Is there a possibility to protect PC-DMIS routines (.prg and .cad) from know-how theft?
This includes the routine (measurement strategy like number of points and so on) but also the product (CAD, PMI and so on).
If somebody should steal the routine he should not gain any knowledge (or as little as possible).
PC-DMI should be able to open and run these routines but the user should not gain any additional knowledge than the result (printout, PDF, excel and so on).
Do you guys know of any solution to this problem? If not a buyable product maybe a workaround?
How do you guys (with sensitive information) protect your routines and cad?
When you say the CAD is no longer required to run the program, that's not quite true, It depends on what's in the routine. If you have a best-fit alignment or a geometric tolerance command using the "iterate and re-pierce" option, than CAD is required. Same for any scans or auto-features that are set to "find nominals"
What about profiles and best-fits of linear open scans? Is the CAD also not needed there?
Both in the best-fit window and the geometric tolerance command there is an option to re-pierce the CAD.
Even without a CAD, you're kind of giving away the design with the .prg. Since I assume your vendors already have a drawing, you must be talking about hackers.
I would think a stand-alone CMM, not on any network, in a Faraday cage, in a secure room is a good start. Beyond that, polarized screen covers etc.
It's actually not about hackers but knowledge theft of people who have access to the machines.
My first idea was also to handle this from the IT side (like blocking USB ports and so on).
The machine needs to be connected to the network though as the data collection is handled this way.
The best way would be if the routine could be protected to run only.. no visible code.
It sounds like Inspect is what you're looking for. It's a software from Hexagon for operators and it doesn't show any code while running programs. It may be included in your SMA and could easily be installed with the universla updater.