I'm new and I am having a hard time grasping how to set alignment on a part. If I have a block sitting in front of me. My x goes right and left, y, away and towards me and my z up and down. I would click on alignment and choose plane, line, point? Then the software prompts me to take a plane. If I take hits on the top of the block as a plane, level to it in the z plus. Then my line, do I take a line on top from left to right or do I take the points of the line on the plane in front of me (y plane?) Then what, I am lost when it comes to rotation. If I take it on top of the part from left to right, is that xplus direction rotated around zplus? Where does the point need to be taken and why? Very lost. I'm a pretty smart guy, can read a print but have no experience with PC Dmis and very little with GD&T. Is there a website or good book I can reference? lol
In a nut shell here is what I would do.
1. Plane on the top of the block, level to + Z, set Z origin
2. Line on the front face of the block - left to right, rotate to that line to the + X about + Z, set Y origin on that line.
3. Point on the right face of the block, set X to that point.
Do NOT try to take a line on the top of the block for rotation - it WILL screw you up.
You need a MINIMUM of (3), (2), (1) points to set all you need for an alignment. This can be PLANE, LINE, POINT, which satisfies the 3-2-1 minimum requirement.
Each "group" of points "needs" to be measured with the CMM moving in ONE axis, and each group needs to be a different axis.
SO:
Plane on top, 3 hits minimum, moving in the Z axis
Line on front, 2 hits minimum, moving in the Y axis
Point on "right" or "left" side, moving in X axis
This is just the VERY basic, very minimum needed to do a "full" alignment (leve, rotate, and 3 axis origins).
mfarre - go to
https://www.cmmquarterly.com and register - it's well worth it if you are new and need help. James publishes lots of good stuff in it and between that and the knuckleheads around here it should make the learning curve almost bearable.
Beware of Masters though - he's a glass half empty kinda guy, unusual for a
MASTER CMM PROGRAMMER - JK Robert
Thanks for everyone's help but back in November we had a union lay off and I was the lowest senior man in inspection..so, I am back to building machines and no longer using the Romer Arm. It's sad and funny, the arm has been sitting ever since and probably won't be used again until I get recalled back to the inspection department. This should happen in a couple years after some of my older counterparts retire.