How much does PMI/MBD help?

[[Co...]]

Hello Friends!

I recently joined a startup aerospace company and I am working on getting our inspection department up and running. Unfortunately when I showed up there was a Mitutoyo MiSTAR555 here 😭 but I'm going to be trying to replace that thing ASAP.
I have buy in from pretty much everyone to move over to Zeiss so I want to start laying the groundwork for when we make the change! I had my manager ask me to put together some info on how helpful PMI is for programming a CMM, but I don't actually have any experience using PMI in programming so I wanted to pose the question to the team here.

Does anyone have opinions on how well the "auto-programming" works in Calypso when there is PMI in the model? Is it as much of a game changer as the sales guys make it seem or is it kinda overrated?

Thanks!

[[Je...]]

It sounds like PMI in Calypso has improved over the past few years.

Having worked in Aerospace & Defense, I have a strong opinion about how to position yourself for success when purchasing a new Zeiss CMM:

Purchase aaaaaallllllll the available upgrades up front. Do not adopt the mantra of "we will buy it when we need it." It won't happen.

It's like using a revolving door. It's easier to move the direction the door is rotating and move when the door is in motion. Use the psychology of capital improvements to your advantage or regret it for years when your manager tells you, "but we already paid so much for that machine..."

1. (edit: added this 4/20/22. Thanks, Daniel) GET AN OFFLINE PROGRAMMING (Planner) SEAT!
2. Get multiple sensors or at least get a Vast (Vast, Vast gold, Vast XTR) dynamic head.
3. Get Curve & Freeform addons
4. Get PCM
5. Get more stylus adapter plates than you think you need (minimum of twelve, twenty is better).
6. Get a large enough stylus rack and enough bays to holster 8-10 probes.
7. Get multiple stylus extensions depending on the size and geometry of the parts you plan to measure.
8. Make sure the environmental controls in the room are suitable for maintaining +/- 1.0°F (0.5°F is better). If not, add this to your requisition.
9. Get workpiece temperature probes (not the ones that you actually probe via the sensor with. The magnetic cabled ones work well).
10. Consider vibration isolation. Prismo Ultra CMMs come with excellent airpods for vibration dampening.
11. Do not place the machine next to an exterior wall or next to other sources of interference.
12. Is your company high volume? If so, get pallet systems. Low volume? Get a high quality anodized aluminum or steel fixture plate.
13. Get high quality fixturing components.


Man, it doesn't sound like I was traumatized from a bad experience (or two), doesn't it? 🤣


.

[[Da...]]

You forgot the offline seat for programming. Last thing you want is stopping productive work on your machine because you need a part programmed.

[[Je...]]

OMG!!!! Yes, do NOT forget the offline programming seat. I'm not sure how I forgot to mention this. Perhaps because I basically endured post-traumatic stress after begging for this at a previous company.

Added to previous post. Thanks, Daniel!

[[To...]]

Please sign in to view this quote.

Just like Calypso, PMI/MDB has improved over the years.

In my opinion, it will save you time, especially if you take advantage of using Save/Load Defaults to auto-populate strategies. However, it will not do everything, all the time. You can push "one button" and it will generate all of the features and characteristics in the model. If you need to create multiple programs due to accessibility, you can select the individual characteristics needed for a given operation.

If the program requires multiple stylus systems and/or multiple styli positions, you will need to manage those after the fact. If you're depending on the Stylus Radius Factor in your Save/Load Defaults for Cylinders and you change the feature to use a different size radius probe, you will need to adjust the Start and Target Heights. However, simply deleting the current strategy and closing the feature will regenerate corrected Start and Target Heights for the new radius tool.

Like many things in the Calypso, I consider this to be another tool in the tool box. I believe it will save you time though it may not not do it all. I think it will only get better as the use of PMI/MDB increases.

I have worked for a Zeiss Dealer for almost 14 years, however my role as an applications support engineer means I have to look my customers in the eye after I sell them on how great Zeiss and Calypso are.

[[Ro...]]

I started working at a place in October, and they had the Vast XTR head on their CMM, its a game changer!!!!
Ive worked with Vast XT and Gold XT for most of mt CMM career, and i've also programmed on the XXT rotating head quite a bit, but i never much liked the XXT.
For all the literature and capabilities the XXT is supposed to be, i find the head has a lot of error when moving around. Lots of time spent recalibrating. i also don't like all the "air scanning" errors it has when scanning at relatively low speeds on a plane.

The XTR on the other hand is a rotating XT, but when it rotates it "locks in" to its location with a hard Clunk. I don't know what the mechanism is, but i think its a much better system of movement.

That's just my opinion.