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| Bring New Life to Your Existing CMMs |
| Written by Measurement Supply |
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CMM-Manager 3.0 from Nikon Metrology CMM-Manager 3.0 for Windows 7 is by far the most value-for-money tactile inspection software that runs on nearly all CNC and manual CMMs. The modern and intuitive Windows 7 graphical interface makes the software even more informative and interactive. Get more things done with CMM-Manager, by automating serial inspection or by easily taking a few points on the spot. And when combined with the new Renishaw 5-axis PH20 probe head, CMM-Manager 3.0 turns around inspection work up to 3 times faster.
The dashboard has been upgraded with intuitive new icons and a ribbon bar style layout. CMM-Manager 3.0 for Windows 7 also incorporates touch screen and multi-touch support and intuitive navigation paths. Simply walk up to the CMM, quickly align the part, and immediately measure geometric features and points on planes. When CAD is available, you can even take snap point measurements on the screen to eliminate manually probing the work piece – and automatically create dimensional charts with color-coded point deviations. Docking and sliding panels provide a more open and simplified workspace, and inspection tools are simple to use. To create a serial inspection routine that runs on any CMM brand, you simply click points and features on a 3D part view and drag-and-drop them as icons on to a part program representation. CMM-Manager automatically converts the icon program into a collision-free touch probe motion path. Automated inspection results in graphic part-to-CAD comparison, a digital communication tool providing all the answers.
PH20 support triples CMM productivity
CMM-Manager™ Software turns old CMMs into new profit centers. To handle the measurement inspection required by such a wide variety of part shapes and sizes, Stillwater realized a need to upgrade their coordinate measurement machine capability. Instead of investing in brand new machines, Stillwater sought to retrofit their older CMMs with fast, easy-to-use software. Ideally, they wanted a program that was smart enough to support walk-up quick measurement, one-click CAD-measure, collision-free CAD-teach, virtual simulation, real-time verification, advanced path planning, CAD alignment and datum alignment. But how could they get everything they needed with off-the-shelf retrofit software at a reasonable price? Windows®-based CMM-Manger software from Integrated Quality offers easy CAD-based graphical programming that lets you create, modify and verify inspection problems directly from a CAD model. An exclusive “Click-n-Measure” feature means the operator simply clicks on a part feature optimal part measurement automatically. The new software also speeds the inspection process with walk-up measurement that provides a simple user interface for easy inspection in just minutes. CMM-Manager software also provides Automatic Collision Avoidance, which modifies the probe’s path to avoid obstacles. Within the constraints of collision avoidance, CMM Manager optimizes the probe path for best inspection throughput. CMM-Manager offers advanced reporting functions, including Drag-n-Drop graphical report creation, and Graphics Assisted Tolerance Reporting, which highlights reporting and datum features for easy visual confirmation. Built-in Best-Fit Analysis lets operators compare measurement data to a CAD model for improved inspection accuracy. A Web-Ready Report function to quickly create an HTML report for email or web-posting. To adapt CMM Manager to their CMMs, the only things Stillwater had to change were a few chips on an old processor and a couple of cables. “Other than that,” according to Mr. Kaffenbarger, “we didn’t have to do any machine modifications. The easy programming through Windows makes all the difference. Before, you had to tell it every move it had to make. Now you just click and drag and the self-teach function gives you all your information. It handles alignment chores easier and quicker, too.”
Software Speeds CMM Programming In the CMM inspection area, the extensive programming required using the old system had already become a huge problem. Instead of trying to go through a complete new learning curve for an older system that was already cumbersome, it was time to start looking for something new and easy to learn. "The goal was to find a software package that could handle all CMM programming needs off-line or online, for diverse machines, and do it at minimal cost with a short learning curve," explains Bill Hopkins, senior CMM manager at TECT.
TECT runs a three-shift operation with multiple lines in operation at all times, including all final test, measurement, and inspection, which is critical to all parts. Time is at a premium, and excess time in machine programming equates to money lost. There were two main reasons to start looking for new CMM programming software. "First," says Hopkins, "because the package being used was going to be radically changed, it was the perfect time to research the market. Also, with new projects coming on board, more exotic configurations with even tighter specifications would be required for final inspection. Software was needed that could program the CMMs for these products." Because an upgrade would be potentially complicated, time consuming, and expensive, TECT considered that they had an opportunity to see if a program could be found that would handle the new requirements with less downtime for installation and training. TECT uses CMMs with a variety of probe technologies on the production floor for final inspection. With the current software, two engineers were dedicated to programming the CMM area, and a third was being hired because the workload had gotten so heavy. Within one new project alone, there were seven part numbers in the part family that looked alike, and yet were dimensionally different. A CMM program had to be developed for each part number for final inspection. Aside from this new project, the plant still ran large lots of parts. "But even there," Hopkins points out, "the way we approached production was changing. Formerly, a substantial amount of customized gaging tools were purchased from outside sources and used by operators to measure parts. The movement is now more heavily toward only using CMMs for the task." This change reduces cost, as investing in the custom gaging was very expensive, and the gages also had to be maintained. The ideal situation was to be able to generate programs on the CMMs to handle all part measurement, regardless of the customization required. For these reasons, a streamlined CMM programming area had the potential to save a lot of money in various areas, not just final inspection. Labor hours, time to create programs, time to measure parts, and financial investment in production gaging would all benefit. Quotes were obtained from every likely supplier and comparisons were made; the candidate list was long. The major factors for the purchase of this software program were initial cost of the software, short learning curve, and fast ROI. The benefits were programming that could integrate with any type of machine without the need for special adaptation software or hardware, and the fact that the software did exactly what was needed. There was no overkill. Programming that previously took 100 hr can now be done in less than 40. The new software handles all needs in one package. Off-line programming saves time by allowing part inspection programming without tying up machines on the shop floor. While on-line programming is still needed in some cases for some machines, particularly when part models aren't available, the program is easier to learn than the previous software. After three days of training, TECT engineers had written new programming that previously took two and a half weeks to write for the CMM area. The software also creates travelers for all the parts for traceability. The CMM report was included with the part, and the software also provided an electronic copy of the report. "Another very nice feature is that if anyone in virtually any location needed to retrieve or review any report, it's viewable using an Internet web browser," says Hopkins. Graphical reports generated by the program are easy to use and informative. Previously, many of the graphical reports generated using the older program required a good deal of deciphering. Technical resources were constantly required to develop ways to try to identify exactly what characteristics were being measured, and where they were on the part. The software indicates exactly where the characteristic originated, the tolerances, and any deviations-all in one picture. Today, writing new programs that used to take months take only weeks. Ten CMMs can be programmed offline quickly to measure and analyze all products requirements, including point cloud areas that were not possible using the previous software.
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