You are on page 1of 1921

PCDMIS4.

2ReferenceManual
Windows2000andXPVersion

ByWilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Copyright19992001,20022007HexagonMetrologyandWilcoxAssociatesIncorporated.All rightsreserved. PCDMIS,DirectCAD,TutorforWindows,RemotePanelApplication,DataPage,andMicro MeasureIVareeitherregisteredtrademarksortrademarksofHexagonMetrologyandWilcox Associates,Incorporated. SPCLightisatrademarkofLighthouse. HyperViewisatrademarkofDundasSoftwareLimitedandHyperCubeIncorporated. Orbix3isatrademarkofIONATechnologies. IDEASandUnigraphicsareeithertrademarksorregisteredtrademarksofEDS. Pro/ENGINEERisaregisteredtrademarkofPTC. CATIAiseitheratrademarkorregisteredtrademarkofDassaultSystemesandIBMCorporation. ACISiseitheratrademarkorregisteredtrademarkofSpatialandDassaultSystemes. 3DxWareiseitheratrademarkorregisteredtrademarkof3Dconnexion. lp_solveisafreesoftwarepackagelicensedandusedundertheGNULGPL. PCDMISforWindowsversion4.0andbeyondusesafree,opensourcepackagecalledlp_solve (orlpsolve)thatisdistributedundertheGNUlessergeneralpubliclicense(LGPL).
lpsolvecitationdata Description:Opensource(MixedInteger)LinearProgrammingsystem Language:Multiplatform,pureANSIC/POSIXsourcecode,Lex/Yaccbasedparsing Officialname:lp_solve(alternativelylpsolve) Releasedata:Version5.1.0.0dated1May2004 Codevelopers:MichelBerkelaar,KjellEikland,PeterNotebaert Licenseterms:GNULGPL(LesserGeneralPublicLicense) Citationpolicy:GeneralreferencesasperLGPL Modulespecificreferencesasspecifiedtherein Youcangetthispackagefrom: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/lp_solve/

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TableofContents
GettingStarted:AnOverview................................................................................1 Overview:Introduction.......................................................................................1 VersionEnhancements .....................................................................................1 OrganizationofManual .....................................................................................4 Conventions...................................................................................................6 CADLinks .........................................................................................................9 UsingaMouseorMotionController ................................................................10 ConfiguringaSpaceBallorSpaceMouseDevice ........................................10 SpaceBall/SpaceMouseModes .................................................................12 AutomatingPCDMIS ......................................................................................13 SoftwareConfigurations ..................................................................................13 ComparisonofOffLineandOnLineVersions ............................................15 PCDMISVision...........................................................................................15 PCDMIS/NC...............................................................................................15 PCDMISLaser............................................................................................15 PCDMISGear.............................................................................................16 PCDMISIP .................................................................................................16 GettingStarted:ASimpleTutorial.......................................................................17 ASimpleTutorial:Overview ............................................................................17 GettingStartedwithaSimpleTutorial .............................................................18 Step1:CreateaNewPartProgram ............................................................18 Step2:DefineaProbe ................................................................................19

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

TableofContents iii

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Step3:SettheView ....................................................................................20 Step4:MeasuretheAlignmentFeatures ....................................................21 Step5:ScaletheImage..............................................................................22 Step6:CreateanAlignment........................................................................22 Step7:SetyourPreferences.......................................................................24 Step8:AddComments................................................................................26 Step9:MeasureAdditionalFeatures...........................................................27 Step10:ConstructNewFeaturesfromExistingFeatures ...........................27 Step11:CalculateDimensions....................................................................29 Step12:MarktheItemstoExecute.............................................................30 Step13:SettheReportOutput....................................................................30 Step14:ExecutetheFinishedProgram ......................................................30 Step15:PrinttheReport .............................................................................31 MeasuringFeatures ........................................................................................31 FeatureGuessing ........................................................................................32 MinimumRequiredHitsforaFeature ..........................................................32 DeterminingThicknessofSheetMetalFeatures .........................................34 UsingDifferentProbeOptions.........................................................................34 UsingaProbeOnline .................................................................................35 UsingaProbeOffline .................................................................................35 UsingHardProbes ......................................................................................35 RepresentingaPartGraphically......................................................................37 WorkinginManualorDCCMode....................................................................37

iv TableofContents

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

NavigatingtheUserInterface..............................................................................39 NavigatingtheUserInterface:Introduction .....................................................39 TheScreenAppearance .................................................................................39 TheMenuBar..................................................................................................41 File...............................................................................................................41 Edit ..............................................................................................................41 View.............................................................................................................41 Insert............................................................................................................41 Operation.....................................................................................................42 Window........................................................................................................42 Help .............................................................................................................42 TheToolbarArea ............................................................................................43 TheGraphicsDisplayWindow ........................................................................43 TheStatusBar ................................................................................................44 DialogBoxDescription ....................................................................................44 EditBox: ......................................................................................................46 ListBox: .......................................................................................................46 DropDownListBox .....................................................................................48 CommandButtons: ......................................................................................48 CheckBoxes:...............................................................................................51 OptionButtons: ............................................................................................51 DialogBoxTabs: .........................................................................................51 AccessingDialogBoxes ..............................................................................51

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

TableofContents v

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MovingDialogBoxes ...................................................................................51 ScrollingtheEditWindow ............................................................................52 CustomizingtheUserInterface .......................................................................52 ToRestoretheDefaultUserInterface .........................................................52 ToCustomizeUserInterfaceFonts .............................................................53 CustomizingMenus .....................................................................................53 CustomizingToolbars ..................................................................................56 CustomizingShortcutKeys..........................................................................59 UsingBasicFileOptions.....................................................................................61 UsingBasicFileOptions:Introduction.............................................................61 CreatingNewPartPrograms...........................................................................61 OpeningExistingPartPrograms .....................................................................62 SavingPartPrograms .....................................................................................65 SaveAs .......................................................................................................65 PerformingFileOperations..............................................................................66 Mirror ...........................................................................................................66 Copy ............................................................................................................67 Delete ..........................................................................................................68 Rename .......................................................................................................68 ChangingtheLanguage ..................................................................................68 PrintingtheGraphicsDisplayWindow ............................................................69 SettingOutputandPrinterOptionsfortheGraphicsDisplayWindow .........69 PreviewingthePrintJob ..............................................................................70

vi TableofContents

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

PrintingtheEditWindow .................................................................................70 PrintingtheInspectionReport......................................................................72 PrintingtheInspectionReport .........................................................................72 SettingOutputandPrinterOptionsfortheEditWindow ..............................72 LaunchingLegacyApplications.......................................................................79 ClosingorQuittingPartPrograms...................................................................79 ExitingPCDMIS .............................................................................................80 UsingAdvancedFileOptions..............................................................................81 UsingAdvancedFileOptions:Introduction .....................................................81 ImportingCADDataorProgramData.............................................................81 Merge/Replace ............................................................................................82 ImportingaCADFile ...................................................................................83 ImportingaCATIAFile ................................................................................84 ImportingaCATIA5File:.............................................................................86 ImportingaDESFile....................................................................................86 ImportingaDXF/DWGFile ..........................................................................87 ImportingaGDXFile ...................................................................................87 ImportinganIGESFile ................................................................................88 UsingtheIGESDataDialogBox .................................................................88 Make3D ......................................................................................................89 ImportinganIGES(Alternate)File...............................................................89 ImportingaPro/ENGINEERFile..................................................................90 ImportingaSTEPFile..................................................................................91

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

TableofContents vii

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ImportinganSTLFile ..................................................................................91 ImportingaUnigraphicsorParasolidsFile ..................................................92 ImportingSTEP,VDAFS,andDXF/DWGFiles ...........................................92 ImportingaVDAFSFile ...............................................................................93 ImportinganXYZIJKFile.............................................................................94 ImportingaChorusNTProgram...................................................................96 ImportingDMISFiles .................................................................................101 ImportinganAVAILorMMIVProgram ......................................................106 ImportingaTutorProgram.........................................................................108 ImportingaDirectCADFile .......................................................................111 ExportingCADDataorProgramData...........................................................111 ExportingtoAIMS......................................................................................112 ExportingtoaBASICFile ..........................................................................113 ExportingaDESFile .................................................................................113 ExportingtoDMIS......................................................................................114 ExportingtoanIDEASDCIModelFile .....................................................116 ExportinganIGESFile ..............................................................................118 ExportingaSTEPFile ...............................................................................118 ExportingaVDAFSFile.............................................................................119 AlteringtheImported/ExportedImageDisplay ............................................119 AlteringDisplayofImportedCAD ..............................................................120 AlteringtheDisplayofExportedCAD ........................................................124 SettingImportOptions...................................................................................125

viii TableofContents

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ExecutingPartPrograms..............................................................................126 Execute......................................................................................................127 ExecuteFeature ........................................................................................127 ExecuteFrom ............................................................................................128 ExecuteFromCursor.................................................................................128 ExecuteBlock ............................................................................................128 ExecuteFromStartPoints' ........................................................................128 AnyOrderExecution..................................................................................128 UsingtheExecutionModeOptionsDialogBox .........................................129 Jump ..........................................................................................................131 SettingYourPreferences..................................................................................133 SettingYourPreferences:Introduction..........................................................133 SelectingPCDMISSetupOptions................................................................134 SetupOptions:Generaltab .......................................................................134 EditBoxesfortheGeneraltab...................................................................134 CheckBoxesfortheGeneraltab...............................................................139 SetupOptions:Part/Machinetab ...............................................................153 SetupOptions:Dimensiontab ...................................................................159 SetupOptions:IDSetuptab ......................................................................166 SetupOptions:NC100Setuptab .............................................................170 ModifyingReportandMotionParameters .....................................................171 ParameterSettings:Dimensiontab ...........................................................172 ParameterSettings:ClearPlanetab ..........................................................175

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

TableofContents ix

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ParameterSettings:Probingtab................................................................178 ParameterSettings:Motiontab .................................................................180 ParameterSettings:RotateTabletab........................................................183 ParameterSettings:Accelerationtab ........................................................185 ParameterSettings:OptionalProbetab ....................................................186 ParameterSettings:ProbeTriggerOptionstab .........................................190 ParameterSettings:NC100Parameterstab ............................................194 ParameterSettings:I/OChannelstab .......................................................196 SettingUptheEditWindow...........................................................................197 DefiningEditWindowColors .....................................................................198 DefiningtheEditwindowLayout................................................................201 SettingUptheReadoutWindow ...................................................................202 MachineCoordinateSystem(MCS)..........................................................203 ProbePosition ...........................................................................................203 LastHit.......................................................................................................203 ShowCurrentProbePositiononScreen ...................................................203 DistancetoTarget .....................................................................................203 DistancetoTargetwithAutoZoom............................................................203 DisplayErrorofLastMeasuredFeature ....................................................203 UsePolarCoordinates...............................................................................204 AlwaysTrackFOVCenter .........................................................................204 PromptHistory ...........................................................................................204 SettingupMultipleArms...............................................................................204

x TableofContents

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

DefiningtheRotaryTable..............................................................................204 CalibrateRotaryTable...............................................................................205 SettingUpProbeChangerOptions...............................................................208 Type...........................................................................................................209 Comm ........................................................................................................210 Calibrate ....................................................................................................211 MountPoint................................................................................................214 Slots...........................................................................................................215 ManagingMultipleProbeChangers ..............................................................218 BackgroundonTP2.......................................................................................218 BackgroundonACR1....................................................................................218 BackgroundonTP20andTP200 ..................................................................218 BackgroundontheSP600AnalogProbe......................................................219 ConfiguringMultipleRacks............................................................................219 SP25Probe/StylusChangesystem ..............................................................220 UnderstandingtheARC1Rack..................................................................221 UnderstandingtheARC1withaTP20StylusChanger..............................221 UnderstandingtheSP25RackSystem......................................................221 LoadingtheActiveProbe ..............................................................................224 SettingUptheMachineInterface ..................................................................224 AssigningtheMachineAxes......................................................................225 GeneratingaDebugFile............................................................................226 OITCommunication...................................................................................228

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

TableofContents xi

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

PH9Communication..................................................................................228 RotaryTableSettings ................................................................................229 SettingtheCommunicationProtocol..........................................................230 SettingtheAxesScaleFactor....................................................................230 WristConfiguration ....................................................................................231 AxilaInterface ............................................................................................231 BacktalkInterface ......................................................................................232 BrightInterface ..........................................................................................233 LeicaInterface ...........................................................................................233 DeaInterface .............................................................................................240 ElmInterface..............................................................................................243 EmbboardInterface ...................................................................................243 FaroInterface ............................................................................................244 FederalInterface........................................................................................245 GOMInterface ...........................................................................................246 JohanssonInterface ..................................................................................246 LeitzInterface ............................................................................................247 LKDriverInterface......................................................................................250 LKRS232Interface ....................................................................................252 ManmitiInterface .......................................................................................254 ManmoraInterface.....................................................................................254 Metrocom/MetromecInterface ...................................................................255 MetrologInterface......................................................................................257

xii TableofContents

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MitutoyoInterface ......................................................................................257 MoraInterface............................................................................................259 MZeizzInterface ........................................................................................259 NumerexInterface .....................................................................................260 OmnitechInterface ....................................................................................262 ReflexInterface..........................................................................................262 RenishawInterface ....................................................................................263 RomerInterface .........................................................................................263 SharpeInterface ........................................................................................264 SheffieldInterface......................................................................................266 Tech80Interface........................................................................................268 TheodoleInterface.....................................................................................269 WenzelInterface........................................................................................270 ZeissInterface ...........................................................................................270 ZssGPIBsInterface....................................................................................271 CompensatingforTemperature.....................................................................272 UsingSTPFiles .........................................................................................272 AvailableInputParameters........................................................................273 TEMPCOMPCommandintheEditWindow.............................................277 ControllerSupport......................................................................................277 LocalTemperatureSettings.......................................................................278 SpecifyingExternalDirectoriestoSearch .....................................................278 SearchFor .................................................................................................278

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

TableofContents xiii

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

SearchCurrentDirectory ...........................................................................279 SearchCurrentDirectoryFirst ...................................................................279 SearchSpecifiedDirectory ........................................................................279 BrowseButton ...........................................................................................279 DesktopSettings........................................................................................280 ChangingOpenGLOptions ...........................................................................281 Options ......................................................................................................281 Tessellation................................................................................................282 SettingImportOptions...................................................................................283 Understandingthe.DATFiles .......................................................................284 EditingtheCADDisplay....................................................................................289 EditingtheCADDisplay:Introduction ...........................................................289 SettingUptheScreenView...........................................................................289 ChangingLayoutandViews ......................................................................290 Displaying,Creating,andManipulatingLevels ..........................................292 ManagingandPositioningOnScreenElements ...........................................294 SwitchingBetweenCurveandSurfaceModes..............................................295 DrawingSurfaces ..........................................................................................295 HighlightingSurfacesandCurveswiththeMouse ........................................295 RepaintingtheScreen...................................................................................296 ChangingScreenModes...............................................................................296 TranslateMode..........................................................................................296 2DRotateMode.........................................................................................297

xiv * TableofContents

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

3DRotateMode.........................................................................................299 ProgramMode ...........................................................................................300 TextBoxMode...........................................................................................300 ChangingScreenColors ...............................................................................302 Background................................................................................................303 Highlight.....................................................................................................304 MouseOverHighlight ................................................................................304 3DGrid ......................................................................................................304 VisionFOV.................................................................................................305 ScalingtheDrawing ......................................................................................305 RotatingtheDrawing.....................................................................................306 ChangingRotationandOtherMotionOptions...............................................307 ShowingandHidingGraphics .......................................................................310 WorkingwithAssembliesofParts .................................................................311 MakingCAD3DbyUsingtheCreateLevelsWindow ...................................312 CreateLevelsFilemenu .............................................................................314 CreateLevelsViewmenu ...........................................................................314 View|Change...........................................................................................315 View|ScaletoFit ......................................................................................315 View|Rotate.............................................................................................315 View|CADInfo.........................................................................................315 View|ScreenColor ...................................................................................315 CreateLevelsLevelmenu...........................................................................316

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

TableofContents * xv

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Level|New ................................................................................................316 Level|Select .............................................................................................316 Level|Deselect .........................................................................................317 Level|Create ............................................................................................317 Level|Position ..........................................................................................317 AdditionalLevelManipulations ..................................................................319 ViewingCADInformation ..............................................................................320 VerifyingCADInformation.............................................................................320 UsingScreenCapturesoftheGraphicsDisplayWindow..............................324 SendingScreenCapturestotheClipboard................................................324 SendingScreenCapturestotheReport ....................................................324 SendingScreenCapturestoaFile ............................................................324 EditingScreenCaptures............................................................................324 EditingCAD...................................................................................................325 FeatureTypes............................................................................................326 NumberofSelectedFeatures ....................................................................326 EditColor ...................................................................................................326 ChangeName............................................................................................327 ChangeColor.............................................................................................327 SetasPriority ............................................................................................328 ShowName ...............................................................................................328 Deselect.....................................................................................................328 NameboxforCADElements.....................................................................329

xvi * TableofContents

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

EditingCADVectors......................................................................................329 ApplyingLightingandMaterialstotheCADDisplay .....................................330 LightingTab ...............................................................................................332 ArchiveTab................................................................................................334 MaterialTab...............................................................................................335 ClipPlanesTab .........................................................................................339 SelectingFeaturesUsingtheGraphicsDisplayWindow...............................342 SelectingFeaturesusingtheID(s).............................................................342 SelectingFeaturesUsingMetaCharacterMatching .................................343 SelectingtheLastID(s) .............................................................................345 BoxSelectingID(s) ....................................................................................345 SelectingFeaturesOnLine .......................................................................346 EditingaFeatureID...................................................................................346 EditingDimensionColors ..............................................................................346 EditingFeatures ............................................................................................349 FeaturesOptionsarea ...............................................................................351 TextLabelOptionsarea ............................................................................352 ShowingandAnimatingPathLines...............................................................353 AnimatingthePath ....................................................................................353 RegeneratingthePath...............................................................................354 DetectingCollisions ...................................................................................354 DeletingCAD.................................................................................................356 FeatureTypes............................................................................................356

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

TableofContents * xvii

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

NumberofSelectedFeatures ....................................................................357 NumberofDeletedFeatures......................................................................357 DeleteCAD................................................................................................357 UndoDeletedCAD ....................................................................................357 Deselect.....................................................................................................358 DeletingFeatures ..........................................................................................358 DeletingusingtheDeleteFeaturesDialogBox .........................................358 DeletingusingtheDelete[Feature]MenuOption ......................................359 DeletingDimensions .....................................................................................359 DeleteDimensions.....................................................................................360 UndoDeletedDimensions .........................................................................360 ClearList....................................................................................................360 TransformingaCADModel ...........................................................................360 WorkingwithCADCoordinateSystems ........................................................364 CheckingandFixingPointNominalDeviation...............................................365 EditingaPartProgram......................................................................................369 EditingaPartProgram:Introduction .............................................................369 UsingStandardEditCommands ...................................................................369 Undo ..........................................................................................................369 Redo ..........................................................................................................370 Cut .............................................................................................................370 Copy ..........................................................................................................370 Paste.........................................................................................................370

xviii * TableofContents

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Delete ........................................................................................................370 SelectAll....................................................................................................371 EditingPatternsofFeatures..........................................................................371 Pattern .......................................................................................................371 PastewithPattern......................................................................................372 FindingandReplacingText...........................................................................373 Find............................................................................................................373 Replace......................................................................................................375 EditingDataFields ........................................................................................378 JumpingtoSpecifiedLineNumbers..............................................................379 JumpingtoandfromReferencedCommands ...............................................379 EditingNominalandTargetValues...............................................................380 OverridingGuessedFeatures .......................................................................381 OverridingFoundNominals...........................................................................381 UnderstandingtheFindNomsOverrideDialogBox ...................................382 UsingtheFindNomsOverrideDialogBoxinLearnmode:........................383 UsingFindNomsOverrideinExecuteMode: .............................................385 UsingtheFindNomsOverrideDialogBoxfromtheEditwindow: ..............386 MarkingCommandsforExecution ................................................................386 Mark...........................................................................................................386 MarkAll......................................................................................................387 ClearAll .....................................................................................................387 ParentMode ..............................................................................................387

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

TableofContents * xix

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ChildMode.................................................................................................388 NewAlignmentMode.................................................................................388 CreatingandExecutingMarkedSets ............................................................388 UsingBreakpoints .........................................................................................391 ToggleBreakpoint......................................................................................392 InsertDefaults............................................................................................392 RemoveDefaults .......................................................................................392 RemoveAll ................................................................................................392 SettingStartPoints........................................................................................393 UsingBookmarks ..........................................................................................394 ToggleBookmark.......................................................................................394 NextBookmark ..........................................................................................394 ClearAllBookmarks ..................................................................................394 ChangingFontsandColors...........................................................................394 EditingExternalObjects ................................................................................395 UsingtheEditWindow......................................................................................397 UsingtheEditWindow:Introduction..............................................................397 UnderstandingCoreConcepts ......................................................................398 NavigatingtheEditwindow........................................................................398 UnderstandingtheDefaultEditWindowColorsandFormatting ................399 InsertingCommands..................................................................................402 EditingValues............................................................................................402 SelectingCommands.................................................................................402

xx * TableofContents

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

RepositioningCommands..........................................................................403 DeletingCommands ..................................................................................403 AccessingDialogBoxes ............................................................................403 ModifyingHeadersandFooters.................................................................403 WorkinginSummaryMode ...........................................................................406 Layout........................................................................................................406 EditingaPartProgramfromSummaryMode ............................................408 SummaryModeKeyboardFunctions.........................................................410 WorkinginCommandMode ..........................................................................411 ConstructedFeatures ................................................................................412 Dimensions................................................................................................412 StatisticalData...........................................................................................413 Alignment...................................................................................................414 MeasuredFeatures....................................................................................414 Hits ............................................................................................................414 MotionCommands.....................................................................................415 MoveCommands.......................................................................................416 SheetMetalMeasurements .......................................................................417 Probe .........................................................................................................417 Comments .................................................................................................418 TraceFields ...............................................................................................420 Expressions ...............................................................................................420 ScreenCaptures........................................................................................420

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

TableofContents * xxi

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

GlobalCommands .....................................................................................420 CommandModeKeyboardFunctions .......................................................425 WorkinginDMISMode.................................................................................427 WorkingwithUserDefinedGroups ...............................................................427 InsertingGroups ........................................................................................429 EditingGroups ...........................................................................................429 RemovingGroups......................................................................................430 UsingMultipleArmModewithGroups.......................................................430 PerformingOperationsonGroups .............................................................431 UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools ........................................................433 UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools:Overview ....................................433 UsingtheReportWindow..............................................................................433 UsingtheBasicScriptEditor .........................................................................434 BasicScriptEditorToolbar ........................................................................434 FileMenu ...................................................................................................436 EditMenu...................................................................................................437 ViewMenu .................................................................................................439 RunMenu ..................................................................................................439 HelpMenu .................................................................................................439 UsingtheFormEditor ...................................................................................440 ViewinganInspectionReport........................................................................440 UsingtheQuickStartInterface......................................................................441 QuickStart:MeasureToolbar ....................................................................446

xxii * TableofContents

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

QuickStart:ConstructToolbar...................................................................451 QuickStart:DimensionToolbar .................................................................453 QuickStart:AlignToolbar..........................................................................456 QuickStart:Calibrate/EditToolbar ..........................................................457 UsingtheSettingsWindow............................................................................458 ChangingSettingsWindowOptions ..........................................................463 UsingthePreviewwindow............................................................................464 PreviewWindowOptions...........................................................................464 SizingthePreviewwindow ........................................................................466 UsingtheMarkedSetsWindow ....................................................................466 UsingtheVirtualKeyboard............................................................................466 UsingtheProbeReadoutwindow .................................................................475 SizingtheProbeReadoutsWindow ..........................................................476 MultipleArmModeandtheProbeReadoutWindow .................................476 UsingtheStatusWindow ..............................................................................477 UsingtheProbeToolbox...............................................................................478 WorkingwithContactPathProperties .......................................................482 WorkingwithContactSampleHitsProperties ...........................................486 WorkingwithContactAutoMoveProperties..............................................497 WorkingwithContactFindHoleProperties ...............................................498 UsingtheDimensionsColorsWindow(DimensionsColorBar) ....................503 ViewingPathLines........................................................................................505 UsingToolbars..................................................................................................507

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

TableofContents * xxiii

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

UsingToolbars:Introduction..........................................................................507 GraphicsModesToolbar ...............................................................................507 GraphicViewToolbar....................................................................................509 GraphicItemsToolbar...................................................................................510 SettingsToolbar ............................................................................................511 ProbeModeToolbar......................................................................................513 EditWindowToolbar .....................................................................................515 DimensionToolbar ........................................................................................518 ConstructedFeaturesToolbar.......................................................................519 AutoFeaturesToolbar...................................................................................520 GuessingAutoFeatures ............................................................................520 MeasuredFeaturesToolbar ..........................................................................523 FileOperationsToolbar.................................................................................524 MacroPlay/RecordToolbar...........................................................................524 VirtualKeyboardToolbar...............................................................................526 TouchScreenModeToolbar.........................................................................527 WizardsToolbar ............................................................................................527 PortableToolbar ........................................................................................529 ActiveArmsToolbar ......................................................................................531 ActiveRotaryTableToolbar..........................................................................531 WindowLayoutsToolbar...............................................................................531 DefiningHardware ............................................................................................535 DefiningHardware:Introduction ....................................................................535

xxiv * TableofContents

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

DefiningProbes.............................................................................................535 ProbeFileName........................................................................................536 UserDefinedCalibrationOrdercheckbox.................................................536 UseWristMapIfAvailablecheckbox........................................................537 ActiveTipList ............................................................................................537 ProbeDescription ......................................................................................539 Measure.....................................................................................................543 AddTool ....................................................................................................554 EditTool.....................................................................................................557 DeleteTool ................................................................................................557 ListofAvailableTools................................................................................558 Edit ............................................................................................................558 AddAngles ................................................................................................561 Results.......................................................................................................566 MarkUsed .................................................................................................566 GlobalUsed ...............................................................................................567 FileFormat.................................................................................................567 UseUnitCalibrationData ..........................................................................567 AvailableTipTypes ...................................................................................568 CollisionTolerance ....................................................................................568 ProbeSetup...............................................................................................569 PrintList.....................................................................................................571 FaroProbeCalibrationUtilities................................................................571

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

TableofContents * xxv

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

SP600CalibrationInformation ...................................................................574 SP600CalibrationProcedures...................................................................576 AutoCalibrateProbe ..................................................................................579 DefiningHardProbes ....................................................................................580 DefiningStarProbes .....................................................................................581 BuildingtheStarProbe..............................................................................581 DefiningMachines.........................................................................................585 CreatingaNewMachineforDisplay..........................................................585 DisplayingExistingMachinesintheGraphicsDisplayWindow.................587 RemovingtheAnimatedMachinefromtheGraphicsDisplayWindow ......587 InsertingQuickFixtures.................................................................................588 UsingExistingQuickFixtures ....................................................................590 DefiningProbeChangers ..............................................................................591 CalibratingtheFCR25ProbeChanger ......................................................591 Step9ReviewCalibrationResults ..........................................................607 ShowinganAnimatedProbeChanger ..........................................................608 WorkingwithRotaryTables...........................................................................609 CreatingAutoFeatures.....................................................................................611 CreatingAutoFeatures:Introduction.............................................................611 QuickWaystoCreateAutoFeatures ............................................................612 BoxSelectingtoCreateMultipleAutoFeatures ........................................612 'SingleClicking'AutoFeatureCreation .........................................................619 TheAutoFeatureDialogBox.....................................................................623

xxvi * TableofContents

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

IDbox ........................................................................................................624 FeaturePropertiesarea.............................................................................624 MeasurementPropertiesarea ...................................................................634 AutoFeatureToggleBar............................................................................643 ExtendedSheetMetalOptionsarea ..........................................................650 ExtendedSheetMetalVectorDiagrams.......................................................652 AdvancedMeasurementOptionsarea ......................................................655 FeatureLocatorarea .................................................................................658 AnalysisArea.............................................................................................659 AutoFeatureFieldDefinitions .......................................................................661 ExtendedSheetMetalVectorDiagrams.......................................................677 CreatinganAutoVectorPoint .......................................................................680 MeasuringaVectorPoint...........................................................................680 CreatinganAutoSurfacePoint .....................................................................683 MeasuringanAutoSurfacePoint ..............................................................683 CreatinganAutoEdgePoint.........................................................................686 MeasuringanAutoEdgePoint ..................................................................686 CreatinganAutoAnglePoint ........................................................................689 MeasuringanAutoAnglePoint .................................................................689 CreatinganAutoCornerPoint ......................................................................691 MeasuringanAutoCornerPoint................................................................692 CreatinganAutoHighPoint..........................................................................694 MeasuringanAutoHighPoint ...................................................................694

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

TableofContents * xxvii

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

CreatinganAutoLine....................................................................................702 LineFieldDefinitions .................................................................................702 MeasuringanAutoLine.............................................................................703 UsingSurfaceDataontheScreenforaLine.............................................705 CreatinganAutoPlane .................................................................................707 MeasuringanAutoPlane...........................................................................707 CreatinganAutoCircle .................................................................................709 MeasuringanAutoCircle...........................................................................710 CreatinganAutoEllipse................................................................................712 MeasuringanAutoEllipse .........................................................................712 CreatinganAutoNotchSlot..........................................................................714 MeasuringanAutoNotch ..........................................................................714 CreatinganAutoRoundSlot.........................................................................719 MeasuringanAutoRoundSlot ..................................................................720 CreatinganAutoSquareSlot........................................................................721 MeasuringanAutoSquareSlot .................................................................722 CreatinganAutoCylinder .............................................................................724 MeasuringanAutoCylinder.......................................................................724 CreatinganAutoCone..................................................................................727 MeasuringanAutoCone ...........................................................................727 CreatinganAutoSphere...............................................................................729 MeasuringanAutoSphere ........................................................................730 SettingUpRelativeMeasure(RMEAS).........................................................733

xxviii * TableofContents

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

DefaultRMEASMode................................................................................734 LegacyRMEASMode...............................................................................734 CreatingMeasuredFeatures ............................................................................737 CreatingMeasuredFeatures:Introduction ....................................................737 UnderstandingtheCommandFormat ...........................................................737 BasicMeasurementFormatforaPoint .....................................................738 BasicMeasurementFormatforaLine.......................................................739 BasicMeasurementFormatforaPlane ....................................................739 BasicMeasurementFormatforaCircle ....................................................740 BasicMeasurementFormatforaSphere ..................................................740 BasicMeasurementFormatforaCone .....................................................741 BasicMeasurementFormatforaCylinder.................................................741 BasicMeasurementFormatforaRoundSlot ............................................742 BasicMeasurementFormatforaSquareSlot ...........................................742 InsertingaMeasuredFeature .......................................................................743 GuessingaMeasuredFeatureType .........................................................743 ToForcetheInsertionofaCertainMeasuredFeatureType .....................744 EditingaMeasuredFeature ..........................................................................744 MeasuredFeatureDialogBoxDescription ................................................745 MeasuredHitsDialogBoxDescription ......................................................748 OverridingaGuessedMeasuredFeature .....................................................749 CreatingMeasuredFeatureSets ..................................................................749 ConstructingNewFeaturesfromExistingFeatures..........................................753

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

TableofContents * xxix

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ConstructingNewFeaturesfromExistingFeatures:Introduction..................753 UnderstandingtheGeneralCommandFormat..............................................754 AccessingtheDialogBox ..........................................................................755 DecimalPlacementConventions ...............................................................755 SpecifyingFeatureTheoreticals....................................................................756 ConstructingaPointFeature.........................................................................758 ConstructingaCastPoint ..........................................................................760 ConstructingaCornerPoint.......................................................................761 ConstructingaDropPoint..........................................................................761 ConstructinganIntersectPoint..................................................................762 ConstructingaMidPoint............................................................................763 ConstructinganOffsetPoint ......................................................................764 ConstructingaPointattheOrigin ..............................................................764 ConstructingaPiercePoint .......................................................................765 ConstructingaProjectedPoint ..................................................................766 AutoPointConstruction .............................................................................766 ConstructingaCircleFeature........................................................................768 In/OutCircle.............................................................................................771 AutoCircleConstruction ............................................................................772 ConstructingaBestFitorBestFitRecompensateCircle ..........................772 ConstructinganIntersectCircle.................................................................774 ConstructingaCastCircle .........................................................................775 ConstructingaProjectedCircle .................................................................776

xxx * TableofContents

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ChangingtheDirectionofaCircle .............................................................777 ConstructingaTangentCircle ...................................................................777 ConstructinganArcfromPartofaScan...................................................780 ConstructingaCircleataScan'sMinimumPoint ......................................781 ConstructingaCirclefromaCone.............................................................786 ConstructinganEllipseFeature ....................................................................788 In/OutEllipse ...........................................................................................790 ConstructingaBestFitorBestFitRecompensateEllipse.........................790 ConstructinganIntersectEllipse ...............................................................791 ConstructingaCastEllipse........................................................................791 ConstructingaProjectedEllipse ................................................................792 ChangingtheDirectionofanEllipse..........................................................792 AutoEllipseConstruction...........................................................................792 ConstructingaSphereFeature .....................................................................793 In/OutSphere ..........................................................................................795 ConstructingaBestFitorBestFitRecompensateSphere........................795 ConstructingaCastSphere.......................................................................796 ConstructingaProjectedSphere ...............................................................797 ChangingtheDirectionofaSphere...........................................................797 AutoSphereConstruction..........................................................................797 ConstructingaLineFeature ..........................................................................798 Variations...................................................................................................801 AutoLineConstruction ..............................................................................801

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

TableofContents * xxxi

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ConstructinganAlignmentLine .................................................................803 ConstructingaBestFitorBestFitRecompensateLine ............................803 ConstructingaCastLine............................................................................805 ConstructinganIntersectLine ...................................................................806 ConstructingaMidLine .............................................................................806 ConstructingaParallelLine .......................................................................807 ConstructingaPerpendicularLine.............................................................808 ConstructingaProjectedLine....................................................................808 ChangingtheDirectionofaLine................................................................809 ConstructingaLinefromPartofaScan ....................................................809 ConstructinganOffsetLine .......................................................................811 ConstructingaConeFeature ........................................................................814 In/OutCone .............................................................................................816 Variations...................................................................................................816 ConstructingaBestFitorBestFitRecompensateCone...........................816 ConstructingaCastCone..........................................................................817 ConstructingaProjectedCone ..................................................................818 ChangingtheDirectionofaCone..............................................................818 AutoConeConstruction.............................................................................818 ConstructingaCylinderFeature....................................................................819 In/OutCylinder.........................................................................................821 ConstructingaBestFitorBestFitRecompensateCylinder ......................821 ConstructingaCastCylinder .....................................................................823

xxxii * TableofContents

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ConstructingaProjectedCylinder .............................................................823 ChangingtheDirectionofaCylinder .........................................................824 AutoCylinderConstruction ........................................................................824 ConstructingaPlaneFeature........................................................................825 ConstructingaPlanefromanAlignment...................................................828 ConstructingaBestFitorBestFitRecompensatePlane ..........................829 ConstructingaCastPlane .........................................................................830 ConstructingaHighPointPlane ................................................................831 ConstructingaMidPlane...........................................................................831 ConstructinganOffsetPlane .....................................................................832 ConstructingaParallelPlane.....................................................................835 ConstructingaPerpendicularPlane ..........................................................836 ChangingtheDirectionofaPlane .............................................................837 AutoPlaneConstruction ............................................................................837 ConstructingaSlotFeature...........................................................................838 In/OutSlot................................................................................................839 ConstructingaCircleSlot ..........................................................................839 ConstructingaBestFitorBestFitRecompensateSlot .............................840 ConstructingaCurve.....................................................................................841 ConstructingaDependent/IndependentCurve........................................842 ConstructingaSurface..................................................................................844 ConstructingaDependent/IndependentSurface .......................................845 ConstructingaSetofFeatures......................................................................848

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

TableofContents * xxxiii

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

UsingaRangeofHitsfromaScanasInputs ............................................849 ConstructingaFilterSet................................................................................850 Linearoption ..............................................................................................851 Polaroption................................................................................................852 FilterTypelist ............................................................................................852 FilterWidthbox..........................................................................................854 CutoffWavelengthbox ..............................................................................854 CutoffFrequencybox ................................................................................855 SmoothingParameterbox .........................................................................855 RemoveOutlierscheckbox.......................................................................855 StandardDeviationMultiplebox ................................................................855 ConstructinganAdjustedFilter .....................................................................855 CreatingGenericFeatures................................................................................859 CreatingGenericFeatures:Introduction .......................................................859 DescriptionofGenericFeatures ................................................................859 PurposeofGenericFeatures.....................................................................859 GenericFeatureCommandFormat...............................................................859 CreatingaGenericFeature...........................................................................860 ToAddaGenericFeature .........................................................................860 DescriptionoftheConstructGenericFeatureDialogBox .........................861 CreatingaReadPointfromtheProbe'sPosition ...........................................863 CreatingandUsingAlignments.........................................................................865 CreatingandUsingAlignments:Introduction ................................................865

xxxiv * TableofContents

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

AlignmentCommandFormat.........................................................................865 DescriptionoftheAlignmentUtilitiesDialogBox...........................................867 AlignmentID ..............................................................................................868 ActiveAlignmentList .................................................................................869 DropDownAxes ........................................................................................870 Level ..........................................................................................................870 Rotate ........................................................................................................870 SetOriginOffsetDistance .........................................................................872 Origin .........................................................................................................872 Recall.........................................................................................................873 Iterative......................................................................................................873 BestFit.......................................................................................................873 AutoAlign ..................................................................................................873 CADEqualsPart........................................................................................874 Creatinga321Alignment............................................................................874 Step1:MeasuretheAlignmentFeatures ..................................................875 Step2:Level,Rotate,andTranslatetotheFeatures ................................875 Step3:CompletingtheAlignment .............................................................875 CreatingaBestFitAlignment........................................................................876 UnderstandingBestFitAlignments............................................................876 ToCreateaBestFitAlignment..................................................................881 DescriptionoftheBestFitAlignmentDialogBox.......................................882 CreatinganIterativeAlignment .....................................................................886

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

TableofContents * xxxv

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

UnderstandingIterativeAlignments ...........................................................887 ToCreateanIterativeAlignment ...............................................................889 DescriptionoftheIterativeAlignmentDialogBox ......................................890 SavinganAlignment.....................................................................................894 ToSaveanAlignment...............................................................................894 DescriptionoftheSaveAlignmentDialogBox...........................................896 RecallinganExistingAlignment ....................................................................897 ToRecallanAlignment..............................................................................897 UsinganAlignmentInsideLoops..................................................................898 EquatinganAlignment ..................................................................................899 DescriptionoftheEquateAlignmentDialogBox .......................................900 EquatingCADtoMeasuredPartData...........................................................901 PerformingaLeapfrogOperation ..................................................................901 MeasureOptions .......................................................................................902 NumberofHits...........................................................................................903 HalfRelocation ..........................................................................................903 DatumProgramFile...................................................................................903 AvailableandUsedLists............................................................................903 MeasureMarked........................................................................................904 MeasureAll................................................................................................904 Resultsarea...............................................................................................905 Accept........................................................................................................905 Reset .........................................................................................................905

xxxvi * TableofContents

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

OK.............................................................................................................905 ChangingAlignmentNominalValues ............................................................906 CreatingaBundleAlignment.........................................................................906 AddingandRemovingStations..................................................................906 SettingFitOptions .....................................................................................907 BundleAlignmentSetup ............................................................................909 BundleAlignmentResults..........................................................................910 BundleAlignmentCommandText .............................................................911 DimensioningFeatures .....................................................................................913 DimensioningFeatures:Introduction.............................................................913 DimensionCommandFormat........................................................................914 Conventions...............................................................................................915 AccessingtheDialogBox ..........................................................................915 PrintingDimensionstotheInspectionReport................................................916 CommonDimensionDialogBoxOptions ......................................................917 MaterialConditions ....................................................................................917 DisplayDimensionInfo ..............................................................................918 EditDefaultDimensionInfo .......................................................................918 Units ..........................................................................................................920 AnalysisSettings .......................................................................................920 OutputTo...................................................................................................923 DimensioningLocation ..................................................................................924 ToDimensionaFeatureUsingtheLOCATIONOption: ............................924

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

TableofContents * xxxvii

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

DefaultAxesforLocationDimensions .......................................................926 SheetMetalAxes.......................................................................................927 LocationOptions........................................................................................927 TolerancesforLocationDimensions..........................................................928 ISOLimitsandFits ....................................................................................930 DimensioningTruePosition...........................................................................931 ToDimensionaFeatureUsingtheTRUEPOSITIONOption: ...................932 ToApplyTruePositiononaGroupofCirclesorCylinders........................933 UsingDatums ............................................................................................933 DefaultAxesforTruePositionDimensions................................................934 Deviation....................................................................................................935 AxialFeatures............................................................................................936 TolerancesforTruePositionDimensions ..................................................937 DimensioningDistance..................................................................................938 ToDimensionaDistanceUsingtheDISTANCEoption:............................938 TolerancesforDistanceDimensions .........................................................939 GeneralRulesfor2Dand3DDistanceDimensions ..................................940 RelationshipforDistanceDimensions .......................................................941 OrientationforDistanceDimensions .........................................................942 CircleOptions ............................................................................................943 DimensioningAngle ......................................................................................943 ToDimensiontheAngleBetweenTwoFeatures:......................................944 TolerancesforAngleDimensions ..............................................................945

xxxviii * TableofContents

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

AngleType.................................................................................................945 RelationshipforAngleBetweenDimensions .............................................946 DimensioningConcentricity...........................................................................946 ToDimensionaFeatureUsingtheCONCENTRICITYOption: .................947 ToleranceforConcentricityDimensions ....................................................947 DimensioningCoaxiality ................................................................................948 ToDimensionaFeatureUsingtheCOAXIALITYOption:..........................948 PlusToleranceforCoaxialityDimensions..................................................949 ProjectedDistanceforCoaxiality ...............................................................949 DimensioningCircularity................................................................................949 ToDimensionaFeatureUsingtheCIRCULARITYOption:.......................950 PlusToleranceforCircularityDimensions .................................................950 DimensioningCylindricity ..............................................................................951 ToDimensionaFeatureUsingtheCYLINDRICITYOption.......................951 DimensioningStraightness............................................................................952 ToDimensionaFeatureUsingtheSTRAIGHTNESSOption: ...................952 PlusToleranceforStraightnessDimensions .............................................953 DimensioningFlatness ..................................................................................953 ToDimensionaFeatureUsingtheFLATNESSOption: ............................953 PlusToleranceforFlatness .......................................................................954 DimensioningPerpendicularity ......................................................................954 ToDimensionaFeatureUsingthePERPENDICULARITYOption:...........954 PlusToleranceforPerpendicularityDimensions .......................................955

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

TableofContents * xxxix

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ProjectedDistanceforPerpendicularityDimensions .................................955 DimensioningParallelism ..............................................................................955 ToPerformaDimensionUsingPARALLELISM:.......................................956 PlusToleranceforParallelismDimensions................................................956 ProjectedDistanceforParallelismDimensions .........................................957 DimensioningTotalorCircularRunout..........................................................958 UnderstandingRunout...............................................................................958 ToDimensionaFeatureUsingtheRUNOUTOption: ...............................960 PlusToleranceforRunoutDimensions .....................................................961 DimensioningSurfaceorLineProfile ............................................................961 ToDimensionaFeatureUsingtheSurfaceProfileOption: .......................961 ToDimensiona2DFeatureUsingtheLinePROFILEOption: ..................963 TolerancesforSurfaceProfileDimensions................................................964 TolerancesforLineProfileDimensions .....................................................965 ControlOptionsforSurfaceProfileDimensions.........................................965 ControlOptionsforLineProfileDimensions ..............................................966 BestFitOptionsforSurfaceProfileDimensions ........................................966 BestFitOptionsforLineProfileDimensions..............................................967 DimensioningAngularity................................................................................968 ToComputetheAngularityErrorbyUsingtheANGULARITYOption: ......968 ReferenceAngle ........................................................................................969 PlusToleranceforAngularityDimensions .................................................969 ProjectedDistanceforAngularityDimensions...........................................970

xl * TableofContents

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

DimensioningSymmetry...............................................................................970 ToDimensionaFeatureUsingtheSYMMETRYOption: ..........................971 PlusToleranceforSymmetry.....................................................................972 DimensioningthroughKeyboardInput ..........................................................972 ToAddDimensionsUsingtheKEYINOption: ..........................................972 Nominal......................................................................................................973 Actual.........................................................................................................973 TolerancesforKeyboardCreatedDimensions ..........................................973 DimensioningVariables.................................................................................973 UsingFeatureControlFrames..........................................................................977 UsingFeatureControlFrames:Introduction..................................................977 WhatisaFeatureControlFrame? ................................................................978 CreatingaFeatureControlFrameDimension ...........................................979 DefiningDatums............................................................................................980 TheGD&TDialogBox...................................................................................981 GD&TDialogBoxFeatureControlFrametab .........................................982 GD&TDialogBoxAdvancedtab .............................................................986 UsingFlatnessPerUnitArea.....................................................................989 FeatureControlFrameCommandBlock.......................................................990 FeatureControlFrameTrihedron ..............................................................994 SimultaneouslyEvaluatingFeatureControlFrames.....................................994 ReportingTruePositionFeatureControlFrames ......................................996 CreatingaSymmetryFeatureControlFrameDimension..............................996

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

TableofContents * xli

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

FeatureControlFrameReportingTables....................................................1001 ScanningYourPart.........................................................................................1003 ScanningyourPart:Introduction .................................................................1003 WorkingwithCADSurfaces ........................................................................1003 LocatingPointsinaScan............................................................................1004 IntroductiontoPerformingAdvancedScans ...............................................1005 CommonFunctionsoftheScanDialogBox................................................1006 ScanType................................................................................................1006 Basic/Advancedbuttons ........................................................................1006 BoundaryPointsarea ..............................................................................1007 DirectionTechniqueareas.......................................................................1012 BodyAxisTechnique ...............................................................................1012 VariableTechnique..................................................................................1013 NullfilterTechnique ..................................................................................1013 Max/Minboxes.......................................................................................1014 ScanConstructionarea(forPerimeterScan) ..........................................1015 SectionLocationarea(forSectionScan) ................................................1016 InitialVectorsarea ...................................................................................1017 SelectCenter(forRotaryScan)...............................................................1020 CenterPointandRadius(forRotaryScan)..............................................1020 IJK(forRotaryScan) ...............................................................................1020 UVScanSettingsarea ............................................................................1021 ExecutionTab..........................................................................................1022

xlii * TableofContents

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

GraphicsTab ...........................................................................................1031 ControlPointsTab ...................................................................................1033 PathDefinitionTab ..................................................................................1035 SplinePatharea ......................................................................................1038 SettingsTab.............................................................................................1040 PerformingaLinearOpenAdvancedScan..............................................1041 PerformingaLinearClosedAdvancedScan ...........................................1043 PerformingaPatchAdvancedScan ........................................................1046 PerformingaPerimeterAdvancedScan..................................................1049 PerformingaSectionAdvancedScan .....................................................1052 PerformingaRotaryAdvancedScan.......................................................1055 PerformingaFreeformAdvancedScan...................................................1057 PerformingaUVAdvancedScan ............................................................1059 PerformingaGridAdvancedScan ..........................................................1061 PerformingBasicScans...........................................................................1063 IntroductiontoPerformingBasicScans ......................................................1063 CommonFunctionsoftheBasicScanDialogBox ......................................1064 PerformingaCircleBasicScan...................................................................1069 PerformingaCylinderBasicScan...............................................................1073 PerforminganAxisBasicScan ...................................................................1076 PerformingaCenterBasicScan .................................................................1079 PerformingaLineBasicScan .....................................................................1082 IntroductiontoPerformingScansManually.................................................1086

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

TableofContents * xliii

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

CommonFunctionsoftheScanDialogBox................................................1087 AdditionalManualScanOptions..............................................................1087 RulesforManualScans...........................................................................1087 PerformingManualScanswithaTouchTriggerProbe ...............................1090 PerformingManualScanswithaHardProbe..............................................1091 PerformingaFixedDistanceManualScan..............................................1091 PerformingaFixedTime/DistanceManualScan...................................1092 PerformingaFixedTimeManualScan....................................................1094 PerformingaBodyAxisManualScan .....................................................1095 PerformingaMultisectionManualScan ..................................................1096 InsertingMoveCommands .............................................................................1101 InsertingMoveCommands:Introduction.....................................................1101 InsertingaMovePointCommand ...............................................................1101 OffsetMove .............................................................................................1103 InsertingaMoveIncrementCommand.......................................................1104 InsertingaClearancePlane ........................................................................1105 InsertingaMoveClearPlaneCommand.....................................................1106 InsertingaMoveCircularCommand ...........................................................1106 InsertingaMoveSyncCommand...............................................................1107 InsertingaMoveSweepCommand............................................................1107 InsertingaMoveAllCommand ...................................................................1108 InsertingaMoveRotaryTableCommand ...................................................1109 InsertinganExclusionZoneCommand.......................................................1109

xliv * TableofContents

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

DefiningtheExclusionZone ....................................................................1110 BranchingbyUsingFlowControl....................................................................1113 BranchingbyUsingFlowControl:Introduction............................................1113 UsingControlPairs .....................................................................................1113 If/EndIf ..................................................................................................1113 ElseIf/EndElseIf ..................................................................................1114 Else/EndElse ........................................................................................1116 While/EndWhile ....................................................................................1117 Do/Until..................................................................................................1118 Select/EndSelect ..................................................................................1120 Case/EndCase......................................................................................1122 DefaultCase/EndDefaultCase .............................................................1122 CreatingGenericLoops ..............................................................................1123 EndNumber.............................................................................................1124 StartNumber ...........................................................................................1124 SkipNumber ............................................................................................1124 AxesandAngleOffset .............................................................................1124 LoopIds...................................................................................................1125 VariableID...............................................................................................1126 EndLoop .................................................................................................1126 EndingGenericLoops.................................................................................1126 CreatingLabels ...........................................................................................1126 JumpingtoaLabel ......................................................................................1127

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

TableofContents * xlv

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

JumpingtoaLabelBasedonConditions ....................................................1128 BranchingonaCMMError..........................................................................1129 SupportedInterfaces ...............................................................................1130 BranchingwithSubroutines.........................................................................1131 CreatingaNewSubroutine......................................................................1132 UnderstandingtheSubroutineCreationDialogBox ................................1133 EditinganExistingSubroutine .................................................................1135 UnderstandingtheArgumentEditDialogBox..........................................1135 EndingaSubroutine ................................................................................1136 CallingaSubroutine ................................................................................1136 UnderstandingtheCallSubroutineDialogBox........................................1138 CodeSampleofaSubroutine..................................................................1139 EndingaPartProgram................................................................................1141 TrackingStatisticalData .................................................................................1143 TrackingStatisticalData:Introduction .........................................................1143 UsingTraceFields ......................................................................................1143 Options ....................................................................................................1144 SendingCurrentStatstoaFile ...................................................................1144 UsingtheStatisticsOptionsDialogBox ......................................................1145 StatsOptions ...........................................................................................1145 DatabaseOptions ....................................................................................1147 UpdateDatabaseNow.............................................................................1152 ReportingMeasurementResults.....................................................................1155

xlvi * TableofContents

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ReportingMeasurementResults:Overview ................................................1155 ReportingChanges .....................................................................................1155 MigratingLegacy(HyperView)Reports.......................................................1158 ReportGenerationSequence......................................................................1158 AbouttheReportWindow ...........................................................................1159 ReportingToolbar........................................................................................1160 ChangingtheReportWindow'sContents ................................................1161 UsingTooltipsintheReportWindow ..........................................................1168 UsingStandardReports ..............................................................................1168 ModifyingStandardTemplates....................................................................1170 ModifyingtheReport'sHeader ....................................................................1170 AbouttheReportingandFormEditors ........................................................1171 MenuBarfortheFormandReportingEditors .........................................1171 TheFontBar............................................................................................1174 TheObjectBar.........................................................................................1175 ActiveXObject .........................................................................................1176 ArcObject ................................................................................................1178 AnalysisObject ........................................................................................1178 BorderObject...........................................................................................1180 BitmapObject ..........................................................................................1181 ButtonObject ...........................................................................................1182 CadReportObject .....................................................................................1184 TheLabelLayout Wizard.........................................................................1186

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

TableofContents * xlvii

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

CommandTextObject ...............................................................................1191 CheckbuttonObject .................................................................................1192 ComboBoxObject....................................................................................1193 DimensionColorKeyObject....................................................................1194 EditBoxObject .........................................................................................1195 EditDblBoxObject....................................................................................1196 EditLongBoxObject .................................................................................1196 EllipseObject...........................................................................................1197 FrameObject ...........................................................................................1198 GaugeObject...........................................................................................1198 GraphObject ...........................................................................................1202 HistogramObject .....................................................................................1205 GridControlObject ....................................................................................1206 LabelObject.............................................................................................1211 LeaderLineObject ..................................................................................1213 LineObject...............................................................................................1214 ListBoxObject..........................................................................................1215 MultiEditBoxObject.................................................................................1216 OLEObject ..............................................................................................1216 PointerObject ..........................................................................................1222 PolylineObject.........................................................................................1223 RadiobuttonObject ..................................................................................1224 SelectObject ...........................................................................................1225

xlviii * TableofContents

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

SliderObject ............................................................................................1231 SpinnerObject .........................................................................................1233 TextReportObject.....................................................................................1234 TextObject ..............................................................................................1236 TextVarObject.........................................................................................1236 TheLayoutBar ........................................................................................1237 WorkingwiththeGrid ..................................................................................1241 AboutObjectProperties ..............................................................................1243 WorkingwithUserAssignedProperties...................................................1252 ClearingTemplateAssociatedData ........................................................1256 AboutEventsandVisualBasicCode ..........................................................1256 EventExample1:CallingCodeonanEventClickEvent .........................1258 EventExample2:ModifyObjectPropertiesonTriggeredEvent .............1259 AccessObjectMethods ...........................................................................1260 UnderstandingtheReportTemplateEditor..............................................1261 AboutSections.........................................................................................1263 AbouttheLabelTemplateEditor .............................................................1264 AbouttheCustomReportEditor ..............................................................1266 UnderstandingtheFormEditor................................................................1267 CreatingCustomTemplates........................................................................1268 AboutReportsandReportTemplates .....................................................1268 TutorialCreatingaReportTemplate .....................................................1269 ApplyingorRemovingaReportTemplate ...............................................1277

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

TableofContents * xlix

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

SharingReportTemplates.......................................................................1279 AboutLabelsandLabelTemplates .........................................................1279 TutorialCreatingLabelTemplates.........................................................1279 UsingLabelswithReports .......................................................................1287 ArrangingLabelsintheReportWindow ..................................................1289 UsingtheTableFormatCommand ..........................................................1290 AbouttheRuleTreeEditor..........................................................................1290 DefiningaRuleintheRuleTreeEditor ...................................................1291 ImportingandExportingRules.................................................................1294 CopyingandPastingRules .........................................................................1295 ClearingRules.............................................................................................1296 UsingtheTableFormatPropertiesDialogBox........................................1297 ChangingaTemplate'sPreviewThumbnailIcon........................................1300 CreatingCustomReports ............................................................................1301 TutorialCreatingaCustomReport ........................................................1302 CustomReportGeneration ......................................................................1309 PositioningReportObjects ......................................................................1309 DraggingandDroppingInformationintoaCustomReport ......................1310 UsingRules .............................................................................................1316 WorkingwithMultiplePages....................................................................1317 ViewingandPrintingCustomReports .....................................................1317 DeletingCustomReports.........................................................................1318 UsingaCustomReportfromanotherPartProgram ................................1318

l * TableofContents

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

AboutForms................................................................................................1318 TutorialCreatingForms .........................................................................1319 UsingFormswithReports........................................................................1327 AboutReportExpressions...........................................................................1327 FunctionsandOperators .........................................................................1328 ChangingaString'sTextColor ................................................................1334 UsingDataTypestoFindaReportExpression .......................................1336 AListofAvailableDataTypes.................................................................1337 UsingaTypeIndextoDisplaySpecificData ...........................................1370 PredefinedConstants ..............................................................................1371 ExpressionsUsedinStandardTemplates...............................................1372 EmbeddingReportsorTemplatesintoaPartProgram...............................1373 InsertingReportCommands ...........................................................................1377 InsertingReportCommands:Introduction...................................................1377 InsertingCommandsRelatedtotheAnalysisWindow ................................1377 Analysis ...................................................................................................1378 ShowAllArrows.......................................................................................1379 ViewWindow ...........................................................................................1379 FileMenu .................................................................................................1380 ViewMenu ...............................................................................................1380 ShowMenu..............................................................................................1381 OptionsMenu ..........................................................................................1381 InsertingDimensionInfoBoxes...................................................................1387

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

TableofContents * li

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

DisplayOptions........................................................................................1388 GraphOptions .........................................................................................1389 GraphicOptions.......................................................................................1390 DimensionInfoFormat............................................................................1390 LocationAxes ..........................................................................................1392 TruePositionAxes...................................................................................1393 DeleteInfos..............................................................................................1394 DIMINFOCommand ................................................................................1394 InsertingPointInfoBoxes...........................................................................1396 PointInfoFormat .....................................................................................1397 HitList......................................................................................................1398 FeatureListArea .....................................................................................1399 DimensionListArea.................................................................................1399 DeleteInfos..............................................................................................1399 POINTINFOCommand............................................................................1399 GraphicOptions.......................................................................................1401 Filters.......................................................................................................1401 InsertingProgrammerComments...............................................................1402 Operator...................................................................................................1403 Report......................................................................................................1404 Document ................................................................................................1404 Input.........................................................................................................1405 Yes/No ...................................................................................................1406

lii * TableofContents

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Readout ...................................................................................................1407 CommentText .........................................................................................1408 EmbeddingReportsorTemplates...............................................................1409 InsertingExternalObjects ...........................................................................1409 InsertingaPrintCommand..........................................................................1409 InsertingaFormFeedCommand................................................................1412 DefiningandSavingaViewset....................................................................1413 RecallingaSavedViewSet .........................................................................1413 InsertingaFORMCommand.......................................................................1413 InsertingScreenCaptures .......................................................................1415 UsingFileInput/Output .................................................................................1417 UsingFileInput/Output:Introduction .........................................................1417 UnderstandingBasicFileI/OConcepts.......................................................1417 UsingtheFileI/ODialogBox ......................................................................1418 OpeningaFileforReadingorWriting .........................................................1419 ClosinganOpenedFileafterReadingorWriting ........................................1420 ReadingaCharacterfromaFile .................................................................1421 ReadingaLinefromaFile ..........................................................................1423 ReadingaBlockofTextfromaFile ............................................................1426 ReadingTextuptoaDelimiter ....................................................................1428 WritingaCharactertoaFile........................................................................1430 WritingaLinetoaFile.................................................................................1432 WritingaBlockofTexttoaFile...................................................................1434

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

TableofContents * liii

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

PositioningaFilePointerattheBeginningofaFile ....................................1435 SavingaFilePointer'sCurrentPosition ......................................................1437 RecallingaSavedFilePointer'sPosition ....................................................1438 CopyingaFile .............................................................................................1440 MovingaFile ...............................................................................................1442 DeletingaFile .............................................................................................1443 CheckingforaFile'sExistence ...................................................................1445 DisplayingaFileDialogBox........................................................................1446 CheckingfortheEndofaFileortheEndofaLine .....................................1447 UsingExpressionsandVariables ...................................................................1449 UsingExpressionsandVariables:Introduction ...........................................1449 UsingExpressionsinaPartProgram..........................................................1449 ViewingExpressionValues......................................................................1449 KeepingExpressionValuesOnly.............................................................1449 UsingExpressionswithBranching...........................................................1450 UsingExpressionswithFileInput/Output ..............................................1450 CreatingExpressionswiththeExpressionBuilder ......................................1450 UsingVariableswithExpressions ...............................................................1453 AssigningValuestoVariablesbyUsingtheAssignmentDialogBox.......1454 UnderstandingExpressionComponents .....................................................1454 Literals .....................................................................................................1455 References ..............................................................................................1455 Variables..................................................................................................1461

liv * TableofContents

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Structures ................................................................................................1463 Pointers....................................................................................................1465 Arrays ......................................................................................................1466 OperatorsforExpressions .......................................................................1472 Precedence..............................................................................................1474 Functions .................................................................................................1474 FunctionsList...........................................................................................1474 FunctionExamples ..................................................................................1494 ExampleofaLineFeatureCreatedfromaScanSegment.....................1497 OperandCoercion ...................................................................................1498 IDExpressions.........................................................................................1500 AccessingaReport'sObjectProperties ......................................................1502 AddingExternalElements...............................................................................1505 AddingExternalElements:Introduction ......................................................1505 InsertinganExternalCommand ..................................................................1505 InsertingBASICScripts...............................................................................1508 PassingVariablesToandFromBASICScripts .......................................1509 AttachinganExternalPartProgram ............................................................1510 UsingaPointertoReferenceData ..........................................................1511 InsertingExternalObjects ...........................................................................1512 CreateNew..............................................................................................1512 CreatefromFile .......................................................................................1513 DisplayasIcon ........................................................................................1513

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

TableofContents * lv

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ObjectTypeList.......................................................................................1514 MarkingExternalObjectsforExecution...................................................1514 DisplayingFilesinaDifferentWay ..........................................................1516 UsingMultipleArmMode ................................................................................1517 UsingMultipleArmMode:Introduction........................................................1517 SettingupaMultipleArmCMM...................................................................1517 Step1:InstallPCDMISonAllComputers...............................................1517 Step2:DeterminetheMasterSystem .....................................................1518 Step3:MatchtheCMMAxesforEachArm ............................................1518 Step4:ConfigureProbeHeadMountOrientation ...................................1518 Step5:SetuptheMasterandSlave ........................................................1519 Step6:ConnecttheComputers...............................................................1520 Step7:EnterMultipleArmMode .............................................................1521 Step8:CalibratetheMultipleArmSystem ..............................................1521 Step9:CalibratetheMultipleArmProbeFiles ........................................1527 Step10:SettheMultipleArmOrigin........................................................1528 CreatingaPartProgramUsingMultipleArmMode.....................................1529 AssigningaCommandtoAnArm............................................................1529 MultipleArmProgramExecution .............................................................1531 SettingStartPointsforMultipleArms ......................................................1531 CausinganArmtoWaittoPreventCollision ...........................................1532 UsingTemperatureCompensationwithMultipleArmCalibration............1533 RunningaMasterPartProgramontheSlaveArm .....................................1533

lvi * TableofContents

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

NavigatingandDisplayingMultipleWindows..................................................1535 NavigatingandDisplayingMultipleWindows:Introduction .........................1535 SwitchingBetweenOpenPartPrograms ....................................................1535 ArrangingOpenWindows...........................................................................1535 GivingOpenWindowstheProgramFocus.................................................1536 WorkinginOfflineMode ................................................................................1537 WorkinginOfflineMode:Introduction ........................................................1537 Prerequisites ...............................................................................................1538 IGESEntitiesSupported..........................................................................1538 DXFInput.................................................................................................1539 DESInput ................................................................................................1539 XYZASCIIFile.........................................................................................1539 OfflineProbes ............................................................................................1539 SettingProbeDepth ....................................................................................1540 SettingApproximateProbeDepth ...........................................................1540 SettingProbeDepthonaFeature ...........................................................1540 KeyinginProbeDepth.............................................................................1542 MeasuringFeaturesOffline........................................................................1543 AutomaticMeasurements ........................................................................1543 DiscreteMeasurements ...........................................................................1544 EndingaMeasurement............................................................................1545 ExecutingandDebuggingPartProgramsOffLine......................................1545 Path .........................................................................................................1545

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

TableofContents * lvii

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TranslatingDOS/AVAILintoPCDMIS ...........................................................1547 TranslatingDOS/AVAILintoPCDMIS:Introduction ...................................1547 TranslateaPartProgramFile .....................................................................1547 DOStoWindows .....................................................................................1547 Avail/MMIVtoWindows ...........................................................................1547 ImportingaPartProgramFile .....................................................................1547 DOS,AvailandMMIVFiles .....................................................................1548 UsingaWristDevice.......................................................................................1551 UsingaWristDevice:Introduction ..............................................................1551 Installation ...................................................................................................1551 TipCalibration .............................................................................................1552 NewProbeFile ........................................................................................1552 CalibratetheUnitforInfiniteWristDevices .................................................1552 WristCalibration ......................................................................................1554 QualificationCheck .....................................................................................1555 HometheUnit .............................................................................................1555 UsingtheWristinaPartProgram ...............................................................1556 Option1 ...................................................................................................1556 Option2 ...................................................................................................1556 Option3 ...................................................................................................1557 Option4 ...................................................................................................1557 CalibratingLessCommonProbes ..................................................................1559 CalibratingLessCommonProbes:Introduction ..........................................1559

lviii * TableofContents

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

CalibratingOTM3SeriesLaserProbes.......................................................1559 CalibratingNC100VideoProbes ...............................................................1559 CalibratetheTouchTriggerProbe:..........................................................1560 CalibrateNC100VideoProbe..................................................................1566 WorkingwithPortableDevices .......................................................................1567 WorkingwithPortableDevices:Introduction ...............................................1567 LaunchingPCDMISPortable .....................................................................1567 UsingMouseMode .....................................................................................1568 ConvertingHitstoPoints.............................................................................1569 ScanningforAutoFeatureSampleHits ......................................................1569 UsingPulledHits .........................................................................................1570 ConfiguringtheRomerInfiniteArmwithaPerceptronContourSensor...1571 RomerInfiniteArmSetup.........................................................................1571 SettingWinRDSEnvironmentVariables..................................................1572 InstallPCDMISforRomer ......................................................................1572 ConnectthePerceptronSensorControllerBox .......................................1573 ConfiguretheNetworkCard ....................................................................1573 AttachYourContourSensor ....................................................................1574 CompletethePCDMISConfiguration .....................................................1574 WorkinginOperatorMode..............................................................................1577 WorkinginOperatorMode:Introduction......................................................1577 FileOpenOptions .......................................................................................1577 OperatorModeMenuOptions .....................................................................1578

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

TableofContents * lix

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

File...........................................................................................................1578 Edit ..........................................................................................................1579 View.........................................................................................................1579 Window....................................................................................................1579 Help .........................................................................................................1579 UsingtheMarkedSetsWindowinOperatorMode......................................1580 ExittoFileManager.................................................................................1580 PrintFullReport.......................................................................................1580 CalibrateTips...........................................................................................1580 MeasuringAutoFeatureswiththeNC100VideoProbe ................................1583 MeasuringAutoFeatureswiththeNC100VideoProbe:Introduction ........1583 CommonDialogBoxFunctionsSpecifictoNC100VideoProbe................1583 Capturebutton .........................................................................................1583 VideoSetupbutton ..................................................................................1584 FeatureTypelist ......................................................................................1584 Indentboxes ............................................................................................1584 Heightbox................................................................................................1585 VectorPointwithNC100 ............................................................................1586 MeasuringaVectorPointwithNC100....................................................1587 EdgePointwithNC100 ..............................................................................1588 MeasuringanEdgePointwithNC100....................................................1590 CharacteristicPoints ...................................................................................1591 MeasuringaCharacteristicPoint .............................................................1593

lx * TableofContents

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Circle,Pin,orBaricenterwithNC100.........................................................1595 MeasuringaCirclewithNC100 ..............................................................1597 SquareSlot/Gap&FlushwithNC100 ........................................................1598 MeasuringaSquareSlotwithNC100.....................................................1600 DepthforaGap&FlushwithNC100 .....................................................1601 Depth2foraGap&FlushwithNC100 ...................................................1601 GapforaGap&FlushwithNC100 ........................................................1601 FlushforaGap&FlushwithNC100 ......................................................1602 Type=RIGHT/LEFTforaGap&FlushwithNC100 ............................1602 FeatureTypeforaSquareSlotandGap&FlushMeasurementswithNC 100...........................................................................................................1602 RoundSlotwithNC100..............................................................................1603 MeasuringaRoundSlotwithNC100......................................................1604 UsingShortcutKeysandShortcutMenus ......................................................1607 UsingShortcutKeysandShortcutMenus:Introduction ..............................1607 ShortcutKeysReference ............................................................................1607 ShortcutMenusReference..........................................................................1609 ShortcutMenusinStandardWindowsDialogBoxes ...............................1610 ShortcutMenusontheToolbarArea .......................................................1610 ShortcutMenusintheGraphicsDisplayWindow ....................................1612 AutoFeaturePathLinesShortcutMenu..................................................1621 ShortcutMenusintheEditWindow .........................................................1622 ShortcutMenusintheReportWindow ........................................................1629 ErrorCodes.....................................................................................................1633
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual TableofContents * lxi

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ErrorCodes:Introduction ............................................................................1633 MLBErrorInformation .................................................................................1633 MLB001MPInternalsyntaxerror ...........................................................1634 MLB003Communicationserror ..............................................................1635 MLB004Numericerror ...........................................................................1635 MLB005Communicationserror ..............................................................1635 MLB006Outputmasklogicaltranslationerror........................................1636 MLB007Outputunavailable ...................................................................1636 MLB010UnidentifiedFCS ......................................................................1636 MLB011Firstrecordinskipfileisinvalid................................................1637 MLB012Invalidrecordinskipfile ...........................................................1637 MLB013Skipfileaccesserror ................................................................1637 MLB014Nestedcodeblocks ..................................................................1637 MLB015Missingbeginblock ..................................................................1638 MLB016Nestedskipsequence ..............................................................1638 MLB017Invalidendskipblockfunction..................................................1638 MLB018Impropertolerancingmode......................................................1639 MLB019Improperparameter..................................................................1639 MLB020Noparameterpermitted ...........................................................1639 MLB022Secondparameterinvalid.........................................................1640 MLB023Thirdparameterinvalid.............................................................1640 MLB024Fourthparameterinvalid ..........................................................1640 MLB025Invalidparameterspecified ......................................................1640

lxii * TableofContents

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MLB026Invalidtipspecified ...................................................................1641 MLB027Excessiveangulardeviation.....................................................1641 MLB028Insufficientnumberofparameters............................................1641 MLB029Dimensionalarrayvaluesoutofrange .....................................1642 MLB030Featurestackdoesnotcontainrequiredfeatures ....................1642 MLB031Firstparameterspecifiesinvalidtype .......................................1642 MLB032Secondparameterspecifiesinvalidtype ..................................1643 MLB033Planeisinvalidtype..................................................................1643 MLB034Cannotintersectconcentriccircles...........................................1643 MLB035Lineperpendiculartoworkingplane.........................................1644 MLB036Invalid(null)featureaddressed ................................................1644 MLB037Invalidfeaturetype ...................................................................1644 MLB038Cannotintersectlineparallelwithcylinderaxis ........................1644 MLB040Summationarraydoesnotcontainenoughfeatures................1645 MLB041Pointsdonotdefinethefeature ...............................................1645 MLB042Summationsinvalid ..................................................................1645 MLB043Segmentationinprogress ........................................................1646 MLB044Segmentationnotinitialized .....................................................1646 MLB045Commandcannotbeskipped...................................................1646 MLB050RCUnotavailable ....................................................................1647 MLB060Rotarytablenotavailable.........................................................1647 MLB061Rotarytablecounternotavailable............................................1647 MLB062Notallowedonrotarytablewithcounter ..................................1647

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

TableofContents * lxiii

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MLB063Notallowedonerrorcorrectedrotarytable ..............................1648 MLB064NotallowedonaHirthcouplingtable .....................................1648 MLB070Referencenotsaved ................................................................1648 MLB071Featurestorageoverflow..........................................................1648 MLB072Featurenotfound .....................................................................1649 MLB080Improperprobeinstalled...........................................................1649 MLB088RCUDrivebuttonusedwithQU...............................................1649 MLB089RCUReturntoscreenbuttonusedwithQU ............................1649 MLB090DCCnotavailable ....................................................................1649 MLB091Contactnotmadewithpart ......................................................1650 MLB092Insufficientclearance................................................................1650 MLB093Remoteautonotconfigured .....................................................1650 MLB094Remoteautointerlocknotengaged..........................................1651 MLB095Servopowerfailedtoengage...................................................1651 MLB096UnabletoselectAutomode .....................................................1651 MLB100Probeheaddatumerror ...........................................................1652 MLB101Probeheadobstructionerror....................................................1652 MLB110Tip0notcalibrated...................................................................1652 MLB111Sphericalcalibrationfixturerequired ........................................1653 MLB112Temperaturechangeinvalidatedtip0calibration.....................1653 MLB113Negativeprobediameterinvalidatedcalibration.......................1653 MLB114Excessiveprobeoffsetsinvalidatedcalibration ........................1654 MLB115Fileerroronfeatureorprobestorageoperation.......................1654

lxiv * TableofContents

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MLB116Notoncircleatbeginningofcircularmove...............................1654 MLB120Partimproperlyalignedorscaled.............................................1655 MLB130Operatorabort..........................................................................1655 MLB131Electroniclevelnotavailable ....................................................1655 MLB132Electroniclevelinterfacetimeout..............................................1655 MLB140Pointnotavailable ....................................................................1656 MLB150APCracknotconnected...........................................................1656 MLB151APCfirmwareorinterfacenotpresent .....................................1656 MLB152APCracknotcalibrated............................................................1657 MLB153APC/MPcommunicationerror..................................................1657 MLB154APCracktimeoutorlockfailure ...............................................1657 MLB155APCrackovertravel .................................................................1657 MLB156Safepositionnotdefined..........................................................1658 MLB157Noextensionsloaded...............................................................1658 MLB158Toomanyextensionsloaded ...................................................1658 MLB160Firmwareentitynotfound.........................................................1659 MLB161APCrackcouldnotbelowered ................................................1659 MLB162APCrackcouldnotberaised...................................................1659 MLB164Insufficientanalogprobedeflection ..........................................1659 MLB166Notacircle ...............................................................................1660 MLB168Unexpectedtouch ....................................................................1660 MLB169Unexpectedendoftravel .........................................................1661 MLB170Touchprobewillnotrearm.......................................................1661

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

TableofContents * lxv

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MLB173PH9probeoverload .................................................................1661 MLB190Toomuchprobedeflection.......................................................1662 MLB191Cameoffsurface ......................................................................1662 MLB505UserKeyUnknown...................................................................1662 MPErrorInformation ...................................................................................1663 MP001Badcommandmessagesyntaxerror.........................................1665 MP002DestinationnotpresentorMPruntimesystemerror ..................1666 MP003Resourceshortage .....................................................................1666 MP004Numericerror .............................................................................1667 MP007CPUEPROMchecksumerror....................................................1667 MP008CPUEPROMchecksumerror....................................................1667 MP013MPtoHostbufferoverflow.........................................................1667 MP015MPforegroundtobackgroundbufferoverflow ...........................1668 MP018MPinternalcountererror............................................................1668 MP019MPandDCCfirmwareincompatibility ........................................1668 MP021AtlasY2counterfault .................................................................1668 MP022AtlasY3counterfault .................................................................1669 MP023AtlasY2beamblockerror ..........................................................1669 MP024AtlasY3beamblockerror ..........................................................1669 MP025AuxiliaryXaxisA/Dconversionerror .........................................1670 MP026AuxiliaryYaxisA/Dconversionerror .........................................1670 MP027AuxiliaryZaxisA/Dconversionerror .........................................1670 MP028SP600+12voltfuseblown.........................................................1670

lxvi * TableofContents

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MP029SP60012voltfuseblown..........................................................1671 MP030SP600+5voltfuseblown...........................................................1671 MP031Probeovertravelfault .................................................................1671 MP032Counterhardware/configurationmismatch.................................1671 MP033Waxiscounterfault....................................................................1672 MP034Xaxiscounterfault.....................................................................1672 MP035Yaxiscounterfault.....................................................................1673 MP036Zaxiscounterfault.....................................................................1674 MP042TemperatureCompensationhardwareabsent ...........................1674 MP043TemperatureCompensationhardwarefailure ............................1675 MP045ExcessiveMPhardwaretemperatures.......................................1675 MP046TemperatureCompensationorDigitalI/Oboardfailure .............1675 MP047TemperatureCompensationD/Afailure .....................................1675 MP048TempComporLasersystemconfigurationerror ........................1676 MP055SP600interfacecardA/Dconversionfailure..............................1676 MP059Renishawemergencystoperror.................................................1676 MP060DCCtoMPacknowledgetimeout...............................................1677 MP064APLchecksumerror...................................................................1677 MP077Waxisbeamblockerror ............................................................1677 MP078Xaxisbeamblockerror .............................................................1678 MP079Yaxisbeamblockerror .............................................................1678 MP080Zaxisbeamblockerror..............................................................1678 MP081Laseroffortotalbeamblockerror..............................................1678

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

TableofContents * lxvii

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MP082Laserlockerror ..........................................................................1679 MP083Lasernotstableafterwarmuptimelimit....................................1679 MP090APCUARTinputerror................................................................1679 MP091APCdatainputbufferoverflow...................................................1679 MP092APCGOmessagetimeout .........................................................1680 MP093APClockerror............................................................................1680 MP094APClidtimeouterror ..................................................................1680 MP095APCexcessiveentryspeed .......................................................1680 MP105HosttoMPcommunicationinterrupted ......................................1681 MP108MPtoRCUcommunicationserror..............................................1681 MP109RCUtoMPcommunicationserror..............................................1682 MP111HosttoMPcommunicationerror................................................1682 MP117Waxisservoamplifieroverheat .................................................1682 MP118Xaxisservoamplifieroverheat ..................................................1683 MP119Yaxisservoamplifieroverheat ..................................................1683 MP120Zaxisservoamplifieroverheat ..................................................1683 MP121Waxisservoamplifierfault ........................................................1683 MP122Xaxisservoamplifierfault .........................................................1684 MP123Yaxisservoamplifierfault .........................................................1684 MP124Zaxisservoamplifierfault .........................................................1685 MP127Piezotoucherror........................................................................1685 MP129WaxisHirthcouplinglockfailure ...............................................1686 MP130Operatorabort............................................................................1686

lxviii * TableofContents

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MP131WaxisHirthcouplingunlockfailure ...........................................1686 MP142Waxisisbound..........................................................................1686 MP143Servochassispowersupplyfault ...............................................1687 MP146Waxisrunaway..........................................................................1687 MP147Xaxisrunaway...........................................................................1687 MP148Yaxisrunaway...........................................................................1688 MP149Zaxisrunaway ...........................................................................1688 MP151D/Aupdateswerelateormissing...............................................1689 MP158Xaxisexcessivebias .................................................................1689 MP159Xaxisboundup .........................................................................1689 MP160DCCboardinoperative...............................................................1690 MP161RCUinoperative.........................................................................1690 MP162Yaxisexcessivebias .................................................................1690 MP163Yaxisboundup .........................................................................1691 MP164Waxisoverspeed.......................................................................1691 MP165Xaxisoverspeed........................................................................1692 MP166Yaxisoverspeed........................................................................1692 MP167Zaxisoverspeed........................................................................1693 MP168Unexpectedtouch ......................................................................1693 MP169Unexpectedendoftravel ...........................................................1694 MP170Touchprobewillnotrearm.........................................................1694 MP171MPtoPH9/PH10communicationerror ......................................1694 MP172PH9/PH10toMPcommunicationerror ......................................1695

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

TableofContents * lxix

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MP173PH9probeoverload ...................................................................1695 MP174PH9/PH10toMPbufferoverflow................................................1695 MP175Zaxisexcessivebias .................................................................1695 MP176Zaxisboundup..........................................................................1696 MP177MPfrontpanelkeyboarderror....................................................1696 MP178MPconfigurationdatachecksumerror.......................................1696 MP179Probechecksumerror ................................................................1697 MP180MicroprocessorEnhancedAccuracy(MEA)checksumerror .....1697 MP181InvalidMEAdata ........................................................................1697 MP182Optionalinterfaceerror...............................................................1697 MP183Probechangerrackdisconnected..............................................1698 MP184Probechangerovertravelerror ..................................................1698 MP186InvalidWaxisMEAdata ............................................................1698 MP310Invalidfrontpanelkeystrokecombination ..................................1699 MP320Invalidfunctionselected .............................................................1699 MP330Keystrokebufferoverflow...........................................................1699 MP340Offsetangleerror .......................................................................1699 MP501MPCPUBoardRAMfailure .......................................................1700 MP502CPUInterruptchipfailure ...........................................................1700 MP503NonexistentI/OdeviceorRAMfailure ......................................1700 MP504Realtimeclockfailure ................................................................1701 MP505Twomillisecondclockinterruptfailure........................................1701 MP506Controlboardread/writefailure ..................................................1701

lxx * TableofContents

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MP507ControlboardRCUinterfaceUARTfailure.................................1701 MP508ControlboardRCUinterfaceUARTinterruptfailure...................1701 MP510Interruptsnotoperating ..............................................................1702 MP511ControlboardRCUinterfaceinterruptfail ..................................1702 MP512Interruptpriorityfail.....................................................................1702 MP515IEEE488initializationfailure......................................................1702 MP516Frontpaneldecodefail...............................................................1703 MP517MPpanelswitchstuck................................................................1703 MP519EPROMchecksumerror ............................................................1703 MP521EPROMdirectoryerror...............................................................1704 MP522D/Aboardconversionfailure ......................................................1704 MP523RS232hostinterfacefailure......................................................1704 MP524RS232PH9/PH10interfacefailure............................................1704 MP525RS232Probechangerinterfacefailure .....................................1705 MP526RS232electroniclevelinterfacefailure .....................................1705 MP527SMP400FLASHmemoryerror .................................................1705 MP528SMP400FLASHmemoryerror .................................................1706 MP529SMP400FLASHmemoryerror .................................................1706 MP530SMP400FLASHmemoryerror .................................................1706 MP531SMP400RAMmemoryerror.....................................................1706 MP532SMP400RAMmemoryerror.....................................................1707 MP533Noamp/check/divideboardpresent ...........................................1707 MP534Amp/check/divideboardfailure ..................................................1707

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

TableofContents * lxxi

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MP535NoDCCboardpresent...............................................................1707 MP536DCCboardfailure.......................................................................1708 MP537DCCboardfailure.......................................................................1708 MP538DCCboardfailure.......................................................................1708 MP539DCCboardfailure.......................................................................1709 MP540NoTempCompboardpresent....................................................1709 MP541TempCompboardfailure............................................................1709 MP542TempCompboardfailure............................................................1709 MP543TempCompboardfailure............................................................1710 MP544TempCompboardfailure............................................................1710 MP545TempCompboardfailure............................................................1710 MP546TempCompboardfailure............................................................1710 MP547Processorboardfailure ..............................................................1711 MP548Processorboardfailure ..............................................................1711 MP550InsufficientRAM .........................................................................1711 MP551Toomanysoftrategroups .........................................................1711 MP560Processorboardfailure ..............................................................1712 MP561UARTinterruptfailure.................................................................1712 MP562UARTinterruptfailure.................................................................1712 MP563UARTinterruptfailure.................................................................1713 MP564UARTinterruptfailure.................................................................1713 MP565UARTinterruptfailure.................................................................1713 MP566UARTinterruptfailure.................................................................1713

lxxii * TableofContents

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MP601DCCRAMfailure........................................................................1714 MP619DCCEPROMchecksumerror....................................................1714 MP621DCCEPROMdirectoryerror ......................................................1714 MP650InsufficientDCCRAM ................................................................1714 MP651ToomanyDCCsoftwarerategroupspresent ............................1715 MP697Servooffpushbuttonstuck.........................................................1715 MP698Estopcircuitopen......................................................................1715 DCCErrorInformation.................................................................................1715 DCC132millisecondssincelastD/Aupdate..........................................1716 DCC232millisecondssincelastMPupdate ..........................................1717 DCC3DCCtoMPinterruptnotacknowledgedfor32milliseconds ........1717 RCUErrorInformation.................................................................................1717 RCU003Resourceshortage...................................................................1718 RCU700RCURAMfailure .....................................................................1718 RCU701RCU6802RAMaddressfailure...............................................1718 RCU702RCU2114RAMfailure ............................................................1719 RCU703RCU2114RAMaddressfailure...............................................1719 RCU704RCUEPROMchecksumorversion#error..............................1719 RCU705Stuckkeyerror.........................................................................1719 RCU706RCUEPROMAchecksumerror ..............................................1720 RCU707RCUEPROMBchecksumerror ..............................................1720 RCU708RCUEPROMCchecksumerror..............................................1720 TempCompErrorInformation......................................................................1721

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

TableofContents * lxxiii

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TempComp200TempCompnotavailable ..............................................1721 TempComp201Absolutetemperaturelimitexceeded............................1721 TempComp202Gradienttemperaturelimitexceeded ............................1722 TempComp203Transienttemperaturelimitexceeded ...........................1722 TempComp204Lasercompensationisinactive .....................................1723 TempComp205Probecalibrationdatamaybeinvalid ...........................1723 TempComp206Rotarytablecalibrationmaybeinvalid .........................1723 MiscellaneousTopics ..................................................................................1723 AKAutomaticTracking ..........................................................................1723 ASAutomaticScanning.........................................................................1725 BBBeginBlock......................................................................................1727 BeginBlock...............................................................................................1728 BFTurnSoftProbeOff..........................................................................1728 BRTurnSoftProbeOn..........................................................................1729 EBEndBlock.........................................................................................1730 EndBlock..................................................................................................1730 ILInitializeLibrary..................................................................................1730 KDSetnominalsoftprobedeflection ....................................................1733 KSSetTracking/ScanningSpeed .......................................................1734 RNReturnScanData............................................................................1735 SBScanTarget .....................................................................................1736 SNScan ................................................................................................1737 TFTouchModeOff ...............................................................................1739

lxxiv * TableofContents

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TNEnableTouchProbe ........................................................................1740 ModifyingRegistryEntries ..............................................................................1741 ModifyingRegistryEntries:Introduction ......................................................1741 Glossary..........................................................................................................1743 Index ...............................................................................................................1767

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

TableofContents * lxxv

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

GettingStarted:AnOverview
Overview:Introduction
Theterm"PCDMIS"is derivedfromtheacronym "DMIS"whichstandsfor: DimensionalMeasuring InterfaceStandard. PCDMISforWindowsisafullfeatured,geometricmeasurement package.Ittranslatesthehighlevelcommandsrequiredto measurepartsintothedetailedstepsnecessarytodrivea CoordinateMeasuringMachine(CMM).PCDMISforWindows incorporatesMicrosoft'sWindowsinterfacetocreate,aswellas executepartprograms.Theusercaneasilybeginthe measurementprocessbytakingadvantageofthedropdown menus,dialogboxes,andicons.TheversatilityofPCDMIS's interfacealsoprovidesaneasywaytocustomizethesoftwareto meetindividualspecifications.

TheprimarygoalsdrivingthedesignofPCDMISforWindowswereflexibilityanduser friendliness.Tomeetthesegoals,PCDMISprovidesaflexibleenvironmentallowingforrealtime errorcorrectionasopposedtothelong,tediousdebuggingprocesscharacteristicofother geometricsoftwarepackages.Itisdimensionorientedtoreducetheneedtoanalyzeandinterpret theresultsofCMMmeasurements.ThetechniquesusedforpartprogrammingonaCMMare straightforwardand,withpractice,systematic.This manualdoesnotattempttocompletely describethedimensionalinspectionprocess.Ifadditionalinformationisneededonthe fundamentalsofdimensionalinspections,pleasecontactyoursoftwarerepresentative. Themaintopicsinthischapterinclude: VersionEnhancements OrganizationofManual CADLinks UsingaMouseorMotionController AutomatingPCDMIS SoftwareConfigurations

Note:This manualcontainsthecoredocumentationneededtooperatePCDMISforWindows. However,duetoPCDMIS'smodularnature,additionalmanuals maybeinstalledonyour computersystem.ClicktheContentstabonyourhelpfiletoviewtheotherfilesinstalled.

VersionEnhancements
Thereadme.txtfileinyourPCDMISinstallationdirectorylistsallthebugfixesandenhancements madeinthisversion.Themajorenhancementsfromthattextfilearelistedherewithlinkstothe topicsthatdescribethemwhereapplicable: CorePCDMISEnhancements ReportingEnhancementsSeethe"ReportingMeasurementResults"chapter. o Newcustomreportsthatarecreatedbasedonthepartprogramandstoredin thatpartprogram. o DraganddropcapabilityofEditWindow'sSummaryModewithcustomreports.
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual GettingStarted:An Overview * 1

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

Abilitytoopencustomreportsstoredinpartprograms. Conversionoflegacyreportstocustomreports. Newfeaturebasedlabellayoutstyle. Quicklyduplicatereportpages. AbilitytohidelabelsintheCADReportObject. NewSectionCutobject. Labelscanbecreatedwithoutcolororborder(transparent). VBscriptscanbeaddedtotheruletreeasasecondcondition. Customizethedisplayofleaderlinesinyourreportincludingdimensiontolerance information. Collationofthedifferentsectionsofthereport. Newboundaryleaderlinesfordistanceandangledimensions. NewPCDMISActiveXControls. AutoZoomforCADimagesinreports. UseofrealCADimageinReportLayoutwindow Leaderlinescanbedrawntothecentroidofafeature. Reporttemplateobjectproprietiesareaccessibletolabelobject. Featuredataisaccessibleindimensionlabelexpressions ViewPropertiesforFormandFormcontrols. Abilitytocreatea"Front"pageforareport. OptimizedgridpropertyandabilitytoturnofftheborderofGraphicalAnalysis window. RuleTreeEditorhasbeenimprovedforeaseofeditingrules. Abilitytoresizelabels. Predefinedpagesizecanbedefinedforlabels. Automotivedeviationletterscanbedisplayedinreportscreatedfromthe standardreporttemplates.

DimensionsEnhancementsSeethe"UsingFeatureControlFrames"and"Dimensioning Features"chapters o Abilitytokeepadimension'sexistingaxesvaluesevenwhenswitchingtoa differentfeaturetype. o Flatnessdimensioncanbeevaluatedperunitarea. o ImprovedSymmetrydimension. o Abilitytodisplaythepercentofdeviationfordimensions. o Twodirectiontolerancescanbedisplayedfordimensions.

GraphicsDisplayEnhancements o NewGraphicItemtoolbarallowsyoutotogglethedisplayofthedifferentlabel typeswithintheGraphicsDisplaywindow. o NewDimensionColorWindowdisplaysthedimensiontolerancecolorsandtheir associatedvaluesforquickcomparison. o AbilitytoclickCADelementsthroughatransparentmachine. o ImprovedCATIAV5translator. o VerificationtooltocheckaccuracyofCADdata. o AbilitytocheckandupdateCADpointnominaldeviations. o SpecifycoordinatesystembyselectingCADentities. o OutlierremovalorPointHighlightinginGraphicsDisplaywindow.

ScanningEnhancementsSeethe"ScanningyourPart"chapter. o Abilitytocontrolthedropoutdistancearoundaholeforperimeterscans.

2 * GettingStarted:AnOverview

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

PortableEnhancementsSeethe"WorkingwithPortableDevices". o Improveddefaultsettingsforportabledevices,suchaslargesizetoolbars, menus,statusbaretc. o NewLeicaMachineInterfacetoolsprovidenewmenuitems,theBundle alignment,andtheTrackerenvironmentaldisplayinstatusbar.

AutoFeatureEnhancementsSeethe"CreatingAutoFeatures"chapter. o EndingDepthaddedtoAutoConestohelppreventcollision. o ImprovedfunctionalityofAutoFeaturedialogbox.ManyAutoFeatureoptions havebeenmovedtotheProbeToolboxwhichworksinconjunctionwiththeAuto Featuredialogbox. o ImprovedDMISmodesupportforAutoFeaturetypes.

ConstructedFeatureEnhancementsSeethe"ConstructingNewFeaturesfromExisting Features"chapter. o ConstructedFeaturesallowyoutospecifytheoreticalvalues. o Ellipseconstructionfromaplaneandcylinderintersection. o ConstructaCircleinsideatriangleorbasedonathreecircles. AlignmentEnhancementsSeethe"CreatingandUsingAlignments"chapter. o 6PointbestfitalignmentaddedtoQuickStart. o AbilitytocontrolindividualdegreesoffreedomofBestFitconstraints.

EditWindowEnhancementsSeethe"UsingtheEditWindow"chapter. o ImprovedEditWindoweaseofuse,visibility, mouseovervisualization. o ImprovedcapabilitiesforEditWindowGroupswhichallownestedgroupsand abilitytocollapsegroups.

OtherCoreEnhancements o PartSensorNumbersforTemperatureCompensationupdatedtomachine specificvalues. o Messageboxesareplacedtoavoidinterferencewithexecution. o TolerancevalueaddedtoAnyOrderExecution. o Accessaddedtothetotalnumberofpagestoreportingexpressionandscripting languages. o TracefieldscanbeimportedfromDMISfilesintoUserdefinedtracefields. o Newmeasuredslots(SquareorRound)forPCDMISandQuickStart.

PCDMISIPEnhancements SeethePCDMISIPdocumentationforadescriptionoftheseenhancements. NewstandaloneInspectionPlannerapplication.CurrentlyonlysupportsCATIAV5.

PCDMISLaserEnhancements SeetheFlexibleFixturingdocumentationforadescriptionoftheseenhancements.
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual GettingStarted:An Overview * 3

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

AutoLaserCirclesallowyoutoselectthemathtypeusedforcreation.

DirectCADInterfaceEnhancements SeetheDirectCADInterfacedocumentationforadescriptionoftheseenhancements. Pro/EDCIAddedsupportforWildfire3. AddedsupportforDaimlerChryslersEToolUserDefinedObjects(UDOs)throughCATIA V5DCI. UnigraphicsLoadOptionscanbechangedfromPCDMISmenu.

PCDMISVisionEnhancements SeethePCDMISVisiondocumentationforadescriptionoftheseenhancements. InitialSupporthasbeenaddedforCMMVtypecameras. PH9SupportaddedtoVision. EdgeTracerAutomaticfunctiontotracetheperimeterofanobjecttocreatea2DProfile feature. TargetvaluesaddedtoVisionAutoFeaturestoassistinlocatingafeaturesactual location. NewQVI/OGPVisioninterface.

PCDMISNCEnhancements SeethePCDMISNCdocumentationforadescriptionoftheseenhancements. PCDMISNCIInteractiveModeforexecutingpartprogramsonNCmachine. NewWilcoxMacrosetforFanuccontrollers. Tosnuc888Control Abilitytoreceivemachinecorrectivefeedbackduringreplayofajournalfile AbilitytopasscommandstotheNCcontrollerasastring.

OrganizationofManual
Thisresourcemanualisdividedintonumerousmainchaptersandsomesupplemental appendices. Togiveyouanideaofthemanual'slayout,thefollowinglistprovidesabriefdescriptionofeach chapter. "GettingStarted:AnOverview"isthechapteryouarecurrentlyreading.Itgivesabrief overviewofthecontentsofthePCDMISmanual. "GettingStarted:ASimpleTutorial"describesthemeasurementprocessinaneasyto followtutorial. "NavigatingtheUserInterface"describesthePCDMISuserinterfaceandhowitcanbe customizedtosuityourneeds.

4 * GettingStarted:AnOverview

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

"UsingBasicFileOptions"discussesthebasicfileoperationsyoucanperformusingPC DMIS,suchasstartinganewpartprogram,saving,andexitingPCDMIS. "UsingAdvancedFileOptions"discussesthemoreadvancedfileoperationssuchas importingandexportingCADfilesandexecutingyourpartprogram. "SettingyourPreferences"describeshowyoucanusethesetupoptionsintheEdit menutosetyourdesiredpreferences.Italsodescribeshowtoinsertandmodifypart programparameters. "EditingtheCADDisplay"describeshowyoucanusetheoptionsintheGraphics menu withtheGraphicsDisplaywindowtoeditthedisplayofyourCADfile. "EditingaPartProgram"describeshowyoucanusetheoptionsintheEdit menuwith theEditwindowtoedityourpartprogram. "UsingtheEditwindow"describeshowtousePCDMIS'sbuiltineditortocreate,debug, edit,andexecuteyourpartprogram "UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools"discussessomeadditionalwindows,editors, andtoolsavailablefromtheViewmenu. "UsingToolbars"discussesthetoolbarsavailabletotheGraphicsDisplaywindowand howeachtoolbariconcanaidyouinthevariousaspectsofcreatingoreditingyourpart programs. "DefiningHardware"coverstheHardwareDefinitionsubmenufoundontheInsert menu.UsingtheHardwareDefinitionsubmenuyoucandefineProbes,Machines,or QuickFixturestousewithPCDMIS.Thischapteralsodescribestipcalibration. "CreatingAutoFeatures"describeshowtousetheInsert|Feature|Autooptionto createAutoFeaturesandthenmeasurethoseautofeaturesinyourpartprogram. "CreatingMeasuredFeatures"describeshowtousetheInsert|Feature|Measured optiontocreatemeasuredfeaturesintoyourpartprogram. "ConstructingNewFeaturesfromOtherFeatures"describeshowtoconstructfeatures andputthemintothepartprogrambyusingtheInsert|Feature|Constructedoption. "CreatingGenericFeatures"describeshowtoinsertaReadPointcommandandhowto createGenericFeaturesbyusingtheInsert|Feature|ReadpointandInsert|Feature| Genericoptions. "CreatingandUsingAlignments"describeshowtocreateandsavealignmentsbyusing theInsert|Alignmentsubmenu. "DimensioningFeatures"describeshowtodimensionyourfeaturesbyusingtheInsert| Dimensionsubmenu. "UsingFeatureControlFrames"describeshowtodimensionyourfeaturesusingFeature ControlFramesandsymbolsfromtheGD&Tstandard.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

GettingStarted:An Overview * 5

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

"ScanningYourPart"describesscanningandhowtocreatebasicoradvancedscansby usingtheInsert|Scansubmenu. "InsertingMoveCommands"discussesvariousmovecommandsthatcanbeplacedin yourpartprogrambyusingtheInsert|Movesubmenu. "BranchingbyUsingFlowControl"discussesamyriadofcommandsthatcanbeusedto controltheflowofyourpartprogrambyusingtheInsert|FlowControlsubmenu. "TrackingStatisticalData"explainshowtotrackandusestatisticsinyourpartprogram. "ReportingMeasurementsResults"walksyouthroughthecreationofReportandLabel Templates,CustomReports,andtheusageofForms. "InsertingReportCommands"discussesthereportcommandsyoucaninsertintoyour partprogrambyusingtheInsert|ReportCommandsubmenu. "UsingFileInput/Output"explainshowtoworkwithfileinput/outputinyourpart program,allowingyoutoopenfilesforeitherreading,writing,andotheroperationsby usingtheInsert|FileI/OCommandsubmenu. "UsingExpressionsandVariables"describeshowtocreateexpressionsandhowto assignexpressionresultstovariables. "AddingExternalElements"coversusingexternalapplications,scripts,partprograms, andotherobjectsinyourpartprogramtofurtherenhanceitscapability. "UsingMultipleArmMode"describeshowtousePCDMISwithdualarmCMMs. "NavigatingandDisplayingMultipleWindows"describeshowtoeasilynavigatebetween andviewtheopenwindowsbyusingtheWindowmenu. "UsingtheOnlineHelp"describeshowtofindthehelpyouneedbyusingtheHelp menu. Inadditiontotheabovesections,PCDMISprovidesseveralsupplementalappendices documentingthefollowing: "WorkinginOfflineMode" "TranslatingaPartProgramintoPCDMIS" "UsingaWristDevice" "CalibratingLessCommonProbes" "WorkingwithPortableDevices" "WorkinginOperatorMode" "MeasuringAutoFeatureswiththeNC100VideoProbe" "UsingShortcutKeysandShortcutMenus" "ErrorCodes"

ThereisalsocontextsensitiveonlineHelpavailable.

Conventions
Thefollowingconventionshavebeenusedthroughoutthereferencemanual:

6 * GettingStarted:AnOverview

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MouseTerminology
ClickingtheMouseThroughoutthismanual,thephrase"clickthemousebutton"isused. Thisreferstodepressingandquicklyreleasingthemousebutton.Forexample,ifyouare instructedtoclickonamenuchoice,usethemousetomovethemousepointer(arrow shape)tothedesiredmenuchoice,thendepressandquicklyrelease(click)theleft mousebutton. Clickingtheleftmousebuttonactivatesmostoptions.Therefore, wheneverthereisaninstructionto"clickon"anitem(withoutreferencetoaspecific button),assumetheleftmousebuttonistobeusedunlessinstructedotherwise. HoldingDowntheMouseButtonThroughoutthismanual,thephrase"Holddownthe mousebutton"isused.Thisphrasereferstopressingandholdingdownthemouse buttonwhileperforminganotheraction.Unlessitspecifiesotherwise,thisreferstotheleft mousebutton.Notethatsomefunctionsrequireyoutoholddownbothleftandright mousebuttons.Inthesecases,ifyourpointingdeviceutilizesamiddlemousebuttonor mousewheel,youcanholdthatbuttoninsteadofholdingdownbothmousebuttons.

BoldfaceText
Boldfaceisusedprimarilywhenreferringto: Dialogboxelements. Dialogboxtitles Commandbuttons Icons Menusandmenuitems Toolbars

Forexample: 1. SelecttheFile|Newmenuitem. 2. AccesstheOpendialogbox. 3. ClicktheSavebutton

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

GettingStarted:An Overview * 7

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

BoldfacemayalsobeusedonNotes,Warnings,Hints,andExamples. Whenreferringtomenusandmenuitemsinsideproceduresandothertopics,thedocumentation willdirectyoutoamenuinthisfashion: Menu|SubmenuorMenuItem|MenuItem However,sinceyoucancustomizeyourmenulocationsandnames,thisdocumentationonly displaysthedefaultlocationsformenuitems. Theonlinehelpfile,however,hasamenuroadmapiconwithinseveraltopics.Clickingthisicon willdisplaythepathwaytothemenuitem(oritems)discussedinthattopic.

ItalicizedText
Italicizedtextisprimarilyusedforemphasis.Forexample,"If...theprobehitsanobstruction,it willnotautomaticallystop". Italicizedtextmayalsobeusedfor: BookorManualtitles PredefinedArguments(inprogramming) Parameters(inprogramming) Placeholders(inprogramming) UserInput(inprogramming)

UppercaseText
Uppercasetextisgenerallyusedwhenreferringto: Acronyms(suchasVDAFS,DMIS) Time(suchasA.M.andP.M.) Devicenames(suchasLPT1,orCOMMPORT2)

Inthoseinstanceswhereelementsofcomputerprogrammingaredisplayed,thefollowingitems alsouseuppercase: Controlclasses Dataformats Environmentvariables Handles Hooks Indexes Macros Statements Structures SystemCommands Values

8 * GettingStarted:AnOverview

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

UnderlinedText
Underlineisusedforemphasiswhenappropriate,butusuallyemphasisusesitalicizedtext.

BulletedText
Bullets""areusedtoshowalistofoptions,orcommands,availabletoacertainprogram featuresoritemsdiscussedinatopicorchapter.

NumberedLists
Numberedlistsshowaseriesofstepsininstructionsandprocedures.Forexample, 1. ChooseFile. 2. SelectNew. 3. FillintheNewPartProgramdialogbox.

CADLinks
PCDMISprovidesseveralmethodsfortransmittingCADgeometry,partprograms,and measurementdatafromand/ortoCADsystems.WorkingwithCADdataisoneofPCDMIS's strengths. CADgeometrycanbeimportedinto,andmeasurementresultsexportedfrom,PCDMISvia: IGES5.3 STEPAP203&AP214 VDAFS DES(2/78) XYZIJKformat

PCDMISallowsyoutoimportthefollowingforuseingeneratingpartprogramsandasaguidein programexecution: Twodimensionalwireframe Twoandonehalfdimensionalwireframe Threedimensionalwireframe BsplinecurvesandsurfacesCADmodels

Seethe"WorkinginOfflineMode"appendixforalistofsupportedIGESentities. PartprogramscreatedinCADsystemscanbeimportedintoPCDMISbywayofDMIS3.0.PC DMISpartprogramscanbeexportedintoDMISforrunninginotherCMMsoftware. PCDMISmeasurementresultscanalsobeexportedasaDMISresultsfile.


PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual GettingStarted:An Overview * 9

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

UsingaMouseorMotionController
OneoftheobjectivesofPCDMISistobeflexibleanduserfriendly.Tomeetthisobjective,PC DMISallowsyoutousepointingdevicesandmotioncontrollers.Thespeedandaccuracyofa mouse,forexample,makeitanindispensablepartofthePCDMISworkenvironment.Witha mouseyoucanexecuteallPCDMISfunctions.(Keyboardcommandscanalsobeusedto accessmostPCDMISfunctions.)

ConfiguringaZMouse
CertainsystemsofferatrackballstyleofmousereferredtoasaZMouse.Thisenablestheuser tocontrolthemovementofthemousepointerfromthezrail. Thelastlineoftheparameterfile(DOWNLOAD)shouldread: N1000ZMOUSE2 or N500ZMOUSE2 ToenabletheZMouse pleaseverifythatthelastlineoftheDOWNLOADfilereflectstheabove statement.Modifytheline,ifnecessary.

ConfiguringaSpaceBallorSpaceMouseDevice
PCDMIS3.7andabovesupportsthesemotioncontrollersfrom3DConnexion: SpaceBall SpaceMouse

ThesedevicescommunicatewithPCDMISviathe3DxWareinterface.Thisinterfaceusesa configurationfilethatmayshipwithPCDMISorwithyour3DConnexionCD.Thisconfiguration filedefinestheavailablePCDMISapplicationfunctionsthatyoucanassigntothevarious buttonsonthesedevices.Italsodefinesthedefaultconfigurationandbuttonassignments. Togetthelatestconfigurationfile,youcandownloaditfromtheWilcoxAssociates,Inc.FTPsite here: ftp://ftp.wilcoxassoc.com/spaceball/SelfInstallationEXEs/Install_PCDMIS_400_3Dconnexion.exe

AvailablePCDMISFunctionsforSpaceMouseorSpaceBall
ThistopicdescribesthefunctionsthatyoucanassigntobuttonsonyourSpaceMouseor SpaceBalldevices.Thesefunctionsinclude: >IgnoremotionIgnoresalltranslationandrotationinformationfromthemotioncontroller. >NextviewForcesthefocusofthemotioncontrollertothenextviewwhenmultipleviews areavailable. >Hide/ShowIDsTogglesthedisplayoffeaturetextboxlabelIDs. >ScaletofitPerformsthestandardPCDMISscaletofitoperation.

10 * GettingStarted:AnOverview

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

>ShowcursorDisplaysanAuxiliaryCursoronthescreen.UsedwithCenterbycursor, PCDMISzoom,PCDMISrotate2D,andPCDMISrotate3D. >CenterbycursorMakestheShowcursoractiveifitisn'talready.Otherwise,wherever theAuxiliaryCursorislocated,thatwillbecomethecenterofthescreen. >PCDMISpanPanstheGraphicsDisplaywindow.Youcanslidethedeviceleftorrightto PANLEFTorPANRIGHTandslideitupordowntoPANUPorPANDOWN,thereby matchingthePANconfigurationinthe>CADPZRsetting.Themotiondeviceemulates ajoysticktypedevicewiththissetting. >PCDMISzoomIfyouhaveanAuxiliaryCursoractive,thenthecenterpointofthezoom willbefixedattheAuxiliaryCursorlocation.Ifnot,PCDMISperformsastandardzoom operation.Youcanslidethedeviceforwardorbackward.Movingthedeviceforward zoomsoutandmovingitbackwardzoomsin.Thismatchesthezoomconfigurationinthe >CADPZRsetting. >PCDMISrotate2DIfyouhaveanAuxiliaryCursoractive,thenthepointusedtocalculate therotationanglewillbefixedattheAuxiliaryCursorlocation(similartoarightmouse button2Drotate).Otherwise,thepointusedtocalculatetherotationanglewillbejustto thetoprightofthescreencenter.Ineithercase,PCDMISperformsastandardPCDMIS 2Drotation. >PCDMISrotate3DIfyouhaveanAuxiliaryCursoractive,thenthepointusedasthe centerofrotationwillbefixedattheAuxiliaryCursorlocation(similartoarightmouse button3Drotate).Otherwise,thecenterofrotationwillbethescreencenter.Ineither case,PCDMISperformsastandard3Drotation. >CADPZRPan,zooms,androtates(PZR)thepartimageintheGraphicsDisplaywindow allatthesametime.ThecenterofrotationisalwaystheCADmodel,andthezoom referencepointisthecenteroftheCADmodel.Whenyoustartapartprogram,PCDMIS turnsthisfunctiononbydefault. >CADPZRDominantTogglesthedominantfunctionofCADPZRbasedonthegreatest deflectionoftheSpaceBallaxes.Thisletsyouhavebettercontrolbecauseitfiltersout lessdominantfunctions.Forexample,inthismode,ifyourotatetheaxesandasmall amountofdeflectionoccursinpanorzoom,onlythedominantfunction,rotationinthis case,willtakeplace.Whenyoustartapartprogram,PCDMISturnsthisfunctionoffby default. >PZR2sidedlightingToggles2sidedlightingwhendoingapan,zoom,orrotate(PZR). ThisattributeisalsopartofthePZROptionsdialogbox.
th th >PZR1/5 ofobjectsTogglesthestateofdisplayingonly1/5 (20%)oftheobjectswhen doingaPZR.ThisattributeisalsopartofthePZROptionsdialogbox.

>PZRinwireframeToggleswireframemodewhendoingaPZR.Thisattributeisalsopart ofthePZROptionsdialogbox. >Dialog:PZRoptionsDisplaysthePZROptionsdialogbox. >Dialog:CadinfoDisplaystheCadInformationdialogbox.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

GettingStarted:An Overview * 11

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

>Dialog:ViewsetupDisplaystheViewSetupdialogbox. ForinformationonthePZRdialogboxseethe"ChangingRotationandotherMotionOptions" topicinthe"EditingtheCADDisplay"chapter.

AssigningPCDMISFunctionstobuttonsontheSpaceMouseorSpaceBall
Usethe3DconnexionControlPaneltodefineviewsassociatedwithbuttonactionsandtoassign PCDMISfunctionstoyourdevice. 1. Doubleclickonthe3DxWaresymbollocatedinyourSystemTray. configurationapplication,3DconnexionControlPanel,appears. The3DxWare

3DconnexionControlPanelshowingtheSpaceBallDevice 2. SelectPCDMISfromtheConfigurationfor:list.PCDMISshowsthedefaultfunctions forthevariousbuttons. 3. Inthebuttonlistboxes,selectthePCDMISfunctionsyouwanttoassign. 4. Makeanyotherchangesasneeded. 5. ClickClosetoacceptyourconfigurationandclosethecontrolpanel. Consultthe3DconnexionControlPanelhelpfileifyourunintoproblems.

SpaceBall/SpaceMouseModes
Thesedevicesarealwaysinacertainmode.Asymbolappearsinthelowerrightcornerofthe GraphicsDisplaywindowtoindicatethecurrentmodeforCADPZR,PCDMISpan,orPCDMIS Zoom. StandardModes Showcursor

12 * GettingStarted:AnOverview

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

CADPZR PCDMISrotate PCDMISpan PCDMISzoom CADPZRdominantTheimageinthelowerrightcorneroftheGraphicsDisplaywindow displaysa1tosignifythatonly1ofthethreefunctions(Pan,Zoom,orRotate)willbe usedatatime.

DemoMode ThesedevicescanalsoplacetheGraphicsDisplaywindowintoademomode.Thismodecauses theGraphicsDisplaywindowtorotateautomaticallyseveraltimesasecond.Toenterorexitthe demomode,presstheCTRLkeyandpresstheprogrammedScaletoFitbuttononthedevice.

AutomatingPCDMIS
PCDMIScomesfullysupportedofbeingcontrolledbyanythirdpartysoftware.Forexampleyou cancreateyourowncustomizedapplicationandusingautomationcommands,youcanlaunch andusePCDMISviathatapplication. ForcompleteinformationontheautomationcommandsthatcontrolPCDMIS,andonsupported BASIClanguagecommands,seeyourPCDMISBasicLanguagemanualforadditional information.

SoftwareConfigurations
Assumingyouhavepurchasedthenecessarymodules,andyourportlockisproperlyconfigured, youcanlaunchPCDMISindifferentconfigurations.Todothis, 1. AccessthedirectorywherethePCDMISexecutableshortcutislocated(generallythisis locatedatC:\DocumentsandSettings\AllUsers\StartMenu\Programs\PCDMISfor Windows). 2. RightclickinthedirectoryandselectNew|Shortcut. 3. FollowtheonscreeninstructionstohavetheshortcutpointtowherethePCDMIS executable,pcdlrn.exe,islocated(whereveryouinstalledit). 4. Addanyofthesecommandlineswitches(orarguments),followingtheshortcut'sfull pathtotheexecutable: /fforofflinemode /uforuserprivilegelevelwhenyouareloggedontothesystemasanadministrator /oforoperatormode /rforreverseaxesmodeontheslavearmofadualarmsystem /pforpromode(cannotusewith/cswitch) /cforcadmode(cannotusewith/pswitch)
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual GettingStarted:An Overview * 13

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

/dfordebugmodeforthissession /nc0torunPCDMISwithouttheCNCfunctionality /5uniquetorunPCDMISwithoutthisfunctionality /cmttorunPCDMISwithoutthisfunctionality /dccscanning torunPCDMISwithoutthisfunctionality /displaycadtorunPCDMISwithoutthisfunctionality /laserprobetorunPCDMISwithoutthisfunctionality /masterslavetorunPCDMISwithoutthisfunctionality /nocontactprobetorunPCDMISwithoutthisfunctionality /remotepanel torunPCDMISwithoutthisfunctionality /rotarytabletorunPCDMISwithoutthisfunctionality /sheetmetal torunPCDMISwithoutthisfunctionality /statsoutputtorunPCDMISwithoutthisfunctionality /systemvtorunPCDMISwithoutthisfunctionality /toolchangertorunPCDMISwithoutthisfunctionality /valisystorunPCDMISwithoutthisfunctionality /visiontorunPCDMISwithoutthisfunctionality /wristtorunPCDMISwithoutthisfunctionality SoifyouwanttorunPCDMISproinofflinemode,thetargetlocationwouldlook somethinglikethis: "C:\ProgramFiles\pcdmisw\PCDLRN.exe"/p/f YoucanalsotellPCDMIStoautomaticallyopenaspecificpartprogram(orpart programs)byappendingapathwaystringpointingtoapartprogramasacommandline argument. Whenspecifyingapartprogramtoload,however,youdonotneedthe/character requiredfortheotherargumentsdiscussedabove. Toopenmorethanonepartprogram,typeaspacebetweeneachadditionalpathway. Ifyourfilenamecontainsspaces,putthepathwaywithinquotationmarks.

14 * GettingStarted:AnOverview

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Forexample,ifyouwantedtolaunchtwopartprogramsnamedtest.prgandtest2.prgin offlinemodefromadirectorycalled"MyPartPrograms",thetargetlocationsmightlook somethinglikethis: "C:\ProgramFiles\PCDLRN.exe"/f "d:\mypartprograms\test.prg""d:\mypart programs\test2.prg" ThemostcommonmodesareOfflineandOnlinemodes.Thesetwodistinctproductsare designedtomeetparticularneeds.Theycanbeusedtogethertocreateacompletepartprogram, measurementanalysisandreverseengineeringsystem. Theseandotherconfigurationsareexplainedbelowingreaterdetail.

ComparisonofOffLineandOnLineVersions
Sinceboththeonlineandofflineversionssharethesamefeaturesandfunctions,thismanual describestheuseofbothproducts.However,insomeinstancesaparticularfeatureoftheonline softwaredoesnotapplytotheofflinesoftware.Thesecaseshavebeennotedwhereappropriate.

OnLinePartProgramming
UsingonlinePCDMIS,theusercanexecuteexistingpartprograms,quicklyinspectparts(or sectionsofparts),anddeveloppartprogramsdirectlyontheCMM.OnlinePCDMISwillnot functionunlessitisconnectedtoaCMM.Offlineprogrammingtechniqueswillworkwhileonline.

OffLinePartProgramming
UsingofflinePCDMIS,youcandevelopanddebugpartprogramsawayfromtheCMMby editingapartcreatedonline,byimportingaCADinputfile,orthroughaDMIS,orAVAILpart program.ThepartprogramthencanbedirectlyexecutedusingonlinePCDMIS,orexported (postprocessed)intoeitherDMISoroneofseveralvendorspecificformats.OfflinePCDMIS cannotbeusedtodirectlydriveaCMM. The"WorkinginOfflineMode"appendix,describestheparticularsoftheofflineversion.

PCDMISVision
ThisspecialversionofPCDMISallowsyoutousecertainopticalprobingdevicestomeasure features.Ifyou'vepurchasedthismodule,seeyour"PCDMISVision"manualforadditional information.

PCDMIS/NC
ThisspecialversionofPCDMISallowsyoutoperformpartmeasurementsusingNCmachine tools.ThesemachinetoolsarealsoreferredtoasCNC(ComputerNumericalControl)machines. Ifyou'vepurchasedthismodule,seeyour"PCDMIS/NC"manualforadditionalinformation.

PCDMISLaser
ThismoduleofPCDMISletsyouusealaserprobetoeasilymeasureyourpartsbypassinga laserstripeovertheparttocollectlargeamountsofpointswhicharetheninterpretedanddefined
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual GettingStarted:An Overview * 15

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

intofeatures.Ifyou'vepurchasedthismodule,seeyour"PCDMISLaser"manualforadditional information.

PCDMISGear
PCDMISGearisasoftwareproductthatworksinconjunctionwithPCDMIStoallowyouto quicklyandeasilymeasureanygearpartsyouhave.Ifyou'vepurchasedthismodule,seethe "PCDMISGear"helpfilethatgetsinstalledwiththePCDMISGearapplicationformore information. WehopeyouwillenjoyusingPCDMISandfinditausefulandpowerfultool.Ifyouhaveany suggestionsorcomments,pleaseletusknow.Wearealwayslookingforwaystoimproveour product.

PCDMISIP
PCDMISInspectionPlanner(IP)isanaddinmodulethatworksinconjunctionwithasupported CADpackageandPCDMIStoaidtheDesignEngineerorQualityEngineerindesigningaplan thatdetermineswhichfeaturesofthegeometryandGD&T/dimensiontouseintheinspection process.SinceIPrunsinsideyourCADpackage,itcutsyourlearningcurvesinceyouwillonly needtouseasmallportionofPCDMISforWindowstogeneratethepartprogram. Ifyou'vepurchasedthismodule,seeyour"PCDMISIP"manualforadditionalinformation.

16 * GettingStarted:AnOverview

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

GettingStarted:ASimpleTutorial
ASimpleTutorial:Overview
Thepurposeofthischapteristoguideyouthroughtheprocessofmeasuringapartusingthe CMMinonlinemode. TheHexagontestblockwasusedtocreatethisshorttutorial.

HexagonTestBlock Ifyouwanttoactuallyworkwithamachineinonlinemodeandyoudon'tphysicallyhavethispart, anysimilarpartallowingthemeasurementofseveralcirclesandaconewillbesatisfactory. NoteforOfflineUsers:Ifyouareworkinginofflinemode(withoutaCMM),youcanimportand followalongwithsomeofthestepsbelowbyclickingonthepartwiththemouseontheIGES modelofthetestblockinplaceoftakingactualhitswithyourprobinginonlinemode.Thismodel comeswiththePCDMISforWindowsinstallation.Itislocatedinthedirectorywhereyou installedPCDMIS.Ifyouwanttouseit,simplyimportthefilenamed "HEXBLOCK_WIREFRAME_SURFACE.igs".See"RepresentingaPartGraphically"inthis chapterforinformation. TobeginexploringthecapabilitiesofPCDMIS,pleasereadthroughthisentirechapterandfollow alongonyoursystem. Themaintopicsinthischapterinclude: GettingStartedwithaSimpleTutorial MeasuringFeatures UsingDifferentProbeOptions RepresentingaPartGraphically WorkinginManualorDCCMode

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

GettingStarted:ASimpleTutorial * 17

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

GettingStartedwithaSimpleTutorial
Thissectionhighlightsthestepsnecessarytocreateasimplepartprogram.Youwillcreateapart programusingonlinePCDMIS,withouttheuseofCADdata. Ifaprocedureisunfamiliartoyou,pleaseusetheonlinehelp(pressF1)orconsultthe appropriatesectionsoftheprintablemanualonyourinstallationdisktoobtainadditional information. Thetutorialguidesyouthroughthefollowingsteps: Step1. CreateaNewPartProgram Step2. DefineaProbe Step3. SettheView Step4. MeasuretheFeatures Step5. ScaletheImage Step6. CreateanAlignment Step7. SetyourPreferences Step8. AddComments Step9. MeasureAdditionalFeatures Step10. ConstructFeaturesfromExistingFeatures Step11. CalculateDimensions Step12. MarktheItemstoExecute Step13. SettheReportOutput Step14. ExecutetheFinishedProgram Step15. PrinttheReport

Step1:CreateaNewPartProgram
TocreateanewPartProgram: 1. OpenthePCDMISprogrambydoubleclickingonthePCDMISicon.PCDMIScanalso beopenedbyselectingtheStartbutton,thenProgramFiles|PCDMISForWindows| Offline.TheOpenFiledialogboxwillappear.Ifyouhadpreviouslycreatedapart program,youwouldloaditfromthisdialog. 2. Sinceyouarecreatinganewpartprogram,selecttheCancelbuttontoclosethedialog box.

18 * GettingStarted:ASimpleTutorial

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

3. AccesstheNewPartProgramdialogboxbyselectingFile|New.

4. 5. 6. 7.

NewPartProgramdialogbox InthePartNameboxtypeinthename"TEST". SelecttheEnglish(inch)optionforthemeasurementunitstype. SelectONLINEintheInterfacedropdownlist. ClickOK.PCDMIScreatesthenewpartprogram.

Assoonasyouhavecreatedanewpartprogram,PCDMISwillopenthemainuserinterfaceand thenimmediatelyopentheProbeUtilitiesdialogboxforyoutoloadaprobe.

Step2:DefineaProbe
TheProbeUtilitiesdialogbox,accessedbyselectingInsert|HardwareDefinition|Probe, allowsyoutodefineanewprobe.Whenyoufirstcreateanewpartprogram,PCDMIS automaticallybringsupthisdialogbox.Formoreinformation,see"DefiningProbes"inthe "DefiningHardware"chapter. Hint:ClickthisiconfromtheWizardstoolbar toaccessthePCDMIS'sProbeWizard.The ProbeWizardhelpsyoueasilydefineyourprobe.YoucanalsousetheProbeUtilitiesdialog boxtodothisaswell. TheProbeDescriptionareaoftheProbeUtilitiesdialogboxallowsyoutodefinetheprobe, extensionsandtip(s)thatwillbeusedinthepartprogram.TheProbeDescriptiondropdown listdisplaystheavailableprobeoptionsinalphabeticalorder. ToloadyourprobeusingtheProbeUtilitiesdialogbox: 1. IntheProbeFilebox,typethenameoftheprobe.Later,whenyoucreateotherpart programs,yourprobeswillbeavailableinthisdialogboxforselection. 2. Selectthestatement:"NoProbedefined." 3. SelectthedesiredprobeheadfromtheProbeDescriptiondropdownlistusingthe mousecursororhighlightingitwiththearrowkeysandpressingENTER. 4. Selecttheline"EmptyConnection#1"andcontinuetoselectthenecessaryprobeparts untilyourprobeisbuilt.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

GettingStarted:ASimpleTutorial * 19

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

5. ClicktheOKbuttonwhenfinished.TheProbeUtilitiesdialogboxclosesandPCDMIS returnsyoutothemaininterface. 6. Verifythatthecreatedprobetipjustdefinedisdisplayedastheactivetip.(SeetheProbe TipslistlocatedontheSettingstoolbar.) Note:Beforeyoucanuseyourbuiltprobe,youwillneedtocalibrateyourprobetipangle.Forthis tutorial,wewillnotcoverthecalibrationprocess.Itisdiscussedindepth,inthe"Measure"topicin the"DefiningHardware"chapter. AtthispointyouwillsetuptheviewsyouwillbeusingintheGraphicsDisplaywindow.Thisis doneusingtheViewSetupicon fromtheGraphicsModestoolbar.

Step3:SettheView

ViewSetupdialogbox TochangetheviewsintheGraphicsDisplaywindowyouwillusetheViewSetupdialogbox. YoucanaccessthisdialogboxbyclickingtheViewSetupiconfromtheGraphicsModetoolbar orbyselectingtheEdit|GraphicsDisplayWindow|ViewSetupmenuoption: 1. FromtheViewSetupdialogbox,selectthedesiredscreenstyle.Forthistutorial, clickonthesecondbutton(toprow,secondfromleft)indicatingahorizontally splitwindow.

2. ToviewtheupperpartimageintheZ+direction,pulldowntheBluedropdown listlocatedintheViewsareaofthedialogbox,andselectZ+. 3. ToviewthelowerpartimageintheYorientation,pulldowntheReddropdown listandselectY. 4. ClicktheApplybuttonandPCDMISwillredrawtheGraphicsDisplaywindow withtherequestedtwoviews.Sinceyouhaven'tmeasuredthepartyet,nothing willbedrawnintheGraphicsDisplaywindow.Thescreenwillbesplit,however, accordingtotheviewsselectedintheViewSetupdialogbox. Note:AllofthedisplayoptionsonlyaffecthowPCDMISdisplaysthepartimage.Theydonot haveaneffectonthemeasureddataorinspectionresults.

20 * GettingStarted:ASimpleTutorial

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Step4:MeasuretheAlignmentFeatures
Oncetheprobeisdefinedanddisplayed,youmaybeginthemeasurementprocessandmeasure youralignmentfeatures.See"MeasuringFeatures"fortheproperwaytotakehits.(Deletinghits andfeaturesisalsodiscussed.)

MeasureaPlane

VerifythatPCDMISissettoTakethreehitsonthetopsurface.Thehitsshouldbetriangularin Programmodebeforetakingshapeandasspreadoutaspossible.PresstheENDkeyafterthe hits. thirdhit.PCDMISwilldisplayafeatureIDandtriangle,indicating SelecttheProgrammode themeasurementoftheplane. icontodothis.

MeasureaLine

Tomeasurealine,taketwohitsonsidesurfaceofthepartjustbelowtheedge,thefirsthitonthe leftsideofthepartandthesecondhittotherightofthefirsthit.Thedirectionisveryimportant whenmeasuringfeatures,asPCDMISusesthisinformationtocreatethecoordinateaxissystem.


PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual GettingStarted:ASimpleTutorial * 21

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

PresstheENDkeyafterthesecondhit.PCDMISwilldisplayafeatureIDandmeasuredlinein theGraphicsDisplaywindow.

MeasureaCircle

Movetheprobetothecenterofonecircle.(Thetopleftcirclewasselectedforthisexample.) Lowertheprobeintotheholeandmeasurethecircle,takingfourhitsinapproximatelyequal distancesaroundthecircle.PresstheENDkeyafterthelasthit.PCDMISwilldisplayafeature IDandmeasuredcircleintheGraphicsDisplaywindow.

Step5:ScaletheImage

TheScaletoFiticonscales Afterthethreefeaturesaremeasured,clicktheScaletoFittoolbar theimageintheGraphics icon(orselectOperations|GraphicsDisplayWindow|Scaleto Displaywindow. Fit fromthemenubar)todisplayallofthemeasuredfeaturesinthe GraphicsDisplaywindow.

GraphicsDisplaywindowshowingmeasuredfeatures Thenextstepinthemeasurementprocessistocreateanalignment.

Step6:CreateanAlignment
ThisproceduresetsthecoordinateoriginanddefinestheX,Y,Zaxes.Formoreindepth informationoncreatingalignments,seethe"CreatingandUsingAlignments"chapter.

22 * GettingStarted:ASimpleTutorial

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Hint:ClickthisiconfromtheWizardstoolbar:

toaccessPCDMIS's321AlignmentWizard.

1. AccesstheAlignmentUtilitiesdialogboxbyselectingInsert|Alignment|New. 2. Usingthecursororarrowkeys,selecttheplanefeatureID(PLN1)locatedinthelistbox. Ifyouhaven'tchangedthelabels,theplanefeatureIDwillbeshownas"F1"(forFeature 1)inthelistbox. 3. ClicktheLevelcommandbuttontoestablishtheorientationofthenormalaxisofthe currentworkingplane. 4. SelecttheplanefeatureID(PLN1orF1)asecondtime. 5. SelecttheAutocheckbox. 6. ClicktheOrigincommandbutton.Thisactionwilltranslate(ormove)thepartorigintoa specificlocation(inthiscase,ontheplane).SelectingtheAutocheckboxmovesthe axesbasedonthefeaturetypeandtheorientationofthatfeature. 7. SelectthelinefeatureID(LINE1orF2). 8. ClicktheRotatecommandbutton.Thisactionwillrotatethedefinedaxisofthework planetothefeature.PCDMISrotatesthedefinedaxisaroundthecentroidthatisused astheorigin. 9. SelectthecirclefeatureID(CIR1orF3). 10. MakesuretheAutocheckboxisselected. 11. ClicktheOrigincommandbutton.Thisactionmovestheorigintothecenterofthecircle, whilekeepingitattheleveloftheplane. AtthispointtheAlignmentUtilitiesdialogboxshouldlookthesameasshownhere:

AlignmentUtilitiesdialogboxshowingthecurrentalignment Whentheabovestepsarecomplete,clickontheOKbutton.TheAlignmentslist(onthe Settingstoolbar)andtheEditwindow'sCommandModewilldisplaythenewlycreatedalignment. ClicktheCommandModeicontofromtheEditWindowtoolbartoplacetheEditwindow intoCommandMode.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

GettingStarted:ASimpleTutorial * 23

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

EditwindowshowingthenewlycreatedAlignment TheGraphicsDisplaywindowwillalsobeupdatedtoshowthecurrentalignment.

UpdatedGraphicsDisplaywindowshowingthecurrentalignment

Step7:SetyourPreferences
PCDMISallowsyoutocustomizePCDMIStomeetyourspecificneedsorpreferences.There areavarietyofoptionsavailablethatcanbefoundwithintheEdit|Preferencessubmenu.Only optionspertinenttothisexercisewillbediscussedinthissection.Pleaserefertothe"Setting YourPreferences"chapterforcompleteinformationregardingalloftheavailableoptions.

EnterDCCMode

SelectDCCmode.ThiscanbedonebyeitherclickingtheDCCmodetoolbariconfromthe ProbeModetoolbar,orplacingyourcursoronthelinereading"MODE/MANUAL"intheEdit windowandpressingtheF8key. ThecommandintheEditwindowwillnowdisplay:


MODE/DCC

See"ProbeModeToolbar"inthe"UsingToolbars"chapterforadditionalinformationontheCMM modes.

24 * GettingStarted:ASimpleTutorial

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

SetMoveSpeed

ParameterSettingsDialogboxMotiontab TheMoveSpeedoptionletsyouchangethepointtopointpositioningspeedoftheCMM. 1. AccesstheParameterSettingsdialogboxbyselectingEdit|Preferences| Parameters. 2. SelecttheMotiontab. 3. PlaceyourcursorintheMoveSpeedbox. 4. Selectthecurrentmovespeedvalue. 5. Type50.Thisvalueindicatesapercentageoffullmachinespeed. Basedonthissetting,PCDMISwillmovetheCMMathalfofitsfullspeed.Thedefaultsettings fortheotheroptionsaresatisfactoryforthisexercise. See"ParameterSettings:Motiontab"inthe"SettingyourPreferences"chapterforadditional informationonMoveSpeedaswellasothermotionoptions.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

GettingStarted:ASimpleTutorial * 25

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

SetClearancePlane

ParameterSettingsDialogboxClearPlanetab TosettheClearancePlane: 1. AccesstheParameterSettingsdialogboxbyselectingEdit|Preferences| Parameters. 2. SelecttheClearPlanetab. 3. SelecttheClearancePlanesActive(ON)checkbox. 4. SelectthecurrentActivePlane value. 5. Typethevalue.50.Thissettingwillcreateaonehalfinchclearanceplane aroundthetopplaneofthepart 6. Verifythatthetopplaneisdisplayedastheactiveplane. 7. ClicktheApplybutton. 8. ClicktheOKbutton.ThedialogboxclosesandPCDMISstorestheclearance planeintheEditwindow. See"ParameterSettings:ClearPlanetab"inthe"SettingyourPreferences"chapterformore informationonsettingclearanceplanes.

Step8:AddComments
Toaddcomments: 1. AccesstheCommentdialogboxbyselectingInsert|ReportCommand|Comment. 2. SelecttheOperatoroption. 3. TypethefollowingtextintheavailableCommentTextbox:"WARNING,machineis goingtoDCCmode."

26 * GettingStarted:ASimpleTutorial

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Commentdialogbox

4. ClicktheOKbuttontoendthisoptionanddisplaythecommandintheEditwindow. See"InsertingProgrammerComments"inthe"InsertingReportCommands"chapterfor additionalinformation.

Step9:MeasureAdditionalFeatures
Usetheprobetomeasurethreeadditionalcirclesandonecone.Tomeasureaconeitisbestto take3hitsontheupperlevelandthreehitsonalowerlevelasshowninthedrawingbelow.

Coneconstructedfrommeasurementsatdifferentdepths

Step10:ConstructNewFeaturesfromExistingFeatures
PCDMIScancreatefeaturesbyusingotherfeatures.Todothis: 1. AccesstheConstructLinedialogboxbyselectingInsert|Feature|Constructed| Line.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

GettingStarted:ASimpleTutorial * 27

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ConstructLinedialogbox 2. Usingthemousecursor,clickontwocircles(CIR2,CIR3)intheGraphicsDisplay window(orselectthemfromthelistboxoftheConstructLinedialogbox).Oncethe circlesareselected,theywillbehighlighted. 3. SelecttheAutooption. 4. Selectthe2DLineoption. 5. ClicktheCreatebutton. PCDMISwillcreatealine(LINE2)usingthemosteffectiveconstructionmethod. ThelineandfeatureIDwillbedisplayedintheGraphicsDisplaywindowandEditwindow.

ConstructedlineshownintheGraphicsdisplaywindow Foradditionalinformationonconstructingfeatures,seethe"ConstructingNewFeaturesfrom ExistingFeatures"chapter.

28 * GettingStarted:ASimpleTutorial

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Step11:CalculateDimensions
Onceafeaturehasbeencreated,thedimensionsofthatfeaturecanbecalculated.Dimensions canbegeneratedatanytimewhilelearningapartprogram,andaretailoredtofitindividual specifications.PCDMISwilldisplaytheresultofeachdimensionoperationintheEditwindow. Togenerateadimension: 1. SelectInsert|DimensionsubmenuandensurethattheLegacyDimensionsmenu itemisselected(hasacheckmarknexttoit). 2. AccesstheLocationdialogboxbyselectingInsert|Dimension|TruePosition. 3. FromthelistboxortheGraphicsDisplaywindow,selectthelastthreecirclesthatwere measuredbyselectingtheirfeatureidentificationsinthelistbox.

LastthreecirclesselectedintheFeatureLocationdialogbox. 3. ClicktheCreatebutton.

Editwindowshowinglocationdimensionsforthreecircles PCDMISwilldisplaythelocationsofthethreecirclesintheEditwindow.Thesevaluescanbe changedsimplybydoubleclickingonthedesiredline,highlightingthenecessarynominal,and typinginanewvalue.


PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual GettingStarted:ASimpleTutorial * 29

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Foradditionalinformationoncreatingdimensions,seethe"DimensioningFeatures"chapter.

Step12:MarktheItemstoExecute
Markingallowsyoutoselectivelychoosewhatelementsofyourpartprogramareexecuted.For thistutorial,markallofthefeatures. 1. MarkallofthefeaturesinthepartprogramusingtheEdit|Markings|MarkAllmenu optioncoveredinthe"EditingaPartProgram"chapter.Oncemarked,theselected featureswillbedisplayedusingthecurrenthighlightcolor. 2. PCDMISasksifit'sOKtomarkmanualalignmentfeatures.ClickYes.

Step13:SettheReportOutput
PCDMISwillalsosendthefinalreporttoafileorprinterifselected.Forthistutorial,setthe outputtogototheprinter. 1. SelecttheFile|Printing|ReportPrintSetupoption.ThePrintOptionsdialogbox appears. 2. SelectthePrintercheckbox. 3. ClickOK. ThereisnowenoughinformationtoallowPCDMIStoexecutethepartprogramthatwascreated.

Step14:ExecutetheFinishedProgram
Thereisavarietyofoptionsavailabletoexecutealloraportionofthepartprogram.See "ExecutingPartPrograms"fromthe"UsingAdvancedFileOptions"section. Onceallofthestepshavebeenfollowed: 1. SelecttheFile|Executemenuoption.PCDMISwilldisplaytheExecutionMode Optionsdialogboxandbeginthemeasurementprocess. 2. ReadtheinstructionsintheCMMCommandwindow,andfollowtherequeststotake specifiedhits. 3. PCDMISrequeststhatyoutakethesehitsintheapproximatelocationindicatedinthe GraphicsDisplaywindow. 4. Takethreehitsonthesurfacetocreateaplane.PresstheENDkey. Takestwohitsontheedgetocreatealine.PresstheENDkey. Takefourhitsinsidethecircle.PresstheENDkey.

ClickContinueafteryoutakeeachhit.

30 * GettingStarted:ASimpleTutorial

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

InstructionsdisplayedinExecutionModeOptionsdialogbox It'sthatsimple.(Ofcourse,ifPCDMISdetectsanerror,itwillbedisplayedintheMachine Errorslistonthedialogboxandactionmustbetakenbeforetheprogramcanproceed.) Whenthelasthithasbeentakenonthecircle,PCDMISwilldisplaythePCDMISMessage dialogboxwithyourmessage:"WARNING,MachineisgoingtoDCCmode."Assoonasthe OKbuttonisclicked,PCDMISautomaticallymeasurestherestofthefeatures.

Ifanerrorisencountered,determinethecauseusingtheMachineErrorsdropdownlistonthe ExecutionModeOptionsdialogbox.Takethenecessaryactionstocorrecttheproblem.Click theContinuebuttontocompletetheexecutionofthepartprogram.

Step15:PrinttheReport
Afterthepartprogramisexecuted,PCDMISwillautomaticallyprintthereporttothedesignated outputsource.ThiswasdeterminedinthePrintOptionsdialogbox(File|Printing|Report PrintSetup).SincethePrintercheckboxwasselected,thereportwillbesenttotheprinter. Makesuretheprinterisconnectedandturnedontoreviewthepartprogram. Congratulations!Youvefinishedthetutorial.Foradditionalinformationrelatedtothistutorial,see thefollowingtopicsincludedwiththischapter: MeasuringFeatures UsingDifferentProbeOptions RepresentingaPartGraphically WorkinginManualorDCCMode

MeasuringFeatures
VerifythatthedesiredprobeandworkingplaneareshownintheDisplaydropdownlistofthe Settingstoolbar.PCDMISalsoshouldbesettoManualmode. PCDMISdoesnotrequiretheoperatortoinputdataformeasuringafeature.Themousecanbe usedtomeasureaCADfeature(ifCADdataisavailable)ortheprobecanbeusedwiththeCMM. OncethefeatureismeasuredwitheitherthemouseortheCMMprobe,presstheENDkey.PC DMISwillautomaticallydeterminethefeaturetype(circle,line,plane,etc.).Inaddition,PCDMIS

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

GettingStarted:ASimpleTutorial * 31

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

automaticallycompensatesforproberadius.Formoreinformationonmeasuringfeaturesfrom CADdatapleaseseethe"WorkinginOfflineMode"appendix.

FeatureGuessing
PCDMISoffersauniquemethodformeasuringfeatures.Insteadofrequiringyoutospecifythe typeoffeatureabouttobemeasured(i.e.,point,circle,etc.),itallowshitstosimplybetaken. Whenthemeasurementofafeatureiscompleted,PCDMISissignaledbypressingthe designatedbuttononthejoystickbox(ifthemachineissoequipped)orpressingtheENDkeyon thekeyboard.PCDMISthendeterminesthetypeofelementthathasjustbeenmeasuredusing bestguessalgorithms.BestguessalgorithmsaremathematicalcalculationsusedbyPCDMIS makeacalculatedguessatwhatfeaturetypeisbeingcreated. Forexample,acircleismeasuredwithaminimumofthreehits.Aseachpositionismeasured, thenumberofhitstakenonthefeaturewillbedisplayedonthestatusbar.Onceanadequate numberhasbeentaken,presstheENDkey.TheresultswillbedisplayedintheEditwindow. AlwayspresstheENDkey(orequivalentCMMbutton)aftermeasuringafeaturetoinsertitinto yourpartprogram. Theformatandcontentofthemeasurementresultswilldependontheoutputformatthathas beenselected.Forinformationonsettingtheoutputformatreferto"PrintingtheInspection Report"inthe"UsingBasicFileOptions"chapterand"ParameterSettings:Dimensiontab"topic inthe"SettingYourPreferences"chapter. Itisimportanttonotethatonsomemachines,PCDMISdeterminesthedirectionofahit bysensingthedirectiontheprobehastraveledaftermakingcontactwiththepart.Ifyour machineisofthistype,donotretracttheprobeuntilPCDMIShassignaledwithabeeping soundandupdatedthenumberofhitsonthestatusbar.

MinimumRequiredHitsforaFeature
PCDMISexpectsaminimumnumberofhitsbeforeitwillidentifyaspecificfeature.Incertain instancesitisadvisabletotakeadditionalhitstoimprovetheaccuracy. Feature Min.# SpecialInstructions ofHits Point 1 Seenotebelow. Line 2 PCDMISdrawslinesbetweenthefarthest pointsinaset. Circle 3 Ifacircleismeasuredatlessthan180, PCDMISwilldrawanarcbetweenthe farthestpointsinaset. Plane 3 Sphere 4 Cone 6 OccasionallyPCDMISwillnotindicatea conewhenmeasuredwithsixhits.Ifthis happens,trytakingsevenhits.(Takethree hitsononelevel,threeonanotherlevel andonehitbetweenthetwolevels.)All hitstakenaftertheinitialfirstthreehits shouldbeeitheraboveorbelowtheplane

32 * GettingStarted:ASimpleTutorial

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Cylinder 6

definedbythefirstthreehits,notboth. Thiswillensurethebestresults.PCDMIS willdrawtwocircles:thefirstofwhichisat thelevelofthefirstthreepoints,the secondcircleisatthelowestpoint. Cylindersaredrawninasimilarmanner SeeCone.

Occasionally,PCDMISwillincorrectlyguessafeature'stypedependingonthegeometryofa partandthewaythefeatureismeasured.Ifthishappens,youcanoverridetheincorrectguess byfollowingthedocumentationdescribedinthe"OverridingGuessedFeatures"topicdiscussed inthe"EditingaPartProgram"chapter. IfPCDMISconsistentlyguessesCircleorSpherewhenmeasuringaLineoraPlane,try takingthehitsinaconsistentdirection.Thismeansalwaysapproacheachtouchpointin thesameapproximatedirectionwhenmeasuringalineorplane. IfPCDMISconsistentlyguessesLineorPlanewhenmeasuringaCircleorSphere,try takingthehitswithmorevariedapproachdirections.Forexample,ifyouaremeasuring anarcandyoucanreachalldesiredtouchpointsbytouchingintheX+direction,try measuringsomeofthepointsinthe+orYdirection.

Note: WhenmeasuringaPoint(1singlehit),PCDMIScompensatesforproberadiusalongthe partaxisclosesttotheprobe'sdirectionofmotionwhenitwasdeflected.Thismeansthatifa pointismeasuredinthenegativeXdirection,PCDMISwillcompensateforproberadiusintheX direction(eveniftheprobewasmovingslightlyintheYaxis).ForDCCmachines(orifamanual machineisbeingusedwiththesheetmetaloption),pleaseseethe"IJKNormalVecboxes"topic inthe"CreatingAutoFeatures"chapterand"ProbeCompensation"in"SettingYourPreferences" chapterformoreinformationoncompensation.

TakingHits
TheOperation|TakeHitmenuoptiontakesahit.Ittellsthecomputertorecordthelocationof theprobealongtheX,Y,andZaxes.Thisoptionisonlyavailablewithcertaininterfacetypes. Thisoptionwillworkwithmost(ifnotall)controllersaslongasahardprobeisused.

ErasingorDeletingHits
Atleastoneprobetipmust PCDMISallowsyoutoeasilydeletehitsfromthehitbufferthat beloadedbeforePCDMIS havebeentakenincorrectlyfromthelastprobetouch.Youcando willallowCMMprobehitsto thisbyselectingtheOperation|EraseHit menuoptionorby berecorded. pressingtheALT+''(minus)key.Asmanyhitsasnecessarycan beremoved,beginningwiththelasthittaken.Thisoptionisonly availablebeforeyouendthefeaturemeasurementbyselectingthe EndFeaturemenuoption.UsingtheEndFeaturemenuoption createsthemeasuredfeatureandautomaticallyclearsthehitbuffer. Onceafeaturehasbeencreated,youcandeleteunwantedfeatures byfollowinginstructionsdetailedinthe"DeletingFeatures"topic fromthe"EditingtheCADDisplay"chapter.
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual GettingStarted:ASimpleTutorial * 33

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Note:TherearesomeCMMsthathaveanERASEHITbuttonontheCMMjogbox. PCDMISalsowillallowyoutodeletehitswithinafeaturewhileintheExecutemode.Simply presstheALT+''(minus)keystoremovethecurrentlyhighlightedhitintheMachine CommandslistboxoftheExecutionModeOptionsdialogbox. Note:PressingthePRINTbuttononthejogbox(ifsoequipped)whileinExecutemodeisthe sameaspressingtheALT+''(minus)keycombination.UsethePCDMISSettingsEditortoset thePrintButtonentryofthesystemregistryto0toenablethisfunction.Seethe"Modifying RegistryEntries"appendixformoreinformation.

