 |
The price is right.
Is the quality okay? |
 |
BME has been answering this question for importers and distributors for two decades, most recently on tools and related consumer products. Our clients have learned the advantages of discovering flaws before the imported product is distributed across North America. Much of our work however is
in devising and carrying out test programs, to compare the candidate imported product with traditional brands. With cutting devices, this means tests which:
a) are the same on each test sample, and
b) truly represent the wear and tear effects of normal use.
Such test procedures usually don't exist or are not standardized. BME devises them to meet the specific requirement of each product.
The only true way to test cutting tools is to cut the intended material - lots of it. With modern carbide cutting tools, this means literally miles of material, be it plywood, particle board or cement block. Long hours of tough, often dirty work, yet requiring care that tool handling continues to follow the devised test procedure.
Occasionally flaws appear rapidly (detached carbide inserts, flaked and scored hard surfaces, etc.). Usually however, wear and tear of a more typical nature accumulates and careful comparison of the test specimens is essential for performance evaluation. Our metallurgy lab provides the necessary resources for research. Low power and scanning electron microscopy reveal detail features such as comparative wear on carbide cutting edges. Differences observed microscopically before tests such as abrasive paper topology, subsequently explain dramatic differences in cutting performance.
Measurements of such parameters as thread damage requires special gauges. BME resources allows "accept/reject" results as defined by accepted standards using gauging held by BME.
Our assistance is not limited to testing and reporting on initial samples of candidate products. We can assist manufacturers by clarifying what needs to be corrected. We can spot check samples from on-going deliveries helping to ensure that the supplier to our importer/distributor client is keeping quality up to the mark.
|
