Defining and Calibrating Probes

The first step in CMM programming is to define the probes to use during the inspection process. You must have created and/or loaded a probe file for a new measurement routine before you can begin the measurement process. You can accomplish little in a measurement routine until you load the probe.

You can only load probe files made in valid versions of PC-DMIS. For this version of PC-DMIS, if you attempt to load a probe file created before PC-DMIS version 2015.1, PC-DMIS shows an error message.

Example error message when you try to load an invalid probe file:

PC-DMIS Message

PC-DMIS cannot read this probe file <probe file>. This happens because of these reasons: It may be corrupt. It may come from a newer version. It may come from an unsupported earlier version. The earliest supported version is 2015.1.

Where <probe file> is the name and location of the file you are trying to open.

PC-DMIS supports a wide variety of probe types and calibration tools. It also offers a unique method for calibrating a Renishaw PH9 /PH10 wrist. The tools that you use to define your probe and calibrate it are in the Probe Utilities dialog box. To access this dialog box, select Insert | Hardware Definition | Probe. For information on the options in this dialog box, see "Understanding the Probe Utilities Dialog Box" in the PC-DMIS Core documentation.

You can also use the PC-DMIS Probe Wizard to define your probe. To access the Probe Wizard, click the ProbeWizard button (

) on the Wizards toolbar.