UltraLife Batteries Collects Optical Gage Data Direct into SPC for Incoming Inspection QC
Originally published in our application archives · Updated August 2026
Summary: UltraLife, a pioneer of the lithium battery industry, uses WinWedge Pro in its Incoming Inspections area to collect measurement data from a SmartScope optical gage, parse and format it, and transfer it instantly into a Windows statistical process control (SPC) system — verifying that raw materials meet specification before they enter production.
The Challenge
Lithium battery manufacturing demands tight control of incoming raw materials. UltraLife’s inspection area measures materials on a SmartScope optical gage driven by measurement-routine software — but the measurements are only useful once they reach the plant’s SPC system, in the right format, in real time. Retyping precision measurements into SPC software is both a bottleneck and an error source no battery plant can accept.
The Solution
The optical gage’s measurement routines run on their own controlling software, which sends results out over RS232 to a second Windows PC running WinWedge Pro. WinWedge Pro collects the incoming serial data, parses, filters, and formats it as the SPC package requires, and transfers each measurement instantly into the SPC system — where incoming materials are monitored against specification in real time as part of UltraLife’s quality control program.
The Results
- Real-time transfer of optical gage measurements into SPC software
- Parsing and formatting matched exactly to the SPC package’s input requirements
- No manual transcription of precision measurements
- Out-of-spec raw materials caught at incoming inspection, before production
How You’d Set This Up Today
SmartScope systems and other vision/optical measurement platforms remain widely used in incoming inspection, and the data path is unchanged on Windows 10/11: The gages output results over RS232 and an RS232 to USB converter cable (FTDI or Prolific) is used to input those gage readings into your Windows PC USB port. WinWedge inputs the data direct from the USB port to your Windows SPC software or web form.
Some new gages can transmit over Ethernet. In this case, TCP-Wedge (part of WinWedge Pro) feeds the Ethernet-based gage data directly into any Windows SPC software or web form.
Both WinWedge and TCP-Wedge reformat the gage data for whatever SPC, MES, or Excel-based system the plant runs. Because WinWedge feeds ANY Windows application, plants can change SPC vendors without touching the gage-side integration.
Collecting Data from Your Own Instruments?
Feeding gage or vision-system measurements into SPC or MES software? Download a free WinWedge Pro trial or call (800) 722-6004 — we’ll make it easy to match the output of your instrument to the input your QC system expects.