Models for XXT probe holders

[[Da...]]

After some successful hunting and seeking, I got our first CMM set up for offline simulation.  I was tinkering around with setting up the stylus racks and holders and hit a snag there.  We run XXT probes, but the only models loaded are for Vast XT plates.  Has anyone had any success with loading the probe socket holders into their simulation environments?

[[Ka...]]

Hello Daniel,
Welcome to Planner & Simulation. Which version of CALYPSO are you using?
There are no XXT socket holders in versions prior to 8.0. I very much doubt that there will be any development for XXT and MSR mini holders from version 8.0 onwards.
Generally speaking, Planner is a rather neglected software module. There has been no further development for many years. The current version 8.0 is virtually unusable. Let’s see what works in version 8.2, whenever that comes out.
We use Planner/Simulation extensively and are now well aware of many of its pitfalls and glitches; yet we still come across something new from time to time.
I'll keep my fingers crossed that you'll be able to get the offline station working reasonably well.

P.S.
We now 3D-print the XXT probe socket ourselves. Just under €1,000 for a bit of plastic and three springs isn’t in line with market prices; not even if it says ‘Zeiss’ on the plastic 🙂

Regards
Karsten

[[No...]]

Are we talking about the XXT probe plates (in SSC models) or a model of the rack? The plates are in the stylus creator (you need to start a new probe by clicking on the "new" button in the tool bar, then you can select your probing system from a list). Note that you probably need to rotate XXT plates by 90 degrees to get the correct orientation.

An XXT rack however is indeed missing from the rack building module, as is any kind of movable rack (MSR, ProMax,...). That mndule was introduced years ago in a basic version for fixed racks and since then nothing new was added. It's kind of a DOA feature, like so many others in Calypso.

Edited yesterday at 06:22 AM

[[Sv...]]

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 The price of just under 1,000 euros for a Zeiss holder is reasonable. In addition to the Contura, we also have a Mitutoyo machine with Renishaw equipment; for that one, a 3-slot rack (which is also just plastic and a few springs) costs 3,000 euros 🤑😭

[[Da...]]

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The Planner seat runs version 7.8.  Of the 9 Zeiss CMMs here, six of them can run version 7.

A few of our CMMs run XXT and TP20 systems so that's another rack I guarantee doesn't exist in Calypso.  The rack modeling is certainly lacking, but more of a want than a need.  I'll be leveraging Solidworks for making set-ups, which we 3D print a lot of workholding.  Also making a mental note about the holders, thanks!

[[Jo...]]

You can add the probe racks to the simulator, but only virtually. You cannot mount them to your table and do crash detection. (If that changed in version 8, I cant find it!) 

 

It would be so nice to be able to simulate and not have to validate on the real machine!

[[No...]]

Maybe it's my lack of imagination, but I never understood why people want to simulate each and every bit of their CMM setup in Planner anyway. I learned very early that the simulation is very limited when it comes to anything other than pure collision detection between stylus and workpiece. And even that only works reliably maybe 80% of the time, and only on the lowest speed setting. I started with Planner in 2009 and many of the bugs I encountered back then are still present today, like the CMM making weird moves especially after a probe change, which do not happen on the physical CMM. That alone was enough to keep me from simulating the whole setup. Because if the virtual CMM can't even move realistically, all the other stuff doesn't make much sense.

So most of the time I only simulate the workpiece, the fixture and the stylus, maybe also the head if it comes very close to the part. All the other things are only there to impress the boss 😄

Edited 4 hours ago

[[Ka...]]

Norbert,
I completely agree with you! The current version of Planner is pretty rubbish. You should think very carefully before buying an offline station.
Generally speaking, however, Zeiss promises a simulation that works 100% of the time and sells it (at a very high price).

You have a lot of experience using Planner and are surely familiar with all the pitfalls, big and small. New users, however, assume that the simulation works 100%.
 If the software fails to detect collisions that are not immediately obvious, it can take a long time to identify the problem in the real world. Or if the measuring space is insufficient – particularly with RDS – and an end stop is reached in the real world. It is even worse if collisions with the machine’s own geometry go undetected.

All of these are basic functions that the current software version only covers inadequately.
As I said: if you have plenty of experience, you might not need 100% simulation, and 80% might be enough (though even that isn’t always achieved...)

[[No...]]

Despite all the bugs and shortcomings I wouldn't want to be without our offline station. Programming at the real CMM is not an option anymore, since they constantly run programs almost 24/7 today. Yes, it needs a bit of experience to judge whether a simulated program will run properly on the CMM, but even that is better than blocking the CMM for hours when testing out a new program. And of course I'm better off with a false alarm in simulation than with a broken stylus or a damaged CMM.

However, a real letdown in Planner was the simulation of our O-Inspect (which is now in CMM heaven). Zeiss sold us an additional 600 € video license dongle (so the camera drivers would also work on the offline station), promising we would be able to fully simulate with CAD models etc. But that never worked a bit. The dongle was completely useless as the simulation only displays a static dummy image that is always the same and has nothing to do with your part. It's impossible to simulate any part that way. Programming was also a nightmare as there are simply no functions to put an optical point properly on an edge. It always needed a lot of messing aroung with coordinates etc. Last but not least the light settings had to be re-teached on the real CMM anyway. I ended up not using Planner for the O-Inspect at all. It was just a big waste of time and money (for the dongle).

Edited 42 minutes ago