ron Hicks, CMS PrecisionPath Chair, and UNC Charlotte representatives Ed Morse with support from John Ziegert, Ram Kumar, and Antonis Stylianou. Thomas Lettieri of NIST serves in a consulting role for the consortium.
About the PrecisionPath Consortium
The PrecisionPath Consortium for Large-Scale Manufacturing is an industry-driven coalition led by the Coordinate Metrology Society and UNC Charlotte. The alliance is supported by an Advanced Manufacturing Technology Consortia (AMTech) Grant from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The PrecisionPath Consortium will develop strategic roadmaps to solve universal technology challenges faced by manufacturers of large, high-precision parts and assemblies. PrecisionPath members hail from industries such as aerospace, defense, power generation, and more. For more than 30 years, the Coordinate Metrology Society has served industrial measurement professionals involved in large-scale manufacturing ¾ end users, OEMs, software developers and service providers. UNC Charlotte supports industry-academia collaborations in search of next-generation manufacturing technologies. For more information, contact CMS Committee Chair Ron Hicks at ron.hicks@apisensor.com or Dr. Ed Morse of UNC Charlotte’s Center for Precision Metrology at emorse@uncc.edu.
About the Coordinate Metrology Society
The Coordinate Metrology Society is comprised of users, service providers, and OEM manufacturers of close-tolerance industrial coordinate measurement systems, software, and peripherals. The metrology systems represented at the annual Coordinate Metrology Society Conference (CMSC), include articulated arm CMMs, laser trackers, laser radar, photogrammetry/videogrammetry systems, scanners, traditional CMMs, indoor GPS and laser projection systems. The Coordinate Metrology Society gathers each year to gain knowledge of the advancements and applications of any measurement system or software solution that produces and uses 3D coordinate data. For more information on this organization, visit their web site at http://www.cmsc.org.