Quality Control (QC) is an integral part of a Quality Management System for any company to ensure products fulfill quality requirements. Whip Mix Corporation is an ISO 13485 certified facility with a comprehensive Quality Management system in place to make sure our customers receive quality and reliable products. With the advent of Digital Equipment in Dentistry and rapid adoption of digital workflow replacing traditional methods, it is extremely crucial for the digital equipment to perform reliably to meet today’s ever changing landscape.
This puts a huge responsibility on the manufacturers to deliver products to the highest standards. The QC department helps ensure products meet such quality requirements. Without a good Quality management system, there is a high probability that a customer could end up with defective equipment, which may lead to unintended consequences such as premature equipment failure, safety issues, loss of time etc.
A QC inspection process is more critical than ever before. Whip Mix has various processes and procedures in place to verify all products satisfy the required quality standards, before they are shipped to the customer. Irrespective of whether the products are manufactured in-house or outsourced, Whip Mix treats all products to same high quality standards. The new digital equipment offering includes scanners, 3D printers, curing units, etc., all utilizing different technologies.
The QC Inspection of such complex equipment needs to focus on features that are critical to quality and performance. One relevant example to cite is the ASIGA Pro4K 3D printer manufactured by ASIGA, which undergoes thorough Quality Control inspection at Whip Mix facility before shipped to a customer.
It is noteworthy to mention these units undergo 100% inspection with quality control checks for safety, functional and packaging requirements due to the complexity of the equipment and the nature of the shipping it goes through to get to the customer. A few of the critical tests involve Hi-pot test, calibration of UV light intensity, verifying the focus and position of the UV light source on the build plate. Several issues related to shipping were identified during the QC inspection at the early stages of introduction of this unit. These issues were resolved with the manufacturer on an iterative basis; ensuring customers get a reliable product. Thanks to the QC checks established by the Quality Management System, we are able to keep up on product quality.
Whip Mix also takes initiative in seeking continuous feedback from customers to improve product quality. This includes feedback to the product design team for continuous improvement to meet changing needs of customers. The QC inspection process aids to ensure the product meet those revised requirements. With more and more complex digital equipment on the horizon, a robust Quality Control process is more important than ever to ensure stellar product quality.