I worked at a place that implemented having CNC operators use the CMMs to measure their own parts. As Schlag says, Operator mode is the way to go.
I was expecting all sorts of problems, but it actually worked out great. The operators liked it because they could get quicker feedback on their parts and they could work together to prioritize which parts to measure first when there was a backlog. It really helped to ease tensions between the Manufacturing and Quality department.
I liked it because the operators learned for themselves how important it is to thoroughly clean the parts before putting them on the CMM. After a while they were policing each other about cleanliness. No one wanted to be blamed about junk building up on the probes so they would clean their parts and the probe tips more thoroughly than I ever had time for. And, if they ever wanted a part to be remeasured, they could just do it themselves. It was funny to see operators run the same part over and over on different CMMs to try and get a part to squeak into tolerance.
The downside was maintaining the CMMs. Broken probe tips became far more frequent, but that got better with time, training, and program revisions.
I worked at a place that implemented having CNC operators use the CMMs to measure their own parts. As Schlag says, Operator mode is the way to go.
I was expecting all sorts of problems, but it actually worked out great. The operators liked it because they could get quicker feedback on their parts and they could work together to prioritize which parts to measure first when there was a backlog. It really helped to ease tensions between the Manufacturing and Quality department.
I liked it because the operators learned for themselves how important it is to thoroughly clean the parts before putting them on the CMM. After a while they were policing each other about cleanliness. No one wanted to be blamed about junk building up on the probes so they would clean their parts and the probe tips more thoroughly than I ever had time for. And, if they ever wanted a part to be remeasured, they could just do it themselves. It was funny to see operators run the same part over and over on different CMMs to try and get a part to squeak into tolerance.
The downside was maintaining the CMMs. Broken probe tips became far more frequent, but that got better with time, training, and program revisions.
If you can tame the "CNC folks on CMMs" you'll be respected in the shop. I worked for the CNC department at a company once and learned a bunch about the business end of things. If I ever start my own company I don't ever want a Quality vs Machinist as it's a bottom line killer $$$.
