Creating .Cal File

[[Ni...]]

Good Morning,

We have a Renishaw Equator 300 here that hasnt been used in years and are trying to get it running.
I learned that in order to use this, we need to inspect a part on a CMM and create a .CAL file which then gets added to the program in the Equator which uses MODUS.
Then it uses that part as the Master and then we can finally measure the parts.

The .CAL file is created in PC-DMIS which we don't have at all.

Does Calypso have any features that will allow this .CAL file to be made? Has anyone used the Equator?
I already am looking on Feature Compare and the Calypso to Modus Translator recommended by Renishaw.

Just trying to see if Calypso can generate this file for us or not.

Thank You,

Nixon U

[[Je...]]

This article covers nearly every Equator related topic in regards to CALYPSO integration.

https://portal.zeiss.com/knowledge-base ... id=1859336

[[Ni...]]

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Thank you for the link. I tried following it but cant find the SetupProgramShare.bat on step 5.3
Also don't have the Calypso DME Gauge License. Can't see how much it costs.
It looks like i will be converting my computer with the offline seat to work with the Equator instead of using the computer that came with the Equator and MODUS.

I appreciate it.

[[Ca...]]

Hello,

Yes, CALYPSO can absolutely create .CAL files (and easily - it's just a setting found within Resources > Results to File > turn ON). CALYPSO will automatically adjust measurement speeds and point densities to achieve the higher point densities necessary for .CAL files, so you shouldn't have to worry about making special adjustments here.

The ideal workflow if CALYPSO will be used is to have your CMM running CALYPSO as normal; simply ensure that .CAL file creation is activated here during the measurement of your master part. Then, take the part and the CALYPSO program over to your Equator, where you are also running CALYPSO. Note that in total you will need two seats of CALYPSO: one for your CMM, and one for your Equator (including the DME Gage license). CALYPSO must be installed on a separate computer with a network connection to the EquatorServer for the Equator.

Once the CALYPSO program has been transferred to the Equator's PC (ex: on a flashdrive), you can simply execute that same program on the Equator. In the run window, you will have the option to select either Master Mode or Measure Mode, as is conventional with Equator-based gaging. The idea here is that the user can benefit from running the same CALYPSO program on both their CMM and the Equator, and if they need to modify or revise the program, they can easily do so (and generate new .CAL files as needed). Mini-plans may be used if the scope of measurement desired on the Equator is less than performed on the CMM.

I notice that you mention you aren't seeing the batch file that should be located in C:\Program Files (x86)\Renishaw\RRTLOS - are you looking for this file on the PC networked to the Equator? Apologies if I misread the details.

Best regards

__________

Carrie Pfeifer
Applications Engineer

[[Ni...]]

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Ah, see we have our Zeiss CMM and we have an Equator with MODUS on it.
We wanted to be able to use the equator without any additional modifications. That is why i learned how to use MODUS.
The guides i found say to create the .CAL file from PC-DMIS and then you just grab and put it in the Equator computer and link it to the MODUS program and it picks it up. That one is just one .CAL file.

I saw that Calypso creates multiple .cal files for every feature. I am not sure how that connects with MODUS where it only lets you select one file. Maybe it will let you select multiple but I haven't tried.

The missing batch file is from the Equator computer. We don't have any PCs that are networked to the equator. Just the original PC that it came with and came with MODUS.

[[Mi...]]

This isn't the answer to your question but:

Throw that Equator in the garbage. We had a bunch, they are all gone. You will spend more time trying to make them work than they will actually work. AND if there is a hardware problem their reparability is awful. We had the coating on the scales stare to deteriorate. Standard Renishaw tape scales with an apparently special coating. Could the scales be replaced like any CMM? NO have to replace the entire drive assembly x3 which was almost half the cost of a new machine. AND it was months to get the service done.

They are really only great for simple diameters, and by the time you program it twice (Once in Calypso, Once in Modus), then create your Master part by running it, and transferring all the data to do the compare you could have likely done you're measurement task on a Zeiss machine or with some other type of gauge.

Add in the inability to create Datum Feature Simulators correctly making any GD&T characteristics have crap correlation to your Zeiss CMMs as soon as there is any significant form error.

We bought the sales pitch. In practice they were awful, 4 of them got replaced by a DuraMax that is far more capable. I've been to other facilities where they also bought the sales pitch... they almost all sit unused.

We considered going the Calypso for Equator route to at least simplify the programming aspect, but once the hardware failures started and the costs/time to repair was so high, they went bye bye.

[[Ni...]]

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I taught myself how to use this equator and how to program it. So after a week of messing with it i came to the same conclusion as your second point. So much time goes into getting it setup and ready to run that i might as well just measure the parts on a CMM or a different gage.

But this machine has been sitting here for years not being used. I am the new programmer so they want to see this being used. Both the director and the manager. So i am trying to find a way to use it but its nearly impossible without PC-DMIS because of that .cal file. The guide that someone else posted doesn't exactly solve the problem because i will need to convert one calypso license solely for the Equator.
Alternatives are expensive routes.

[[Mi...]]

So we never did the equators via a file like that, we used the compare tool, all text based - sucked.

Essentially every feature has 2 Nominals, the programmed nominal, and then the value of your Master part measured via another method, generally a CMM. It's slow and error prone since it requires you to do all the data entry. So like you, we were interested in doing the Calypso for Equator option so at least that entire part of it becomes automated, but then we started having hardware failures as our Equators were about 5 years old and it was decided not to spend any money on them. It would have been a significant investment, 5 Equators so we would have needed 5 PCs and 5 Calypso Licenses. Plus the rest of our plant is on 2018 which doesn't support the Equator file creation, so we would really have needed to upgrade.

In most cases their work has been replaced with extremely simple and fast programs on a DuraMax.

[[Ni...]]

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That is the route i think would be the cheapest. Using Feature Compare. But I believe Feature Compare doesn't work properly if the form of the feature is bad.
Using .Cal file created from a PC-DMIS CMM seems like the most accurate way. But we only have Zeiss CMMS.
Management doesn't want to pay Renishaw every time we create a program so they can make a .CAL file for us and there's a software used to translate a program from Calypso into MODUS but that is also expensive and Management needs to discuss about it first.

Which leaves going back to Feature Compare lol but again, I heard it doesn't work well if the form isn't good.

I did recommend a Duramax but that seems also expensive.