EndingFeatures
TheOperation|EndFeaturemenuoptionallowsyoutosignalPCDMISthattheconstruction ofafeaturehasended.YoucanalsopresstheENDkey.

DeterminingThicknessofSheetMetalFeatures

PCDMISgivesyoutheoptiontodeterminehowthicknessshouldbeappliedonapartusingthe ThicknessareaoftheAutoFeaturesdialogbox.TheoptionsavailableareTheoretical ThicknessandActualThickness. Toaccessthethicknessoptions: 1. AccesstheAutoFeaturesdialogboxbyselectinganitemfromtheInsert|Feature| Autosubmenu. 2. SelecttheAutoFeatureyouwanttocreate. 3. Clickthe<<Advancedbuttontodisplaytheadvancedportionofthedialogbox. 4. Chooseeitherthe TheoThicknessoptionortheActlThicknessoption. 5. Typethethicknessinthebox. 6. ClickCreatetocreatethefeature.

TheoreticalThickness
WithTheoThicknessyouhavetheabilitytoadjustthetheoreticalvaluesbyachosenthickness inordertomeasuretheoppositesideofmaterial.

ActualThickness
WithActlThicknessyouhavetheabilitytooffsetthetargetlocationformeasurement,andthen havethemeasuredvaluesadjustedalongthetheoreticalvectorbythethickness.

UsingDifferentProbeOptions
ThefirststepinCMMpartprogrammingistodefinewhichprobeswillbeusedduringthe inspectionprocess.Anewpartprogrammusthaveaprobefilecreatedbeforethemeasurement processcanbegin.PCDMISsupportsawidevarietyofprobetypesandcalibrationtools.Italso offersauniquemethodforcalibratingaRenishawPH9/PH10wrist.Theprobeoptionscanbe

34 * GettingStarted:ASimpleTutorial

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

accessedusingtheProbeUtilitiesdialogboxfromtheInsert|HardwareDefinition|Probe menuoption. Itisassumedthataprobehasbeenloadedandcalibrated.Thetopic"DefiningProbes"inthe "DefiningHardware"chapterprovidesinformationoncreatingprobefilesandcalibratingprobes.

UsingaProbeOnline
TomeasureapointintheonlinemodeusingaTTP: 1. Lowertheprobetothesurfacewherethepointistobetaken. 2. Triggertheprobebytouchingittothesurface. 3. PresstheENDkeytocompletethemeasurementprocess. PCDMISisdesignedtodeterminethefeaturetype.Probecompensationisdeterminedbythe proberadius.Thecompensationdirectionisdeterminedbythemachinedirection. Forexample,inmeasuringacircle,theprobewouldbeinsidethecirclemovingoutward.To measureastud,theprobewouldstartoutsidethecirclemovinginwardtowardsthepart. Itisimportantthattheapproachdirectionbenormal(perpendicular)tothesurfacewhen measuringpoints.Whilethisisnotnecessaryformeasuringotherfeatures,itwillimprovethe accuracyindeterminingthefeaturetype. Tomeasureapointusingafixedprobe,youmustspecifythefeaturetypethatistobemeasured andtheprobecompensationdirection.See"UsingHardProbe".

UsingaProbeOffline
WhenusingofflinePCDMIS,youcanaccessalltheprobeoptions.However,noactual measurementscanbetaken.Probedatacaneitherbekeyedinorthedefaultsettingsused.For example,aqualificationtoolcannotactuallybemeasuredtocalibrateaprobetheprobe's nominalvaluesmustbekeyedin. Tomeasureapoint: 1. MakesurethatPCDMISisinProgramMode.DothisbyselectingtheProgram ModeiconlocatedontheGraphicsModestoolbar.(Seethe"GraphicsModesToolbar" inthe"UsingToolbars"chapter) 2. Movethemousecursortothescreenwherethehitistobemade. 3. Clicktherightmousebuttonto movetheprobetotheareaofthepartwherethehitisto betaken.Theprobeisdrawnonthescreenandtheprobedepthisset. 4. Clicktheleftmousebuttontoregisterahitonthepart. 5. PresstheENDkeytocompletethemeasurementprocess.

UsingHardProbes
PCDMISsupportsawidevarietyofhardprobes.Theuseandcalibrationofhardprobesare similartothatofTTPprobes.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

GettingStarted:ASimpleTutorial * 35

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

IfaHardprobeisselected,PCDMISexpectsaprobethatdoesnotautomaticallytriggerwhenit comesincontactwiththepart.DCCcalibrationcannotbedoneusingahardprobe.Verifythat thecorrectprobetypeisselected. Determinethefeaturetypethatwillbemeasuredandclicktheappropriateicon. Flatfeaturesaredefinedaspoints,planes,andlines. RoundFeaturesIncludeCircles,Spheres,Cones,andCylinders.

TheProbeModetoolbar(locatedfromtheView|Toolbarsmenu)discussesguessinground andflatfeatures(seethe"ProbeModeToolbar"topicinthe"UsingToolbars"chapter). Note:ForinformationonusingshortcutkeystoswitchbetweenFlatandRoundguessmodes, seethe"UsingShortcutKeysandShortcutMenus"appendix.

TakingaHitwithaHardProbe
Fortouchtriggerprobes,takingahitisautomatic.ButforHardProbesyoumusttelltheprobe whentoregisteritsposition.Todothis,followthesedirections: 1. Positiontheprobeonthepartwhereyouwanttotakethehit. 2. SelecttheTakeHit menucommandlocatedintheOperation menu. Note:Ifyouhappentouseajogbox,pressthekeythatissetuptorecordahit.

FlatFeatures
TomeasureaplanewithaHardProbe: 1. First,takeaminimumofthreehitsonasurface. 2. Itisthennecessarytomovetheprobeabovethedesiredplane. 3. PresstheENDkey. Thisdefinesthedirectionoftheplane.Thedirectionofthesurfacenormalvectorisup. Tomeasurealine: 1. Beginbytakingtwohitsatthedesiredlocation. 2. Movetheprobetotheoutsideofthemeasuredline. 3. PresstheENDkey. Note:PCDMISdoesnotrequirethedirectionoffeaturestobedefined.

RoundFeatures
Whenmeasuringroundfeaturesusingafixedprobe,itisnecessarytokeeptheprobeinafixed location(dependingonthefeaturetype). Forholes,keeptheprobeinsidethefeatureandpresstheENDkey. Forpins,keeptheprobeoutsidethefeatureandpresstheENDkey.

36 * GettingStarted:ASimpleTutorial

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Note:PCDMISdoesnotrequirethedirectionoffeaturestobedefined.

RepresentingaPartGraphically
PCDMISallowsyoutousestandardIGESorDXFmodelstogeneratepartprogramsonan inexpensivePCorPCclonewithoutgoingnearaCMM.Thesepartprogramscanthenbeused todriveanyCMMeitherrunningPCDMISorsupportingtheDMIS,Tutor,orAVAILspecifications. Seethe"WorkinginOfflineMode"appendixforadditionalinformationonusingCAD. WhenPCDMISfirstbeginstoexecuteapartprogram,itdisplaysagraphicrepresentationofthe theoreticalgeometryofthepart.Thisimagecancomefromoneofthreeplaces: FromanIGESorDXFfiles,fromaCADdrawing. Fromthefeaturetheoreticalvaluesinthepartprogram. Fromthefirstpartmeasuredwhenthepartprogramwasgeneratedonline.

Iftheimagecomesfromsourcestwoorthree,theimagewillonlybeapartialimage.Thatmeans onlythosefeaturesmeasuredbyPCDMISwillbedisplayed. Iftheimagecomesfromsourceone,thegraphicaldisplaywillbewhateverwasdrawnonthe CADsystem.YouthenhavetheabilitytoremovespecifiedfeaturesfromtheCADdrawing.(See the"DeletingCAD"topicdiscussedinthe"EditingtheCADDisplay"chapter.)Regardless,the imageisintendedonlytogiveenoughinformationtorelatetheinspectiondatatotheactualpart. Seethe"ImportingCADDataorProgramData"topicinthe"UsingAdvancedFileOptions" chapter. AsPCDMISmeasureseachfeatureonthepart,itwillpostapictureofittotheGraphicsDisplay window.PCDMISwilldrawthispictureinthecolorsdesignatedbytheSetupdialogboxusing theIDsetuptab. Thisallowsyoutovisuallycomparetheactualtothetheoreticalfeature.See "SetupOptions:IdSetuptab"inthe"SettingyourPreferences"chapter. Inbothofflineandonlinemanualmode,PCDMISwilldisplayananimated,scaled representationoftheprobeintheGraphicsDisplaywindow.Duringexecutionthisiconwillmove aroundthepartshowingwheretotakeeachhit. The"EditingtheCADDisplay"chapterdiscussesoptionsthatallowyoutocontroltheappearance oftheimage(s)intheGraphicsDisplaywindow.

WorkinginManualorDCCMode
TheManual/DCCmodetoolbar,fromtheView|Toolbarssubmenu,provideseasyaccessto settingthesystemtoManualorDCCmode.See"ProbeModeToolbar"topicinthe"Using Toolbars"chapter. ManualModeisusedonamanualCMM,orduringthemanualalignmentportionofaprogram thatwillberunonanautomaticCMM.Tochangemodes,clickontheappropriatemodetoolbar icon.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

GettingStarted:ASimpleTutorial * 37

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

PCDMISletsyoudeterminethespeedsanddistancesthatwillbeappliedintheautomatic measurementprocess.See"ParameterSettings:Motiontab"inthe"SettingyourPreferences" chapterforinformation. Important:RemembertodefineclearanceplanesormovepointswhenchangingfromManualto DCCmode,otherwiseyourprobemightcrashintoyourpartduringexecution.

38 * GettingStarted:ASimpleTutorial

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

NavigatingtheUserInterface
NavigatingtheUserInterface:Introduction
ThissectionprovidesanintroductiontousingPCDMISforWindows.Itdocumentsthe fundamentalactionsneededtooperatethesoftware.TofullyexercisethecapabilitiesofPC DMISandmakeyourpartprogrammingaseasyaspossible,pleasereadthroughthisentire sectionandfollowalongonyourcomputer. ThissectionalsohighlightswaystocustomizesomeofPCDMIS'sgraphicaloptionstobestmeet individualneeds.(Additionalinformationontheseavailableoptionscanbefoundinthe"Editing theCADDisplay"section.) Eachtopiclistedbelowillustratesaspecificfeatureoftheinterface.Thefollowingarecoveredin thissection: TheScreenAppearance TheMenuBar TheToolbarArea TheGraphicsDisplayWindow TheStatusBar DialogBoxDescription CustomizingtheUserInterface

PCDMISprovidestheflexibilityofusingthemouseorkeyboardtoentercommandsorselect options.Shortcutmenusandshortcutkeyshavebeenassignedtofrequentlyusedcommands. Seethe"UsingShortcutKeysandShortcutMenus"section.

TheScreenAppearance
PCDMISpresentsaconsistentscreenappearancetotheuser. Thescreenisdividedintoseveraldistinctareas,eachofwhichfulfillsaspecificfunctionor suppliesneededinformation.Abriefdescriptionofeachscreenareacanbefoundbelow. (Additionalinformationislocatedthroughoutthemanualasindicated.)

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

NavigatingtheUserInterface * 39

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ScreenAppearanceofPCDMIS'sGraphicalUserInterface 1. TheTitlebardisplaysthetitleofthecurrentpartprogram.Italsocontainsthemaximize andminimizebuttons. 2. TheMenubarcontainsthemenuselectionsavailablefromthemainPCDLRN application.See"TheMenuBar". 3. TheToolbarareacontainstoolbarswithfrequentlyusedcommands.Thesetoolbarsare easilyaccessiblebyrightclickingontheToolbararea.See"TheToolbarArea". 4. TheGraphicsDisplaywindow(see"TheGraphicsDisplayWindow")presentsgraphic representationsofthepart(thetopviewisshownintheillustration).Thesizeofthisarea remainsconstant.However,thedisplayareacanbedividedintoasmanyasfour differentviewsofthepart. 5. DialogboxesarethemaincommunicationchannelsbetweenPCDMISandtheuser. Availablefeaturesappearinthedialogbox,andmostinputdataisenteredthroughit. See"DialogBoxDescription. 6. TheEditwindowdisplaysthepartprogram.Thiswindowallowsyoutoaccessspecific commandswithinthepartprogramandmakechangestomeetindividualspecifications. Seethe"EditingaPartProgram"and"UsingtheEditWindow"chaptersforfully documentedoperationsoftheEditwindow. 7. TheStatusBardisplaysinformationimportanttothecurrentoperation(i.e.,currentprobe calibrationdata,standarddeviationofthelastfeaturemeasured)andnumberofhits.It alsocontainsamessageboxthatdisplayspertinentinformationabouttheoperationin progress.See"TheStatusBar"formoreinformation.

40 * NavigatingtheUserInterface

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TheMenuBar

Toopenamenuandbrowsethroughtheoptionsusingthekeyboard,presstheALTkeyfollowed bytheunderlinedletterinthenameofthemenutobeopened.(Themousecanalsobeused,as describedin"SelectingOptionsfromtheMenuBarwiththeMouse".)Thisdocumenthasbeen createdtoprovideinformationforeachmenuoption.Seetheappropriatechapterasneeded. Thissectiongivesabriefdescriptionofeachoftheothermenuoptions. PCDMISalsoprovidesavarietyofshortcutmenus.Thesearediscussedinthe"UsingShortcut KeysandShortcutMenus"appendix.

File
TheFilemenuletsyouopen,save,andprintfiles,accesstheEditwindow,runpartprograms withtheExecuteMode,andexitoutofcurrentpartprograms.Seethe"UsingBasicFileOptions" and"UsingAdvancedFileOptions"chaptersformoreinformation.

Edit
TheEditmenuallowsyoutoedityourprogrampreferences,yourpartprogram,ortheCAD display. Toedityourpreferences,seethe"SettingYourPreferences"chapterforcompleteinformation. ToedityourpartprogramviatheEditwindow,seethe"EditingaPartProgram"and"Usingthe EditWindow"chaptersforcompleteinformation. ToeditthedisplayoftheCADdrawing,seethe"EditingtheCADDisplay"chapterforcomplete information.

View
Theviewmenuallowsyoutoaccessallthewindows,editors,andtoolbarsavailabletoPCDMIS. Seethe"UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools"chapterforcompleteinformation.

Insert
Thebulkofapartprogram'scommandscanbeaccessedfromtheInsertmenu. Mostofthechapterscomprisingthismanualcomefromtheoptionsandsubmenusdisplayedon thismenu. OptionsontheHardwareDefinitionsubmenuarediscussedinthe"DefiningHardware"chapter. OptionsontheFeaturesubmenuarediscussedinthesechapters:"CreatingAuto Features","CreatingMeasuredFeatures","ConstructingNewFeaturesfromExisting Features","CreatingGenericFeatures". OptionsontheAlignmentsubmenuarediscussedinthe"CreatingandUsing Alignments"chapter.
NavigatingtheUserInterface 41

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

OptionsontheDimensionsubmenuarediscussedinthe"DimensioningFeatures" chapter. OptionsontheScansubmenuarediscussedinthe"ScanningyourPart"chapter. OptionsontheMovesubmenuarediscussedinthe"InsertingMoveCommands"chapter. OptionsontheFlowControlCommandsubmenuarediscussedinthe"Branchingby UsingFlowControl"chapter. OptionsontheStatisticsCommandsubmenuarediscussedinthe"TrackingStatistical Data"chapter. OptionsontheReportCommandsubmenu,includingtheabilitytoaddDiminfoand PointinfoboxesontoyourCADdisplayandintoyourpartprogram,arediscussedinthe "InsertingReportCommands"chapter. OptionsontheFileI/OCommandsubmenuarediscussedinthe"UsingFileInput/ Output"chapter. TheremainingoptionsontheInsertmenuarediscussedinthe"UsingExpressionsand Variables"chapterandthe"AddingExternalElements"chapter.

Operation
TheitemsontheOperation menuarediscussedinvarioustopicsofthedocumentation.

Window
TheWindowmenuallowsyoutomanagethedisplayofallopenpartprograms.See"Navigating andDisplayingMultipleWindows"chapter.

Help
TheitemsontheHelpmenuarediscussedinthe"UsingtheOnlineHelp"chapter. TheHelp menuprovidesinformationaboutPCDMIScommands,dialogboxes,messages,and keys. ToactivatePCDMIS'sonlinehelp,selectanyoftheitemsontheHelpmenuorpressF1atany time.PCDMISwilllaunchthePCDMISonlineHelpfile.

SelectingOptionsfromtheMenuBarwiththeMouse
Optionscanbeselected Toopenamenuandbrowsethroughtheoptionsusingthemouse: fromanydropdownmenuin thesamemannerasthe 1. Movethepointertothedesiredmenuname. menubar. 2. Clicktheleftmousebutton. Whenanellipsisfollowsanoptionname,choosingthefunctionwilldisplayadialogbox.For example"File|Open"letsyouknowthatthereisanOpenFiledialogbox.Dialogboxes displayvariousoptions,boxes,andbuttons(calledcontrols)forspecifyingcommandsthatwillbe carriedoutbyPCDMIS.Sometimesadialogboxwillshowdefaultsettingsalreadyselected, whichifsatisfactory,canbeleftastheyare.Ingeneral,afterallthecontrolsinthedialogbox havebeenset,clicktheOKbuttontocarryoutthecommand.Tocancelthecommandandclose thedialogbox,clicktheCancelbutton.

42 NavigatingtheUserInterface

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

SelectingOptionsfromtheMenuBarwiththeKeyboard
Toopenamenuandbrowsethroughtheoptionsusingthekeyboard,presstheALTkeyfollowed bytheunderlinedletterinthenameofthemenutobeopened. Forexample:toopentheViewmenuusingthekeyboard,pressALTandV(theunderlinedletter). Optionscanbeselectedfromthemenuinasimilarmanner.Simplypresstheunderlinedletterto thecorrespondingoption(i.e.,Cut: presstheTkey). Menusalsocanbeopenedusingthearrowkeys. Todothis: 1. 2. 3. 4. PresstheALTkeytoswitchtothemenubar. UsetheLEFT/RIGHTARROWkeystomovetothedesiredmenu. UsetheUP/DOWNARROWkeystoselectanoption. Whenthedesiredoptionishighlighted,presstheENTERkey.

Shortcutkeysalsohavebeenassignedtomanyoftheoptions.Theshortcutkeyisshowntothe rightofthecommandoroption. Seethe"UsingShortcutKeysandMenus"chapterformoreinformation.

TheToolbarArea
PCDMISprovidesyouavarietyoftoolbarscomposedoffrequentlyusedcommands.These toolbarscanbeaccessedinoneofthesetwoways. 1. SelecttheView|Toolbarssubmenuandselectatoolbarfromthemenuprovided. 2. RightclickonPCDMIS's Toolbarareaandselectatoolbarfromtheshortcutmenu provided. Onceyouhaveatoolbarinthetoolbararea,youcaneasilymovethetoolbarbyfirstclickingon thespacebetweentheleftorrightedgeandabuttonandthendraggingthetoolbartoadifferent location. ForindepthinformationonallofPCDMIStoolbars,seethe"UsingToolbars"chapter.

TheGraphicsDisplayWindow
TheGraphicsDisplaywindow,quitesimply,displaysgraphics.Thiswindowisopenedbydefault whenyoucreateoraccessapartprogram.Tohideorviewthiswindow,selecttheView| GraphicsDisplayWindow menuoption. ItdisplaysmultipanedgraphicalrepresentationofanimportedCADpart. Itshowsmeasured,auto,andconstructedfeaturesandtheirIDlabels. Itdisplaysscans,dimensions,textboxdisplays.

TheGraphicsDisplaywindowisanintegralpartofPCDMIS.ForinformationonEditingthe GraphicsDisplaywindow,andalteringthescreendisplay,see"EditingtheCADDisplay"chapter.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

NavigatingtheUserInterface 43

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TheStatusBar

Thestatusbardisplaysthefollowing: Messagebox:Theleftmostboxdisplaysinstructionsandotherinformationregarding thecurrentprocedureorcommand. X,Y,andZboxes:TheX,Y,andZboxesshowtheX,Y,andZpositionoftheprobe. ClickingonanyofthethreecoordinatedisplayswithinthestatusbarwillcausetheAuto MovePointdialogboxtoappear.(See"InsertingaMovePointCommand"inthe "InsertingMoveCommands"chapterforadditionalinformationregardingDCCMove Point.) W:ThisshowstheangleoftheRotarytable. SD:Thisshowsthestandarddeviationofthelastfeaturemeasured. #Hits:Thisshowsthenumberofhitscurrentlytaken. IN/MM:Thisshowsthecurrentunitofmeasurementusedforthepartprogram. INS/OVR:ThisboxindicatesthecurrenteditingfunctionoftheEditreport.Itwilldisplay INS(insertstextatthecursor)orOVR(overwritesanytextencounteredbythecursor). Line:Thisboxdisplaysanumberthatindicatesthecurrentlinewherethecursoris locatedintheEditreport. Col:Thisboxdisplaysanumberthatindicatesthecurrentcolumnwherethecursoris locatedintheEditreport.

StatusBarManipulations Toincreasethesizeofthestatusbar,selectView|Statusbar|Large.Duetoits increasedsize,thislargestatusbarwillonlydisplaytheMessageandtheXYZboxes. Toputthestatusbarbacktoitsnormalsize,selectView|Statusbar|Normal. ToshoworhidetheStatusbar,selectView|Statusbar|None.

DialogBoxDescription
Adialogboxprovidesvariousboxesandbuttons(calledcontrols)thatcanbeselectedtotellPC DMIShowtocarryoutacommand.Sometimesadialogboxwillshowdefaultsettingsalready selected,whichifsatisfactorycanbeleftastheyare.Afterallthecontrolsinthedialogboxhave beenset,selectOKtocarryoutthecommand.Tocancelthecommandandclosethedialogbox, clicktheCancelbutton. ThegraphicsillustratesomefeaturescommontomostdialogboxesinPCDMIS.

44 NavigatingtheUserInterface

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

NavigatingtheUserInterface 45

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

EditBox:
Aneditboxallowsyoutotypeinadesiredvalueorname.Inthismanualeditboxesaresimply referredtoas"boxes".EditboxescommontomanyofPCDMIS'sdialogboxesarelistedhere:

ID=[Feature]

ThisboxshowstheFeatureorDimensionIDforthefeaturesordimensionstobecreated. TochangetheID: 1. SelectthepreviousID. 2. TypeanewID. 3. PresstheTABkey. ForaDimensionID: YoucanchangeonlythenumberportionoftheIDandresetthedimensioncountertoa desiredcount.

YoucanchangethetextportionoftheIDandsetitasthedefaulttextforsubsequent dimensions.(SeetheIDSetuptaboftheSetupOptionsdialogboxinthe"SettingYour Preferences"chapter.)

SearchID

IntheSearchIDboxyoucankeyinfeature(ordimension)IDstobeusedinthecurrent operation.Youcanusethisboxtosearchusingmetacharactersearchoptions.Thefeatureor dimensionIDswillbehighlightedintheappropriateFeatureListbox(orDimensionListbox).

SelectLast#

IntheSelectLast#boxyoucanselectthelastofacertainnumberoffeatures(ordimensions). Forexample,ifyouwantedtoselectthelastfourfeaturesthatwerecreated,simplytype4and presstheTABkey.PCDMISwillhighlightthefeaturesselectedintheFeatureListbox.

ListBox:
Alistboxissimilartoaneditboxhoweverchangescannotbemadetothelistedvalues.This manualreferstoeither"list"or"box"forthelistbox.ListscommontomanyofPCDMIS'sdialog boxesarelistedhere:

46 NavigatingtheUserInterface

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

FeatureListbox

TheFeatureListboxcontainsalistoftheavailablefeatureswithinapartprogram.PCDMIS usesselectedfeaturestodefinealignments,constructnewfeatures,createdimensions,and othersuchtasks.Youcanselectfeaturesbyfollowingtheinstructionsgiveninthe"Selecting FeaturesUsingtheGraphicsDisplayWindow"topicinthe"EditingtheCADdisplay"chapter. Selected(highlighted)featurescanbedeselectedusingtheClearorClearListbutton. Ifyouareattachinganexternalpartprogram(see"AttachinganExternalPartProgram"inthe "AddingExternalElements"chapter),PCDMISalsoliststhevariable(orpointer)usedto referencetheattachedpartprogram.Aplussign(+)appearstotheleftofthepointer.Clicking thisplussignexpandsorcollapsesaviewofallthefeaturesintheattachedpartprogram.

DimensionListbox

TheDimensionListboxcontainsalistofallthedimensionsthatwerecreatedwithinapart program.Youcaneasilyselectthedimension(s)youwouldliketoeditoranalyzebysimply selectingthedesireddimension(s)inthelistboxandselectingthedesiredchangesoroptionsin theassociateddialogbox. InsidetheEditDimensionInfodialogbox,ifthedimensionalreadyhasaDimensionInfobox associatedwithit,PCDMISshowsanasterisk(*)symbolnexttothedimensionIDinthelist.If thedimensioninfoishiddeninallcurrentviews,itaddsanumbersign(#)symbolnexttotheID. Forexample,supposeyouhavearoundnessdimensionnamedRND1foracirclenamedCIR4.If theroundnessdimensionalreadyhadaDIMINFOboxassociatedwithit,yetthatDIMINFObox washiddenfromallviewsintheGraphicsDisplaywindow,theIDinthelistwouldlooklikethis:

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

NavigatingtheUserInterface 47

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Exampleofasteriskandnumbersignsymbols

DropDownListBox
Adropdownlistboxworkslikemenus.Clickonthedropdownarrowicon totherightofthe currentchoice,orpressALTandtheUPARROWorDOWNARROWkeyonthekeyboard consecutively.PressingF4willalsodisplaytheavailableoptions.Pressthekey(s)againtoclose thelist.Thecurrentchoiceisshowninthehighlightedbox.

CommandButtons:
Acommandbuttoncarriesoutanaction.Thecommandbuttonscommontomostdialogboxesin PCDMISarelistedhere:

Apply

TheApplybuttonappliesyourselectionstothedialogboxbutkeepsthedialogboxopenfor furtherchanges.

OK

TheOKbuttonsavesandappliesthechangesandclosesthedialogbox.Onsomedialogboxes, clickingtheOKbuttoninsertscommandsintotheEditwindow.

Cancel

TheCancelbuttonignoresanychangesandclosesthedialogbox.

Delete

TheDeletebuttonremovesitems(suchascreatedfeatures,dimensions,probefiles,alignment informationetc.)fromcertainlistboxes. IntheDeleteCADdialogbox,theDeletecommandbuttondeletesselectednominalfeatures.

48 NavigatingtheUserInterface

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Last

TheLastbuttonselectsthelastitemintheassociatedlistbox.

LastTwo

TheLastTwobuttonselectsthelasttwoitemsintheassociatedlistbox.

SelectAll

TheSelectAllbuttonselectsalltheitemsintheassociatedlistbox.

Default

TheDefaultbuttonallowsyoutoupdatethedefaultsettingsofseveralparameters.Whenanew partprogramiscreated,itwillreflectanychangesstoredasthedefault. Thedefaultvaluesarestoredinthesystemregistry.Theseparameterscanbeupdatedthrough theappropriatedialogboxorbyeditingtheregistryitselfbyusingthePCDMISSettingsEditor. ThisapplicationisincludedwithyourPCDMISinstallset.Seethe"ModifyingRegistryEntries" appendixformoreinformation. IftheOKbuttonisselected(withouttheDefaultbuttonbeingpressed)the definedparameterswillonlyapplytotheactivepartprogramandwillnotaffect theregistryentries. IfanyoftheparametersarechangedandtheDefaultbuttonispressed,PC DMISwillupdatetheregistryentries,redefiningthedefaulttothecurrententry.

TheDefaultbuttonallowsyoutostoreandapplynewdefaultvaluestonewpartprograms createdlateron.

Recall

TheRecallbuttonallowsyoutocallbackoriginalfactorysettingsaslongastheoriginalvalues haven'tchangedthroughclickingtheDefaultbutton.Inthatcase,PCDMISwillreturnthestored valuesintheregistry. ForinformationonusingtheMachineOptionsdialogboxtorestoreoriginalfactorysettingsby readingthemfromthecontroller,seethe"SettingUptheMachineInterface"topicinthe"Setting yourPreferences"chapter.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

NavigatingtheUserInterface 49

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Create

TheCreatebuttonapplieschangesmadeincertaindialogboxesandcreatesconstructed features,dimensions,autofeatures,scansetc.andplacesthecreateditemintotheEditwindow andtheGraphicsDisplaywindow. TheCreatebuttonwon'tclosethedialogbox.OnlyclickingtheClosebuttonclosesthedialog box.

Close

TheClosebuttonclosesthedialogbox.Withsomedialogboxes(whereyoumaywanttoselect furtheroptions)justpressingtheOK,Apply,ortheCreatebuttondoesn'tautomaticallyclosethe dialogbox.

Clear

TheClearcommandbuttonallowsyoutoclearthehighlightofanyselecteditemfromlistboxes. Insomecases,theClearbuttonremovesitemscompletelyfromcertainlistboxes(suchasAB positionsfromtheNewAnglesListbox). Insomedialogboxesandtabs,theClearbuttonclearsanyvaluesthatwereenteredorchanged beforeeithertheApplyortheOKbuttonisclickedandrestoresthe"builtin"valuespresentin PCDMIS.IfyouhaveusedtheDefaultbuttontostoredefaultvalues,thenPCDMISrestores thosevalues.

Undo

TheUndobuttonreverseschangesmadeusingtheApplybutton(ortheGeneratebuttonin DCCscans).ItcannotreversechangesmadeoncetheOKbuttonisclicked.

Help

TheHelpbuttonopenstheonlinehelptopicassociatedwiththecurrentdialogbox.

50 NavigatingtheUserInterface

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

CheckBoxes:
Clickoncheckboxestoturnoptionsonoroff.Theoptionisconsidered"on"whenacheckmark appearsinsidethebox.Youcanselectmultiplecheckboxes.

OptionButtons:
Theareacontainingoptionbuttonsdisplaysavailablechoicesforthedialogbox.Switchbetween availablechoicesbyclickingonthedesiredbutton.Whenanoptionischosen,ablackdot appearstotheleftoftheselectedoptionandallotheroptionsarecleared.Youcanonlyselect oneoptionbutton.

DialogBoxTabs:
Somedialogboxescontaintabs.Thesetabsactasidentifyingmarkersmuchlikeafolder'sname inafilingcabinetwould.Simplyclickonatabtobringadesiredwindoworoptionsinfrontofthe othertabs.Anyoptionsorcommandsassociatedwiththattabwillthenbedisplayed.

AccessingDialogBoxes
Themouseorkeyboardcanbeusedtoaccessoptionswithinthedialogbox.Toaccessanoption usingthemouse,simplypointtothedesiredoptionandclick.Thekeyboardoffersavarietyof waystomovebetweenavailableoptions.

PRESS: TO TAB: Movetothenextavailableoption. SHIFT+TAB: Movetothepreviousavailable option. ARROWkey: Displayacurrentdropdownlist. ENTER: Selectthecurrentcommand. SPACEBAR: Selectthecurrentcheckboxor button.

MovingDialogBoxes
ThemousecanbeusedtocontrolwindowanddialogboxplacementwithintheGraphicsDisplay window. Tomoveadialogboxorwindow: 1. 2. 3. 4. Placethemousepointeroverthetitle. Holddowntheleftmousebutton. DragthedialogorwindowtothepositionintheGraphicsDisplaywindowwheredesired. Releasethemousebutton.

PCDMISredrawsthedialogboxorwindowinitsnewlocation.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

NavigatingtheUserInterface 51

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ScrollingtheEditWindow
TheEditwindowcanbe TheEditwindowhasscrollbarsforviewingadditionaldatainthe movedinthesamemanner window. asadialogbox.See "MovingDialogBoxes" Toscroll: 1. Placethemousepointerononeofthescrollarrows. 2. Clickorholdtheleftmousebutton. PCDMISwillscrollthetextinthescrollarrow'spointeddirection. Forexample,toscrolldown,selectthedownscrollarrowwiththe pointerandclicktheleftmousebutton. Seethechapters"EditingaPartProgram"and"UsingtheEdit Window"forcompleteinformation regardingtheEditwindow.

CustomizingtheUserInterface
Inversion3.5theuserinterfaceusedinpreviousversionswasimprovedwithamoreorganized approachtothevariousoptionsavailable.Inaddition,youcannowcustomizethisuserinterface tomeetyourspecificneeds. Nowyoucaneasilyreorganizemenus,addyourownprogramstomenus,orsimplycreatenew menusandoptionsaltogether.PCDMISalsoallowsyoutolinkcommandsnativetoPCDMIS andcustomizedcommandstotoolbars.Instructionsonhowtomodifytheuserinterfacearegiven inthefollowingtopics: ToRestoretheDefaultUserInterface ToCustomizeUserInterfaceFonts CustomizingMenus CustomizingToolbars CustomizingShortcutKeys

Note:Theorganizationofthismanualisbasedonthedefaultuserinterfaceshippedwiththis versionPCDMIS,beawarethatcustomizingtheuserinterfacemaymakeexisting documentationdifficulttofollow.

ToRestoretheDefaultUserInterface
IfyouwanttorestorePCDMIS'sappearancetothedefaultuserinterfaceshippedwiththis versionofPCDMIS,followthisprocedure: 1. 2. 3. 4. ClosePCDMIS. NavigatetothedirectorywhereyouinstalledPCDMIS. AccessthedirectorythatcorrespondstoyourWindowsuserprofile. Deletethefilenamedmenu_xxx.datwherexxxreferstothethreelettercodeforthe languageyou'rerunning.ForEnglish,deletemenu_eng.dat. 5. RestartPCDMIS.Itwillusethedefaultuserinterface.

52 NavigatingtheUserInterface

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ToCustomizeUserInterfaceFonts

Changeallthefontsdialogbox Tomodifyfontattributes,accesstheChangesallthefontsdialogboxbyselectingtheEdit| Preferences|Fonts menuoption.Usingthisdialogboxyoucanchangefont attributesincludingfont,size,andstyleforthemainuserinterface,fortheGraphicsDisplay windowandfortheEditwindow. Tochangethefont: 1. SelectoneoftheseoptionbuttonsandthestandardFontdialogboxappears: EditApplicationFontThischangesthefontofthelistsontheSettings toolbar,thePreviewwindow,theReadoutwindow,thestatusbar,andany messageboxesetc. EditGraphicFontThischangesthefontoftextdisplayedontheGraphics Displaywindow,mainlyaffectingfeaturelabels,DimensionInfoandPointInfo textboxes,etc. EditEditWindowFontThischangesthefontontheEditwindow.Seethe notebelow.

2. Selectyourfontchangesfromtheavailablelists. 3. ClickOKtoclosetheFontdialogbox. 4. ClickOKattheChangesallthefontsdialogboxtoacceptyourchange. Important:Youcanuseanyfontavailableonyourcomputersystem,howeverbeawarethat somefontsdon'thaveauniformspacingandmaymakesomecomponentsmoredifficulttoread. WhenviewingorprintingtheEditwindowtext,forexample,werecommendthatyouusea monospace(orfixedwidth)font(suchastheCourierNewfont),otherwisecharacters,lines,and headingsmaynotlineupasexpected.

CustomizingMenus
Tocustomizethemenusonthemenubar: 1. AccesstheCustomizedialogboxbyselectingtheView|Toolbars|Customizemenu option.
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual NavigatingtheUserInterface 53

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

2. SelecttheMenutab.

CustomizedialogboxMenutab Youcanusethistabtoaddnewmenuitems,moveexistingmenuitems,orremovemenuitems fromthemenubaraltogether.

ToMoveAMenuItem
Tomoveamenuitemtoanewlocationonthemenubar: 1. WiththeCustomizedialogboxopenandtheMenutabselected,navigatetothemenu itemyouwanttomoveonPCDMIS'sactualmenubar(notthetreeviewmenulistinthe Menutab). 2. Selectthedesiredmenuitem. 3. Dragittothenewposition.Asyoudragtheitemthroughthemenustructure,asmallred arrow willappearindicatingwheretheitemwillbeadded. 4. Releasethemousebutton,andthemenuitemiscopiedfromitsoriginallocationtothe newlocation. 5. ClickOKtoacceptyourchangesandclosetheCustomizedialogbox.

ToRemoveAMenuItem
Toremoveamenuitemfromthemenubaraltogether: 1. WiththeCustomizedialogboxopenandtheMenutabselected,navigatetothemenu itemyouwanttoremoveonPCDMIS'sactualmenubar(notthetreeviewmenulistin theMenutab). 2. Selectthedesiredmenuitem. 3. Dragitoffofthemenubararea. 4. Releasethemousebutton,andthemenuitemisremovedfromthemenu. 5. ClickOKtoacceptyourchangesandclosetheCustomizedialogbox.

54 NavigatingtheUserInterface

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ToEditanExistingMenuItem
Youcaneditexistingmenuitems,includingmenuitemnames,descriptions,andToolTips.Todo this: 1. AccesstheCustomizedialogboxbyselectingtheView|Toolbars|Customizemenu option. 2. Withthedialogboxopen,clickonPCDMIS'smenubar. 3. Selectamenuandthenrightclickonamenuitem.TheEditMenuItemdialogbox appears.

EditMenuItemdialogbox 4. ModifythemenuitemusingthisdialogboxandthenclickOK. 5. ClickOKontheCustomizedialogbox. 6. Verifyyourchange. Note:IntheMenuTextbox,theletterthatfollowstheampersandsign(&)indicatesthattheletter isusedwiththeALTkeytoquicklyselectthatmenuitem(forexampleselectingALT+F+Nwill accesstheNewmenuitemfromtheFilemenu).

ToAddaNewMenuItem
Youcancreateyourowncustommenuitemandtieanexternalprogramorbatchfiletoit.Todo this: 1. AccesstheCustomizedialogboxbyselectingtheView|Toolbars|Customizemenu option,andselecttheMenutab. 2. Onthelistinthetab,clicktheplussignnexttotheMenuItems.Thelistexpands showingallthemenus. 3. Clicktheplussignnexttothemenuintowhichyouwillplaceyourcustommenuitem, andclickonamenuiteminthatmenu. 4. ClicktheCreateItembutton.TheCustomWizard/Script/Tooldialogboxappears. 5. Clickthebutton.AnOpendialogboxappears. 6. FromtheFilesofTypelist,selectthetypeoffileyouwillbeinserting. 7. Navigatetothedirectorycontainingthecustomapplication,batchfile,BASICscript, Macrofile,etc. 8. Selectthefiletoinsert,andclickOpen.TheOpendialogboxclosesandtheCustom Wizard/Script/Tooldialogboxdisplaysthedefaultinformationassociatedwiththe customprogramyouselected.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

NavigatingtheUserInterface 55

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

CustomWizard/Script/Tooldialogboxshowingasampleapplication CommandFileThisboxshowsthepathwaytothecommand. MenuTextThisboxallowsyoutospecifythenameusedonthemenuforthisitem. HelpDescThisboxallowsyoutospecifythetooltiptextdisplayedforthismenuitem. ChangeIconThisbuttonallowsyoutochangetheiconsdisplayedforthismenuitem. 9. Makeanyadditionalchangestothisdialogbox. 10. ClickOKtoacceptyourchangesandclosetheCustomizedialogbox.

CustomizingToolbars
Tocustomizethetoolbarsthatappearonthetoolbarmenu: 1. AccesstheCustomizedialogboxbyselectingtheView|Toolbars|Customizemenu option. 2. SelecttheToolbarstab.

CustomizedialogboxToolbartab

56 NavigatingtheUserInterface

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Youcanusethistabtoaddnewtoolbars,andnewtoolbaricons,removecustomtoolbars, removetoolbaricons,andreordertoolbariconsonexistingtoolbars.

ToModifyanExistingToolbar
ThistableshowshowtousetheCustomizedialogbox's,Toolbartabtomodifyexistingtoolbars. DesiredModification Addamenuitemtoa toolbar. Procedure 1. Selectthetoolbarfrom theToolbarDefinition list. 2. Findtheitemyouwant toaddintheAvailable Itemslist. 3. Selectit,andpressthe Addbutton.Theitem appearsonthedesired toolbar. 4. ClickApplyandthen OKtoacceptyour changes. 1. Selectthetoolbarfrom theToolbarDefinition list. 2. Findtheiteminthelist toremove(rightsideof dialog). 3. Selectitandpressthe Removebutton. 4. ClickApplyandthen OKtoacceptyour changes. Note:Existingtoolbarsmust haveatleastoneicononthem. Ifyouremovethelasticonand clickApplyorOK,theiconstill remainsonthetoolbar. ClicktheResetbutton.Aslong astheOKorApplybuttons haven'tbeenclicked,thetoolbar willreverttoitspreviousstate. ClicktheDefaultbutton.

Removeatoolbaricon.

Eraseanychanges.

Removeallcustomized toolbarsandrestorethe layoutshippedwiththis version. Createanewtoolbaritem.

ClickNew.TheCustomWizard /Script/Tooldialogbox appears.Selectitemtoadd.This manualcoverstheprocessof addingcustomitemsinthe"To AddaNewMenuItem"topic


NavigatingtheUserInterface 57

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Rearrangeitemorderona toolbar.

above. 1. Selectthetoolbarfrom theToolbarDefinition list. 2. Selecttheitemyouwish tomove. 3. Clicktheseuparrow ordownarrow buttonstomove theitemupordown respectivelyamongthe othertoolbariconsinthe list.

Renameatoolbar

1. Selectthetoolbarfrom theToolbarDefinition list. 2. ClickRename.ANew ToolbarNamebox appears. 3. Typeanameinthebox andclickOK.

PCDMISalsoallowsanotherwaytorearrangeordeleteitemsfromanycustomtoolbaronthefly. ThisisbyusingtheSHIFTkey.Considerthefollowing: Todeleteorrearrangeatoolbar'sicons: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. AccesstheCustomizedialogbox. PressandholdtheSHIFTkey. Clickandholdthemouseovertheicon.Theiconbecomesmovable. Ifrearrangingtheicon,dragittoanewspotonthetoolbar. Ifdeletingtheicon,dragitoutsideofthetoolbar'sboundaries. Releasethemousebutton.Thechangeismade.

Note:Sinceexistingtoolbarsmusthaveatleastoneicononthem,ifyouremovethelasticonin thisfashion,itwillonlyremainremoveduntilyourestartPCDMIS.Afterrestarting,theiconwill reappear. Toaddaseparator: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. AccesstheCustomizedialogbox. PressandholdtheSHIFTkey. Clickandholdthemouseovertheicon.Theiconbecomesmovable. Dragitasmalldistancetotheright(notfarenoughtorearrangeitsposition). Releasethemousebutton.Theseparatorappearsatitsleft.

Todeleteaseparator: 1. AccesstheCustomizedialogbox.

58 NavigatingtheUserInterface

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

2. PressandholdtheSHIFTkey. 3. Clickandholdthemouseovertheicontotherightoftheseparator.Theiconbecomes movable. 4. Dragitontopoftheseparatortoitsleft. 5. Releasethemousebutton.

ToCreateaCustomToolbar
1. AccesstheCustomizedialogboxandselecttheToolbarstab. 2. ClickNewandselectToolbar.Aninputboxappearsrequestingatoolbarname. TypethenameofthetoolbarandclickOK.YournewtoolbarnowappearsintheToolbar Definitionlist.Youcannowmodifythetoolbartoacceptnewtoolbaricons(see"ToModifyan ExistingToolbar").

ToDeleteaCustomToolbar
1. 2. 3. 4. AccesstheCustomizedialogboxandselecttheToolbarstab. SelectthetoolbarfromtheToolbarDefinition list. ClicktheDeletebutton. ClickApplytoapplyyourchanges.

CustomizingShortcutKeys
TocustomizetheshortcutkeysusedformenuitemsandcommandsinPCDMIS: 1. AccesstheCustomizedialogboxbyselectingtheView|Toolbars|Customize menu option. SelecttheKeyboardtab.

2.

CustomizedialogboxKeyboardtab YoucanusethistabtomodifytheshortcutkeysusedtocallcommandswithinPCDMISandadd newshortcutkeysforcustommenuandtoolbaritems.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

NavigatingtheUserInterface 59

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ToAddShortcutKeystoaCommand
1. AccesstheCustomizedialogbox,andselecttheKeyboardtab. 2. SelectthecommandyouwishtomodifybyusingtheCategoryandMenuSelectionlists. OnceyouhaveselectedacommandintheCommandslist,thecurrentshortcutkey(s),if anyareassignedtothatcommand,willbedisplayedintheCurrentShortcutsbox. 3. Highlightthecommandforwhichyouwillassignnewshortcutkeys. 4. ClickintheNewShortcutbox. 5. Typethekeysyouwanttoassigntothiscommand.Thekeysyoupressedwillappearas youtypethem. 6. ClicktheAssignbutton,andthenewshortcutkeyswillappearintheCurrentShortcuts boxwithanyothershortcutkeyscurrentlyassignedtothecommand. 7. ClickApplytoacceptyourchanges. Note:Asintheothertabs,youcanusetheCreatebuttontofirstcreateacommandandtieittoa customprogram.YoucanthenselectthiscommandbyclickingonUserDefined fromtheMenu Selectionlist.AlluserdefinedcommandswillappearintheCommandslist.

ToRemoveShortcutKeysfromaCommand
1. AccesstheCustomizedialogbox,andselecttheKeyboardtab. 2. SelectthecommandyouwishtomodifybyusingtheCategoryandMenuSelectionlists. OnceyouhaveselectedacommandintheCommandslist,thecurrentshortcutkey(s),if anyareassignedtothatcommand,willbedisplayedinCurrentShortcutsbox. 3. Selectthecommandforwhichyouwillassignnewshortcutkeys. 4. Selecttheshortcutkeytoremove. 5. ClicktheRemovebutton. 6. ClickApplytoacceptyourchanges.

60 NavigatingtheUserInterface

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

UsingBasicFileOptions
UsingBasicFileOptions:Introduction
PCDMISprovidesyouwithmanyoptionstomanipulatepartprogramsandmanageyour essentialfiles.AswithmostWindowsbasedprograms,youcanperformbasicfilemanagement usingstandardWindowsdialogboxestheseincludecreating,opening,copying,renaming,and deletingfiles.Additionally,throughPCDMISyoucanperformmoreadvancedoperations,such asimportingandexportingCADdata,orexecutingcompletedpartprograms. ThischapterspecificallydealswithBasicFileOptions.Formoreadvancedoptions,seethe "UsingAdvancedFileOptions"chapter. Theoptionsdiscussedinthischapterinclude: CreatingNewPartPrograms OpeningExistingPartPrograms SavingPartPrograms PerformingFileOperations ChangingtheLanguage PrintingtheGraphicsDisplaywindow PrintingtheInspectionReport ClosingorQuittingPartPrograms ExitingPCDMIS

CreatingNewPartPrograms
Ifyoudon'thaveanyexistingpartprogramstoopen,thenyoumustcreateanewpartprogram usingtheNewPartProgramdialogbox,accessiblebyselectingtheFile|Newmenuoption.

NewPartProgramdialogbox Hereyoucancreateanewpart.Youwillbepromptedtoenterapartname,serial number,revisionnumber,interfacetype,andunitsofmeasurementtype.Thepartisonlyin memoryuntilyousavethepart.TheCMMinterfacetypeisalsochosenhere. Note:PCDMISonlyrequiresthePartNameboxtohaveavalueinordertocreateanewpart program.InformationenteredintheRevisionNumberandSerialNumberboxesisoptional.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingBasicFile Options 61

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

OpeningExistingPartPrograms
Beawarethatifyouopena IfyouhavepreviouslycreatedapartprogramusingtheNewPart programcreatedinaversionProgramdialogbox(see"CreatingNewPartPrograms"),youcan priortoversion3.2itwillno openitbyselectingitfromtheOpendialogboxbyselectingFile| longerbeuseableintheold Open. versionusedtocreateit.

Opendialogbox ThisisastandardWindowsOpendialogboxwiththefollowingadditions: ThereisanInterfacelist.IfPCDMISisrunningONLINE,youcanselectwhichCMM(if youhavemultipleCMMs)touseforthispartprogram,oryoucanrunofflinebyselecting theOFFLINEmachine. APreviewareaofthedialogboxshowstheCADimageforthelastviewofyourpartin theGraphicsDisplaywindow(withoutlabels).Ifyourpartdoesn'thaveCADdata,the imagewilldisplaymeasuredgeometry.Thisareaalsodisplaysthenameofthepart programandthedateitwaslastmodified. Youcanimportdatatoorexportdatafromapartprogrambyrightclickingonthepart programsfilenameandselectingImportorExport,respectively(see"ImportingCADor ProgramData"and"ExportingCADorProgramData"fromthe"UsingAdvancedFile Options"chapterifyouwantmoreinformation). Youcanalsoexamineandmodifyapartsname,serialnumber,orrevisionnumberand changethefilesnametoonemadefromthefile'sproperties. Todothis: 1. 2. 3. Rightclickonthepartprogramsfilename.Ashortcutmenuwillappear. SelectthePropertiescommand. SelectthePCDMIStab.

62 UsingBasicFileOptions

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ThesesamerightmousefeaturesarealsoavailablefromwithinWindows Explorer. Note:TheOpendialogboxautomaticallyopenseachtimeyoustartPCDMIS,allowingyouto openexistingpartprograms.However,ifyouwantthisfeaturedisabled,simplycleartheShow StartupDialogcheckboxfoundintheSetupOptionsdialogbox,ontheGeneraltab. ProbeConversionMessagesWhenOpening: Whenopeningapartprogramfromapreviousversion,youmayreceiveawarningmessagethat asksyouifyouwanttoconvertprobefilesforanyprobesusedinthepartprogramtothelatest format.

Warningdialogboxaskingtoconvertaprobefile IfyouplanonusingtheprobewitholderversionsofPCDMIS,youmaynotwanttoupdatethe probefile.However,notethatuntilyouupdatetheprobefiletothelatestformat,somenewer functionalityforthatprobemaynotbeavailableinthisversionofPCDMIS. Ifyoucontinuetoreceivethismessagewheneveryouopenyourpartprogram,evenafterclicking Yes,youshouldperformaFile|SaveAsoperation,andsavethepartprogramsothatitis compatiblewiththisversionofPCDMIS.Seethe"SaveAs"topicformoreinformation. ViewingProgramFilesInanExplorerWindow: WhenviewingpartprogramandcadfilesinsideofWindow'sExplorer,youhavetheseviewing options: Explorer'sView|List,View|Details,andView|Iconmenuitemswilldisplayiconsfor partprogramandCADfiles(.PRGand.CADfiles).Notethattheunderlyingcodefor thesefilespointstodifferenticonsforeachPCDMISversion,so,ifyouhavetheproper tools,youcouldmodifytheseiconstodisplaysomethingdifferentforeachversion,if desired.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingBasicFile Options 63

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

View|Iconsexample Explorer'sView|TilesmenuitemshowsanicondisplayingthePCDMISversionin whichthe.PRGor.CADfilewaslastused.Youcanalsomodifytheseiconsforeach versionaswell.

View|TilesexampleshowingV4.0andV3.6partprograms View|ThumbnailsshowsnonV4.0partprogramswithiconssimilartohowView|Tiles displaysthem.However,forpartprogramfileslastusedinv4.0andabove,View| ThumbnailsdisplaysanimageofthelastGraphicsDisplaywindowforthat.PRGfile.

64 UsingBasicFileOptions

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

View|TilesexampleshowingV4.0PartPrograms

SavingPartPrograms
SelectingtheFile|Saveoptionwillsaveanyworkthathasbeendoneinthecurrentprogram. ThefirsttimeyousaveafiletheSaveAsdialogboxappears.Thisdialogboxallowsyouto choosewheretosaveyourpartprogram(see"SaveAs"belowforadditionalinformation). IfyouhavealreadysavedapartprogramtoapreviousversionofPCDMIS(fromtheSaveAs dialogbox),PCDMISwilldisplayamessageonsubsequentsavesaskingifyouwanttosavethe partprogramtotheoldversionselectedpreviously.Ifyouclick, Yes,PCDMISsavesthepartprogramtotheoldversion. No,PCDMISsavesthepartprogramtothecurrentversion. Cancel,PCDMISendsthesaveprocesseswithoutsaving.

Ifyouwanttostopdisplayingthismessage,see"Warnings"inthe"SettingYourPreferences" chapter.

SaveAs
SelectingtheFile|SaveAsoptionwilldisplaytheSaveAsdialogbox.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingBasicFile Options 65

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

SaveAsDialogbox Thisallowsyoutostorethecurrentpartprogramunderanewfilenameorunderaprevious version. UsingthePCDMISpartprogramlistyoucanchoosetosavethepartprograminaformat usablebythecurrentversionandpreviousversionsofPCDMIS.Availableformatsinclude version3.202andabove.IfyouaresavingthepartprogramtoapreviousversionofPCDMIS thatdoesn'tsupportnewercommandsinthecurrentversion,PCDMISwillstoreunsupported commandsinsideofDOCUMENTcomments.See"Document"inthe"UsingtheEditWindow" chapter. ClicktheSavebuttontosavethepartprogram.TheCancelbuttonclosesthedialogboxwithout saving.

PerformingFileOperations
UsingPCDMIS'sfileoperations,youcanmirror,copy, delete,andrenamepartprogramfiles.

Mirror
TheMirrorcommandallowstheusertocreateamirrorimagecopyintheX,Y,orZaxisofapart program. Tomirrorapartprogram: 1. SelecttheFile|Operations|Mirroroption.ThefollowingChooseParttoMirrordialog boxwillappear:

66 UsingBasicFileOptions

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ChooseParttoMirrordialogbox 2. Selectthepartprogramfiletomirror. 3. Selecttheaxis(MirrorinX,Y,orZoptionbuttons)inwhichyouwanttomirror. 4. ClicktheOpenbutton.TheSaveMirroredPartAsdialogboxwillappearwiththefile nameofthepartprogramyouselectedtomirror:

Savemirroredpartasdialogbox 5. ClicktheSavebutton.Thepartprogramwillbemirroredtowhicheverdirectoryyou specify. Important:PCDMISalsoattemptstomirroryourprobe'sABtipangles.Ifyourprobedoesnot havetheexactmirroredtipanglesalreadydefinedandcalibrated,PCDMISmaychoosethe closestcalibratedtipangles.Itchoosescloselycalibratedtipanglesifthecalibratedtipangles exist,andarewithinthewristangleamountspecifiedintheWristWarningDeltaboxonthe Part/MachinetaboftheSetUpOptionsdialogbox.IfnocloselycalibratedABtipanglesexist, thenPCDMISwillcreateperfectlymirroredyetnoncalibratedABtipangles.Seethe"Setup Options:Part/Machinetab"topicinthe"SettingYourPreferences"chapter.

Copy
TheCopycommandallowstheusertocopyallthefilesassociatedwithagivenpartprogram. Tocopyapartprogram:

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingBasicFile Options 67

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

1. SelecttheFile|Operations|Copymenuitem.TheCopyPartFilesFromdialogbox appearsaskingwhichfileyouwishtocopyandfromwhichfolder. 2. Navigatethroughthedirectorystructureandselectapartprogram. 3. ClicktheOpenbutton.TheCopyPartFilesTodialogboxappearsnext. 4. Clickonthepartprogramyouwanttocopysothatitsfilenameandextensionappearsin theFilenamebox. 5. Navigatetothefoldertowhichyouwanttocopytheprogram. 6. ClicktheOpenbutton. Thefilesthatwillbecopiedarethe".PRG"file,the".CAD"file,andanyfilewiththesamebase nameandanextensionintherange.001,.002,,.999.

Delete
TheDeletecommandallowstheusertodeleteallthefilesassociatedwithagivenpartprogram. Todeleteapartprogram: 1. SelecttheFile|Operations|Deletemenuitem.ADeletePartfilesdialogboxwill appear 2. Choosewhichpartprogramtodelete. 3. ClicktheOpenbutton.PCDMISwillbringupanotherbox,askingifyouaresurethatyou wanttosendthefilestotheRecycleBin. 4. ClicktheYesbutton. Thefilesthatwillbedeletedarethe".PRG"file,the".CAD"file,andanyfilewiththesamebase nameandanextensionintherange.001,.002,,.999.Anydeletedfileswillbesenttothe RecycleBin.

Rename
TheRenamecommandallowstheusertorenameallthefilesassociatedwithagivenpart program. Torenameapartprogram: 1. SelecttheFile|Operations|Renamemenuitem.TheRenamePartFilesFromdialog boxwillappear,askingyouwhichfileyouwanttorename. 2. Selectwhichpartprogramtorename. 3. ClicktheOpenbutton.TheRenamePartFilesTodialogboxwillappear,askingyoufor thenewnameofthefile. 4. TypeinthenewnameforthefileintheFilenamebox. 5. ClicktheOpenbutton.Thenamechangewillimmediatelybeapplied. Thefilesthatwillberenamedarethe".PRG"file,the".CAD"file,andanyfilewiththesamebase nameandanextensionintherange.001,.002,,.999.

ChangingtheLanguage
SelectingFile|LanguagedisplaysthelanguagesthatareavailabletoPCDMISusers.Acheck markindicatesthelanguagethatiscurrentlybeingused.Toswitchtoanewlanguage,simply selectthedesiredlanguage.PCDMISwillautomaticallysaveyourpartprogram,exitfromPC

68 UsingBasicFileOptions

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

DMISandthenrestartit.Oncerestarted,PCDMISwillruninthenewlyselectedlanguage. Grayedoutlanguagescannotbeselected.Agivenlanguagemaybeavailablebutnotinstalled onyourcurrentsystem.

PrintingtheGraphicsDisplayWindow
PCDMISletsyousendthecurrentcontentsoftheGraphicsDisplaywindowtoyourprinter. SelecttheFile|Printing|GraphicsWindowPrint menuoptiontodothis.PCDMISwilldisplay aWindowsPrintSetupdialogbox.ClickOKtosendthereporttotheprintershowninthedialog box. Beforeprinting,youcansettheoutputoptions,andpreviewyourprintjob.

SettingOutputandPrinterOptionsfortheGraphicsDisplayWindow
SelectingtheFile|Printing|GraphicsWindowPrintSetup menuoptionwilldisplaythe PrinterSetupandOutputOptionsdialogbox.

PrinterSetupandOptionsdialogbox Thisdialogboxisusedtosetupyourprinteranddeterminevariousdisplayoption.Theoptions availableinthePrinterOptionsarea,allowyoutoselectthetypeofgraphicalviewthatwillbe printed.Theseinclude: ScaletoFitonaSinglePageThisoptionscalesanygraphicalimagetofitonasingle page. PrintVisibleScreenAreaThisoptionprintsonlythecurrentvisiblescreenarea.Ifyou're zoomedinonafeature,itwillprintonlywhat'sonthescreenandnottheentirepart. PrintCompleteViewsThisoptionprintseachviewyouhavedefinedusingtheView LayoutareaoftheViewSetupdialogboxonitsownpage.Forexample,ifyou're showingtheZ+viewandtheYviewofapartinyourGraphicsDisplaywindow,PC DMISwillprinttwoseparatepages,onewiththeZ+viewandonewiththeY view. PrintCompleteViewsw/CurrentScaleThisoptionactslikethePrintCompleteViews option,exceptthatitprintsatthecurrentscale.Ifyouhavezoomedinontheimage,PC DMISwillstillprinttheentireview,butwillsplittheimageamongvariouspages.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingBasicFile Options 69

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TheDrawRulerscheckboxwillalsoprintanyrulersyoumayhavedisplayedontheGraphics Displaywindow.Todisplayrulers,usetheViewSetupdialogbox(Edit|GraphicsDisplay Window|ViewSetup).See"SettinguptheScreenView"inthe"EditingtheCADDisplay" chapter. ClicktheOKbuttontosaveanychanges.

PreviewingthePrintJob
YoucaneasilypreviewwhatwillbeprintedfromtheGraphicsDisplaywindowbyselectingthe File|Printing|GraphicsWindowPrintPreviewmenuoption.APrintPreviewwindowappears.

PrintPreviewwindowshowingcontentsofGraphicsDisplaywindow Thebuttonsatthetopofthewindowperformthesefunctions: ThePrintbuttonopensupastandardPrintSetupdialogboxthatwillallowyoutosendthe printjobtotheprinter. TheNextPageandPrevPagebuttonscyclethroughaprintjobthathasmultiplepages. TheOnePageorTwoPagestogglebuttondetermineshowmanypagesaredisplayedat onetimeinthepreviewwindow. TheZoomInandZoomOutbuttonsallowyoutotakeaquickcloserlookatapageinthe previewwindow.Itdoesn'taffectthedisplayofwhat'ssenttotheprinter. TheClosebuttonclosesthepreviewwindow.

PrintingtheEditWindow
PCDMISletsyoueasilyandquicklyprintthecontentsofyourEditwindow.Youcansendthe contentsoftheEditwindowtoyourprinterintheseways: SelectFile|Printing|EditWindowPrint. ClickthePrinticonfromtheEditWindowtoolbar. PressF4.

70 UsingBasicFileOptions

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

PreviewingthePrintJob Topreviewwhattheprintoutwilllooklike,selectFile|Printing|EditWindowPrintPreview. APrintPreviewwindowappears:

PrintPreviewwindowshowingcontentsoftheEditwindow Thebuttonsatthetopofthewindowperformthesefunctions: ThePrintbuttonopensupastandardPrintSetupdialogboxthatwillallowyoutosend theprintjobtotheprinter. TheNextPageandPrevPagebuttonscyclethroughaprintjobthathasmultiplepages. TheOnePageorTwoPagestogglebuttondetermineshowmanypagesaredisplayed atonetimeinthepreviewwindow. TheZoomInandZoomOutbuttonsallowyoutotakeaquickcloserlookatapagein thepreviewwindow.Itdoesn'taffectthedisplayofwhat'ssenttotheprinter. TheClosebuttonclosesthepreviewwindow.

Important: WhenprintingtheEditwindow'scontents,youshoulduseaTrueTypefont(suchas CourierNew),otherwisecharactersorlinesmaynotlineupasexpected.Tochangethefonts usedintheEditwindowandinyourreports,seethe"ToCustomizeUserInterfaceFonts"topicin the"NavigatingtheUserInterface"chapter. SettingOutputOptions YoucansettheoutputoptionsforEditwindowprinttasksbyusingthesamePrintOptions dialogboxusedfortheoutputofyourInspectionReport.See"PrintingtheInspectionReport"for

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingBasicFile Options 71

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

information.Tochangeprinters,setpageorientation,ormodifyotherprinteroptionsusetheFile| PrinterSetup menuitem.

PrintingtheInspectionReport

PrintingtheInspectionReport
PCDMISletsyousendyourtextbasedinspectionreporttoavarietyofoutputdevicesortoafile. PCDMISsupportsawidevarietyofprintersandplotters.PleasecontactyourPCDMISsales representativeifyouhaveanyquestionsconcerninghardwarecompatibility. Usethiscapabilitytoprintinspectionreportsthatincludeagraphicalrepresentationofthepart. Todothis,selecttheFile|Printing|PrintReportmenuoption.Beforeprinting,youcansetthe outputoptionsforyourprintjob. Important: WhenprintingtheInspectionReport,youshoulduseaTrueTypefont(suchas CourierNew),otherwisecharactersorlinesmaynotlineupasexpected.Tochangethefonts usedintheEditwindowandinyourreports,seethe"ToCustomizeUserInterfaceFonts"topicin the"NavigatingtheUserInterface"chapter.

SettingOutputandPrinterOptionsfortheEditWindow
SelectingtheFile|Printing|ReportPrintSetupmenuoptionwilldisplaytheReportPrint Optionsdialogbox.

ReportPrintOptionsdialogbox YoucanusethisdialogboxtotellPCDMISwhereyouwanttosendtheinspectionreport.You cansendittoafile,theprinter,oroutputitasaDMISfileoranycombinationofthethree.Todo this:

72 UsingBasicFileOptions

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

1. SelecttheFilecheckbox,thePrintercheckbox,theDMISOutputcheckbox,orany combinationofthethree. 2. Nexttoeachcheckboxcertainoptionswillbecomeavailabledependingonwhatyou selectedinthepreviousstep. 3. ClicktheOKbutton(orpressENTER).ThePrintOptionsdialogboxcloses.

OutputtoaFileUsingExpressions
PCDMIS3.6andhigherallowsyoutouseexpressionsintheFileboxofthePrintOptions dialogbox.Withthisfunctionality,youcanuseyourpartprogramcodealongwiththePrint Optionsdialogboxtodynamicallychangethedestinationdirectoryfortheoutputfile. Forexample,supposetwousers,JohnandAmy,wanttosendthesamepartprogram's inspectionreporttoanexistingsubdirectorybasedoffoftheusername.Insteadofopeningthe PrintOptionsdialogboxforeachuser,andchangingthedestinationdirectoryandthenameof thereport,youcansimplyhavetheusertypetheirnameintoaCommentandthenuse assignmentandflowcontrolcommandstostorethedifferentdestinationdirectoriesandreport namesinavariable,likethis:
C1 =COMMENT/INPUT,YES,Typeyourname: IF/C1.INPUT=="John" ASSIGN/VAR_FILENAME="C:\\inspectionreports\\John\\John.rtf" COMMENT/OPER,NO,VAR_FILENAME END_IF/ ELSE_IF/C1.INPUT=="Amy" ASSIGN/VAR_FILENAME="C:\\inpectionreports\\Amy\\Amy.rtf" COMMENT/OPER,NO,VAR_FILENAME END_ELSEIF/ ELSE/ ASSIGN/VAR_FILENAME="C:\\inspectionreports\\"+C1.INPUT+".rtf" COMMENT/OPER,NO,VAR_FILENAME END_ELSE/

TheninsidetheFileboxofthePrintOptionsdialogbox,youcantypetheVAR_FILENAME variable asshownhere:

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingBasicFile Options 73

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

VAR_FILENAMEinFilebox Thereafter,wheneveryouexecutethepartprogram,ifJohnistheuser,thereport,John.rtfwill getsavedtohisdirectoryifAmyistheuser,Amy.rtfwillgetsavedtoherdirectoryifsomeother usertypeshisname,itwillgotothedefaultC:\Inspectionreports\directory. Forinformationoncomments,seethe"InsertingProgrammerComments"topicinthe "InsertingReportCommands"chapter Forinformationonexpressionsandvariables,seethe"UsingExpressionsandVariables" chapter. Forinformationonflowcontrolstatements,seethe"BranchingbyUsingFlowControl" chapter

OutputtoaFile:
Iftheoutputissenttoafile,itcanbesavedineitheraRichTextFormat(.rtf)orPortable DocumentFormat(.pdf)file.Thefilenameisinitiallygeneratedandformattedtohavethesame nameasthepartprogramplusanappendednumericalindexbeforetheextension.AlthoughPC DMISgeneratesthisinitialfilename,thenamedoesnotneedtofollowthedefaultformatand maybechanged. AppendingaFile: IfAppendisselected,PCDMISaddsthecurrentdatafromtheinspectionreporttothe selectedfile.Notethatthecompletepathmustbespecifiedotherwise,PCDMISwill assumethesamedirectoryasthepartprogram.Also,ifthefiledoesnotexist,itwillbe createdwhengeneratingthereport. RTFLimitations:DuetoalimitationwithhowtheRTFdriverworkswithPCDMIS'stemplate approachtoreporting,whenappendingtoanRTFfile,PCDMISonlysendsthecontentsof theTextReportingobject,regardlessofanyotherobjectsthatmayexistinyourcurrent reporttemplate. Additionally,ifyouchoosetoappendtoanRTFfile,itmustbetoafilethatyouhavealways

74 UsingBasicFileOptions

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

usedwiththeAppendoption.YoucannotappendtoanRTFfilethatyoufirstusedwith OverwriteorAuto. OverwritingaFile: PCDMISoverwritestheselectedfilewiththecurrentinspectionreportdata.Notethatthe completepathmustbespecifiedotherwise,PCDMISwillassumethesamedirectoryas thepartprogram.Also,ifthefiledoesnotexist,itwillbecreatedwhengeneratingthe report. PromptingforaDestination: IfPrompt isselected,PCDMISwilldisplayaSaveAsdialogboxthroughwhichyoucan choosethedestinationfileforthereport. UsingtheAutoOption: PCDMISgeneratesthereportfilenameautomaticallyusingthenumberintheIndexbox. Thenameofthegeneratedfilenamewillhavethesamenameasthepartprogram appendedbythenumericalindexandextension.Also,thegeneratedfilewillbelocated inthesamedirectoryasthepartprogram.Ifafileexistswiththesamenameasthe generatedfilename,theAutooptionwillincrementtheindexvalueuntilauniquefile nameisfound. Note:Afterthereportprints,PCDMISinternallyupdatesthevalueinIndextothenext number.ItalsochangesthefilenameinthePrintOptionsdialogbox,sothatitshowsthe newlyincrementedfilename. RichTextFormat(RTF): IftheRichTextFormat(RTF)optionisselected,PCDMISgeneratesthereportusing theMicrosoftRichTextFormat(.rtffile)forinterchangingdocuments.Notethatimagesin RTFreportswillhavealightborderaroundthem. GeneratinganOldStyleRTFReport Bydefault,PCDMISgeneratesRTFreportsusinganAmyuniRTFconverter.Thisessentially ordersinformationinsideseveraltextboxesinsidetheRTFfile.Thisisneededfor accuratepositioningofreporttemplateelementsinsidetheRTFreport.Ifyoufindthis typeofreportdifficulttoworkwith,PCDMISprovidesawaytogenerateanoldstyleRTF report,suchasusedinversion3.7andearlier.Todothis,followthisprocedure: 1. ClosedownPCDMIS. 2. LaunchthePCDMISSettingsEditor. 3. InsidetheSettingsEditor,expandthePrintingsection,andfindthe DoNotUseAmyuniRTFsetting. 4. SettheCurrentValueto1,clickSaveSetting,andclickOK. Note:ThissettingonlyworksiftheRTFoutputisdoneusingtheFile| Printing|ReportWindowPrintSetupmenuoption.Ifyouhaveinserteda PRINT/REPORTcommand(Insert|ReportCommand|PrintCommand) andyouwantthatcommandtogenerateyourRTFoutput,setthevalueto2. 5. RestartPCDMIS. 6. MakesuretheReportwindowissettoprintthereportinatextonlyformat.Todothis, rightclickonthewhitespaceattheendoftheReportwindowandselecttheUseText

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingBasicFile Options 75

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ModeDimensionReportingcheckbox.See"ChangingtheReportWindow'sContents" inthe"ReportingMeasurementResults"chapterformoreinformation. PortableDocumentFormat(PDF): IfthePortableDocumentFormat(PDF)optionisselected,PCDMISgeneratesthe reportusingtheAdobePortableDocumentFormat(.pdffile)forelectronicfilesharing. DimensionsinPDFformatwillnothavethedefaultbluebackgroundcolorordisplaythe dimensionsymbol. Note:Ifnotalreadyinstalledonyourcomputer,youwillneedtoinstallthefreeAdobeAcrobat Readerinordertoview.pdffiles.YoucandownloaditfromAdobe'sWebsiteat: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html UseGlobalPrintSettings: ThischeckboxbecomesavailableifyoufirstselectamarkedsetfromtheMarkedSets windowandthenaccessthisdialogbox.TheUseGlobalPrintSettingscheckbox determineswhetherornotPCDMISusesglobaloutputfileparametersforthemarked set.Selectingthischeckboxoverridestheveryspecificdefaultprintingoptionsusedfor markedsets,withthepartprogram'sglobalsettings,givingyougreatercontroloverthe output.Selectingthischeckboxwillgiveyoumorecontrolovertheprinttofilenaming schemesusedwithmarkedsets. Note:TheHyperReportsInlinecheckboxhasbeenremovedfromthisdialogboxbecausethe abilitytocreateHyperViewreportsinlinewasafunctionoftheoldReportmodethatexistedprior toversion4.0.WhileyoucanstillexecuteHyperViewreportsbyinsertingthemintoyourpart program,youcannotedittheminversionslaterthan4.0.Formoreinformation,seethe "ReportingMeasurementResults"chapter.

OutputasaDMISOutputFile:
IftheDMISOutputcheckboxisselected,PCDMISallowsyoutosavetheinspectionreport's informationasaDMISOutputfile.Threecheckboxes(OverwriteOutputFile,Output TheoreticalValues,andOutputFeatureswithDimensions)andaSaveAsbuttonbecome available.BydefaultPCDMISwillautomaticallygeneratetheoutputfilewheneveryouexecute thepartprogram,incrementingthenumberonthefilenameeachtimeitisexecuted. SaveAs ClickingtheSaveAsbuttonopensaSaveAsdialogbox.Thisallowsyoutosavethe inspectionreportorEditwindowinformationtoafileanddirectoryofyourchoiceina DMISoutputformat.Availablefileformatsusethe.dmo,.dms,.dmi,and.dmis extensions.PCDMISdoesnotsavethefileonceyouclickSavefromtheSaveAsdialog box.Instead,itwillcreatetheoutputfilewiththespecifiednamethenexttimeyou executethepartprogram.

Note:Itdoesn'tmatterwhatfileformatyouchoosesincetheyallproduceidenticaloutputs anyway.ThesedifferentextensionsmerelyprovidecustomersthatworkwithDMISfiles,afile typewithwhichtheyarefamiliar. However,donotconfusea.dmsor.dmimeasurementreportfromthisdialogboxwitha.dms or.dmifilecreatedfromtheDMISExport functionality.Exportinganentirepartprogramsothatit

76 UsingBasicFileOptions

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

runsinaDMISenabledsoftwareisquitedifferentfromviewinganinspectionreportsavedinthe DMISOutputstandard. OverwriteOutputFile IfyouselectOverwriteOutputFile,PCDMISwillsimplyoverwritetheoldoutputfile withthenewone.Ifyoudon'tselectthischeckbox,PCDMISautomaticallyincrements thefilenamespecifiedintheSaveAsdialogboxwithoutoverwritinganypreviousfile. Forexample,ifyouhadpreviouslyselected"test.dmo"asyouroutputfileandOverwrite OutputFilewasnotselected,thenexttimethepartprogramwasexecutedPCDMIS wouldsaveanewfileas"test1.dmo".Newexecutionsofthepartprogramwouldbe savedasfilesincrementedinthismanner. IfyouplaceOverwriteOutputFileinitsthirdstate(lightgraycheckmark),PCDMISwill openthespecifiedfileinappendmode.ThisfollowstheDMISconventionthatallowsyou toenable,disable,andenableagaintheoutputtothesamefile.InPCDMIS,thiswill functioncorrectlyonlyifthefilewasinitiallyopenedwithOverwriteOutputFileselected.

OutputTheoreticalValues IfyouselectOutputTheoreticalValues,PCDMISoutputsalltheoreticalvaluesalong withthemeasuredvaluestotheoutputDMISfile.Ifyoudon'tselectthischeckbox,no theoreticalvaluesareincludedinthereport. IfyouplacetheOutputTheoreticalValuescheckboxinitsthirdstate(lightgraycheck mark),onlythosetheoreticalvaluesexplicitlyoutputbytheoriginal DMISprogramare outputinthereport.ThisthirdstateisusefulwhenthepartprogramiscreatedbyaDMIS importprocess,andyouneedtomaintainthesameDMISoutputformat.

OutputFeatureswithDimensions IfyouselectOutputFeatureswithDimensions,PCDMISwillkeepthemeasured featuresandassociatedtolerancestogetherintheoutputfile.PCDMISwillwritethe measurementresultsimmediatelybeforetheirassociatedtoleranceresultsforeach dimensionassociatedtothefeatureitself. Ifafeatureisnotassociatedwithanytolerance,PCDMISwillnotgenerateanyoutput. Ifyoudon'tselectOutputFeatureswithDimensions,themeasurementresultsare writtenexactlywhenthefeatureismeasuredandnotlaterwhenPCDMISexecutesthe associateddimensions.

Note:Thenumericportionofthefilenameshouldnotexceedmorethan10digits.Otherwise, youruntheriskofoverwritingolderoutputfiles.

OutputtothePrinter:
Thissendstheoutputtoyourcurrentdefaultprinter. ThePrintBackgroundColorscheckboxletsyoudeterminewhetherornotthereportprints backgroundcolors.Bydefault,PCDMISselectsthischeckboxandprintsthebackgroundcolors. Ifyouclearthischeckbox,PCDMISwillnotprintanybackgroundcolors.Ifyouwanttoclearor displaythebackgroundcolorfromareportalreadyintheReportwindow,makesureyouclickthe RedrawtheReporticonfromtheReportingtoolbar.
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual UsingBasicFile Options 77

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

SampleReportwithBackgroundColorsPrinted

SampleReportwithoutBackgroundColorsPrinted

78 UsingBasicFileOptions

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

LaunchingLegacyApplications
PCDMISallowsyoutolaunchexistingLegacyapplicationsfromwithinPCDMIS.Simplyselect theappropriatemenuoptionfromtheFile|Launchsubmenu. MM Tutor Chorus Master Quindos MeasureMax

OnceyouexitfromaLegacyapplication,WindowsreturnsthefocustoPCDMIS.

ClosingorQuittingPartPrograms
SelectingClosewillsaveandclosetheactivepartprogram.Iftheparthasneverbeen saved,youwillbepromptedtonameandsaveyourfile. SelectingQuitwillquitthecurrentpartprogramwithoutsavinganychanges.Onlydata thathasbeenpreviouslysavedwillberetrievable.Ifquitischosen,amessageappears, askingifyouwanttoquittheprogramwithoutsaving.Tosavethepartprogram,choose NOinthemessagebox,andfollowtheinstructionsunder"SavingPartPrograms".

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingBasicFile Options 79

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Note:IfyouclosedowntheReportwindow,theEditwindow,andtheGraphicsDisplaywindow byclickingoneachwindow'sX,PCDMISimmediatelysavesthepartprogramandthenclosesit. IfyousimplyhidethewindowsusingtheView menu,thepartprogramremainsopen.

ExitingPCDMIS
ToquitthecurrentpartprogramandexitPCDMIS,choosetheFile|Exitcommand.Unlikethe File|Quitcommand,whenFile|Exit ischosen,PCDMISautomaticallysavesthecurrentpart programbeforeexiting.

80 UsingBasicFileOptions

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

UsingAdvancedFileOptions
UsingAdvancedFileOptions:Introduction
PCDMISprovidesyouwithmanyoptionstomanipulatepartprogramsandmanageyour essentialfiles.AswithmostWindowsbasedprograms,youcanperformbasicfilemanagement usingstandardWindowsdialogboxestheseincludecreating,opening,copying,renaming,and deletingfiles.Additionally,throughPCDMISyoucanperformmoreadvancedoperations,such asimportingandexportingCADdata,orexecutingcompletedpartprograms. Thischapterspecificallydealswithadvancedfileoptions.Formorebasicoptions,seethe"Using BasicFileOptions"chapter. Theoptionsdiscussedinthischapterinclude: ImportingCADorProgramData ExportingCADorProgramData AlteringImported/ExportedImageDisplay SettingImportOptions ExecutingPartPrograms

Theseoptionsandcommandsaredescribedindetailthroughoutthischapter.

ImportingCADDataorProgramData
UsingtheFile|Import menuoption,PCDMISdisplaysasubmenuofdatatypesthatyoucan importintothecurrentpartprogram.DatatypesareeitherCADdatathatisimportedintheCAD fileorPartProgramdatathatisimportedintothePartProgram.Selectingamenuitemdisplays anOpendialogbox. DMISdataispostedintothe Theinputdatafilesthatcanbeusedcanbeanyofthesefiletypes: partprograminPCDMIS format,eliminatingtheneed CADImportCAD(PCDMIS),CATIA,CATIA5,DES,DXF, foraseparatefile. GDX,IGES,Parasolid,Pro/E,STEP,STL,Unigraphics, VDAFS,orXYZIJK, PartProgramImportAVAIL,ChorusDMIS,DMIS,MMIV, InspectionPlan,Tutor,MeasureMax DirectCADCATIA,Unigraphics,Pro/E,ACIS,IDEAS, CATIA5,SolidWorks,andSolidEdge PCDMISkeepstrackoftheCADdataasaseparatefile.Thisfile willhavethesameOSfilenameasthepartprogram,butwillhave the".CAD"extension.Alloperations,suchasRENAME,DELETE, andCOPYarealsodoneontheassociatedCADfile(ifoneexists). Example:ApartprogramusingtheOSfilenameofTEST.PRGis beingused.IfCADdataisaddedtothispartprogram,PCDMISwill createaCADfilenamed,TEST.CAD,andfileitinthesame directory.IftheTEST.PRGpartprogramislaterdeletedusingthe Operationssubmenu,PCDMISwillalsodeletetheTEST.CADfile.
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual UsingAdvancedFile Options 81

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Inversion3.5andhigher,PCDMISallowsyoutouseimportexisting.CADfilesforusewith multiplepartprograms.Thisisdiscussedin"ReferencingOneCADfileforMultiplePart Programs".

ToImportaDataFileintoaPartProgram:
1. SelecttheFile|Importmenuoptionandthenselectadatatypetoimport.AnOpen dialogboxappears. 2. Navigatethroughtheavailabledirectoriesuntilyoufindthedirectorycontainingthedata files. 3. ChoosethedesiredinputdatafiletypefromtheFilesofTypedropdownlistatthe bottomofthedialogboxandthenselectthefiletoinput.Iftheselectedpartprogram alreadyhasCADdataassociatedwithit,disregardthisstep. 4. ClicktheImportbutton.IfyoualreadyhaveCADdataimportedforyourcurrentpart program,thenPCDMISasksifyouwanttoreplacetheexistingCADdataormergethe CADdatatogether.ClickeitherMergeorReplace.SeetheMerge/Replacetopicfor moreinformation.

5. Followtheremainingdialogsdependingonthedatatypethatyouhavechosen. 6. TheCADfilewillbeimported. CADdatacanbeaddedandmergedatanytimeduringthecycleofthepartprogrambyfollowing thestepsdescribedin"Merge/Replace". Note:TheImportoptionwillalsoallowyouto"postin"atranslatedDOSfile.Seethe"Translating aPartProgramintoPCDMIS"appendix.

ImportingMultipleCADFiles
PCDMISallowsyoutoeasilyimportmultipleCADfilesatthesametime.Thisisusefulifyou wanttoimportthesamepartmodelasbothawireframeandasolid.Todothis,clickontheCAD Import iconfromtheWizardstoolbar.Adialogboxopens.Selectthefilestoimportandselect Open.Youcanthenchoosetomergethedata. Formoreinformation,seethe"WizardsToolbar"topicinthe"UsingToolbars"chapter.

Merge/Replace
WhenimportingaCADfile,PCDMISwilldisplaytheMergeImportDatadialogboxifthe selectedpartprogramalreadyhasCADdataassociatedwithit.YoucanchoosetoeitherMerge orReplacetheCADdata.

82 UsingAdvancedFileOptions

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

IfyouselecttheMerge(newdata)option,PCDMISwilladdtheinputdatatothepart programwithoutdeletingtheexistingdata. IfyouselecttheReplaceoption,PCDMISwilldeletetheexistingdataandreplaceitwith thenewinputdata.

ClickingBackreturnsyoutotheOpendialogbox. Note:SomeimportedfiletypesautomaticallyreplaceoldexistingCADdatawiththeimported data. Inthosecases,youwon'tbepresentedwiththeMergeImportDatadialogbox.

ImportingaCADFile
1. SelecttheFile|Import|CAD... menuoption.AnOpendialogboxappears. 2. Navigatetothedirectorycontainingthefiletoimport. 3. ClickImportwhenreadytoimportthefile.PCDMISwillimporttheCADfile. YoureferenceoneCADfilefrommultiplePartPrograms.SeetheReferencingOneCADfilefor MultiplePartProgramssectionformoreinformationonhowtodothis.

ReferencingOneCADfileforMultiplePartPrograms
InpreviousversionsofPCDMIS,creatinganewpartprogramthatusedthesameIGESfileas otherpartprogramsautomaticallycreatedanew.CADfile.Inversion3.5andaboveyoucan havemultiplepartsreferenceasingle.CADfile.Thisisespeciallyusefulformultiplepart programsthatusethesameCADmodel.IfyouareusinglargeCADmodels,youcansavea substantialamountofdiskspacebyreferencingjustoneCADfileformultiplepartprograms. Toreferencea.CADfileusedinanotherpartprogram: 1. SelecttheFile|Import|CADByReference... menuoption.AnOpendialogbox appears. 2. Navigatetothedirectorycontainingthefiletoimport. 3. ClickImportwhenreadytoimportthefile.PCDMISwillimporttheCADfile. Followtheinstructionsinthe"ToImportaDataFileintoaPartProgram"topicinthischapter,and whentheImportDatadialogboxappears,selectCADReferenceasthedatatypefor importation,thencontinuewiththeimportationprocess. Note:Circularreferencesto.CADfilesaren'tpossibleandwillalwaysdisplayanerrormessage. Anerrorwouldoccur,forexample,ifyoucreatedanewpartprogram,importedanIGESfile, savedthepartprogram,andthenlaterattemptedtoimportitsown.CADfile. Onceimported,usingtheView|CADInfomenuoptiontoviewinformationaboutaCADelement willdisplaythefilepathforthereferencedCADfile(see"ViewingCADInformation"inthe"Editing theCADDisplay"chapter).

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingAdvancedFile Options 83

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Note:BeawarethatmodificationsmadetotheCADmodeleithertheoriginalCADmodelora referencedCADmodelwillbemadetoallotherpartprogramsbasedonthatCADmodel.For example,ifyoumakechangestotheoriginalCADmodel,anymodelsreferencedfromthe originalwillhavethesamechangesmade.Conversely,ifyoumakechangestoareferenced model,thentheoriginalmodelalsohasthesamechangesmade.

ImportingaCATIAFile
PCDMISallowsyoutotranslateaCATIAfileandimportitintoaPCDMISpartprogram.This typeofimportationdiffersfrominterfacingdirectlywiththeCATIACADfileasdescribedin "InstallingandUsingCATIADirectCADInterface"inthe"DirectlyInterfacingaCADFile"chapter. ToimportaCATIAfile: 1. OpenthepartprograminPCDMISintowhichyouaregoingtoimporttheCATIA programfile. 2. SelecttheFile|Import|CATIA... menuoption.AnOpendialogboxwillappear. 3. ChooseCATIAFilesfromtheFilesofTypelistatthebottomofthedialogbox.PC DMISlistsprogramfilesendingwiththeseextensions:.mod,.exp,.iso,and.cat. 4. Navigatethroughtheavailabledirectoriesuntilyoufindthedirectorycontainingthe desiredCATIAfileandselectthatfilefromthelist. 5. ClicktheImportbutton.TheCatiaImportdialogboxappears.

CatiaImportdialogbox

6. Usingthedescriptionofthedialogboxgivenintheheadingsbelow,selectthedesired optionsfromtheCatiaImportdialogbox. 7. ClicktheOKbuttonandPCDMISimportsthefile.

84 UsingAdvancedFileOptions

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ModelSection
IfyourCATIAfileshavemorethanonemodel,theModelSelection listallowsyoutospecifythe modeltoimport.

AxisSelection
TheAxisSelectionlistallowsyoutodeterminethecoordinatesystemaxisusedforthemodel youareimporting.

ProcessingOptions
TheProcessingOptionsareaallowsyoutofiltertheimportedentities.Usethelistsinthisarea tocontrolwhichentitiesfromthemodelwillbeimported.Therearethreefilters:theentitytype, theentitycolor,andtheentitylayer.Youcancombinethesefilterstogetherandsuccessivelylimit theentitiesyouwillimport. Example:Supposeyouhaveafilecomposedofnumerousentitytypesandcolorsonvarious layers.Outofalltheentitiestoimport,youcanselectaspecifictype,suchacurve.Fromthe resultinglistofcurves,youcanthenfilterbyaspecificentitycolor,suchasblue.Fromthenew listofbluecurvesyoucanthenfilterbyentitylayer,suchas15.Thiswillimportanybluecurves, residingonlayer15. ProcessAllEntities Selectthischeckboxtoimportallentitytypes.Tofilterwhichentitytypesareimported, deselectthischeckbox,andselecttheentitytypesfromthelistthatyouwanttoimport. YoucanselectmultipleitemsbyholdingdowntheCTRLkeywhileselectingtheitems. ProcessAllColors Selectthischeckboxtoimportentitieswithanyassignedcolor.Tofilterwhichcolorsare imported,deselectthischeckbox,andselectthecolorsfromthelistthatyouwantto import. ProcessAllLayers Selectthischeckboxtoimportalllayersinthemodel.Tofilterwhichlayersareimported, deselectthischeckbox,andselectthelayersfromthelistthatyouwanttoimport. ProcessHiddenEntities Selectthischeckboxtoimporthiddenentities.Tonotimporthiddenentities,deselectthis checkbox.

TrimPreference
TheTrimPreferenceareadetermineshowtrimmedsurfacesshouldberepresentedinsidePC DMIS. SelecttheUVTrimoptiontotrimthesurfacesintheparameterspaceofthesurfaces.
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual UsingAdvancedFile Options 85

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

SelecttheXYZTrimoptiontotrimthesurfacesinmodelspace. Intheory,theresultingtranslatedmodelshouldbethesameregardlessoftheselectedtrim option.However,ifyoureimportingpoorlydefinedmodels,theoptionselectedoftenmakesa differenceintheresults.Ingeneral,selectingUVTrimwillproducethebestresults.

ImportingaCATIA5File:
1. SelecttheFile|Import|CATIA5...menuoption. TheFileOpendialogboxappears. 2. Browsethroughyourharddrive,andselectaCATIA5file. 3. ClicktheImportbutton. TheCATIA5Importdialogboxappears.

Catia5Importdialogbox 4. IntheProcessingOptionsarea,selecttheentitytypesthatyouwanttoimport. Click theProcessAllEntitiescheckboxtoprocessalloftheavailableentities.SelecttheOK buttontoimportthemodelfileintoPCDMIS. Theimportedmodelisreadytobeused withPCDMIS.

ImportingaDESFile
1. SelecttheFile|Import|DES...menuoption. TheFileOpendialogboxappears. 2. Browsethroughyourharddrive,andselectaDES(DataFileExchange)file. 3. ClicktheImportbutton. TheDesFiledialogboxappears.

DESFiledialogbox

86 UsingAdvancedFileOptions

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

4. SelecteitherFeatureorFixturetospecifywhattypeofdataisimported.Ifyouselect FeatureyoucanselecttheUseSymbolscheckboxtousefeaturelabels. 5. SelecttheXYZ(LWH)orXZY(LHW)optiontospecifytheorientationfortheimporteddata. 6. SelecttheMetricoptioniftheneededunitsarenotspecifiedintheDESfile. 7. SelecttheExplodepolylinestopointsoptiontoconvertimportedlinesintopoints. Additionally,youcanchoosetokeeptheimportedpolylinesbyselectingtheKeep polylinesoption. 8. ClickProcesstoimporttheDESfile. 9. ClickOKtoaccepttheprocessedfile.

ImportingaDXF/DWGFile
1. 2. 3. 4. SelecttheFile|Import|DXF... menuoption.AnOpendialogboxappears. SelectthedatatypeyouwanttoimportfromtheFilesofTypelist. Navigatetothedirectorycontainingthefiletoimport. ClickImportwhenreadytoimportthefile.PCDMISwilldisplaytheDXF/DWGImport Statusdialogbox.

DXF/DWGImportStatusdialogbox 5. ClickOKwhentheDXForDWGfilehasbeentranslated.Ifthetranslationfails,theOK buttonwillnotbeavailable.ClickCanceltodeclinetheadditionoftheimportedfile.

ImportingaGDXFile
1. 2. 3. 4. SelecttheFile|Import|GDX... menuoption.AnOpendialogboxappears. SelectthedatatypeyouwanttoimportfromtheFilesofTypelist. Navigatetothedirectorycontainingthefiletoimport. ClickImportwhenreadytoimportthefile.PCDMISwilldisplaytheGDXImportStatus dialogbox.

GDXImportStatusdialogbox 5. ClickOKwhentheGDXfilehasbeentranslated.Ifthetranslationfails,theOKbuttonwill notbeavailable.ClickCanceltodeclinetheadditionoftheimportedfile.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingAdvancedFile Options 87

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ImportinganIGESFile
1. 2. 3. 4. SelecttheFile|Import|IGESmenuoption.AnOpendialogboxappears. Navigatethroughtheavailabledirectoriestothedirectorycontainingyourpartfile. Selectthefile. ClicktheImportbutton.PCDMISnextdisplaystheIGESFiledialogbox.TheIGESFile dialogboxdisplaysallofthepertinentinformationregardingtheindicateddatafile.

IGESFiledialogbox 5. IfyouwanttodeterminewhatCADdatagetsprocessedanddisplayed,clicktheSetup button(see"AlteringtheImported/ExportedImageDisplay"). 6. ToviewspecificIGESfeaturedata,clicktheDatabutton(see"UsingtheIGESData DialogBox"). 7. Toattachthisfiletotheselectedpartprogram,simplyclicktheProcesscommandbutton. PCDMISwillindicatewhenthefileis100%processed. 8. Ifyouwanttomanipulatea2DCADdrawingthreedimensionally,therebycreating desired3Dlevels,clicktheMake3Dbutton.Ifyoudothis,youroriginaldatashouldbe definedinasingleplaneparalleltotheZ(=0)plane.Forcompleteinformationonthis option,seethe"MakingCAD3DbyusingtheCreateLevelswindow"topicinthe"Editing theCADDisplay"chapter. 9. Tocompletetheaction,clicktheOKbutton,andPCDMISwillreturnopenthepart program. SelectingtheCancelbuttonwillterminatetheentireoperationandclosetheIGESFiledialogbox. Seetheappendix,"WorkinginOfflineMode"forinformationregardingthedifferentinputfile formats.

UsingtheIGESDataDialogBox
TheIGESDatadialogboxallowsyoutoclickonaspecificfeatureinthelistboxtodisplay informationregardingthatfeature'sdiameter,XYZnominal,etc.

88 UsingAdvancedFileOptions

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

IGESDatadialogbox ToviewinformationabouttheCADdatayou'reimportinginsidetheIGESDatadialogbox,follow thisprocedure: BeginimportingaCADorIGESfile(see"ImportinganIGESFile"). 1. OncetheIGESFiledialogboxappears,clickProcesstoimportthedata. 2. Onceit'scomplete,clicktheDatabutton.TheIGESDatadialogboxappears.

Make3D
TheMake3DbuttontellsPCDMIStomanipulatea2DCADdrawingthreedimensionally, creatingdesired3Dlevels.TheoriginaldatashouldbedefinedinasingleplaneparalleltotheZ (=0)plane. Forcompleteinformationonthisoption,seethe"EditingtheCADDisplay"chapter.

ImportinganIGES(Alternate)File
PCDMISprovidesanalternatemethodforimportinganIGESfileasidefromthestandardIGES importoption.FilesareprocessedsimilarmethodusedforGDX,DXF,etc. ToimportanIGESfile: 1. 2. 3. 4. SelecttheFile|Import|IGES(Alternate)...menuoption.AnOpendialogboxappears. SelectthedatatypeyouwanttoimportfromtheFilesofTypelist. Navigatetothedirectorycontainingthefiletoimport. ClickImportwhenreadytoimportthefile.PCDMISwilldisplaytheIGESImportStatus dialogbox.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingAdvancedFile Options 89

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

IGESImportStatusdialogbox 5. ClickOKwhentheIGESfilehasbeentranslated.Ifthetranslationfails,theOK buttonwillnotbeavailable.ClickCanceltodeclinetheadditionoftheimportedfile.

ImportingaPro/ENGINEERFile
PCDMISallowsyoutotranslateaPro/ENGINEERfileandimportitintoaPCDMISpartprogram. ThistypeofimportationdiffersfrominterfacingdirectlywiththePro/ENGINEERCADfileas describedinthe"InstallingandUsingPro/ENGINEERDirectCADInterface"inthe"Directly InterfacingwithaCADFile"appendix. ToimportaPro/ENGINEERfile: 1. OpenthepartprograminPCDMISintowhichyouaregoingtoimportthe Pro/ENGINEERfile. 2. SelecttheFile|Import|ProEngineermenuoption.AnOpendialogboxwillappear. 3. ChoosePro/ENGINEERFilesfromtheFilesofTypelistatthebottomofthedialogbox. PCDMISlistsprogramfilesendingwiththeseextensions:.prtand.asm. 4. Navigatethroughtheavailabledirectoriesuntilyoufindthedirectorycontainingthe desiredPro/ENGINEERfileandselectthatfilefromthelist. 5. ClicktheImportbutton.ThePro/ENGINEERImportdialogboxappears.

Pro/ENGINEERImportdialogbox

6. Usingthedescriptionofthedialogboxgivenintheheadingsbelow,selectthedesired optionsfromthePro/ENGINEERImportdialogbox. 7. ClicktheOKbuttonandPCDMISimportsthefile.

90 UsingAdvancedFileOptions

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ProcessingOptions
TheProcessingOptionsareaallowsyoutoselectwhichtypesofentitiestoimport. ProcessSolidSurfaces Selectthischeckboxtoimportsolidsurfaceentities. ProcessAllDatums Selectthischeckboxtoimportalldatumentities.Tofilterwhichspecificdatumsareimported, deselectthischeckbox,andselectthedatumentitytypesfromthelistthatyouwantto import.

ImportingaSTEPFile
1. 2. 3. 4. SelecttheFile|Import|STEP...menuoption.AnOpendialogboxappears. SelectthedatatypeyouwanttoimportfromtheFilesofTypelist. Navigatetothedirectorycontainingthefiletoimport. ClickImportwhenreadytoimportthefile.PCDMISwilldisplaytheSTEPImportStatus dialogbox.

STEPImportStatusdialogbox 5. ClickOKwhentheSTEPfilehasbeentranslated.Ifthetranslationfails,theOKbutton willnotbeavailable.ClickCanceltodeclinetheadditionoftheimportedfile.

ImportinganSTLFile
Thestereolithography(STL) format,anASCIIorbinaryfileusedinmanufacturing,providesalist ofthetriangularfacetsthatdescribeacomputergeneratedsolidmodel.Thisformatisthe standardinputformostrapidprototypingmachines.

SampleImportedSTLFile

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingAdvancedFile Options 91

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ToimportanSTLfile, 1. OpenthepartprograminPCDMISintowhichyouaregoingtoimporttheDMISprogram file. 2. SelecttheFile|Import|STL...menuoption.AnOpendialogboxwillappear. 3. Navigatethroughtheavailabledirectoriesuntilyoufindthedirectorycontainingthe desiredSTLfileandselectthatfilefromthelist.TheSTLfilecanbeinASCIIorbinary format. 4. ClicktheImportbutton.PCDMISimportsthedataasalistoffacetsthatformasolid model.

ImportingaUnigraphicsorParasolidsFile
PCDMISallowsyoutotranslateaUnigraphicsorParasolidsfileandimportitintoaPCDMIS partprogram.This typeofimportationdiffersfrominterfacingdirectlywiththeUnigraphicsCAD filedescribedintheDirectCADInterfaceshelpfile. ToimportaUnigraphicsorParasolidsfile: 1. OpenthepartprograminPCDMISintowhichyouaregoingtoimporttheUnigraphicsor Parasolidsfile.Yourhardwarekey(portlock)mustbeprogrammedwiththeUnigraphics optiontoimportParasolidfiles. 2. SelectFile|Import|UnigraphicsorFile|Import|Parasolids.AnOpendialogboxwill appear. 3. Navigatethroughtheavailabledirectoriesuntilyoufindthedirectorycontainingthe desiredUnigraphicsorParasolidsfileandselectthatfilefromthelist. 4. ClicktheImportbutton.Dependingonyourfiletype,theUnigraphicsImportor ParasolidsImportdialogboxappears.Thedialogboxesforthedifferentfiletypesare essentiallythesameasthisoneshownhere:

UnigraphicsImportdialogbox

5. SelecttheentitytypesthatyouwanttoimportfromtheProcessingOptionsarea.The typesofentitiesthatcanbeimportedaresolidbodies,sheetbodies,andhiddenentities. 6. ClicktheOKbuttonandPCDMISimportsthefile.

ImportingSTEP,VDAFS,andDXF/DWGFiles
1. SelecttheFile|Import menuoptionandthenselectSTEP,VDAFS,DXF,orDWG.An Opendialogboxappears. 2. 3. SelectthedatatypeyouwanttoimportfromtheFilesofTypelist. Navigatetothedirectorycontainingthefiletoimport.

92 UsingAdvancedFileOptions

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

4. ClickImportwhenreadytoimportthefile.PCDMISwilldisplaytheSTEPImportdialog box.

STEPImportdialogbox Note:Theimportdialogboxesforthefiletypesdiscussedinthistopicareessentiallythesame astheSTEPImportdialogboxshownabove.

ImportingaVDAFSFile
1. 2. 3. 4. SelecttheFile|Import|VADFS... menuoption.AnOpendialogboxappears. SelectthedatatypeyouwanttoimportfromtheFilesofTypelist. Navigatetothedirectorycontainingthefiletoimport. ClickImportwhenreadytoimportthefile.PCDMISwilldisplaytheVDAFSImport Statusdialogbox.

VDAFSImportStatusdialogbox 5. ClickOKwhentheVDAFSfilehasbeentranslated.Ifthetranslationfails,theOKbutton willnotbeavailable.ClickCanceltodeclinetheadditionoftheimportedfile.\

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingAdvancedFile Options 93

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ImportinganXYZIJKFile
XYZIJKFileshavea.xyz XYZIJKfiletypesaresimplefileswithfeatureinformationinthe extension.Youcanviewthe formofxyzcoordinateswithorwithoutavector. valuescontainedina.xyzfile byusinganystandardtext editor. ToimportanXYZIJKfile: 1. SelecttheFile|Import|XYZ... menuoption.AnOpendialogboxappears. 2. Navigatetothedirectorycontainingthefiletoimport. 3. ClickImportwhenreadytoimportthefile.PCDMISinterpretsandimportstheselected XYZIJKfile. Howmanynumbersthereareoneachlinedeterminewhatfeatureiscreated.PCDMISreadsthe rowsofthe.xyzdatafileandconvertsthepointstothefollowingfeaturedependingonthe amountofnumbersperrow: Numbersper Row 3 Description 1 number=Xvalue nd 2 number=Yvalue rd 3 number=Zvalue
st 1 number=Xvalue nd 2 number=Yvalue rd 3 number=Zvalue th 4 number=diameter

st

CADFeature Generated Pointwithnovector

CADcirclewitha workplanebased vector Pointwithnovector

8+

st 1 number=Xvalue nd 2 number=Yvalue rd 3 number=Zvalue th 4 number=nothing th 5 number=nothing st 1 number=Xvalue nd 2 number=Yvalue rd 3 number=Zvalue th 4 number=Ivalue th 5 number=Jvalue th 6 number=Kvalue st 1 number=Xvalue nd 2 number=Yvalue rd 3 number=Zvalue th 4 number=Ivalue th 5 number=Jvalue th 6 number=Kvalue th 7 number=diameter st 1 number=Xvalue nd 2 number=Yvalue rd 3 number=Zvalue th 4 number=Ivalue th 5 number=Jvalue th 6 number=Kvalue th 7 number=nothing th 8 number=nothing

Pointwithavector

Circlewithvector

Pointwithavector

94 UsingAdvancedFileOptions

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Example:IfyourXYZfilecontainedalinewith25,280,750,25 PCDMISwouldcreateacircle withthecenteredatx=25,y=280,andz=750withadiameterof25. Afterselectingthefiletoimport,PCDMISdisplaysthefeaturesconstructedfromtheXYZfilein theXYZFiledialogbox.

XYZFiledialogbox Note:Beawarethattheorderinwhichthefeaturesarecreatedinthe.xyzfileandtheorderin whichtheyaregeneratedinsidePCDMISmaynotbethesame. AfterclickingOK,PCDMISdisplaysthecreatedCADfeaturesintheGraphicsDisplaywindow.

NotesonXYZIJKFiles
PCDMISwillreadinanytextfilethatcontainsXYZ(andpossiblyIJK)data.Thefileshould containthenominal(theoretical)inspectionpointsthatneedtobemeasured.Thefilemustfollow theserules: 1. Columns16inthefirstlineofthefilemustcontainthecharacters"XYZIJK".Thisisthe keywordthatletsPCDMISdistinguishthisfiletypefromDESandIGESfiles.Itmustbe incapitalletters. Inthefirstlineofthefile: Col.1=X Col.2=Y Col.3=Z Col.4=I Col.5=J Col.6=K 2. Ifthefilecontainsmetricdata,columns1116ofthefirstlinemustcontaintheword METRIC.Thatis: Col.11=M Col.12=E Col.13=T Col.14=R Col.15=I Col.16=C

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingAdvancedFile Options 95

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Thedefault,iftheMETRICkeywordisnotpresent,isINCH. Therestofthefirstlineshouldbeblank 3. Eachlinethereaftermustcontainthreetoeightfloatingpointnumbersseparatedbya comma. Forexample,supposeyourXYZIJKfilelookedlikethissample:

SampleXYZIJKfileinatexteditor Line1containstheXYZIJKkeyword,andsincethekeywordMETRICisn'toncolumns11 through16,thisdefaultstoINCH. Line2producesapointwithavector. Line3producesapointwithavector. Line4producesapointwithavector. Line5producesacirclewithavectorandadiameter.

Onceimported,itwillproducethisresultintheGraphicsDisplaywindow:

GraphicalDisplaywindowshowingthesampleXYZIJKfileimportedintoPCDMIS.

ImportingaChorusNTProgram
ThemigrationpathfromChorusNTtoPCDMISisbasedonPCDMIS'sabilitytoimportaChorus DMISpartprogram,convertingtheoriginalDMISprogramintoequivalentPCDMIScommands thatmakeupaPCDMISpartprogramfile,afilewitha.prgfilenameextension.

96 UsingAdvancedFileOptions

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

PCDMISalreadyconvertsmostDMIScommandsintoPCDMIScommands,andWilcox Associates,Inc.isworkingto fullysupportthemanyChorusextensions,tomaximizethe automaticconversionandminimizethemanualmodificationsneededaftertheautomaticimport. InPCDMIS3.6andabovebegintheimportprocessofChorusNTextensionsby: 1. SelecttheFile|Import|ChorusDMIS...menuoption.AnOpendialogboxappears. 2. SelecttheappropriateDMISfileandclickOpen. 3. PCDMISdisplaystheDmisImportSetupdialogbox. Youcanusethisdialogboxtosetthefollowingneededinformationduringimportphase: Specifytheprobefilenameusedforeacharm. Enablethewarningdialogattheendoftheimportphase. Enablesomeoptionsrelatingtospecificcustomersandhardwareconfigurations.

Inthefollowingtopicstakingthefollowingbasicstepswillhelpyoucorrectlyimportandtranslate yourDMISfileintoaPCDMISpartprogramfile:

Step1:ConfigurePCDMIS
VerifyPCDMIS'ssetup,andcheckifthestandardsettingsinPCDMIScorrespondtoChorusNT settings.ForexampleverifytheCMMaxisconventionsandprobeheadOrientationand TopSpeed(CMMmaxmovespeed)value. UseSettingsEditortosetthefollowingoptionsintheDMISsection: DMISMaxMeasurementVelocityMMPS =maximummeasurespeed DMISFedratPcntOfMaxMachineSpeed= 0

Step2:CreateandCalibratetheProbeFileinsidePCDMIS
Createanewpartprogramand,whenprompted,defineanewprobe.Nameit MYPROBE.PRBandspecifyintheProbeUtilitydialogboxthecomponentsaccordingto yourspecificneeds. ImporttheChorusqualificationpartprogramusingasyourprobe,thepreviouslycreated MYPROBE.PRBfile.PCDMISimportseachSNSDEFstatementandaddsthe correspondingTIPangles.NotethatChorusidentifieseachtipwiththeDMISlabelthat lookssomethinglikethis.Atipwithroll=0andpitch=0isnamedS(R000P000T1).PC DMIS,namesthisasT1A0B0. IfinChorusNTyouusedaselfcalibratedprobe,importintoPCDMISasimpleDMISpart programcontainingthedefinitionoftheChiefprobe,havingtherightlabel(thesame usedintheSNSLCT/S(label),90,90 forexample)andPitchandRollequalto0. AfteryouimporttheDMISfile,yourMYPROBE.PRBprobefilewillcontainalltheneeded tips.InPCDMIStheseABtipangleswillshowanasterisksymbol*meaningtheyare notyetcalibrated. Calibratethetips.Dothisinoneoftwoways:1)Executethepartprogram.2)Clickthe MeasurebuttonfromtheProbeUtilitiesdialogbox.

Step3:CreatethePCDMISProgramFileandImporttheDMISfile
CreateanewPCDMISpartprogram.
UsingAdvancedFile Options 97

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ImportthemeasuringChorusNTpartprogram,specifyingtheMYRPOBE.PRBprobefile createdinthepreviousstep. UsuallyChorusmeasuringprogramscontain SNSLCT/S(label)orSNSLCT/SA(label) statements.Forselfcalibratedwrists,youcanexplicitlyspecifyrollandpitchanglesin theSNSLCTlabel.

AfterPCDMISimportstheDMISfile,thefinalPCDMISpartprogramwillhaveatthebeginning theLOADPROBE/MYPROBE.PRBcommand,and foreachSNSLCTstatementthecorresponding TIP commandwillappearwiththecorrectAandBangles.

Step4:EndofautomaticImportPhase
PCDMIScompletestheImportphase,showingyouareportintheWarningwindow. Forexampleyoumightseesomethinglikethis:
L42::DECL/CHAR,O_D_L[11] L56::DECL/REAL,TX,TY,TZ,MISX,MISY,MISZ,CXT,CYT,CZT,VX,VY,VZ L57::DECL/REAL,INVCXT,INVCYT,INVCZT L112:!MAJOR:MMEDIA/ON,C:\myfile.exe L150:!MAJOR:MRRPCS/D(MRR),0,1,0 L213:ERROR:!UNITS L253:ERROR:!SNSLCT/S(S_103)

Thesemessagesareexplainedhere: L##ThisrepresentsthelinenumberforthatstatementintheoriginalDMISprogram(## representsthenumber).ForexampleL42wouldindicatethatonline42intheDMIS programyouwillfindthatDMISstatement. :Thissymbolizesthatthestatementwasignored,thatisitwasnotconvertedintoa correspondingPCDMIScommandbecausethereisnoequivalentPCDMIScommand. ForexampleyouwillfindthatPCDMISalwaysignorestheDECLstatementbecause PCDMISdoesntneedexplicitvariabledeclaration. !MAJORThismeansthatthespecifiedDMISstatement(MajorDMISWord)isnot supported. ERRORThismeansthespecifiedcommandwasnotcorrectlyimported.

Step5:ManualVerificationofthePCDMISProgram
BesuretomanuallyverifythatthetranslationintoPCDMISfunctionsproperly.Lookthroughthe partprograminCommandmode.Errorsappearinredtext. TryexecutingtheprograminOFFLINEmodethentryusingtheCMMinONLINEmodeatlow speedtoverifythattheprogramimportedwithoutproblems.

ThingstoWatchforandSomeHelpfulTipsandSuggestions
ChorusNTandPCDMISaredifferentmeasuringsystems,andsomeintrinsiccharacteristicsneed tobecarefullyconsidered.Thefollowinglistcontainssometipsandsuggestions: AutomaticMeasuringCycle

98 UsingAdvancedFileOptions

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TheDMISStandardstatesthatinaMODE/AUTOsectionthefeaturesaremeasuredwiththe automaticcycle,ignoringanyeventuallypresentPTMEAS. SinceChorusNTsuppliesautomaticcycleforPOINT,CIRCLE,SPHEREandSLOT(CPARLN), allthesecasesaretranslatedintothecorrespondingAUTOfeature.However,duetotheintrinsic differencesbetweenChorusandPCDMIS,youshouldcarefullyverifytheirexecution. Forexample:InSLOT(roundslot)automaticcycle,ChorusNTtakesfirsttwopointsononeofthe straightsides.PCDMIShowever,takesthepointsontheroundedendsoftheslot. STARTIPProbes PCDMISrecognizestheChorusNTSNSDEFextensionthatdefinesastarprobe.Becarefulthat thePCDMISsetupfortheProbeHeadorientationcorrespondstoChorusNTSNSMNT specification. CW43,CW43L,andIW42WristMountingconventions ChorusNTandPCDMISconventionsfortherollanglearedifferent.WhilePCDMIScancorrectly adjustitduringtheimportofaChorusDMISprogram,tobesafe,becarefulthefirsttimeyou executetheimportedpartprogram. TheoreticalvaluesinFEATstatements PCDMISalwaysusesbothTheoandActualvalues,whichshouldbecorrect(nottoomuchoffa deviationfromactualvalues).Ifthedeviationisgreat,youmayhaveproblems,especiallywith featuresusedinalignments.ThisisbecausePCDMISdefinestwomatricesforeachalignment: First,theCADTOPARTmatrix.Basedonthetheoreticalvalues,thisconvertTHEO valuesinfeatures. Second,theMACHINETOPARTmatrix.Basedonactualmeasuredvalues,thisconverts actualmeasuredvaluesinfeatures.

SinceChorusNTdoesn'thavetheCADTOPARTmatrix,italwaysusestheactualmeasured values.Ifyouhavethewrongnominalvalues,youonlybecomeawareofthemifyouexecutean OUTPUTstatementonthatfeature. Toverifycorrectness,youshouldthereforeaddintotheoriginalDMISpartprogramOUTPUT statementsforyourfeatures,especiallyforthealignmentfeatures. FILNAM FILNAMinChorusNTspecifiesthenameoftheoutputfilewhenusingtheDISPLY/STOR command.PCDMISrecognizesitbutthiscommandmustappearaftertheDISPLYintheDMIS partprogram.ConsultyourDMISmanualformoreinformation. VFORM TheChorusNTvendorformatstatementisV(label)=VFORM/ALL.IttranslatesintoaPCDMIS FORMAT/TEXTcommandthathasthefollowinginformation: MEASURED NOMINAL DEVIATION UP_TOL
UsingAdvancedFile Options 99

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

LO_TOL CRIT/OOT

ThefinalPCDMISFORMATcommandwilllooklikethis:
FORMAT/TEXT,OPTIONS,ID,HEADINGS,SYMBOLS,SDMEAS,NOM,DEV,TOL,OUTTOL,,

DEFGRF DEFGRFstatementisaChorusextensionthatletsyoudefinedialogboxeswithbuttonsand inputfields.PCDMISimportsthiscommandandcreatesascriptusingtheBASIClanguage (CypressEnable).Duetodifferentscreenresolutions,itspossiblethattheresultingdialogbox mayneedsomeadjustment.YoucanmodifytheBasicScriptfileusingPCDMIS'sBasicScript Editor. FROMandGOHOME ChorusNT'sconventionsmovetheheadcenternotthetip'sballcenter.WhilethePCDMIS importcanmakethenecessaryoffsets,youshouldusealowfeedthefirsttimeyouexecutethe importedpartprograminsidePCDMIS. MRRPCS InChorusNTthiscommanddefinesthereferencesystemtobeusedinapartprogramcreated withChorusNT'sMIRRORUtility.PCDMISdoesnotsupporttheimportofChorusmirrored program.YoushouldinsteadusePCDMIS'smorepowerfulandcompletemirrorutilityona.prg filecreatedbyimportingthe"leftside"Chorusprogram. GAUGE InChorusNTthisstatementdefinesandmeasuresaspheregauge,specifyingthename:G(label), thediameter,andthestemdirection.Italsooptionallyspecifiesthecenterposition,theincidence angle,andthenumberofpointsusedtomeasureit. GAUGE/SPHERE,G(label),diam,i,j,k,[angle,x,y,z,npoints] Becauseofthedifferentparameters,PCDMIStranslatesthisintotwocommands.The AUTO/SPHEREandtheCALIBRATEACTIVE: F(label)=AUTO/SPHERE TheAUTO/SPHEREcommandusesthesamename,diameter,anddirectionastheGAUGE statement.Ifthecenterpositionwasnotspecifiedandduringexecutionyoumanually selectthefirstpointonthetopofthepole,theninit=1andperm=1,otherwiseinit=0and perm=0. PCDMIScanalsoadjusttheorientation,angle_vec,andnormal_vecvaluesaccordingly.
CALIBRATEACTIVETIPWITHFEAT_ID=F(label),QUALTOOL_ID=label,MOVED=YES

CALIB InChorusNTthisstatementcalibratesthespecifiedprobeusingthespecifiedspheregauge G(label)


CALIB/SENS,S(probe),G(label),[angle]

100 UsingAdvancedFileOptions

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

PCDMIStranslatesthisstatementintothesethreecommands:
TIP/T1A..B..

ThetipcommandwillhavethesameABanglesastheS(probe))statement.
F(label) =AUTO/SPHERE

CALIBRATEACTIVETIPWITHFEAT_ID=F(label),QUALTOOL_ID=label,MOVED=NO

ImportingaDMISProgram ImportingDMISFiles
ExtensionsmayincludenonPCDMIScanimportgenericDMISfilesandDMISprograms standardcommandsor createdusingextensionsfromspecificvendorenvironments. added/modifiedparameters ofstandardDMIS commands. ToimportaDMISprogramfile: 1. OpenthePCDMISpartprogramintowhichyouaregoingtoimporttheDMISprogram file. 2. SelecttheFile|Import|DMIS...menuoption.AnOpendialogboxappears. 3. ChooseChorusDMISFilesorDMISFilesfromtheFilesofTypelistatthebottomof thedialogbox.PCDMISlistsprogramfilesendingwitheitherthe".dmi"or".dms"file extensions. Note:ChorusNTprogramsfollowtheDMIS3.0Standardwithextensionsandarebetter managed.InmostcasesyoushouldchooseChorusDMISFilesovernormalDMISFiles.For notesontranslatingChorusNTDMISfilesintoaPCDMISpartprogram,see"ChorusNTtoPC DMISTranslationNotes". 4. Navigatethroughtheavailabledirectoriesuntilyoufindthedirectorycontainingthe desiredDMISprogramfileandselectthatfilefromthelist. 5. ClicktheImportbutton. 6. PCDMISwillmakeafirstpasstranslationoftheinputfile.Onceitcompletesthispass, theDMISImportSetupdialogboxappears.Thisdialogboxallowsyoutoselectmany optionsusefulduringtheactualimportphase. 7. SelectthenecessaryoptionsfromtheDMISImportSetupdialogbox.Seethetopics belowforinformationonusingthisdialogbox. 8. ClickOK.PCDMISfinishestheimportationprocess. Inversion4.2andhigher,PCDMISinsertsanRMEAS/LEGACY commandintotheimportedpart program.YoucanmodifytheDMISRmeasImport registryentrytochangethedefaultvaluefor RMEAScommandsonfutureimportedDMISfiles.See"SettingUpRelativeMeasure(RMEAS)" forinformationonthiscommand.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingAdvancedFile Options 101

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

DMISImportSetupGeneraltab

DMISImportSetupdialogboxGeneraltab TheGeneraltaballowsyoutocontrolprobefiletranslationfortheimportedDMISprogram.The controlsusedonthistabaredescribedinthistablehere: ControlName DMISFile Description ThisboxspecifiestheDMISfileto import.Itautomaticallycontainsa pathwaytothefileselectedfromthe Opendialogboxdescribedinthe DMISimportprocedureabove. Theseoptionsspecifywhetherornot PCDMISreplacesexisting commandswiththeimportedDMIS commandsormergesthenew commandswiththeexisting commands. SelectReplaceifyouwantthe existingcommandsinthecurrently loadedpartprogramtobereplaced withnewPCDMIScommandsduring theimportprocess. SelectMergeifyouwantPCDMIS commandscreatedduringtheimport processwillbeappendedattheend ofthecurrentlyloaded.PRGfile. Thislistspecifiesthearmtousefrom amultiplearmsystem. Thislistspecifiesanexistingprobe file. Thisoptionusesanexistingprobefile selectedfromtheProbeFilelist.

Merge/Replace

Arm ProbeFile Useselectedprobefile(s)

102 UsingAdvancedFileOptions

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

1. SelecttheArmthatwilluse thedisplayedprobefilefrom thedropdownwindow. 2. Selecttheprobefilefromthe list. 3. ClickApply.PCDMISwill addanytips(sensors) referencedintheDMIS programsthatarenotalready intheprobefile. Createnewdefaultprobefile Thisoptioncreatesanewprobefile basedontheSNSDEFstatementsin theDMISprogramfile.PCDMIS generatesanewprobefilegivingit thesamenameastheDMISprogram filenameanda".prb"extension.The createdprobeconfigurationdefaults toaPH9wristwithaTP2connection withaTIP2BY20MMtip.However,if noSNSDEFstatementsaredetected intheDMISprogram,aprobe configurationwillnotbecreated. ThisoptionignoresSNSLCT statementsintheDMISprogram during.

IgnoreSNSLCT/statements

Note:Ifthedefaultprobeconfigurationdoesnotmatchtheprobeconfigurationofyourmachine, youshouldconstructaprobefilewiththecorrectprobeconfigurationusingPCDMISpriorto importingaDMISprogramfile.Thenselectthecreatedprobefilefromwithinthistabandclick ApplyandthenOK.Thisallowsthetranslatortoselectthemostappropriatetip(s)during translationoftheSNSDEFstatements.

DMISImportSetupModulestab
TheModulestabiscurrentlyunavailable.

DMISImportSetupErrorLogtab

DMISImportSetupdialogboxErrorLogtab
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual UsingAdvancedFile Options 103

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TheErrorLogtabcausesPCDMIStostoreanywarningsorerrorsattheendoftheimport processinatextfileofyourchoice.SimplyclicktheBrowsebuttonandselectatextfile. IfyouwantPCDMIStoautomaticallydisplaythiserrorlogattheendoftheimportprocess,click theDisplaylogwhentranslationiscompletecheckbox.Thetext filewillopeninaDMIS ImportResultsdialogbox.

DMISImportSetupAdvancedtab

DMISImportSetupdialogboxAdvancedtab TheAdvancedtaballowsyoutoimportspecificcustomerrequestsandconfigurations.These requestsmayincludenonstandardcommandsoradded/modifiedparametersofstandardDMIS commands.PCDMISdisablesunnecessaryoptions(andenablesneededones)whenimporting ChorusDMISfiles.Forinformationonthecontrolsonthistab,seethedescriptionsinthistable here: ControlName CustomerSupport Description ThisareacontainsspecificcheckboxesforDMISvendors.Ifyour DMISfilesarecreatedusingsoftwarefromthesecompanies, selecttheappropriatecheckboxtoenableextensionsupport specifictothosevendors.Theseincludethefollowing: Volvo Volkswagen

ConfigurationSupport Thisareacontainscheckboxesthatallowyoutoselectdifferent DMISconfigurations.Theseincludethefollowing: FEDRAT/valuesareapercentageofmaximummachinespeed DMIScommandsdon'tautomaticallyspecifywhetherimported FEDRAT/commands(commandsthatcontrolthemachine's speed)refertomaximummachinespeedormaximumtouch speed. Ifyouselectthischeckbox,importedFEDRAT/

104 UsingAdvancedFileOptions

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

statementsareapercentageofthemaximummachine speed. Ifyoudeselectthischeckbox,importedFEDRAT/ statementsareapercentageofthemaximumtouch speed.

DEAwristmountingandrotationasChorus Ifyou'reusingaDEACMMequippedwithanIW42,CW43,or CW43Lwristandyouselectthischeckbox,PCDMISfollows ChorusconventionsandadjuststheBrotationangleduringthe importoftheSNSLCTstatement. ThisoptionisautomaticallyusedwhenperformingaChorusDMIS import. ThisareacontainsaUserDefinedTracefieldcheckbox.This checkboxdetermineswhetherornotcertainimportedDMIS commandsaretransferredintouserdefinedtracefields. AccordingtotheDMISstandard,youcanquerytheoperatorfor thefollowinginformationduringprogramexecutionwiththese DMIScommands: Info PartName PartSerialNumber ManufacturingDevice DMEName OperatorName DMISCommand PN(label)='text' PS(label)='text' MD(label)='text' DI(label)='text' OP(label)='text'

Option

SupposetheDMISfileyouaretoimporthastheseDMIS commands:
PN(label1)=PARTID/'partnumber' PS(label2)=PARTSN/'2345' MD(label3)=MFGDEV/'BRAVO1' DI(label4)=DMEID/'PCDMIS' OP(label5)=OPERID/'MyName'

IfyouselecttheUserDefinedTracefieldcheckbox,PCDMISwill supportthesamefunctionalityrequiredbytheDMISstandardby importingDMIScommandsintoTRACEFIELDcommands,like this:


TRACEFIELD/DISPLAY,LIMIT=15PN(LABEL1): partnumber TRACEFIELD/DISPLAY,LIMIT=15PS(LABEL2):2345 TRACEFIELD/DISPLAY,LIMIT=15MD(LABEL3):BRAVO1 TRACEFIELD/DISPLAY,LIMIT=15DI(LABEL4):PCDMIS TRACEFIELD/DISPLAY,LIMIT=15OP(LABEL5):MyName

Thenwhenyouexecuteourprogram,PCDMISwillprovidea
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual UsingAdvancedFile Options 105

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

smalldialogboxforeachTRACEFIELDcommand,allowingyouto typethisinformation. IfyoudidnotselecttheUserDefinedTracefield checkbox,PC DMISwill,bydefault,inserttheseDMIScommandsintonormal commentreportcommands,likethis:


COMMENT/REPT,"PN(LABEL1)='partnumber'" COMMENT/REPT,"PS(LABEL2)='2345'" COMMENT/REPT,"MD(LABEL3)='BRAVO1'" COMMENT/REPT,"DI(LABEL4)='PCDMIS'" COMMENT/REPT,"OP(LABEL5)='MyName'"

Default

Thisbuttonsetsyourselectionasthedefaulttousewhen importingDMISfiles.

ImportinganAVAILorMMIVProgram
TheAVAILandMMIVfiletypesareusedbyMicroMeasureIVmeasurementpackage.PC DMISallowsyoutoimportthisfiletypeintoPCDMISpartprograms. ToimportanAVAILorMMIVfile, 1. OpenthepartprograminPCDMISintowhichyouaregoingtoimporttheMMIVprogram file. 2. SelecttheFile|ImportmenuoptionandthenselecteitherAvail...orMMIV...fromthe submenu.AnOpendialogboxwillappear. 3. PCDMISlistsprogramfilesbeginningwithAVAILandMMIVsllfprefix. 4. Navigatethroughtheavailabledirectoriesuntilyoufindthedirectorycontainingthe neededAVAILorMMIVfileandselectthatfilefromthelist. 5. ClicktheImportbutton.PCDMISdisplaystheChooseTranslationMethoddialogbox, askingthemethodtousetoimportthedataintothepartprogram.

ChooseTranslationMethoddialogbox

6. SelectoneofthetranslationoptionsandclickOK.PCDMISprocessesyourrequest. 7. ForeachTOOLCHANGEcommandencounteredintheMMIVfile,PCDMISwillprompt youtoselectaPCDMISprobefile. 8. ForeachTIPCHANGEcommandencounteredintheMMIVfile,PCDMISwillpromptyou toselectaPCDMISprobetipfromtheSelectTipdialogboxs TiptoUselist.

106 UsingAdvancedFileOptions

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

SelectTipdialogbox

9. ClickOK(orOKAll)and,asdirectedbyonscreeninstructions,repeatthepreviousstep. WhentheSelectTipdialogboxcloses,theSelectWorkplanedialogboxwillappear.

SelectWorkPlanedialogbox

10. SelecttheworkplanethatmatchesyourcurrentsetupandclickOK.PCDMISimportsthe dataintothepartprogram. Important:MMIVpartprogramsthatcontainaBRANCH/TESTkeywordoraBRANCH/LABEL commandinsideofafeatureblockwillhavetherespectivePCDMIScommands(IFandGOTO) movedbeforethefeatureblockonceimportedintoPCDMIS.Thiswillbecorrectedinfuture versionsofPCDMIS. ANoteonImportingAutoFeatures BeawarethatPCDMISdoesn'tsupporttheDONE/orMEASURE/commandsinimportedMMIV orAVAILautofeatures.Whiletranslationstilltakesplace,anyMEASURE/X,Y,Z,I,J,K commandswillbeturnedintooperatorcommentsandDONE/commandsareignored. Forexample,supposeyouareimportingthisautofeatureinanAVAILorMMIVfile:
CIR2=AUTO/CIRYZPL,OC,4,12.0,6.0,12.0,103.0,295,330 MOVE/BY12,5,0 MOVE/BY0,0,20 MEASURE/12.0,56.0,22.0,0.0,1.0,0.0039 MEASURE/12.0,57.85,16.0,0.0,1.0,0.0 MEASURE/12.0,58.4,6.0,0.0,1.0,0.0039 DONE/

InPCDMISthiswouldtranslatetoanAUTOCIRCLEcommandfollowedbytwoMOVESand threecommentssayingthatPCDMISignorestheMEASUREcommand.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingAdvancedFile Options 107

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ImportingaTutorProgram
YoucanimportpartprogramscreatedbytheTutorapplication. ToimportaTutorfile, 1. OpenthepartprograminPCDMISintowhichyouaregoingtoimporttheTutorprogram file. 2. SelecttheFile|Import|Tutor...menuoption.AnOpendialogboxwillappear. 3. Navigatethroughtheavailabledirectoriesuntilyoufindthedirectorycontainingthe desiredtutorfileandselectthatfilefromthelist. 4. ClicktheImportbutton.TheTutortranslatorbeginsthetranslationprocess,andthe TutorPCDMISTranslatorOptionsdialogboxappears.Thisdialogboxallowsyouto determinehowitemsinthetutorfileshouldbeinterpretedordisplayedinsidePCDMIS.

TutorPCDmisTranslatorOptionsdialogbox

5. Filloutthedialogboxasneeded.Thefollowingareasareavailable: PCDMISPartProgramSettingsarea TheseoptionscomefromPCDMISandcannotbemodified. UnitsThisshowstheunitsofmeasurement(eitherInchorMetric)ofthePCDMISpart programyouareusingtoimporttheTutorfile.UnlikeTutorforWindows,PCDMIS doesntallowyoutochangemeasurementunitsatexecutiontime. AngleModeThisshowshowanglesarecurrentlydisplayed(eitherDegorDMS)inthe PCDMISpartprogram. TutorforWindowSettingsarea TheseoptionsallowyoutospecifyTutorforWindowssettingsneededforaproperTutortoPC DMIStranslation.

108 UsingAdvancedFileOptions

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ReadWtutor.IniClickthisbuttonifyouneedtospecifywheretheTutorconfiguration(.ini) islocated.Bydefault,whentranslationstarts,PCDMISsearchesforthisconfiguration fileintheC:\Winntdirectory.ThisfilecontainsTutorforWindowsconfigurations neededbythetranslator. TruePositionErrorSelectRadiusiftheimportingpartprogramrequirestheTruePosition errorevaluatedasradius,SelectDiameterotherwise. FormErrorSelectDoubleiftheimportingpartprogramrequirestheDoubleFormerroror selectSingleotherwise. LinearityErrorSelectRadiusiftheimportingpartprogramrequirestheLinearityerror evaluatedasradius,selectDiameterotherwise. TutorPCDmisProbesmappingarea ThisareaallowsyoutomapaTutorprobetoaPCDMISprobe. TipDiameterTypethedefaulttipdiameterfortheprobethatPCDMISwilluseinthepart program. ProbeFileUsethebuttontochooseaPCDMISprobefile(.PRB)touse. ProbeMapFileUsethebuttontochooseanexistingTutortoPCDMISprobemapfile (.TP2).Ifyoudon'thaveaprobemapfile,youcancreateonebyclickingtheNewbutton. TheEditbuttonallowsyoutochangethecurrentlyselectedprobemapfilelistedinthis box.ThismapfileallowsyoutotellthetranslatorwhatPCDMIStipanglesitshoulduse whentranslatingprobecommandsfromtheTutorfileintoPCDMIS. SkipCommentsSelectthischeckboxifyoudon'twanttoimportprogrammercomments foundintheTutorfile. 7. ClicktheOKbuttontocontinue.PCDMISdisplaystheimportprocessinsidethe Translationinprogresswindow,displayinganywarningmessagesinsidetheTranslation messageslist.

8. Followanyonscreeninstructions. 9. Whentranslationends,theTranslationinprogresswindowallowsyoutoinspectthe messagesintheTranslationmessagelist.Youcanthendecidetocontinue(click Continue)orabort(clickAbort)theimportprocess.Whateveryouchoose,alltranslation

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingAdvancedFile Options 109

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

messagesarestoredinalogfilewiththesamenameastheTutorpartprogramwith a.logextension,storedinthesamedirectoryastheTutorpartprogram. Note:TheTutorPCDmisTranslatorOptionsdialogboxappearseverytimePCDMIS encountersaloadprobecommandfromtheTutorfile.Ifyouhavecorrectlysetupyourprobe mapfile,youcansafelyskipthetranslationofthecurrentloadprobecommandbyclickingthe Ignorebutton.

CreatingandEditingTutortoPCDMISProbeMapFiles
ToproperlytranslateprogramsfromTutorintoPCDMIS,youwillneedaprobemapfilethat relatestheTutorfile'sprobeswithPCDMISprobes.ATutor'sprobecommandisidentifiedby twonumbersthatrefertoaspecificheadandtiprespectively. TocreateanewTutortoPCDMISProbeMapFile: Begintheimportprocedureasdescribedin"ImportingaTutorFile". 1. WhentheTutorPCDMISTranslatorOptionsdialogboxappears,clicktheNewbutton. TheT2PFiledialogboxappears.

T2PFiledialogbox

3. Ifyouneedtospecifymoreinformation,clickAddtoaddnewrows. 4. IntheHeadcolumnforeachrow,typethevalueof1through100toidentifytheprobe headinTutor. 5. IntheTipcolumnforeachrow,typeavalueofonethroughfivetoidentifytheprobetipin Tutor. 6. IntheNamePRBcolumnforeachrow,typethePCDMISprobetipanglethatyouwant tousefortheHeadandTipofthatrow.Forexample,theprobemapinformationinthe followingtabletellstheTutortranslatortousePCDMIS'sT5A30B30probetipangle whenitencountersaprobecommandof2,2intheTutorfile. Head 2 Tip 2 NamePRB T5A30B30

7. Ifyoumakeamistake,clicktheClearAllbutton.Thisclearstheinformationfromthe dialogboxallowingyoutostartover. 8. ClickthebuttontosavethisTutortoPCDMISprobemapfiletoyourcomputer. 9. ClickOKtoreturntothe TutorPCDMISTranslatorOptionsdialogbox.

110 UsingAdvancedFileOptions

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ToeditanexistingTutortoPCDMISProbeMapFile: Begintheimportprocedureasdescribedin"ImportingaTutorFile". 1. WhentheTutorPCDMISTranslatorOptionsdialogboxappears,clickthebuttonfor theProbeMapFileboxandselectanexistingT2Pfile. 2. ClicktheEditbutton.TheT2PFiledialogboxappears. 3. Editthevaluesasneeded. 4. ClickOKtoreturntothe TutorPCDMISTranslatorOptionsdialogbox.

ImportingaDirectCADFile
InsteadoftranslatingCADdataintotheinternalCADformatofPCDMIS,theDirectCADfile typesareaccesseddirectly.Thatis,theCADdataofthesefiletypesremainsinitsnativeformat afterbeingimported.RoutinesnativetotheCADtypeareusedforallcalculationsdoneonthe CADdata.AccessingtheCADdatadirectlyeliminatesproblemsthatcanoccurbecauseof translationinaccuraciesorlimitations. The""documentationdiscussesimportingDirectCADFilesindetail.

TessellatingaPartwithoutaCADLicense
Withversion3.5andhigher,youcannowtessellatetheimageofaDirectCADInterfacepart evenifyoudon'thaveitsCADlicensecurrentlyavailable.Themethodforaccessingthis functionalityvariesbytheDirectCADInterface.Ingeneral,however,yousimplyneedtoaccess yourDirectCADInterfacepartprogram.PCDMISwillthendisplaythepart,butsome functionalitywillnotbeavailable.Forexample,youcannotcreateameasuredvectorpointonthe part.

ExportingCADDataorProgramData
Similartoimportingdata,PCDMISalsoallowsyoutoexportpartprogramdataintooneofthese supportedfileformats: AIMSFiles(*.TDF) DATAVIEWFiles(*.AS3) BASICFiles(*.BAS) DESFiles(*.DES) DMISFiles(*.DMIor*.DMS) GENERICFiles(*.TXT) IDEASFiles IGESFiles(*.IGS) STEPAP203(*.STPor*.STEP) STEPAP214(*.STPor *.STEP) VDAFS(*.VDA) DXF/DWG(*DXFor*DXG)

Note:ExportingyourprogramasCADdatadoesnotexportpreviouslyimportedCADpart modelsinstead,itgeneratesaCADfilefromexistingfeaturecommandsfoundinyourpart program.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingAdvancedFile Options 111

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Toexportdataoutfromthecurrentpartprogram: 1. SelecttheFile|Exportmenuoptionandthenselectthedatatoexport fromthesub menu(orrightclickonapartprogramfilenameinWindowsExplorer,thenselect Export).InmostcasesthisactionwilldisplayanOpen dialogbox.

Opendialogbox

2. SelectthedesireddatatypefromtheFilesofTypelist.PCDMISwilldisplaythe availablefilesfortheindicateddatatype. 3. TypethenameofthefiletobecreatedintheFileNamebox,orselectanexistingfile fromthelist.Ifanexistingfileisselected,PCDMISwillreplacethecurrentdatainthat filewiththeinformationgeneratedbytheExportoperation. 4. ClickExport.TheOpendialogboxcloses.Dependingonyourdatatype,PCDMISmay displayanotherdialogboxthatasksyouforadditionalinput.Seethesubtopicsbelowfor moreinformation. 5. ClickExport.PCDMISgeneratestheexporteddatafiletotheselecteddirectoryand givesittheextensiondefinedintheFilesofTypebox.

ExportingtoAIMS
PCDMISletsyouexportyourpartprogramfiletoa.TDFfile,thefiletypeusedbytheAIMS (AdvancedIntegratedMathematicalSolutions)software.AIMSwasdevelopedbyBoeing CompanyandMetronorGroup,anditenablesthesharingofCADgeometry,inspectionplans, andmeasurementresultsbackandforthbetweendifferenthardwaresandsoftwares. SelectingtheAIMS...menuitemdisplaystheAIMSExportdialogbox:

AIMSExportdialogbox Important:TheAIMSExportwillonlyfunctionisyouareconnectedtoanAIMSmodelthrough theAIMSDirectCADInterface(DCI).Seethe"DirectCADInterfaces"documentation.

112 UsingAdvancedFileOptions

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

OnceyoufilloutthedialogboxandclickOK,PCDMISwillexportthepartprogramasa.TDFfile.

ExportingtoaBASICFile
PCDMISprovidesyouwithtoolsthathelpyoutoautomatePCDMIS.Exportingyourpart programasaBASICscript(*.BASfile)allowsyoutothenautomatethatpartprogramusingany externalapplicationthatsupportstheBASIClanguage.FormoreinformationonautomatingPC DMIS,seethesedocumentationtopics: PCDMISBASICLanguageReferencemanual "InsertingBASICScripts"inthe"AddingExternalElements"chapter.

ExportingaDESFile
WhenyouclicktheExportbuttonduringtheDESexportprocess,PCDMISdisplaystheDES Filedialogbox.

DESFiledialogbox TheDESFiledialogboxdisplaysinformationonyourselectedDESexportintheHeaderareait alsoallowsyoutoselectadditionaloptionsforyourDESexport. 1. SelectanalignmentfromtheAlignment list. 2. SelectacoordinatesystemfromtheCoordinateSystemarea. 3. Ifdesired,selecttheMarkedFeaturesOnlycheckboxtoonlyexportthemarked features. 4. Ifdesired,selecttheShowDecimalPointcheckboxtoshowthedecimalpointinthe exporteddata. 5. Ifdesired,selecttheOutputNominalValuescheckboxtoshowcausePCDMISto createtheDESexportfilefromthenominalvaluesinyourpartprogram. 6. ClickontheProcessbuttonintheDESFiledialogboxtooutputtheDESdatafromthe selectedpartprogram.PCDMISwillindicatewhenthefileis100%processed. 7. ClicktheOKbuttontofinishexportingtheDESfile.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingAdvancedFile Options 113

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ExportingtoDMIS
PCDMISletsyouexportyourPCDMISpartprogramfileasaDMISfile.DMISfilesadheretothe DMISstandardsforDMIScommandsandcanexecutedonothercomputersbyapplicationsthat usetheDMISlanguage. AfterchoosingafilenameandclickingExport fromtheOpenFiledialogbox,PCDMISdisplays theDMISExportSetupdialogbox.Thisdialogboxcontainstwotabs,theGeneraltabandthe ErrorLogtab. Afterchoosingyouroptionsonthesetabs,clickOKtocompletetheexportprocess. Generaltab

DMISExportSetupdialogboxGeneraltab TheGeneraltabletsyouchooseoneofthreemethodstoconvertyourPCDMISpartprogram intoaDMISfile. PCDMISEditWindow(DMISMode)ThismethodexportsaDMISfileexactlyasthe partprogramlooksintheEditwindowwhenyouareinDMISmode. FlexibleDMISThismethodallowsyoutocustomizetheexportedfiletomatchyour specificDMISversion,measurementmethods,orsupportedDMISstatements.Whenyou selectthisoption,afileselectionboxbecomesenabledthatallowsyoutobrowsetoand selectaspecificBASICscriptfile(*.basextension).Youcancreateyourownscriptfile, ormodifyanexistingscriptfiletocontrolexactlywhatPCDMISshouldexport. PCDMISprovidesyouwiththreereadytouse.basfilesthatresideinyourPCDMIS installationdirectory.Thesefilescustomizeyourexportsothatitusesadefinedsubsetof supportedDMISstatementsforaspecificDMISversion.Thefilesare PCD2DMIS030.BAS,PCD2DMIS040.BAS,andPCD2DMIS050.BAS(forDMIS3.0,4.0, and5.0respectively).Thecommandswhicharenotcustomizedinthe.basfileare exportedastheyareinthePCDMISEditWindow(DMISMode)

114 UsingAdvancedFileOptions

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Note:IfafunctionintheBASICscriptreturnsanerrorwhenusingthisoption,thenthe exportedfilegetswrittenasifyouhadselectedthePCDMISEditWindow(DMIS Mode)optionabove. LegacyPostoutThismethodexportsthefileasitusedtoinolderversionsofPCDMIS. Beforeversion4.0,neededtosettheDMISUsePostoutCode entrytoTRUEinthePCDMIS SettingsEditortoaccomplishthis.Now,youcansimplyselectthisoption.

ErrorLogtab

DMISExportSetupdialogboxErrorLogtab TheErrorLogtabletsyouvieworsaveerrorsencounteredduringanexportphasesothatyou cancorrecttheminyourscriptfileortakesomeotherappropriateaction.Youwillreceiveerrors orwarningsintheseinstances: WhenafunctionintheBASICscriptreturnsalogicalerror,meaningyouhaveaproblem somewhereinyourscriptthat'scausinganautomationlogicerror.Inthiscase,the BASICScriptfunctionreturnsatextstringwiththisheader:$$LOGERR|. WhenaparameterinaPCDMIScommandcannotbeconvertedintoDMIScode.Inthis case,theBASICScriptfunctionreturnsatextstringwiththisheader:


$$DMISERR|

Clickthe...buttontolocateandselectanexistingtextfiletowhichPCDMISshouldsendthe errors. ClicktheDisplaylogwhenexportiscompletecheckboxtodisplaythetextfileinatexteditor oncePCDMISfinishestheexportprocess.

ExportingaDXForDWGFile
WhenyouclicktheExportbuttonduringtheDXForDWGexportprocess,PCDMISdisplaysa DXF/DWGExportdialogbox.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingAdvancedFile Options 115

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

DXF/DWGExportdialogbox TheDXF/DWGExportdialogboxallowsyoutoselectadditionaloptionsfortheexportofthese filetypes. 1. SelectanalignmentfromtheAlignment list. 2. Ifdesired,selecttheMarkedFeaturesOnlycheckboxtoonlyexportthemarked features. 3. Ifdesired,selecttheScansasPointscheckboxtocausescandatatogetconvertedto itsscannedpoints. 4. ClicktheExportbuttontofinishexportingtheDXForDWGfile.

ExportingtoanIDEASDCIModelFile
ToexporttoanIDEASpart,followthesesteps: 1. SelecttheFile|ExportmenuoptionfromthemainmenuandselecttheIDEASdata typefromthesubmenu.TheIDEASPartSelectiondialogboxappears.

IDEASPartSelectiondialogbox 2. ClicktheConnectToServerbutton.TheIDEASServerConnectiondialogboxwill appear.UsethisdialogtoconnecttoanIDEASserver.ForinformationonusingtheI

116 UsingAdvancedFileOptions

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

DEASServerConnectiondialogbox,seethe"UsingtheIDEASServerConnection dialogbox"topicinthe"DirectlyInterfacingwithaCADFile"appendix.Onceconnected toanIDEASserver,theIDEASPartSelectiondialogboxwillbecomeavailable.Allthe projectsintheactiveIDEASdatainstallationwillbelisted. 3. ClickConnecttoconnecttotheserver.TheIDEASPartSelectiondialogboxappears. 4. Selectaprojectandthemodelfiletowhichyouwanttoexport.Todothis,selectan existingpartfromthePartsinselectedmodelfilelist.Oryoucancreateanewpartby typingvaluesintotheBin,Name,andPartNumberboxes. Note:Surfacegeometry(cylinder,cone,orspherefeatures)cannotbecreatedinanexistingpart. Ifyouexporttoanexistingpart,thesefeaturetypeswillbeignored.Toexportsurfacefeature types,specifyanewparttobecreated.

