Let’s say that this water pump cover needs to lie flat against its mating surface to within a specific GD&T Flatness Callout. We’ve seen, in the past, that Control X can check for GD&T Callout information and return pass/fail conditions. But we can also use Control X to determine the amount that a part is in or out of a ‘Flatness’ spec by turning on a localized color map that we call a ‘Fitting Deviation’. [...]
We’ve seen how to inspect the scan of a single, manufactured part against an inspection plan generated using a nominal CAD model. But what if we have many manufactured part scans to inspect against the same inspection plan, using the same nominal CAD model. That’s where Batch Processing comes in. The exact same inspection process can be reused as many times as needed and no human intervention is required. Once the batch processing [...]
Utilizing Color Maps for understanding machining outcomes Consider this airfoil. It was programmed and machined on a 5-Axis mill, using a single setup. The ball mill was able to travel completely around the shape, during the machining process and therefore blending the top and bottom of the surface didn’t need to be considered. Our job is to inspect the airfoil and make suggestions to the CNC Programmer and Tool Designer to optimize the machining process. [...]
Very often, when a part is designed in CAD, in terms of its orientation and origin, it isn’t necessarily where it needs to be oriented in the final assembly. Therefore, inspection values may not reveal the true picture as to what is needed regarding inspection data. Let’s consider this crankshaft below. The CAD designer created this sub-assembly with the part’s origin as shown. Then, any distance or location dimensions shown in the inspection will be [...]
Most CMM’s will ship with a language-based CMM programming software package that is powerful but very time-consuming to learn and challenging to master. It is therefore very common for job shops and manufacturing facilities to have just a single CMM programmer who has gone through the painstaking efforts of becoming proficient with the software. But what happens when that person goes on vacation, is out sick, or leaves the company? Many shops own very expensive [...]
Most modern-day CMM’s will ship with onboard CMM programming software that is powerful yet challenging to learn and use. Companies end up investing weeks and even months getting one or two users proficient with the software. But those individuals can get sick or take vacation at inopportune times or perhaps leave the company. What happens then? Is there a simple way to transition a Mastercam CNC Programmer into a CMM programmer? Verisurf’s Universal CMM (UCMM) [...]
Attention all Mastercam users who inspect parts using a CMM . . . You no longer need to tolerate the programming system that came with your Coordinate Measuring Machine (CMM). If you have multiple CMM’s, each with their own clumsy programming system, you can now program them all using a single simple-to-use software product that runs from within the user-friendly Mastercam programming environment. While CMM’s are a necessity in most job shops and manufacturing facilities, [...]
This blog post will discuss how to use the Virtual Edge Deviation Tool in Control X. It is often necessary to extract virtual edges of a part to compare them to the actual CAD model’s edge to ensure a part is within spec. Depending upon the resolution of the scanner, the sharp edges of a scanned part may be somewhat rounded or chamfered. Consider the requirements of checking the outer edge of the part shown [...]
