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TURBOCAM “high fives” revolutionary inspection technology Page 37 CONTENTS Regular Columns 3 From The Editor 10 PC-DMIS With James Mannes 34 DMIS Corner Advertisers 8 Direct Dimensions 18 CMMGuys Forum 21 Fixlogix 23 Mark Boucher Consulting 23 CMMAutomate 25 NewCastle Measurement 27 ITP Styli 28 Werth Inc 37 Step by Step DMIS Programming 6 Reverse Engineering Helps Save the Planet 3D Measurement Firm Creates CAD for Green Kitchen Products Direct Dimensions 9 Free Software MEC Manufacturing Excellence Control via CMM, Scanner: Royal Technical Institute 22 Zeiss Zeiss develops completely new ACCURA 3D CMM 24 Understanding Your CMM’s Nathan Corliss 26 How to Develop High Efficiency CMM Probe Tooling Ken Bergler 28 Using a wiki to implement a QMS A case study by F. Castano, G. Mendez, J. Ayala and L. Day 31 Schutt Sports Manufacturing ReverseEngineering.com 38 TURBOCAM “high fives” revolutionary inspection technology From The Editor CMM Quarterly Blog I would like to announce a new blog for CMM Quarterly. This blog will bring you the latest in CMM news. You can visit the blog at http:// cmmquarterly.blogspot.com. Subscribe to this blog and you will receive email notifica- tions when there is CMM news to report. As CMM Quarterly grows the amount of press releases and news items that come in in- creases and this blog will help to get the word out and keep it current. Support CMM Quarterly Advertisers Please remember to support the advertis- ers and sponsors of CMM Quarterly, they help bring CMM Quarterly to you. Please visit their web sites by clicking on their ads on cmmquarterly.com Special Issues I hope you have enjoyed the Special Issues in the past. We have many more to come. The next one will be very special and the staff that is putting it together is very excited about it. You will not be disappointed. If you have any suggestions or topics you would like covered in a special issue please email us at info@cmmquarterly.com and let us know. Authors If you have any comments or would just like to contact any of the authors of CMM Quarterly please send along an email and we will be glad to pass them along. Just a reminder all articles are the property of the authors and may only be used by permission from the author. If you would like to submit any articles please send them to info@cmmquarterly. com for consideration. New Advertiser Welcome to CMMAutomate as a new ad- vertiser in CMM Quarterly. Their ad is on page 23. Visit them at www.cmmautomate.com NewCastle Measurement announces the new pricing structure on NewCastle Off-Line coordinate measuring machine software. NewCastle Measurement With many companies struggling in this current eco- nomic environment NewCastle Measurement, LLC has adjusted the price of it premier software product. The cost of this coordinate measuring machine software is now below $1000.00. This makes it much easier for companies to take advantage of using high end CAD based programming software to increase throughput but at a low cost solution. This is high capability for a reasonable price. NewCastle Off-Line is a full functioning CAD based programming software program that will allow the pro- grammer to load a CAD model and generate a coordi- nate measuring machine program in native DMIS 5.1. The benefits of off-line programming allow the pro- grammer to program part programs without having to tie up the CMM, thus maintaining workflow across the machine. Users of NewCastle Off-Line have seen a dramatic cut in programming time using this product. “We have been using New Castle Offline for the past year and it has cut our programming time in half. “The user interface is quite simple and has a minimal learning curve. For measuring you simply point and click. For the cost of the software it is quite powerful and is an excellent addition to anyone who wants to keep their current Geomeasure software and use 3d models for programming, but without obtaining an expensive software package, New Castle is the way to go.” Mike York, CMM Programmer, Aisin Mfg. Illinois, LLC With NewCastle’s easy to use interface and a full com- pliment of help files and informative training material a programmer will be programming within hours, not days. NewCastle Off-Line features include: • Automatic Collision Avoidance • Model Transparency • Smart Probe© Probe Builder • Easy to use interface • XP and Vista Compliant • Writes to native DMIS 5.1 • G,D&T functionality • On screen feature representation NewCastle Measurement is headquartered in Charlotte, NC. The NewCastle Measurement staff has a combined 40+ years in the coordinate measuring machine environ- ment. To see a on-line demo of NewCastle Off-Line vis- it our blog http://newcastlemeasurement.blogspot.com Industrial designers and consumer product companies have long understood the value of digital data for their design and manufacturing processes. However, the organic shapes so common in our everyday products present workflow challenges even for the best CAD platforms. Consequently designers have turned to 3D scanning and reverse engineering technologies for help. Today 3D scan data is used for part & tool inspection, product redesign and analysis, rapid prototyping, packaging design, and even virtual models for marketing and consumer testing. Recently the marketplace has been changing as consumers demand more eco-friendly products. Industry surveys indi- cate that the interest in green products continues to grow, even in the current economy. While this is great for the planet, it is also good news for 3D scanning companies who are seeing a growing thread of business evolve as consumer goods firms redesign existing products to utilize new environmentally friendly materials and manufacturing processes. Case Study: A Consumer Products Company with a Conscience Robinson Home Products has been in the business of developing and marketing houseware products since 1921 when they began life as the Robinson Knife Co. In the ninety years since, they have become a leading distributor and marketer of consumer products, including such well-known brands as Rubbermaid utensils, Crockpot tools, Oneida kitchenware, and the Chip Clip bag sealers. An employee-owned company, Robinson Home Products prides itself on staying in tune with their customer’s needs and concerns and then innovating to meet those demands. In response to concerns over globally-outsourced manufacturing practices, Robinson actually bucked this trend and is working on several programs to be manufactured in the US. To help this process, the Robinson team be- gan working with Harbec Plastics in Ontario, NY. Harbec is a manufacturing company with an environmental mission, on site windmill, and natural gas generated power (one of their goals is to be carbon neutral by 2015) . Robinson met with HARBEC and raised the idea of using a new class of recycled plastic resins. It’s Not Easy Being Green Anticipating the changing demands of their customers, the team at Rob- inson decided to launch a new line of kitchen products called Green Street. The product design group decided that the utensils in the Green Street line would be manufactured from material created out of recy- cled water bottles and packaged in recycled and compost-able materi- als. They even had some existing in- Reverse Engineering Helps Save the Planet: 3D Measurement Firm Creates CAD for Green Kitchen Products By Direct Dimensions, www.directdimensions.com jection molds that could be used for the prototype phase. After the initial test batch of products had been produced, the product design group decided that the “look” of the utensils was a little mundane for such an exciting new product. They loved the overall shape of the spatulas and spoons but wanted something a little more indicative of the green nature of the product. The design team decided to redesign the slots to look more like tree branches. The problem was that they only had old 2D drawings of their exist- ing molds, making a modern CAD re- design almost impossible. They needed to find a way to accurately and quickly reverse engineer the existing injection molds into SolidWorks to facilitate the redesign process. Laser Scanning for a Greener Future Early in 2009, Robinson Home Products and Harbec