Enhance Compliance With Scan-to-Path™ Pharmaceutical & Medical Metrology Solutions
Manufacturers in the medical and pharmaceutical industries have to overcome a number of challenges when it comes to medical device quality assurance (QA) and quality control (QC), especially if there are stringent compliance requirements and regulations.
Depending on the production and manufacturing line, there could be strict dimensional requirements and tolerances, injection molded part features that need to be within specifications, contamination and cleanliness inspections, color verification, print and text quality (OCR/OCV), medical tubing verifications, product traceability, and more.
Fortunately, many of these QA/QC issues can be automatically corrected and adjusted within the assembly line directly through the use of Scan-to-Path™ metrology. With Scan-to-Path,™ you’ll be able to measure a part and perform automated corrections inline without having to scrap a part that’s out of tolerance.
If you’re curious about this new technology, keep reading this article. We’ll discuss everything you need to know about using Scan-to-Path™ metrology and how it can benefit medical and pharmaceutical manufacturers.
Metrology in the Medical Field
The medical field is known for its strict manufacturing requirements and high production standards for medical devices. When small manufacturing or production defects can impact how a medical device operates and potentially cause harm to a patient, the strict regulations and production requirements are well-justified.
Additionally, most of these devices are small and complex assemblies, making them increasingly challenging to manufacture and inspect before final delivery.
3D metrology technology allows medical device manufacturers to verify that tolerances, specifications, and regulatory requirements are being met. Using metrology during the manufacturing of medical devices ultimately reduces costs, waste, and production delays.
Metrology in Pharmaceutical
Similar to the medical industry, pharmaceutical manufacturers and production companies are also bound to strict regulations, specifications, and high production standards due to their direct potential impacts on human life.
Automated 3D metrology systems like the QC Plus™ from MAS solve quality issues inline by automating a large part of the QA/QC process. This allows pharmaceutical manufacturers to assure compliance through early defect elimination in the production line.
Benefits of Upgrading to Automated Metrology
As technology in our modern world continues to evolve, automated metrology is rapidly moving towards becoming the standard for accurate measurements and quality control. If manufacturers want to stay ahead of the curve, upgrading to automated metrology systems is the next logical next step.
By using automated metrology, manufacturers can design products with greater accuracy under specific tolerances, knowing that their assembly and production lines are in-spec and can hit those tolerance numbers on the dot.
Furthermore, metrology automation in the production line reduces the amount of human error or operator-induced error, allowing for greater repeatability. All these benefits combined result in an increased return on investment (ROI) for manufacturers.
Advantages of Scan-to-Path™
Depending on your current production lines or manufacturing processes, you may already implement some form of inline metrology or scanning to verify part quality control directly on the assembly line.
With Scan-to-Path™ systems, a robotic arm takes inline measurements of parts and uses these measurements to make real-time corrections and fix common defects on the fly, so you don’t have to wait until the product reaches the final stage of production.
For instance, with Scan-to-Path™ metrology, an injection molded part that has excess material that wasn’t trimmed in a previous step could be measured, redirected in the assembly line, and then be trimmed automatically by a robot.
Scan-to-Path™ can save manufacturers significant amounts of time and money because of its ability to ensure accuracy and less waste.
Learn More About Scan-to-Path™ Today
Our Scan-to-Path™ software enables manufacturers to improve quality control throughout every stage of production. Rather than throwing out a percentage of parts that don’t meet tolerances or quality control specifications, you’ll have an additional automated segment of your assembly or production line that can perform real-time fixes and salvage parts that wouldn’t have otherwise passed final inspection.If you have questions about Scan-to-Path™ or would like to schedule a demo, please contact us today to schedule a discovery meeting.