Metrology tools for CNC setup

CNC users are always looking for ways to tighten up their setup processes especially when they specialize in short runs.  In some cases, the time spent in getting ready to run parts far exceeds the time spent in cutting them.  So, many companies have invested in on-machine probing, and when it’s properly implemented and used it can return significant savings.  Companies like General Electric and Renishaw report that some of their customers experience reductions of over 60% in part setup time.  The key words here are “properly implemented”.  The macros that probe makers include with their devices are typically difficult to use and limited in capability.  Why not develop a software product that makes CNC probes easy to use?  Wilcox Associates with its PC-DMIS NC has done just that. 

Any software that’s going to expedite CNC setup must include tools that make the jobs of creating part alignments and analyzing them easier.  It must give users the ability to manage multiple coordinate systems and compare them to one another, and it must let them incorporate CAD into the setup processes.  These sorts of capabilities are typically found in advanced Coordinate Measurement Machine (CMM) software packages. 

With the ability to manage coordinate systems of all degrees of complexity quickly and easily, comes the ability to eliminate setup bottlenecks.  Here’s how it works.  Programmers, working on CAD models, create an inspection program by identifying the features needed to create a coordinate system.  The CNC machine executes the program and the software analyzes the results comparing the actual orientation of the piece to its nominal orientation.  It then reports the deviations.  If the results are acceptable, the user goes on to the next step.  If not, the report tells the user exactly how to adjust the piece.  This technique works for either fixtures or parts.

Aligning complex parts on CNC machines has always been a difficult proposition.  Users have had no choice but to resort to a mix of manual and semi-automatic operations.  Part setup is not only difficult it’s often not repeatable.  So when problems show up, diagnosing them is at best an exasperating, time-consuming exercise.  CMM software developers have invested heavily in meeting the needs of the automotive and aerospace industries, which have always demanded tools for aligning sculpted parts. A good CMM package adapted for CNC probing can easily handle the most complex alignments.  With one, customers can develop repeatable alignments on the most difficult parts.

PC-DMIS NC is a version of Wilcox Associates PC-DMIS CMM software.  It’s easy to use and it’s powerful.  With it, customers dramatically reduce the time spent on aligning parts.  Add that to the software’s ability to do the job more accurately and to do it on parts that were previously extremely difficult to setup, and it’s easy to understand why more and more companies see it as an integral part of their manufacturing systems.