Field Report: CMSC 2019

Knowledge exchange par excellence

Published: Thursday, August 29, 2019 - 21:22

For any of you who missed it, CMSC 2019 was, as always, a first-class conference with loads of great content, exciting new product and service offerings, and numerous unique opportunities for knowledge transfer with the leading metrologists in industry and academia.

Taking place July 22–26 at the Renaissance Orlando at SeaWorld, this year’s Coordinate Metrology Society Conference had all the things we’ve come to expect from the leading event for 3D measurement professionals. Here’s just a small sampling:
• Fantastic speakers. Keynoter Michael Raphael, CEO of metrology engineering company Direct Dimensions Inc., opened the conference with an entertaining and educational look at the technologies that are pointing the way forward for industry. During Wednesday night’s banquet, astronaut and STEM educator Dr. Bonnie Dunbar treated us to her inspirational personal history from a childhood in Washington state through a trailblazing career with NASA to her current role as the director of the Aerospace Human Systems Laboratory at Texas A&M University.
• Knowledge-sharing exhibit hall. Dozens of leading vendors providing hardware, software, peripherals, and services exchanged knowledge each afternoon with attendees in the CMSC exhibit hall. This is a core part of the CMSC experience for everyone attending, as the chance to see and experience the latest and greatest solutions within the industry is tremendously enriching for individual attendees and the companies that they represent.
• Cutting-edge white papers. Attendees were treated to 21 outstanding presentations highlighting the metrology projects that are moving the industry forward, from the fields of aerospace, telescopy, physics, shipbuilding, and more. The best of these papers are published in the CMS World e-newsletter and the printed Journal of the CMSC.
• Expanded CMS Certification opportunities. As industry’s only certifier specifically for 3D measurement professionals, the Coordinate Metrology Society always offers certification examinations and training opportunities at each annual conference. This year, in addition to offering proctored Level-One certification exams covering foundational theory and practice common to most portable coordinate metrology devices, the certification committee rolled out a Level-One pilot exam for traditional CMM operators. A Level-Two pilot assessment for the 3D scanner community was also offered at the event. The CMS Level-Two Certification is a practical, hands-on performance assessment for portable coordinate measuring machines such as laser trackers and articulating arms. For more information about CMS Certification opportunities can be found here.
• Exceptional professional development. Helping users advance in their careers is a long-term mission of the society. CMSC 2019 featured several tracks to help metrology professionals learn and grow. These included daily presentations in the Education Zone about new products and techniques along with “Ask the Experts” sessions, details about apprenticeship, training rooms sponsored by product and service providers, a special Women in Metrology track, and face-to-face meetings with experienced metrologists on a variety of topics in a special section of the exhibit hall. Oh, and members of the CMS education committee started working together with the team at Quality Digest to produce a series of short training videos within the “3D Measurement U” online platform. This first series of courses, named “Metrology 101,” will be appearing later this autumn.

All of this is just scratching the surface of the activities that CMSC 2019 brought to the fore for those within industry. I’m sure I’m forgetting some of it, but with an event this action-packed, it’s tough to capture it all in a quick article.

Mark your calendars now for CMSC 2020, coming up next summer at the beautiful Sheraton New Orleans July 20–24. To find out more about the conference and how to become engaged in this uniquely valuable professional society, please visit online at www.cmsc.org.

About The Author

Mike Richman

Mike Richman is the principal at Richman Business Media Consulting.