Note:ThefollowingcharactersareinvalidandcannotbeusedintheBin,PartName,orPart Numberboxes: : , " * ? 5. ClicktheExportToPartbuttonafteryouhavespecifiedapart.Ifthepartisnew,a messageboxwillappearaskingifyouwanttocreateapart.

6. ClickYestocreatetheIDEASpart.TheIDEASExportdialogboxappears.

IDEASExportdialogbox 7. SelectanalignmentfromtheAlignmentbox. 8. Selectanyadditionalexportoptions.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingAdvancedFile Options 117

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

9. ClicktheExportbuttontofinishexportingtotheIDEASpart.Oncetheexporting processiscomplete,PCDMISwillautomaticallyinstructtheIDEASservertosavethe partsmodelfile.

ExportinganIGESFile
WhenyouclicktheExportbuttonduringtheIGESexportprocess,PCDMISdisplaystheIGES Filedialogbox.

IGESFiledialogbox TheIGESFiledialogboxdisplaysinformationonyourselectedIGESexportintheStartSection andGlobalParametersareasitalsoallowsyoutoselectadditionaloptionsforyourIGESexport. 1. SelectanalignmentfromtheAlignment list. 2. Ifdesired,clicktheSetupbuttontoalterthedisplayoftheexportedimage(see"Altering theImported/ExportedImageDisplay". 3. Ifdesired,selecttheMarkedFeaturesOnlycheckboxtoonlyexportthemarked features. 4. ClickontheProcessbuttonintheIGESFiledialogboxtooutputtheIGESdatafromthe selectedpartprogram.PCDMISwillindicatewhenthefileis100%processed. 5. ClicktheOKbuttontofinishexportingtheIGESfile.

ExportingaSTEPFile
WhenyouclicktheExportbuttonduringtheSTEPexportprocess,PCDMISdisplaysaSTEP Exportdialogbox.

STEPExportdialogbox

118 UsingAdvancedFileOptions

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TheSTEPExportdialogboxallowsyoutoselectadditionaloptionsforyourSTEPexport. 1. SelectanalignmentfromtheAlignment list. 2. Ifdesired,selecttheMarkedFeaturesOnlycheckboxtoonlyexportthemarked features. 3. Ifdesired,selecttheScansasPointscheckboxtocausescandatatogetconvertedto itsscannedpoints. 4. ClicktheExportbuttontofinishexportingtheSTEPfile.

ExportingaVDAFSFile
WhenyouclicktheExportbuttonduringtheVDAFSexportprocess,PCDMISdisplaysthe VDAFSExportdialogbox.

VDAFSExportdialogbox TheVDAFSExportdialogboxallowsyoutoselectoptionsforyourVDAFSexport.Thisdialog boxhastheexactsameoptionsastheSTEPExportdialogbox.See"ExportingaSTEPFile"for information.

AlteringtheImported/ExportedImageDisplay
If,whileimportingorexporting,youclickontheSetupbuttonfromtheIGESFiledialogbox, eithertheIGESSETUPdialogbox(importing)ortheIGESWriteSetupdialogbox(exporting) appear.ThesedialogboxesallowyoutoalterhowtheIGES/DMISimagewillbedisplayed.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingAdvancedFile Options 119

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

AlteringDisplayofImportedCAD

IGESSetupdialogbox ToaccesstheIGESSetupdialogboxandalterhowtheIGES/DMISimageisdisplayed: BeginimportingyourCADfile(see"ImportinganIGESFile"). 1. WhentheIGESFiledialogboxappears,clicktheSetupbutton. 2. SelectthedesiredcheckboxoptionsfromtheIGESSETUPdialogbox. 3. ClicktheOKbutton. PCDMISwilldrawtheselectedCADimagewiththerequestedfeatures.

UnderstandingtheAvailableOptions
TheSurfaceofRevolutioncheckboxisavailableiftrimmedsurfacesarebeingusedthathavea surfaceofrevolutionasabasesurfaceanditisnotbeingreadincorrectly.Ifthisisthecase, simplyselecttheappropriateoptionsintheTrimmedSurfaceareaofthedialogbox. IftheDefaultcheckboxisselected,PCDMISwillusethecurrentsettingtoprocessallfuture entities. The'ProcessEntitieswithUse'Area TheProcessEntitieswithUseareacontainsthefollowingsixcheckboxesthatallowyouto selectthepossibleCADimagesetupoptions.Theyaredescribedinthistable: CheckBox Geometry Description Determineswhetherornottoimport thegeometricentitiesfromthefile. Geometricentitiesarethecurvesand surfacesthatdefinethemodel.

120 UsingAdvancedFileOptions

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Annotation

Determineswhetherornottoimport theannotationentitiesfromthefile. Theseentitiesareusedtoadd annotationordescriptiontoafile. Theseincludeangulardimension, diameterdimension,flagnote,general label,lineardimension,ordinate dimension,pointdimension,radius dimension,generalsymbol,and sectionedareaentities. Definition Determineswhetherornottoimport thedefinitionentitiesfromthefile. Theseentitiesareusedindefinition structuresofthefile.Theseinclude generalnote,leader,associatively definition,linefontdefinition,macro definition,subfiguredefinition,textfont definition,textdisplaytemplate,and networksubfiguredefinitionentities. Other Determineswhetherornottoimport theotherentitiesfromthefile.These entitiesareusedforotherpurposes suchasdefiningfeaturesinthefile. Currently,theseincludethecolor definitionentityandthedimensioned geometryassociatively. Logical/Positional Determineswhetherornottoimport thelogical/positionalentitiesfromthe file.Theseentitiesareusedaslogical orpositionalreferencebyother entities.Currently,PCDMISdoesnot processanyentitiesthatareofthis type. 2DParametric Determineswhetherornottoimportthe 2Dparametricentitiesfromthefile. Theseentitiesarepositionedintwo dimensionalXYparameterspace,and areconsideredasubsetofthree dimensionalXYZspace,byignoringthe Zcoordinate.Thisentitytypeis intendedforuseindefiningtrimming curvesonsurfaces.Currently,PCDMIS ignoresthischeckbox.Formore information,see"The'Trimmed Surfaces'Area"below. Ifyouselectallsixcheckboxes,thenallIGESentitiesintheIGESfilewillbeimported. The'ProcessEntitiesIf'Area TheProcessEntitiesIfareacontainscheckboxesthatallowyoutoprocesscertainentities whentheymeetcertainconditions.Thefollowingtabledescribestheavailableconditionsthatare metandthedescriptionofeachcheckbox:

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingAdvancedFile Options 121

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Condition Processentitiesif Physically Dependent Processentitiesif LogicallyDependent Processentitiesif Blanked

Description Determineswhetherornotthebase surfaceofaCurveonParametric Surfacewillbeshown. Determineswhetherornotlogically dependententitieswillbeimported fromtheIGESfile. Determineswhetherornotblanked entitieswillbeimported.

The'TrimmedSurfaces'Area TheTrimmedSurfacesareacontainscheckboxesthatyoumayusetoproperlyprocess TrimmedSurfaces.

CheckBox ShowTrim ShowBaseSurface

Description Showsthetrimmedsurface. Showstheuntrimmedsurface(base surface). UseBCurves IfBcurvesarepresentintheIGES file,selectthischeckboxtousethem asthetrimdefinition.Youmayalso needtoselectthischeckboxifthe modelhaspoorlydefinedCtrimming curves.Byselectingthischeckbox, theCtrimmingcurveswillbe regeneratedfromtheBtrimming curves. UseCCurves IfCcurvesarepresentintheIGESfile, selectthischeckboxtousethemasthe trimdefinition.Youmayneedtousethis optionifthemodelhaspoorlydefined Btrimmingcurves.Byselectingthis checkbox,theBtrimmingcurveswill beregeneratedfromtheCtrimming curves. IfyouselecttheShowTrimcheckbox,theothercheckboxesunderitbecomeavailablefor selection.Youcanuseeither'B'or'C'curvesasyourtrimdefinition,dependingontheattributes ofthetrimmedsurface. Note:Beawarethatifyouuse'C'curvesasyourtrimdefinition,PCDMISwillhavetocalculate the'B'curvesthatcanbequitetimeconsuming. Also,iftheIGESfilecontainstrimmedsurfacesthathaveasurfaceofrevolutionasabase surfacethesecheckboxesbecomeavailableforselection:

CheckBox ReverseParams

Description DetermineswhetherornottofixB trimmingcurvesthatreversetheUand

122 UsingAdvancedFileOptions

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

VParam0to1

UParam0to1

ShowBaseSurface

Vparameters. DetermineswhetherornottofixtheV parameterthatgetsdefinedinthe range0to1,insteadofinradians. Determineswhetherornottofixthe'U' parameterthatgetsdefinedwitha rangeof0to1insteadofinradians whenthegeneratrixofthesurfaceof revolutionisanarc. Determineswhetherornottoshowthe untrimmedsurface.

DefiningTrimmingCurves Youcandefinetrimmingcurvesintwoways: Using3dimensionalcoordinatesinmodelspace(thecoordinatesthesurfaceis definedin).TheseareknownasCtrimmingcurvesbecauseeachcoordinaterequires threevaluestopositionitinmodelspace(1,2,3A,B,C).Bydefinition,thecurvemust bedefinedsothatitgeometricallycoincideswiththesurface.Inotherwords,thecurve mustlieonthesurface.However,apoorlydefinedCtrimmingcurvemaybreakthisrule. Definingthepositionofthecurveusingrelativepositionsonthesurface.Theseare knownasBtrimmingcurvesbecauseeachcoordinaterequirestwovaluestopositionit inparametricspace.Forexample,arectangularsurfacecouldhavetheparametric position(0,0)atonecornerand(1,1)attheoppositecorner.Everypositiononthe surfacecouldthenberepresentedusingtwovaluepairsbetweenthesetwoextremes. Theparametricposition(0.5,0.5)wouldbeinthecenterofthesurface.The parametricallydefinedcurveisrepresentedusingthese2dimensionalparameterspace points.Bydefinition,thecurvemustbedefinedsothatitdoesnotgooutsidethe parameterspaceofthesurfaceitlieson.However,apoorlydefinedsurfacemaybreak thisrule.

ExampleofShowingTrim

IGESFilewithShowTrimcheckboxselected ExampleofnotShowingTrim UsingtheIGESfileinthe"ExampleofShowingTrim"topicabove,ifyoudeselecttheShowTrim checkbox,youwillendupwithanemptymodel.ThisisbecausethisparticularIGESfilecontains onlytrimmedsurfaces.However,ifyoudeselecttheShowTrimcheckboxandselecttheShow BaseSurfacecheckbox,thisistheresult:

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingAdvancedFile Options 123

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

IGESFilewithShowTrimcheckboxnotselected Noticethatalltheholesinthesurfacesaregoneandthattheouterboundariesofthesurfaces arenottrimmed.

AlteringtheDisplayofExportedCAD
TheIGESWriteSetupdialogboxallowsyoutoalterhowtheIGES/DMISimagewillbedisplayed.

IGESWriteSetupDialogbox ToaccessthisdialogboxandalterhowtheIGES/DMISimageisdisplayed: BeginexportingyourCADfile(see"ExportinganIGESFile"). 1. WhentheIGESFiledialogboxappears,clicktheSetupbutton. 2. SelectthedesiredcheckboxoptionsfromtheIGESWriteSetupdialogbox. 3. ClicktheOKbutton. PCDMISwilldrawtheselectedCADimagewiththerequestedfeatures.

UnderstandingtheAvailableOutputOptions
ThevariousoutputoptionscontrolhowtheIGESentitiesareexported. SurfacesasSurfacesofRevolutionThischeckboxcausescones,cylinders,and spherestobeexportedassurfaceofrevolutionentities.

124 UsingAdvancedFileOptions

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

SurfacesasArcsThischeckboxcausescones,cylinders,andspherestobeexportedas arcs.Aconewillbeexportedasacircleatitsbaseandapointatitsvertex.Acylinder willbeexportedastwocircles:onecircleatthetopandonecircleatthebottomofthe cylinder.Aspherewillbeexportedasacircleaboutitsequator. SurfacesasSurfacesofRevolutionandSurfacesasArcsYoucanselectboththese checkboxes.Inthiscase,PCDMISexports,cones,cylinders,andspheresassurfaces ofrevolutionandasarcs.Ifbothcheckboxesareclear,cones,cylinders,andspheres willnotbeexported. ScansasCopiousDataForm2Thischeckboxescausesscanstobeexportedasthe copiousdataIGESentitytypetheformatoftheentityispointswithoutvectors. ScansasCopiousDataForm3Thischeckboxescausesscanstobeexportedasthe copiousdataIGESentitytypetheformatoftheentityispointswithvectors.Thevarious formscontroltheformatofthecopiousdataentity. ScansasCopiousDataForm12Thischeckboxescausesscanstobeexportedasthe copiousdataIGESentitytypetheformatoftheentityispiecewiselinearcurvewithout vectors.Thevariousformscontroltheformatofthecopiousdataentity. ScansasCopiousDataForm13Thischeckboxescausesscanstobeexportedasthe copiousdataIGESentitytypetheformatoftheentityispiecewiselinearcurvewith vectors.Thevariousformscontroltheformatofthecopiousdataentity. ScansasPointsThischeckboxcausesscanstobeexportedasmultiplepointentities. ScansasCopiousDataandScansasPointsYoucanselectboththesecheckboxes. PCDMISthenexportsscansascopiousdataandaspoints.Ifyoudeselectthesecheck boxes,PCDMISdoesnotexportscans.

SettingImportOptions
Youcaneasilysetimportoptionstodeterminedefaultcolorsforcertainimportedentitytypes,as wellashowPCDMISdisplaysimportedcurves. Toperformthesemanipulations,selecttheEdit|Preferences|ImportOptions menuitem.This willdisplaytheImportOptionsdialogbox.

ImportOptionsdialogbox ThisdialogboxcontainstheDefaultColorsareaaswellassomecheckboxes.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingAdvancedFile Options 125

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

DefaultColors ThisarealetsyouchangethedefaultcolorsforimportedPoints,Curves,Surfaces,and Datumentitytypes.Iftheentitytypesdon'talreadyhaveadefinedcolor,theywilluse thisdefaultcolor.Tochangeacolor,simplyclickonabuttoninthisarea.Astandard Colordialogboxappears,allowingyoutoselectanewcolor.

Colordialogbox Whenyouimportthenextfeature,PCDMISwillusethenewlydefinedcolors. CheckBoxes ExplodepolylinestopointsUsually,whenyouimportcurvesentities,theyappearas individualcurves.Inreality,however,eachcurveisreallyapolyline,abunchoflines connectedbyaseriesofpoints.Selectingthischeckboxmakesimportedpolylinecurve entitiesappearasaseriesofpoints,onepointforeachpolylinevertex.Clearingthis checkboxmakesimportedcurvesappearasnormal. KeepPolylinesSelectingthischeckboxwillallowtheimagetocontinuetodisplaythe originalpolylinealongwiththepointswhenyouselecttheExplodepolylinetopoints checkbox.Clearingthischeckboxwillonlyshowtheseriesofpoints. PCDMISwillusethesesettingsforallfutureimportoperations.

ExecutingPartPrograms
WithPCDMISyoucaneasilyexecuteanentirepartprogramorperformpartialexecutions.This topicdescribeshowtoperformbothfullandpartialexecutions.Italsoexplainshowtousethe ExecutionModeOptionsdialogboxtoexecuteyourpartprogramsandhowtoresizethedialog box. WhenyouchoosetoexecutesomeorallofyourpartprogrambyselectingFile|Executeora menuitemfromtheFile|PartialExecutionsubmenu,andyoudon'thavebreakpointsinyour partprogram,PCDMISdisplaysadifferentlayoutofthescreendisplaycalledtheexecution layout.ThislayoutinitiallyhidestheEditwindowandexpandstheGraphicsDisplaywindow,to showmoreofthepart.ItalsodisplaystheProbeReadoutwindow.Youcanchangewhat

126 UsingAdvancedFileOptions

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

windowsappearduringexecutionbypausingtheexecutionandshowingorhidingawindow. Subsequentexecutionswilluseyourupdatedexecutionlayout. Whenexecutionfinishes,thescreenlayoutreturnstothelearntimelayout.Anywindowyoushow orhideduringlearntimebecomespartofthelearntimelayout. Note:IfyourprogramusesbreakpointsandtheEditwindowisinCommandmodewhenyou choosetoexecute,PCDMIScontinuestodisplaytheEditwindowduringexecutionbuthighlights thecurrentcommandtoexecuteinred.IftheEditwindowisinSummarymode,witha breakpoint,PCDMISshowsagreenhighlightintheEditwindowforalreadyexecuted commands,yellowforafeatureabouttobemeasured,blueforfeaturescurrentlyundergoing execution,andorangefornonexecutedcommands.

ExampleofcolorsusedinSummarymodeduringexecutionwithabreakpoint.

ExampleofcolorsusedinCommandmodeduringexecutionwithabreakpoint.

Execute
Toexecuteallmarkedcommandsoftheentirepartprogram,selecttheFile|Executeoption.

ExecuteFeature
Toexecuteonlythefeatureonwhichthecursorrests,selecttheFile|PartialExecution| ExecuteFeatureoption.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingAdvancedFile Options 127

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ExecutionModeOptionsdialogbox PCDMISwilldisplaytheExecutionModeOptionsdialogbox.IfPCDMISissettomanual mode(mode=MANUAL),itwillpromptyoutotakethenecessaryhits.IfPCDMISissettoDCC mode(mode=DCC),itwillautomaticallymovetheprobebasedontheparameterssetinthe dialogbox.

ExecuteFrom
Toresumeapreviouscancelledexecution,usetheFile|PartialExecution|ExecuteFrom menuoption.Thiscommandexecutesthefeaturelisteduntiltheendofthepartprogram.This menuoptionisonlyavailablewhenyouhavecanceledapriorexecutecommandbyusingthe ExecutionModeOptionsdialogbox. Example:Ifduringaprogramexecution,youclicktheCancelbuttonwhilemeasuringfeature CIR1.TheExecuteFrommenubecomesavailablesothatyoucancontinueinspectingthepart beginningatCIR1.

ExecuteFromCursor
Toexecutethepartprogrambeginningatthecursor'scurrentlocation,selecttheFile|Partial Execution|ExecuteFromCursormenucommand.Theprogramwillexecutethepartprogram beginningatthecursor'scurrentlocation.

ExecuteBlock
Toexecuteablockofcommands,selectthecommandsyouwanttoexecute,andthenwiththe commandsstillselected,choosetheFile|PartialExecution|ExecuteBlockmenucommand. PCDMISwillexecuteonlytheselectedblockofcommands.

ExecuteFromStartPoints'
Tobeginexecutionataspecifiedstartpoint,firstsetthestartpointbyrightclickinginside CommandmodeandselectingSetStartPoint fromtheshortcutmenu,andthenchoosethe ExecutefromStartPointsmenucommand. Important:Beawarethatifthecurrenttipforthatlocationintheprogramdoesnotmatchthe currentorientationoftheprobehead,PCDMISwillnottryandgobacktoexecutethetip commandaboveitinordertochangethetiporientation.

AnyOrderExecution
PCDMIS versions4.0andlaterallowyoutoexecutemanuallymeasuredpartprogramfeatures inanyorder.Thisisusefulforportablearmmachines.

128 UsingAdvancedFileOptions

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Thisfunctionalitybecomespossibleifthefollowingconditionsaremet: Itonlyappliestofeaturesmeasuredwithmanualhits. Thepartprogramscannothaveanybranchingorloops. Thefeaturesyoumeasureoutofordermustusethesamealignmentandprobeasthe featurePCDMISinitiallyplannedtomeasure(itwillnotsearchacrossLOADPROBEor ALIGNMENTcommands). Outoforderexecutiononlyworksforfeaturesmeasuredafteracompletealignment.The initialalignmentmustbemeasuredinorder.

HowItWorks: Whenyouexecuteyourpartprogram,PCDMISasksyoutotakethefirsthitonthefirstfeature. Youcandecidetotakeyourfirsthitonadifferentfeatureinstead.Whenyoudothis,PCDMIS lookstoseeifyoutookthathitwithinatoleranceofthehitPCDMISexpected.Ifyourhitismore thanaspecifiedtolerance(usually10mm)awayfromthefeature,thenPCDMISwillsearch backwardsandforwardsthoughthepartprogramfortheclosestfeaturewho'sinitialhitmatches theinitialhitthatyoutook.YoucandefinethetoleranceintheSetupOptionsdialogbox, Generaltab. Ifyoutakeahitthatisnotintoleranceforanyfeatureinyourentirepartprogram,thearmwill soundabeepalert,andPCDMISwillignorethehit.Anerrormessagewillalsoappearinthe ExecutionModeOptionsdialogbox.Simplytakeadifferenthitclosertoapartprogramfeature tocontinue. WhenPCDMISfindstheappropriatefeature,itpassesyourfirsthitintothefeature.Itthen movesthearrowindicatingwheretotakethenexthittothenewfeature.PCDMISonlychecks thetoleranceonthefirsthitofthefeature.Afterthat,itassumesthatyouwillcontinuetakinghits untilyoufinishmeasuringthatfeature. Onceyoufinishmeasuringafeatureoutoforder,PCDMISattemptstogobacktoitsinitialorder. Itwillcontinuetopromptyoutomeasuretheoriginalfeatureeachtimeyoufinishmeasuring somethingelseoutoforderuntilyoueitherskiptheoriginalfeatureormeasureit.PCDMIS tracksthefeaturesyoumeasureoutofordersothattheyaren'tremeasuredwhenPCDMIS resumesitsregularexecutionroute. Ifyouremeasureafeature,PCDMISwillrecomputeeverythingthatusesthatfeatureupuntilthe currentexecutionlocation.

UsingtheExecutionModeOptionsDialogBox
AllexecutionoperationsbeginbydisplayingtheExecutionModeOptionsdialogbox.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingAdvancedFile Options 129

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ExecutionModeOptionsdialogbox PCDMISwillthenexecuteallmarkedcommandsofthecurrentpartprogram. IfyouareinManualMode,PCDMISwillrequestyoutotakehits. IfyouareinDCCMode,PCDMISwillautomaticallybeginthemeasurementprocess.

MachineErrors
TheMachineErrorslistdisplaysanyerrorsthatmayoccurduringexecutionofthepartprogram. Somepossibleerrorsareanunexpectedprobehitoranunexpectedendofmove.Youcanview theerrorsbyclickingonthedropdownarrow.

MachineCommands
TheMachineCommandslistdisplaysanymovesandhitsforthecurrentfeature(orthefeature abouttobemeasured).Thisinformationisonlyavailableiftheprogramisstoppedduring execution,eitherbyerrororbytheoperator.Executionofthepartprogramcanberesumedby highlightingthedesiredhit(ormove)fromtheMachineCommandslistboxandselectingthe Continuebutton. Example:IfaclearancemovecommandwasprogrammedwiththewrongX,Y,orZ,thenduring theexecutionofthatmove,youmightgetamotionerror.Tocontinue: PulldowntheMachineCommandsdropdownlist. Selectthecommandfollowingtheoffendingmove. PresstheContinuebutton.

Continue
TheContinuecommandbuttonallowsyoutoresumeexecutionofapartprogramhaltedbya CMMmotionerror,ortheStopbutton.PCDMISallowsyoutoselectthespecificlocationwithin thecurrentfeaturewheretheprobeistoresumemeasuringthepart.Thedefaultlocationis displayedintheMachineCommandslist.Toselectanotherlocation,simplypulldownthedrop downarrowandselectthedesiredline.PCDMISwillcontinuethemeasurementprocessatthe displayedlocationwhentheContinuebuttonispressed.

Stop
TheStopcommandbuttonhaltstheprobeatitscurrentpositionandsuspendsexecutionofthe partprogram. Note:ThisoptionwillnotstopthepartprogramexecutionifthecurrentmoveisaPH9orientation change.TheprogramwillstopafterthePH9hasstopped. Thetopic"ManuallyControllingaFeature'sMeasurement"discussesusingStoptoswitchto manualmodeduringtheexecutionprocess.

130 UsingAdvancedFileOptions

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

EraseHit
ToremovethecurrentlyhighlightedhitintheMachineCommandslist,simplypresstheErase Hitbutton, locatedintheExecutionModeOptionsdialogbox. MostCMMjogboxeshaveabuttonassignedtoerasingthelasthit.Pressingthatbuttononthe CMM'sjogboxwhileinExecutemode,producesthesameresultasclickingtheEraseHitbutton onthedialogbox.

Skip
TheSkipcommandskipsthenextcommanddisplayedintheMachineCommandslist.Any commandsthatdependontheskippedcommandarealsoskipped.

StepNext
TheStepNextcommandbuttoncontinueswiththemeasurementprocessbutdoessoonestep atatime,pausingtheCMMafterexecutingeachstepofanycommandthatmovestheCMM. WhileinStepMode,hitscanbeinsertedintofeaturesandnewfeaturescanbeinsertedbetween existingfeaturesorcommands.Ifyouinsertanewfeature,PCDMISwilldisplayadialogbox allowingyouto: SkiptotheHIT/BASICcommandofthenewfeature, Remeasurethenewfeature,or Continuesteppingthroughthepartprogram,ignoringthenewfeatureentirely.

StepModecanalsobesimulatedoffline. StepNextappearsonthedialogboxwhenPCDMISpausesexecutionforabreakpoint(see "UsingBreakpoints"inthe"EditingaPartProgram"chapter).

Jump
TheJumpbuttonautomaticallystopsexecution(ifyou'reusingaDCCmachine)anddisplaysthe JumptoFeatureListdialogbox.Fromthislist,youcanselectthenextfeaturetoexecute, therebydeviatingasneededfromtheautomaticallygeneratedexecutionpath.

JumptoFeatureListdialogbox
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual UsingAdvancedFile Options 131

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Afteryouselectafeaturefromthelist,clickOK,andPCDMISwillexecutetheselectedfeature. Afteritfinishes,itwillreturntothepredefinedpathandattempttoexecutethenextnon measuredfeatureuntilyouclickJumpagainandselectanewfeature.

ManuallyControllingaFeature'sMeasurement
Tomanuallycontrolthemeasurementofafeature: 1. ClickontheStopcommandbuttonintheExecutionModeOptionsdialogbox. 2. ClicktheManualModeicon.PCDMISwillthenallowyoutocontrolthemeasurement processonthecurrenthit.(See"Continue".) WhenthecurrentfeatureismeasuredinMANUALmode,PCDMISwillautomaticallyreturnthe systemtoDCCmodeandcontinuetomeasurethepartundercomputercontrol.Youcanpress theDCCmodeicontogobacktoDCCmodeatanytime. PCDMISwillnotreplacetheoriginalhitswithanyofthenewhits.Ifameasurementvalueneeds tobealtered,itmustbedoneintheEditwindow. Note:Someautofeatureswillaskattheendofmanualmeasurementifyouwanttosavethenew locationofthefeatureasthetargetforfutureexecutionsofthepartprogram.ClickingYES in responsetothispromptwillsavethecurrentlymeasuredpositionasthenewtarget.

ResizingtheExecutionModeOptionsDialogBox
TheExecutionModeOptionsdialogboxisresizable.Toresizethisdialogbox: 1. Placethemousecursorontheouteredgeofthedialogbox.Thegeneralarrowiconwill bereplacedbyadoublearrowicon. 2. Holddowntheleftmousebutton. 3. Whileholdingdowntheleftmousebutton,dragthecursortothedesiredlocation. 4. Releasethemousebutton. Theboxwillberesized.Thiscapabilityisusefulwhentheexecutiondataneedstobereadfrom adistance.

132 UsingAdvancedFileOptions

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

SettingYourPreferences
SettingYourPreferences:Introduction
PCDMISallowsyoutosetpersonalpreferencesthattailortheformandfunctionofPCDMISto meetindividualspecifications.Usingthischapteryouwillbeabletocontroloutputformat,screen graphics,machineparameters,andotheroptions. Themaintopicsinthischapterinclude: SelectingPCDMISSetupOptions ModifyingReportandMotionParameters SettingUptheEditWindow SettingUptheReadoutWindow SettingUpMultipleArms DefiningtheRotaryTable SettingUpProbeChangerOptions LoadingtheActiveProbe SettingUptheMachineInterface CompensatingforTemperature SpecifyingExternalDirectoriestoSearch ChangingOpenGLOptions SettingImportOptions Understandingthe.DATFiles

Thefollowingparagraphsdescribethevarioussystemoptionsandtheirfunctions.

ANoteonStoringSettingsforMultipleUsers
AnychangesmadetoPCDMIS'ssettings,parameters,oruserinterfacecustomizationsarenow storedforeachuser.ThisiscontrolledinternallybyusingtheWindowsNT/Windows2000user permissions.Loggingontotheoperatingsystembyyourspecificusernameautomaticallyrecalls yoursettings.Thesearestoredinsidenamedsubdirectoriesatthelocationwhereyouinstalled PCDMIS.

SwitchingBetweenMachineProfiles
Important:YourportlockmustbeprogrammedwiththeIPMeasureoptionfortheSaveMachine ProfileandRecallMachinemenuitemstoappear. Thesetwomenuitemsletyoueasilyswitchbetweenmachineprofileswhencreatingpart programsoffline. Edit|Preferences|SaveMachineProfileThismenuitemdisplaysaSaveAsdialogbox thatasksforafilenameandrecordsallthecurrentsettingsforthevirtualmachineintoa filewithan"mpl"filenameextension.PCDMISsavesthefollowingintothefileforlater recall: o Loadedmachinemodel o Loadedtoolchangermodel
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual SettingYourPreferences 133

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

o o o o o o

Rotarytablesettings Mountorientationfortheprobe Startingdefaultprobecomponent(PH10,CW43etc.) Activeprobefile Any"fixed"quickfixturecomponents Themachine'sspeedsettingsandlimits

Edit|Preferences|RecallMachineThismenuitemletsyourestoreamachine'ssettings thatwerestoredinan.mplfile.PCDMISdisplaysanOpendialogbox,andonceyou selectthefiletoopen,PCDMISrestoresthesettings.

SelectingPCDMISSetupOptions
SelectingtheEdit|Preferences|SetupmenuoptionaccessestheSetUpOptionsdialogbox. ThisdialogboxallowsyoutoaltertheformandfunctionofPCDMIS.Simplyclickonthedesired tab.Theavailabletabsincludethefollowing:

SetupOptions:Generaltab

SetUpOptionsdialogboxGeneraltab TheGeneraltabcanbeaccessedbyclickingontheGeneraltabwithintheSetUpOptions dialogbox(Edit|Preferences|Setup).Thisoptionwillallowyoutochangevariousfunctions controllingthemeasurementprocess.

EditBoxesfortheGeneraltab
TheeditboxesfortheGeneraltaballowyoutoeditthefollowingoptions:

134 SettingYourPreferences

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Scale Factor

TheScaleFactorboxscalesthemeasureddatabywhat everfactorisentered.Forexample,ifacircleismeasured andhasadiameterof1.0inchesandthescalefactoris 0.95thenthemeasuredvaluewillbereportedas0.95 inches.

Minutesto Save

TheMinutestoSaveboxallowsyoutoentertheamount ofminutesthatPCDMISwillwaitbeforeautosavingyour partprogram.Theleastamountofminutesyoucanenter isone.TheMinutestoSaveboxbecomesavailablewhen youselecttheAutomaticFileSavecheckbox.

ThisboxbecomesavailablewhenyoufirstselecttheFind Nominalscheckbox.See"FindNominals". Find Nominals Tolerance TheFindNominalsToleranceboxallowsyoutotypethe amountoftolerancethatPCDMISuseswhenfindingthe nominals.Thedefaultis10mm. WhenyouinitiallysetthisvalueandclickOK(and wheneveryouperformafindnominalsoperationinlearn mode),PCDMISchecksthisvalueagainsttheactivetip's radius.Ifthisvalueislessthanthetip'sradius,PCDMIS willchangeittomatchthediameteroftheactivetip.

Show Deviations Tolerance

TheShowDeviationsToleranceboxallowsyoutotype theamountoftolerancethatPCDMISuseswhenPC DMISisshowinghitdeviations.Thisoptionisonly availablewhenyoufirstselecttheShowHitDeviation checkbox.

Deviation Arrow Multiplier

TheDeviationArrowMultiplierboxisonlyavailable whenyoufirstselecttheShowHitDeviationcheckbox. AnarrowappearsintheGraphicsDisplaywindowmarking eachhittaken,showingthedeviation.Thelargerthevalue enteredinthisfield,thegreaterthesizeofthearrow.

AnyOrder Execute Tolerance

TheAnyOrderExecuteToleranceboxletsyoudefine thetolerancethatthehitmustbewithinforPCDMISto measurethatfeaturewhenexecutingyourpartprogramin anyorderexecutemode.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

SettingYourPreferences 135

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Ifyourinitialhitismorethanthespecifiedtoleranceaway fromthefeature,PCDMISwillsearchbackwardsand forwardsthroughthepartprogramfortheclosestfeature whoseinitialhitmatchesyourinitialhitandexecutethat featureinstead.SeeAnyOrderExecutioninthe"Using AdvancedFileOptions"chapterformoreinformation. PCDMISstoresthetolerancevaluewithyourpart program.Thisallowsyoutohavedifferentsearchzones fordifferentpartprogramsifdesired.

Thickness

TheThicknessboxworkswiththeThicknessforPoint OnlyModePointscheckbox.Ifyouselectthe Thickness forPointOnlyModePointscheckbox,thethicknessin thisboxwillbeappliedtoeachpointcreatedbyPointOnly Mode. See"PointOnlyMode"and"ThicknessforPointOnly ModePoints"foradditionalinformation.

Execution FindNoms Tolerance

TheExecutionFindNomsToleranceboxallowsyouto typetheamountoftolerancethatPCDMISuseswhen findingthenominalsduringpartprogramexecution. ThisboxbecomesavailablewhenyoufirstselecttheFind NominalsduringExecutioncheckbox. See"FindNominalsDuringExecution". TheAutoCircleHitsboxallowsyoutosetthedefault numberofhitsPCDMISwilltakewhilelearningcircles usingCADdata.Theminimumnumberofhitsthatmaybe enteredisthree.Itonlychangesthenumberofhitsfor circlesabouttobeprogrammed,notforcirclesthathave alreadybeenprogrammed. TheentryinthePCDMISSettingsEditorforthisoption reads: AutoCirHits=[numberofhits].Forinformationon modifyingregistryentries,pleaseviewthe"Modifying RegistryEntries"appendix. TheAutoLineHitsboxallowsyoutosetthedefault numberofhitsPCDMISwilltakewhilelearninglinesusing CADdata.Theminimumnumberofhitsthatmaybe enteredistwo.Itonlychangesthenumberofhitsforlines abouttobeprogrammed,notforlinesthathavealready beenprogrammed. TheentryinthePCDMISSettingsEditorforthisoption

Auto CircleHits

AutoLine Hits

136 SettingYourPreferences

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

reads: AutoLineHits=[numberofhits].Forinformation onmodifyingregistryentries,pleaseviewthe"Modifying RegistryEntries"appendix

HitsinU

TheHitsinUboxindicatestheminimumnumberofrows thatmustbetakenwhenscanning. Note:Thisscanningoptionisonlyactivewhenusedwith theCurvesandSurfacesoptions.

HitsinV

TheHitsinVboxindicatestheminimumnumberofhits perrowthatmustbetakenwhenscanning. Note:Thisscanningoptionisonlyactivewhenusedwith theCurvesandSurfacesoptions.

Warnings

TheWarningsbuttondisplaystheWarningsDisplayOptionsdialogbox. Important:Inordertobettersupporttheabilitytoturnoffwarningsinversion4.0andabove, warningmessageswillonlyappearintheWarningsDisplayOptionsdialogboxonceyouhave turnedthemoff.Ifnowarningshavebeenturnedoffthedialogboxwillbeempty.

WarningsDisplayOptionsdialogbox ThisdialogboxallowsyoutotellPCDMIStoredisplaywarningsthatyouhavealreadyswitched offaswellaschangethedefaultactionsforwarningmessagesthatareturnedoff.Bydefaultthis dialogboxisempty.Whenawarningmessageappears,PCDMISgivesyoutheoptionofnot receivingthatwarningagain.Whenyouchoosetonotreceivethewarning,thewarningendsup inthisdialogbox.


PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual SettingYourPreferences 137

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Tostartreceivingawarningmessageagain: 1. AccesstheSetUpOptionsdialogbox(Edit|Preferences|Setup). 2. SelecttheGeneraltab. 3. ClicktheWarningsbutton.TheWarningsDisplayOptionsdialogboxwillopen.Itwill showanywarningsyouhaveturnedoff. 4. Selectthewarninginthedialogbox. 5. Clearitscheckbox. 6. ClickOK.Thewarningisremovedfromthedialogboxandyouwillstartreceivingthat warningmessageagain. TheClearListbuttonclearsallthecheckboxesforallitemsinthisdialogbox,therebyreturning PCDMIStoitsdefaultmodeofdisplayingallthewarningmessages. Tochangethedefaultactionforawarningmessage: 1. MakesureyouhaveclickedtheDon'taskmeagaincheckboxwhenthewarning appears.ThiscausesittogototheWarningsDisplayOptionsdialogbox. 2. AccesstheSetUpOptionsdialogbox 3. SelecttheGeneraltab. 4. ClicktheWarningsbutton.TheWarningsDisplayOptionsdialogboxwillopen.Itwill showanywarningsyoudonotwanttodisplay. 5. Doubleclickonthewarningmessagewhosedefaultactionyouwanttochange.PC DMISdisplaysthewarning,allowingyoutoselectthenewdefaultaction. 6. Selectthenewdefaultaction.Thelistwillnowbeupdatedwiththenewaction. 7. ClicktheOKbuttontosaveyourchoice.

Password

ThePasswordbuttonallowsyoutopasswordprotectaccesstotheSetupOptionsdialogbox. Topasswordprotectyoursetupoptions: 1. AccesstheSetUpOptionsdialogbox(Edit|Preferences|Setup). 2. SelecttheGeneraltab. 3. ClickthePasswordbutton.TheOptionsPassworddialogboxappears.

OptionsPassworddialogbox

4. 5. 6. 7.

IntheNewPasswordbox,typethedesiredpassword. IntheRepeatentrybox,retypethesamepasswordtoconfirmyourentry. SelecttheUsePasswordcheckbox. ClickOK.

ThenexttimeyouattempttoaccesstheSetupOptionsdialogbox,youwillbeaskedtotypethe passwordbeforeproceeding.

138 SettingYourPreferences

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

If,atthisrequest,youclickCancelyouwillhavetheoptionofviewingthecurrentlyselected optionsbutwillbeunabletomakeanychanges.

CheckBoxesfortheGeneraltab
ThecheckboxeslistedintheGeneraltaboftheSetUpOptionsdialogboxallowyoutoturnon oroffavarietyofdifferentoptions.Thisisusefulbecauseyoucancustomizethewaymuchof PCDMISoperatesinordertofityourspecificneeds.

PressEndKey

ThePressEndKeycheckboxcontrolswhetherornotPCDMISwaitsforyoutopresstheEND keybeforeitacceptsthelasthittaken.Selectingthischeckboxallowsyoutopreviewthelasthit beforeyouacceptit.Ifyoudon'tselectthischeckbox,thecurrenthitthatyoutakewiththejog boxisnotstoredinthehitbuffer,butautomaticallybecomesthelasthitforthefeature,evenif youtakethehitatthewrongspot.

AutomaticFileSave

TheAutomaticFileSavecheckboxallowsyoutoautomaticallysavethepartprogramat predeterminedtimeintervals.Ifthischeckboxisselected,thedefaultsettingwillsavethe programeveryminute.Thisamountoftimecanbechangedsimplybyenteringanothervaluein theMinutestoSavebox. PCDMISstorestheautosavedfileunderthetitleof"AutosaveCopyof"plustheoriginalfile name.Thisautosavedcopycanbeopenedinthesamemannerasaregularpartprogramin caseofsomecatastrophicfailureoftheoriginalfile.TheentryinthePCDMISSettingsEditorfor thisoptionreads: AutoSave=0or1 Forinformationonmodifyingregistryentries,pleaseviewthe"ModifyingRegistryEntries" appendix.

FindNominals

TheFindNominalscheckboxcontrolshowPCDMIStreatshits.Whenselected,PCDMISwill thenautomaticallyconsidereachprobetouch,findingtheclosestCADnominalforthattouch.It willcontinuetoaccumulatehitsuntiltheENDkeyispressed.Thefeaturetypewillthenbe calculatedandtheCADnominalsapplied. Onceselected,theFindNominalsToleranceboxbecomesavailable.See"FindNominals Tolerance".

PointOnlyMode

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

SettingYourPreferences 139

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ThePointOnlyModecheckboxcontrolshowPCDMISrespondstoeachprobehit.When selected,PCDMISautomaticallyconsiderseachprobehittobeasinglepointmeasurementand automaticallycreatesanAutoVectorPoint.Ifthecheckboxisnotselected,PCDMISwill accumulateprobehitsuntiltheENDkeyispressed.Onlythenwillitdeterminethetypeoffeature justmeasured. Whenyouselectthischeckbox,theThicknessforPointonlyModePointscheckboxbecomes available.See"ThicknessforPointOnlyModePoints".

EdgePointOnlyMode

TheEdgePointOnlyModecheckboxcontrolshowPCDMISrespondstoeachsetofprobehits. Inthiscase,asetisdefinedastwosingularprobehits.Thefirsthitshouldalwaysbetakenonthe surface.Thesecondhitshouldalwaysbetakenontheedge.Whenthischeckboxisselected, PCDMISautomaticallyconsiderseachsetofprobehitstobeasinglepointmeasurementand automaticallycreatesanAutoEdgePoint.Ifthecheckboxisnotselected,PCDMISwill accumulateprobehitsuntilyoupresstheENDkey.Onlythenwillitdeterminethetypeoffeature justmeasured. PDDMISwillusetheoptionsasdisplayedintheHits,Auto,andMiscareasoftheEdgePoint dialogboxwhencreatingtheEdgePoint(Seethe"CreatinganAutoEdgePoint"topicinthe "CreatingAutoFeatures"chapter). CADnominalswillbeappliediftheFindNomsoptionischecked.

IgnoreMotionError
Thisoptiondoesnotapply toallmachinetypes.Some machinescanutilizethis SelectingtheIgnoreMotionErrorscheckboxtellsPCDMISto optionwhileonothersitwill ignorecollisionerrors.SelectingthischeckboxandclickingOK havenoeffect. insertsanIGNOREMOTIONERRORS/ONcommandintotheEdit window.WhenPCDMISencountersthiscommandandtheprobe collideswithanobstruction,theprobewillnotautomaticallystop. Thisoptionishelpfulwhenmeasuringmaterialssuchasclayor plastic,wheresomeflexibilityisnecessary. SettingthiscommandtoOFFwithintheEditwindowwilloncemore displaycollisionerrors.

AutomaticallyAdjustProbeHeadWrist

IfyouselecttheAutomaticallyAdjustProbeHeadWristcheckbox,PCDMISwillselecta positionthatmostcloselyapproximatesthebestapproachdirectionautomaticallyforeachhit throughoutthepartprogramforsubsequentfeatures. Important:PCDMISonlyapplieswristchangestofeaturescreatedafteryouselectthischeck box.Itdoesnothingtopreexistingfeatures.

140 SettingYourPreferences

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

IfPCDMIScanfindcalibratedtipsthatfallwithintheangletolerancedefinedintheWrist WarningDeltaboxofthePart/Machinetab,itllusethosetipsovernoncalibratedtipsthathave closeranglematches(see"SetupOptions:Part/Machinetab"). ThisoptioncanalsobeturnedonforindividualhitsofAutoFeaturesbyusingtheAutoPH9 checkbox.(Seethe"CreatingAutoFeatures"chapter.) TheentryinthePCDMISSettingsEditorforthisoptionreads: AutoAdjustPh9=0or1.For informationonmodifyingregistryentries,pleaseviewthe"ModifyingRegistryEntries"appendix

IgnoreCADtoPart

Eachtimeyoucreateanalignment(savedorotherwise)PCDMIScreatestwotransformation matrices. Machinetopartcoordinatesmatrix. CADtopartsmatrix

Machinetopartcoordinates:PCDMIScomputethisfromtheinputfeaturesmeasuredvalues thatarestoredinternallyinmachinecoordinates. CADtoparts:PCDMIScomputesthisusingthesameinstructionsasthemachinetoparts matrix.Inthiscasehowever,thetheoreticalvaluesoftheinputfeaturesareusedinsteadofthe measuredvalues.TheoreticalvaluesarestoredinternallyinCADcoordinates. Whenyoudon'thaveavailableCADdata,theoreticaldatausuallycomesfromthemeasured valuesofthelearnedfeatures.Itisdifficulttogetconsistentresultsusingtheoreticalvalues.This canhappenwhensomeofthesevaluesareedited,whileothersarenot. IfyouhaveselectedtheIgnoreCADtoPartcheckboxwhenyousaveanalignment,PCDMIS onlysavesthemachinetopartalignmentanddoesnotcreatetheCADtopartstransformation matrix.Alltheoreticalvalueswillnowbeindependentofoneanother. Generally,ifyouarenotusingCADdata,selectthischeckbox. EffectsonCadEqualsPart YoumaywanttoexecuteanalignmentfromfeaturesmeasuredwithoutCADdatainDCCmode. IfyouwillbeusingtheCADEqualsPartmenuoption(orCAD=Partbutton),besuretoselect theIgnoreCADtoPartcheckboxpriortosettingtheCADequaltothepart.Forinformationon settingtheCADequaltothepart,seethe"CADEqualsPart"topicinthe"CreatingandUsing Alignments"chapter. TheoreticalValuesforCopiedFeatures IfyouclearthischeckboxandcopyafeaturetoanewlocationintheEditwindow,thetheoretical valuesofthefeaturewillbeassociatedwiththealignmentatthefeature'soriginallocationand willseemtochange.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

SettingYourPreferences 141

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

IfyouselectthischeckboxandcopyafeaturetoanewlocationintheEditwindow,the theoreticalvaluesofthefeaturewillbeassociatedwiththealignmentatthefeature'snewlocation. Andwillseemtobeunchanged. See"ChangingAlignmentNominalValues"inthe"CreatingandUsingAlignments"chapter.

Resetglobalsettingswhenbranching

IfyouselecttheResetglobalsettingswhenbranchingcheckbox,PCDMISwillresetthe globalvaluesforstatecommands(seethelistofcommandsbelow.)afterencounteringa branchingstatement.(Forinformationonbranching,seethe"BranchingbyUsingFlowControl" chapterforinformationonbranching).Anystatecommandsjumpedover,becauseofabranching statement,willnotbeexecuted.Thisallowsyoutoskipoversectionsoftheprogramwithout havingthesesettingschange. Forexample,supposeyourpartprogramhasthefollowing: TIP/T1A0B0 MYLABEL=LABEL/

Measurementsetc...

TIP/T1A90B90 GOTO/MYLABEL

Ifyouselectthecheckbox, WhenPCDMISreadstheGOTOstatement,itjumpstoMYLABEL.Andthensearchesup,using thefirstencounteredTIP/command:TIP/T1A0B0 Ifyoudeselectthischeckbox, WhenPCDMISreadstheGOTOstatement,itjumpstoMYLABEL.PCDMISwon'tresetglobal settingswhenencounteringabranchingstatement.Instead,itusesthelastexecutedTIP/ command:TIP/T1A90B90 PCDMISdefaultstoselectingthecheckbox.Inversionspriortoversion3.25,PCDMIS automaticallyresettheglobalvaluesofthestatecommands.Now,PCDMISgivesyoutheoption toturnthisoptionOnorOff. CommandsResetAfterBranching: Start/align Recall/align Mode/ Rmeas/ Workplane/ Tip/ Loadprobe/

142 SettingYourPreferences

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Retract/ Check/ Touchspeed/ Movespeed/ Polarvectorcomp/ AutoTrigger/ Triggerplane/ TriggerTolerance/ Videosetup/ Displayprecision/ ManRetract/ Scanspeed/ Prehit/ Clamp/ Clearp/ Format/ 132column/ Gaponly/ Retrolinearonly/ Probecom/ Array_indices/ Fly/ Positivereporting/ Ignoremotionerrors/

MoveFeaturetoReferencePlane

IfyouselecttheMoveFeaturetoReferencePlanecheckbox,PCDMISwillautomatically projectthemeasuredfeaturetotheworkplane.Ingeneral,thisworksforanyofthefollowing featuretypesaslongastheyusethebestfitfunctionalityinternally: Circles Ellipses Lines Polygons Slots Measuredpoints

ShowExtendedSheetMetalOptions

IfyouselecttheShowExtendedSheetMetalOptionscheckbox,PCDMISwilldisplayallof theavailableSheetMetaloptionsintheAutoFeaturesdialogbox.(Seethevariousextended sheetmetaltopicsintheCreatingAutoFeatures"chapter)

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

SettingYourPreferences 143

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TheentryinthePCDMISSettingsEditorforthisoptionreads: ShowExtendedSheetMetal=0 or1.Forinformationonmodifyingregistryentries,pleaseviewthe"ModifyingRegistryEntries" appendix.

FixedDialogPositions

IfyouselecttheFixedDialogPositionscheckbox,PCDMISwilldisplaydialogboxesintheir defaultposition.Ifthisoptionisnotcheckmarked,PCDMISwilldisplayeachdialogbox whereveritwaslastpositioned.Thisoptionbecomesextremelyhelpfulwhenusingmacros. TheentryinthePCDMISSettingsEditorforthisoptionreads: DialogFixedPosition=0or1. Forinformationonmodifyingregistryentries,pleaseviewthe"ModifyingRegistryEntries" appendix.

LockMarkedSets

IfyouselecttheLockMarkedSetscheckbox,PCDMISwillpreventusersfromaccidentally deletingorotherwisemodifyingthecurrentmarksetconfigurations.PCDMISwillonlyallowyou toexecuteandactivatemarkedsets.Youmustclearthischeckboxtoaddordeletefeatures fromamarkedset.

AutomaticallyScaletoFit

IfyouselecttheAutomaticallyScaletoFitcheckbox,PCDMISwillautomaticallyscalethe screeneverytimeafeatureismeasured. TheentryinthePCDMISSettingsEditorforthisoptionreads: AutoScaleToFit=0or1.For informationonmodifyingregistryentries,pleaseviewthe"ModifyingRegistryEntries"appendix

ShowHitDeviations

IfyouselecttheShowHitDeviationscheckbox,PCDMISwilldrawanarrowwheneverahitis takentoshowthemeasuredvalueminusthenominaldeviation.

UseCircularMovesonRoundFeatures

IfyouselecttheUseCircularMovesonRoundFeaturescheckbox,andifyouare"learning"a partprogrambytakinghitsonthepart,PCDMISwillautomaticallyplacecircularmove commandsintotheinsidecircularfeaturesaswellasintotheoutsideofcircularfeatures.This includesCircles,Cylinders,Cones,andSpheres.Thisstate,however,isonlyrelevantduring

144 SettingYourPreferences

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

learnmode.Oncethecircular/movecommandsarepresentinsidefeaturestheyremainthere unlessdirectlyremovedbytheuser. TheentryinthePCDMISSettingsEditorforthisoptionreads: UseCircularMoves=0or1.For informationonmodifyingregistryentries,pleaseviewthe"ModifyingRegistryEntries"appendix.

ThicknessforPointOnlyModePoints

Whenyouselectthischeckbox,youcanapplythicknesstopointscreatedwithPointOnlyMode. SelectingthischeckboxmakestheThicknessboxinthissamedialogboxavailableforediting. YoucanthentypeathicknessandapplythatthicknesstopointscreatedusingPointOnlyMode. Foradditionalinformation,see"PointOnlyMode"and"Thickness".

AllowfinetuningofAlignment

Wheneveryouchangeanalignment,PCDMISasksifitshouldupdatethecommandsbelowwith thechangedalignment.Ifyouhavethischeckboxselected,andyouclicktheNObuttonatthis prompt,PCDMISchangestheMACHINETOPARTtransformationifrequired.Ifdeselected,the MACHINETOPARTtransformationdoesnotchange.

UseCADProvidedIDsforFeatures

TheUseCADProvidedIDsforFeaturescheckboxallowsyoutoimportfeatureIDsfroma CADfile.Whenyouselectthischeckbox,PCDMISautomaticallyinputsthegivenCADIDinto theAutoFeaturedialogboxwhentheCADfeatureisselectedwithaleftmouseclick.Ifyou decidetokeepthisvalue,thenthefeaturecreatedwillhavethegivenID.

FindNominalsDuringExecution

IfyouselecttheFindNominalsduringExecutioncheckbox,newnominalsarefoundforboth SurfaceandVectorpointsduringpartprogramexecution.See"ExecutionFindNomsTolerance" todefinethetolerancevaluesPCDMISwilluse.Also,see"FindNominalsTolerance".

AutoContinueExecutionifFindHoleFails

IfyouselecttheAutoContinueExecutionifFindHoleFailscheckbox,PCDMISallowsyouto automaticallycontinueexecutingapartifthe"FindHole"optionfoundontheAutoFeaturedialog boxfailstofindahole.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

SettingYourPreferences 145

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Inthepast,whentheFindHoleoptionfailed,PCDMISpromptedyoutoplacetheprobeinthe centeroftheholetocontinuerunningthepartprogram.However,withtheAutoContinue ExecutionifFindHoleFailscheckboxselected,PCDMISautomaticallyprintsanerror messagetothereportandcontinuesrunningtheremainingpartprogram. FormorespecificinformationonFindHole,seethe"FindHoleCheckBox"topicinthe"Creating AutoFeatures"chapter.

ShowStartupDialog

TheShowStartupDialogcheckboxallowsyoutodeterminewhetherornotPCDMISshows theOpenFiledialogboxeachtimeyoustartPCDMIS.Thisdialogboxshowsalistingof availablepartprogramstoopen. Whenyouclearthecheckbox,PCDMISwilldisablethisstartupdialog. See"OpeningExistingPartPrograms"inthe"UsingBasicFileOptions"chapterforadditional informationontheOpenFiledialogbox.

AutomaticLabelPositioning

TheAutomaticlabelpositioningcheckboxtellsPCDMIStoautomaticallypositionfeature labelsaroundthepart.

AnimateProbeduringProgramMode

TheAnimateprobeduringProgramModecheckboxactivatesprobeanimationduring Programmode.Whenyouselectthischeckbox,theprobewillanimatethetakingofhitsinthe GraphicsDisplaywindowasthehitsaregeneratedfromCAD.

ShowIconinTextBoxes

TheShowiconintextboxescheckboxallowsyoutodetermineificonsdepictingthefeatureor dimensiontypeshouldappearintextboxesandinsidefeatureIDlabels.Thetextboxesinclude featureID,dimensioninfo,andpointinfotextboxes. Forinformationontextboxessee"TextBoxMode"inthe"EditingtheCADDisplay"chapter.

PierceCADon3DRotate

146 SettingYourPreferences

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ThePierceCADon3Drotatecheckboxallowsyoutodeterminetheexactpointaboutwhich PCDMISrotateswhenperforminga3DrotatebysimplyrightclickingintheGraphicsDisplay window. Ifyouselectthischeckboxandperforma3DrotatebyrightclickingintheGraphics Displaywindow,PCDMISusesthepointwhereyouclickedasthepointusedabout whichtorotate. Ifyouclearthischeckboxandthenrightclickto3Drotate,thenPCDMISdoesn'tpierce theCAD.

Note:Asalways,however,ifPCDMISdetectsawireframeentityorsurfaceedgeclosetothe mousecursor,thenthepointontheentityoredgeclosesttothemousepointerwillbeusedas therotationpoint. See"3DRotateMode"discussedinthe"EditingtheCADDisplay"chapterforinformationon3D rotating.

SavePartProgramonExecute

TheSavePartProgramonExecutecheckboxtellsPCDMIStoautomaticallysavethecurrent partprogramwheneverit'sexecuted.

UseDMISButtoninEditWindow

TheUseDMISButtoninEditWindowcheckboxdetermineswhetherornottheDMISmode icongetsdisplayedontheEditwindowtoolbar.

PatchScansMaintainLastIncrement

ThePatchScansMaintainLastIncrementcheckboxforceseachnewlineofthepatchscanto usethelastincrementfromthepreviousline.Ifyoudeselectthischeckbox,thescanwillrevertto theminimumscanincrementwhentakingthefirsthitoneachline.

UseAutomotiveDeviationLetters

TheUseAutomotiveDeviationLetterscheckboxcausesPCDMIStoaddaletterafterthe deviationnumberinLocationandTruePositiondimensionreports.PCDMISinsertstheletter Fwhenthefeaturedeviatesinthedirectionofthefrontofthecar. Bwhenthefeaturedeviatesinthedirectionofthebackofthecar.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

SettingYourPreferences 147

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Iwhenthefeaturedeviatestowardsthecenterlineofthecar(meaningthecaristoo narrow). Owhenthefeaturedeviatesawayfromthecenterlineofthecar(meaningthecaristoo wide). Hwhenthefeaturedeviatestowardsthetopofthecar. Lwhenthefeaturedeviatestowardsthebottomofthecar.

MapofAutomotiveDeviationLetters TheselettersareaddedtotheLocationandTruePositiondimensionsjustfollowingthedeviation numbersreported.ThesedeviationlettersalsoappearinsidetheReportwindowforthe appropriatedimensions. AutomotiveDeviationLettersinCommandMode

AutomotiveDeviationLettersinReportWindow

148 SettingYourPreferences

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

UseFindNominalsOverrideforScans

TheUseFindNominalsOverrideforScanscheckboxallowsyoutooverridefoundnominals whensearchingfornominalvaluesforascan'smeasuredpointswhenitexecutes. Note:Theexecutionmustfailtofindatleastoneofthemeasurednominalpointvaluesforyouto overridethefoundnominals. See"OverridingFoundNominals"inthe"EditingaPartProgram"chapter.

UseONLYPrioritySurfacesfortheFindNominalsDuringScans

TheUseONLYPrioritySurfacesfortheFindNominalsDuringScanscheckboxcausesPC DMIS(duringprogramexecution)tosearchfornominalvaluesforascan'smeasuredpointson onlytheprioritysurfacessetintheEditCADElementsdialogbox. See"EditingCAD"inthe"EditingtheCADDisplay"chapter.

DisplayOutlineofPlane

TheDisplayOutlineofPlanecheckboxdetermineswhetherornotPCDMISdisplaysactual planeoutlinesintheGraphicsDisplaywindowinsteadofthesmallsymbolictrianglesymbol typicallyused. Forexample,ifyouselectthischeckboxandmeasurethreepointstoconstructaplane,the symbolictrianglefortheplanewillbesizedsothatitsverticesareexactlywherethemeasured pointsare.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

SettingYourPreferences 149

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Exampleofaconstructedplanedisplayedwiththischeckboxselected Note: Whetheryouselectorclearthischeckbox,existingoutlinesaren'tredrawnonlyplanes createdfromthatpointonaffected.Tochangeexistingoutlines,youhavetodoitmanually. Toswitchthedisplayofexistingplanes: 1. AccesstheEditwindow. 2. PlaceitinCommandmode. 3. Gotothecommandfortheplane'sdisplayyouwanttochange.Forexample,


PLN1=FEAT/PLANE,RECT,TRIANGLE

4. PresstheTABkeyuntilyouhighlighttheTRIANGLEorOUTLINEfield. 5. PressF7orF8toswitchbetweentheavailablevaluesforthisfield. TRIANGLEdisplaysthesmallsymbolictrianglesymbolfortheplane. OUTLINEdisplaystheactualoutlineforthepointsmakinguptheplane.

6. PresstheTABkeytoseetheresultintheGraphicsDisplaywindow.

TreatTheoValuesAsifStoredinPartCoordinates

TheTreattheovaluesasifstoredinpartcoordinatescheckboxcausesPCDMIStotreat theoreticalvaluesasifthey'restoredinpartcoordinates.Thisisonlyusefulwhenperforming programflowbranchingwherealignmentschange. Whenyouexecutethepartprogram,PCDMISremembersthemachinetopartalignmentforthe initialalignmentbutwhenPCDMISbranchestoanewalignment,itdeterminesthedifference betweenthealignmentsandupdatesthefeaturestomovebythatoffset.

MakeVariablesGloballyVisible

150 SettingYourPreferences

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Usually,whenasubroutineiscalled,allvariablesgo"outofscope"andareunavailable.The MakeVariablesGloballyVisiblecheckboxmakesanyvariablesglobally"visible",orusable, throughouttheentirepartprogram. Bydefault,thischeckboxisn'tselectedsothatvariablesinasubroutinewon'treplacedatastored invariableswiththesamenameinthemainpartprogram. Example:


ASSIGN/V1=1 C1=CALLSUB,MYSUB . . . SUBROUTINE/MYSUB COMMENT/OPER,V1 END/SUB

Ifyoudeselectthischeckbox,variablesarenotgloballyvisible.TheOPERcommentwill showavalueof0sinceV1cannotbeseenfrominsidethesubroutine. Ifyouselectthischeckbox,variablesaregloballyvisible,theOPERcommentwillshowa valueof1sinceV1canbeseenfrominsidethesubroutine. Forinformationonvariables,seethe"UsingExpressionsandVariables"chapter.

UseDMISPolarConvention

Withthisoptionselected,polarangleswillfollowstandardDMISPolarConvention. XYPlane(PLUSZorMINUSZ)coordinate'a'istheanglefromthexaxistowardsthey axis. YZPlane(PLUSXorMINUSX)coordinate'a'istheanglefromtheyaxistowardsthez axis. ZXPlane(PLUSYorMINUSY)coordinate'a'istheanglefromthezaxistowardsthex axis.

PassBackSettingsfromSubroutine

Thischeckboxallowsalignmentandothersystemchangesthatoccurwithinasubroutinetobe seenbythemainprogramafterthesubroutinecall.

UseProgramLayoutforExecution

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

SettingYourPreferences 151

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Selectingthischeckboxletsyouusethesamewindowlayoutsatexecutiontimeasyouhavefor programtime.

ForcePartAlignmentinCarBody

TheForcePartAlignmentinCarBodycheckboxforcesyouralignmenttobeincarbody alignment.Ifyouselectthischeckbox,nomatterwhatalignmentmethodyouchoose,the alignmentwillalwaysmatchthatoftheCAD.Selectingthischeckboxactsasasecondary transformationaftertheinitialalignment. Forexample,ifyoutranslatetothecenterholeontheHexagonMetrologytestblockandselect thischeckbox,theoriginwillstillbeinthecorner,butwhenyoureportonthathole,itwillbe perfectsinceyouusedittosetyourorigin.

Alignmentbeforeusingthischeckbox

Alignmentafterusingthischeckbox

KeepExistingDimension'sAxes

TheKeepExistingDimension'sAxescheckboxkeepsexistingaxesfordimensionedfeatures fromgettingupdatedevenifyouswitchadimensionedfeaturetoadifferentfeaturetype.Ifyou don'tselectthischeckbox,therelateddimensionaxeswillupdateaccordingtotheselected feature. Bydefaultthisisnotselected.

152 SettingYourPreferences

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

SetupOptions:Part/Machinetab

SetupOptionsdialogboxPart/Machinetab ThePart/MachinetabletsyoudefinethepartsetupontheCMM(orMachine)bychangingthe CADaxesrelationshiptothemachineaxes.Thisoptioncanbeaccessedbyclickingonthe Part/MachinetabwithintheSetUpOptiondialogbox(Edit|Preferences|Setup). ThiscapabilityisneededwhenaprogramisbeingcreatedusingPCDMIS,andtheCAD coordinatesystemdiffersfromtheCMMpartsetup. Example:ApartissetuponthemachinewithitsX+CADaxispointinginthesamedirectionas theCMM'sZ+axis.TheZ+CADaxisispointinginthesamedirectionastheCMM'sXaxis.This functioncanbeusedtocreatetheproperrelationships. ToequatetheCADsetuptothepartssetup,simplyselecttheappropriateaxes fromthedrop downlists.Oncethisrelationshipisestablished,itwillbeeasiertoprogramthepartbecausePC DMISwillproperlydisplaytheprobeinrelationtothepart.

ProbeHeadOrientation

TheProbeHeadOrientationbuttonallowsyoutoconfiguretheprobeheadwristABanglesfor bothMasterandSlavearms.
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual SettingYourPreferences 153

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ToconfiguretheABwristanglesforbothMasterandSlavearms: 1. AccesstheSetUpOptionsdialogbox(Edit|Preferences|Setup). 2. SelectthePart/Machinetab. 3. ClicktheProbeHeadOrientationbutton.TheProbeHeadWristAngleConfiguration dialogboxwillappear. 4. SelecttheappropriateaxesfortheABanglesforbothMasterandSlavearms(if applicable). 5. ClicktheOKbutton.

FlyMode

TheFlyModeareaprovidesawaytomovetheprobearoundthepartinasmooth,nonstopping motion.Amovepointmustbeinsertedintothepartprogrambeforeusingthisoption.Toinserta MovePoint,makesuretheEditwindowhasthefocus,andthenselectMovePointfromthemain menu.(See"InsertingaMovePointCommand"inthe"InsertingMoveCommands"chapterfor moreinformation.)TheFlycommandcanonlybeinsertedbeforeorafteranyfeatureinthepart program. TousetheFlyMode: 1. ScrolltothelocationintheEditwindowwhereyouwanttheFlycommand. 2. SelecttheActivecheckbox 3. Typearadiusvalue. 4. ClicktheCreatebutton. 5. TheFlyModewillautomaticallybeplacedinthecurrentpartprogramatthedesignated location.TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionreads:
FLY/TOG1,TOG2

TOG1 ThistogglefieldswitchesbetweeneitherONorOFF.IfONthenPCDMISactivatesthe command.IfOFF,PCDMISskipsthecommand. TOG2 Thisfieldliststhevaluefortheradius. Ifyouhaveselectedanillegalposition,amessageappearsinformingyouthatPCDMIScannot insertatthecurrentline.Themessagethenasksifitshouldinsertthecommandatthenextlegal position.

154 SettingYourPreferences

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

IfyouclicktheYesbutton,PCDMISwillmovetheFlycommanddowntotheendofthe currentfeatureintheEditwindow. IfyouclicktheNobutton,PCDMISwillcanceltheFlycommandandreturnyoutothe Part/Machinetab.

Whenthepartprogramisexecuted,PCDMISwillmovetheprobeapredetermineddistancefrom themovepointwithoutanyhesitation.ThedistancemovedisthevalueenteredintheRadius box.

WristWarningDelta

ThisisanumericalvaluedefiningtheminimumchangeinthewristanglerequiredbeforePC DMISrequiresyoutochangethecurrentwristposition.ThisonlyaffectsuserswithaDCCCMM withaPH9articulatedwrist.

ManualHitRetract

Thisoptionisonlyavailable TheManualHitRetractboxallowsyoutotypetheretract withcertainDCCCMM distancetheCMMwillautomaticallytravelafteramanualhitis types(suchasLKand taken. Mitutoyo). IftheManualHitRetractvalueischangedfromeitherthedefaultor fromthelastusedvalue,thenPCDMISplacesaretractcommand (shownas"MANRETRACT/"andthenthevalue)inthecurrentpart program'sEditwindowatthecursor'slocation.Asmanualhitsare taken,theCMMwillretractbythenewvaluestatedonthis command. Forexample,ifyouchangetheManualHitRetractvaluefromthe.1 defaultto.003thenthecommand"MANRETRACT/0.003"appears intheEditwindow.

DisplayAbsoluteSpeed
IftheDisplayAbsoluteSpeedcheckboxisselected,PCDMISwilldisplaytheMoveSpeedas anabsolutevalueinsteadofapercentage.Thisvaluecorrespondstothesetunittypeofthepart program(inchesormillimeters).

TopSpeed(mm/sec)

TheTopSpeed(mm/sec)boxallowsyoutoresetthetopspeedthatthemachinecantravel.The valuethatisspecifiedcannotexceedthemachine'sdesignatedtopspeed.Thevaluethatisset worksinconjunctionwiththeMoveSpeedoption.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

SettingYourPreferences 155

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ScanningMinTimeDelta

ThisvalueallowsPCDMIStoreducetheamountofpointsthatarescannedbydeletinghitsthat arereadinfasterthanthespecifiedtimedelayinmilliseconds.

ScanningMinDistanceDelta

Thisvalueallowsyoutoreducethemeasureddatabydeletinghitsthatarecloserthanthe distancespecifiedinmillimeters.Thereductionofhitshappensasdatacomesfromthemachine. PCDMISonlykeepsthepointsthataresetapartbymorethanthespecifiedincrements.

CADX+Axis=

TheCADX+Axis=dropdownlistallowsyoutosettherelationshipbetweentheCADX+axis andthemachineaxis. ThiscapabilityisneededwhenaprogramisbeingcreatedusingPCDMIS,andtheCAD coordinatesystemdiffersfromtheCMMpartsetup.

CADY+Axis=

TheCADY+Axis=dropdownlistallowsyoutosettherelationshipbetweentheCADY+axis andthemachineaxis. ThiscapabilityisneededwhenaprogramisbeingcreatedusingPCDMIS,andtheCAD coordinatesystemdiffersfromtheCMMpartsetup.

CADZ+Axis=

'ThisdropdownlistallowsyoutosettherelationshipbetweentheCADZ+axisandthemachine axis. ThiscapabilityisneededwhenaprogramisbeingcreatedusingPCDMIS,andtheCAD coordinatesystemdiffersfromtheCMMpartsetup.

XOffset

TheXOffsetboxallowsyouenterthedistancethatPCDMISwilloffsettheCADdrawingalong theXaxis.PCDMISwillshifttheCADdrawingalongtheXaxisthespecifieddistance.For

156 SettingYourPreferences

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

example,ifyouenterin.5inthisfield,theentireCADdisplayintheGraphicsDisplaywindowwill shiftthedistanceof.5intheXdirection. Note:AllfeaturescreatedinthepartprogramwillnotshiftalongtheaxiswiththeCADdrawing.

YOffset

TheYOffsetboxallowsyouenterthedistancethatPCDMISwilloffsettheCADdrawingalong theYaxis.PCDMISwillshifttheCADdrawingalongtheYaxisthespecifieddistance.For example,ifyouenterin.5inthisfield,theentireCADdisplayintheGraphicsDisplaywindowwill shiftthedistanceof.5intheYdirection. Note:AllfeaturescreatedinthepartprogramwillnotshiftalongtheaxiswiththeCADdrawing.

ZOffset

TheZOffsetboxallowsyouenterthedistancethatPCDMISwilloffsettheCADdrawingalong theZaxis.PCDMISwillshifttheCADdrawingalongtheZaxisthespecifieddistance.For example,ifyouenterin.5inthisfield,theentireCADdisplayintheGraphicsDisplaywindowwill shiftthedistanceof.5intheZdirection. Note:AllfeaturescreatedinthepartprogramwillnotshiftalongtheaxiswiththeCADdrawing.

Adjustbutton

TheAdjustbuttonopenstheAdjustPartSetupdialogbox.

AdjustPartSetupdialogbox YoucanusethisdialogboxtorotateormovetheCADinincrementsaboutandalongthe machine'sXYZaxes.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

SettingYourPreferences 157

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Ifyou'rerotatingtheCAD,thenthevalueswillbeinangledegrees.Avalueof360will havethesameeffectas0. Ifyou'removingtheCAD,thenthevalueswillbeintheunitsofmeasurementthatthe partprogramisin,soavalueoftwowouldmeantwoinchesortwomillimeters, dependingontheunitsofmeasurementusedbyyourpartprogram.

ToadjusttheCADalongoraboutanaxis: 1. Clickontheappropriatebox 2. Typeanewvalue.PCDMISdynamicallyshowstheadjustmentintheGraphicsDisplay window. 3. ClickOKtoacceptthevaluesandclosethedialogbox. PCDMISwillmaintainthisadjustmentunlessyoureimportthepart'sCADmodel.

Applybutton

TheApplybuttonimmediatelyappliesanychangesmadeintheX,Y,orZOffsetfieldsandshifts thedrawingalongtheappropriateaxis(axes)whilekeepingthedialogboxopen.

AutoPositionbutton

TheAutoPositionbuttonautomaticallypositionsthepartontothegraphicalrepresentationof themachine.Autopositionbestguesseswheretopositionthepartonthegraphical representation.YoucaneitherletPCDMISdeterminewheretoputthepartinrelationtothe CMMbyusingthisfunction,oryoucankeyinyourownpositioningusingtheXYZoffsetfields. (See"DefiningMachines"inthe"DefiningHardware"chapterformoreinformationonsettingup thegraphicalrepresentationoftheCMM.)

TableAvoidance

TheTableAvoidanceareaofthePart/MachinetaballowsPCDMIStoascertainiftheprobewill comeincontactwiththetable(orsetplane)whileinDCCmode. PresstheMeasurebuttonandPCDMISwillaskyoutotakeahitwherethetablesurfaceistobe defined.ThislocationdefinesthethresholdfortheZaxis.Thetolerancefielddefinesalocationin thepositiveZdirectionforpositivevaluesandinthenegativeZdirectionfornegativevalues, relativetothesetplane. Ifamovegoesbeyondtheindicatedtolerance,PCDMISwilldisplayanerrormessage indicatingthepotentialdanger. Ifawristrotationisrequestedthatwillpassthroughthedefinedzone,PCDMISwill displayamessagealertingyoutotheerror.

SelecteitherCancelorContinuetoterminateorfinishtheoperation.

158 SettingYourPreferences

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Example:Atolerancefieldof.25willalertPCDMIStoavoidtheindicatedthresholdplusthe tolerancevalue.Ifthethresholdisonthetablesurface,PCDMISwillalertyouiftheprobetip comeswithinonequarterinch(ormillimeterdependingonthesetunittype)ofthetable.

Note:TheTableAvoidanceoptionisavailablewithcertaininterfacetypesonlywhileinDCC mode.

Defaultbutton

TheDefaultbuttonallowsyoutoupdatethedefaultsettingstoseveralofthePart/MachineSetup parameters.Whenanewpartprogramiscreated,itwillreflectanychangesmadetothe accessibleparameters,onlyiftheDefaultbuttonispressed.IftheOKbuttonisselected(without theDefaultbuttonbeingpressed)thedefinedparameterswillonlyapplytotheactivepart programandwillnotaffectPCDMIS'sregistryentries.Thedefaultvaluesarestoredinthe registry.TheseparameterscanbeupdatedintheappropriatedialogboxorbyusingthePC DMISSettingsEditor.Seethe"ModifyingRegistryEntries"appendix. IfanyoftheparametersarechangedandtheDefaultbuttonisclicked,PCDMISwillupdatethe registryfile,redefiningthedefaulttothecurrentsetting.

SetupOptions:Dimensiontab

SetupOptionsdialogboxDimensiontab TheDimensiontabletsyouaccessthedimensionalprintoutparameters.
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual SettingYourPreferences 159

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ToaccesstheDimensiontab 1. AccesstheSetUpOptionsdialogbox(Edit|Preferences|Setup). 2. ClicktheDimensiontab.

AutoDimensionSetup

TheAutoDimensionSetupbuttonopenstheAutoDimensioningdialogbox.

AutoDimensioningdialogbox ThisdialogboxprovidesyouwithseveraloptionsthatallowyoutodeterminewhetherornotPC DMISautomaticallydimensionsfeaturesimmediatelyaftercreatingthemandhowitshouldcreate thosedimensions. Toenableautomaticdimensioncreation,selectAutoFormDimensionsand/orAuto Location/PositionDimensions.AfterclickingOKPCDMISwillthenautomaticallybegin creatingtheselecteddimensiontypewhenyoucreatefeatures. Seethefollowingtableforinformationontheavailableoptions: DialogBoxOption AutoForm Dimensions Description ThischeckboxdetermineswhetherornotPCDMISautomatically createsformdimensionsforfeaturetypesthathaveaform dimension. Feature Circle Cylinder Cone Sphere Plane Line Auto Location/Position Dimensions CreateLocation AssociatedFormDimension Roundness Roundness Roundness Roundness Flatness Straightness

ThischeckboxdetermineswhetherornotPCDMISautomatically createslocationorpositiondimensionsforfeaturetypesthathavea locationorpositiondimension. IfyouselectAutoLocation/Positiondimensions,thisoption

160 SettingYourPreferences

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Dimensions CreateTrue Position Dimensions AutoTextual AnalysisON

AutoGraphical AnalysisON

AutoDimension Info

Multiply

buttontellsPCDMIStocreatethosedimensionsasLocation dimensions. IfyouselectAutoLocation/Positiondimensions,thisoption buttontellsPCDMIStocreatethosedimensionsasTruePosition dimensions. ThischeckboxcontrolswhetherornotPCDMISwillautomatically createtextualanalysisofthedimension.ItisconsideredONifthe boxismarked.See"AnalysisSettings"inthe"Dimensioning Features"chapterand"Analysis"inthe"InsertingReport Commands"chapter. ThischeckboxcontrolswhetherornotPCDMISwillautomatically createagraphicalanalysisofanydimensionthatiscreatedwith AutoCreateDimensionsorAutoRoundness.See"Analysis Settings"inthe"DimensioningFeatures"chapterand"Analysis"in the"InsertingReportCommands"chapter. ThischeckboxcontrolswhetherornotPCDMISwillautomatically createaDimensionInformationcheckboxforanydimension createdwiththeAutoCreateDimensionscheckboxortheAuto Roundnesscheckbox.See"InsertingDimensionInfoBoxes"in the"InsertingReportCommands"chapterforinformationonhowto setthedefaultformatsforthisDimensionInfoboxes. TheMultiply valueisascalingfactorthatmagnifiesthearrowand tolerancezoneforthegraphicalanalysismode.Ifavalueof2.0is entered,PCDMISwillscalethearrowtwotimesthegraphical image. TheMultiplyboxisusedforviewingpurposesonly,andisnot reflectedinthetextprintout.

Note:PCDMIScreatesdimensionsaseitherlegacydimensionsorFeatureControlFrame dimensionsdependingonwhetherornotacheckmarkexistsnexttotheUseLegacy DimensionsmenuoptionfromtheInsert|Dimensionsubmenu.

AlwaysSaveStatstoFile
TheAlwaysSaveStatstoFilecheckboxallowsyoutobypassthepromptaskingyoutosave statsdatathatappearswheneverexecutionofapartprogramstartswithavalidSTATS/ON command.ThestatisticaldatawillautomaticallybesavedtotheXSTATS11.tmpfileifthisoption ischeckmarkedandaSTATS/ONcommandexistsinthepartprogramwhenitisexecuted.See the"TrackingStatisticalData"chapterformoreinformation.

AlwaysUpdateDatabase
TheAlwaysUpdateDatabasecheckboxallowsPCDMIStoupdateyourstatisticaldatabase softwarewiththeinformationintheXSTATS11.tmpfilewithoutthepromptaskingtoupdatethe databasenoweverytimethepartprogramisexecutedandstatisticaldataiscollectedandsaved. Ifthisoptionisnotcheckmarked,PCDMISwillcontinuedisplayingthispromptbeforeupdating thedatabasesoftware.Seethe"TrackingStatisticalData"chapterformoreinformation.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

SettingYourPreferences 161

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

FeaturesUseDimensionColors
TheFeaturesUseDimensionColorscheckboxtellsPCDMIStocolorfeaturesthathavean associateddimension.FeaturesaredrawnintheGraphicsDisplaywindowwiththesamecolors thatthedimensionusestoindicatedeviationfromthetheoreticalvalues.

MinusTolsShowNegative

TheMinusTolsShowNegativecheckboxcontrolswhetherornottheminustolerancesofthe dimensionswillbedisplayedwithaminussign.Forexample,ifthedimensionisspecifiedas 5.0000 +0.3(uppertolerance),0.2(lowertolerance),thedimensionlinemaybedisplayedas followsifthischeckboxisselected: AX OUT TOL Y 5.0000 0.3000 0.2000 5.0000 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 Ifthischeckboxiscleared,thesameexamplemaybedisplayedasfollows: AX OUT TOL Y 5.0000 0.3000 0.2000 5.0000 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 Thischeckboxdoesnotaffecthowthevaluesarestoredorusedincalculations.Itonlycontrols howthevaluesaredisplayedaccordingtouserpreference.Thischeckboxisnotselectedby default. Important:Ifyouhavethischeckboxcleared,youcanstillhaveatolerancewithaminussignin frontofit.Underusualcircumstances,yourlowerandupperlimitsareonoppositesidesofthe nominalandwithoutthischeckboxselectedwillbeshownaspositivevalues.However,ifthe upperlimitandlowerlimitarebothgreaterthanthenominalforexample,yourvaluesactually read+TOL0.03andTOL0.02beforeusingthischeckboxthenyourminustolvalueshowsa positivevaluewhenyouselectthischeckbox. NOM +TOL TOL MEAS MAX MIN DEV NOM +TOL TOL MEAS MAX MIN DEV

NumberofDecimalPlaces

TheNumberofDecimalPlacesareacontrolsthenumberofdecimalplacesprintedonthe inspectionreportbyPCDMISwhileininchmode.Theavailableoptionsareonethroughfive. Choosethedesiredoptiontodeterminethenumberofdecimalplacesthatwillbeprinted. Iftheunittypeismm,PCDMISwilldisplaytheavailableoptionsofzerothroughfour. EachtimethisischangedinaprogramPCDMISplacesacommand:DISPLAYPRECISION/# intothepartprogram.Thisspecifiestheprecisiontobedisplayedatthissectionoftheprogram.If thiscommandisnotusedthenthedefaultvalueisautomaticallyused.Ifthiscommandisused theprecisionwillstayasspecifiedunlesschangedbyanotherinstanceofthecommand.

162 SettingYourPreferences

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

PositiveReporting

ThecheckboxesrelatedtothePositiveReportingareacontrolthereportingoffeaturestothe negativesideoftheoriginthatwouldnormallyhavenegativevaluestoalwaysbeprintedwith positivevalues. TheX,Y,andZcheckboxesdetermineonwhichaxis(oraxes)PCDMISwilldisplay positivenumbers. TheAllDataoptiontellsPCDMIStodisplaythemeasuredandnominalvaluesofthe selectedaxis(oraxes)aspositivenumbers. TheDeviationsOnlyoptiontellsPCDMIStodisplayonlythedeviationsoftheselected axis(oraxes)aspositivenumbers.

Whenthesecheckboxesareselected,aPOSITIVEREPORTINGcommandisinsertedintothe partprogramatthecurrentcursorposition.ThiscommandhasthefollowingformatintheEdit window: POSITIVEREPORTING/a,b,c,TOG1 Where: a=XwhentheXcheckboxisselected,orblankiftheXcheckboxiscleared. b=YwhentheYcheckboxisselected,orblankiftheYcheckboxiscleared. c=ZwhentheZcheckboxisselected,orblankiftheZcheckboxiscleared. TOG1=ALLDATAorDEVONLYdependingonwhetheryouselectedtheAllDataor DeviationsOnlyoption. TheX,Y,andZdirectionmayeachhavepositivereportingturnedoninanycombinationofthe three.MultiplePOSITIVEREPORTINGcommandsmaybeusedwithinthesamepartprogram, andanydimensionsthatareinthepartprogramaredisplayedusingthePOSITIVEREPORTING commandthatprecedesthedimensions.IfnoPOSITIVEREPORTING commandexistsinthe partprogram,alldimensionsarereportedwiththeoptionsturnedOFFintheX,Y,andZ directions. Thefollowingdiagramdemonstrateshowthetolerancesarealsoaffectedbythepositive reportingoptions:

PositiveReportingaffectingtolerances
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual SettingYourPreferences 163

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

PurposeofPositiveReporting Positivereportingallowsyoutoreportfeaturesinasymmetricmanner,sothat,regardlessof whichsideoftheoriginthefeatureexists,deviations: awayfromtheoriginareconsideredpositive. towardtheoriginareconsiderednegative.

Thus,inthediagramabove,bothPoint1andPoint2willdisplaypositivedeviationswhenpositive reportingintheXaxis.Thisalsomeans,however,that: plustolerancesareappliedaway fromtheorigin. minustolerancesareappliedtowardtheorigin.

DefaultTolerances:SetDefaults

TheSetDefaultscheckboxsetsthedefaulttolerancesduringtheLearnmodebaseduponthe precisionofthenominalvalues.Whennecessary,thesevaluescanbeoverriddenbyenteringthe tolerancesindividuallyintheprintpreviewbox.Thisoptiononlyaffectsthetoleranceswhena nominalofadimensionisedited.

DefaultTolerances: 05Places

TheDefaultTolerancesareacontainsboxesthatallowyoutosetthetolerancesthatPCDMIS willapplytothenominalvalues.(Thedisplayednumberwillbefromzerotofivedigitstotheright ofthedecimalpoint.)Forexample,ifyouareenteringanominalvalueof6.250,PCDMISwillset the+andtolerancetothethirdplaceDEFAULTTOLERANCEvalue.If6.25wasentered,PC DMISwouldsetthe+andtolerancetothesecondplaceDEFAULTTOLERANCEvalue.

CADNominalPlaces=

TheCADNominalPlaces=boxallowsyoutoenteranumericalvaluethatdefineshowmany decimalplacesPCDMISwillusebeforeroundingwhenitusesCADdata.Forexample, ifaCAD circlehasadiameterof3.9995,andthevalueissetto3,PCDMISwillrounditsvalueto4.000. ThisoptiononlyaffectsthewayPCDMISinterpretsCADdataintheSHEETMETAL MEASUREMENTmode.Ifthevalueissetto0,PCDMISwillnotroundoffanyvalues.

164 SettingYourPreferences

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

DisplayAngleDegrees

TheDisplayAngleDegreesareaallowsyoutodisplayangledimensionsusingdecimaldegrees orbydegree/minute/second.Simplyselectthedesiredoption.AnyPALocationaxesandAngle dimensionswillchangetodisplaytheselectedoption.

AngleDegrees

TheAngleDegreesareawillalsoallowyoutodisplaytheangledimensionfrom0 360 or0 to +/180.AnyPALocationaxesandAngledimensionswillchangetoliewithintheselectedangle degreerange.

DefaultbuttonforDimensiontab

TheDefaultbuttonallowsyoutoapplychangesmadeintheSetUpOptionsdialogboxtoall newpartprogramscreatedlateron. TheDefaultbuttonallowsyoutoupdatethedefaultsettingstoseveraloftheDimensionSetup parameters.Whenanewpartprogramiscreated,itwillreflectanychangesmadetothe accessibleparameters,onlyiftheDefaultbuttonisclicked. ForadditionalinformationonDefaultbuttons,seethe"Default"topicinthe"NavigatingtheUser Interface"chapter.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

SettingYourPreferences 165

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

SetupOptions:IDSetuptab

SetupOptionsdialogboxIDSetuptab ItisimportanttokeeptrackofTheIDSetuptaballowsyoutoaltertheformatusedtoidentify IDsalreadysetwhen alignments,dimensions,features,comments,labelsandvariables. changinganidentification.It ispossibletohaveID Toaccessthisoption: duplicationthroughmultiple changestothisoption. 1. AccesstheSetupOptionsdialogbox(Edit|Preferences |Setup). 2. SelecttheIDsetuptab. ThedefaultIDSetupoptionisGeneric.Aseachfeatureiscreated, PCDMISwillassignitanIDbeginningwiththeletterF,followedby anumber(incrementallysetfromthestartingnumberofone).You maychoosetooverridethissettingbyselectingthefollowing options:

LabelsFor

TheLabelsFordropdownlistallowsyoutoselecttheidentificationthatwillbeusedfor alignments,dimensions,andfeatures.(See"LabelingMethod") AlignmentsID

166 SettingYourPreferences

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Genericistheonlymethodavailable foridentifyingalignments. CommentsID Genericistheonlymethodavailableforidentifyingcomments. DimensionsID DimensionscanbeidentifiedusingeithertheGeneric orByType method.IftheByType methodisused,identificationscanbesimilartoeachdimensiontype,ordifferentbased onindividualneed. FeaturesID FeaturescanbeidentifiedusingeithertheGenericorByTypemethod. IftheByTypemethodisselected,thecolorusedtodisplaythefeatureIDcanalsobe altered. IftheShowAllIDcheckboxisselectedandyouclickApply,PCDMISwilldisplayall featureIDlabelsintheGraphicsDisplaywindowforallfeaturesfromthecurrentcursor locationtotheendofthepartprogram.NewlycreatedfeatureswillalsoshowtheirID.If thischeckboxisdeselectedandyouclickApply,allfeaturesIDsfromcurrentcursor locationtotheendofthepartprogramarehidden.Newlycreatedfeaturesstillget createdintheEditwindow,buttheIDlabeldoesn'tappearintheGraphicsDisplay window. IftheColoroptionisselected(marked)allfeaturescreatedaftertheApplybuttonispressed willbeeffected.(Featurescreatedpriortothecolorchangewillnotbereplaced.) LabelsID Genericistheonlymethodavailableforidentifyinglabels. VariablesID Genericistheonlymethodavailableforidentifyingvariables. CallSubsID GenericistheonlymethodavailableforidentifyingCalledSubroutines.

LabelingMethod

ThisdropdownwindowallowsyoutoselectbetweenByTypeandGenericidentification methods. ByType

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

SettingYourPreferences 167

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ByTypeletsyousettheidentificationforeachelementtype(circle,cone,cylinder,line, plane,point,andsphere). Generic Genericwillapplythesameidentificationsystemregardlessoffeature(dimension)type. PCDMIShasnoinherentlimitonthenumberoflettersusedforidentifications.However,the GraphicDisplayareaandEditwindowhavelimitsontheIDlength.EveniftheEdit windowdoesnotshowthecompleteID,PCDMISwillinternallykeeptrackofthe completeidentification.

StartingLetters

TheStartingLettersboxdeterminesthefirstletter(s)thatwillbeusedintheidentification process.PCDMISwillalwaysdisplaytheIDusingcapitalletters.Upto15characterscanbe typedin. Note:InvariousdialogboxeswheretheIDisdisplayed,changingthetextportionoftheIDthe defaulttextoftheIDmayalsobeset.

StartingNumber

TheStartingNumberboxdeterminesthefirstnumberthatwillbeusedintheidentification process.Anynumberbetween1and9999canbeentered. Note:InvariousdialogboxeswheretheIDisdisplayed,changingonlythenumberportionofan IDthecountermayberesettoadesiredcount

LabelLength

TheLabelLengthcheckboxdeterminesthelengthoftheidentification.Upto15digitsmaybe entered.Thecheckboxmustbeselectedinorderforthisoptiontobeactive.Ifthislengthisset, PCDMISwillappendzerostotheIDletterstomakeupthenecessarylength. Forexample: IDLength=10,IDLetters=CIRCLE. PCDMISwillgenerateanID=CIRCLE0001,etc.ThisisdoneonlyiftheLengthisset.

DisplayBracketsforFeatureArrays

168 SettingYourPreferences

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TheDisplayBracketsforFeatureArrayscheckboxdetermineswhetherarraybracketsare displayedwithids forcommandsexecutedmorethanonce. Whenselected,theinspectionreportdisplayswhichinstanceofthecommand'sexecutionis beingreferenced. Forexample: F1[3]=POINTMEASUREDFROM1HIT Showsthatthefeature,F1,ismeasuredhereforthethird(designatedbythenumber threeinbrackets)time. Theformatofthebracketedexpressioncanbecontrolledusingthearray_indicesobject.See "ArrayIndicesObject"in the"UsingExpressionsandVariables"chapter.

Apply

TheApplybuttonappliesthechangesdescribedin"LabelingMethod")toanyfeature identifications.ThesechangesonlyapplytofeatureIDs. IftheApplybuttonisnotpressed,PCDMISwillcontinuetoassignfeatureidentificationsusing thepreviousmethodlisted. Note:IfduplicateIDsareassigned,PCDMISwillnotifyyouthatyoumusthaveauniqueIDfor anyfeature,dimensionetc.

DefaultSettings

TheDefaultbuttonallowsyoutoupdatethedefaultsettingstoalloftheIDSetup parameters. Whenanewpartprogramiscreated,itwillreflectanychangesmadetothe parameters,onlyiftheDefaultbuttonisclicked. ForadditionalinformationonDefaultbuttons,seethe"Default"topicinthe"NavigatingtheUser Interface"chapter. Note:AlwayspresstheApplybuttonafterachangeismade(beforepressingtheOKorDefault buttons).

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

SettingYourPreferences 169

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

SetupOptions:NC100Setuptab

SetUpOptionsdialogboxNC100tab TheNC100tab(Edit|Preferences|Setup)allowsyoutouseaNC100videoprobe.Oncethe UseNC100VideoProbecheckboxisselected,theTCPIPAddress,PortNumber,and ComputerNameboxesbecomeavailable.Usetheseboxestosetupcommunicationsettings withtheNC100computersystem.Thesevaluesarestoredintheregistrysettingsandare recalledeachtimeyoustartPCDMIS.Seethe"ModifyingRegistryEntries"chapter. ForinformationonusingtheNC100VideoProbetocreateAutoFeatures,seetheappendix titled"MeasuringAutoFeatureswiththeNC100VideoProbe". Note:TheNC100tabonlyappearsinPCDMISifyourportlockisprogrammedtoacceptCMT functionality.

UseNC100VideoProbe
TheUseNC100VideoProbecheckboxdeterminesifPCDMISisusingtheNC100video probe.Ifyouselectthischeckbox,PCDMISassumesthattheNC100isactive.

TCPIPAddress

UsetheTCPIPAddressboxtoentertheaddressinformationfortheNC100computersystem. ThisvalueisrequiredforthecommunicationbetweenthePCDMIScomputersystemandthe NC100computersystem.

170 SettingYourPreferences

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

PortNumber

UsethePortNumberboxtoentertheportnumberoftheNC100computersystem.Thisvalueis requiredforthecommunicationbetweenthePCDMIScomputersystemandtheNC100 computersystem.

ComputerName

UsetheComputerNameboxtotypethenameoftheNC100computersystem.Thisvalueis requiredforthecommunicationbetweenthePCDMIScomputersystemandtheNC100 computersystem.

ModifyingReportandMotionParameters
TheEdit|Preferences|Parametersmenuoptionallowsyoutomodifythecontent,form,and methodofcalculationusedinanyreport.Additionally,itallowsyoutomodifythemachinemotion parametersofaDCCCMM.ThismenuoptionopenstheParameterSettingsdialogbox. InadditiontoaccessingtheParameterSettingsdialogbox,youcaninsertthecommandsfrom thisdialogboxdirectlyintothepartprogrambyselectingthemfromtheInsert|Parameter Changesubmenu. ThefollowingtabsareavailableontheParameterSettingsdialogbox. ParameterSettings:Dimensiontab ParameterSettings:ClearPlanetab ParameterSettings:Probingtab ParameterSettings:Motiontab ParameterSettings:RotateTabletab ParameterSettings:Accelerationtab ParameterSettings:OptionalProbetab ParameterSettings:ProbeTriggerOptionstab ParameterSettings:NC100Parameterstab ParameterSettings:I/OChannelstab

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

SettingYourPreferences 171

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ParameterSettings:Dimensiontab

ParameterSettingsdialogboxDimensiontab TheDimensiontaballowsyoutovarytheformatofthedimensionoutput.Italsoprovidesa meansforalteringtheprintedreport. ToaccesstheDimensiontab: 1. AccesstheParameterSettingsdialogbox(Edit|Preferences|Parameters). 2. ClicktheDimensiontab.

DimensionOutputFormat

ThiscommandcontrolsthePCDMISdimensionoutputformat.Tochangetheformat,selectthe desiredFormatcheckbox(es). AvailableFormats: Nominal Tolerance Measured MaxMin Deviation OutofTol Description Displaysthenominalvaluefor alldimensions. Displaysthetolerancevalues foralldimensions. Displaysthemeasuredvalue foralldimensions. Displaysthemaxandmin valuesforalldimensions. Displaysthedeviationvaluefor alldimensions. Displaystheoutoftolerance

172 SettingYourPreferences

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

DevAngle

valueforalldimensions. Displaysthedeviationangleon theTruePositiondimensions.

Whenswitchingfrombox tolerancingtotrueposition (andback),itisimportantto checktheformatfor correctness.

PCDMISoffersthesameprintformatsforboxtolerancingandtrue positioningtolerancing,althoughtheircolumnswilllookslightly differentduetoadditionalcolumnsfortruepositiondimensions.

Example: Whentolerancingthedistancebetweentwolineswith theMax/Mincheckboxselected,PCDMISwillcalculatethe distancebetweenthetwopointsthatwerefurthestapartorthetwo pointsthatwereclosesttogether.Itwouldthenchoosetheworst case(mostoutoftolerance)ofthetwo.IftheMax/Mincheckboxis notselected,PCDMISwillcalculatethedimensionwithout displayingtheMax/Minvalue. PCDMISwillindicatetheorderoftheoutputselectionbydisplayinganumbertotherightofthe checkbox.Thisallowsyoutoaltertheorderoftheformattomeetindividualneeds.Acheckbox canbeclearedsimplybyselectingitasecondtime. TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionreads:
FORMAT/TEXT,OPTIONS,HEADINGS,SYMBOLS,SD"DIMENSIONOUTPUT"

DIMENSIONOUTPUT=Theformatoftheoutputwillbebasedontheorderofselection.The defaultoutputwilldisplaytheentireselection,intheorderindicated.

DimensionText
TheDimensionTextcheckboxcontrolswhetherornotthedimensiontextwillbedisplayedin theEditwindowforanydimensionsthatfollowthecommand. TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionreads:
FORMAT/TEXT,,,,NOM,TOL,MEAS,MAXMIN,DEV,OUTTOL,DEVANG

Foradescriptiontheoptionsonthiscommand,see"DimensionOutputFormat".

DimensionOptions
TheDimensionOptionscheckboxcontrolswhetherornotthedimensionoptionswillbe displayedintheEditwindowforanydimensionsthatfollowthecommand. Theseoptionsinclude: Units(see"Units"inthe"DimensioningFeatures"chapter) Graphicalanalysis(see"AnalysisSettings"inthe"DimensioningFeatures"chapter)

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

SettingYourPreferences 173

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Textualanalysis(see"AnalysisSettings"inthe"DimensioningFeatures"chapter) Arrowmultiplier(see"AnalysisSettings"inthe"DimensioningFeatures"chapter) Outputoptions(see"AnalysisSettings"inthe"DimensioningFeatures"chapter)

TheEditwindowcommandlineforthischeckboxreads:
FORMAT/OPTIONS,,,,NOM,TOL,MEAS,MAXMIN,DEV,OUTTOL

DimensionHeadings
TheDimensionHeadingscheckboxcontrolsthecolumnheadingsontheinspectionreport.If thischeckboxisnotselected,thenPCDMISwillnotprintanycolumnheadings.

DeviationSymbols
TheDeviationSymbolscheckboxshowsthedeviationwithinthesetrange.Iftheoutof tolerancerangeishigh,PCDMISwillindicatethedeviationusingthe"greaterthan"symbol(>) ontherightsideoftheline.Iftheoutoftolerancerangeislow,PCDMISwillindicatethe deviationusingthe"lessthan"symbol(<). Forexample: Nominal=0.00 Measured=0.02 PositiveTolerance=0.10 NegativeTolerance=0.20 TotalToleranceRange=(.10(.20))=.30 Percentage=100*(.02(.20))/.3 =73.3% # looksatthe%andshiftsbasedonthe%. DIMD1=LOCATIONOFCIRF5 GRAPH=OFF TEXT=OFF MULT=1.00 AX x y z d v NOM 5.0000 2.0000 0.2500 2.0000 i +TOL TOL 0.0100 0.0100 0.0100 0.0100 j 0.0100 0.0100 0.0100 0.0100 k MEAS 5.0000 2.0000 0.2500 2.0000 DEV 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 OUT TOL 0.0000 # 0.0000 # 0.0000 # 0.0000

ENDOFDIMENSIOND1

StandardDeviation

TheStandardDeviationcheckboxdisplaysthestandarddeviationoffeatures.

174 SettingYourPreferences

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ParameterSettings:ClearPlanetab

ParameterSettingsdialogboxClearPlanetab TheClearPlanetabprovidesacheckboxthatcontrolstheuseofclearanceplanes.Whenusing thisoption,programmingtimeisreducedbecausetheneedtodefineintermediatemovesis minimized.Clearanceplanes,inessence,createanenvelopearoundapartwheretheprobewill alwaystravelwhenmovingfromonefeaturetoanother.PCDMISwillmovetheprobeoutfrom thepartapredetermineddistance,relativetothecoordinatesysteminwhichitwasdefined.After thelasthitonthefeatureismeasured,theprobewillstayatprobedepthuntilcalledtothenext feature.

ToenteraCLEARP command: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. AccesstheParameterSettingsdialogbox(Edit|Preferences|Parameters). ClickontheClearPlanetab. ChoosetheaxisfortheActivePlanefromtheAxisdropdownlist. TypethedistanceawayfromthepartintheValuebox. ChoosetheaxisforthePassThroughPlanefromthe Axisdropdownlist. TypethedistanceofthePassThroughPlaneintheValuebox


SettingYourPreferences 175

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

7. SelecttheClearancePlaneActive(ON)checkbox. 8. ClicktheApplybutton. 9. ClicktheOKbutton. TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionreads:


CLEARP/ACTIVE_PLANE,.n,PASS_THROUGH_PLANE,.n

ActivePlane

Thisareaofthedialogboxletsyouindicatewhichplanethefeatureisinwhenitismeasured. TheActivePlaneisalsoindicatedintheDisplaydropdownlistlocatedonthetoolbar. PCDMISallowsyoutodefineanumericalvaluefortheactivemainplane(XPlus,XMinus,Y Plus,YMinus,ZPlus,andZMinus).TheEditwindowwilldisplaytheselectedactivewindowin anX,Y,ZPLUSorX,Y,ZMINUSdirection.Todefineaclearanceplane,firstclickonthedrop downlistintheActivePlaneareaandselectthedesiredplanetobechanged.Then,enteranew valueintheValuebox.

PassThrough

Thisareaofthedialogboxletsyouindicatetheplanethattheprobewillpassthroughtogetto thenextfeatureplane. PCDMISallowsyoutodefinenumericalvaluesforanyofthesixclearanceplanes: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. XPlus XMinus YPlus YMinus ZPlus ZMinus

TheEditwindowwilldisplaytheselectedactivewindowinanX,Y,ZPLUSorX,Y,ZMINUS direction. Todefineaclearanceplane: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. SelectthedropdownlistonthePassThroughPlanearea. Selectthedesiredplanetobechanged. TypetheappropriatevalueintheValuebox. ClicktheApplybutton. ClicktheOKbutton.

ClearancePlaneActive

176 SettingYourPreferences

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TheClearancePlaneActive(ON)checkboxactivatesthedefinedclearanceplane.

NotesonClearancePlanes
Movementfromone Itisimportanttobeawareofthesignofaclearanceplanewhen clearanceplanetoanother enteringitsvalue.Thesignmustcorrespondtothepositiveor affectsthepositionofthe negativeendofthenormalaxisdefiningtheplane.Forexample,to probe.Makesurethattheset defineatopclearanceplane,enterapositivevalue,andtodefinea clearanceplaneissufficient bottomclearanceplane,enteranegativevalue. toclearthepart.

ClearancePlaneExample Aclearanceplaneisdefinedrelativetothecurrentcoordinatesystemandpartorigin.Therefore, youmustbecarefulwhendefiningaclearanceplanetoensureadequateclearancearoundthe part. Example:Supposepartistenincheslong,anditislinedupclosetothemachineaxeswiththeX originatthebottomlefthandcorner.Youcansetaoneinchclearancefromtherightsideofthe partbysettingtherightclearanceplanetoeleveninches. Alwaysdefineclearanceplanesrelativetothecurrentcoordinatesystem.Whenyoucreateanew coordinatesystem,theclearanceplanesstillrelatetothefirstalignment.Ifyouwishtoassociate theclearanceplaneswiththenewcoordinatesystem,theymustberedefined. Clearanceplanesarenotusedwhentakingsamplehits.Itisthereforeimportantwhenmeasuring pinstosetthespacervaluetoadistancethatwillallowtheprobetomovearoundthepin.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

SettingYourPreferences 177

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ParameterSettings:Probingtab

ParameterSettingsdialogboxProbingtab TheProbingtabdisplaysthecurrentprobefile,activetip,andprobeslot(ifbeingused).Italso allowsyoutoselecttheProbeCompensationActive(On)checkboxandselectthePolar VectorCompensation fromthedropdownlist. ToaccesstheProbingtab: 1. AccesstheParameterSettingsdialogbox(Edit|Preferences|Parameters). 2. ClicktheProbingtabfromtheavailabletabs.

ActiveProbe

ThislineintheProbingtabdisplaysthecurrentprobefile.See"ProbeFileName"inthe "DefiningHardware"chapterformoreinformationonselectingadifferentprobefile,orcreatinga newprobefilename.

ActiveTip

ThislineintheProbingtabdisplaysthecurrentactivetip.See"ActiveTipList"inthe"Defining Hardware"chapterformoreinformationonthedisplayedvaluesandselecting,creatingand deletingtips. TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionreads:


TIP/active_tip_name

178 SettingYourPreferences

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ProbeCompensation
Thisoptionisonlyavailable TheProbeCompensationActive(On)checkboxallowsPCDMIS whileinDCCmode. tocompensatefortheproberadius.Ifthisoptionison,PCDMISwill compensatefortheproberadiusoneachfeatureitmeasures. CommandlineintheEditwindow: PROBECOM/ON

PolarVectorCompensation

ThePolarVectorCompensationdropdownlistallowsthemeasurementofVectorandSurface pointstoalwaysbecompensatedalongaPolarvector.Thefollowingoptionsareavailable: OFFVectorandSurfacepointsbehavenormally. XYPLVectorcompensationsforeachVectorandSurfacepointwillbe2DintheXY planealongavectorfromthepointtothecurrentorigin. YZPLVectorcompensationsforeachVectorandSurfacepointwillbe2DintheYZ planealongavectorfromthepointtothecurrentorigin. ZXPLVectorcompensationsforeachVectorandSurfacepointwillbe2DintheZX planealongavectorfromthepointtothecurrentorigin. 3DCausesapolarvectorcompensationalonga3Dvectorfromthepointtothecurrent origin.

TheEditwindowcommandlinesfortheseoptionsread:
POLARVECTORCOMP/OFF POLARVECTORCOMP/XYPL POLARVECTORCOMP/YZPL POLARVECTORCOMP/ZXPL POLARVECTORCOMP/3D

ProbeinSlot#
Thisoptionindicatestheslotnumberontheprobechangeroftheprobeorstyluscurrentlybeing used.Thisoptionisonlyavailableifaprobechangerhasbeensetup. Ifyouaren'tusingaprobechangerorifyourcurrentprobeisn'tinaprobechangerthenPCDMIS displaystextinformingyouthatyourcurrentprobeorstylusisn'tintheprobechangerorthata probechangerisn'tbeingused. See"Slots"underthe"SettingUpProbeChangerOptions"topicforinformationonaddingprobes orstylitoaprobechanger.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

SettingYourPreferences 179

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ParameterSettings:Motiontab

ParameterSettingsdialogboxMotiontab

TheMotiontaballowsyoutochangethedistancesthattheprobewillbeallowed totravelwhentakingahit.ItwillalsoallowyoutosetthespeedthatPCDMIS willusetotakeahitandmovefrompointtopoint.


Note:Youcandeterminewhetherthespeedboxes(MoveSpeed,TouchSpeed,andScan Speed)listthevaluesaseithermm/secorasapercentageofthetotalallowedspeed,by selectingordeselectingtheDisplayAbsoluteSpeedscheckboxinthePart/Machinetabof theSetupOptionsdialogbox. ToeditinformationintheMotiontab: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. AccesstheParameterSettingsdialogbox(Edit|Preferences|Parameters). ClickontheMotiontab.You'llseeavarietyofboxes. Highlightthevalueyouwanttochange. Typeanewvalue. ClickApplyorOK.

Toresetthemotionvaluestotheoriginalfactorysetting,presstheRecallbutton.TheRecall buttonwillreturnthedisplayedmotionvaluestothevaluesstoredinthePCDMISSettingsEditor. IftheDefaultsbuttonisselected,thedisplayedvalueswillbesavedtotheSettingsEditor. ForinformationonthePCDMISSettingsEditor,viewthe"ModifyingRegistryEntries"appendix.

PrehitDistance

180 SettingYourPreferences

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ThePrehitDistanceboxletsyouenterthevalueforthemachineprehitdistance.Thisisthe distanceawayfromthesurfacewherePCDMISstartssearchingforthepart.Ifnecessary,itcan beautomaticallychangedbyPCDMISwhentakinghitswithinanarcorcircle. TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionreads:


PREHIT/nnn.nnnn

RetractDistance

TheRetractDistanceboxletsyouenterthedistancetheproberetractsfromthesurfaceafter takingahit.Ifnecessary,itcanbeautomaticallychangedbyPCDMISwhentakinghitsonanarc orcircle. TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionreads:


RETRACT/nnn.nnnn

CheckDistance

TheCheckDistanceboxletsyouenterthedistanceineitherinchesormillimeters(dependingon themeasurementsystemusedforthepart)pastthetheoreticalhitlocationthatthemachinewill continuetosearchforthesurfaceofthepartuntilitdeterminesthesurfaceisnotthere. TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionreads:


CHECK/distance,percentage

PercentageMovementDuringFindHoleOperations WhendefiningthecheckdistanceforaFindHoleoperation,youcantellPCDMIStomovebya percentageofthecheckdistance. Todothis: 1. 2. 3. 4. AccesstheEditwindowandplaceitinCommandmode. ClickontheCHECKcommandintheEditwindow. PresstheTABkeytomovetothesecondnumber. Typeanewpercentagevalue.Thedefaultvalueis1whichmeans100%ofthecheck distance.Thus.1=10%,.2=20%,.3=30%etc.

Forexample,inthefollowingcode: CHECK/20,.3, the.3 valuerepresents30%ofthetotalcheckdistanceoftwentyunits. ForadditionalinformationonFindHole,seethe"FindHoleCheckBox"topicinthe"Creating AutoFeatures"chapter:

CheckPercent

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

SettingYourPreferences 181

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TheCheckPercent valuedeterminesthepercentofthetotaldistancemovedwhenperforminga FindHoleoperation.Beawarethatifyoutype1,thevalueisequalto100percent.Thus,100% wouldbeenteredas1,25%wouldbeenteredas.25,and10%wouldbe.10.

MoveSpeed%

TheMoveSpeedboxletsyouchangethepointtopointpositioningspeedoftheCMM.Thevalue thatisenteredisapercentageofthemaximummachinespeed.Itcanbesettoanyvalue between1and100%offullmachinespeed.(Seethe"Measure"topicunder"DefiningProbes"in the"DefiningHardware"chapterforinformationregardingthemovespeedoptionandprobe calibration.) TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionreads:


MOVESPEED/nnn.nnnn

TouchSpeed%

TheTouchSpeedboxletsyouchangethespeedatwhichtheCMMtakeshits.Thevaluethatis enteredisapercentageofthemaximummachinespeed,andcannotexceedtwentypercent. TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionreads:


TOUCHSPEED/nnn.nnnn

TounderstandtheeffectsofchangingeitherPREHITorRETRACTdistancesandMOVEor TOUCHSPEED,it'simportanttounderstandhowtheoptionsinteractduringDCC featuremeasurement.Theorderofeventsisthatthemachinewillmovetowardthefeatureat MOVESPEED.WhenitreachesPREHITdistance,itwillapproachthefeatureatTOUCHSPEED totakethehit.Afterittakesthehit,itwillbackawayatTOUCHSPEEDuntilitreachesthe RETRACTDISTANCE.Atthispoint,itwillgotothenextlocationatMOVESPEED.

ClampingValue

TheCampingValueonlyworkswiththeLeitzcontrollerandtheLeitzbrandTTP.Thisvaluetells thecontrollerhowfirmlytoholdtheprobeonaLeitzCMM. Dependingontheweightoftheprobetips,youmayneedtoincreaseordecreasetheclamping value. Foralargetipweight,youmayneedtoincreasetheclampingvalue. Forasmalltipweight,youmayneedtodecreasetheclampingvalue.

ScanSpeed%

TheScanSpeedboxletsyouchangethespeedatwhichtheCMMwillscanthepart.Thevalue thatisenteredisapercentageofthemaximummachinespeed.

182 SettingYourPreferences

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionreads:
SCANSPEED/nnn.nnnn

WhenscanningusingtheDEFINEDmodeofexecution(see"Defined"discussedinthe"Exec Controlsarea"topicinthe"ScanningyourPart"chapter),ScanSpeedplaysanimportantrolein gettingbackdataatincrementsspecifiedbyyou.WhenyouspecifyaveryhighScanSpeed,the CMMmayexecutethescanatthespeedyourequested,butthedatafromtheCMMmaynotbe spacedattheincrementsyouspecify. Example:AssumetheCMMgathersdataattherateofoneHitper20millisecondsinthe DEFINED mode.Ifyouspecifyanincrement(minimumdistancebetweenhits)of0.5mmanda ScanSpeedof75mm/sec,theCMMwouldgivebackpointsatevery1.5mm.Toavoidthisyou couldreducetheScanSpeedto15mm/secor20mm/secwhich,attherateof1hit/20ms,would satisfyyourrequirements. PCDMISwillwarnyouaboutthiscasebydisplayingamessageinformingyouthatthesupplied incrementcouldn'tbemeasuredatthespecifiedscanspeed.Youwillthenberequiredtoreduce yourScanSpeedorincreasetheincrement. YoucanthenselecttheScanSpeedsettingandchangetoasuitablescanspeed.

ParameterSettings:RotateTabletab

ParameterSettingsdialogboxRoTabletab TheRoTabletaballowsyoutorotatethetable'sangleanddirection. Torotatethetable'sangleanddirectionfromtheRoTabletab: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. AccesstheParameterSettingsdialogbox(Edit|Preferences|Parameters). SelecttheRoTabletab. KeyinthedesiredtableangleintheRotaryTableAnglebox. SelectthedirectionoftherotationfromtheRotationDirectiondropdownlist. SelecttheRotatetheTablecheckbox. ClicktheApplybutton.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

SettingYourPreferences 183

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionreads: MOVE/ROTAB,angle,DIRECTION TheRoTabletabbecomesavailablewhenyouselectSingleRotaryTableorDualRotary TablesfromtheRotaryTableSetupdialogbox.See"DefiningtheRotaryTable". Additionally,theRotaryTableSetupmenuoptionisonlyavailableifyourportlockis programmedforrotarytables.

RotateTableAngle

IntheRotaryTableAngleboxyoucantypetheangleofthetable'srotation.

RotationDirection

IntheRotationDirectiondropdownlistyoucanselectthedirectionyouwantthetabletorotate. Availableoptionsare: Clockwise: Rotatesthetableinaclockwise directionuntilitreachesthe angleenteredintheRotate TableAnglebox. Rotatesthetableina counterclockwisedirectionuntil itreachestheangleenteredin theRotateTableAnglebox. Rotatestakingtheshortest route(eitherClockwiseor Counterclockwise)untilit reachestheangleenteredinthe RotateTableAnglebox.

Counterclockwise:

Shortest:

RotatetheTable
TheRotatetheTablecheckboxallowsthetablerotationtobeactivatedonceeithertheApply ortheOKbuttonispressed.

184 SettingYourPreferences

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ParameterSettings:Accelerationtab

ParameterSettingsdialogboxAccelerationtab TheAccelerationtabdisplaysadditionaleditingcapabilitiesforbothCMMandTablemotion. ToaccesstheAccelerationtab: 1. AccesstheParameterSettingsdialogboxfromthemainmenu(Edit| Preferences|Parameters). 2. SelecttheAccelerationtab.

CMMAcceleration

TheCMMAccelerationareaoftheAccelerationtaballowsyoutochangethemaximum 2 acceleration(atmm/sec )alongtheX,Y,orZaxisoftheCMM.Availableoptionsare: MaximumXAxis Acceleration: Thenumberinthisbox representsthemaximum accelerationthattheCMMwill takewhentravelingalongtheX axis. Thenumberinthisbox representsthemaximum accelerationthattheCMMwill takewhentravelingalongtheY axis. Thenumberinthisbox representsthemaximum accelerationthattheCMMwill takewhentravelingalongtheZ
SettingYourPreferences 185

MaximumYAxis Acceleration:

MaximumZAxis Acceleration:

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

axis.

ParameterSettings:OptionalProbetab

ParameterSettingsdialogboxOpt.Probetab TheOpt.Probetabgivesyouadditionalcapabilitiesforcontrollinganalogprobes.These capabilitiesincludethefollowingprobingrelatedvalues: MaxForce LowForce UpperForce TriggerForce #ReturnData ReturnSpeed PositioningAccuracy ProbingAccuracy ProbingMode ManualFineProbing

ItalsoincludesthefollowingScanrelatedvaluesandgeneralpurposebuttons: PointDensity OffsetForce Acceleration Defaultbutton Recallbutton Clearbutton

Eachoftheseisdescribedbelowingreaterdetail. ToaccesstheOpt.Probetab: 1. AccesstheParameterSettingsdialogboxfromthemainmenu(Edit|Preferences| Parameters).

186 SettingYourPreferences

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

2. SelecttheOpt.Probetab. Caution:ThevaluesontheOpt.Probetabaremachinespecific.Withtheexceptionofthe ManualFineProbingcheckboxandthePointDensitybox,theygenerallyshouldn'tbe changed.Checkwithyourmachine'smanufacturerbeforemakingchanges. ClickingApplyorOKontheOpt.ProbetabinsertsanOPTIONPROBE commandintotheEdit window. ForinformationonusingtheOPTIONPROBEcommandwithanalogprobesduringcalibration,see the"NotesonSP600UpperLevelMatrix(RegularCalibration):"topicinthe"DefiningHardware" chapter.

MaxForce

TheMaxForceboxallowsyoutoenterthemaximumforcethataprobewilltakebeforeanerror occurs,thusstoppingmeasurement. A"newton"isaunitofforce. Duringananalogprobingcycle,whentheprobefirsttouches Onenewtonistheforceneededthepartitcontinuestomoveintothepartuntilitreachesthis toaccelerateamassof1 MaxForcevalue.Itthenreversesdirectionandmovesaway kilogramtoaspeedof1meter fromthepart.Thismovementintothepart,aftertouchingthe persecondpersecond. part,issometimesreferredtoasthecontactforce.Thevalue isspecifiedinnewtons.Inanormaldeflectionmode(DFL) probingcycle,thecontrollercollectsdataastheprobemoves awayfromthepart.

LowForce

TheLowForceboxallowsyoutoentertheminimumforcerequiredtodeterminewhenthe machineisincontactwiththeobjectbeingmeasured. Foranormaldeflectionmode(DFL)probingcycle,thisistheforceatwhichthecontrollerstops collectingdata.Thevalueisspecifiedinnewtons.

UpperForce

TheUpperForceboxistheupperlimitforameasurement.Whenthisforceisreachedthe machinemovesback,awayfromtheobjectbeingmeasured. Foranormaldeflectionmode(DFL)probingcycle,thisistheforceatwhichthecontrollerstarts collectingdata.Thevalueisspecifiedinnewtons.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

SettingYourPreferences 187

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TriggerForce

TheTriggerForceboxallowsyoutoentertheforceatwhichameasurementreadingistaken. Foranormaldeflectionmode(DFL)probingcycle,thisistheforceatwhichtheActualPoint(APT) willbecalculatedandreturnedtoPCDMIS.Thevalueisspecifiedinnewtons.Notallanalog probes/controllersusethisinput.

#ReturnData

The#ReturnDataboxallowsyoutoenterthenumberofreadingstakenwhenthemachineis movingawayfromtheobjectbeingmeasured. Thisvaluedefinestheminimumnumberofdatatobecollectedwithintheprobingwindowdefined bytheUpperForceandLowerForcevalues.

ReturnSpeed

TheReturnSpeedboxallowsyoutosetthevalue,whichdeterminesthespeedatwhichthe probecomesofftheobjectbeingmeasured.Thisisspecifiedinmm/sec.

PositioningAccuracy

ThePositioningAccuracyboxisaparameterspecifictotheLeitzinterface.Thevalue submittedtellstheCMMhowcarefullyitshouldremainontheapproachvectorastheprobeis movedintothepartforameasurement. Withsmallervaluesthedifficultyforthemachinetoacquirethedesiredlocationincreases. However,usingasmallervalueprovidesamoreaccuratemeasurement.Thisvalueisalwaysin millimeters. Thisshouldnormallybeleftatthedefaultvalue.

ProbingAccuracy

TheProbingAccuracyboxallowsyoutodeterminetheaccuracyrequiredtotakea measurement.Ifthisvalueisnotmetthennomeasurementistakenandanerrorisgiven.Itis specifiedinmmandshouldnormallybeleftatthedefaultvalue.

ProbingMode

188 SettingYourPreferences

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Thisspecifiesthetypeofprobingcycleused.Themostcommoncycleisdeflectionmode(DFL). Othercycles,suchassoftprobing(SFT),mayalsobesupportedbysomeanalog probes/controllers.Insomecasestheprobe/controllermaynothavemultiplemodesandthis valueisignored.

ManualFineProbing
IftheManualFineProbingcheckboxisselected,thenwhenamanualprobingpointistaken, thecontrollerautomaticallyswitchestoDCCmodewhilemovingawayfromthepartinorderto usethenormaldeflectionprobingcycle.Thismayresultinslowermanualprobingbutimproves accuracy. WhilerecentmachineswithanalogprobingsystemsmaysupportManualFineProbing,notall analogprobes/controllerssupportthismodeofmanualprobing.Inthosecases,PCDMISignores thischeckmark.YourCMMcontroller'smanufacturerwillknowifyourcontrollersupportsthis option.

PointDensity

ThePointDensityboxallowsyoutosetthenumberofreadingstotakepermillimeterof measurementduringascan. IfyougiveascanincrementsmallerthanthePointDensitydefinedintheregistryentryinthe SettingsEditor,PCDMISwilldisplayawarningexplainingthattheminimumincrementissmaller thanPointDensityforscans.Youwillthenbeaskedtoverifyincrementsettingsinthedialogbox. Youcanthenchangethescan'sPointDensityvaluetoasuitablenumber.

OffsetForce

Thisallowsyoutospecifywhatlevelofforcetomaintainduringascan.Thevalueisspecifiedin newtons.

Acceleration

Thisallowsyoutospecifywhataccelerationtouseduringascan.Thevalueisspecifiedin mm/sec/sec.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

SettingYourPreferences 189

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ParameterSettings:ProbeTriggerOptionstab

ParameterSettingsdialogboxProbeTriggerOptionstab TheProbeTriggerOptionstaballowsyoutodeterminetolerancezonesandtheninsert AUTOTRIGGER,TRIGGERTOLERANCE, andTRIGGERPLANEcommandsintotheEditwindow. Note:OnlymanualCMMmachineswithcertaininterfacessupporttheseprobetriggeroptions. Theseinterfacescurrentlyinclude:BackTalk,Faro,Romer,Garda,GOM(Krypton),Axila, Leica, Polar,andSMXLaser. Toaccessthistab: 1. AccesstheParameterSettingsdialogboxfromthemainmenu(Edit|Preferences| Parameters). 2. SelecttheProbeTriggerOptionstab. Important:TheAUTOTRIGGERcommandonlyworkswithMeasuredPointsandAutoVector Points.

AutoTriggerarea

WiththeAutoTriggerareayoucaninsertAUTOTRIGGER/commandsintotheEditwindowwith atolerancezone. TheAUTOTRIGGER/commandtellsPCDMIStoautomaticallytakeahitwhentheprobeentersa tolerancezoneataspecifieddistancefromtheoriginalhitlocation.Forexample,ifthetolerance zoneissetto2mm,ahitistakenwhentheprobeiswithin2mmofthehitlocation.

190 SettingYourPreferences

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Youcanusethisoptionwithmanualmachinesinsteadofpressingabuttontotakeahit,youcan placeAUTOTRIGGER/commandsatanystandardlocationintheEditwindow. AutotriggerOn

SelectingtheAutotriggerOncheckboxactivatestheautotriggercommand.Commandsinthe EditwindowthatfollowtheinsertedAUTOTRIGGER/commandandrequireyoutotakeahitwill thenhavethehitautomaticallytakenwhentheprobeentersthedefinedtolerancezone. IfyoudonotselectthischeckboxandyouclicktheInsertCommandbutton,PCDMISinserts thecommandlineintotheEditwindowbutdoesn'tactivatethecommand. BeepingOn

SelectingtheBeepingOncheckboxactivatesabeepingsoundassociatedwithyour AUTOTRIGGER/command.Thecloseryougettothetarget,themorefrequentthebeeps. AutotriggerRadius

TheAutotriggerRadiusboxallowsyoutotypeatolerancezonevalue.Whentheprobemoves intothistolerancezone,itautomaticallyandimmediatelytakesahit. InsertCommand

ClickingtheInsertCommandbuttoninsertstheAUTOTRIGGER/commandintotheEditwindow forthecurrentpartprogram.Thiscommandlinereads:
AUTOTRIGGER/TOG1,TOG2,RAD

TOG1 ThistogglefieldcorrespondstotheAutotriggerOncheckbox.Itdisplayseither ONorOFF. TOG2 ThistogglefieldcorrespondstotheBeepingOncheckbox.ItdisplayseitherONor OFF. RAD Theradiusfieldcontainsthevalueforthetolerancezone.Thisvalueisthedistance fromtheactualpointthatPCDMIStakesthehit.

SamplePlaneAutoTriggerarea

WiththeSamplePlaneAutoTriggerareayoucaninsertaTRIGGERPLANE/commandintothe Editwindow.
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual SettingYourPreferences 191

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TheTRIGGERPLANE/ TheTRIGGERPLANE/commandtellsPCDMIStoautomatically commandonlyworksforAutotakeahitwhentheprobepassestheplanedefinedbythesurface Circles,AutoEllipses,Auto normalofanautofeatureatthelevelofthedefineddepth.This Slots,andAutoEdgePoints. definedlocationwillbeadjustedbasedonoptionssuchassample hitsorRMEASfeatures.Astheprobecenterpassesfromoneside oftheplanetotheothertheprobewilltriggerandthehitwillbe taken. Youcanusethiscommandwithmanualmachinesinsteadofpressingabuttontotakeahit,you canplaceTRIGGERPLANE/commandsatanystandardlocationwithintheEditwindow. Thiscommandonlyworksinonlinemode.IftheAUTOTRIGGER/commandisused,itwilltake precedenceovertheTRIGGERPLANE/command. NoteonFaroandRomerMachines:Asdefinedabove,PCDMISwillautomaticallytakeahit whentheprobepassestheplane.However,ifyouareusingaFarooraRomermachine,the probewillnottriggeragainuntilyoupresstheAcceptbutton(orReleasebutton).Youmust pressthisbuttonaftereachregisteredhitinordertocontinue. PlaneTriggerOn

SelectingthePlaneTriggerOncheckboxactivatestheTRIGGERPLANE/command. CommandsintheEditwindowthatfollowtheinsertedTRIGGERPLANE/commandandrequire youtotakeahitwillthenhavethehitautomaticallytakenwhentheprobecenterpassesthe planedefinedbythesurfacenormalanddepthofthefeature. IfyoudonotselectthischeckboxandyouclicktheInsertCommandbutton,PCDMISinserts thecommandlineintotheEditwindowbutdoesn'tactivatethecommand.TheTRIGGERPLANE/ commandwillnotfunctionuntiltheoptionisturnedon. InsertCommand

ClickingtheInsertCommandbuttoninsertsthetriggerplanecommandintothe Editwindowforthecurrentpartprogram.
TRIGGERPLANE/TOG1

TOG1 ThistogglefieldcorrespondstothePlaneTriggerOncheckbox.Itdisplayseither ONorOFF.

ManualPointTriggerTolerancearea

WiththeManualPointTriggerToleranceareayoucaninsertaTRIGGERTOLERANCE/ commandintotheEditwindow.

192 SettingYourPreferences

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ThiscommandonlyworksinTheTRIGGERTOLERANCE/commandtellsPCDMIStoonlyaccept conjunctionwithautopoint amanualhitwhenitiswithinthespecifiedtolerancezone. featuretypes:VectorPoint, SurfacePoint,AnglePoint, YoucanusethisoptionwithmanualmachineswhenPCDMIS CornerPoint,andMeasure promptsyoutotakeahit,triggertheprobeasyouwish.Eachtrigger Point.Itdoesnotworkon willbeevaluatedtoseeifitiswithinthecylindricaltriggertolerance theindividualhitsof zone.Ifitisnot,youwillreceiveanerrorintheMachineErrorslist features. oftheExecutionModeOptionsdialogbox.PCDMISwillthenask youtotakethehitagain.YoucanplaceTRIGGERTOLERANCE/ commandsatanystandardlocationwithintheEditwindow. Thisoptiononlyworksinonlinemode.

UseTriggerTolerance

SelectingtheUseTriggerTolerancecheckboxactivatestheTRIGGERTOLERANCE/command. CommandsintheEditwindowthatfollowtheinsertedTRIGGERTOLERANCE/commandand requireyoutotakeahitwillthenonlyacceptthehitwhentheprobeentersthedefinedtolerance zone. IfyoudonotselectthischeckboxandyouclicktheInsertCommandbutton,PCDMISinserts thecommandlineintotheEditwindowbutdoesn'tactivatethecommand.TheTriggerTolerance capabilityisdisableduntiltheoptionisturnedon InsertCommand

ClickingtheInsertCommandbuttoninsertstheTRIGGERTOLERANCE/commandintotheEdit windowforthecurrentpartprogramwiththefollowingoptions. TRIGGERTOLERANCE/TOG1,RAD TOG1 ThistogglefieldcorrespondstotheUseTriggerTolerancecheckbox.Itdisplays eitherONorOFF. RAD Theradiusfieldcontainsthevalueforthetolerancezone.Thisvalueisthedistance fromtheactualpointthatPCDMISacceptsthehit. ToleranceRadius

TheToleranceRadiusboxallowsyoutotypeatoleranceradiusvalue.Whentheprobeis triggered,PCDMISwillchecktoseeiftheprobeiswithinthistolerancezone.Ifitis,thehitwill beaccepted.Itisitnot,youwillbeaskedtotakeanotherhit.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

SettingYourPreferences 193

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ParameterSettings:NC100Parameterstab

ParameterSettingsdialogboxNC100Parameterstab TheNC100ParameterstabTheNC100Parameterstaballowsyoutochangetheparameters onlyappearsinthe fortheNC100VideoProbe.Theseparametersareusedtocontrol ParameterSettingsdialog thelighting,sizingetc.oftheNC100visionarea.Ifthevaluesin boxifyouhaveselecteda theNC100tabarechanged,thenPCDMISinsertsanew NC100Videoprobeasyour VIDEOSETUP commandintothepartprogram,anddisplaysthe activeprobe. cursorpositionintheEditwindow.TheEditwindowcommandline fortheVIDEOSETUPcommandreads:
VIDEOSETUP/GAIN=n,OFFSET=n,TOP=n,BOTTOM=n,WIDTH=n,YORIGIN=n, YEND=n,LSEG=n,XSEG=n,YSEG=n

ToeditinformationintheNC100Parameterstab: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. AccesstheParameterSettingsdialogbox(Edit|Preferences|Parameters). ClickontheNC100Parameterstab. Selectthevalueyouwanttochange. Typeanewvalue. ClickApplyorOK.

TheboxescontainedintheNC100Parameterstaballowyoutospecifyinformationthat correspondstosettingsontheNC100computersystemSeedocumentationfromyourNC100 computersystemformoredetailedinformationonthesesettings.

Gain

TheGain valuecorrespondstotheGain valueontheNC100computersystemandisavision sensorsetting.

OffsetValue

194 SettingYourPreferences

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TheOffset valuecorrespondstotheOffsetvalueontheNC100computersystemandisalight sensorsetting.SeedocumentationfromyourNC100computersystemforadditionalinformation.

ROITop

TheROITopvaluecorrespondstotheROITop valueontheNC100computersystemandis thetoppositionoftheROI.

ROIBottom

TheROIBottom valuecorrespondstotheROIBottomvalueontheNC100computersystem andisthebottompositionoftheROI.

ROIWidth

TheROIWidth valuecorrespondstotheROIWidthvalueontheNC100computersystemand isthehorizontaldimensionoftheROI.

YOrigin

TheYOriginvaluecorrespondstotheYOrigin valueontheNC100computersystem.

YEnd

TheYEndvaluecorrespondstotheYEnd valueontheNC100computersystem.

LongSegment

TheLongSegment valuecorrespondstotheLongSegment valueontheNC100computer system.

XSegment

TheXSegment valuecorrespondstotheXSegmentvalueontheNC100computersystem.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

SettingYourPreferences 195

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

YSegment

TheYSegment valuecorrespondstotheYSegmentvalueontheNC100computersystem.

VideoSetup

TheVideoSetupbuttonallowsyoutoopentheVideoSetupParametersontheNC100Video System.Clickingthisbuttonopensandclosesthisoption. CommunicationsettingsbetweenthePCDMIScomputersystemandtheNC100computer systemhavetobeconfiguredbeforethisoptionfunctionsproperly.See"NC100Setuptab"on theSetUpOptionsdialogboxforthisinformation.

ParameterSettings:I/OChannelstab

ParameterSettingsdialogboxI/OChannelstab Currently,theoptionsontheI/OWiththeI/OChannelstabyoucanselectoptionsrelatedtothe Channelstabonlyfunctionon useofcontrollerI/OchannelsandplaceanIOCHANNEL/ DEAmachines.Othermachine commandintotheEditwindowthatwilldefinethestateofthe typesmaybeaddedinthe controller. future. SomemachinecontrollersareequippedwithI/OchannelsthatcanbeSETtoanONstate(a valueof1)orRESETtoanOFFstate(avalueof0).TheIOCHANNEL/commandtellsPCDMIS tosetthestateasspecified. ToeditinformationintheI/OChannelstab: 1. 2. 3. 4. AccesstheParameterSettingsdialogbox(Edit|Preferences|Parameters). ClickontheI/OChannelstab. Makeanychanges. ClickApplyorOK.

196 SettingYourPreferences

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Channel

Thisspecifiesthechannelnumberthatyouwill SETor RESET.

SetandResetOptions

Option Set

Reset

Description Thisoptioninsertsan IOCHANNEL/SETcommand intothepartprogram.When PCDMISexecutesthis commandthestateofthe specifiedchannelnumberwill besetto1. Thisoptioninsertsan IOCHANNEL/RESETcommand intothepartprogram.When PCDMISexecutesthis commandthestateofthe specifiedchannelnumberwill besetto0.

SettingUptheEditWindow
PCDMISletsyoudeterminetheEditwindow'sappearanceaswellaswhatinformationtodisplay withinsometheEditwindow'smodes.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

SettingYourPreferences 197

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

DefiningEditWindowColors

EditWindowColorsdialogbox TheEdit|Preferences|EditWindowColors menuoptiondisplaystheColorEditordialogbox. YoumustbeinCommandmodeorDMISmodetoselectthismenuitem. TheColorEditordialogboxallowsyoutodefinethecolorsusedfortheEditwindowtextand backgroundwhenyouhavetheEditwindowinCommandandDMISmodes.Youcanalsoexport yourcolorschemetouseondifferentcomputersystemsorimportexternalcolorschemes. Note:ThedialogboxonlyspecifiesthecolorsintextualmodesoftheEditwindowsuchasthe CommandandDMIS. Therearefourprincipalcolorsthatcanbeconfiguredforallcommandsorforindividual commands.Youcandeterminewhethertoshowthesecolorsasahighlightedbackgroundcolor orastextcolorbyselectingorclearingtheEnableBackgroundHighlightingcheckbox.These arelistedinthefourboxesintheCommandTextColorsarea. Marked Unmarked StepMode Error

Bydefault,theEnableBackgroundHighlightingcheckboxisselected,makingtheboxes appearwiththefollowingcolors:

Ifyouclearthischeckboxtoenabletextcoloringinstead,PCDMISwillshowtheboxesas follows:

198 SettingYourPreferences

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

PrincipalColors MarkedColor: MarkedColorrepresentsanyfeature thatismarkedforexecution.Some featuressuchasalignmentsare alwaysexecutedandthereforealways showupintheMarkedcolor. Unmarkedcoloristhedefaultcolor.If nootherconditionispresentthenthe defaultcolorisused. StepModecolorhighlightstheline uponwhichexecutionwilloccurnext whenexecutingapartprogramusing breakpoints. Errorcolorshowscommandsthatare inerrorormeasurementsthatare outsideoftheirtolerancelimits.For example,ifatipisrecalledbutisnot definedintheprobedatabase,thistip textwillbecoloredwiththeerrorcolor.

Unmarked: StepMode:

Error:

YoucanalsochangebackgroundcolorsfortheEditwindow,fordimensions,andforthehighlight color. BackgroundColor: Dimension BackgroundColor Highlight BackgroundColor BackgroundColoroftheEditwindow canalsobemodifiedfromwithinthis dialog. DimensionBackgroundColorsets thebackgroundcolorfora dimension'sreportingboxes. HighlightBackgroundColorsetsthe backgroundcolorwhendraggingthe mousetoselectacommandorgroup ofcommands.

Tochangethecommandtextcolorsused:
1. SelectEdit|Preferences|EditWindowColorsfromthemenubar.TheColorEditor dialogboxopens. 2. ClicktheAutoPreviewcheckbox.Thisallowsyoutopreviewyourchangesinsidethe Editwindowasyoumakethem. 3. Selectaspecificcommandoraparentcommandfromthelistofcommandsinthe CommandTextColorsarea.Clickontheplussignstoexpandthelisttoviewadditional subcommands.Thisallowsyoutosettheprincipalcolors(Marked,Unmarked,Step Mode,andError)forspecificcommandsorparentcommands.Tosetthechangesforall commandtext,selectDefaultfromthetopofthelist.
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual SettingYourPreferences 199

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

4. SimplyclicktheEditbuttonforthetextorbackgroundcolorintheCommandText Colorsarea. AColorselectionboxwillappear. 5. Selectthenewcolor,orcustomizeacolorbyselectingtheDefineCustomColorsbutton. 6. ClicktheOKbutton.TheColorselectionboxwillclose.Ifyouselectedaparent command,PCDMISpresentsyouwithanoptiontosetallchildcommandsunderthe parentcommandtousethesamecoloraswell.SelecteitherYesorNoatthisprompt. 7. Whenfinisheddefiningyourcolors,clicktheApplybuttontoseethechangeswithout closingtheColorsdialogbox. 8. ClicktheOKbuttontoapplythechangesandclosetheColorEditordialogbox. Thecolorchangeswillimmediatelybemade.

Tochangethebackgroundcolorsused:
1. SelectEdit|Preferences|EditWindowColorsfromthemenubar.TheColorEditor dialogboxopens. 2. ClicktheAutoPreviewcheckbox.Thisallowsyoutopreviewyourchangesinsidethe Editwindowasyoumakethem. 3. SimplyclicktheEditbuttonforthebackgroundorhighlightcolorfromtheBackground Colorarea. AColorselectionboxwillappear. 4. Selectthenewcolor,orcustomizeacolorbyselectingtheDefineCustomColorsbutton. 5. ClicktheOKbutton.TheColorselectionboxwillclose. 6. Whenfinisheddefiningyourcolors,clicktheApplybuttontoseethechangeswithout closingtheColorsdialogbox. 7. ClicktheOKbuttontoapplythechangesandclosetheColorEditordialogbox. Thecolorchangeswillimmediatelybemade.

Toexportacolorscheme:
1. SelectEdit|Preferences|EditWindowColorsfromthemenubar.TheColorEditor dialogboxopens. 2. Makechangestoyourcolorschemeasneeded. 3. ClicktheExportbutton.ASaveAsdialogboxappears.Thisdialogboxallowsyouto storeyourEditwindowcolorschemeasacolorfile(afilewitha.clrextension).

SaveAsdialogbox 4. Navigatetowhereyouwanttostorethisfile. 5. TypeanameforthestoredcolorfileintheFilenamebox. 6. ClickSave.

200 SettingYourPreferences

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Toimportanduseacolorscheme:
1. SelectEdit|Preferences|EditWindowColorsfromthemenubar.TheColorEditor dialogboxopens.ClicktheAutoPreviewcheckbox.Thiswillallowyoutopreviewyour changesinsidetheEditwindowonceyouselectthecolorscheme. 2. ClicktheImportbutton.AnOpendialogboxappears. 3. Navigatetothecolorschemefile(afilewitha.clrextension). 4. SelectthefileandclickOpen.TheOpendialogboxcloses. 5. ClickApplyandthenOKtousethecolorschemeyoujustimported.

DefiningtheEditwindowLayout
TheEdit|Preferences|EditWindowLayoutmenuoptionbringsuptheEditWindowLayout dialogbox.ThedialogboxcontainsaCommandtab.Thistabletsyouhideorshowcertain commandsintheEditwindow.

CommandModeDisplayOptions

EditWindowLayoutdialogboxCommandtab TheCommandtaballowsyoutochoosewhichofthefollowingdisplayoptionsareavailablefor commandmode. ShowFeatures Thisoptiondisplaysthe featuresmeasuredbythepart program. Thisoptionshowsalignment changesastheyoccurduring thepartprogram.Itwilldisplay allalignmentchangesthat occurinthedimensionor featurelists. Thisoptionshowsanymoves thathavebeenaddedtothe partprogram. Thisoptionshowsany commentsthathavebeen addedtothepartprogram. (See"InsertingProgrammer Comments"inthe"Inserting ReportCommands"chapter
SettingYourPreferences 201

ShowAlignments

ShowMoves

ShowComments

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

foradditionalinformation.) Thisoptiondisplaysthe specifieddimensionforthe featuresinspectedbyPC DMIS.Itwillbedisplayedin theselectedformatusingthe FORMATcommanddescribed inthe"DimensionFormat" topicinthe"UsingtheEdit Window"chapter. ShowHits Thisoptiondisplayseachhit. ShowHeader/ Thisoptiondisplaysthe Footer header/footerfromthe LOGO.DAT,HEADER.DAT, andELOGO.DATfiles.(See "ModifyingHeadersand Footers"inthe"UsingtheEdit Window"chapterfor informationonalteringthese files.) ShowTips Thisoptiondisplaysthetipfile namesusedtoinspectthepart. ForinformationonworkingwithCommandmode,seethe"WorkinginCommandMode"topicin the"UsingtheEditWindow"chapter. ShowDimensions

SettingUptheReadoutWindow

ProbeReadoutSetupdialogbox YoucanaccesstheProbe TheProbeReadoutSetupdialogbox(Edit|Preferences|Probe ReadoutSetupdialogbox ReadoutSetup)allowsyoutoselectthedesiredformatofthe byrightclickingonthe ProbeReadoutwindow.Selectthecheckboxesthatmeetyour ProbeReadoutwindowandprobereadoutneeds.WhenyounextselecttheProbeReadout clickingSetup. Windowmenuoptionitwillreflectthechosenformat. ForinformationonusingtheProbeReadoutwindow,see"UsingtheProbeReadoutwindow"in the"UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools"chapter.

202 SettingYourPreferences

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MachineCoordinateSystem(MCS)

WhenyouselecttheMachineCoordinateSystem(MCS)checkbox,PCDMISdisplaysthe informationinthemachine'scoordinatesystem,notthepartcoordinatesystem.Thischeckbox switchesbetweenthesecoordinatesystems.Deselectingitwillonceagaindisplaytheinformation inthepart'scoordinatesystem.

ProbePosition
WhenyouselecttheProbePositioncheckbox,PCDMISdisplaysthecurrentpositionofthe probe.TheProbeReadoutwindowwilldisplaytheprobe'spositionintheactivecoordinate system.

LastHit
WhenyouselecttheLastHitcheckbox,PCDMISwilldisplaythelocationofthelasthittaken withtheprobe.Ifthisoptionisnotselected,PCDMISdisplaysthecurrentpositionoftheprobe.

ShowCurrentProbePositiononScreen
TheShowCurrentProbePositiononScreencheckboxdiffersfromtheProbePositioncheck boxinthatitshowsagraphicalrepresentationoftheprobeonscreen,relativetothemachine. Thisishelpfulwhenworkingonline.Whenyoumovetheprobebyusingthejogbox,agraphical representationoftheprobealsomoveswithinPCDMIS'Sscreen.

DistancetoTarget
WhenyouselecttheDistancetoTargetcheckbox,PCDMISdisplaysthedistanceoftheprobe tothetargetpoint.Theprobe'spositionisdisplayedintheactivecoordinatesystem.Manually drivetheprobetothekeyedinlocation.Whenthetargetpointisreached,theProbeReadout windowwilldisplay0,0,0.

DistancetoTargetwithAutoZoom
WhenyouselectboththeDistancetoTargetcheckboxandtheWithAutoZoomcheckbox, PCDMISalsodisplaysthedistanceoftheprobetothetargetpoint.Theprobespositionis displayedintheactivecoordinatesystem.Astheprobeismanuallydriventothekeyedin location,PCDMISmakesthetargetpointthecenterofthescreenandzoominonthepointinthe GraphicsDisplaywindow.

DisplayErrorofLastMeasuredFeature

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

SettingYourPreferences 203

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

WhenyouselecttheDisplayErrorofLastMeasuredFeaturecheckbox,PCDMISdisplays anydeviationsalongtheXYZcoordinates(andDforcircularfeatures)forthelastmeasured featureintheProbeReadoutwindow.Evenifthedeviationis0thenonly0isdisplayed.

UsePolarCoordinates
WhenyouselecttheUsePolarCoordinatescheckbox,PCDMISswitchesbetweenrectangular andpolarcoordinates.Whenpolarcoordinatesareused,thenormaldirectionoftheworkplaneis alsodisplayed.