Plastics found Direct Dimensions, Inc., a Maryland-based company with nearly 15 years of experience specifically in the use of 3D scanning technologies for reverse engi- neering. Direct Dimensions maintains a staff of technical experts in reverse engineering and a wide variety of 3D scanners and software tools for a wide variety of applications. They solve 3D problems in industries from aero- space and automotive to art and architecture. Direct Dimensions was the perfect fit to allow the product design team at Robinson and Harbec to create their new Green Street utensil designs. After consulting with the engineers at Harbec about the specifics of the project and understanding how they intended to actually redesign the piece, the engineers at Direct Dimensions formulated a plan that included se- lecting the proper scanning equipment and reverse en- gineering workflow. The two steel mold sets were shipped to the Direct Di- mensions’ facility where the engineers opted to use a Faro Arm with an attached Faro Laser Line Scanner. Within a day they digi- tized the complex injec- tion mold shapes with an accuracy of approximately +/-0.002” (50 microns) and over some 8 million total 3D points of data. With the precise complex contours of the utensil mold shapes accurately captured as a dense set of raw 3D points, the team at Direct Dimensions still had to choose from its various software workflow options for processing the data into a suitable model for SolidWorks. They settled on Rap- idform’s XOR reverse engineering software for several reasons includ- ing its ability to automatically proc- ess the organic raw scan data into surface ‘region’ groups. More im- portantly, Rapidform XOR allowed the design-intent reverse engineered geometry to translate directly into SolidWorks as native editable fea- tures, as opposed to a ‘dumb’ IGES translation. This process gives the team at Harbec and Robinson true CAD models of their original molds in the format of their in-house SolidWorks CAD software. The Green Street line of kitchen products will launch later this year at major national retailers. Robinson plans to market them with in packaging made of seed paper (which contains seeds for an herb garden and can be planted after the products are purchased ) and attached with raffia tie (a com- postable material to help your garden grow). ADVERTISEMENT MEC Manufacturing Excellence Control via CMM, Scanner: Free Adjustment and optimization tools provided by Royal Technical Institute, KTH, Sweden Manufacturing excellence control (MEC) contains validation of Flatness, straightness, roundness, surface of cylinder and sphere KTH Kungliga Tekniska Högskolan (Royal Institute Technology), Sweden in cooperation with ETH Swiss Fed- eral Institute of Technology, Geodetic Metrology and Engineering Geodesy and German Clausthal University of Technology provides free software tools to promote new technologies from inner reference (IR) applications. Data input comes from spatial coordinates without initial accuracy information. Data can be acquired by CMM or laser scanner. Automatic regulation for extinction of unexpected deviations is included - Unexpected deviation evaluation (Blunder Detection and Regulation) - Balancing and Best Fit (Least Squares) - No starting values necessary - Arbitrary spatial location of target - Monitoring, standard deviations, MinMax corrections, rank deficiencies - Optimization of numerical accuracy and computation time - Perpendicular distances - Basic and enhanced result information Elements and Shapes - Circle and elliptical cylinders - Arbitrary spatial planes and spatial straight lines - Arbitrary spatial and plane circles or ellipses - Spheres, ellipsoids - Arbitrary spatial location - Axis parallelism (several cylinders) - UDL (Unexpected Deviation Level) - Axis accuracies - Measurement deviations and accuracies - Measurement device accuracies - Inner reference computation - Optimization and automatic regulation (AIDM) Operation Facilities - Graphics - Individual printout - Graphical evaluation - Short and enhanced documentation - User interface data management - Intelligent Regulation and UDD The most important aspect of measuring features with a CMM is the alignment. The most misunder- stood aspect of measuring features with a CMM is the alignment. What usually is the case is that the shop foreman has his Layout Technician quit and needs to fill the spot. So, he takes one of the smarter, “compu- ter savvy” employees and says, “Harry, Joe quit yesterday, you’re now the Layout Technician”. While Harry is a competent machinist and Tool and Die Maker, he hasn’t the foggiest clue as to what the six de- grees of freedom are, nor does he know what a primary, secondary, or tertiary datum is. This is where- in the problem lies. The most critical portion of setting up a part for inspection is the least understood. This article is going to explain to the novice, without getting into great detail, how to align a part on the CMM. There are numerous means to get the same resultant alignment. One way will be shown in this arti- cle. Seeing as most people today utilize CAD models, the iterative alignment methodology will be shown along with a blueprint alignment. First, the CAD model must be imported; this is accomplished by go- ing to FILE>IMPORT>IGES and browse to the specific CAD model needed for the project. Once the CAD file is imported, a probe must be selected, choose one that is in your library. Make sure that the correct an- gle is chosen; for this article the A0B0 tip will be used. When using CAD models generally a manual align- ment and a Direct Computer Control (DCC) iterative alignment is created. The manual alignment basi- cally tells the CMM where the part is on the table and the DCC alignment will further refine that location. To begin creating the manual alignment, the AUTO-VECTOR window needs to be opened and points must be col- lected. The points that are collected are going to represent the six degrees of freedom that need to be constrained in order to have stopped all movement of the part. The points will first be collected by choosing them off of the mon- itor without actually measuring the created points. The first 3 points will be taken on the top of the demo block… Alignments: How To: A Step by Step Tutorial Next, 2 points are taken on the front edge… And lastly 1 point is taken on another edge… From these 6 points, an iterative alignment can be created. This alignment will establish a relationship be- tween the machine’s 0,0,0 ; or “home” of the CMM, and where the part sits on the CMM’s table. Once the points have been created theoretically, it is time to measure them with the CMM. Once measured, go to INSERT>ALIGNMENT>NEW… ...from this window, the programmer will choose the button, “Iterative”, and begin selecting the points they want to include in the iterative alignment. The first points chosen will be the planar points… Next the programmer will choose the rotational and origin points (origin in one axis). And finally the programmer chooses the last point to lock in the other origin axis. This method follows the 3-2-1 alignment methodology and constrains all 6 degrees of freedom such that the part is locked into a complete alignment. Before clicking “OK”, the programmer must tick the checkbox “Meas All Once” and input a target radius… … in manual mode PC-DMIS will then instruct the programmer to locate the probe such that it is clear to move to the points used in the alignment. It will now measure these points using the Point Target Radius as its way of gag- ing when the points have been measured precisely enough to the programmers satisfaction. This is the essence of an Iterative alignment. Merriam-Webster dictionary defines iterate as,”to say or do again or again and again”. So, until the points are found to lie within the radial boundary the programmer has input, the software will continue to align the part getting the points closer and closer to the CAD and part relationship until the boundary require- ment is satisfied. Once the manual alignment is completed the next step is to create points in the same manner as for the manual Iterative alignment except that the points will be measured during the construction of the DCC alignment. Click the DCC icon and