At Conoptica, our team has a total focus on quality. Read how Erik Åldstedt Sund is leading the way, as we add new measurement techniques for capturing waviness to our solutions – and integrate with other manufacturing processes to deliver the digital workplace.
Erik Åldstedt Sund is one of the longest serving members of our software team, having joined Conoptica in 2006. He’s responsible for our architecture – which extends to the integration of different applications with the platform via our APIs. As we look towards an ever-more complex ecosystem, it’s essential to ensure that our tools can be integrated with other applications and devices, so that data can be shared across platforms.
Erik makes sure our solutions are evolving to support this vision – part of the digital transformation of the manufacturing sector. Of course, we’re only a small part of that, but we play an essential role in delivering accuracy – and reducing waste – so every step in the manufacturing process counts.
Quality through Test Driven Development
Since quality is a key outcome for our customers, we spend a lot of time ensuring quality for our software. “We follow a methodology known as Test Driven Development,” Erik notes. “This is a modern approach to software design and means that we build our test requirements and cases even before the actual software is developed, so we can test as we develop – which allows us to apply rigorous quality control at every step in the release cycle. Quality begins at the outset – not after development, so it’s baked into our processes.”
This approach also requires consultation with customers. When a new feature is requested, or a customization required, Erik leads interaction with the client, so that everything can be planned effectively, and all outcomes anticipated – including detailed PoC trials to ensure that releases meet expectations and fulfil the brief. One example involved integration with a robot arm that was used for moving drawing dies to our measurement tool, allowing fine-grained control and optimization of the process.
New innovations for measuring ‘waviness’
So, what’s next? Well, among other innovations (we’ll share more soon!), Erik is part of the team investigating a novel approach to capturing second radius measurements in ball machine tools – another kind of CNC machine tool that is widely used in the industry. Why?
Erik explains. “Waviness is a common phenomenon – put simply, it’s really to do with the roughness. This has important implications – for example, a faulty machine can create products that are flawed, leading to vibrations, causing heat and stress when in operation – and wasting energy.”
Waviness can be measured but we’ll be able to do this in situ – bringing a completely new benefit to our customers and providing yet more industry-leading innovation in optical measurement.
Erik and his colleagues are vital for our success – and like to share their stories. Watch out for more from the team soon!