Manually Bisecting the Calibration Sphere

When you use either the MAN (Manual) or MAN + DCC Motion option, you need to manually bisect the qualification sphere. This is also necessary if you have moved the sphere or do not know the location of the sphere. During this calibration, PC-DMIS prompts you when you need to move the machine. PC-DMIS displays a message that asks you to bisect the calibration sphere and position it in the center of the keystone.

To manually bisect the sphere:

1. Leave the PC-DMIS Message open.

2. Switch to the Laser tab on the main Graphic Display window.

3. Click the Start/Stop button. This turns on the laser. A flashing red arc appears in the graphic area of the Laser tab and a green crosshair. The red arc is where the laser hits the calibration sphere.

4. Center the cross hair inside the circular region formed by the arc by moving the machine with the jog box. The red arc moves as you move the machine. If you imagine that the flashing arc indicates the edge of a circle, the center point of this imaginary circle should optically align with the center of the cross hair.

   

   Aligning the arc

5. Once you have aligned the arc, click the On/Off button again. This turns off the laser.

6. Click OK in the PC-DMIS Message to accept the change you made of aligning the arc. PC-DMIS stays in Execute mode, and the laser sensor moves through a series of defined positions used to calibrate your tip.

7. At each position, the laser beam hits the sphere in a stripe and the laser sensor collects the data from that stripe. The collected data and the corresponding machine position determine the sensor’s mounting orientation on the machine.

8. Once execution finishes, PC-DMIS returns to Learn mode and shows the Probe Utilities dialog box.

CMS Automatic Self-Centering of Tool Sphere

The CMS laser sensor provides automatic self-centering (bisecting) of the calibration tool sphere during calibration. This happens if you click Yes when PC-DMIS displays the message "Has the sphere moved?". From the Graphic Display window, click the Laser tab. You can drive the laser sensor to the center of the sphere.

You have two possibilities at this point:

• You can manually bisect the sphere and bring it in the center of the Keystone and then click OK to start the laser calibration.

• Display a portion of the calibration sphere in the Laser View and then click the Probe Enable button to automatically center the sphere. When completed, press the OK button to complete the laser calibration.

When PC-DMIS determines that the calibration sphere has been moved, PC-DMIS displays a message to confirm whether you are ready for the calibration.

Follow the instructions as described in the message box. Click the OK button when done.

For convenience, during the auto-centering procedure, the software shows the laser sensor alignment stripe in yellow.