AlwaysTrackFOVCenter
Ifthisitemisselected,PCDMISdisplaystheFOVcenterofanoncontactvideoprobe.Thisitem onlyappearsifyouhaveanoncontactvideoprobedefined.

PromptHistory

WhenyouselecttheDisplayprompthistorycheckbox,PCDMISwilldisplaythenewProbe ReadoutcommenttypeinsidetheProbeReadoutwindow. UsingtheDisplaylinesatatimebox,youcanspecifyhowmanylinesPCDMISshould setapartforthesecommentsontheProbeReadoutwindowitself. UsingtheSelectFontbutton,youcanalsospecifythefonttypeandsizethatshouldbe usedforthesecommentsontheProbeReadoutwindow.

Forinformationoninsertingcomments,see"InsertingProgrammerComments"inthe"Inserting ReportCommands"chapter. ForinformationondisplayingtheProbeReadoutwindow,see"UsingtheProbeReadoutwindow" inthe"UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools"chapter.

SettingupMultipleArms
Seethe"UsingMultipleArmMode"chapterforinformationregardingsetupproceduresfor multiplearms.

DefiningtheRotaryTable
SelectingtheEdit|Preferences|RotaryTableSetup menuoptiondisplaystheRotaryTable Setupdialogbox.Thisdialogboxallowsyoutodefinetherotarytable.Youcanonlyacceptone optionpercategory.

204 SettingYourPreferences

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

1. Selectthetypeoftablebeingused.IfaDualRotaryTableissetup,indicateif Table1or2isactive.SelectingDualRotaryTablesalsodisplaystheActive RotaryTabletoolbaronceyouclicktheOKbutton.Thistoolbarcontainstwo iconsthatallowyoutoselectwhichrotarytableisactive. NoteonIndexTypeRotaryTables: Indextyperotarytableshaveafinitenumberofspecificanglestowhichtheycan bepositioned.Generally,theyhaveafixedincrement(indegreesofrotation) fromagivenpositiontothenextavailableposition.Theincrementalamountwill vary,basedonyourspecifictable.PleaseconsultyourRotarytable documentationifnecessary.Infinitetyperotarytableswillacceptanyposition(in degrees). 2. DetermineiftherotarytableisManualorDCCandselecttheappropriateoption.

RotaryTableSetupdialogbox

3. FromtheAxisforTablelist,selectthemachineaxisclosesttotheaxisof rotationforthetable. 4. FromtheDirectionofPositivelist,selectwhetherornotthetablehasapositive rotationaboutthechosenaxisineithertheCLOCKWISEdirectionorthe COUNTERCLOCKWISEdirection. 5. Ifknown,keyintheXYZ,IJKvalues 6. ClickCalibratetobeginthecalibrationprocess. Note:TheRotaryTableSetupmenuoptionisunavailableuntilyourportlockisconfiguredto acceptrotarytables.

CalibrateRotaryTable
DependingontheoptionsselectedintheRotaryTableSetupdialogbox(see"Definingthe RotaryTable")oneoftwodialogboxeswillopenwhenyouclicktheCalibratebutton. Selectingthe TableisInfiniteTypeoptionandtheCalibratebuttonopensthe CalibrateInfiniteRotaryTabledialogbox. Selectingthe TableisIndexTypeoptionandtheCalibratebuttonopensthe CalibrateIndexableRotaryTabledialogbox.
SettingYourPreferences 205

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

CalibrateIndexableRotaryTable

CalibrateIndexableRotaryTable UsingtheCalibrateIndexableRotaryTabledialogboxyoucanselecttheoptionsthatwillbe usedtocalibratetheselectedtable.Oncetheoptionswithinthedialogboxaresatisfactory,click theCalibratebuttontostarttherotarytablecalibrationprocess. UsageNote:Theindexablerotarytablecalibrationmustincludethe0position.Additionally,all theanglesthatwillactuallybeusedinapartprogrammustalsobecalibrated.Thiscalibration procedurecalculatesandstoresatransformationforallotheranglesrelativetothe0position.

CalibrationNote:TheindexablerotarytablecalibrationprocedurerequiresavalidXYZ,IJKfor thetableinordertorunproperly.Thiscanbeaccomplishedintwoways. 1.)Ifthevaluesareknown,theycanbemanuallytypedintotheRotaryTableSetupdialogbox. Thiswillusuallynotbethecase. 2)Initiallyselectthe TableisInfiniteTypeoptionandcompleteaninfiniterotarytablecalibration, whichwillcalculateandsavetheXYZ,IJK.ThenselecttheTableisIndexableTypeand performtheindexablerotarytablecalibration.Thisisnormallyonlyanissueduringtheinitial softwareinstallation/setuporiftherotarytablehasbeenmovedorifsomethinghashappenedto significantlyaltertheoriginofthemachinecoordinatesystem.OncetheXYZ,IJKisdetermined closelyenoughthattheindexablerotarytablecalibrationprocedurecanrunsuccessfullyitisnot necessarytogobackandreruntheinfiniterotarytablecalibrationinordertorerunthe indexablerotarytablecalibration. AddRotabAngles TheAddRotabAnglesareaallowsyoutodefinethelistoftableanglesthatwillbeincludedin thecalibration.Youcandefineoneangleatatime,oryoucandefineanincrementedrangeof

206 SettingYourPreferences

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

angles.DefinedanglesarethenplacedintheAnglestoCalibratelist.WhenyouclickCalibrate PCDMISwillthencalibratetherotarytableusingthedefinedangles. Example:Ifyouwanttocalibratealltheanglesbetween5and95degreeswitha10degree incrementbetweeneachangle,youwouldfillintheStartAngle,EndAngle,andIncrement boxeswith5,95,and10respectively,andthenclicktheEquallySpacebutton. AnglestoCalibratelist Thislistcontainsallthetableanglesforthecalibration.Youcanaddanglestothislistfromthe AddRotabAnglesarea.TheAnglestoCalibratelistmustusethezeroangle. OtherDialogboxParameters Thisdialogboxalsocontainsmanyofthesameoptionsdescribedinthe"DefiningHardware" chapter. ForinformationonNumberofHits,Prehit/Retract,MoveSpeed, TouchSpeed,Manual/ DCC,ListofAvailableTools,AddTool,andDeleteTool,seetheMeasuretopicinthe DefiningHardwarechapter. ForinformationonActiveProbeFileandActiveTip,seetheDefiningProbestopicinthe DefiningHardwarechapter.

CalibrateInfiniteRotaryTable

CalibrateInfiniteRotaryTabledialogbox TheCalibrateInfiniteRotaryTabledialogboxdiffersfromtheCalibrateIndexableRotary Tabledialogboxintheseareas: InsteadoftheAnglestoCalibratelist,thedialogdisplaystheTableAngleslist. Youdonthavetousethe0.0angleintheTableAngleslist.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

SettingYourPreferences 207

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Insteadofthreecalibrationtools,thedialogboxonlydisplaysonecalibrationtool.

SeeCalibrateIndexableRotaryTableaboveforinformationonthespecificoptionscontainedin thisdialogbox.

SettingUpProbeChangerOptions
SelectingtheEdit|Preferences|ProbeChanger menuoptiondisplaystheProbeChanger dialogbox.

ProbeChangerdialogbox Thisdialogboxallowsyoutosetupvariousoptionsthatcanbeusedonaprobechanger.Until youdefineaprobechanger,thisdialogwillonlydisplaytheTypetab.Theseothertabsmay becomeavailablewhenyoudefineyourprobechangertype. Type Calibrate Thisallowsyoutoselecttheprobe changertype.

Thisallowsyoutochoosewhich activetipstocalibrate. MountPoint ThisallowsyoutochangeABwrist valuesandalsoprovideasafe locationthattheCMMcanmoveto aftereachcycle. Slots Thisallowsyoutodefineprobeor stylusconfigurationforexistingslots intheprobechangerrack. Comm Thisallowsyoutoworkwithyour computer'sserialportconnectionto theprobechanger. Thesetabsaredescribedbelowingreaterdetail. Seethe"DefiningProbeChangers"topicinthe"DefiningHardware"chapterprovidesyouwitha stepbystepdescriptionofhowtosetupandcalibrateaprobechanger.Italsodescribeshowyou todisplayanexistingprobechangerinsidetheGraphicsDisplaywindow.

208 SettingYourPreferences

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Type

ProbeChangerdialogboxTypetab Beforecalibrationcantakeplace,theprobechangertypemustbechosen.Selectthetypeof probechangerfromtheProbeChangerdropdownlist.Afterachangeofprobechangertype, PCDMISmustberestarted. Thedockingspeedcanbealteredtofinetunetheoperationofthechangecycle.Simplytypea newpercentagevaluetosetthedockingspeed.

ActiveProbeChanger
DependingonthevalueintheNumberofProbeChangersbox,theActiveProbeChangerlist containsnumbereditems(ProbeChanger1,ProbeChanger2,ProbeChanger3etc.)towhichyou canassignaprobechangeranditsassociatedvalues. InitiallyPCDMISdisplaysonlyoneiteminthislist,usually"ProbeChanger1".Youcanadd additionalitemstothelistbyincreasingthevalueintheNumberofProbeChangersbox. PCDMISstorestheprobechangertypeyouselectedandanyothervaluesforthenumbered itemintheActiveProbeChangerlist.

NumberofProbeChangers
WiththeNumberofProbeChangersboxyoucandeterminehowmanyprobechangerstouse. ThenumberyoutypeinthisboxbecomesthenumberofavailableprobechangersintheActive ProbeChangerlist.

ProbeChangerType
TheProbeChangerTypedropdownlistcontainsalistofthevariousprobechangertypes.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

SettingYourPreferences 209

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ProbeChangerdialogboxshowingtheCW43Lprobechangertype CW43LProbeChangers TheCW43Lprobechangercalibrationprocedurerequiresyoutoperformthecalibrationusinga probewiththewristmapinordertoproperlycalculatetheportlocations.Oncecalibrated,you canthenusetheprobechangertochangeprobesregardlessofwhetherornottheyactuallyuse thewristmap.

DockingSpeed
TheDockingSpeedboxallowsyoutodeterminethedockingspeedofthechangecycle.

Comm

ProbeChangerDialogboxCommtab Forsometypesofprobechangersthereisaserialconnectiontothecomputer.Thisdialogwill allowyoutochooseyourcommunicationsport(COMport)andmodifyyourCOMportsettings. ForinformationonyourCOMportsettings,checkthedocumentationthatcamewithyour computerhardware. IfyourprobechangerdoesnothaveaserialconnectiontheCommtabwillnotappear.

210 SettingYourPreferences

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Calibrate

ProbeChangerdialogboxCalibratetab Beforeprobeconfigurationscanbeloadedintotherack,considerthefollowing: TheprobeorstylusmustbechosenfromtheTypetabandcalibrated. TherackshouldbesquaredtooneoftheCMM'saxes. ThePS35RstylusthatwassuppliedbyRenishawmustbeusedtocalibratethe probechanger. Ifcalibratingaslotholdinganextension,ensurethatyouhavefirstdefinedthe ProbeHeadWristAnglerequiredforthechangeintheMountPointtab.The probeheadwillrotatetothisanglebeforemeasuringthewrist'sjointonthe datumsphere.

Verifythatthestylushasbeencalibratedbeforestartingthisprocess.(See"DefiningProbes"in the"DefiningHardware"chapter.) CAUTION:Theoptoelectronicinfrareddetectionsystemisalwaysactive.Ifitisaccidentally tripped,thePI200(probecontroller)willdeactivatetheTP200. Note:Generally,youshouldphysicallyalignprobechangersalongoneofthemachinesaxis. However,fortheTP20,TP200,andSP600probechangersthisisn'trequired.Fortheseprobe changes,therackstillneedstobelevel,butyoucannowrotateitsothatthelengthoftherackis nolongeralignedalongamachineaxis.

ActiveProbeChanger
FromtheActiveProbeChangerlistyoucanselectwhatprobechangertocalibrate. See"ActiveProbeChanger"undertheTypetabforinformationonthislist.

ActiveProbeFile
TheActiveProbeFiledropdownlistallowsyoutoselectaprobetouseforthecalibration process.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

SettingYourPreferences 211

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ActiveTip
TheActiveTipdropdownlistallowsyoutochooseatipconfigurationfortheprobeselected.

FullCalibration
IfyouselecttheFullCalibrationoption,PCDMISwillmeasuretheentireprobechanger.Thisis themostoftenusedmethodofcalibrationandforsometheonlymethodavailable.Itis recommendedthattheoperatorusethefullcalibrationmethod.

PartialCalibration
ThePartialCalibrationoptionwillonlycalibrateaportionoftheprobechanger.Thisoptiononly appearsforthosechangertypesthatsupportit.

SinglePortCalibration
Someprobechangerswillallowyoutomeasureonlyasingleslotafterasuccessfulfull calibration.TheSingleSlotCalibrationoptiononlyappearsforthosechangertypesthatsupport it.

CalibrateButton
TheCalibratebuttonallowsyoutobeginthecalibrationprocessbyopeningtheProbeChanger dialogbox.Followanyonscreenpromptstocorrectlycalibrateyourprobechanger. ThefollowingproceduredescribeshowtocalibrateanSCR200ProbeChanger: AfterclickingtheCalibratebutton, thefirstpromptappears. Openlids3and4,and removeanyprobesfrom thoseports. Takeonehitonthefront faceoftheprobe changer'scenterpost. ClickOK.

Anotherpromptappearsasking youtotakeanotherhit. Takethesecondmanual hitonthetopofthecenter post. ClickOK. PCDMIStakesthe remaininghitsinDCC mode:

212 SettingYourPreferences

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

1hiteachontheleftand rightinsidesidesofslot3 1hiteachontheleftand rightinsidesidesofslot4.

Aftercalibration,theProbe Changerdialogboxappears. SelecttheMountPoint tab. Confirmthewristanglefor thechangecycleby typingintheangleinthe ProbeHeadWristAngle AAngleandBAngle boxes. Specifytherack'ssafe position(apositionwhere probescanbeswappedin andoutsafely)inmachine coordinates.Youcantype thismanuallyintothe MachinePositionX,Y, andZboxesorclickthe ReadMachinebutton. ClicktheSlotstab. Definethecontentsof eachslotintherackby expandingtheplussign (+)foreachslotandthen doubleclickingthe(no probe) item.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

SettingYourPreferences 213

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Alistofavailableprobesappears. Selecttheprobefileto addtothecurrentslot. Ifneeded,adjusttheslot position.Selecttheslot's position,andclickthe EditSlotDatabutton.

TheProbeChangerSlotData dialogboxappears. ModifytheX,Y,Zposition oftheslot. ClickOKtoclosethe ProbeChangerSlot Datadialogbox. ClickOKtoclosethe ProbeChangerdialog box.

MountPoint

ProbeChangerdialogboxMountPointtab TheMountPointtaballowsyoutochangethevaluesfortheABwristangleaswellasdefinea safepositionthattheCMMcanmovetobeforeeachchangecycle. YoucandothisforasmanyprobechangersasdefinedusingtheTypetab.Selecttheprobe changerfromtheActiveProbeChangerlistandtypethedesiredABanglesandCMMposition.

214 SettingYourPreferences

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ActiveProbeChanger
FromtheActiveProbeChangerlistyoucanselecttheprobechangerforwhichyouwantto defineABwristanglesandaCMMposition. See"ActiveProbeChanger"undertheTypetabforinformationonthislist.

ProbeHeadWristAngle
TheAAngleandBAngleboxesindicatethepositionofthePH9armwhileslidingtheprobe configurationsinplace.Inmostcasestheangleshouldindicateastraightdownposition. When calibratingslotsholdingextensions,theABangleboxesshouldbedefinedpriortocalibration.If youtrytochangetheABangleaftertheslothasalreadybeencalibrated,awarningwillappear informingyouthatrecalibrationwillbeneeded. TochangetheABanglesfromthestraightdownposition: 1. PlacethecursorintheAAngleboxortheBAnglebox. 2. Typethedesiredangle.

CMMPosition
TheCMMPositionareaofthisdialogboxallowsyoutoindicateasafelocationtowhichthe CMMcanmovepriortoeachchangecycle.Usually,thissafelocationisapproximatelytwo inchesaboveandinfrontoftheprobechangerrack.However,youmayfinditnecessarytomove tosomeotherlocationdependingonthetypeofprobechanger. TochangethevaluesfortheCMMPosition: 1. SelectthepreviousvalueoftheX,Y,orZboxyouwanttochange. 2. TypethecorrectvaluefortheappropriateboxesorusetheReadCMMbuttontoinsert thecurrentlocationoftheCMM.

Slots

ProbeChangerdialogboxSlotstab
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual SettingYourPreferences 215

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Theprobechangerisarackthatprovidesslotsfordifferentprobeconfigurations.TheSlotstab allowsyoutodefinetheprobeconfigurationforeachslotthatwillbeused.Thedefaultforeach slotis"noprobe".Youcandefinetheprobeconfigurationforeachslotoftheselectedprobe changer.

ToDefinetheProbeConfigurationforEachSlot
1. SelecttheappropriateprobechangerfromtheActiveProbeChangerlist. 2. Clicktheplussign(+)totheleftoftheslotnumber.You'llnoticethatPCDMISdisplaysa "noprobe"itemasthedefault. 3. Doubleclickorrightclickonthe"noprobe"item.Alistwillappear. 4. Assigntheappropriateprobefileorextensiontoeachslot. 5. Selecttheslotnumber,andthenclicktheEditSlotDatabutton.TheProbeChanger SlotDatadialogboxappears.See"ToManuallyEditaSlot'sData". 6. FromtheSlotTypelist,specifywhattypeofhardwaretheslotwillhold.Selecteither ProbeAttachedifitwillholdaprobeorExtensionOnlyifyouonlywantittoholdaprobe extension.Iftheslotisempty,youwouldselectUndefined.Onsomeprobechangersyou canselectspecificinsertsfromthislist. 7. DefinetheXYZlocationfortheslot.ClickOKtoacceptyourchanges. 8. EachprobeconfigurationmustbeloadedintotherackusingtheCMMArmandLoad ActiveProbeoption.(Donot inserttheprobeintotherackbyhand.) Note:Extensionsarenotmanufacturedwithinthenecessarytolerancestobeinterchangeable withoutrecalibration.Therefore,ifyouhavealreadyconfiguredaslotforaspecificextension,and youwantthatslottoholdadifferentextension(evenanextensionofthesamesize),youwill needtorecalibratetheslotforthenewextension.

ToManuallyEditaSlot'sData
1. SelecttheappropriateslotfromtheActiveProbeChangerlist. 2. ClicktheEditSlotDatabutton.TheProbeChangerSlotDatadialogboxappears.You canusethisdialogboxtochangeaslot'stypeorXYZlocation.

ProbeChangerSlotDatadialogbox

3. Ifavailable,selectthedesiredtypefromtheSlotTypelist.Thislistbecomesavailable whenusingasupportedprobechanger.Probechangersthatsupportthislistincludethe FCR25(usedwiththeSP25probe),theTESASTARR,andtheAutochange(ACR1).You canusethislisttoconfigureeachslotinoneoftheseways.. Itcanbeopenforamodulechange Itcanhaveaninsertforholdingscanningprobestyli. Itcanhaveaninsertforswitchingprobestyli.

216 SettingYourPreferences

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ItcanholdaProbeExtensionModule(PEM)forquickconnectjoints.

TheitemsintheSlotTypelistdisplaymodelnumbersfortheslotinserts,etc.Forin depthinformationonyourspecificprobechangerandonsettingupandusingslotinserts, consulttheappropriateRenishawdocumentation. 4. Specifythatslot'slocationbytypingtheX,Y,andZvalues(inmillimeters)intotheX,Y, andZboxes. 5. ClickOK.PCDMISclosesthedialogboxandshowstheXYZvaluesforthatslotinthe ProbeChangerdialogbox,andnexttotheslotitshows"changespending". 6. Ifyouwanttorevertaslottoitspreviousvalue,youcanselectthatslot,clicktheEdit SlotData,andthenclicktheRestoreXYZorRestoreTypebuttoninsidetheProbe ChangerSlotDatadialogboxasapplicable.Thesebuttonsareonlyavailablefor selectionifyouhaven'talreadyclickedOKorApplyontheProbeChangerdialogbox. 7. Ifyou'rereadytoacceptyourchanges,clickeithertheOKorApplybuttonontheProbe Changerdialogbox.

ToChangeaDefinedProbeBacktothenoprobeDefault
1. SelecttheappropriateprobechangerfromtheActiveProbeChangerlist. 2. Doubleclickontheslottochange.Alistappears. 3. Select"noprobe"fromtheavailablelist.

ToAddorRemoveSlotsfromtheDialogBox
Withsometypesofprobechangersyoucandefinethenumberofslots. 1. SelecttheappropriateprobechangerfromtheActiveProbeChangerlist. 2. ChangethevalueintheNumberofSlotsbox. 3. ClicktheApplybuttontoimmediatelyseethechanges. IfyourprobechangerdoesnotallowforachangingamountofslotsthentheNumberofSlots boxwillbedisabled.

ToDropoffaProbewithoutPickingupaNewProbe
Youmaywanttodropoffthecurrentprobeintotheprobechangerwithoutpickingupanew probefromthechanger. Todothis: 1. CreateadummyprobefileintheProbeUtilitiesdialogboxforaprobethatdoesn'texist. Nameitsomethinglike"unload".Seethe"DefiningProbes"topicinthe"Defining Hardware"chapter. 2. ClicktheSetupbutton.TheProbeSetupdialogboxappears. 3. SelectthisprobefilefromtheProbeFileUsedwithProbeChangertoForceUnload Onlylist. 4. ClickOKtoclosetheProbeSetupdialogbox. 5. AccesstheSlotstabintheProbeChangerdialogboxandensurethattheprobeisNOT assignedtoanyslotintheprobechanger. 6. ClickOKtoclosetheProbeChangerdialogbox.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

SettingYourPreferences 217

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ManagingMultipleProbeChangers
Thetopicsbelowdiscussthemorepopularprobingsystemsusedtoday(theTP2,ACR1,TP20 andTP200,andtheSP600).The"ConfiguringMultipleRacks"and"SP25Probe/StylusChange system"topicsthenprovidedetailedexamplesofhowtoworkwithmultipleprobechangers.

BackgroundonTP2
WhenRenishawdevelopedthesmalltouchtriggerprobe(TP2),itattachedtotheCMMramviaa probeheadwithathreadedM8connectioninlinewiththeprobebodyitself.However,thisdesign requiredaproberecalibrationwheneveritwasremovedorreattached. Toalleviatethisneedtorecalibrate,Renishawdevelopedaquickconnectadapter(termed QuickConnect)whichusedaturnofakeytolockandunlocktheadapterfromtheCMM.The TP2screwedintothisadapter.Thisadaptercouldbedetachedandreattachedveryquicklyand repeatedlywithoutthenecessityofalwaysrecalibrating.

BackgroundonACR1
TheACR1wasthefirstprobechangerintroducedbyRenishaw.Ithelduptoeightofthequick connectextensions,eachwithaseparateTP2probebody.Oncethecollectionofprobeswere qualifiedandplacedintotherack,theycouldbeautomaticallydroppedoffandpickedupbythe CMMwithsimplemovecommandsandcoordinatedwiththelocking/unlockingmechanismsof therack.Asoftwaremodulewaseventuallydevelopedwhichcontrolledtherackoperations.

BackgroundonTP20andTP200
Overtime,designevolutionandelectronicdevelopmentspavedthewayforalternativestothe TP2probebody.Inaddition,forsomecustomers,purchasinguptoeightprobebodiesproved prohibitive.Newprobebodydesignsweredevelopedwhichallowedforremovalandattachment ofnewstylusadapters.Thesetooktheplaceofthequickconnectjoints.Individualstylus assembliescouldthenberemovedandreattachedrepeatedlyandinexpensively. TwoofthebetterknowprobetypesofthisdesignfromRenishawincludetheTP20andthe TP200.EachisroughlyequivalenttotheTP2insizeandshape,buttherearetwomain differences: Duetotheirenhancedelectronics,theycanholdmoreweightandstillproducemore accurateandrepeatableresults. Theyaredesignedwithamagneticsplitbetweentheupperprobebodyandthelower stylusholder.Thisallowsthemtobeusedwiththeirownstyluschangeracksystems,the MCR20andtheSCR200respectively.

218 SettingYourPreferences

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

BackgroundontheSP600AnalogProbe
AnotherimprovementisthepopularSP600analogprobe.Thisprobecanperformanalogscans aswellastouchtriggermeasurements.WhileitsbodydesignismuchlargerthantheTPseriesof probes,amagneticstylusholdercanseparatefromthebody.Accordingly,italsohasitsownrack system,theSCR600tipchanger.

ConfiguringMultipleRacks
Whilethereareotherprobingsystemsonthemarket,thefourmostpopularprobingsystems,as discussed,aretheTP2,TP20,TP200,andSP600systems.Eachhasitsownracksystemwhich canfunctiononitsownasasinglerack.Alternately,youcanusemorethanonerackwithaCMM, andthePCDMISsoftwarehastheabilitytomovebetweentherackstodropoffandpickup probesandstylusholdersasneeded. ImportantNotes: EachrackhasitsowncalibrationmethodinPCDMIS.Whiletheysharealotof commonality,forcalibrationpurposes,theyarecompletelyindependentofeachother. Theclearancemovepointforeachrackisonlyrelatedtothatrack,exceptthatsome considerationmustbegiventowheretowilltravelnext.Forthisreason,theclearance moveshouldbeatsuchalocationtoallowfreetraveltoanyotherrackwhichmaybe involved.Evenwhenusingasinglerack,thisclearancemovemustbesufficienttotravel fromandreturntothepartinspectionoperations. Definingtheslotscontentsformultipleracksisthemostcriticalpartofconfiguring multipleracksforsimultaneous.Sinceeachslotmaycontainmultipleprobereferences (thecontentsoftheslotcanbeusedwithmultipleprobes)eachslotmustidentifyallof theprobesitwillpotentiallyuse.

ExampleofMultipleProbeReferences
Supposeyouhavethesethreeprobesconfigurations: PROBE_01 QuickConnect AutoJoint TP2 3mmx10mmstylus PROBE_02 QuickConnect AutoJoint TP20 2mmx10mmstylus PROBE_03 QuickConnect AutoJoint TP20 4mmx20mmstylus

TheACR1willswitchbetweentheTP2andtheTP20probes.TheMCR20willswitchbetween thestyliassociatedwiththeTP20probesystem(s). Atypicalslotdefinitionmightlooklikethis: ACR1 MCR20

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

SettingYourPreferences 219

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Slot1 Probe_01

Slot2 Probe_02 Probe_03

Slot1 Probe_02

Slot2 Probe_03

Inoperation,supposethesystemisusingPROBE_01anditneedstoswitchtoPROBE_02.The systemwould: Pausethemeasurementprogram. TraveltotheclearancelocationfortheACR1. Returnthecurrentlyloadedprobetoslot#1oftheACR1. Movetoslot#2oftheACR1andpickuptheTP20bodyforPROBE_02. UsetherespectiveSafety/ClearancepointsandmovetotheMCR20. Moveintoslot#1oftheMCR20toattachthestylusadapterwiththedesiredstylus. ReturntotheMCR20sClearancepoint. Continuewiththemeasurementprogram.

Supposeaftermeasuringsomefeatures,thesystemthenneedstousePROBE_03.Thesystem would: Pausethemeasurementprocess. TraveltotheclearancelocationfortheMCR20. Moveintoslot#1todropoffPROBE_02sstylus. Travelout,over,andintoslot#3topickupthestylusrequiredforPROBE_03. Traveltotheclearancelocation. Continuewiththemeasurementprogram.

Now,supposethesystemneedstoswitchfromPROBE_03(theTP20withthe4mmx20mm stylus)backtoProbe_01(theTP2withthe3mmx10mmstylus).Thesystemwould: Pausethemeasurementprogram. MovetotheclearancepointfortheMCR20. Gointoslot#2anddropoffthestylusassembly. ReturntotheMCR20sclearancelocation MovetotheACR1sclearancelocation. Gointoslot#2todropofftheTP20assembly. Moveoutandreturntoslot#1topickuptheTP2assembly(theTP2probealreadyhas thestylusattached). MovetotheclearancepointfortheACR1. Continuethemeasurementprogram.

Notethatinthisexample,youonlyneedoneTP20probebody.YouusetheMCR20toswitch betweentwodifferentprobestylusassembliesforvariedmeasurementrequirements.

SP25Probe/StylusChangesystem
TheSP25rackisanextensionofthesameproceduresusedinotherracks.Thisdiscussion coverstheARC1andTP20racksandthenbranchesouttodescribetheSP25racksystem.

220 SettingYourPreferences

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

UnderstandingtheARC1Rack
WhenusingtheACR1,thesystemusestheQuickenedjointbetweentheprobeheadandthe probebody.AlloftheslotsintheACR1areidentical,soifyouhadanSP600inslot1,itwould connectdirectlytotheprobehead.IfyouwantedtoputaTP2intoslot2,youwouldneedto mountanadaptertotheTP2(aswithTP20andTP200probingsystems). Withthisconfigurationinmind,youonlyneedtodefineoneprobenameforeachslot.Technically, theACR1isaprobechanger,andeachprobewouldhaveastylusalreadyattachedtoitwhenit sitsintherack. SupposeyouwanttoassigntheseprobestotheARC1rack:"SP600","TP2","TP20",and "TP200".TheslotdefinitionsintheARC1rackwouldbe: SLOT1 SP600 SLOT2 TP2 SLOT3 TP20 SLOT4 TP200

UnderstandingtheARC1withaTP20StylusChanger
Now,ifyouwanttocombinetheACR1withaTP20rack(astyluschanger),thingsgetslightly morecomplicated.TheACR1willswitchbetweentheSP600andtheTP20probebodies.Once thesystempicksuptheTP20,itwillgototheMCR20racktopickupanappropriatestylusforit. Supposeyouhave3separatestylithatyouwantedtousewiththeTP20andthattheSP600is usedasasingleprobe(nostyluschanging). Whenyoudefinetheslots,youmightcalltheSP600probe"SP600_1",andtheTP20probeswith thevariedstyliattached,youmightcall"TP20_1","TP20_2",and"TP20_3". TheslotsintheACR1probechangerwouldbedefinedas: SLOT1 SP600 SLOT2 TP2 SLOT3 TP20_1 SLOT4 TP200

TP20_2 TP20_3 TheslotsintheTP20styluschangerwouldbedefinedas: SLOT1 TP20_1 SLOT2 TP20_2 SLOT3 TP20_3 SLOT4 empty

UnderstandingtheSP25RackSystem
YoucanextendthelogicfromtheabovetopicstotheSP25racksystem.Thisrackcanholdtwo differenttypesofprobecomponents.Foronetypetheslotiscalibratedempty,andfortheother typeaslotiscalibratedwithaninsert. ThisdiscussionwillabandonthepreviousreferencestoSP600,TP2,TP20,andTP200sincethe SP25racksystemusesthesecomponentsinstead:
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual SettingYourPreferences 221

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

q q q

SP25M SM25x SH25x

TheSP25MsystemcanadapttoanyofthreedifferentSM25modulesforvariedstyli th lengths/weights,anda4 moduleforusewiththeTP20.TheyallusethesameSP25Mprobe body. 1. SM251ModuleThismodulecanonlyaccepttheSH251stylusholder,andisusedfor stylilengthsbetween20mmand50mm. 2. SM252ModuleThismodulecanonlyaccepttheSH252stylusholder,andisusedfor stylilengthsbetween50mmand105mm. 3. SM253ModuleThismodulecanonlyaccepttheSH253stylusholder,andisusedfor stylilengthsbetween120mmand200mm.AnyoftheseSM25xmodulesarecapableof touchtriggerprobingaswellasscanning. 4. TM2520ModuleThismodulecanonlyaccepttheTP20stylusholder,andisonlyused fortouchtriggerprobing.

ExampleofSP25withMultipleProbes
SupposeyourSP25rackhasthesesixprobeassembliesthatarealwaysattachedtotheprobe head: P1 SP25M SM251 P2 SP25M SM251 P3 SP25M SM252 P4 SP25M SM253 P5 SP25M TM2520 P6 SP25M TM2520

SH251 SH251 SH252 SH253 TP20 TP20 2mmby20mm 4mmby30mm 6mmby80mm 8mmby 2mmby 4mmby stylus stylus stylus 100mmstylus 20mmstylus 20mmstylus YouwoulddefinetheslotsintheFCR25racktoholdcomponentsmakingupthevariousprobe configurations.Thisfirsttableshowstheslotsthatholdcomponentsfortheaboveprobe configurations. SLOT1 P1 P2 Indetail,theslotswouldholdthesecomponents: SLOT1 SM251 SLOT2 SH251 2mmby20mm stylus SLOT3 SH251 4mmby20 mmstylus SLOT4 SH252 6mmby 80mmstylus SLOT5 SM353 SH253 8mmby100 mmstylus SLOT6 TM2520 TP20* 2mm by 20mm stylus* SLOT2 P1 SLOT3 P2 SLOT4 P3 SLOT5 P4 SLOT6 P5*

222 SettingYourPreferences

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Slot1containstheSM251moduleonly.Itusesnoinsertforthis.Thiscomponentattaches directlytotheSP25andrequirestheadditionoftheSH251withthe2mmstylusfoundinSlot2 ortheSH251withthe4mmstylusfoundinslot3. Slot2containstheSH251stylusholderwithanattached2mmby20mmstylus.Thisrequiresan insertintheslottoadaptthephysicalcharacteristicsoftheslotforthiscomponent.This componentrequiresanSM251module(foundinslot1).OnceitpicksuptheSM251,theprobe assemblyiscomplete. Slot3containstheSH251stylusholderwithanattached4mmby30mmstylus.Thisrequiresan insertintheslottoadaptthephysicalcharacteristicsoftheslotforthiscomponent.This componentrequiresanSM251module(foundinslot1)OnceitpicksuptheSM251,theprobe assemblyiscomplete. Slot4containstheSH252stylusholderandanattached6mmby80mmstylus. Itusesnoinsert forthis.Oncethisispickedup,theprobeassemblyiscomplete. Slot5containstheSM253withtheSH253stylusholderandanattached8mmby100mm stylus. Itusesnoinsertforthis.Oncethisispickedup,theprobeassemblyiscomplete. Slot6containstheTM2520moduleonly.Itusesnoinsertforthis.Thiscomponentattaches directlytotheSP25M. *Whenusedwithasinglestylus,theTP20probemoduleandstyluscanbeattachedto theTM2520modulewhileintheslot,andrequiresnoadditionalracksystem.Butwhen usedwithmultiplestyli(asinthisexample),theTM2520modulehasnoother componentsattachedwhileitsitsintheslot,butrequirestheuseofadditionalFCR25slots withadaptersspecificallyforthepurposeofholdingtheTP20module/styluscombinations. Forthisexample,theadded3portswouldlooklikethis: SLOT7 P5 SLOT8 P6 SLOT9 empty

SLOT7 TP20 2mmby20mm stylus

SLOT8 TP20 4mmby20mm stylus

SLOT9 empty

WhenusingP1,theCMMwoulddropoffanyexistingcomponents.Thenitwouldpickupthe SM251foundinslot1oftheFCR25andproceedtopickuptheSH251foundinslot2ofthe samerack. WhenusingP2,theCMMwoulddropoffanyexistingcomponents.Thenitwouldpickupthe SM251foundinslot1oftheFCR25andproceedtopickuptheSH251foundinslot3ofthe samerack. WhenusingP3,theCMMwoulddropoffanyexistingcomponents.Thenitwouldpickupthe SM252andSH252combinationfoundinslot4.Withthis,theprobeassemblyiscomplete.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

SettingYourPreferences 223

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

WhenusingP4,theCMMwoulddropoffanyexistingcomponents.Thenitwouldpickupthe SM253andSH253combinationfoundinslot5.Withthis,theprobeassemblyiscomplete. WhenusingP5,theCMMwoulddropoffanyexistingcomponents.Itwouldthenpickupthe TM2520bodyinslot6oftheFCR25andproceedtopickuptheTP20module/styluscombination inslot7oftheFCR25. WhenusingP6,theCMMwoulddropoffanyexistingcomponents.Itwouldthenpickupthe TM2520bodyinslot6oftheFCR25andproceedtopickuptheTP20module/styluscombination inslot8oftheFCR25. Aswithothertoolchangersandprobeassemblies,componentsaredroppedoffinreverseorder fromhowtheyarepickedup.

LoadingtheActiveProbe
TheEdit|Preferences|LoadActiveProbemenuoptionloadstheactiveproberequiredbythe partprogram.WhileinLearnmode,usetheProbeUtilitydialogbox(Insert|Hardware Definition|Probe)tochangetheloadedprobefile(s).TheProbeChangerSetupdialogbox (Edit|Preferences|ProbeChanger)allowsyoutodefinetheappropriateprobeconfigurations foreachslotthatwillbeused.TheLoadActiveProbeoptioncanthenbeusedtotellthe machinetoexchangethenecessaryprobeconfiguration(s).

SettingUptheMachineInterface
Thisoptionisonlyavailable TheEdit|Preferences|MachineInterfaceSetupmenuoption whenworkinginOnline invokestheMachineOptionsdialogboxforthespecificmachine mode. interfacebeingused.Whilethecontentoftheinterfacetabsonthe dialogboxcanvarygreatlyfromoneinterfacetothenext,thetabs usuallycontaininformationdiscussingthesetupofthefollowing: Machineandprobeheadcommunication Mechanicaloffsets Axesorientation Debuginformation

TheMachineInterfaceSetupoptionisonlyavailablewhenworkingonline. Caution:Inmostcasesyoushouldn'tchangeanyofthevaluesinthisdialogbox.Someitemsin thisdialogbox,suchastheMechanicalOffsetsarea,permanentlyoverwritevaluesstoredfor yourmachineonthecontroller'sharddrive.ForquestionsonhowandwhentousetheMachine Optionsdialogbox,youshouldcontactyourlocalservicerepresentative: TheparametersfoundintheMachineOptionsdialogboxarediscussedforthefollowing machineinterfaces: Axila Backtalk(B&S)* LKDriver LKRS232 Reflex Renishaw

224 SettingYourPreferences

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Bright Dea Elm Embboard(B&S)* Faro Federal GOM Johansson Leica

Manmiti Manmora Metrocom/Metromec Metrolog Mitutoyo Mora MZeizz Numerex Omnitech

Romer Sharpe Sheffield Tech80 Theodole Wenzel Zeiss ZssGPIB

Leitz *B&S=Brown&Sharpe Formorecompleteinformationonhowtoinstall/setupthevariousinterfaces,refertoyour installationdocumentation(Machine_Interface_Installation_Manual.doc).

AssigningtheMachineAxes

MachineOptionsdialogboxAxistab TheAxistabcontainslistsfortheX,Y,andZaxes.Selectfromthesedropdownlists,thenative machineaxesthatwillbeassignedtothePCDMISaxes.WARNING:theaxisdirectionsyou defineMUSTformarighthandedcoordinatesystem. Caution:ChangingthedefaultsontheAxistabcaninvalidatethemachine'svolumetric compensation(dependingonthetypeofcontrollerandthevolumetriccompensationused)

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

SettingYourPreferences 225

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

GeneratingaDebugFile
PCDMIShastheabilitytogenerateaspecialtextfilethatcontainsallthecommunicationthat takesplacebetweenPCDMISandtheCMMduringpartprogramexecution.Thisfileiscalledthe debugfileandisusedbytechnicalsupporttoresolvecertainproblemsinvolvingtheCMM. ThedebugfilelistsallthecommandsPCDMISsendstotheCMM,responsesreceived,anderror messagesgeneratedbythecontroller. IfyouencounterrepeatableproblemsthatinvolvethemovementofyourCMMinonlinemode, youcangenerateadebugfilebyfollowingthisprocedure: 1. FromtheMachineOptionsdialogbox(Edit|Preferences|MachineInterfaceSetup), selecttheDebugtab.

MachineOptionsdialogboxDebugtab 2. SelecttheLogcheckbox. 3. ChooseanameforthedebugfilenameintheboxnexttotheLogcheckbox.The defaultfilenameisdebug.txt.Ifdesired,youcanalsoprecedethefilenamewithafull pathwaytospecifythedriveanddirectorywherePCDMISshouldsendthedebugfile.By defaultPCDMISwritesthedebugfiletothedirectorywhereyouinstalledPCDMIS. 4. ClickApplyandthenOK.Thedialogboxcloses. 5. Executeyourpartprogramandwhenyouencountertheerror,immediatelyexitPCDMIS.

226 SettingYourPreferences

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

6. Navigatetothedirectorycontainingyourdebugfileandrenamethedebugfile.Ifyou don'trenamethedebugfile,thenexttimeyoustartPCDMISitwillautomatically overwriteallexistingdatastoredinthedebugfile. Youshouldthensendthedebugfile,thepartprogramfile(.prg),theprobefile(.prb),alongwith anyotherneededfilestoyourtechnicalsupportrepresentative.

StartingaFreshDebugFile
Tostartafreshdebugfileandclearoutallexistingdata,selecttheResetLogatStartof ExecutioncheckboxfromtheDebugtab.PCDMISwillthenreplacethecontentsoftheexisting debugfileeachtimeitbeginspartprogramexecution. IfyoudeselectResetLogatStartofExecution,PCDMISappendstotheexistinglogfile insteadoferasingitscontents.

SettingAdditionalDebugOptions
Youcancontrolwhattypeofdebuginformationisloggedandwhereitissent. ClicktheWindowcheckboxandprovideanameforthewindowintheboxtotheright. Debuginformationwillbedisplayedinthatwindowforreview. SpecifyNone,Both,LogorWindownexttoPositionReportstologpositionreports fromPCDMIS. SpecifyNone,Both,LogorWindownexttoFromMachinetologdebuginformation thatissentfromyourmachinetoyourcomputer.Notallinterfacessupportthisoption. SpecifyNone,Both,LogorWindownexttoFromCPUtologdebuginformationthatis sentfromyourcomputertoyourmachine.Notallinterfacessupportthisoption.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

SettingYourPreferences 227

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

OITCommunication

MachineOptionsdialogboxOittab TheOittaballowsyoutoconfiguretheserialconnectionthatconnectstoyourOITdevice.You canchooseyourcommunicationsport(COMport)andmodifyyourCOMportsettings.For informationonyourCOMportsettings,checkthedocumentationthatcamewithyourcontroller. TheavailableOITtypesareTESA,VORNE,orGE.

PH9Communication

MachineOptionsdialogboxPH9tab

228 SettingYourPreferences

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ThePH9taballowsyoutoconfiguretheserialconnectionthatconnectstoyourPH9device.You canchooseyourcommunicationsport(COMport)andmodifyyourCOMportsettings.For informationonyourCOMportsettings,checkthedocumentationthatcamewithyourcontroller.

RotaryTableSettings

MachineOptionsdialogboxRotarytab TheRotarytaballowsyoutoconfigurerotarytableoptionsforyourinterface. AccelerationThisisthemaximumaccelerationfortherotarytable.Normallythisvalueis readfromthecontrollerconfiguration. VelocityThisisthemaximumspeedfortherotarytable.Normallythisvalueisreadfrom thecontroller. ResolutionThisspecifiesthescalefactorfortherotarytable. OffsetThehomepositionforyourrotarytablemaynotbeatthezeroposition.Ifyouwant thetabletogotothetruezeropositionafterhomingthenthisvalueistheanglethatyou wantthetabletorotatetoafterhoming.ThesecondboxnexttoOffsetisforasecond rotarytable. Min.deltaThisistheminimumdifferencebetweenthecurrenttablepositionandnewly requestedtableposition.Ifthedifferenceisbelowthisamountthetablerotationrequest willbeignored. TableSelectthisoptionifyourmachinehasarotarytable. DualTableSelectthisoptionifyourmachinehasdualrotarytables. Note:Remember,theportlockmustbeprogrammedforrotarytable.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

SettingYourPreferences 229

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

SettingtheCommunicationProtocol

MachineOptionsdialogboxControllertab TheCommorControllertaballowsyoutoconfiguretheserialconnectionthatconnectstoyour Interface'scontroller.Youcanchooseyourcommunicationsport(COMport)andmodifyyour COMportsettings.ForinformationonyourCOMportsettings,checkthedocumentationthat camewithyourcontroller.

SettingtheAxesScaleFactor

MachineOptionsdialogboxResolutiontab TheResolutiontaballowsyoutospecifythescalefactorfortheeachaxisofyourmachine.The scalefactorisusedfortworeasons: Somecontrollersdonotreturnscalesasrealnumbers(e.g.637.24319876)butaswhole numbers(e.g.63724319876).Inthiscase,thewholenumberreturnedfromthecontroller wouldneedtobedividedbyscalefactorof1,000,000.0togetthecorrectrealnumber.

230 SettingYourPreferences

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Thesevaluesmayalsobeusedtoperformasvolumetriccompensationforyourmachine. Forexample,ifyouhaveasmalllinearerroryouwoulduseascalefactorof9,998 insteadof10,000.

Caution:Thesevaluesshouldonlybechangedbyatrainedtechnician.Alteringthesevalues maygiveanundesiredresult.

WristConfiguration

MachineOptionsdialogboxWristtab TheWristtaballowsyoutospecifythescalefactorfortheA&Baxesofyourwristdeviceinthe A&BResolutionboxesrespectively.Thescalefactorisusedtoconvertvaluesfromyourwrist devicetoconsistentvalueinPCDMIS. TheAandBOffsetvaluesareusedtosquareupthehomepositionofyourcontinuousmotion wrist. TheMaxSpeedboxprovidesthemaximumallowablespeed(percent)formovementofyour continuousmotionwrist. Caution:Thesevaluesshouldonlybechangedbyatrainedtechnician.Alteringthesevalues maygiveanundesiredresult.

AxilaInterface
TheAxilainterfaceisusedwithanAxilaarmmachine.PCDMISsoftwareshouldbeinstalledfirst, beforeproceedingwithinstallingdriverandarmspecificdatadeliveredwithyourmachine.The

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

SettingYourPreferences 231

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

GDSdriverforyourAxilamachineisprotectedbyanHASPdonglethatyoumustattachtoyour computer.TheGTech/ROMERCDROMprovidesutilitiesforusewithyourmachine. BeforestartingPCDMIS,renametheaxila.dlltointerfac.dll. TheMachineOptiondialogboxhastwotabsfortheAxilainterface: Debugtab Seethe"GeneratingaDebugFile"topic. GDSSetuptab Thistabprovidesabutton(StartSetup)thatinitiatesthesetupsoftwarethatyouinstalledwith yourAxilainterface. Note:TheGDSdocumentfortheAxilainterfaceisavailablefromtheWilcoxFTPsite: ftp://ftp.wilcoxassoc.com/docs/E121GdsmanualUK.pdf AxilaPulledHitFeature TheAxilainterfacesupportspulledhits.See"UsingPulledHits"intheWorkingwithPortable Devicesappendix.

BacktalkInterface
TheBacktalkinterfaceisusedwithBrown&SharpemanualmachineswithaMan3(External SerialInterface).Ifyourmachinehasalightpen,youwillneedtoalterthecontrollersettings undertheMM2ControlintheSettingsEditor.Forinformationonmodifyingregistryentries, pleaseviewthe"ModifyingRegistryEntries"appendix. AmonitorneedstobehookedtoyourcontrollertoconfigureyourBacktalkcontroller.Before startingPCDMIS,renamethebacktalk.dlltointerfac.dll. Note:IfthecustomerhasaMan3boxandisusingtheZrailmouse,alightpenisneededto disabletheZrailmouse. TheMachineOptiondialogboxhasfourtabsfortheBacktalkinterface: Controllertab Seethe"SettingtheCommunicationProtocol"topic.DefaultvalueisCommPort1,4800Baud, Evenparity,7databits,and1stopbit. Axistab Seethe"AssigningtheMachineAxes"topic. Resolutiontab Seethe"SettingtheAxesScaleFactor"topic.DefaultisX=1.0,Y=1.0,Z=1.0. Debugtab Seethe"GeneratingaDebugFile"topic.

232 SettingYourPreferences

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Note:AdditionalinformationforthisinterfaceisprovidedintheMachineInterfaceInstallation Manual(MIIM).

BrightInterface
TheBrightinterfaceisusedwithMitutoyoEuroC(Bright)machines.Thisinterface communicatestothecontrollerthroughaproprietarycarddevelopedbyMitutoyo.Ifthis installationisusinganewPC,thenthecardmustberemovedfromtheoriginalmachineandput inthenewone.IfthecustomerneedstobeabletostillusetheiroldsoftwaretogetherwithPC DMIS,theybothmustbeinstalledonthesamemachine. BeforestartingPCDMIS,renamethebright.dlltointerfac.dll. TheMachineOptiondialogboxhastwotabsfortheBrightinterface: Axistab Seethe"AssigningtheMachineAxes"topic. Debugtab Seethe"GeneratingaDebugFile"topic. Note:AdditionalinformationforthisinterfaceisprovidedintheMachineInterfaceInstallation Manual(MIIM).

LeicaInterface
TheLeicainterfaceisusedwithLeicaLaserTrackers.TheLeicainterfacerequirestheuseofthe emSconTrackerserverinterface(2.4orabove). ThereareLaserTrackerslikeLTD300/500whichdonothaveanintegratedemSconserverinthe Trackercontroller.TheycanbeupgradedwithanexternalTrackerserverinordertousePC DMIS. BeforestartingPCDMIS,theleica.dlltomustberenamedtointerfac.dllinthePCDMISinstall directory.ThisshouldhappenautomaticallywhenyouinstallPCDMISonacomputerwiththe portlockprogrammedwiththeLeicainterfaceoption. TheMachineOptiondialogboxhasfourtabsfortheLeicainterface: Optionstab Seethe"LeicaOptionstab"topic. Resettab Seethe"LeicaResettab"topic. ADMtab Seethe"LeicaADMtab"topic. SensorConfiguration

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

SettingYourPreferences 233

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Seethe"LeicaSensorConfiguration"topic. EnvironmentalParameters Seethe"LeicaEnvironmentalParameters"topic. SystemInformation DisplaysinformationforyourLeicasystem.Includedvaluesare:IPAddress,TrackerTypewith Serial#,ControllerType,TCAMTypeandSerial#,emSconversion,TPFirmwareversion, Bootdriverversion,andNivelTypeandSerial#. Debugtab Seethe"GeneratingaDebugFile"topic. Note:AdditionalinformationforthisinterfaceisprovidedintheMachineInterfaceInstallation Manual(MIIM).AlsoreviewthedocumentationthatcamewithyouLeicaTracker.

LeicaOptionstab

MachineOptionsdialogboxOptionstab TheOptionstabprovidesthemeanstoexecutevariousTCU(TrackerControlUnit)Optionsand configurecommunicationandotherparameters. TCUOptionsThisareaallowsyoutoexecutethefollowingoptions:

234 SettingYourPreferences

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

GoBirdbathResetstheLeicaTrackerpositionbypointingtotheBirdbathposition. Thisprovidesaknownandconvenientlocationatwhichyoucanrecapturethebeam. ThismaybenecessaryifthebeamtotheTProbeorReflectorhasbeenbroken. InitializePCDMISwillsendinformationtotheLeicaTrackerthatwillcauseittogo throughaprocessthatissimilartoawarmbootofacomputer.Thetrackergoes throughaseriesofmovementstoverifyfunctionality. LeveltoGravityStarttheprocesstodeterminetruegravityusingtheNiveldevice. PCDMISwillmakeadjustmentstotheleveledLeicaTrackerinrelationtothistrue gravitylevel. MotorsOffThiswillreleasethetrackermotorsoyoucanmanuallyadjustthe trackerheadtothedesiredposition.

ResetNivelSimilartoLeveltoGravity,butPCDMISwillusethecurrentlevelpositionforthe Nivel.ResettingtheNivelisnecessarywhenthelevelisoutoftolerancebasedonthevalues foundinthe"LevelToGravity"tab. ZeroPos(6DoF)Thisfunctionissimilarto"GoBirdbath",butmovestoazero positionfortheTProbe.Thisprovidesaknownandconvenientlocationatwhich youcanrecapturethebeam.

IPAddressSpecifytheIPaddressofyourLaserTrackerdevice(default192.168.0.1). UpdateIntervalHowfrequentlyreadoutswillbeupdated(default300milliseconds). VectorIntervalNotcurrentlyused VectorDistanceThisdefinesthedistancethatyouneedtomovetheTProbefromhit locationwhileholdingthebuttontoregisteraPulledHit.APulledHitwillchangethe vectortothatofthevectordefinedbythelinebetweenwhenyoufirstdepressthehit buttontothelocationwhereyoureleasethehitbutton. VectorOptionChooseoneofthesevectoroptions: UseVectorDistanceAllowsyoutoestablishthevectorusinga"PulledHit". UseLastIJKUsestheresameIJKvectorvaluesofthelastmeasuredpoint. Novector Whenthisoptionisselected,youareabletoproducescandatawhenyou pressandholdabuttonontheTProbe.

MeasurementTimeThisisthetimeinmillisecondsthatemSconwillcontinuouslytakehits untilthespecifiedamountoftimehaselapsed.Theaveragevalueofallthehitstakenis returned.Ifthisvalueissettoanythinglessthan500,thelastprobevalueistakenasthe measurement.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

SettingYourPreferences 235

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

LeicaResettab

MachineOptionsdialogboxResettab HomebuttonLeicaTrackerlaserwillGoBirdbathor6DoF(forTProbe).Itwillmovetothe positionbasedontheconfiguredinterface. MachineorPartcoord.optionSelectMachineifyouareusingMachineCoordinates,or Parcoord.ifyouareusingpartcoordinates. ResetbuttonThisissimilartotheAimbutton,butisusedformachineswithoutADM.Click Resettoupdatetheselectedpointwithdatafromthenewpointposition. AimbuttonSelectapointfromtheResetPointlistandclicktheAimtomovethelaserto thespecifiedpoint. AddbuttonClickthebuttontoopenthePointdialogbox.ProvideaTitleandtheXYZ valuesandclickCreate.ThenewpointisaddedtotheResetPointlistabove.For example,youmighthaveattachedreflectorstopositionsonacardoor.Youcouldthen namethesepositionsDoor1,Door2,Door3,etc. DeletebuttonSelectapointfromtheResetPointlistandclickDelete.Theselectedpoint isdeleted. UseDefaultResetSelectthisoptiontousetheDefaultReset.Ifthebeamisbroken,the trackerwillgobacktothespecifiedstartposition. SetDefaultResetSelectapointfromtheResetPointlist,andclicktheSetDefaultReset button.ThisisnowtheDefaultReset.

236 SettingYourPreferences

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

AimLaserToNextPointItwillautomaticallymovetothefirstpointofthenextfeaturein DCC. OptionButtonsNotcurrentlyused SafetyPositionNotcurrentlyused GoBirdbathNotcurrentlyused KeepLastPositionNotcurrentlyused GoPointNotcurrentlyused

LeicaADMtab

MachineOptionsdialogboxADMtab ADM(AbsoluteDistanceMeasurement)isusedifanabsolutedistancemeterisavailableand 'Keeplastpositionisenabled'.Thesystemreestablishesthedistanceautomaticallyassoonasa reflectorcanbetracked. Controlbuttons(Left,Up,Right,Down)Clickingthecontrolbuttonswillmovethelaserin therespectivedirection.Clickacontrolbuttononceandthetrackerslowlybeginsto moveuntilyouclickStop.Eachsuccessiveclickwillcausethetrackertomovemore quicklyinthatdirection.Theblackboxinthemiddleofthesebuttonswillflashwitha greenindicatorwhentheTProbeorreflectorisconsideredtobesettled. MoveDistanceThisvalueprovidestheapproximatedistanceatwhichthelaserwillsearch fortheTProbeorreflectorwhenyouclickSearch. SearchDiameterProvidesthediameterforthesearchareaattheapproximateMove DistancewhenyouclickSearch. SearchClickingthisbuttonexecutesthesearchfunctionbasedupontheMoveDistance andSearchDiameter.ThisisonlyavailableforwhenusingDCCmeasuremode.Search allowsthelasertofindthepositionofyouTProbeorreflectorbymovinginaspiral motionuntilthelaserisreturnedtothetrackerfromthemiddleofthereflector. ReleaseMotorbuttonReleasestheLeicaTrackermotorssoyoucanmanuallymovethe trackerheadtothedesiredposition.
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual SettingYourPreferences 237

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TakeHitbutton Willmeasureastationaryhit(sameasCtrlh)atthecurrentlocationofthe TProbeofreflector.

LeicaSensorConfiguration

MachineOptionsdialogboxSensorConfigurationtab AbsoluteDistanceMeter(ADM) TargetStabilityToleranceThistolerancedeterminestheamountoftarget movementthatisconsideredtonotbestableor"settled". TimeFrameForRetryThisspecifiesthedelayoftimethatPCDMISwillwaitupon anunsuccessfultargetsearchfunction. NumberofRetriesIfatargetisnotfoundinthespecifiednumberofretriesthenthe processisaborted.

SearchSettingsIfanyofthesesearchcriteriaarenotmetthenthesearchprocessis aborted. SpiralSearchDiameterDiameterinwhichtosearchforthetarget. AbortCriteriaTimeinwhichthetargetshouldbefound. DistancetoPointDistanceatwhichtosearchforthetarget.

238 SettingYourPreferences

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

GoBirdbathTheLeicaTrackerwillrotatetotheBirdbathpositionintheClockwiseor CounterClockwisedirectionfromitscurrentposition.

LeicaEnvironmentalParameterstab

MachineOptionsdialogboxEnvironmentalParameterstab AtmosphericConditions UseTemperatureStationThisdetermineswhetherornottheLeicaMeteoStation isused.YoumayusethisoptionifyouhaveconnectedtheMeteostation. AirTemperatureAllowsyouspecifythecurrenttemperatureoftheworking environmentineitherFahrenheit(F)orCelsius(C). PressureAllowsyouspecifytheairpressureofyourworkingenvironmentinterms ofmBar,HPascal,MmHg,orInHg. HumidityAllowsyouspecifythepercentageofhumidityofyourworking environment.

RefractionIndex IFMDisplaystheInterferometerMeasurementvalue. ADMDisplaystheAbsoluteDistanceMeasurementvalue.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

SettingYourPreferences 239

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

LeicaLevelToGravitytab

MachineOptionsdialogboxLevelToGravitytab CurrentValueDisplaysthecurrentXtiltandYtiltlevelvaluesfortheNivel. DifferenceDisplaysthedifferenceindegreesofthecurrentXtiltandYtiltvaluesfromthe originalLeveltoGravityvalue. ToleranceSpecifiestheangleindegreesthattheNivellevelcanchangeandstillbeconsidered intolerance.Otherwise,youwillneedtousetheResetNiveloptiononthe"Optionstab".

DeaInterface
TheDeainterfaceisusedwithDEAGAMMAandnewerDEAmachines(withTutorP&B3P Seriescontrollers),ManualMistralmachines(withMInsideCardcontroller)andSwiftManual machines(with"WhiteBox"(AKACPM3)controllers). IfyourPChasTutorforWindowsalreadyinstalled,PCDMISwilllocatetheWTUTOR.INIfileand extracttherelevantinformationregardinglocationofthecompensationmap,mechanicaloffsets, etc.andsetthecorrespondingoptionsintheregistry.Ifyouareinstallingonacomputerthatdoes nothaveTutorinstalledthenyouwillneedtomaketherelevantchangestotheregistry. BeforestartingPCDMIS,renamethedea.dlltointerfac.dll. TheMachineOptiondialogboxhasseventabsfortheDeainterface: Deatab

240 SettingYourPreferences

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Seethe"UsingtheDeatab"topic. Controllertab Seethe"SettingtheCommunicationProtocol"topic.DefaultvalueisCommPort1,9600Baud, Evenparity,8databits,and1stopbit. PH9tab Seethe"PH9Communication"topic.DefaultvalueisCommPort2,4800Baud,Noparity,8data bits,and1stopbit. Wristtab Seethe""WristConfigurationtopic.Defaultvaluesare:AResolution=3600,BResolution=3600, AOffset0.0,BOffset0.0,andMaxSpeed=100. Axistab Seethe"AssigningtheMachineAxes"topic. Resolutiontab Seethe"SettingtheAxesScaleFactor"topic.DefaultisX=10000.0,Y=10000.0,Z=10000.0. Debugtab Seethe"GeneratingaDebugFile"topic. Note:AdditionalinformationforthisinterfaceisprovidedintheMachineInterfaceInstallation Manual(MIIM).

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

SettingYourPreferences 241

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

UsingtheDeatab

MachineOptionsdialogboxDeatab TheDeataballowsyoutoconfigurethefollowingsettingsthatarespecifictotheDEAinterface: BufferSizeThenumberofmovesthatcanbesenttothecontrollerbufferatonetime. Somemachineswillgiveerrorsifwesendtoomanymovesinadvancesoreducingthis willhelp.Decreasingthisvaluewillhoweverreducethesystemperformance,iffor examplewesetitto1thenwewillonlysendthenextmovecommandwhenthemachine hasfinishedthepreviousone,thiswillcausethemachinetopausebetweenmovesas eachcommandissent. XYZMechanicalOffsetThesevaluesallowyoutoestablishthemechanicaloffsetforyour machine.Thisshouldonlybeadjustedbyatrainedtechnician. ButtonAssignmentsYoucanspecifytohavetheRecordbuttoneitherErasetheLastHit oractastheend/donekey. PollControllerCommport Whenthischeckboxisenabled,PCDMISwillperiodicallypoll theserialporttopreventlossofcommunication.Onlyselectthisoptionifyoususpect communicationproblems. DisengageDrivesThischeckboxshouldbeselectedforDCCmachineswhichhavedrives thatcanbedisengagedthataregoingtobeusedmanually. CompensationTypeSelectfromthefollowingVolcompmethods:NONE,DEAStandard, DEADLL(wcompens32),ASI,orBrown&Sharpe.

242 SettingYourPreferences

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

CompensationModeSelectfromthefollowingcompensationmodes:StandardMachine, DualDrive,HorizontalArm(Arm1),orHorizontalArm(Arm2). UseDEAStructuralThermalCompensationOCXSelectthisoptiontouseDEA StructuralThermalCompensationOCX. OCXPathSpecifiesthepathfortheDEAStructuralThermalCompensationOCXfile. MachineTypeSpecifythetypeofmachine:ArmorRobot Caution:Thesevaluesshouldonlybechangedbyatrainedtechnician.Alteringthesevalues maygiveanundesiredresult.

ElmInterface
TheElminterfaceisusedwithanElmorStarrettinterfacemachines.Thisinterface communicateswithaboardinthePCmanufacturedbyAPI(AutomatedPrecision,Inc).Alldirect communicationtothecontrollerisperformedthroughthisboard.ThePCDMISinterfac.dll communicateswiththeAPIdll(dccsim32.dll)thatmustbeinthePCDMISdirectory. Theelmsetup.exesetupprogramcanconfigurethemachineparametersthatPCDMISuses. ThisfileislocatedontheWilcoxftpsiteinelmsetup.zipfilethatalsocontainsthedataand resourcefilesrequiredbythesetuputility. BeforestartingPCDMIS,renametheelm.dlltointerfac.dll. Note:OnStarrettmachinestheAPI.INIfilecanbeusedforconfiguration.Justaddaqualifiedfile nametotheINIentryINI_Filename. TheMachineOptiondialogboxhastwotabsfortheElminterface: Axistab Seethe"AssigningtheMachineAxes"topic. Debugtab Seethe"GeneratingaDebugFile"topic. Note:AdditionalinformationforthisinterfaceisprovidedintheMachineInterfaceInstallation Manual(MIIM).

EmbboardInterface
TheEmbboardinterfaceisusedwithBrown&Sharpemanualmachineswithaninternal embeddedcontrollercard.ThisisafulllengthcardlocatedinyourPCwiththeaddresssetto 300h.Youmustensurethatthisaddressisnotusedbyanotherboardinthesystem(some networkcardsusethisaddress). BeforestartingPCDMIS,renametheembboard.dlltointerfac.dll. TheMachineOptiondialogboxhasthreetabsfortheEmbboardinterface:
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual SettingYourPreferences 243

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Axistab Seethe"AssigningtheMachineAxes"topic. Resolutiontab Seethe"SettingtheAxesScaleFactor"topic.DefaultisX=1.0,Y=1.0,Z=1.0. Debugtab Seethe"GeneratingaDebugFile"topic. Note:AdditionalinformationforthisinterfaceisprovidedintheMachineInterfaceInstallation Manual(MIIM).

FaroInterface
TheFaro interfaceisusedwithaFaroarmmachine.SoftwareforyourFaroarmisavailableon Wilcox'sFTPserver(ftp://ftp.wilcoxassoc.com/3rdParty/Faro/). BeforestartingPCDMIS,renamethefaro.dlltointerfac.dll. TheMachineOptiondialogboxhasfivetabsfortheFarointerface: Commtab Seethe"SettingtheCommunicationProtocol"topic.DefaultvalueisCommPort1,38400Baud, Noparity,7databits,and1stopbit. Axistab Seethe"AssigningtheMachineAxes"topic. Debugtab Seethe"GeneratingaDebugFile"topic. MachineasMousetab Seethe"MachineasMouseSettings"topic. Toolstab ThistabprovidesaDiagnosticsbuttonandHardwareConfig.button.Thesebuttonslaunch ProgramsfromFarototestandconfigureyourFaroArm. Note:AdditionalinformationforthisinterfaceisprovidedintheMachineInterfaceInstallation Manual(MIIM). FaroPulledHitFeature TheFarointerfacesupportspulledhits.See"UsingPulledHits"intheWorkingwithPortable Devicesappendix.

244 SettingYourPreferences

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MachineasMouseSettings

MachineOptionsdialogboxMachineasMousetab TheMachineasMousetaballowsyouconfigurethecapabilitiesoftheFaroarmmovementand buttonclickstocontrolthepointermovementandmousebuttonclicks. BackButtonYoucansettheBackbuttonoftheFaroarmto:CentersCursor(movesthe mousepointerthecenterofthescreen),Asrightmousebutton,orAscentermouse button. MachineasMouseStatusSelectwhetherMachineasMousemodeisOnorOff. TrackingSpeedControlshowquicklythemousemovesrelativetotheFaroarmmovement. EnablingandDisablingMouseMode Toenablemousemode,pressthefrontandbackbuttontogether. Todisablemousemode,whenPCDMISscreenismaximized(notethatthewindow MUSTbemaximized),movethemousecursortotheverytopofthetitlebar(whichis alsotheverytopofthescreenbecausePCDMISismaximized),thenclickthebutton thatsimulatesleftmousebutton.

FederalInterface
TheFederalinterfaceisusedwithFederal/Renaultmachines.Thisinterfacejustrequiresasingle RS232commport. BeforestartingPCDMIS,renamethefederal.dlltointerfac.dll.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

SettingYourPreferences 245

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TheMachineOptiondialogboxhasthreetabsfortheFederalinterface: Commtab Seethe"SettingtheCommunicationProtocol"topic.DefaultvalueisCommPort1,9600Baud, Evenparity,8databits,and1stopbit. Axistab Seethe"AssigningtheMachineAxes"topic. Debugtab Seethe"GeneratingaDebugFile"topic. Note:AdditionalinformationforthisinterfaceisprovidedintheMachineInterfaceInstallation Manual(MIIM).

GOMInterface
TheGOMinterfaceisusedwiththeCTR,GOM,andKryptonmachines.Thisinterfaceworksvia aserialport.Agenericparsercanbeusedtoadapttheinterfacetoworkwithothermanual machineswheretheformatofdatabeingreceivedisknown.Traconsa,Layout,andManual Mitutoyomachinescanbeusedinthismannerwithadditionalregistryvalues(seetheMIIM). BeforestartingPCDMIS,renametheGOM.dlltointerfac.dll. TheMachineOptiondialogboxhasthreetabsfortheGOMinterface: Controllertab Seethe"SettingtheCommunicationProtocol"topic.DefaultvalueisCommPort1,9600Baud, Noparity,8databits,and1stopbit. Axistab Seethe"AssigningtheMachineAxes"topic. Debugtab Seethe"GeneratingaDebugFile"topic. Note:AdditionalinformationforthisinterfaceisprovidedintheMachineInterfaceInstallation Manual(MIIM).

JohanssonInterface
TheJohanssoninterfaceisusedwithJohanssonmachines.ThisinterfacerequiresProto softwarethatisinstalledaspartoftheJoWininstallation.WhenPCDMISstartsitwillalsostart theProtosoftwareandterminateProtowhenyouexitPCDMIS.Protodetectsthecommunication settingtocommunicatewiththecontroller. BeforestartingPCDMIS,renamethejohansson.dlltointerfac.dll. TheMachineOptiondialogboxhastwotabsfortheJohanssoninterface:

246 SettingYourPreferences

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Axistab Seethe"AssigningtheMachineAxes"topic. Debugtab Seethe"GeneratingaDebugFile"topic. Note:AdditionalinformationforthisinterfaceisprovidedintheMachineInterfaceInstallation Manual(MIIM).

LeitzInterface
TheLeitzinterfaceisintendedforuseonanyofthecontrollersthatutilizetheLeitzprotocol.This includesBrown&Sharpecontrollers(suchastheSharpe32ZinLeitzmode)aswellasactual LeitzmachinesandalsotheBrown&SharpeCommonFirmwarecontrollers.Nomachine parameterfileisneededfromtheoriginalsystemtorunthisinterface. SomeofthenewercontrollersallowtheuseofTCP/IPcommunicationsasanalternativetoa serialport.Thisinterfacesupportseithermethod.Examinationand/ormodificationofthe controllercommunicationsconfigurationisgenerallyperformedusingtheserviceutilitiesforthe machine.PCDMISshouldthenbeconfiguredtomatchhowthecontrollerisconfigured. BeforestartingPCDMIS,renametheleitz.dlltointerfac.dll. TheMachineOptiondialogboxhaseighttabsfortheLeitzinterface: LeitzProtocolSetuptab Seethe"LeitzProtocolSetuptab"topic. Controllertab Seethe"SettingtheCommunicationProtocol"topic.DefaultvalueisCommPort1,9600Baud, Noparity,8databits,and1stopbit. Wristtab Seethe"WristConfiguration"topic.Defaultvaluesare:AResolution=3600,BResolution=3600, AOffset=0.0,BOffset=0.0,andMaxSpeed=100. Rotarytab Seethe"RotaryTableSettings"topic.Defaultvaluesare:Acceleration=0.0,Velocity=20, Resolution=N/A,Offset=0.0,Mindelta=0.5,Table=Unchecked,andDualtable=N/A. Oittab Seethe"OITCommunication"topic.DefaultvalueisCommPort0,9600Baud,Noparity,8data bits,and1stopbit. Axistab Seethe"SettingtheAxesScaleFactor"topic. Paramstab Seethe"LeitzParamstab"topic.
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual SettingYourPreferences 247

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Debugtab Seethe"GeneratingaDebugFile"topic. Note:AdditionalinformationforthisinterfaceisprovidedintheMachineInterfaceInstallation Manual(MIIM).

LeitzProtocolSetuptab

MachineOptionsdialogboxLeitzProtocolSetuptab TheDeataballowsyoutoconfigurethefollowingsettingsthatarespecifictotheDEAinterface: ReadMachineDefaultsOnStartup Whenthischeckboxisenabled,PCDMISwillquery theCMM'scontrollerfortheCMMdefaultsthenexttimeyoustartPCDMIS.Thenext timeyourunPCDMIS,itwillreplacethevaluesstoredinthePCDMISSettingsEditor withtheCMM'soriginalfactoryvaluesstoredinthecontroller.Note:Thisproceduredoes notrestoreoriginalfactoryvaluesifyouhaveoverwrittenthemonthecontroller'shard drive. UseTCPIPlinktodriveMachineSelectthisoptionifyouareusingTCP/IPtoconnectto yourcontroller. TCPIPAddressSpecifytheTCP/IPaddressforyourmachinecontroller TCPIPPortNumberSpecifytheportnumberthatthecontrollerisconfiguredtolistento. Typicallythiswillbeport2001.

248 SettingYourPreferences

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TerminalbuttonClickingthiswillopenaterminalsessionwithyoucontrollerbasedonthe TCPIPsettings. DisengageDrivesThischeckboxshouldbeselectedforDCCmachineswhichhavedrives thatcanbedisengagedthataregoingtobeusedmanually. CompensationTypeSelectfromthefollowingVolcompmethods:NONE,DEAStandard, DEADLL(wcompens32),ASI,orBrown&Sharpe. CompensationModeSelectfromthefollowingcompensationmodes:StandardMachine, DualDrive,HorizontalArm(Arm1),orHorizontalArm(Arm2). UseDEAStructuralThermalCompensationOCXSelectthisoptiontouseDEA StructuralThermalCompensationOCX. OCXPathSpecifiesthepathfortheDEAStructuralThermalCompensationOCXfile. MachineTypeSpecifythetypeofmachine:ArmorRobot Caution:Thesevaluesshouldonlybechangedbyatrainedtechnician.Alteringthesevalues maygiveanundesiredresult.

LeitzParamstab

MachineOptionsdialogboxParamstab

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

SettingYourPreferences 249

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MaxSpeedsThesevaluesarethemaximumspeedsfortheX,Y,andZaxes.Normally thesevaluesarereadfromthecontroller. MechanicalOffsetThesevaluesallowyoutoestablishthemechanicaloffsetsforyourXYZ axesforyourmachine.Volcompisnormallyperformedinthecontrolleritselfwiththis interface.Ifforanyreasonitwasconfiguredtorequireaprobereferencepointotherthan 0,0,0thevaluescanbeinputintheseoffsets. MaxScanSpeedThisvaluesetsthemaximumallowedscanspeed.Thisisonlyusedfor analogscanssuchasthatwithanSP600probeorWABopticalprobe. Caution:Thesevaluesshouldonlybechangedbyatrainedtechnician.Alteringthesevalues maygiveanundesiredresult.

LKDriverInterface
TheLKDriverinterfaceisusedwiththeLKmachineswithLK3000orLK2000controllers.The commondriversoftwaremustbeobtaineddirectlyfromLK.Itmustbeinstalledandconfigured priortoattemptingtoinstall/usethePCDMISinterfacethatutilizesit.ThecommondriverDLL itselfisnamedsomethingsimilartoLKCMMDRV53.DLL,dependingontheversionnumberofthe driver.TherearealsovariousotherDLLsthatLKprovideswiththedriverthatmustbepresent forthedrivertoworkproperly.TheearliestversionthatcanbeusedwiththePCDMISinterface isLKCMM21.DLL.Earlierversionsarenotcompatible. BeforestartingPCDMIS,renamethelkdriver.dlltointerfac.dll. TheMachineOptiondialogboxhasthreetabsfortheLKDriverinterface: LKDrivertab Seethe"LKDrivertab"topic. Axistab Seethe"AssigningtheMachineAxes"topic. Debugtab Seethe"GeneratingaDebugFile"topic. Note:AdditionalinformationforthisinterfaceisprovidedintheMachineInterfaceInstallation Manual(MIIM).

250 SettingYourPreferences

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

LKDrivertab

MachineOptionsdialogboxLKDrivertab TheLKDrivertaballowsyoutoalterLKDriverspecificparameters. ReadoutInterval(mSec)Thisdeterminesthefrequencywithwhichthepositionreadouts willbeupdatedwheninreadoutmode.Thevalueisanintegernumberofmilliseconds. Thedefaultis500milliseconds(i.e.onehalfsecond). LKDriverDLLThisidentifiesthenameofthecommondriverDLLfilethatPCDMISwill use.ThismaychangewithtimeasLKreleasesnewerversionsofthedriver. XYZMechanicalOffsetThesevaluesallowyoutoestablishthemechanicaloffsetsforyour XYZaxesforyourmachine.YoucanonlyeditthesevalueswhentheVolcompMethod issettoASI. ManHitToleranceThisvalueisusedtohelpdistinguishbetweenarealmanualhitvs. pressingthemanualprintbutton.Ifpressingthemanualprintbuttonisfrequently misinterpretedasamanualhityoucantryincreasingthisvalue.Ifmanualhitsare frequentlymisinterpretedaspressingthemanualprintbutton(sameashittingtheEND key)youcantrydecreasingthisvalue.NOTE:TousethemanualprintbuttonastheEND

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

SettingYourPreferences 251

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

keytheCMMmustnotbeinmotionwhenthebuttonispressed.Ifitisstillmovingitwill almostcertainlybeinterpretedasamanualhit. MinimumRotabMoveThisdefinesacutoffforrotarytablemovement.Itthenewly requestedtableangleisnotgreaterthanthisamountawayfromthecurrentanglethe moverequestwillbeignored. ManPrintButtonThisoptionallowsyoutodesignateaPCDMISfunctiontotheManual Printkeyonthejogboxifdesired.TheavailableoptionsareDONE(endkey),Move Point(storeamove),orEraseHit(Erasethelasthit). Note:Forthisinterfacethefunctionassignmentisonlyapplicablewheninhitmode.Ifthe buttonispressedwhiletheinterfaceisswitchedtoreadoutsmodeitwillbeinterpretedasan illegaltouchregardlessofthesettingforManualPrintButton. VolcompMethodSelecttheLK(viaDriver)tousetheVolumetricCompensationfromthe driverorselectASItoassignthesecompensationvaluesintheXYZMechanicalOffset boxes. CommonDriverConfigbuttonThisbuttonwilllaunchtheLKdriverconfiguration application. Caution:Thesevaluesshouldonlybechangedbyatrainedtechnician.Alteringthesevalues maygiveanundesiredresult.

LKRS232Interface
TheLKRS232interfaceisusedwitheightdifferentLKcontrollers:CupeSerial,CupeGPIB, MicronDrive,LK3000,LK2000/2002/2000+,LK4000,theACT,andtheAIM.TheLK3000is olderthanboththeLK2000andtheLK4000.TheACTisthereplacementforthe2000lineand theAIMisthereplacementforthe4000. BeforestartingPCDMIS,renamethelkrs232.dlltointerfac.dll. TheMachineOptiondialogboxhasseventabsfortheLKRS232interface: LKDirecttab Seethe"LKDirecttab"topic. Controllertab Seethe"SettingtheCommunicationProtocol"topic.DefaultvalueisCommPort1,9600Baud, Noparity,8databits,and1stopbit. Axistab Seethe"AssigningtheMachineAxes"topic. Resolutiontab Seethe"SettingtheAxesScaleFactor"topic.DefaultisX=10000.000000,Y=10000.000000, Z=10000.000000.

252 SettingYourPreferences

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Rotarytab Seethe"RotaryTableSettings"topic.Defaultvaluesare:Acceleration=0.0,Velocity=0.0, Resolution=10000,Offset=0.000000,Offset2=0.000000,Mindelta=0.5,Table=Unchecked andDualtable=Unchecked. Debugtab Seethe"GeneratingaDebugFile"topic. Note:AdditionalinformationforthisinterfaceisprovidedintheMachineInterfaceInstallation Manual(MIIM).

LKDirecttab

MachineOptionsdialogboxLKDirecttab TheLKDirecttabprovidesspecificsettingsforyourLKRS232interface. LK2000IfthecontrollerisanLK2000typethenthisoptionneedstobeselected. LK3000IfthecontrollerisanLK3000typethenthisoptionneedstobeselected.Youmust alsoselecttheLK2000ifyouselecttheLK3000option. MicronDriveIfthiscontrollerisaMicronDrive,thenthisoptionneedtobeselected.Note: TheMicronDrivecontrollerneverusesGPIBcommunications. GPIBSelectthisoptionifyourcontrollerusestheGPIBprotocoltocommunicate. PH9SelectthisoptionifyouareusingaPH9. SETPTIfyoufindthatthemachinewillnotregisterhitsthenyoumaywanttoselectthis option. HomingVelocityThisvaluesetsthehomingspeed.Ifthemachinedrivestothelimits beforereachingthehomepositionthenyoushoulddecreasethisvalue,turnthe
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual SettingYourPreferences 253

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

controlleroff,andtryagain.Itshouldreachthelimitsandthenfindthehomepositionfor eachaxisifthisvalueiscorrectlyset.Defaultis1. MoveSpeedThisvaluesetstheoverallmovespeed.Ifyoufindthemovespeedistofast evenwhenyousetittoaslowspeedinsideofPCDMISthenyoushoulddecreasethis value.Defaultis1.00000 WaitforprehitThisvalueshouldbeleftat0. MovebufferThenumberofmovesthatcanbesenttothecontrollerbufferatonetime. Somemachineswillgiveerrorsifwesendtoomanymovesinadvancesoreducingthis willhelp.Decreasingthisvaluewillhoweverreducethesystemperformance,iffor examplewesetitto1thenwewillonlysendthenextmovecommandwhenthemachine hasfinishedthepreviousone,thiswillcausethemachinetopausebetweenmovesas eachcommandissent. NostartbuttonIfthereisnoMasterStartbuttononthecontroller(orjogbox)thenyou shouldselectthisoption. AutospeedoptimizationCertainLKcontrollerssupportAutoSpeedOptimization,a controllerfeaturethatwilldriveeachaxisatitsmaximumindependentspeedforeach move.Ifyouknowthatyourcontrollersupportsthisthenyoucanselectthisoption. Caution:Thesevaluesshouldonlybechangedbyatrainedtechnician.Alteringthesevalues maygiveanundesiredresult.

ManmitiInterface
TheManmitiinterfaceisusedwithMitutoyoManualmachineswithMAG1,MAG2,orMAG3 controllersthatconnecttothescales.ThisisaGPIBinterface. BeforestartingPCDMIS,renamethemanmiti.dlltointerfac.dll. TheMachineOptiondialogboxhastwotabsfortheManmitiinterface: Axistab Seethe"AssigningtheMachineAxes"topic. Debugtab Seethe"GeneratingaDebugFile"topic. Note:AdditionalinformationforthisinterfaceisprovidedintheMachineInterfaceInstallation Manual(MIIM).

ManmoraInterface
TheManmorainterfaceisusedwithmanualMora machines.ThismachinehasaGEMODEK typeMR01counterboxwithXYZreadoutwithsomecontrol/setup/sendoptions.SeetheMIIMfor additionalconfigurationandtestinginformation. BeforestartingPCDMIS,renametheManmora.dlltointerfac.dll.

254 SettingYourPreferences

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TheMachineOptiondialogboxhasfourtabsfortheManmorainterface: Controllertab Seethe"SettingtheCommunicationProtocol"topic.DefaultvalueisCommPort1,9600Baud, Noparity,8databits,and2stopbit. Axistab Seethe"AssigningtheMachineAxes"topic. Resolutiontab Seethe"SettingtheAxesScaleFactor"topic.DefaultisX=1.0,Y=1.0,Z=1.0. Debugtab Seethe"GeneratingaDebugFile"topic. Note:AdditionalinformationforthisinterfaceisprovidedintheMachineInterfaceInstallation Manual(MIIM).

Metrocom/MetromecInterface
TheMetrocominterfaceisusedwithMetrocom,Metromec(withMetrocomSV2&V3),andolder Wenzel(Wenzel2000withMetromecEmulator)machines.ForPCDMIStoperformcorrectlythe originalstartupfile(METROCON.DAT)fromtheMetrocomsoftwaremustbecopiedintothePC DMISdirectory. OlderWenzelmachines(withaMetrocomScontrollerforexample)onlyneedthe METROCON.DATfiletooperate.However,ifyouareusingoneofthenewerWenzelWPseries controllersthenyoumustalsohavethefollowingfourfilescopiedfromtheMetroSoftsoftware directories:WPMACH.PMC,WPSW.PMC,WPDAT.PMC,andWPGO.PMC BeforestartingPCDMIS,renametheMETROcom.dlltointerfac.dll. TheMachineOptiondialogboxhasfivetabsfortheMetrocominterface: Metromectab Seethe"Metromectab"topic. Controllertab Seethe"SettingtheCommunicationProtocol"topic.DefaultvalueisCommPort1,38400Baud, Noparity,7databits,and1stopbit. PH9tab Seethe"PH9Communication"topic.DefaultvalueisCommPort1,38400Baud,Noparity,7 databits,and1stopbit. Axistab Seethe"AssigningtheMachineAxes"topic. Debugtab
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual SettingYourPreferences 255

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Seethe"GeneratingaDebugFile"topic. Note:AdditionalinformationforthisinterfaceisprovidedintheMachineInterfaceInstallation Manual(MIIM).

Metromectab

MachineOptionsdialogboxMetromectab TheMetromectaballowsyoutoconfigurethefollowingsettingsfortheMetromecinterface. PH9SelectthisoptionifyouareusingaPH9. MaxSpeedThisoptionsetsthemaximumspeedforyourCMM. AccelerationThisoptionsetsthemaximumaccelerationforyourCMM. XYZMechanicalOffsetThesevaluesallowyoutoestablishthemechanicaloffsetforyour machine.Thisshouldonlybeadjustedbyatrainedtechnician. CompensationData WhenyouareusingtheDEAcompensationtypesthecompensation datafile(typicallycompens.dat)isspecifiedinthisbox.WhenusingthenewDEAcomp therearethreetextfilesthatmustbeinthePCDMISdirectory:FZYFILE.TXT, RCXFILE.TXT,andRMXFILE.TXT. CompensationTypeSelectfromthefollowingVolcompmethods:NONE,DEAStandard, orDEADLL(wcompens32).

256 SettingYourPreferences

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

CompensationModeSelectfromthefollowingcompensationmodesaresupportedfor DEADLL(wcompens32)Compensationtype:StandardMachine,HorizontalArm(Arm1), orHorizontalArm(Arm2). Caution:Thesevaluesshouldonlybechangedbyatrainedtechnician.Alteringthesevalues maygiveanundesiredresult.

MetrologInterface
TheMetrologinterfaceisusedwithMetrologiccontrollers.PCDMIShastwomodesofdriving theMetrologiccontroller. ThefirstmodeisexecutedthroughaMetrologicsuppliedMTDIAL.DLLfile.ThisDLL requiresaseparateportlockavailableonlyfromMetrologic.InthismodePCDMIScalls functionsintheMTDIAL.DLLinordertodrivetheCMM.Allvolcompisalsotakencareof insidetheDLL.TheDLLtalkstothedesignatedCommportandcommunicatesdirectly withtheCMM. ThesecondmodeofdrivingtheMetrologiccontrollerisdirectthroughtheCommport bypassingtheMTDIAL.DLLaltogether.Inthismode,thereisnoseparateportlock neededfromMetrologic.PCDMISwilltalkdirectlytothecontrollerthroughthe designatedCommport.Volcompisprovidedinthreeformats1)theDEATutorformat,2) theWcompens32.dllformat.3)theBNScomp.datformat.Optionsoneandtwoare typicallywhatareusedonaDEAcontrollermachine.Option3istypicallywhatisusedon anExcelCMM.Theonlyreasonforusingthefirstmodeistotakeadvantageofthe MetrologicsuppliedvolcompthatmightalreadybeonanexistingCMM.

BeforestartingPCDMIS,renamethemetrolog.dlltointerfac.dll. TheMachineOptiondialogboxhasthreetabsfortheMetrologinterface: Commtab Seethe"SettingtheCommunicationProtocol"topic.DefaultvalueisCommPort1,9600Baud, Evenparity,8databits,and1stopbit. Axistab Seethe"AssigningtheMachineAxes"topic. Debugtab Seethe"GeneratingaDebugFile"topic. Note:AdditionalinformationforthisinterfaceisprovidedintheMachineInterfaceInstallation Manual(MIIM).

MitutoyoInterface
TheMitutoyointerfaceisusedwithMitutoyomachines.ThisisaGPIBinterfaceanddoesnot requireanymachineparameterfilefromtheoriginalMitutoyosystem.Mitutoyoconsidersthese machinesmechanicallyaccuratesononativesoftwarecompensationexists.Several compensationmethods,however,aresupported.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

SettingYourPreferences 257

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TotakemanualhitswiththesemachinesyouneedtopushdowntheMEASbuttononthejog box. Note:FormachineswithaPH9orPH10thenormalmachinestartupsequenceincludesusing themanualcontroltospecificallypositionthehead(usuallyto0,0).Thisinsuresthatall communicationsbetweenthePH9/10controllerandtheheaditselfareinitializedandworking properly.Thisshouldstillbedoneevenifitinitiallyreads0,0andyouwanttopositionitto0,0. FailuretoinitializetheheadviathehandsetcanleadtofailureswhentryingtodoaDCCrotation (itmaynotrotateallorinsomecasesmayproduceerrorsafteritappearstofinishrotating). BeforestartingPCDMIS,renamethemitutoyo.dlltointerfac.dll. TheMachineOptiondialogboxhasfourtabsfortheMitutoyointerface: Interfacetab Seethe"MitutoyoInterfacetab"topic. Axistab Seethe"AssigningtheMachineAxes"topic. Resolutiontab Seethe"SettingtheAxesScaleFactor"topic.DefaultisX=10000.0,Y=10000.0,Z=10000.0. Debugtab Seethe"GeneratingaDebugFile"topic. Note:AdditionalinformationforthisinterfaceisprovidedintheMachineInterfaceInstallation Manual(MIIM).

MitutoyoInterfacetab

MachineOptionsdialogboxInterfacetab TheInterfacetaballowsyoutoconfigurethefollowingsettingsfortheMitutoyointerface.

258 SettingYourPreferences

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

PH9SelectthisoptionifyouareusingaPH9. OldJoystickIftheJogboxisanoldtypethenthisoptionmustbesetto1.(Ifthejogbox functionsdonotperformassetoutbelowthenyouhaveanoldjoystick) BHN706SelectthisoptionifyouareconnectingtoaBHN706CMM. TopSpeedThissetstheoveralltopspeedforthemachine.Ifthisvalueistoohighthenyou willgetintermittentoverspeederrorsfromthecontrollerduringDCCmoves.Defaultis 60. InPositionToleranceThisisthevaluethatsetshowclosethemachinehastogettoa commandedpositionbeforeitacceptsthatitisthere.Ifthemachineseemstopause betweenmovesforexcessivetimethenyoucouldtryincreasingthisvalue. Caution:Thesevaluesshouldonlybechangedbyatrainedtechnician.Alteringthesevalues maygiveanundesiredresult.

MoraInterface
TheMorainterfaceisusedwithMoraCNCmachines.ThisinterfacejustrequiresasingleRS232 commport,nomachineparameterfileisneededfromtheoriginalsystem. BeforestartingPCDMIS,renamethemora.dlltointerfac.dll. TheMachineOptiondialogboxhasthreetabsfortheMorainterface: Commtab Seethe"SettingtheCommunicationProtocol"topic.DefaultvalueisCommPort1,9600Baud, Noparity,8databits,and1stopbit. Axistab Seethe"AssigningtheMachineAxes"topic. Debugtab Seethe"GeneratingaDebugFile"topic. Note:AdditionalinformationforthisinterfaceisprovidedintheMachineInterfaceInstallation Manual(MIIM).

MZeizzInterface
TheMZeissinterfaceisusedwithmanualZeissmachines. BeforestartingPCDMIS,renametheMzeiss.dlltointerfac.dll. TheMachineOptiondialogboxhasfourtabsfortheMZeissinterface: Controllertab

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

SettingYourPreferences 259

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Seethe"SettingtheCommunicationProtocol"topic.DefaultvalueisCommPort1,9600Baud, Evenparity,8databits,and2stopbit. Axistab Seethe"AssigningtheMachineAxes"topic. Resolutiontab Seethe"SettingtheAxesScaleFactor"topic.DefaultisX=1.0,Y=1.0,Z=1.0. Debugtab Seethe"GeneratingaDebugFile"topic. Note:AdditionalinformationforthisinterfaceisprovidedintheMachineInterfaceInstallation Manual(MIIM).

NumerexInterface
TheNumerexinterfaceisusedwithNumerexmachines.Therearetwodifferenttypesof Numerexinterfacesavailable,onewithaDigitalReadoutUnit(DRO)andonewithout.TheDRO versionisstraightforwardtoinstallbutifyourmachinehasnoDROthenaTech80cardwillbe needed(toreadthescales)aswellasaspecialkittoconnecttheTech80totheNumerex controller.SeetheMIIMforinstallationinformationforthesetwointerfaces. Nomachineparameterfileisneededfromtheoriginalsystemtorunthisinterface. BeforestartingPCDMIS,renametheNumerex.dlltointerfac.dll. TheMachineOptiondialogboxhasfourtabsfortheNumerexinterface: Numerextab Seethe"MitutoyoInterfacetab"topic. Axistab Seethe"AssigningtheMachineAxes"topic. Resolutiontab Seethe"SettingtheAxesScaleFactor"topic.DefaultisX=1.0,Y=1.0,Z=1.0.Thisscalefactoris usedifaDROunitispresent. Debugtab Seethe"GeneratingaDebugFile"topic. Note:AdditionalinformationforthisinterfaceisprovidedintheMachineInterfaceInstallation Manual(MIIM).

260 SettingYourPreferences

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Numerextab

MachineOptionsdialogboxNumerextab TheNumerextaballowsyoutoconfigurethefollowingsettingsfortheNumerexinterface. DROSelectthisoptionifyoursystemusesaDROtoreadthescales. DROCommSpecifytheCOMportfortheDROunit. PH9SelectthisoptionifyouareusingaPH9. 4800N81SelectthisoptionifyourPH9unitneedtousethesecommunicationsettings ratherthanthedefaultof4800baudNOparity7bits2stopbits(48007N2).Usually,you needtoselectthisoptionifitisaceramicCMM(anewerCMM).IftheCMMisolder,you willneedtodeselectthisoption. PH9CommSpecifytheCOMportforthePH9unit. DCCControllerCommSpecifytheCOMportfortheDCCController. KeyBoardCommSpecifytheCOMportfortheKeyboard. UseTech80SelectthisoptionifyoursystemusesaTech80boardtoreadthescales. Tech80IRQThisvaluesetstheinterruptlevelfortheTech80board.Makesureit matchesthejumpersettingandalsotheWNS27registrysettings. Tech80XYZScaleTheseXYZScaleoptionsallowyoutospecifythescalefactorfor eachaxisifaTech80isused.Thisisnormallyavalueof200.0.Asimplewaytotestifthis valueiscorrectistomeasurethedistancebetweentoknownpoints,ifthereisadifference
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual SettingYourPreferences 261

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

betweenmeasuredandtruereadingsthenyoucanworkoutthecorrectionfactorthatyou canusetodeterminethevalue,itisalmostalwaysaroundvaluei.e.100,1000,500etc.A rudimentaryformoflinearerrorcompensation(linearstretch)canbeperformedbyslightly changingthisvalue. InPosition ToleranceThisvaluesetshowclosethemachinemustgettoacommanded positionbeforeitacceptsthatitisthere.Ifthemachineseemstopausebetweenmoves forexcessivetimethenyoucouldtryincreasingthisvalue. AccelerationThisoptionsetstheaccelerationoftheCMMduringDCCmoves.The defaultvalueis1500.IftheCMMisalittletoojerkyinstartingandstoppingamove,lower theaccelerationvalue. TopSpeedThisoptionissimplyamultiplierofthemachinespeedallowsyoutogovern themaximumspeedofthemachine.Itshouldbeadjustedsothat100%speedinPC DMISmatchesthefullspeedofthemachine. DCCMachineTheonlytimethisoptionshouldNOTbeselectedisfordebugging purposeswhenyouwishtotesttheDROwithoutrunningthisasaDCCmachine.Ifthisis amanualmachinethenthestraightTech80interfaceshouldbeused. HasHomeSelectthisoptionifthemachinehasahomeposition.Itmustbeselectedif youareusingacompmap.

OmnitechInterface
TheOmnitechinterfaceisusedwithOmnitechmachines.Thisinterfacecommunicatestothe controllerthroughastandardRS232interface. BeforestartingPCDMIS,renametheomnitech.dlltointerfac.dll. TheMachineOptiondialogboxhastwotabsfortheOmnitechinterface: Axistab Seethe"AssigningtheMachineAxes"topic. Debugtab Seethe"GeneratingaDebugFile"topic. Note:AdditionalinformationforthisinterfaceisprovidedintheMachineInterfaceInstallation Manual(MIIM).

ReflexInterface
TheReflexinterfaceisusedwithaReflexcontroller.Thisinterfaceisintendedforuseona manualGage2000machinewiththeReflexboxinPassThroughMode.Thereare2smart cardsthatareinsertedinthecontroller.Theupperoneisthestoragecard,wheretheprograms arestored.AfterturningontheReflexController,youwillnoticethefollowingscreens: BeforestartingPCDMIS,renametheReflex.dlltointerfac.dll.

262 SettingYourPreferences

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TheMachineOptiondialogboxhasfourtabsfortheReflexinterface: Controllertab Seethe"SettingtheCommunicationProtocol"topic.DefaultvalueisCommPort1,9600Baud, Noparity,8databits,and1stopbit. Axistab Seethe"AssigningtheMachineAxes"topic. Debugtab Seethe"GeneratingaDebugFile"topic. Note:AdditionalinformationforthisinterfaceisprovidedintheMachineInterfaceInstallation Manual(MIIM).

RenishawInterface
TheRenishawinterfacecommunicateswiththeRenishawinstalledsoftware(V4.0orlater). Thereisalsoaspecialinterfacecard(orUSBmodule)thatisusedtocommunicateviaoptical linkwiththeUCC1controller.ThesoftwareandinterfacecardmustbeobtainedfromRenishaw. BeforestartingPCDMIS,renametheRenishaw.dlltointerfac.dll. TheMachineOptiondialogboxhastwotabsfortheRenishawinterface: Axistab Seethe"AssigningtheMachineAxes"topic. Debugtab Seethe"GeneratingaDebugFile"topic. Note:AdditionalinformationforthisinterfaceisprovidedintheMachineInterfaceInstallation Manual(MIIM).

RomerInterface
TheRomerinterfaceisusedwithaRomerarmmachine.PCDMISversions3.7andhigher supportUSBarms. ForPCDMIS3.5MR2orearlier,copythisfilefromWilcoxsftpsite: ftp://ftp.wilcoxassoc.com/3rdParty/Romer/Romer22.zip. Forotherversions(includingBeta),copythisfilefromWilcoxsftpsite: ftp://ftp.wilcoxassoc.com/3rdParty/Romer/Romer31.zip. Unzipthefile(s)andrunsetup. SettingenvironmentparameterssothatPCDMIScanaccessRomersDLLs:

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

SettingYourPreferences 263

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

GotoControlpanel SelectSystem,thenclickonAdvancedtab,thenclickontheEnvironmentvariables button. Inthesystemvariableslistbox,editthePathvariable.Addasemicolonfollowedbythe WinRDSinstallationdirectory.NormallythisismeansaddingC:\Program Files\cimcore\winrds(withoutthequotationmarks)totheendofthePathstring.

BeforestartingPCDMIS,renametheromer.dlltointerfac.dll. TheMachineOptiondialogboxhasfivetabsfortheRomerinterface: Debugtab Seethe"GeneratingaDebugFile"topic. Toolstab ThistabprovidesaDiagnosticsbutton.ThisbuttonlaunchesRomersoftwaretoconfigureand testyourRomerArm.SeetheWinRDSUserGuide,locatedintheWinRDSinstalldirectoryfor moreinformation.TheWinRDSUserGuideisaPDFfilethatgetsinstalledwhenyouinstall WinRDS. Note:AdditionalinformationforthisinterfaceisprovidedintheMachineInterfaceInstallation Manual(MIIM). RomerPulledHitFeature TheRomerinterfacesupportspulledhits.See"UsingPulledHits"intheWorkingwithPortable Devicesappendix.

SharpeInterface
TheSharpeinterfaceincludestheSharpe,Sharpe32,andExcelinterfaces.PCDMISmusthave theDOWNL.OADfilefromtheoriginalsoftwarepackageinordertorun.IfSoftware compensationisbeingusedthentheCOMP.DATfileisalsorequired.SeetheMIIM documentationfortheSharpeinterfaceformoreinformationaboutcreatingtheDOWNL.OADfile. Forsystemsconfiguredwithdualrotarytablesasecondcontrollerisusedthatcontrolsonlythe secondtable.Inthatsituation,PCDMISmusthaveaDOWNL2.OADfilesuitablyconfiguredfor useonacontrollerwithonlytheWaxisbeingused.Currentlythereisnocompensationforthe tableonlysothereisnoneedforaCOMP2.DATfile. BeforestartingPCDMIS,renamethesharpe.dlltointerfac.dll. TheMachineOptiondialogboxhasseventabsfortheSharpeinterface: Sharpe32tab Seethe"Sharpe32tab"topic. Controllertab

264 SettingYourPreferences

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Seethe"SettingtheCommunicationProtocol"topic.DefaultvalueisCommPort1,4800Baud, Evenparity,7databits,and1stopbit. Controller2tab Seethe"SettingtheCommunicationProtocol"topic.DefaultvalueisCommPort0,4800Baud, Evenparity,7databits,and1stopbit. Oittab Seethe"OITCommunication"topic.DefaultvalueisCommPort0,9600Baud,Noparity,8data bits,and1stopbit. Axistab Seethe"AssigningtheMachineAxes"topic. Resolutiontab Seethe"SettingtheAxesScaleFactor"topic.DefaultisX=0.0,Y=0.0,Z=0.0. Rotarytab Seethe"RotaryTableSettings"topic.Defaultvaluesare:Acceleration=46500.0,Velocity= 46500.0,Resolution=5000.0,Offset=0.0,Mindelta=0.5,Table=Unchecked,andDualtable= Unchecked. Debugtab Seethe"GeneratingaDebugFile"topic. Note:AdditionalinformationforthisinterfaceisprovidedintheMachineInterfaceInstallation Manual(MIIM).

Sharpe32tab

MachineOptionsdialogboxSharpetab

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

SettingYourPreferences 265

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TheSharpe32taballowsyoutoconfigurethefollowingsettingsfortheSharpeinterface. ButtonsPrintYoucanspecifytohavetheRecordbuttonErasetheLastHit,StoreaMove, oractastheend/donekey. ManualSelectthisoptionifyouareusingamanual(noDCCcapability)machine. VerifyPH9SomecontrollersdonotreliablypositionthePH9totherequestedangle.When youselectthisoption,thePH9positionwillbecheckedaftertherequestedrotationandif thepositionisnotcorrectthePH9movewillberepeated. SingleEStopMessageIfyouselectthisoptionthenwhenEstopispressedtheEstop warningmessagewillonlybeshownoncewhilestillintheEstopstateinsteadof continuouslyrepeatingit.ThisallowstheusertoEstopthemachineandthenmanually movetheprobe(forscribingasanexample)whilestillbeingabletoaccessthenormal PCDMISuserinterface functionality. CircularmovesSelectthisoptionifyourcontrollersupportstheuseofcircularmoves. PollControllerCommport Whenthisoptionisselected,PCDMISwillperiodicallypollthe controllerserialporttoaffirmcommunication.Thisisausefuloptiontotryifyoususpect problemswithyourPC'sRS232port. DisableAutoCancelSometypesoferrors(exampleissometypesofPH9errors)canbe immediatelyresetbutkeeprecurring.Theresultisasituationwheretheerrormessage windowflashestooquicklytoreadandkeepsrepeating.Whenthisoptionisselected, thiswillpreventtheerrormessagedialogfrombeingautocancelledinordertoprovide sufficienttimefortheusertoreadtheerrormessage.Notethatduringhomingofthe machine,somedialogswillbeautocancelledregardlessofthissetting.

SheffieldInterface
TheSheffieldinterfaceisusedwithSheffieldmachines.Nomachineparameterfileisneeded fromtheoriginalsystemtorunthisinterface.OntheSheffieldCMM,PCDMISdoesnotcontrol whentheCMMisinmanualcontrolorDCCcontrol.Thebuttonstocontrolthisareonthejogbox. IftheCMMhasarotarytable,PCDMISrequiresaseparateTech80cardfortherotarytable encoder. BeforestartingPCDMIS,renamethesheffield.dlltointerfac.dll. TheMachineOptiondialogboxhasfourtabsfortheSheffieldinterface: Interfacetab Seethe"SheffieldInterfacetab"topic. Axistab Seethe"AssigningtheMachineAxes"topic. Resolutiontab Seethe"SettingtheAxesScaleFactor"topic.DefaultisX=1000,Y=1000,Z=1000.

266 SettingYourPreferences

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Debugtab Seethe"GeneratingaDebugFile"topic. Note:AdditionalinformationforthisinterfaceisprovidedintheMachineInterfaceInstallation Manual(MIIM).

SheffieldInterfacetab

MachineOptionsdialogboxInterfacetab TheInterfacetaballowsyoutoconfigurethefollowingsettingsfortheSheffieldinterface. RS232SelectthisoptionifyouplanonusingRS232ratherthanGPIB.AllnewerSheffield controllers,SMP3xxandSMP400,useserialcommunications. LPT2SelectthisoptionifyoursystemusestheMSIboardtoreadthescales. Tech80SelectthisoptionifthissystemusestheTech80boardtoreadthescales. ManualMachineSelectthisoptionifthisisamanualmachine.Note:Usethisoptionfor testingpurposesonly,ifthisistobeadedicatedmanualmachinethentheTech80 interfaceshouldbeinstalled. RS50SelectthisoptionifthissystemusesRS50. MachinePortThisvaluesetstheRS232commportforthecontroller. Tech80IRQThisoptionsetstheinterruptvaluefortheXYZtech80board.Ifyoudochange it,makesurethatthejumperonthetech80cardisthesame.Defaultis5.Note:This doesnotapplytotherotarytableTech80board.Itdoesnotrequireaninterrupt.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

SettingYourPreferences 267

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

HitDelayThisisthedelaytimebeforereadingahitfromtheMSIboard.Defaultis0.3.If thisvalueistoosmallthentheboardwillbereadtooquicklyandgetanincorrectreading. Ifyouarehavingaccuracyproblemsthenyoumaywanttotryfractionallyincreasingthis value.Note:IfyouareusingtheMPHitsoptionthenchangingthisvaluewillhaveno effect. ResetDelaySomeMPunitswillhangcommandsaresenttooquickly.Youcanincrease thisvalueifyoususpectthistobethecase,howeverincreasingthisvaluewillreduce systemperformance.Note: WhenrunningwithSMP400,thisvalueneedstobe1.0. PH9SelectthisoptionifyouareusingaPH9. PH9Handbox(PH9D)IfthePH9'pendant'handheldcontrolunitispresentthenselectthis option. PH9BaudThisvaluesetsthebaudrateforthePH9.Validvaluesare300,1200,4800,or 9600.BydefaulttheserialprotocolusedisNostopbits,8databits,and1paritybit(N81). PH9PortThisoptionsetstheRS232commportforthePH9. MPHitsSelectingthisoptionwillcausePCDMIStogetitshitdatafromtheSheffieldMP unitinsteadofthetech80board.TheadvantageofthisisthattheMPunitprovides compensateddatasonoASIcompmapneedstobecreated.Thedisadvantageisthat thisoptiondisablesthefunctionalityoftheJogBoxmacrokeys(End,Erasehit,store move,etc.)whileinTakeHitsmode(seetheJogBoxToggleoptionbelow).Note:Thereis noneedtousethisoptionyouareusingtheMSIboardbecausethisboardalready reportsbackcompensateddata,alsomakesureifyouareusingaTech80boardthatthe probecableisNOTconnectedtotheprobesignalintheMPunit. MPVectors Whenthisoptionisnotselected,PCDMISwilltrackthevectorsofhitsby readingthepositionoftheprobebeforeahitistaken.SelectingthisoptionwillcausePC DMIStogetthevectorsdirectlyfromtheMPunit.Thedisadvantageisthatthisoption disablesthefunctionalityoftheJogBoxmacrokeys(End,Erasehit,storemove,etc.) whileinTakeHitsmode(seetheJogBoxToggleoptionbelow).Note:Someoftheolder systemsdonotsupportthisfunction.Ifyougetan'InvalidParameter21'errorwhenyou initializewiththisoptionthenyoursystemdoesnotsupportit.IfyouareusingMPHits thenyoushould(ifsupported)usethisoption.

Tech80Interface
TheTech80ThisinterfacesupportsthemanualTech80andScazonCardinterfaces.Nomachine parameterfileisneededfromtheoriginalsystemtorunthisinterface. BeforestartingPCDMIS,renametheTECH80.dlltointerfac.dll. TheMachineOptiondialogboxhasfourtabsfortheTech80interface: Connectiontab Seethe"Tech80Connectiontab"topic. Axistab Seethe"AssigningtheMachineAxes"topic.

268 SettingYourPreferences

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Resolutiontab Seethe"SettingtheAxesScaleFactor"topic.DefaultisX=1000.0,Y=1000.0,Z=1000.0. Debugtab Seethe"GeneratingaDebugFile"topic. Note:AdditionalinformationforthisinterfaceisprovidedintheMachineInterfaceInstallation Manual(MIIM).

Tech80Connectiontab

MachineOptionsdialogboxConnectiontab TheConnectiontaballowsyoutoconfigurethefollowingsettingsfortheTech80interface. InterruptThisvaluesetstheinterruptlevelfortheTech80card,ifyouchangeitmakesure thejumperonthecardissettothesamelevel. RequestintervalThisvaluecontrolsthespeedPCDMIStracksthepositionoftheprobe. This valueisenteredinmilliseconds(e.g.300is0.3seconds)Thedefaultvalueof300 willrequestthepositionroughly3timesasecond. HitintervalThisvaluecontrolshowmuchtimemustpassafterahitbeforeasecondhitis valid.Itisusefultoprevent'doublehits'astheproberetractsfromthepart.Itisenteredin milliseconds(e.g.500is0.5seconds.) ZerocountersonstartupSelectthisoptiontoZerothecounterswhenPCDMISisstarted. ZerocountersbuttonClickthisbuttontoZerothecounters.

TheodoleInterface
TheTheodoleinterfaceisusedwithaTheodolitemachine.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

SettingYourPreferences 269

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

BeforestartingPCDMIS,renamethetheodole.dlltointerfac.dll. TheMachineOptiondialogboxhasfourtabsfortheTheodoleinterface: Controllertab Seethe"SettingtheCommunicationProtocol"topic.DefaultvalueisCommPort1,19200Baud, Evenparity,7databits,and1stopbit. Axistab Seethe"AssigningtheMachineAxes"topic. Debugtab Seethe"GeneratingaDebugFile"topic. Note:AdditionalinformationforthisinterfaceisprovidedintheMachineInterfaceInstallation Manual(MIIM).

WenzelInterface
TheWenzelinterfaceisusedwithWenzelmachineswithaWenzel2010controller(Native WenzelProtocol).ThisinterfacejustrequiresasingleRS232commport,nomachineparameter fileisneededfromtheoriginalsystem. BeforestartingPCDMIS,renamethewenzel.dlltointerfac.dll. TheMachineOptiondialogboxhastwotabsfortheWenzelinterface: Axistab Seethe"AssigningtheMachineAxes"topic. Debugtab Seethe"GeneratingaDebugFile"topic. Note:AdditionalinformationforthisinterfaceisprovidedintheMachineInterfaceInstallation Manual(MIIM).

ZeissInterface
TheZeissinterfaceisusedwithmachinesusingIPbasedZeisscontrollers.Thisnewinterface supportsbothTCPandUDPprotocols.Becauseoftheminordifferencesthatwehaveobserved amongthesecontrollersthisinterfacewasdesignedtoallowmodificationstoaconfigurationfile toaccommodatethesedifferenceswithoutrequiringanewinterfac.dll.Additionally,mostofthe configurationoptionsforthecontrollerhavebeenmovedtothisconfigurationfileaswelltoallow forfutureWAIutilitiestocommunicatewiththemachinewithouthavingtorunPCDMIS. SupportedprobesincludethestandardZeissprobe,RDS,DSE,andVast.Theoldjogboxesare supported(boththesmallonewiththenumericpadaswellasthelargerkeypadone)andthe newerjogboxes(thatarealaptop)canbesupportedwithanadditionalIPbasedutilitythatallows basicfunctionbuttonstobeused.

270 SettingYourPreferences

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

BeforestartingPCDMIS,renametheZeiss.dlltointerfac.dll. TheMachineOptiondialogboxhasfourtabsfortheZeissinterface: PH9tab Seethe"SettingtheCommunicationProtocol"topic.DefaultvalueisCommPort0,4800Baud, Noparity,8databits,and1stopbit. Axistab Seethe"AssigningtheMachineAxes"topic. Debugtab Seethe"GeneratingaDebugFile"topic. Note:AdditionalinformationforthisinterfaceisprovidedintheMachineInterfaceInstallation Manual(MIIM).

ZssGPIBsInterface
TheZssGPIBinterfaceisusedwithZeiss machineswithRS232ofGPIBbasedcontrollers.This interfacesupportstheGPIBZeisscontroller(graytwofeetsquarebox).ThePH9iscontrolled throughanRS232port. ThereisalsosupportforanativeRS232connection(ZeissC99controller)withthisinterface whereastheZSSRS232.DLLdrivestheZEISSCMMthroughtheZEISSUMESS/COMET Softwarepackage.WhetherPCDMIScommunicateswithGPIBorRS232isdeterminedbythe RS232CMMoptionintheZEISSsectionoftheSettingsEditor.ForthenativeRS232thisshould besetto1.Forinformationonmodifyingregistryentries,pleaseviewthe"ModifyingRegistry Entries"appendix. BeforestartingPCDMIS,renamethezssgpib.dlltointerfac.dll. TheMachineOptiondialogboxhasfourtabsfortheZssGPIBinterface: PH9tab Seethe"SettingtheCommunicationProtocol"topic.DefaultvalueisCommPort0,4800Baud, Noparity,8databits,and1stopbit. Axistab Seethe"AssigningtheMachineAxes"topic. Debugtab Seethe"GeneratingaDebugFile"topic. Note:AdditionalinformationforthisinterfaceisprovidedintheMachineInterfaceInstallation Manual(MIIM).

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

SettingYourPreferences 271

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

CompensatingforTemperature

TemperatureCompensationSetupdialogbox SelectingtheEdit|Preferences|TemperatureCompensationSetup menuoptionopensthe TemperatureCompensationSetupdialogbox.Thisdialogboxallowsyoutocompensatefor roomandparttemperature,thusincreasingaccuracyoftheinspectionprocess. Tocompensatefortemperatureduringmultiplearmcalibration,see"UsingTemperature CompensationwithMultipleArmCalibration"inthe"UsingMultipleArmMode"chapter.

UsingSTPFiles
EachCMMusesmachinespecificparametersfortemperaturecompensationforeachaxis,such asthermalcoefficientsandsensorassignments.Theseparameters,alongwithembeddedcode thattellsPCDMISifthefileisastructuralorlinearcompensationfile,arestoredinsidespecial STPfiles(namedforthe.stpextension)createdbyyourCMMvendor. PCDMISrequirestheseSTPfilestocompensatefortemperature. Priortocompensatingfortemperature,ensurethattheseSTPfilesresideintheappropriate locationsonyourharddrive: TheDEAStructuralThermalCompensationmethodexpectstofindtheServ1.stpfilein theC:\Thermal_OCXdirectory. TheDEALinearThermalCompensationmethodexpectstofindtheServ1.stpfileinthe C:\ProgramFiles\Thermal_OCXdirectory.

LinearandStructuralTemperatureCompensation
Linearcompensation=(ThermalCoefficientofExpansion)X(Displacement+Changein TemperatureofEachAxisandthePart).Ifmultipletemperaturesensorsexistonanaxis,PC DMISaveragesthereadoutstofindthetemperaturechange. StructuralcompensationrecognizesthataCMM'svariousmaterialcomponentsmayhave differenttemperatures(asingleaxisofthemachine,forexample,mayhaveseveraldifferent temperatures,whichcausebending,bowingorskewingofthemachineinsomeway).Structural compensation,then,appliesthetemperaturecorrectionsforspecificareasoftheCMM.When youselecttheEdit|Preferences|TemperatureCompensation menuitem,theStructural Thermal_OCXgetscalledandPCDMIScalculatesanewtemporaryvolumetriccompensation map.

272 SettingYourPreferences

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

AvailableInputParameters
ThefollowingexplaintheavailableinputparametersontheTemperatureCompensationSetup dialogbox(Edit|Preferences|TemperatureCompensation).

SensorNumbersboxes
TheSensorNumbersboxescontainalistofoneormoresensornumberstobeusedforthe givenaxisorpart.Thesevaluesareveryimportantwhenreadingtemperaturesfromthe controllerbecausetheymustcorrespondtohowthesensorsareactuallyconfigured. Eachsensorisanumberintherangeof1to32. Itemsinthelistcanbeeitherasinglenumberorarangefromfirsttolast. Itemsareseparatedbyeithercommasorleftblank. Theinputallowsupto32valuesforanyaxisorthepart.

Formanualmodethesenumbersarerelativelymeaninglessbutatleastonesensornumber mustbeassignedforeachaxisandthepart.

MaterialCoefficientboxes
TheMaterialCoefficientboxescontainnumbersreflectingthematerialproperty,andarethe fractionalchangeinlengthperunitchangeintemperature. Valuesvarydependingonwhattypeofmaterialwasusedtomakethescalesonthe machineaxesandonwhatthepartismadeof. UnitsareperdegreeCorperdegreeF,dependingontheselectionofthecheckboxfor displayinginCelsiusornot. Thiscanbethoughtofasmeters/meter/degreeCorinches/inch/degreeFbutsincethe lengthinboththenumeratoranddenominatorareinthesameunitstheydivideout.

Example:Ascalewithacoefficientof11.5microns/meter/degreeCbecomes0.0000115 meters/meter/degreeCorjust0.0000115/degreeC. QualTool Thisboxallowsyoutospecifythematerialcoefficientfortheprobequalificationtoolseparately fromthepart.

CurrentTempboxes
TheCurrentTempboxescontainthecurrenttemperaturesintheappropriateunits.Youcan eithertypetheseorreadtheminfromthecontrollerdependingonthetypeofmachineavailable andtheselectedoptions.

PrevTempboxes
ThePreviousTempboxesalwayscontainthepreviouslyreadtemperatures.Ifnotemperatures werepreviouslyreadin,thesevaluesareeitherzeroorleftblank.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

SettingYourPreferences 273

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

RefTempboxes
TheRefTempboxescontainthereferencetemperaturefromwhichtemperaturecompensation adjustmentsneedtobeapplied. Theamountofcorrectiontobeappliedisbasedonmultiplyingthematerialcoefficientby thedifferencebetweenthecurrentandreferencetemperatures. AmountofCorrection=MaterialCoefficientx(CurrentTempReferenceTemp) Ifthecurrenttemperatureisthesameasthereferencetemperaturetheneteffectisthat nothermalcompensationadjustmentisapplied. Thevalueintheseboxesisalmostalways20degreesC,ortheFahrenheitequivalent.

HighThresholdboxes
TheHighThresholdboxescontainanupperlimit(intheappropriateunits)onthecurrent temperatureabovewhichnofurtherthermalcompensationwillbeapplied.PCDMISdoesn't produceanywarningorerrormessage. Example: Withareferencetempof20degreesC,acurrenttempof35degreesCandahigh thresholdof30degreesCtheamountofcorrectionactuallyappliedwouldbebasedona differenceof(3020)insteadof(3520)becausethecurrenttemperatureexceededtheupper limit.

LowThresholdboxes
TheLowThresholdboxesisconceptuallylikethehighthresholdexceptitprovidesalowerlimit onthecurrenttemperaturebelowwhichnofurtherthermalcompensationwillbeapplied.

Originboxes
TheOriginboxesareusedtodeterminethelengthoftheitemtowhichthermalcompensationis beingapplied. Length=CurrentPositionValueOriginValue TheX,Y,andZ valuesoftheOriginboxeswillbezeromostofthetime.However,some typesofmachinesdonotusezerofortheoriginoftheirscales. ThePartvaluewilltypicallyalsobezerounlessthereissomespecialtypeoffixturing constraint.

ShowTemperaturesinCelsius
TheShowTemperaturesinCelsiuscheckboxaffectsboththetemperaturesandthematerial coefficient. Ifyouselectthischeckbox,thedisplaywillusedegreesCelsius. Ifyouclearthischeckbox,PCDMISwillusedegreesFahrenheit.

274 SettingYourPreferences

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TemperatureCompensationEnabled
TheTemperatureCompensationEnabledcheckboxtellsPCDMIStousetemperature compensation. Ifnotselected,PCDMISdoesnotperformanytemperaturecompensation,andthe TEMPCOMPcommand(ifpresentinthepartprogram)willhavenoeffect. Ifselected,PCDMISbehavesaccordingtotheinputparameters.

CompensationMethod
ThefollowingaretheavailablecompensationmethodsandtheirrespectiveprocessesinPC DMIS. ForSheffieldcontrollers,youmustdefinetheMaterialCoefficientandRefTemperatureboxes, andthenclickDefault,regardlessofthecompensationmethodused. Method Manual Process Compensationismanual (controlledbyyourinput)withno involvementfromthemachine controller. PCDMISperformsall compensationcalculations. Duringpartprogramexecution theTemperatureCompensation Setupdialogboxopensandyoucan editthecurrentsettingsbefore proceedingwiththerestofthe program. Whenusingamachinethat supportsthisoption,PCDMISreads thecurrenttemperaturesfromthe controllerautomaticallyratherthanyou supplyingthedata. PCDMISperformsall compensationcalculations.The controlleronlyprovidesthecurrent temperatures. Duringpartprogramexecution theTemperatureCompensation Setupdialogboxdoesnotopen. Thepartprogramdoesnotpause foryourconfirmation. ForSheffieldcontrollers,youcan retrievetheCTE(Coefficientof
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual SettingYourPreferences 275

Read Temperatures fromController

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Controller Compensates AxesOnly

ThermalExpansion)valuesforthe AxesbyclickingtheGetCurrent Tempsbutton. Thecontrollerperforms compensationofthemachineaxes itself. Theinputsfortheaxeswillnotbe used. Partinputparametersapplysince PCDMISstillperformscompensation forthepart. Duringpartprogramexecution theTemperatureCompensation Setupdialogboxdoesnotopen. Theprogramdoesnotpausefor yourconfirmation. Thecontrollerperforms compensationofboththemachineaxes andthepart. Theinputsfortheaxesarenot used. PCDMISdoesnotperformany compensationcalculations. Theinputforthepartforthe materialcoefficient,reference temperatureandoriginmuststillbe suppliedbecausePCDMISmustpass thatinformationdowntothecontroller. Duringpartprogramexecutionthe TemperatureCompensationSetup dialogboxdoesnotopen. Theprogramdoesnotpausefor yourconfirmation. ForSheffieldcontrollers,youdonot needtoentertheCTEvaluesforthe Axes.

Controller CompsAxes andPart

TimeRemaining
TheTimeRemainingdisplayshowsthetimeremainingbeforethetemperaturereadingtakes place.Thisonlydisplaysifyousetupadelayperiodforexecution.SeeDelayBeforeReading Partbelow.

276 SettingYourPreferences

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

DelayBeforeReadingPart
TheDelayBeforeReadingPartboxallowsyoutospecifyaperiodthatPCDMISwillwaitduring partprogramexecutionbeforereadingtheSensorstoobtainthecurrenttemperatures.Ifzerois enteredthenthereisnopause.

ResettoDefaults
TheResetstoDefaultsbuttonupdatesanypreviouslymodifiedvalueswiththepreviouslysaved values.IfthisisonaDEAmachineandaserv1.stpisavailablethenPCDMISwillreadthatfile.

GetCurrentTemps
IfyouselecttheReadTempsfromControllermethodfromtheCompensationMethodlist,and ifyouuseamachinethatsupportsthisoption,theGetCurrentTempsbuttoncausesPCDMIS toreadthecurrenttemperaturesfromthecontrolleranddisplaythemintheTemperature CompensationSetupdialogbox.

TEMPCOMPCommandintheEditWindow
WhenyouaccepttheinputsintheTemperatureCompensationSetupdialogboxbyclickingthe OKbuttonPCDMISinsertsaTEMPCOMPcommandintothepartprogram,asshownbelow.

ExampleofInsertedTEMPCOMPcommand NormallyapartprogramwillonlyuseoneTEMPCOMPcommandTheTEMPCOMPcommand shouldbeplacednearthetopoftheprogrampriortoanymeasurements.Whenyouexecutethe partprogram,itbehavesaccordingtothevariousinputparameters.

ControllerSupport
Notallcompmethodsaresupportedbyallcontrollers.Thefollowingarethesupportedcontrollers forthedifferentcompensationmethods.SeeCompensationMethod. CompensationMethods Manual SupportedControllers All,thereisnocontroller involvementwiththismethod ReadTempsfromController DEA(onlywithDEACfamily controllers),Sharpe32zusing Leitzprotocol,Sheffield ControllerCompsAxesOnly Sharpe32zusingLeitzprotocol ControllerCompsAxesandPart Sharpe32zusingLeitzprotocol, Sheffield

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

SettingYourPreferences 277

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

LocalTemperatureSettings
WhenopeningapartprogramcontainingaTEMPCOMPcommand,PCDMISwillverifythepart sensornumberwiththelocalsettings. Ifthevaluesdiffer,PCDMISwillautomaticallyupdatethecommandtoreflectthecurrent settings,andacommentwillbeinsertedintothepartprogramreflectingtheoldandnew values. Ifnolocalsettingisavailableforthepartsensor,PCDMISwillmarktheTEMPCOMP commandREDintheEditWindow.

SpecifyingExternalDirectoriestoSearch

SearchPathdialogbox TheEdit|Preferences|SetSearchPathmenuoptiondisplaystheSearchPathdialogbox. ThisdialogboxallowsyoutospecifythedirectoriesthatPCDMISuseswhen: ImportingCADfiles ExportingCADfiles LoadingPartProgramFiles(.prg) LoadingReport(.rtp)orLabeltemplatefiles(.lbl)andform(.FORM)files. LoadingProbeFiles(.prb) Recallingalignments(.aln) CallingSubroutines

Tospecifyadefaultdirectorytouse: 1. 2. 3. 4. AccesstheSearchPathdialogbox. SelectanitemfromtheSearchForlist. Typethedirectorypathwayinthebox(orusetheBrowsebuttontoselectadirectory). ClicktheOkbutton.Thechangeswillbemadeandthedialogboxwillclose.

Note:IfyouselectedLOADPROBE,RECALL,orSUBROUTINEfromtheSearchForlist, additionalcheckboxesbecomeavailableforselection.Thesearedescribedbelow. TheSearchPathdialogboxcontainsthefollowingoptions:

SearchFor

TheSearchfordropdownlistletsyouselectoneoftheseoptions:

278 SettingYourPreferences

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

DefaultExportDirectory DefaultImportDirectory DefaultPartProgramDirectory DefaultReportingDirectory LOADPROBE RECALL SUBROUTINE

Foreachofthese,youcandefineadirectorythatPCDMISwillsearchinwhenthecommandfor theselectedoptionisencounteredintheEditwindow.

SearchCurrentDirectory
TheSearchCurrentDirectorycheckboxenablesordisablessearchingwithinthecurrent directory.

SearchCurrentDirectoryFirst

Whenselected,(andifboththeSearchCurrentDirectoryandtheSearchSpecifiedDirectory checkboxesareselected)thischeckboxallowsyousearchinboththecurrentdirectoryandthe userspecifieddirectory.Theorderofthesearchdependsonifthischeckboxisselected: IfselectedPCDMISwillfirstaccessthecurrentdirectoryandthentheuserspecified directory. Ifcleared,thesearchorderwillbereversed,accessingfirsttheuserspecifieddirectory andthenthecurrentdirectory.

SearchSpecifiedDirectory

TheSearchSpecifiedDirectorycheckboxenablesordisablessearchinginadirectoryyou specify.Thepathwayforthedirectoryyouspecifywillbeenteredintheboxjustbelowthecheck box.

BrowseButton

TheBrowsebuttonallowsyoutobrowseforauserspecifieddirectory.Whenclicked,your system'sdirectorystructurewillappear:

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

SettingYourPreferences 279

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Exampleofonesystem'sdirectorystructureinsidetheChooseDirectorydialogbox. TheChooseDirectorydialogboxcontainsthefoldersandlevelsoffoldersavailabletoyou. Simply,highlightthedirectoryyouwantPCDMIStosearchinandclicktheOKbutton.PCDMIS returnsyoutotheSearchPathdialogbox.Noticethatthedirectorypathwaynowappearsinthe SearchSpecifiedDirectorybox. Note:ThedirectorystructureintheChooseDirectorydialogboxvariesfromcomputerto computer.Theaboveisonlyanexampleofwhatyoumayencounter.

DesktopSettings

TherecanbedifferentOpenGLoptionsforeachdesktopdisplaysetting.TheDesktopSettings areashowswhatthecurrentdesktopsettingsare. ResolutionRatiosofDifferentMonitorSizes Widescreenmonitorsneeda1.6ratioinsteadofa1.3333ratiousedbynormalmonitors.For example,aresolutionof1200x1600hasa1.3333ratio(1600/1200)andworkswellforanormal sizemonitor,whilearesolutionof1680x1050hasa1.6ratio,goodforawidescreenmonitor.If youuseawidescreenmonitorandyourscreenappearsstretched(perhapsyourcirclefeatures appearasellipsesintheGraphicsDisplaywindow),usea1.6resolutionratiotoresolvethis problem.

280 SettingYourPreferences

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ChangingOpenGLOptions

OpenGLOptionsdialogbox TheEdit|Preferences|OpenGL menuoptionbringsupthe TheGraphicsDisplay windowmusthavethefocus OpenGLOptionsdialogbox.Thisdialogboxallowsyoutochange forthismenuoptionto theOpenGLoptionsthataffectdisplayofthemodelinsolidview becomeavailable. mode.Tochangetheparttosolidview,seeSettingUptheScreen ViewintheEditingtheCADDisplaychapter.

Options

TheOptionsareacontrolsthedisplaycharacteristicsofthemodelinsolidviewmode.Some combinationsoftheseoptionsmaynotbeavailablebecauseoflimitationsofyourgraphicscard. Also,dependingonhowyourgraphicscardsupportshardwareacceleration,somecombinations ofoptionsmayresultinloweredgraphicsperformance.Ifthecurrentoptionsettingswillresultin loweredperformance,awarningmessagewillappearatthebottomofthedialogbox.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

SettingYourPreferences 281

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

DoubleBuffering
Adisplaybufferisgraphics memoryusedtostorethe WhenyouselecttheDoubleBufferingcheckbox,thereare imageseenonyourcomputer actuallytwodisplaybuffers:afrontandabackbuffer.Thefront screen. bufferiswhatyouseeonthescreen.Whenthescreenhastobe redrawn,suchaswhenthemodelisrotated,theimagehastobe erasedfromthescreenandtheimageredrawninitsnewstate. Theerasinganddrawingisdoneonthebackbuffer.Youcannot seetheactualerasinganddrawingofthegraphics.Oncethe graphicsaredrawntothebackbuffer,thebackbufferis swappedwiththefrontbuffer.Thishappensquicklysothatany transitionbetweenthetwobuffersisvirtuallyundetectable. WhentheDoubleBufferingcheckboxiscleared,orinotherwords,whenthereisonlyone displaybuffer,youcanactuallyseethescreenbeingerasedandredrawn(albeitveryquickly). Theerasingandredrawingofthescreencausesaflickering. Insummary,doublebufferingproducesamorevisuallypleasinggraphicaldisplaythansingle buffering.

ZBufferDepth

TheZBufferDepthlistcontrolshowmuchgraphicsmemoryisusedforthezbuffer.Thez bufferdetermineswhichpartsofa3Dmodellieinfrontofotherpartsofthemodel.Ifyouuse insufficientbitsforthezbuffer,visualartifactsmayappearonthemodelinsolidviewmode. Theseartifactsareareasonthemodelthataredrawninfrontofotherpartsofthemodelwhen theyshouldactuallybehidden.TheseartifactsdonotaffecttheaccuracyofPCDMISbutare simplyinaccuraciesinthevisualdisplayofthemodel.

ColorDepth

TheColorDepthlistcontrolshowmuchgraphicsmemoryyoursystemusesforthecolor informationofeachpixel.ThisnumberisusuallydependentonthecolordepthoftheDesktop Settings.

Tessellation

Thetessellationvalueisthe defaultvalueusedtobreakup surfacesintopatchesfor shading.

TheTessellationareacontrolsthedrawnimagebysettinga tessellationmultiplierintheMultiplierValuebox.PCDMIS multipliestheMultiplierValuebythetessellationvalueforthe givenCADsystem.Thesevaluesarethenusedinthe generationoftheshadedimage.

282 SettingYourPreferences

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

SettingImportOptions
Youcaneasilysetimportoptionstodeterminedefaultcolorsforcertainimportedentitytypes,as wellashowPCDMISdisplaysimportedcurves. Toperformthesemanipulations,selecttheEdit|Preferences|ImportOptions menuitem.This willdisplaytheImportOptionsdialogbox.

ImportOptionsdialogbox ThisdialogboxcontainstheDefaultColorsareaaswellassomecheckboxes. DefaultColors ThisarealetsyouchangethedefaultcolorsforimportedPoints,Curves,Surfaces,and Datumentitytypes.Iftheentitytypesdon'talreadyhaveadefinedcolor,theywilluse thisdefaultcolor.Tochangeacolor,simplyclickonabuttoninthisarea.Astandard Colordialogboxappears,allowingyoutoselectanewcolor.

Colordialogbox Whenyouimportthenextfeature,PCDMISwillusethenewlydefinedcolors. CheckBoxes ExplodepolylinestopointsUsually,whenyouimportcurvesentities,theyappearas individualcurves.Inreality,however,eachcurveisreallyapolyline,abunchoflines connectedbyaseriesofpoints.Selectingthischeckboxmakesimportedpolylinecurve

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

SettingYourPreferences 283

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

entitiesappearasaseriesofpoints,onepointforeachpolylinevertex.Clearingthis checkboxmakesimportedcurvesappearasnormal. KeepPolylinesSelectingthischeckboxwillallowtheimagetocontinuetodisplaythe originalpolylinealongwiththepointswhenyouselecttheExplodepolylinetopoints checkbox.Clearingthischeckboxwillonlyshowtheseriesofpoints. PCDMISwillusethesesettingsforallfutureimportoperations.

Understandingthe.DATFiles
WhilethePCDMISregistryentriesstoremostofPCDMIS'ssettings,severalfileswitha.dat filenameextensionarealsousedbyPCDMIStostoreinformation.Whileyoucaneditsomeif thesefilesinatexteditor,manyyoucanonlyeditwithinPCDMIS.Youcan,however,delete mostofthesefilestoreturnPCDMIStoitsoriginalstateforthedeleteditem.Itemsthatshould notbedeletedarenotedintheDescriptioncolumn. Thefollowingtabledetailsthe.datfilesavailable: Filename Editable Text File No Location Description

colors.dat

Intheuser'ssub directoryunder PCDMIS'sinstall location.

ThisfilestoresyourmodifiedEdit windowcolors.PCDMIS generatesthisfileonlyifyou modifiedEditwindowcolors.The filegetscreatedwhenyouexitPC DMIS.Deletingthisfilereverts yourEditwindowcolorstothe defaultsettings. See"DefiningEditWindow Colors". Thisfilecontainsinformationfor thedefaultitemsanduserdefined itemsfoundintheUserDefined CommandslistoftheMenutabof theCustomizedialogbox. Deletingthisfileremovesany userdefinedmenuitems.The defaultautomationwizardsthat shipwithPCDMISare regeneratedinanew.datfile.If, afterdeletingthefile,youhavea toolbar.datfilefromaprevious versionofPCDMIS,youwillget themback,regeneratedaftera nextexecutionofPCDMIS. See"CustomizingtheUser Interface"in"NavigatingtheUser Interface". Thisfilecontrolstheformatofthe

custommenuitem.dat

No

Intheuser'ssub directoryunder PCDMIS'sinstall location.

elogo.dat

Yes

Inthedirectory

284 SettingYourPreferences

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

wherePCDMIS wasinstalled.

Editwindow'sfooterforthelast page. DONOTDELETETHISFILE. Doingsoerasesthefooteronthe lastpageoftheEditwindow. See"ModifyingHeadersand Footers"in"UsingtheEdit Window". Thisfilecontainsthelayoutsof toolbarsanddockablewindows duringpartprogramexecution. PCDMISswitchesbackandforth reloadingthesetwofiles (gbarstateandexecbarstate)as wellwhenyoustartandfinish programexecution.Deletingthis filerestoresadefaultlayout. Thisfilecontainsthelayoutsof toolbarsanddockablewindows withinthepartprogram(butnot duringexecution).Deletingthisfile restoresadefaultlayout. Thisfilecontrolstheformatofthe Editwindow'sheaderforallpages butthefirst.See"Modifying HeadersandFooters"in"Using theEditWindow". DONOTDELETETHISFILE. Doingsoerasestheheaderonthe affectedpagesoftheEditwindow. Thisfilecontainsalistofany layoutswhenyousavealayout usingtheWindowLayouts toolbar.Deletingthisfileremoves yourwindowlayoutsfromthe WindowLayoutstoolbar. Thesefilesstoreinformationabout aspecificlayoutstoredinthe WindowLayoutstoolbar.Youwill haveonefileforeachstored layout.(similartothe gbarstate.dat).PCDMIS automaticallyincrements#for eachnewlycreatedlayout. DeletingaspecificLayout#.datfile removetherelatedlayoutbutton fromtheWindowLayouts toolbar. Thisfilecontrolstheformatofthe Editwindow'sheaderonthefirst page.See"ModifyingHeaders
SettingYourPreferences 285

execbarstate.dat

No

Intheuser'ssub directoryunder PCDMIS'sinstall location.

gbarstate.dat

No

Intheuser'ssub directoryunder PCDMIS'sinstall location. Inthedirectory wherePCDMIS wasinstalled.

header.dat

Yes

layouttoolbar.dat

No

Intheuser'ssub directoryunder PCDMIS'sinstall location.

layout#.dat

No

Intheuser'ssub directoryunder PCDMIS'sinstall location.

logo.dat

Yes

Inthedirectory wherePCDMIS wasinstalled.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

andFooters"in"UsingtheEdit Window". DONOTDELETETHISFILE. Doingsoerasestheheaderfrom thefirstpageoftheEditwindow. Thisfilestorescustomizedmenus fortheuser.Inthefilename <language>isthethreeletter languagecodeforthelanguage youareusingtodisplayPCDMIS. Deletingthisfileremovesany menucustomizationsmade. Thisfilestoresalistofthewarning messagesyouhaveturnedoff. Deletingthisfilecausesall warningmessagestoappear again. Thisfiledisplaysalltheprobe componentsavailablewithinPC DMIS.Whenyougotobuildyour ownprobefile,PCDMISusesthe informationinthisfiletopopulate theProbeUtilitydialogbox. DONOTDELETETHISFILE. Doingsoerasesthelibraryof probecomponentsavailable makingitimpossibletomodifyand createprobes. Thisfilecontainsalistofthe savedreporttemplatesand customreportsontheReporting toolbar.Deletingthisfileremoves anysaveditemsfromthe Reportingtoolbar. Thisfiledisplaysallthequick fixtureitemsavailabletoaddinto theGraphicsDisplaywindow. DONOTDELETETHISFILE. Doingsoerasesthelibraryof quickfixtureitemsavailable makingitimpossibletoworkwith thesefiles. Thisfilecontainsalistofreport templatesyouhaveaddedtothe TemplateSelectiondialogbox. Deletingthisfileremovesthose filesfromtheTemplateSelection dialogbox,butitdoesnotdelete theactualreporttemplates themselves.

menu_<language>.dat

No

Intheuser'ssub directoryunder PCDMIS'sinstall location.

messageboxoptions.dat

No

Intheuser'ssub directoryunder PCDMIS'sinstall location. Inthedirectory wherePCDMIS wasinstalled.

probe.dat

Yes

reportingtoolbar.dat

No

Intheuser'ssub directoryunder PCDMIS'sinstall location.

quickfix.dat

Yes

Inthedirectory wherePCDMIS wasinstalled.

templreppickerlist.dat

Yes

Inthedirectory wherePCDMIS wasinstalledas wellastheinthe user'ssub directory.It'salso inthe UserDefaultFiles subdirectory.

286 SettingYourPreferences

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

toolbar.dat

No

Intheuser'ssub directoryunder PCDMIS'sinstall location.

Thisfilecontainsallcustomized toolbarsdefinitions(buttons)and names.PCDMIScreatesthisfile whenyoucustomizeorcreateany toolbars.Deletingthisfileremoves anycustomizedtoolbars.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

SettingYourPreferences 287

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

EditingtheCADDisplay
EditingtheCADDisplay:Introduction
PCDMISletsyoueditthedisplayoftheCADintheGraphicsDisplaywindow. ThemaintopicsinthischapterdescribehowtoedittheCADdisplay.Theseinclude: SettingUptheScreenView ManagingandPositioningOnScreenElements SwitchingBetweenCurveandSurfaceModes DrawingSurfaces HighlightingSurfacesorCurveswiththeMouse RepaintingtheScreen ChangingScreenModes ChangingScreenColors ScalingtheDrawing RotatingtheDrawing ChangingRotationandOtherMotionOptions ShowingandHidingGraphics WorkingwithAssembliesofParts MakingCAD3DbyUsingtheCreateLevelsWindow ViewingCADInformation VerifyingCADInformation UsingScreenCapturesoftheGraphicsDisplayWindow EditingCAD EditingCADVectors ApplyingLightingandMaterialstotheCADDisplay SelectingFeaturesUsingtheGraphicsDisplayWindow EditingDimensionColors EditingFeatures ShowingandAnimatingPathLines DeletingCAD DeletingFeatures DeletingDimensions TransformingaCADModel WorkingwithCADCoordinateSystems PointNominalDeviation

SettingUptheScreenView
TheEdit|GraphicsDisplayWindow|ViewSetupoptionopenstheViewSetupdialogbox. Thisdialogboxletsyouspecifythenumberofviews(maximumoffour)ofthepartthatPCDMIS willdisplayintheGraphicsDisplaywindow.Youcanalsodeterminetheorientationofeachview andiftheparticularviewisdisplayedasawireframeorasolid.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

EditingtheCADDisplay 289

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ViewSetupdialogbox Hint:Toquicklychangehowthepartisdisplayedinthe'blue'view,youcanclickontheicons availablefromtheGraphicViewtoolbar.

ChangingLayoutandViews
Tochangethescreenlayoutandtheorientationoftheviews: 1. AccesstheViewSetupdialogbox(Edit|GraphicsDisplayWindow|ViewSetup). 2. SelectthedesiredscreenstylefromtheLayoutarea.Forexample,tosplitthescreen intotwodifferentviewsofthepartimage,clickonbuttontwoorthree(inthefirstrow). Thewindowwillbesplithorizontallyorvertically,dependingonthebuttonthatischosen. 3. Usingthedropdownlistbox,selectthedesiredvieworientationforeachwindowthatwill bedisplayed.Forexample,toviewthepartimagefromtheZ+direction,simplyselectZ+ fromthedropdownlistbox.Or,toviewthesameimagefromtheYaxis,selectY.Allof thedisplayoptionsonlyaffecthowPCDMISdisplaysthepartimage.Theydonotaffect themeasureddataorinspectionresults. 4. SelecttheSolidcheckboxifyouwanttodisplayyourpartintheselectedviewofyour partasasolid.Leavingthecheckboxblankwilldisplaytheviewofthepartasawire frame. 5. ClickeithertheApplybuttonortheOkbutton. IftheApplybuttonisselected,PCDMISwillredrawtheGraphicsDisplay windowtoreflectthecurrentsettings,allowingyoutopreviewyourchanges. IftheOkbuttonisselected,PCDMISwillclosetheViewSetupdialogboxand applythechangestotheGraphicsDisplaywindow.Atanytimebeforeclicking Ok,youcanclickCanceltoclosethedialogboxandreverttheviewstowhat theywere.

ChangeSizeofViews
PCDMISletsyouredefinethesizesoftheviewsintheGraphicsDisplaywindow. Tochangethesizeofaviewwindow: 1. Positionthepointeronthelineseparatingthewindows.Thesinglearrowcursorwill changetoadoublearrow.

290 EditingtheCADDisplay

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

2. Holddowntheleftmousebutton. 3. Dragthelinetothedesiredlocation.Theviewsizewillchange. Thisprocedureworksineitherthehorizontalorverticalposition.Thedrawingcanthenbere scaledtofitwithinthenewwindowbyselectingtheScaleToFitoption.See"Scalingthe Drawing". Note:PCDMIScanbeinanymodewhenchangingtheviewsize.

Addinga3DGrid
Selecta3DGridcheckboxtoturnonthe3Dgridfortheselectedview.Unliketherulers,the originofthe3Dgridwillalwaysbelocatedatthepart'scurrentalignment. The3DGridSetupbuttonbringsupthe3DGridSetupdialogbox.Fromhereyoucanmodify thegridspacing.

3DGridSetupdialogbox ModifythegridlinespacingbytypingavalueintheX Axis,YAxis,andZAxisboxesorselect theAutocheckboxestohavePCDMISautomaticallycomputereasonablespacing. Gridlinelabelsareplacedaroundtheoutsideofthewindow.Theselinesfollowthecurrent alignmentdefinedintheEditwindow.TheycanbeinsetbythevalueshownintheLabelInset box.ThisvaluedeterminesthepixelbuffersizethatPCDMISplacesbetweentheouteredgeof theGraphicsDisplaywindowandthe3Dgridlabels. ClickOKandPCDMISdisplaysthe3DgridintheGraphic'sDisplaywindow.

Exampleofa3DGridwithLabelInsetof10intheXYPlane

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

EditingtheCADDisplay 291

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Therearethreepossiblegridsthatcanbedrawn: XY YZ ZX PCDMISdrawsonlyonegridatatime.Thegriddrawndependsontheaxisplanerotated closesttoyourscreen(determinedbytheaxisindicator).Forexample,thefollowingaxisindicator fromtheGraphicsDisplaywindowshowstheXYaxisplanefacingtheuserPCDMISdrawsthe XYaxisgrid.

