Measurement technology Hitting takt times with shop floor inspection

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Inspection belongs at the point of manufacture. By moving measurement closer to the machining process and by using rapid, robust systems, manufacturers can meet tough takt time targets, reduce scrap and improve process capability — without inflating costs.

In high‑value manufacturing, the specification for new parts is defined long before the first billet is clamped, complete with tolerances for every critical feature. The challenge is to achieve those tolerances repeatedly while shortening the overall cycle time and lowering the cost per part. Traditional inspection can become a bottleneck, sometimes taking longer than the machining that creates the features themselves. Aligning metrology with production, and designing for a consistent, universal takt time across operations, enables a steadier flow through the factory and earlier decisions based on real-time data.

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Balancing flow, cost and capability

Bottlenecks accumulate parts, starve downstream stations, and inflate lead times. Adding resources at a choke point often shifts the constraint elsewhere and increases overheads. A better approach is to plan every operation, including loading and unloading, to meet a universal takt time. Where predicted cycle times exceed that ceiling, processes can be split or duplicated; however, each added station increases capital expenditure and maintenance. The priority, therefore, is more efficient operations that preserve capability while cutting wasted time.