Why DataPage?

regular and plus? You talking about Pcdmis itself? Regular (fewest functions/features available), plus has a few more, CAD++ has them ALL. Can really suck to write a program in CAD++, then have to send that program to someone to run on the basic, 'cause LOTS of stuff will no longer work.

As for SPC, if you don't need it, you don't need it, but for every tool we make, we have to prove the parts are good both by checking the entire part AND by doing an SPC study to prove that the tools can make 'the same part' stroke after stroke.

OLD datapage (IMO) is a much easier to use package than the new one. Data reports, stat reports, target plots, etc., etc., etc., are all there at the click of the mouse. I still use it with V2016. It's not intalled on the same PC, but on the PC for the old machine, which is still XP and V3.7

So essentially it's a beefier addon to PC-DMIS that controls dimensioning, reporting, cad, etc. and is more or less for a niche set of users that need to use the specific functions available in DataPage, +, or what have you.

Considering what I have works and works good enough, it wouldn't add a lot of good functionality that I don't already have or don't need; I shall not be trying it.
It does however sound pretty cool!

It's not really an add-on, it's a stand alone package. Like QC-CALC, it is for collecting and statistically analyzing data.

Datapage RT (old 16-bit & 8-bit software) and Datapage+ (64 bit?) simply collect and analyze data. Pretty much every aspect of the automotive industry uses statistics to analyze the production measurement data, all part of ensuring that the product is 'still good' for use. Without it, they could run thousands and thousands of parts without knowing that they are making bad parts, then when it is discovered at the assembly plant, they are then without any good parts, production lines shut down, suppliers go into panic mode to try to get good parts to send in, etc., etc., etc.

I don't know that there is a lot of use for SPC for short-run parts, but for anything that is high production, it is pretty much required.

So it's an entirely seperate program from PC-DMIS, but is able to use data from PC-DMIS to ouput a lot of useful information?
You'd think there would be more SPC here considering we ship thousands of parts a day...

Yes, stand-alone, but BOTH Pcdmis & Datapage are coded to work hand-in-hand with each other. Older version of Datapage was much more "hand-in-hand" than the new one. Very simple to use, one command in the program (STATS/ON with path name for Datapage database location, but once set up, it is there 'automatically' forever, 1 extra mouse click). When they 'updated' to Datapage+, it was a total cluster-f for a long time, it wasn't hand-in-hand, now you had to execute external programs to get it to work and so forth, SUPPOSEDLY it is better now, but I don't know from use, I stayed with Datapage RT, which is still 1 command, 1 click, and done. Besides, when we bought the new CMM about a year ago, WITH Datapage+, they (Hexagon) never activated the Datapage+ software lock, so it won't run.

I guess it would depend on the TYPE of parts you are shipping out and mostly it will depend on your customer. IF you are making washers, well, don't know that SPC is going to do much for you. If you are making 1-out pieces, it is useless.

We manufacture Hydraulic Valve Spools. All of our parts are cylindrical, no ifs ands or buts about it.
Basically there's talk about getting SPC, but the higher-ups seem to think it will be too hard or expensive to get started to be worth it.
I like the idea to be honest. At least setting it up to have a database for us to go back and look at all of the measurements from the past sounds great for R&R

You, Matthew D. Hoedeman , seem to know exactly what it is you want in your set up.
+1 All around

DP+ was never made into a 64-bit product. It only ran as 32.

Datapage+ is being phased out and will be replaced by one of our new products, Q-DAS.

http://www.q-das.com/en/news/

To be honest, I don't use MOST of the Datapage capabilities, I use 2 reports from Datapage, the STAT report and the raw data report. Datapage gathers the data, from EVERY PART we check. I use Excel 100% for all reporting. Set up the Excel file with the Stat report (for nominals & tolerances), then the data report to 'fill in' the Excel file.

The Excel file then does ALL the statistical analysis, in/out, pass/fail, pictures and EVERYTHING. It makes the 'old school; inspection report (the old rtf style report), the raw data report, a summary report, a statistical report, point road map, part mark up (actual deviations displayed on the part where measured), EVERYTHING. But, without Datapage collecting all the check data, it would be a ton harder to make these reports. The Pcdmis-to-Excel function would require WAY TOO much work to 'automate' my process. As it is, after checking a study of parts, it takes, literally, less than 1 minute to get the data from Datapage and put it in the Excel file, which can then be sent to any customer, anyplace, and since Excel it pretty much universal, anyone can open it.

Yeah, this is a long read, but this is a list of what that Excel file does:
1) Road map of all check points (pretty picture)
2) Mark-up of all deviations of checks (pretty picture)
3) Range of all parts checked (pretty picture)
4) Statistical analysis of the required SPC points (part of the pretty picture)
5) Summary of statistical analysis (graph & textual)
6) Summary of non-SPC points (textual)
7) Raw data report (textual)
8) CMM style report (textual)
9) For the pretty pictures, you can select to show only ONE type of feature (or all features), edge point, surface point, holes, spc.
10) For the pretty pictures you can select to show only OOT features
11) For the pretty pictures, you can select to show car-body deviation letters (F/A, H/L, I/O)
12) You can select to show hole SIZES or DEVIATIONS from nominal (kind of hard to tell if too small or too big unless you show just the deviation, but some want to know the size)

And I am pretty sure I am missing some things, can't spend all day typing on a forum....

That's essentially what I'm looking for. I would love to use Excel, but it's quirky to format with PCD2EXC.
It'd be cool to show on the CAD, or the print (or both) this feature is out by this much. Heres a little graph, oh and some numbers, and hey how about a red X? Maybe it'll spit out a cookie!

With regular ol' reporting, this is possible, but not entirely feasible

like this? Yeah, when OOT, the box turns red, arrows (that correctly update for direction) for hole deviation direction..... yeah, Excel is sweet.

Now that's fancy!

So it's an entirely seperate program from PC-DMIS, but is able to use data from PC-DMIS to ouput a lot of useful information?
You'd think there would be more SPC here considering we ship thousands of parts a day...

It's not limited to data from PC-DMIS either, I don't recall all of the formats it supports but basically if the format never changes you can create your one data files.

It's not limited to data from PC-DMIS either, I don't recall all of the formats it supports but basically if the format never changes you can create your one data files.

So it's good for a company that has multiple CMM's, as it can correlate all of the data (theoretically) regardless of what brand it is?
Now that would be interesting...

Or are you referring to a machine's (such as a lathe) format?

We currently have one seat of DataPage+ and I instructed them not to add any more seats of the software after learning about DataPage+ being phase out. Will be looking into Q-DAS and other SPC software in the near future. I first learned about this at the user group meeting.