With a goal of better serving its customers by providing greater accuracy and less variations in its calibrations, Metrolab started its new Underground Laboratory in 2011.
In Metrology, different factors – such as vibration, temperature, humidity and lighting, among others – affect the measurement of a piece, so it is necessary to control these factors within certain specifications to provide better service and high-quality products.
That is why Metrolab decided to invest in building the Underground Laboratory, a project whose construction took place between December 2009 and 2010 and that started operations in January of this year.
Minimizing the degree of uncertainty in the calibration process was the main reason that Metrolab focused on constructing its new lab.


In order to provide businesses with a more accurate solution and measurements that meet quality standards for Metrology, Metrolab investigated the characteristics that the first private underground laboratory in Mexico should have and focused on complying with them as strictly as possible.
For example, the walls that make up the lab are a meter thick, and there are gaps between the wall and the retaining wall so that no vibrations from outside the building are transferred inside.
The lab’s entire circumference is isolated from the next retaining wall, whether the wall is toward the street or an adjoining building.
“At the time of measurement, if there is no vibration control, an error will occur that will affect the client’s processes, “said Ramiro Lozano, CEO of Metrolab.


In order to control the temperature, they placed high-tech insulation around the entire periphery of the laboratory, as well in the ceiling and floor, which has allowed them to minimize the transfer of heat or cold and prevent vibrations from being transmitted through this channel.
“It doesn’t matter what the temperature is outside since inside our laboratory it will always be a stable 20°C, as specified by the norms, “ said Ramiro Lozano, adding that the deeper the laboratory is located, the more isolated it is from outdoor temperature variations.
Because the Underground Laboratory is located six feet below street level, its temperature is very stable and controlled.


“The temperature-control equipment that we acquired is high performance, and it records temperature variations, responding with high sensitivity to these changes, which are then automatically regulated to the desired temperature,” explained the director.
Because lighting also affects measurements, the laboratory controls illumination and is equipped with the recommended specification of 800 lumens.
Before Metrolab built an underground laboratory, they had higher variations than their current ones, which now do not exceed + / - 0.3°C.
The manager noted that the lab’s services are aimed at small, medium, and large industrial companies, for whom it is very important to have the lowest possible levels of uncertainty and errors.
“If providers for the automotive and aerospace industry can’t depend on accurate measuring equipment to ensure the quality of the parts being made and – as a result – these parts contain errors, they might cause serious damage when they are assembled or even when people are using them. That is why measurement is so important in processes, since they control each and every type of error in the parts produced,” mentioned

Ramiro Lozano.

Companies like Ternium, Cemex, Siemmens, Schulmberger, Cifunsa, General Motors and Frisa Forjados, among many others, are some of the customers to whom Metrolab provides calibration services.
“Metrolab is a great choice for the many different businesses that need higher levels of confidence and accuracy to compete in world-class market, “said the manager.
“There are few laboratories in Latin America with the same characteristics as ours.”



Measurement Specialists

The company, which offers services in calibration, testing, maintenance, measurement, training and consulting, has a firm objective of collaborating with industry to manufacture the highest-quality products.
“We provide solutions in metrology, maintenance, training and testing to help clients meet international quality assurance standards,” said Fausto Yépiz, the company’s Commercial Director. He added, “We assure customers that the products they produce will have the expected features for functionality in their field.”
In a 600-square-foot area of the underground laboratory, Metrolab provides calibration service to micrometers, vernier calipers, calibration rings, pattern blocks, tape measures, granite tables, height meters, profilometers, plain rings, threaded rings, pins, threaded studs, dial indicators, control or tab indicators, and bore gauges.
Metrolab’s standards are certified by the National Center of Metrology (CENAM – Centro Nacional de Metrología), which is the nation’s principal laboratory and also the lab that ensures the accuracy of all of the company’s calibrations.
“The pattern blocks used to calibrate most of the instruments are zero degree, and we also have double-zero and K-degree blocks, which are used to calibrate the pattern blocks themselves,” said Raymundo Arreola, Head of the Dimensional Laboratory.


The company has high-accuracy equipment, a dimensional machine, an indicator calibration system, a gauge block comparator, a high-accuracy altitude meter, patterns for depth micrometers, and electronic levels with which they carry out granite-table calibrations. The latter is to perform in situ calibrations.
Metrolab is also known for offering a comprehensive solution which includes the sale of equipment through Metalinspec, as well as equipment installation, maintenance, and calibration.
In the laboratory, they calibrate not only measuring instruments, but also manufactured industrial products or parts. All of this is done through the use of three pieces of equipment: the iNEXIV, the Range 7 laser scanner for reverse engineering, and a coordinate-measuring machine known as CMM.
Companies such as Magna Power, Linamar, Katcon, Schlumberger and GM come to Metrolab for their parts dimensioning service.
“Companies make their own measurements, i.e. their quality control, but the parts must undergo a quality assurance process and be checked and calibrated by a third party. What better option than to leave this process to specialists like us?” remarked Commercial Director Fausto Yepiz.A little history
Metrolab was created in 1995 because a metrology laboratory has a primary function in industry.


Initially, the company had a very limited scope because it only calibrated Force, Hardness and Impact. But, eventually, it added Torque, Electrics, Temperature, Dimensional, Mass, Pressure and Chemistry.
Today, Metrolab is the private laboratory in Mexico with the highest number of accredited magnitudes under the international standard ISO 17 025.
Only in Dimensional are there seven accredited instruments, plus seven more that will be going through the accreditation process during May so that they, too, can provide calibration services.



Metrolab works to attract investment


Thanks to the underground lab, all foreign companies seeking a quality venue in which to operate have the option of finding a highly reliable calibration provider in Nuevo Leon.
Metrolab directs and focuses all of its services toward industries that have a high impact on Engineering and Technology in Mexico, whether they be national companies or international companies with operations in the country.
Some foreign companies seeking a place to install their plants may wonder if Mexico has a sufficient enough infrastructure to allow them to operate with the high quality levels their customers expect. If it doesn’t, they could decide to settle in another country.


Nowadays Mexico, and especially Nuevo Leon, stands out as a great, world-class choice for companies seeking well-calibrated equipment and a minimal error rate. The state competes with laboratories in other countries, not just in its facilities, but with its equipment, standards and technical personnel who perform calibrations with a high degree of accuracy.
“If our Underground Laboratory didn’t exist, some companies would be set up elsewhere or would send their instruments to be calibrated to other countries so that they could meet the requirements and standards,” said the CEO of Metrolab, Ramiro Lozano.



Metrology services with different magnitudes




Force: Calibration of universal testing machines, presses, dynamometers, tension devices, load cells and proving rings of up to 200,000 kg.



Hardness: Calibration of hardness testers using the Rockwell, Brinell, Vickers, Knoop, and Shore methods.
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Mass: Calibration of weighing devices, analytical balances, top-loading balances, and cutting tools with a scope of up to 2 500 kg.



Dimensional: Calibration of measuring instruments such as micrometers, vernier calipers, indicators, measuring tapes, rulers, pattern bars, roughness testers, thread calipers, optical comparators, pattern blocks, granite tables and microscopic height gauges, among others.



Impact: Calibration of Charpy and Izod pendulum impact machines, for metal and plastics. Additionally, calibration of extensometers, plastometers, Erichssen testers, and thermal strain gauges, among others.



Temperature: Calibration of liquid in glass and industrial thermometers from -70 to 600°C. Thermocouples, ovens, molds, stoves and environmental chambers, RTD devices, controllers and temperature gauges in any range available.




Besides the magnitudes of Electricity, Pressure, Par Torsional, Chemical and Optical.