CMM/KMG Check

[[Ch...]]

Happy Friday Everyone,

I have a Zeiss KMG Check (000000-1103-602) that my company hasn't used in at least 10 years. We unfortunately do not have the Program anymore, lost at some point over the 10 years. 

My question is: Does the KMG Check require a program, or does it require an additional purchased Dongle/License to get its full value?  I am having troubles finding anything out about this artifact and what's necessary to perform a proper inspection on it.

Any support would be greatly appreciated! 

SIDE NOTE: What is this artifact mainly used for across the industry? I would like to use it to bullet proof some of my data when presenting it to production, as that has proven to be very... fun. 😁

[[Ke...]]

A KMGCheck of that age would likely have come with the Program that it was to be used with, documentation on the sizes of the various artifact parts on the kmgcheck (spheres, ring gage, and length gage if I recall correctly), and a license for the program that was unique to each CMM Serial Number. The program was designed to accomplish the goal of allowing the user to check the the CMM itself for a number of things related to machine health such as squareness, tuning, axis drag, things of that nature, in between Zeiss calibrations/without a Zeiss technician(though it is not a replacement for proper testing and calibration by a Zeiss tech). The program has a number of specific inputs for the specifications and parameters of the unique machine types, with specialized outputs reflecting those parameters. So while you could utilize the KMGcheck as simply an artifact and write your own program, you will likely get more value out of the actual program, as well as it having been designed and tested by an expert outside party (Zeiss in this case) to ensure good metrology practices, and potentially some highly specialized techniques in the program, as well as being written with a deep understanding of the details and function of the system.

I specify a KMGcheck of that age, as Zeiss has recently released the KMGCheck2.0 which uses a similar(pretty sure it is the exact same in fact) artifact, but has a new program and new reporting, as well as a new means of licensing (per facility as opposed to per CMM I believe).

Some customers have gone to this tool as an alternative to having Zeiss do a 6 month health check, others use it on a scheduled(weekly, monthly, etc) basis to be confident of their machine condition, some utilize it as a form of Golden Part that can be checked if the CMM is ever called in to questio, while others use it after crashes to check if the machine is still in good condition,as some examples of use in industry

[[Ch...]]

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 I appreciate your thorough response. Sounds like I will have to look into this a bit further!

[[Ke...]]

If the artifact is in its original case, there is a chance the documentation and program are in the case with it, in a pocket hidden behind the foam either on the top or bottom of the case. The documentation is probably on paper, and the program may very well be on a CD. I don't believe the program was controlled or customer specific, so you may be able to get a copy from elsewhere, the parts that were controlled/unique were the values of the artifacts (diameters, roundnesses, lengths, uncertainties), and the license key for each CMM

[[Ch...]]

Hidden pocket had the goods! Unfortunately, the guy I took over for could not direct me to that hidden pocket since the last time he opened it was 10 years ago. 😆 Thanks again Kevin!

[[Pa...]]

Dang.  Same problem but the hidden packet is empty, and the calibrated stylus is in three pieces.  This is what I inherited.  Guess I'll reach out to my sales person for a program.