Measured points with networked programs

[[Jo...]]

Hi Everyone,

Looking for some input on measured points for networked programs. 

I am looking to work with IT to move programs to a dedicated network location. With multiple CMMs, it makes sense to move programs to the network. One main sticking point I see is saving measured points on the server as this could eat up a lot of space on these drives. 

I am looking for any input from the community here to understand if there are better paths or workarounds. The real question is... Can the programs be stored on the network with the measured points stored locally? Does this have any drawbacks?

The worst-case option is to cap the measured points per program and store them on the network. Not the ideal scenario as we would be limited and still eat up storage space. 

 

Appreciate the help!

-JG

[[Ro...]]

I have had poor experience with running programs off of a network, and would not recommend it. The program loading time can be quite slow, and I have had issues of machines crashing/losing their mind, when running off of network.Network is used as a backup source only. As cheap as mass storage is, I wouldn't overly worry about drive space. I use a batch file to send reports and measured points, to specific folders on the network, and delete any older than 30 days, on the local pc. 

[[Ri...]]

As long as you change your Environment Paths to be stored locally there are no issues with running over a network. I did it at my previous employer, and we had over 20 CMM across multiple facilities. 

The loading time are typically a network speed issue, and a lot of times related to the size of the CAD model stored in the measurement plan. You can change your settings in File - Load Settings to make it where the CAD Model doesn't load for a CNC run (or even have it only load the surfaces used). 

As for storing the Measured Points locally, there should be no issues with that (unless you are on something older than Calypso 2020 I believe). In the past, the Measured Points file(s) had to be stored in measurement plan folder, now you can load Measured Points via Plan - Subsequent Evaluation of Several Measurements or Alternative Paths

[[Jo...]]

Thanks for the replies. I also did this at my last employer we had 30+ machines running off networked programs. 

I agree this may be slow for programmers opening programs in calypso. We are utilizing auto run, so I am not concerned about loading programs on the operator level.

Please sign in to view this username.

 would the "CNC run only" fall under auto run?

Please sign in to view this username.

 I would be interested in the batch file you have, would you be able to share it or details?

 

Thanks,

JG

 

 

[[Ro...]]

Please sign in to view this quote.

 

Here is a generic copy of it, that does what I use it for. I was given the original years ago, from Zeiss, and just modified it to fit my needs. We had issues of QC-Calc and Calypso fighting over the text file used to make the excel report. You will have to do a line for every program, for measured points. The file sits in the default location you use for program storage, and works automatically when the program ends. We run programs off the local storage, and save the results there. The batch file copies pdf, excel and measured points to a specified location on the network. We do it per CMM. The excel and pdf do not need to be program specific like the measured points files do. 

runend.bat

Edited December 12, 2024

[[Ja...]]

Good advice here, we also store our programs on a network to be accessed by multiple CMMs but store measured data locally.

That said anytime I have dealt with Zeiss and the topic comes up that we store and run our programs off the network though they always encourage against it and to be fair I have seen some weird issues come up occasionally but nothing catastrophic. One of the biggest things that took me a bit to pin down was if I was running a program on one CMM and opened the same program on another CMM while the first was still running I would get errors on the run of the first CMM, typically about not measuring certain characteristics. Also If you are in master mode in one CMM and making adjustments to a program and for some reason it is up and running on another CMM that could cause similar errors.

The convenience of running off a network for multiple CMMs outweighs the occasional glitches for us but it is good to be aware of possible weirdness.

The one other word of advice I would have is to periodically make local backups of your programs, or at least your most used programs, onto an external drive in case you have some network issues. This has made me the hero of the shop a couple of times when we have had network/internet issues and I was able to temporarily load the programs locally to minimize any production downtime. In fact it has been a while since I did a program backup ... I think I'm going to get to that this week, thanks for the reminder!

Edited December 12, 2024