Software platform brings information automation to quality management
12.07.2018
With the latest release of HxGN Smart Quality from Hexagon Metrology Intelligence, manufacturers can gather quality data stream across multiple phases of manufacturing, providing knowledge through comprehensive statistical analysis, visualisation and workflow management to enable process optimisations.
Hexagon’s Manufacturing Intelligence division has just released the latest version of its HxGN Smart Quality online quality data and measurement resource management software. The enterprise IT solution helps manufacturers utilise aggregated quality data to gain actionable intelligence and insight for process optimisation, Hexagon says. Providing a single platform for managing product quality and measurement resources, the software homogenises data from disparate systems across multiple locations to offer a company-wide view of quality. This version adds new capabilities and is said to help manufacturers improve equipment effectiveness, assess manufacturing process capability, and handle documents and workflows efficiently.
HxGN Smart Quality now features OEE-like functionality for all machines connected to it so that users can assess and compare overall equipment effectiveness using a standard metric. It also supports root cause analysis for investigating anomalies on an individual piece of equipment in line with total productive maintenance principles. Improvements to the software’s document and workflow-management tool-set enable users to build robust processes for measurement and minimise the risk of common operational errors. The user interface has been enhanced with an individually-configurable dashboard, while the user-friendly part-mounting instructions within Inspect help simplify shop-floor operations. The new release’s statistical process control capabilities now have Q-DAS Monitoring, which enables near real-time visualisation of measurement and process data. The software’s connectivity can now directly interface with Heidenhain CNC controllers, offering new potential for data exchange with production equipment.
Product Manager Benjamin Bickel said: “In this release we’ve really focused on equipment effectiveness, with new resource management tools designed to assess and improve utilisation and performance in the context of environmental conditions.”