Cost of Inspection Equipment vs Inspection Services

When making the decision to use external inspection services or purchase inspection equipment, there are a number of expenses to consider. We want to help you walk through the process so you can make an informed decision.

 

Purchasing New Equipment for Inspection

SNAPDMinuseWhen deciding to buy equipment, there are many things to consider within the application. This includes the size of parts, volume, and features to be measured. For parts that are too heavy or include multiple pieces, a larger, more expensive piece of equipment may be the only option. However, rather than buying more expensive equipment that takes up more space, our on-site dimensional inspection services may be a more cost-effective alternative.

Buying your own equipment allows for immediate measurement rather than scheduling on-site inspection or sending your parts to our lab for measurement. The equipment you purchase can also be used to measure on a continuous basis and can be much more cost effective. Oftentimes, our customers buy equipment for a specific application and later find areas in their operation where it can be a resource. We can also provide contract programming services to make the most of equipment and systems purchased from us.

 

Outsourced Inspection Services

There are instances where a customer has the equipment but needs further support. That’s where our services can assist you. Using inspection tools and equipment can be confusing and intimidating for someone not familiar. Small mistakes can have large ramifications. Very often, customers measure their part, pass it, and send it to their customer only to have it fail. Cross is an ISO 17025 accredited company that can help you measure or re-measure parts and provide data for comparison. Likewise, our expertise is invaluable for difficult applications.

onsite inspection with portable CMM arm for manufacturersOne thing to consider is the amount of resources readily available within your organization. Lack of resources is one of the many reasons customers use our inspection services. Operating inspection equipment requires trained technicians. Because it can be difficult finding skilled workers, the help of professionals is often needed to fill the gap. Cross Precision Measurement group has several skilled professionals and a wide range of technology to handle any volume of parts.

Our range of inspection technology includes:

  • Video inspection systems for small features and for parts that may be deformed by contact measurement
  • Bridge CMMs for handling complex, large, and heavy parts
  • Contour measurements for features that are too small for CMMs and unattainable by video
  • Surface roughness measurement
  • Line scanning lasers for large volume scanning
  • Roundness measurement for tight tolerance geometry measurements

When deadlines are tight and there are too many parts to be measured and not enough manpower, our team can provide assistance to help meet them. In turn, this can increase plant efficiency, reduce wasted resources, and reduce downtime for your business.

Determining the costs of these options can be difficult, particularly if you don’t have a dedicated inspection team. To help, our team can work with you to help determine which option is best for your application. Simply enter your information into our form or contact our team and our experts can run some ROI calculations and send options to discuss. Our team has years of experience and can help you to walk through these expenses in greater detail.

 

Why Partner With Cross Company?

In the field of metrology, there are many standards to follow to ensure reliable calibration or inspection. At Cross Precision Measurement, we are an ISO 17025 accredited calibration laboratory that adheres to standards set out by NIST (HB44), the National Conference on Weights and Measures (NCWM), the National Type Evaluation Program (NTEP), A2LA, and other relevant standards. With our experience and expertise, we can ensure you’re getting reliable, repeatable metrology results.

Since 1939, our Precision Measurement group has provided industry-leading technical expertise coupled with world-class customer service to manufacturing and other industrial operations in need of onsite calibration, product inspection, precision measurement equipment, and more. Our precision measurement and inspection teams have the knowledge and resources to help you reduce risk, improve quality, and increase efficiency throughout your entire process. With our extensive network of calibration labs across the Southeast and Midwest, we can ensure you’re getting the metrology services you need. Contact Cross Precision Measurement today

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In the meantime, enjoy these fun facts…

Did you know… Cross Company is an ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan). Our ESOP started in 1979 and as of 2006, we are 100% employee-owned! Learn more about our ESOP and how that benefits both team members and our customers.
Did you know... the precision measurement group at Cross was founded in 1939 by our current CEO's grandfather, Jim King. That's a whole lot of calibration!
Did you know... A fingerprint weighs about 50 micrograms. We know, we weighed it! The residue left from a finger can actually make a difference in weight results which is why we wear gloves when we calibrate weights. For reference, a sheet of paper is about 4.5 grams, that’s 4.5 million micrograms.
Did you know… Cross Company has grown significantly since our start in 1954. Over the years we've acquired 26 companies! Today, our five groups have expertise in everything from industrial automation to precision measurement, and industry knowledge going all the way back to 1939.