Calibrations 17025 Style-Myths & Misunderstandings

   Surely the best course of action is to choose the supplier with the cheapest price.

 MYTH:

 To understand what the best course of action is we first need to understand one important fact: 17025 compliance is a procedural document and does not indicate specific machine type competency.  This therefore illustrates that even though a company is ISO/IEC 17025 accredited you are still at risk of hiring someone who has absolutely no business "playing" calibrations with your CMM!  In fact most non-affiliated independent calibrators have only basic knowledge over a wide band of CMM types.

 CALIBRATION BASICS

 At CMM we understand a calibration to be a combination of the following:

• Monitor and document the "as found" condition of the CMM (Accuracy/repeatability and performance).
• Bring the machine in to the manufacturers specification (if allowable either by condition or environment)
• Tune, adjust and clean the critical components
•  Make recommendations regarding maintenance issues

 Our commitment to you is that when our technician leaves you feel confident about your valuable coordinate measuring machine.

 A calibration is not:

•  Tinkering in the map and producing a highly biased calibration document
• A vague document comparing the technicians finding to an unknown specification.
• A machine left in poor electronic condition and exhibiting strange noises
• A nervous feeling you should have paid a bit more and called experts

 CALIBRATION A B C'S

• Calibrations can be performed to either B89 (American) standards or ISO 10360 (European) standards
• Manufactures specifications sometimes do not indicate true volumetric performance under normal conditions
• A Ball Bar test is not the final arbitrator in looking at a coordinate measuring machines  accuracy
• Probing and styli configurations unwisely used are the greatest sources of machine inaccuracy
• Basic Calibrations are available from us, costing much less than a comprehensive one
• A CMM calibration is best performed every 6 months on a hard working machine, think of this as a tune up and check up combined!

 If you feel you need to discuss your calibration requirements and our procedures please feel free to contact us we will always have time to answer your questions.