Idées
PC-DMIS – Explicit ClearanceCube ON/OFF Commands in the Measurement Program
Feature Enhancement Request: Explicit ClearanceCube ON/OFF Commands in PC-DMIS
As a professional CMM metrologist and PC-DMIS programmer at Vite Automotive, I would like to propose an improvement to the current implementation of ClearanceCube.
Current issue
One of the main limitations of ClearanceCube is the lack of clearly visible and explicit ON/OFF commands directly within the PC-DMIS measurement program.
Currently, ClearanceCube behavior is controlled through settings that are not sufficiently transparent in the Edit Window.
This becomes particularly problematic when a measurement program is transferred to another programmer or CMM operator.
For example, a measurement program may contain no explicit MOVE/POINT commands, while the CMM still performs automatic clearance movements controlled by ClearanceCube.
For someone unfamiliar with the original program configuration, it can be very difficult to understand how and why the machine moves between measurement features.
From a professional programming perspective, this is unnecessarily confusing and inconvenient. It also makes troubleshooting, program maintenance, and verification of safe machine movements more difficult.
Proposed improvement
I would like to suggest implementing explicit ClearanceCube control commands directly into the PC-DMIS measurement program.
These commands should allow programmers to:
- Enable ClearanceCube at any specific point in the measurement sequence.
- Disable ClearanceCube wherever necessary.
- Clearly identify whether ClearanceCube is currently ON or OFF directly in the Edit Window.
- Change ClearanceCube behavior locally within the program without relying exclusively on global settings.
- Make the intended movement strategy understandable to other programmers and operators without requiring additional explanations.
Ideally, these commands should be clearly visible, editable, and documented, with an unambiguous indication of the active ClearanceCube status.
Expected benefits
- Improved transparency and readability of measurement programs.
- Easier troubleshooting and maintenance.
- Better control and understanding of automatic CMM movements.
- Reduced risk of unexpected machine movements.
- Improved usability when transferring programs between programmers, operators, or different CMM machines.
A measurement program should be as self-explanatory as possible, especially when it controls the physical movements of a coordinate measuring machine.
I believe this enhancement would provide significant practical benefits for professional PC-DMIS programmers and CMM users.
I would appreciate it if this proposal could be reviewed by the PC-DMIS Product Management and Software Development teams.
Thank you for your consideration.
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Clearance cube was significantly reworked for PC-DMIS 2023.2. The clearance cube settings are now clearly visible in the clearance cube settings window - see: ClearanceCube Settings. Are you familiar with this newer functionality or are you basing this request on the pre- 2023.2 behaviour?
This idea gets my vote for sure. Being able to see the CLEARANCE CUBE status in the PC-DMIS code and maybe also assuring it is exposed in PC-DMIS automation would be tremendous value. Yes, the addition of the Clearance Cube settings window is nice but takes away real-estate and it can be at time tedious. Clearance Cube today is night and day better than pre-2023.2 but for us that do Command mode programming being able to see clearance cube status for features adds value. Especially when creating family part programs where we could leverage off of additional funtionality
Dear Neil,
Thank you for your quick response.
Yes, I am familiar with the updated ClearanceCube functionality introduced in PC-DMIS 2023.2. We are currently using PC-DMIS 2024.2.
However, I believe there may have been a misunderstanding regarding the main purpose of my request.
My suggestion is not about the visibility or accessibility of ClearanceCube settings in the separate settings window.
What I am proposing is the implementation of explicit ClearanceCube ON/OFF commands directly within the PC-DMIS measurement program code (Edit Window).
As a programmer, I would like to be able to enable or disable ClearanceCube at specific points in the measurement sequence and clearly see these commands when reviewing the program.
For example, when another programmer receives a measurement program containing no explicit MOVE/POINT commands, but the CMM still performs automatic clearance movements, the movement strategy is not immediately understandable from the program code itself.
Having to open a separate settings window to understand this behavior is exactly what I would like to avoid.
The main objective is to make ClearanceCube control visible, explicit, and manageable directly within the measurement program, rather than relying solely on settings outside the program code.
Could you please confirm whether such functionality already exists in the current PC-DMIS versions?
If not, I would appreciate it if this request could be considered as a feature enhancement proposal.
Thank you again for your time and consideration.
I've passed this request to the relevant team for their consideration.