then set up a clearplane 1 inch above the part. Open the Auto-vector Point window and choose 6 points in about the same area as the manual points were chosen. Once the points have been created, open the alignment window and go to the Iterative alignment window. Choose points PNT7, PNT8, and PNT9 for the planar portion of the iterative alignment, choose points PNT10 and PNT11 for the rotational and origin (origin in one axis). The next step is to tick the checkbox “Meas All Always”. This will instruct PC-DMIS to iterate the alignment/points via DCC until the radial requirement is met. Notice in the DCC alignment the radius requirement is smaller than the requirement placed upon the manual alignment. This is again, part of the theory behind Iterative alignment methodology. Each successive alignment is further refined such that the best alignment is achieved. The last step in completing the alignment process is to now create an actual alignment that uses features on the part other than points. Create 4 points on the top surface of the demo block. With those 4 points create a con- structed plane. Next create an Auto-Circle in the I.D. on the left hand side… Then create an Auto-Circle in the I.D. on the right hand side… Between the 2 circles, create a constructed line… With these features created, an alignment to actual features on the part can be constructed. Open the new align- ment window (CNTRL;ALT;A), choose the plane (PLN1) that was created and click the “Level” button making sure that the plane will be leveling to the Z axis. ADVERTISEMENT Please visit the CMM Forum at www.cmmguys.com They are a proud supporter of CMM Quarterly Next choose the line constructed (LIN1) for the rotational feature making sure that the X axis is chosen for the “rotate to” function, and the Z axis is chosen for the “rotate about” function. The X axis was chosen instead of the –X axis because of how the line was created. Cir1 (on the left) was chose first and then CIR2 (on the right), thus the vector of the line starts in the –X axis and aims towards the +X axis, click the “Rotate” button… Next, the circle on the left will be the origin point, so it will be chosen for the X and Y axis origin, click the “Ori- gin” button… The last thing to do to create a part alignment is to lock the Z axis from movement. This is accomplished by choos- ing PLN1 to be the origin for the Z axis, click the “Origin” button… Click “OK”, the part alignment is now completed. Measure another circle at the X=0 and Y=0 I.D. and the pro- grammer ensures that the alignment has been completed successfully… Note - This is only one example of how to complete the alignment process. Other methods may be more appropri- ate than another. ADVERTISEMENT Carl Zeiss Industrial Measuring Technology (IMT) to- day introduced the new ACCURA®. By systematically implementing customer requests, we have developed a multi-sensor capable measuring system that permits fast, economical, precise and flexible measurements. Measure dynamically, precisely and safely Thanks to the steel and aluminum components, the new ACCURA measuring machine bridge is extremely rigid and thin. The CARAT® coating (Coated Ageing Re- sistant Aluminum Technology) on the aluminum parts ensures long-term stability of guideway behavior. The low weight of the moving parts improves the dynamics. This allows the ACCURA to achieve a maximum vec- torial travel speed of 800 millimeters per second – 50 percent faster than its predecessor – in the Performance Package configuration. This speed demands increased protection measures. Therefore, the Performance Package contains a special safety system: laser scanners monitor the protection zone around the measuring machine during the high- speed mode. If the safety system registers movement within this zone, the machine speed is automatically lowered within one second. Once the disruption pass- es, ACCURA reaccelerates to the original measuring speed. The enhanced air bearings also play a key role in the dynamic behavior of the bridge. Thanks to the thinner air gap, they are more rigid and require less compressed air than previous air bearings. Foam insulating technology enables higher temper- ature independence The ACCURA bridge features a new, high-perform- ance insulation – foam insulating technology. At mini- mal thickness, the housing covers ensure temperature resistance. This guarantees the required precision even on the shopfloor. Freely selectable temperature range (20-26°C) Measuring machines must be operated at constant tem- peratures to avoid temperature-dependent deforma- tions. A fixed measuring lab temperature of 20°C is standard. The new ACCURA can be operated with the same precision at other temperatures between 20 and 26°C. The measuring lab temperature can therefore be set appropriately and you save air conditioning costs. Tailored to customer demands As with a versatile modular system, customers can con- figure the ACCURA to fit their requirements. Based on their current tasks, they select the ideal configuration, i.e. sensors. Special software, such as GEAR® PRO for gears and HOLOS® NT for freeform surface measure- ments, is integrated along with CALYPSO®, the stand- ard CAD-based measuring software from Carl Zeiss. Subsequent modifications can be made very easily. The ACCURA is available at a very economical price for this performance class. If requirements change, differ- ent sensors and software can be easily added. Whether cut, shaped or molded parts, plastic or steel – all op- tions of coordinate measuring technology are available. The ACCURA also permits the integration of MASS® technology from Carl Zeiss. Combined with an RDS articulating probe holder, MASS permits the fast, meas- uring program-guided change between contact sensors and the ViScan® and LineScan optical sensors during a CNC run. The contact measuring sensors of the VAST® family and the DT single-point sensor can also be used in various configurations. The new ACCURA is currently available in four sizes, each of which offers a large measuring range – even with an integrated stylus changer. For example, the smallest model has a measuring range (X x Y x Z) of 900 x 1400 x 800 millimeters, almost 40 percent larger measuring range while maintaining the high measuring accuracy. The linear measuring tolerance is 1.6 µm + L/333. A larger measuring range of 1200 x 2400 x 1000 millimeters is also available. If required, the new AC- CURA is also available with a lower base. Headquartered in Oberkochen, Germany, Carl Zeiss In- dustrielle Messtechnik GmbH is a member of the Carl Zeiss Group. It is the global leader in CNC coordinate Carl Zeiss develops completely new ACCURA 3D coordinate measuring machine measuring machines and complete, multi-dimensional metrology solutions for a wide variety of industrial sec- tors. Approximately 1,800 employees at three manufac- turing locations and more than 100 sales and service centers serve customers around the world. The platform concept of the new ACCURA allows you to tailor your measuring machine to your requirements and budget. ADVERTISEMENT Understanding Your CMM’s Thinking One Diameter, Multiple Results? Automated machinery has revolutionized the manufac- turing industry. Minimized human error, improved ac- curacy, and increased productivity are just a fraction of the reasons automated machinery is essential for any manufacturer’s success. The coordinate measuring ma- chine has evolved along with their machine tool breth- ren. Just as a CNC programming error could be costly through machine damage or scrap, a CMM programming mistake could be just as costly, possibly worse, through improperly accepting parts that are truly defective. It is critical for a programmer to understand WHY the CMM is providing a particular result through the evalu- ation methods chosen, not just take the result as gos- pel. A good printout does not always mean a good part. As a supplier, nothing is more dreaded then a call from the customer claiming your parts are not to spec. Generally the initial panic sets in followed by, “It can’t be, here are our CMM reports, see they are all good!”