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4 SP1
Automatic Alignment without
CAD
Training Manual
YDT0054_B1
Contents
1 Prerequisites 1
1.1 Purpose of Auto-Alignment .................................................................................... 1
1.2 Create Safe Moves ................................................................................................ 2
1.2.1 Absolute Move ...................................................................................................... 3
1.2.2 Axis Offset ............................................................................................................. 4
1.2.3 Sensor Offset ........................................................................................................ 5
1.2.4 Handbox control .................................................................................................... 6
1.2.5 Fly Mode ............................................................................................................... 6
2 Plane Line Point Alignment 7
3 Plane Two Circles Alignment 17
4 Cylinder Plane Circle Alignment 27
When measuring the two circles above, the probe When measuring the two circles above, the probe
will move above the top face, and move in a straight will move out of the side face, then move in a
line across to the next circle without crashing. straight line towards the next circle. In doing so it
will crash into the side face of the part.
To avoid these crashes we can use relative or absolute move commands. These add single
use safe positions which have a clear path from the last feature measured and next feature
to be measured. Unlike the home commands these can't be be recalled later, so are better
suited as single use moves.These can be carried out in multiple ways, each which are suited
to slightly different environments. These safe points can be dictate from the Tactile tab of the
ribbon toolbar, in the Move Tools section as shown below.
When picking multiple features to inspect, a move command and select sensor command
can be added in the teach view. Using this you may pick multiple features of multiple
orientations before pressing Apply, allowing your CMM to navigate the part and take multiple
automatic measurements.
Before adding in any automatic movements, the DMIS program must first be in Auto mode.
Navigate to the Tactile tab and select Mode from the Modal drop down menu. In the dialog
box which opens, select Automatic (CNC). This will allow the program to carry out automatic
probe movements when re-run.
2. From this window you can program in a new probe position much like you did with the
home position. Move the probe using your CMM handbox to a safe position and press the
Teach button to set the target co-ordinates to the current CMM position.
3. Click OK. A command will be added into the program window as follows:
GOTO/CART,X,Y,Z - In which the X,Y,Z values will be replaced with the co-ordinates
you just selected.
2. In the axis offset window select the axis you wish to move along by selecting the relevant
tickbox from the Datum Axis group. The arrows around the target marker will rotate to
point along the selected axis.
3. Left click on the target marker and drag it to your desired safe position. Alternatively you
may enter the desired offset into the Offset textbox to move the probe by a precise
amount.
4. Click the green check mark. The CMM will start auto mode and move to the position you
just entered. A command will be added into the program window as follows:
GOTO/CART,X,Y,Z - In which the X,Y,Z values will be replaced with the co-ordinates
you just selected.
The initial offset value provided by CAMIO is +5, which places the target marker within
the stylus, making it difficult to see. With a stylus thicker than 2mm the marker may be
completely invisible. Disable the probe view from the machine view to see the
target marker.
2. Left click on the target marker and drag it to your desired safe position. Alternatively you
may enter the desired offset into the Offset textbox to move the probe by a precise
amount.
3. Click on the green check mark. The CMM will start auto mode and move to the position
you just entered. A command will be added into the program window as follows:
GOTO/CART,X,Y,Z - In which the X,Y,Z values will be replaced with the co-ordinates
you just selected.
The drawing below shows a part marked with the Datum’s A, B and C.
Datum A will be used as the primary datum. This datum can be set by the measurement of a
plane.
This plane can then be used to control the Z axis rotation and the Z origin.
Datum B will be used as the secondary datum. This datum will be set by the measurement of
a line
This line can then be used to control the X axis rotation and Y origin.
Datum C will be used as the tertiary datum. This datum will set by the measurement of a
point.
This point can then be used to set the X origin.
1. Run your previously created manual plane-line-point alignment program to align the part
axis to the machine axis. Ensure it has run to the PAUSE step.
2. Change the program into automatic mode. Navigate to the Tactile tab and open the
Modal drop-down menu from the Properties section. Select Mode from the drop-down list
and Program (CNC) in the dialog box that opens. Click OK.
A line will be added into the program window stating MODE / PROG, MAN. From this point
on in the program moves and touches will occur automatically. Any commands before
this point will remain in manual mode.
