Manual Inspection

[Anonymous]

Is there a way to just create a inspection report without typing in the actual inspection. Right now we create our own inspection reports in excel so we can fill in the numbers at the machine. The layout of the manual inspection report is great, it would be nice to just go through the print and create it in fusion then print it out and let the guys fill it in at the machine. Currently having to type in the numbers at the computer isnt viable

[Philip_Hewitt]

@Anonymous, thanks for the feedback.  Right now there are just two ways to get the measurements into Fusion- either by keyboard entry, or (for capable connected devices) directly through a digital interface such as USB, wireless or Bluetooth.

There isn't a way to do what you are asking at the moment.  We are considering additional options for the future and we've had a range of suggestions feedback from different people.

• Can you please tell me more about how you currently use Excel in this process?
• Can you also explain why typing at a PC isn't viable?  (Does the solution have to be printed on paper?  What if you could enter the results on a phone, for example, or are there problems using electronic devices in general in the environment?) 

Thanks for contributing, and I look forward to hearing from you!

[Anonymous]

Heres a quick snip of part of a inspection report we use at the machine. In a production environment where we have 30 mills running and an operator at each one, every so many parts they have to do a part inspection as part of our ISO process to ensure good parts. Having them each go to a computer with a License of fusion to sit down and do it in the cam system then print it out isnt viable for many reasons. Especially when we can just print out a stack of inspection sheets that go with the order traveler and have them fill one out every so many parts. We just give them a bubble print with features labeled by number, and have the inspection sheet match the bubble print. 

However, its very time consuming to create these in excel and you have to make the bubble print also. If I could just use the feature Fusion has and even show the picture with the dimension they are to check it would be super user friendly to just create it after programming the part hit print and be done with it. 

The electronic input wouldnt really solve the issue because we need to keep the hard copies with the order traveler per ISO and we file it all away in case there is a problem later. 

What you have now would be perfect and I would be using it right now if I could just create every dimension with a pic just how you have it, but be able to print the report without entering any info so they can just fill in the boxes as they inspect the parts at the machine. 

What  I would like to have is:

1. Print the report without entering in the measurement

2. Have the tolerance shown(right now it only shows the deviation)

I know you guys are busy and its no huge deal, but youre really close to something we would use on every part in our shop.

Thanks

[Philip_Hewitt]

@Anonymous, thank you very much for the detailed explanation- that really helps.   Great to see the sample report too.  I can't promise anything but I feel we have a decent understanding of what you're asking- and why- and we will give it some thought.

Thanks very much for the constructive feedback.

[RyanBenett]

I would like to see a stand alone reader to run manual inspection from a computer.  This way an cnc operator could run the inspection program with out direct access to my cnc programs and models.  A program similar to the fusion 360 app with basic functionality would make this a great addition to Fusion.  

[horrod]

Sorry to dig up an old post but there is so much potential with this feature in volume manufacturing. I see the current feature set is aimed at one off work but given a few extra tools i can see this absolutely being a must have for the production environment.

I am in a very similar situation to the OP and have the following suggestions:

1. Having the ability to record measurements through the mobile app would let a guy on the floor log a measurement without needing to go to a computer.

2. Having the ability to log the measurements of several parts and store that data in a table. For example I want to log the measurements of every 10 parts from a batch or parts and then have all the records kept in a single table I can save with the batch number and operator name. (I currently do this in excel)

3. If I can collect a range of data from a batch of parts I can start to see trends and problems in manufacture that only become apparent with time. (I currently do this in excel too). For example I took a measurement every 10 parts and by the 100th part it became out of spec that means at about around the 80th part I need to check my tooling ect.

4. Having this data also lets me look at averages and preform statistical analysis. Maybe I need to rethink a tolerance because the Standard deviation is not as I expected. or maybe that 10mm reamer we always use is cutting on average undersize so maybe we can go for a size bigger.

5. The operators on the shop floor need a picture of what to measure, a description of that to measure and what tool to use. This goes out with the set up sheet and the results form to fill in (or a QR code linking to the cloud input from) when starting a run. At the moment only the results form in printable.