. The frustration and confusion will increase especially when the custom- er is using the same equipment and software as the sup- plier. Our company had such a situation with a supplier. Our scanning CMM was showing a diameter undersize by .0003 - .0005” undersized. A functional check with the mating part confirmed our findings, what should have been a slip fit was only assembling with the help of a big hammer. Thankfully it is easier to remove metal as apposed to put it back in, so the parts were returned for rework. As what every supplier will do, the parts were put right back on their scanning CMM to vali- date the findings. Alas, they were getting the same parts rejected by our CMM as checking good with theirs. Since the equipment and software was the same, we sat down and compared each other’s process. Same sty- lus type… check. Same tool path, points, and speed… check. Diameter evaluation….you could hear the cli- ché record player scratch. The vendor was using the default diameter evaluation of Least Squares (LSQ). The vendor was unaware there were several choices of evaluation available for the same diameter. The vendor was never trained, nor did the CMM manufacture teach the vendor during the initial programming training! Depending on which software is used, the default result may not be the desired result. In the exam- ple with the vendor, the LSQ evaluation is the de- fault. Scanning the high and low spots of the circle, outputting the AVERAGE diameter of the feature. LSQ Evaluation Output = Average Diameter Per the ASME Y14.5 standard, All surfaces of a feature must fall within the limits of size. Unless specified, an average LSQ diameter is not the proper evaluation meth- od for outputting the “functional” diameter. The proper evaluation for an ID size is the Maximum Inscribed El- ement, basically a “pin fit” style evaluation. The CMM will take the 3 extreme points “internal” points and out- put the largest diameter that will fit within those 3 points. Maximum Inscribed Element = Largest Diameter that will fit within 3 extreme internal points. Com- pared to the LSQ circle. Now keep in mind, The Y14.5 stated ALL surfaces must fall within the tolerance zone. In the situation of the vendor’s part, we also used a second evaluation method, By Nathan Corliss the Minimum Circumscribed Element. The CMM takes the same data and finds the extreme “external” points, outputting the smallest diameter that would fit over the diameter. If this was an OD diameter, the Minimum Circumscribed Element would be the “functional” fit. Minimum Circumscribed Element = Largest diam- eter that will fit over the extreme external points, compared to the LSQ circle. The situation with the vendor ended with a satisfactory resolution, the parts were reworked, functioned beauti- fully, and the vendor began adjusting programming ac- cordingly. Although there are a many evaluation meth- ods available, the program must truly understand the print and functional requirements of the part and choose their evaluations properly. Without understanding how the CMM is generating results, the potential error could be severely detrimental to a manufacturer’s contin- ued success. Now it’s time to figure out why the gage block failed that slot but the CMM said it was good. By Nathan Corliss Assistant Quality Manager for Seiler Instruments and Manufacturing, Co-Vice Chairman Zeiss North Ameri- can User’s Group ADVERTISEMENT How to Develop High Efficiency CMM Probe Tooling By: Ken Bergler, President – Advanced Consulting & Engineering, Inc. Non-articulating CMM heads and probe tooling are a common technology in today’s high accuracy measure- ment systems. This type of equipment typically affords greater accuracy and repeatability in touch-trigger and scanning applications. Static tooling systems also al- low greater flexibility in the type of products that can be measured due to their allowance of using longer and heavier probe configurations. These configurations are typically built-up using many standard components which are screwed together to achieve the alignments needed to measure necessary features. There are, how- ever, several tradeoffs to this off-the shelf approach. • Higher Cost – More styli and components are gener- ally needed. • Longer Cycle Time – Multiple probe changes are of- ten needed. • Difficult Assembly – aligning styli to proper angles, especially with compound angle holes, can be a time consuming and difficult challenge. • Tough Maintainability – Components may rotate or loosen over time or after accidental collisions. Custom designed and fabricated probe tooling is a sim- ple solution that reduces or eliminates all of these draw- backs. Custom probe tooling consists of a rigid assembly fabricated at the proper lengths and angles to measure all the needed features properly. These assemblies are con- structed using high quality temperature stable mate- rials. Properly executed, this approach will provide: • Lower Cost – One customized holder can cost less than purchasing multiple standard parts. Also, custom tooling usually consolidates multiple probe systems to reduce the total number of assemblies needed; thus eliminating the need for additional head adapter plates, probe pockets and the associated table space. • Shorter Cycle Time – Fewer probe systems require fewer probe changes; shaving valuable time off of longer runs. • Easy assembly and maintainability: – Just screw the styli in, no squaring or aligning is needed. Broken or worn out styli are simply replaced. My company, Advanced Consulting and Engineer- ing, Inc. (ACE), Shelby, Michigan, develops and sup- ports turn-key probing systems for a wide spectrum of part types. Our contract services group (formally known as QualityTech, Inc.) offers a full range of 17025 accredited inspection services. Both of these groups use static probe tooling on a daily basis. As a result, we needed to develop an affordable, high- quality and robust solution to meet our own and our client’s measurement requirements. There are three vital pieces to the puzzle of creating this dedicated probe tooling: Design, materials and fabrication. There are three vital pieces to the puzzle of creating this dedicated probe tooling: Design, materials and fabrication. Design: By designing (or modeling existing) part holding fix- tures and custom probe tooling in virtual 3D space, one can readily test the designs for functionality and possible interference. The modeling proves that all the angles, lengths, and styli are correct for the giv- en application, thus eliminating the need for expen- sive reworking of the custom manufactured parts. Materials: In most measurement environments, temperature is the largest source of measurement variation, making the use of temperature stable materials critical. Titanium is the material of choice for customized probe holders because of its low weight and thermal properties. ACE exclusively uses itpstyli’s Temp-CompTM thermally stable extensions due to their high quality and excep- tionally low cost. The unique double-wound carbon fiber and titanium construction provide a near-zero co- efficient of expansion along with exceptional torsion- al rigidity that is not possible in typical carbon fiber. Machining & Fabrication There is only so much room for variation from spec before a customized holder becomes unusable. Mi- nor angular errors of a probe can cause probe shank- ing, leading to invalid measurements. ACE relies on itpstyli LLC to provide the machined titanium hold- ers because of their consistency in meeting tight tol- erances and their accurately cut compound angles. During fabrication, all assembled components, other than styli, are permanently affixed us- ing epoxy or a laser weld to ensure the assem- bly always maintains its desired orientations. Look over your current and future projects to see if using more efficient custom probe tooling is the right fit for you. ADVERTISEMENT ITP Styli also available through The approach of using a wiki to document a Quality Management System (QMS) may seem overwhelm- ingly obvious in a year or so, yet we are far from that today. Chances are you’ve used Wikipedia on the web, but you may not appreciate the power that a wiki can bring to virtually every facet of documenta- tion and management systems. This case study de- scribes how Geometrica used a wiki to document its QMS and achieve ISO 9001 certification in “record” time while avoiding