3. Move the probe so that it has a clear path to the next touch point. In this instance the last
point taken was on the front face and the next points to be taken are on the top face, so
we will move the sensor along the probe direction using Sensor Offset. Navigate to the
Tactile tab and open the drop-down menu from Relative in the Move Tools section, then
select Sensor Offset.
4. In the Model window an indicator of the probe final position will appear, shown as a
yellow sphere with two blue arrows. If the probe is drawn in your model window then this
will be difficult to see. Open up the machine display options and deselect Probe for
a clearer view. Left click and drag the sphere upwards until it is above the top plane and
has a clear path from which touch points can be taken. Click on the green check mark in
the Sensor Offset window to apply the movement.
If it is known, the desired value of offset can be directly added into the Offset textbox to
move the probe by a precise amount.
Values are measured in the units defined by the program, traveled along the probe axis.
After clicking on the green check mark the CMM will start auto-movement mode and
move to the new position, with a GOTO command added in the program window.
5. Set the primary axis and origin from the inspection of a plane, shown as datum A in the
drawing above. To do this navigate to the Tactile tab, and select Plane from the 3D
Features section.
6. Using the CMM handbox, take 9 points on the plane of the part. When taking points,
ensure points are taken over a large area of the entire plane to reduce any misalignments
caused by local deformities. Suggested touch points are highlighted in red on the model
below.The points will appear in the Program window.
7. Select the plane in the Program window. Navigate to the Properties window and change
the plane name to something memorable such as "Datum_A_Auto". Change the number
of touch points to 9 and Mode to Program.
8. Select all of the points in the Program window. Right click and select Normalise to
Feature. This will create a normal direction for each point which matches the normal of
the plane. By doing this we ensure that the touches are approached exactly in the -Z
direction, removing any error caused by manual touches.
9. Add the code to the program by pressing the Apply button in the ribbon toolbar.
10. Navigate to the Alignment tab and select 3-2-1 Alignment from the Basic section. In the
Create Datum dialog box that appears set the axis alignment and origin for
"Datum_A_Auto" as shown in the window below.
Set datum label to "Pri-Auto" as this datum contains only the primary feature.
Set the primary label to A and feature to "Datum_A_Auto", which you just created.
Set the axis of the feature to +Z and origin to Z.
Ensure the Secondary and Tertiary features are disabled.
The primary datum has now been set, so the plane will be aligned to the top of CAD
model correctly. As the secondary and tertiary datums are not set it will not be aligned in
the X or Y axis.
11. Move the probe so that it has a clear path to the next touch point. In this instance the
probe will need to move diagonally and horizontally from the plane to take a line
measurement on the right face, so we will use the Free Position move tool. Select
Absolute from the Move tools section and Free Position from the drop-down menu.
12. Using the CMM handbox move the probe diagonally right and backwards relative to the
CAD model images shown so far. In the Free Position window press the X, Y & Z buttons
to teach the probe's current position. This will create a yellow sphere with two sets of
horizontal arrows in the model window displaying where the probe will move to. The
position can be fine tuned by entering co-ordinates into the text-boxes of the free position
window, or by grabbing and dragging the yellow sphere as before. Click on the green
check mark to move the probe to the new safe area.
13. Set the secondary axis and origin from the inspection of a line, shown as datum B in the
drawing above. Navigate to the Tactile tab and select Line from the 2D Features section.
14. Using the CMM handbox, take 5 points for a line on the secondary axis. The first point
will set the origin of the line, and the second point will set the direction, so the order is
important. Suggested touch points and their order are numbered on the model below.The
points will appear in the program window.
15. Select the line in the Program window. Navigate to the Properties window to change the
line name to something more appropriate such as "Datum_B_Auto" and number of points
to 5.
16. Select all of the points in the Program window. Right click and select Normalise to
Feature. This will create a normal direction for each point which matches the normal of
the plane. By doing this we ensure that the touches are approached exactly in the -Y
direction, removing any error caused by manual touches.
17. Add the code to the program by pressing the Apply button in the ribbon toolbar.
18. Repeat the alignment and origin for the plane using "Datum_B_Auto" to set the X axis
and Y origin.
