Making 2 Part Programs into 1. One Graphic, One report

I'll respectfully disagree. Flipping the part is a great example of equate. You have to do it right though.

I get what you're saying about elevating the part and going underneath with star/hook probes. Would always prefer this myself.but sometimes it just isnt possible. Depends on the part.So either write 2 programs or use equate in these situations. I make the decision based on program size. If it's getting on the large side with long run time I create a 2nd program.

Please tell me step by step how you use Equate.

After at least 6 hours of effort, I have been unable to get it to equate to anything.

1. Open a program.
2. Create your manual and dcc alignment.
3. Measure/dimension the features
4. Select manual mode
5. Recall the startup alignment. The startup alignment is the very first line of code at the top of the program.
6. Flip/move the part.
7. Create secondary manual and dcc alignments.
8. Select Equate alignment
8a. In the equate new alignment drop down box. select your SECONDARY DCC alignment.
8b. in the with original alignment drop down box, select your FIRST DCC alignment
9. Critical. Your trihiedron must by in the exact same spot in the second dcc alignment as it was in the first dcc alignment.
9a. For ex. when I flipped my part, the leveling plane on my secondary alignment was exactly 0.714" lower than my original leveling plane. So when I completed the secondary alignment, I offset my Z origin by 0.714.

The equate alignment is needed if you want to dimension features that are unaccessible by the CMM unless the part is oriented in another direction. In my situation, I have a feature on the bottom of the part that I have to relate to the centerline of the part. So I measure the centerline, flip the part over, equate the alignments and dimension the angle of my feature to the centerline of the part.

1. Open a program.
2. Create your manual and dcc alignment.
3. Measure/dimension the features
4. Select manual mode
5. Recall the startup alignment. The startup alignment is the very first line of code at the top of the program.
6. Flip/move the part.
7. Create secondary manual and dcc alignments.
8. Select Equate alignment
8a. In the equate new alignment drop down box. select your SECONDARY DCC alignment.
8b. in the with original alignment drop down box, select your FIRST DCC alignment
9. Critical. Your trihiedron must by in the exact same spot in the second dcc alignment as it was in the first dcc alignment.
9a. For ex. when I flipped my part, the leveling plane on my secondary alignment was exactly 0.714" lower than my original leveling plane. So when I completed the secondary alignment, I offset my Z origin by 0.714.

The equate alignment is needed if you want to dimension features that are unaccessible by the CMM unless the part is oriented in another direction. In my situation, I have a feature on the bottom of the part that I have to relate to the centerline of the part. So I measure the centerline, flip the part over, equate the alignments and dimension the angle of my feature to the centerline of the part.