AxisIndicatorshowingtheXYplane. Note:Thecolorofthe3DgridcanbemodifiedfromtheScreenColordialogbox.See"Changing ScreenColors".

Showinglinesoversurfaces
Thischeckboxappliestosolidviewonly.Selectthischeckboxtocausepointsandlinesthat hidebehindsurfacestoshowthrough.Thisoptionisusefulforlookingatmeasuredfeaturesthat arebehindsurfaces.Forexample,supposeameasuredlineinyourpartisslightlyunderneath theCADsurface.Selectingthischeckboxwillforcethemeasuredlinetobevisible.

DisplayingRulers
SelecttheRulerscheckboxtoturnonrulersinallviews.Theoriginoftherulerswillalwaysbe locatedattheCADorigin(notlocalpartalignments).

Displaying,Creating,andManipulatingLevels
ACADlevelconsistsofagroupofrelatedCADgeometries,whichareidentifiedbyalevel number.ThelevelinformationinthesefilesisimportedintoPCDMISwhenthefilesare 'imported'.YoucanthenselectwhichlevelswillbedisplayedineachGraphicsDisplay'view' usingtheViewSetupdialog(Edit|GraphicsDisplayWindow|ViewSetup). GiventhesizeandcomplexityofmanyCADfiles,thisoptionwillgreatlybenefityourabilityto restrictspecificportionsoftheCADmodelthatwillbevisibleasvariousPCDMIStasksarebeing performed.(See"MakingCAD3D"formoreinformation.) Note:ThisoptionisonlyavailableiflevelshavebeenincorporatedintotheIGESdrawingfile. ToviewalevelintheGraphicsDisplaywindow:

292 EditingtheCADDisplay

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Selectthedesiredview(blue,red,yellow,orgreenview).

Selecttheappropriatelevelfromthelist.

ClicktheApplybutton. PCDMISwillredrawtheGraphicsDisplaywindowtoreflectthecurrentsetting.TheOKbutton mustbepressedtosavethesechanges. TheCreatebuttonintheViewSetupdialogboxallowsyoutoaccesstheLeveldialogbox.

Leveldialogbox TheLeveldialogboxallowsyoutocreate,delete,ormodifylevels.

CreatingLevels
Creatingalevelconsistsofa3stepprocess. 1. FromtheLeveldialogbox,typeinthenewlevelnumberintheboxbeneaththeCreate button. 2. Choosethefeaturesthatyouwantcontainedinthenewlevelbyselectingthedesired featuretypecheckboxes. 3. ClicktheFinishbuttontocompletetheprocess.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

EditingtheCADDisplay 293

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

DeletingLevels
Leveldeletionconsistsofa3stepprocess: 1. FromtheLeveldialogbox,selectanexistinglevelfromthedropdownlist. 2. ClicktheDeletebutton. 3. SelecttheFinishbuttontocompletetheprocess.Allfeaturetypesthatwereassignedto thedeletedlevelwillbeassignedtolevel'0.'

ModifyingLevels
Levelmodificationconsistsofa5stepprocess: 1. FromtheLeveldialogbox,selectanexistinglevelfromthedropdownlist. 2. ClickontheModifybutton. 3. SelecttheAssignbuttontoaddCADtothechosenlevel,orselecttheUndobuttonto removeCADfromthechosenlevel. 4. FromtheFeatureTypecheckboxes,selecttheappropriatefeaturetypestobe'added to'or'removedfrom'thedisplayedlevel. 5. SelecttheFinishbuttontocompletethelevelmodificationprocess. LeveladditionandlevelmodificationwillrequiretheselectionofCADdata.Youcanrestrictthe selectiontodifferenttypesofgeometryinthesamewayasselectionisrestrictedintheEdit CADandDeleteCADdialogboxes.Also,selectionmayberestrictedtoCADofagivencolorby checkingthe'Color'checkboxandselectingageometryofthedesiredcolor.Theselectedcolor willthenappearnexttothe'Color'checkbox.Tochangeacolor,clearthe'Color'checkbox, thenreselecttheColorcheckbox,selectingthegeometrywiththenewcolor. YoucanclosetheLeveldialogboxbyclickingOKorCancel.TheCancelbuttonwillnotsave theresultsofanyoperationsinprogress.

ManagingandPositioningOnScreenElements
TheGraphicsDisplaywindowholdsmorethanjusttheCADdrawingofyourpart.Itcanalso displayfeatureIDandDatumDefinitionlabels,DimensionInfoandPointInfotextboxes,and FeatureControlFrames(FCFs).Theseelementsallbringorganizationtoyourreport,butwithtoo manyofthemdisplayedyourscreenmaycoverupyourpartandtendtomakeyourpartdrawing lookcluttered. Fortunately,youcaneasilyrepositiontheseelementsbymovingyourmouseoveranelement. Themousepointerchangestoacrosshair.Clickonanelementanddragittoanewlocation. PCDMISthendrawsaleaderlinefromtheIDlabelortextboxtoitscorrespondingfeature. YoucanalsohavePCDMISdynamicallyrepositionallyourlabelsandtextboxesaroundyour partdrawingevenwhenchangingthezoomlevelforyourpart'sdisplay.SelecttheAutomatic LabelPositioningcheckboxfromtheGeneraltaboftheSetupOptionsdialogbox.See "AutomaticLabelPositioning"in"SettingYourPreferences". Ifthingsstilllookcluttered,youcanalsocontrolthevisibilitystateofthesevariouselementsusing shortcutmenus.See"FeatureShortcutMenu"and"BoxSelectShortcutMenu"in"Using ShortcutKeysandShortcutMenus".

294 EditingtheCADDisplay

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Note:Positioningelementsisonlydoneintheactiveview.Ifyouhaveasplitscreenshowing additionalviewsofthepart,theIDsremainasbeforeintheotherviews.

SwitchingBetweenCurveandSurfaceModes
Operation|Graphics DisplayWindow|Change Curve/SurfaceMode TheoptionalpackageCurvesandSurfacesmusthavebeenpurchasedforyoursysteminorder toaccessthesemodes. TheCurvemodeoptionmakesawireframe'smodelofcurvesandlinesselectable whenclickingontheCADdataintheGraphicsDisplaywindow.Youmustimportawire framemodelforthisoptiontobecomeavailable. TheSurfacemodeoptionmakesasolidmodel'ssurfacesselectablewhenclicking ontheCADdataintheGraphicsDisplaywindow.Youmustimportasolidmodelforthis optiontobecomeavailable.

Forinformationonusingthesemodeswithscans,seethe"ScanningyourPart"chapter.

DrawingSurfaces

TheOperation|GraphicsDisplayWindow|DrawSurfacesoptionallowsyoutodisplay surfacesonthescreen.NotethatyoumustfirstselecttheSolidcheckboxintheViewSetup dialogbox.ForinformationontheViewSetupdialogbox,seethe"SettingUptheScreenView" topic. Toturnoffthedisplayofsurfaces,selectthisoptionagain.

HighlightingSurfacesandCurveswiththeMouse
PCDMIS3.6andlatergivesyoutheabilitytoquicklyandeasilyhighlightCADsurfacesand wireframeelementsbysimplyhoveringoverthemwithyourmouse.Thisletsyougetaquick overviewoftheavailablesurfacesorcurvesonyourpartmodel.ThisiscalledMouseOver Highlighting(MOHL).

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

EditingtheCADDisplay 295

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ExampleofMouseOverHighlighting TousetheMOHLfunctionality,holddowntheSHIFTbuttonandmovethemouseoveryourpart. IfyouhaveselectedSurfacemode,PCDMIShighlightsinyellowthecurrentsurface underthemouse. IfyouhaveselectedCurvemode,PCDMIShighlightsthecurrentcurveorwireframe elementunderthemouse. IfusingMOHLwithatexturedbitmapappliedtosurfacesofyourpart,youshouldsetyourZ BufferDepthtoavaluelowerthan32bits.Asettingof32orhighermaycausejaggedhighlight linestoremainonyourimageuntilyourrefreshtheGraphicsDisplaywindow.See"Changing OpenGLOptions"inthe"SettingYourPreferences"chapter.

RepaintingtheScreen

ThisoptionwillrefreshtheGraphicsDisplaywindowwhenevertheOperation|Graphics DisplayWindow|RepainttheScreenoptionisselected.

ChangingScreenModes
PCDMISallowsyoutoswitchbetweentheseScreenModes.ThedifferentmodestellPCDMIS howtointerpretmouseclicks.

TranslateMode

TheOperation|GraphicsDisplayWindow|ChangeScreenMode|Translateoptionplaces PCDMISintotranslatemode.Thismodeallowsyoutomoveandzoominoroutonthepartwhile intheGraphicsDisplaywindow.ThefollowingfunctionsareavailableintheTranslateMode: ShrinkthesizeofthepartwithintheGraphicsDisplaywindow. EnlargethesizeofthepartwithintheGraphicsDisplaywindow. SelectaportionofthepartwithintheGraphicsDisplaywindow. RepositionthepartwithintheGraphicsDisplaywindow.

ShrinkingthePartImagewithintheGraphicsDisplaywindow
Toshrinktheentireimageofthepartbyclicking: 1. Movethemousepointertoapointabovetheimaginary,horizontalcenterlineofthe graphicpartdisplay. 2. Clicktherightmousebutton. Thefartherawaythecursorisfromthecenterline,themorethedrawingwillshrink.

296 EditingtheCADDisplay

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Ifyouhaveamousewithamousewheelyouscrollyourmousewheelawayfromyoutoshrink thedrawing.

EnlargingthePartImagewithintheGraphicsDisplaywindow
Toenlargetheentireimageofthepart: 1. Movethemousepointertoapointbelowtheimaginary,horizontalcenterlineofthe graphicpartdisplay. 2. Clicktherightmousebutton. Thefartherawaythecursorisfromthecenterline,themorethedrawingwillgrow. Ifyouhaveamousewithamousewheelyouscrollyourmousewheeltowardsyoutoenlargethe part.

EnlargingaPortionofthePartImagewithintheGraphicsDisplaywindow
Toenlargeaspecifiedsectionofthedisplayedpart: 1. Placethemousepointeratacorneroftheselectionarea. 2. Holdbothleftandrightmousebuttonssimultaneously. 3. Move(drag)thearrowiconovertheportionoftheGraphicsDisplaywindowtobe selected.PCDMISwillbegindrawingabox. 4. Whentheboxcontainsthepropergeometry,releasebothmousebuttons.PCDMISwill zoominontheselectedarea. Note:Onceyoureachacertainpoint,theimagedoesn'tenlargeanyfurther.

RepositioningthePartImagewithintheGraphicsDisplaywindow
TochangethepositionofthepartimagewithintheGraphicsDisplaywindow: 1. Placethemousepointerovertheimageofthepart. 2. Holddowntherightmousebuttonanddragittoanewposition. 3. Releasethemousebutton.

2DRotateMode

Rotatingadrawingin2 TheOperation|GraphicsDisplayWindow|ChangeScreen dimensionsonlychangestheMode|2DRotateoptionrotatesthepartintwodimensions.The display.Itdoesnotinany partcanberotatedafull360degreesoranyfractionthereof. waychangetheactualpart's originordatums. Thefollowingsectionsdescribethedifferentwaystorotatea drawingintwodimensions.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

EditingtheCADDisplay 297

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Rotate2DbyDragging
PCDMISredrawstheimageAdrawingcanberotatedintwodimensionsbydraggingthe dynamicallyasthemouseis drawingaroundtheimaginarycenteroftheGraphicsDisplay beingmoved. window. Torotatebydragging: 1. FromtheGraphicsModestoolbar,clickthe2DRotate Modeicon. 2. PositionthemousepointerintheGraphicsDisplaywindow (inanyareaotherthanatthecenter). 3. Holddowntherightmousebutton. 4. Movethepointerabouttheimaginarycenterofthedisplay window.PCDMISredrawstheimagedynamicallyasyou movethemouse. 5. Releasethemousebutton.PCDMISkeepsyourcurrent rotation.

Hint:Toquicklyrotateyourpartfromwithinanymode,pressALT+rightclickanddragthe mouse.NotethatthisdoesnotworkifyouhavetheRotatedialogboxfor3Drotationopen.

Rotate2DtoanElement(SquareuptheDrawing)
To"squareup"theparttothescreen,fromtheGraphicsModestoolbar,selectthe2DRotate Modeicon ,andthenclickonafeaturewiththerightmousebutton.(Donotholddownthe button.)PCDMISwillrotatethedrawingsothattheselectedfeatureisparalleltotheclosest screenaxis(verticalorhorizontal).

Rotate2DbyaFactor
Torotatebyaprecisefactor,similartothe"ScalingtheModelbyaFactor"topic,dothefollowing: 1. Selectthe2DRotateModeicon fromtheGraphicsModestoolbar. 2. PressSHIFTandthenrightclickintheGraphicsDisplaywindow.PCDMISwilldisplaya smalldialogbox.

3. Typetheangle(indegrees)intotheAngleofpartcoordinatesXbox. 4. ClickOK.PCDMISclosestheboxandperformsa2DrotateofthepartintheGraphics Displaywindow.

298 EditingtheCADDisplay

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

3DRotateMode

TheOperation|GraphicsDisplayWindow|ChangeScreenMode|3DRotatemenuoption allowsyoutorotateapartdrawinginthreedimensions.Thepartcanberotatedupto45degrees perrotation.SelectingthisoptionopenstheRotatedialogbox.

Rotatedialogbox The"Rotate3DusingRotateDialogBox","Rotate3DbyDragging",and"Rotate3Dtoan Element"topicsbelowdescribethreedifferentwaystorotateadrawinginthreedimensions. Seethe"RotatingtheDrawing"topicforadditionalinformationonrotatingthedrawing.

Rotate3DbyDragging
Partrotationcanalsobeaccomplishedbydraggingthemouse.Todothis: 1. Accessthe3DRotatedialogbox. 2. Clickandholdtheright mousebutton. 3. Dragthemouse. Hint:ToquicklyrotateyourpartwithorwithouttheRotatedialogboxopen,pressCTRL+right clickanddragthemouse,orifyourmousehasacentermousewheelbutton,holdthemouse wheelbuttonanddragthemouse. DeterminingthePointofRotation Therearetwowaystodeterminethepointofrotation,dependingonwherethemouseiswhen youfirstclicktherightmousebutton.EitherthemouseisovertheGraphicsDisplaywindow backgroundoritisoverthepart. 1.) IfthemouseisovertheGraphicsDisplaybackground,thepartwillberotatedaboutthe part'sorigin. 2.) Ifthemouseisoverthepart,thepartwillberotatedaboutthepointonthepartdirectly belowthemousepointer.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

EditingtheCADDisplay 299

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Rotate3DusingRotateDialogBox
Torotatethedrawingusingthedialogbox: 1. Selecttheviewtobealtered(numberedas14optionbuttons). 2. DeterminetheamountofrotationbyselectingtheDegreeIncrement(1,5,10,or45) option. 3. Clickonthedesiredaxisbuttonstorotatethedrawing. 4. SelecttheClosebutton.PCDMISdisplaysthechangestotheCADimageinthe GraphicsDisplaywindow. ClickingtheResetbuttonwillsnaptherotationofthedrawingintheRotatedialogboxandinthe GraphicsDisplaywindowtotheclosestaxis. IfyouselecttheAnimatecheckbox,PCDMISdynamicallyredrawsthepartintheGraphics Displaywindowasitisrotatedinsidethedialogbox.Ifyouclearthischeckbox,andthenusea rotationbuttoninthedialogbox,therotationoftheactualpartonthescreendoesnottakeplace untilyoureleasetheclickedbutton.

Rotate3DtoanElement(SquareuptheDrawing)
To"squareup"theparttothescreen,fromtheGraphicsModestoolbar,selectthe3DRotate Modeicon,andthenclickonafeaturewiththerightmousebutton.(Donotholddownthebutton.) PCDMISwillrotatethedrawingsotheselectedfeaturewillbeparalleltotheclosestscreenaxis (vertical,horizontalorperpendiculartothescreen).

ProgramMode

TheOperation|GraphicsDisplayWindow|ChangeScreenMode|Programmenuoption allowsyoutolearnandeditpartprogramsusingCADdatafromIGESfiles.Thiscapabilityis availableineithertheofflineoronlineversionsofPCDMIS. Forfurtherinformationonprogrammingusinggraphics,refertothe"WorkinginOfflineMode" appendix.

TextBoxMode

TheOperation|GraphicsDisplayWindow|ChangeScreenMode|TextBoxmenuoption placesPCDMISintoamodethatletsyoumanipulatefeatureIDs,featurecontrolframes,scan points,aswellasquicklycreateandmodifyDimensionInfoandPointInfotextboxes. SamplePointInfoBox

300 EditingtheCADDisplay

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

SampleDimensionInfoBox

Youcancreatethesetextboxesbyusingshortcutmenusthatappearwhenyourightclickorbox selectfeatureIDsorfeatures.Seethe"InsertingDimensionInfoBoxes"and"InsertingPointInfo Boxes"topicsinthe"InsertingReportCommands"chapter. Note:InsidetheGraphicsDisplaywindow,noticethatwhenyoumovethemouseovereithera feature,orafeature'sIDlabel,thatPCDMIShighlightsthefeatureontheCADdrawing.This helpsyouquicklyidentifythefeatureassociatedwithaparticularlabel. ThefollowingaretheshortcutmenusavailableinsideTextBoxMode: Ifyourightclickonthefeature,feature'sIDlabel,ortextbox,PCDMISdisplaysa shortcutmenuforthatfeature.See"FeatureShortcutMenu"inthe"UsingShortcutKeys andShortcutMenus"appendix. IfyourightclickonaDimensioninfoorPointInfobox,PCDMISdisplaysashortcut menuforthattextbox.See"FeatureShortcutMenu"inthe"UsingShortcutKeysand ShortcutMenus"appendix. Ifyouboxselectoneormorefeatures,PCDMISdisplaysashortcutmenu.See"Box SelectShortcutMenu"inthe"UsingShortcutKeysandShortcutMenus"appendix. IfyourightclickonascanpointyoucanusetheMoveCursorTomenuitemtojumpto thatpoint.See"LocatingPointsinaScan"inthe"ScanningyourPart"chapter.

Note: Whenyourmouseisn'toverafeatureortextbox,PCDMISallowsyoutoperformthe normaltranslatemodeoperationsofzoomingandrotatingthepartwiththerightmousebutton. See"TranslateMode"foradditionalinformation. Tip:ForaquickwaytocreateaDIMINFOoraPOINTINFObox,simplydoubleclickonafeature orfeatureIDlabel.PCDMIScanbeinanymode.PCDMISautomaticallycreatesaninfobox basedoncurrentEditDimensionInfoorEditPointInfodialogboxsettings. Example:SupposeyoucreatedaDIMINFOboxforafeature.Doubleclickingonsubsequent featurelabelswillcreateadditionalDIMINFOboxesforthosefeaturesusingthesamesettings selectedthelasttimetheEditDimensionInfodialogboxwasused.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

EditingtheCADDisplay 301

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ChangingScreenColors

ScreenColordialogbox TheScreenColordialogbox(Edit|GraphicsDisplayWindow|ScreenColor)allowsyouto determinethecolorstodisplaywithintheGraphicsDisplaywindow.Theseincludethe backgroundcolor,agradientcolor,highlight,andmouseoverhighlightcolors,the3DGridcolor, andtheVisionmodule'sFieldofView(FOV)color.

ToChangeaColor:
Tochangethecolors: 1. AccesstheScreenColordialogbox(Edit|GraphicsDisplayWindow|ScreenColor). 2. ClickontheEditbuttonfortheBackground,Gradient,Highlight,MouseOver Highlight,3DGrid,orVisionFOV.TheColordialogboxwillappear. 3. Chooseanewcolorfortheoptionyouselected. 4. ClickOK.TheColordialogboxwillclosereturningyoutotheScreenColordialogbox. 5. ClicktheApplybuttontosavethechangesyouhavemadeandcontinueworkinginthe ScreenColordialogbox. 6. Whenfinished,clicktheOKbutton.

302 EditingtheCADDisplay

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Background

TheBackgroundareaallowsyoutochangethebackgroundscreencolor.Thiscolorisalsoused asthebackgroundcolorforanyFeatureControlFramesdisplayedintheGraphicsDisplay window.Followthedirectionsdiscussedin"ToChangeaColor"above. TheGradientsettingsarea,letsyoudefineasecondarybackgroundgradientcolor.Whenyou setthegradienttosomethingotherthanNoneinthelist,anadditionalEdit...buttonappears.You canclickthatbuttontodefineasecondarygradientcolor.Then,whensettingthescreen's background,PCDMISwillstartfromthesettinglocation(forexampletheBottom)anddisplaythe secondarygradientcolor,andthengraduallychangefromthatcolortotheprimarygradientcolor asitdrawsthecolorsnearstheotherendofthescreen. Forexample,aBottomgradientsettingmightlooklikethis:

GradientColorsExample TheavailableitemsintheGradientssettingslistare: NoneNosecondarygradient.Thescreen'sbackgroundwillbethesolidprimarycolor. BottomThesecondarygradientcolorstartsatthebottomofthescreenandgradually changestotheprimarycolorasitnearsthetop. RightThesecondarygradientcolorstartsattherightsideofthescreenandgradually changestotheprimarycolorasitnearstheleftside. BottomRightThesecondarygradientcolorstartsatthebottomrightsideofthescreen andgraduallychangestotheprimarycolorasitnearsthetopleftside. BottomLeftThesecondarygradientcolorstartsatthebottomleftsideofthescreen andgraduallychangestotheprimarycolorasitnearsthetoprightside.
EditingtheCADDisplay 303

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ToprightThesecondarygradientcolorstartsatthetoprightsideofthescreenand graduallychangestotheprimarycolorasitnearsthebottomleftside. TopleftThesecondarygradientcolorstartsatthetopleftsideofthescreenand graduallychangestotheprimarycolorasitnearsthebottomrightside.

Highlight

TheHighlightareaallowsyoutochangethecolorusedforhighlightingwithintheGraphics DisplaywindowofPCDMIS.Followthedirectionsdiscussedin"ToChangeaColor"above.

MouseOverHighlight

TheMouseOverHighlightarealetschangethecolorthatPCDMISusesaswellasthemouse pointer'sshapewhenyouhighlightsurfacesorcurveswithyourmouseusingMouseOver Highlighting(MOHL).Followthedirectionsdiscussedin"ToChangeaColor"above. TheCursorarealetsyoudisplayeitheranArroworaCrossshapeforthemousepointerwhen inMOHLmode:

ArrowShapeMousePointer

CrossShapeMousePointer

See"HighlightingSurfacesandCurveswiththeMouse"forinformation.

3DGrid

The3DGridareaallowsyoutochangethecolorusedforthe3DgridintheGraphicsDisplay window.Followthedirectionsdiscussedin"ToChangeaColor"above.

304 EditingtheCADDisplay

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Formoreinformationonthe3DGrid,see"Addinga3DGrid".

VisionFOV

TheVisionFOVarealetsyouchangethecolorusedfortheFieldofView(FOV)whenusingthe PCDMISVisionmodule.Followthedirectionsdiscussedin"ToChangeaColor"above.Seethe PCDMISVisiondocumentationforinformationontheFOVandontheVisionmodule.

ScalingtheDrawing
YoucanscaletheCADdrawingtofitthesizeofyourselectedview(s)intheGraphicsDisplay window,oryoucanscalebyafactor.

ScalingtheModeltoFittheView
TheOperation|GraphicsDisplayWindow|ScaleToFit menuoptionredisplaysthepart imagetofitentirelywithintheGraphicsDisplaywindow.Thisoptionishelpfulwheneverthe imagebecomestoolargeortoosmall.ToalterthepartimagesoallfeaturesandCADelements arevisible,simplyselecttheScaleToFitmenuoption.

ScalingtheModelbyaFactor

ScaleDrawingdialogbox TheScaleDrawingoption onlyfunctionswhenPC DMISisinTranslateMode. See"ChangingScreen Modes". Tousethisoption: TheScaleDrawingoptionisnotavailablefromthemenubar.The ScaleDrawingoptionletsyoualterthepart'simageinthe GraphicsDisplaywindow.ThisoptiondoesnotaltertheCADdata inanyway.

1. ClicktheTranslatemodeiconfromtheGraphicsModestoolbar. 2. PresstheSHIFTkeyandwhileholdingitdown,clicktherightmousebutton.TheScale Drawingdialogboxwillappear. 3. IndicatetheX,Y,Zpartcoordinatesthataretobedisplayedinthecenterofthescreen. 4. Typethedesiredscalingfactor.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

EditingtheCADDisplay 305

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Example:Toreducethesizeofthedrawingelementsby50%,type0.5.Todoublethesizeofthe drawingelements,type2.0.Ascalingfactorof1.0willnotaffectthesizeofthedrawing. YoucanalsoscalethegraphicalimagewithintheGraphicsDisplaywindowsimplybyright mouseclickingaboveorbelowanimaginaryhorizontallinethatsplitstheGraphicsDisplay window.

RotatingtheDrawing
SelectingtheOperation|GraphicsDisplayWindow|RotatemenuoptionbringsuptheRotate dialogbox.

Rotatedialogbox Thisdialogallowsyoutorotateapartdrawinginthreedimensions.Eachviewofthepartcanbe rotatedupto45degreesperrotation.Youcanalsoactivatethisoptionbyselectingthe3D RotatemodeiconontheGraphicsModestoolbar. Torotatethedrawingusingthedialogbox: 1. Selecttheviewtobealtered(14). 2. Determinetheamountofrotationbyselectingthedegreeincrement(1,5,10,or45). 3. Clickonthedesiredaxisbuttontorotatethedrawingintheindicateddirection. ClickingtheResetbuttonwillsnaptherotationofthedrawingintheRotatedialogboxandinthe GraphicsDisplaywindowtotheclosestaxis. IfyouselecttheAnimatecheckbox,PCDMISdynamicallyredrawsthepartintheGraphics Displaywindowasitisrotated. Seethe"3DRotateMode"foradditionalinformationonrotating. Hint:ToquicklyrotateyourpartwithorwithouttheRotatedialogboxopen,pressCTRL+right clickanddragthemouse,orifyourmousehasacentermousewheelbutton,holdthemouse wheelbuttonanddragthemouse.Also,doubleclickingthemousewheelbuttonatanytimedoes thesamethingastheResetbuttonontheRotatedialogbox:itsnapstherotationtotheclosest axis.

306 EditingtheCADDisplay

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ChangingRotationandOtherMotionOptions
YoucanmodifyhowCADmodelsgetdisplayedduringrotationbyaccessingtheEdit|Graphics DisplayWindow|Rotate2D/3DOptionsmenuitem.ThisdisplaystheRotateOptionsdialog box. RotationOptionsicon YoucanalsoaccessthisdialogboxbyclickingtheRotation OptionsiconontheGraphicsModetoolbar.

RotateOptionsdialogbox Thisdialogboxcontrolswhetherornotcertainitemsgetdrawnandhowtheygetdrawninside theGraphicsDisplaywindowwhenyourotateyourpartmodelusingtherightmousebutton.The optionsonthisdialogboxcanhelpspeedupthedisplayofyourrotation. Important:IfyouareusingaSpaceBallorSpaceMousedevice,thisdialogboxbehavesjustlike thePan,Zoom,RotateOptionsdialogboxandonlyhasadifferentdialogboxtitle.SpaceBallor SpaceMousedevicesextendthefunctionalitydescribedforrotationtozoomingandpanningas well.Seethe"ConfiguringaSpaceBallorSpaceMouseDevice"topicinthe"GettingStarted:An Overview"chapter.Ifyouareusingastandardmouseforyourpointingdevice,thenthe GraphicsOptionsdialogboxonlyappliestorotation.

Disable2sidedlightingandbackfaceculling
Selectingthischeckboxdisablestwosidedlightingandusesbackfacecullingduringrotation. TheresultinglightingeffectswillroughlydisplayonlyhalfoftheCADelements.Seethe comparisonbelow.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

EditingtheCADDisplay 307

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

BeforeRotation

DuringRotationDisable2 sidedlightingandbackface culling

Disablematerials,textures,andtransparencies
Selectingthischeckboxdisablestherenderingofappliedmaterials,textures,andtransparencies duringrotation.Seethecomparisonbelow.

BeforeRotationwith Transparency

DuringRotationNo transparencies

Ignoretheseobjects
Selectingthischeckboxdisablesthedisplayofspecifiedobjects.Objectswillbeignoredduring rotationforthoseobjecttypesthatareselectedusingtheassociatedcheckboxes.Youcan choosetoignoreprobes,machines,changers,orfixtures.Theexamplebelowhidestheprobe duringrotation.

BeforeRotation

DuringRotationIgnore

308 EditingtheCADDisplay

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Probe

Percentageofremainingobjectstodraw
ThisareadrawsthespecifiedpercentageofCADentitiesmakinguptheremainingobjects displayedintheGraphicsDisplayWindow.Choicesaregivenfor100,50,20,and10percent.For example,ifyouselected10% PCDMISwoulddrawonly10%oftheCADentitiesthatmakeup theentiremodel.Theexamplebelowdisplaysonly10%oftheobjectsduringrotation.

BeforeRotation

DuringRotationDisplayonly 10%

HowtodrawobjectsAsDefined
Selectingthisoptiondrawsobjectsasoriginallydefinedduringrotation.

HowtodrawobjectsWireFrame
Selectingthisoptiondrawsobjectsaswireframesduringrotation.Seethecomparisonbelow.

BeforeRotation

DuringRotationDrawWire Frame

HowtodrawobjectsPoints
Selectingthisoptiondrawsobjectsaspoints.ThePointsoptiongivesarepresentationofthe objectsusingpoints.Seethecomparisonbelow.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

EditingtheCADDisplay 309

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

BeforeRotationwith Transparency

DuringRotationDrawPoints

ShowingandHidingGraphics
YoucanchoosetoshoworhidevariouskindsofgraphicalobjectsinsidetheGraphicsDisplay windowbyselectingtheEdit|GraphicsDisplaywindow|HideandShowGraphicsmenu option.ThisdisplaystheHideandshowgraphicsdialogbox. YoucanalsoaccessthisdialogboxbyselectingtheGraphics GraphicsCategoriesiconCategoriesiconfromtheGraphicsModestoolbar.

Hideandshowgraphics Thisdialogboxcontainscheckboxesthatdeterminewhetherornotthefollowingitemsget displayedintheGraphicsDisplaywindow: Cadmodels Probe Machine ToolChanger Fixture

YouwillfindthathidingsomeoftheseobjectsfromtimetotimemakesusingtheGraphics Displaywindoweveneasier. Checkboxesareunavailableformodelsorhardwaredefinitionsthathavenotyetbeeninserted.

310 EditingtheCADDisplay

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

WorkingwithAssembliesofParts
TheCADAssemblydialogboxcontainsalistofallimportedandmergedpartsorassemblies usedintheGraphicsDisplaywindow.Youcanusethisdialogboxtovieworeditassembliesof parts.SelectingtheAssemblyiconorselectingEdit|GraphicsDisplayWidow|CAD AssemblydisplaystheCADAssemblydialogbox. TheAssemblyiconisavailablefromtheView|Toolbars|GraphicsModestoolbar.

CADAssemblydialogbox Thisdialogboxcontainsthefollowingoptions: PartPathway Thegrayboxatthetopofthedialogboxdisplaysthelocationonyourcomputerwhereaselected partresides. AssemblyTreeView Theleftsideofthedialogboxhasatreeviewoftheassemblystructure.Thistreeviewshows eachcomponentpartintheassembly. Whenyouselectacomponentintheassembly,PCDMIShighlightsitintheGraphicsDisplay window.Conversely,whenyouselectaCADobjectinthegraphicsview,PCDMISselectsits correspondingcomponentintheAssemblyTreeView.ThismakesiteasytoidentifywhichCAD objectsbelongtowhichassemblycomponent.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

EditingtheCADDisplay 311

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Selectingapartalsodisplayspathwayinformationtofindthatpartonyourcomputerinthegray boxabovethelist. Thetreeviewalsohasacheckboxnexttoeachcomponent.Youcanshoworhidethat componentintheGraphicsDisplaywindowbyselectingthischeckbox.Thisisreflected immediatelyinthegraphicswindow. SelectingorclearingthesecheckboxesperformsthesamefunctionalityasclickingtheShowor HidebuttonsintheVisibilityarea. ExpandDescendants TheExpandDescendantsbuttonexpandsanassemblytoshowalistofchildpartsmakingup theassembly. Visibilityarea TheVisibilityareaprovidesconvenientbuttonstochangethehiddenstateofassembly componentgroups.SelecttheHidebuttontohidetheselectedcomponent. HideSiblingsHidesallofthecomponentsexcepttheselectedcomponentatthesame levelontheassemblytree. ShowShowstheselectedcomponent. HideHidestheselectedcomponent. ShowSiblingsShowsallofthecomponentsexcepttheselectedcomponentatthe samelevelontheassemblytree. ShowAllShowallthecomponentsontheassemblytree.

Editingarea TheEditingareaprovidesbuttonsthatallowyoutomakesimplemodificationstotheassembly. DeleteDeletestheselectedcomponentfromtheassemblyandremovesitfromthe GraphicsDisplaywindow.

TransformDisplaytheCADTransformdialogbox.Thisdialogboxallowsyoutotransforma singlecomponentintheassembly.See"TransformingaCADModel"formoreinformation. CoordinateSystemDisplaystheCADCoordinateSystemdialogbox.Thisdialogboxletsyou createandmanagedifferentcoordinatesystems.See"WorkingwithCADCoordinateSystems" formoreinformation. Youcannotedittherootlevelcomponent(usuallythepartnameusedinyourpartprogram)or DCIcomponents.SelectingthesetypesofcomponentsdisablesthebuttonsintheEditingarea.

MakingCAD3DbyUsingtheCreateLevelsWindow
TheOperation|GraphicsDisplayWindow|Make3Dmenuoption(ortheMake3Dbuttonon theIgesFiledialogbox)allowsyoutomanipulatea2DCADdrawingthreedimensionally.This optioncanalsobeaccessedduringtheimportphaseofloadingaCADdrawing. AfterselectingtheMake3Dmenuoption,PCDMISdisplaystheCreateLevelswindow.This windowwillinitiallydisplay"CreateLevelsOLDFILE"initstitlebar.

312 EditingtheCADDisplay

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

CreateLevelswindow Note:Anychangesmadetothedrawingaretemporary.WhenthemainPCDMISforWindows screenisreactivated,thealterationswillnolongerbevalid. UsingtheCreateLevelsOLDFILEwindowyouareabletocreatenewlevels,orviewsofthe variousgeometricalelementsthatmakeuptheCAD.Anychangesmadetothegraphicsare temporaryuntilyouselectFile|SaveandExit. Therearethreemenusassociatedwiththiswindowwhichareusedtocreatethevariouslevels: File.Thismenuletsyousaveyourchanges,cancelyourchanges,andswitchbetweentheOLD FILEandNEWFILEwindows.See"CreateLevelsFilemenu"foradescriptionoftheoptionsin theFilemenu. View.Thismenuprovidesvariousoptionstomanipulatetheviewsofthevariouslevels.See "CreateLevelsViewmenu"foradescriptionoftheoptionsintheViewmenu. Level.Thismenuallowsyoutocreate,select,orpositionyourlevels.See"CreateLevelsLevel menu"foradescriptionoftheoptionsintheLevelmenu.

ToMakeCAD3D
Useofthisprogramfeaturemayrequiresomeexperimentationtogainfamiliaritywiththe orientationoptionsdiscussedinthisprocedure. 1. Createapartprogram(see"CreatingNewPartPrograms"inthe"UsingBasicFile Options"chapter). 2. ImporttheCADmodelintothepartprogram(see"ImportingCADData"inthe"Using AdvancedFileOptions"chapter). 3. Reviewthecoordinatesystemofthemodel. 4. Createyouralignment(seethe"CreatingandUsingAlignments"chapter). 5. SelecttheOperation|GraphicsDisplayWindow|Make3Dmenuoption.TheCreate Levelswindowappearswiththetext"OLDFILE"displayedonthetitlebar.Thewindow displaysyourimportedCADasawireframemodel.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

EditingtheCADDisplay 313

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

6. Holddowntheleftmousebuttonanddrawaboxaroundtheentiremodel.PCDMIS highlightstheselectedCADmodel. 7. SelectLevel|Create.PCDMISregeneratesthemodel. 8. SelectLevel|Position.ThePositionLeveldialogboxappearswiththenumber1inthe titlebar.Thisshowshowyouwillpositionthemodelforthefirstlevel. 9. SelectaviewfromwhichtoreorientthemodelfromtheOrientationarea.Theremaining dialogboxoptionsbecomeavailable. 10. Selectotheroptionsasdesired: Torotatethemodeltoyourselectedorientation,clickPosition. Tooffsetthemodel'sorientationbyaspecificvalueinthehorizontalorvertical direction,typetheoffsetdistanceintotheOffset(Horizontal)orOffset(Vertical) boxes. Tomovetheorientationtoaspecificelement,clicktheElement1optionand thenclickthedesiredCADelementinyourCreateLevelswindow.PCDMIS shiftstheorientationtothespecifiedelement.Ifyouwanttouseasecond element,dothesamewiththeElement2option. Tooffsettheorientationfromadefiningelement,selecttheElementoptioninthe OffsetDefiningElementareaandthentypeanoffsetdistanceintheOffsetbox.

11. Aftercompletingyourchanges,clickApply,andthenOK.ThePositionLevelsdialog boxclosesandPCDMISregeneratestheCreateLevelswindowwithyourchanges. 12. ReviewyourchangesbyusingoptionsfromtheView menu.SpecificallyView|Change allowsyoutoaccesstheViewSetupdialogboxtospecifytheviewfortheCreateLevels window. 13. SelectFile|SaveandExitifyouwanttokeeptheneworientation.Ifnot,selectCancel andExit.

CreateLevelsFilemenu
TheCreateLevels'File menuallowsyoutoaccesstheoriginalfilethatwasreadin"OLDFILE" andthenewlycreatedfile"NEWFILE".Italsoallowsyoutosaveanychangesbeforeexitingthis option. The"OLDFILE"alwayscontainstheunaltereddatafromtheoriginalfile. The"NEWFILE"fileallowsyoutoaccessthePositiondialogbox,situatingthelevel3 dimensionally.

Onlyoneofthefilewindowscanbeaccessedatatime.PCDMISallowsyoutoswitchbetween theopenedwindowsusingtheFile menu.PCDMISwillautomaticallyswitchtotheappropriate windowwhennecessaryforaspecificfunction(suchascreatinganewlevel). If,aftercreatingoreditingyourlevels,youwanttosaveyourchanges,besuretoselecttheSave andExitoption,PCDMISdoesnotautomaticallysaveyourchangestotheCADdisplayifyou justclosedownthewindow.

CreateLevelsViewmenu
TheCreateLevels'View menuallowsyoutotemporarilyalterthegraphicsdisplayedinthedialog box.Thisallowsyoutorotate,scale,orchangetheviewtoeasilyaccessthenecessaryCAD elements.

314 EditingtheCADDisplay

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

View|Change
TheChangemenuoptionletsyoucreatenewviewsfromaCADfile.Thisfunctionishelpful whena2DIGESfileisusedthatcontainsseveralviewsofapartinoneplaneandtheviews needtobeassociatedwiththeircorrectorientationintheGraphicsDisplaywindow.

View|ScaletoFit
TheScaletoFit menuoptionredrawsthepartimagetofitentirelywithintheGraphicsDisplay window.Thisfunctionisusefulwhenevertheimagebecomestoolargeorsmall.

View|Rotate
TheRotatemenuoptiondisplaystheRotatedialogbox,allowingyoutorotatethepartimagein threedimensions.See"ScalingtheDrawing".

View|CADInfo
TheCadInfomenuoptiondisplaystheCADinformationdialogbox.Thisdialogallowsyouto viewinformationaboutaspecificCADGeometry.AnytimeasingleCADgeometryisselected, andtheCADinformationdialogboxisopen,theninformationaboutthespecifiedCADgeometry willbedisplayed.

CADInformationdialogbox Theselectedelementwillalsoflashonthescreen.Ataminimum,thetypeofthegeometrywillbe shown(circle,line,etc.).Also,iftheCADwasimportedwithPCDMISversion3.2orlater, informationabouttheCADfile(atthetimeofimport)willbedisplayed.Thisincludesthefullpath tofile,thetimethefilewaslastmodified,andthesize(inbytes)ofthefile.Ifavailable,the sequencenumberoftheelementintheIGES,XYZ,etc.filewillbedisplayed.Usually,therewill beinformationaboutthegeometrysuchasdiameter, vector,orlocation.Forcomplexelements suchastrimmedsurfaces,informationaboutothergeometries(basesurface,boundingcurves) willalsobedisplayed.SelectingtheViewbuttonwillcausethegeometrydescribedtoflashon thescreen.YoucanselectthisdialogboxbyusingtheCadInfo menuoption.

View|ScreenColor
TheScreenColormenuoptiondisplaystheScreenColordialogbox.LiketheScreenColorbox discussedin"ChangingScreenColors",thisallowsyoutoalterthecolorsthatwillbeviewedin theCreateLevelswindow.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

EditingtheCADDisplay 315

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

CreateLevelsLevelmenu
TheCreateLevels'LevelmenuoptionallowsyoutoselectthedesiredCADelementsandcreate upto18differentlevels.Aseachleveliscreated,itwillbedisplayedatthebottomofthemenu list,allowingyoutoreselectit.(Seethe"Level1"headingbelow,locatedafter"Position".) ACADlevelconsistsofagroupofrelatedCADgeometriesthatareidentifiedbyalevelnumber. Levelsarepredefinedineitheran'IGES'or'XYZ'CADfile.Thelevelinformationinthesefilesis importedintoPCDMISwhenthesefilesare'imported'.Youcanthenselectwhichlevelsare displayedineach'view'usingtheViewSetupdialogbox.Giventhesizeandcomplexityofmany CADfiles,itwillbeagreatbenefittohavetheabilitytorestrictwhichportionsoftheCADmodel willbevisibleasvariousPCDMIStasksareperformed. ACADgeometrycanbelongtoonlyonelevel.Forexample,geometry'A'canbelongtolevel'x', ortolevel'y',butnottoboth.Thiswillnotrestrictyourviewingcapabilities,asmultiplelevelscan beviewedsimultaneously.

Level|New
TheNewmenuoptionallowsyoutocreateanewlevelonceexistinglevelsexist.(Itisnot necessarytousethisoptiontocreatethefirstlevelsincePCDMISautomaticallycreatesanew leveloncetheCreateLevelsOLDFILEwindowopens.)

ToCreateaNewLevel:
1. AccesstheCreateLevelswindow 2. SelecttheNew menuoption.IftheNewmenuoptionisalreadygrayedoutthenithas beenautomaticallyselecteduponopeningtheCreateLevelOLDFilewindow. 3. SelectthedesiredCADelements.(CADelementscanbeselectedinthesamemanner availableinPCDMIS.Theseinclude,mouseselectingandboxselecting.)OnceaCAD elementisselecteditwillbehighlightedinthecurrenthighlightcolor. 4. SelectLevel|Createfromthedropdownmenu. PCDMISwillcreatethenewlevelandautomaticallyswitchtotheCreateLevelsNEWFILE window,displayingtheselectedelements. YoucanalsocreatenewlevelsusingtheViewSetup dialogbox.See"SettingUptheScreen View"forinformationonthisdialogbox.

Level|Select
Thisoptionisonlyavailable TheSelectmenuoptionallowsyoutoselecttheCADelementsthat aftertheNEWmenuoption willbeviewedinthenewlevel.Selecteddatawillbedisplayedin hasbeenselected. thecurrenthighlightcolor.Elementscanonlybechosenwhenthe Selectmenuoptionischosen. Note:Verifythattheselecteddataisdisplayedexactlyasneeded.OncetheCreatemenuoption ischosen,theCADelementscannotbechanged.Tomodifyalevel(priortoselectingtheCreate menuoption),choosetheDeselectoption.Thiswillclearallhighlighteddata.

316 EditingtheCADDisplay

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Level|Deselect
Thisoptionisonlyavailable TheDeselectmenuoptionallowsyoutoclearanyCADelements aftertheNEWmenuoption thatwereselectedforviewing. hasbeenselected.

Level|Create
TheCreatemenuoptioncreatesanewlevelbasedontheselectedCADelements. OncetheCADelementsareselectedandthisoptionischosen,PCDMISwillmovetheselected elementsfromthe"OLDFile"tothe"NEWFile".Thescreenwillautomaticallyswitch,displaying the"NEWFile".Thewindowwillalsoshowanypreviouslevelsthathavebeencreated.The elementsselectedforthenewlevelwillbedrawninblack.Datafromthepreviouslevelswillbe displayedingray. Tocreateanotherlevel,selecttheNew menuoption(seeabove).The"OLDFile"will automaticallybedisplayed,andtheselectionprocesscanberepeated.

Level|Position

Positiondialogbox Oncealevelhasbeencreated,selectingthePositionmenuoptiondisplaysthePositionLevel dialogbox.Thisdialogallowsyoutopositiontheaxesandchangetheorientationofthatlevel.

ToRepositionaLevel:
1. SelectthelevelfromtheLevelmenu. 2. SelectLevel|Position. 3. Selectanorientationoption(top,bottom,right,etc.)fromtheOrientationareaofthe dialog. 4. ClickthePositioncommandbutton.TheViewfromOrientationdialogboxappears. Withthisyoucanpositionthelevelrelativetotheorientation

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

EditingtheCADDisplay 317

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

5. UsetheViewfromOrientationdialogboxtomovethelevelin3Dsoitwillbeinthe correctpositionrelativetotheotherlevels. 6. ClickOK. Levelscanberepositionedinanyorder,andasmanytimesasisnecessary.

Orientationarea
Onlyorientationsthatcorrespondtothesixsidesofacubearecurrentlysupported.Selectthe orientationthatcorrespondstothedesiredportionofthe2Ddata.Ifthe2Ddatarepresentsthe partasseenfromtherightsideofthepart,selectthe'RIGHT'orientation. Example:Ifthedatashowstheleftsideofacar,selectthe'LEFT'orientation.Itisnecessarythat thedatashowtheleftsideofthecarasitwouldbeseenstandingnexttothecar.Ifthecar appearsupsidedown,oronend,selectthePositionbuttonafterselectingtheorientation.

Positionbutton
ThePositionbuttondisplaystheViewfromOrientationdialogbox.

ViewfromOrientationdialogbox Thisoptionwillshowonlythe2Ddataforthecurrentlevel.Itwillalsodisplayaboxdepictingthe selectedorientation.UsetheRotateoptionbuttonsandMirrorcheckboxestochangethedata asrequired.Thisprocesscanbedoneatanytimeduringthepositioningprocedure.

OriginDefiningElement(s)area
Tomovethedatawithintheplane,an'origin'canbeselectedusingtheOriginDefinition Element(s)areaintheViewfromOrientationdialogbox.Thisisdoneeitherbyselectingone ormoregeometrieswithintheleveldata,byspecifyinganumericaloffset(s),orboth. Toselectageometry: 1. SelecttheElement1option.

318 EditingtheCADDisplay

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

2. SelectageometricalfeatureintheCreateLevelsNEWFILEwindow(for example,aline).IftheApplybuttonisthenpressed,oneoftheendpointsofthe linewillbecomethe'origin.' 3. Tomaketheotherendpointtheorigin,selectthePoint2checkbox. Tomaketheintersectionofthetwolinestheorigin: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. SelecttheElement1option. SelectalineintheCreateLevelsNEWFILEwindow. Next,selecttheElement2option. SelectasecondlineintheCreateLevelsNEWFILEwindow. ClicktheApplybuttontomovetheleveldatatotheneworigin.(Anycombination oflines,arcs,circles,andpointscanbeusedtoselectanorigin.)

Numericaloffsetscanalsobeenteredtomovetheorigininthehorizontalandvertical directions(beingdefinedrelativetotheorientation).

OffsetDefiningElementarea
Onceanoriginisselected,itmaybenecessarytomovetheplaneinadirectionnormaltoitselfin ordertocorrectlypositionitrelativetotheotherlevels.Thiscanbedonebyselectingageometry inalevel. Example:AlineinaToporientationcanbeselected.TheRightorientationlevelswillthenbe movedsothatitisinthesameplaneasthelineintheToporientationlevel.Ideallytheline selectedshouldbeparalleltotheRightorientationlevel.

Scalebox
TheScaleboxallowsyoutoscalethepartimageintheGraphicsDisplaywindowtotheCAD drawing.ThisoptiondiffersfromtheScaletoFitandScaleDrawingoptionsinthattheCAD datainthepartprogramwillactuallyreflectthechanges.Typethedesiredscalingfactor. Toreducethesizeofthedrawingelementsby50%,type0.5intheScalebox. Todoublethesizeofthedrawingelements,type2.0. Toleavethedrawingunchanged,type1.0.(Ascalingfactorcanbeenteredforanylevel.)

To'apply'allofthechangesclicktheApplybutton.TheResetbuttonallowsyoutoundoallthe changesmadetothecurrentlevel.TheCancelbuttonwillundoanychangesmadesincethe PositionLeveldialogboxwasdisplayed. Note:Alloftheabovepositioningoperationscanbedoneinanyorder.Theycanberepeatedas oftenasnecessary.Inmostcases,thechangeswillnotbeshownuntiltheApplycommand buttonisselected.

AdditionalLevelManipulations
PCDMISallowsyoutoperformtheseadditionallevelmanipulationsusingtheViewSetupdialog box: Createanewlevel.See"CreatingLevels".

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

EditingtheCADDisplay 319

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Deleteanexistinglevel.See"DeletingLevels". Modifyanexistinglevel.See"ModifyingLevels". LeveladditionsandmodificationsrequiretheselectionofCAD.Youcanrestrictselectionto differenttypesofgeometryinthesamewayasselectionisrestrictedintheEditCADandDelete CADdialogs.Selectioncanalsoberestrictedtoanexistinglevelthatisselected. See"Displaying,Creating,andManipulatingLevels"inthe"EditingtheCADDisplay"chapterfor detailedinformationonhowlevelsareusedwiththeViewSetupdialogbox. YoucanalsocreatelevelsusingtheMakeCAD3Dmenuoption.See"MakingCAD3D".

ViewingCADInformation

CADInformationdisplaybox SelectingtheView|CadInfo menuoptiondisplaystheCADInformationdialogbox.Thisdialog boxletsyouobtainCADinformationsimplybyhighlightingthedesiredCADfeatureinthe GraphicsDisplaywindow.OncetheCADfeatureisselected,PCDMISwilldisplayanyavailable CADinformation. ClickingtheViewbuttonwillconfirmtheselectionofafeaturebyflashingthehighlighted graphicalimagewithintheGraphicsDisplaywindow.

VerifyingCADInformation

320 EditingtheCADDisplay

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

CADVerifydialogbox YoucanusetheView|CADVerifymenuitemtoverifythattheCADmodelisaccurate.PC DMISwilldisplayaCADVerifydialogboxthatallowsyoutoperformdifferentoperationsonthe CADmodelimportedintotheGraphicsDisplaywindow.YoucaneasilyresizetheCADVerify dialogboxtoalargersizeasneeded. Thedialogboxcontainsthefollowingareasanditems: Inputarea ThisareaspecifiestheXYZpointandtheIJKvectorusedtoverifytheCADmodel.Some operationsdonotrequirethevectorPCDMISdisablestheIJKVectorboxesinthosecases. Optionsarea ThisareadetermineswhatoperationPCDMISshouldperformontheCADmodel.Youcanalso specifyoptionsthatcontrolthebehavioroftheoperationsandtheresultingoutput. TheinputpointandvectorintheseoptionsrefertotheinformationenteredintotheInputarea. Item Point projection Raypierce Planecut Description ThisprojectstheinputpointontotheCADmodel.Aclosestdistance algorithmisusedtoprojectthepoint. ThisoptionpiercestheCADmodelusingaline.Theinputpointandvector definetheline. ThisoptionintersectstheCADmodelusingaplane.Theinputpoint definesapointontheplaneandthevectorspecifiestheplane'snormal vector.Forsurfaces,onlythesurfaceboundariesareintersectedwiththe plane. Thischeckboxdetermineswhetherornotsurfaceboundariesareused.If youselectthischeckboxandtheCADentityisasurface,onlythesurface boundarieswillbeused.Thisdoesnotaffectcurvegeometry. ThischeckboxdetermineswhetherornottogetresultsforalltheCAD

Boundaries

Allresults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

EditingtheCADDisplay 321

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

entitiesinthemodel. Ifyoudon'tselectthischeckbox,onlythe"best"resultisdisplayed.The bestresultdependsontheoperationselected. ForPointprojection,thebestresultistheCADpointclosestto theinputpoint. ForRaypierce,thebestresultiseithertheintersectionpoint farthestalongtherayvectororclosesttotheinputpoint.Youcan specifywhichintersectionpointisdisplayed.See"FarthestAlong Vector"below. ForPlanecut,thebestresultistheintersectionpointclosestto theinputpoint.

Farthest Along Vector Closestto Point Resolution

Thisoptiondisplaystheintersectionpointfarthestalongtherayvector.

Thisoptiondisplaystheintersectionpointclosesttotheinputpoint. Thisboxcontrolstheprecisionoftheresult.Theresultwillbewithinthe resolutionvalue.Theminimumresolutionis0.0000001. Note:ForDirectCADInterfacemodels,theprecisionwillonlyaffectthe numberofdisplayeddecimalplaces.TheactualCADsystemcontrolsthe precisionoftheoperationsandcannotbemodifiedfromwithinPCDMIS. Thisboxdefinesatolerancevaluethatwilllimitthedisplaytoonlythose itemsthatfallwithinthespecifiedlimits. IfyouselectPointprojectionandAllresults,youcanspecifya Tolerancevalue.PCDMISthendisplaysallCADentitieswithin thetolerancedistance. IfyouselectRaypierceandAllresults,youcanspecifya Tolerance.Forcurvegeometryandsurfaceboundaries,PC DMISdisplaysanycurvewithinthetolerancedistanceoftheray vector.

Tolerance

Output Vector

Thisareacontrolsthedisplayedvectorforsurfaceboundariesandcurves. (Forsurfacepointswithinitsboundaries,thedisplayedvectorisalways thesurfacenormal.) Select Tangenttodisplaythecurvepoint'stangentvector. SelectNormaltodisplaythecurvepoint'snormalvector.For curves,thenormalvectoristheinverseofthesecondderivative vector.Forsurfaces,thenormalvectorissimplythesurface normal.

InputCadarea ThisarealetsyouchoosetheCADentitiesyouwanttested. Item Description

322 EditingtheCADDisplay

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

EntireCAD Model

ThischeckboxdetermineswhetherPCDMISwilltesttheentireCAD modeloronlyselectedCADentities. Ifyouselectthischeckbox,PCDMISenablesothercheckboxes thatallowyoutodefinewhichentitytypestotestintheentireCAD Model:Points,Curves,Surfaces,orAll. Ifyouclearthischeckbox,onlyspecificCADentitieswillbe tested.See"Sequence/SourceSeq."below.

Points Curves Surfaces All Sequence/ Source Seq.

ThischeckboxtestsforallpointsontheentireCADmodel. ThischeckboxtestsforallcurvesontheentireCADmodel. ThischeckboxtestsforallsurfacesontheentireCADmodel. Thischeckboxtestsforallpoints,curves,andsurfacesontheentireCAD model. TheseboxesletyoudefineasingleCADentity.Youcanfillintheseboxes andthenclicktheSelectCADObjectbutton.PCDMISwillturntheitem redandcauseittoflashafewtimes. Alternately,youcantestmultipleCADentitiesbyselectingthemoneata timefromtheGraphicsDisplaywindow,orbyboxselectingagroupof entities.

Outputarea TheOutputareacontainstheresultsoftheverificationinatableformatwithpointsmakingup therows.PCDMISdisplaysallthepointsintheGraphicsDisplaywindow.Selectedpointsfrom thislistarehighlightedintheGraphicsDisplaywindow.ToupdatetheinformationintheOutput area,selectanewoptionandpressTAB. ThistabledescribesthecolumnheadingsintheOutputarea: Column Point Vector Result Description ThiscolumnshowstheresultingCADpointfromtheinputpointandthe CAD. ThiscolumnshowstheresultingCADvectorfromtheinputpointandthe CAD. ThiscanbeeitherHitorMiss. ForPointprojection, HitmeansthattheprojectionpointwasontheinterioroftheCAD entity. Missmeansthattheprojectionpointwasontheextremitiesofthe CADentity.Forcurves,theextremitiesaretheendpoints.For surfaces,theextremitiesaretheboundaries.

ForRaypierce, HitmeansthattherayvectordirectlyintersectedtheCADentity. Missmeansthattherayvectorpassedcloseto,butdidnot

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

EditingtheCADDisplay 323

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

directlyintersect,theCADentity. ForPlanecut, HitmeansthattheplanedirectlyintersectedtheCADentity. Missmeansthattheplanepassedcloseto,butdidnotdirectly intersect,theCADentity.

Sequence Distance

ThiscolumnshowswhichCADentitythepointison.Thesequenceisa uniqueidentifierassignedtoeachCADentity. Thiscolumnshowsthedistancebetweentheinputpointandtheoutput point.

CopytoClipboard ThisbuttoncopiestheOutputarea'sresultstotheWindowsClipboard.Ifyouselectedspecific points,onlyinformationforthosepointsiscopied.Otherwise,theentireoutputiscopied.

UsingScreenCapturesoftheGraphicsDisplayWindow
PCDMISallowsyoutotakescreencapturesoftheGraphicsDisplaywindowandplacetheminto yourreportorsendthemtotheClipboard.

SendingScreenCapturestotheClipboard
TheimagewillremainontheTheOperation|GraphicsDisplaywindow|ScreenCaptureTo| clipboarduntilanother ClipboardmenuoptionwillcapturetheGraphicsDisplaywindow screeniscaptured,orthe andcopythescreencapturetotheclipboard. partprogramisclosed. Toviewanimagecapturedtotheclipboard,"paste"itintoany WindowsapplicationwherethePasteoptionisavailable(i.e.,Word forWindows).

SendingScreenCapturestotheReport
See"ScreenCaptures"inthe"UsingtheEditWindow"chapter.

SendingScreenCapturestoaFile
TheOperation|GraphicsDisplaywindow|ScreenCaptureTo|Filemenuoptionwillcapture theGraphicsDisplaywindowandallowyoutosavethescreencaptureasabitmapfiletoyour computer'ssystem.

EditingScreenCaptures
Byitself,PCDMISdoesnothavetheabilitytoeditorformatthecapturedfigure.However,you canuseanyimageeditorsoftwaretoeditorformatyourscreencaptures.Todothis,usethe Insert|Report|ExternalObjectcommandandinsertanobjectintotheEditwindow(suchasa bitmapfile).

324 EditingtheCADDisplay

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Then,insidethepaintordrawingprogramassociatedwiththatbitmapfile,pastethescreen captureyoujusttook.Youshouldbeabletousethedrawingorpaintingoptionsthatcomewith theexternalobject'sprogramtodoyourediting. ForinformationonusingtheExternalObjectcommand,seeInsertingExternalObjectsinthe AddingExternalElementschapter.

EditingCAD

EditCADdialogbox TheEditCADElementsdialogbox(Edit|GraphicsDisplayWindow|CADElements)allows youtoalterthecoloroftheimportedCADfile. Selectthedesiredfeaturestobechanged.Youcandothisbymovingthemousepointeroverthe desiredfeatureintheGraphicsDisplaywindowandclickingtheleftmousebutton. Toselectmultiplefeatures,boxselectthedesiredCADelements. Whenthemousebuttonis released,PCDMISwillhighlightthecurrentelementsthatwereselectedandindicatethenumber offeaturesintheNumberSelectedbox.Additionalelementsmaybechoseninthesame manner.TheDeselectbuttonwillclearthescreenofanyhighlightedelements. Oncethedesiredelementsareselected,clickontheColorbuttonandselecttheappropriate color.TheApplybuttonmustbepressedtoviewthecolorchangeintheGraphicsDisplay window. Note:Inorderforthisoptiontowork,youmustcreateCADlevels.See"SettingUptheScreen View"formoreinformation.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

EditingtheCADDisplay 325

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

FeatureTypes

ThisoptiontellsPCDMISwhattypeoffeature(s)toalter.Availabletypesinclude: Points Lines Circles Arcs Curves Surfaces

Note:Toselectsurfaces,selecttheSurfaceModeiconfirst.See"SwitchingBetweenCurveand SurfaceModes".

NumberofSelectedFeatures

TheNumberSelectedboxesdisplaythenumberoffeaturestobedeleted.Thenumbersinthese fieldschangedependingonthefeaturesselectedintheFeatureTypesareaofthedialog.

EditColor
TheColorcommandbuttonallowsyoutosetthecolorforaspecifiedCADelement.Todothis:

326 EditingtheCADDisplay

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

1. SelecttheColorcommandbutton.PCDMISdisplaystheColordialogbox.

Colordialogbox

2. Selectthedesiredcolor. 3. ClicktheOKbutton.PCDMISupdatestheEditCADElementsdialogbox,displaying theselectedcolor.

ChangeName

TheChangeNamecheckboxallowsyoutochangethenameofaselectedCADelement.Todo this: 1. AccesstheEditCADElementsdialogbox(Edit|GraphicsDisplayWindow|CAD Elements). 2. Selecttheappropriatefeaturetypecheckbox.See"FeatureTypes". 3. ClickontheCADelement(s)insidetheGraphicsDisplaywindow.PCDMISwillhighlight yourselection. 4. SelecttheChangeNamecheckbox. TypethenewnamefortheselectedCADelement(s)intheNamebox.See"NameboxforCAD Elements". ClickApply.PCDMISchangesthename.Youcanverifythatthenamehaschangedbyusing theShowNamecheckbox(see"ShowName").

ChangeColor
TheChangeColorcheckboxdrawstheselectedCADdatainthecolorshownintheColorbox atthebottomofthedialogbox.TheApplybuttonmustbeselectedforthisprocesstotakeplace. Tochangethecurrentcolor,selecttheColorbutton.
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual EditingtheCADDisplay 327

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

SetasPriority
YoucanselectandstoreasetofCADsurfacesforFindNomprocessingusingtheSetas Prioritycheckbox.ThisspeedsupthecalculationofnominalvaluesasitallowsPCDMISto determinewhichsurfacestocheckfirst.Thereisnotalimittothenumberofsurfacesthatcanbe selected.Theorderthatthesurfacesareselectedinwilldeterminetheorderofthesearch. WheneveryouopentheEditCADElementsdialogboxandselecttheSetasPrioritycheckbox, PCDMISwillautomaticallyselectthepreviouslystoredsetofsurfaces.

Tostoreanewsetofsurfaces:
1. OpentheEditCADElementsdialogbox(Edit|GraphicsDisplayWindow|CAD Elements). 2. SelecttheSetasPrioritycheckbox.Ifyou'vepreviouslydefinedasetofsurfaces,PC DMISwillselectthemintheGraphicsDisplaywindow. 3. WiththeSetasPrioritycheckboxselected,clicktheDeselectbuttonandthenclickthe Applybutton.ThisessentiallytellsPCDMIStoclearanystoredsurfaces. 4. DeselecttheSetasPrioritycheckbox. 5. Selectthenewsetofsurfacestostore. 6. SelecttheSetasPrioritycheckbox. 7. ClicktheApplybutton. 8. ClickOK.

ShowName

TheShowNamecheckboxallowsyoushoworhidethefeatureIDsassociatedwithanyCAD elementsselected. Ifselected,PCDMISwilldisplaythefeaturenames(ifprovidedbytheCADdesigner)or featuretypesofspecifiedfeatures. Ifnotselected,PCDMISwillhidethefeaturenames.

ToDisplayorHideSpecificFeatureNames:
1. AccesstheEditCADElementsdialogbox(Edit|GraphicsDisplayWindow|CAD Elements). 2. ClickonthedesiredfeatureintheCADdisplay(orboxselectanareaformultiple features).PCDMISwillhighlightselectedCADelementsontheCADmodel. 3. SelectorcleartheShowNamecheckbox 4. ClickOK.

Deselect

TheDeselectcommandbuttontellsPCDMIStoclearanychangesthatweremadewiththe ApplybuttonbeforetheOKbuttonwasclicked.

328 EditingtheCADDisplay

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

NameboxforCADElements

TheNameboxallowsyoutospecifyanamefortheselectedCADelement(s).Todothis,select theCADelement(s),typethenameinthisbox,andclickApply.

EditingCADVectors
TheEdit|GraphicsDisplayWindow|CADVectors...menuitemdisplaystheEditCAD Vectorsdialogbox.Thisdialogboxletsyouviewandmanipulatesurfacevectors.

EditCADVectorsdialogbox SurfacesSelected Withthedialogboxopen,clickonaCADsurfaceintheGraphicsDisplaywindowtoselector deselectthatsurface.Youcanalsodragaboxacrossaportionofyourparttoboxselectseveral surfacesatonce.PCDMIShighlightsanyselectedsurfaceandshowsthenumberofselected surfacesintheSurfacesSelectedbox. Deselect TheDeselectbuttonclearsallselectedCADsurfaces. ShowVectors IfyouselecttheShowVectorscheckbox,PCDMISwilldisplayagreenarrowoneachselected CADsurfacetorepresentitsvector. FlipSurfaceVectors TheFlipSurfaceVectorbuttonflipsyoursurfacevectors,causingthevectorarrowstopointin theoppositedirection.PCDMISthenclearstheselectedsurfaces,andtheywillappearwiththe flippedsurfacevectorthenexttimeyouselectthem. FixSurfaceVectors Somesurfaces,wheninitiallyselected,willhaveimpropervectors.Apropervectorwillpointaway fromthepart. TheFixSurfaceVectorsbuttonusesinternalmathematicalalgorithmstocorrectselected surfacevectors,automaticallycausingthevectorarrowstopointintheproperdirection.PCDMIS thenclearstheselectedsurfaces,andtheywillappearwiththecorrectedsurfacevectorthenext timeyouselectthem.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

EditingtheCADDisplay 329

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TofixthesurfacevectorsoftheentireCADmodel,followthesesteps: 1. DisplayyourCADmodelinSolidviewbyselectingtheToggleGraphic WindowinSolid iconfromtheGraphicViewtoolbar. 2. SelecttheEdit|GraphicsDisplayWindow|Lighting,Materials... menuitem.TheLightingandMaterialsdialogboxappears. 3. SelecttheLightingtab. 4. CleartheTwosidedlightingcheckbox. 5. ClicktheOKbutton.Inthegraphicswindow,notice howsomeoftheCADsurfacesappeardark.Thisis avisualindicationthatthesurfacenormalforthat surfaceispointinginthewrongdirection. 6. SelectEdit|GraphicsDisplayWindow|CAD Vectors.TheEditCADVectorsdialogboxappears. 7. BoxselecttheentireCADmodel. 8. ClicktheFixVectorsbutton.Ifthealgorithmcanfixallofthesurfacevectors,PCDMIS willchangethedarksurfacestothepart'susualcolor,signifyingthatthesurfacevectors nowpointintheproperdirectionoutsidethepart.Ifanyofthesurfacesremainwitha darkshade,youcanselectthosesurfacesandmanuallyfliptheirvectorsbyusingthe FlipSurfaceVectorsbutton. Close Thisbuttonclosesthedialogboxandclearsanyselectedvectors.

ApplyingLightingandMaterialstotheCADDisplay
SelectingtheCADLighting iconortheLighting,Materialsmenu CADLightingiconfrom optiondisplaystheLightingandmaterialsdialogbox. theView|Toolbars| GraphicsModestoolbar

330 EditingtheCADDisplay

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Lightingandmaterialsdialogbox TheLightingandmaterialsdialogboxgivesyouasetoftoolsthatallowyoutofurther manipulatethedisplayofCADmodelsincludingyourpartmodel,probemodel,machinemodel, andotherfixturemodelsinsidePCDMIS'sGraphicsDisplaywindow. Thisdialogboxcontainsthesetabs: Archive:ThistabletsyousaveandrecalltheseCADconfigurationsforlateruse. Lighting:Thistabletsyoudefineandenablelightsources,theircolors,theirdirections,light models,andCADtransparency. Material:ThistabletsyouapplytexturemappingtothesurfacesofyourCADmodels,you canalsochangethecolorsandbrightnessofthematerialsmakingupthetextures. ClipPlane:ThistabletsyoudefineuptofourClippingPlanesthathideyourpartmodelin theclippedarea.Youcanusethistocutyourpartmodeltoshowcrosssectionsand cutawayviews. Therearefourbuttonsatthebottomofthedialogbox: OKAcceptsyourchangesandclosesthedialogbox. CancelRejectsyourchangesandclosesthedialogbox. SaveSystemDefaultsSavesyourchangesasthenewdefaultlightingandmaterial settings.ThisoverwritesthedefaultsettingsthatcamewithPCDMIS.
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual EditingtheCADDisplay 331

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

RestoreSystemDefaultsThisbringsbacktheoriginallightingandmaterialsettingsthat camewithPCDMIS. Note:AnymodificationsyoumaketotheLightingandmaterialsdialogboxtakeplaceinreal timeintheGraphicsDisplaywindow. Thisletsyouimmediatelyseetheeffectsofyourselected changes.UntilyouclickOK,however,thechangesyoumakeareonlytemporary.

LightingTab
TheLightingtabconsistsofthreeareasthatallowyoutodefineyourlightsources,yourlight model,andtransparencies. LightSource: TheLightsourceareadefinesuptofourlightsources,eachspecifyingtheirrespectivelights directionandcolors.Youcancreateanewlightsourcebyselectingtheappropriatenumberand clickingtheEnabledcheckbox.

Withtheexceptionofthefirstlightsource,whichremainsalwaysenabled,theEnabledcheck boxletsyouturnthecurrentlightsourceonoroff. LightDirection: Onceyouenablealightsource,anactivelightdirectionbuttonbecomesselectedwithared outline.Thesebuttonsdefinethedirectionfromwhichthelightoriginates.

Thecenterlightdirectionbuttonactsasifthelightcomesfromthedirectionyouarelocatedasif shiningthroughyourcomputerscreenontotheCADpart.Theotherdirectionbuttonsdefinelight comingfromotherangles. LightColors:

332 EditingtheCADDisplay

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

YoucanchangetheAmbient,Diffuse,orSpecularlightforthecurrentlightsourcebysimply clickingonthecoloredrectanglebeneatheachtypeoflightandselectingthenewcolorfromthe Colordialogboxthatappears. Note:Beawarethatlightsource1haswhiteasthedefaultcolorforDiffuseandSpecular,while theotherthreelightsourcesuseblackasthedefaultcolor. Ambientilluminationislightthathasbeenscatteredsomuchbytheenvironmentthatits directionisimpossibletodetermineitseemstocomefromalldirections.Backlightina roomhasalargeambientcomponent,sincemostofthelightthatreachesyoureyehas bouncedoffmanysurfaces. Aspotlightoutdoorshasatinyambientcomponentmostof thelighttravelsisthesamedirection,andsinceyouareoutdoors,verylittleofthelight reachesyoureyeafterbouncingoffotherobjects.Whenambientlightstrikesasurface, itsscatteredequallyinalldirections. Diffuselightcomesfromonedirection,soit'sbrighterifitcomessquarelydownonasurface thanifitbarelyglancesoffthesurface.Onceithitsasurface,however,itsscattered equallyinalldirections,soitappearsequallybright,nomatterwheretheeyeis located.Anylightcomingfromaparticularpositionordirectionprobablyhasadiffuse component. Specularlightcomesfromaparticulardirection,andittendstobounceoffthesurfaceina preferreddirection.Alaserbeambouncingoffamirrorproducesalmost100percent specularreflection.Shinymetalorplastichasahighspecularcomponentandchalkor carpethasalmostnone.Youcanthinkofspecularlightas"shininess". Ifyoudisablealightsource,theLightdirectionandLightcolorsbuttonsbecomeunavailable forselection. LightModel:

TheLightModelareadefinesinformationappliedtotheentirescene,regardlessofthelight source. TwosidedlightingThischeckboxdetermineswhetherornotthefrontandbackfacesof surfacesshouldbelighted.YoushouldselectthischeckboxforimportedIGES filesand forsomeotherCADformatswhenthesurfacenormalsarenotcorrect.


PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual EditingtheCADDisplay 333

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

BackfacecullingThischeckboxdetermineswhetherornotPCDMISshouldcull,orhide, thebackfacesofsurfaces.YoushouldselectthischeckboxforIGESfiles,andsome otherCadformats,whenthesurfacenormalsarenotcorrect. AmbientThisboxdefinestheambientcolorappliedtotheentirescene.Clickontheboxto changecolors. Transparency:

Workingwithsimulatedprobesormachinesonyourscreencanbedifficultiftheyblockyoursight toyourpartmodel.TheTransparencyareareducesthisproblembyallowingyoutomake certainobjectstransparentinsidetheGraphicsDisplaywindow.Inthisway,youcanseeyour partmodelorotherCADobjectsevenifyourprobeormachineisintheway. YoucanmakethesedisplayobjectstransparentinsidetheGraphicsDisplaywindow: Partmodel Probe Machine

Onceyouhaveenabledtransparencyforasimulatedmachine,youcanthenselectfeaturesand otheritemsonyourpartbyclickingonyourpartmodelthroughthetransparentmachine. OnceyouselecttheEnabletransparencycheckbox,youcanselecttheotheritemsinthe Transparencyarea.Whenyouenabletransparencyforanobject,theothersettingsinthisarea controlhowthetransparencyistobeshown. ReadonlydepthbufferThischeckboxchangeshowthelightingandcolorinteractby makingthedepthbufferreadonly.Thiswillcausethegraphicsimagetochange,perhaps onlyinasmallunnoticeableway,butperhapsinamorenoticeableway.Itisuptoyouto determinewhetherornottheresultsproduceabetterlookingimage.Consultanexternal resourceonOpenGLforadditionalinformationonthedepthbuffer. BackfacecullingThischeckboxcausesPCDMIStonotdrawthebackfacesofsurfaces fortheselectedtransparentobject. %TransThissliderletsyoudeterminethepercentageoftransparencyfortheselected object.Movingtheslidertotheleftmakesthedisplayobjectmoreopaque,whilemoving theslidertotherightmakesitmoretransparent.

ArchiveTab
Thistabcontainstwoareas,theSystemdefinedsettingsareaandtheUserdefined configurationsarea.

334 EditingtheCADDisplay

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TheSystemdefinedsettingsarealetsyouselectfromsystemdefinedlightingandmaterial settings.ThesearestoredinaconfigurationfilenamedLightingMaterials.datinthe directorywhereyouinstalledPCDMIS. TheUserdefinedconfigurationsarealetsyousaveandrecallyourowncustomlighting andmaterialsconfigurations.Thesearestoredin\Models\LightingMaterialssubdirectory underthedirectorywhereyouinstalledPCDMIS. Tosaveacustomdefinedconfiguration: 1. 2. 3. 4. MakeanychangesyouwantintheothertabsoftheLightingandmaterialsdialogbox. ClickintheSaveasbox.ASaveNowbuttonappears. Typeanameforyoursavedconfiguration. ClicktheSaveNowbutton.

Torecallauserdefinedconfiguration,selectthesavedconfigurationfromtheRecalllist.

MaterialTab
TheMaterialtabconsistsofsettingsthatwillbeappliedtoCADobjectsmakinguptheimported CADpartmodelortheentirepartmodelaltogether. Thefirstareaofthistabcontainstwooptionbuttonsthatallowyoutodeterminethe"active selection",eitherEntiremodelorCadobjects.

EntiremodelSelectingthisoptionappliesthesettingstotheentireCADmodel. CadobjectsSelectingthisoptionappliesthesettingstospecificselectedCADobjects makinguptheentiremodel. Texturemapping

TheTexturemappingareadefinesthetexturetobeappliedtotheactiveselection.PCDMIS automaticallyappliesthetextureimageasoftenasnecessarytocovertheentireactiveselection.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

EditingtheCADDisplay 335

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Thecheckboxdisplaysthecurrentbitmapnameonceyouselectabitmapfiletouseforthe texture.ThischeckboxisalwaysselectedwhentheactiveselectionisaCadobject. Thelargegraysquareareaunderthecheckboxdisplaysthecurrenttexture. Toapplyatexturetoyourpart: 1. Selectclickthegraysquarearea.AstandardOpendialogboxappears. 2. UsetheOpendialogboxtonavigatetoandselectavalidbitmapfile.Itmusthavea th th widthandheightof2tosomepower.Forexample2tothe5 poweris32and2tothe4 poweris16.Soifyourbitmapis32X16pixels,itwouldbeavalidbitmap.Ifyouhad somethinglike32X20,however,PCDMISwoulddisplayanerrormessage. 3. PCDMISdisplaysapreviewoftheselectedtextureinsidethegraysquarearea. 4. ClickOpentoacceptthetexture. Toapplythecheckboxtotheactiveselection,clicktheEnablecheckboxasneeded. Theotheritemsinthe TextureMappingareadeterminehowPCDMISshouldapplythetexture andsurfacecolors: Decalpreventsanyofthesurfacescolorfrombeingemitted,soyouwillonlyseethe texturescolor. ModulateandBlenduseOpenGLalgorithmstodeterminethefinaldisplaycolors. ZoomcontrolsthezoomfactortobeappliedtothecurrenttextureValuesgreaterthan1.0 zoomintothetexture,repeatingthetexturelessoften.Valueslessthan1.0zoomoutof thetexture,repeatingthetexturemoreoften.Forexample,avalueof2.0willmakethe bitmaptwicethesize(repeathalfasoften),andavalueof0.5willmakethebitmaphalf thesize(repeattwiceasoften). ThebuttonsFlipT,FlipS,andSwapdeterminetheorientationofthetexture.Thetextureis atwodimensionalimage,theorientationisdescribedintermsofSandT.Atexturewith anarrowdrawnatopithelpsvisualizewhathappens: Theoriginaltexturelookslikethis,anarrowpointingtotherightwiththetophalfofthearrow redandthebottomhalfofthearrowgreen:

ClickingSwapontheoriginalswitchestheorientationsothatSbecomes TandTbecomesS. Thiscausesthearrowtopointupbuttoalsoflipthebottomandtopofthearrow:

(Swapexample)

336 EditingtheCADDisplay

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ClickingFlipSontheoriginalchangesthedirectionofS.Thiscausethearrowtopointthe left:

(FlipSexample) ClickingFlipTontheoriginalchangesthedirectionofT.Thiscausesthearrowtoflip, makingthetopofthebottomandtopswitchplaces.

(FlipTexample) Youcanclickthesebuttonsindifferentcombinationstogetavarietyoforientationsforyour texture. ClickApplytoseeanychangesyoumadetotextureorientationsorothermaterialcolors. Materialcolors

TheMaterialcolorsareadefinesthecolorinformationtobeappliedtotheentireCadModel. TheAmbient,Diffuse,andSpecularfunctionsimilarlytothosealreadyexplainedintheLight ColorsareaoftheLightingtab.See"LightingTab". EmissionMaterialsmayhaveanemissivecolor,whichsimulateslightoriginatingfroman object.IntheOpenGLlightingmodel,theemissivecolorofasurfaceaddsintensitytothe object,butisunaffectedbyanylightsources.Also,theemissivecolordoesnotintroduce anyadditionallightintotheoverallscene. BrightnessofhighlightThisslidercontrolstheintensityofthehighlightwhenlookingata curvedsurface.

ApplyingTexturestotheEntireCADModel
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. SelecttheEntiremodeloption. Selectthegraysquarearea.AnOpendialogboxappears. Selectavalidbitmapfile. ClickOpen.Thetextureappearsinthedialogbox. ClickthecheckboxforthebitmapsintheTexturemappingarea.Thetexturecoversthe entireCADmodel.
EditingtheCADDisplay 337

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

6. Performadditionalcustomizationonthetextureasneededfromtheotheroptionsonthe dialogbox. 7. ClickOKtoacceptthefinishedtexture.

ApplyingTexturestoSelectedCADObjects
1. SelecttheCadobjectsoption.AnemptylistappearsalongwithaClearandaRemove button. 2. Selectthegraysquarearea.AnOpendialogboxappears. 3. Selectavalidbitmapfile. 4. ClickOpen.Thetextureappearsinthedialogbox. 5. ClickonsurfacesontheCADmodel.PCDMISwillapplythesurfacesyouclickedwith thecurrenttexture.ThepreviouslyemptylistnowshowstheindividualCADitemsthat havetexturesappliedtothem.

RemovingTexturesfromSelectedCADObjects
OnceyouapplyatexturetoaCADobject,thenumberrepresentingthatCADobjectappearsina list.

ToremovetexturesfromallselectedCADobjects,clicktheClearbutton. Toremovetextures fromindividualCADobjects,selecttheobjectsfromthelistandclick Remove.

338 EditingtheCADDisplay

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ClipPlanesTab

ClipPlanestab TheClipPlanestaballowsyoutodefineuptofourplanes,called"clippingplanes"thatyoucan usetohidethedisplayyourpartmodelononesideoftheplane.Yourpartmodelontheother sideoftheplaneremainsvisible.Theseplanesallowyoutocreatecrosssectionsofyourpart model. ClippingplaneswhenyouhavetheLightingandmaterialsdialogboxopen,appearinthe GraphicsDisplaywindowasaroundsawlikesymbol.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

EditingtheCADDisplay 339

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ExampleofaclippingplanecreatingacrosssectionoftheHexagontestblock

DefiningaClippingPlane
Youonlyneedtwopiecesofinformationtodefineyourclippingplane:AnXYZlocationandan IJKvector.TheIJKvectorpointsinthedirectionofwhatwillremainvisible.

Therearetwowaystodefinethisinformation. YoucanclickonyourpartintheGraphicsDisplaywindowandPCDMISwilltakethe pointthatyouclickedastheclippingplane'slocation.Onceyouclickalocation,PCDMIS automaticallyenablesyourclippingplaneandsetsadefaultvector.Youcanthenmodify theIJKvectorasdesired. YoucanclicktheEnabledcheckboxandthenmanuallytypeintheXYZlocationandIJK vector.

340 EditingtheCADDisplay

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Note:Inversion4.0andlater,theXYZandIJKvaluesareintheactivepartalignmentcoordinate system,nottheCADcoordinatesystemaswasthecaseinearlierversions. TheFlipIJKbuttonflipsthevectorsothatitpointsintheoppositedirection. Onceyouhaveyourclippingplanemodifiedtowhereyouwantit,clicktheApplybuttontosee yourchanges.PCDMISwillhideallportionsofyourpartmodelpointingawayfromyourchosen clippingplanevector. DeselectingtheEnabledcheckboxdisablesthecurrentclippingplane.Disabledclippingplanes haveayellowcolorandtheabilitytoplaceandmoveyourclippingplaneisalsodisabled. Enabledclippingplanesredcolor. Youcandefinemultipleclippingplanesbyselectinganewclippingplaneoptionbuttonandthen followingtheaboveinstructions.

AdjustingaClippingPlane
Onceyouhavetheclippingplaneinserted,youcanadjustitby: ClickingtheFlipIJKpushbuttontoinverttheIJK.Thisisusefulwhensurfacevectors fromaCadselectionwereincorrect,arelativelycommonproblemwithIGESfiles. ManuallyeditingXYZlocationandIJKvectorinformationbytypinginnewvalues. UsingtheMoveclippingplanealongtheaboveIJK area.

TheMoveclippingplanealongtheaboveIJKareacontainstworowsofboxesandleftand rightarrowbuttons.Theboxesdefineincrementsthattheclippingplanewillmovealongthe definedvectorwhenyouclicktherightorleftarrowbuttonsforthatbox.

ThetoprowallowsyoutomovetheclippingplanealongtheIJKvectorinsmalladjustments. ThebottomrowallowsyoutoalsomovetheclippingplanealongtheIJKvector,inlarger increments.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

EditingtheCADDisplay 341

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

SelectingFeaturesUsingtheGraphicsDisplayWindow
PCDMISrecognizesfeaturePCDMISallowsyoutoselectfeatures/elementsintheGraphics selectionbyhighlightingthe Displaywindow(i.e.,toprintout,createcoordinatesystems, indicatedfeatureinthe constructnewfeatures,calculatedimensions,etc.).Therearefive currentlychosenhighlight basicwaystoselectfeatures: color. 1. SelectingFeaturesUsingtheID(s) 2. SelectingFeaturesUsingMetaCharacterMatching 3. SelectingtheLastID(s) 4. BoxSelectingID(s) 5. SelectingFeaturesOnline

SelectingFeaturesusingtheID(s)
SelectthedesiredfeatureusingtheID.Thereareseveralalternativemethodsforselecting featuresinthefeaturelistbox,locatedinmanydialogboxes. 1. TypetheID(s)assignedtothefeature(s)intheSearchIDbox.

2. ClickonthedesiredIDfromthelistoffeatures.PCDMISwillautomatically assigneachfeatureanumberinorderofselectionthatwillbeindicatedtothe rightofthefeatureID.

3. WhileintheGraphicsDisplaywindow,movethecursoroverthefeaturedesired andclicktheleftmousebutton.(Notethatthefeatureyouselectedinthe GraphicsDisplaywindowisnowhighlighted(orselected)inthefeaturewindow.)

342 EditingtheCADDisplay

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

SelectingFeaturesUsingMetaCharacterMatching
Youcanalsoselectfeaturesusingametacharacter.Metacharactersarecharactersthatactas wildcardsforotheralphanumericcharacters.TherearetwometacharactersavailableinPC DMIS.Theyarethe: 1. Asterisk(*) 2. Questionmark(?) Botharedescribedbelowingreaterdetail.

TheAsterisk(*)MetaCharacter

Theasteriskmetacharacter(*)willmatch,ortaketheplace,ofanycharacteror charactersinasearch.Forexample,imaginethesefeaturesareavailableinthefeaturelist:

PLN1 LINE1 LINE2 CIR1 CIR2

Asterisk(*)metacharacter Ifyouwanttoselectallthelinefeatures(LINE1andLINE2).Youwouldtype"L*"(without quotationmarks)intheSearchIDboxandthenpresstheTABkey.PCDMISwouldthenselect


PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual EditingtheCADDisplay 343

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

allfeaturesbeginningwith"L".Theasterisk(*)causesPCDMISonlytolookforcharacterseither beforeoraftertheasterisk(*).Sinceinthiscase,theasteriskcomesafterthe"L",PCDMIS ignoresanythingcomingafterthe"L"inthefeaturelist. Tousetheasterisk(*)metacharacterinyourfeatureselection: 1. PlaceyourcursorintheSearchIDbox. 2. Enteryoursearchcriteriausingtheasterisk(*). 3. PresstheTABkey. PCDMISselectsthefeaturesthatmeetthesearchcriteria. Note:Theasterisk(*)metacharactercanbeusedmultipletimesinanyonesearch.Itcanalso beusedinconjunctionwiththequestionmark(?)metacharacter.

TheQuestionMark(?)MetaCharacter

Thequestionmarkmetacharacter(?)actsinthesamewayastheasterisk(*),except thatthequestionmarkmetacharacterwillmatchonly1alphanumericcharacter.Forexample, supposeinyourlistoffeatures,youhavethefollowing:

PLN1 LINE1 LINE2 CIR1 CIR2

Questionmark(?)metacharacter Ifyouwantedtoselectallthecirclefeatures(CIR1andCIR2)usingthequestionmark(?)meta characteryouwouldenter"CIR?"inSearchIDbox.PCDMISwouldthenlookforallfeaturesthat metthesearchcriteria,whichisafeaturewithanID4characterslongwiththefirst3characters being"CIR". Tousethequestionmark(?)metacharacter: 1. PlaceyourcursorintheSearchIDbox. 2. Enteryoursearchcriteriausingthequestionmark(?). 3. PresstheTABkey. PCDMISselectsthefeaturesthatmeetthesearchcriteria.

344 EditingtheCADDisplay

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Note:Thequestionmark(?)metacharactercanbeusedmultipletimesinanyonesearch.Itcan alsobeusedinconjunctionwiththeasterisk(*)metacharacter.

SelectingtheLastID(s)
ThisinstructsPCDMIStousethelast'number'offeaturesinthecurrentoperation. Toselectthelastnumberoffeatures: 1. Fromthedialogbox,placeyourcursorintheSelectLast#box. 2. Enterthelastnumberoffeaturestobeused.Forexample,tocreatealinefromthelast fourfeatures measuredtype4inthebox.

SelectLastID

BoxSelectingID(s)
Anotherwaytoselectfeaturesistousetheleftmousebuttontodrawa"box"aroundthefeatures. Thisiscalled"boxselecting".Todothis: 1. Placethemousepointeratonecornerofwheretheboxistobedrawnandhold downtheleftmousebutton. 2. Next,dragthemousepointertotheoppositecornerofthe"box."PCDMISwill drawtheboxoutlineonthescreenasthemouseisdragged. 3. Whenthe"box"issatisfactory,releasetheleftmousebutton.PCDMISwill highlightalltheelementsintheboxandlisttheminthefeaturelistbox.

BoxSelectingCIR1andCIR2
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual EditingtheCADDisplay 345

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Thisoptionalsoallowsyoutomodifythecontentsoftheboxasindicatedinthelist.Toeitheradd ordeleteafeaturefromtheset,simplyclickonthefeaturetobechanged(eitherintheGraphics Displaywindow,orthedialogbox'slistoffeatures).

OverviewofBoxSelectingSheetMetalFeaturesIDs
PCDMIS'sabilitytoboxselectfeatureidentificationsnowallowsaunionofsheetmetalfeatures betweentwoselectedgroups.Thisfunctionalitymakestheselectionofmultiplethreedimensional objectsmucheasier.Additionally,ifanyCADobjectsareboxselectedandthenaCADobjectis chosenwithoutboxselection,thoseobjectsthatwereboxselectedbecomepermanentselections inadditiontothesingleselection. See"BoxSelectingforAutoFeatureIDs"inthe"CreatingAutoFeatures"chapterforspecific informationonusingthiscapability.

SelectingFeaturesOnLine
Intheonlinemode,usetheactivetipasapointer,andtriggertheprobewhenthetipiscloseto thefeatureneeded.

EditingaFeatureID

Tochangeafeature'sidentification,doubleclickonthedesiredfeatureIDinthefeaturelist.PC DMISwilldisplaytheEditIDdialogbox.Thisdialogboxallowsyoutorenametheselected feature'sID.

EditingDimensionColors
SelectingtheEdit|GraphicsDisplayWindow|DimensionColormenuoptionbringsupthe EditDimensionColordialogbox.Thisdialogboxallowsyoutodefinecolorsandtolerance zonesforyourentiretoleranceband.

346 EditingtheCADDisplay

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

EditDimensionColordialogbox DefiningDimensionColors 1. DefinetheNumberofToleranceZones. 2. SettheToleranceZoneMultiplierasneeded. 3. Ifdesired,selecttheShowColorsinTwoDirections checkboxtoextendyour colorrangetotheTolvalue. 4. Pickthecolorsforthetolerancezonesinoneoftwoways: Method1Selecteachtolerancezoneoneatatimefromthetolerance zonedropdownlist,andclicktheEditbuttontosetaspecificcolorfor eachzone. Method2Usethecolorwheeltoselectthestartandendtolerance zonecolors,andallowPCDMIStodefinecolorsfortheotherzones.

3. 4. 5.

ClickApplyColors. ModifytheoptionsfortheDimensionColorsbarasdesired. ClickOK.

DialogBoxDescription Item Tolerance ZoneMultiplier box Description Thisincreasesthenegativeandpositivetolerancebythepercentage specified.Ifitissetto200%,thentherangeoftolerancezoneswill become: 2.0*(Tol)through2.0*(+Tol) Thisprovidesyouwithgreatercontroloverthetolerancerangeforyour tolerancezone,allowingyourrangeofcolorstoextendintotheoutof tolerancezone,lettingyouvisuallyseehowmuchoutoftolerance
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual EditingtheCADDisplay 347

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

somethingis. Thedefaultvalueis100%. Thisdeterminesthetolerancezonesforyourpartprogram.Tolerance zonesessentiallydivideyourentiretolerancebandintothesetolerance zones.Eachtolerancezonehasauniquecolorassociatedwithit. Thislistcontainsallthetolerancezones.Youcanselectaspecificzone fromthislisttomanipulateitscolorindetail. TheDimensionLimitsitemfromthislistisusedtocreateaborderat theabsolutepositiveornegativelimitofthefeaturetolerance.Thecolor usedforthiscorrespondstocolorusedtodrawthetoleranceband. Thisdetermineswhetherornotyourtolerancezonesdisplaythesame colorrangeintwodirections,oneheadingtowardsthePositiveOutof TolerancerangeandtheotherheadingtowardstheNegativeOutof Tolerancerange.Thiseffectivelyexpandsthelowerdimensioncolor rangetoTolinsteadofzero. YoucanthenusetheEditbuttontodefinethenegativedimension colorsandpositivedimensioncolorsseparately. Thisbuttonreturnsthecolorstothedefaultsetting. Thisbuttonletsyouoverridethepreviousdefaultcolorsettingswiththe currentvalues. ThisdisplaysaColordialogboxlettingyouchangethecolorassociated withthecurrentlyselectedtolerancezone. Thisprovidesyouwithaquickwaytodefinecolorsforallyourtolerance zones. Itletsyoupickthecolorsforthefirstandlasttolerancezones.Asmallx appearsonthecolorwheelforeachcolorselected: Theremainingtolerancezoneswillhavecolorsspacedevenlybetween thestartandendcolors.Thedirectionofthespacingdependsuponthe optionselected. Thissetstheendcolortohavethesamebrightnessasthestartcolor, andwillspacethecolorsinaclockwisedirection.

Numberof Tolerance Zonesbox Tolerance Zoneslist

Show Tolerancesin TwoDirections checkbox

Recallbutton Defaultbutton EditColor button ColorWheel

Clockwise option

Counter Clockwise option

Thissetstheendcolortohavethesamebrightnessasthestartcolor, butwillspacethecolorsinthecounterclockwisedirection.

StraightLine option ApplyColors button Visiblecheck box

Thisspacesthecolorsfromthestartcolortotheendcolor,regardless ofthebrightness,inastraightlinedirection. Thisappliesanycolorchangesyoumadewithoutclosingthedialogbox, allowingyoutoimmediatelytestyourcolorselection. ThischeckboxletsyoushoworhidetheDimensionColorsBaronce youclickOK. ForinformationontheDimensionColorsBar,see"Usingthe DimensionsColorsWindow"topicinthe"UsingOtherWindows,Editors,

348 EditingtheCADDisplay

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Default Tolerancebox DisplayActual Deviation option Display% Deviation option

andTools"chapter Thiseditboxletsyouchangethedefaulttolerancevalueforthe DimensionColorsBar. ThisdisplaystolerancesastheactualdeviationintheDimension ColorsBar. Thisdisplaystolerancesasapercentageofthedeviationinthe DimensionColorsBar.

EditingFeatures

EditFeatureAppearancedialogbox SelectingtheEdit|GraphicsDisplayWindow|FeatureAppearancemenuoptionbringsup theEditFeatureAppearancedialogbox.Thisdialogboxallowsyoutoalterfeature identifications(termedfeatureIDs)withinapartprogram,featurecolors,andfeatureIDlabels. ThefollowingexampleshowsafeatureIDlabelandafeaturethathavebeenmodifiedusingthe EditFeatureAppearancedialogbox.Variouscolorsdemonstratethedifferentpartsofthelabel. RedtheFeatureColor.Bydefault,thecoloredbaratthetopoftheIDlabelalso changestomatchthecolorofthecircle. GrayBackgroundColor. GreentheLineColor.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

EditingtheCADDisplay 349

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

AnenlargedscreenshotofanexamplefeatureIDlabel,andfeaturewithamodifiedappearance Apreviouslyassignedfeaturenamecanbeeditedsimplybydoubleclickingonthedesired featureinthelistbox.AnEditIDdialogboxwillappearallowingyoutokeyinanewidentification.

EditIDdialogbox FeatureIDscanalsobechangedintheEditwindow.SimplyhighlightthedesiredIDandtypeina newidentification. IntheEditwindowPCDMISdoesnottrackfeatureidentificationsandthereforewillnotwarnyou ifduplicateIDsareassigned.Itisadvisedthatcautionbeusedwhenmakingchangesifidentical IDsarenotdesired. Thisdialogboxcontainstwomainareas: TheFeaturesOptionsareaUsedtomodifythedisplayofthepart'sfeatures themselves. TheTextLabelsOptionsareaUsedtomodifythefeatureIDlabelsintheGraphics Displaywindow.

TochangethegraphicoptionsforfeaturesorfeatureIDlabels,selectthedesiredoptionsfrom thedialogbox,andthenclickApplyandthenOK.

350 EditingtheCADDisplay

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

FeaturesOptionsarea

TheFeaturesOptionsareaallowsyoutochangethecolorofselectedpartfeaturesandwhether ornotselectedfeaturesorfeatureIDlabelsaredisplayedintheGraphicsDisplaywindow.Touse theitemsinthisarea,youmustfirstselectoneormoreitemsfromtheListofFeaturesandthen clicktheSelectedfromthelistoption.Thisenablestheotheritemsinthisarea. TheSearchIDandSelectLast#boxesarediscussedinthe"SearchID"and"SelectLast#" topicsinthe"NavigatingtheUserInterface"chapter. TheFeatureColoroptionallowsyoutosetthecolorforaspecifiedfeature'sidentification.This optionworksinthesamemannerastheEditColoroption(seetheEditCADdialogboxfoundin "EditingCAD"). ToChangetheColorofaFeature: Tochangethecolorofafeature: 1. 2. 3. 4. SelectthefeaturetobealteredfromtheListofFeatures. SelecttheFeatureColoroption.PCDMISwillautomaticallydisplaytheColordialogbox. Clickonthedesiredcolor,ordefineanewoneusingtheCustomColorbox. ClicktheOKbutton.PCDMISreturnstotheEditFeatureAppearancedialogbox.The newcolorwillbedisplayedintheFeatureColorbox. 5. ClicktheApplybuttonandPCDMISwillautomaticallychangethecolorofthefeature(s) intheGraphicsDisplaywindow.ThetopborderofthefeatureIDlabelalsochangesto matchthefeaturecolor. TheDisplayareacontainsON/OFFoptionsthatcontrolthedisplayoffeaturesintheGraphics Displaywindow.Thisoptionisusefulwhenyouwanttofocusononlyaportionofgeometrical featuresthepartcontainsatatime. ToDeterminetheDisplayofSelectedFeatures: Todeterminethedisplayofselectedfeatures: 1. Selectthefeature(s)youwanttoturnonoroff. 2. SelecteithertheONortheOFFoptionlocatedundertheDisplayareaofthedialogbox. 3. ClicktheApplybutton.PCDMISwilldisplayorconcealthefeatures.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

EditingtheCADDisplay 351

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

4. Ifthechangesmadearetoyoursatisfaction,clickthe OKbutton.PCDMISwillclosethe dialogboxandsavethechanges. TheLabelareacontainsON/OFFoptionsthatcontrolthedisplayoffeatureIDsintheGraphics Displaywindow.Thisoptionisusefulwhenaportionofthepartdrawingbecomesclutteredwith severalfeatureIDs.SpecificIDscanbeturnedoff,allowingotherIDstobemoreeasilyviewed. ToDeterminetheDisplayofSelectedFeatureIDLabels: TodeterminethedisplayofselectedfeatureIDlabels: 1. 2. 3. 4. Selectthefeaturelabel(s)thatyouwanttoturnonoroff. SelecteithertheONortheOFFoptionlocatedundertheLabelareaofthedialogbox. ClicktheApplybutton.PCDMISwilldisplay(orconceal)thefeaturelabels. Ifthechangesmadearetoyoursatisfaction,clickthe OKbutton.PCDMISwillclosethe dialogboxandsavethechanges.

TextLabelOptionsarea

TheTextLabelOptionsareaallowsyoutodetermineforallfeatureIDlabelsthebackground color,linecolor,andwhetherornotashadowappearsaroundtheborder.Tousethefeaturesin thisarea,youmustfirstselecttheAllfeaturestextlabelsoption.PCDMISautomaticallyselects allthefeaturesfromtheListofFeatures. BackgroundColorThisbuttondisplaysaColordialogboxfromwhichyoucanchoosethe backgroundcolorforthefeatureIDlabels. LineColorThisbuttondisplaysaColordialogboxfromwhichyoucanchooselinecolorforthe featureIDlabels.Changingthelinecolorchangestherightandbottombordercoloronthe featureIDlabel. ClickingtheDefaultbuttoncausesallfeatureIDlabelscreatedthereaftertousetheline,color, andshadowsettingsdisplayedwhenyouclickedDefault. Hint:Youcanalsochangetheseitemsbyrightclickingonafeature'sIDlabelandselectingthe appropriateitemfromtheresultingshortcutmenu.See"FeatureShortcutMenu"in"Using ShortcutKeysandShortcutMenus"

352 EditingtheCADDisplay

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ShowingandAnimatingPathLines
PCDMIShastheabilitytogeneratecoloredlinesontheCADmodelintheGraphicsDisplay windowthatshowthepathyourprobewilltakeonthepartwhiletheprobemeasuresmarked features.Theselinesarecalledpathlines.Pathlineswillhelpyoupreviewthepathyourprobe willtakeandtroubleshootpossiblecollisionareas. Toviewpathlines,selectView|PathLines.

Thisshowstheprobe'sroutedrawnonthepart'sgraphicalimage Note:Youcancontrolthesizeandcolorofyourpathlinesbychangingthevaluesofthese registryentriesusingthePCDMISSettingsEditor:DrawPathLinesRadiusInMMand PathLinesColorRGB.Seethe"ModifyingRegistryEntries"appendixforinformationon changingregistryentries.

AnimatingthePath
TheAnimatePathoptiononly TheOperation|GraphicsDisplayWindow|Animate simulatesthemovementofthe Pathmenuoptionanimatesthepathoftheprobeonthepart, probe.Itdoesnotexecutethe simulatingthemovementoftheprobe. partprogram. TomakeAnimatePathaccessible: 1. Markthedesiredfeatures. 2. SelectthePathLinesmenucommand.TheAnimate Pathoptionwillthenbeavailableforselection. 3. SelecttheAnimatePathmenucommand.PCDMISwill displaytheExecutionModeOptionswindowand automaticallybeginanimatingthepathwithasimulated probetip. AnimationcanbestoppedatanytimebypressingtheESCkey onthekeyboardortheStopcommandbuttonwithinthe ExecutionModewindow.(IftheStopcommandbuttonis selected,pressingtheENTERkeywillalsohaltanimation.) Tostepthroughthepartprogram,simplypresstheContinuebutton. Tostoptheanimation,presstheStopbutton.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

EditingtheCADDisplay 353

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

PressingtheCancelbuttonwillclosetheExecutionModeOptionswindowwithout completingtheexecutionofthepartprogram. Clickingonthepathlineusingthearrowiconandleftmousebuttonwillmovethecursorto thecorrespondingcommandlineintheEditwindow.Thenextavailablefeatureinthe pathlinewillbeindicated.

RegeneratingthePath
Ifamoveisinsertedbeforea PH9wristchange,thelocation ofthewristchangewillnot moveuntilREGENERATE PATHischosen. TheOperation|GraphicsDisplayWindow|Regenerate Pathmenuoptionredrawsthepartprogrampathlines.PC DMISwillerasethecurrentpathlinesfromthescreenandre drawthem.Thisoptionisparticularlyusefulwhenchangeshave beenmadetoapartprogramandconfirmationisneededthat thepathlinestrulyrepresentthecurrentstateofthepart program.

Note:TheRegeneratePathoptionisonlyaccessibleafterfeatureshavebeenmarkedinthe EditwindowandtheShowPathLinesoptionhasbeenselected.

DetectingCollisions
TheOperation|GraphicsDisplayWindow|CollisionDetection menuoption(CD)displays theCollisionDetectiondialogbox.TheCDmoduleisdesignedtodetectcollisionsbetweenthe probeandCADsurfaces.AllCADcurves,lines,andpointsareignored.Asaresult,onlyCAD filesthatfullydescribethepartusingsurfacesaresuitableforcollisiondetection.(TheCD algorithmdoesn'tusetheactualsurfacedefinitions,butratherthesurfacetessellations(or graphicalapproximations),whicharealsousedforrenderingsolidviewsusingtheOpenGL graphicslanguage.)

ToEnableCollisionDetectionFunctionality:
1. Importapartmodelthathassurfacedata. 2. EnsurethattheGraphicsDisplaywindowshowsyourpartmodelinSurfacemode.Itwill notworkinWireframemode.See"ToConfigureaViewtobeinOpenglMode:". 3. SelecttheOperation|GraphicsDisplayWindow|ShowPathLinesmenuoption.PC DMISwillperformthisoperationanddisplaytheprobe'spathlinesinsidetheGraphics Displaywindow.See"ShowingandAnimatingPathLines". 4. SelecttheOperation|GraphicsDisplayWindow|CollisionDetectionmenuoption. PCDMISwilldisplaytheCollisionDetectiondialogbox.See"CollisionDetectionDialog boxOptions".

ToConfigureaViewtobeinOpenglMode:
ToconfigureaviewtobeinOpenGLmode: 1. 2. 3. 4. ClicktheViewSetup icontobringuptheViewSetupdialogbox. SelecttheSolidscheckbox. PresstheApplybutton. PresstheOKbutton.

5. ClicktheSurfaceModeiconintheGraphicsModestoolbar.

354 EditingtheCADDisplay

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

CollisionDetectionDialogboxOptions
CollisionsareshownintheCollisionDetectiondialogbox.

CollisionDetectiondialogbox YoucanselecttheStopOnCollisioncheckboxsothatprobeanimationcollision detectionwillstopifacollisionoccurs.

TheotheroptionsinthedialogfunctionlikethoseintheExecutionModeOptionsdialog box.(See"ExecutingPartPrograms"inthe"UsingAdvancedFileOptions"chapter) WhenPCDMIShasfinishedrunningCollisionDetection,thepathlineswillberedrawninthe GraphicsDisplaywindow.PCDMISwillindicatewherecollisionshaveoccurredinred. TheProbeDisplayArea TheprobewillbedisplayedintheProbeDisplayAreausingagreencolor.Ifacollisionoccurs, theportionoftheprobethatcollideswillbeshowninred.Thesamecolorschemeisusedtodraw theprobeonthescreen,aswellasintheCollisionDetectiondialogbox. Youcanenlargeorshrinkthedrawingoftheprobejustasyouwouldthepartonthe GraphicsDisplaywindowbyclickingtherightmousebuttonaboveorbelowanimaginary horizontalline. Youcan3DrotatethedrawingoftheprobebyholdingdownCTRLanddraggingthe mouseusingtherightmousebutton.

TheScaletoFitbuttonshrinksorenlargesthedrawingoftheprobesothatitfitsbackintothe CollisionDetectiondialogboxsProbeDisplayArea.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

EditingtheCADDisplay 355

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

DeletingCAD

DeleteCaddialogbox TheEdit|Delete|CadElementsmenuoptiondisplaystheDeleteCADdialogbox. ThisdialogboxletsyoupermanentlyremovethenominalimagesoffeaturesfromtheGraphics Displaywindow.ThisfunctionisusefulinsimplifyinganimportedCADfilebeforebuildingan inspectionprogram.Forexample,aCADfilemaycontaintextorotherdescriptiveinformationthat hasnoimpactontheinspectionofthepart.TheDeleteCADdialogboxallowsyoutodeletethis extraneousdata.

FeatureTypes

TheFeatureTypesareaofthedialogcontainsvariouscheckboxestellingPCDMISwhattypeof feature(s)todelete.Theavailableselectionconsistsofthefollowing: Points Lines Circles Arcs

356 EditingtheCADDisplay

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Curves Surfaces

NumberofSelectedFeatures

ThisoptiondisplaysthenumberoffeaturesthatPCDMISwillalter.

NumberofDeletedFeatures

TheNumberDeletedboxesdisplaythenumberoffeaturesthathavebeendeleted.The numbersinthesefieldschangedependingonthefeaturesselectedintheFeatureTypesareaof thedialog.

DeleteCAD

TheDeletecommandbuttontellsPCDMIStodeleteanynominalfeaturesthathavebeen selected.

UndoDeletedCAD

TheUndocommandbuttontellsPCDMIStorestoreanynominalfeaturesthathavejustbeen deleted.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

EditingtheCADDisplay 357

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Deselect

TheDeselectcommandbuttontellsPCDMIStodeselectanyfeaturesthatwerepreviously highlighted.

DeletingFeatures
PCDMISallowsyoutodeleteexistingfeaturesinthreeways: YoucanselectfeaturesintheEditwindowandpresstheDELETEkeyonyourkeyboard. YoucanusetheDeleteFeaturesdialogbox.Discussedbelow. YoucanplaceyourcursorintheEditwindowandselecttheDelete[Feature]menu option.Discussedbelow.

DeletingusingtheDeleteFeaturesDialogBox

DeleteFeaturesdialogbox

SelectingtheEdit|Delete|FeaturesmenuoptionbringsuptheDeleteFeaturesdialogbox. Thisdialogletsyoupermanentlyremovethemeasuredorconstructedfeaturesfromthepart program.Thisoptionshouldbeusedwhenanumberofunnecessaryfeaturesneedtobe removed. TheDeleteFeaturesdialogboxallowsyoutokeyintheID#,clickonthefeature,orselectthe lastfeaturecreatedbyspecifyinganumber.PCDMISalsoofferstheabilitytorestoreanyfeature thathasjustbeendeleted.WhentheOKcommandbuttonispressed,theindicatedfeatureswill bedeleted. Note: WhenmeasuredfeaturesareremovedfromtheGraphicsDisplaywindow,PCDMISwill automaticallyremoveanydimensionsordatumsassociatedwiththemfromthepartprogram.

358 EditingtheCADDisplay

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

DeleteFeatures

TheDeletecommandbuttondeletesanyfeaturesthatweremarkedfordeletion.Thisdeletionis notpermanentuntiltheOKbuttonispressed.

UndoDeletedFeatures

TheUndocommandbuttonallowsyoutorestoreallthedeletedfeaturesthatweredeletedusing theDeletebutton.ThisbuttonwillnotrestoredeletedfeaturesoncetheOKbuttonispressed.

ClearList

TheClearListcommandbuttonclearsthelistboxofanymarkedfeaturestobedeleted.

DeletingusingtheDelete[Feature]MenuOption
TheEdit|Delete|Delete[Feature]menuoptionalsoallowsyoutodeletethefeatureatthe cursor'slocationintheEditwindow.[Feature]indicatestheIDofthefeaturetobedeleted(i.e. DeletePNT1).Usually,whencreatingapartprogram,yourcursorwillbeattheendofyourpart program,thusselectingtheDelete[Feature]menuoptiondeletesthelastfeatureinyourpart program.

DeletingDimensions

DeleteDimensionsdialogbox

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

EditingtheCADDisplay 359

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TheDeleteDimensionsdialogbox(Edit|Delete|Dimension)letsyoupermanentlyremove anydimensionsfromthepartprogram.Thisoptionshouldbeusedwhenanumberof unnecessarydimensionsneedtoberemoved. TheDeleteDimensionsdialogboxallowsyoutokeyintheID#,clickonthedimension,select allthedimensions,orselectthemostrecentlycreateddimensionsbytypinganumberinthe SelectLast#box.PCDMISalsoofferstheabilitytorestoreanydeleteddimensionbyclicking theUndobuttonbeforeyouclicktheOKbutton.WhenyouclicktheOKbutton,theindicated dimensionswillbedeletedpermanently.

DeleteDimensions

TheDeletecommandbuttonplacesatextfragmentof"del"afteranydimensionsthatisselected formthelistwhenyouclickDelete.Youcanselectallthedimensionsfromthelistbyclicking SelectAll.ThisdeletionisnotpermanentuntiltheOKbuttonispressed.

UndoDeletedDimensions

TheUndocommandbuttonallowsyoutorestoreallthedeleteddimensionsthataremarkedfor deletionusingtheDeletebutton.ThisbuttonwillnotrestoredeleteddimensionsoncetheOK buttonispressed.

ClearList

TheClearListcommandbuttonclearsthelistboxofanymarkeddimensionstobedeleted.

TransformingaCADModel
PCDMIS4.0andlaterletsyoutransform(translate,scaleandrotate)yourCADmodel,andif desired,keepacopyoftheoriginalunmodifiedCADmodel,aswellascreateanewcoordinate systemforthetransformedmodel. TotransformyourCADmodel,accesstheCADTransformdialogboxbyselectingOperation| GraphicsDisplayWindow|Transform.Oncethedialogboxappears,usetheitemsonthe dialogboxasneeded,andthenclickOKorApply.

360 EditingtheCADDisplay

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

CADTransformdialogbox DialogBox Item KeepOriginal Createnew coordinate system Description Thischeckboxletsyoukeepacopyoftheoriginal,unmodifiedCAD model. Thischeckboxletsyoucreateanewcoordinatesystemfromthenewly translatedCADmodel.See"WorkingwithCADCoordinateSystems"for moreinformation. ThisareadefinestheXYZoffsetstotranslatethemodel. YoucaneithertypethespecificlocationtowhichyouwantPCDMISto movethecoordinatesystem,orifyoudon'tknowthecoordinates,you canusetheSelectbuttontoselectaspecificCADentitytowhichthe coordinatesystemwillmove.See"TransformingbySelecting"below. ThisareadefineshowtheCADmodelwillbescaled.Thiscanbeuseful forfixingmodelsthatarenotscaledcorrectlyduetoimproper measurementunitidentification.Forexample,ifthemodelissizedfor millimeterunitsbutyouknowtheyshouldbeinchunits,youwouldscale themodelby25.4. TheUniformcheckboxuniformlyscalesthemodel.Ifyouwanttoscale aselectedaxisofthemodel,cleartheUniformcheckbox.Leavethe valueas1foraxesthatyoudon'twantscaled,andchangetheaxisthat youwantscaled.Youcanalsoscaleaxesbynegativevalues.Thisis usefulifyouwanttomirroranaxis.Inthiscaseyouwouldenter1for thataxis.
EditingtheCADDisplay 361

Translate

Scale

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

InthissectionyoucanmirrortheCADviewofapart.Mirroringprovides thesamefunctionalitythatcouldbedoneusingScalewith1specified forthemirroringaxis. MirroringyourCADmodelisparticularlyusefulwhenmeasuring automotivepartsthathaveidenticalleftandrighthandpieces.IfCAD informationisavailablefortherightsideofapart,youcanmirrorthe appropriateaxisandcreateaCADviewoftheleftsideofthepart. Selecttheaxisyouwanttomirror.IfyouwanttokeepyouroldCAD datasothataftermirroringyou'llhaveCADdataforboththe symmetricalhalves,clicktheKeepOriginalcheckbox. OnceyouclickApplyorOKPCDMISwillmirrortheCADdrawingin thespecifiedaxisanddisplaytheimageintheGraphicsDisplay window. TheMirroroptiondoesnotcreateanewpartprograminthemirrored image.Ifyouwanttomirroryourpartprograminstead,seethe"Mirror" topicinthe"UsingBasicFileOptions"chapterandfollowthe instructionsavailable. ThisareacontrolshowtheCADmodelwillberotated.Typetheangle youwanttorotatethemodelbyintheAnglebox. Rotate YoucaneithertypethespecificlocationtowhichyouwantPCDMISto movethecoordinatesystem,orifyoudon'tknowthecoordinates,you canusetheSelectbuttontoselectaspecificCADentitytowhichthe coordinatesystemwillmove.See"TransformingbySelecting"below. ThisareadefinesthelineaboutwhichtheCADmodelwillberotated. Themodelwillrotateaboutthislinebythespecifiedangle.Thedirection ofrotationfollowstherighthandrule. RightHandRule:Ifyouextendthethumbonyourrighthandin thedirectionofthelinevector,andcurlyourotherfingersinto yourpalm,yourfingersindicatethedirectionofpositiveangle rotation. Youcanuseoneofthecoordinatesystemaxesasthelinetorotate aboutbyselectingtheappropriateX,Y,orZaxisoptionbutton. Ifyoudon'twanttorotateaboutoneofthecoordinatesystemaxes,you canrotateaboutanarbitrarylinebyselectingtheLineoptionbutton. ThisenablestheLineVectorandLinePointareas.Filltheseareasout todeterminethepointandvectorthatcomprisethearbitraryline. AsyoudetermineyourCADmodel'snewtransformation,thisarea automaticallygetsfilledoutwiththevaluestouseina3x3matrix.This 3x3matrixrotatestheCADmodel. Usually,youwon'tneedtofilloutanythinginthisareaasitisgenerally forinformationalpurposesonly.

Mirror

RotateAxis

RotateMatrix

362 EditingtheCADDisplay

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

FortheAdvancedUser: YoucanselecttheSpecifyRotateMatrixcheckboxtotypethevalues fortherotationmatrixmanually.Thecolumnsspecifytheaxesforthe rotation.Theserestrictionsapply: Eachaxisofthematrixmustbeorthogonaltotheothertwo axes.Thus,eachaxispairmustforma90degreeangle. Eachaxismustbeunitlength.Thatis,thelengthoftheaxis mustbeone.

Whenyouapplythetransformation,ifeitheroftheserestrictionsisnot met,amessageappearsindicatingtheproblem,andPCDMIS automaticallycorrectstherotationmatrix. TransformingbySelecting WhenyouclicktheSelectbuttonPCDMISdisplaystheSelectPointsdialogbox.

SelectPointsdialogbox Insteadoftypinganoffsetvalue,youcanusethisdialogboxtoselectanoffsetbysimplypicking aCADentityfromtheGraphicsDisplaywindow. DialogBox Item Selectpoint1 option Selectpoint2 option Selectline option ReversePoints button Description Thisoptiondefinesthetranslationlocation.Withthisoptionselected, clickonadesiredCADentity.Thisanchorsthepointtothatlocation. Thisoptionspecifiestheanglewithrespecttopoint1andtheaxisof rotation.Withthisoptionselected,clickonasecondCADentityonyour CADmodeltodefinetheangle. Insteadofselectingtwopointsforyourtranslation,thisoptionletsyou selectasingleline.PCDMISthensetsthevaluesofthePoint1and Point2areastomatchthestartandendpointoftheselectedline. ThisswitchestheXYZvaluesofPoint1withtheXYZvaluesofPoint2. TheseareasdefinetheXYZcenterpointoftheCADentityselectedwith theSelectpoint1andSelectpoint2options. Point1 and Point2areas ThecheckboxesintheseareasallowyoutoselectivelyupdatetheX, Y,orZvalueofthepoint,enablingyoutospecifypointswherethereis noactualgeometryforyoutoclickon.Forexample,forPoint1,
EditingtheCADDisplay 363

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

supposeyouwantedtheXandYvalueofonepointbuttheZvalueofa differentpoint.Todothis,youwouldcleartheZcheckboxandthen selectonepoint.ThenyouwouldcleartheX,Ycheckboxes,selectthe Zcheckbox,andthenselecttheotherpoint.

WorkingwithCADCoordinateSystems

CADCoordinateSystemdialogbox TheEdit|GraphicsDisplayWindow|CADCoordinateSystemmenuoptiondisplaystheCAD CoordinateSystemdialogbox.TheCADCoordinateSystemdialogboxletsyoucreateor selectnewcoordinatesystemsforyourCADmodel. TheCoordinateSystemlistontheleftsideofthedialogboxshowsallthecoordinatesystemsin theCADmodel.Thecoordinatesystemslistedfirstaretheglobalcoordinatesystems.Youwill alwaysseetheDefaultcoordinatesystemlisted. IftheCADmodelisanassemblyofcomponentparts,thenfollowingtheglobalcoordinate systemswillbelistedallthecoordinatesystemscontainedinthatassembly.Thesearelistedina treeviewstructure.Toexpandthetreeview,clickonaplussymbol(+).PCDMISdisplaysthe componentparts'assemblycoordinatesystems.YouwillalwaysseeaDefaultcoordinatesystem listedforeachpartcomponentintheassembly.Thiscoordinatesystemdefinesthepart'sdefault localcoordinatesystem. WhenyoufirstopentheCADCoordinateSystemdialogbox,PCDMIScheckstoseeifthe currentactivecoordinatesystemmatchesacoordinatesysteminthelist: Ifitfindsamatch,thenPCDMISselectsitfromthelist. Ifitdoesn'tmatchanyofthecoordinatesystems,thenPCDMISusestheDefault coordinatesystematthetopofthelist.ThiscanhappenifyoutransformedtheCAD withoutcreatingacoordinatesystem(seeCADTransformdialogsectionformore information).

ToSelectanduseCoordinateSystems

364 EditingtheCADDisplay

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Touseanexistingcoordinatesystem, 1. SelectthecoordinatesystemfromtheCoordinateSystemList.PCDMISshowsthat coordinatesystemintheGraphicsDisplaywindow.Ifyouselectanassemblycomponent, PCDMISselectsthefirstcoordinatesysteminthatcomponentinstead. 2. ClickApplyorOK.Theselectedcoordinatesystembecomesthenewactivecoordinate systemandPCDMISredrawstheCADtoreflectitsnewposition. ToCreateaCoordinateSystem TocreateacoordinatesystematthecurrentCADmodel'sposition,clicktheCreatebutton.The CADmodel'spositioncanbechangedbyusingtheCADTransformdialogbox.Seethe "TransformingaCADModel"topicformoreinformationontransformingtheCADmodel. ToRenameaCoordinateSystem Torenameacoordinatesystem,selectthecoordinatesystemfromthelist,andclickthe Renamebutton.Thentypethenewname. YoucannotrenametheDefaultcoordinatesystems. ToDeleteaCoordinateSystem Todeleteacoordinatesystem,selectthecoordinatesystemfromthelist,andclickthe Deletebutton.PCDMISdeletestheselectedcoordinatesystem. YoucannotdeletetheDefaultcoordinatesystemorassemblycoordinatesystems. ToReplaceaCoordinateSystem ToreplaceoroverwriteanexistingCoordinateSystemwiththecurrentCADmodel'sposition, selectacoordinatesystemfromthelist,andclicktheReplacebutton. YoucannotreplacetheDefaultcoordinatesystemorassemblycoordinatesystems.

CheckingandFixingPointNominalDeviation

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

EditingtheCADDisplay 365

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

PointNominalDeviationdialogbox TheEdit|GraphicsDisplayWindow|PointNominalDeviationmenuoptiondisplaysthe PointNominalDeviationdialogbox.Thisresizabledialogboxletsyoueasilycomparecertain pointmeasurementsagainstaCAD modelinordertocheckforchangesorupdatesmadetothe CADmodel.Essentially,youdefineatolerancevalue,andPCDMISwilllookatthenominalsfor anypointfeaturesinyourpartprogramandcomparethemagainsttheCADmodel.PCDMISwill listallpoints.Ifanypointsdeviatebeyondthedefinedtolerancevalue,PCDMISwilllistthose pointsinared/orangecolor,allowingyoutoadjustthemasneeded. ThePointNominalDeviationdialogboxcontainsthefollowingoptions: Item Deviation cutoffbox Angle deviation cutoffbox Find Nominals Tolerance box Search Priority Surfaces Only checkbox Move Checked Features Copy Checked to Clipboard Description Thisboxfilterswhichpointfeaturesaredisplayed.Thedistancebetweenapointfeature's theoreticalpositionandtheCADmodelnominalpositionisitsdeviation.Onlypointswhose deviationsaregreaterthanorequaltothedeviationcutoffwillbelisted. ThisboxcontrolsthenominalCADposition.TheCADsurfacenormalandthepointvectormust bewithinthisangle.Therangeforthisangleis090degrees. Thisdefinesthetolerancevaluethatwillbeallowedforeachpointfeature.Pointswithadeviation thatexceedsthistolerancevaluewillturnred. ThischeckboxdetermineswhetherornotPCDMISonlyusesprioritysurfaceswhensearching forasolution.YoucandefineprioritysurfacesusingtheSetasPrioritycheckboxintheEdit CADElementsdialogbox.Seethe"EditingCAD"topicformoreinformationonhowtodothis. Ifyouclearthischeckbox,andPCDMIScannotfindanacceptablevaluewithinthedefined prioritysurfaces,itwillthencheckalltheothersurfacesintheCADmodel. ThisbuttonupdatestheXYZandIJKvaluesofthosepointfeatureswhosecheckboxesyouhave selectedtomatchtheCADmodel'sXYZandIJKvalues. ThisbuttoncopiestheinformationforallselectedpointstotheWindowsClipboard.The informationinthecolumnswillbedelimitedbysemicolons,asshownhere:

Override

ExampleofPointsCopiedtoWindowsClipboard Sometimesthebestpointthatthealgorithmfindsisincorrect.Ifyouselectasinglefeature,the Overridebuttonbecomesavailableforselection.ClickingthisbuttonwilldisplayanOverride dialogbox.Thisdialogboxletsyouoverridethefoundpointwithadifferentpoint. Seethe"UsingtheOverrideDialogBox"topicbelow. ThiscolumndisplaysthenameoftheIDofthefeature.Thecolumnheadercontainsacheckbox. Selectingorclearingthischeckboxselectsorclearsthecheckboxesforallpointfeaturesinthe list. Thiscolumndisplaysthefeature'scurrenttheoreticalposition. Thiscolumndisplaysthefeature'scurrenttheoreticalvectors. Thiscolumndisplaysthefeature'snominalpositionifitweremovedontotheCAD.

Feature column Current XYZ Current IJK CADXYZ

366 EditingtheCADDisplay

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

CADIJK Deviation Angle Dev

Thiscolumndisplaysthefeature'snominalvectorifitweremovedontotheCAD. Thiscolumndisplaysthedistancebetweenthefeature'scurrenttheoreticalpositionandits correspondingnominalCADposition. Thiscolumndisplaystheangledeviationbetweenthefeature'scurrenttheoreticalvectorandits correspondingnominalCADvector.

UsingtheOverrideDialogBox

TheOverridedialogboxappearsifyouselecttheOverridebuttonfromthePointNominals Deviationdialogbox. ItshowsalistofalltheCADnominalpointsthatcorrespondtotheselectedfeaturefromall surfaceswithintheFindNominalsTolerancesearchzone.PCDMISinitiallysortsthesepoints fromsmallesttolargestdeviation.UsuallythefirstpointlistedisthepointusedinthePoint NominalsDeviationdialogbox.Eachpointisgraphicallyrepresentedwithacrosshairinthe GraphicsDisplaywindow.Selectingapointinthelisthighlightsthatpointaswellasanycurveor surfaceonwhichthepointliesintheGraphicsDisplaywindow.Onceyoufindthedesiredpoint, clicktheOverridebutton.TheOverridedialogboxclosesandthePointNominalsDeviation dialogboxreappears,showingtheupdatedpointvalue. UsePreviousSurfacecheckboxYoushouldusethischeckboxwhenoverridingseveral points.Forexample,ifyouknowthatpointsforseveralfeaturesshouldalllieonthesamesurface butthealgorithmincorrectlyputthepointsondifferentsurfaces,youwouldoverridethefirst featureasusual.Thenonthesecondandsubsequentoverrides,youcouldselecttheUse PreviousSurfacecheckbox.ThiswouldcausePCDMIStoonlyshowthepointsfoundonthe surfaceofthepreviousoverride. FindNominalsToleranceThisboxfunctionsthesameasthefieldofthesamenamefoundin thePointNominalDeviationdialogboxbutwithdifferentresults.PCDMISsearchestheCAD fornominalpointsthatcorrespondtotheselectedfeature.Itsearchesinasphericalzonearound thecurrenttheoreticalpositionoftheselectedfeature.Thisboxdefinesthesizeofthatspherical searchzone.ThevalueregulatestheamountofCADthatPCDMISevaluateswhilegenerating thispointoverridelist. TheotheritemsusedintheOverridedialogboxarealreadydiscussedinthePointNominals Deviationdialogboxabove.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

EditingtheCADDisplay 367

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

EditingaPartProgram
EditingaPartProgram:Introduction
PCDMIS'smainpurposesaretoallowyoutocreate,edit,andexecutepartprogramswithease. ThischapterdiscussesusingtheEdit menu(withothermenuoptions)toedityourpartprograms. WhiletheEdit menuworkswiththecommandsthatappearintheEditwindow,adiscussionof theEditwindowitselfisbeyondthescopeofthischapter.ForanindepthlookattheEditwindow see,the"UsingtheEditwindow"chapter. Thischaptercoversthesetopics: UsingStandardEditCommands EditingPatternsofFeatures FindingandReplacingText EditingDataFields JumpingtoSpecifiedLineNumbers JumpingtoandfromReferencedCommands OverridingGuessedFeatures OverridingFoundNominals MarkingCommandsforExecution CreatingandExecutingMarkedSets UsingBookmarks UsingBreakpoints ChangingFontsandColors EditingExternalObjects

UsingStandardEditCommands
PCDMIS,likemostWindowsapplications,allowsyoutousestandardeditcommandsinyour partprogram.Thefollowingstandardmenuoptionsareavailable: Undo Redo Cut Copy Paste Delete SelectAll

Undo
TheEdit|UndomenuoptionremovesthelastchangeyoumadetotheEditwindow.Youcan continuetoselecttheUndooptiontoremovemultiplechangestotheEditwindow. Note:Beawarethatswitchingtoadifferentmode,completelyremovesallchangesfrom memory.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

EditingaPartProgram 369

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Redo
TheEdit|RedomenuoptionreversesthelastchangesthattookplacewhenyouusedtheUndo menuoption.LiketheUndooption,youcanusetheRedooptionmultipletimestoreplace multiplechanges. Note:Beawarethatswitchingtoadifferentmode,completelyremovesallchangesfrom memory.

Cut
TheEdit|Cutmenuoptionallowsyouto"cut"ormovetextfromoneareatoanotherusingthe clipboard. Tocuttext: 1. Highlighttheitem(s)tobemovedtoanotherarea. 2. SelecttheCutoption.ThetextwillberemovedfromtheEditwindowandstoredonthe clipboard. SelectthePastecommandtorestorethecuttext.(See"Paste".) Note: WhenselectingtheCutcommandanypreviousclipboardcontentswillbereplacedwiththe cutselection.

Copy
TheEdit|Copymenuoptionalsoallowsyoutocopyandmovetextfromoneareatoanother usingtheclipboard.TheonlydifferencebetweenthisoptionandtheCutoptionisthatthetextwill notberemovedfromtheEditwindowwhenitiscopied. Tocopytext: 1. Highlightthedesiredtext. 2. SelecttheCopycommand.Thetextwillremaininitscurrentlocationandwillbestored ontheclipboardaswell. SelectthePastecommandtorestorethecuttext.(See"Paste".) Note: WhenselectingtheCopycommandanypreviousclipboardcontentswillbereplacedwith thecopiedselection.

Paste
TheEdit|PastemenuoptionallowsyoutopastecopiedtextfromtheclipboardintotheEdit windowatthecursor'slocation.

Delete
TheEdit|Delete menuoptiondeletesthecurrentlyhighlightedselectionfromtheEditwindow. Thecontentsofthedeletedselectionarenotplacedontheclipboard.

370 EditingaPartProgram

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

SelectAll
TheEdit|SelectAllmenuoptionallowsyoutoselectallthecontentsoftheEditwindowfor editingpurposes.

EditingPatternsofFeatures
Patternsoffeaturesareoftenencounteredinparts.PCDMISprovidesyouwithwaystocreate patternedfeatures.Considerthesemenuoptions: Pattern PastewithPattern

Pattern
TheEdit|PatternmenuoptionbringsupthePatternOffsetsdialogbox.

PatternOffsetsdialogbox ThisdialogallowsyoutodefinetheoffsetsthatwillbeusedwhenselectingtheEdit|PasteWith Patternoption. Tocreateapattern: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. AccessthePatternOffsetdialogbox. Typeanydesiredoffsetvalues. Selectanydesiredmirroroption. TypethenumberoftimestooffsetintheNumberofTimestoOffsetbox. PresstheOKcommandbutton. Optionally,presstheCancelbuttontoclosethedialogwithoutmakingchangestothe currentsettings.

X,Y,ZOffset
ThesefieldsallowyoutosettheX,Y,orZOffsetbetweenpatternoccurrences. TochangetheX,Y,orZOffset values: 1. SelectthedesiredX,Y,orZOffsetbox. 2. Typethedesiredchange.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

EditingaPartProgram 371

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

PCDMISwilloffsetthenominalX,Y,andZdataofthepastedfeature(orsetoffeatures)by theseoffsetvalues.

AngleOffset
TheAngleOffsetboxallowsyoutosettheangularoffsetbetweenpatternoccurrences. Anangularoffsetmightbeusefulwhenmeasuringthetruepositionlocationofanumberofholes inaboltholepattern,wherethedatumwasaholeinthecenterofthepattern.PCDMISwill rotatetheoffsetaroundtheorigin. AngularoffsetscanbeusedinconjunctionwithX,Y,andZoffsetsandflips.Theorderof applyingtheseoffsetsisflips,rotations,andlastly,translations. Tochangetheangleoffset: 1. SelecttheAngleOffsetboxinthedialogbox. 2. Typethedesiredvalue.

NumberofTimestoOffset
ThisoptionletsyousetupthenumberoftimesPCDMISwilloffsetapattern.Tochangethe currentvalue,selectthisoptionandtypeanewvalue.Thedefaultvalueisone.

FlipX,Y,Z
TheFlipX,FlipY,orFlipZoptionsmirrorthepatternaroundtheX,Y,orZaxis,respectively. TheoriginalpatternisflippedabouttheX,Y,orZaxisbeforeanytranslationorrotation.

PastewithPattern
TheEdit|PasteWithPatternoptiontakesanyfeature(orgroupoffeatures)storedonthe clipboardandpastesittotheEditwindowatthecurrentcursorlocation.Whenyoudothis,new featuresarecreatedbasedonthosecopiedtotheclipboard.However,thenewlycreatedfeatures willhavethepreviouslydefinedpatternoffsetsappliedtothem.See"Pattern"formore information. Topastefeaturesusingapattern: 1. MakesuretheproperoffsetshavebeendefinedusingthePatternOffsetdialogbox (selectthePatternmenuoption). 2. Makesurethefeature(orsetoffeatures)youwanttooffsethasbeenhighlightedand copiedtotheclipboard. 3. Positionthecursoratthelocationinthepartprogramwherethenewfeaturesaretobe inserted. 4. SelecttheEdit|PasteWithPatternmenucommand. PCDMISwillpastethecontentsoftheclipboardasmanytimesasindicatedbythevalueinthe NumberofTimestoOffsetofthePatternOffsetdialogbox.Eachtimetheclipboardcontents arepasted,thenewlycreatedfeature(s)willbeoffsetwithrespecttothepreviouslyinserted feature(s)bythedefinedpatternoffsets.Theidentificationsforthenewfeatureswillbe

372 EditingaPartProgram

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

incrementedfromtheoriginalfeatureID.PCDMISwillalsodrawthenewlycreatedfeaturesin theGraphicsDisplaywindow.

FindingandReplacingText
YoucanfindandreplacetextinEditwindowfieldsbyusingstandardregularexpressions describedinthesemenuoptions: Find Replace

Find
TheEdit|Find menuoptionopenstheFinddialogboxwhichallowsyoutofindaspecified keywordwithintheEditwindow.

Finddialogbox

UsingWildcards
Tousewildcardstoperformpatternmatching,selectthePatternmatchcheckbox. Thisoptionalsoallowsyoutofindtextmatchingavarietyofdifferentsearchcriteria.Considerthe followingtable: TextToFind WildcardtoUse Anyonecharacter . Characterset [] SomeExamples D.Mmatches"DIM" or"D4M". D[MI]Sfinds"DIS" and"DMS"butnot "DMIS"or"DUS". LINE[26]finds "LINE2"and"LINE3" butnot"LINE1"or "LINE7".Ranges mustbein ascendingorder. POINT[^32]finds "POINT1", "POINT5",and "POINT12",butnot "POINT3", "POINT2",
EditingaPartProgram 373

Anyonecharacterin[] arange

Anyonecharacter [^] exceptcharacter(s) insidebrackets

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Anyonecharacter [^xz] exceptrangeof charactersinside brackets Charactersetsthat [] includethe"" charactershould havethe""asthe firstorlastcharacter oftherange.Ifthe rangeexcludesthe ""thenthe"" shouldbethe secondcharacter. 0ormoreinstances * ofthepreceding character,unless thefollowing: "*"startsastring "*"followsa"^"that startsastring "*"startsa parenthesizedsub expression Linebeginningwith ^ aspecifiedphrase orcharacter.The"^" isspecialonlyatthe beginningofa string. Lineendingwitha $ specifiedphraseor character.The"$"is specialonlyatthe endofastring. Parenthesesinthe ()and\ FindWhatboxstore whatiswithinthem toberecalledlaterin theReplaceWith box. IntheReplaceWith boxabackslash"\" character,followed byanumberwould bringthatdefined

"POINT21",or "POINT30". LINE[^25]finds "LINE6"and "LINEH",butnot "LINE3" LINE[09]matches "LINE4"and"LINE". LINE[^09]matches "LINEH"butnot "LINE".

lo*pmatches"lp" and"looooop". ^*matchesa"*"ifit startsaline.

^CIRCLEfindsall linesthatbeginwith theword"CIRCLE". Notethatindented linesinPCDMIS's Editwindowbegin withspaces. ENDMEAS/$finds linesendingin "ENDMEAS/"butnot "MEAS/" FindWhat: BO(BB)Y(RAY) ReplaceWith: DO\1YP\2 WouldGive: DOBBYPRAY \1usesthefirstsetof charactersoffsetby parentheses,\2the

374 EditingaPartProgram

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

patternintothe replacetext.

secondsetandso on.

Note:Forpatternmatches,younolongerneedtoprecedeparentheseswithabackslash(\) characterasyouhadtodoinsomeearlierversionsofPCDMIS.

UsingPredefinedCharacterSets
Tomatchapredefinedcharacterset,selectthePatternmatchcheckbox.Youcanthensearch thetextbyusingthesespecialpredefinedcharactersets: CharacterCharactersinset set [[:alnum:]] ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789 [[:alpha:]] ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz [[:blank:]] (Thespacecharacterandthetabcharacter) [[:digit:]] 0123456789 [[:graph:]] ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789!"#$%&'()*+, ./:<=>?@[\]^_`{|}~ [[:lower:]] Abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz [[:print:]] ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 0123456789!"#$%&'()*+,./:<=>?@[\]^_`{|}~ [[:punct:]] !"#$%&'()*+,./:<=>?@[\]^_`{|}~ [[:upper:]] ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ [[:xdigit:]] 0123456789ABCDEFabcdef

Example:Tosearchforastringwhichconsistsofaletter,followedbysomelettersornumbers, followedbythatsamefirstletter,youwoulduseabackreference,asshownhere: ([[:alpha:]])[[:alnum:]]\{1,\}\1.

Tosearchforaspecificwordorphrase:
1. 2. 3. 4. SelectEdit|Find fromthemenubar. Typeinakeywordorphrasetosearch. Indicatethesearchpath(upordown). SelecttheMatchwholewordonlycheckboxifyouwantPCDMIStomatchtheentire word.Forexample,ifyoutype"CIR",PCDMISwillfind"CIR"butnot"CIRCLE". 5. SelecttheMatchCasecheckboxifyouwantPCDMIStosearchbasedonupperor lowercase. 6. PresstheFindbutton(orpressENTER).

Replace
TheEdit|ReplaceoptionworksmuchthesamewayastheFindoption(see"Find").Oncethe textisfound,however,youcanreplacethattextbyusingtheReplacedialogbox.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

EditingaPartProgram 375

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Replacedialogbox Inversionspriorto3.6,youcouldonlysearchandreplacewithineditablefieldsintheeditwindow. Forexampleyoucouldn'treplace SHOWHITS=NO with SHOWHITS=YES becauseSHOWHITS=wasaconstantfield.Onlytheeditableportionofthecommand(theNOto theYES)couldbereplaced. WithPCDMISversion3.6andabove,however,youcannowsearchandreplacewithany matchingstringaslongasthelastpartofthestringcorrespondstoaneditablefield,andaslong asitistheonlyeditablefieldinthestringthatwillbechanging. AFindandReplaceExampleThatWorks: =AUTO/CIRCLE,SHOWALLPARAMS=NO replacedwith =AUTO/CIRCLE,SHOWALLPARAMS=YES Noticethattheendofthestringcorrespondstoaneditablefield.Onlythelasteditablefieldcan bechangedfromthesearchstring. AFindandReplaceExampleThatWillNOTWork: Youcannot,forexample,replacetwoeditablefieldsinonereplacelikethis: =AUTO/CIRCLE,SHOWALLPARAMS=NO cannotbereplacedwith =AUTO/LINE,SHOWALLPARAMS=YES becausebothCIRCLEtoLINEisoneeditablefieldandNOtoYESisanothereditablefield.

376 EditingaPartProgram

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Neithercanyoudosomethinglikethis: =AUTO/CIRCLE,SHOWALLPARAMS cannotbereplacedwith =AUTO/CIRCLE,MYSHOWALL becausethepartyouwantreplacedisaconstantfield.

Findwhat
ThisboxallowsyoutoenterthetextforwhichPCDMISwillsearch.Youcanuseanyofthe variouswildcardsandsearchpatternsdiscussedinthe"Find"section.See"Find".

Replacewith
Thisboxallowsyoutoindicatewhattextwillreplacethefoundtext.

Matchwholewordonly
Ifyouselectthischeckbox,PCDMISwillonlylookforanentirewordcontainingthattext.For example,ifyoutypein"CIR"intheFindwhatbox,andselectthischeckbox,PCDMISfinds only"CIR".Itwillnotfind"CIRCLE"or"CIRCULAR".

Matchcase
ThischeckboxtellsPCDMIStosearchfortextmatchingthecase(upperorlower)usedinthe Findwhatbox.Forexample,ifyoutyped"Point"intheFindwhatboxandselectedtheMatch casecheckbox,PCDMISwouldfind"Point"and"Points",butnot"POINT".

Patternmatching
ThischeckboxtellsPCDMIStolookforspecifiedpatterns.Youshouldselectthischeckbox whensearchingforpatternmatchesusingwildcardsorotherspecialcharactermatching.

FindNextbutton
TheFindNextbuttontellsPCDMIStofindthenextinstanceofthetextforwhichyou're searching.

Replacebutton
TheReplacebuttonreplacesthefoundtextwiththetextstringintheReplacewithbox.This allowsyoutoreplaceinstancesoffoundtextoneatatime.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

EditingaPartProgram 377

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ReplaceAllbutton
TheReplaceallbuttontellsPCDMIStoinstantlyfindalloccurrencesoftextintheFindwhat boxandreplacesthemwiththetextintheReplacewithbox.

EditingDataFields

EditDataFieldwizard TheEditDataFieldwizardisanexternalprogramthat workswithPCDMIStoletyouchange datainsidespecifieddatafieldsofcertaincommandtypesinsidetheEditwindow.Toaccessthis wizard,selecttheDataFieldEdit iconfromtheWizardstoolbar. ThiswizarddiffersfromtheReplacedialogbox.Itallowsyoutochangedataitemsgloballyinside anymodeoftheEditwindow,whereastheReplacedialogboxonlyworksinsideofCommand mode.Additionally,thiswillallowyoutoreplacecertainvaluesthatyoucannotchangeusingthe Replacedialogbox. TheEditDataFielddialogboxcontainstheseitems: ChooseCommandTypeThislistdisplaystheavailablecommandtypes. ChooseDataTypeThislistdisplaysthedatatypesfortheselectedcommandtype.Ifyou wanttoseealldatatypesinthislist,selectAllCommandTypes,fromtheChoose CommandTypelist.

378 EditingaPartProgram

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TypeIndexThisboxletsyouspecifyanexactfieldyouwanttochangebyitsnumerical index.Youwillfindthisusefulwhenyouhavemorethanonefieldofthesamedatatype andyouwanttochangeonlyoneofthefields.Typinganindexvalueletsyoudetermine whichonetochange.Forexample,theCLEARP commandhastwodistancefields,one fortheclearancedistanceandoneforthepassdistance.Typinganindexof1would targettheclearancedistancewhileavalueof2wouldtargetthepassdistance. ChangeFromThisareacontainstheUsecheckboxandaboxthatholdsavalue.This checkboxletsyouspecifyavalueyouwanttochangefrom.ThismeansthatPCDMIS willonlytargetthosefieldsthathavethegivenvalue. ChangeToThisboxletsyoudeterminethenewvalueforthedatafieldyouwanttoupdate. VerifyEachChangeIfyouselectthischeckbox,PCDMISwilldisplayamessagebox showingtheIDoftheitemtochange,itscurrentvalue,andwhetherornotyouwantto changethatdatafieldtothenewvalue. ChangeThisbuttonbeginstheprocessoffindingthedatafieldandchangingittothenew value. StatusTheboxatthebottomofthedialogboxdisplaysanystatusordiagnosticmessages duringthechangeprocess.

JumpingtoSpecifiedLineNumbers
PCDMIScaneasilyjumptospecifiedlinenumbers.UsetheEdit|GoTomenuoptiontojumpto aspecifiedlinewithintheEditwindow.

GoTodialogbox TomovethecursortoaspecificlinenumberinCommandorDMISmode: 1. SelectEdit|GoTofromthemenu.TheGo Todialogboxwillappear. 2. ThecurrentlinemarkedbythecursorwillbeindicatedintheLineNumberboxofthe dialogbox. 3. Typethedesiredlinenumber. 4. ClicktheOKbutton(orpressENTER).PCDMISdisplaysthespecifiedline.

