If North American manufacturers had to select one piece of equipment that was irreplaceable, what would it be? Likely, it would be the coordinate measuring machine, also known as the CMM machine. 

The CMM machine has already saved North American manufacturing by helping to bring automation to the production lines of factories around the continent, just as globalization unleashed a wave of competition from factories in countries benefitting from cheaper labour and fewer regulations. CMM machines rescued manufacturing here at a time when it was particularly vulnerable.

CMM machines increased the efficiency of factories here to such a degree that, despite what many critics thought at the time, they managed to compete economically with factories overseas rather than shutter and close down.

How Does it Work? 

A coordinate measuring machine from industry leaders like Canadian Measurement Metrology measures the physical geometrical characteristics of an object, and can be operated via a computer or manually by a human operator. A probe on its third moving axis defines its measurements, as it circles whatever is being scanned so it can measure every surface.

These functions are what make CMM machines so well suited to performing quality control on the production line - with more speed and accuracy than a human could ever muster, these machines are able to confirm that the products being scanned meet industry standards.

The CMM machine's ability to perform quality control makes it useful in factories across industries, but that's hardly the only function CMM machines perform.

Reverse Engineering

Portable CMM machines are capable of reverse engineering, meaning it can scan a man-made object and then deconstruct it to figure out how it was created. This ability is extremely useful to software engineers, electronic engineers, mechanical engineers, and chemical engineers.

There are different applications for reverse engineering. For example, it can scan a part made by a competitor and determine the real design behind it, so companies can learn important concealed knowledge and don't need to take rivals at their word. Also, companies may use reverse engineering to find a new role for an existing part, saving them money.

Companies may also reverse engineering to potentially identify patent infringement, helping with product security analysis.

Save Money and Space

When a CMM machine is on the factory floor, you can be sure that's they are more productive than whatever else would be there. They free up space for other equipment, reducing overall costs.

Having a CMM machine on hand means there's no need to rely on dimensional lab for measurements - you can spend less to do it yourself, and trust the results because you know it came from reliable equipment.

Each industry will use a CMM machine in different way, and different kinds of CMM machines fulfill different purposes. But if there's one machine that North American manufacturers rely on and value the most - both years ago, when competition was approaching fatal levels, and to this very day - it just could be the coordinate measuring machine.