it jumps if I hit control E on a point and then hit program mode it has moved to a different position same thing when I do a move point then a probe rotation it moves far away.
Ah, that makes sense. For whatever reason PC-DMIS CAD doesn't handle the probes moving very well; sort of makes them go off in space somewhere.
What some people do is have a CAD model for each rotation, and hide unnecessary ones (which sounds tedious)
As long as your code is set up correctly, the CAD model showing anything off in space won't do anything. The CAD is just to help you program; you can delete the model and the program will run the same
It's supposed to move. It's a graphic representation of a live system, which also moves.
EDIT: Vision is also next to impossible offline
Yes this can be the case for a lot of parts. However, what I have found works to simulate the lighting is, I turn the INTERFAC.dll to INTERFAC.old. This way it gives me full vision capabilities to adjust lighting levels. Otherwise, without doing this, I can't adjust lighting levels and it would require me to program at the machine and not offline. CAD models help too!
the problem I have is offline programming not using vision just touch probe and the head moves strangely and making it difficult to create move points.
Yep; I've done so as well. It's a bit tedious, and certainly not perfect, but it gets the job done.
I find that if I can get myself some time on the actual CMM, I'll take a few minutes to get all of the illumination settings saved somewhere for whichever feaure
(e.g. "If I"m measuring a hole, I want this lighting, a notch, I want that, chromed or blank, I want this") then use those settings in the offline program.
Not exactly easy to do if you don't have access to the machine, buuuuuut...
Hows your calibration? Did you calibrate the probes offline? Do you have a rotary table?
EDIT:
We use our CMM as a really expensive and fancy height gage (and every once in a great while, I get to do a radius or something) but it's mostly point to point.
This makes it relatively easy (for me) to program offline without even needing a CAD model.
Typically what I'll do is I'll set up the manual alignment. Preferably at work, at the machine, but sometimes not. I
ALWAYS have the blueprint to reference, and
SOMETIMES have a CAD model.
So let's assume you don't have a CAD model, since yours is doing some funky stuff.
Once the alignment is setup, it's pretty straight forward. I'm measuring a land, I'll take a point, I'm measuring a groove I'll take a line, etc. I'll plug in all of the nominal dimensions, again, without a CAD model.
I know, for example, where the datums are. So the alignment I don't have to fiddle with too much. Once it's aligned in whatever makeshift fashion I have it in, I proceed to create the points, planes, and the like I need, mathing out the things I have to math out (yes, with a calculator; I'm old school, and again,
NO CAD MODEL.) to get the
exact center of this or that or the other feature.
It's a difficult and drawn out process that would be much easier done with a friggen CAD model, but that's my life.
I'm able to math out the move points, offsets, centers of features, edges of features... The CAD model makes it easy to do in 1 click, don't get me wrong. But if it's causing problems, and it's been a few days, a calculator would solve all of your problems if you know how to do the math.
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With all that said, I would loook into the multiple factors that are your setup. Hows the CAD model, is it a good model? Hows your offline seat, does it have all the necessary options? Hows your programming, are you confident in your abilities? Hows your calibration (see above).
I'd prefer you have to do as little work as possible to get the solution you're after (I'm a lazy motherf...), but sometimes the software presents some problems that make that nearly impossible