the bureaucracy that often plagues this process. Just remember -- You read it here first! The Problem Documenting a QMS is an intense process for every organization, and Geometrica’s case was no exception. Geometrica engineers, manufactures and builds domes and space frame structures around the world, and al- though we were confident of our quality control pro- cedures, our clients were increasingly insistent on ISO 9001 certification. Our policies and procedures were al- ready documented in various electronic and hard-copy formats, but these docu- ments had been developed unsystemati- cally to respond to problems, client de- mands, and training needs. There was no single approach or cohesive structure. The company’s first approach to docu- mentation followed the old paradigm: Once the decision was made to pur- sue registration, a quality committee was formed comprised of the CEO, the Vice-President, the heads of operating departments, the quality manager, plus an external consultant. The plan was to proceed in a sequential manner: vi- sion, mission, general production sys- tem, quality objectives, organization, and formal documentation procedures, followed by process descriptions, pro- cedures and work instructions, all in the common ISO 9001 framework. As we emailed back and forth word- processed drafts, edits, comments, dis- cussions, agreements, disagreements, meeting minutes, etc., it quickly became apparent that the procedure was horrendously inefficient -- and the job momentous. The process itself was a big part of the problem: conflicts between documents, typos, clarifica- tions and the organization of the information required substantial editing even for documents that had been “completed”. Meetings dragged on to resolve often small wording differences. In many cases, desirable edits would not be done because of the difficulties of keeping track of the latest version of a document while more than one person worked on it, or simply because of the effort required to update everyone’s binder. We attempted to solve the problem by maintaining only a single copy of the documents on the server and in hard copy, but even these were hard to keep in sync. In short, the letter and spirit of ISO 9001 -- ena- bling a management system -- was lost in the in- box. At this point, we started looking at wikis. Using a wiki to implement a QMS Using a wiki to implement a Quality Management System A case study by F. Castano, G. Mendez, J. Ayala and L. Day What’s a wiki? In specific terms, a wiki is a special website where anyone can edit the content, and where every change is saved. A wiki’s advantages stem from key paradigm shifts: • Wiki documentation can be developed, corrected and improved while working on the processes described, as well as beforehand or after flaws are found. This helps achieve congruence between the system and everyday activities, allowing documentation to remain continu- ally fresh. • A wiki is a collaborative environment that empowers everyone to take ownership of the process being de- scribed, the documentation being developed, and the continuous improvement that is the goal of all quality systems. People new to wikis worry that their use will lead to chaos and poor documents, but the fact is that everyone wants to be at their best when their work is on display company-wide. • A wiki is fun to use and fosters teamwork. Here’s what you lose when you move to a wiki: outdat- ed procedures pasted on walls, updates in emails, end- less meetings, employee manuals that are never really up-to-date, document control hassles, and document non-conformities. What you gain is a system centered in the organization as a whole, not in a person or department. The whole organization can provide feedback and shape the doc- umentation to balance personal belief or subjectivity. Documentation becomes what the organization needs -- not what one individual or department believes to be the best. Meister’s brief but accurate description of a wiki is that it’s fast (1), a good fit for Geometrica, where change, teamwork, efficiency and effectiveness are key values. Upper management expected Geometrica’s ISO certifi- cation to happen swiftly without slowing the work for our clients, and a wiki made it possible. There are many wiki engines. The most well-known is MediaWiki, which powers Wikipedia. But at Geomet- rica, we used ProjectForum for its ease of installation, maintenance and use. Implementation There was some initial resistance among the quality com- mittee to using a wiki: worries about vandalism, poor editing and lack of control. Other objections came from ingrained perceptions about the necessity for sequential authoring-editing-approval-publication, and from the perception that when a document is published, its infor- mation is correct, complete, permanent and authoritative. The wiki destroyed these objections quickly. The committee empowered all its members, and later the whole company, to edit any document. The distinction be- tween author and editor disappeared, as changes to doc- uments appeared immediately in all company locations, including our headquarters in Houston, the plant and of- fices in Monterrey, and jobsites as far away as Spain and the UAE. The quality of the information improved and continues to improve with most edits, for many reasons: 1. Ease of access means that users check the wiki fre- quently to learn more or verify their knowledge. 2. More people get involved with much less effort. In the “old way”, either non-core people aren’t involved, or, if they are involved they spend lots of time in QA process meetings that mostly don’t relate to their work -- a huge waste of time. A wiki allows non-core people to pay attention to just the bits they care about. Now multiply that time saving by the number of people in the organization! 3. Ease of editing simplifies “minor” corrections and improvements that might otherwise be ignored because the errors were “tolerable”. The people who know a topic detect shortcomings and correct them immedi- ately. 4. The aggregation of many small corrections and im- provements results in very significant changes: “wiki magic”. 5. Information is not repeated. The ability to include and link to other wiki pages allows information to be maintained in a single location. Note, however, that this requires careful oversight of the system (informally known as “wiki gnoming”) as there is no built-in mech- anism to avoid repetition of information. 6. Incentives prompt positive cooperation of wiki us- ers: o Every user works for Geometrica and is identified by name and password. o All changes to the wiki, as well as authors and times, are logged. The information is available to all through a page-history link, and to the administrator by user or date. o Changes to any, or all documents may be monitored by any user through email or Real Simple Syndication (RSS). o One rule: no rules. Anyone can share ideas, discuss, comment, change, edit, copy and paste as needed, since all the organization is working towards one goal. Eve- ryone’s skills and knowledge are welcomed. o Reverting to prior versions of a document is easy and quick. 7. Having managers from different areas working to- gether on wiki documentation created a multidiscipli- nary approach that enhanced learning and interaction throughout the organization. 