Probe Qualification Program

[[Jo...]]

Hello all. My facility has 2 Contura G2 CMMs that are being used in a production setting. Each machine is running a program around 30 times in a 24 hour period. The styli systems never change, and we have a qualification program for each machine. We require that the qualification program is ran once every 8 hours(usually during their lunch). My question is: Is there a way in Calypso to force the operators to run the qualification program at set times during the day?

[[Je...]]

I am not aware of a way to restrict a qualification duration under 1 day but you can set the duration of valid qualification to 1 day so it the operator is forced to qualify the stylus system every 24 hours.

[[Cl...]]

Jeff, how exactly to you set that?

[[Th...]]

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That's under CMM settings, stylus system tab, define and activate limit values. As he says, you can define a maximum interval for stylus qualification, among other things. Actually enforcing these limits requires you to either access the menu below that one and change the global setting, or do it per plan under Resources > Stylus system.

Right now, I'm using this to enforce qualifications on our shop CMMs with a 9 hour window, in effect once a shift.

[[Am...]]

Go to your Probing system qualification window and set limit values.

[[Th...]]

Oh, I hadn't considered that you can define them per stylus like that.

[[Ch...]]

You could probably add some crafty PCM, for # times program is run in 8 hours, and have a message prompt after hours, or lock out the program, etc.

If your calibration sphere was able to fit in the measuring area, You may even be able to add the qualification to the program, with PCM/Condition to calibrate after so many CNC runs, etc.
Just brainstorming.

Good luck.

[[Jo...]]

Great info guys! Thanks for the help!

[[Da...]]

"The styli systems never change, and we have a qualification program for each machine. We require that the qualification program is ran once every 8 hours(usually during their lunch)"

The answer is yes you could do this with PCM. But I am wondering why your re-qualifying the probes so often? Probes qualifications are verifying the probes position to the other probes e.i."Master Reference Sphere". unless the probes have been taken apart, come loose, or the temperature has changed the position of the probe should remain with in given amount.

You could be introducing error. There is a study for engineering that talks about hitting a target blow a basketball hoop by moving the basketball hoop after each throw. This study showed that by changing your constant over and over it made the resultant error larger. Not that you are doing that just would be good to look at if the re-qualification is really needed? When are you seeing shifting in the data? Why was the decision made to re-qualify so often.

My CMM makes over 300,000 stylus system changes a year. The minute there is a problem we know it. because we are measuring the same parts over and over again. We see with in seconds there is something wrong when part data shifts. We are using mini tab to do part analysis after each part checked. We also use known part that will verify accuracy.

[[SH...]]

Can we add the probe calibration program inside the main program, then create a base alignment using loop. Then add a condition that base system value grater than a practical value, run the probe calibration program. This will work ??

Any error in the probe should reflect the base alignment.

I don't have pcm that is why asking.

[[Da...]]

Just use the limit values and set it to how many hours between calibrations

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[[Th...]]

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If his "production environment" is anything like ours, then the temperature fluctuates enough over time to warrant it.

[[Jo...]]

Would that be 8 hours of run time or 8 hours on the clock?