JumpingtoandfromReferencedCommands
IntheEditwindow'scommandmode,ifonecommandintheEditwindowreferencesanother command,youcanjumptothereferencedcommand,byhighlightingthelabeltothereferenced commandandselectingtheEdit|JumpTomenuoption.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

EditingaPartProgram 379

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Whenyouarriveatthereferencedcommandyoucanquicklyjumpbacktothepreviousfeature byselectingtheEdit|JumpBackmenuoption. Example:Supposeinanalignmentblockyouhavethefollowingcommandsandyouwantto jumptotheLIN2featurereferencedintheblock:


A1 =ALIGNMENT/START,RECALL:STARTUP,LIST=YES ALIGNMENT/LEVEL,ZPLUS,PLN1 ALIGNMENT/ROTATE,XPLUS,TO,LIN1,ABOUT,ZPLUS ALIGNMENT/TRANS,XAXIS,LIN2 ALIGNMENT/TRANS,YAXIS,LIN1 ALIGNMENT/TRANS,ZAXIS,PLN1 ALIGNMENT/END

YouwouldhighlightLIN2andselecttheJumpTomenuoptionfromthemenubarorrightclick andselectitfromtheshortcutmenu.Youcanthenjumpbacktothecommandyouwerejustat byselectingJumpBack. Youcanalsoselectthesemenuoptionsfromashortcutmenuthatappearswhenyourightclick onthefeaturesintheEditwindow'sCommandmode.

EditingNominalandTargetValues
Mostofthetimeyoucanmeasureyourfeaturesjustfine,butsometimes,duetomanufacturing errors,afeaturewon'tbeclosetoitstheoretical(nominal)location,butrathershiftedsomehow. ForMeasuredfeatures,youneedtoadjustyourtheoreticalvaluestohandlethissituation. However,usingthemoreadvancedAutoFeatures,youcanmodifythetargetinstead.Thiswill adjustthepathaccordingly,yetwillallowdimensioningtotakeplacerelativetotheoriginal theoreticalvalues. ModifyingNominalValues(forbothMeasuredandAutoFeatures) PCDMISprovidesyouwithsimplewaystomodifythenominalvalue.Youcaneasilymodifythe fielditselfinsideCommandmode,analternatewayistoplacethecursoroverthefeatureand pressF9.Thiscausesadialogboxtoappearwiththenominalinformationinsideofit. ModifythenominalinformationandclickOKorCreate.Thedialogboxcloses. Ifyouaremodifyingameasuredfeature,PCDMISdisplaysapromptaskingifyouwant toupdatemeasuredvaluesaswell.IfyouclickYes,themeasuredvalueswillget updatedtomatchthenewlyenterednominalvalues.IfyouclickNo,themeasuredvalues remainwhattheywere. Ifyouaremodifyinganautofeature,PCDMISasksifyouwanttoupdatethetarget valuestomatchthenewtheoreticalvalues.Ifyouclick Yes,thetargetvalueswillget updatedtomatchthenewlyenterednominalvalues.IfyouclickNo,thetargetvalues remainwhattheywere.

ModifyingTargetValues(forAutoFeaturesonly) Ifyouhaveanautofeature,youcanchoosetomodifytargetvaluesinsteadofthetheoretical values.ThetargetvaluesdeterminethelocationwherePCDMISwilltrytomeasuretheauto feature.Thisletsyoukeepthetheoreticalvaluesfordimensioningpurposes,butstillchangesthe locationatwhichthesoftwareattemptsmeasurement.Tomodifythetargetvalues,usetheEdit window:

380 EditingaPartProgram

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ModifyingTargetValuesSummaryMode:Selectthefield,pressENTER,typeanewa valueandpressENTERagaintostorethechange. ModifyingTargetValuesinCommandMode:Tabtothefieldtochange,typeanew value,andpressTABagaintostorethechange.

OverridingGuessedFeatures
TheEdit|OverrideGuesssubmenuallowsyoutochangethetypeoffeaturelastmeasured. Forexample,ifacirclewasthelastfeaturemeasuredandPCDMISguessedthatitwasaplane, thisoptioncanbeusedtoconvertthefeaturetothepropertype.Thisoptionmustbeusedbefore anyotherfeaturesaremeasuredorconstructed. TousetheOverridefeature: 1. AccesstheEditwindow. 2. PlaceyourcursorontheincorrectfeaturetypeintheEditwindow. 3. FromtheOverrideGuesssubmenuselectthecorrectfeaturetype. YouwillseethatthefeaturechangeswillbemadeintheEditwindow.

OverridingFoundNominals

FindNomsOverridedialogbox TheFindNomsOverridedialogbox(Edit|OverrideFindNoms)allowsyoutochoosethe appropriatenominalpointfromCADsurfacesforAutoVectorPoints,AutoSurfacePoints,and individualhitsinsideotherfeatures(suchasscans).ItoverridesthedefaultFindNomsbehaviorof PCDMISduringLearnmodeandExecutemode. Whenattemptingtofindavalidnominalpoint(withintheFindNomstolerance)bytakingamanual hit,PCDMISwill,mostofthetime,choosethecorrectpoint.However,thereareexceptional circumstanceswhenPCDMIScannotfindanappropriatepointandinsteadchoosesan inaccuratepointontheCADmodel.Inthesesituations,youcanusetheFindNomsOverride dialogboxtohelpPCDMISfindtheappropriatenominalpointfromtheCADsurfaces. Thefollowingtopicsdescribethedialogboxitselfandhowtousethedialogboxinthedifferent modes:

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

EditingaPartProgram 381

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

UnderstandingtheFindNomsOverrideDialogBox

FindNomsOverridedialogbox Thefollowingtopicsdescribethisdialogbox.

ThePrioritySurface,PiercePoint,andDropPointColumns
Thisareaofthedialogboxcontainsthesethreecolumns: 1.) PrioritySurface 2.) PiercePoint 3.) DropPoint A"Tvalue"isthedistanceofTheydisplaytherelevantnominalpointvaluesandtheirTvalues themeasuredhitfromthe (thevaluedisplayedtotheleftoftheX,Y,andZvaluesin nominalpointalongthe parentheses). nominalCADsurfacevector. PrioritySurfacecolumnThiscolumnliststhesurfacesthatyou havestoredasprioritysurfacesintheEditCADElementsdialog box(Edit|GraphicsDisplayWindow|CadElements). Itdisplaysthetypeofsurfaceandacheckbox.Thecheckbox allowsyoutoaddorremovethesurfacefromthelistofpriority surfacesmaintainedbyPCDMIS.Ifyouselectthecheckbox,PC DMISaddsthesurfacetotheprioritylist.Deselectingthecheckbox removesthesurfacefromthelist. PiercePointcolumnThiscolumnliststhenominalpointvalues foundusingPCDMIS'sPiercePointoperation.Ifyouseethetext "FailedOP"inthiscolumnitmeansthatthepiercepointoperation failedtofindthenominalpointonthatsurface.IfPCDMIS highlightsapointingreen,thenthatpointisthebestnominalpoint foundbytheselectionalgorithm.Youcanofcourseoverridethis selectedpoint. DropPointcolumnThiscolumnliststhenominalpointvalues foundusingPCDMIS'sDropPointoperation.

382 EditingaPartProgram

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TheTolerancebox
TheToleranceboxallowsyoutospecifyanewtolerancevaluetousewhenfindingthenominal pointsusingthisdialogbox.

TheUsePreviousSurfacecheckbox
TheUsePreviousSurfacecheckboxtellsPCDMIStousethemostrecentsurfacetolookfor thenominalpoints.Thischeckboxbecomesavailableforselectiononlyafteryoutakeahitona surfacewiththedialogboxopen.Afteryoutakeahit,PCDMISthenhasasurfacetoworkwith forfuturehits.

TheOverridebutton
TheOverridebuttonoverridesanincorrectnominalpointfoundbyPCDMISwiththenominal pointdataselectedfromthelistcontainingthePrioritySurface,PiercePoint,andDropPoint columns.

UsingtheFindNomsOverrideDialogBoxinLearnmode:
ToaccessthisdialogboxinLearnmode: 1. SelectthePointOnlyModeandFindNominalscheckboxesfromtheGeneraltabof theSetUpOptionsdialogbox(Edit|Preferences|Setup). 2. EnsurethatyouhaveimportedaCAD'ssolidmodel. 3. SelecttheSurfacemodeiconfromtheGraphicsModestoolbar. 4. SelecttheOverrideFindNomsmenuoption.TheFindNomsOverridedialogbox appears. WiththeFindNomsOverridedialogboxopen,whenyoutakeamanualhit,PCDMISfollowsits normallogictochooseasaccurateanominalpointaspossiblebyusingthemostrecently measuredhitcoordinatesandapproachvector. YoucanthenusetheFindNomsOverridedialogboxtoperformadditionalproceduresallowing youtooverridethefoundnominalpoint.

Procedure1:FindingNominalPointsonthePreviousSurface
IfyouselecttheUsePreviousSurfacecheckbox,theFindNomsOverridedialogboxattempts tofindanominalpointfromthemostrecentsurfaceused.Ifthedialogboxcanfindapointwithin FindNomstoleranceonthemostrecentsurfaceitwillselectthatnominalpointandcreatean AutoVectorPointbasedonthenominalvalues.

Procedure2:FindingNominalPointsonPrioritySurfaces
IftheFindNomsOverridedialogboxcannotfindanominalpointontherecentsurface(see "Procedure1:FindingNominalPointsonthePreviousSurface"),ittriestofindanominalpoint fromtheprioritysurfaces.Prioritysurfacesaresurfacesthattheuserhasselectedasasubsetof CADsurfacestofindnominalpoints.Prioritysurfacescanbeselectedordeselectedusingthe SetasPrioritycheckboxintheEditCADElementsdialogbox(seethe"EditingCAD"topicin the"EditingtheCADDisplay"section).IfPCDMISfindsanappropriatepointamongthepriority surfaces,itselectsthepointandcreatesanAutoVectorPointbasedonthenominalvalues.It
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual EditingaPartProgram 383

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

alsodisplaysthevalidnominalpointswithintheFindNomstoleranceofalltheprioritysurfacesin theFindNomsOverridedialogbox.

Procedure3:FindingNominalPointsonAllCADSurfaces
IfPCDMISstillcannotfindavalidnominalpointbyusingtheproceduresdiscussedin procedures1and2,(seethe"Procedure1:FindingNominalPointsonthePreviousSurface"and "Procedure2:FindingNominalPointsonPrioritySurfaces"topics),itdoesthefollowing: LooksforthebestnominalpointonalltheCADsurfaceswithintheFindNomstolerance CreatesanAutoVectorPointbasedonthebestavailablenominalpoint. DisplaysalltheCADsurfacesthathadnominalpointsintheFindNomsOverridedialog box.

Procedure4:ChoosingaNominalPointLater
IfPCDMISstillcannotfindanappropriatepointonalltheCADsurfaces,itasksifitcancreate theAutoVectorPointandyoucanchooseanominalpointlater.Ifyouaccept,thenPCDMIS createsanAutoVectorPointintheEditwindowandyoucanselectfromtheseoptions: Option1.YoucantakeanewhitandPCDMISwilltrytofindanewnominalpoint.Essentially you'restartingoverifyoudothis. Option2.YoucanchooseadifferentnominalpointfromthedialogboxandclicktheOverride button.PCDMISwillthenoverrideitsearlierchosennominalpointwiththenewselectedpointfor therecentlycreatedAutoVectorPoint. Youwillusuallywanttodothisifyoudon'tlikethenominalpointthatPCDMISattemptedtofind intheproceduresdiscussedinthesetopics: "Procedure1:FindingNominalPointsonthePreviousSurface" "Procedure2:FindingNominalPointsonPrioritySurfaces" "Procedure3:FindingNominalPointsonAllCADSurfaces" Options3.YoucanselectaCADsurfaceonthescreen.PCDMISwouldthenattempttofind nominalpointsontheselectedsurfaceanddisplaythosepointsintheFindNomsOverride dialogbox. Youcanthenoverridethepreviousfoundnominal,byselectingapointfromthisnewsurfaceand clickingOverride. Note:PCDMISignorestheFindNomstolerancewiththisoption.So,eveniftheselectedCAD surfaceisoutofFindNomstolerancethedialogboxstilldisplaysthepoints. Option4.YoucanincreasetheFindNomstolerancebychangingthevalueintheTolerancebox andclickingtheApplybutton.PCDMISwillthenapplytheseproceduresagain,usingthehigher tolerancevalueanddisplayanyappropriatepoints: "Procedure1:FindingNominalPointsonthePreviousSurface"

384 EditingaPartProgram

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

"Procedure2:FindingNominalPointsonPrioritySurfaces" "Procedure3:FindingNominalPointsonAllCADSurfaces" YoucanthenchooseavalidpointandclickOverridetoacceptanominalpointfortherecently createdAutoVectorPoint. IncreasingtheFindNomstoleranceintheToleranceboxhasthesameeffectaschangingthe FindNomstolerancefromtheGeneraltaboftheSetUpOptionsdialogbox.

AfterChoosingtheBestNominalPoint
Afterchoosingthebestnominalpoint,PCDMISwillrememberthechosensurfaceforthat feature. Duringexecutioninmanualmode,PCDMISwill: 1. UsethetolerancevalueheldintheFindNomsDuringExecutionbox,availableonthe GeneraltaboftheSetUpOptionsdialogbox(Edit|Preferences|Setup). 2. YoumustselecttheFindNominalsDuringExecutioncheckbox(alsoavailableonthe Generaltab)forthistowork. 3. AttempttousethesamesurfaceandCADoperation(PiercePointorDropPoint operation)tofindthenewnominalsfortherecentlyexecutedpoint. IfitcannotfindanominalpointonthatCADsurface,itwillagainaccesstheFindNomsOverride dialogbox.Seethe"UsingFindNomsOverrideinExecuteMode:"topicbelowforexecutiontime behavior.

UsingFindNomsOverrideinExecuteMode:
Asmentionedinthe"AfterChoosingtheBestNominalPoint"topic,theFindNomsOverride dialogbox,PCDMISdisplaysthisdialogboxinexecutemodeuponmeetingthefollowing conditions: YoumustimportasolidmodelwithsurfacesandselecttheSurfaceModeiconfromthe GraphicModestoolbar. YoumustselecttheFindNominalsDuringExecutioncheckboxfromtheGeneraltab oftheSetUpOptionsdialogbox. TheAutoVectorPointorAutoSurfacePointmusthaveavalidnominalpointfoundin Learnmode(see"UsingtheFindNomsOverrideDialogBoxinLearnmode:"). ExecutionmusttakeplaceinManualmode. PCDMISmustexecutetheAutoVectorPointorAutoSurfacePointfeature. PCDMISmustfailtofindanominalpointforexecutedAutoVectorPointorAutoSurface Point.

Oncethedialogboxappears,executionstopsandyoucaninteractwiththedialogboxinways alreadydiscussedinthe"UsingtheFindNomsOverrideDialogBoxinLearnmode:"topic. Youcanalsochoosetoreexecutetherecentlymeasuredpointfeature.Inthatcase,PCDMIS reexecutesandattemptstofindnominalvaluesagain.Ifitstillcan'tfindanynominalvaluesfor thepoint,PCDMISagaindisplaystheFindNomsOverridedialogbox.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

EditingaPartProgram 385

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Youcanthendooneofthefollowing: Reexecuteagain.

UsetheOverridebuttonasdiscussedinthe"Procedure4:ChoosingaNominalPointLater"topic ClosethedialogboxbyclickingtheCancelbutton.Ifyouclosewithoutchoosingan appropriatenominal,PCDMISreplacesthemeasureddatawiththepreviousnominal values.

UsingtheFindNomsOverrideDialogBoxfromtheEditwindow:
YoucanalsoaccesstheFindNomsOverridedialogboxbyrightclickingthemouseononeof thesefeaturesandselectingOverrideFindNomsfromtheshortcutmenu: Vectorpoint Surfacepoint IndividualHit

Thedialogboxwillthenusethefeaturesmeasureddata(pointandvector)tofindanappropriate nominalpointasdiscussedinthe"UsingtheFindNomsOverrideDialogBoxinLearnmode:" topic.

MarkingCommandsforExecution
InordertoexecutePCDMIScommandsyoumustfirstmarkthemforexecution.Thefollowing menuoptionsandcommandscontrolmarking:

Mark
TheEdit|Markings|Markmenuoptionallowsyoutomarkaspecifiedfeatureorcommandfor execution.PCDMISautomaticallymarkscommandsthatarealwaysexecuted,suchasthe alignment,tipcommands,etc. Thereareseveralwaystomarkfeaturesorcommands.PCDMISwillindicateamarkeditem usingthecurrentMarkedTextColor(see"DefiningEditWindowColors"inthe"Settingyour Preferences"chapter)withintheEditwindow.Itwillalsodisplayanasterisk(*)nexttothefeature IDintheGraphicsDisplaywindow.Waystomarkpartprogramitemsareto: MarkthedesiredfeatureorcommandintheEditwindow.Positionthecursorover thefeaturetobemarkedandselectMark.Themarkedcommandwillbehighlighted. MarkmultiplecommandsintheEditwindow.Selectthecommandstobemarkedin theEditwindowandselectMark.Themarkedcommandswillbehighlighted. MarkthedesiredfeatureintheGraphicsDisplaywindow.MakesurePCDMISisin Translatemode.Clickonthedesiredfeaturewiththeleftmousebuttonwhile simultaneouslyholdingdowntheSHIFTkey MarkMultiplefeaturesintheGraphicsDisplaywindow.MakesurePCDMISisin TranslateorTextboxmode.HolddowntheSHIFTkeywhileboxselectingthedesired featuresusingtheclickanddragmethod.

386 EditingaPartProgram

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

IfyouhavetheEdit|Markings|ParentModemenuoptionselected,andyoumarka constructedfeatureoradimension,PCDMISwillalsomarkanyrelatedfeaturesusedinthe constructionordimensionprocess. IfyouhavetheEdit|Markings|ChildModemenuoptionselected,andyoumarkafeature usedtoconstructafeatureorusedtocreateadimension,PCDMISwillmarkanyrelatedchild features. Note:Featuresandcommandscanbeunmarkedbyrepeatingoneoftheaboveprocedures. Onceanitemismarked,specificlineswithinsomeitemscanbeunmarked.Forexample, featuresanddimensionscanhavesomelinesunmarked.Whenyouunmarkaline,PCDMISwill notexecuteit. Ifdimensionsaremarked,PCDMISwillsendtheresultstotheprinterwiththeproperoutput configurationinplace,aftertheprogramisexecuted.(See"OutputTo"inthe"Dimensioning Features"chapter.)

Tounmarkspecificlineswithinafeature:
1. Movethecursortothedesiredlinewithinthemarkedfeature(suchastheHIT/BASIC line). 2. ReselecttheEdit|Markings|Markoptiontounmarktheindicatedline.

MarkAll
TheEdit|Markings|MarkAllmenuoptionmarksallofthefeaturesorcommandsintheEdit window.PCDMISwillmarktheselecteditemsintheEditwindow,displayingthemingreen coloredtext.PCDMISalsodisplaysanasterisk(*)nexttoeachfeatureIDintheGraphics Displaywindowthataremarkedforexecution. WhenyouselectMarkAll,PCDMISwillaskifyoualsowanttomarkmanualalignmentfeatures. IfyouselecttheYesbutton,thenPCDMISwillmarktheentirepartprogramfor execution,includingthealignmentfeatures. IfyouselecttheNobutton,PCDMISwillmarktheentireprogramforexecution,butwill notmarkthealignmentfeature.Additionally,sincemovecommandsdon'tfunctionin manualmode,theywillremainunmarkedaswell.

ClearAll
TheEdit|Markings|ClearAllmenuoptionclears(orunmarks)alltheitemsintheEditwindow thatwereearliermarkedforexecution.

ParentMode
SelectingEdit|Markings|ParentModemarkstheparentcommand(ifthismenuoptionhasa checkmarkandtherelatedcommandismarkedintheEditwindow).Aparentisacommand(or informationfromacommand)usedinanothercommand.Forexample,ifyoumarkadimension andselectthisoption,thefeatureusedinthedimensionwillalsobemarked.Thiswasthedefault modeinPCDMISpriortoversion3.25.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

EditingaPartProgram 387

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Note:Ifyouunmarkamarkedchildcommand,theparentcommandstaysmarked.

ChildMode
SelectingEdit|Markings|ChildModemarksanychildrencommandsaslongastherelated parentcommandisalsomarked.Achildisacommandthatisdependentuponanother commandinordertofunction.Forexample,ifyoumarkafeaturethathasadimension,andyou havethisoptionselected,PCDMISwillalsomarkthedimensionforthatfeature. Note:Ifyoudon'tselecteithertheParentModeorChildModeoptions,PCDMISwillmarkonly theselecteditems.

Note:Ifyouunmarkamarkedparentcommand,thechildcommandstaysmarked

NewAlignmentMode
TheEdit|Markings|NewAlignmentMode(indicatedwithacheckmarknexttothemenu option)markscorrespondingalignmentdataeverytimeafeature/dimensionismarkedfor execution.

CreatingandExecutingMarkedSets
PCDMISallowsyoutoorganizemarkedfeaturesintogroupscalled"sets".Youcanthenexecute yourstoredsetsoffeaturesbyusingtheMarkedSetswindow. Therecanbeuptothirty(30)markedsetsdefinedforapartprogram. Therearenorestrictionsastothenumberoffeaturesthatcanbeassociatedwitheach markedset. Whenexecuted,onlyfeaturesgroupedwithintheactivemarkedsetwillbeexecuted. Everymarkedsetthatiscreatedwithinapartprogramwillbedisplayedasaniconinthe MarkedSetwindow.Eachicongraphicallyindicatesallofthefeaturesthathavebeen associatedwiththemarkedsetthatitrepresents.

Thefollowingtopicsdescribehowtocreate,modify,execute,reposition,lock,anddeletemarked sets.

ASampleMarkedSetswindow

MarkedSetswindowwithtwocreatedmarkedsets(Set1andSet2). Note: WhentheMarkedSetswindowishidden,allmarkedsetsaredisabledandthestandard modeforexecutingapartprogramisfollowed.

388 EditingaPartProgram

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

AvailableButtons OpenThisbuttonaccessesthestandardOpendialogbox,allowingyoutoopenpartprograms andperformotherminorfileoperations.See"OpeningExistingPartPrograms"inthe"Using BasicFileOptions"chapter. PrintFullReportThisbuttonsendsthecurrentreporttothecurrentlyselectedoutput.See "PrintingfromtheEditwindow"inthe"UsingBasicFileOptions"chapter CalibratetipsThisbuttonaccessestheProbeUtilitiesdialogbox,allowingyoutocalibrate yourtips.PCDMISdisablesthisbuttonfortheGom(Krypton),Romer,andGardainterfaces.See "DefiningProbes"inthe"DefiningHardware"chapter.

ToCreateNewMarkedSets
1. SelecttheEdit|Markings|NewMarkedSetoptionordoubleclickanywhereinthe MarkedSetswindow,theNewMarkSetdialogboxappearsrequestinganameforthe newmarkedset.

NewMarkSetdialogbox 2. Typeanametoidentifythemarkedset.Whilethere'snolimittothelengthofthename, shortdescriptivekeywordsimprovereadability. 3. ClickOK.YournewmarkedsetisstoredintheMarkedSetswindow.Youwillnowneed toaccessthenewlyMarkedSetandaddfeaturestoit.

ToAddFeaturestoExistingMarkedSets
1. SelecttheEdit|Markings|ShowMarkedSetsoption.TheMarkedSetswindow appears. 2. Ensurethemarkedsetyouwanttomodifyisactive(pressTABtocyclethroughthesets, orsimplyclickonthesetoncetoselectit). 3. AccesstheEditwindowandmarkfeaturesyouwanttoaddtothemarkedset.The defaulticondrawingforthesetchangesdynamicallytoreflectyourchanges. 4. ClosetheMarkedSetswindowwhenfinished.

ToRemoveFeaturestoExistingMarkedSets
1. SelecttheEdit|Markings|ShowMarkedSetsoption.TheMarkedSetswindow appears. 2. Ensurethemarkedsetyouwanttomodifyisactive(pressTABtocyclethroughthesets, orsimplyclickonthesetoncetoselectit). 3. AccesstheEditwindowandunmarkthosefeaturesyouwanttoremovefromthemarked set.Thedefaulticondrawingforthesetchangesdynamicallytoreflectyourchanges. 4. ClosetheMarkedSetswindowwhenfinished.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

EditingaPartProgram 389

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ToCustomizetheMarkedSetIcons
Markedsetscanhaveuserdefinedbitmapimages,ifdesired,inplaceofthedefaultgraphics.To applyauserbitmap, 1. Createacolorbitmapusing'Paint'orsomeotherbitmapeditorprogramofyourchoice. Thebitmapshouldbenolargerthan48x48pixelsinsize. 2. Savethebitmapfileinthesamedirectoryasthepartprogram.Thebitmapfilenames mustusethefollowingnamingconventioninordertoberecognizedbyPCDMIS: MARKST00.BMP forthefirstmarkedset MARKST01.BMP forthesecondmarkedset MARKST02.BMP forthethirdmarkedset MARKST30.BMP forthethirtyfirstmarkedset Example:IfthebitmapfileMARKST00.BMPisplacedinthepartprogramdirectorywhenthefirst markedsetiscreated,thebitmapimagecontainedinMARKST00.BMPwillbedisplayed.Ifa markedsetdoesnothaveabitmapfilethedefaultgraphicswillbeused.Also,itisnotnecessary touseconsecutivebitmaps.Inotherwords,youcanuseabitmapformarkedset1andmarked set5,butusethedefaultgraphicsformarkedsets2,3and4.

ToRepositionMarkedSets
Markedsetscanberepositioned.Torepositionamarkedset, 1. SelecttheEdit|Markings|ShowMarkedSetsoption.TheMarkedSetswindow appears. 2. WhileholdingdowntheSHIFTkey,selectthedesiredmarkedsetwiththeleftmouse button. 3. Dragthemarkedsettothenewlocation. 4. ReleasetheSHIFTkeyandleftmousebuttonandPCDMISwillupdatetheMarkedSet windowwiththechange. 5. ClosetheMarkedSetswindowwhenfinished.

ToExecuteMarkedSets
1. SelecttheEdit|Markings|ShowMarkedSetsoption.TheMarkedSetswindow appears. 2. Doubleclickonthesetyouwanttoexecute.PCDMISexecutesthemarkedset. 3. ClosetheMarkedSetswindowwhenfinished.

ToLockMarkedSets
Onceamarkedsethasbeendefinedforapartprogram,alockcanbeestablishedtoprevent anyonefromaccidentallydeletingorotherwisemodifyingthecurrentconfiguration.Formore informationonthisoptionseethe"LockMarkedSets"topicinthe"SettingyourPreferences" chapter.

390 EditingaPartProgram

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ToDeleteMarkedSets
Youcaneasilydeleteanypreviouslycreatedmarkedsets.Todothis: 1. SelecttheEdit|Markings|ShowMarkedSetsoption.TheMarkedSetswindow appears. 2. Ensurethemarkedsetyouwanttodeleteisactive(pressTABtocyclethroughthesets, orsimplyclickonthesetoncetoselectit). 3. PresstheDELETEkey.Aconfirmationboxwillappearconfirmingthedeletionofthe markedset. 4. ClicktheYesbutton.ThemarkedsetisdeletedandtheiconisremovedfromtheMarked Setswindow. 5. ClosetheMarkedSetswindowwhenfinished.

UsingBreakpoints

EditwindowwithBreakPoint(redicon) TheEdit|Breakpointsmenuoptionisausefuldebuggingtooltobeusedwhencreating,testing, andrunningapartprogram.Generally,partprogramsareexecutedsequentially,linebyline.By placingabreakpointataparticularlineinthepartprogram,programexecutionwillpausewhenit reachesthatpoint.Ifthepartprogrammakesuseofvariableexpressionsandflowcontrol,you canexaminethesevariablestoensurethattheprogramisfunctioningasdesired. OncePCDMIShaspausedforthebreakpoint,youmaywanttousetheStepNextbutton.This buttoncontinueswiththemeasurementprocessbutdoessoonestepatatime,pausingthe CMMafterexecutingeachstepofanycommandcreatingmovementoftheCMM.WhileinStep Mode,hitscanbeinsertedintofeaturesandnewfeaturescanbeinsertedbetweenexisting featuresorcommands.StepModecanalsobesimulatedoffline. Whenyouarereadytocontinuewithnormalprogramexecution,simplypressContinueonthe Executiondialog.Severalmenuandkeyboardcommandsareavailableformanipulatingthe placementandremovalofbreakpoints.Breakpointsaresavedwiththepartprogramandare thereforeavailablethenexttimethepartprogramisopened. Note:IfyourprogramusesbreakpointsandtheEditwindowisinCommandmode,PCDMIS continuestodisplaytheEditwindowduringexecutionbuthighlightsthecurrentcommandto executeinred.IftheEditwindowisinSummarymode,withabreakpoint,PCDMISshowsa greenhighlightintheEditwindowforalreadyexecutedcommands,yellowforafeatureaboutto bemeasured,blueforfeaturescurrentlyundergoingexecution,andorangefornonexecuted commands.
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual EditingaPartProgram 391

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ExampleofcolorsusedinSummarymodeduringexecutionwithabreakpoint.

ExampleofcolorsusedinCommandmodeduringexecutionwithabreakpoint.

ToggleBreakpoint
TheEdit|Breakpoints|ToggleBreakpointmenuoptionallowsyoutosetorremovea breakpoint.ThebreakpointwillbesetatorremovedfromthelineintheEditwindowwherethe cursoriscurrentlypositioned.AsmallcircularrediconwillappearintheleftmarginoftheEdit windowtoindicatethatabreakpointhasbeenset.

InsertDefaults
TheEdit|Breakpoints|InsertDefaults menuoptionallowsyoutosetbreakpointsthroughout thepartprogramatdefaultlocations.DefaultlocationsaredefinedaslinesintheEditwindowthat containcommandswhichgeneratemotionoftheCMMorcausebranching tooccurasaresultof aflowcontrolcommand(suchasIFTHENstatements).Seethe"BranchingbyUsingFlow Control"chapterformoreinformation.

RemoveDefaults
TheEdit|Breakpoints|RemoveDefaultsmenuoptionallowsyoutoremovebreakpoints throughoutthepartprogramfromdefaultlocations.Onlythosebreakpointsthataresetondefault locations(See"InsertDefaults")willberemoved.Anybreakpointsthataresetinnondefault locationswillremaininplace.

RemoveAll
TheEdit|Breakpoints|RemoveAllmenuoptionallowsyoutoremoveallbreakpointsfroma partprogram.

392 EditingaPartProgram

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

SettingStartPoints

Editwindowwithstartpoint(redarrow) StartpointscanonlybesetwhentheEditwindowisinCommandMode(see"Workingin CommandMode"inthe"UsingtheEditWindow"chapter). WhenyouinsertastartpointintothepartprogramandthenselecttheFile|PartialExecution| ExecuteFromStartPoints menuoption,PCDMISwillbeginthepartprogramexecutionfrom thefirststartpointinsteadofstartingtheprogramflowatthebeginningofthepartprogram. Important:Beawarethatifthecurrenttipforthatlocationintheprogramdoesnotmatchthe currentorientationoftheprobehead,PCDMISwillnottryandgobacktoexecutethetip commandaboveitinordertochangethetiporientation. StartpointsareespeciallyusefulifyouareworkinginMultipleArmmodeandyouneedtoseta differentstartpointforeacharm(seethe"UsingMultipleArmMode"chapter). Toinsertastartpointintoyourpartprogram,clickthelocationintheEditwindowwhereyouwant thestartpointtoappear,andthenselecttheSetStartPointiconfromtheEditwindowtoolbar orrightclickintheCommandmodeandselectSetStartPoint fromtheshortcutmenu.

Formoreinformation,see"SettingStartPointsforMultipleArms"inthe"UsingMultipleArm Mode"chapterand"EditWindowToolbar"inthe"UsingToolbars"chapter.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

EditingaPartProgram 393

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

UsingBookmarks

Editwindowwithbookmark(blueicon) BookmarkscanbesetwhentheEditwindowisinCommandMode(see"WorkinginCommand Mode"inthe"UsingtheEditWindow"chapter)or,ifenabled,inDMISMode.Bookmarksmark frequentlyaccessedlinesinapartprogram.Onceabookmarkisset,youcanusemenuor keyboardcommandstomovetoit.Youcanremoveabookmarkwhenyounolongerneedit. Bookmarksaresavedbetweeneditingsessionsandarethereforeavailablethenexttimethepart programisopened. Important:Beawarethatbookmarksareassignedtolinenumbers,notcommands.Thus,setting bookmarksinonemodeandthenswitchingtoanothermodemaycausethebookmarkstoshow upondifferentcommandseventhoughthey'reonthesamelinenumbers.

ToggleBookmark
TheEdit|Bookmarks|ToggleBookmarksmenuoptionallowsyoutosetorremovea bookmark.ThebookmarkwillbesetatorremovedfromthelineintheEditwindowwherethe cursorispositioned.Asmallblueiconwillappearintheleftmargintoindicatethatabookmark hasbeenset.

NextBookmark
TheEdit|Bookmarks|NextBookmarkmenuoptionallowsyoutomovetothenextbookmark intheEditwindow.Ifnobookmarkisfoundbelowthecurrentcursorposition,searchingwill resumeatthetopoftheEditwindow.

ClearAllBookmarks
TheEdit|Bookmarks|ClearAllBookmarksmenuoptionallowsyoutoremoveallbookmarks fromtheEditwindow.

ChangingFontsandColors
YoucaneasilyeditthefontsandcolorsusedintheEditwindowbyfollowinginstructions describedinthe"SettinguptheEditWindow"topicofthe"SettingyourPreferences"chapter.

394 EditingaPartProgram

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

EditingExternalObjects
PCDMISallowsyoutoeditembeddedexternalobjectsinCommandmodeonly.Todothis, selecttheobjectinCommandmode,anddoubleclickontheselectedobject. Forinformationoncreatingandinsertingexternalobjects,see"InsertingExternalObjects"inthe "AddingExternalElements"chapter.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

EditingaPartProgram 395

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

UsingtheEditWindow
UsingtheEditWindow:Introduction

Editwindow ToaccesstheEditwindow Oneoftheprincipaltoolsforeditingapartprogramisthepowerful selecttheView|Edit Editwindow.TheEditwindowhousesallthecommandsforthepart Window menuoption. program.Itallowsthepartprogrammertoperformediting operationssuchascutting,copying,pasting,andmodifyingexisting Textandcommands.TheprogrammercanalsousetheEditwindow toaddnewcommands,executeexistingcommands,anddebug code.

InthischapteryouwilllearnabouttheEditwindowandeditingpartprogramsingeneralby viewingthefollowingtopics: UnderstandingCoreConcepts WorkinginSummaryMode WorkinginCommandMode WorkinginDMISMode WorkingwithUserDefinedGroups

MajorEditWindowChangeswithVersion3.5 TheEditwindowmenushavebeenremovedandplacedinthenewmenustructureofthe updatedmenubar. TheEditWindowtoolbar,providingquickaccesstomanyofthefrequentlyaccessed Editwindowfunctions,hasbeenremovedfromtheEditwindowandisnowaccessible

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingtheEditWindow 397

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

fromPCDMIS'stoolbararea.Youcanfindinformationforthistoolbarinthe"Edit WindowToolbar"topicofthe"UsingToolbars"chapter. TheEditwindowisnowdockabletothesides,top,orbottomofyourscreen.Thismeans youcandocktheEditwindowontotheGraphicsDisplaywindow. TheEditwindowisalsofloatableovertheGraphicsDisplaywindow.Youcanfloatitover theGraphicsDisplaywindowlikeitdidinpreviousversionsofPCDMIS(versions2.x through3.25).TofloattheEditwindow,rightclickontheEditwindow,anddeselectthe DockingViewoption.ThisopensupanewEditwindowthatbehavesjustastheoldEdit windowdid.YoucanusethecommandsintheWindowmenuinthismode.

MajorEditWindowChangeswithVersion4.0 TheReportModewasremovedfromtheEditwindow,replacedbythenewerReport window.See"AbouttheReportWindow"inthe"ReportingMeasurementResults" chapter.

MajorEditWindowChangeswithVersion4.2 TheEditwindow'sCommandandDMISmodescontainanewcolorandtextformattingscheme tohelpyoumoreeasilyrecognizecommandblocksandeditablefields.Italsoprovidesanew waytochangevaluesoneditablefields.See"UnderstandingtheDefaultEditWindowColorsand Formatting"forinformation. TheseenhancementsprovideasetoftoolsformanipulatingEditwindowcontentinawaythatis easyandintuitivetouse.

UnderstandingCoreConcepts
TheEditwindowallowsyoutoeasilyaccessthecurrentpartprogram.Changescaneasilybe madetothepartprogramusingonlytheEditwindow,thedialogboxes,oracombinationofthe Editwindowwiththeapplicabledialogboxes.Thesectionsbelowprovidecoreconceptsthatwill aidyouinlearningtousetheEditwindow.

NavigatingtheEditwindow
Theeditwindowhousesallthecommandsmakingupyourpartprogram. YoucanchangethedisplayoftheEditwindowbyswitchingbetweendifferentmodes.Thetwo mostcommonmodesarealreadyenabledbydefault.TheseareCommandmodeandSummary mode.Athirdmode,calledDMISmode,isalsoavailableifenabledintheSetupOptionsdialog box. Summarymode,simplyput,providesavisualsummaryofyourpartprogram. Commandmodeletsyouviewdetailedcodemakingupeachcommand. DMISmodeissimilartocommandmode,butthecodelanguageiswrittenusingtheDMIS programminglanguage,andyoudon'thavealltheeditingfunctionalityyouhaveinCommand mode.YoucanswitchbetweenthesedifferentmodesbyclickingtheappropriateiconontheEdit windowtoolbar.

398 UsingtheEditWindow

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Ineachofthesemodesyoucanworkwithexistingcommandsandaddnewcommands,although thecapabilitiesofeachmodeandthemethodsofworkingwithcommandsdiffersomewhat. Commandscanhavebotheditableandnoneditablefields.Editablefieldsarefieldsthattakea value.Someeditablefieldsarecalledtogglefieldsandallowyoutoswitchbetweenapredefined setofacceptablevalues. Ifyou'reinCommandmodeorDMISmode,pressingTABmovesthecursortothenext editablefield.Youknowyou'reonaneditablefieldwhenthevalueishighlightedinthe highlightcolor(defaultisyellow). Ifyou'reinSummarymode,expandingthecommandandthenrightclickingoneditable itemswilldisplayanEditcommandwhichwhenselectedallowsyoutotypeanewvalue orselectanexistingvaluefromalist.

UsingtheEditWindowToolbar TheEditWindowtoolbarletsyouperformoperationsonyourpartprogramandswitchbetween thedifferentEditwindowmodes.Forinformationonthistoolbar,seethe"EditWindowToolbar" topicin"UsingToolbars". MovingtoaFeatureusingtheGraphicsDisplayWindow Tomovethecursortoaspecificfeature'slocationintheEditwindow,clickonthatfeatureinthe GraphicsDisplaywindowwhileholdingdowntheCTRLkey.

UnderstandingtheDefaultEditWindowColorsandFormatting

EditwindowinCommandMode PCDMISusesdifferentbackgroundcolors,textcolors,andtextcharacterstooffsetinformation inCommandandDMISmodes.Thiscoloringandtextformattingmayseemsomewhatconfusing atfirst,especiallyifyouareusedtopreviousversionsofPCDMISandaresuddenlybarraged withamyriadofcolors.However,resteasyifyoudon'tlikethem,youcaneasilyrevertPCDMIS toitscoloringschemeusedinpreviousversions(seethe"DefiningEditWindowColors"inthe "SettingYourPreferences"chapter).


PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual UsingtheEditWindow 399

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

However,thecolorsandformattingarevaluabletoolsthatcanincreaseyourproductivity.The followingtopicsdescribethesetools. BackgroundColors Differentbackgroundcolorshelpyouknowwhatcommandsaremarked,unmarked,haveerrors, areactive,orarebeingsteppedthrough.ThesebackgroundcolorsaredefinedintheColor EditordialogboxfortheEditwindow.

EditwindowBackgroundColorInformationintheEditWindow'sColorEditor Considerthisexamplescreenshot:

400 UsingtheEditWindow

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Editwindowexampleshowingversion4.2coloringscheme A. Alightgreenbackgroundmeansthecommandhasbeenmarkedforexecution. B. Thelightbluebackgroundmeansthecommandhasnotyetbeenmarkedforexecution. C. Aslightlydarkerbackgroundcolor(eitherdarkergreenformarkedcommandsordarker blueforunmarkedcommands)showsthecurrentactivecommand. TextColors Blacktextcolorisanynoneditablecommandtext.Youcannotchangethistext.Errortextis showninred.Bluetextiseditablecommandtext. HighlightedTextShowstheActiveCommandorGroup Whenyoumoveyourmouseoveracommandblock,orcommandblocksthataregrouped together,theentirecommandblock,ortheentiregroup,ishighlightedwithaslightlydarker backgroundcolor(seeitemCinexampleabove).Thishelpsyouimmediatelyseetheextentsof anentirecommandblock.Doingthisalsomakesthecommand"active".Thismeansyoudon't needtoclickonthecommandtooperateonit.Forexample,simplyhoveryourmouseovera commandandpressF9.Theassociateddialogbox,ifoneexists,willappear.Todeletethe command,youdon'tneedtoselecttheentirecommand,justhoveryourmouseoverituntilit becomesactive,andpressDELETE.Youwillfindwheneditinglargeprogramsthatshavingoffa mouseclickhereandthereincreasesyourproductivity.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingtheEditWindow 401

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

"<"and">"CharactersProvideEnhancedReadability Ifyouhaveeverflounderedinaseaofmonochromatictext,fishingforaspecificvalue,thenyou willbepleasedwiththeadditionofthe"<"and">"characters.Thesecharactersgrouplikevalues together,therebymoreeasilydelineatingthedifferentfieldsforvariousX,Y,ZandI,J,Kvalues. Thesecharactersshowwherethesepairsbeginandend.Thisenhancesreadabilityandmakesit mucheasiertolocateneededvalues. PopupMenuProvidesEasierToggleFieldSelection Nolongerdoyouhavetocyclethroughalistofavailablecommandsonatogglefield...unlessyou reallywantto.Simplyhoveryourmouseoverthedarkerbluetextforamoment,andthe backgroundcolortakesonabuttonlikequality.Clickonthebutton.Adropdownlistappears lettingyouselectthedesiredvalueforthattogglefield. EasierFilenameFields Certainfieldstakefilenamevalues.Ifthefilemovestoanewlocationthere'saneasierwayto updateitthanarduouslyretypingalongdirectorypathway.Instead,hoveryourmouseoverthe field,thefilenameturnsintoabutton.ClickingitwilldisplayaFileOpendialogboxallowingyou tolocateandupdatethefile'slocation.

InsertingCommands
Inmanycasescommandsareautomaticallyinsertedwhenyoutakemeasurementsorwhenyou usedialogboxestoinputinformation.Howeveryoucanalsoaddcommandsdirectlyfromwithin theEditwindow.Dependingonwhatmodeyou'rein,PCDMISwillgiveyoudifferentresults: Ifyou'reinCommandmode,youcaninsertnewcommandsbysimplytypingthefirstfew lettersofthecommandifyouknowthem. Ifyou'reinSummarymode,youcaninsertnewcommandsbyrightclickingandselecting AddCommandfromtheshortcutmenu.PCDMISdisplaysyouwithalistofcommands youcanadd. Ifyou'reinDMISmode,youcaninsertnewcommandsbysimplypressingRETURNona line.AlistwillappearfromwhichyoucanselecttheappropriateDMIScommandtoadd.

EditingValues

Sometimesyoumaywanttoquicklychangeacommand'ssettingsdirectlyintheEditwindow. Ifyou'reinCommandorDMISmode,pressTABtogototheeditablefieldyouwantto change.EithertypeinanewvalueorpressF7orF8tocycleforwardorbackward throughalistofavailablevalues.Youcanalsoholdyoumouseoveratogglefieldand clickthedropdownarrowtoselectfromapopuplistofavailablevalues. Ifyou'reinSummarymode,expandthecommand.Thenrightclickonthelineyouwant toedit,PCDMISwilleitherdisplayalistfromwhichyoucanchooseapreexistingvalue oraneditboxintowhichyoucantypeanewvalue.

SelectingCommands
YoucanselectmostcommandsinanyofPCDMIS'smodes.You'llneedtoselectacommand beforerepositioningorcopyingit.

402 UsingtheEditWindow

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

InSummarymode,clickonacollapsedcommandtoselecttheentirecommandblock.All thedataitemsassociatedwiththecommandwillalsobeselected. InCommandorDMISmodes,clickatthebeginningofthecommand,holddownthe mouse,anddragituntiltheentirecommandishighlighted.

TheSelectAll menuoptionallowsyoutoselecttheentirereportforeditingpurposes.

RepositioningCommands
ManycommandsinPCDMIScanberepositioned.Ifyoueverwanttochangeacommand's locationyoucaneasilydoso. Ifyou'reinSummary,CommandorDMISmode,youcanrepositionacommand,byselectingthe entirecommandblock,thenselectingtheEdit|Cut menuoptiontoremovethecommandfrom itscurrentlocationandthenselectingtheEdit|Pastemenuoptiontoplaceitinit'snewlocation. YoucanalsousetheEdit|Copymenuoptiontomakeacopyofacommand,storingitinthe Clipboarduntilyoudecidetopastethecopyintoanotherlocation. Forinformationontheseandotherstandardeditingcommands,see"UsingStandardEditing Commands"inthe"EditingaPartProgram"chapter.

DeletingCommands
YoucaneasilydeletecommandsfromtheEditwindowbyselectingthemandpressingDELETE. YoucanrestoreanydeletedcommandifyouimmediatelyclicktheUndoiconfromtheEdit Windowtoolbar.

AccessingDialogBoxes
Wheneditingfeaturesorcommands,youmightwanttoaccessdialogboxesassociatedwitha particularfeatureorcommand.Youcaneasilydothisinoneoftheeditingmodesbyplacingthe cursoronthefeatureorcommandblockandpressingF9.Thedialogboxassociatedwiththe featurewillappear.YoucanthenmakeanychangesinthedialogboxitselfandafterclickingOK, orApply,theEditwindowautomaticallygetsupdatedwithyourchanges. Onsomecommands,pressingF9accessesthedialogboxonlyifPCDMISisinCommandmode.

ModifyingHeadersandFooters
Therearethreefilesthatareusedtoformattheheader/footertextintheEditwindow.These filesareLOGO.DAT,HEADER.DAT,andELOGO.DAT.Thesefilesarelocatedinyourinstallation directory(forexample,C:\Pcdmisw). YoucanedittheEditwindow'sheaderorfooterbymakingandsavingchangestothesetextfiles usingastandardtexteditor(suchasNotepad). Important:DuetoimprovementsinhowPCDMISreportsmeasurementresultsinPCDMIS4.0 andgreater,reportsnolongerusetheEditwindow.Instead,reportsnowappearinsidetheirown Reportwindow.Therefore,modifyingthe.DATfilesasexplainedherewillonlyaffecttheheaders andfooterswithintheEditwindow.ItwillnotaffecttheReportwindowoutput. TomodifytheReportwindow'sheader,youwillneedtomodifythelabeltemplateusedforthe
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual UsingtheEditWindow 403

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

header.Thestandardlabeltemplateusedtocontrolheaderinformationisfile_header.lbl.Seethe ReportingMeasurementResultschapterforinformationonmodifyingtemplatestocontrolwhat getsdisplayedinthereportwindow.

TheHeader
Therearetwofilesyoucanmodifytodefinetheheader.LOGO.DATandHEADER.DAT. LOGO.DATThisfiledefinestheheaderfortheveryfirstpageoftheEditwindow.Youcan defineabitmapwithyourcompany'slogoaswellasspecificdateandtimeformatsforthefirst page.

Editwindow'sHeaderFormattingExample ThecorrespondingLOGO.DATfileisdisplayedbelow:

Logo.datExampleinNotepad Note:ThatPARTNAME,REVNUMBER,SERNUMBER,andSTATSCOUNTarestaticfields andcannotbechangedintheLOGO.DATfile. HEADER.DATThisfileisusedtoformatpageheadersforallotherpages.

TheFooter
ELOGO.DATisusedtoformatafooterforthelastpageonly.

Editwindow'sFooterFormattingExample

404 UsingtheEditWindow

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ThecorrespondingELOGO.DATfileisdisplayedbelow:

Elogo.datExampleinNotepad

HeaderandFooterFormattingKeywords
Thefollowingisalistoftheavailableformattingkeywordsandtheirfunctions.Youcaninsert thesekeywordsintothe.DATfilestohavethemdisplayedinaheaderorfooter. Note:Thekeywordsarecasesensitive. #DATE #TIME #PAGE Insertsthecurrentdate. Insertsthecurrenttime. Insertsthecurrentpagenumber. Thisisidealforuseinthe HEADER.DATfile. #TRn Insertsthevalueoftracefieldn, wherenisthetracefieldnumber. #PARTN Insertsthepartprogramname. #DRWN Insertstherevisionnumber. #SERIALN Insertstheserialnumber. #SEQUENCE Insertsthesequencenumber. #SHRINK Insertsthescalefactor. #NMEAS Insertsthetotalnumberof dimensions. #NOUT Insertsthetotalnumberof dimensionsthatareoutof tolerance. #ELAPSTIM Insertsthetimeelapsedbetween startandendofexecution.Thisis idealforuseintheFOOTER.DAT file. #BMP=bitmappath Insertsabitmapwiththespecified nameinthebitmappathvariable. Youmustspecifythefullpaththe bitmapfile (i.e.,D:\Files\Bmp\Pcdhead.bmp).

UsingExpressionsandTracefieldstoCustomizeHeadersandFooters
You'llnoticethatthekeywordsthemselvesaren'tcustomizable.Forexamplethe#DATEkeyword inthelogo.datfileonlygivesyouonewaytodisplaythedateinmmddyyyyformat.For exampleMay5,2005iswrittenas552005onyourreport.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingtheEditWindow 405

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Thefollowingexampleshowshowyoucanuseexpressionsandtracefieldstochangetheformat ofyourdateonyourreport. 1. Typethefollowingcommandssomewhereintoyourpartprogram:


ASSIGN/V1=SYSTEMDATE("MMMdd,yyyy")

ThisgivesV1thestringvalueof"May05,2005"(orwhateveryourcurrentdateis).
TRACEFIELD/DISPLAY,LIMIT=15DATE:V1

ThisassignsV1totheTRACEFIELD. 2. Assumingthisisthefirsttracefieldinyourprogram,openupyourlogo.datfileinsidea texteditorandmodifytheDATE=fieldsothatitlookslikethis:


DATE=#TR1

NoticethatDATEfieldnowreferencesthefirsttracefieldbyusing#TR1. 3. Saveandcloseyourlogo.datfile. 4. Executeyourpartprogram. 5. Viewyourreport.Assumingyourreportissetuptoshowheadersandfooters,theheader nowusestheformattedsystemdatethatwasstoredintheV1variableandsubsequently inthefirsttracefield. YoucanusetracefieldsandexpressionstogiveyougreatercontroloverwhatyouseeintheEdit windowandonreports. Forinformationontracefields,seethe"UsingTraceFields"topicinthe"TrackingStatistical Data"chapter. Forinformationonexpressions,seethe"UsingExpressionsandVariables"chapter.

WorkinginSummaryMode

ToenterSummarymode, selectView|Summary Mode.

Thesummarymodeallowsyoutoviewtheoveralllayoutofthepart program,aswellaspartprogramcommandsindifferentlevelsof detail.Throughtheintuitiveinterfaceyoucanalsoeasilyreorder andeditcommands.

Layout
PCDMIS'ssummarymodelayoutisintheformofexpandableandcollapsiblepiecesofdata.At thetoplevel,PCDMISdisplayscommandobjects.Youcanexpandtheseobjectstoviewtheir groupsanddataitemsbyclickingtheplussign(+)totheleftofthecommand.Collapsethemby

406 UsingtheEditWindow

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

clickingtheminussign().Youcanalsoexpandandcollapsecommandsorgroupsbypressing theRIGHTARROWandLEFTARROWkeysrespectively.

Commands

SummaryModeShowingCommands(unexpandeditems) PCDMISdisplaysmostpartprogramcommandsatthetoplevel.Somecommands,suchas basichits,locationdimensions,andcertainalignmentcommandsappearundertheirparent object.Also: Eachcommandhasauniqueiconassociatedwithittohelpyouquicklyidentifyneeded commands. IfthecommandhasanID,PCDMISdisplaystheIDdisplayedbeforethecommand description. Commandsmarkedtoexecutearedisplayedingreentext. Commandsnotsettoexecutearedisplayedinbluetext.

Groups

SummaryModedisplayingGroups(foldericons) Groupsaredisplayedwithafoldericonandarecomposedofacommand'ssimilardataitems. Forexample,themeasuredcircleobjecthasatheoreticalsgroup,anactualsgroup,anda settingsgroup.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingtheEditWindow 407

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Thetheoreticalsgroupcontainsthetheoreticalvaluesforthemeasuredcircleincluding thetheoreticalx,y,z,i,j,kanddiameter. Themeasuredgroupcontainsthecorrespondingmeasuredvaluesofthecircle. ThesettingsgroupcontainsinformationaboutthemeasuredcirclesuchastheID, coordinatetype,whetherthecircleisaninner/outer,thenumberofhits,etc.

DataItems

SummaryModedisplayingDataItems(bluesphereicons) Dataitemsaretheparametersorsettingsofthecommandobject.Somedataitemscanbeedited andsomeareforinformationpurposesonlyandcannotbechanged.Dataitemsaredisplayed withabluesphereicon.

EditingaPartProgramfromSummaryMode
PCDMISgivesyoutheabilitytoeditthepartprogramwhileinSummaryMode.Usingthe SummaryModeinterfaceyoucanselect,add,remove,copy,cut,paste,mark,unmark, commands,aswellaseditacommand'sdataitems.

SelectingCommands
SelectcommandsbyeitherleftclickingwiththemouseorbynavigatingtothemusingtheUPand DOWNARROWkeys. Toselectmultiplecommands,holddowntheCTRLkeywhileleftclicking. Toselectagroupofitemsatonce,selectthefirstitemintheblockofobjects,holddown theSHIFTkeyandselectingthelastitemintheblock.

PCDMIShighlightsallselecteditems.

AddingCommands
Wheninsummarymode,youcanaddcommandstothepartprogrambyusingPCDMIS's standardmenuoptionsorbyusingaspecialshortcutmenu.

408 UsingtheEditWindow

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

1. Toaccesstheshortcutmenu,rightclickonacommanditem.See"SummaryMode CommandShortcutMenu"inthe"UsingShortcutKeysandShortcutMenus"appendixfor moreinformationontheitemsavailable. 2. Fromtheshortcutmenu,selectAddCommand.Ascrollablebluelistappears.

3. Selectthecommandtoadd.Onceclicked,thepopuplistdisappearsandPCDMIS insertsthecommandintotheEditwindow.Ifyouwanttoclosethelistwithoutaddinga commandpressESConyourkeyboarduntilitcloses. Note:PCDMISgenerallyinsertsthenewcommandafterthecurrentlyselectediteminthe expandable/collapsiblelist.

RemovingCommands
Youcaneasilyremovecommandsfromthepartprogrambyselectinganobjectandpressingthe DELETEkey.Ifthecommandcontainsanysubcommands,thosecommandsarealsodeleted.

Copying,Cutting,andPastingCommands
Tocopyorcutacommand: 1. Selectthedesiredcommandintheexpandable/collapsibleview 2. Choosethecopyorcutcommandsfromanyoftheselocations: TheEditwindow'sEditmenu TheKeyboard(CTRL+Cforcopy,CTRL+Xforcut) Theshortcutmenu'sCutorCopyoptionthatappearsfromrightclickingonthe command

Note:Ifthecommandcontainsanysubcommands,thosecommandsarealsocutorcopied. Topasteacommandthathasbeencutorcopied: 1. Selectthecommandintheexpandable/collapsibleviewthatprecedesthecommandto bepasted. 2. Choosethepastecommandfromanyoftheselocations: TheEditwindow'sEditmenu. Thekeyboard(CTRL+V) Theshortcutmenu'sPasteoptionthatappearsfromrightclickingonthe command.

Marking/UnmarkingCommandsforExecution
Tomarkorunmarkacommandforexecution:

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingtheEditWindow 409

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

1. Selectthecommandintheeditwindow. 2. PressF3(orrightclickonthedesiredcommandandchooseMarkfromtheshortcut menu).

EditingDataItemsofaCommand
Toeditthedataitemofacommanddooneofthefollowing: SelectthedataitemandpresstheENTERkey.EdittheinformationandpressENTER. Doubleclickonthedataitemwiththeleftmousebutton.Edittheinformationandpress ENTER. RightclickonthedataitemandchooseEdit|Value/ExpressionText.Editthe informationandpressENTER.

Ifthedataitemisatogglefield,alistofpossiblevaluesappearsfromwhichyoucanchoosethe desireditem.PressENTERafterselectingthedesiredchoiceordoubleclickonthedesired choice. Ifthedataitemcanbeeditedanditisnotatogglefield,asmalleditfieldwillpopupwiththe currentvaluewhichcanthenbeeditedviathekeyboard.Tocanceltheeditingofanitem,press ESC. Toeditacommandviathedialogboxspecifictothatcommand: 1. Selectthecommandintheexpandable/collapsibleview. 2. PressF9(orrightclickonthecommandandchooseEdit fromthepopupmenu). Theappropriatedialogboxforthecommandappears.However,beawarethatinsomecases youcanonlyeditacommandifPCDMISisinCommandmode.

SummaryModeKeyboardFunctions
ThefollowingtableliststhevariouskeyboardfunctionsavailablewhenPCDMISisinsummary mode. Key(s) Function SHIFT+TAB Movescursorbackwardtonextiteminthesummaryview CTRL Clickondesiredfeatureusingleftmousebutton.PCDMIS willmovethecursortothecorrespondingcommanditemin thesummaryview. CTRL+A Selectsallofthecommandsofthepartprogram. CTRL+C CopiestextorobjectstotheClipboard. CTRL+END Movesthecursortotheendofthepartprogram. CTRL+HOME Movesthecursortothebeginningofthepartprogram. DisplaystheExecutedialogboxandallowsyoutoexecute CTRL+Q thepartprogram. CTRL+V Pastestextifinaneditcontrol.Ifobjecthasbeencutor copied,pastesobjectaftercurrentlyselectedobject. CTRL+X Cutsselectedobjectortextifinaneditcontrol. DisplaystheExecutedialogboxandallowsyoutoexecute CTRL+Y thepartprogramataspecifiedlocation.

410 UsingtheEditWindow

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

DELETE

Doubleclick

DOWN ARROW F2

Deletesanyhighlightedcharacterswheneditingavaluein aneditcontrol.Ifnothingishighlighted,thenboth keystrokesfunctionasinanormaleditor. Doubleclickingonacommanditemorgroupitemwill expandthatitem.Doubleclickingonadataitemthatcanbe editedwillbringuptheeditcontrolforthedataitem. Movesthecursordownoneline.

Bringsuptheexpressionbuilderifthecurrentlyselected dataitemcanhaveexpressions. F3 Marksasinglefeatureforexecution. F9 Callsupdialogboxforthecurrentlyselectedcommand. PAGEDOWN Movesthecursordownonepage. PAGEUP Movesthecursoruponepage. SHIFT Usedinconjunctionwiththeleftmousebuttonafter selectinganinitialobjectinordertofacilitateselectinga blockofobjects. TAB Movescursorforwardtothenextiteminthesummaryview. UPARROW Movesthecursoruponeline. LEFTARROW Collapsesanexpandedcommandorgroup. RIGHT Expandsacollapsedcommandorgroup. ARROW

WorkinginCommandMode

ToenterCommandmode, selectView|Command Mode.

SelectingtheCommandModeiconplacestheEditwindowinto commandmode.Thismodeallowsyoutoinsertoreditawide varietyofPCDMIScommands.Themainfeaturesorcommands thatyoucanaddtotheEditwindowinclude:

ConstructedFeatures Dimensions StatisticalData Alignment MeasuredFeatures Hits MotionCommands MoveCommands SheetMetalMeasurements Probe Comments TraceFields Expressions ScreenCaptures GlobalCommands CommandModeKeyboardFunctions

PCDMISalsoprovidessomekeyboardfunctionsthatyoucanusewhiletheEditwindowisin CommandMode.Thesearediscussedin"CommandModeKeyboardFunctions".Similarly,you canaccessseveralshortcutmenuitemsbyrightclickingonthecommandswithinCommand


PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual UsingtheEditWindow 411

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Mode.See"CommandModeShortcutMenu"inthe"UsingShortcutKeysandShortcutMenus" appendix. YoucanalsodeterminewhichcommandsgetdisplayedinCommandmode.See"Command ModeDisplayOptions"inthe"SettingYourPreferences"chapterforadditionalinformation.

ConstructedFeatures
PCDMISallowsyoutocreatespecifiedfeaturesfromexistingfeatures.Additionalinformation includingspecificrulesforconstructingfeaturescanbefoundinthe"ConstructingNewFeatures fromExistingFeatures"chapter. PCDMISsupportstheconstructionofthefollowingfeatures: POINT CIRCLE ELLIPSE SPHERE LINE CONE CYLINDER PLANE SLOT CURVE SURFACE FEATURESET GAUSSIANFILTERSET

Dimensions
Dimensioncommandsallowyoutodimensionfeaturesortherelationshipbetweenfeatures. Additionalinformationregardingthecalculationofdimensionscanbefoundinthe"Dimensioning Features"chapter.

412 UsingtheEditWindow

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

DimensionFormat
PCDMIS'sprintcapabilityisoneofitsmostpowerfulfeatures.Adimensioncanbecalculated manydifferentwaysuntiltheresultsareacceptable.Onlyifthedimensionismarkedforprinting willthedataappearontheinspectionreport. TheFORMATcommandallowsyoutocreatemorethanonedimensionalformatwithinapart program.Forsomedimensions,youmightnotwantthenominalsprinted. Note:Certaintypesofzonetolerancesalwayshaveanominalofzero,soitisunnecessaryto printtheNOM.However,laterinthepartprogramyoumightwanttousethenominalsfora differenttypeofdimension,suchaslocationortrueposition. ThedefaultFORMATcommandwillprintoutallofthecolumnsandcolumnheadings.Itwillalso createthestatisticsXSTATS11.TMPfile. CommandlineintheEditwindow: FORMAT/HEADINGS,SYMBOLNOM,TOL,MEAS,MAXMIN, DEV,OUTTOL HEADINGS=ThismajorcommandcontrolswhetherthedimensionsthatfollowtheFORMAT commandwillhavecolumnheadingsabovethenumbers. SYMBOL=Thisminorcommandcontrolswhetherthedeviationsymbolswillbeprinted.This fieldcanbetoggledonoroff.Ablankfieldindicatesthatthiscommandisoff. Whenthecursorisinone ofthesefieldsyoucanuse theF7andF8hotkeysto togglethemonoroff. NOM,TOL,MEAS,MAXMIN,DEV,OUTTOL=Theseminor commandscontrolwhichcolumnsgetprintedfordimensions followingtheFORMATcommand.Youcantoggleany combinationofthesecolumnsonoroff.Toturnaflagoff, placeablankinthefield.Theycanalsobedisplayedinany order.Simplytypethedesiredcommandintheorderneeded. (TheorderwillbenumericallydisplayedintheParameters Dimensiondialogbox.)

Formoreinformationconsultthe"DimensioningFeatures"chapter.

AvailableDimensions
Toeditthesedimensions,pleaseviewtheirindividualsectionsinthe"DimensioningFeatures" chapter.

Analysis
ToedittheAnalysisinformation,seethe"InsertingReportCommands"chapter.

StatisticalData
Toincludeandeditstatisticaldata,seethe"TrackingStatisticalData"chapter.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingtheEditWindow 413

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Alignment
TheAlignmentoptionallowsyoutorecallorcreateanewcoordinatesystem.

AlignmentCommands
FormoreinformationonhowtousethesealignmentcommandsintheEditwindow,seethe individualtopicsinthe"CreatingandUsingAlignments"chapter

CADEqualsPart
FormoreinformationonhowtousetheCADEqualsPartcommandintheEditwindow,see "EquatingCADtoMeasuredPartData"inthe"CreatingandUsingAlignments"chapter.

EquateAlignment
FormoreinformationonhowtouseEquateAlignmentcommandintheEditwindow,see "EquatinganAlignment"inthe"CreatingandUsingAlignments"chapter.

MeasuredFeatures
Youcaninsertcommandsthatcreatethefollowingmeasuredfeatures: MeasuredPoint MeasuredLine MeasuredPlane MeasuredSphere MeasuredCylinder MeasuredCone MeasuredCircle

Thesefeatures,alongwithinformationaboutmeasuredfeaturesingeneral,arediscussedinthe "CreatingMeasuredFeatures"chapter.

Hits
Thiscommandtargetsthelocationforactualtouchesbytheprobe.

BasicHit
HIT/BASIC,x,y,z,i,j,k,x,y,z,USE_THEO=YES/NO

Thisisthesimplesthitformat.See"UnderstandingtheCommandFormat"inthe"Creating MeasuredFeatures"chapterformoreinformation.

SheetMetalHits
HIT/type,x,y,z,i,j,k,x,y,z

414 UsingtheEditWindow

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

type=VECTOR,SURFACE,EDGE,CORNER,ANGLE Therearefiveavailabletypesofsheetmetalhits.TheSheetMetalpackagemustbeinstalledfor thisoptiontobeavailable.(See"SheetMetalMeasurements".)

AddingHitLines
Toaddahitline,placethecursorinthedesiredlocationandpresstheENTERkey.Beginby typingthecommandHIT.PresstheTABkey.PCDMISaddsthenewlinedependingonwhere thecursorislocated.Ifthecursorisinthemiddleofacommand,anewlineiscreatedbelowthe currentline.IfthecursorisplacedanywherewithinthefirstfourlinesPCDMISwillcreatethe newlineimmediatelyafterthemeasuredline.

DeletingBlankLines
Todeleteablankline,presstheDOWNARROWorENTERkey.Thelinemayalsobe highlightedanddeleted.(See"CommandModeKeyboardFunctions".)

MotionCommands
ThevariousMotioncommandscontrolthemovementofthemachine.Seethevariousmotion commandsdiscussedinthe"ParameterSettings:Motiontab"andthe"ParameterSettings: OptionalMotiontab"topicsofthe"SettingYourPreferences"chapter.

Mode=MAN/DCC
MODE/MAN(orDCC)

ThiscommandallowsyoutoselectbetweenmanualandDCCmode.

PrehitDistance
PREHIT/nnn.nnnn

Thiscommanddeterminesthedistancefromthetheoreticalhitlocationthatthemachinewill travelattouchspeed.

MoveSpeed
MOVESPEED/nnn.nnnn

ThiscommandchangesthepointtopointpositioningspeedoftheCMM.Thevaluethatis entered(1to100)isapercentageofthemaximummachinespeed.

TouchSpeed
TOUCHSPEED/nnn.nnnn

ThiscommandchangesthespeedatwhichtheCMMtakeshits.Thevaluethatisenteredisa percentageofthemaximummachinespeed,andcannotexceedtwentypercent.

ScanSpeed
SCANSPEED/nnn.nnnn

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingtheEditWindow 415

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ThiscommandchangesthespeedatwhichtheCMMwillscanthepart.Thevaluethatisentered isapercentageofthemaximummachinespeed.

RetractDistance
RETRACT/nnn.nnnn

Thiscommanddeterminesthedistancethemachinewillmoveawayfromtheactualhitlocation beforegoingfrom"TouchSpeed"to"MoveSpeed".

CheckDistance
CHECK/nnn.nnnn,p.pp

Thiscommanddeterminesthedistanceininchesormillimeters(dependingonthesystemof measurementthatwasinitiallysetupfortheparticularpartprogram)pastthetheoreticalhit locationthatthemachinewillcontinuetosearchforthesurfaceofthepartuntilitdeterminesthe surfaceisnotthere. nnn.nnnn: Thecheckdistance p.pp: ThepercentageofthetotalcheckdistancethatPCDMISwillmovewhenperforminga FindHoleoperation.Thedefaultvalueis1whichmeans100%ofthecheckdistance. Thus.1=10%,.2=20%,.3=30%etc.Thisonly functionswithFindHoleoperations. IfPCDMISfindsasurfacewithinthespecifiedcheckdistance,ittakesahit. IfnosurfaceisfoundPCDMISdisplaysanerrormessagethatithasencounteredan unexpectedendofmove.

Example:If.3inchesisenteredasthecheckdistance,PCDMISwillmove.3inchespastthe theoreticalsurface,searchingforasurfaceonwhichtomakethehit. See"CheckDistance"inthe"SettingyourPreferences"chapterforadditionalinformation.

MoveCommands
Thecommandslistedbelowprovideyouwiththeabilitytoalterthemovementoftheprobe betweenhits.
MOVE/POINT MOVE/INCREMENT MOVE/CLEARPLANE MOVE/CIRCULAR MOVE/SYNC MOVE/SWEEP MOVE/ROTAB MOVE/EXCLUSIVE_ZONE

Thesearedescribedinthe"InsertingMoveCommands"chapter.

416 UsingtheEditWindow

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

SheetMetalMeasurements
Sheetmetalmeasurements,alsoknownas"AutoFeatures",areavailableonlyasanadded optiontothebasicPCDMISgeometricsoftwarepackage.(Seethe"CreatingAutoFeatures" chapter.)Thisoptionprovidesyouwithseveralalternatechoicesfortakinghits.Thevarioussheet metalfeaturesarelistedbelow.Whenapplicable,NumberofHits,NumberofRows,Spacer, andIndentvaluescanbeupdated.Therequiredminimumnumberwillbeindicatedasthedefault. Thefollowingsheetmetalmeasurementsareavailable: AutoVectorPoint AutoLine AutoPlane AutoCircle AutoEllipse AutoNotchSlot AutoRoundSlot AutoAnglePoint AutoCornerPoint AutoEdgePoint AutoHighPoint AutoSurfacePoint AutoSquareSlot AutoCylinder AutoCone AutoSphere

Probe
Thefollowingcommandsallowyoutoaccessoptionsthataffecttheprobe.Thesecommands allowyoutochangetheactivetipinaprobeclusterorchangethepositionoftherotatingprobe head.Probecompensationcanalsobeturnedonoroffasneeded.

LoadProbe
LOADPROBE/probe_file_name

TheLoadProbecommandisausereditablefieldthatallowsyoutoloadafileofqualifiedprobe tipstobeusedwithinthepartprogram.

ProbeComp
PROBECOM/ON (orOFF)

TheProbeCompcommandallowsyoutoturnprobecompensationonoroff.ItisconsideredON ifthecommandisdisplayedintheEditwindow.

ReadPoint
F_ID= FEAT/POINT,TOG1 THEO/x,y,z,i,j,k ACTL/x,y,z,i,j,k READPOINT

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingtheEditWindow 417

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TheReadPointcommandcreatesapointfeatureatthecurrentlocationoftheprobe.PCDMIS willthenstorethevaluesofthepointthatisread. See"CreatingaReadPointfromtheProbe'sPosition"inthe"CreatingGenericFeatures"chapter foradditionalinformation.

Tip
TIP/T1A0B0,SHANKIJK=0,0,1,ANGLE=0

TheSHANKIJKisjustanothervectorformofspecifyingtheAandBanglesforthe tip. TheANGLEspecifiestheanglethatthetiptransformationmatrixisrotatedaboutthe shankvector.

Comments
Thisoptionallowsyoutodisplaycommentsduringtheexecutionofthepartprogram,ortosend thecommentstotheinspectionreport.ThesecommentsarecreatedusingtheInsert|Report Command|Comment menuoption.TheShowCommentsoptionalsoallowsyoutoadd,edit, ordeleteoperatornotesandinspectionreportcommentswithintheEditwindow.TheCOMMENT commandswitchesbetweentheoptionsOPER,REPORT,YESNO,$$,INPUT,andREADOUT. Whenyouopenapartprogramthatwassavedfromalaterversion,anycommandsthatarenot supportedinthecurrentversionwillshowupasDOCcomments. Seethe"InsertingProgrammerComments"topicinthe"InsertingReportCommands"chapter.

Operator
Thisoptionwilldisplayausersuppliedmessagewhenexecutingthepartprogram.Accessthis optionbyselectingUtilities|CommentfromthemenubarandswitchingtoOPERorenterthe commandCOMMENT/OPERinthedesiredlocationoftheEditwindow.Typeinthedesiredtext. (Anylengthoftextwillbeaccepted.)ClicktheOKbutton(orpresstheENTERkey)whenthe commentsarecompleted.WhenPCDMISexecutesthepartprogram,amessagedisplaysthe previouslyenteredcomments.ClickontheOKbuttontoclosethemessagebox. PressingtheF9keywhilethecursorisinaCOMMENT/OPERcommandlinewilldisplaythe Commentsdialogboxallowingyoutoalterthedisplayedmessage. CommandlineintheEditwindow:
COMMENT/OPER,commenttext

Report
Thisoptionallowsyoutosendtexttotheinspectionreport.Accessthisoptionbyselecting Utilities|CommentfromthemenubarandswitchingtoREPTorenterthecommand COMMENT/REPTinthedesiredlocationoftheEditwindow.Typeinthedesiredtext.(Anylength oftextwillbeaccepted.)ClicktheOKbutton(orpresstheENTERkey)whenthecommentsare completed.WhenPCDMISexecutesthepartprogram,thesemessageswillnotbeviewed.PC DMISwill,however,sendthesecommentstotheinspectionreportwhenitisprinted.

418 UsingtheEditWindow

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

PressingtheF9keywhilethecursorisinaCOMMENT/REPT commandlinewilldisplaythe Commentsdialogboxallowingyoutoalterthedisplayedmessage. CommandlineintheEditwindow:


COMMENT/REPT,commenttext

Input
Thisoptionissimilarto"OPER"inthatitallowsyoutodisplaytextwhenexecutingapartprogram. Inadditiontodisplayingamessagewiththepreviouslyenteredtext,acommentboxwillappear. Thisallowsyoutoenternumericalinformationthatwillbewrittentotheinspectionreport.Access thisoptionbyselectingUtilities|CommentfromthemenubarandswitchingtoINPUT,orenter thecommandCOMMENT/INPUT inthedesiredlocationoftheEditwindow.Typeinthedesired text.TheinputfromtheoperatorwillbeassignedtotheCommentIDandisaccessibleviaan expressionreference(i.e.C1.INPUT). PressingtheF9keywhilethecursorisinaCOMMENT/INPUTcommandlinewilldisplaythe Commentsdialogbox,allowingyoutoalterthedisplayedmessage. CommandlineintheEditwindow:
commentID=COMMENT/INPUT,commenttext

$$(Document)
Thisoptionprovidesyouwiththeabilitytodocument(addprogrammercomments)totheinternal program.Itwillnotdisplayanytextwhenexecutingthepartprogram.Thiscommanddoesnot havetheusualCOMMENTprefixtothecommand.Thisisdoneforvisibilitypurposestobetter offset CommandlineintheEditwindow:
$$NO,PleaseEditCommentText!

TotypeadocumentcommentdirectlyintotheEditwindow: 1. TypeCOMMENTandpressTAB.PCDMIShighlightstheOPERfield. 2. Type$$andpressTABorENTER. Whenyouopenapartprogramthatwassavedfromalaterversionintothecurrentversion,any commandsthatarenotsupportedinthecurrentversionwillshowupasDOCcomments.See "SaveAs"inthe"UsingBasicFileOptions"chapter.

Yes/No
Thisoptionallowsyoutodisplaytextwhenexecutingapartprogram.Themessageboxwill displayanypreviouslyenteredtextandYES/NObuttons.TheresponsetotheYES/NO questionwillappearinthepartprogram.Thetext'YES'or'NO'willbeassociatedwiththe commentidentificationandisavailableinanyexpressionviaareferencetotheCommentID(i.e. C1.INPUT). CommandlineintheEditwindow
commentID=COMMENT/YESNO,commenttext

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingtheEditWindow 419

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Readout
ThisoptionallowsyoutodisplaytextinsidetheProbeReadoutwindow. TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionreads:
COMMENT/READOUT,commenttext

Formoreinformationonsettingupthisoption,see"Readout"inthe"InsertingReport Commands"chapter.

TraceFields
TheTraceFieldoptionletsyousetuptracefieldsintheEditWindow.Thisinformationisuseful intheSTATSdatabase(seetheXSTATS11.TMP file).Thenameofthefieldandthecurrent valuecanbechangedintheEditwindow.Thisisdonebyselectingthefieldtobechanged,and typinganewvalue. TodisplaytheTraceFieldsdialogbox,selecttheInsert|StatisticsCommand|Trace Fieldmenuoption. CommandlineintheEditwindow:
TRACEFIELD/fieldname:value

fieldname=stringthatrepresentsthenameofthetracefield.Thereisa15characterlimit onthelengthofthefieldname. value=thecurrentvalueofthetracefield.Thereisa15characterlimitonthelengthofthe value.

Expressions
YoucaninsertexpressionsintomostofPCDMIS'seditablefields.Seethe"UsingExpressions andVariables"chapter.

ScreenCaptures
YoucaninsertaDISPLAY/METAFILEcommandtoinsertscreencapturesoftheGraphics Displaywindowintoyourreport.Seethe"InsertingScreenCaptures"topicinthe"Inserting ReportCommands"chapter.

GlobalCommands
ThetablebelowdefinesthelistofglobalcommandsavailableintheEditwindow.Whileyou cannotalterthesecommands,theEditwindowdoesallowyoutoselecttheminorcommands followingthesemajorcommands. Toselecttheminorcommands: 1. PlacethecursoroveraminorcommandintheEditwindow. 2. Clickingtheleftmousebutton. 3. PressF7orF8.Thistogglesthroughtheavailablechoices.

420 UsingtheEditWindow

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Thislistservesasacomprehensivesummaryofthecommandsthatcanbeaddedtoapart program.Seeeachspecificsectionformoreinformationasnecessary. Note:ThemaximumnumberofcharactersthatPCDMIScanmanagewithinanylineoftheEdit windowis280. MAJORCOMMAND MINORCOMMAND 2DANGLE(see"DimensioningAngle"inA the"DimensioningFeatures"chapter) 2DDISTANCE(see"Dimensioning M Distance"inthe"Dimensioning Features"chapter) 3DANGLE(see"DimensioningAngle"inA the"DimensioningFeatures"chapter 3DDISTANCE(see"Dimensioning M Distance"inthe"Dimensioning Features"chapter) ALIGNMENT(seethe"Creatingand BF2D,BF3D,ITERATE, UsingAlignments"chapter) LEVEL,ROTATE,TRANS, ROTATE_OFFSET, TRANS_OFFSET,RECALL, RECALL_EXTERNAL ANGULARITY(see"Dimensioning M Angularity"inthe"Dimensioning Features"chapter) ANALYSISVIEW(see"Analysis"inthe "InsertingReportCommands"chapter) ARRAYINDICES(see"Arrays"inthe "UsingExpressionsandVariables" chapter) ASSIGN(see"UsingVariableswith Expressions"intheUsingExpressions andVariables"chapter) ATTACH(see"IDsforfeatureswithin subroutines,basicscripts,orexternal programs"inthe"UsingExpressions andVariables"chapter) AUTO(see"SheetMetal VECTORPOINT,SURFACE Measurements") POINT,EDGEPOINT,CORNER POINT,ANGLEPOINT,HIGH POINT,SPHERE,CIRCLE, CYLINDER,SQUARESLOT, ROUNDSLOT,CONE,ELLIPSE, NOTCH,CONE AUTOTRIGGER(see"Parameter Settings:ProbeTriggerOptionstab"in the"SettingyourPreferences"chapter) CADEQUALSPART(see"CADEquals Part") CALCULATION CALLSUB(see"CallingaSubroutine"in the"BranchingbyUsingFlowControl" chapter)

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingtheEditWindow 421

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

CASE(see"Case/EndCase"inthe "BranchingbyUsingFlowControl" chapter) CHECK(see"CheckDistance") CLEARP(see"ParameterSettings: ClearPlanetab"inthe"Settingyour Preferences"chapter) CLAMP(see"ClampingValue"inthe "SettingyourPreferences"chapter) COLUMN132(see"Dimensions") COMMENT(see"Comments") CONCENTRICITY(see"Dimensioning Concentricity"inthe"Dimensioning Features"chapter) CONST(see"ConstructedFeatures")

"WORKPLANEVALUE"

OPER,REPORT M

CIRCLE,CONE,CURVE, CYLINDER,ELLIPSE,LINE, PLANE,POINT,SET,SURFACE, SPHERE

CIRCULARITY(see"Dimensioning Circularity"inthe"Dimensioning Features"chapter) CYLINDRICITY(see"Dimensioning Cylindricity"inthe"Dimensioning Features"chapter) DEFAULT_CASE(See"DefaultCase/ EndDefaultCase"inthe"Branchingby UsingFlowControl"chapter) DISPLAY(see"ScreenCaptures") METAFILE DO(see"Do/Until"inthe"Branching byUsingFlowControl"chapter) ELSE(see"Else/EndElse"inthe "BranchingbyUsingFlowControl" chapter) END_ELSEIF(See"ElseIf/EndElse If"inthe"BranchingbyUsingFlow Control"chapter) ELSE_IF(see"ElseIf/EndElseIf"in the"BranchingbyUsingFlowControl" chapter) END_CASE(see"Case/EndCase"in the"BranchingbyUsingFlowControl" chapter) END_DEFAULTCASE(see"Default Case/EndDefaultCase"inthe "BranchingbyUsingFlowControl") END_ELSE(see"Else/EndElse"in the"BranchingbyUsingFlowControl" chapter) END_IF(see"If/EndIf"inthe "BranchingbyUsingFlowControl" chapter). END_SELECT(see"Select/End Select"inthe"BranchingbyUsingFlow Control"chapter)

422 UsingtheEditWindow

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ENDWHILE(see"While/EndWhile"in the"BranchingbyUsingFlowControl" chapter) ENDSUB(see"EndingaSubroutine"in the"BranchingbyUsingFlowControl" chapter) EQUATE(see"EquateAlignment") EXTERNALCOMMAND(see"Inserting anExternalCommand"in"Adding ExternalElements"). FILE(seethe"UsingFileInput/Output"OPEN,MOVE,EXISTS,DIALOG, chapter) DELETE,COPY,CLOSE, WRITE_CHARACTER, WRITE_BLOCK,WRITELINE, SAVE_POSITION,REWIND, RECALL_POSITION, READ_UPTO, READ_CHARACTER, READ_BLOCK,READLINE FLATNESS(see"Dimensioning M Flatness"inthe"Dimensioning Features"chapter) FLY(see"FlyMode"inthe"Setting yourPreferences"chapter) FORMFEED(see"InsertingaForm FeedCommand"inthe"Inserting ReportCommands"chapter). FORMAT(see"DimensionFormat") HEADINGS,STATS GAPONLY(see"Dimensioning ON Location"inthe"Dimensioning Features"chapter) GENERIC(see"CreatingaGeneric POINT,PLANE,NONE,LINE, Feature"inthe"CreatingGeneric CYLINDER,CONE,CIRCLE, Features"chapter) SQUARE_SLOT,SPHERE, ROUNDSLOT GOTO(see"JumpingtoaLabel"inthe "BranchingbyUsingFlowControl" chapter) HIT(see"Hits") BASIC,ANGLE,VECTOR, SURFACE,EDGE,CORNER IF(see"If/EndIf"inthe"Branchingby UsingFlowControl"chapter) KEYIN(see"Dimensioningthrough M KeyboardInput"inthe"Dimensioning Features"chapter) LABEL(see"CreatingLabels"inthe "BranchingbyUsingFlowControl" chapter) LEITZPROBE LOADPROBE(see"LoadProbe") "FILENAME" LOCATION(see"Dimensioning A,D,M,PA,PR,R,T,X,Y,Z Location"inthe"Dimensioning Features"chapter)

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingtheEditWindow 423

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

LOOP(see"CreatingGenericLoops"in START,END the"BranchingbyUsingFlowControl" chapter) MEAS(see"MeasuredFeatures") CIRCLE,CONE,CURVE, CYLINDER,LINE,PLANE,POINT, SET,SLOT,SPHERE MODE(see"ProbeModetoolbar"intheDCC,MANUAL "UsingToolbars"chapter) MOVE(see"MoveCommands") POINT,ROTAB,CIRCULAR, CLEARPLANE,INCREMENT, PH9(X,Y,Z) MOVESPEED(see"MoveSpeed") %ofoverallmachinespeed ONERROR(see"BranchingonaCMM Unexpected_hit,probe_miss Error"inthe"BranchingbyUsingFlow Control"chapter) OPTIONMOTION(see"Parameter Settings:OptionalMotiontab"inthe "SettingyourPreferences"chapter) PARALLELISM(see"Dimensioning M Parallelism"inthe"Dimensioning Features"chapter) PD PERPENDICULARITY(see M "DimensioningPerpendicularity"inthe "DimensioningFeatures"chapter) PREHIT(see"PrehitDistance") "distance" PROBECOMP(see"ProbeComp") "ON,OFF" PROFILE(see"DimensioningSurface orLineProfile"inthe"Dimensioning Features"chapter) PROGRAM END"endsprogramatcommand location" READPOINT(see"ReadPoint") "xyzvalueofprobelocation" RECALL(see"RecallinganExisting VIEWSET,ALIGNMENT Alignment"in"CreatingandUsing (INTERNAL/EXTERNAL) Alignments"chapter) RETRACT(see"RetractDistance") "distance" RETROLINEARONLY(see"Location ON,OFF Options"inthe"DimensioningFeatures" chapter) RMEAS(see"RelativeMeasurement Area"inthe"CreatingAutoFeatures" chapter) RS RT RUNOUT(see"DimensioningRunout" M inthe"DimensioningFeatures"chapter) S SAVE(see"SavinganAlignment"intheALIGNMENT "CreatingandUsingAlignments" chapter) SCANSPEED(see"ScanSpeed"inthe %ofoverallmachinespeed "SettingyourPreferences"chapter)

424 UsingtheEditWindow

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

SCRIPT(see"InsertingBASICScripts" inthe"AddingExternalElements" chapter) SELECT(see"Select/EndSelect"in the"BranchingbyUsingFlowControl" chapter) STATS(seethe"TrackingStatistical ON,OFF Data"chapter) STRAIGHTNESS(see"Dimensioning M Straightness"inthe"Dimensioning Features"chapter) SUBROUTINE(see"Branchingwith Subroutines"inthe"BranchingbyUsing FlowControl"chapter) TIP(see"Tip") "filename" TEMPCOMP(see"Compensatingfor Temperature"inthe"Settingyour Preferences"chapter) TOUCHSPEED(see"TouchSpeed%" "%ofoverallmachinespeed" inthe"SettingyourPreferences" chapter) TRACEFIELD(see"TraceFields") (fieldname:value) TRUEPOSITION(see"Dimensioning A,D,M,PA,PR,R,T,V,X,Y,Z TruePosition"inthe"Dimensioning Features"chapter) UNTIL(see"Do/Until"inthe "BranchingbyUsingFlowControl" chapter) WHILE(see"While/EndWhile"inthe "BranchingbyUsingFlowControl" chapter) WORKPLANE(see"WorkingPlane TOP,BACK,BOTTOM,FRONT, List"inthe"UsingToolbars"chapter) LEFT,RIGHT

CommandModeKeyboardFunctions
ThefollowingtableliststhevariouskeyboardfunctionsavailablewithintheEditwindow's CommandMode. Key(s) ALT+F3 SHIFT+TAB, CTRL+LEFT ARROW CTRL Function DisplaystheSearchdialogbox. Movescursorbackwardtothelastuser editablefield. ClickondesiredfeatureintheGraphics Displaywindowusingleftmousebutton.PC DMISwillmovethecursortothe correspondingfeaturelineintheEditwindow. CTRL+doubleclickingonafeatureselects theentirefeature. Selectsalltextinthewindowforhighlighting.

CTRL+A

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingtheEditWindow 425

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

CTRL+C

CopiestextorobjectstotheClipboard.Iftext fromasinglefieldishighlighted,thistextis copiedtotheClipboard.Ifmorethanonefield ishighlighted,thentheentireobjectiscopied totheClipboard. CTRL+E Executesselectedfeatures(orthefeaturewith thecursor). CTRL+END Movesthecursortotheendofthepart program. CTRL+TAB MinimizesorrestorestheEditwindow. CTRL+HOME Movesthecursortothebeginningofthepart program. CTRL+PAGE Movesthecursortotheendofthefile. DOWN CTRL+PAGE Movesthecursortothebeginningofthefile. UP CTRL+Q DisplaystheExecutedialogboxandallows youtoexecutethepartprogram. CTRL+T Assignsthecurrentcommandtotheselected activearm. CTRL+V PastestheClipboard'scontentsattheinsertion point.Iftextonlywascopied,attemptstopaste thetext.Ifanentireobjectwascopiedtothe Clipboard,attemptstopastetheentireobject. Inthelattercase,iftheinsertionpointisinthe firstcolumnoftheeditwindowonthefirstline ofacommand,theClipboardobjectisplaced beforethisobject.Inallothercases,insertion isaftertheobject. CTRL+X Cutsanyhighlightedcharacters. CTRL+Y DisplaystheExecutedialogboxandresumes apausedexecution. DELETEor Deletesanyhighlightedcharacters.Ifnothing BACKSPACE ishighlighted,thenbothkeystrokesfunctionas inanormaleditor. Doubleclick Doubleclickingusingtheleftmousebutton whenthecursorisonanyeditablefieldwill highlightthatfield. DOWN Movesthecursordownoneline. ARROW F1 DisplaystheHelptopicforthecommand. F2 Insertsanexpression. F3 Marksasinglefeatureforexecution.Multiple featurescanbemarkedsimultaneouslyby highlightingthembeforeselectingthis command. F4 PrintstheentirecontentsoftheEditwindow. DisplaystheSetupOptionsdialogbox. F5 DisplaystheChangeallthefontsdialogbox. F6 F7 Ifthecursorisplacedinatogglefield,this commandswitchestheentryinthefield forwardtothenextalphabeticalentryinthelist ofallowedentries.Itwillcycletothebeginning ofthelistwhentheendisreached.

426 UsingtheEditWindow

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

F8

Ifthecursorisplacedinatogglefield,this commandswitchestheentryinthefield backwardtothelastalphabeticalallowedentry. Itwillcycletotheendofthelistwhenthe beginningisreached. F9 Callsupdialogboxforthecommandonwhich thecursorisresidingwhenthekeyispressed. DisplaystheParameterSettingsdialogbox. F10 DisplaystheFixtureSetupdialogbox. F12 LEFTARROW Movesthecursorleftonecharacter. PAGEDOWN Movesthecursordownonepage. PAGEUP Movesthecursoruponepage. RIGHT Movesthecursorrightonecharacter. ARROW SHIFT Iftheshiftkeyishelddownwhenarrow buttonsaredepressed,textishighlightedas thecursormoves. SHIFT+doubleclickonastartblockorend blockselectstheentireblock. SHIFT+F10 DisplaystheJumpTodialogbox. TAB+CTRL+ Movescursorforwardtothenextusereditable RIGHT field. ARROW UPARROW Movesthecursoruponeline. (minuskey)orRemovesthelasthitfromthehitbuffer. ALT+ END Insertsthemeasuredfeatureintothepart program.

WorkinginDMISMode

ToenterDMISmode,select SelectingtheDMISModeicondisplaystheEditwindowcommands View|DMISMode. inDMISformat.ThismeansyoucanusetheDMISsyntaxtoedit yourpartprograms. MostofthecommandsandfeaturesyoucanaddtoyourpartprogramusingCommandmode, youcanaddusingDMISmode.ForinformationonhowtoinsertoreditcommandsinDMISmode, see"UnderstandingCoreConcepts". ForinformationonhowDIMScommands(PCDMIS'sstandardcommandformat)translateinto DMIScommands,seethedocumenttitled,PCDMISSupportDocumentationforDMISavailable fromftp://wilcoxassoc.com/docs/dmis_support.zip. ForinformationonDMIS,seehttp://www.dmis.com.

WorkingwithUserDefinedGroups
PCDMISletsyougroupcontiguousEditwindowcommandstogether,placingtheminsideofa userdefinedGROUP/ENDGROUPcommandpair(inDMISmodegroupsareshownas DMISEWcommands).Groupedcommandshelpsimplifyuserinteractionwiththepartprogram
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual UsingtheEditWindow 427

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

byallowingoperationsoncommandsinsidethegrouptobeappliedatonceontheentiregroup. Inaddition,theprogramappearslessbusytotheeye,allowingyoutobettervisualizetheoverall structureofthepartprogram. Forexample,supposeyouhaveseveralhundredpointsinyourpartprogramfromascanthat youwanttohidetomaketheoverallstructureofthepartprogrammorevisibleandeasiertowork with.Youcanselectallthepointcommands,aslongastheyareallinonelist,andthenselect theInsert|Group menuitemtogroupthosecommandstogether.InanymodeoftheEdit windowyoucanthenshoworhidethecommandsinsideofthegroupasneeded.

SampleGroupofSeveralPoints Expanded

SampleGroupofSeveralPointsCollapsed

GroupsappearinthisformatinsidetheEditwindow'sCommandmode:
GRP1=GROUP/SHOWALLPARAMS=YES ...commandsinsidethegrouparelisted ...betweenthetwocommands ENDGROUP/

SHOWALLPARAMS=ThisYES/NOtogglefieldletyoushoworhidecommandsinside ofthegroupinCommandorDMISmodes.BydefaultthiscommandissettoYESand showsallcommandsheldwithinthegroup.IfyousetittoNO,commandsinsidethegroup stillexistbutarehidden.

428 UsingtheEditWindow

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

InsertingGroups
Whenyouinsertyourfirstgroupcommandintothepartprogram,PCDMISgives itadefault nameof"GRP1"insideCommandandDMISmodesor"GROUPGRP1"insideSummarymode. PCDMISthenincrementsthenumberintheIDforeachadditionalGroup.Youcaneasilymodify thenameofthegrouptosomethingmoredescriptivebysimplytypinganewIDinCommandor DMISmodes,orbypressingF9andeditingtheGROUPcommandthatway. ThereareseveraldifferentwaystoinsertgroupsintothePCDMISpartprogram: TheInsert|Group menuitem. ThisinsertstheGROUPandENDGROUPcommands.Ifyouselectedagroupof commandsbeforeselectingthismenuitem,theywouldbeplacedinsideofthegroup.In CommandandDMISmodes,thismeanstheGROUPcommandwouldprecedethevery firstselectedcommandandtheENDGROUPcommandwouldfollowthelastselected command.Ifyoudon'thaveanycommandsselected,PCDMISwilldisplayadialogbox askingifyouwanttoinsertthecommandpairwithoutanyfeaturesinsideit.Thismenu itemworksinanymodeoftheEditwindow. TheRightclickshortcutmenu. RightclickinsideCommandorDMISmode,andselectGroupfromtheshortcutmenu.If youselectedagroupofcommandsbeforeselectingthismenuitem,theywouldbe placedinsideofthegroup.InCommandandDMISmodes,thismeanstheGROUP commandwouldprecedetheveryfirstselectedcommandandtheENDGROUP commandwouldfollowthelastselectedcommand. SummaryMode. RightclickinsideSummarymode,andselectAddCommand.Fromthelistof commands,selectGroup.ThiswillinsertanemptyGROUP/ENDGROUPcommand pair.GroupsappearasfoldersinsideSummarymode.Commandsappearindented insidethosefolders.Youcanexpandorcollapsethesegroupsbyclickingontheplus(+) and()keysrespectively.TheENDGROUPishiddeninSummarymode. TypetheCommand. InCommandorDMISmodes,simplytypeGROUPandpressENTERorTAB.PCDMIS willinsertanemptyGROUP/ENDGROUPcommandpair. PCDMISwillmaketheGroup menuitemunavailableforselectionifyoutrytogroup somethingthatisnotallowed,suchasattemptingtoonlygroupaportionofacommand's block.

EditingGroups
YoucanedityourgroupsbyusingtheEditwindowdirectlyorbypressingF9andaccessingthe Groupdialogbox.

GroupIDThisletsmodifythegroup'sIDtosomethingdifferent.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingtheEditWindow 429

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

HideGroupThissetsSHOWALLPARAMSequaltoNO. ShowGroupThissetsSHOWALLPARAMSequaltoYES.

RemovingGroups
YoucanremoveGROUP/ENDGROUPcommandsintheseways: SimplyhighlightingandthendeletingtheGROUPcommandintheEditwindow. RightclickingonthecommandandselectingDeletefromtheshortcutmenu.

PCDMISwilldeletetheGROUPandENDGROUPcommandsfromthepartprogramand everythingcontainedtherein. Important:Onceagroupisdeleteditcannotbeundone.IfyoujustwanttodeletetheGROUP/ ENDGROUPcommandswithoutaffectingthegroup'scontents,youwillneedtofirstselectand movethecontentsoutsideofthegroupbeforedeletingit.

UsingMultipleArmModewithGroups
InCommandorDMISmodes,groupsthatcontaincommandssetforexecutionbyaspecificarm willhavethesameredand/orgreenMultipleArmModemarginmarkingsasthosecommands. Ifallthecommandsinagroupare tiedtoonearm,thentheGROUP commandwillalsohavethesame margincolormarkings.Ifyouthen changethearmmodeofthe GROUPcommand,allcommands insidewillswitchtheirmargincolor markingstotheotherarm.

430 UsingtheEditWindow

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Ifoneormorecommandsaretiedto botharms,thentheGROUP commandwillalsohavethesame margincolormarkingsasboth arms.

ForinformationonMultipleArmMode,seethe"UsingMultipleArmMode"chapter.

PerformingOperationsonGroups
Ingeneral,alloperationsthatcanbeperformedonasinglecommandintheeditwindow,when performedonagroup,areperformedoneveryitemcontainedwithinthegroup. Thevariousoperationsyoucanperformonagrouparedescribedindetailbelow.Mostaretaken fromtheCommandmode'sshortcutmenu.RightclickintheCommandmodetoseethisshortcut menu.Thisshortcutmenuisdiscussedinthe"CommandModeShortcutMenu"topicfrom"Using ShortcutKeysandShortcutMenus".Theinformationbelowonlyappliestohowthismenuworks withGROUPcommandsorfeaturesinsideofgroups. ShortcutMenuOperationsonGroups SelectCommand Whenthegroupiscollapsedand youchooseSelectCommand,PCDMISselectsevery commandcontainedinthegroupasablock.Whenthe groupisexpanded,SelectCommandselectsonlythe GROUPcommanditself. SelectBlockThismenuitemselectseverycommand containedinthegroupasablock,regardlessofthe expanded/collapsedstateofthegroup. ExecuteFromCursor(CTRL+U)Thisdoesn't changefromtheusualoperation. ExecuteBlock(CTRL+L)Ifyouselectablock,PC DMISonlyexecutestheblock.Ifyouselectedagroup astheblock,thenPCDMISexecutesthegroup. JumpTo(CTRL+J)Thisdoesn'tchangefromthe usualoperation. JumpBack(ALT+J)Thisdoesn'tchangefromthe usualoperation. Edit(F9) Whenthecursorispositionedonthe GROUPcommand,aGroupdialogboxappears.You canmodifythegroup'sIDanddisplaystate.Ifyou

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingtheEditWindow 431

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

selectEditontheENDGROUPcommand,nothinghappens. Mark(F3)IfyouplacethecursorontheGROUPcommandandselectthismenuitem, allitemscontainedwithinthegroupareMarkedorUnmarkedasawhole.Ifyouhaveany unmarkedcommandswithinthegroupwhenyouselectthismenuitem,thosecommands becomemarked,andallothercommandsremainmarked.Ifallcommandswithinthe grouparealreadymarkedwhenyouselectMark(F3),allcommandsbecomeunmarked. ThecoloroftheGROUPcommandreflectsthemarkedstateofthecommandscontained withinthegroup.Ifatleastonecommandwithinthegroupismarkedforexecution,then thegroupdisplaysasmarkedforexecution.Ifnocommandismarked,thenthegroup displaysasunmarked. DeleteThismenuitemonlyappearsontheSummaryModeshortcutmenu.Ifyou selectaGROUPcommandandthenselectDelete,PCDMISwilldeletetheGROUPand ENDGROUPcommandsandeverythinginbetween.YoucannotundoaGROUPdeletion. GroupIfyouselectanexistingGROUPcommandandthenselecttheGroupmenu item,PCDMIScreatesanewGROUPcommand,nestingtheselectedgroupinsideit. CollapseGroupsThisdoesn'tchangefromtheusualoperation. SetasStartPointThisdoesn'tchangefromtheusualoperation. CutRemovestheGROUPcommandandENDGROUPcommand.Allitemsstored insidethegroupremaininthepartprogram. CopyandPasteCopyingandpastingdoesn'tworkwithaGROUP/ENDGROUPpair. Youcanonlycopyandpastecommandsfoundinsideofthegroup.

OtherGroupOperations File|Execute|ExecuteFeature(CTRLE)Selectingthismenuitemwhileselecting theGROUPcommandwillexecuteallfeaturesinsidethegroup. FlowControlStatementsTheIDcanbeusedtocontroltheflowofpartprogram executionsimilartohowyoucansendprogramflowtoaLABELcommand.Youcanuse GOTOorIF_GOTOflowcontrolcommandstosendtheprogramflowtoagroupbased ondefinedconditions.Forexample:


IF_GOTO/VAR>0,GOTO=GRP1

or
GOTO/GRP1

432 UsingtheEditWindow

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

UsingOtherWindows,Editors,and Tools
UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools:Overview
PCDMISprovidesyouwithanassortmentofwindows,editors,andotheraidsthathelpmake yourpartprogrammingeasierandmoreproductive.Thischapterdiscusseshowtoaccessand usethesetools. Theseinclude: TheEditwindow,whichhasalreadybeendiscussedinthe"UsingtheEditwindow" chapter AReportwindowfordisplayingmeasurementresults(see"UsingtheReportWindow") AscripteditorthatallowsyoutocreatescriptsintheBASICprogramminglanguage(see "UsingtheBasicScriptEditor") Aneditorforcreatinganddisplayinginteractiveandformsanddialogboxes(see"Using theFormEditor") Aninspectionreporteditorthatallowsyoutoquicklyviewandmakesmallediting changestoyourautomaticgeneratedinspectionreports(see"ViewinganInspection Report") Aninterfaceforquickgenerationofsimplepartprograms(see"UsingtheQuickStart Interface") Asettingswindowthatletsyoumakequickeditstofrequentlyusedvalues(see"Using theSettingsWindow") Apreviewwindowthatallowsyoutopreviewyourmeasurementsbeforeacceptingthem (see"UsingthePreviewWindow") Awindowusedtocreateandstoremarkedsetsoffeaturesforfutureexecution(see "UsingtheMarkedSetsWindow") AcustomizableVirtualKeyboardthatyoucanuseinplaceofarealkeyboard(see"Using theVirtualKeyboard") Aprobereadoutwindowthatshowsthecurrentprobe'slocation,andotherinformation (see"UsingtheProbeReadoutWindow") Astatuswindowthatdisplaysthecurrentstatusofanoperationorfeatureinformation (see"UsingtheStatusWindow") Aprobetoolboxthatallowsyoutoperformprobemanipulations(see"UsingtheProbe Toolbox") Adockablecolorbarthatshowsthedifferenttolerancezonesanddimensioncolors(see "UsingtheDimensionsColorsWindow") Apathviewershowingthepathyourprobewilltakeduringprogramexecution(see "ViewingPathLines") ACadInformationdialogboxtodisplayinformationaboutaCADelementintheGraphics Displaywindow(see"ViewingCADInformation"inthe"EditingtheCADDisplay"chapter.

UsingtheReportWindow
SelectingtheView|ReportWindow menuoptiondisplaystheReportWindow.Thiswindow, afterpartprogramexecution,displaysyourmeasurementresultsandautomaticallyconfiguresthe outputaccordingtoadefaultreporttemplate.Fordetailedinformation,seethe"AbouttheReport Window"topicinthe"ReportingMeasurementResults"chapter.
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools 433

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

UsingtheBasicScriptEditor
TheBasicScriptEditorcanbeusedtocreateandeditBASICscriptsthatcanbeusedinBasic ScriptobjectsduringexecutionorfromtheBasicScriptEditortoolbar. TheView|BasicScriptEditor menuoptionopenstheBasicScriptEditorandreplacesPC DMIS'smainmenubarwiththesemenus:File,Edit,Run,andHelp.YoucanrestorePCDMIS's normalmenubarbyminimizingorclosingtheBasicScriptEditor. TheBasicScriptEditorconsistsofthefollowing: BasicScriptEditorToolbar Filemenu Editmenu Runmenu Helpmenu

Thesetopicsarediscussedbelow.

BasicScriptEditorToolbar

TheBasicScriptEditortoolbarsupportsthefollowingfunctions:

New

Thisbuttonallowsyoutocreateanewbasicscriptintheeditor.

Open

ThisbuttonbringsupanOpenFiledialogboxallowingyoutoopenanexistingbasicscriptinto theeditor.

Save

Thisbuttonsavesthecurrentbasicscript.Ifyouhavenotalreadynamedthecurrentscript,a SaveAsdialogboxaskingforthenameofthescriptwillappear.

Print

434 UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Thisbuttonprintsthecurrentbasicscript.

PrintPreview

ThisbuttonallowsyoutoseethecurrentbasicscriptinthePrintPreviewwindowasitwillappear whenprinted.

Find

Thisbuttonallowsyoutosearchfortextinthecurrentbasicscript.

Cut

Thisbuttoncutscurrentlyselectedtextandputtextontheclipboard.

Copy

Thisbuttoncopiescurrentlyselectedtextandputtextontheclipboard.

Paste

Thisbuttonpastestextfromtheclipboardintotheeditoratthecurrentinsertionpoint.

Undo

Thisbuttonallowsyoutoundothelasteditingchange.

Compile

TheCompileiconcompiles(makesthescriptunderstandableandreadytorunonthecomputer system)thecurrentBASICscript.Youmustcompileascriptbeforerunningit.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools 435

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Start

Thisbuttoncompilesandrunsthecurrentbasicscript. Note: ScriptsranfromtheeditorusingthePCDMISbasiccommandscaninsertobjectsintothe currentpartprogram.

FileMenu
TheBasicScriptEditor'sFile menugivesyouthefollowingcommandsandoptions:

New
TheFile|New menuoptionopensanewBasicScriptEditorinwhichyoucanwriteanewscript.

Open
TheFile|Openmenuoptionallowsyoutonavigatetoandopenanexistingscript.Inorderfor filestoappearintheBasicScriptEditor,filesmustbeoffiletype*.bas.

Save
TheFile|Savemenuoptionallowsyoutosaveascript.Withanewscript,thefirsttimethis optionisselected,theSaveAsdialogboxwillappearallowingyoutochoosewhattonameyour scriptandwhereyouwanttosaveit.

SaveAs
TheFile|SaveAsmenuoptionallowsyoutosaveanewscript,oranalreadyexistingscriptbya newfilename.TheSaveAsdialogboxappears,allowingyoutoselectthefilenameandthe directorytowhichyouwillbesavingthescript.

Print
TheFile|Print menuoptionallowsyoutoprintthescriptintheBasicScriptEditorfromyour system'sprinter.

PrintPreview
TheFile|PrintPreview menuoptionallowsyoutopreviewwhatwillbesenttotheprinterwhen PrintisselectedfromtheBasicScriptEditor's File menu.

Exit
TheFile|ExitmenuoptionallowsyoutoexitoutoftheBasicScriptEditorwithoutsavingany changesyouhavemadetoanyopenscripts.ChoosingFile|Exitwillreturnyouthemainuser interface.ThemenubarwillreturntonormalPCDMISfunctions.

436 UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Unicode
TheFile|UnicodemenuitemspecifieswhetheryourbasicscriptisaUnicodescriptornot.Ifit isn'taUnicodescript,thentheBasicScriptEditorinterpretsthescriptasASCIItext. TheBasicScriptEditorneedstoknowtheformatofyourscriptinordertocorrectlydisplayand interpretit.Unicodeformattingallowstheeditortohandlemorecomplexcharacters(suchas thosedisplayedinChineseorJapanese). Unlessyou'reworkinginalanguagethatusesmultibytecharacters,yougenerallywon'tneedto selectthismenuitem.

EditMenu
TheEditmenuoftheBasicScriptEditorallowsyoutousebasicEditfunctionstomanipulatethe textdisplayedintheBasicScriptEditor.

Undo
TheEdit|UndomenuoptionallowsyoutoundothemostrecentactiontakenintheBasicScript Editor.

Cut
TheEdit|CutmenuoptionallowsyoutocutselectedtextfromtheBasicScriptEditor.Cuttextis storedintheWindowsclipboardtolaterbepastedelsewhere.

Copy
TheEdit|Copymenuoptionallowsyoutocopyselectedtext.Copiedtextisstoredinthe Windowsclipboardtolaterbepastedelsewhere.

Paste
TheEdit|PastecommandallowsyoutopastetextthatisstoredintheWindowsclipboard.

Delete
TheEdit|Deletecommandallowsyoutodeletehighlightedtext.

SelectAll
TheEdit|SelectAllmenuoptionautomaticallyselectsallthetextwithintheBasicScriptEditor. YoucanthenCut,Copy,orDeletetheselectedtext.

Find
TheEdit|Find menuoptionbringsuptheFinddialogbox.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools 437

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Finddialogbox Thisdialogboxallowsyoutosearchforaspecificword,ortermwithintheBasicScriptEditor. IfyouchoosetheMatchWholeWordOnlycheckboxthedialogwilldisplayonlythose wordsthatmatchtheentireword. IfyouchoosetheMatchCasecheckbox,thenthedialogwilldisplayonlythoseterms thatmatchthecase(UppercaseorLowercase)thatyouusedintheFindwhatbox.

FindNext
TheEdit|FindNextwillsearchintheBasicScriptEditorforthenexttermthatmeetsthe qualificationsspecifiedintheFinddialogbox(SeeEdit|Findabove.)

Replace
TheEdit|ReplacemenuoptionbringsuptheReplacedialogbox.

Replacedialogbox TheReplacedialogboxisanextensionoftheEdit|Findcommand.Itallowsyoutosearchfora specifictermandthenreplaceitwiththetermenteredintheReplacewithbox. TheMatchwholewordonlycheckboxwillonlymatchwholewords,notpartialmatches.For example,ifyouarelookingfor"point"andyoudonothavethischeckboxselected,itmayfind thesequenceofcharactersinsidethewords"points"or"pointer". TheMatchcasecheckboxonlyfindsinstancesthatmatchtheexactcasetypedintotheFind whatbox.Ifyoutyped"point",itwouldnotfind"Point"or"POINT"becauseoftheircase differences. TheFindNextbuttonsearchesthroughtheBasicScriptEditorandbringsupthefirstinstance thatmeetsthequalificationsenteredinthedialogbox. TheReplacebuttonallowsyoutoreplacewhathasbeenfound(usingtheFindNextbutton)with whatisintheReplacewithbox.

438 UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TheReplaceAllbuttonallowsyoutoreplaceallinstancesintheBasicScriptEditorthatmeetthe searchqualificationswithwhatisintheReplacewithbox. TheCancelbuttonclosestheReplacedialogbox.

DialogEditor
TheEdit|DialogEditoroptionopensawindowwithagridnamedDialogOneandalsothe MasQEnableDialogDesignertoolbar.ThistoolbarandtheDialogOnegridgiveyouthe necessarytoolstodesigndialogboxesthatcanlaterbeprogrammedforyourscripts. Clickingthe"X"intheupperrighthandcorneroftheMasQEnableDialogDesignertoolbarwill closethesetools.

ViewMenu
TheViewmenuallowsyoutochooseiftheBasicScriptEditortoolbarandStatusBararebeing displayed.SelectView|Toolbartodisplayorhidethetoolbar.SelectView|StatusBarto displayorhidethestatusbar. Usingthismenuyoucanalsodeterminewheretosettabstops.Thisoptionallowsyoutoindent programstatementsasetnumberofcharacters,thusimprovingprogramreadability.SelectView |SetTabStopsandtypeanumber.PCDMISwillthenindentbytheindicatednumberof characterswheneveryoupresstheTABkey.Forexample,ifyouwantatabstopateveryfive characters,type"5"intheSetTabStopsdialogbox.

RunMenu
TheRunmenuallowsyoutoselecttheCompileorStartcommand.Thecompilecommand compilesthescriptcheckingitforsyntaxerrorswhilethestartcommandexecutesthescript.

HelpMenu
TheHelp menuallowsyoutoaccessvariousoptionsthataidyouinusingtheBasicScriptEditor.

BasicHelp
TheHelp|BasicHelpcommandbringsuptheonlinehelpfilecreatedfortheaddonBasic Module.

SyntaxHelp
TheHelp|SyntaxHelpturnsonorofftheoptiontousethesyntaxhelpwhenusingtheBasic ScriptEditor.Ifthisoptionisselected,apopupscrollboxappearswithintheBasicScriptEditor wheneveryoutypeinacommandortermusedintheBasicprogramminglanguage.Youcanuse arrowkeystoselecttheappropriateterm.Onceselected,presstheTABkeyandthattermwill appearintheBasicScriptEditor.PressingtheSPACEBARdisplaysthesyntaxneededforthe command.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools 439

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

SyntaxHelpFile
TheHelp|SyntaxHelpFileallowsyoutoselectthesyntaxfileusedintheHelp|SyntaxHelp command.TheLoadSyntaxHelpFiledialogboxwillappear.Navigatetothedirectorythat containsPCDMISforWindowsandselectthe"Pcdmis.syn"file.

UsingtheFormEditor
SelectingtheView|FormEditormenuoptiondisplaystheFormEditor.Thiseditorprovidesyou withpowerfultoolstoaidyouinbuildinginteractiveformsanddialogboxesthatgetactivated duringexecution.Fordetailedinformation,seethe"AboutForms"topicinthe"Reporting MeasurementResults"chapter.

ViewinganInspectionReport

TheView|InspectionReportmenuoptionallowsyoutoselectthedesiredtextreporttobe displayedonthescreen.ThereportwillbeinRichTextFormat(.rtf) Toopenaninspectionreport: 1. ChoosetheInspectionReport menuoption.AnOpenFiledialogboxwillappear.

Opendialogboxshowinganavailablereport(Test001.RTF)

2. Navigatetowhereyourreportsarestored. 3. Selectthedesiredtextfiletobedisplayedonthescreen.

440 UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Ifyoudon'thaveawordprocessorthatsupports.RTFfiles,theinspectionreportisopenedin WordPad.ThemenusinaWordPadwindowallowyouto: Cut,copy,andpastesectionsofareport Openanexistingreport Saveanewreport Printareport Closetheopenreport

UsingtheQuickStartInterface
TheQuickStartinterface(View|OtherWindows|QuickStart)isadialogboxwitha connectedtoolbardowntheside.

QuickStartinterface Thisinterfacehelpsyoutoquicklycreateasimplepartprogram.Itdoesthisbyprovidingdialog boxesorproceduresthathelpyoudefineorcalibrateaprobe,alignyourpart,measurefeatures, constructadditionalfeatures,anddimensionexistingfeatures. Toaccessanyoftheseitems,simplyclickonthedesiredtoolbaricon.Iftheiconcontains additionalprocedures,anothertoolbarwillappeartotherightoftheselectedicon.Fromthenew toolbaryoucanselectaspecificprocedure. TheQuickStartToolbarIcons TheQuickStarttoolbarcontainstheseicons: Calibrate/EditThisicondoesn'tdisplayanothertoolbar.Insteaditlaunchesthe ProbeUtilitiesdialogbox.Youcanthenusethisdialogboxtodefineaprobeand calibrateprobetips. AlignThisicondisplaystheQuickStartAligntoolbar.Fromthistoolbaryoucan selectanalignmentprocedure. MeasureThisicondisplaystheQuickStartMeasuretoolbar.Fromthistoolbaryou canselectameasurementprocedure. ConstructThisicondisplaystheQuickStartConstructtoolbar.Fromthistoolbar youcanselectaconstructionprocedure.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools 441

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

DimensionThisicondisplaystheQuickStartDimensiontoolbar.Fromthistoolbar youcanselectadesireddimensionprocedure. ResetThisiconresetstheQuickStartdialogboxtoguessmode.

UnderstandingtheQuickStartInterface: Inversions3.5through3.7,theQuickStarttoolbarwasseparatefromtheQuickStartdialog box.Sinceversion4.0,however,tosavescreenrealestate,theQuickStarttoolbarisnowtiedto theQuickStartdialogboxitself.ThismeanswheneveryouselecttheQuickStartinterface,both thetoolbarandthedialogboxautomaticallyappearandareinseparable.

QuickStartdialogboxandtoolbar Inaddition, Hoveringyourmouseoveraparticularitemonthedialogortoolbartellswhatthatitem doesinayellowtooltipthatwillappearunderyourmouse. YoucandockorundocktheQuickStartdialogboxtoorfromtheleftsideofthescreen byclickingonthetitlebarandthendragginganddroppingit. InstructionsforthevariousQuickStartproceduresarenolongerincludedintheQuick Startdialogbox.Instead,theyaredisplayedontheStatusBaratthebottomofyour screen.IftheinstructionsaretoolongfortheStatusBararea,PCDMISscrollsthe instructionsfromrighttoleft.MovingyourmouseovertheQuickStartdialogboxresets thescrollingofthecurrentinstructionstothebeginning.

442 UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ExampleQuickStartInstructionontheleftsideoftheStatusBar Youcannowselectinputfeaturesusedinthedifferentproceduresbyclickingonthe featurefromtheEditwindoworfromtheGraphicsDisplaywindow.

PCDMISnowincludesaStatusWindow.Thiswindowletsyoupreviewadimensionor,ifin GuessMode,previewameasuredfeaturebeforeclickingtheFinishbuttonandinsertingthe dimensionorfeatureintothepartprogram.See"UsingtheStatusWindow"inthe"UsingOther Windows,Editors,andTools"chapter. Important: WhenyouenabletheQuickStartinterfacecertaincommandsaredisabled.For example,youcannotdelete,copy,ormarkfeaturesneithercanyouexecuteyourpartprogram. ToperformtheseandotheractionsyouneedtofirstclosetheQuickStartinterface.

UsingtheQuickStartdialogbox
TheQuickStartinterfacecontainsatoolbarattachedtotheQuickStartdialogbox.Manyofthe proceduresonthistoolbarusetheQuickStartdialogboxtoperformtheiroperations.Thetoolbar iconsarediscussedinthe"QuickStartInterface"topic. Thistopicfocusesondescribingtheitemsyouwillencounteronthedialogboxportionofthe interfaceandhowtousethedialogboxtoperformvariousoperations.

SampleQuickStartInterface DialogBoxItem Description

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools 443

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

GraphicalDescription

ForalloperationsthatusetheQuick Startdialogbox,PCDMISdisplays twoicons.Acurrentprocedureonthe leftandthecurrentstepinthat procedure,orthecurrentguessed feature,ontheright. Intheexamplescreenshottotheleft, thequestionmarkiconshowsthat PCDMISisinaGuessMode operation.ThePointicononitsright showsthatwithasinglehit,apoint featurewillgetcreated.Theiconon therightwillchangetoalineifyou takeanotherhit. TheuniqueIDforthefeature.AnID appearsintheboxonceyouselectan appropriateprocedure. See"ID"inthe"NavigatingtheUser Interface"chapter.

ID Thislistletsyouoverridetheguessed featuremeasurementtotheselected featuretype.Forexample,ifyoutake fourhitsandPCDMISguessesa plane,youcanselectCircle fromthis listtocauseittocreateameasured circleinstead. FeatureOverride See"OverridingaGuessedMeasured Feature"inthe"CreatingMeasured Features"chapter. Thisdisplayshowsontherightofthe slash,theminimumhitsneededto measurethefeatureandontheleftof theslashthehitscurrentlytaken.You cantakemorethantheminimum numberofhitsinwhichcase,the numbertotheleftoftheslashwillbe greaterthanthenumberontheright. NumberofHitsTaken

444 UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

StoreaMove

TheStoreaMoveiconallowsyouto easilystoremovepointsintothepart program.Whenyouclickthisicon, PCDMISreadsthecurrentlocationof theprobeandinsertsaMOVE/POINT commandintotheEditwindow. Seethe"InsertingaMovePoint Command"topicinthe"Inserting MoveCommands"chapter. Ifyouseethisicondisplayedinthe dialogboxyouwillknowthatPC DMISisinGuessMode.PCDMIS returnstothismodewheneveryou finishcreatingaConstructedfeature orAlignmentusingtheQuickStart dialogbox. ClickingtheGuessModeiconfrom theQuickStart:Measuretoolbarwill alsoplacePCDMISintoGuess Mode.

Guess

Dependingonthenumberofpoints taken,thismodeguessesthefeature typeyoureattemptingtomeasure andwilldynamicallyupdatetheQuick Startdialogboxtoreflectthis. Forexample,if,whileinGuessMode, youselecttwopoints,theQuickStart dialogboxupdatestoalinefeature.If fourpointsaretaken,itupdatestoa circlefeature,ifeight,toacylinder, andsoon. Seethe"GuessingaMeasured FeatureType"inthe"Creating MeasuredFeatures"chapter.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools 445

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TheResultsboxshowstheresultsof allstepsinameasurementprocedure takenthusfar.Forexample,ifauser wantstodoaPlane LineLine alignment,theresultsboxwillshow thefollowingwhenhehasselectedor measuredthesecondline: Step1:PLN1=MeasuredPlane Step2:LIN1=MeasuredLine Step2:LIN2=MeasuredLine TheResultsboxistiedtothebuttons atthebottomofthedialogbox.The buttonsbecomeenabledwhenever youfulfilltherequirementsfora certainstepinaprocedure. The<BackandNext>buttonscycle betweenlistsofrequiredfeaturesor inputs.Thesebuttonsbecome availablewhenproceduresusedon thetoolbarsrequiretheselectionor creationofmultiplefeatures(suchas theDimensionandAligntoolbars)or userinput(suchasupperandlower tolerancevaluesfordimensions). ClickingtheDonebuttononyourjog boxactsthesameasclickingthe Next>buttonwhenusingtheQuick Startdialogbox. TheFinishbuttoncompletesthe procedure,insertstheappropriate commandintotheEditwindow,and then,inmostcases,PCDMISreturn totheinitialstepofthecurrent procedure. Foralignmentsorconstructed features,however,afteryouclick FinishPCDMISreturnsyoutothe defaultGuessMode.

Results

<BackandNext>

Finish

QuickStart:MeasureToolbar

QuickStartMeasuretoolbar Thistoolbarcontainstheiconsrelativetothefollowingmeasuringfunctions:

446 UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Point Line Plane Circle Cylinder Cone Sphere RoundSlot SquareSlot GuessMode Formoreinformationoncreatingmeasuredfeaturesseethe"CreatingMeasuredFeatures" chapter. Scanning TheScaniconletsyouquicklyperformaFixedTimeManualScan.PCDMISwillpromptyou withinstructionsintheStatusbar.Formoreinformationonthistypeofscan,see"Performinga FixedDistanceManualScan"inthe"ScanningyourPart"chapter

CreatingMeasuredFeatures
1. FromtheQuickStarttoolbar,selecttheMeasuretoolbar. 2. Clicktheiconofthefeatureyouwillmeasure.Thetoplefticononthedialogboxchanges todisplaywhatyouwillmeasureinthisprocedureandinstructionsappearonthestatus bar. 3. Inofflinemode,clicktheProgramModeiconfromthePCDMISModestoolbar.PC DMISdrawsasimulateddepictionoftheprobenearthepartintheGraphicsDisplay window. 4. Inofflinemode,rightclick,tosetthedepthfortheprobeorinonlinemode.Inonline mode,movetheprobetothedesireddepth. 5. Taketheminimumnumberofhitsontheparttomeasurethefeature. 6. ClickFinishorpressDoneonyourjogboxwhenthemeasurementiscomplete.The QuickStartdialogboxremainsopenandPCDMISautomaticallycompensatesforprobe radiusandplacesthemeasuredfeatureonthepartintheGraphicsDisplaywindow. 7. Followstepsfourthroughsixuntilyoucreateallneededmeasuredfeatures. 8. ClickClosewhenfinished.TheQuickStartdialogboxcloses.

MeasuringaPoint
UsingthePointicon,youcan measurethepositionofapoint belongingtoaplanealignedwitha referenceplane(shoulder)orapoint inspace. Tocreateameasuredpointyoumusttakeonehitonthepart. Seethe"BasicMeasurementFormatforaPoint"topicforinformationonthe associatedEditwindowcommandinthe"CreatingMeasuredFeatures" chapter.

MeasuringaLine
WiththeLineiconyoucanmeasure theorientationandlinearityofaline belongingtoaplanealignedwitha referenceplane,oralineinspace.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools 447

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Tocreateameasuredlineyoumusttaketwohitsonthepart. MeasuredLinesandWorkingPlanes Whencreatingameasuredline,PCDMISexpectsthehitsforthelinetobe takenatavectorperpendiculartothecurrentworkingplane. Forexample,ifyourcurrentworkingplaneisZPLUS(withavector0,0,1), andyouhaveablocklikepart,thehitsforthemeasuredlinemustbeona verticalwallofthatpart,suchasthefrontorside. Ifyouthenwantedtomeasurealinefeatureonthetopsurfaceofthepart, youwouldneedtoswitchtheworkingplanetoXPLUS,XMINUS,YPLUS,or YMINUS,dependingonthedirectionoftheline. Seethe"BasicMeasurementFormatforaLine"topicforinformationonthe associatedEditwindowcommandinthe"CreatingMeasuredFeatures" chapter.

MeasuringaPlane
UsethePlaneicontomeasureany flatorplanarsurface. Tocreateameasuredplaneyoumusttakeaminimumofthreehitsonany flatsurface.Ifyouonlyusetheminimumofthreehits,it'sbesttoselectthe pointsinalargetriangularpatternthatcoverthewidestareaofthesurface. ExamplePlanewith4Points ExamplePlanewith8Points

Seethe"BasicMeasurementFormatforaPlane"topicforinformationon theassociatedEditwindowcommandinthe"CreatingMeasuredFeatures" chapter.

MeasuringaCircle
TheCircleiconisusedtomeasure thediameter,roundness,andposition ofthecenterofahole/studparallelto areferenceplane,i.e.the perpendicularsectionofacylinder alignedwithareferenceaxis. Tocreateameasuredholeorstudyoumusttakeaminimumofthreehits. Theplaneisautomaticallyrecognizedandsetbythesystemduring measurement.Thepointstobepickedmustbeuniformlydistributedonthe circumference. ExampleCirclewith4Points ExampleCirclewith8Points

448 UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Seethe"BasicMeasurementFormatforaCircle"topicforinformationon theassociatedEditwindowcommandinthe"CreatingMeasuredFeatures" chapter.

MeasuringaCylinder
UsetheCylindericontomeasurethe diameter,cylindricity,andorientation oftheaxisofacylinderorientedin space.Thepositionofthebaricenter ofthepointspickedisalsocalculated. Tocreateameasuredcylinderyoumusttakeaminimumofsixhitsonthe cylinder.Thepointstobepickedmustbeuniformlydistributedoverthe surface.Thefirstthreepointspickedmustlieonaplaneperpendicularto themainaxis.

ExampleCylinderwitheightpoints Seethe"BasicMeasurementFormatforaCylinder"topicforinformationon theassociatedEditwindowcommandinthe"CreatingMeasuredFeatures" chapter.

MeasuringaCone

UsetheConeicontomeasure conicity,angleatthetip,and orientationinspaceoftheaxisofa cone.Thepositionofthebaricenterof thepointspickedisalsocalculated. Tocreateameasuredcone,youmusttakeaminimumofsixhits.The pointstobepickedmustbeuniformlydistributedonthesurface.Thefirst threepointspickedmustlieonaplaneperpendiculartothemainaxis.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools 449

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ExampleConeusingeightpoints Seethe"BasicMeasurementFormatforaCone"topicforinformationon theassociatedEditwindowcommandinthe"CreatingMeasuredFeatures" chapter.

MeasuringaSphere
UsetheSphereicontomeasurethe diameter,sphericity,andpositionof thecenterofasphere. Tocreateameasuredsphereyoumusttakeaminimumoffivehits.The pointstobepickedmustbeuniformlydistributedoverthesurface.Thefirst fourpointspickedmustnotlieonthesamecircumference.Thefirstpoint shouldbetakenonthepoleofthesphere'scup.Theotherthreepointsare takenonacircumference. ExampleSpherewith5Points ExampleSpherewith9Points

Seethe"BasicMeasurementFormatforaSphere"topicforinformationon theassociatedEditwindowcommandinthe"CreatingMeasuredFeatures" chapter.

MeasuringaRoundSlot
UsetheRoundSloticontocreatea measuredroundslot. Tocreateameasuredroundslot,youmusttakeatleastsixhitsontheslot, usuallytwopointsoneachstraightsideandonepointoneachcurve. Alternately,youcouldtakethreepointsoneachcurve.

450 UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ExampleRoundSlotwithSixPoints

Seethe"BasicMeasurementFormatforaRoundSlot"topicforinformation ontheassociatedEditwindowcommandinthe"CreatingMeasured Features"chapter.

MeasuringaSquareSlot
UsetheSquareSlot icontocreatea measuredsquareslot. Tocreateameasuredsquareslot,youmusttakefivehitsontheslot,twoon oneofthelongsidesoftheslotandthenonehitoneachofthethree remainingsides.

ExampleSquareSlotwithFivePoints

Seethe"BasicMeasurementFormatforaSquareSlot"topicforinformation ontheassociatedEditwindowcommandinthe"CreatingMeasured Features"chapter.

QuickStart:ConstructToolbar

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools 451

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

QuickStartConstructtoolbar Whenconstructingelements,insteadofprocessingpickedpoints,PCDMISprocessesthe characteristicpointsofalreadymeasuredelementsorelementsyouwillmeasure. Therangeofelementsthatyoucanconstructisidenticaltotherangeoftheelementsthatyou canmeasureusingtheQuickStartMeasuretoolbar.Themostfrequentapplicationisthe constructionofthecirclepassingthroughthecentersofacircularpatternofholesorbosses. Typically,theelementsusedtoconstructotherelementsarepointsandcircles(orspheres)which youmayormaynotbeenmeasuredandstoredalready.Ifyouhavenotalreadymeasureda neededfeature,youcanmeasureitduringtheconstructionprocedure. Thefeaturesyoucanconstructare: PointFeatures LineFeatures

IntersectPoint MidPoint ProjectedPoint

BestFitLine IntersectLine MidLine

PlaneFeatures

CircleFeatures

BestFitPlane MidPlane AlignmentPlane

BestFitCircle IntersectCircle HeightCircle DiameterCircle

SlotFeature SlotFeature

CylinderFeature CylinderFeature

ConeFeature ConeFeature

Seethetopicsinthe"ConstructingNewFeaturesfromExistingFeatures"chapterforindepth informationonthesefeatureconstructions.

CreatingConstructedFeatures
Thisprocedurebelowcontainsverybasicinformationonconstructingfeatures.Forindepth information,seethe"ConstructingNewFeaturesfromExistingFeatures"chapter.

452 UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

1. FromtheQuickStarttoolbar,selecttheConstructtoolbar. 2. Clicktheiconofthefeatureyouwillmeasure.TheQuickStartdialogboxshowsanicon oftheprocedureandasecondiconforthefirstneededfeaturetype. 3. Followtheinstructionsatthebottomofthetoolbar,eitherfillingindataintothedialogor selecting(ormeasuring)theneededfeaturestouseintheconstruction. 4. ContinueclickingNextandfollowinginstructionsuntiltheFinishbuttonbecomes available. 5. ClickFinishwhenready.PCDMISplacesthenewlyconstructedfeatureonthepartin theGraphicsDisplaywindowandalsointheEditwindow.

QuickStart:DimensionToolbar

QuickStartDimensiontoolbar TheDimensiontoolbarletsyouperformgeometricmeasurementsandgeometrictolerance checks.WiththeexceptionoftheKeyIndimension,thistoolbarcontainsallthedimensionsfrom thenormalPCDMISDimensiontoolbar.See"DimensionToolbar"inthischapter. Important:TheQuickStartDimensiontoolbaronlycreateslegacydimensions.Itdoesnot createthenewFeatureControlFramedimensions. AboutGeometricMeasurements Geometricmeasurementsareusedinthe followingcircumstances: Whendimensionsinvolvetwo elements(suchasdistancesand angles). Whendimensionelementsarenot measurable(suchascorners). Whendimensionmeasurements canbeobtainedbyusinggeometric calculationprocedures (intersections,projections,and/or middleelements). AboutGeometricToleranceChecks Geometrictolerancecheckstestthe location,orientation,profile,runout,orform errorofafeature(checkedfeature)relative toadatumreferenceframe(asapplicable). Thefollowingchecksareavailable: Orientationchecks:testforerrors ofparallelism,perpendicularity,and angularity. Locationchecks:testforerrorsof coaxiality,andconcentricity, location,andposition. Profilechecks:testforerrorsof profileformorprofile,relativetothe currentalignment. Runoutchecks:testforerrorsof totalrunoutofacircle,cylinder,or plane.

Ineachgeometricrelationshipbetweentwo elements,athirdelementiscreated(point, circle,line,orplane).Thedefaultoutput formatofthecalculatedelementincludes themostmeaningfuldimensions. Note:Geometricrelationshipsarenottobe confusedwithgeometrictolerances. Geometrictolerancesareusedtocheckthe functionalrequirementsofafeature. Functionalrequirementsarefeature characteristicsthatensuresufficient assembly,safety,appearance,performance etc.Geometricrelationships,asusedinPC DMIS,arenotsufficienttoensurefunctional
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

PCDMISinsertsadimensionofthe resultinggeometrictolerancecheck betweentwoelementsintotheEditwindow.

UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools 453

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

requirementsbecausetheydonotutilizethe fullextentofdatumtheory.

Icon

Description CreatesalegacyLocationdimension.

QuickStartProcedure Selectormeasurethefeature.Click Next,specifytheplusandminus tolerances,andthenclickFinishto inserttheLocationdimension. Selectormeasurethefeature,click Next,specifytheplusandminus tolerances,andthenclickFinishto inserttheTruePositiondimension. Selectormeasurethefirstfeature, clickNext.Selectormeasurethe secondfeature.ClickNext.Specifythe plusandminustolerances,typea nominalvalue,selecteither2Dor3D, andthenclickFinishtoinsertthe Distancedimension. Selectormeasurethefirstfeature, clickNext.Selectormeasurethe secondfeature.ClickNext.Specifythe plusandminustolerances,typea nominalvalue,selecteither2Dor3D, andthenclickFinishtoinsertthe Angledimension. Selectormeasurethefirstcircular feature,clickNext.Selectormeasure thesecondcircularfeature.ClickNext. Specifytheplustolerance.ClickNext. ClickFinishtoinserttheConcentricity dimension. Selectormeasurethefirstcircular feature,clickNext.Selectormeasure thesecondcircularfeature.ClickNext. Specifytheplustolerance.ClickNext. ClickFinishtoinserttheRoundness dimension. SelectormeasureaCylinder,click Next.Selectormeasurethesecond feature.ClickNext.Specifytheplus tolerance.ClickNext.ClickFinishto inserttheCylindricitydimension. SelectormeasureaCone,Line,or Cylinder.ClickNext.Specifyaplus tolerance.ClickNext.ClickFinishto inserttheStraightnessdimension.

CreatesalegacyTruePosition dimension.

CreatesalegacyDistancedimension.

CreatesalegacyAngledimension.

CreatesalegacyConcentricity dimension.

CreatesalegacyCircularitydimension.

CreatesalegacyCylindricity dimension.

CreatesalegacyStraightness dimension.

454 UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

CreatesalegacyFlatnessdimension.

SelectormeasureaPlane.ClickNext. Specifyaplustolerance.ClickNext. ClickFinishtoinserttheFlatness dimension. Selectormeasurethefirstfeature. ClickNext.Selectormeasurethe secondfeature.Specifyaplus toleranceandaprojectiondistance. ClickNext.ClickFinishtoinsertthe Perpendicularitydimension. Selectormeasureanonpointfeature. ClickNext.Selectormeasurethe secondnonpointfeature.Specifya plustoleranceandaprojection distance.ClickNext.ClickFinishto inserttheParallelismdimension. SelectormeasureaCone,Cylinder, Line,orPlane.ClickNext.Selector measureaCone,Cylinder,Line,or Plane.ClickNext.Specifyaplusand minustolerance.ClickNext.Click FinishtoinserttheTotalRunout dimension. SelectormeasureaCylinder,Cone, Cylinder,Line,orSphere.ClickNext. SelectormeasureaCylinder,Cone, Cylinder,Line,orSphere.Click Next. Specifyaplusandminus tolerance.ClickNext.ClickFinishto inserttheCircularRunoutdimension. Selectormeasureafeature.Click Next.Specifyaplusandminus tolerance.Choosewhethertheprofile isFormOnlyorFormandLocation. ClickNext.ClickFinishtoinsertthe SurfaceProfiledimension. Selectormeasureafeature.Click Next.Specifyaplusandminus tolerance.ClickNext.ClickFinishto inserttheSurfaceProfiledimension. Selectormeasureanynonpointor nonspherefeature.ClickNext.Select aCone,Cylinder,Line,orPlane.Click Next.Specifyaplustolerance,a distance,andangle.ClickNext.Click FinishtoinserttheAngularity dimension. Selectormeasurealineorsetforthe firstfeature.ClickNext.Selectthe secondfeature.ClickNext.Selectthe third(ordatum)feature.ClickNext. Typeaplustolerance.ClickNext. ClickFinishtoinserttheSymmetry

CreatesalegacyPerpendicularity dimension.

CreatesalegacyParallelism dimension.

CreatesalegacyTotalRunout dimension.

CreatesalegacyCircularRunout dimension.

CreatesalegacySurfaceProfile dimension.

CreatesalegacyLineProfile dimension.

CreatesalegacyAngularitydimension.

CreatesalegacySymmetrydimension.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools 455

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

dimension.

DimensioningFeaturesUsingtheQuickStartInterface

TheprocedurebelowprovidesbasicinstructionsonhowtousetheQuickStartinterfacetocreate dimensions: 1. FromtheQuickStarttoolbar,selecttheDimensiontoolbar. 2. Selectthedesireddimensionfromthetoolbar.Theiconfortheselecteddimension procedureappearsintheQuickStartdialogboxandinstructionsappearintheStatus Baratthebottomofyourscreen. 3. FollowtheinstructionsontheStatusBarbyselectingfeaturesfromtheEditwindowor GraphicsDisplaywindow(orbymeasuringthemiftheydon'texist). 4. FollowtheinstructionsontheStatusBartotypevaluesintotheQuickStartdialogbox. 5. ContinuefollowinginstructionsandclickingNextuntiltheFinishbuttonbecomes available. 6. ClickFinish.PCDMISinsertsthedimensionintothepartprogram.

QuickStart:AlignToolbar

QuickStartAligntoolbar TheAligntoolbarallowsyoutocreatealignmentsfromspecificfeaturetypesbyusingthese procedures. Icon Description QuickStartProcedure SelectormeasureaPlanetolevelto,andclickNext.Selector measureaLinetorotateto,andclickNext.Selectormeasurea secondLine.Theoriginiscreatedbytranslatingtheparttothetwo lines.ClickFinishtoinsertthealignment. SelectormeasureaPlanetolevelto,andclickNext.Selector measureaLinetorotateto,andclickNext.Selectormeasurea Circle.Thecircle'scenter,projectedontothelineiswherePCDMIS willsetthealignment'sorigin.ClickFinishtoinsertthealignment. SelectormeasureaPlanetolevelto,andclickNext.Selector measurethefirstCirclefeature.ClickNext.Selectormeasurethe secondCirclefeature.PCDMISrotatesthealignmenttotheline createdfromthecentersofthetwocircles.Itthenusesthefirst circle'scenter,tosetthealignment'sorigin.ClickFinishtoinsertthe alignment.

Plane,Line, Line alignment

Plane,Line, Circle alignment Plane, Circle, Circle alignment

456 UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Plane,Line, Point alignment Cylinder, Line,Point alignment

SelectormeasureaPlanetolevelto,andclickNext.Selector measureaLinetorotateto.ClickNext.SelectormeasureaPointfor thealignment'sorigin.ClickFinishtoinsertthealignment. SelectormeasureaCylinder,andclickNext.Selectormeasurea Line.ClickNext.SelectormeasureaPoint.PCDMISlevelsthe alignmenttothesurfacewhereyouclickedthepoint,rotatesthe alignmenttotheline,andsetsitsXYorigininthecenterofthe cylinder.ClickFinishtoinsertthealignment. Followtheonscreenpromptstoselectormeasuresixpoints.A typicalprocedurewouldbetomeasurethreepointsonthetopsurface toleveltotheZAxis.Measuretwopointsonthefrontsurfaceto rotatetotheXAxis.Thenmeasureonepointtodefinetheoriginfor theYaxis.ClickFinish.Thiswillestablishthecorrectoriginforthe alignment.PCDMISinsertstheBestFit3DAlignment.Following execution,PCDMISwilldisplaya3DAlignmentBestFitGraphical AnalysisintheReportwindow.

SixPoints BestFit alignment

ASampleBestFitAlignmentGraphicalAnalysis Thisgraphicalanalysisofthe3DBestFitalignmentdisplaysthis informationintheReportwindow: HeaderThiscontainsvariousvaluesusedintheBestFit alignment:Method,StandardDeviation,Mean,Translation offsets,Rotationoffsets,Maxiterations,Iterations. VerticalAxisThisshowstheamountofdeviationafterthe alignment. HorizontalAxisThisdisplaystheIDsofthepointsusedin thealignment.

Foradditionalwaysofcreatingalignmentsseethe"CreatingandUsingAlignments"chapter.

QuickStart:Calibrate/EditToolbar

QuickStartCalibrate/Edittoolbar

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools 457

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TheQuickStartCalibrate/EdittoolbariconsimplylaunchestheProbeUtilitiesdialogbox.

ProbeUtilitiesdialogbox Usingthisdialogboxyoucancreateyourprobesandcalibratethedifferentangles.Formore informationonusingthisdialogbox,see"DefiningProbes"inthe"DefiningHardware"chapter.

UsingtheSettingsWindow
SelectingView|OtherWindows|SettingsWindowopensuptheSettingswindow.

Settingswindow Thisdockablewindowcontainsseveraltabsoffrequentlymodifiedsettings.Eachtabcontains colorcoded,editablesettings,specifictothattab.Thesettingsarelinkedtoyourcursor'scurrent locationinthepartprogramandwillupdatetheirdisplaytomatchthesettingintheprogramat thecursor'slocation.Forexample,ifyouhavemultipleLOADPROBEcommands,andyouselect

458 UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

eachLOADPROBEcommandintheEditwindow,PCDMISwillupdatetheSettingswindowto displaytheselectedLOADPROBEcommand. EditingaSetting Toeditasetting,simplyclickonthefieldtotherightofthesetting,andselectadifferentoption,or typeanewvalue.Whenyouchangeasetting,PCDMISwillinserttheappropriateparameter changeintothepartprogramatthecursor'slocation. AvailableSettings Thefollowingtabsandsettingsareavailable.Theshadedbackgroundonthecellsinthetable belowindicatesthedefaultcolorassociatedwiththosesettings: All
Thistab contains allthe settings fromall thetabs.

General
Alignment Thisinserts a RECALL/A LIGNMEN T command, torecall the alignment youselect fromthe list.

Probe
Probe Thisinsertsa LOADPROBE commandfor theselected probeintothe partprogram.

Distances
Prehit Thissettinginsertsa PREHITcommandthat setsthedistanceaway fromthetheoretical locationthatPCDMIS willmovetheprobeat TouchSpeed.

Speeds
TouchSpeed Thissetting insertsa TOUCHSPE EDcommand thatchanges thespeedat whichthe CMMtakes hits.Values include120 percent.

Dimensions
Display Precision Thissetting insertsa DISPLAYPRECI SIONcommand withavalue equaltothe valueinthe setting.Any features followingthis commandwill showdecimal placestothe specifiedvalue. Positive Reporting Display Thissetting insertsa POSITIVEREP ORTING commandinto thepart program.This command displays featuresonthe negativesideof theoriginwith positivevalues. Youcanchoose thisreportingon alldataoronly ondeviations. Positive ReportingAxis X Thissetting determines whetherornot PCDMIS displaysthe positive reportingonthe

Viewset Thisinserts a RECALL/VI EWSET command forthe savedview you selected fromthe list.

Tip Thisdefinesthe ABangletouse forthe LOADPROBE commandby insertingthe selectedTIP commandinto thepart program.

Check Thissettinginsertsa CHECKcommandthat setsthedistancepast thetheoreticalhit locationthatthe machinewillcontinue tosearchforthe surfaceofthepart.

MoveSpeed Thisinsertsa MOVESPEE Dcommand that determines howfastthe CMMmoves inbetween takinghits. Values include1 100percent.

Manual/DC C Thisinserts a MODE/DC Cor MODE/MA NUALto placethe measuring

Probe Compensation Thisturns probe compensation onoroffby insertingthe appropriate PROBECOM command.

Retract Thissettinginsertsa RETRACTcommand thatsetsthedistance thatthemachinewill moveawayfromthe actualhitlocation beforegoingfrom TouchSpeedtoMove Speed.

ScanSpeed Thissetting insertsa SCANSPEE Dcommand that determines howfastyour machinewill scanyour

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools 459

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

machine intoeither DCCor MANUAL mode respectivel y. Workplane This changes your current workplane byinserting anew WORKPLA NE command intothe part program. Clearance Plane Active This activatesa clearance planeby insertinga CLEARP command. Pressing F9onthe inserted command allowsyou tochange the affected plane. Clearance Plane Allowsyou todefine whatplane hasthe clearance plane.This remains unavailable for selection untilthe Clearance Plane Active settingis activated oruntila cursor restsona CLEARP

part.Possible values include1 100percent.