Set the datum name to "Auto-Sec"
Set the primary datum point as before.
Set the secondary label to B, and feature to "Datum_B_Auto".
Set the secondary axis to +X and origin to Y.
Ensure the Tertiary feature is disabled.
19. Set the tertiary origin from the inspection of a point, shown as datum C on the drawing
above. Navigate to the Tactile tab and select Point from the 2D Features section. This
point will control the X-axis origin.
20. Using the CMM handbox take a point on the front face of the part as suggested below.
The point will appear in the program window.
21. Select the point in the Program window. Navigate to the Properties window and change
the plane name to something more appropriate such as "Datum_C_Auto".
22. Select the point in the program window. Right click and select Normalise to Feature. This
will create a normal direction for each point which matches the normal of the plane. By
doing this we ensure that the touches are approached exactly in the -X direction,
removing any error caused by manual touches.
23. Add the code to the program by pressing the Apply button in the ribbon toolbar.
24. Repeat the alignment and origin for all three axis, using:
Set the datum name to "Auto-Ter"
Set the primary and secondary datum point as before.
Set the tertiary label to C and feature to "Datum_C_Auto".
Set the tertiary origin to X.
25. At this point, all the data required for an automatic alignment has been added to the
program. Navigate to the Program window and move the program cursor to the first GOTO
command you added in step 4 by left clicking between the line number and code entry.
Click on the play button to run the program from this step.
The CMM will now automatically take the 9, 5 and 1 touch points for each feature that
you just programmed, removing error introduced by fast manual touches.
26. Your plane line point alignment is now complete. The part axis will be drawn in the model
window relative to your three features as shown below.
The drawing below shows a part marked with the Datums A, B and C.
Datum A will be used as the primary datum. This datum can be set by the measurement of a
plane.
This plane can then be used to control the Y & Z axis rotation and the X origin.
Datum B will be used as the secondary datum. This datum will be set by the construction of a
line between circles C1 and C2.
This line can then be used to control the X axis rotation.
Datum C will be used as the tertiary datum. This will set by the measurement of circle C1.
This circle can then be used to set the Y & Z origin.
1. Run your previously created manual plane-line-point alignment program to align the CAD
model to the part. Ensure it has run to the PAUSE step. If you haven't already, set the
approach and retract distance to 1mm, as you will be measuring small holes during this
exercise.
2. Change the program into automatic mode. Navigate to the Tactile tab and open the
Modal drop-down menu from the Properties section. Select Mode from the drop-down list
and Automatic in the dialog box that opens. Click OK.
A line will be added into the program window stating MODE / AUTO, PROG, MAN. From
this point on in the program moves and touches will occur automatically. Any commands
before this point will remain in manual mode.
3. Move the probe so that it has a clear path to the next touch point. In this instance the last
measurement was inside a circle on the back face, and the next measurement will be a
plane on the back face. To move to a safe position we will use the Sensor Offset tool to
move the probe along the probe axis. Navigate to the Tactile tab and open the drop-down
menu from Relative in the Move Tools section, then select Sensor Offset.
4. In the Model window an indicator of the probe final position will appear, shown as a
yellow sphere with two blue arrows. If the probe is drawn in your model window then this
will be difficult to see. Open up the machine display options and deselect Probe for
a clearer view. Left click and drag the sphere backwards until it is clear of the circle.
If it is known, the desired value of offset can be directly added into the Offset textbox to
move the probe by a precise amount.
Values are measured in mm traveled along the probe. After pressing the green check
mark the CMM will start auto-movement mode and move to the new position, with a GOTO
command added in the program window.
5. Set the primary axis and origin from the inspection of a plane, shown as datum A in the
drawing above. To do this navigate to the Tactile tab, and select Plane from the 3D
Features section.
6. Take 9 points on the primary plane using the CMM handbox. When taking points, ensure
points are taken over a large area of the entire plane to reduce any misalignments
caused by local deformities. Suggested touch points are shown on the CAD image below.
The points will appear in the program window.
7. Select the plane in the Program window. Navigate to the Properties window to change
the plane name to something appropriate such as "Datum_A_Auto". Change the number
of touches to 9 and measurement mode to Program.
