Inspection plans are created using the Planner application. This application shares many similarities to PC-DMIS. Instead of an all-inclusive metrology application, Planner instead focuses on quickly taking a part model and creating inspection plans of specified features. Inspection plans determine which features of the geometry and GD&T/dimension to use in the inspection process.
A Planner user can then export these inspection plans from Planner as a .plancad, a .planxml, or an .xml file. These files contains both the underlying CAD model and the inspection plan data serialized together into a single file.
The File | Import | Inspection Plan menu item discussed here lets you then import the inspection plan file into PC-DMIS. The import process supports the old legacy PC-DMIS Planner .ip file or the newer .plancad, .planxml, or .xml file types.
Your file to import should have the same measurement units as the measurement routine that takes the import. If the files don't have the same measurement units, you can still import the file, but the measurement routine ends up with incorrect information. For example, if you have a circle with an X value of 4 inches in the file to import, the software imports it as 4 millimeters if the measurement routine that takes the import expects millimeters.
As part of the import, PC-DMIS runs an optimizing routine, which automatically adds measurement and motion commands in an optimal order for the imported features.
For the File | Import | Inspection Plan menu item to appear, your LMS license or portlock must have the IP Import option enabled.
For additional information on importing inspection plans, see "Importing a Legacy Planner Inspection Plan" and "Importing from Planner" in the "Using Inspection Plans in PC-DMIS" chapter.