Xaxis.

IgnoreMotion Error Thisinsertsan IGNOREMOTI ONERROR/ON orOFF commandinto thepart program.Ifyou turnthissetting ON,PCDMIS willnotstop whentheprobe encountersa collision. Trigger Tolerance Thissetting insertsa TRIGGERTOL ERANCE command.This commandtells PCDMISto onlyaccepta hitifthehitis withinthe defined tolerancezone. Youcanuse thiswith manual machinesto takeaccurate hits. TriggerTol. Zone Thisvalue determinesthe tolerance radiusforthe Trigger Tolerance setting.

ManualRetract Thissettinginsertsa MANRETRACT commandthatsetsthe retractdistanceyour CMMwillautomatically travelwheneveryou takeamanualhit.

Positive ReportingAxis Y Thissetting determines whetherornot PCDMIS displaysthe positive reportingonthe Yaxis.

Positive ReportingAxis Z Thissetting determines whetherornot PCDMIS displaysthe positive reportingonthe Zaxis.

GapOnly Thissetting insertsa GAPONLY commandinto thepart program.When settoON,and dimensioning edgepoint location,the locationaxes arecalculated byprojecting themeasured pointtothe theoretical surfaceand thenprojecting thisnewpoint ontothe theoretical

460 UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

command.

Clear PlaneDist. Letsyou setthe distance forthe defined Clearance Plane.

TriggerPlane Thissetting insertsa TRIGGERPLA NEcommand. ThistellsPC DMISto automatically takeahitwhen theprobe passesthe planedefined bythesurface normalofan autofeatureat thelevelofthe defineddepth. Youcanuse thiscommand withmanual machines insteadof pressinga buttontotakea hit,youcan place TRIGGERPLA NEcommands atanystandard locationwithin theEdit window.

approach vector.Any locationaxes arethen calculatedfrom thisnewpoint. RetrolinearOnly Thissetting insertsa RETROLINEAR ONLY commandinto thepart program.When settoON,and dimensioning surfaceor vectorpoint locations,the locationaxes arecalculatedin thismanner: First,findingthe largest componentof thetheoretical surfacenormal vector(largest intheX,Y,orZ direction). Second, projectingthe measuredpoint tothislargest component vectorina mannerthatthe projectionis perpendicularto theoriginal theoretical surfacenormal vector. Thelocation axesarethen calculatedfrom thisnew projectedpoint.

Pass Through Plane This indicates theplane thatthe probewill pass throughto gettothe next feature plane.

AutoTrigger Thissetting insertsan AUTOTRIGGE Rcommand intoyourpart program.When PCDMIS detectsthatthe probemoves intothedefined tolerancezone, itautomatically takesahit.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools 461

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Pass Through Distance This definesthe distance forthe pass through plane.

AutoBeeping Thissetting determines whetherornot PCDMISuses abeepingwith your AUTOTRIGGE Rcommand.If thisisON,the closerthe probegetsto thetarget,the morefrequent thebeeps. AutoTolerance Zone Thissetting definesthe radiusforthe AutoTrigger tolerancezone.

Clamping Value Thisvalue tellsthe controller howfirmly toholdthe probeona LeitzCMM. Itonly workswith theLeitz controller andthe Leitzbrand TTP. Polar Vector Compensat ion Thisallows the measurem entof Vectorand Surface pointsto alwaysbe compensat edalonga Polar vectorby insertinga POLARVE CTORCO MP command.

FlyMode Thisinsertsa FLYcommand andsetsitto eitherONor OFF.AFLY command workswitha MOVEPOINT commandand movesthe probearound thepartina smooth,non stopping motion.

FlyRadius Type Thissetting setsthe distance parameterfor theFLY command.It determinesthe distanceaway fromthe

462 UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MOVEPOINT commandto whichtheprobe will automatically move.

Forindepthdocumentation,findthespecificoptionsinoneofthesetopics: SettingsToolbar ProbeModeToolbar SelectingPCDMISSetupOptions ModifyingReportandMotionParameters

YoucanalsoinsertmanyofthesesettingsfromtheInsert|ParameterChangesubmenu.

ChangingSettingsWindowOptions
Youcanchangeyoursettingswindowoptions,byrightclickinginthewindowandselecting Optionsfromtheshortcutmenu.

TheSettingsWindowOptionsdialogboxappears.

SettingsWindowOptionsdialogbox Usingthisdialogbox,youcanmodifythecolorsusedinthedifferentcategoriesandalsocontrol whatcategoryappearswheneveryoustarttheSettingsWindow. StartupArea ThisareacontainstwostartupoptionsfortheSettingsWindow: UsingActivecategoryTheSettingsWindowdisplaysthelastusedcategorywhenitstarts. AlwaysusingTheSettingsWindowdisplaysthecategoryselectedfromthedropdownlist whenitstarts.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools 463

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ColorsArea TheEnablecolorsforcategoriescheckboxletsyoudisableorenablethecolorcodeddisplay forthecategoriesofsettings. Thedropdownarrowsonthecoloredboxesletyoumodifythedefaultcolorcodeddisplayforthe availablecategories.

UsingthePreviewwindow
SelectingtheView|OtherWindows|PreviewWindowmenuoptionopensawindowthat allowsyoutopreviewtheresultsofafeaturemeasurementbeforeactuallyacceptingthe measurement.AftertakingprobehitsandpressingtheENDkey(orDONEonthejogbox)PC DMISdisplaysthefeatureintheGraphicsDisplaywindowanddimensioninformationforthe featureinthePreviewWindow.

PreviewWindowforameasuredcircleshowingtheX,Y,Z,andDiametervalues ThePreviewWindowusesthesamecolorschemeusedfordimensionstoshowthedeviations fromacceptabletolerancesthesecolorsallowyoutoquicklydeterminewhetherornota particularmeasurementfallswithinacceptabletolerancesornot(see"EditingDimensionColors" inthe"EditingtheCADDisplay"chapterforinformationonhowtochangethetolerancecolors usedfordimensions). Note:TodeterminewhichfeatureinformationisdisplayedinthePreviewwindow,simplyplace yourEditwindowcursoronthecommandlineforanyfeatureintheEditwindow.Generallythe cursorrestsonthelastfeatureintheEditwindow. BelowaretheavailableoptionsforthePreviewWindow.

PreviewWindowOptions
ThePreviewWindowdisplaysgeneralinformationaboutafeatureaswellasmorespecific dimensionalinformation. Option ID Description Thisboxdeterminesthenamelabel forthemeasuredfeatureor dimension. ThisboxdeterminestheStandard Deviationforthemeasuredfeature.

SD

464 UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

#Hits

Hide

Accept

View

AutoDimensionSetup

The#Hitsboxdeterminesthe numberofprobehitstakento measurethefeature. TheHidebuttonclosesthePreview Window.YoucanopenthePreview WindowbyselectingView|Preview Window. TheAcceptbuttonacceptsthe measurementandcreatesan automaticdimensionforthefeatureif youhaveselectedtodosousingthe AutoDimensionSetupbutton. TheViewbuttondisplaysthe Analysiswindowfortheappropriate dimensionforthemeasuredfeature. See"InsertingCommandsRelatedto theAnalysisWindow"fora discussionontheAnalysiswindow. SelectingtheAutoDimension SetupbuttondisplaystheAuto Dimensioningdialogbox.

AX

Forinformationonthisdialogbox, see"AutoDimensionSetup"inthe "SetupOptions:Dimensiontab"topic discussedinthe"SettingYour Preferences"chapter. AnAXlistdisplaystheselectedaxis inthePreviewWindow.Youcan selecttheseaxes:X,Y,Z,D,R,A,T, PR,PA,M,V,L,PD,RS,RT,S,H. Youcanviewinformationonuptosix axesatonetimebyselectingthem fromthevariousAXlists. Forinformationontheseaxes,see "DefaultAxes"and"SheetMetal Axes"inthe"DimensioningFeatures" chapter. Thisboxdeterminesthenominal(or
UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools 465

Nominal
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

+TOL

TOL

MEAS MAX

MIN

DEV

OUTTOL

ideal)valuesforeachaxis. Thisboxdeterminesatolerance valueabovethenominalvaluefor whichthemeasurementisstill acceptable. Thisboxdeterminesatolerance valuebelowthenominalvaluefor whichthemeasurementisstill acceptable. Thisboxdeterminestheactual measuredvalues. Thisboxdeterminesthemaximum valueyoucanhavebeforeyour measurementgoesoutoftolerance. Thisboxdeterminestheminimum valueyoucanhavebeforeyour measurementgoesoutoftolerance. Thisboxdeterminesthe measurement'sdeviationfromthe nominalvalue. Thisboxdeterminesthevalueby whichthemeasuredvalueisoutof tolerance.

SizingthePreviewwindow
Likemostwindows,thePreviewwindowcanbesizedtofityourcurrentneeds.Ifyouneedit largerorsmaller,simplydragtheedgeofthewindowwiththemouseandmakeitthedesiredsize. Note:ThePreviewwindowinLearnmodediffersfromthePreviewwindowinExecutemode,and youcanchangethesizesforeach.

UsingtheMarkedSetsWindow
SelectingtheView|OtherWindows|MarkedSetsWindowmenuoptionaccessestheMarked Setswindow.Youcanusethiswindowtostoreagroupofmarkedfeaturesthatyouwantto execute.Seethe"CreatingandExecutingMarkedSets"topicinthe"EditingaPartProgram" chapter.

UsingtheVirtualKeyboard
SelectingtheView|VirtualKeyboard menuoptioncausestheVirtualKeyboardtoappear. Thiskeyboardfunctionsasdoesanynormalkeyboardandcanbeusedwithamouseorwitha touchscreenmonitor.Thisisusefulforcertainshopfloorenvironmentswhereit'snotconvenient touseaphysicalkeyboard.

466 UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

SampleVirtualKeyboardKeypad1Variation YoucaneasilyselectdifferentvariationsoftheVirtualKeyboardorcustomizeandcreateyour ownkeyboardvariations. PCDMISalsoprovidesyouwithatoolbarforeasyaccesstotheVirtualKeyboard.Seethe "VirtualKeyboardToolbar"topicinthe"UsingToolbars"chapter.

AccessingVirtualKeyboardVariations
YoucanrightclickwithintheVirtualKeyboardatanytimetoseeapopupmenuallowingyouto quicklyselectvariationsonthekeyboardorcustomizeittofityourneeds:

ThesemenuitemsshowthedifferentdefaultkeyboardvariationsavailablefortheVirtual Keyboard.Youcan,ofcourse,customizetheseorcreateothervariationstobetterfityourneeds (see"ToModifyanExistingVirtualKeyboardVariation"). KeyPad1 KeyPad2 KeyPad3

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools 467

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

StdKeyPad

FunctionKeys

Keyboard

ToCreateaNewVirtualKeyboardVariation
1. AccesstheVirtualKeyboard,rightclickonit,andselectCustomizefromthemenu.The CustomizeKeypaddialogboxappears.

468 UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

CustomizeKeypaddialogbox 2. IntheLayoutDefinitionarea,typeanameforyourkeyboardintheLayoutNamebox. 3. TypethenumberofrowsandcolumnsintheRowsandColumnsboxes.Thisdefines howmany"keys"(orbuttons)willappearonthekeyboard. 4. ClickCreate.PCDMISdisplaysakeyboardlayoutwindowcomprisedofablankgrid, representingthenumberofkeysonyournewlycreatedlayout.

ExampleofanEmpty3x3GridLayout 5. Sizethegridofbuttonstofityourneedsbydraggingthewindow'sborders.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools 469

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

6. IntheButtonsDefinitionarea,createanewbuttondefinition.Dothisbyselecting, DefineKeysfromtheModelist,thenselectthetypeofkeystroke(orkeycode)fromthe SpecialKeystroke,StandardKeystroke,orSystemKeystrokelists.Mostofthe keystrokesareselfexplanatory,andaresynonymouswiththenameorsymbologyofthe actualbuttononanEnglishkeyboard,withthepossibleexceptionofVK_PREVIOUSfor thePAGEUPbuttonandVK_NEXTforPAGEDOWNbutton. Ifyouwantalabeltoappearforthekeystrokeyouselected,selecttheLabel option,andtypealabelintheLabelbox. Ifyouwantasymboltoappearforthekeystrokeyouselected,selecttheSymbol option,andselectasymbolfromthescrollablelistofsymbols. Ifyouwanttodefineabuttonasnothingatallrepresentingaflat,emptykey spaceonarealkeyboardselecttheNoButtonoptionforthatbuttondefinition.

7. Fromthelayoutwindowwiththegridofbuttons,selectanundefinedbuttonthatwilltake thisdefinition,andthenclicktheSetbuttonfromtheButtonsDefinitionareaofthe CustomizeKeypaddialogbox.Yourchangeappearsonthekeyboardlayoutwindow. 8. Continuerepeatingthisprocedureasneededuntilyouhavedefinedyourkeyboardto yourliking.

CompletedKeyboardLayoutExamplewiththecornerbuttonssettoNoButton 9. Onceyouhavedefinedallyourbuttons,theSavebuttonbecomesavailableforselection. ClicktheSavebuttontosaveyourkeyboard. 10. ClicktheNewbuttontocreateadditionallayoutsifneededotherwise,clickClose. Note:Ifyouincorrectlyassignabuttondefinition,youcanselecttheNoButtonoption,clickthe buttononthelayoutgrid,andthenclicktheSetbutton.Thiswillclearanypreviousvalues assignedtothatbuttonlocation.

ToModifyanExistingVirtualKeyboardVariation
Tomodifyanexistinglayout, 1. AccesstheVirtualKeyboard,rightclickonit,andselectCustomizefromthemenu.The CustomizeKeypaddialogboxappears.

470 UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

CustomizeKeypaddialogbox 2. ClicktheOpenbutton. 3. Selectthekeyboardfromthedropdownmenu. 4. Usetheprocedureforassigningbuttondefinitionstothekeyboardlayoutinthe"To CreateaNew,CustomizedVirtualKeyboardLayout"topic.Youmayneedtoselectthe NoButtonoptionforabuttontoclearoutapreviousdefinitionpriortoassigningitanew definition. 5. ClickSavetosaveanymodifications.

ToDeleteanExistingVirtualKeyboardVariation
Todeleteanexistinglayout, 1. AccesstheVirtualKeyboard,rightclickonit,andselectCustomizefromthemenu.The CustomizeKeypaddialogboxappears.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools 471

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

CustomizeKeypaddialogbox 2. 3. 4. 5.
ClicktheDeletebutton. Selectthekeyboardfromthedropdownmenu.PCDMISasksifyouwanttodeletethekeyboard. ClickYestodeleteit. ClickClose.

JoiningorMergingKeysinaKeyboardVariation
TheCustomizeKeypaddialogboxalsoallowsyoutojoinormergemorethanonebuttononthe keyboardlayoutgridtomakelargerbuttons.Thisisusefulifyouwanttohaveabuttonthat's largerthantheusualsinglebuttonsize(forexample,ifyou'recreatingsomethingthatlookslike theSPACEBARkey). Createoropenformodificationakeyboardlayoutbyfollowingtheproceduresalreadydescribed inthe"ToCreateaNewVirtualKeyboardVariation"topicandinthe"ToModifyanExisting VirtualKeyboardVariation"topic. 1. FromtheModelistontheCustomizeKeypaddialogbox,selectJoinKeys.Each buttonofthekeyboardlayoutgridnowcontainsasmall,reddottedborder.

472 UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

2. Clickoneofthebuttons.Thisbecomesthestartbutton.Aboldredborderappearson boththehorizontalandverticalsidefromthestartingbutton.Ifyouclickondifferent button,itchangesthestartbuttontothatbutton.

3. Rightclickontheendbuttonforthemergeitmustbeinsidethedrawnredarea,andit mustbetotherightof,orbelow,thestartbutton.Ifjoinedareadoesn'tconflictwithan alreadyexistingjoinedarea,theboldredborderwillbecomeagreenrectangle.This meansthatthosegroupedbuttonswillbeshownasonebutton.

4. Ifthejoinedareaconflictswithanotherjoinedarea,PCDMISwilldisplayamessage sayingitcannotperformthejoin. 5. Todeleteoneoftheexistingjoinedareas,leftclickinsidethegreenborderedregion (joinedbuttons). Important: Whenyouassignabuttondefinitiontoagroupofjoinedbuttons,youmustselectthe startbuttononthatgroup:thisistheleftmostbuttonifit'sahorizontalgroupingorthetopmost buttonifit'saverticalgrouping.Youonlyneedtodothiswhenassigningabuttondefinitiontothat groupwhenyouactuallyusetheVirtualKeyboard,thisisn'tneeded.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools 473

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

UsingSeparatorsintheVirtualKeyboardforVisualAppeal
Youcanaddorchangewhereseparators,emptyspacebetweenbuttons,appearonavirtual keyboardvariation.Thisdoesn'taffecthowthekeyboardfunctionsitmerelyprovidesvisual appealandbetterorganizationtothekeyboard'slayout. Createoropenformodificationakeyboardlayoutbyfollowingtheproceduresalreadydescribed inthe"ToCreateaNewVirtualKeyboardVariation"topicandinthe"ToModifyanExisting VirtualKeyboardVariation"topic. 1. FromtheModelistontheCustomizeKeypaddialogbox,selectToggleSeparators. Eachbuttonofthekeyboardlayoutgridnowcontainsasmall,bluedottedborder.

2. Leftclickbetweenthebluedotstoshoworhideaseparator.Aredlineappearsshowing wheretheseparatorwillappear.Ifyouselectahorizontallinebetweenrows,the separatorwillbeahorizontalseparatoralongthatline.Ifyouselectaverticalline betweenrows,itwillbeaverticalseparatoralongthatline.

WhenyouareworkingintheDefineKeysmode,asdiscussedinthe"ToCreateaNewVirtual KeyboardVariation"topic,separatorswillappearasbluelines.

474 UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

UsingtheProbeReadoutwindow
TheView|OtherWindows|ProbeReadouts menuoptionallowsyoutoaccessareadoutof thecurrentCMMpositionandotherusefulinformation.Whenthisoptionisselected,PCDMIS willdisplaytheProbeReadoutwindow.

ProbeReadoutwindow TheProbeReadoutwindowcontainsinformationfromthetablebelowdependingontheoptions selectedfromtheProbeReadoutSetupdialogbox(see"SettingUptheReadoutWindow"inthe "SettingyourPreferences"chapter). Tip:YoucanaccesstheProbeReadoutSetupdialogboxbyrightclickingontheProbe ReadoutwindowandclickingSetup. LeftColumn Description X Y Z LX LY XYZpositionoflasthit CurrentXYZprobeposition

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools 475

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

LZ DX DY DZ EX EY EZ W A Erroroflastmeasuredfeature Distancetonextlocation

Rotarytableangle ABaxisangles(fortheseto appearyoumusthaveanactive wristprobe(suchasaPHSor B CW43Lightetc.) Hits Hitstaken Additionally,theProbeReadoutwindowmayhaveadditionallinesoftextattheverybottomof thewindow.ThistextcomesfromtheProbeReadoutcommenttype.Forinformationon displayingthistypeofcommentinyourProbeReadoutwindow,seethe"InsertingProgrammer Comments"inthe"InsertingReportCommands"chapter.

SizingtheProbeReadoutsWindow
Youcanalterthesizeofthiswindowsimplybydraggingtheborderofthewindowuntilthe desiredsizeisreached.Clickingonthemaximizewindowicon intheupperrightportionofthe windowwillexpandtheboxtothefulldisplayofthescreen.(Clickontheiconasecondtimeto returnittoitsprevioussize.)ThisallowsyoutoviewtheselectedReadoutwindowwhenthe CMMislocatedacrosstheroomfromthemonitor.ToclosetheProbeReadoutwindowyoumust clicktheXintheupperrighthandcorner. Note:EachtimethelocationorsizeoftheProbeReadoutwindowisaltered,PCDMISwill updatetheproperregistrysetting.Thenexttimetheoptionisaccessed,thewindowwillbe displayedpreciselyasitwasinthepreviousviewing. OnmachineswithanexternalDRO,thisoptionisnotavailable.

MultipleArmModeandtheProbeReadoutWindow
Ifyouhavemorethanonearmmeasuringyourpart,PCDMISdisplaystheprobereadout informationforeachadditionalarminanewcolumn.

476 UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ExampleoftheProbeReadoutwindowshowingmultiplearmsintwocolumns Youcanrightclickonthiswindowtodisplayashortcutmenuthatallowsyoutoshoworhide informationaboutaparticularprobe.

Ifthemenuitemdisplaysacheckmarknexttoit,itsinformationappearsintheProbeReadout window.

UsingtheStatusWindow

StatusWindow TheView|StatusWindow menuoptiondisplaystheStatuswindow.Thiswindowletsyou previewcommandsandfeatureswhilecreatingthemfromtheQuickStarttoolbar,duringfeature execution,andalsobysimplyclickingontheitemintheEditwindowwiththeStatuswindowopen. WhilesimilarinsomewaystothePreviewwindow,theStatuswindowdiffersintheseways: Youdon'tspecifytolerancesornominalvaluesinthiswindow.Thewindowisfordisplay only. Itprovidesaflexiblewaytodisplaycommandsbytyingintothenewtemplatebased Reportingfunctionality.
UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools 477

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Itdisplaysadynamicpreviewforanycommandordimensiontype,notjustLocation dimensions,aslongasthosecommandsareproperlyassignedinsideyourreportand labeltemplates.

Thiswindowfunctionsthesameasotherdockableandscrollablewindows.Itwilldisplayscroll barsifthecontentwithinthewindowexceedsthewindow'ssize.Additionally,youcandockand undockthiswindowatthebottomortopoftheGraphicsDisplaywindowbydoubleclickingonthe window'stitlebar,orbydraggingthewindow,andthenreleasingitatthedesiredlocation. TheStatusWindowwiththeQuickStartToolbar TheStatuswindowdisplaysthecurrentstatusofanyGuessModemeasurements,feature selection,anddimensioncreationwhenusingtheQuickStarttoolbar.Inthecaseofthescreen shotshownabove,thisdimensionhasnotyetbeencreated,yetPCDMISletsyoupreviewthe dimensioninthiswindowpriortoclickingFinishfromtheQuickStarttoolbar. TheStatusWindowduringFeatureCreationorExecution TheStatuswindowdisplayspreviewinformationoffeaturesnotyetdisplayedintheReport window.Thiswindowutilizesthenewreportingtemplatesfunctionalitytogeneratedynamic previewsofcommandsduringexecutionandcreation.Duringfeaturecreationitonlypreviewsthe featureifPCDMISisinGuessmode. ChangingtheStatusWindowTemplate SincetheStatuswindowusesreportingtemplatestodisplayitsinformation,youcanchangewhat templateitusesifyouwouldlikeittodisplaydifferentinformation.Anycommandcanbe displayedintheStatuswindowaslongasalabeltemplateisassignedtothatcommandinthe reporttemplate(.rtp)file.YouassignwhatreporttemplatethisusesfromtheReportTemplate registryentryundertheStatusWindowsectionofthePCDMISSettingsEditor.Thedefault templateitusesistextonly.rtp.

UsingtheProbeToolbox
TheView|ProbeToolbox menuoptiondisplaystheProbeToolbox.

ProbeToolboxforaContactProbe

478 UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Thistoolboxallowsyoutoeasilyperformvariousproberelatedmanipulations.Itpresentstabs andinformationrelativetothetypeofprobecurrentlyused.Ifyouuseanopticalprobeoralaser probe,forexample,thetabsthatappearwillbedifferentandtheywillallowyoutomanipulate parametersspecifictothoseprobetypes.SeethespecificdocumentationforVisionorLaser modulesifyouuseoneofthoseprobetypes. Theproberelatedmanipulationsforstandardcontactprobetypesinclude: Switchingbetweenexistingconfiguredprobesandprobetips Viewingthecurrentprobe'slocation AccessingtheProbeReadoutwindow Removingprobinghitsfromthehitsbuffer Viewinghitsinthehitsbuffer Lockingyourmachine'sX,Y,orZaxes ChangingPathProperties ChangingSampleHitProperties ChangingAutoMove(AvoidanceMove)Properties ChangingFindHoleProperties

Forinformationonthesemanipulations,seethetopicsbelow. Note:PreviousversionsofPCDMISusedtocontainFlatGuessandRoundGuessmodeicons inthistoolbox.SincetheguessalgorithminPCDMIShasimprovedinversion4.0andhigher, theseiconshavebeenremovedandarenolongerneeded. Inversion4.2,inordertobettersupportnoncontactmachines,thecontactspecificitemsforAuto FeaturesweremovedfromtheAutoFeaturedialogboxintothistaboftheProbeToolbox.

PlacingandSizingtheToolbox
MuchliketheEditwindoworthevarioustoolbarsavailableinPCDMIS,youcandocktheProbe Toolboxtothebottom,sides,ortopofthescreenoryoucancauseittofloatabovetheGraphics Displaywindow.Todothis, 1. Selectthetoolbox'stitlebarwiththemouse. 2. Dragthetoolboxwhereyouwanttoplaceit. 3. Releasethemouse.PCDMISplacesthetoolboxatthenewlocation. Youcanalsosizethetoolboxbyselectinganedgeofthetoolboxanddraggingthemousetoa newlocation.

ChangingtheCurrentProbe
Tochangethepartprogram'scurrentprobebyusingtheProbeToolbox,

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools 479

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

1. SelecttheProbeslist.

2. Selectanewprobe. PCDMISinsertsaLOADPROBE commandfortheselectedprobeintothepartprogram.

ChangingtheCurrentProbeTip
Tochangethepartprogram'scurrentprobebyusingtheProbeToolbox, 1. SelecttheProbeTipslist.

2. Selectanewprobe. PCDMISinsertstheLOADPROBE commandfortheselectedprobeintothepartprogram.

ViewingHitsintheHitsBuffer
ViewingtheLastHit IntheProbePositiontab,PCDMISdisplaysthemostrecenthitstoredinthehitsbufferorthe probe'scurrentposition.IfyouuseaVisionorLasermoduletheseitemsbecomeeditable.

MostRecentHitInformation ViewingalltheHits

480 UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Toviewallthehitsinthehitsbuffer,clicktheHitTargetstab.PCDMISdisplaystheXYZandIJK dataforeachhitinthebuffer.

HitTargetstabshowingseveralhitsinthehitsbuffer OnceyoupressENDonyourkeyboardorDONEonyourjogboxandacceptthecurrentfeature youareprobing,PCDMISremovesthehits fromthebufferandemptiesthislist.

TakingandDeletingHits
TakeaHiticon Totakeahitatthecurrentprobe'slocation,clicktheTakeaHit icon.PCDMISaddsthehitintothehitbuffer.Thisicononly becomesenabledwhenyouuseadefinedhardprobe.

RemoveaHiticon

TodeleteahitfromthehitbufferbyusingtheProbeToolbox,click theRemoveaHiticon.IfyouhavetheProbeReadoutswindow open,you'llnoticethehitbeingdeletedfromtheHitsportionofthe window.Seethe"ErasingorDeletingHits"topicinthe"Getting Started:ASimpleTutorial"chapterforadditionalinformation.

AccessingtheProbeReadoutsWindow
ProbeReadouticon ToaccesstheProbeReadoutswindowfromtheProbeToolbox, clicktheProbeReadouticon.ForinformationontheProbe Readoutswindow,seethe"UsingtheProbeReadoutwindow".

PlacingtheProbeintoReadoutsandHitsMode
SomeinterfacesrequirethatyoutogglebetweenReadoutsandHitsModessincethesemodes mustoperateexclusivelyfromeachother.Thisisduetotheoperationoftheseinterfacesbeingin eitherareceivingstate(HitsModewaitingforahitsignal)orasendingstate(ReadoutsMode sendingprobelocationdatatotheProbeReadoutwindow.AnLKRS232interfaceisanexample ofthistypeofinterface.
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools 481

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Icon ReadoutsMode

HitsMode

Description IfyouhaveanLKinterface,youcan usetheReadoutsModeicontoplaces theprobeintoreadoutsmode. IfyouhaveanLKinterface,youcan usetheHitsModeicontoplacesthe probeintohitsmode.

LockingAxes
Topreventprobemovementinoneormoreaxes,selecttheappropriateaxislockingiconsfrom theProbeToolbox.

Forexample,ifyouwanttolocktheprobe'sZaxisfrommoving,selecttheLockZAxisicon.You canthenclickanywhereontheCADandtheprobewillbeabletomovefreelyintheXYplane, butmotionintheZdirectionwon'ttakeplace. NotethatonaVisionDCCmachine,movingthegraphicalprobealsomovestheFOV(Fieldof View). Note:TheseitemsaregrayedoutandunavailableforselectionunlessyouhavetheVisionor Lasermoduleprogrammedinyourhardwarekey(portlock).SeethePCDMISLaserorPCDMIS VisionhelpfilesformoreinformationonusingtheProbeToolbox.

WorkingwithContactPathProperties

482 UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ContactPathPropertiestab ThistabbecomesvisiblewhenyouhavetheAutoFeaturedialogboxopenandacontactprobe isenabled. TheContactPathPropertiestabcontainsseveralitemsthatallowyoutochangevarioushit propertiesforanumberofsupportedAutoFeaturesthatusecontactprobes. DependingonthetypeoffeatureintheAutoFeaturedialogbox,thistabmaychangetocontain oneormoreofthefollowingitems: Supported Auto Features

Item

Description Thisdefinesthenumberofhitsthatwillbeusedtomeasurethefeature. Thenumberofhitsspecifiedwillbeequallyspacedbetweenthestarting andendingangleindicated. Circle Ifthestartandendanglesarethesame,ordifferbyamultipleof or 360,thenonlyonehitwillbetakenatthemutualstartingand Ellipseendingpoint.

Hits

Line, Plane, Circle, Ellipse, RoundSlot

LocationofHits

RoundIfanoddnumberofhitsisentered,PCDMISwillautomatically Slot addonetothevalue.Thisallowsforanevennumberofhitsin themeasurementoftheslot.Halfofthehitswillbetakenonthe semicircleateachendoftheslot.Aminimumofsixhitsis required. Plane Theminimumnumberofhitsneededtomeasureaplaneis three.However,thetotalnumberofhitsfortheplanefeatureis generatedbytheproductofthevaluesintheHitsandLevels boxes.Therefore,avalueof2intheHitsboxwitha3inthe Levelsboxwouldgenerateatotalofsixhits. Line Youcantypeanynumberofhits.Dependingonthetypeof lineandthevalueentered,PCDMISdoesthefollowing: Ifyouarecreatingaboundedline,thenPCDMISusesthe calculatedlengthofthelineandspacesthenumberofhits equallyalongthelinesothatthefirstandlasthitsareatthe StartandEndpoints. Ifitisanunboundedline,thenPCDMISusesthetyped

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools 483

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

lengthvalueandspacesthenumberofhitsequallyalongthe line'sdirectionvector. Note:Ifyoudon'ttypealengthvalue(orthevalueiszero),PC DMISusesthecurrentprobetip'sdiameterasthedistance betweenpoints. ThisisthesameasdescribedinHitsexceptthatthisdefinesthetotal numberofhitsthatwillbeusedtomeasurethefeatureamongall availablelevels.Youneedatleastfourhitstomeasureasphere. ThisdefineswherePCDMISwilltakehitsonthefeatureitselfandits surroundingsamplehits. EdgePoint, NotchSlot Ifone,two,orthreesamplehitsareindicated, thenthedepthvaluewillbeappliedfromthe measuredsurfacevalue.

Hits (Total)

Sphere

Depth

Edge Point, Line, Circle, Ellipse, Round Slot, Square Slot,Notch Slot, Polygon

DepthforEdgePoint Circle,Ellipse, Thisdistanceisappliedasapositivevaluealong RoundSlot, thecenterlinevectorfromthecenterpointofthe SquareSlot, feature. Polygon Foraninternalfeature,suchasahole,thisisthe distancebelowthesurface.Foranexternal feature,suchasastud,thisisthedistancefrom thebottomofthefeature. Note:PCDMISexpectstheX,Y,Znominalof thestudtobeatthebase.Ifthecenterpointisat thetopofthestud,setthedepthtoanegative value. Thedistanceisappliedasapositivevaluealong theperpendicularvectortothelinevectorand edgevector.

Line

Starting

Cylinder,

Theline'sdepthdependsonthedirectionofthe hitsinrelationtothecurrentcoordinatesystem. Forexample,ifyouhaveatypicalorientation (X/Right,Y/Back,andZ/Up),andyoutakeyour firstandsecondhitsfromlefttorightonthe model,thenyouneedtouseapositivedepth value.However,ifyoutakeyourfirstandsecond hitsfromrighttoleftonthemodel,thenyouneed touseanegativedepthvalue. Forfeatureswithmultiplelevels,thisdefinesthestartingdepthofthe

484 UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Depth Ending Depth

Cone Cylinder, Cone

firstlevelofhits.Itisanoffsetfromthetopofthefeature.Allotherlevels willbeequallyspacedbetweentheStartingDepthandEndingDepth. Forfeatureswithmultiplelevels,thisdefinestheendingdepthofthelast levelofhits.Itisanoffsetfromthebottomofthefeature.Allotherlevels willbeequallyspacedbetweentheStartingDepthandEndingDepth. Forthreadedholesandstuds,thePitchvalue(alsoknownas"threads perinch")definesthedistancebetweenthreadsalongtheaxisofthe feature.Thisallowsformoreaccuratemeasurementsofthreadedholes andstuds.Ifthevalueisanythingotherthanzero,PCDMISstaggers thefeature'shitsalongthefeature'stheoreticalaxis,spacingthem aroundthefeatureusingtheStartAngleandEndAnglevaluesinthe AutoFeaturedialogbox. Circle Inordertofollowastandard(clockwise)threadpattern, youneedtoreversethestartingandendingangles(i.e. 7200)andinordertocausethemeasurementtoreverse fromarisingpitchtoafallingpitch(up/down),youneedto negatethevalueofthepitch. Example:Ifmeasuringacirclewithfourhitsequally spacedaroundthecircle,thefirsthitwillbeatthestarting angleattheinputdepth.Thesecondhitwillbeata90 degreerotationtothefirstandadepthof(depth ((hitnum1)/tothits*pitch)).Thethirdhitwouldbe180 degreerotationfromthefirsthitwithadepthof(depth ((hitnum1)/tothits*pitch)).Theremaininghitsfollowthis samepattern.

Pitch

Circle, Cylinder

Cylinder

Example:Ifmeasuringacylinderwithtwolevelsoffour hitsequallyspacedaroundthecylinder,thefirsthitineach levelwillbeatthestartingangleattheinputdepth.The secondhitwillbeata90degreerotationtothefirsthitand adepthof(Depth(hitnum1)/#hitsperlevel*pitch).The thirdhitwouldbe180degreerotationfromthefirsthitwith adepthof(Depth(hitnum1)/#hitsperlevel*pitch).The remaininghitsfollowthissamepattern.

Thisdefinesthenumberofhitsperlevelthatwillbeusedtomeasurethe feature.Avalueoffourwouldmeanfourhitsperlevel. HitsPer Level Cylinder, Cone Note:Atleastsixhitsandtwolevelsarenecessarytomeasurea cylinderorcone(threehitsateachlevel).

Levels

Cylinder, Cone, Sphere

Thisdefinesthenumberoflevelsthatwillbeusedtomeasurethe feature.Anyintegergreaterthanonecanbeused.Thefirstlevelofhits willbeplacedattheStartingDepth.Thelastlevelofhitswillbeplaced attheEndingDepth. Foracylinderorcone,thelevelswillbeequallyspacedbetweenthe

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools 485

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

StartingDepthandEndingDepthofthefeature. Forasphere,thelevelswillbeequallyspacedbetweentheStart Angle2andEndAngle2 valueintheAutoFeaturedialogbox. Foraplane,thenumberoflevelsandthenumberofhitsareusedto determinehowmanytotalhitswillbeusedtogeneratetheauto plane. HitsPer Side Polygon ThisdefinesthenumberofhitstakenpersideonaPolygonfeature.

WorkingwithContactSampleHitsProperties

ContactSampleHitsPropertiestab ThistabbecomesvisiblewhenyouhavetheAutoFeaturedialogboxopenandacontactprobe isenabled. TheContactSampleHitsPropertiestabcontainsitemsthatallowyoutochangethesample hitspropertiesforanumberofsupportedAutoFeaturesthatusecontactprobes. DependingonthetypeoffeatureintheAutoFeaturedialogbox,thistabmaychangetocontain oneormoreofthefollowingitems: Item SupportedAuto Features SurfacePoint,Edge Point,AnglePoint, Circle,Ellipse,Round Slot,SquareSlot, NotchSlot,Polygon, Cylinder,Cone, Sphere SurfacePoint,Edge Point,AnglePoint, CornerPoint,Plane, Circle,Ellipse,Round Slot,SquareSlot, NotchSlot, Polygon, Description Thislistallowsyoutoselectthenumberofsample hitstakenfortheautofeature.Thesehitsareused tomeasuretheplanearoundthenominalpoint location,providingasamplingofthesurrounding material.Formoreinformation,see"SampleHits FeatureSpecificInformation"below. Thisboxdefinesthedistancefromthenominalpoint locationthatPCDMISwillusetomeasureaplaneif samplehitsarespecified. Formoreinformation,see "SpacerFeatureSpecificInformation"below.

Sample Hits

Spacer

486 UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Cylinder,Cone

Indent

EdgePoint,NotchSlot

Indent1

AnglePoint,Corner Point

Indent2

AnglePoint,Corner Point

Indent3

CornerPoint

ForanEdgePoint,thisboxdefinestheminimum offsetdistancefromthepointlocationtothefirst samplehit.ForaNotchSlotitdefinesthedistance fromtheclosedsideofthenotch(oppositetheopen edge).See"IndentFeatureSpecificInformation" below. Thisdefinesminimumoffsetdistancefromthe feature'scenterlocationtothefirstoftwoorthree samplehits.See"IndentFeatureSpecific Information"below. Thisdefinesminimumoffsetdistancefromthe feature'scenterlocationtothesecondoftwoor threesamplehits.See"IndentFeatureSpecific Information"below. Thisdefinesminimumoffsetdistancefromthe feature'scenterlocationtothethirdofthreesample hits.See"IndentFeatureSpecificInformation" below.

SampleHitsFeatureSpecificInformation
AutoFeature SurfacePoint SampleHitsDescription PCDMISwillmeasurethepointdependingontheselectedvalue. For example,ifyouselect: 0,PCDMISwillmeasurethepointatthenominalapproach vectorspecified. 3,PCDMISwillmeasureaplanearoundthenominalpoint locationandusethesurfacenormalvectorfromthethreehits measuredtoapproachthenominalpointlocation.

EdgePoint

PCDMISwillmeasurethepointdependingontheselectedvalue. For example,ifyouselect: 0,thenPCDMISwillmeasurethepointatthenominal approachandnormalvectorsspecified. 1,thenPCDMISwillmeasureapointonthenormalsurface. Theedgemeasurementwillthenbeprojectedintothenominal surfacethroughthispoint.AnyDEPTH=valueswillbeoffset fromthepoint. 2,thenPCDMISwilltaketwosamplehitsontheedgealong thenominalapproachdirectionspecified.PCDMISwillthen usethesehitstocalculateanewapproachvectorfortheactual pointmeasurementalongtheedge. 3,thenPCDMISwillmeasurethepointwiththecombined methodsofusingoneandtwosamplehitsrespectively.This measurementmethodiscommonlyknownasa"Flushand Gap"measurementpoint.
UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools 487

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

4,thenPCDMISwillmeasurethethreesamplehitsonthe normalsurfaceandadjustthesurfacenormalvector.Theedge measurementwillthenbeprojectedintothisnewnominal surface.AnyDEPTH=valueswillbeoffsetfromthepoint. Finally,thepointwillbemeasuredalongtheapproachvector. 5,thenPCDMISwillmeasurethepointbytakingthreehitson thenormalsurfaceandtwohitsontheedgealongthenominal approachdirectionspecified.Thismethodofmeasurementis consideredthemostaccurate.

VariousSampleHitsforEdgePoints

AnglePoint

Thesamplehitswillbeusedoneachsurface.PCDMISwillmeasure thepointdependingontheselectedvalue.Forexample,ifyouselect: 2,thehitswillbetakeninalineperpendiculartotheedge vector. 3,thehitswillformaplaneoneachsurfaceasindicatedinthe drawing.

TwoandthreeSampleHitsforanAnglePoint

Circle,Cylinder, Thedefinedsamplehitswillbeusedtomeasurethesurfacenormalto orCone thefeature.Thenumberofhitsspecifiedwillbeequallyspaced betweenthestartingandendingangleindicated.

488 UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

PCDMISwillmeasurethepointdependingontheselectedvalue: IfType=HOLE,andyouselect0,PCDMISwillnottakeany samplehits. IfType=STUD,youselect0,PCDMISwillnottakeany samplehits.PCDMISthentreatstheHeight valueasifthe featurewereaHOLEinsteadofaSTUD. IfType=HOLE,andyouselect1,PCDMISwilltakethehiton theoutsideofthefeature. IfTYPE=STUD,andyouselect1,PCDMISwillmeasurethe pointonthetopofthestud. Ifyouselect3,PCDMISwillmeasurethesurfaceatthree equallyspacedhitsstartingfromthestartingangle.Thesample hitswillberelativetothemeasuredplane,andanyvalueswill beoffsetfromthesepoints.

Inthefigureabove,STRTA=StartAngle.ENDA=End Angle.

Inthefigureabove,STRTA=StartAngle. ENDA=End Angle Note:PCDMISexpectstheX,Y,Znominalofthestudtobeatthe base.Ifthecenterpointisatthetopofthestud,setthedepthand spacertoanegativevalue.

Sphere

Forasphere,youcanonlyselectonesamplehit.Whenyouselectthis samplehit,PCDMISfollowsthisprocedureonceyouexecutethepart program: 1. Automaticmeasurementstopspriortomeasuringthesphere. 2. PCDMISrequeststhatyoutakeonehitnormaltothedirection thesphereshouldbemeasured. 3. Afteryoutakethesamplehit,clicktheContinuebutton 4. PCDMISthentakesthreemorehitsonthesphereinanarea

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools 489

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

determinedbythespacer. PCDMIStakesthesefourhitsandusesthecalculatedspherelocation tomeasurethespherewiththegivennumberofhits,rows,andangles.

SquareSlotor RoundSlot

Themeasuredplanewillbeusedasthecenterlinevectorforprojection andmeasurementdepthpurposes. PCDMISwillmeasuretheslotdependingontheenteredvalue.For example,ifyouselect: 0,PCDMISwillmeasuretheindicatedslot.Nosamplehitswill betaken. 1,PCDMISwillmeasurethesurfaceatthecenteroftheslot. Theslothitwillbetotherightofthevector. 3,PCDMISwillmeasurethesurfaceatthreeequallyspaced hitsstartingfromSLOTA.Theslothitswillberelativetothe measuredplane,andanyvalueswillbeoffsetfromthese points.

SampleHitsofthreehitsonaSquareSlot(onleft)andRoundSlot(on right) Note:Totakethehitsontheoppositesideoftheslot,reversethe centerlinevector.

Ellipse

Theonlyvaluesthatwillbeacceptedarezero,one,andthree.The measuredplanewillbeusedasthecenterlinevectorforprojectionand measurementdepthpurposes. PCDMISwillmeasuretheellipsedependingontheenteredvalue.For example,ifyouselected: 0,PCDMISwillmeasuretheindicatedellipse.Nosamplehits willbetaken. 1,PCDMISwilltakeasinglesamplehitatthelocationwhere theANGLEVECpointsto(i.e.0 +SPACER),notatthecenter oftheellipse(beingparticularlydifficultshouldtheellipsebea hole). 3,PCDMISwillmeasurethesurfaceatpointsoutside(or

490 UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

inside)theellipseanindicateddistancefromtheouteredge (Spacervalue).Thefirsthitwillbeattheindicatedstartangle. Hitnumbertwowillbehalfwaybetweenthestartangleandend angle.Thelasthitwillbeattheendangle.Thehitswillbe relativetothemeasuredplane,andanyvalueswillbeoffset fromthesepoints. Note:Totakethehitontheoppositesideoftheellipse,reversethe centerlinevector.

NotchSlot

Thesamplehitsalsodefinetheedgefortheanglevectorandwidth. Theonlyvaluesthatwillbeacceptedarezerothroughfive.The measuredplanewillbeusedasthecenterlinevectorforprojectionand measurementdepthpurposes. PCDMISwillmeasurethenotchdependingontheenteredvalue.For example,ifyouselected: 0,PCDMISwillmeasuretheindicatednotch.Nosamplehits willbetaken. 1,PCDMISwillmeasurethesurfaceattheedgeofthenotch. 2,PCDMISwillmeasuretheedgealongtheopensideofthe notch.Thiswilldefinetheanglevectorandwillbeusedtofind thewidthofthenotch. 3,PCDMISwillmeasurethesurfaceatoneendofthenotch withtwohitsandonehitattheotherendofthenotch.The notchhitswillberelativetothemeasuredplane,anyvalueswill beoffsetfromthesepoints. 4,PCDMISwillmeasurethesurfacethesameasthree samplehits.Afourthhitwillbetakenontheedgealongthe opensidetobeusedinfindingthewidthofthenotch. 5,PCDMISwillmeasurethesurfacethesameasthree samplehits.Itwillalsomeasuretheedgealongtheopenside inthesamemannerastwosamplehits.

Polygon

PCDMISwillmeasurethepolygondependingontheselectedvalue. Forexample,ifyouselect: 0,PCDMISwillmeasuretheindicatedpolygon.Nosamplehits willbetaken. 1,PCDMISwilltakeasinglesamplehitatthelocationtowhich theAnglevectorpoints(i.e.0 +SPACER).

ExamplePolygonFeature(hexagon)withonesamplehit

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools 491

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

3,PCDMISwilltakethethreesamplehitsinatriangular positiononthesurfacearoundthepolygon,ifaninternal polygonoronthesurfaceofthepolygonitself,ifanexternal polygon.Thefirsthitwillalwaysbeatthelocationtowhichthe Anglevectorpoints.

ExamplePolygonFeature(hexagon)withthreesample hits

SpacerFeatureSpecificInformation
AutoFeature SurfacePoint SpacerDescription TheSpacerboxdefinestheradiusofan imaginarycircleonwhichthenominalandthe samplepointslie.

EdgePoint

TheSpacerboxdefinestheradiusofan imaginarycircleonwhichthenominalandthe samplepointslie.

AnglePoint

TheSpacerboxdefinestheoffsetdistance betweenthepointsoneachsideofthebend.

492 UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Cornerpoint

TheSpacerboxdefinesthedistancefromthe radiusofthefirsthittotheotherhits.

Circle,Cylinder, TheSpacerboxdefinesthedistancefromthe orCone circumferenceofthecircletothesamplehits. Note:Clearanceplanesarenotusedwhen takingsamplehits.Whenmeasuringstuds,itis importanttosetthespacervaluetoadistance thatwillallowtheprobetomovearoundthestud.

Note:PCDMISexpectstheX,Y,Znominalof thestudtobeatthebase.Ifthecenterpointisat thetopofthestud,setthedepthandspacertoa negativevalue.

SquareSlot, TheSpacerboxdefinesthedistancefromthe RoundSlot,or outeredgeofthefeaturetothesamplehit(s). Ellipse

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools 493

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

SpacerforaSquareSlot(left)andRoundSlot (right)

Plane NotchSlot

TheSpacerboxdefinesthedistancebetween thehitsmakinguptheplane. TheSpacerboxdefinesthedistancefromthe edgesofthenotchwherethesamplehitswillbe taken.

Polygon

Spacer(dottedlines)foraNotchSlotwithtwo samplehits. TheSpacerboxdefinesthedistancefromthe edgesofthepolygonwherethesamplehitswill betaken.

Spacer(dottedlines)foraPolygonwiththree samplehits(largerdots).

494 UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

IndentFeatureSpecificInformation
AutoFeature EdgePoint IndentDescription TheIndentboxdisplaystheminimumoffset distancefromthepointlocationtothefirsthiton eachsideofthebend(oredge).

OffsetDistancefromEdge

AnglePoint

PCDMISallowsyoutousetwoindentboxes, Indent1andIndent2,inordertosettheoffset distancesfromthepointlocationtothesample hitsoneachofthetwosurfacesofthebendinan anglepoint.

IndentinanAnglePoint TheIndent1boxallowsyoutosetthe offsetdistancefromthepointlocationto thesamplehitsonthefirstsurfaceofthe bend. TheIndent2boxallowsyoutosetthe offsetdistancefromthepointlocationfor thesamplehitsonthesecondsurfaceof thebend.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools 495

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

CornerPoint

PCDMISallowsyoutousethreeindentboxes, Indent1andIndent2,andIndent3inorderto settheoffsetdistancesfromthepointlocationto thesamplehitsoneachofthethreesurfacesof thebendinacornerpoint. TheIndent1boxallowsyoutosetthe offsetdistancefromthepointlocationto thesamplehitsonthefirstofthethree planes. TheIndent2boxallowsyoutosetthe offsetdistancefromthepointlocationto thesamplehitsonthesecondofthe threeplanes. TheIndent3boxallowsyoutosetthe offsetdistancefromthepointlocationto thesamplehitsonthethirdofthethree planes.

NotchSlot

IndentforaCornerPoint.Foroneofthe surfaces,1showstheindentpoint,2and3are thesamplehits TheIndentboxdefineswherealongthetwo parallelsidesofthenotchPCDMISwilltakethe hits.Itisthedistancefromtheclosedsideofthe notch,movingtowardstheopenside.

IndentforaNotchSlot(dottedlines)

496 UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

WorkingwithContactAutoMoveProperties

ContactAutoMovePropertiestab ThistabbecomesvisiblewhenyouhavetheAutoFeaturedialogboxopenandacontactprobe isenabled. TheContactAutoMovePropertiestabcontainsitemsthatallowyoutochangeAutoMove propertiesforAutoFeaturesthatusecontactprobes. AutoMovesarespecialmovesaddedtoyourfeature'spathlinestohelpPCDMISavoiddriving theprobethroughyourfeaturewhenitactuallymeasuresit. Thistabcontainsthefollowingitems: Item Avoidance Move Description ThislistletsyouchoosethetypeofAvoidanceMoveforyour currentAutoFeature. Thislistcontainstheseitems: NOTherewillbenoAvoidanceMovesusedforthecurrent feature. BEFOREBeforePCDMISmeasuresthefirsthitonthe currentfeature,itwillfirstmovetothespecifieddistance abovethefirsthit. AFTERAfterPCDMISmeasuresthelasthitonthecurrent feature,itwillmovetothespecifieddistanceabovethe lasthit. BOTHAppliestheAvoidanceMovedistancetothepath linesbothbeforeandafterPCDMISmeasuresthe feature. Thisspecifiesthedistanceabovethefirstprobingorlastprobing towhichtheprobewillmoveduringexecution.

Distance

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools 497

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

WorkingwithContactFindHoleProperties

ContactFindHolePropertiesTab ThistabbecomesvisiblewhenyouhavetheAutoFeaturedialogboxopenandacontactprobe isenabled.TheitemsbecomeavailableforselectionifPCDMISisinDCCmode. TheContactFindHolePropertiestabcontainsitemsthatallowyoutochangeFindHole propertiesforAutoFeaturesthatusecontactprobes. GeneralFindHoleProcess OnceyouselectaroutinefromtheFindHolelist(NOCENTER,SINGLEHIT,orCENTER)and executeyourpartprogram,PCDMISpositionstheprobeaPrehitDistanceabovethetheoretical centerofthefeature,thendrivesnormaltothefeaturesurfacevectorsearchingfortheholeat touchspeed.Thesearchwillcontinueuntileitherthesurfaceistouched(indicatingthatthehole isnotthere)oruntilthecheckdistanceisreached(indicatingthattheholeispresent).See "CheckDistance"inthe"SettingYourPreferences"chapter. IfFindHolefails,PCDMISdisplaystheReadPositiondialogbox.Thisgivesyouthechoiceto eitherreadanewpositionfromwhichtocontinuesearchingforthehole(clickYes),ortoskipthis featureandmoveontothenextfeature(clickNo). IfyouchooseYes,youcanthenuseyourjogboxtomovetheprobetothenewlocation. IfyouchooseNo,PCDMISmovestheprobeawayfromtheholebythedistance specifiedforanAvoidanceMove(see"WorkingwithContactAutoMoveProperties")and continuesrunningthepartprogram.Thismovementhelpstopreventapossibleprobe collision.

Additionally,youcansetPCDMIStoautomaticallycontinueexecutingthepartprogramwhenthe holecan'tbefound.See"AutoContinueExecutionifFindHoleFails"inthe"SettingYour Preferences"chapter. TabItems DependingonthetypeoffeatureintheAutoFeaturedialogbox,thistabmaychangetocontain oneormoreofthefollowingitems: Item SupportedAuto Features Description

498 UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Find Hole

Circle RoundSlot Square Slot NotchSlot Polygon Cylinder

Thislistcontainstheselistoptions.TheydeterminehowPC DMISproceedswhenattemptingtofindahole. DISABLEDNoFindHoleoperationisperformed. NOCENTERThisitemactsastheCENTER itemexcept theprobedoesn'ttakethethreehitstofindtherough estimateofthehole'scenter.Itmerelybegins measuringthecircleusingexistingparameterssetin thespecificautofeaturedialogbox. SINGLEHITThissettingtellstheprobetotakeone singlehit.Ifithitsthesurfaceanddoesn'tfindthe hole,thenitautomaticallyswitchestothe"Ifthehole isnotfound"casedescribedbelow.Iftheprobefinds theholeproceedsusingtheNOCENTERoption. CENTERThisitemfirstcausestheprobetomovedown tothecheckdistancedepthtomakesureitdoesn't encounteranymaterial.Itthenmovestoeitherthe feature'sdepthortotheCheckDistance*Percent to searchinsidetheholeforaroughestimateofthe hole'scenter(see"RegistryItems"below).Theprobe doesthisbytakingthreehitsequallyspacedaround thehole.Oncetheprobehasthehole'sgeneral location,itthenproceedstomeasuretheholeusing theparameterssetinthespecificautofeaturedialog box.UnlessNOCENTERorSINGLEHITisselected, thisisthedefaultprocedurethatPCDMISfollowsif theholeisfound. Note:AFindHoleregistryentrygivesyougreatercontrol overthedepthofthecenteringprocess.Bydefault,the centeringprocesssZcomponentisdeterminedbythe featuresdepth.Thisisoftenusedinconjunctionwithan Rmeas(plane)feature.However,sometimeswhenyoudon't useanRmeasfeature,andthesurfaceofthepartvaries greatlyinZ,thecenteringprocesswillneverfindthehole becausethepartssurfaceliesbelowthesearchdepth.Inthis case,youcaninsteadhavetheFindHolecenteringprocess executeattheCheckDistance*Percent, bysettingthe FHCenteringAtChkDistTimesPercentInsteadOfDepth registry entrytoTRUEinthePCDMISSettingsEditor.Thisentryis locatedintheUSER_AutoFeaturessection.See"Parameter Settings:Motiontab"tosettheCheckDistanceandPercent values. FindHoleSpecificsforaCircleoraCylinder Iftheholeisfound:PCDMISwillmovetothedown tothecheckdistancedepthandproceedtotake threehitsequallyspacedaroundtheholeto determinethegenerallocationofthehole.Following thisgeneraladjustmentPCDMISwillthenmeasure
UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools 499

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

theholeusingtheparametersdefinedbytheuserin thetabforthefeature.ThisincludesSamplehitsetc. ThisisthesameastheCENTERitemdescribe above. Iftheholeisnotfound:PCDMISwillbackaway fromthesurfaceandstartacircularsearchpattern thatis(featureradiusproberadius)outfromthe theoreticalfeaturecenter.Thesearchwilltry(2*PI* featureradius/(featureradiusproberadius)) locationsaroundthesearchcircle.Iftheholeisstill notfoundthesearchradiuswillbeincreasedby (featureradiusproberadius)andwillcontinueuntil thesearchradiusisequaltotheprehitdistance.Ifthe prehitissmallerthan(featureradiusproberadius) onlyonesearchpatternwillbecompleted. Iftheholeisneverfound:PCDMISwillmovethe probetoapositionofaprehitabovethetheoretical centerofthefeatureandprompttheusertodoa ReadPosition.(See"ReadPos/ReadPosition button".) Adjustmentsalongthesurfacenormal:AsPC DMISsearchesandfindsasurfaceinsteadofthe holeitwillcontinuallyupdatethesearchheightbased onthefoundsurfaces.Oncetheholeisfound,itwill updatethedepthofmeasurementoftheholebased onthelastsurfacefound.Iftheholeisfoundthefirst time,noadjustmentsaremade. AdjustmentswithRMEAS:IfyousupplyanRMEAS feature(orfeatures)PCDMISassumesyoudesireto usethefeature(s)asthereferenceforboththesearch heightandthedepthoftheholemeasurement. Therefore,therewillbenoadjustmentalongthe surfacenormalotherthantheRMEASadjustment.

FindHoleSpecificsforaSquareSlotorRoundSlot Iftheholeisfound:PCDMISwillmovedowntothe checkdistancedepthandmeasureonehitoneach offourthesidesoftheslot.Itwilladjustforthecenter ofthefourhitsandmeasuretwohitsononeofthe longsidestoadjustfortheslotrotation.Aftera generallocationandorientationoftheslotis calculated,theSlotwillbemeasuredusingthe parametersdefinedinthetabforthefeature. Iftheholeisnotfound:PCDMISwillbackaway fromthesurfaceandstartacircularsearchpattern thatis(featureradiusproberadius)outfromthe theoreticalfeaturecenter.Thesearchwilltry(2*PI* featureradius/(featureradiusproberadius)) locationsaroundthesearchcircle.Iftheholeisstill notfoundthesearchradiuswillbeincreasedby (featureradiusproberadius)andwillcontinueuntil thesearchradiusisequaltotheprehitdistance.Ifthe prehitissmallerthan(featureradiusproberadius) onlyonesearchpatternwillbecompleted.

500 UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Iftheholeisneverfound:PCDMISwillmovethe probetoapositionofaprehitabovethetheoretical centerofthefeatureandprompttheusertodoa ReadPosition.(See"ReadPos/ReadPosition button".) Adjustmentsalongthesurfacenormal:AsPC DMISsearchesandfindsasurfaceinsteadofthe holeitwillcontinuallyupdatethesearchheightbased onthefoundsurfaces.Oncetheholeisfound,itwill updatethedepthofmeasurementoftheholebased onthelastsurfacefound.Iftheholeisfoundthefirst time,noadjustmentsaremade. AdjustmentswithRMEAS:IfyousupplyanRMEAS feature(orfeatures)PCDMISassumesyoudesireto usethefeature(s)asthereferenceforboththesearch heightandthedepthoftheholemeasurement. Therefore,therewillbenoadjustmentalongthe surfacenormalotherthantheRMEASadjustment.

FindHoleSpecificsforaNotchSlot Iftheholeisfound:PCDMISwillmovedowntothe checkdistancedepthtomeasurethehole'sdepth, andthentomeasurethehole. Iftheholeisnotfound:PCDMISwillbackaway fromthesurfaceandstartasearchpattern.The patterniscircularandisadjustedoutonehalfthe widthfromthetheoreticalfeaturecenter(whichfor notches,isthecenteroftheinsideedge.).Thesearch willtryeightlocationsaroundthatlocation.Ifthehole isfound,theprobewillmovetothedepthtomeasure thehole'sdepth,andthentomeasurethehole. Iftheholeisneverfound:PCDMISwillmovethe probetoapositionofaprehitabovethetheoretical centerofthefeatureandprompttheusertodoa ReadPosition.(See"ReadPos/ReadPosition button".)

SupportedInterfaces AlltheDCCinterfacessupporttheFindHolefunctionality.If youexperienceaproblemwithaspecificinterface,please contacttechnicalsupportandwewillinvestigatetheissue. OnHit Error EdgePoint Angle Point Corner Point Circle Ellipse RoundSlot Square Slot NotchSlot TheOnHitErrorcheckboxallowsimprovederrorchecking whenPCDMISdetectsanunexpectedormissedhit. Ifyouselectthischeckbox,PCDMISwill: AutomaticallytakeaReadPosition(see"Read Position"below)wheneveranunexpectedprobehitor missedprobehittakesplaceduringthemeasurement cycle. Measuretheentirefeaturewiththenewlocation

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools 501

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Polygon Cylinder Cone

obtainedfromtheReadPosition. TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionwouldread:
ONERROR=TOG

TOG: ThistogglefieldswitchesbetweenYES(on)and NO(off). Foradditionalinformationonwhatoptionsyouhavewhen PCDMISdetectsunexpectedormissedhits,see"Branching OnaCMMError"inthe"BranchingbyUsingFlowControl" chapter. Note:Bydefault,whenPCDMISperformsareadposition operation(suchasusedinReadPos,FindHole,orOnError) itonlyreturnstheXandYvalues.Howevertworegistry entriesgiveyoufurthercontroloverreturningtheZaxisvalue aswell.Theseare:ReadPosUpdatesXYZ and ReadPosUpdatesXYZEvenIfRMeas. SupportedInterfaces AlltheDCCinterfacessupporttheOnErrorfunctionality.If youexperienceaproblemwithaspecificinterface,please contacttechnicalsupportandwewillinvestigatetheissue. SelectingthischeckboxcausesPCDMIStopauseexecution abovethesurfacefeatureandtodisplayamessageaskingif youwanttousethecurrentdata. IfyourespondbyclickingtheNobutton,PCDMIS willrequireyoutomovetheprobetothedesired locationbeforethemeasurementprocesscan continue. IfyourespondbyclickingtheYesbutton,PCDMIS willmeasurethefeatureandwillusethecurrent probedata.

Read Position

Circle Ellipse RoundSlot Square Slot NotchSlot Polygon Cylinder Cone

ReadPositionSpecificsforaCircle IfyourespondbyclickingtheYesbutton,PCDMISwill requireyoutoplacetheprobeinacylindricalzoneabovethe circle. PlacingtheProbeintheCylindricalZone:Youonlyneedto placetheprobeinthecenteroftheimaginary3Dcylinderof thehole.Thedepthandorientationofthemeasurementwill thenbeautomaticallydeterminedbyoneofthefollowing: RMEASfeature:IfyouprovideanRMEASfeature, PCDMISassumesyouwanttomeasuretheholewith respecttothatfeature(orfeatures).Therefore,the feature(s)willbeusedtodefinethesurfacenormal anddepthofmeasurement,whiletheReadPoswill

502 UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

beusedtodeterminetheothertwoaxesof translation. FindHole:IfFindHoleisusedandthesurface aroundtheholeistouchedatleastonetime,thenPC DMISwilladjustallthreeaxes.Twooftheaxesare basedonthelocationoftheprobeonceithasfound theholeandthethirdaxis,alongthesurfacenormal, isbasedonthelastsurfacetouched.FindHolewill notoverrideanRMEASfeature. SampleHits:Ifsamplehitsareusedtheyarealways thetoppriorityondeterminingboththeorientation anddepthofmeasurementofthehole. Noneoftheabove:Ifnoneoftheaboveoptionsare used,PCDMISwillprobetheholebasedonthe providedtargetanddepthvalues,adjustedbythe probeplacementwithinthecylindricalzone.

Note:Bydefault,whenPCDMISperformsareadpositionoperation(suchasusedwiththeRead Positioncheckbox,FindHolelistortheOnHitErrorcheckbox),itonlyreturnstheXandY values.However,tworegistryentriesgiveyoufurthercontroloverreturningtheZaxis valueas well.Theseare:ReadPosUpdatesXYZ andReadPosUpdatesXYZEvenIfRMeas.

UsingtheDimensionsColorsWindow(DimensionsColorBar)
TheView|OtherWindows|DimensionsColorsWindowmenuoptiondisplaysthe DimensionsColorBar.Thisdockable,nonsizablebarlikewindowshowsthecolorsfor dimensiontolerancesandtheirassociatedscalevalues.

ExampleSurfaceProfileDimensionandAssociatedDimensionsColorBar

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools 503

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Thecolorbarcanbedraggedanddockedoneithertherightsideorleftsideofthescreen. HowitDisplays Thetopofthebardisplaysthecurrentdefaulttolerancevalue,representedsimplybyalabel inawhitebandwithitsnumericalscalevalue. Theremainingcoloredbandsonthebarconsistofthesamenumberofdefinedtolerance zonesasintheEditDimensionColordialogboxwiththeadditionofacoloredbandontop fortheNegativeOutofTolerance(labeledwithasign)andacoloredbandonthebottom forthePositiveOutoftolerance(labeledwitha+sign). RightClicktoAccess'EditDimensionColor'DialogBox AsinglerightclickwiththemouseonthecolorbarwillcausetheEditDimensionColor dialogboxtodisplay:

Thisdialogboxdefinesthedimensioncolorsandtolerancezonesused.Italsocontainssome settingsthatdeterminehowthecolorbarisdisplayed.Forinformationonthisdialogbox,seethe "EditingDimensionColors"topicinthe"EditingtheCADDisplay:Introduction"chapter. TooltipsforCompleteInfo Ifyoumoveyourmouseoveratoleranceband,ayellowtooltipappearscontaining thecompleterangeofvaluesforthattoleranceband(lowerandhigher)orthe completelabelPositiveOutofTolerance or"NegativeoutofTolerance"when hoveringyourmouseoverthe+or""bandrespectively.

504 UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ViewingPathLines
SelectingtheView|PathLines menuoptiondrawsthecurrentpathoftheprobeintheGraphics Displaywindow.See"ShowingandAnimatingPathLines"inthe"EditingtheCADDisplay" chapterformoreinformation.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools 505

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

UsingToolbars
UsingToolbars:Introduction
Inanefforttodecreasethetimeittakestoprogramyourpart,PCDMIS3.2andaboveoffersyou avarietyoftoolbarscomposedoffrequentlyusedcommands.Thesetoolbarscanbeaccessedin twoways. SelecttheView|Toolbarssubmenuandselectatoolbarfromthemenuprovided. RightclickonPCDMIS's Toolbarareaandselectatoolbarfromtheshortcutmenu provided.

Thetoolbarsprovidedinclude: GraphicsModestoolbar GraphicViewToolbar Settingstoolbar ProbeModetoolbar EditWindowtoolbar Dimensiontoolbar ConstructedFeaturestoolbar AutoFeaturestoolbar MeasuredFeaturestoolbar FileOperationstoolbar MacroPlay/Recordtoolbar Wizardstoolbar PortableToolbar ActiveArmstoolbar ActiveRotaryTabletoolbar QuickStarttoolbar WindowLayoutstoolbar

Ifyou'relookingfortheGuessMode,ProbeReadouts,andManual/DCCtoolbars,theseareall onthenewProbeModetoolbar.See"ProbeModeToolbar".TheGuessModeiconsarealso includedontheProbeToolbox,discussedinthe"UsingtheProbeToolbox"topicinthe"Using OtherWindows,Editors,andTools"chapter.

GraphicsModesToolbar

TheGraphicsModestoolbarallowsyoutoeasilyalterthedisplayofthepartonthescreen.It alsoallowsyoueasyaccesstotheavailablemodes.Thistoolbarcontainsthefollowingicons: Icon Description

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingToolbars 507

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ViewSetup

Altersthedisplayofthepartinthe GraphicsDisplaywindow.See"Setting uptheScreenView"inthe"Editingthe CADDisplay"chapter. Savestheviewofthepartasthe currentviewsetwhichcanlaterbe recalled.See"DefiningandSavinga Viewset"inthe"InsertingReport Commands"chapter. Savestheviewofthepartasa separateviewsetcommandwhichcan laterberecalled.See"Definingand SavingaViewset"inthe"Inserting ReportCommands"chapter. Enlargesorshrinkstheviewsofthe graphicintheGraphicsDisplaywindow tofityourscreen.See"Scalingthe Drawing"inthe"EditingtheCAD Display"chapter. TurnsonoroffthedisplayofsolidCAD surfaces.See"DrawingSurfaces"in the"EditingtheCADDisplay"chapter. Refreshesandredrawsalltheviewsof thepart.See"RepaintingtheScreen" inthe"EditingtheCADDisplay" chapter. PlacesPCDMISintoCurvemode(for usewithwireframe).See"Switching BetweenCurveandSurfaceModes"in the"EditingtheCADDisplay"chapter. PlacesPCDMISintoSurfacemode (forusewithsurfacedata).See "SwitchingBetweenCurveandSurface Modes"inthe"EditingtheCAD Display"chapter. PlacesPCDMISintotranslatemode. See"TranslateMode"inthe"Editing theCADDisplay"chapter. Twodimensionallyrotatesthepartfor theselectedview.See"2DRotate Mode"inthe"EditingtheCADDisplay" chapter. Threedimensionallyrotatesthepartfor theselectedview.See"3DRotate Mode"inthe"EditingtheCADDisplay" chapter.

SaveViewset

CreateViewset

ScaletoFit

DrawSurfaces

RepainttheScreen

Curvemode

Surfacemode

Translatemode

2DRotatemode

3DRotatemode

508 UsingToolbars

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Programmode

Usestheprobeeitherofflineoronline tolearnandedityourpartprogram. See"ProgramMode"inthe"Editingthe CADDisplay"chapter. Accessesshortcutmenucommandsfor PointInfoandDimensionInfotext boxesaswellasotheronscreen elements.See"TextBoxMode"inthe "EditingtheCADDisplay"chapter. Providestheabilitytomovequick fixturesandthepartbyclickingand draggingthemwiththemouse.See "InsertingQuickFixtures"inthe "DefiningHardware"chapter. Displaysawindowallowingyouto displayorhidepartsinsidean assembly(acollectionofpartmodels). See"WorkingwithAssembliesofParts" inthe"EditingtheCADDisplay" chapter. DisplaystheCADCoordinateSystem dialogbox.Thisdialogboxletsyou createaneworselectanexisting coordinatesystem.See"Workingwith CADCoordinateSystems"inthe "EditingtheCADDisplay"chapter. Applieslighting,textures,and transparenciestoCADmodels.See "ApplyingLightingandMaterialstothe CADDisplay"inthe"EditingtheCAD Display"chapter. Showsandhidesdifferentitemsinthe GraphicsDisplaywindow.See "ShowingandHidingGraphics"inthe "EditingtheCADDisplay"chapter. Changeshowitemsaredisplayedin theGraphicsDisplaywindowduring partrotation.See"ChangingRotation andOtherMotionOptions"inthe "EditingtheCADDisplay"chapter.

TextBoxmode

QuickFixturemode

Assembly

CoordinateSystem

CADLighting

GraphicsCategories

RotationOptions

GraphicViewToolbar

GraphicViewToolbar

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingToolbars 509

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

WiththeGraphicViewtoolbaryoucanquicklyandeasilychangehowyourpartisdisplayed insidetheGraphicsDisplaywindow.TheseiconsactthesameasifyouhadusedtheView Setupdialogboxtoaffectyourview.Seethe"SettinguptheScreenView"topicinthe"Editing theCADDisplay"chapterforinformationonsettingupyourviews. IfyouconfiguredtheGraphicsDisplaywindowtoshowmorethanoneview,thesetoolbaricons onlyaffectthebluepaneintheViewsareaoftheViewSetupdialogbox. Forexample,ifyoudividedyourscreenintothreeviewsbyusingthisiconfromtheViewSetup dialogbox...

...clickingiconsfromtheGraphicViewtoolbarwouldonlyaffectthetopleft(orblue)portionof thescreen. Icon Description ShowstheX+viewofthepart ShowstheXviewofthepart ShowstheY+viewofthepart ShowstheYviewofthepart ShowstheZ+viewofthepart ShowstheZviewofthepart Showsanisometricviewofthepart Showsthewireframeviewofthepart Showsthesurface/solidviewofthepart Displaysorhidesthe3DGrid.

GraphicItemsToolbar

GraphicItemstoolbar TheGraphicItemstoolbarletsyoueasilyshoworhideidentificationlabelsforFeatures, DimensionInfoboxes,PointInfoboxes,andFeatureControlFrames(FCFs)intheGraphics Displaywindow. Icon Description HidesordisplaysFeatureIDs. HidesordisplaysPointInfoboxes. HidesordisplaysFeatureControlFrame

510 UsingToolbars

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

IDs. HidesordisplaysDimensionInfoboxes.

SettingsToolbar

TheSettingstoolbarcontainsavarietyofliststhatprovideaneasywayforyoutoswitch betweenthesesettings: Savedviews Predefinedalignments Probetypes Predefinedprobetips Availableworkplanes Planestoprojectto ActiveCMMinterfaces

Tochangeadisplay: 1. Openthedesireddropdownlist. 2. SelectapreviouslydefinedIDorfeature.

ViewsList

TheViewsliststoresviewsthatwerecreatedandsavedwiththeactivepartprogram. See"SettingUptheScreenView"inthe"EditingtheCADDisplay"chapterand"Definingand SavingaViewset"inthe"InsertingReportCommands"chapter. Touseasavedview: 1. 2. 3. 4. PlacethemousepointeroverthedownarrowontheViewslist. Clicktheleftmousebutton. MovethemousepointertotheIDthatisdesired. Clicktheleftmousebutton.

WhilePCDMISisrecallingaview,allotherfunctionsaretemporarilyinaccessible. CommandlineintheEditwindow: RECALL/VIEWSET,view_set_name View_set_name=thenameoftheviewsettorecall.

AlignmentsList

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingToolbars 511

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TheAlignmentsliststorespreviouslysavedalignments.Thesealignmentscanthenbeinserted intotheEditwindowwhenselected. See"SavinganAlignment"fromthe"CreatingandUsingAlignments"chapterforadditional informationonhowtocreateandsavealignments. Tochangethealignment: 1. PlacethemousearrowoverthedownarrowoftheAlignmentslist. 2. Clicktheleftmousebutton.Adropdownlistwillappearallowingyoutoselectanew alignment. YoucancontrolwhichalignmentsaredisplayedinthislistbygoingtotheAlignmentintheEdit windowandchangingthevaluefortheLIST=portionoftheALIGNMENT/STARTcommand(see the"CreatingandUsingAlignments"chapterformoreinformation).

ProbesList

TheProbeslistallowsyoutoselectprobesalreadydefinedinyourprobefile.PCDMISinsertsa LOADPROBEcommandintotheEditwindow.

ProbeTipsList

TheProbeTipsliststorespreviouslydefinedprobetipangles.See"AddAngles"fromthe "DefiningHardware"chapterforinformationonhowtocreatetipangles. Tochangeatipnumber: 1. ScrollthroughtheavailabletipsbyclickingondownarrowoftheProbeTipslist. 2. Selectthedesiredtipusingtheleftmousebutton.

WorkingPlaneList

TheWorkingPlanedropdownlistallowsyoutochangetheplaneinwhichyouareworking.This willnotchangetheviewintheGraphicsDisplaywindow,onlytheworkingplane. Theavailableworkingplanesare:

512 UsingToolbars

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

A=TOP Lightgray ZPLUS B=RIGHT Mediumgray XPLUS C=BACK Verticallines YPLUS D=BOTTOM Horizontallines ZMINUS E=LEFT Darkgray XMINUS F=FRONT Clear YMINUS Forexample,tochangethecurrentworkingplanetothebackofthepartimage: 1. PositionthemousepointeroverthedownarrowoftheWorkingPlanelist. 2. SelectYPLUSfromthedropdownlisttogetthenewworkingplane. MeasuredLinesandWorkingPlanes Whencreatingameasuredline,PCDMISexpectsthehitsforthelinetobetakenatavector perpendiculartothecurrentworkingplane. Forexample,ifyourcurrentworkingplaneisZPLUS(withavector0,0,1),andyouhaveablock likepart,thehitsforthemeasuredlinemustbeonaverticalwallofthatpart,suchasthefrontor side. Ifyouthenwantedtomeasurealinefeatureonthetopsurfaceofthepart,youwouldneedto switchtheworkingplanetoXPLUS,XMINUS,YPLUS,orYMINUS,dependingonthedirectionof theline.

PlaneList

ThePlanelistcontainsalistofanyplanefeaturesyouhavecreatedinyourpartprogram.By defaultPCDMISprojectseachmeasuredlineandcircleintoyourcurrentworkplane,sothe defaultitemonthislistshowsWorkplane.However,youcanselectadifferentplanefromthislist. PCDMISwillthenprojecteachmeasuredlineandcircleintothenewlyselectedplane.

ProbeModeToolbar

TheProbeModetoolbarcontainsiconsthatallowyoutoenterthedifferentmodesusedbythe currentprobeorCMM.Theavailablemodeiconsaredescribedinthistable: Icon ManualMode Description TheManualModeiconallowsyouto placePCDMISinmanualmode. Manualmodeallowsyoutomanually controlyourmachine'smovementsand measurements.Manualmodeisused onamanualCMM,orduringthe
UsingToolbars 513

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

DCCMode

ReadoutsMode

HitsMode

SurfaceAutoTrigger Mode

EdgeAutoTrigger Mode

FindNominalsfrom CADMode

PointOnlyMode

manualalignmentportionofaprogram thatwillberunonanautomaticCMM. Selectingthisiconinsertsa MODE/MANUALcommandintotheEdit windowatthecursor'slocation.Edit windowcommandsfollowingthis commandareexecutedinManual mode. TheDCCModeiconallowsyouto placePCDMISinDCCmode.DCC modeallowssupportedDCCmachines toautomaticallytakeoverthe measurementofyourpartprogram. SelectingthisiconinsertsaMODE/DCC commandintotheEditwindowatthe cursor'slocation.Editwindow commandsfollowingthiscommandare executedinDCCmode. TheReadoutsModeiconbecomes availableonlyifyouuseanLK machine.Itplacestheprobeinto readoutsmode.See"PlacingtheProbe intoReadoutsandHitsMode"in"Using OtherWindows,Editors,andTools"for moreinformation. TheHitsModeiconbecomesavailable onlyifyouuseanLKmachine.Itplaces theprobeintohitsmode.See"Placing theProbeintoReadoutsandHits Mode"in"UsingOtherWindows, Editors,andTools"formore information. TheSurfaceAutoTriggerModeicon insertsanAUTOTRIGGER commandinto thepartprogram.Seethe"AutoTrigger area"topicinthe"SettingYour Preferences"chapter. TheEdgeAutoTriggerModeicon insertsaTRIGGERPLANE commandinto thepartprogram.Seethe"Sample PlaneAutoTriggerarea"topicinthe "SettingYourPreferences"chapter. TheFindNominalsfromCADMode iconselectstheFindNominalscheck boxintheGeneraltaboftheSetup Optionsdialogbox.See"Find Nominals"topicinthe"SettingYour Preferences"chapter. ThePointOnlyModeiconselectsthe PointOnlyModecheckboxinthe GeneraltaboftheSetupOptions dialogbox.See"PointOnlyMode"topic inthe"SettingYourPreferences" chapter.

514 UsingToolbars

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Note:PreviousversionsofPCDMISusedtocontainFlatGuessandRoundGuessmodeicons. SincetheguessalgorithminPCDMIShasimprovedinversion4.0andhigher,theseiconshave beenremovedfromthetoolbarandarenolongerneeded.

EditWindowToolbar

Editwindowtoolbar TheEditWindowtoolbarprovidesquickaccesstomanyfrequentlyaccessedEditwindow functions. ThetoolbarallowsyoutomanipulatingEditwindowcontentinawaythatiseasyandintuitiveto useThetoolbarprovidesreadyaccesstothesecommandsimportantEditwindowcommands.

ExecuteProgram

TheExecuteProgramtoolbariconruns(orexecutes)themeasurementprocessforany currentlymarkedfeature(s).See"ExecutingPartPrograms"inthe"UsingAdvancedFileOptions" chapter.

MarkCurrentFeature

TheMarkCurrentFeaturetoolbariconhighlightsthefeatureunderyourcursorandpreparesit forexecution.See"Mark"inthe"EditingaPartProgram"chapterformoreinformation.

MarkAll

TheMarkAlltoolbariconhighlightsallfeaturesintheEditwindow.PCDMISwillaskyouifyou wanttohighlightfeaturesusedforthealignmentaswell.See"MarkAll"inthe"EditingaPart Program"chapterformoreinformation.

ClearMarked

TheClearMarktoolbariconremovesallhighlightsfromcurrentlymarkedfeatureswithintheEdit window.See"MarkAll"inthe"EditingaPartProgram"chapterformoreinformation.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingToolbars 515

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

SetStartPoint

TheSetStartPointtoolbariconallowsyoutosetthestartpointfortheactivelearnarm.Inthe Editwindow,clickonthecommandthatyouwanttouseforthestartpointandthenclickonthe StartPointtoolbaricon.Thestartpointforthecurrentarmwillbesettothecommandlocatedat theinsertionpoint. Youcanalsosetastartpoint,byrightclickingonacommandandchoosing SetStartPoint. See"UsingMultipleArmMode"chapterformoreinformationonmultiplearm mode. See"SettingStartPoints"inthe"EditingaPartProgram"chapterformoreinformation.

Insert/RemoveBreakpoint

TheInsertBreakpointtoolbariconinsertsabreakpointatthecurrentcursorlocationinthepart program.See"UsingBreakpoints"inthe"EditingaPartProgram"chapterformoreinformation.

RemoveAllBreakpoints

TheRemoveAllBreakpointtoolbariconremovesthebreakpoint(s)foundinthepartprogram. See"RemoveAll"inthe"EditingaPartProgram"chapterformoreinformation.

InsertBookmark

TheInsertBookmarktoolbariconplacesabookmarkatthecurrentcursorlocationinthepart program.See"ToggleBookmark"inthe"EditingaPartProgram"chapterformoreinformation.

NextBookmark

TheNextBookmarktoolbariconjumpsyourcursortothenextlocationthatcontainsabookmark inthepartprogram.See"NextBookmark"inthe"EditingaPartProgram"chapterformore information.

ClearAllBookmarks

TheClearBookmarktoolbariconremovesthebookmark(s)fromthepartprogram.See"Clear AllBookmarks"inthe"EditingaPartProgram"chapterformoreinformation.

516 UsingToolbars

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

SummaryMode

TheSummaryModetoolbariconplacestheEditwindowinsummarymode.Thismodeprovides youwithanexpandableandcollapsiblegraphicalsummaryofallfeaturesandcommandsinyour partprogram.Youcanalsodosomelimitedediting.See"WorkinginSummaryMode"inthe "UsingtheEditWindow"chapter.

CommandMode

TheCommandModetoolbariconplacestheEditwindowincommandmode.Thismodeallows youtoaccessthevariouscommandsthatgiveyouthecapabilitytoeditvariousaspectsofthe partprogram.See"WorkinginCommandMode"inthe"UsingtheEditWindow"chapter.

DMISMode

TheDMISModetoolbaricondisplaystheEditwindowcommandsintheDMISformat.Thismode allowsyoutoworkusingtheDMISsyntaxifdesired.Ifyoudon'tseethisicononyourtoolbar, selecttheUseDmisButtoninEditwindowcheckboxfromtheSetupOptionsdialogbox, Generaltab.See"SetupOptions:Generaltab"inthe"SettingyourPreferences"chapter. ForinformationonhowDIMScommands(PCDMIS'sstandardcommandformat)translateinto DMIScommands,seethedocumenttitled,PCDMISSupportDocumentationforDMISavailable fromftp://wilcoxassoc.com/docs/dmis_support.zip. ForinformationonDMIS,seehttp://www.dmis.com. See"WorkinginDMISMode"inthe"UsingtheEditWindow"chapter.

Cut

TheCuttoolbariconallowsyoutocuttextandobjectsintheEditwindow,placingthecut informationtemporarilyintheClipboard.See"Cut"inthe"EditingaPartProgram"chapterfor moreinformation.

Copy

TheCopytoolbariconallowsyoutocopytextandobjectsintheEditwindowandplacethem temporarilyintheClipboardtobepastedlater.See"Copy"inthe"EditingaPartProgram" chapterformoreinformation.


PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual UsingToolbars 517

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Paste

ThePastetoolbariconwillpasteinformationbeingheldintheClipboardintotheEditwindowat thecursor'scurrentlocation.See"Paste"inthe"EditingaPartProgram"chapterformore information.

PastewithPattern

ThePastewithPatterntoolbariconwillpastepatternedfeatureswiththeiroffsetsintothepart programatyourcursor'scurrentlocation.See"EditingPatternsofFeatures"inthe"EditingaPart Program"chapterformoreinformation.

Undo

TheUndotoolbariconremovesthelastactionyoutookintheEditwindow.See"Undo"inthe "EditingaPartProgram"chapterformoreinformation.

Redo

TheRedotoolbariconwillredoanactionthatwasremovedwhenusingUndo.See"Redo"inthe "EditingaPartProgram"chapterformoreinformation.

Print

ThePrinttoolbariconallowsyoutoimmediatelysendareportofthecurrentcontentsoftheEdit windowtoyourdefaultprinterwithoutdisplayinganydialogboxes.

DimensionToolbar

WiththeDimensiontoolbaruseiconstoquicklyaccesstheoptionsavailablefromthe Dimensionmenu. Icon Description

518 UsingToolbars

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Location TruePosition Distance AngleBetween Concentricity Coaxiality Circularity Cylindricity Straightness Flatness Perpendicularity Parallelism TotalRunout CircularRunout SurfaceProfile LineProfile Angularity Symmetry Keyin

ConstructedFeaturesToolbar

WiththeConstructedFeaturestoolbaruseiconstoquicklyaccessthefeatureconstruction optionsavailablefromtheConstructedsubmenu. Icon Description Point Line Plane Circle Ellipse Slot Curve Cylinder

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingToolbars 519

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Cone Sphere Surface FeatureSet GaussFilter Generic Forinformationontheseitems,seethe"ConstructingNewFeaturesfromExistingFeatures" chapterandthe"CreatingGenericFeatures"chapter. ForinformationoninsertingReadPoints,viewthedocumentationavailableinthe"Creating GenericFeatures"chapter.

AutoFeaturesToolbar

WiththeAutoFeaturestoolbaryoucaneasilyaccessthesameautofeatureavailableonthe varioustabsoftheAutoFeaturesdialogbox,oryoucanhavePCDMISguessthefeaturetype basedinthehitstaken. PCDMISdetermineswhich Whenyouclickonanautofeatureicon,thetabforthatfeature autofeatureitemsare openswiththeAutoFeaturesdialogbox. enabledinthetoolbarandin themenudependingonthe Tocreatetheautofeature,presstheENDkeyortheCreatebutton typeofprobeyouhave ontheAutoFeaturedialogbox.Beforecreatingyourfeature,you enabledandyourportlock canremovehitsfromthehitbufferbypressingtheALT+''key settings.Unlessyouhavea combination. noncontactprobeenabled, theCharacteristicPointand Tip:ClicktheminimizebuttonfortheAutoFeaturedialogbox. theFlushandGapiconswill ThisallowsyoutohidetheAutoFeaturesdialogboxandstill remainunavailablefor createtheselectedsheetmetalfeature. selection.

GuessingAutoFeatures
WiththeGuessicon,youcanspeedupgenerationofthepartprogram.You'llnoticethatno dialogboxappearsinstead,whilethisiconisselected,PCDMISguessesthefeaturetypebased onhitstaken.FortheGuessoperationtowork: YoumusthaveCADsurfacedata. YoumustselecttheSurfaceModeicon. Youmustuseacontactprobe.Featureguessingwithopticalprobesisn'tsupported.

Note:CADwireframedatacanbeveryuseful,speedingupfeaturegeneration.Forexample,if youareonlyusingsurfacedata,PCDMISrequiresthreehitstorecognizeacircle.However,if you'reusingwireframedata,PCDMISonlyrequiresonehit.

520 UsingToolbars

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

GuessingbyFeatureType

ThefollowingtabledefinesthenumberofhitstotakeandwheretotakethemforPCDMISto recognizethegivenfeaturetypewhileusingtheGuessicon: Icon FeatureType NumberofHitsforHitLocationsfor Guessingthis Guessingthis FeatureType FeatureType One Two Wire&Surface: One Two Onehitnearthe edge. Onehitonone surfaceandonehit ontheother surface,whichare not90degrees apart. Guessmodedoesn'tworkforthis featuretype. Three Onceoneachof thethreesurfaces. SurfaceOnly:TwoOnehitonthetop surface.Onehiton theedgesurface approximately90 degreesfromthe top. One Guessmodedoesn'tworkforthis featuretype. Guessmodedoesn'tworkforthis featuretype. Wire&Surface: Onehitonthetop One surfacenearthe edgeofthecircle orarc. SurfaceOnly: Threehitsonthe Three topsurfacenear theedgeofthe circleorarc. Five Fivehitsaround theellipse. Four Fourhitsonthetop surfacenearthe edgeoftheslot. Wire&Surface: Onehitonthetop Two surfacenearthe edgeofarcand onehitnearthe
UsingToolbars 521

VectorPoint SurfacePoint EdgePoint AnglePoint

Characteristic Point CornerPoint

HighPoint Line Plane Circle

Ellipse SquareSlot

RoundSlot

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Notch

Polygon

Cylinder

Cone

oppositearc. Threehitsonthe topsurfacenear edgeofarcand threehitsnearthe oppositearc. Five Twohitsonthe sideoppositethe openingofthe notch.Onehiton oneparallelsideof thenotch.Onehit ontheotherside. Onehitonthe openedge. Wire&Surface: Oncehitonthe One insideoroutsideof spolygon'sside. Wire&Surface: Onehitonthetop Two surfacenearthe edgeofcircleor arcandonehiton thesideofthe cylinder. SurfaceOnly: Threehitsonthe Four topsurfacenear edgeofcircleor arcandonehiton thesideofthe cylinder. WireandSurface Threehitsonthe orSurfaceOnly: topsurfacenear Four edgeofcircleor arcandonehiton thesideofthe cone. SurfaceOnly: Six

IfPCDMISdetects ananglegreater than2degrees fromtheforthhitto thecircle calculatedfromthe firstthreehits,then itguessesacone otherwiseit guessesacylinder. Sphere Five Fivehitsonthe spheresurface. FlushandGap Guessmodedoesn'tworkforthis featuretype. WireOnly: Onehitnearthe Two firstcircleorarc (firstendofcone). Onehitnearthe

522 UsingToolbars

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

secondcircleorarc (otherendofcone). PCDMISchecksto seeifcirclesareon topofeachother.If so,itguessesa coneotherwiseit guessesaRound Slot. Guess Variable.Seethe beginningofthis topicforinformation onthisicon.

MeasuredFeaturesToolbar

WiththeMeasuredFeaturestoolbaryoucanhavePCDMISautomaticallyguessanddisplaythe featuretypeforwhichyouaretakinghitsoryoucanforcePCDMIStoacceptagivenfeature type.

AutomaticallyGuessingaFeatureType

IfyouselecttheGuessModeicon,PCDMISwilldisplayanicondepictingwhatthefeaturetype wouldbeaftereachhitthatyoutake.Thisallowsyoutovisuallypreviewthefeaturetypebefore it'sactuallycreated. Forexample,whenmeasuringacylinder,youwilltaketwosetsoffourhits,attwodifferentlevels alongtheheightofthepin.WhenyoutakefourhitsatonelevelPCDMISdisplaysaCircleicon ontheGraphicsDisplaywindowasthefeaturetype.Aftertakingthesecondlevelofhits,PC DMISdisplaysaCylindericon.

ForcingaGivenFeatureType
ThefeaturetypeiconsonthistoolbarallowyoutoforcePCDMIStoaccepttheselectedfeature type. Icon Description ForcesPCDMIStoacceptthePoint featuretype ForcesPCDMIStoaccepttheLine featuretype ForcesPCDMIStoacceptthePlane featuretype ForcesPCDMIStoaccepttheCircle featuretype
UsingToolbars 523

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ForcesPCDMIStoacceptthe Cylinderfeaturetype ForcesPCDMIStoaccepttheCone featuretype ForcesPCDMIStoacceptthe Spherefeaturetype IfyoutakehitswhileinGuessMode(usingtheGuessModeicon)andPCDMISdisplaysthe wrongfeaturetype,clickthecorrectfeatureicontoforcePCDMIStoacceptthatfeature.The featurewillnotbeaddedtothepartprogramuntilit'screatedbypressingtheENDkeyYoucan removehitsbypressingthe ''orALT+''keys. Forexample,ifyouselecttheCircleicon,PCDMISforcesPCDMIStoacceptthecirclefeature typeaslongasyoutaketheminimumnumberofhits.

FileOperationsToolbar

TheFileOperationstoolbarallowsyoutoquicklyperformsomeofthemostpopularfile operations.Thetoolbarincludesthefollowingicons. Icon Open New Close Quit Save SaveAs Description Opensanexistingpartprogram Createsanewpartprogram Closetheactivepartprogram QuitsPCDMIS Savesthecurrentpartprogram

Savesthecurrentpartprogramunder adifferentname Forcompleteinformationonthesefileoperations,seethe"UsingBasicFileOptions"and"Using AdvancedFileOptions"chapters.

MacroPlay/RecordToolbar

TheMacroPlay/Recordtoolbarallowsyoutorecord,play,andstopmacroswiththeclickofan icon.Youcaneasilyrecordandplaycustomcreatedmacrostoperformroutine,repetitivetasks. InPCDMIS,amacroissimplyarecordingofkeystrokesandmousemovementsthatcanbe playedbacktoautomateatask. Hint:YoumaywanttousetheFixedDialogPositionscheckboxwhenworkingwithMacros. Thischeckboxkeepsalldialogboxesinfixed,setlocations.See"FixedDialogPositions"inthe "SettingyourPreferences"chapter.

524 UsingToolbars

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ToRecordaMacro:
1. SelecttheRecordicon. PCDMISwilldisplayaRecordtoMacroFiledialogbox.

RecordtoMacroFiledialogbox 2. CreateafilenameintheFileNameboxusingthe*.macextension. 3. ClicktheOpenbutton.TheRecordToMacroFiledialogboxwillcloseandtheRecord iconwillbegintoflash.ThisindicatesthatPCDMISisrecordingkeyboardand/ormouse inputs. 4. Createthedesiredmacrobyrecordingkeystrokesand/ormouseinputs. 5. ClicktheStopicon whenfinished.

ToPlayaPreRecordedMacro:
1. SelectthePlayicon .PCDMISwilldisplaythePlayMacroFiledialogbox.

PlayMacroFiledialogbox 2. NavigatetothefolderthatcontainstheMacroFile. 3. Selectthedesiredmacro. 4. ClicktheOpenbutton. ThePlayicon willbegintoflashindicatingthatPCDMISisplayingtherequestedmacro. YouwillseePCDMISusingmouseandkeyboardoptionstoruntheselectedmacro.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingToolbars 525

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

VirtualKeyboardToolbar

TheView|Toolbars|VirtualKeyboardtoolbarallowsyoutouseandcustomizeavirtual keyboardinplaceofarealkeyboard.Itfunctionsasdoesanynormalkeyboardandcanbeused withamouseorwithatouchscreenmonitor.Thisisusefulforcertainshopfloorenvironments whereit'snotconvenienttouseaphysicalkeyboard.

SampleVirtualKeyboardKeypad1Variation TheVirtualKeyboardtoolbariconsaredescribedhere: Icon Description ThisiconshowsandhidestheVirtualKeyboard.The VirtualKeyboardautomaticallyappears,floatingontopof PCDMIS'smaindisplay.PCDMISalsodisplaysa programicononyourWindowsTaskBar:

AswithanyotherWindowsprogram,selectingthis programiconwillgivetheVirtualKeyboardprogram focus. ThisicondisplaystheCustomizeKeyboarddialogbox whichallowsyoutocreateyourcustomizedversionofthe VirtualKeyboard.Seethe"ToCreateaNewVirtual KeyboardVariation"topicformoreinformation. ThedropdownarrowtotherightoftheCustomizeicon displaysadropdownlistsimilartothepopupmenu discussedinthe"AccessingVirtualKeyboardVariations"

526 UsingToolbars

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

topic.

Consultthe"UsingtheVirtualKeyboard"topicinthe"UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools" chapterforadditionalinformation.

TouchScreenModeToolbar

TheTouchScreenModetoolbarallowsyoutodeterminehowtouchesonyourtouchscreen monitorareinterpreted.Thisisusefulforcertainshopfloorenvironmentswhereit'snot convenienttouseamouse. TheLeftClickmodeicon,thedefaultselection,interpretstouchesonthemonitorasaleft buttonmouseclick. Therightclickmodeiconinterpretsthenexttouchonthemonitorasarightbuttonmouse click.Afteryouperformyourscreentouch,themodeautomaticallyswitchesbacktothe LeftClickmode. ForinformationonusingtheTouchScreenModetoolbar,seetheonscreentutorialsthatcame withyourBrownandSharpe"One"shopfloormachine.

WizardsToolbar

TheiconsonthistoolbarareinitiallyboundtoexternalwizardsthatcomeinstalledwithPCDMIS. Thesewizardsservetwopurposes: 1. Toincreasetheusabilityfornewuserswhoarestilllearninghowtousetheapplication. 2. TodemonstratetheflexibilityandcustomizabilityofPCDMIS. Thesewizardsare: Icon Description

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingToolbars 527

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

321AlignmentWizardThiswizardwalksyouthroughtwo basictypesofalignments:a321alignmentandatwocircle alignment. CADImportWizardThiswizardallowsyoutoimportsingle ormultipleCADmodelsintothecurrentpartprogram.Simply clicktheiconandadialogboxappears.Selectoneormore filestoimportandthenclickOpen.

DataFieldEditWizardThiswizardletsyoureplacecertain fieldsintheEditwindowthatyoucannotreplaceusingthe Replacedialogbox.See"EditingDataFields"inthe"Editing aPartProgram"chapter.

DMISOutWizardThiswizardhelpsyouexportaDMIS outputfileofyourinspectionreport. IterativeAlignmentWizardThiswizardwalksyouthrough thestepstocreateaniterativealignmentandexplainsthe rulesbehindtheinputstothealignment

MultipleExecuteWizardThiswizardletsyoueasilyloop yourpartprogramexecutionindefinitely,oraspecified numberoftimes.Youcanalsochoosethespecificmessage todisplaybetweeniterations.

PCD2ExcelWizardThiswizardexportsyourPCDMISpart programdataintoaMicrosoftExcelfileofyourchoice.To configurethewizard'soptions,clickConfigure.Mostofthe configurationoptionsintheresultingdialogboxareself explanatory. IftheUseSTAT/ONandSTAT/OFFcheckboxisselected, youmustincludedimension(orFeatureControlFrame dimension)commandsbetweentheSTATS/ONand STATS/OFFcommandsinyourprogram,otherwisethe wizardwillnotexportdatatotheexcelfile.Ifyouclearthis checkbox,alldimensioncommandsgetexportedintothe excelfile.Seethe"TrackingStatisticalData"chapter. Also,ifyouselecttheIgnoreFCFscheckbox,PCDMISdoes notpassFeatureControlFramecommandstotheexcelfile. Seethe"UsingFeatureControlFrames"chapter. ProbeWizardThiswizarddemonstrateshowtodefinea probeandallowsyoutocalibratethenewlydefinedprobe

528 UsingToolbars

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

DatabaseWizardThiswizardhelpsyoutoeasilycreate andregisterODBCdatabases.Thisonlyappearsifyour portlockwasconfiguredwiththeIntegratedStatsoption.

WizardSourceCodeAvailable
ThesewizardsweredevelopedusingMicrosoftVisualBasicandtheautomationcapabilitiesof PCDMIS.ThesourcecodeandprojectfilesusedtocreatethemareincludedintheWizardssub directoryofthedirectorycontainingyourPCDMISinstallation.Shouldyoudesiretoextendthe capabilityofPCDMISorcreateyourowncustomapplicationthatinterfaceswithPCDMIS,you mayusethesourcecodeprovidedasaguidetoassistyou.Youcanalsoenhancethewizardsto performotherfunctionsnotincludedwiththeoriginalapplication.

PortableToolbar

ThePortabletoolbarcontainsseveraliconsthatallowyoutoaccessvariousfrequentlyused functionsandwindowsthatarehelpfulwhenprogrammingormeasuringwithportabledevices. Forinformationonworkingwithportablemachines,seethe"WorkingwithPortableDevices" appendix. Theavailabletoolbariconsaredescribedinthistable: Icon Description Executesthemeasurementprocessfor anycurrentlymarkedfeature(s).See "Execute"inthe"UsingAdvancedFile Options"chapter. ExecuteFeature Executestheselectedfeature.See "ExecuteFeature"inthe"Using AdvancedFileOptions"chapter. ExecutefromCursor Executesthepartprogramstartingatthe selectedfeatureandthenworkingdown theEditwindow.See"ExecuteFrom Cursor"inthe"UsingAdvancedFile Options"chapter. Mark Markstheselectedfeaturewiththe specifiedmarkcolorandpreparesitfor execution.See"Mark"inthe"Editinga PartProgram"chapter. MarksallfeaturesintheEditwindow. MarkAll See"MarkAll"inthe"EditingaPart Program"chapter. ClearMarked Removesallhighlightsfromcurrently markedfeatureswithintheEditwindow. See"ClearAll"inthe"EditingaPart Program"chapter. Execute
UsingToolbars 529

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

EditDialog

Accessesthedialogboxassociatedwith thecurrentlyselectedcommandifone exists. ImportIGESFiles BeginstheimportoperationfortheIGES CADfiletype(.igsor.iges).See "ImportinganIGESFile"inthe"Using AdvancedFileOptions"chapter. SetAlignment LinkstheCADdatatothemeasured data.See"CADEqualsPart"inthe "CreatingandUsingAlignments" chapter. LeapFrogAlignment PerformsaLeapfrogoperation.See "PerformingaLeapfrogOperation"inthe "CreatingandUsingAlignments" chapter. CurveMode PlacesPCDMISintoCurvemode(for usewithwireframe).See"Switching BetweenCurveandSurfaceModes"in the"EditingtheCADDisplay"chapter. SurfaceMode PlacesPCDMISintoSurfacemode(for usewithsurfacedata).See"Switching BetweenCurveandSurfaceModes"in the"EditingtheCADDisplay"chapter. ScaletoFit Enlargesorshrinkstheviewsofthe graphicintheGraphicsDisplaywindow tofityourscreen.See"Scalingthe Drawing"inthe"EditingtheCAD Display"chapter. TranslateMode PlacesPCDMISintotranslatemode. See"TranslateMode"inthe"Editingthe CADDisplay"chapter. 3DRotateMode Threedimensionallyrotatesthepartfor theselectedview.See"3DRotate Mode"inthe"EditingtheCADDisplay" ProgramMode Usestheprobeeitherinofflineoronline modetolearnandedityourpart program.See"ProgramMode"inthe "EditingtheCADDisplay"chapter. VirtualKeyboard DisplaysaVirtualKeyboard.See"Using theVirtualKeyboard"inthe"UsingOther Windows,Editors,andTools"chapter. ProbeReadouts DisplaysorhidestheProbeReadout window.See"UsingtheProbeReadout Window"inthe"UsingOtherWindows, Editors,andTools"chapter. LargeStatusWindow DisplaysorhidestheStatuswindow. See"UsingtheStatusWindow"inthe "UsingOtherWindows,Editors,and Tools"chapter. ReportWindow DisplaysorhidestheReportwindow. See"AbouttheReportWindow"inthe "ReportingMeasurementResults" chapter.

530 UsingToolbars

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ActiveArmsToolbar

TheActiveArmstoolbarcontainsiconsdepictingmultiplearms.TheArm1Activeicon(toolbar buttonwiththenumberone)correspondstothe'Master'arm.TheArm2Activeiconindicates the'Slave'arm.Onlyonearmcanbeactiveatatime.Theselectediconisconsideredactive. Youcanalsoexecutecommandstiedtoaspecificarmbyclickingthecoloredcheckmarkicon thatcorrespondstotheactivearm. Currently,theActiveArmstoolbarwillonlybeavailableforselectioniftheMultipleArmmode addonpackagehasbeenpurchasedforyoursystem. YoucanalsodisplaythistoolbarbyaccessingtheOperation|EnterMultipleArmModemenu option. Seethe"UsingMultipleArmMode"chapterformoreinformationonsettingupandusingmultiple armCMMs.Also,seethe"AssigningaCommandtoanArm"topicfromthatchapterforadditional informationonusingthistoolbar.

ActiveRotaryTableToolbar

TheActiveRotaryTabletoolbarallowsyoutoselectwhichofthetworotarytablesistheactive table.Selectionforthistoolbarremainsunavailableuntilyousetuptherotarytablesusingthe Edit|Preferences|RotaryTableSetupmenuoption.See"DefiningtheRotaryTable"inthe "SettingYourPreferences"chapterformoreinformation.

WindowLayoutsToolbar

TheWindowLayoutstoolbarallowsyoutostorethelayoutoftheanyopenwindows,editors, andtoolbars,andthenrestoretheminyourcurrentpartprogrambyclickingonanicon. Important:Beawarethatlayoutsdon'tonlystorepositionsoftoolbarsandwindows,butthey alsostoresettingsandoptionsassociatedwiththewindowsandtoolbars.Ifalayouthasacertain settingselected,andyouthensavethatlayout,thesettinggetssavedwiththelayout.Ifyoulater deselectthatwindowsetting,withoutoverwritingthestoredlayout,thenexttimeyouselectthe layout,PCDMISwillrestorethesavedsetting.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingToolbars 531

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TheMinimizeiconminimizestheEditwindowssize TheMaximizeiconmaximizestheEditwindowssize. TheSaveicondisplaystheEnterWindowLayoutName dialogboxthatallowsyoutosavethecurrentpositionand sizeofanyopenwindows,editors,ortoolbarsundera desiredlayoutname:

TheWindowLayoutNameboxallowsyoutospecifythe nameofthelayout.PCDMISalsodisplaysthisnameasa ToolTipfortheiconassociatedwiththelayout.Ifyoudon't includealayoutname,PCDMISusesadefaultnameof "RecallWindowLayout". OnceyouclickOK,thelayoutgetssavedandanicon representingthatlayoutappearsonthetoolbarwithyour layoutconfiguration. Youcannotoverwriteanexistinglayoutwithanewlayout bygivingitthesamename.Ifyouwanttooverwritean existinglayout,firstdeletetheexistinglayout,andthen giveitthesamename. Therestoresavedlayouticonrestoresthestoredlayout. Anywindows,editors,andtoolbarsarerestoredtotheir savedpositions.Hoveringyourmouseovertheiconshows thenameofthestoredlayout. Note:Ifyouhavemultiplepartprogramsopenandhavecreatedastoredlayoutusingoneofthe partprograms,precedenceisgiventothepartprogramonwhichthelayoutwascreated.The partprogramusedtocreatethestoredlayoutthenbecomestheactivepartprogramanddisplays thestoredwindowlayout.

DeletingSavedUserLayouts
Todeleteasaveduserlayout: 1. Rightclickonthetoolbararea,andselectCustomize.TheCustomizedialogbox appears. 2. PressandholdtheSHIFTkey. 3. ClickandholdthemouseovertheiconontheWindowLayoutstoolbar.Theicon becomesmovable. 4. Dragtheiconoutsideofthetoolbar'sboundaries. 5. Releasethemousebutton. Theiconandthelayoutassociatedwiththeiconaredeleted.

532 UsingToolbars

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingToolbars 533

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

DefiningHardware
DefiningHardware:Introduction
Thischapterdescribesalloftheoptionsassociatedwithdefiningthehardwareusedtomeasure parts.Theseincludethecreationandcalibrationofyourprobewithitsprobetips,thecreationand useofavirtualmachine,thecreation,positioning,anduseofflexiblefixtures,includinganew quickfixturesfunctionality,andthecreationofanimatedprobechangers. Thesearediscussedinthefollowingtopics: DefiningProbes DefiningHardProbes DefiningStarProbes DefiningMachines InsertingQuickFixtures DefiningProbeChangers WorkingwithRotaryTables

DefiningProbes
ThefirststepinCMMpartprogrammingistodefinewhichprobeswillbeusedduringthe inspectionprocess.PCDMISsupportsawidevarietyofprobetypesandcalibrationtools.Italso offersauniquemethodforcalibratingaRenishawPH9/PH10wrist.Toaccesstheprobeoptions, selectInsert|HardwareDefinition|Probefromthemenubar. Anewpartprogrammusthaveaprobefilecreatedand/orloadedbeforethemeasurement processcanbegin.Littlecanbeaccomplishedinapartprogramuntilyouloadtheprobe. Hint:ClickthisiconfromtheWizardstoolbar toaccessthePCDMIS'sProbeWizard.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

DefiningHardware 535

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ProbeUtilitiesdialogbox TheProbeUtilitiesdialogboxdisplaysprobedatafortheactivetip.Itallowsyoutocreatenew probefiles,accesspreviouslydefinedfiles,andeditaprobefileasneeded.Thisoptionalso allowsyoutocalibrateprobes.

ProbeFileName

TheProbeFiledropdownlistdisplaysthecurrentprobefile.Probefilesarestoredinthe directorywherePCDMISwasinstalled.Thedefaultdirectoryisthefilenameanddirectoryin whichyouinstalledPCDMIS(usually"PCDMISW"onthelocal"C:\"drive).WhenPCDMIS searchesforaprobefiletoload,itwillsearchinthisdirectoryunlessyou'vechangedthesearch path.See"SpecifyingExternalDirectoriestoSearch"inthe"SettingyourPreferences"chapter formoreinformation. TocreateanewProbeFile: 1. HighlightthecurrentnameintheProbeFiledropdownlist. 2. Typeinanewname(currentlyan8characterlimit). Ifaprobefilehasalreadybeensavedunderthekeyedinname,PCDMISwillloadthepreviously savedfileintothecurrentpartprogram.

UserDefinedCalibrationOrdercheckbox
TheUserDefinedCalibrationOrdercheckboxallowsyoutodeterminetheorderPCDMIS takestomeasureselectedtips. Ifyouselectthischeckbox,PCDMISwillmeasurethetipsintheorderdefinedbytheuserwhen markingthetipsforcalibrationintheActiveTipList.(See"ActiveTipList")Ifnotipsarechosen, PCDMISwillusetheI,J,K vectorsdefinedintheSearchI,J,KboxesintheEditToolorAdd Tooldialogboxestodeterminethemostefficientordertomeasureallthetips.

536 DefiningHardware

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Ifyoudonotselectthischeckbox,PCDMISwillmeasurethetipsinanorderthatit determinestobethemostefficient. Whenthishappens,PCDMISignorestheorderthat wasgiventoselectedtipsintheActiveTipList.PCDMISwillalsousethecalibration toolvectortodeterminethemostefficientordertomeasure.

UseWristMapIfAvailablecheckbox
TheUseWristMapIfAvailablecheckboxdetermineswhetherornotPCDMISusesawrist map(alsoknownasan"errormap")filewhencalibratingABangletipsonprobeconfigurations thatuseanindexablewrist.Ifyouselectthischeckbox,PCDMISwillsearchforthewristmap file(afilenamedabcomp.dat)onyourcomputer,andiffound,willcompensateforthewrist's errordatawhencalibratingtheABangletips. Forinformationoncreatingthewristmapfile,seethe"CalculateErrorMap"topicfromthe"Using aWristDevice"appendix.

ActiveTipList

ActiveTipList PCDMISallowsyoutostoredatadescribingalargenumberofprobetips.Therecanbeasmany as32767probetipsstored.Thisnumbermaybelimitedbytheamountofdiskspaceavailableon yoursystem. Tochangethetipdata: 1. HighlightthedesiredactivetipintheActiveTipList. 2. PresstheEditbutton. AnEditdialogboxwillappear,allowingyoutochangethedisplayedvalues. Note:noncalibratedtipshaveanasteriskbeforetheirTipID#intheActiveTipList. PCDMISdescribesaprobeaccordingtothefollowingcriteria:

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

DefiningHardware 537

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TipListDescription

TipID#
ThisisthepermanentnumberthatPCDMISassignstoatipwhenitisloadedintomemory.

TipRotation
Thisfielddisplaystherotationofthetipinthevertical(A)andhorizontal(B)direction

TipType
Thisfielddisplaystheprobetype(BALL,DISK,TAPER,SHANK,OPTICAL).

XYZNominal
Thesevaluesdescribethelocationofthetip.ThislocationisinrelationtothebottomoftheZrail.

IJKDirection
Thesevaluesdescribethedirectionoftheprobetip.Thisvectorgoesfromthecenteroftheprobe tiptowardstheZrail.

DiameterandThickness
ThesevaluesdescribethediameterofthetipandthethicknessofSHANKandDISKprobes.PC DMISdefinesthesevalueswhentheprobeisloaded.(Tochangeafieldsee"EditTool".)

CalibrationDateandTime
Theseboxesindicatethemostrecentdateandtimetheprobetipwascalibrated.Ifanewtipis createdwithoutbeingcalibrated,PCDMISwilldisplayNEWforthedateandtimevalues.Ifan oldprobetipisloadedandthedateandtimeinformationisunavailable,PCDMISwilldisplay UNKNOWNforthevalues.Onlyprobetipsthatareactuallycalibratedhavetheirtimeanddate valuesupdated. Onlyonetipmaybeeditedatatime.

538 DefiningHardware

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

NoncalibratedTip
Anasterisk(*)identifiesanynoncalibratedtips. TheEditwindowcommandlineforasampletipwouldread: TIP/T1A0B0,SHANKIJK=0,0,1,ANGLE=0

NoncalibratedTipsMarkedwithAsterisks(*)

CalibrationOrder
Thecalibrationorderissetbytheorderinwhichthetipsarechoseninthelistbox. Tosetthecalibrationorder: SelecttheUserDefinedoptionintheMeasureProbedialogbox(Seethe"Measure"topic). 1. HolddowntheCTRLkey. 2. Withyourleftmousebutton,selectthetipsfromtheActiveTipListforcalibration.A numberrepresentingtheindexofthetipmeasurementorderappearsnexttoeachTipID asitisselected. Ifnotipsarechosen,theuserwillbeaskediftheywanttomeasurealltips.

ProbeDescription

ProbeDescriptionarea TheProbeDescriptionarea(consistingofthedropdownlistandsubsequentbox)allowsyouto definetheprobe,extensionsandtip(s)thatwillbeusedinthepartprogram.TheProbe Descriptiondropdownlistdisplaystheavailableprobeoptionsinalphabeticalorder.


PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual DefiningHardware 539

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Todefineaprobe,extension(s),andtip(s): 1. 2. 3. 4. Selectthestatement"NoProbedefined:" OpentheProbeDescriptiondropdownlist. Selectthedesiredprobehead. PresstheENTERkeyoncetheprobeheadisselected. Probeoptionsrelatingtothe currentlyhighlightedstatementwillthenbeavailableforselection.

Note:Generally,theprobeheadorientationestablishestheorientationofthefirstcomponentina probefile,usuallytheprobehead.However,ifyouselectamulticonnectionprobeadapter(such asafivewayadapter)asthefirstcomponent,severalpossibleconnectionsbecomeavailable.In thesecases,theprobeheadorientationestablishestheorientationofthemulticonnectionprobe adapter.Theprobehead,then,maynotaligncorrectlywiththemachineaxes,andyoumayneed toadjusttherotationangleabouttheconnectionusingtheProbeDescriptionlistintheProbe Utilitiesdialogbox.Todothis,seetheEditProbeComponentstopicbelow.

Selectingaprobehead TheselectedprobeheadwillthenbedisplayedinthelowerProbeDescriptionboxandinthe graphicaldisplayboxtotheright. 1. HighlighttheEmptyConnection#1intheProbeDescriptionbox. 2. Clickonthedropdownlist. 3. Selectthenextitemtobeattachedtotheprobehead(eitheranextensionorprobetip). Tipsaredisplayedfirstbysizeandthenbythreadsize.

Selectingatip

540 DefiningHardware

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Forexample,ifa5wayextensionisadded,PCDMISoffers5emptyconnections.Youmayfill anyoralloftheneededconnectionswiththeappropriateprobetip(s).PCDMISwillalways measurethelowesttip(lowestintheZaxis)intheextensionfirst.

5wayextension IfalineintheProbeDescriptionboxisselectedthatalreadycontainsanitem,PCDMISwill displayamessageaskingifyouwanttoinsertbefore,orreplacetheselecteditem. "ClickYestoinsertbeforeorNotoreplace." IfyourespondbyclickingYes,anadditionallinecanbecreatedbyinsertingthenewtip beforetheoriginalitem. IfyourespondbyclickingNo,PCDMISwilldeletetheoriginalitemandreplaceitwith thehighlightedelement.

Note:TheselecteditemisinsertedatthehighlightedlineintheProbeDescriptionbox.PC DMISwilldisplayamessageallowingyoutoinserttheselecteditembeforethemarkedlineor replacethehighlighteditemwhenappropriate.

EditProbeComponents
DoubleclickingonalinewithintheProbeDescription areawillaccesstheEditProbe Componentdialogbox.

EditProbeComponentdialogbox Thisoptionallowsyoutoremovespecificportionsoftheprobegraphicsfromdisplay.Incases wherethepartgeometryisparticularlydense,selectingthisoptionallowsyoutotemporarily removesomeofthegraphicsprovidingabetterviewofthefeatures. Toremoveprobegraphics:


PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual DefiningHardware 541

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

1. Doubleclickonthespecificfeaturedescription(intheProbeDescriptionbox)that needstoberemovedfromview.PCDMISwilldisplaytheEditProbeComponentdialog box. 2. CleartheDrawthiscomponentcheckbox. 3. ClicktheOKbutton.TheEditProbeComponentdialogboxcloses.NoticethatPC DMISredrawstheprobegraphicswithouttheindicatedcomponentandallother componentsaboveitintheProbeUtilitiesdialogbox. Thisoptionalsoallowsyoutochangetherotaryangleoftheprobe.Tochangethedefaultsetting of0,simplytypeinthedesiredangle(anyanglefrom+180 to180)intheDefaultrotation angleaboutconnectionbox.

PreviewingyourProbeConfiguration

Graphicalviewofaprobeandsliders ThegraphicalviewoftheProbeUtilitiesdialogboxprovidesyouwiththeabilitytopreview graphically: Thecomponentscomprisingyourprobe. ThevariousABanglepositionsintheActiveTipListbox. Acomplete3Drotationoftheprobe.

ViewingComponents:Onceselectedasapartoftheprobe,acomponentoftheprobes configurationautomaticallyappearsinthegraphicalviewoftheProbeUtilitiesdialogbox. ViewingABAnglePositions:SelectanABanglepositionfromtheActiveTipListandthe graphicalviewoftheprobedynamicallychangestomatchwhatthecurrentprobeconfiguration wouldlooklikeusingtheselectedABangle. RotatingtheProbein3D:Movethesliderslocatedbelowandtotheleftoftheprobesgraphical viewtorotatetheviewoftheprobe.Thesliderbelowrotatestheprobehorizontally.Thesliderto theleftrotatestheprobevertically.

542 DefiningHardware

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

HorizontalSliderRotatesdisplay horizontally.

VerticalSliderRotatesdisplay vertically

Measure

TheMeasurecommandbuttoncalibratesthehighlightedprobe(s).ThisprocesstellsPCDMIS thelocationanddiameteroftheprobetip. Tobeginthemeasurementprocess: 1. FromtheProbeUtilitiesdialogbox,makesuretheActiveTipListissatisfactory. 2. Highlighttheappropriateprobetip(s). 3. ClicktheMeasurebutton. Note:Iftheuserhasaprobechangerandthecurrentlyactiveprobefileisnottheprobe configurationintheprobehead,thenPCDMISwillautomaticallydropoffthecurrentlyloaded probeconfigurationandpickuptheneededone. TheMeasureProbedialogboxwillappear.Ifyou'reusingaFaroArm,theProbeCalibration Utilitiesdialogboxappearsinsteadseethetopic"FaroProbeCalibrationUtilities".

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

DefiningHardware 543

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MeasureProbedialogbox

Note:PCDMISdoesnottrackthecalibrationofprobes.Itisthereforenecessarythatyouverify thataprobeisrecalibratedifitischangedinanyway. Atleastonetipmustbe loadedbeforequalifyinga tip. Asingleprobetipmaybequalified.Ifmorethanonetipis highlightedintheActiveTipList,PCDMISwilldisplayamessage askingifitisOKtocalibrateallofthehighlightedtips. Iftheresponseis Yes,PCDMISwillthendisplayamessage askingifthequalifyingtoolhasbeenmoved.AYes response tothissecondquestionwilldisplaythe ExecutionMode Optiondialogbox,andrequiresyoutotake1hitinManual mode beforecontinuingthecalibrationprocess.Trytotake thishitnormaltothetip.ANo responsetothissecond questionwillalsodisplaythe ExecutionModeOption dialogbox.ThesystemwillbeinDCC(DirectComputer Control)control,however,andPCDMISwillnotrequireyou totakeanyhitsbeforebeginningthecalibrationprocess. IftheresponseisNo,PCDMIStakesyoubacktothe Probedialogboxandnothinghappens.

544 DefiningHardware

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TheMeasureProbedialogboxdisplaysthedefaultsettings.Thedefaultvaluefornumberofhits is5. Tousethedefaults,clicktheMeasurebutton.Otherwise,enterthedesiredvalue(s)before continuing. Whentakingamanualhit,PCDMISwillexpectyoutomeasureaqualificationtool.These measurementresultsareusedtodeterminethetipoffsets.TheresultsaredisplayedintheX,Y, ZboxoftheActiveTipListintheProbeUtilitiesdialogbox. Ifasphericalqualificationtoolisbeingused,PCDMISwillalsoupdatetheprobetipdiameteras partofthequalification. Inordertobeginthecalibratingprocess,atoolmustbedefined.Thetypeofmeasurement(s)to bemadeonthetooldependsonthetypeoftool(SPHERE,CUBE),andthetypeoftip(BALL, DISK,TAPER,SHANK,OPTICAL).

NumberofHits

PCDMISwillusethenumberofindicatedhitstomeasuretheprobe,basedontheCalibrate Mode(seebelow).ThedefaultnumberofHitsis5. Tochangethisamount: 1. SelectthevalueintheNumberofHitsbox. 2. Typeanewvalue.

PreHit/Retract

ThePrehit/Retractboxallowsyoutospecifytheprehitandthehitretractfortheprobe calibration. TochangethePreHit/Retractdistance: 1. Selectthenumberwithyourmouse. 2. Typeanewdistancevalue.

MoveSpeed

TheMoveSpeedboxallowsyoutospecifythemovespeedforthePH9calibration. TochangetheMoveSpeedvalue: 1. SelecttheMoveSpeedbox. 2. Typeanewmovespeedvalue.Thisvalueshouldbeapercentbetween1%and100%, with1.0beingtheslowestand100.0thefastest.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

DefiningHardware 545

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

See"MoveSpeed%"inthe"SettingyourPreferences"chapterforadditionalwaystoaffectthe speedinthemeasurementprocess. Note:ThenumberintheMoveSpeedboxcancontainnomorethanfourdecimalplaces.Ifa numberwithmorethanfourdecimalplacesisentered,PCDMISroundsthenumberoffatthe fourthdecimalplace.

TouchSpeed

TheTouchSpeedboxallowsyoutospecifythetouchspeedforthePH9calibration. Tochangethetouchspeed: 1. Selecttheexistingvalue. 2. Enteranewvalue.Thisvalueshouldbeapercentbetween1%and100%,with1being theslowestand100thefastest. See"TouchSpeed%"inthe"SettingyourPreferences"chapterforadditionalinformation. Note:ThenumberintheTouchSpeedboxcancontainnomorethanfourdecimalplaces.Ifa numberwithmorethanfourdecimalplacesisentered,PCDMISroundsthenumberoffatthe fourthdecimalplace.

SystemMode

Thesystemmodesusedforcalibratingprobesincludethefollowing: Manual moderequiresyoutotakeallhitsmanuallyeveniftheCMMhasDCCcapability. DCCmodeisusedbyDCCCMMsandwillautomaticallytakeallhitsunlessthe qualificationtoolhasbeenmoved.Inthatcase,youmusttakethefirsthitmanually. Man+DCC modeisahybridbetweenManualandDCCmodes.Thismodehelpswith calibratingoddprobeconfigurationsthataren'teasytomodel.InmostcasesManDCC behaveslikeDCCmodewiththefollowingdifferences: Youmustalwaystakethefirsthitmanuallyforeachtip,evenifthe qualificationtoolhasn'tmoved.Allremaininghitsforthattipwillthenbetaken automaticallyinDCCmode.
q

Noneofthepremeasurementclearancemovesforeachtipareperformed sinceallfirsthitsareperformedmanually.
q

OncePCDMIScompletesthespheremeasurementforagiventip,depending onthetypeofwristyouhave,itmayormaynotperformthefinalretractmoves.
q

IfyouhaveamoveablewristlikeaPH9,PH10,PHS,etc.,PCDMISperformsthefinalretract movesasitwouldinregularDCCmode.Itproceedswithoutpromptingyouthereby ensuringthattheprobehassufficientclearancetomovetothenexttip'sABangles,and toperformthenextABmove.

546 DefiningHardware

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Ifyoudonothaveamoveablewrist,PCDMISdoesn'tperformthefinalretractmoves. Instead,PCDMISproceedsdirectlytothepromptforthemanualhitforthenexttip. DCC+DCCmodefunctionsliketheMAN+DCCmodeexceptthatinsteadoftakingthe firsthitmanuallyforeachtip,PCDMISinsteadtakesDCCsamplinghitstolocatethe sphere.Youmayfindthismodeusefulifyouwanttofullyautomatethecalibration process.However,beawarethattheMAN+DCCmodemaygivemoreaccurateresults.

Tochangethesystemmode,choosetheManual,theDCC,theMan+DCC,ortheDCC+DCC optionbuttons.

TypeofOperationarea

TheTypeofOperationareaallowsyoutoselecttheoperationthatwillbeperformedwhenyou clicktheMeasurebuttonontheMeasureProbedialogbox.Theavailableoperationsinclude: CalibrateTips: Thisoptionisusedtodoastandardcalibrationofallmarkedtips. CalibratetheUnit: TheCalibratetheUnitoptioncreateserrormapsforbothinfinitewristdevicesandindexable wristdevices.Forindexablewristdevicesseetheinformationbelowinthistopic.For informationoninfinitewristdevices,seeCalibratetheUnitforInfiniteWristDevicesinthe UsingaWristDeviceappendix. CalibratetheUnit(ForIndexableWristDevices) ThisoptionisusedtoerrormapaProbeHeadoraWristdevice.Thissectiondescribeserror mappinganindexingprobeheadsuchasthePH9,PH10,ortheZeissRDS.Aspecial probeconfiguration,consistingofthreestyliofthesamediameter,isplacedintheprobe headandasmanytiporientations(allpossibleorientationsisbest)thattheuserdesires aremeasuredwiththisprobeconfiguration.Generally,youshouldarrangethestyliina Tconfigurationatleast20mmtalland40mmwide(likeastarprobewithstyliat20mm fromthecenter).Thefartherthestyliareseparated,themoreaccuratetheerrormapwill be. Onceyouhavemeasuredallpossibleorientationsusingthespecialconfiguration,youwillbe abletochangeprobeconfigurationswithouthavingtodoacalibrationoftheentiretiplist. Eachoftheorientationsmeasuredintheoriginalmapwillnowautomaticallybecalibrated inthenewconfiguration.PCDMISprovidescompletesupportforcalibratingandusingall RenishawandDEAprobeheads,aswellastheZeissRDShead. Note:Thisoption,asdiscussedhere,refersexclusivelytoprobeheadsthathaverepeatable indexpositionssuchasthePH10.Thiscalibrationrequiresa3stylusstarprobe.Afterthis
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual DefiningHardware 547

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

calibrationisperformed,onlytheindexedpositionsthatwerequalifiedduringtheunit calibrationcanbeusedinfutureprobefileswithoutperformingafullcalibration.The CalibratetheUnitoptionisnotavailablewhenusingananalogproberegardlessofwhether theprobeheadisofatypethatiseitherindexableorinfinite.Thisisbecauseananalog probemusthaveeachindividualpositioncalibratedtoobtaintherequireddeflection coefficients. Seethe"UsingaWristDevice"chapter forinformationoncalibratingwrists. 'CalibratetheUnit'ProcessforIndexableWristDevices: 1. Createtheunitprobeconfigurationsimilartothatshowninthegraphicbelow:

Theexactsizesofthecomponentsmayvarybuttheshapemustremainthesame.Itis alsobesttochoosethelightestcomponentsaspossible.Gravitycancausesomeerrorin themeasurements. 2. FromtheProbeUtilitiesdialogbox,clicktheAddAnglesbuttonandaddasmany differentorientationsasyoudesire.Acompletemappingoftheprobeheadwouldmean measuringeachpossibleorientation. 3. SelecttheMeasurebuttonfromtheProbeUtilitiesdialogbox.TheMeasureProbe dialogboxappears. 4. Enterthedefaultvaluestouse. 5. SelectCalibratetheUnitforthetypeofoperationtoperform. 6. FromwithintheMeasureProbedialogbox,clickontheMeasurebutton.PCDMISwill thenmeasureeachofthethreetipsateachoftheselectedorientations.PCDMISwill usethisdatatomaptheOffset,Pitch,andYawofeachorientation. 7. Next,placeaprobeconfigurationthatyouwishtouseformeasurementontheprobe head. 8. Chooseatleastfourofthemappedorientations. 9. SelecttheUseUnitCalibDatacheckboxfromtheProbeUtilitiescheckbox. 10. Nowcalibratethisprobeinthechosenorientations.Todothis: ClickMeasureintheProbeUtilitiesdialogbox.TheMeasureProbedialogbox appears. SelecttheCalibrateTipsoptionforthetypeofoperationtoperform. ClickontheMeasurebuttonintheMeasureProbedialogbox.PCDMISwill thencalculatetheactuallengthoffsetforthisprobeconfigurationandPCDMIS willautomaticallycreatetipsforeachofthemappedorientations.

548 DefiningHardware

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

QualificationCheck: Thisremeasuresthetiporientationsspecifiedbytheuserwithintheselectedprobefileand doesacomparisontothepreviouslymeasureddataforthesetiporientations.Theuser canusethiscomparisontodetermineifacompletecalibrationisneeded.Thisisan auditonlyprocedurewithintheselectedprobefileanddoesnotupdatethetipoffsets. HometheUnit: Thiswillperformapartialwristmappingprocedureonselectedpreviouslyqualifiedtipangles todeterminetheproperorientationofA=0andB=0withinthewristerrormap.PC DMISincludesHometheUnit forselectionifthePCDMISSettingsEditorentry RenishawWristisequalto1.Forinformationonmodifyingregistryentries,pleaseview the"ModifyingRegistryEntries"appendix. Note:TheportlockmusthavethewristoptionturnedoninorderforPCDMIStoenablethewrist support. CalibrateNC100Artifact: ThisoptionisusedtocalibrateanNC100qualificationtool.Toenablethisoptionyoumust havepreviouslypurchasedtheNC100option.Havingthisoptionavailableonthe portlockwillenabletheNC100tabintheSetupOptionsdialog. TheNC100mustthenbecorrectlysetupbeforetheCalibrateNC100Artifactoptionwillbe availableforselection.

CalibrationModearea

TheCalibrationModeareacontainsoptionsallowingyoutoswitchbetweentheDefault ModeandtheUserDefinedoptions,asdescribedbelow. DefaultMode IftheDefaultModeoptionisselected,PCDMISwilltakethenumberofindicatedhitsaroundthe sphericaltoolateither10or15degreesfromtheequator,plusoneadditionalhitnormaltothe probe,90degreesfromtheequator.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

DefiningHardware 549

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

SampleSphericalTool Takingthehitsateither10or15degreespreventstheshankoftheprobefromhittingthe calibrationspherewhentheshankdiameterisalmostaslargeastheprobe'stipdiameter. Ifyourtip'sdiameterislessthan1mm,PCDMIStakesthehitsaroundthesphereat15 degrees. Ifyourtip'sdiameterisgreaterthan1mm,PCDMIStakesthehitsaroundthesphereat10 degrees. UserDefinedMode IftheUserDefinedoptionisselected,PCDMISwillallowyoutoaccessthelevelsandangles boxes.PCDMISwillmeasuretheprobebasedonthenumberoflevelsthatareenteredandthe startingandendinganglesthatareselected.Thelocationofthelevelisbasedontheanglesthat areset.0 islocatedattheequatoroftheprobe.90 isnormaltotheprobe.Onlyonehitwillbe takenwhenmeasuringnormaltotheprobe. NumberofLevels

TheNumberofLevelsboxdeterminesthenumberoflevelsthatwillbeusedinthecalibration process.PCDMISwilldividethenumberofhitsbythenumberoflevelstodeterminehowmany hitswillbetakenateachlevel. StartandEndAngles

TheStartAngleandEndAngleboxescontrolthelocationofthefirstandlastlevel.Any additionallevelswillbelocatedequallybetweenthesetwolevels. Astartingangleof0 islocatedattheequatorofthesphere(relativetotheprobe). Anendingangleof90 islocatedatthetopofthesphere,normaltotheprobe.

550 DefiningHardware

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

StartandEndAngles

WristCalibrationarea

Thisareaallowsyoutospecifywristpositionsinapatternofuptoninespheremeasurementsfor indexablewristcalibration. TheWristCalibrationareabecomesavailableforselectionwhenyoumeetthefollowing conditions: SetupaninfinitelyindexablewristdevicesuchasthePHSortheCW43LintheProbeUtilities dialogbox.See"DefiningProbes"inthe"DefiningHardware"chapter. Settheappropriatewristentries(DEAWristorRENISHAWWrist)fromtheOptions sectioninthePCDMISSettingsEditorto1.Seethe"ModifyingRegistryEntries" appendix. SelecttheCalibratetheUnitoptionfromtheTypeofOperationareaintheMeasure Probedialogbox.

Forindepthinformationonusingandcalibratingwristdevices,seethe"UsingaWristDevice" appendix. DefiningABWristPositionsToCalibrate Inordertocalibratethewrist,youneedtocalibratewristpositionsinapatternofatleastthreeA anglepositionsbyatleastthreeBanglepositionsforatotalofninespheremeasurements.The WristCalibrationareagivesyoutheabilitytospecifytheanglesforcalibratingboththeAand theBaxes.TheStart,EndandIncrementboxesallowsyoutospecifythestartingandending anglesformappingthewristandtheincrementformappinginboththeAandBaxes. Forexample,supposeyoutypeinthesevaluesintotheappropriateboxes:

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

DefiningHardware 551

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

AAngle Start: End: Increment: BAngle Start: End: Increment:

90 90 90 180 180 180

PCDMISwouldcalibratethepositionsof A90B180,A90B0,A90B180,A0B180,A0B0, A0B180,A90B180,A90B0,andA90B180. Note:YoushouldchoosetheactualStartandEndanglesaccordingtothetypeofwristdevice youareusing,themechanicalavailability,andthemanufacturerorvendorrecommendations.In somecasesPCDMISwillautomaticallydeterminetheStartandEndanglesbasedoncontroller specifications(althoughinthesecases,PCDMISwillonlymap359.9degreesoftheBaxisroll). Whileaminimumofninepositionsisrequiredtocalibrateawristdevice,youmaychoosetouse morethanthisminimum.PCDMISwillgiveyouaslightlymoreaccuratecalibrationifyouuse morethantheminimumnumberofpositions. Whenyoucalibrateawrist,youcanalsocreateawristerrormaptocorrectforangularerrorsin thewristbetweencalibratedpositions.See"CalculateErrorMap"inthe"UsingaWristDevice" chapterforinformation. Ifyou'reusinganSP600probe,besuretoreadthecautionarysubtopicincludedinthe"Wrist Calibration"topicofthe"UsingaWristDevice"appendix. UsingWristErrorMaps Thefollowingcontrolsallowyoutocreate,replace,view,anddeletewristerrormaps. Control CreateNewMap Description Thisoptionbuttoncreatesanewwrist errormapwhenyouclickthe Measurebutton. Thisoptionbuttonreplacesthe closestexistingwristerrormapwitha newlycreatedwristerrormapwhen youclicktheMeasurebutton. ThisbuttondisplaystheView/ DeleteWristMapsdialogbox.This dialogboxlistsanywristerrormaps onyoursystemforeachmap,italso showstheprobe'sextensionlength, liststhenumberofABanglesandthe angleincrementvalue. Simplyselectawristerrormapand clickDeletetoremoveawristerror mapfromyoursystem.

ReplaceClosestMap

View/DeleteMaps

552 DefiningHardware

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ShankQualification

SelecttheShankQualcheckboxifyouwillbeusingashanktiptotakeedgehits.Thischeck boxallowsyoutoqualifytheshankoftheprobe.Withthisoptionselected,youcanmanipulate theNumShankHitsboxandtheShankOffsetbox. Important:Beawarethatifyouwillbeusingashankprobe,youonlyneedtodoashank calibrationifyou'llbetakingedgehits. NumShankHits

TheNumShankHitsboxdefinesthenumberofhitsthatwillbeusedtomeasuretheshank. Tochangethisnumber: 1. PlacethecursorintheNumShankHitsbox. 2. Typeanewvalue. ShankOffset

TheShankOffsetboxdeterminesthedistance(orlength)upfromthetipoftheshankthatPC DMISwilltakethenextsetofqualificationhits.Tochangethisoffsetvalue: 1. Selecttheexistingvalue. 2. Typeanewvalue.

ParameterSetsarea

TheParameterSetsareaallowsyoutocreatesave,andusesavedsetsofprobecalibration parameters.Thisinformationissavedaspartoftheprobefileandincludesthesettingsfor numberofpoint,prehit/retract,movespeed,touchspeed,systemmode,qualificationmode settings,andthequalificationtool'snameandlocation. Tocreateyourownnamedparametersets: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. AllowPCDMIStoautomaticallyupdateyourprobefiletoatleasttheversion3.5format. AccesstheProbeUtilitiesdialogbox. ClicktheMeasurebutton.TheMeasureProbedialogboxappears. ModifyanyparametersontheMeasureProbedialogbox. FromtheParameterSetsarea,typeanameforthenewparametersetintheNamebox andclickSave.PCDMISdisplaysamessagetellingyouthatyournewparameterset
DefiningHardware 553

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

hasbeencreated.Youcaneasilydeleteasavedparametersetbyselectingitand clickingDelete. 6. ClicktheMeasurebuttonifyouwanttocalibrateyourprobetipsrightaway.Ifyouwant tocalibratethemlater,clickCancel. 7. OntheProbeUtilitiesdialogbox,clickOK.ClickingCancelonthisdialogboxwilldelete anychangesmadetotheprobefilethisincludesthecreationofanyparametersets. OnceyoucreateanewparametersetyoucanuseitintheAUTOCALIBRATE/PROBE command (see"AutoCalibrateProbe"). Note:Parametersetsarespecifictotheprobethatwasinusewhentheywerecreated.

ToolMountedonRotaryTable
SelecttheToolMountedonRotaryTablecheckboxiftheprobequalificationtoolismountedon therotarytable.Thischeckboxisdisabledifthemachinedoesnothavearotarytable.

Measure

TheMeasurebuttonperformstheoperationselectedintheTypeofOperationarea.

AddTool

TheAddToolbuttondisplaystheAddTooldialogbox.

554 DefiningHardware

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

AddTooldialogbox Thisdialogboxallowsyoutostoredatadescribingthequalificationtools.Eachtoolisassigneda sequentialIDnumber.AlongwiththeID#,PCDMISdisplaysthetooltype(SPHERE, POLYHEDRALorRING),thetooloffset,shankvector,overridevector,thediameter(for SPHERE)orlength(forPOLYHEDRAL). Onceyoudefineanewtool,itwillappearintheListofAvailableToolsdropdownlistlocatedin theMeasureProbedialogbox. Atleastoneprobetipmust ToaddatooltotheListofAvailableToolsdropdownlist,clickon bedefinedintheActiveTip theAddToolbutton.TheAddTooldialogboxappears,allowing Listbeforemeasuringatool. youtoeditanynecessaryinformation: TheAddTooldialogbox,givesyouaccesstothesameinformationusedwhenyoucreateanew tool.YoucanchangetheToolID,theToolType,theOffsetvalues,theShankVectorIJK,andthe Diameter/Lengthofthetool.

ToolID
Thisboxallowsyoutonamethetoolyouaredefining.

ToolType
Thisdropdownwindowallowsyoutodefinethetypeofcalibrationtoolyouwilluse.Youcan selectonofthesetypes:
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual DefiningHardware 555

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

SPHERE SLAVESPHERE POLYHEDRAL SLAVEPOLYHEDRAL RING SLAVERING

CalibratingwithRingTools RingToolsareoftenusedwithVisionprobingsystems.However,youcanalsousethemto calibratecontactprobes.SeethePCDMISVisiondocumentationforinformationonhowtodo this.

OffsetX,Y,Z
TheseX,Y,andZvaluesgivethelocationoftheCalibrationToolinmachinecoordinates Torecalibrateatip,simplyhighlightthedesiredtipintheActiveTiplist.Proceedtocalibratethe probetipusingtheMeasurebutton.(See"PreviewingyourProbeConfiguration".)

ShankVectorI,J,K
Thisboxdisplaysthevectoroftheshaftonthetool.PCDMISusesthesevaluesduring calibrationtoavoidtheshaft.

ShaftonSphericaltool

SearchOverrideI,J,K
TheseboxesallowyoutospecifyavectorusedbyPCDMIStodeterminethemostefficientorder tomeasureallthetipswhenyouselecttheUserDefinedCalibrationOrdercheckboxinthe ProbeUtilitiesdialogbox.See"CalibrationOrder".

Diameter/Length
Thisboxdisplaysthediameter/lengthofaspheretool. Tochangethisvalue: 1. SelecttheDiameter/Lengthbox. 2. Enterinanewvalue.

556 DefiningHardware

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

EditTool

TheEditToolcommandbuttonallowsyoutoeditatoolthatalreadyexistsinthe"Listof AvailableTools".SimplyclicktheEditToolbuttonandthisEditTooldialogboxwillappear:

EditTooldialogbox TheEditTooldialogboxhasthesameoptionsastheAddTooldialogbox.

DeleteTool

TheDeleteToolcommandbuttonallowsyoutoremoveatoolthatisnolongerneededinthe ListofAvailableToolsdropdownlist. Toremoveatool: 1. SelectthedesiredToolID. 2. ClicktheDeleteToolbutton.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

DefiningHardware 557

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ListofAvailableTools

TheListofAvailableToolsdropdownlistdisplaystheavailabletools,allowingyoutospecify whichtoolwillbeusedincalibratingtheprobe.PCDMISonlyusessphericaltools.

SphericalToolandBallTip
PCDMISpromptsyoutoenterthenumberofhitstobetakenonthetoolandthenasksyouto takethehits.

SphericalToolandDiskTip
IfMode=MANUAL,PCDMISwillpromptyoutotakesixhitsonthecalibrationtool.Takethree hitsabovetheequatorofthesphereandthreebelowtheequator. IfMode=DCC,thelocationofthecalibrationtoolmustpreviouslybeknown.

SphericalToolandTaperTip
PCDMISwillpromptyoutotakesixhitsonthespherewiththetaperedpartoftheprobe.The sphericaltoolis,ineffect,beingusedastheprobetomeasurethetapertipasacone.Thefirst threehitsneedtoformaplanethatisapproximatelyperpendiculartotheconecenterline.Ifa smalltaperprobeisbeingused,itisbesttouseasmallsphericaltooltoperformthisoperation.

SphericalToolandBarrel/ShankTip
PCDMISwillpromptyoutotakefourhitsinaplanarcrosssectionofthespheretoformacircle. Thehitsmustbemadewiththesamepartoftheprobethatwillbeusedforinspection.Whenthe fourhitshavebeentaken,PCDMISwillpromptyoutotouchthesphereoncewiththebottom surfaceoftheprobe.

SphericalToolandOpticalTip
Thisoptionisonlyavailableiftheopticaltipisdefinedasahardprobe.

Edit

AnyactivetipcanbeupdatedbysimplyhighlightingthedesiredtipintheActiveTipListand selectingtheEditbutton.TheEditProbeDatadialogboxwillappear.

558 DefiningHardware

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

EditProbeDatadialogbox Youcanmakechangestothefollowinginformation:

TIPID
ThisboxcontainsthepermanentnumberthatPCDMISassignstoatipwhenitisloadedinto memory.Youcannoteditthisvalue.Itisshownfordisplaypurposesonlyhowever,youcan defineamoredescriptiveidentificationbyusingtheNicknamebox.

DMISLabel
ThisboxdisplaystheDMISlabel.WhenimportingDMISfiles,PCDMISusesthisvaluetoidentify anySNSDEFstatementinsidetheimportedDMISfile.

X,Y,andZCenter
Thesevaluesdescribethelocationofthetip.ThislocationisinrelationtothebottomoftheZrail.

Shank/OpticalVectorI,J,K
Thesevaluesdescribethedirectionoftheprobetipshankifyou'reusingaprobetip.Thisvector goesfromthecenteroftheprobetiptowardstheZrail.Ifyou'reusinganopticalprobe,these valuesdescribethedirectionoftheopticaldevice.

Diameteroftheballtip
Thisboxcontainsdiameterofthetip.

Thicknessoftheballtip
Thisboxcontainsthethicknessofthetip.Itdefinestheuseableandgraphicalheight/thicknessof therubytip.PCDMISappliesthisvalueduringthediskprobecalibrationproceduretomovethe probenorthorsouthoftheequator.Inthecaseofadiskprobe,forexample,youmightneedto adjustthisvaluedowntomaketheprobequalifybetter.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

DefiningHardware 559

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

PrbRdv
ThePrbRdvboxontheEditProbeDatadialogboxallowsyoutosetaradialdeviationforthe calibratedsizeofthetip. Whenyouexecutetheprobecalibration,PCDMISdoesoneoftwothings: 1. IfyouhaveamachineconfigurationwherePrbRdvapplies,thecalibrationprocess automaticallysetsthetipsizetothetheoreticalvalue,calculates,andthensavesa PrbRdvvalue. 2. IfyourhaveamachinewherePrbRdvdoesnotapply,thecalibrationautomaticallysets thePrbRdvvaluetozero,calculatesandthensavesatipsizeslightlydifferentfromthe theoreticalvalue. TheEditProbeDatadialogboxmerelyallowsyoutoeditthetipsizeand/orPrbRdvifneededfor somereasonaftercalibration.Ifyourecalibrate,theresultingvalueswillcomefromthe calibration,notfromwhatevermayhavebeenmanuallyenteredintothisdialogboxpriorto calibrating. Note:Thisboxisonlyavailableforselectionifyouuseananalogprobeoncertainmachines.