8. Select all of the points in the Program window. Right click and select Normalise to
Feature. This will create a normal direction for each point which matches the normal of
the plane. By doing this we ensure that the touches are approached exactly in the -Z
direction, removing any error caused by manual touches.
9. Add the code to the program by pressing the Apply button in the ribbon toolbar.
10. Navigate to the Alignment tab and select 3-2-1 Alignment from the Basic section. In the
Create Datum dialog box that appears set the axis alignment and origin for
"Datum_A_Auto" as shown in the window below.
Set datum label to "Auto-Pri" as this datum contains only the primary feature.
Set the primary label to A and feature to "Datum_A_Auto", which you just created.
Set the axis of the feature to -X and origin to X.
Ensure the Secondary and Tertiary features are disabled.
The primary datum has now been set, so the plane will be aligned to the back of CAD
model correctly. As the secondary and tertiary datums are not set it will not be aligned in
the X or Y axis.
11. Set the secondary axis from a line constructed from two circles. To do this navigate to the
Tactile tab and select Circle from the 2D Features section. As the last points were taken
on the same plane as the circles you are about to measure there is already a clear path.
A GOTO command is not required at this point.
Take 4 points on the inside of C1, spread equally across the circumference of the circle.
Ensure that points are being taken from a depth of at least the probe's radius, so the
outermost edge of the ruby is coming into contact with the circle to be measured.
12. Select Circle again to create an entry for a second circle and take 4 points inside C2 as
described above.
13. Select CIR001 in the Program window and navigate to the Properties window. Change
the number of points to 8, mode to Auto, and name to Datum_C_Auto. Repeat for
CIR002, leaving the name unchanged.
14. Add the code to your program by pressing Apply.
15. Construct a line between the two circles. Navigate to the Construct tab and select Line
from the 2D Features section. To construct a line from the two circles, select
Datum_C_Auto from the Explorer window, and drag it into the Construct Line window
(shown below). Repeat with CIR002. In the Properties window, rename the line to
"Datum_B_Constructed".
The order of the circles is important, as the first sets the origin of the line, and second
sets the direction. By ordering the circles in this manner, the constructed line will point in
the +Y direction.
Ensure the line style is Best Fit and press the green check mark to construct the line.
16. Navigate to the Alignment tab and select 3-2-1 Alignment from the Basic section. In the
dialog box that opens set the axis alignment with regards to Datum_A_Auto,
Datum_B_Constructed and Datum_C_Auto as follows:
Set the Datum label to "Auto-Ter"
Set the Primary label to A and feature to Datum_A_Auto. This is aligned along the -X axis
and marks the X origin.
Set the Secondary label to B and feature to Datum_B_Constructed. This is aligned along
the +Y axis and does not mark an origin.
Set the Tertiary label to C an feature to Datum_C_Auto. This marks the Y & Z origin.
17. At this point, all the data required for an automatic alignment has been added to the
program. Navigate to the Program window and move the program cursor to the first
GOTO command you added in step 4 by left clicking between the line number and code
entry. Press the play button to run the program from this step.
The CMM will now automatically take the 9, 8 and 8 touch points for each feature that
you just programmed, removing error introduced by fast manual touches.
18. Your plane line point alignment is now complete. The part axis will be drawn in the model
window relative to your three features as shown below.
The drawing below shows a part marked with the Datum’s A, B and C.
Datum A will be used as the primary datum. This datum can be set by the measurement of a
cylinder.
This cylinder can then be used to control the X and Z axis rotation, and the X and Z origin.
Datum B will be used as the secondary datum. This datum will be set by the construction of a
line between the cylinder (Datum A) and circle (Datum C).
This line can then be used to control the Y axis rotation.
Datum C will be used as the tertiary datum. This datum will set by the measurement of plane.
This plane can then be used to set the Y origin.
1. Run your previously created manual Cylinder Plane Circle Alignment to align the CAD
model to the part. Ensure it has run to the PAUSE step. If you haven't already, set the
approach and retract distance to 1mm, and depth to 2mm as you will be measuring small
circles in this exercise.
2. Change the program into automatic mode. Navigate to the Tactile tab and open the
Modal drop-down menu from the Properties section. Select Mode from the drop-down list
and Program (CNC) in the dialog box that opens. Click OK.
