CMM Data to CNC Machine

Start with your CNC controllers some brands are pre wired up for that kind of stuff others only spit information out and don't take in. Siemens did very good with CMM inputs, it's much easier than you would think. Again start with your controller and find out what it can handle, the CMM portion is basic. Communication is key though if you want it to work well (between CMM <--> CNC folks). Can't say too much about our set up but it's pretty darn automated lol!

Did you get help with an integrator or do it yourself?

I got help from the CNC integrator, way after the main integrator completed it's services to us. The CNC people were involved in the beginning as a 3rd party. I called them back to work out the offsets thing some time after cell was well into production. It was more for proof of concept for other CNC machines in house, the machines in the cell do very well with their own probing systems.

How would one go about starting something like this?

yes, please elaborate a little. Is you CNC machine reading a .xml or .txt file sent from the CMM for automatic tool offsets? Do you have robots loading/unloading CNCs and CMMs? How do you keep track of part serial number trace-ability?

I write a text file to a path on a common network, CNC controller reads every nth seconds.

As far as the other stuff goes.... Robot, CNC, CMM, loading/unloading, etc. It's called 'CNC machine tending' nothing new. Can't say too much due to strict company policy here.... yes it's that bad, we even get fake emails with links to test us LOL true story. You must report them as suspicious to pass the test.

Let's just say a CMM programmer with common sense can 'pick up' really fast in this line of work if you skim read quickly hehe! I've learned robots (very similar to a CMM concept just add a few more axis), Structured text PLC, SQL databases.... everything else is an endless loop sniffin' for booleans really not very hard just a boat load of stuff to keep in mind.

SQL databases is my fav to be honest, I even took my home monthly budget and turned it to a database that is accessible via a front end built as an iphone app my wife and I can view/edit on the go, every last penny is logged, transactions are pulled directly from bank statement. It's much easier to enjoy weekends and stop worrying about being broke, thank you Mr. Dave Ramsey!!!

I'm currently disecting all the data DataPage uses. It's stored in MSSQL server, you can view it with visual studio or which you can download for free. Why does it matter? You can Query data straight into an Excel spreadsheet via a tiny formula (SQL statement? SQL code? whatever.), bit more flexible and I don't have to touch DP+.