8. In our implementation, we utilized a database of “bugs” and “corrective actions” based on the open- source “Bugzilla” software (2). Originally developed to debug software, we found it ideal for debugging docu- ments, complementing the wiki. Bugzilla helps capture the knowledge of individuals who would not normally contribute to the wiki, either because they do not use computers in their job, or because they don’t feel suf- ficiently confident about a certain change to make it di- rectly on the wiki. Those individuals use the database to report bugs, which are then automatically assigned to department heads. The department heads then moderate structured, asynchronous discussions when required, discover root causes, and implement corrective and/or preventive actions right on the system (Per ISO 9001 Section 8.5.), but with hot-links to the affected docu- ments for quick verification and audit. In less than one year, the Geometrica QMS wiki has amassed 1577 pages of high-quality documentation containing over 3GB of data. Pages have been edited an average of 12 times, with 12 pages being edited more than 100 times. Thirty-six individuals have contributed to the QMS wiki, with the average having contributed more than 400 edits. Example: Geometrica Continuous Improvement The wiki process is best illustrated with an example, and the history of our “Continuous Improvement” procedure serves this purpose (in a pleasantly recursive way). The following images are not intended to be readable, but show how the form and length of the procedure change through time and wiki magic. A wiki page for this pro- cedure was created on May 21, 2008. On June 15, it had been edited a total of 15 times, and by October 8, 30 times. Then there was a furious spurt: 112 edits in the next 8 weeks, for a total of 142 edits. Since that time, the page has been edited less than once per week. SCHUTT SPORTS MANUFACTURING A Case Study Measurement and business challenges solved with new ReverseEngineering.com software “The compatibility with SolidWorks was key and so was the ease of use. Better yet, the ReverseEngineering software has enabled us to take on jobs that we could not have considered before – more revenues.” − Tony VanHoutin, Sr. Draftsman/ Design Engineer Industry Sports equipment Challenge Find a software/hardware combina- tion that could quickly and efficiently digitize old products while providing a platform for new products. Solution ReverseEngineering.com’s plug-and- play, direct-to-CAD solution com- bined with SolidWorks’ software. Results • Ability to measure more surfaces and parts faster. • More speed and accuracy gives Schutt a competitive advantage. • With fewer time-consuming meas- urement mistakes, Schutt engineers now enjoy greater efficiency in all CAD work. SUMMARY Based in Litchfield Illinois, Schutt Sports knows it takes teamwork to win on the field – and in business. When it needed to digitize some of its older helmet and facemask designs, it called in a new team member: ReverseEnegineering.com, formerly known as HighRES. Combining ReverseEngineering. com’s simple, fast and accurate 3D digitizing software with SolidWorks’ CAD solution, Schutt abandoned its inefficient manual systems, quickly digitizing old designs and building a platform for new revenue. ABOUT SCHUTT SPORTS Schutt is the world’s leading maker of football helmets and faceguards and other equipment. Three out of four professional football players take the field wearing Schutt gear and 12 of the last 16 Heisman Trophy winners have worn Schutt helmets. Its DNA™ line of helmets feature padding using SKYDEX™, the same material used by the US military for helmets for fighter pilots and paratroopers. PLAYING FOR KEEPS Two years ago Schutt decided it needed to make some changes in its processes to become more efficient. Specifically, it wanted a faster and more accurate way to digitize some of its older helmet and facemask designs in order to be able to make changes more quickly – and to move back into manufacturing more quickly as well. But while the immediate “pain” was its need to digitize prior designs, it also realized that with bet- ter CAD software integration all of its processes would move more quickly. As an aggressive company competing for share in a tough market, it wanted to tap into every efficiency pos- sible. THE ANSWER: REVERSEENGINEERING.COM After examining the avail- able PCMM-to-CAD soft- ware, Schutt choose Rever- seEngineering.com because the company’s software is versatile, reliable, scalable and able to integrate with the CAD and PCMM sys- tem it was already using. In particular, face guard wire masks are difficult parts to measure with traditional measurement calipers, and Schutt realized the Rever- seEngineering.com solu- tion would make those measurements much faster and more accurate. The Re- verseEngineering solution allows for more accurate generation of wire paths, and the helmet surfaces are a perfect example of ReverseEngineering’s ability to handle complex surface geometry. Schutt was also impressed with ReverseEngineering’s experience with digitizing helmets used for snowboarding, speed skiing and bicycle rac- ing, including doing work on helmets for skiing and bicycling at the ’92 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, and for snowboarding at the ’98 Olympics in Nagano, Japan. THE RESULTS: A TRUE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE Thanks to the direct-to-CAD qualities of the ReverseEngineering.com software, Schutt is now able to: - Quickly verify drilled helmet holes in helmets for accuracy - Accurately and easily measure and check the guard designs - Import all of its pre-3D helmet shell designs into its 3D program - Inspect and verify all of its new products to make sure they are being built and assembled to specifications - Dramatically reduce mis- takes associated with man- ual measurements, result- ing in greater efficiency “What they say is true – their software helps us work faster and more efficiently,” said Tony VanHoutin, Sr. Draftsman/Design Engi- neer. “Checking in of new parts or drilling new hole placements in a shell – no matter what we’re doing, it happens faster and with fewer mistakes now.” As VanHoutin noted, before ReverseEngineering.com, checking the placement of drilled holes took “a long time – if it was even possible.” Furthermore, the new software means Schutt can be much more thorough with quality control. “Before we could only check overall dimensions,” VanHoutin added. “Now I can lay an actual molded part on top of the 3D model to check accuracy of surfaces and details.” “We are very satisfied with ReverseEngineering.com,” said VanHoutin. “Even the customer care was good, and the training was easy and informative.” Now that we have set the machine up and created our sensors it is time to start measuring. The DMIS language requires that the programmer use a feature based system in order to measure and this means that you have to define a feature before measuring it. The most common types of feature are: POINT, ARC, CIRCLE, CYLNDR, SPHERE, CPARLN (slot), LINE, PLANE, CONE, GCURVE and GSURF. Other less common types of feature like TORUS and ELLIPS are also available. Refer to the DMIS standard for all available features. Format of a point definition: F(name)=FEAT/POINT,CART or POL, X(R),Y(A),Z(H),I,J,K A point requires a name, coordinate type, position and direction (refer to the article about sensors for more information regarding vectors). If the coordinate type is CART then the position values are X,Y,Z. If the coordi- nate type is POL the position values are R,A,H as defined by the current working plane. The current working plane is set using the WKPLAN statement. This statement is a setting but was not in- cluded in the ‘Getting Started’ article because it changes throughout a program so that you can measure various features in different directions. The working plane statement: WKPLAN/XY or YZ or ZX Format of a circle definition: F(name)=FEAT/CIRCLE,INNER or OUTER,CART or POL,X(R),Y(A),Z(H),I,J,K,D A circle is similar to a point but requires an extra keyword to determine whether the circle is a bore or shaft and has an extra value to specify the size of the circle. Format of a line definition: F(name)= FEAT/LINE,BND or UNBND,CART or POL$ ,X1 or X,Y1 or Y, Z1 or Z$ ,X2 or I1,Y2 or J1, Z2 or K1$ ,I or I2, J or J2, K or K2 This definition format can be a little confusing. It can be defined in two different ways, the BND option requir- ing you to specify the ends of the line as coordinates and the direction of the plane the line lies in (the normal) and the UNBND option requires the center, direction and plane. Obviously, X,Y & Z would become R,A & H if the POL option was used and the correct working plane would need to be set. You may also have noticed that there is $ sign at the end of some of the code lines. This means that the command continues on the next line and DMIS Corner Measurement: Defining and measuring features. is used when DMIS commands exceed 80 characters. Refer to the DMIS standard or ‘Step by Step DMIS Programming’ for further examples of DMIS feature defini- tions. A CIRCLE definition: F(CIR001)=FEAT/CIRCLE,INNER,CART,-40,42,0,0,0,1,30 