A line will be added into the program window stating MODE / PROG, MAN. From this point
on in the program moves and touches will occur automatically. Any commands before
this point will remain in manual mode.
3. Using the Absolute move tool described at the start of this guide, move the probe to a
safe position. In this instance the last feature measured was inside a circle on the left
face and the next feature to be measured is a cylinder on the left face. Withdraw the
probe from the circle and create a safe position.
4. Set the primary axis and origin from the inspection of a cylinder, shown as datum A in the
drawing above. To do this navigate to the Tactile tab and select Cylinder from the 3D
Features section.
5. Take 5 points inside the cylinder in a circle, at a depth of at least the probe tip radius.
Take a further 5 touches in the same manner further down the cylinder, ensuring the
probe body doesn't crash into the part. These points will appear in the program window.
6. Select the cylinder in the program window. Navigate to the Properties window to change
the name from CYL001 to something more appropriate such as "Datum_A_Auto".
7. Ensure that the direction is set to -Y. To change the direction select the Direction row in
the properties window and press the button marked with an ellipsis. In the dialog box that
opens, select -Y and accept by pressing the green check mark.
8. Add the code to the program by pressing the Apply button in the ribbon toolbar.
9. Navigate to the Alignment tab and select 3-2-1 Alignment from the Basic section. In the
Create Datum window that appears set the axis alignment and origin for "Datum_A_Auto"
as shown in the window below.
Set datum label to "Auto-Pri" as this datum contains only the primary feature.
Set the primary label to A and feature to "Datum_A_Auto", which you just created.
Set the axis of the feature to -Y and origin to X and Z.
Ensure the Secondary and Tertiary features are disabled.
10. Set a safe position from the current position to the next feature to be measured using the
Absolute move tool. In this instance the last feature measured is the inside of the
cylinder, and the next is a plane on the left face.
11. Set the Y origin from the inspection of a plane. Navigate to the Tactile tab and select
Plane from the 3D Features section.
12. Take 9 points on the primary plane using the CMM handbox. When taking points, ensure
points are taken over a large area of the entire plane to reduce any misalignments
caused by local deformities. A suggested spread of points is shown on the CAD model
below.
13. These points will be added to the Program window as before. Navigate to the Program
window and select the plane then navigate to the Properties window. Change the feature
name to something appropriate such as "Datum_C_Auto".
14. Repeat the alignment and origin for the plane using "Datum_C_Auto" to set the X axis
and Y origin.
Set the datum name to "Auto-Sec"
Set the primary datum point as before.
Set the secondary label to C, and feature to Datum_C_Auto.
Set the secondary axis to None and origin to Y.
Ensure the Tertiary feature is disabled.
15. Set the secondary axis from a line constructed from the cylinder and a circle. This line will
set the Z axis. Navigate to the Tactile tab and select Circle from the 2D Features section.
Take 4 points on the inside of the circle C1, shown on the drawing at the start of this
guide. Ensure that points are being taken from a depth of at least the probe's radius, so
the outermost edge of the ruby is coming into contact with the circle to be measured.
16. Set the circle name to something appropriate such as "Auto-Circle", and add the code to
the program by pressing Apply.
17. Navigate to the Construct tab and select Line from the 2D Features section. The
construction wizard will open. From the Explorer window, drag "Datum_A_Auto" into the
construction wizard, then "Auto-Circle". These features must be added in this order, as
the cylinder gives the origin of the line, and circle gives the direction of the line.
In the properties window, rename the line to "Datum_B_Constructed". Ensure the line
style is Best Fit and press the green check mark to construct the line.
18. Repeat the alignment and origin for the plane using "Datum_B_Constructed" to set the Y
origin.
Set the datum name to "Auto-Ter"
19. At this point, all the data required for an automatic alignment has been added to the
program. Navigate to the Program window and move the program cursor to the first
GOTO command you added in step 4 by left clicking between the line number and code
entry. Press the play button to run the program from this step.
The CMM will now automatically take the 10, 9 and 4 touch points for each feature that
you just programmed, removing error introduced by fast manual touches.
20. Your Cylinder Plane Circle alignment is now complete. The CAD reference axis is shown
in the centre of the cylinder as shown below.
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