Portable CMMs provide 3D measurement capabilities.

Press Release Summary:




Suited for small machine shops, FARO Gage and FARO Gage-PLUS provide .0004 and .0002 in. accuracy, respectively. Units set up in seconds, allowing user to inspect parts, molds, and assemblies directly on machinery producing them. Providing 3D measurement and statistical analysis, CMMs record all measurements and create comprehensive reports. They come with laptop computer and can be customized with accessories to best fit shop's needs.



Original Press Release:



FARO Shatters Price Barrier with New Gage & Gage-PLUS



Lake Mary, Fla. - September 7, 2004 - FARO Technologies, Inc., the market-share leader in the portable coordinate measurement machine (CMM) field, announced the release of two new, inexpensive versions of one of its most popular devices. The FARO Gage and FARO Gage-PLUS will sell for $12,500 and $19,900, respectively, and are intended to empower small machine shops with 3D measurement capabilities not currently available with less-advanced quality control methods.

"Calipers, height gages, etc., have low initial costs, but it's the hidden, in-process expense that's costly," FARO CEO and President Simon Raab explained. "They can't meet the increasing demand for parts-inspection certification data. The new FARO Gage line provides an affordable solution and an immediate R.O.I. because of its ease of use, superior data gathering and reporting capability."

The FARO Gage and FARO Gage-PLUS were specifically created for machinists to be convenient, and intuitive enough for shop-floor personnel to produce faster, more-accurate results. Setting up in seconds, each is ready to measure right out of the box so users can inspect parts, molds and assemblies directly on the machinery producing them. Based on feedback from the first wave of Gage customers, FARO is offering two different models with accuracy for very high or intermediate precision applications. In either case the .0004" accurate FARO Gage or the .0002" accurate FARO Gage-PLUS competes well with small fixed CMMS that are exponentially more expensive and complex. They are also powerful enough for advanced 3-D measurement and statistical analysis, like GD&T and SPC. In addition, it automatically records all of the user's measurements and creates comprehensive reports.

"Basically, it makes a shop more productive and profitable by making their machinists' jobs more efficient," FARO Hardware Product Manager Shaun Mymudes said. "They don't have to transcribe numbers, which is an error-prone process with other hand-held measurement tools, or perform any calculations. They'll have the action-ready data they need to immediately fix their parts and processes, which decreases downtime and scrap."

Big Dog Motorcycles of Wichita, Kan., uses the .0002" accurate model to monitor both 2-D and 3-D properties of hardware. "On incoming parts, we use it to check things like hole centers and perpendicularity of parts," said BDM Quality Control Manager Mike Davis. "On assemblies, we check planar relationships, such as the location of a brake rotor with respect to the caliper. You cannot do this with mechanical gages because there is no way to recreate the planes that you are measuring."

The Gage systems come equipped with a tough laptop computer, and can be customized with a complete line of accessories to best fit a shop's needs. The new CMMs will be available for demonstrations at IMTS in Chicago, September 8-15, as well as the Gage Tour events being held in major manufacturing cities around the world. Dates and information is available at www.faro.com.

About FARO
FARO Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: FARO) and its international subsidiaries design, develop, and market software and portable, computerized measurement devices. The Company's products allow manufacturers to perform 3-D inspections of parts and assemblies on the shop floor. This helps eliminate manufacturing errors, and thereby increases productivity and profitability for a variety of industries in FARO's worldwide customer base. Principal products include the FARO Laser ScanArm, FARO Gage, Platinum and Titanium FaroArms, Control Station measurement system, the FARO Laser Tracker, the Advantage FaroArm and Advantage Tracker, and a CAM2 family of advanced CAD-based measurement and reporting software. FARO Technologies is ISO 9001 certified and ISO-17025 laboratory registered. Learn more at www.faro.com.

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