Probe goes into Search mode during manual alignment

[[Ro...]]

So somewhat recently my Vast Gold XT started acting up and going into search mode while maneuvering during a manual alignment.
Possibly it started getting bad at around the time we upgraded to 6.6, but im not sure if that just might be a coincidence.
its a pretty big pain right now because we run many parts in a family off a single fixture, and we have been doing lots of manual alignments recently.
There's been no major collisions to my knowledge recently, or ever with this particular head.

[[Ch...]]

Roberto, you don't want to know what I think man.

[[Ro...]]

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Yeah, 5 grand for a new head, i know........
5 grand for a "factory refurb" at that, so we all just get to kick our own problems down the road in exchange for someone else's problems.......

[[Da...]]

Roberto I have this problem too occasionally.
I think I noticed it first when upgrading from 5.8 to 6.4 (config folder was copied).
I have no idea how to track it down, I haven't tried with a "fresh 6.4 config", at least you are not alone 🙂
I have Contura 2014

[[Me...]]

My ST3 head would do this...GOING BAD!!
I had to tap the probe to get it to "let go."
Hope it's some other reason...mine was always replacement.
If it is going bad it will eventually migrate into your programs.

[[To...]]

Roberto, the other guys might be onto something if this happens a lot. But if it only happens here and there, the most common thing I have seen when it comes to the probe moving when it's not supposed to be, is due to not fully retracting the stylus after taking a point. Most common situation is on an OD circle, cylinder or sphere. Take a point, don't fully retract, slide over to next position and then the probe wants to keep moving in the probing direction of last point.

[[Cl...]]

Yes, I'm with Tom on this one. I explain to operators that have to run
a program that uses a manual alignment not to drag the probe on the
surface they just probed, or it will drift.

[[Ow...]]

I'm Owen Long and I support both Clarke and Tom's message.
It happens.

[[Ro...]]

Tom & Owen & Clarke, what a trio to have on my post!

Well unfortunately i use Start alignments on ALL my programs, so i never force my peeps to take planes or cylinders.
3 points or 1 point & a circle on everything.
I leave rotation and planer up to the fixture people (usually me).

Buuuut, (i wish i could attach a video) i notice when i move the head in say +X, the base plate moves (lurches) in that direction also, almost anticipating contact. same goes for Y & Z.

[[Da...]]

I *think* I've seen it even before taking the first point on manual alignment!

[[Th...]]

Hello,

if I understand what happened at your machine, you tried to make a manual point and instead of accepting it moved in the opposite direction until "collision" without any contact.

This happens sometimes when you did Self Center Probing. The easiest way to stop this behauviour is to deactivate the self centering in the opposite direction. If my rusted english makes problems:

Probe Self Centering ON -> Own Selection ON -> XYZ clamped ON -> manual probing -> XYZ clamped OFF -> Own Selection OFF -> Probe Self Centering OFF -> [OK]

Now this misbehauvior should have been stopped. Just make sure you always turn it off this way.

[[Da...]]

Thomas thank you for your input, but this isn't the problem here.
I wish I had a camera recording that very moment to show you.
Maybe Roberto can describe it even more

[[Da...]]

It's been a while now, since I've started from fresh config. So I renamed the previously used config folder to config-backup and defined everything from scratch in new one (master probe, refererence sphere, garages).
I also upgraded to latest SP 6.4.24 and haven't seen this problem since.

[[Ro...]]

Dane, No way am i doing all that 🙂
Sounds like actual work!

We had Zeiss Tech in last week for yearly service & calibration and i left a couple notes for things for him to look at.
When everything was finished (calibration) and put back together my day shift guy loaded a problematic program and had Zeiss guy do a manual alignment. When the program started the CMM went back and changed probes, when the Zeiss guy grabbed the controls and started driving toward the part it went into search mode (we know to drive slowly to prevent this from happening).
The Zeiss guys reaction was "hmmm, well i didn't see anything mechanically wrong with it, must be something in the program".
And that was the end of that.

[[Ri...]]

Roberto, I know of nothing that could cause this on the programming side of things. If this happened while a Zeiss tech was operating the machine, then there's a problem with the mechanics.

[[Da...]]

Roberto, what's up with this?
I have no hickups since redoing config

[[Ro...]]

My thought is that since it mainly happens with 1 stylus system in particular, its a problem inside that probe file.
So theres a chance that creating a new stylus system and swapping the old stylus out for new stylus would fix the problem.
What scares me is that i have a JIGUNDUS program that uses this stylus system, i think it covers some 50+ part numbers, and there is a free form measurement that uses multiple tips & clearance moves to get around the part, so i'm afraid that swapping stylus systems could wreck everything.
There is also the chance that i could save that probe file from my offline seat to a network drive and import in into my online seat may also fix the problem (This is probably what redoing your config accomplished for you, backing up your probe files)
but at the moment everything is running smooth, all the manual alignments are done and i don't think any program hasn't been run yet.

FYI, if you're experiencing a probe going into search mode, we found that "Jiggling" the stick in that direction will bring it out of search mode