Advanced 3D data management provides engineering and quality teams instant access to a centralized hub of critical measurement information. Accuracy, efficiency, collaboration, and profits all improve.
All manufacturing companies must manage an ever-growing mountain of priceless inspection data. Yet measurement results, process iterations, and approval reports are scattered across hard drives and USB sticks. We live in a digital world that advances daily, but obtaining, accessing, sharing, and tracking digital files often feels like digging through an overstuffed file cabinet—hoping to locate what you want without actually knowing if it is what you need.
Now, imagine a streamlined digital data management system where all your 3D measurement files exist in a central secure, searchable hub. Doubts and time-wasting disagreements on whether metrology tasks or reports were already done or not all vanish. This is impossible to accomplish with metrology data scattered across the enterprise on equipment hard drives or USB sticks in various locations.
Add intuitive indexing, search, and filtering tools that seamlessly retrieve data based on part number, serial number, or production line and you can be sure you’re working effectively. Gigabytes of 3D data you’ve already captured are turned into accurate, timely, and secure documentation and reports. All your invaluable inspection data stays organized, up to date, and readily available to engineering and QA teams, indeed to anyone who needs it.
The Manual Past
Surprisingly, many companies still store their 3D measurement data on the hard drives of the computers connected to their devices. This practice creates data silos, consequently amplifying the risk of errors. These measurement files can also quickly achieve gigabyte status. When manually handled, they must first be copied and zipped with retrieval instructions. Each team member, whether working on-site or remotely, must then follow those instructions and copy the file onto their own computer.
This not only creates duplicates, it strips downstream comments and actions from the context set by the inspection data. Catching a mistake or suggesting an improvement means sending it through a different communication channel. And when discussion is key to collaboration and product improvement, disconnecting it from the 3D measurement data compromises its value, delays decision-making, and weakens its overall impact.
The Digital Future, Now
Now envision a manufacturing organization working with multiple suppliers. Digital 3D data management across the enterprise means engineers and QA leads access formerly scattered data instantly. Identifying, defining, and sharing design changes boosts engineering efficiency and helps catch costly design issues early, before they escalate in production phases.
Updating, saving, and later retrieving such valuable 3D measurement data when needed also ensures efficient documentation and preserves data integrity over time. Instead of starting from scratch, teams can build on the latest model iterations as the starting point for future efforts. The ability to track and manage 3D data throughout its entire lifecycle empowers companies to make better decisions fast. Valuable insights can be extracted from the data, leading to enhanced product design, optimized processes, and ultimately, higher-quality outputs.
Advanced 3D data management brings modern digital communication features— including hyperlinks, tagging, and notifications—directly into the process. It also offers a discussion thread within every inspection project to facilitate information exchange between internal and external collaborators, no matter the physical distance.
From design engineering to the shop floor, inspection practices continuously improves, data silos evaporate, and a next-generation manufacturing company emerges.
You measure to know and grow. See what PolyWorks|DataLoop next-generation 3D data management can do for your organization. Schedule a demo today.
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