As previously discussed, the feature definition describes what the feature should measure (the specification) but is not a measurement. The values entered in the definition will be used as nominal’s against which the measured features will be compared when reporting. This means that the feature definition needs to be precise. In some cases the values will be used to drive automatic measurement of the feature (more about that later) but in all cases the values will be used to guide the measurement routines as they create the measured feature. The CIR- CLE definition above defines a circle called CIR001. CIR001 is a hole (INNER) whose first three values (X=- 40, Y=42, Z=0) are in cartesian coordinates (CART) and represent the position of the circle in relation to the current part axes system. The next three values (I=0, J=0, K=1) represent the direction the circle faces and the last value (D=30) is the size or diameter of the circle. Once a feature has been defined you can measure it using the MEAS and ENDMES statements. A measurement command or block: MEAS/feature_type,F(name),num_points . . . ENDMES A measurement block starts with a MEAS statement and ends with a ENDMES statement. The space between is reserved for path statements but can be empty. A CIRCLE measurement: MEAS/CIRCLE,F(CIR001),4 ENDMES What happens at this point depends on the current MODE setting. If you have the mode set to MODE/MAN, the CMM will prompt you to take 4 points inside the hole. The type of prompt is not covered by the DMIS standard and will vary from machine to machine. If the mode is set to MODE/AUTO,PROG,MAN and the manufacturer has created an automatic measurement routine for circles the CMM will use the settings we discussed previously to automatically measure the circle based on that routine using the number of points in the measure statement combined with the values in the definition. If the mode is set to MODE/PROG,MAN or the manufacturer did not create an automatic measurement routine you will have to add a measurement path in the form of touches and moves between the MEAS and ENDMES statements. MODE/PROG,MAN measurements do not use all of the SNSET settings mentioned in previous articles so you can’t rely on SNSET/ CLRSRF to move clear prior to measurement. SNSET/APPRCH, SNSET/RETRCT and SNSET/SEARCH will still apply. A MODE/PROG,MAN CIRCLE measurement: MEAS/CIRCLE,F(CIR001),4 GOTO/-40,42,10 PTMEAS/CART,-25.0000,42.0000,0,-1.000,0.000,0.000 PTMEAS/CART,-40.0000,57.0000,0,0.000,-1.000,0.000 PTMEAS/CART,-55.0000,42.0000,0,1.000,0.000,0.000 PTMEAS/CART,-40.0000,27.0000,0,0.000,1.000,0.000 GOTO/-40,42,10 ENDMES This measurement block contains moves and touches because it is executed in MODE/PROG,MAN mode. If this block was executed and did not contain the path statements the system would have no choice but to treat it as a manual measurement and prompt the operator to take the number of points specified in the MEAS com- mand. You can put as many touches inside the measure block as required, the number of touches in the MEAS statement will be ignored. The path contains two DMIS statements we haven’t discussed before. Format of a go to statement: GOTO/X,Y,Z or GOTO/POL,R,A,H or GOTO/INCR,Dist,I,J,K In the first instance the move would be to a position from the current part datum as specified by X,Y,Z. In the second instance the move would be to a position from the current part datum as a radius, angle and height as determined by the current working plane. The last instance is an incremental move from the current position by an amount defined by Dist along a direction defined by I,J,K. Format of a path point statement: PTMEAS/CART or POL,X(R),Y(A),Z(H),I,J,K The PTMEAS statement is a special point measurement that can only be used inside measurement blocks. For other DMIS statements that can be used inside of measurement blocks refer to the DMIS standard. Another version of the measure statement is available under the DMIS standard and is used when feature loca- tion planes vary. This version of the measurement command is popular in sheet metal and plastic manufacturing areas and is referred to as relative measurement. Format of a relative measurement statement: RMEAS/feature_type,F(name),num _points,F or FA(name) or RMEAS/feature_type,F(name),num _points,VECBLD,radius,num_points The first example of the RMEAS format requires that you previously define or measure a feature and the posi- tion of that feature will determine the height and orientation (where applicable) at which this feature will be measured. The second example will take extra touches on the surface around this feature to adjust the height and if three or more points are taken, the orientation of this feature. The points are controlled by the radius value from the outer edge of the feature and the num_points option. The RMEAS measurement must be followed by the ENDMES statement in the same way as a standard measurement. At this point it is worth giving a note of caution. Certain features such as points, circles, lines, etc. are calculated using their defined vector direction which is assumed to be correct. If the part is in error or the current part da- tum is misaligned these measurements will report results based on the bad direction rather than the actual part. Three dimensional features such as cylinders, planes, spheres, etc. do not rely on the definition because they can create themselves independently. This means that the center and form of a cylinder will be better than a circle if the actual features do not lay in the specified direction. If in doubt you must perform localized oriention using the relative measure options or the datum techniques we will be covering in future articles. Stephen Horsfall specializes in DMIS programming, training and consulting and is the author of ‘Step by Step DMIS Programming’ available from the Di- mensional Metrology Standards Consor- tium (www.dmisstandard.org). He can be contacted at horsfall@cmmts.com . Leader in five-axis turbomachinery produc- tion quickly adopts new five-axis Renishaw in- spection system, gains faster throughput, great- er CMM utilization, and easier programming Constantly changing surface geometries, pin-wheel- ing shapes and tight, intricate features make tur- bomachinery components — impellers, blades and blisks — some of industry’s most complex and ex- acting shapes. TURBOCAM International achieved leadership in this specialized field by mastery of five-axis machining and five-axis programming soft- ware. However, efficient inspection of ever increasing numbers of complex parts was frustrated by slow, te- dious, stop-and-go measurement inspection on a leg- acy 3+2 axis coordinate measuring machine (CMM). Changing 3-D part geometries required many dif- ferent probe orientations, plus frequent stylus and tip changes for difficult to reach features, explains Dave Romaine, Quality Assurance Manager. “We would have to stop the CMM and calibrate each re-orientation of the probe. That was compound- ed as we inspected multiple blades around a part.” As five-axis experts, TURBOCAM staff were quick to see the potential of a revolutionary scanning sys- tem from Renishaw that makes possible automat- ed, programmable five-axis measurement at speeds and accuracies never before possible by CMMs. The Renscan5™ scanning system offered the capabil- ity for continuous five-axis interpolated motion, com- parable to TURBOCAM’s five-axis machine tools. In January 2007 TURBOCAM became one of the first adopters of the new Renscan5 continuous five-axis in- spection capability. Installed on a new Wenzel LH8.10.7 bridge-type CMM at the company’s Dover, New Hamp- shire, USA plant, Renscan5™ transformed part meas- urement and inspection from a bottleneck to an enabler. High-speed continuous probing routines are reduc- ing programming time, set-up time and measurement time by 50 percent and more. Besides faster through- put, Renscan5 time-savings allows the taking of many more data points for greater measurement precision and frees up CMM time for qualification of turned blanks and in-process checks before final machining passes. Those powerful advantages led TURBOCAM in early 2008 to become the first company worldwide to add a second Renscan5 CMM, a larger Wenzel LH10.12.8, this