Machine/Vehicle Coordinate System Alignment

When CAD data is imported into PC-DMIS, the probe configuration is initially aligned to the CAD coordinate system. When the relationship between the part setup on the CMM table is not the same as the CAD coordinate system, the F5 function under the PART/MACHINE tab lets you change the relationship. This is simple when the relationship between the two coordinate systems is orthogonal in each axis. However, when there is an angular difference in each axis, it is somewhat more difficult. The angular relationship (Euler angles) must be determined for each axis rotation and input by clicking “adjust” in the PART/MACHINE tab.

When the fixture design and CMM programming is outsourced to third parties, this angular relationship cannot always be determined. A solution embedded into the software would be a

One suggestion is to allow multiple coordinate systems to be imported in PC-DMIS and allow alignments to be constructed from an imported coordinate system. That way, the fixture coordinate system can be used as the main coordinate system to align the probe and the results can be reported to the alignment constructed from the imported coordinate system.