Overriding Hole Sizes in Reports

If I get a chance, I will snap a couple photos of parts I am working with - some are cast aluminum with a parting line (and flash) through the middle of the holes and others are 6mm thick parts stamped for cold rolled steel. Accuracy of a diameter on a ring gage is a whole different story than real world application - pin gages have always caused me less of a headache due to the fact that measured results with a pin are highly repeatable - either the pin goes through the hole or it doesn't. I've had good luck with the diameters on thin stamped parts (1.0mm or less) with our DCC machine. The Faro arm with this other crap? Not so much...

It's really difficult for a portable CMM operator to lay the contact point of the ball on the actual ID in sheet metal applications. Frequently, we are too high/low, and the diametric output suffers accordingly. PCDMIS Portable's AutoTrigger Point & Plane functions can help us more precisely position our hits. It's easy to use, too. Just build an AutoFeature Circle as you normally would, and make sure your Depth is 0.5" (half the thickness of the sheetmetal), your # of hits is appropriate, Sample hits is set to 3.

Then, during Execution, activate (or appropriate deactivate) Plane Autotrigger. You will be prompted to shoot your sample hits (use the surface around the ID), and that sets the temporary 0-plane. Boom, AutoPlaneTrigger activates, and the laptop starts emitting a tone as the probe gets closer to the depth you've set in the Feature. Hits will automatically be taken as the center of the probe crosses this plane. Be warned that the first time you try this, you'll inadvertently take all your hits in one location!! Delete them and stroke the probe in and out of the ID as you walk the probe around the circumference. Listen for the AutoTrigger tone to peak as you cross it, and then fade in tone.

The upshot is that you'll be guaranteed to have the hits positioned at the identical height, giving you truer results for your circle.

If I get a chance, I will snap a couple photos of parts I am working with - some are cast aluminum with a parting line (and flash) through the middle of the holes and others are 6mm thick parts stamped for cold rolled steel. Accuracy of a diameter on a ring gage is a whole different story than real world application - pin gages have always caused me less of a headache due to the fact that measured results with a pin are highly repeatable - either the pin goes through the hole or it doesn't. I've had good luck with the diameters on thin stamped parts (1.0mm or less) with our DCC machine. The Faro arm with this other crap? Not so much...

It's really difficult for a portable CMM operator to lay the contact point of the ball on the actual ID in sheet metal applications. Frequently, we are too high/low, and the diametric output suffers accordingly. PCDMIS Portable's AutoTrigger Point & Plane functions can help us more precisely position our hits. It's easy to use, too. Just build an AutoFeature Circle as you normally would, and make sure your Depth is 0.5" (half the thickness of the sheetmetal), your # of hits is appropriate, Sample hits is set to 3.

Then, during Execution, activate (or appropriate deactivate) Plane Autotrigger. You will be prompted to shoot your sample hits (use the surface around the ID), and that sets the temporary 0-plane. Boom, AutoPlaneTrigger activates, and the laptop starts emitting a tone as the probe gets closer to the depth you've set in the Feature. Hits will automatically be taken as the center of the probe crosses this plane. Be warned that the first time you try this, you'll inadvertently take all your hits in one location!! Delete them and stroke the probe in and out of the ID as you walk the probe around the circumference. Listen for the AutoTrigger tone to peak as you cross it, and then fade in tone.

The upshot is that you'll be guaranteed to have the hits positioned at the identical height, giving you truer results for your circle.