The company that I work for is about to buy our first CMM, the Romer ABSOLUTE ARM - 6 AXIS 7500 to be exact. I just have a few questions I would like to ask because I'm starting to have some doubts. We are a small steel manufacturing company but our customers are starting to become, bigger hitters I guess you could say. I believe that our new customers and the parts they are ordering are in need of a CMM, and to be clear the Portable Arms are the only thing that could survive our shop. We are dirty, do not have a clear inspection area, we have other machines that create low level vibrations throughout our shop, and to top it off it gets hot in the summer and cold in the winter here. However, we did have a demo and the gentlemen that did it told me that these conditions are what these machines are made for. (don’t worry I'm not too naïve to believe everything a salesman tells me. I checked the specs on the Arm and everything fits within them.) My questions will be in a list format for ease of answering them. Also I have only been a member of this forum for just over a week or so I believe, and you guys have already helped out so much. I thank you for that and the help on this in advance.
*** My number one concern is that our employees that will be operating it might have trouble with the advanced technology. They are smart men and women but we have never had anything like this before. ***
1.) They will go through the training that is provided by Hexagon with our purchase, how helpful is this? Are more levels of training recommended?
2.) What is the level of education suggested to operate and create programs?
3.) Will the people that go through the training be able to teach others (Table operators, Saw operators, Grinders, Managers) enough to run the arm when they aren’t in the shop?
4.) How long did it take some of you to learn the ups and downs of your FIRST CMM?
5.) Additional information about difficulty of operating or any other information is encouraged!
Like I said above I believe our people are smart individuals, but I would like to more about what we are getting ourselves into since we are back burning other projects to afford this one. Thanks again for any and all help!