time at a new facility in nearby Bar- rington. In this new facility, Renscan5 is an “essen- tial resource” says Romaine, that is being developed to support higher-throughput production generated by around-the-clock, reduced-staff manufacturing. XSpect Solutions, now part of Wenzel, did the in- stallation of Renscan5 on both the new CMMs. TURBOCAM is a preferred supplier of both production and prototype bladed parts to aerospace, automotive and industrial turbomachinery OEMs. CMM inspection assures that critical parts for turbochargers, jet engines, compressors and gas turbines meet demanding accuracy TURBOCAM “high fives” revolutionary inspection technology A Renishaw Case Study specifications. Part precision and uniformity are criti- cal in providing dynamic balance, directed airflow and long, reliable service at high rotational speeds. Renscan5 uses two patented hardware breakthroughs to speed part checking, generate more data points for ana- lyzing part form, and increase available CMM run time: “Active” probe head Named REVO™, a powered head provides infinite po- sitioning capability between simultaneous coordinated motion in vertical and horizontal rotary axes. This allows the low-mass two-axis head, a 3-D measuring device in its own right, to perform most of the motion during inspection routines. Infinite positioning allows continu- ous motion, optimizes part access, and delivers high ac- curacy part measurements. The active head avoids dy- namic errors caused in rapid acceleration/deceleration of the larger mass of a CMM structure. Low-mass, low- inertia design allows Renscan5 to measure at up to 500 mm/sec vs. conventional CMM scanning that is typi- cally limited to 5-15 mm/sec to avoid dynamic errors. REVO repositions continuously on the fly, simultane- ous with measurement, unlike indexing heads which first must be locked into position, after which the CMM provides the measuring motion. On complex parts, says Romaine, “Hundreds of calibrations have now been eliminated, saving us hours of calibration time.” Renscan5 allows the CMM’s three-axis platform to be used primarily to “rapid” the REVO head into position for measurement. Where CMM motion is required for a measurement routine, it can usually be limited to a single linear axis and performed at constant velocity, minimiz- ing dynamic effects on accuracy from acc/dec and inertia. Laser-corrected probing REVO employs industry’s first laser-corrected “Tip Sense” probing. A laser mounted within the head sends its beam down a hollow stylus to a reflector at the tip. The return beam is received by a position sensor and any deflection is used to calculate true tip position. This allows REVO to perform a complete part inspec- tion routine in a continuous operation without recali- bration or stylus changes. “Only one probe is typical- ly used to measure an entire part with no tip change time,” says Romaine. Tip Sense probes deliver 1 mi- cron accuracy at 250 mm from the axis of rotation. Sizes are available providing probe reach to 500 mm. While the previous 3+2 axis CMM at TURBOCAM pro- vided a two-axis head, vertical changes in probe angle could only be made in 2.5 degree increments, then cali- brated and fixed at the position for measuring. “As we in- spected more blades around a part, such as a blisk, it would obviously require more and more probe orientations and calibration. Programming, access, stylus change, and calibration were incredibly painful,” notes Romaine. TURBOCAM uses Renscan5 for both point-to-point probing to verify feature location and size and for con- tact scanning of part surfaces for shape and form data. “On point to point we are able to gather more data sim- ply because the head can orient to any angle and it’s a very simple set-up to get more points,” says Romaine. Renscan5 high-speed scanning greatly increases data points. “Previously we might collect 50 or 100 points spaced over a blade,” he says. “Now we can collect hundreds or thousands of points with a scan.” In scan- ning mode, the probe moves continuously, adjusting to programmed changes in part geometry. REVO gives TURBOCAM up to 4000 points/sec in scanning mode. “Increased point data allows us to see a more complete picture of what we’re manufacturing,” says Romaine. “We can see deviations better as they increase and de- crease along a blade or around a part. This lets us better trouble-shoot our manufacturing process.” As exam- ple, he notes that TURBOCAM has been able to detect tooling breakdowns based on Renscan5 surfacing data. Helping to reduce measurement time for high- er utilization, the Renscan5 system includes a UCC2 universal CMM controller with patented MoveScan™ software that synchronizes, smoothes and speeds motion between the CMM and the REVO head. MoveScan drives the probe to the surface of the part in the shortest distance by looking ahead to go-to points and blending moves into smooth, continuous motion. Parts inspected on the CMMs range from small impellers just 2” in diameter to 36” diameter, multi-vane components. TURBOCAM produc- es more than 400 different bladed part designs a year for compressor, turbine and pump OEMs. “Just as important as the inspection advantages,” stresses Romaine, “are the programming benefits. This has been exciting. We’ve been able to apply our five-axis ma- chine tool programming methods to drastically reduce programming time for five-axis inspection. This is only possible because of the infinite indexing of REVO and its programmability through the I++ DME protocol.” Renscan5’s I++ interface gives the UCC2 controller cross-platform compatibility with measurement soft- ware packages and maintains user choice of CMM and software. On complex parts such as blisks (integral hub and blades machined from a monolithic blank), notes Romaine, “What used to take three days to program now takes three hours. The biggest time savings have come in programming and set-up, even more than run time.” The ability to apply five-axis programming expertise makes it much easier and faster to provide programs for part inspection, increasing machine utilization for a wide range of parts, he says. While Renscan5 inte- gration is still evolving, he estimates the CMM utiliza- tion has already increased between 30 and 50 percent. By automating and simplifying inspection, Rens- can5 has changed not only utilization, but also uses and users of CMM inspection, according to Romaine. First, it greatly reduces need for operator intervention in changing probe orientation. “This has been a big benefit and is definitely one of the selling points of the machine,” he says. Second, the simplicity of Renscan5 in conjunction with the CMM software makes it pos- sible for machinists and operators to directly measure in-process parts without the need for an inspector to run the CMM. “They simply need to put the part on the table and call up the appropriate program,” he says. “We do inspections of turned blanks and perform in- process check before final machining passes,” he notes. TURBOCAM has manufacturing operations in the U.S., England and India and is certified to ISO 9001:2000 and other quality standards in those operations. It brings comprehensive partnering resources to prototype and development work, offering world-class capabilities in five-axis machining, metallurgy, aerodynamics, geo- metric modeling and analysis, and software — and now five-axis part quality inspection and documentation. The Barrington TURBOCAM plant was created for round-the-clock unmanned manufacturing of large numbers of bladed parts for a variety of applications such as air compressors, gas expanders, air cycle ma- chines, jet engines, turbine driven power sources, and even artificial hearts. TURBOCAM Automated Pro- duction Systems (TAPS) specializes in meeting mar- ket demand for impellers and blisks machined from wrought aluminium, stainless steel and titanium alloys, enabling higher performance and reliability than cast components. TURBOCAM offers production capacity for 250,000 to 300,000 impellers a year (which includes high volume manufacturing of turbocharger impel- lers for the automotive industry in the TAPS division). To find out more about Renishaw’s range of CMM prod- ucts, including its CMM retrofit service, visit www.ren- ishaw.com/cmm.
