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2.5.1 Inspection at the Incoming Material Inspection Dept. : The task given to me was to inspect the SION components, manufactured by Indian vendors, to be used for the assembly of SION prototype in India. I was posted at this department for around two months. The inspection procedure is carried out in following three stages: Study of part drawings & visual inspection: First stage in inspecting a given part is a proper understanding of part drawing. The drawing must be read carefully & deeply studied before starting the inspection. Following thing should be deciphered properly: Name Item number & version (if many types are available) Method of projection used in design Standards to be followed Dimensions, tolerances & specifications Special instructions (if any) Bill of Materials (BoM) for assembly drawings

Secondly, visual inspection is done so that any flaws in surface finish or plating or presence of burrs or oxides can be detected. The sense of touch can also be used. If any component is damaged then the reasons are to found out such as poor quality of material or faulty manufacturing process or mishandling by vendor or during transportation & remarks are written in the inspection report. Visual inspection also helps to detect anomalies in a part such as absence of taper or misalignment of holes & the part can be rejected without wasting any time on actual inspection. Inspection for dimensional accuracy: Second stage involves inspection for accuracy of dimensions as per design specifications. This is a very important stage as each and every possible dimension is to be checked for accuracy & precision & the possibility of

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rejection or acceptance depends on the results obtained. For checking dimensions one should have studied the drawing carefully & must have sufficient knowledge of standards & metrological concepts. Following instruments were used to measure various dimensional parameters: Surface plate: It is a rectangular flat surface usually made of granite or cast iron. It is used as a datum. All the linear dimensions representing height or depth are measured considering the surface plate as reference. Digital height gauge & calipers: Height gauge is used to measure height, centre to centre distances elevation etc. It consists of sliding mechanism which houses the sensitive scriber and digital readout. Calipers are used to measure all shorter linear dimensions Thread & ring gauges: A thread gauge is used to check external threads of a bolt or screw. A ring gauge is used to check internal threads of a nut or tapped hole. Gauges are available for both British & ISO threads.

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Pin gauge: It is a type of plug gauge. These are inserted into the holes to check their diameter. Pin gauges are available in steps of 0.01mm to 0.1mm depending on the accuracy required. Radius gauge: It used to check the radius of a curve. There is provision for checking both internal & external radii in single gauge itself. The standards used for SION components are DIN (German) or EN (European) standards. The tolerances which are not given in the design, are taken from standard tolerance charts. Preparation of inspection reports: An inspection report is prepared finally. These report is prepared using a standard format made in Microsoft Excel. The report may be hand-written or prepared on computer. First the following details are filled before writing down the measurements: Name of the part Item number (version, if any) Name of the vendor Raw material of the part Quantity checked Date of inspection Received quantity Order number

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Those dimensions which are not within tolerances are highlighted. The remarks regarding visual inspection are written below the measured readings. Finally the report is signed by the inspector. The complete report is then reviewed by senior members of SION localization project.

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