Description of “Sensor-Measuring Parameters”
These settings are changeable during the program. One of the first steps to a program should be to set up the sensor settings. These values are stored in the VDMIS.ini file and remain until they are changed within a program. There are 6 settings available in this window:
Defining the distance that the sensor will travel at a measure speed immediately prior to contacting the part. The machine will move at a normal move speed until the sensor reaches the location that is the approach distance away from the nominal contact point. At this time the system will slow to the measure speed until the part is contacted or until the limit of the search distance is met.
The Approach distance is also used to set the vector whisker length when using the Pick & Measure function.
Defining the distance that the sensor will travel at measure speed after the part has been contacted. Retract distance will be the set distance from the actual contact point of the sensor.
The search distance defines how far the CMM will travel while trying to contact the part before presenting an error. The error, when the probe misses the part, is both an audio and an error window on the screen.
This parameter is active in auto measurement of Cylinder.
When a Previously defined Cylinder is auto measured then the machine will touch the 2 sections away from the 2 edges of the Cylinder by the depth value.
This parameter is active also for relative measurement and when “Automode” is enabled for Line and Circle.
This setting causes the sensor to move along a diagonal path after the last point of a feature is taken to a point at the clearance surface setting above the first point of the next feature. If this feature is in use and outside features are being measured, the program may crash occasionally because the depth of the measurement and probe retract do not provide a clear path for the clearance surface move.
This setting clears the sensor of the part between features, not within the actual feature measurement. If the programmer requires a clearance move while measuring a feature Program Mode should be set to Prog Mode, not Auto and the Go To points may be recorded using the Record Point function on the Joystick box.
This setting causes the sensor to move along the vector of the clearance feature to the distance of the clearance surface once the last point of a feature has been measured. The feature is usually a plane, and the movements supplied automatically with this feature greatly reduce the requirements for GOTO points.