6. There are more complex measurements we can take such as run out, parallelism etc. and having a section to  record the measurements against the GD&T callouts would be awesome.

Fusion is making all the right moves in terms of inspection and I hope this feature continues to grow. I don`t care what side of the pay wall it ends up as it will end up being a industry leader.

If there is anything else I can suggest or give thought on let me know.

Mike H

[Philip_Hewitt]

@horrod Mike H- Thank you very much for giving new life to an old post!

This is great feedback- a lot of good suggestions.  We have had some initial thoughts about many of these points. 

I am interested that you reuse the data in Excel.  Currently the workaround is that you can copy the results shown in Fusion and paste them into Excel but I appreciate that proper export functions (perhaps ascii or csv) would make the process more repeatable and streamlined.  We'll have a look at this.

I do want to ask you about the GD&T measurements (runout, parallelism...) 

• Are you taking any other GD&T measurements beyond runout and parallelism?
• What equipment are you using to take these measurements- a dial indicator / dial test indicator, or something more complicated?

Thanks again for taking the time to post feedback!

[horrod]

Thanks for the reply I was expecting this to get lost in forums.

So my current work flow is to make a manual inspection report in fusion and use the same labels and names in a excel file. The operator enters the  measured values into Excel not fusion where the data is stored. If I take several measurements for several parts they get added to the excel file and saved with the batch number and operator name. Having the ability to enter all the data directly into fusion for each part which updates a table would be amazing. Current Fusion only saves the data for one part in the report where in volume production I see value in being able to record the data for many of the same part and have the ability to perform statical analysis on that data.

I see much of this as being an extension to not only the manufacturer workspace but also the drawing workspace where you are can already label diamensions that require inspection. The operator is using the part drawing more often than not to check the measurements anyway.

For GD&T tolerances I personally use perpendicularity, cylindricity, concentricity, and run out all of which I measure on a rotational CMM machine. At the moment I can't integrate those results with fusion in any way and have to save that data in a separate report generated by the CMM. Having a GD&T tolerances not just linear diamensions in the manual inspection interfave would we welcomed.

To be honest my goal is the centralise my work around Fusion as much as possible so getting rid of Excel in my workflow is a priority to me especially when I know fusion is already on the right track to make that happen. Using Excel after all the measurements have been taken to preform statical analysis is essential. So exporting that data out of fusion would be also essential.

In volume manufacting getting all that juicy data fast and analyzing it is key to lean manufacturing. Furthermore keeping it centralised  and keeping it as simple as possible for the operator removes the likelihood of errors.

I get the feeling that much of what I want fusion to do could be done in the API with scripts but I don't see it supported at the moment for manual inspection and I am not a software engineer.

PS: the new ability to save CNC programs to the team cloud and have it update with any changes is incredible. My team love having the programs centralised.

Thanks again.

Mike H

[Philip_Hewitt]

@horrod Mike H, thanks a lot for the detailed explanations and the encouraging words!

You're right about the API.  We see the API as very important, but we don't support this functionality with API yet.  Forward compatibility is a top priority and we are able to manage that more effectively once the functionality is a little more established.

What kind of rotational CMM do you use?

[horrod]

Accretech Rondcom Nex (also sold by zeiss) roundness and cylindrical profile measuring machine.

[DanOMFG]

+1 for @horrod  statements and the older posts as well.

I have a similar situation using different CMMs. Keyence XM220 and Romer arm.

I'll add that it would be a nice addition to NC Program if it included setup sheet, inspection report and traveler. 

[enervino]

I would just like to bump this one up since it has been a while since we had an update on this. The manual Inspection report functions seem useful, but users (including myself) require an "offline" pen and paper solution, I think because of computer literacy issues and licensing costs for a small or medium-sized business, but it seems that a very high amount of user customization is required on a per-company application, a lot of people seem to already have ideas on how quality checking should be done in their company, perhaps have it integrated into the drawings facility somehow, also API access would be nice to have here.

[seth.madore]

@enervino in the coming months, we're going to be taking a hard look at how to best improve various areas of inspection and data surrounding it. Nothing new to share, but it's certainly on our radar