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.
----------
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
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.
----------
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
