FARO Factory Service Initial Incoming Inspection Procedure

When an Arm is sent in for service, the Arm must go through an initial incoming inspection. FARO's ISO 17025 accreditation requires us to report the incoming condition of the instrument. The data sheet you receive back with your Arm shows the recorded measurements from the initial inspection and whether that inspection has passed, failed or the unit is inoperative. The inspection status is listed on the cover page of the packet you receive back with the Arm. Your arm will then be recalibrated and re-certified after it has completed any services required.

If the Arm has failed the initial inspection, it is impossible for us to quantify when and how it went out of specifications as we do not know when the problem occurred. Depending on your required accuracy and the way you measure, the effect could be much lower than what we report since we rotate the Arm from left to right in order to maximize the error induced. This is known as a Single Point Articulation Test or SPAT. We check the Arm throughout its measuring volume. Many customers only use it in a limited portion of the volume, which can greatly reduce the uncertainty and error of the instrument.

If you are still concerned about your Arm’s accuracy when you receive it back form service, we recommend you recheck some material that was previously measured before the service. Doing a pre/post-analysis can help you identify any effect in their former measurements. We also recommend that you routinely use a gage block or some other artifact to do verifications on the equipment.