Creating a pallet

[[Ky...]]

I have a 4 part fixture and have made a program to measure the part but I cant figure out how to make it repeat 3 more times for the other cavities. How do you set this up?

[[Ja...]]

Kyle,

You'll want to use AutoRun - Open Calypso, make sure all programs are closed. Taskbar -> Plan -> AutoRun...
In AutoRun - Taskbar -> Edit -> Pallet -> Enter - Choose the program that you wish to loop. On the Pallet Parameters window that appears, set how many parts you have along X and how many along Y, along with the distance between parts in either direction. Select OK, put the parts on the table, and run the pallet.

You'll also be able to cross out any of the parts on the pallet prior to running if you don't want to run at all locations.

[[Ky...]]

Thank you that is what I was looking for.

Just out of curiosity is there also a way to have the base program measure the 4 parts without setting up a pallet in the auto-run?

[[Ri...]]

You can use the Base Alignment as the Pallet Alignment - it is just not recommended. The reason for this is because now you are assuming that the orientation for one part is exactly the same for your grid. You may not notice any issues on the first couple of iterations in X or Y, but as the pallet size grows and you get away from the first part, the more your error grows. That is why it is recommended to create a Pallet Alignment.

[[Ja...]]

+1 Richard, just had that happen to me.

Kyle, you can copy/paste all of your features for one part and add the necessary offset inside each feature window (for example add 4 inches in X if the part is 4 inches away)
Or you can create a secondary alignment that is translated however far you need it to be and recreate your features, making sure that they are defined in the appropriate alignment.
Then you just need to dimension each feature to it's corresponding DRF and make your labels very clear.

The issue with doing it outside of AutoRun is that it will always try to measure all features (unless you mask characteristics ahead of time) and sometimes you may not need to run all the parts. EX: I have 11 parts and Calypso is set to run 5 at a time. The last time I only need it to measure one, so now I have to mask 4 parts worth of dimensioning. This could be a lot more tedious than just clicking to X it out.
Also, AutoRun can provide a separate report for each part, running in Calypso will create one massive report (if one dim is bad, you may have to run all of them again after a correction is made to the part)

[[Vi...]]

Newbie question when it asks for the x y distances in the pallet parameters is it in mm or in's also is it from the center of the part?