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Quality perfection – let Shapeline be the Judge
The word quality is used in all aspects of life. In our world of metallurgy the traditional meaning was to describe the technical properties of the material – the alloy, the dimension and fulfilment of standards. Now, as in most industries, the word quality is increasingly used to describe the ability to meet and exceed customer requirements and expectations of the products. And to work with quality is no longer just achieving the fulfilment of standards, but to manage quality effectively in correlation with a profitable outcome.
Flatness comes high on the scale of importance when quality is paramount. To be able to achieve a high standard of flatness you need to be able to produce with a high level of repeatability in a process line that is well maintained and well attuned. And, equally important, you need to be continuously AWARE of the flatness and how it develops throughout the production process.
At an increasing rate, Quality Inspection is evolving into Quality Assurance, Quality Control and even Quality Management. There are still many Quality Inspection Lines and Quality Inspection Stations in Finishing Lines fulfilling important tasks – but the trend is definitely going towards integrating Quality Management into all production lines – where the quality is set and can be influenced – and that quality parameters, like flatness, are measured and followed through the whole process from Slab to Finished Product. Fulfilment of quality standards is guaranteed through the measurements taken from the last production step – be it Hot Rolling, Cold Rolling or Processing Line, making it unnecessary to run it through a special Quality Inspection Line before delivery.
To deliver the right quality to meet a specific requirement is very important. The ability to do that, with verification through protocols to your customers, and enable your marketing department to handle claims and returns with accurate information about the delivered product, are natural consequences of this.
With a well designed logistics system you will, with the use of Shapeline systems for documentation, be equipped to achieve total accuracy in terms of deliveries, a happy, satisfied customer, and zero returns.
The system can be used to create any form of quality certificate – from simple statements about standard fulfilments to complete measurement protocols with graphic representation of the flatness of the product and statistics relative to customized requirements.
Depending on the material produced, several Shapeline products for hot or cold applications are used in Quality Management. Shapeline Compact or Shapeline Ignis for narrow strip up to 100 mm, Shapeline 500 for widths up to 900 mm. Wider measurement areas can be achieved with the Shapeline Flex or Shapeline Thermoflex concepts.
For more information about how we can work in your specific environment – please contact us or our representative on your market.
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