I would like to be able to create and print a label and certificate for Calibrate Before Use. I would I do it?
Are you referring to a brand new gage?
No. Existing gages that will be put out of service for some amount of time and returned to the owner. The gage may be placed back into service some random time in the future. Could be weeks could be years.
Regarding creating and printing labels, there are plenty of pre-printed options already available on the market for Do Not Use Until Calibrated or Calibrate Before Use.
I’m unsure of your intent when you mention the certificate. A certificate documents the results of testing that has already taken place. If the work has not yet been performed, what kind of information are you seeking on the certificate you’re asking for?
Is “certificate” the right word?
Depending on what label printer you are using, you can either download a label design program to your PC, or if you have wireless, you can install the app for the printer so you can do it from your phone. We have the 2nd option, so our laptop sends the standard GT-lite labels to it, or like in your situation I would open the app from my phone and make a label saying whatever is needed. Maintenance appreciates this as well for when they are wiring stuff, they can label the wires or breakers/outlets. I like it because it can do labels from 1/4" up past 1", plus the generic cheapo amazon labels work with it for the most part, so we aren’t spending Brother money on stickers.
For reference ours is a Brother P910BT, costs about $350.00
Brother P-touch PT-P910BT Thermal Transfer Printer - Monochrome
Before switching to gagetrak we had a label that included the Item#, the current date, then instead of a due date we placed CBU into that spot. I would like to continue something like that inside of gagetrak.
the certificate we would often calibrate the item before removing it from service so we knew the item was functional before placing it in storage. Due date on the certificate would be marked CBU. Before gagetrak we had a PDF of certificate and I could put whatever I wanted in the spaces. Gagetrak currently does not allow for non-dates in the due date.
We have a Brother PT-700 which was about $100 last time we bought one. It can be used with Gagetrak. Can be used with up to 1" labels. We buy labels in bulk so the price difference is not too bad. My company is weird. Operational cost is “spare no expense” but buying new stuff for the lab is like pulling teeth.
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That’s very typical. The place I came from was a medium sized machining job shop. I wont say their name, but it’s about 100 employees and machines in Ixonia Wi. They didn’t even have a quality lab until one of their customers, also wont say the name but lets say they make big green tractors and combines, forced them to get a lab and QC team. They bought 1 24x24 demo unit Sheffield CMM at a steep discount, 1 medium sized Sheffield CMM that was already at the end of its adjustment i.e. usable life, and one large CMM found covered in loose hay in a barn. We were told our monthly budget was $5. Anything higher had to go thru the VP, and the answer was always no. He on multiple occasions said out loud in the lab that he’d fire us all and sell the equipment if he could. They absolutely hated quality. Bought their gages from pawn shops and eBay, with previous owners company name etched all over them. They knew they were stolen, found their own gages at a Madison pawn shop once. What goes around comes around I guess.
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Sheffield 24x24? Sounds like a Discovery D8 model would be my guess. The Sheffield’s weren’t bad machines and the Measuremax Software back in the day was actually pretty stable and you could do quite a bit with it. Used machines themselves aren’t a bad thing - as long as you know the parts availability and can accurately assess the machines condition and what it would take to get it operating and in specification. Somewhat back on topic - we use the Brother P-touch label printers too - and they’ve worked great with Gagetrak. Plus, if we need to make an oddball label due to a gage’s weird configuration then we just pop open Brother’s specific software to create one.
I can buy consumables very easily. Getting new standards requires a lot of convincing.
Agreed. We use the brother PT910bt if I recall the model number correctly. It can operate wirelessly, which maintenance loves cuz they can take it to the panels to label breakers and wires. Many of us here have the app for it on our phones allowing us to make any label on the fly, or you can use the app on the computer for more detailed labels. It also accepts the cheapo amazon label cartridges that are about 1/10th the price of Brothers. I believe it can print larger labels, like 1.4” vs 1.0”
Same here. My company is great but getting approval for new equipment and such for the lab…well let’s just say it basically takes a act of congress. Our company is expanding (very grateful). We are constantly added new gages/tools, and our calibration team is growing. We desperately need another GAGEtrak license to accommodate the growth. However, upper management has put our request on the back burnner barely on simmer.
We use the Brother P-touch P950NW to print Gagetrak labels. But if I want a custom label for example “Calibrate before use” or “Defective” or additional labels to indicate the custodian, we use the printer’s editor software called “Brother P-touch Editor”.