Tour Our Minnesota Lab — Where Quality is King
From individual inventors to major manufacturers, mom-and-pop machine shops to defense suppliers, customers have come to expect story-worthy service from our Minnesota lab.
Founded in 1986 as the QC Group, the pristine, ISO 17025-accredited Minnesota Lab — along with sister labs in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Irving, Texas — was acquired by Industrial Inspection & Analysis (IIA) in 2015.
Meticulous Measurement
Precision measurement is the name of the game at our metrology lab in Minnetonka, Minnesota, where a highly skilled team delivers accurate data down to tenths and microns.
To ensure the utmost accuracy, work done in our Minnesota lab takes place in a pristine, carefully controlled environment. Strict internal quality control protocols are in place to ensure consistently reliable measurements.
The metrology lab has scanned items as large as a golf cart and as small as an implantable sensor that goes in a human artery. For large or delicate items that can’t be shipped, we can bring our mobile lab to you. While the applications are almost endless, our work in Minnesota typically involves scanning a test item to measure predetermined dimensions. Depending on the type of equipment and methodology used to extract data, work will be done either by our Engineering Team or our Inspection Team:
- Inspection Services: IIA’s inspection services focus on tactical measurement (mechanically touching the test item, in most cases) to collect the necessary data. While there is a digital aspect to our inspections, this work relies heavily on a physical process, and the attributes of the features collected are typically recorded in an inspection report.
- Engineering Services: Our engineering services focus more heavily on digital information, such as point clouds of scans — digital versions of the test item. The digital version is then compared virtually to CAD files, which represent the perfect version of that particular item. A color map is often used to compare and highlight differences between the test item and its design specifications.
Regardless of method, our Minnesota lab provides detailed data the customer can use to make changes to product design or production to bring the part in line with specifications.
Evolving Technology
While measurement is the mainstay at our Minnesota lab, the means of measurement are always evolving to take precision to new levels. In its nearly 40-year history, our Minnesota lab has embraced the latest technologies as they evolved from 2D X-ray to today’s cutting-edge 3D laser scanning.
Our well-equipped lab includes an array of 3D scanning equipment and a versatile selection of coordinate measuring machines (CMMs). Touch probe CMMs physically contact the part at different points to collect data; while optical (vision) CMMs use laser scanning to collect measurements. Our CMM equipment includes a Zeiss model equipped with both touch probe and laser capabilities and a GOM structured light laser scanner for fast, accurate 3D scanning.
One of the Minnesota lab’s most in-demand services is computed tomography (CT) scanning with the state-of-the-art Nikon X-TEK CT scanner.
Our mobile Faro Arm allows us to measure large objects in the lab or to bring our dimensional inspection services to your site. Our toolkit would not be complete without an array of helpful hand tools to complement more sophisticated technologies.
The Minnesota team can also analyze measurement data and provide value-added services, such as comparative analysis, capability studies, and reverse engineering.
Many of our customers consider our Minnesota lab an extension of their engineering and operations teams. Our Minnesota team can quickly step in when you don’t have the staff, skill, equipment or time in house.
Your Metrology Dream Team
Masters of metrology, our team in Minnesota includes highly skilled and certified inspectors, mechanical and application engineers, and quality assurance auditors. We take the time to understand your needs and tailor our approach to your project.
Team members bring a strong knowledge of GD&T (geometric dimensioning & tolerancing) principles to each job and experience working in highly regulated industries, such as aerospace, medical and defense.
From your very first interaction with our Minnesota lab, you’ll notice our service and speed. Our Account Manager is also a Master Inspector with years of hands-on experience. This allows us to respond to your initial inquiry within minutes and often deliver a quote the same day.
We understand the costs of downtime, and we’re committed to keeping your project on track.
Because we handle a wide variety of projects and equipment in our Minnesota lab, our team has become experts in problem-solving. This wealth of experience allows them to complete your job with speed and precision.
While many of our competitors limit themselves to a strictly 40-hour work week, our Minnesota team is willing to work 24/7 to get your job done. Whether you’re creating a new product, improving an existing item, or bringing a vintage part back to life, our Minnesota lab is a trusted partner in every phase of the product life cycle.
Here are just some of the many ways customers seek the support of our Minnesota team:
- First article inspection for automotive manufacturers
- AS-compliant metrology services for aerospace companies
- On-site scanning to help build custom handicapped accessible vans
- CT scanning to help tool companies design, redesign, or reverse engineer injection molds
- Comparative analysis to determine why assembled components do not fit together properly.
- Reverse engineering to accurately recreate vintage parts for cars, boats, tractors, buildings, and more.
From automotive and aerospace to firearms and farm implements, our Minnesota team has helped generations of manufacturers perfect their products — and they’re here for you, too. Whatever your need, you can count on our Minnesota lab to deliver dimensional data you can depend on.
Skill, Service & Smiles — All in One Place!
Learn more about our Top 10 Service Offerings in Minnesota.