CalibrationDateandTime
Thesevaluesindicatethemostrecentdateandtimetheprobetipwascalibrated.Thesevalues areavailableforviewingintheEditProbeDatadialogbox.Ifanewtipiscreatedwithoutbeing calibrated,PCDMISwilldisplayNEWforthedateandtimevalues.Ifanoldprobetipisloaded andthedateandtimeinformationisunavailable,PCDMISwilldisplayUNKNOWNforthevalues. Onlyprobetipsthatareactuallycalibratedhavetheirtimeanddatavaluesupdated.

Nickname
TheNicknameboxontheEditProbeDatadialogboxletsyougiveamoredescriptivenameto theselectedprobeTipID.Forexample,ifyounamedyourprobetip,"MyTip"intheNickname box,PCDMISwouldthenuse"MyTip"intheuserinterfaceforthatprobetipindialogboxes, messages,onreports,etc.Ifyoudon'tdefineanID,PCDMISwillusethedefaultgeneratedTip IDinstead.

TodeleteatipfromtheActiveTiplist:
TodeleteatipfromtheActiveTipList: 1. Selecttheitemtoberemoved. 2. SelecttheDeletebutton. Ifthereisonlyonetiphighlighted,PCDMISwillautomaticallydeleteit.Multipleitemscanbe deletediftheyareallhighlightedwhentheDeletebuttonisselected. PCDMISalsoallowsspecificPH9anglestoberemovedfromtheActiveTipList.

560 DefiningHardware

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Todeleteawristangle:
Todeleteawristangle: 1. Selecttheangletoberemoved. 2. SelecttheDeletebutton. Ifatiporprobeheadisdeleted,allrelatedPH9angleswillalsobedeletedfromthefile. Note:ThisoptionwilldeletethetipfromtheActiveTipListandremoveitfromthefileoftips knowntothesystem

AddAngles

WhentheAddAnglesbuttonisselectedtheAddAnglesdialogboxappears.

AddNewAnglesdialogbox Usingtheboxesandbuttonsavailable,PCDMISallowsyoutocreatealistofABpositions.Once apositionhasbeencalibrateditcanberecalledatanytimeduringanypartprogram.Therefore, bycalibratingfrequentlyusedpositions,theycanberecalledatwillwhilelearningormanually inspectingapartprogram. ABpositionsarestoredinpartcoordinates.Therefore,duringExecuteMode,PCDMISwill automaticallyfindtheclosestcalibratedABpositionappropriatetotheorientationoftheparton themachine.TheAutomaticallyAdjustProbeHeadWristcheckbox(See"Automatically AdjustProbeHeadWrist"inthe"SettingyourPreferences"chapter)mustbeselectedinorderfor theABpositionstobeavailable.TheEditwindowmustalsoreflectaprobechangecommand priortothefeature. Sincethemechanicalpositioningoftheprobewillchangeovertime,itisrecommendedthatthe probebeperiodicallyrecalibrated.WhentheAddAnglesbuttonisselected,PCDMISdisplays theAddNewAnglesdialogbox. ThisdialogboxallowsyoutospecifysingularABorientations.PCDMISwillalsocreatealistof equallyspacedABorientationsusingtheparametersspecifiedintheboxesoftheEqually SpacedAnglesDataarea.
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual DefiningHardware 561

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TheAddAnglesdialogboxprovidesthefollowingparameters.

NewAnglesListbox

TheNewAnglesListboxcontainsalistingofABanglesfromeithertheIndividualAngleData areaorEquallySpacedAnglesDataarea.

IndividualAngleData

TheIndividualAngleDataareaallowsyoutoaddABpositionsoneatatimeintotheNew AnglesListbox. Toaddindividualangles: 1. Placeyourcursorinthebox(es)youwanttochange 2. Enterinanewangle. 3. ClicktheAddAnglesbutton. TheindividualangleyouspecifiedwillappearintheNewAnglesListbox.

562 DefiningHardware

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

EquallySpacedAnglesData

TheAddAnglesbuttonassociatedwiththeseboxesautomaticallymarksalloftherequested equallyspacedABpositionsintheNewAnglesListbox.Thedefaultpositionfortheprobe configurationisautomaticallyincludedinthefinallist.APH9pointingstraightdown(A=0, B=any)isautomaticallydefinedandthereforedoesn'tneedtoberedefinedinthisdialogbox. PCDMISeasilyallowsyoutomeasurealltheABpositionsfrom0to90intheAaxiswith15 incrementsandfrom180to180intheBaxiswith45increments.

AaxisanglerangeFrontviewofCMMwithB=90.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

DefiningHardware 563

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

BaxisanglerangetopviewwithA=90 ToaddanglestotheNewAnglesListbox: 1. Enterthenecessaryinformationineachavailableanglebox(StartingA,EndingA, IncrementinA,StartingB,EndingB,IncrementinB). 2. ClicktheAddAnglesbuttonandPCDMISwillautomaticallydisplaytherequestedAB orientations,intheNewAnglesListbox.

ABorientationsdisplayedintheNewAnglesListbox

WorkingwiththeAngleGrid
PCDMISallowsyoutoviewandselectanglesforthedefinedwristbyusingananglegridfrom theAddNewAnglesdialogbox.TheanglegriddisplaysallavailableAanglepositionsdownthe sideofthedialogboxandtheBanglepositionsalongthetopofthedialogbox.

564 DefiningHardware

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

AportionoftheAddNewAnglesdialogboxshowingpreviouslyselectedABangles(darkgrey) andABanglesinsertedbeforetheAddNewAnglesdialogboxisclosed(red) Toaddnewanglesbyclickingonthegrid, 1. FindtherowoftheAangleyouwanttoadd.ThenfindthecolumnwiththeappropriateB angle. 2. ClicktheboxinthegridwherethedesiredAandBanglesintersect.Theselectedbox turnsred,andtheselectedABanglepositionsareinsertedintotheNewAngleslistbox. ToclearaselectedABangleposition,simplyclickoneoftheredboxesagain,PCDMISremoves theABanglepositionsassociatedwiththatboxfromtheNewAngleslistbox. UnderstandingtheGridColors Therearefourpossiblegridboxcolorsthatyoumayseewhenworkingwiththeanglegrid:dark grey,red,yellow,andgreen.Probeheadsthathaveenoughgridblockstoshowthecomplete rangeoftheprobehead'sangularadjustment,willonlyshowanglegridboxesindarkgreyorred. However,ifyou'reusingawristdevice(suchasaPHSorCW43L)youmayhaveangleswith incrementsthatexceedthenumberofangleincrementsusedintheanglegrid.Inthesecases PCDMIScolorstheclosestmatchinganglegridlocationingreenoryellow. Color Description

DarkGrey AdarkgreygridboxindicatesthattheABangleposition alreadyexistsintheActiveTiplistoftheProbe Utilitiesdialogbox.TheABangleperfectlymatchesthe gridbox'sangle. Red Aredgridboxindicatesthatyouhavespecifiedanew ABanglepositionusingtheAddAnglesdialogbox,but theanglehasn'tyetbeenaddedtotheActiveTiplist. TheABangleperfectlymatchesthegridbox'sangle. Yellow AyellowgridboxindicatesthattheABangleposition alreadyexistsintheActiveTiplistoftheProbe UtilitiesdialogboxandthatPCDMISchosetheclosest matchinggridlocationfortheABangle. Green Agreengridboxindicatesthatyouhavespecifieda newABanglepositionusingtheAddAnglesdialog box,buttheanglehasn'tyetbeenaddedtotheActive Tiplist.PCDMISchoosestheclosestmatchinggrid locationfortheABangle.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

DefiningHardware 565

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

NotesontheAddAngleoption
Automaticprobecalibrationcanonlybedoneusingasphericalprobeandspherical qualificationtool. TheX,Y,andZcoordinateofthecenterofthetoolthatisbeingusedmustreflectthe currentpositionofthetoolonthetable.Ifthisisnotthecase,theresponseshouldbe YEStothequestion"Hasprobepositionmoved?" WhenmeasuringABpositionsunderoperatorcontrol,PCDMISwillautomaticallyrotate theprobeheadtothenextmanualpositionwhenthecurrentpositioniscompleted. PleasebesuretheprobeclearsthetoolbeforepressingtheENDkey. Ifthecalibrationtoolpositionhaschangedornewanglesneedtobeappendedtothelist oftips,marktheneededanglesintheNewAnglesListbox.Thedefaultpositionofthe probetip(normaltotheshaftofthetool)mustalsobemarked.PCDMISwillfirstexecute theanglethatisnormaltothetool,andthenexecutetheothermarkedangles. IftheautomaticABcalibrationisstoppedbeforeithasfinishedmeasuringallthe appendedpositions,PCDMISwillaskyouifyouwanttokeepthepartialcalibrateddata beforequitting.

Results

TheResultsbuttondisplaystheresultsofthemostrecentprobecalibrationintheCalibration Resultsdialogbox.

Resultsdialogbox Inadditiontodisplayingtheprobe'sdiameterandthickness,thedialogboxalsoprovidesthe actualangleandroundnessofthesphere.Thesemeasuredresultsletyouverifytheaccuracyof thecalibration. Inversion3.7andabove,PCDMISshowsresultsuptosixdecimalplaces.

MarkUsed

566 DefiningHardware

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ThisoptionwillautomaticallysearchthecurrentpartprogramforABangles.PCDMISthenadds anyABanglesthatarefoundtothecurrentprobeconfiguration. Note: BeawarethatifyouselecttheAutomaticallyAdjustProbeHeadWristoption(foundin theGeneraltabintheSetupdialogbox)andclicktheMarkUsedbutton,PCDMISmaynot selectalltheprobetipsforcalibration(seethe"AutomaticallyAdjustProbeHeadWrist"topicin the"SettingyourPreferences"chapter).

GlobalUsed

TheGlobalUsedbuttonsearchesfortipsusedinotherpartprogramsbythecurrentlyactive probefile.ItthenaddsthemtotheActiveTipListandmarksthemforcalibration. Bydefault,thisbuttonsearchesthroughanypartprogramsubdirectories.Youcancontrol whetherornotthissearchessubdirectoriesofthedefinedsearchdirectorybyusingthe ProbeGlobalUsedIsRecursiveregistryentrydescribedinthe"ModifyingRegistryEntries" chapter.

FileFormat

TheFileFormatbuttonsavestheexistingprobefileintoaformatcompatiblewithprevious versionsofPCDMIS.WhenyouclicktheFileFormat button,theConvertProbeFileFormat dialogboxappears.

ConvertProbeFileFormatdialogbox Thedialogboxcontainsthesetwoitems: CurrentVersionboxThisliststhecurrentversionofPCDMIS. VersionforSavinglistThiscontainstheprobefileformattypesyoucansavethe probefileas.

UseUnitCalibrationData
TheUseUnitCalibDatacheckboxonlyappearsonthedialogboxifyouhavealready performedaunitcalibration.Ifthischeckboxisnotselected,PCDMISwillusethestandard calibration.Selectingthischeckboxallowsyoutousetheunitcalibrationdata.See"Calibratethe Unit"inthe"Measure"topicforadditionalinformation.
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual DefiningHardware 567

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

AvailableTipTypes

PCDMISprovidesthefollowingtypesoftipsintheProbeDescriptiondropdownlist: Ifatipneedstobeaddedtothelistofavailabletips,pleasecontactyourPCDMISsoftware supportrepresentative.Onlyauthorizedpersonnelareallowedtocreateadditionaltipfiles.

Ball
Thisdefinesasphericalprobe.Theuserisabletoeditthenominaldiameterandthicknessofthe probeusingtheEditbutton.Thedirectionoftheprobemustalsobedefined.

Disk
Thisdefinesadiskprobe.Theuserisabletoeditthenominaldiameterandthicknessofthe probeusingtheEditbutton.Thedirectionoftheprobemustalsobedefined.

Optical
Thisoptionisonlyavailableiftheopticaltipisdefinedasahardprobe. Thisoptiondefinesanopticalprobe.Theuserisabletoeditthenominaldiameteroftheprobe usingtheEditbutton.Thedirectionoftheprobemustalsobedefined.

Shank
Thisdefinesashankorbarrelprobe.Theuserisabletoeditthenominaldiameterandthickness oftheprobeusingtheEditbutton.Thedirectionoftheprobemustalsobedefined.

CollisionTolerance
TheCDmoduleinAvail/NT CollisionDetection(CD)inPCDMISisdesignedtodetectcollisions willnotworkunlessthereis betweentheprobeandCADsurfaces. anOPENGL(shaded)view onthescreen. CollisiontolerancesarespecifiedintheCollisionTolerances dialogbox.Thisoptioncanbeaccessedbyclickingonthe TolerancesbuttonintheProbeUtilitiesdialogbox.

568 DefiningHardware

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

CollisionTolerancesdialogbox SeeDetectingCollisionsinthe"EditingtheCADDisplay"chapterforadditionaldocumentation regardingtheCollisionDetectionoption.

SpecifyingCollisionTolerances
CollisiontolerancesarespecifiedintheCollisionTolerancedialogbox.Thisdialogboxcanbe activatedbyclickingtheTolerancesbuttonintheProbeUtilitiesdialogbox. Intheeditboxyoucanspecifyapositiveornegativevalueforeachprobecomponentselected fromthedropdownlist.Thiseffectivelychangesthesizeofthatcomponent. Apositivenumberwillincreasethesizeofthecomponentsoacollisionwillbedetectedif thatcomponentcomeswithinthespecifieddistanceofthepart. Anegativedistancedecreasesthesizeofthatportionoftheprobe,havingtheopposite effectofapositivedistance.

YoucanalsochoosetoignoreaprobecomponentbyselectingtheIgnorecheckbox.PCDMIS willthenignorethatprobecomponentwhencheckingforcollisions.Thismaybeusefulwithatip, wherecollisionsareexpectedtooccurwhentakinghits. OnceyoustartcollisiondetectionbyselectingtheCollisionDetectionmenuoption,PCDMIS's internalCADengineperformsallthecalculationsrequiredtodetectacollision.Anycollisions detectedaredisplayedintheCollisionDetectiondialogbox.Thisdialogboxreportstheresults intheProbeDisplaywindowofthedialogbox,andsavesthemforlateruseindrawingtheEdit Pathlines. SeeDetectingCollisionsinthe"EditingtheCADDisplay"chapterforadditionaldocumentation regardingtheCollisionDetectionoption.

ProbeSetup
TheSetupbuttonontheProbeUtilitiesdialogboxdisplaystheProbeSetupdialogbox.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

DefiningHardware 569

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ProbeSetupdialogbox Thisdialogboxallowsyoutofurthercustomizeyourprobesettings.Usingtheoptionsinthis dialogboxyoucanchangeorselectthefollowinginformation: Giveawarningwhenusingtipsthathavenotbeencalibratedinxdays. Wherexisthenumberofdays. Giveawarningwhenusingtipsthatwerenotallcalibratedwithinxhoursofeachother. Wherexisthenumberofhours. Clearancedistancealongthequalificationtoolshankvector:x Wherexistheclearancedistance Clearancedistancealongthequalificationtoolshankvectorforcontinuouswristprobes: x Wherexistheclearancedistance ClearancedistanceinZwhenqualificationtoolshankisperpendiculartotheZaxis:x Wherexistheclearancedistance Giveawarningduringqualificationwhenthestandarddeviationofthesphereismore than:x Wherexisthestandarddeviation Giveawarningwhenthediametererrorfortheprobetipismorethan:x. Wherexisthediametererror Don'taskoperatorforcurrentlyloadedprobefilewhenusingaprobechanger. Currentlyloadedprobefile:file Wherefileistheappropriateprobefile Appendthecalibrationresultstotheresultsfile.

ProbeFileUsedwithProbeChangertoForceUnloadOnly:file Wherefileisadummyprobefile Thisisusedtoforceanunloadofthecurrentprobewithoutloadinganewprobefromtheprobe changer.Seethe"ToDropoffaProbewithoutPickingupaNewProbe"topicinthe"SettingYour Preferences"chapter. ClickOKtoacceptyourchanges.

570 DefiningHardware

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

PrintList
ThePrintListbuttondisplaysthePrintdialogbox.IfyouthenclicktheOKbutton,PCDMIS printsalistofcalibratedandnoncalibratedtipanglesinatable.Thesearethesametipangles listedintheActiveTipList.Eachrowofthetablecontainsatipanglewhilethecolumnsdisplay theXYZ,IJK,diameter,andthicknessvaluesforeachtipangle.Italsodisplaysthedateandtime ofthecalibratedtipangles. Ifatipanglehasn'tbeencalibratedorifthere'saDiameter,Date,orTimeerror,thelistwillshow thetipinredtext.

ExamplePrintout
Belowyoucanseeanexampleprintoutoftheactivetiplist:

ExamplePrintoutofActiveTipsforaPH9probe

FaroProbeCalibrationUtilities
IfyouareusingaFaroarm,theProbeCalibrationUtilitiesdialogboxappearsinplaceofthe standardMeasuredialogboxthatappearswhenyouclickMeasurefromtheProbeUtilities dialogbox.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

DefiningHardware 571

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ProbeCalibrationUtilitiesdialogbox

AvailableDialogBoxOptions
ThefollowingtablelistseachoptionavailableintheProbeCalibrationUtilitiesdialogboxand whateachdoes. Option CalibrationMethod Description TheProbeCalibrationUtilities dialogboxallowsfortwomethodsof calibration:
1"SphereCalibration Technique.MostFaroarms haveacalibrationspherebuilt intothemwhichisusuallya 1.000ballsoPCDMIS defaultstothismethodof calibration. HoleCalibration Technique.Ifpreferred,you canuseaholeto calibratethe Faroprobeinsteadofthe sphere.

ErrorZoneofLastCalibration

TheErrorZoneoflastcalibration boxdisplaysthevolumetricnumber thatFarocalculatesafterthe calibrationroutineiscomplete.The FaroControllergeneratesthisnumber anditisonlyusedfordisplay purposes.Youcannoteditit. NumberofHitsTaken TheNumberofHitsTakenbox displaysthenumberofhitstakenper calibrationzone. Popuplargewindowshowinghits SelectingthePopuplargewindow showinghitscheckboxshowsthe XYZandnumberofhitsinrealtimeas thecalibrationprocesstakesplace. Beepaftercompletingasegment SelectingtheBeepaftercompleting ofcalibration asegmentofcalibrationcheckbox

572 DefiningHardware

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

causesthecomputersystemtoemita beepingsoundwhenaspecific calculationzoneorsegmentis complete.Thestatusareaonthe dialogbox(locatedjustbelowthe NumberofHitsTakenbox)thentells theuserwhatcalibrationzoneto measurenextandhowmanyhitsto take.

FaroCalibrationProcedure
TocorrectlycalibrateyourprobeusingaFaroarm,followthisprocedure: 1. 2. 3. 4. AccesstheProbeCalibrationUtilitiesdialogbox. SelecttheappropriatecalibrationmethodfromtheCalibrationMethodarea. Selectanyusefulcheckboxes. ClicktheMeasurebutton.Thecalibrationprocesswillbegin.PCDMISwilldisplaysome visualaidstoassistyouincalibratingtheFaroarm. 5. Followanyonscreeninstructions(includinginstructionsthatmayappearinthedialog box'sstatusarea). 6. Ifyoureusingtheoneinchspheremethod,takethefollowinghitsonthesphericaltool, usingthisdiagramandanyonscreenaidstoassistyou:

SideviewofsphericaltoolandFaromagnetandclamp

Takefivehitsaroundtheequator. Flipthelastaxis,andtakeanotherfivehitsaroundtheequator. Takefivehitsnormaltothesphereeasttowest. Flipthelastaxis,andtakefourhitsnormaltothespherefromwesttoeast. Takefourhitsnormaltothespherefromnorthtosouth. Flipthelastaxis,andtakefourhitsnormaltothespherefromsouthtonorth.

7. Ifyoureusingtheholecalibrationtechnique,PCDMISwillaskyoutotakethesehits: Taketenhitsintheholewhilerotatingthehandle.
DefiningHardware 573

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Taketenhitsintheholefromtheoppositedirection.

8. ClickOKwhenyoufinishcalibrating.

SP600CalibrationInformation
BelowaresomechangestothecalibrationprocedureforSP600probesmadetoversions3.25 andhigher.

NotesonSP600LowerMatrix:
ThelowermatrixprocedurenowusestheAP_COMPmethodologydevelopedbyBrownand SharpeEngineering.ThreenewsettingswerecreatedandmadeavailableinthePCDMIS SettingsEditor,undertheANALOG_PROBING heading.Theseare: SP6MTXMaxForce=0.54 SP6MTXUpperForce=0.3 SP6MTXLowerForce=0.18 ThevaluesgiventothesesettingsarethosecurrentlyrecommendedbyBrownandSharpe Engineeringduringthelowermatrixprocedure.Theseentrieswillbecreated(iftheydon'talready exist)thefirsttimeyourunthelowermatrixprocedure. Youshouldn'tchangethesevaluesunlessBrownandSharpeEngineeringissuesnew recommendationsinthefuture.Thelowermatrixprocedurewillusethesesettingsregardlessof anyOPTIONPROBEcommandthatmayormaynotbepresentinthecurrentpartprogram. ForinformationonthePCDMISSettingsEditor,seethe"ModifyingRegistryEntries"appendix. ForadditionalinformationontheLowerMatrixprocedure,followthelinktotheSP600LowLevel MatrixdocumentlocatedontheWilcoxAssociates,Inc.websitehere: http://www.wilcoxassoc.com/Downloads/dl_instructionalfiles.htm

NotesonSP600UpperLevelMatrix(RegularCalibration):
ThefollowingnotesapplytotheUpperLevelMatrixcalibrationwhenusingananalogtypeprobe. UsingOPTIONPROBECommandswithAnalogProbeTypes AnOPTIONPROBEcommandgetsinsertedintothepartprogramanytimevaluesarechangedon theOpt.ProbetaboftheParameterSettingsdialogbox.ForinformationontheParameter Settingsdialogbox,seethe"ParameterSettings:OptionalProbetab"topicinthe"SettingYour Preferences"chapter. IfPCDMISencountersanOPTIONPROBEcommandinthecurrentpartprogrambeforethe probe'sLOADPROBEcommand,thecalibrationwillusethevaluesfromtheOPTIONPROBE command.IftheOPTIONPROBEcommanddoesn'tprecedetheLOADPROBEcommand,PCDMIS usesthedefaultvaluesstoredinthePCDMISSettingsEditor.

574 DefiningHardware

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Forversions3.25youshouldincludesuchanOPTIONPROBEcommandinordertomakesure thequalificationprocedureusesthecorrectvalues.Eveniftheparameterstobeusedare thenormaldefaultsfortheparticularmachine,youshouldstillspecifythesevaluesinan OPTIONPROBEcommandbecauseV3.25doesnotautomaticallyusethemachine specificdefaultswithoutanappropriateOPTIONPROBEcommand. Forversion3.5+youdon'tneedtoincludethedefaultmachinevaluesinanOPTIONPROBE commandbecausePCDMISautomaticallyusesthemachinespecificdefaultsifitcan't findanOPTIONPROBEcommand.Thedefaultparametersarestoredinthe ANALOG_PROBINGsectioninthePCDMISSettingsEditor. Important:UsingtheOPTIONPROBEcommandmaylimittheportabilityofthepartprogram. SincePCDMISusesmachinespecificdataintheOPTIONPROBEcommandyoumayget inaccuraciesifyourunthepartprogramonacomputerusingadifferentCMM.Unlessyoureally needtousetheOPTIONPROBEcommand(i.e.measuringareallysoftpart),yougenerally shouldn'tuseanOPTIONPROBE commandinthisversion.PCDMIScanautomaticallygrabthe defaultmachinevaluesautomaticallyfromthePCDMISSettingsEditor. ChangingtheDefaultCalibrationAlgorithms Thedefault3DcalibrationalgorithmfortheSP600hasbeenchangedtoTrax.Youcanfindthe registrysettingthatcontrolsthisundertheOPTIONheadingwiththeUseTraxWithSP600entry. PCDMIS,bydefault,nowsetsthisentryequalto1whichmeansthatTraxwillbethedefault algorithm.Ofcourseyouarefreetotryoutwhichalgorithmworksbestforyourparticularsituation. IfusingTraxcalibrationfortheSP600,theeffectivetipsizegeneratedfromthecalibrationwill differfromthedesignvalue. IfusingTraxcalibrationfornonSP600analogprobesontheWetzlarmachines,thedesign valueofthetipsizeisusedbecausetipsizedeviationishandleddifferently. IfusingnonTraxcalibration,thedesignvalueofthetipsizeisused. ForinformationonthePCDMISSettingsEditor,seethe"ModifyingRegistryEntries" documentation. TakingExtraSamplingHits TheUseAnalogSamplingentrynolongerexistsintheSettingsEditor.Instead,youcanusethe followingregistryitemstoworkwithyoursamplinghits. UseAnalogSamplingLatitudeStart UseAnalogSamplingNumHits UseAnalogSamplingNumLevels

ForalltheseentriesthedefaultisNone(1).Forinformationontheseentries,seethe"Modifying RegistryEntries"documentation.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

DefiningHardware 575

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

DiskStylusCalibrationNotesandProcedure
Whencalibratingadiskstylusonananalogprobewiththequalificationsphere,youneedto specifyfivehitsintheNumberofHitsboxandtwolevelsintheNumberofLevelsboxinthe MeasureProbedialogbox. Makesurewhenyoudefineyourprobe,thatyoumodeladiskstylusandnotaballstylus.Once youclicktheMeasurebuttonontheMeasureProbedialogbox,PCDMISwillautomatically recognizethatyouhaveananalogprobewithadiskstylusandwillgothroughthisprocedure: Ifyoumovedthesphere,orifyouchosetheMan+DCCmode,PCDMISwillpromptyou totakeonemanualhitontheverytopofthequalificationsphere(thenorthpole)withthe centerofthebottomofthediskstylus.Ifyourprobeconfigurationhasanadditionalball stylusattachedtothebottomofthediskstylus,besuretotakethehitwiththatballstylus. Ifyoudidn'tmovethesphere,andyouchosenottouseMan+DCCmode,PCDMISwill takethehitonthetopofthequalificationtoolinDCCmode.

PCDMISthenfinishesbydoingthefollowinginDCCmode: Ittakesfourhitsontopofthesphereusingacircularpatternonthebottomofthedisk stylusandcalculatesaplanefromit. Ittakessixhitsontwolevelstogetacloselocationofthecenterpointofthesphere. Itusesthecenterpointalongwiththevectorfromtheplanetocorrectlypositionthefive hitpatternitdoesnext. Ittakesfivehits,fourinacircularpatternaroundtheequatorofthesphere,andthefifth hitonthetop,orthepole,ofthesphere.

PCDMISalsoprovidestworegistryentriesintheSettingsEditorintheProbeCalsectionthat youcanusetoaffectthelocationofthehitsonthebottomofthediskstylusduringcalibration. Theseare: ProbeQualAnalogDiskBottomHitsDistanceFromEdge ProbeQualAnalogDiskPlaneStartAngle

Seethe"ModifyingRegistryEntries"chapterformoreinformationontheseentries.

SP600CalibrationProcedures
ThefollowingproceduresdescribehowtocalibrateyourSP600probe'slowerlevelandupper levelmatrices. Forbestaccuracyintheprocessesbelow,useahighqualitysphericalcalibrationtoolandkeep thecalibrationtoolwellcleanedthroughoutbothcalibrationprocesses.

PerformingaLowLevelMatrixCalibration
Thelowlevelmatrixcontainsthe3Dorcenteredpositionoftheprobingdevice.Youshouldredo theSP600lowlevelmatrixcalibrationatthesetimes: Wheneveryouremovetheprobehead Wheneveryouremountedtheprobehead

576 DefiningHardware

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

WheneveryouattachedanewSP600probe WhenevertheSP600sustainsdamage Duringperiodicintervalsbasedonyourspecificneeds.

CalibrationProcedure: 1. AccesstheProbeUtilitiesdialogbox(Insert|HardwareDefinition|Probe). 2. EnsurethattheanglesyouneedexistintheActiveTipList. 3. FromtheActiveTipListselecttheangleusedasthereferenceposition.Inmost instancesthisshouldbetheangleusedfortheZdirection.Unlessyouhaveahorizontal arm,thisangleisusuallytheT1A0B0tip. 4. ClicktheMeasurebutton.TheMeasureProbedialogboxappears. 5. SelecttheSP600LowerMatrixoptionbuttonfromtheTypeofOperationarea.This optiononlyappearsifyou'reworkinginonlinemodeandhavetheSP600probesetup insidetheProbeUtilitiesdialogbox. 6. IfdesiredchangethevaluesinthePrehit/Retract,MoveSpeed,or TouchSpeed boxes. 7. SelectanappropriatetoolfromtheListofAvailableToolslist. 8. ClicktheMeasurebutton.PCDMISwillgiveawarningmessagetellingyouthatifyou continueyouwillchangethemachinespecificparametersforthelowerlevelmatrixon thecontrolleritself.ClickYestocontinuethecalibration. 9. PCDMISwilldisplayanothermessageaskingiftheprobehasmoved.ClickYesorNo. 10. PCDMISnextdisplaysamessageaskingyoutotakeonehitnormaltothecalibration tool.Ifyou'reworkingfromtheZposition,takethehitontheverytopofthetool.After takingthisonehit,PCDMIStakesoverandfinishesdeterminingthecenterlocationof thecalibrationtool.Itdoesthisbytaking: 3hitsaroundthesphere. 25otherhitsaroundthesphere.

11. OncePCDMISfindsthecenterlocationofthetool,theactuallowlevelmatrixcalibration begins.PCDMISautomaticallytakes20hits(10hitsinonedirectionand10hitsin anotherdirectionformingacrosspattern)ontheX+,X,Y+,Y,andZ+polesofthe calibrationsphere,foratotalof100hits.Thistypicallytakesfivetotenminutesto complete. 12. PCDMISthenpresentsyouwithninenumbersalongwithamessageaskingifthese numbersarecorrect.Thesearethelowerlevelmatrixvalues.Ifyoustartedthe calibrationwiththeprobeintheZdirectionthentheZZvalue(valueinthethirdrowand thirdcolumn)shouldbebetweenabout.14and.16.Allothervaluesshouldbelessthan orabout.1. 13. Ifthevaluesarecorrect,clickOK.PCDMISsendsanemergencystopcommandtothe machineandthenoverwritesthelowerlevelmatrixvaluesonthecontrollerwiththese newervalues.PCDMISdisplaysanothermessageboxaskingyoutostartyourmachine. 14. PresstheMachineStartbuttononyourjogbox. 15. ClickOKonthemessagebox. PCDMISonceagaindisplaystheProbeUtilitiesdialogbox.Noticethatthereferencetipinthe ActiveTipListisn'tcalibrated.Thelowerlevelcalibrationdoesntcalibratetheactualtipangles. Tipanglesgetcalibratedwhenyouperformtheupperlevelmatrixcalibrationprocedure. Important:Ifyoudon'thaveagoodlowlevelmatrixyouwillexperienceproblemsinsome scanningroutinesandthemachinemaynotbeabletocompletesomescans.Inadditionyouwill experienceinaccuracies.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

DefiningHardware 577

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

PerforminganUpperLevelMatrixCalibration
Afteryou'vefinishedcalibratingthelowerlevelmatrix,youcanperformtheregularcalibration. Thisupperlevelcalibrationwillcalibratetheactualprobetips.Itwillalsosendanothermatrixof numberstothecontrollerthatgivesmallcorrectionstothelowerlevelmatrixbasedonthecurrent probeconfigurationandorientation. Toachievegreateraccuracy,PCDMISshouldtakeprobehits,measuringafullsweep,allaround theequatorofthecalibrationsphere.Ifyouhavegoodangleofcoverageonthesphere,youwill getbetterresults.Thestartandendanglesforthesweeparoundthesphere'sequatorcanbe controlledfromthesesettingswithinthe[ProbeCal]sectionofthePCDMISSettingsEditor: FullSphereAngleCheck=25.0 ProbeQualToolDiameterCutoff=18.0 ProbeQualLargeToolStartAngle1=50.0 ProbeQualLargeToolEndAngle1=310.0 ProbeQualSmallToolStartAngle1=70.0 ProbeQualSmallToolEndAngle1=290.0 Forinformationonmodifyingregistryentries,pleaseviewthe"ModifyingRegistryEntries" appendix. CalibrationProcedure Followthisproceduretodoanupperlevelmatrixcalibration: 1. 2. 3. 4. AttheProbeUtilitiesdialogbox(Insert|HardwareDefinition|Probe). ClicktheMeasurebutton. SelectCalibrateTips fromtheTypeofOperationarea. SelectUserDefinedfromtheCalibrationModearea.SincetheDefaultmethodonly takeshitsaroundthediameterandonehitontopofthecalibrationsphereitdoesn'tgive averygood3Drelationshipoftheprobecenter.However,ifyouwanttocalibrateusing theDefault method,besuretoreadthe"NotesonSP600Default(2D)CalibrationMode" topicbelow. 5. Type3intheNumberofLevelsbox.Youcantypeinadditionallevelsaslongasthey don'texceedthenumberofhitsyou'llbetaking.Buttheminimumnumberoflevels shouldbeatleastthree. 6. Type0intheStartAnglebox. 7. Type90intheEndAnglebox. 8. Type25intheNumberofHitsbox.YoucanhavePCDMIStakeasfewas12hits,but it'sgenerallyrecommendedtotake25hits. 9. ClicktheMeasurebuttonwhenreadytobegin. 10. IfyouhaveturnedontheanalogprobinghitsoptioninsidethePCDMISSettingsEditor, thenPCDMISwillautomaticallytake5hitsaroundthecalibrationspheretobetterdefine thecenterofthecalibrationtool. 11. PCDMISthencalibratestheABanglepositionsandautomaticallywritestheupperlevel matrixnumberstothecontroller.Thesenumberswillautomaticallybecorrectifyou've correctlyfollowedthelowerlevelmatrixcalibrationprocedure.

578 DefiningHardware

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

PCDMISthendisplaystheProbeUtilitiesdialogbox.Theactivetipsarenowcalibratedand you'rereadytoprogramyourpartusingthenewlycalibratedSP600probe. NotesonSP600Default(2D)CalibrationMode IfyoudecidetoselectDefault fromtheCalibrationModearea,PCDMISwillinsertfivehitsinto theNumberofHitsbox.Whenyoubeginthecalibrationprocedure,PCDMISwilltakethesehits ontheaxesnormaltotheprobeposition. Caution:BeawarethatintheDefaultcalibrationmode,calibratingtipswithanA90anglewill causetheprobetocrashintotheshankofacalibrationsphereinsphereswheretheshank comesoutofthebottom(shankvectorof0,0,1).Thiswillhappenbecausetheprobetriesto takeahitintheZpositionofthesphere.Tofixthis,useaninclinedshank,don'tcalibratetips thathaveA90angles,orchoosetousetheUserDefinedcalibrationmode.

AutoCalibrateProbe
PCDMISprovidesacommandthatautomaticallycalibratesthecurrentprobeduringpart programexecution.PCDMISwillbeginthecalibrationroutineonceitexecutesthecommand. Toinsertthiscommand,selecttheInsert|Calibrate|AutoCalibrateProbe menuoption TheEditwindowcodeforthiscommandreads:
AUTOCALIBRATE/PROBE,PARAMETER_SET=,QUALTOOL_MOVED=Y/N,SHOW_SUMMARY=Y/N, OVERWRITE_RESULTSFILE=Y/N

PARAMETER_SET= Thisfieldspecifiesthenameofadefinedsetofprobequalification parameters.AdefaultsetnamedALLTIPSWITHDEFAULTSisalwaysavailableandwill calibratealltipsdefinedinthecurrentprobeusingthedefaultsetofqualificationparameters, whicharethelastonesthatwereusedinteractively.Tocreateyourownparametersets,seethe "ParameterSets". QUALTOOL_MOVED=ThisYES/NOfieldsetsyourresponsetothecomputersqueryof whetherornotthecalibrationtoolhasmoved. SHOW_SUMMARY=ThisYES/NOfielddetermineswhetherornotPCDMISdisplaysa summaryofthecalibration. OVERWRITE_RESULTSFILE=ThisYES/NOfielddetermineswhetherornotPCDMIS overwritesorappendsinformationsenttotheresultsfile.Thisisthesameresultsfile thatsreferencedwhencalibratinginteractively. PressingF9onthiscommandblockallowsyoutoeditthecommandblockusingtheCalibrate TiporCalibrateProbedialogbox. Youcanalsoinsertacommandtoautomaticallycalibratemultiplearms.See"Performingan AutomaticCalibration"inthe"UsingMultipleArmMode"chapterformoreinformation.

ToAutomaticallyCalibrateaSingleTip
Youcanalsoperformanautomaticcalibrationoftheactivetipbyfollowingthisprocedure:

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

DefiningHardware 579

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

1. Makesureyouhaveatleastonespherefeatureinyourpartprogram.PCDMISrequires aspherefeatureinordertodothistypeofcalibration. 2. AccesstheEditwindowandplaceitintoCommandmode. 3. FromtheSettingstoolbar,selectthetipyouwanttocalibrate.AnewTIP command appearsintheEditwindow.MakesurethisnewTIPcommandappearsintheEdit windowafterthespherefeatureyouwillusewiththiscalibration. 4. OnanylinefollowingthisTIPcommand,accesstheInsert|Calibrate|SingleTip menuoption. 5. PCDMISinsertsaCALIBRATEACTIVETIPWITHFEAT_ID commandblockintothe Editwindow. 6. Clickanywhereonthiscommandblock,andpressF9.TheCalibrateTipdialogbox appears.

CalibrateTipdialogbox 7. SelectthespherefeaturetousefromtheSphereFeaturelist. 8. SelectthedesiredcalibrationtoolfromtheQualificationToollist. 9. Ifthecalibrationtoolhasmovedsinceyourlastcalibration,selecttheQualificationTool HasMovedcheckbox. 10. ClickOKtoupdatethecalibrationcommandblockwithyourchanges.Forexample,this examplecommandblockshowsthatthecalibrationtoolisnamedMyTool,andthatthe spherefeaturetouseforthiscalibrationisSPH1. CALIBRATEACTIVETIPWITHFEAT_ID=SPH1,QUALTOOL_ID=MyTool,MOVED=NO AXIS THEO MEAS DEV X 0.0000 8.0080 8.0080 Y 0.0000 1.0000 1.0000 Z DIAM 0.0000 2.0000 0.9500 1.0000 0.9500 1.0000 0.0000

STDDEV

11. Markthiscommandblock,andexecutethepartprogram.PCDMISwillcalibratethe activetipwhenitreachesthiscommandblock.

DefiningHardProbes
PCDMISallowsyoutoselectahard(fixed)orTTPtypeprobe.Trigger(suchasRenishawstyle) probeswillcausetheCMMtoreportthepositionwhentheprobecomesincontactwiththepart.If aHARDprobeisselected,PCDMISexpectsaprobethatdoesnotautomaticallytriggerwhenit comesincontactwiththepart.

580 DefiningHardware

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Note:DCCcalibrationcannotbedoneusingahardprobe.Verifythatthecorrectprobetypeis selected. Seethe"WorkingwithPortableDevices"chapterforadditionalinformationonworkingwith portablemachinesthatusehardprobes.

DefiningStarProbes
PCDMISallowsyoutodefine,calibrate,andworkwithseveraldifferentstarprobeconfigurations. Astarprobeconsistsofaprobetippointingvertically(intheZdirectionifyou'reusingavertical arm)towardtheCMMplatewithfouradditionaltipspointinghorizontallysuchasshownhere:

Atypicalstarprobeconfiguration Thissectiondescribeshowtobuildthestarprobe. Important: Whiletherearemanydifferentmachinetypesandarmconfigurations,theprocedures andexamplesgivenassumethatyouareusingastandardverticalarmCMMwherearmpointsin theZdirectiontowardtheCMMplate.

BuildingtheStarProbe
Youcanbuildthesestarprobeconfigurations: 5waycustomizablestarprobe.Thistypeofstarprobeusesa centercubeconsistingoffivethreadedholesintowhichyou canscrewvariousprobetips.

5WayCustomizableStar ProbewithDifferentProbe Tips.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

DefiningHardware 581

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Noncustomizablestarprobe.Thistypeofstarprobedoesnot haveacustomizable5waycenter.Whileitdoescomewitha cube,therearenothreadedholes,andthefourhorizontaltips arepermanentlyattachedtothecube.Thehorizontaltipsare allthesamesize.

NonCustomizableStar ProbewithIdenticalProbe Tips

AfteryoubuildyourprobeyoushouldcalibrateitbyusingtheMeasurebuttonontheProbe Utilitiestoolbox.See"Measure"forinformationoncalibratingtips.

Buildinga5WayCustomizableStarProbe
1. 2. 3. 4. AccesstheProbeUtilitiesdialogbox(Insert|HardwareDefinition|Probe). TypeanamefortheprobefileintheProbeFilebox. SelectNoprobedefined fromtheProbeDescription area. SelecttheprobefromtheProbeDescriptionlist.Thisdocumentationusesthe PROBETP2probe.Theprobedrawingshouldlooksomethinglikethis:

5. HidetheprobefromviewbydoubleclickingonthePROBETP2connectionfromthe ProbeDescriptionareaanddeselectingtheDrawthisComponentcheckbox. 6. SelectEmptyConnection#1fromtheProbeDescriptionarea. 7. Selectthe5waycubeextension,EXTEN5WAY,fromtheProbeDescriptionlist.Five emptyconnectionsappearintheProbeDescriptionarea.Theprobedrawingshowsthis:

8. AssigntheappropriatetipsandorextensionsneededforeachEmptyConnectionuntil youhaveuptofivetotaltips,suchasshownhere:

582 DefiningHardware

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Youdon'thavetofillallfiveconnections. ThetipassignedtoEmptyConnection#1pointsinthesame directionastherailonwhichitrests.ThisistheZdirection. ThetipassignedtoEmptyConnection#2pointsintheX+ direction. ThetipassignedtoEmptyConnection#3pointsintheY+ direction. ThetipassignedtoEmptyConnection#4pointsintheX direction. ThetipassignedtoEmptyConnection#5pointsintheY direction. ClickOKtosaveyourchangesorMeasuretocalibratetheprobe.See"Measure"forinformation oncalibratingtips.

BuildingaPreDefinedStarProbe
1. 2. 3. 4. AccesstheProbeUtilitiesdialogbox(Insert|HardwareDefinition|Probe). TypeanamefortheprobefileintheProbeFilebox. SelectNoprobedefined fromtheProbeDescription area. SelecttheprobefromtheProbeDescriptionlist.Thisdocumentationusesthe PROBETP2probe.Theprobedrawingshouldlooksomethinglikethis:

5. HidetheprobefromviewbydoubleclickingonthePROBETP2connectionfromthe ProbeDescriptionareaanddeselectingtheDrawthisComponentcheckbox. 6. SelectEmptyConnection#1fromtheProbeDescriptionarea.


PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual DefiningHardware 583

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

7. Selecteither2BY18MMSTARor10BY6.5STAR.Thisdocumentationusesthe 2BY18MMSTAR.Theprobedrawingdisplayssomethinglikethis:

8. ForeachofthefourEmptyConnectionitemsintheProbeDescriptionarea,select sameprobetipsfourtimes,oncepereachhorizontaltip.Inthiscase,youcouldselect eitherTIPSTAR2BY30orTIPSTAR2BY18fourtimes.Thisdocumentationusesthe TIPSTAR2BY30.

ClickOKtosaveyourchangesorMeasuretocalibratetheprobe. See"Measure"forinformation oncalibratingtips.

584 DefiningHardware

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

DefiningMachines

Machinedialogbox TheInsert|HardwareDefinition|MachinemenuoptionbringsuptheMachinedialogbox. ThisdialogboxallowsyoutoselectorcreateaCMMmachinethatcanbedisplayedand animatedintheGraphicsDisplaywindowalongwiththeprobewheninprogrammode. Thelistofmachinesinthisdialogboxiscreatedusingthefiles"machine.dat"and "usermachine.dat"locatedinthedirectorywhereyouinstalledPCDMIS. Thefile"machine.dat"containsmachinedescriptionssuppliedbyPCDMIS'sdevelopers. Thefile"usermachine.dat"containsthemachinedescriptionsofanymachinestheuser hascreatedandsaved.

IfyouselectanentryfromtheMachineNamelistthat wasinthe"machine.dat"filethenthe selectionisdisplayedinthepreviewarea(blankbluescreen). Ifthereisno"machine.dat"file,theuserwillonlyhavetheNoMachineitemintheMachine Namelist.

CreatingaNewMachineforDisplay
Tocreateanewmachine: 1. TypeanameforthemachineintheMachineNamelist. 2. SelectthetypeofmachinefromaMachineTypelist. 3. Determinethedimensionsofthemachinebyspecifyingthelength,width,andheightof theaxes: Specifythe1 axisbyselectingX,Y,orZfromthe1 Axislist.Typethelength st ofthemachine'sbaseinthe1 Axisbox.
st st

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

DefiningHardware 585

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Specifythe2 axisbyselectingX,Y,orZfromthe2 Axislist.Typethewidth nd ofthemachine'sbasesecondaxisinthe2 Axisbox. rd rd Specifythe3 axisbyselectingX,Y,orZfromthe3 Axislist.Typetheheight rd ofthemachineinthe3 Axisbox.

nd

nd

4. Specifythemachine'shomepositionbytypingvaluesintheHomePositionarea.This areaisonlyeditableforuserdefinedmachinesyoucannotuseitformachinessupplied byPCDMIS. 5. ClicktheSavebutton.PCDMISincludesthenewlycreatedmachineintheMachine Namelist. Note:The"usermachine.dat"fileisnotactuallymodifieduntilyouclickApplyorOK.Ifyouclick Cancelallchangesareignored.

AdditionalInformationontheMachine'sAxes
st The1 axisdefinesthelengthofthemachine'sbaseinthedirectionthatthebridgemoves (forbridgemachines),orthelengthofthebaseinthedirectionthattheverticalcarriage moves(forhorizontalarmmachines).ThisisusuallytheXaxisformosthorizontalarm machines,andeithertheXortheYaxisformostverticalarmmachines. nd The2 axisdefinesthewidthofthebaseinthedirectionthatthecarriagemoves(fora bridgemachine)orthedirectionthearmmoves(forahorizontalarmmachine).Thisis theverticalZaxisformosthorizontalarmmachinesandeithertheXortheYaxisfor mostverticalarmmachines.Thisdiffersfromthemachinevolume.Thevolumedefines thedistancethearmcanreach.Mostarmmachineshaveavolumejustover50%ofthe width. rd The3 axisdefinestheheightofthemachinefromthetopofthebasetothebottomsideof thebridgeforabridgemachine,ortheextentoftheverticalaxisforahorizontalarm machine.ThisistheverticalZaxisformostbridgemachinesandtheYaxisformost horizontalarmmachines.Atthistimeonlythefollowingaxisconfigurationsareallowed:

GenericBridgewithY,X,ZorX,Y,Z GenericArmwithX,Y,Z

AdditionalInformationontheMachine'sHomePositionarea
Thesethreeboxesdefinethehomepositionofthemachine.Thex,y,zvaluesdefinewherethe homepositionisforthemachine.Thecenterofthemachinebaseis0,0,0.Butthesecoordinates arenotusedtoshowthehomepositiononmostmachines.Thex,y,zvaluesareoffsetfromthe 0,0,0machinebaseposition. Forexample,ifthemachine'sdimensionsare1000,700,and700withtheactualhomeposition st nd intheupperleftcornerinback,themachinesoffsetswouldbe:350,500,350forthe1 ,2 ,and rd 3 axesrespectively. Note:TheHomePositionareaisonlyeditableforuserdefinedmachinesyoucannotuseitfor machinessuppliedbyPCDMIS.

586 DefiningHardware

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

AdditionalInformationforCreatingMultipleArmMachines
YoucanalsocreateandplaceasimulatedmultiplearmmachineintotheGraphicsDisplay window. 1. FollowPCDMISmultiplearmsetupprocedures. 2. Entermultiplearmmode.TheActiveArmstoolbarappears.Thisenablesthe DualHorizontalArmoptionfromtheMachineTypearea. 3. Createamultiplearmpartprogram. Followthe"CreatingaNewMachineforDisplay"procedure(makesureyouselecttheDual HorizontalArmoptionbuttonfromtheMachineTypearea). 4. TheGraphicsDisplaywindowshouldnowshowadualarmmachinewhen finished.

DisplayingExistingMachinesintheGraphicsDisplayWindow
TodisplayamachineintheGraphicsDisplaywindow,accesstheMachinedialogbox,selecta machinefromtheMachineNamelist,andthenclickOK.Thegraphicalrepresentationofthe selectedmachineappearsintheGraphicsDisplaywindowalongwiththeCADofthepart. PCDMISalsoinsertsaLOADMACHINE/NAMEcommandintotheEditwindow,whereNAMEis themachine'sname.

CreatingaRelationshipbetweentheMachineandthePart
YoucancreatearelationshipbetweenthemachinemodelandtheCADmodelofthepartinone oftwoways. 1. OnlinemodeThepart'sfeaturesmustbemeasuredandanalignmentconstructedthat performsaCADtoPartsoperation(CADEqualsPartalignmentoptionorIterative AlignmentusingCADnominals).Seethe"CreatingandUsingAlignments"chapterfor informationontheseoptions. 2. OfflinemodeYoucancreatethenecessaryX,Y,Zoffsetsandrotationstoestablishthe properorientationbyaccessingthePart/MachinetaboftheSetupOptionsdialogbox. See"SetupOptionsMode:Part/Machinetab"topicinthe"SettingYourPreferences" chapter.

RemovingtheAnimatedMachinefromtheGraphicsDisplayWindow
YoucangetridoftheCMM'sgraphicaldisplayatanytimebyfollowingoneoftheseprocedures:

Selectingthe'NoMachine'Item
1. AccesstheMachinedialogbox. 2. SelectNoMachinefromtheMachineNamelist. 3. ClickApplyorOK.PCDMISremovesthedisplayofthemachine.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

DefiningHardware 587

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

DeletingtheLOADMACHINECommand
1. AccesstheEditwindow. 2. PlaceitinSummaryorCommandmode. 3. DeletetheentireLOADMACHINE/command.PCDMISremovesthedisplayofthe machine.

DeletingtheMachine
1. 2. 3. 4. AccesstheMachinedialogbox. SelectingthemachinetodeletefromtheMachineNamelist. ClicktheDeletebutton. ClickApplyorOK.PCDMISremovesthemachinefromtheMachineNamelistand removesthedisplayofthemachine.Thisalsodeletesthemachinefromthe "usermachine.dat"file.

Note:The"usermachine.dat"fileisnotactuallymodifieduntilyouclickApplyorOK.Ifyouclick Cancelallchangesareignored.

InsertingQuickFixtures
WithPCDMIS3.6MR1andlateryoucanquicklyandeasilyinsertaselectionofpredefined(or custom)fixturesintotheGraphicsDisplaywindowbyusingtheQuickFixdialogbox. Toaccessthisdialogbox,selecttheInsert|HardwareDefinition|QuickFixturemenuitem.

QuickFixdialogbox Thisdialogboxcontainstheseoptions: AvailableFixturesThislistdisplaysavailablefixturesthatyoucanimportintotheGraphics Displaywindow.ThesefixturesarestoredintheModels\QuickFix\PCDMISinstallation subdirectory.

588 DefiningHardware

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

DisplayedFixturesThislistdisplaysfixturescurrentlydisplayedintheGraphicsDisplay window. InsertThisbuttonmovestheselectedfixturefromtheAvailableFixtureslistintothe DisplayedFixtureslist,allowingyoutodisplaytheselectedfeatureintheGraphics Displaywindow. RemoveThisbuttonremovestheselectedfixturefromtheDisplayedFixtureslist. NewFixtureThisarealetsyouaddyourownfixturesintotheAvailableFixtureslist.New fixturesmustbeanIGESfile.TheFilenameboxdisplaysthecompletepathwayforthe fixtureyouwanttoadd,theBrowsebuttonletsyoubrowsetotheIGESfileyouwant addedandtheAddbuttonactuallyinsertstonewfixtureintothelistofavailablefixtures. FixturePreviewTheareabelowtheNewFixtureareagivesyouapreviewofthefixture currentlyselectedfromtheAvailableFixtureslist.

InsertingandRemovingQuickFixtures
ToinsertaquickfixtureintotheGraphicsDisplaywindow: 1. AccesstheQuickFixdialogbox. 2. SelectthefixtureyouwanttoaddfromtheAvailableFixtureslist.PCDMISshowsa displayofthefixtureinthefixturepreviewareaofthedialogbox 3. ClicktheInsertbutton.ThefixturenameappearsintheDisplayedFixtureslistandthe fixture'smodelappearsintheGraphicsDisplaywindow ToremoveaquickfixturefromtheGraphicsDisplaywindow: 1. AccesstheQuickFixdialogbox. 2. SelectthefixtureyouwanttoremovefromtheDisplayedFixtureslist. 3. ClicktheRemovebutton.PCDMISremovesthequickfixture'smodelfromtheGraphics Displaywindow.

AddingCustomFixtures
ToaddyourowncustomfixturesintotheAvailableFixtureslist: 1. AccesstheQuickFixdialogbox. 2. IntheNewFixturearea,clicktheBrowsebutton.AnOpendialogboxappears. 3. Navigatetoyourfixture'smodel.Itcanbeofanysupportedgraphicalformats.PCDMIS defaultstoshowinganIGESfileformatintheFilesoftypelist.Youcanchangethisto anyoftheselectedformats. 4. SelectyourmodelandclickOpen.TheOpendialogboxclosesandPCDMISdisplays thefullpathtothefileyouselectedinsidetheNewFixturearea. 5. ClicktheAddbutton.PCDMISaddsthefixtureintotheAvailableFixtureslist.This fixturewillappearinthislistevenforotherpartprograms.

QuickFixtureMode'sMouseandKeyboardCommands
Tousethedifferentmouseandkeyboardcommandsforquickfixtures,firstPlacePCDMISinto QuickFixturemodebyclickingtheQuickFixtureModeiconfromtheGraphicsModestoolbar.
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual DefiningHardware 589

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

LeftMouseDragMovesthefixtureobjectunderneaththemouseuntilyoureleasethe button.Nothinghappensunlessyoustartontopoftheobject.Onlyfixtureobjectsand CADobjectsmove. PressCTRLkey+LeftMouseDragRotatestheobjectin3Dunderneaththecursorin thedirectionyoudragthemouseuntilyoureleasethebutton.Onlyfixtureobjectsand CADobjectsrotate. RightbuttonclickDisplaysthequickfixtureshortcutmenu.See"QuickFixture ShortcutMenu"in"UsingShortcutKeysandShortcutMenus".

UsingExistingQuickFixtures
PCDMISstoresquickfixturefileswitha.DRAWfilenameextensioninthemodels\quickfixsub directorywhereyouinstalledPCDMIS. Inaddition,PCDMISstoresadefinitionofeachquickfixtureinaspecialdatafile(.datfilename extension)locatedinthedirectorywhereyouinstalledPCDMIS. IfthequickfixturewasoriginallyshippedwithPCDMIS,itisstoredintheQuickFix.dat file. Ifthequickfixtureisausercreatedfixture,itsdefinitionisstoredintheUserQuickFix.dat file.

Atypicalquickfixturedatafileconsistsoftwolinesforeachquickfixture,anITEM: lineanda cadgeomline.Inatexteditor,thisfilemightlooksomethinglikethis:

ASmallSampleoftheQuickFix.DatFile ToUseCustomQuickFixturesfromaPreviousInstallation 1. ClosedownPCDMISandopenWindowsExplorer. 2. Beforecreatingnewcustomfixturesforyournewinstallation,copythe.DRAWfilesfrom themodels\quickfixsubdirectoryofyourpreviousinstallation,andpastethemintothe models\quickfixsubdirectoryofyourcurrentPCDMISinstallation. 3. Copytheuserquickfix.datfilefromthedirectoryofyourpreviousinstallationandpasteit intothedirectoryofyourcurrentPCDMISinstallation. 4. RestartPCDMIS.ThecustomquickfixtureswillnowappearintheQuickFixdialogbox alongwiththefixturessuppliedbyyourcurrentPCDMISinstallation. Note:The.DRAWquickfixturefileswillnotappearinsideoftheQuickFixdialogboxunlessthe userquickfix.datfilecontainsthenecessarydefinitionsforthefile.Thesedefinitionsgetadded wheneveryouimportyourowncustomIGESfilesasquickfixturesusingtheQuickFixdialogbox (see"AddingCustomFixtures").

590 DefiningHardware

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Ifyouwanttodirectlyusethe.DRAWfilescreatedbyanotheruser,butyoudon'twantto overwriteyourownquickfixturesbysimplycopyingtheother'sdatafile,youwouldneedtousea texteditortomergethenecessaryITEM:andcadgeomlinesfortheotheruser'sdatafileinto yourdatafile.

DefiningProbeChangers
Tobeginusingyourprobechanger,youmustfirstdefinethechanger'sportlocationsthroughthe followingprobechangercalibrationprocedure.WhilePCDMISsupportsavarietyofprobe changers,onlytheFCR25calibrationprocessisdiscussedhere.Ifyouhaveadifferentprobe changertype,pleaseusethisprocedureasaguide,asitwillbesimilarenoughforallsupported types. Tobeginthiscalibrationprocess,youneedtoaccesstheProbeChangerdialogbox.SelectEdit |Preferences|ProbeChanger. TerminologyNote: WhiletheProbeChangerdialogboxusestheterm"slot"insteadof"port", thecalibrationpromptsyouwillreceiveusetheterm"port".Forthisreason,thisdocumentation willusetheterm"port"exceptwhenreferringtoProbeChangerdialogboxitemsthatusethe term"slot".

CalibratingtheFCR25ProbeChanger
ThecalibrationprocessforRenishaw'sFCR25probechangerrepresentsthestepsthatwouldbe takentoprepareforusinganyoftheprobechangerssupportedbyPCDMIS.Theprocess discussedhereisspecifictotheFCR25probechanger. TwoinsertsareusedwiththeFCR25racktoaccommodatedifferentprobetypes,thePA25SH andthePA2520.

PA25SHandPA2520Inserts Forexample,thefollowingimageofanFCR25probechangershowsthreeports,twowithinserts andonewithout(probesarealsoshown).TheleftportshowsaPA25SHinsertandtheporton therightshowsaPA2520insert.Themiddleportdoesnothaveaninsert.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

DefiningHardware 591

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

FCR25ProbeChangerShowinginsertsandprobetypes Important:TheFCR25ProbeChangermustbemountedonthemachinetableparalleltoeither theXorYaxisforsuccessfulcalibration.TheFCR25ProbeChangercanbemountedtoyour tablewiththeMRSrackorthe3and6portstandaloneracks. Formountinginstructions,consultthedocumentationthatcamewithyourprobechanger. ToCalibrateyourFCR25ProbeChanger: Step1SelecttheFCR25ProbeChanger Step2DefinetheMountPoint Step3DefinePorts Step4BeginCalibration Step5PrepareProbeChanger Step6MeasuringPort1/PA25SHInsert Step7MeasuringPort3/PA2520Insert Step8MeasuringPort2/NoInsert Step9ReviewCalibrationResults

Step1SelecttheFCR25ProbeChanger
Tobeginthecalibrationprocess,selectEdit|Preferences|ProbeChangertoopentheProbe Changerdialogbox.

592 DefiningHardware

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ProbeChangerdialogboxTypetab ToselecttheFCR25ProbeChanger,followthesesteps: 1. SelecttheTypetabfromtheProbeChangerdialogbox. 2. SelectFCR25fromtheProbeChangerTypelist. 3. ClickApplytomakethisprobechangeractiveandtoloadsettingsthatarerelevantto thisprobechanger. 4. SpecifythenumberofdifferenttypesofprobechangersintheNumberofProbe Changersbox. 5. SpecifytheDockingSpeed.Thedefaultvalueof5%isappropriateformostmachine configurations. 6. ClickApplytosaveyourchanges. Inthenextstepyouwilldefinethelocationyourprobebodywillmovetowhenusingtheprobe changertoswitchprobecomponents.

Step2DefinetheMountPoint
TheMountPointforyourFCR25ProbeChangeristhelocationinfrontofyourprobechanger wherethemachinewillmovebeforeitpicksupordropsoffaprobe.Youshoulddeterminea locationthatwillavoidcollisionwiththeprobechangerorpart.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

DefiningHardware 593

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ProbeChangerdialogboxMountPointtab ToprovidetheMountPointforyourFCR25ProbeChanger,followthesesteps: 1. SelecttheMountPointtabfromtheProbeChangerdialogbox. 2. Select TYPE=FCR25fromtheActiveProbeChangerlist. 3. AltertheProbeHeadWristAngleforbothAAngleandBAngle.Typically,butnot always,thesevalueswillbe0and0respectively.Youneedtouseacalibratedprobe rotationthatwillensurethattheprobehastheabilitytomoveinandoutoftheproberack duringthenecessarystepsoftheproberackcalibrationprocedure. 4. Usingyourjogbox,manuallymoveyourmachinetothedesiredmountpointposition. 5. ClicktheReadMachinebutton.ThiswillpopulatetheX,Y,andZMachinePosition valueswiththecurrentposition.Youmayalsomanuallytypethesevalues. 6. ClickApplytosaveyourchanges. Inthenextstepyouwilldefinetheportsusedbyyourprobechanger.

Step3DefinePorts
TheexampledescribedinthisdocumentationhasaPA25SHinsertinPort1(left),NOINSERTin Port2(middle),andaPA2520insertinPort3(right).

594 DefiningHardware

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TodefinetheportsofyourFCR25ProbeChanger,followthesesteps: 1. Select TYPE=FCR25fromtheActiveProbeChangerlist. 2. IntheNumberofSlotsbox,specifyinmultiplesofthreethenumberofportsyour FCR25probechanger(s)willhave.PCDMISthenliststhespecifiednumberofportsas "slots"(forexampleSlot1,Slot2,Slot3,andsoforth).Untilyoudefinetheportsthese "slot"entrieswilldisplay"UNDEFINED".

ProbeChangerdialogboxSlotstabshowingundefinedslots 3. SelectaslotfromthelistandclickEditSlotData.ThisopenstheProbeChangerSlot Datadialogbox.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

DefiningHardware 595

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ProbeChangerSlotDatadialogbox 4. SelectNOINSERT,PA25SH,orPA2520fromtheSlotTypelist. YoumayspecifytheXYZ valuesforthecenterpositionoftheportorleavethosevaluesempty.In anycase,PCDMISwillautomaticallypopulatethesevaluesuponsuccessfulcalibration.See "Step9ReviewCalibrationResults". 5. ClickOKtosavechangestoslotdata.Repeatsteps3through5forallportsinyour changer.

ProbeChangerdialogboxSlotstab 7. ClickApplytosaveyourchanges. Youarenowreadytobegincalibration.Inthenextstepyouwillstartthecalibrationprocedure.

596 DefiningHardware

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Step4BeginCalibration
Beforeyoustartcalibrationyoumustspecify/verifytheprobesthatwillbeused.

ProbeChangerdialogboxCalibratetab TospecifytheprobesusedinthecalibrationofyourFCR25ProbeChanger,followthesesteps: 1. SelecttheCalibratetabfromtheProbeChangerdialogbox. 2. SelecttheTYPE=FCR25fromtheActiveProbeChangerlist. 3. Determinethetypeofcalibration.SelecteithertheSinglePortCalibrationoptionto calibrateoneportortheFullCalibrationoptiontocalibrateallFCR25ports.Ifyouselect theSinglePortCalibration,youmustalsoselecttheneededportfromtheProbe ChangerPortlist.ThisdocumentationdescribestheFullCalibrationoption. 4. Selectthecurrentlyattachedprobethatdefinesthecurrentprobeconfigurationfromthe ActiveProbeFilelist,andselectthecurrenttipfromtheActiveTiplist. 5. Ifanyportsrequireasecondaryprobefiletopickupthattypeofstylus,selectthe requiredprobefilethatdefinesthesecondaryprobeconfigurationfromtheSecond ProbeFilelist.ThenselecttheneededtipfromtheSecondTip list.Forexample,a PA2520insertwouldrequireyoutospecifysomethingliketheSO25TP20_3to accommodatethesizeofstylususedwiththeinsert. 6. ClickCalibratewhenyouarereadytobegincalibration. Inthenextstep,youwillpreparetheprobechangerforcalibration.

Step5PrepareforCalibration
Note:TheCalibrationprocessmayvaryslightlydependingonthetypesandlocationsofthe insertsforeachport.TheprocessdescribedhereisintendedtoshowhowPCDMISmanages calibrationforeachporttype.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

DefiningHardware 597

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

OnceyouclickCalibratethefollowingmessageboxappears:

1. Readtheinstructionsfromtheprecedingprompt,andverifythatyouhavethecorrect numberofportsandFCR25units(aunitisasetofthreeports). 2. Openthelidstoeachportandinsertshimstoholdthemopen. A"shim"isataperedpieceofplastic thatfitsinbetweentwoportstohold opentheirlids.Thepicturetotheright showsacloseupviewofashim betweenports2and3,holdingopen theirlids.Withoutashim,thelidswill shut,asyoucanseeinport1.

3. Withthelidsopen,removeallofthemodulesandstylibyslidingthemforwardoutofthe portsasshownbelow.

598 DefiningHardware

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

4. ClickOKwhenyouarereadytomeasurePort1. Inthenextstep,PCDMISwillmeasurePort1.

Step6MeasuringPort1/PA25SHInsert
YouwillbepromptedthroughtheprocessofmeasuringPort1(leftmostport)throughaseriesof messageboxes.Followthepromptsandtaketheneededhitsasshowninthepicturesforeach hit. Hit1onTopsurface

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

DefiningHardware 599

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Usingyourmachine'sjogbox, measurethefirsthitonthetop surfaceofPort1asshowninthe imagetotheright. WhenyouclickOKyouwillbe promptedtotakethehitwiththe ExecutionModeOptionsdialog box.

Hit2onFrontsurface

Usingyourmachinejogbox, measurethesecondhitonthefront surfaceofPort1asshowninthe imagetotheright. WhenyouclickOKyouwillbe promptedtotakethehitwiththe ExecutionModeOptionsdialog box.

Hit3onInsidesurface

600 DefiningHardware

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Usingyourmachine'sjogbox, measurethethirdhitontheinside surfaceofPort1asshowninthe imagetotheright. WhenyouclickOKyouwillbe promptedtotakethehitwiththe ExecutionModeOptionsdialog box.

Thissetofthreehitsestablishesthelocationforthetoolchanger.Thesethreehitswouldbethe sameiftheportdidn'thaveaninsert.IfyouusedaPA2520insertinthisport,thehitswouldbe takenontheinsertinasimilarfashion. Youwillnowbeaskedtocompleteafewstepsviathefollowingdialogbox.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

DefiningHardware 601

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Completetheinstructionsinthe messageboxandremovethe specifiedstylus(inthiscasetheSH 1/2/3stylus)andattachtheSHSPas shownintheimagetotheright. Note: Whenevertheinstructions directthatyoushouldjogtheprobe toa"safelocation"oralocation"with aclearlineofapproach"youshould movetheprobetoapositionthatis infrontofandslightlyabovethe rack. Whenyouhavecompletedthese steps,ClickOKandDCC measurementwillbegin.

PCDMISwillautomaticallymeasurethethreehitswiththeSHSPthatwerepreviouslytakenwith theSH1/2/3stylus.Itwillalsotakeahitontheoppositeinsideface.Thiscompletesthe measurementofPort1. Inthenextstep,PCDMISwillmeasurePort3.

Step7MeasuringPort3/PA2520Insert
BeforePCDMIScanmeasurePort3 (therightmostprobe),youmustfirst changetheprobetotheprobefile youpreviouslyspecifiedforthe SecondProbeFileinStep4. Whenprompted,removethecurrent module,andaddtheTM2520 moduletotheendoftheprobebody. Theimagetotherightshowsthe TM2520moduleandTP20type stylusafterthischange.

Note:ChangingprobesmaynotbenecessarydependingonyourFCR25probechanger configuration.Forexample,iftherearenoinsertsinanyoftheports,thenthisprobechangemay

602 DefiningHardware

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

notbenecessary.Thechangespecifiedinthisstepisonlyrequiredtoaccommodatecalibration ofPort3withthePA2520insert. Afterchangingtheprobe,clickOK.PCDMISwillthendisplaythefollowingprompt:

Aftermovingtheprobetoasafelocation,clickOK,andPCDMISwillbeginautomatic measurementoftheinsertinPort3.Thefollowingimagesshowtheprobetakingmeasurements. PCDMISwillautomaticallytakehitstodeterminethelocationoftheinsert.

ThiscompletesthemeasurementofPort3.Inthenextstep,PCDMISwillmeasurePort2.

Step8MeasuringPort2/NoInsert
BeforemeasuringPort2,youwillbepromptedtoremovethemodulethatwasusedforthe measurementofPort3.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

DefiningHardware 603

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Onceyouhaveremovedthemodule andmovedtheprobetoasafe location,clickOKtocontinuethe process. PCDMISwillmovetheprobebody toapositionthatiscenteredabove Port2asshowintheimagetothe right.(Theimagealsoshowsthe modulethatPCDMISwillhaveyou addinthenextprompt.) Note:Theprocedureformeasuring Port2wouldbeusedforallportsif youdidn'thaveaninsertinanyof theports.Theportswouldalsobe measuredinadifferentorder(Port1 first,followedbyPort2,and then)Port3)

Followtheprompttoplacethemoduleintotheport.Then,slowlylowertheprobebodytowards themoduleuntilthemagneticattractioncausesthemoduletojumpuptowardstheprobebody.If youhaveapooralignment,usethejogboxtorepositiontheprobebody,andrepeatthisprocess untilyougetagoodalignment.

604 DefiningHardware

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Thefollowingimagesshowtheprocessdescribedabove. SlowlyLoweringtheProbe Body ModuleJumpsUpwardfora GoodAlignment ModuleTiltedforaPoor Alignment

ClickOKwhenagoodalignmenthasbeenestablished.Thefollowingpromptisdisplayed.

Theimagetotherightshows theprobebodythathasbeen loweredjustbeforetheLEDis lit. Noticetheslightgapbetween theprobebodyandtheSM25 2module.Fromthispoint,you wouldcontinuetolowerthe probebodyandstopwhenthe LEDislit.Thiswillnotclose thegapcompletely.ClickOK tofinishtheprocess. Atthispointtheprobebody willautomaticallymovedown therestofthewaytoseatthe probemoduleandclosethe gap.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

DefiningHardware 605

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Thefollowingpromptappears:

Movetheprobestraightoutfromthe porttoapositioninfrontoftheport asshowninthisimage. ClickOK.Thiscompletesthe measurementofPort2.

Youwillthenbepromptedtosettheconfigurationbacktotheoriginalprobeconfiguration.

Removethecurrentmoduleifneededandaddthemodulesandtipsthatmakeuptherequested probefile.ClickOKwhenfinished.Thefollowingpromptisdisplayed:

606 DefiningHardware

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ThiscompletestheFCR25probechanger'scalibration.Thenextstepdiscusseshowtoreview yourcalibration.

Step9ReviewCalibrationResults
SelecttheSlotstabontheProbeChangerdialogbox,andyouwillseethatcalibration informationnowexistsforthelocationofeachofthecalibratedports.

ProbeChangerdialogboxSlotstabwithcalibrationresults Thiscalibrationprocessonlydiscussestheprocessforpreparingportsforcalibration.Seethe SettingUpProbeChangerOptionstopicinthe"SettingYourPreferences"chapterfor informationaboutaddingprobedefinitionstoeachoftheports. Duringpartprogramexecution,probeentitiesthatareaddedtoeachoftheportswillbe automaticallypickedupfromthatlocationwheneverPCDMISexecutesaLOADPROBE commandforthatprobe.Theprobebodywillmovetothemountpoint,thenintotheport,pushing thelidbackwards.Then,usingthemagneticattraction,itwillloadthenewmoduleandwill continuemeasurement.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

DefiningHardware 607

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ShowinganAnimatedProbeChanger
PCDMISallowsyoutodisplayananimatedgraphicalrepresentationofapredefinedprobe changerinsidetheGraphicsDisplaywindow. Note:Youcandefineaprobechangerfromthe"SettingUpProbeChangerOptions"topic inthe "SettingYourPreferences"chapter.

ExampleofananimatedprobechangershownintheGraphicsDisplaywindowintheZ+view (toppicture)andtheX+view(bottompicture) YouwillusetheAnimatedProbeChangerdialogboxtospecifythepositionandorientationof theprobechanger.AccessthisdialogboxbyselectingtheInsert|HardwareDefinition| AnimatedProbeChangermenuitem.

AnimatedProbeChangerdialogbox Theitemsinthisdialogboxarediscussedinthe"ToDisplaytheProbeChanger"procedure below.

608 DefiningHardware

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ToDisplaytheProbeChangerintheGraphicsDisplaywindow:
1. AccesstheAnimatedProbeChangerdialogbox(Insert|HardwareDefinition| AnimatedProbeChanger). 2. SelectanexistingpredefinedprobechangerfromtheActiveProbeChangerlist.Ifyou don'tseeanyprobechangersinthislist,youcandefineaprobechangerfromthe "SettingUpProbeChangerOptions"topicinthe"SettingYourPreferences"chapter. 3. Definethelocationandorientationoftheprobechanger.Youcandothisbyeitherusing calibrationdataforthelocationandorientationorbyspecifyingtheXYZlocationand orientationdirectlyintothedialogbox. Touseexistingcalibrationdata,selecttheUseCalibrationDatacheckbox.PC DMISfillsinthelocationboxeswiththeXYZvaluesfromthecalibration. Todirectlyspecifythelocationandorientation,typevaluesintotheX,Y,andZ boxesandthenselectanorientationfromtheOrientationlist.

4. ClickApply.PCDMISdrawstheanimatedprobechangerinthespecifiedpositionand orientationintheGraphicsDisplaywindow.PCDMISalsoinsertsa LOADPROBECHANGER commandintotheEditwindow. 5. ClickOKwhenyou'resatisfiedwiththeorientationandposition.

ToDeletetheProbeChangerfromtheGraphicsDisplaywindow:
AccesstheEditwindowanddeletetheLOADPROBECHANGERcommand.Thisdoesn'tdelete yourpredefinedchanger,justtheanimationofitinsidetheGraphicsDisplaywindow.

WorkingwithRotaryTables
Exceptwherespecified,thefollowingRotaryTablecommandsweredevelopedtosupportthe PCDMIS/NC(NumericalControl)foruseonCNCmachinetools.However,youcanusethemin regularCMMpartprogramsaswell.SeethePcdmis/NChelpfileformoreinformationonusing CNCmachineswithPCDMIS. IgnoreRotaryTable TheInsert|ParameterChange|Probe|IgnoreRotaryTable menuiteminsertsan IGNOREROTAB commandintothepartprogram.Theonlytwooptionsare:
IGNOREROTAB/ON orIGNOREROTAB/OFF

Whenyouhavearotarytabledefinedforuse,PCDMISusuallyassumesthatyouwillplaceparts tomeasureontherotarytable.Essentially,PCDMISexpectsyoutousetheRotarytable.This meansitisnotignoringtherotarytable.AndsoIGNOREROTABissettoOFF:


IGNOREROTAB/OFF

Inthisstate,PCDMISadjustsanymeasureddatacollectedfromthemachinebyusingthedata fromtherotarytable'scalibration. IfyouinsertIGNOREROTAB/ON command,PCDMISignorestherotarytablecalibrationdata.Thus, measureddatacollectedwillnothavearotarytableadjustmentappliedtoit.Thetwomost commoncaseswherethismightbeusedare

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

DefiningHardware 609

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Apartmeasurementwhereyouwanttomeasurethepartwithoutusingtherotarytable eventhoughyourtableexists. Apartprogramwhereyouwanttoexecuteanewtablecalibrationandyouneedtoignore theoldcalibrationresults.

CalibratetheRotaryTable TheInsert|Calibrate|RotaryTablefromFeaturesmenuiteminsertsaCALIBRATEROTAB commandintothepartprogram:


CALIBRATEROTAB/PLANE=TABLE_PLN,CIRCLE=TABLE_CIR, MEAS/XYZ=0,0,0,MEAS/IJK=0,0,0

Thiscommandtellsasuitablepartprogramtocalibratetherotarytableduringprogramexecution. Tousethiscommand: 1. Attachapropercalibrationartifact(asphere)tothetable. 2. Measureinanappropriateseriesofangularpositions. 3. Youcreateaconstructedplaneandcirclethroughtheresultingspherecenters.Onceyou haveaconstructedtheplaneandcircle,youcanusethemasinputstothiscommand. 4. InserttheCALIBRATEROTAB command. 5. PressF9onthecommandandaCalibrateRotabdialogboxappears.

CalibrateRotabdialogbox 6. FromtheConstructedPlanelist,selecttheconstructedplane.FromtheConstructed Circlelist,selecttheconstructedcircle. 7. ClickOK.PCDMISupdatesthecommandtousetheconstructedfeatures. 8. Whenyouexecutethepartprogram,PCDMISwillusetheconstructedfeaturesto updatetherotarytablecalibrationdata.TheMEAS/XYZ andMEAS/IJK portionsinthe commandblockwillshowtheresultforthecenterpointandplaneofrotationforthetable. Forinformationonsettingupyourrotarytable,see"DefiningtheRotaryTable"in"SettingYour Preferences" RotatetheTabletotheActiveAngle(NotSupportedinPCDMISNC) Theactualrotarytableangleonthemachineandtheactiveanglespecifiedinyourpartprogram don'talwaysmatch.TheOperation|RotateTabletoActivemenuitemautomaticallycauses theactualtabletorotateuntilitsanglematchestheactiveangleintheprogramatyourcursor's location.

610 DefiningHardware

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

CreatingAutoFeatures
CreatingAutoFeatures:Introduction
PCDMISprovidesalibraryoffunctionsandroutinestofacilitatetheautomaticmeasurementof parts.ThesefunctionsandroutinesallowPCDMIStoeasilyprogramformeasurementavariety ofpartfeatures,addingthemintothepartprogramas"AutoFeatures".Inmanycasesthis automaticfeaturerecognitionisassimpleassingleclickingwithyourmouseontheappropriate featureintheGraphicsDisplaywindow.Whileautofeatureshavetheirhistoryinmeasuringsheet metalorotherthinwalledmaterialsusingPCDMIS'sDirectComputerControl(DCC),todayyou canusetheminbothDCCandManualmodetomeasurepartsconstructedfromavarietyof differentmaterials. Toworkwithautofeatures,selecttheappropriateitemfromtheInsert|Feature|Autosubmenu. TheAutoFeaturedialogboxfortheselecteditemwillappear.Youcantheninteractwiththis dialogboxtocreatethenecessaryautofeatures. GenerallythischapterfocusesonusingAutoFeatureswithcontactprobes.Ifyouwanttocreate autofeaturesusingnoncontactprobes,seeyourPCDMISVisionorPCDMISLaser documentation. Themaintopicsinthischapterinclude: QuickWaystoCreateAutoFeatures TheAutoFeatureDialogBox CreatinganAutoVectorPoint CreatinganAutoLine CreatinganAutoPlane CreatinganAutoCircle CreatinganAutoEllipse CreatinganAutoNotchSlot CreatinganAutoRoundSlot CreatinganAutoAnglePoint CreatinganAutoCornerPoint CreatinganAutoEdgePoint CreatinganAutoHighPoint CreatinganAutoSurfacePoint CreatinganAutoSquareSlot CreatinganAutoCylinder CreatinganAutoCone CreatinganAutoSphere CreatinganAutoPolygon SettingUpRelativeMeasure

Note:DependingonyourspecificversionofPCDMIS,theAutoFeaturefunctionalitymayonlybe accessibleasanaddedoptiontoyourbasicPCDMISgeometricsoftwarepackage.Consultyour PCDMISvendortodetermineifyourversionsupportsthisfunctionality.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

CreatingAutoFeatures 611

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

QuickWaystoCreateAutoFeatures
Inadditiontokeyinginvaluestocreateyourautofeatures,youcanalsodothefollowing: BoxSelectingClickandthendragyourmousetoboxselectseveralCADentities.Once youclickCreatePCDMISwillcreateatoncemultipleautofeaturesfromtheselectedset offeatures. SingleClickingClickthemouseonceonasupportedCADentitytopopulatetheAuto Featuredialogboxwiththeappropriatenominalvalues.

BoxSelectingtoCreateMultipleAutoFeatures
YoucandrawaboxontopofaCADimagetoautomaticallycreatemultipleautofeaturesfor thesesupportedfeaturetypes: AutoVectorPoint AutoSurfacePoint AutoEdgePoint AutoHighPoint AutoLine AutoCircle AutoEllipse AutoCone AutoSphere AutoCylinder

ToBoxSelectandCreateFeatures Tousetheboxselectmethodtoquicklycreatemultipleautofeaturesofeitherthecircleor cylinderautofeaturetypes,followthisprocedure: 1. ImporttheCADmodelthathastheautofeaturesyouwanttoboxselect. 2. Rotatethepartandselecteitherwireframeorsolidtoselectaviewthatbestshowsthe featuresyouwanttoinclude. 3. AccesstheAutoFeaturedialogbox(Insert|Feature|Auto)foreithercircleorcylinder autofeatures. 4. Withthedialogboxopen,clickthemouse,anddragaboxaroundthosefeaturetypesfor whichyouwanttocreateautofeatures.Releasethemousebutton.PCDMISwilldisplay theCADSelectdialogbox,showingthenumberofobjectsselected. 5. ClickCreate.BasedontheobjectsselectedPCDMISwillgeneratemultipleauto featuresoftheselectedtype. BoxSelectingDetails BoxselectingonlyworksonobjectsvisibleintheGraphicsDisplaywindow. This preventsunseenobjectsfrombeingusedinthecreationoffeatures. Modelswithlittleornowireframegeometryshouldbeslightlytilted(orrotated)inthe GraphicsDisplaywindowsothatthedesiredsurfacesandfeaturesarevisible.

612 CreatingAutoFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ExampleofaSlightlyRotatedPart Becauseoftessellationanddisplayaccuracy,thebleedingofunderlyingsurfacesand curvesmayresultinextraunexpectedobjectsusedtocreatethefeatures.WhilePC DMISattemptstominimizethisbleedingbycomparingtheselectedobjectswitheach othertodeterminetheminimumnumberofpixelsnecessarytobeconsideredavalid selection,thisisnotafoolproofmethod,andsomemostlyhiddenobjectsmayget selectedinordertominimizethelikelihoodofeliminatingavalidobject. Whencreatingthefeaturesfromtheselectedobjects,objectswithvectorsperpendicular tothecurrentviewaremostlyignored.Forexample.UsingtheHexagonblockdisplayed in+Zwiththeentiremodelboxselected,PCDMISwillnotgenerateafeatureforthe frontborethatintersectsthecenterbore. SelectingintheZ+view, thiscircle'svectoris perpendiculartothe workplaneandtherefore PCDMISwouldnot generateacircleforit. Ifyoutiltedthepartand thenboxselected,then PCDMISwouldselect thisfeature.

PCDMISperformsfilteringroutinestoensurethatitdoesn'tusethesamecadobjectto createanotherfeatureinthesameposition. AsPCDMISgeneratesthefeaturesafteryouclickCreate,youcanseeeachitem's informationdisplayedintheStatusbar.

Example1:BoxSelectingAutoCircleswithWireframeData ThisexampleusestheBrownandSharpewireframeblock(Bsbwire.igs)withautocircles: Ifyouboxselecttheentiremodel,whichisnotinacomplete+Zorientation,youwillnoticethat thetopandbottomcircles/arcsareselectedbecausetheyarethevisibleobjectswhichalso satisfytheAutoCirclecadfilterlogic.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

CreatingAutoFeatures 613

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ClickCreatefromtheCADSelectDialogbox.Youwillgetsomethinglikethis:

Noticethat: Circles/Arcsofthesamediameterandvectoraremergedintoasinglefeature.So,the topandbottomcirclesforthetwocenterboresaremergedintoonlytwofeatures,CIR1 andCIR13(aswerealltheotherfeaturescomputedusingthetopandbottom circles/arcs).Fortheconefeature,however,sincethediametersaredifferentPCDMIS createstwofeatures(CIR12&CIR14). Acirclegetscreatedforthebackbore,CIR15.Thisisbecausethemodelwasrotated slightly.Iftheviewhadremainedina+Zorientation,thenCIR15wouldnothavebeen created.

Example2:BoxSelectingAutoCylinderswithWireframeData ThisexampleusestheBrownandSharpewireframeblock(Bsbwire.igs)withautocylinders:

614 CreatingAutoFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

IfyoudothesameasinExample1,butuseautocylindersinstead,youwillgetsomethinglike this:

Noticethatnocylinderwascreatedattheconefeaturebecauseacylindermusthavelengthand thesamediameter. Example3:BoxSelectingAutoCirclesorCylinderswithSurfaceData ThisexampleusestheBrownandSharpesolidblock(Bsbsolid.igs)withautocirclesand cylinders. Ifyouboxselecttocreatefeatureswithamodelthatonlyhassurfacedata(nowireframedata), youwillneedtoslightlyrotatethemodelintheviewsothatthedesiredsurfacesarevisible,like this:

OnceyouclickCreateandPCDMISgeneratesthefeaturesfromtheselectedobjects,youwill getsomethinglikethis:

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

CreatingAutoFeatures 615

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

CircleFeatures

CylinderFeatures Noticethatbecauseofthetilting,youwillnotgetacircle/cylinderfeatureatoneendoftheslot, noratthetoprightODcylinder. Example4:BoxSelectingAutoCylinderswithBothWireframeandSurfaceData ThisexampleusestheHexagonmodelthatshipswithPCDMIS (Hexblock_Wireframe_Surface.igs)withAutoCylinders. PutthemodelintoaZ+orientationandboxselecttheentiremodel.

616 CreatingAutoFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ClickCreate.Youwillgetsomethingthatlookslikethis:

IfyouflipthepartovertoaZorientationandthentiltthepartslightly,andboxselect,PCDMIS willshowsomethinglikethis:

ClickCreate.PCDMISwilldisplaysomethinglikethis:
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual CreatingAutoFeatures 617

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

NoticethatPCDMISgeneratedbothanID&ODcylinderfeatureformostofthecylindersonthe part,suchasthetoprightCYL3andCYL10.

UnderstandingtheCADSelectDialogBox
ThisdialogboxappearsafteryouboxselectonaCADmodelwhiletheAutoFeaturesdialog boxremainsopen.ItdisplaysthenumberofselectedCADelementsthatcanbeusedtogenerate featuresoftheselectedtype.

Create:Thisbuttoncreatesautofeaturesoftheselectedtype(currentlyonlyCircleorCylinder autofeatures)fromtheselectedCADelements.PCDMISwillclosetheCADSelectdialogbox, andfromeachboxselectedelement,PCDMISwillgeneratetheappropriatefeature.Thevector willbedeterminedusingthemethodselectedfromtheVectorUsearea.

618 CreatingAutoFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Close:Closesthisdialogbox,cancelingtheboxselectingoperation. DisplayArrows:Thischeckboxdisplaysorhidescoloredarrowsshowingthedirectionof vectorsusedbythemethodsintheVectorUsearea. TheVectorUsearealetsyouchoosethemethodsPCDMISshouldusetodeterminethevectors forthenearlycreatedautofeatures. Workplane:Thismethodusesthevectorofthecurrentlyactiveworkplaneasthevector foreachindividualfeature. LastUsed:Thismethodusesthelastvectorthatwasplacedinthedialogboxforthe AutoFeature.Thisletsyouspecifyonevectortobeusedforalltheselectedfeatures. FromCAD:ThismethodusesthevectorthatisspecifiedbytheCADfeature.This methodbecomesavailableifvectordataisavailableforeachfeature. FindVector:ThismethodfindsthevectorusingtheCADsurfacedatathatisclosestto thefeature.Thismethodisonlyavailableifsurfacedataisavailable.

'SingleClicking'AutoFeatureCreation
PCDMIScontinuallyincreasesitscapabilitytoselectautofeaturesonthescreenwithlessand lessmouseclicks.ThefollowingtabledetailsforbothCurveandSurfacemodestheauto featuresyoucanselectwithasinglemouseclick.Italsoliststhenumberofmouseclicksneeded forfeaturesthatdon'tyetsupportthesingleclickcapability. AutoFeatureType AnglePoint Circle Cone CornerPoint Cylinder Ellipse EdgePoint HighPoint Line Notch Plane Polygon RoundSlot SquareSlot Sphere SurfacePoint VectorPoint Curvemode No(2Clicks) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No(2Clicks) Yes No(2Clicks) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Surfacemode Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No(2Clicks) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

AnglePointFeatures: WiththeAutoFeaturedialogboxopen,clickoncenearbutnotonwherethetwo surfacesmeet.Ifusingsurfacemode,PCDMISgeneratespointontheangleofthetwo surfaces.

CircleFeatures:

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

CreatingAutoFeatures 619

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

WiththeAutoFeaturedialogboxopen,clickonceontheplanarsurfacethatcontainsthecircle forahole,onthefeature'swall,oronacylindricalendofastud. Theedgeclosesttothemouseclickdetermineswhetherthecirclefeatureisaholeora stud.(SeeNoteB).However,duetohowtheCADissometimesdefined,PCDMIS cannotalwaysdeterminethisonitsown. Ifthecirclehasalength(depth)likeacylinder,thenPCDMISusesthecircleclosestto whereyouclickedthemousetodefinethecenterposition. PCDMISautomaticallyfillsinthedialogboxanddeterminesthecircle'svector.

ConeFeatures: WiththeAutoFeaturedialogboxopen,clickonceontheplanarsurfacethatcontainsthecone's hole,onthefeature'swall,oronaconicalendofacone. Theedgeclosesttothemouseclickdetermineswhethertheconefeatureisaninner coneoranoutercone.(SeeNoteB).However,duetohowtheCADissometimes defined,PCDMIScannotalwaysdeterminethisonitsown. Thevectoroftheconepointsawayfromitsapex. PCDMISautomaticallyfillsinthedialogboxanddeterminesthecenterpoint.Inner conesusethelargerradiusforthecenterpoint.Outerconesusethesmallerradius.PC DMISdoesthistoavoidshankcollisionswhenmeasuringthecone.

CylinderFeatures: WiththeAutoFeaturedialogboxopen,clickonceontheplanarsurfacethatcontainsthe cylinder,onthefeature'swall,oronacylindricalendofanoutercylinder. Theedgeclosesttothemouseclickdetermineswhetherthecirclefeatureisaholeora stud.(SeeNoteB).However,duetohowtheCADissometimesdefined,PCDMIS cannotalwaysdeterminethisonitsown. PCDMISautomaticallyfillsinthedialogboxanddeterminesthecylinder'svector.Ituses thecenterlocationofthecylinderendclosesttowheretheusermouseclicked.

EdgePointFeatures: WiththeAutoFeaturedialogboxopen,clickonceanywhere.PCDMISautomatically fillsinthedialogbox. Ifusingsurfacemode,PCDMISgeneratestheedgeonthenearestedgewhere youclicked. Ifusingwireframemode,theedgeisonlyselected.PCDMISrequiresasecond clicktocreatetheedgepointonthewire.

EllipseFeatures: SameasRoundSlot.

NotchFeatures: WiththeAutoFeaturedialogboxopen,clickonceclosetothebackedgethenotch.Single clickingtocreatenotchfeatures,alwaysdefinesitasaninnernotch.PCDMISautomaticallyfills inthedialogbox. PolygonFeatures:

620 CreatingAutoFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

WiththeAutoFeaturedialogboxopen,clickonceonapolygonfeaturethatcontainsfiveor moresides.PCDMISautomaticallyfillsinthedialogboxanddeterminesthestartingsidebythe edgeclosesttothemouseclick. Youcanclickonapolygonwithlessthanthreesides,butdoingsowillrequireadditionalclicks. CornerPointFeatures: WiththeAutoFeaturedialogboxopen,clickoncenearanedgecontainingthecornerpoint. Theclosestedgetothemouseclickdeterminestheclosestendpointtothemouseclick. Thisendpointbecomesthecornerpoint. PCDMISautomaticallyfillsinthedialogbox.

HowitWorks: PCDMISfindsadjacentedgesrelativetothefirstedge.Ittestseachedgetoseeifithas anendpointcoincidenttothecornerpoint.Ifso,thenitfindsapointonthatedgevery nearthecornerpoint.Thiscontinuesuntiltwoedges(andtwopoints)arefoundthathave uniquevectors(ideallyperpendicular)toeachotherandthefirstedge. OncePCDMIShasthreepointsnearthecornerpoint,thesethreepointsareallon differentedges.Usingthetwodifferentpointsnearthecornerpoint,andthecornerpoint, PCDMIScomputesthreeplanes.Forexample,Inthisimage,theYELLOWcornerpoint andtheREDandWHITEpointscreateaplanewhosevectoristheBLUEarrow.Similarly, theYELLOW, WHITE,andBLUEpointsgiveustheREDarrowandtheYELLOW,BLUE, andREDpointsgiveustheWHITEarrow.

RoundSlotFeatures: WiththeAutoFeaturedialogboxopen,ifaninnerroundslot,clickonceontheplanarsurface thatcontainstheroundededgeorthefeature'swall.Ifanouterroundslot,clickonthetopedge oftheroundedend,awayfromwherethecurveendsandtheplanarsidesbeginoronthe feature'swall.(SeeNoteA). Theedgeclosesttotheclickdetermineswhetherthefeatureisaninnerroundslotoran outerroundslot.(SeeNoteB).However,duetohowtheCADissometimesdefined,PC DMIScannotalwaysdeterminethisonitsown.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

CreatingAutoFeatures 621

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

PCDMISautomaticallyfillsinthedialogboxanddeterminestheslot'svectorand orientation.

SquareSlotFeatures: WiththeAutoFeaturedialogboxopen,ifaninnersquareslot,clickonceontheplanar surfacenearanyedgeoftheslotoronthefeature'swall.Ifanoutersquareslot,clickon anytopedgeoronthefeature'swall.(SeeNoteA). Theedgeclosesttotheclickdetermineswhetherthefeatureisaninnersquare slotoranoutersquareslot.(SeeNoteB).However,duetohowtheCADis sometimesdefined,PCDMIScannotalwaysdeterminethisonitsown. PCDMISautomaticallyfillsinthedialogboxanddeterminestheslot'svectorand orientation.

SphereFeatures: WiththeAutoFeaturedialogboxopen,clickonceonthesphere'sedge.PCDMISautomatically fillsinthedialogbox. SurfacePointFeatures: WiththeAutoFeaturedialogboxopen,clickonceanywhere.PCDMISautomaticallyfillsinthe dialogbox. VectorPointFeatures: WiththeAutoFeaturedialogboxopen,clickonceanywhere.PCDMISautomaticallyfillsinthe dialogbox. Ifusingcurvemode,PCDMISsnapsthepointtothenearestwire. Ifusingsurfacemode,PCDMISgeneratesthepointwhereyouclicked.

NoteA
Inthisimage: TheGREENmarksshouldworkbecausetheline/curve(oredgeifitisasurface)thatis closesttothemarksisaline/curvethatisintheplanethatdefinestheslot. TheREDmarkwillnotworkbecausetheline(oredgeifitisasurface)thatisclosestto themarkisaline/curvethatisnotintheplanethatdefinestheslot. TheYELLOWmarkwillworkifthesurfaceisacylinder.

622 CreatingAutoFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

NoteB
Inthisimage,showingaflippedover,ZorientationoftheHexagonmodel: TheREDmarkswillproduceanODfeature. TheWHITEmarkswillproduceanIDfeature.

TheAutoFeatureDialogBox
AutofeaturesarecreatedusinganAutoFeaturedialogbox,accessiblebyselectingInsert| Feature|AutoFeatureandthenselectinganitemfromthatmenu. ProbeDeflectionandCADClickBehavior IftheAutoFeaturedialogboxisopenandPCDMISdetectsaprobehit,itassumesyouare tryingtolearnthecurrentlyselectedautofeaturetype.Itwillthenpromptyoutomeasurethe remaininghits(ifany)tocompleteit. Similarly,ifyouclickontheCADdatawhiletheAutoFeaturedialogboxisopen,PCDMISwill assumethatthecurrentlyselectedfeaturetypeisbeinglearnedandwillpopulatethedialogbox withthegatheredinformationfromtheCADmodel. Changesin4.2andHigher Inanefforttosupporttheexpandingroleofautofeaturesonawiderarrayofnoncontact machinessuchasvisionandlasermachines,andinanefforttosimplifytheAutoFeaturedialog box,thefollowingchangeswereappliedbeginningwithversion4.2: DialogboxcontrolsthatwerespecifictocontactprobessuchasNumberofHits, NumberofSampleHits,Depth,andsoon,havebeenmovedtotheProbeToolbox.
CreatingAutoFeatures 623

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Seethe"UsingtheProbeToolbox"topicinthe"UsingOtherWindows,Editors,and Tools"chapterformoreinformation. Severalcheckboxes,options,andbuttonsarenowdepictedasclickableicons.Youcan hoveryourmouseovertheseicons,viewingtheirtooltipstodeterminetheirpurpose,and thenusethemjustasyoudidwiththepreviousinterface. Severalitems,suchasitemsspecifictoVisionorLaser,maynotbesupportedbyyour currentconfiguration.Whiletheyremainvisibleonthedialogbox,theywillnotbe unavailableforselection.Therequirementstomakethemavailableforselectionare listedintheirrespectivetopics.

AutoFeatureTypelist

TheAutoFeatureTypelistshowsthecurrentlyselectedautofeaturetype.Youcanalsousethis listtochangetoadifferentautofeaturetype.Allthesupportedautofeaturesforyour configurationareavailablefromthislist.Ifyouchangetoadifferentautofeaturetype,theAuto Featuredialogboxchangesitscontentwithitemsusedtocreatethenewlyselectedfeaturetype.

IDbox

TheIDboxshowsthecurrentIDfortheautofeaturebeingcreated.YoucanchangetheIDto somethingdifferentbymodifyingthisvalue.

FeaturePropertiesarea
TheFeaturePropertiesareaoftheAutoFeaturedialogboxcontainssomeorallofthe followingitems,dependingontheautofeaturebeingcreated.

XYZPointboxes

IJKSurfaceboxes

IJKEdgeboxes

IJKSurf1Vecboxes

IJKSurf2Vecboxes

IJKSurf3Vecboxes

624 CreatingAutoFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

IJKLineVecboxes

IJKAngleboxes

XYZStartPointboxes

XYZStart/Endboxes

XYZCenterboxes

XYZPointboxes

ForaHighPointfeature,theXYZPointboxesdisplaytheX,Y,andZnominalforthestartpoint. Afterthenewvalueiscreated,PCDMISwilldrawtheanimatedprobeatthenewlocation. Thislocationindicatesthebeginningpositionofthesearch.Aftertheexecutionis complete,theXYZpointwillcontainthehighpointinthecurrentworkplane.Subsequent executionshoweverwillusetheoriginalstartpointforthesearch. Forallotherfeaturetypes,theXYZPointboxesdisplaytheX,Y,andZnominalforthe locationofthefeature. Afterthenewvalueiscreated,PCDMISwilldrawtheanimatedprobeatthenewlocation. Thislocationindicateswhereitwillbetakingthehitonthepart. ForinformationontheX,Y,andZaxescheckboxes,seethe"FindNearestCADElement"topic. Icon Description Polar/CartesianToggle FindNearestCADElement

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

CreatingAutoFeatures 625

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ReadPointfromMachine

IJKSurfaceboxes

ThisisausersuppliedI,J,Knormalvector.TheI,J,Kshouldalwayspointawayfromthe surface.Afterthenewvalueiscreated,PCDMISwillnormalizethevector,makingitslengthone unit.Thisvectorisusedforprobecompensation.PCDMISwilldisplayacorrespondingcolored arrowshowingthesurfacevector. Ifyoucan'tseethevectorarroworitappearstoosmall,trychangingthevalueinthePt.Sizebox intheAnalysisarea.SettingPt.Sizeto0willgenerallysetboththepointandthearrowtoa desirablesize. ForVectorPoint,SurfacePoint,andHighPoints,theIJKSurfaceboxesdisplaythe approachdirectionforthehitthatwastakentocreatetheautofeature. ForHighPoints,afterexecution,theIJKNormalVectorwilldisplaytheapproachvector forthehighpointinthecurrentworkplane ForCircle,Cylinder,Sphere,andConeFeatures,theIJKSurfaceboxesdefinethefeature centerline.Acone'svectorisveryimportantandalwayspointsoutfromtheorigin.The heightanddepthofaconearealwaysrelativetothisvector. ForSquareSlot,RoundSlot,Ellipse,andNotchFeatures,theIJKSurfaceboxesdefinethe surfacenormalvectoroftheplanethatthefeatureliesin(theplaneparalleltothe feature). ForaPlanefeature,theIJKSurfaceboxesdefinetheapproachdirectionfortheplane'shits. Icon Description FindVectors FlipVector UseThickness

Polar/CartesianToggle
ThisiconletsyouswitchyourcoordinatesystembetweeneitherCartesianorPolarmodes. Thesechoicesallowyoutoselectthecoordinatesystemthatwillbeusedtodisplaythepointor centervaluesfortheautofeature. InCartesianmode,whentheiconisdepressed,thevaluesaredisplayedinXYZ.

626 CreatingAutoFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

InPolarmode,whentheiconisraised,thevaluesaredisplayedasradius,angleand height(shownasR,A,andHinthedialogbox).Theheightdependsontheworkplane currentlybeingused.IfthecurrentworkplaneisZPLUS,theheightistheZvalue.

FindNearestCADElement
TheFindNearestCADElementicontellsPCDMIStofindthenearestCADelementinthe GraphicsDisplaywindowbasedontheXYZlocationandanyselectedaxis(oraxes).PCDMIS allowsyoutoeithertypeorsurfaceselectthepertinentinformation. UnderstandingAxesCheckBoxSelecting ForVectorPointsorSurfacePointsIfyouselectanX,Y,orZaxischeckbox,PC DMISinterpretstheselectionastheaxisthatwillbemodifiedwhenyouclicktheFind NearestCADElementicon. ForEdgePointsorAnglePointsIfyouselectanX,Y,orZaxischeckbox,PCDMIS interpretstheselectionoftheaxisasaselectionoftheoneaxisthatwillNOTbemodified whenyouclicktheFindNearestCADElementicon.Forexample,ifyouselecttheX checkbox,PCDMISwillactuallycheckmarktheYandZcheckboxessignifyingthatthe YaxisandZaxisvalueswillbemodifiedbytheFindprocess.

UnderstandingtheFindOperationwithoutSelectingAxesCheckBoxes ForEdgePointsandAnglePointsIfyouclicktheFindNearestCADElementicon withoutanaxisselection,PCDMISwillfindtheclosestCADedgeoranglepoint. ForVectorPointsandSurfacePointsIfyouclicktheFindNearestCADElement iconwithoutanaxisselection,PCDMISwillfindtheclosestCADalongtheNormal vectorspecifiedinthedialogbox.PCDMISwillthenpopulatethedialogboxwiththe foundvector.

ReadPointfromMachine
TheReadPointfromMachineiconimmediatelyreadstheprobe'scurrentpositionandfillsits locationintotheXYZofthefeature.

FindVector(s)

Thisiconisavailableonlyon theseautofeatures:Vector Point,SurfacePoint,and EdgePoint.

TheFindVector(s)iconwillpierceallsurfacesalongtheXYZ pointandIJKvectorlookingfortheclosestpoint.Thesurface normalvectorwillbedisplayedastheIJKNOMVECbuttheXYZ valueswillnotchange.

FlipVector
TheFlipVectoriconallowsyoutoreversethedirectionofthesurfacevectors.ClickonFlip Vectortoreversethedisplayedvalues.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

CreatingAutoFeatures 627

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

UseThickness
TheUseThicknessicondisplaysaTlist(Tfor"thickness")andaboxwhereyoucantypethe partthicknessvalue.

Whenmeasuringthesideof Definingathicknessamountisprimarilyusedforthinparts(plastic thepartthatismodeledin orsheetmetal)wheretheCADdataonlydescribesonesideand PCDMIS,thepartthickness youwanttomeasuretheotherside. valueshouldbesettozero. Thepartthicknessoption Oftenwiththinparts,theCADengineerwillonlydrawonesideof shouldonlybeusedwhen thepart,andthenspecifythematerialthickness.PCDMISwill measuringthesideofthepartapplythismaterialthicknessautomaticallywhenusingtheCAD thatisnotdrawnintheCAD surfacedata. data. Positiveornegativevaluescanbeused.Thisthicknesswillbe appliedautomaticallyalongthesurfacenormalvectoreachtime CADdataisselected.Ifthefeaturehasmorethanonenormal vector(i.e.anglepointsandcornerpoints),thethicknesswillbe appliedalongthefirstnormalvector. TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionwouldread:
THEO_THICKNESS=n

or
ACTL_THICKNESS=n

n: anumericalvalueindicatingthethicknessofthepart. FromtheTlist,selectTheo,andintheboxbelowtheTlist,typethethicknessvaluewhenthe theoreticalvaluesneedtobeadjustedbyathicknessbecausemeasurementsarebeingdoneon oppositesideofmaterial. FromtheTlist,selectActual,andintheboxbelowtheTlist,typethethicknessvaluewhen measurementsarebeingadjustedbythethicknessbacktotheoriginaltheoreticalXYZlocations. Withthisoptionitwillappearthatthetheoreticalandmeasuredvalueshavenotbeenoffsetand thetargetisoffset.YoustillneedtomodifyyourtargetsothatPCDMISdrivestothecorrect location. SelecttheNoneoptionifyoudon'tneedtoapplythickness.Formostmachines,athicknessof0 orselectingNonehasthesameeffect.Forportablearmmachines,however,selectingNoneand specifyingavalueactuallyappliesthethicknesstoashankstylemeasurement.Inthistypeof measurement,youusethecylindricalshankoftheprobetomeasureinsteadoftheprobetip.To

628 CreatingAutoFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

dothisyouneedtofirstdefinesamplehits.PCDMIScanthendeterminethelocationofthe supportedfeature(Circles,Ellipses,Slots,andNotches)usingtheshank. Note: Whenswitchingbetweentheoreticalandactualthickness,themeasurementlocationwill notchange.Whenusingtheoreticalthickness,PCDMISmodifiesthetheoretical,measured,and targetlocationstoincludethe(theoretical)thickness.Whenusingactualthickness,PCDMIS modifiesonlythetargetlocationbyaddingthe(actual)thicknessvaluetotheoriginaltheoretical location.Later,afterfeaturemeasurement,PCDMISsubtractsthe(actual)thicknessfromthe measuredvalue.Bothmethodsyieldthesamemeasurementlocation.ItissimplyhowPCDMIS reportsthefeature'stheoretical,actual,andtargetvaluesthatchanges.

IJKEdgeboxes

Theseboxesareonly TheIJKEdgeboxesdisplaytheapproachdirection(vector)forthe availablefortheEdgePoint edgehitorforthepointsofanautoline.ThisisausersuppliedI,J, andLinefeatures. Kmeasuredvector.TheI,J,Kshouldalwayspointawayfromthe edgeandbeperpendiculartotheedgethatisbeingmeasured. Tochangetheapproachvector: 1. Selecttheexistingvalue. 2. Typeanewvalue. Afteranewvalueiscreated,PCDMISwillnormalizethevector,makingitslengthoneunit. Icon Description SwapVectors FlipVector UseThickness

SwapVectors
TheSwapVectorsiconcausesthecurrentEdgevectorandSurfacevectortoswitchvectors witheachother.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

CreatingAutoFeatures 629

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

IJKSurf1Vecboxes

Theseboxesareonly availablefortheseauto features:AnglePointor CornerPoint

TheIJKSurf1Vecboxesdisplaythesurfacenormalvectorofthe firstsurfacethatwillbemeasured.TheI,J,Kvectorisexpectedto pointawayfromthesurfacethatisbeingmeasured.PCDMISwill displayacorrespondingcoloredarrowshowingthesurfacevector. Ifyoucan'tseethevectorarroworitappearstoosmall,try changingthevalueinthePt.SizeboxintheAnalysisarea.Setting Pt.Sizeto0willgenerallysetboththepointandthearrowtoa desirablesize.

Tochangeavalue: 1. Selectaboxtochange. 2. Typeanewvalue. Afteranewvalueiscreated,PCDMISwillnormalizethevector,makingitslengthoneunit.

IJKSurf2Vecboxes

Theseboxesareonly availablefortheseauto features:AnglePointor CornerPoint

TheIJKSurf2Vecboxesdisplaythesurfacenormalvectorofthe secondsurfacethatwillbemeasured.TheI,J,Kvectoris expectedtopointawayfromthesurfacethatisbeingmeasured. PCDMISwilldisplayacorrespondingcoloredarrowshowingthe surfacevector. Ifyoucan'tseethevectorarroworitappearstoosmall,try changingthevalueinthePt.SizeboxintheAnalysisarea. SettingPt.Sizeto0willgenerallysetboththepointandthearrow toadesirablesize.

Tochangeavalue: 1. Selecttheboxtochange. 2. Typeanewvalue. Afteranewvalueiscreated,PCDMISwillnormalizethevector,makingitslengthoneunit. Icon Description FlipVector

630 CreatingAutoFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

IJKSurf3Vecboxes

Theseboxesareonly TheIJKSurf3Vecboxesdisplaythesurfacenormalvectorofthe availablefortheCornerPoint thirdplanethatwillbemeasured.TheI,J,Kvectorisexpectedto feature. pointawayfromtheplanethatisbeingmeasured.PCDMISwill displayacorrespondingcoloredarrowshowingthesurfacevector. Ifyoucan'tseethevectorarroworitappearstoosmall,try changingthevalueinthePt.SizeboxintheAnalysisarea. SettingPt.Sizeto0willgenerallysetboththepointandthearrow toadesirablesize. Tochangethisvalue: 1. SelecttheSurf3Vecboxestobechanged 2. Typeanewvalue. Afteranewvalueiscreated,PCDMISwillnormalizethevector,makingitslengthoneunit. Icon Description FlipVector

IJKLineVecboxes

Theseboxesareonly TheIJKLineVecboxesdisplaythevectorofthelineonwhichthe availablefortheAnglePoint anglepointorlinelies.ThisisausersuppliedI,J,Knormalvector. andLinefeatures. Tochangetheapproachvector: 1. Selecttheexistingvalue. 2. Typeanew value. Afteranewvalueiscreated,PCDMISwillnormalizethevector,makingitslengthoneunit. Icon Description FlipVector

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

CreatingAutoFeatures 631

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

IJKAngleboxes

ForCircle,Cylinder,Sphere,andConefeatures,theAngleboxesdefinethe0 positionaboutthe normalvector.Thestartandendanglesarecalculatedrelativetothisvector.Ifthevectorsare notperpendicular,theanglevectorisadjustedtothenormalvector. ForSquareSlot,RoundSlot,andEllipsefeatures,theAngleboxesdefinethefeature's secondaryvector.ThisisausersuppliedI,J,Knormalvector.Thefeaturecenterlineandnormal vectormustbeperpendiculartoeachother. ForaNotchfeature,theAngleboxesdefinethenotch'ssecondaryvectororientation.This isa usersuppliedI,J,Knormalvectoralongthebacksideoftheslot.Thenotchanglevectorand notchnormalvectormustbeperpendiculartoeachother. ForaPlanefeature,theAngleboxesdefinetheplane'ssecondaryvector.Thishelpscontrolthe orientationoftheplane'spath. TochangetheAngleVector: 1. Selecttheboxesyouwanttoupdate. 2. Typeanewvalue. Afteranewvalueiscreated,PCDMISwillnormalizethevector,makingitalengthof1. Icon Description FlipVector

XYZStartPointboxes

TheXYZStartPointboxesdefinetheXYZlocationwherethesearchwillbeginforthehighest pointinthesearchregion. Icon Description Polar/CartesianToggle FindNearestCADElement

632 CreatingAutoFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ReadPointfromMachine

XYZStart/Endboxes

TheXYZStartandXYZEndboxesdisplaythestartingandendingpointsforanAutoLine feature.YoucanclickontheReadPointfromMachineiconstogetthecurrentprobe'sXYZ location.Oryoucansimplytakehitspointsontheparttoshowthestartandendpointvalues. NotethattheEndboxesonlyappearifyouselectYesfromtheBoundedlistfromthe MeasurementPropertiesarea. Seethe"BoundedList"topic. Icon Description Polar/CartesianToggle FindNearestCADElement ReadPointfromMachine

XYZCenterboxes
Theseboxesareonly availablewiththeseauto featuretypes:HighPoint, Plane,Circle,Ellipse,Round Slot,SquareSlot,Notch, Polygon,Cylinder,and Sphere ForPlane,Circle,Ellipse,RoundSlot,SquareSlot, Polygon,Cylinder,andSphere,theXYZCenterboxes indicatethenominalcenterlocationofthefeature.

ForaNotch,theseboxesindicatethemidpointofthe notchalongthenonparallelside. ForaHighPoint,theseboxesindicatethecenterof thesearchregion. Tochangethisvalue: 1. Selecttheexistingvalue. 2. Typeanewvalue Afterthevalueiscreated,PCDMISwilldrawtheanimatedprobeatthenewlocation.


PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual CreatingAutoFeatures 633

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

CylinderNote:Itisimportanttorememberthatifacylinderisdefinedasahole,thecenterpoint mustbedefinedatthetopofthecylinder.Ifthecylinderisdefinedasastudthenthecenterpoint mustbedefinedatthebottomofthecylinder. Icon Description Polar/CartesianToggle FindNearestCADElement ReadPointfromMachine

MeasurementPropertiesarea
TheMeasurementPropertiesareaofthedialogboxcontainssomeorallofthefollowingitems, dependingontheautofeaturebeingcreated.

Snaplist
TheSnaplistonlybecomesenabledifyouuseanoncontactapplication(PCDMISVisionand Laser)tocreateaSurfacePoint.Itremainsgrayedoutforcontactprobesandotherfeaturetypes.

TheSnaplistdetermineswhetherornotmeasuredvalues"snapto"thetheoreticalvectorfor SurfacePoints.IfYES,thenthemeasuredvaluessnaptothetheoreticalvectorwithallthe deviationalongthevectorofthepoint.Thisisusefulfor focusingonadeviationalongone particularvector.

MeasureOrderlist

Thisisonlyavailablewiththe TheMeasureOrderlistintheMeasurementPropertiesarea edgepointfeature. allowsyoutochoosetheorderinwhichthesamplepointswillbe takenbeforethefinalhitistaken.Thechoicesare:SURFACE, EDGE,orBOTH. SURFACE SURFACEmeasuresthethreehits,firstonthe surface,thenontheedge. EDGEmeasuresthetwohits,firstontheedgethen EDGE thesurface. BOTHmeasuresthesurface,thentheedge,andthen BOTH thesurfaceagain.

634 CreatingAutoFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Interior/Exteriorlist

Thislistisavailableonlyon TheInterior/Exteriorlistdefinestheangleaseitherinterioror theAnglePointautofeature. exterior. Interiorangleshavethesolidangleofthepartlessthan180,while exterioranglesaregreaterthan180. Itisveryimportanttomakesurethisoptionissetcorrectlybecause ofthedifferencesinmeasurementsequenceforeachtype.

Incrementbox

Thisboxisavailableonlyon TheIncrementboxallowsyoutodefinetheincrementusedwhen theHighPointautofeature. forthehighestpointinthesearcharea.DuringexecutionPCDMIS beginssearchingfromthestartpoint(orsearchpoint)bythe amountspecifiedintheIncrementbox.

Tolerancebox

Thisboxisavailableonlyon TheToleranceboxallowsyoutodefineatolerancevaluethat theHighPointautofeature. essentiallytellsPCDMISwhentostopsearchingforahighpoint withinagivenarea.Thetolerancevalueshouldalwaysbeless thantheincrementvalue.Duringthesearchprocess,PCDMIS decreasestheincrementvalueuntilitislessthanorequaltothe Tolerancevaluesupplied,indicatingthatthehighestpointinthe currentworkplanehasbeenlocated.

Box/Circularlist

Thislistisonlyavailablefor TheBox/Circularlistallowsyoutodefinethesearchmodethat theHighPointfeature. PCDMISwillusetoreturnthehighestpoint.YoucanchooseBox modeoraCircularmode.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

CreatingAutoFeatures 635

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

BoxMode SelectingBoxdefinesarectangularsearchregionfortheHighPointfeature.Therectangleis definedbytheWidthandLengthvalues.PCDMISwillreportthehighestpointwithinthatarea. CircularMode SelectingCircularswitchestheWidthandLengthboxestoOuterRadandInnerRadboxes. ThesearchregionfortheHighPointfeaturebecomesacircularsearchbandspecifiedbythe OuterRadandInnerRadvalues. Ifacompletecircularregionisdesired,settheinnerradiusto0. Ifacircularsearchlineisdesired,settheinnerandouterradiitothesamevalue.

Thehighestpointalongthecircumferencewillbereported. Nomatterwhichmodeyouselect,thestartpointshouldliewithinthedefinedsearchregion.For thespecialcasesoflinesearching,thestartpointwillautomaticallybeadjustedtobeontheline.

Widthbox

HighPoint

TheWidthdefinesthewidthofthesearch region.IfyouhaveavalueforLengthbut leavetheWidthvalue0,thentheWidth valuecorrespondstothelengthalongthe majoraxisofthecurrentworkplane. SquareSlot,RoundSlot, TheWidthboxdisplaysthewidthofthe Ellipse,orNotch feature.

Lengthbox

HighPoint

TheLengthdefinesthelengthofthesearch region.IfyouhaveavalueforWidth,but leavetheLengthvalue0,theLength value correspondstothelengthalongtheminor axisofthecurrentworkplane. SquareSlot,RoundSlot, TheLengthboxdisplaysthelengthofthe Ellipse,Notch,orLine feature.

Boundedlist

Thislistiscurrentlyonly TheBoundedlistdefineswhetherornottheautolineisbounded availablefortheLinefeature. byanendingpointoranunbounded,openline.

636 CreatingAutoFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

IfyouselectYes,thensomeEndboxeswillappearintheFeaturePropertiesareawiththeXYZ valuesfortheendingpoint.PCDMISautomaticallycalculatesthelengthofthelinebasedoffof thedistancebetweentheStartandEndpointsanddisplaystheline'slengthintheLengthbox. IfyouselectNo,thenPCDMISexpectsyoutotypeavalueintheLengthbox.Itthencalculates thelinefromthestartingpoint,alongthelinevectorforthedistancespecifiedintheLengthbox. See"XYZStart/EndPointBoxes"and"Lengthbox"foradditionalinformation.

Patternlist

FortheAutoPlanefeature,theSquareandRadialoptionsinthePatternlistallowyouto determinewhetherthehitsfortheplanefeaturearetakeninasquareorradialpattern. IfyouselectRadial,PCDMISwillcreatethehitsinrowscomingfromtheplanecenterina circularorradialpattern.PCDMIStakes360degreesanddividesitbythevalueinthe# Rowsboxtodeterminetheanglebetweeneachrow.Forexample,ifthe#Rowsbox had6andyour#Hitsboxhad3,PCDMISwouldgeneratearowofthreehitsevery60 degrees,foratotalof18hits. IfyouselectSquare,PCDMISwillcreatethehitsinagridpatternaboutthecenterpointof theplane.Forexample,ifthe#Rowsboxhad3andthe#Hitsboxhad4,PCDMIS wouldtakeatotalof12hitsinagridpatternwiththeplanecenterpointatthecenter.

Displaylist

ForanAutoPlanefeature,theDisplaylistdetermineshowtheplanewillbedisplayedinthe GraphicsDisplaywindow. SelectingTrianglewillcausetheplanetoappearasatrianglesymbolaroundtheregion wheretheplanehitswillbetaken.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

CreatingAutoFeatures 637

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

SelectingOutlinewillcausetheplanetoappearasasquareorrectangularoutline aroundtheregionwheretheplanehitswillbetaken.

StartandEndAngles
Foracircularfeature,thedifferentStartAngleandEndAngleboxesdefinewherePCDMIS probesthefeature.Formanysituationsthedefaultvaluesaresufficient,buttheremaybetimes whenyouneedtomeasureacircularfeaturethatispartiallyobstructedbyanotherfeatureor otherwiseonlypartiallyavailableforprobing.Inversion4.2andlateryoushouldenterthestart andendanglesinacounterclockwisemanner. StartandEndAngleExamples Forexample,ifyoumeasureaholewithsixhitsandaStartAngleof0andanEndAngleof360, itwilllooksomethinglikethis:

638 CreatingAutoFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

NoticethattheStartAngleandtheEndAnglearethesame:0and360.Also,thesixpoints makingupthecirclefeatureareequallydistributedbetweenthetwoangles.Inthiscaseeach pointistakenat60degreeintervalswiththelastpointtakenat300degrees. However,changingtheStartAngleto45(redarrow)andtheEndAngleto270(orangearrow) limitsthehitstoacertainportionofthecircularfeature:

StartandEndAngleBoxes AngleType StartAngle andEnd Angleboxes Description Theseboxesletyouchangethedefaultstartingandendinganglesonthe feature.Thisisausersuppliedangleindecimaldegrees.Thestartingand endinganglesarerelativetothevaluesintheIJKAngleVectorboxes. Ifyourotatetheviewofthefeaturesothatyoulookdownitscenter,PCDMIS willspacethedesirednumberofhitsbeginningattheStartAngleina counterclockwisedirectionaroundthecenterlineuntilitreachestheEndAngle asshowninthisexample: SupposeyouhaveaspherefeaturewithaStartAngleof0,anendangleof90, andanIJKAngleVectorof1,0,0(alongtheX+axis).Thestartingandending anglesarerelativetotheanglevector.Measurementwillproceedina counterclockwisemanner,equallyspacedbetween0and90degrees: Notes These boxes areonly available for Circle, Cylinder, Ellipse, Cone, and Sphere auto features.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

CreatingAutoFeatures 639

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ScreencaptureofanAutoSphereshowingpathlinesandhitlocationsfrom StartAngleof0(atA)andEndAngleof90(atB).

StartAngle 2andEnd Angle2 boxes

TheStartAngle2andEndAngle2boxesletyoudeterminethesecondary startingandendingangleonaspherefeature.Thisangleisindecimal degrees. Thesecondaryangle,iflookingatasideviewofasphere,startsatthe sphere'sequatorandthenmovestowardsthetoppoleastheangleincreases to90degreesandthenbackdowntotheequatorontheoppositesideofthe sphereat180degrees. Theseanglesallowyoutoplacethehitsinanareawheretheprobecanreach themwithoutobstruction. Considerthisexample: Supposeyouhaveanexternalspherethat'shalfwayvisibleabovethe surroundingsurface.IfyouuseaStartAngle2valueof0degrees,theprobe wouldcollidewiththesurroundingsurfacewhenitattemptedtotakethehits aroundthesphere'sequator.AslightadjustmentintheStartAngle2valuewill resolvethisproblem. Ifyoucreatethespherewith20hits,andgiveitaStartAngleof45,anEnd Angleof270,aStartAngle2of20,andanEndAngle2to90,PCDMIS

Thisbox isonly available for Sphere auto features.

640 CreatingAutoFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

wouldspace19hitsaroundthesphere20degreesupfromtheequatorofthe spherelikethis:

ATopViewoftheSphere

ASideViewoftheSphere

Thisprovidestheprobewithplentyofroomtomeasurethesphere.The sphere'ssecondlevelwouldonlyconsistofonehitontopofthesphere. IfyouadjustedEndAngle2tosomethinglike110degrees,thesecondlevelof hitswouldhave5hitsadjusted20degreesdownfromthetopofthesphere:

OffsetInformation: Whengeneratinganarcusingoneofthecircularautofeatures(Circle, Cylinder,Cone,Sphere,orRoundSlot),PCDMISwilloffsetthestartandendangleseachbytwo degrees.ThiswayarcsretrievedfromtheCADaren'tprobedontheirstartingandendingangles, possiblycatchingacorner.Thisshouldn'tbeanissueforthemostpartunlessyouareattempting togenerateasmallarcofonlyafewdegrees.Forexample,ifyouwanttogenerateafourdegree arcofanAutoCircleyouwillneedtotypeinaneightdegreearcparameterintheStartAngle andEndAngleboxes,knowingthatPCDMISwillshortenthearcbytwodegreesoneachangle.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

CreatingAutoFeatures 641

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Inner/Outerlist

TheInner/OuterlisttellsPCDMIStoconstructtheAutoFeatureaseitheraninternalfeatureor anexternalfeature. IfyouselectOut,PCDMISconstructsthecircleasanexternalfeaturethatprotrudes fromitssurroundingsurface. IfyouselectIn,PCDMISconstructsthefeatureasaninternalfeaturethatsinksintoits surroundingsurface.

Diameterbox

Thisboxisonlyavailablefor TheDiameterboxdefinesthediameterofthefeature.Inthecase theseautofeatures:Circle, ofastud,thediameterboxdisplaysthenominal,usersupplied Cylinder,Sphere,Cone, value. Polygon Foracone,thisvaluerepresentsthenominaldiameterattheendoftheconewhereyou've definedtheX,Y,andZlocation. Forapolygon,thediameteristhedistancebetweentwoopposingsidesofevensided polygons.Forotherpolygons,suchasanequilateraltriangle,itistwicetheradiusofthe largestcircleyoucaninscribeinsidethepolygon. Tochangethefeature'sdiameter: 1. Selecttheexistingvalue. 2. Typeanewvalue. Oncethefeatureiscreated,PCDMISupdatesthesizeofthefeatureintheGraphicsDisplay window.

MeasAngbox

Roundslotshavetworoundedends,eachhavingupto180degreesofmeasurementradius.The valueintheMeasAngboxdefineshowmuchoftheradiustomeasure.PCDMIStakestheinput valueanddividesitintwo,measuringhalfoneachsideoftheslotanglevector.

642 CreatingAutoFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Example:Supposeyoutype90inthisbox.WhencreatingtheRoundSlot,PCDMISwouldthen measure45degreestotheleft,and45degreestotherightoftheanglevector(orviceversa dependingontheanglevector).

MeasWidthlist

Thislistisavailableonlyon WhenyouselectYesfromMeasWidthandthenclicktheCreate theSquareSlotautofeature. button,PCDMISwilldothefollowingduringmeasurement: Measuretwohitsonthesideoftheslot. Adjusttheanglevector. Measuretwohitsontheoppositesidetocalculatethewidth. Adjustthepositionofthelasttwohitsateachendforthewidth.

Note:Generally,SquareSlotsonlyrequirefivehits.Withthisoption,however,takingsixhitswill yieldabettermeasurementofthewidth.

NumSideslist

TheNumSideslistdefinesthenumberofsidesmakingupthepolygonfeature.

AutoFeatureToggleBar

TheAutoFeaturedialogboxinversion4.2andhighercontainsatogglebaraseriesoftoggle iconsthatallowyoutoturncertain functionalityonoroff.ThisbarappearsintheMeasurement Propertiesareaandcontainstheseicons. Icon Description MeasureNowToggle ReMeasureToggle AutoWristToggle ClearPlaneToggle CircularMovesToggle ManualPrePositionToggle ShowHitTargetsToggle ViewNormalToggle

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

CreatingAutoFeatures 643

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ViewPerpendicularToggle VoidDetectionToggle ProbeToolboxToggle ShowMeasuredPointsToggle ShowFilteredPointsToggle

MeasureNowToggleandReMeasureToggle
MeasureNowToggleicon Ifselected,thisiconbeginsthemeasurement processforthisautofeatureimmediately afteryouclicktheCreatebutton.PCDMIS willmeasurethepartbasedonthevalues specifiedintheAutoFeaturedialogbox. Ifselected,thisiconautomaticallyre measuresthefeatureagainstthemeasured valuesobtainedthefirsttimethefeatureis measured.

ReMeasureToggleicon Thisiconisavailablefortheseautofeatures: Circle,Cylinder,SquareSlot,RoundSlot, andNotch.

AutoWristToggle
ThisiconchoosesthebestwristpositiontomeasurethisAutoFeature'shits. Uponcreation,it willautomaticallyinsertatipcommandbeforetheAutoFeature. ThisicontellsPCDMIStochoosethebestwristpositiontomeasuretheAutoFeature.Upon featurecreation,thesoftwareinsertsthetipcommandbeforetheAutoFeature. Ifthethisiconisselected,PCDMISwillchooseapositionthatmostclosely approximatesthebestapproachdirection: o Foredgeandanglepointfeatures,thebestapproachdirectionistheaverageof thetwosurfacevectors. o Forcornerpointfeatures,thebestapproachdirectionistheaverageofthethree surfacevectors. o Forallotherautotypes,thebestapproachdirectionisthefeaturesurfacevector. Ifthisiconisnotselected,PCDMISwillusethecurrentwristpositionforallhitsmade.

YoucanalsoturnthisoptionongloballybyselectingtheAutomaticallyAdjustProbeHead Wristcheckbox.Seethe"AutomaticallyAdjustProbeHeadWrist"topicinthe"Settingyour Preferences"chapter.

ClearPlaneToggle
ThisiconletsyoudeterminewhetherornotPCDMISinsertsanautomaticMOVE/CLEARPLANE commandbeforemeasuringthefirstautomatichitofanyautofeaturescreatedafterselectingthe toggleicon.

644 CreatingAutoFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Note:ThisicononlybecomesavailableforselectionifyourpartprogramisinDCCModeandif youhaveaclearanceplanealreadydefined. Ifselected,PCDMISwillautomaticallyinsertaMOVE/CLEARPLANE command (relativeto thecurrentcoordinatesystemandpartorigin)intotheEditwindowbeforethefirst automatichitofthefeature.Thiscausestheprobetomovetothedefinedclearance planebeforemeasuringthefeature.Afterthelasthitonthefeatureismeasured,the probewillstayatprobedepthuntilcalledtothenextfeature. Ifnotselected,PCDMIScreatesAutoFeaturesnormallywithoutinsertingany MOVE/CLEARPLANE commands.

Usingclearanceplanesreducesprogrammingtimebecausetheneedtodefineintermediate movesisreduced.Itcanalsohelpprotectyourhardwarefromaninadvertentcollisionwiththe part. (See"ParameterSettings:ClearPlanetab"inthe"SettingyourPreferences"chapterfor additionalinformationonClearancePlanes. Important: Whenmeasuringstuds,besuretosetthespacervaluetoadistancethatwillallow theprobetomovearoundthestud.

CircularMovesToggle
Thisicondetermineswhetherornottheprobewillmovealonganarcasopposedtousually movinginastraightlinewhenmovingfromonehittothenext.Thisoptionisparticularlyhelpful whenworkingwithringgrooves. Thistoggleiconisavailablefortheseautofeatures:Circle,Cylinder,andCone.Itisalwaysused forSpherefeatures. See"InsertingaMoveCircularCommand"inthe"InsertingMoves"chapterforinformationon insertingcircularmovesintotheEditwindow.

ManualPrePositionToggle
ThisicononlyfunctionsifyouhavePCDMISVisionenabledonyourportlock. Ifselected,thisiconpromptstheusertomovethecameratothepositionthatisoverthe targetbeforecontinuing.Seethedocumentationforadditionalinformation.

ShowHitTargetsToggle
ThisiconisunavailableforselectionifyourpartprogramisinManualmode. Clickingthisiconshowsthepathlinesandthehitlocationsforthecurrentfeature.Ifthe ProbeToolboxisvisible,italsodisplaysthetoolbox's HitTargetstab.Deselectingit hidesthisinformation. ThepathlinesappearasgreenlinesontheCADmodel.Theredlineindicatesthe startinghitandtheorangeline,theendinghit.Youcanalsomodifyhitlocationsbysimply selectinganddraggingthelineswithyourmouse.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

CreatingAutoFeatures 645

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Youcanalsorightclickonanypathlineorhitanduseashortcutmenutoperforma varietyoffunctions.Seethe"AutoFeaturePathLinesShortcutMenu"topicinthe"Using ShortcutKeysandShortcutMenus"appendixformoreinformation. Thefollowingtableexplainsthisfunctionalitybyusinganautocirclefeatureasan example. Inthisexample,thestarting andendinganglesareset tomeasureonly180 degreesofthecirclewith fourhits.

Ifyoueditthestartingor endingangleboxes,the hitsdisplaychangesas well. Forexample,changingthe endinganglefrom180to 360,PCDMISthen wouldthenshowthehits aroundtheentirecircle. Alternately,withsupported autofeatures,youcan clickonahittargetand dragittoanewlocation. Thestartorendingangle anglesinthedialogbox willupdatethemselves accordingly. Youcanclickonapathline anddraganyhittoa newlocation. Tomodifyapathline,move themouseoverthepath lineuntilPCDMIS highlightsitinred,then clickanddragthehittoa newlocation. Supposeyourautocircleuses threesamplehitstolocate thesurfacearoundthe circle.PCDMISshows theselinesaswell. Tomodifysamplehitpath lines,clickonanddrag theselinestoanew

646 CreatingAutoFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

location. Ifyoudon'thaveuser definedhits,PCDMIS dynamicallyupdatesthe Spacervalueaswellas thefeaturehits. Ifyoualreadyhaveuser definedhits,PCDMISwill modifyonlythatone samplehit'slocation.

ViewNormalToggle
ThisiconisunavailableforselectionifyourpartprogramisinManualmode. ClickingthisiconorientsthatCADsothatyoulookdownonthefeature.Deselectingitreturns theCADtothepreviousview.Youcanalsoselectthisbyrightclickingonthepathandselecting ViewNormalfromtheresultingmenu.

ExampleCirclewithViewNormal

ViewPerpendicularToggle
ThisiconisgrayedoutandunavailableforselectionifyourpartprogramisinManualmode. ClickingthisiconorientstheCADsothatyoulookatthesideofthefeature.Thisisidealfor definingafeature'sdepthoraddingadditionalrowsofhitsforfeaturesthatsupportadditional levelssuchasconesorcylinders.Tosetadditionalrows,rightclickandselectAddRowfromthe resultingmenu.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

CreatingAutoFeatures 647

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ExampleCylinderafterViewPerpendicular DeselectingViewPerpendicularTogglereturnstheCADtothepreviousview.Youcanalso settheviewtoperpendicular,byrightclickingonthepathandselectingView Perpendicularfromtheresultingmenu. WithShowPath Toggleand View Perpendicular selected,you canviewthe featureinits perpendicular viewandseeat whatdepthPC DMISwilltake thehits. Tomodifythedepth, highlightthe greenlineofhits inthisviewand thenclickand drageitherupor downtosetthe newdepth.

VoidDetectionToggle
ThisicononlyfunctionsifyouhaveInspectionPlannerandIPMeasureenabledonyourportlock andifyouareworkingwithoneofthesesupportedfeatures:SurfacePoint,EdgePoint,Line, Plane,Circle,Cylinder,andRoundSlot.

648 CreatingAutoFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Ifselected,PCDMISdetectshittargetsthatwouldnormallyoccurinvoids(emptyspaces)on theCADmodelandrepositionsthemtoasafelocation,usuallyneartheedgeofthevoid.Thisis oftenusedwithPCDMISInspectionPlanner.Seethedocumentationforadditionalinformation.

ProbeToolboxToggle
Ifselected,theProbeToolboxgetsdisplayed.PCDMISremembersthetoolboxstatesothat thereafter,wheneveryouopenorclosethatAutoFeaturedialogbox,theProbeToolboxwill alsoopenandcloserespectively.Youwillfindthistoggleiconusefulbecausestartingwith version4.2someitemshavebeenmovedtotheProbeToolboxthatusedtobeontheAuto Featuredialogbox. Seethe"UsingtheProbeToolbox"topicinthe"UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools" chapter.

ShowMeasuredPointsToggle
Thisicononlyfunctionswithfeaturesthatarealreadymeasured.Untilafeatureismeasured, eitherwiththeTestbuttonontheAutoFeaturedialogboxorwiththeactualpartprogram execution,theiconremainsunavailableforselection. SelectthisicontoshowintheGraphicsDisplaywindowavisualdepictionofthedatapoints usedtomeasurethefeature.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

CreatingAutoFeatures 649

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ExampleofShowingMeasuredPointsforanAutoLinefeature

ShowFilteredPointsToggle
ThisicononlyfunctionsifyouhavePCDMISVisionenabledonyourportlock. SelectthisicontoshowontheLiveandCADViewsimageprocessingdatapointsthatwere acquiredandthendiscardedbythecurrentfiltersettings.Seethedocumentationforadditional information.

ExtendedSheetMetalOptionsarea
Thisareacontainssomeofthelessfrequentlyusedsheetmetaloptionsforsupportedauto features. ShowingExtendedSheetMetalOptions TheExtendedsheetmetaloptionsarearemainshiddenuntilthefollowingconditionsaremet: YoumustselecttheShowExtendedSheetMetalOptionscheckboxfromtheGeneral taboftheSetUpOptionsdialogbox. Thetypeofautofeaturemustsupporttheextendedoptions.Supportedfeaturesinclude: VectorPoint,SurfacePoint,EdgePoint,Circle,RoundSlot,andSquareSlot Youmustselectthe>>buttonontheAutoFeaturedialogboxforShowAdvancedSheet MetalOptions. Youmustselectthe>>buttonontheAutoFeaturedialogboxforShowExtendedSheet MetalOptions.Thisbuttononlyappearsforsupportedfeatures.

650 CreatingAutoFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ThiswilldisplayarathertallAutoFeaturedialogboxwithallavailableoptionsvisible. TheExtendedSheetMetalOptions Dependingonthefeatureselected,thefollowingitemsappearintheExtendedsheetmetal optionsarea. Supported Auto Features

Item

Description Theseboxesdisplaythevectorusedfor reportingdeviation.Thisisauser suppliedI,J,Kvector.TheLocation DimensionoptionRTwilldisplaythe deviationcalculatedalongthisvector. Afterthenewvalueiscreated,PCDMIS willnormalizethevector,makingits lengthoneunit. Theseboxesdisplaytheupdatevectorto beusedtopiercetheCADsurface,ifthe optionisactivebysettingtheSETNOM AXmode.ThisisausersuppliedI,J,K normalvector.TheI,J,Kshouldalways pointawayfromthesurface.Afterthe newvalueiscreated,PCDMISwill normalizethevector,makingitslength oneunit. Theseboxesdisplaythevectorusedfor reportingdeviation.Thisisauser suppliedI,J,Kvector.The Locationdimension'sRScheckbox displaysthedeviationcalculatedalong thisvector.Afterthenewvalueiscreated andyouexitthedialogbox,PCDMISwill normalizethevector,makingitslength oneunit. BysettingtheUsePinlisttoYes,theIJK PunchandIJKPinboxesbecome availableforediting.

IJK Report boxes

VectorPoint, Surface Point,Edge Point

IJK Update boxes

VectorPoint

IJK Surf Rpt boxes

EdgePoint

Use Pinlist

Circle, SquareSlot, RoundSlot

Theseboxesdefinethevectorofthestud throughtheholeformedbythepunch. Whenpinsarecreatedonasheetmetal surfacetheyarenotalwaysperpendicular tothesurface.Thisnaturallycreatesan ellipticalshapeatthesurfaceofthe metal,eventhougharoundpinmayhave beenused.ThePin vectorthenallowsfor moreaccuratemeasurementanddata analysisinthissituation.

IJKPin boxes

Circle, SquareSlot, RoundSlot

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

CreatingAutoFeatures 651

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Theseboxesdefinethevectorofthe punchthroughthesheetmetal.This vectorispositionedattheXYZcenter, plushalfthethicknessalongthesurface normalvector. Thepunchesusedtoplaceholesinsheet metalarenotalwaysperpendiculartothe surface.Thisnaturallycreatesanelliptical shapeatthesurfaceofthemetal,even thougharoundpunchmayhavebeen used.ThePunchvectorthenallowsfor moreaccuratemeasurementanddata analysisinthissituation.

IJK Punch boxes

Circle, SquareSlot, RoundSlot

FortheCirclefeature,thediameterofthe featureisalsoalongthisvector. Formoreinformationonthesevectorboxessee"ExtendedSheetMetalVectorDiagrams"below. Icon Description FlipVector ResetVectortoUseSurfaceVector

ResetVectortoSurfaceVector
TheResetVectortoSurfaceVectoriconwillsetthevectortomatchthenormalIJKSurface vectorvalues.

ExtendedSheetMetalVectorDiagrams
Thistopiccontainsvariousdiagramsillustratingthevectorsthatyoucanusewhenyouchoose theshowextendedsheetmetalfeatureoptions: NormalVector:Thenormalvectoristhevectorperpendiculartothesurfaceatapoint features location.Seethediagrambelow:

652 CreatingAutoFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

=NormalVector

=Surface

=PointLocation

DiagramofaNormalVector UpdateVector:Theupdatevectoristhevectorusedtodeterminethedirectiontofollowwhen updatingapointtoanewsurface.Thisupdatevectorisderivedfromthereferencelineusedin theinitialcreationofthefeature.Seethediagrambelow:

=Updatedornewsurface

=Originaloroldsurface

=Originalpointlocation

=Updatedpointlocation

=Referencelineusedto generatepointlocation.Also knowntheupdatevector. DiagramofanUpdateVector ReportVector:Thereportvectorisusedtospecifythereportingdirectionofafeature.Itmaybe differentfromthesurfacenormal,usuallyalongaspecifiedaxis(shownbelowaseitherYrorXr). Seethediagrambelow:

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

CreatingAutoFeatures 653

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

=Theoreticalsurface

=Nominalpointlocation

=Actualpointlocation

=DeviationinXaxis

=DeviationinYaxis DiagramofaReportVector PinVector:Appliedtoslotsandholes,thepinvectorspecifiesthevectorofthepinasitlocates theproduct.Seethediagrambelow: A =Pinvector

DiagramofaPinVector PunchVector:Appliedtoslotsandholes,thepunchvectorspecifiesthedirectionofthepunch usedtocreatethefeature.Thisvectorisusuallyclosetothesurfacenormalwithinafewdegrees. Seethediagrambelow:

654 CreatingAutoFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

=Punchvector.Closeto thesurfacenormalwithin+ or5degrees =ThePunch

DiagramofaPunchVector

AdvancedMeasurementOptionsarea
TheMeasurementPropertiesareaofthedialogboxcontainssomeorallofthefollowingitems, dependingontheautofeaturebeingcreated.

Calculationlist

Thislistisonlyavailablefor TheCalculationlistintheAdvancedMeasurementOptionsarea theseautofeatures:Circle allowstheusertospecifyhowheorshewouldlikethefeature andCylinder calculatedfromthemeasuredhits.Theavailableoptionsare: LEAST_SQR,MIN_SEP,MAX_INSC,MIN_CIRCSC,and FIXED_RAD.

Thesecalculationtypesarealreadydiscussedindetailinthe"BestFitType"topicinthe "ConstructingNewFeaturesfromExistingFeatures"chapter

Modelist

TheModelistintheAdvancedMeasurementOptionsareadetermineshowthenominalswill becomputedforagivenpoint.PCDMISallowsyoutochoosebetweenFINDNOMS,MASTER, andNOMINALS.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

CreatingAutoFeatures 655

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

If MODE=NOMINALS isactive,PCDMISwillcomparethemeasuredfeaturewiththetheoretical datainthedialogbox,usingthemeasureddataforcalculations. If MODE=MASTERisactive,thenPCDMISwillusethemeasuredfeatureasthenominal,but willnotupdatetheX,Y,Zanddiameterdatainthedialogbox. If MODE=VECTORisactive,thenPCDMISwilluseyourfirstthreehitstocalculatethe appropriatevectortouseforthefeature.PCDMISwillnotadjustthelocationofthefeature.You musttakethehitswiththeAutoFeaturesdialogboxactive.NotethatVECTORmodeisonly availableforVectorandSurfacepoints. Note:Ifanominalvalueisnotknown,simplyselectFINDNOMS fromthelist.Whilethisoptionis active,everytimeavalueisselectedtobechanged,PCDMISwillpromptyoutotakethe appropriatemeasurementsontheparttoobtainthevaluesneeded. ListItem FindNoms Description WhenyouselectFINDNOMSfromtheMode list,PCDMISwillpiercetheCADmodeltofind theclosestlocationonaCADedge(or surface)tothemeasuredpoint,andsetthe nominalstothatlocationontheCADelement. TofindthenominalsusingCADdata: 1. VerifythatPCDMISissettoCurve modeorSurfacemode(available fromtheGraphicsModestoolbar), asisappropriatefortheparticularpart program. 2. ClickonthedesiredCADelementin theGraphicsDisplaywindow.PC DMISwillpiercetheCADelementto obtainthelocation,butwillnotcreate afeature.Oncethedesiredelements havebeenselected,PCDMISwill automaticallyfillintheX,Y,ZandI,J, Kvalues. 3. Ifthevaluesaresatisfactory,select theCreatecommandbutton. CAUTION:IfyouselecttheMeasurebox,PC DMISwillmeasurethepart. IfahitistakenonthepartwhileinFIND NOMSmode,PCDMISwillsearchthrough theCADelementsandfindthenominalCAD informationthatisclosesttothemeasured point.Ifnecessary,PCDMISwillpromptyou totakeanyadditionalhitsonthepart. Thenexttimethepartismeasured,PCDMIS willsetthenominaldatatothenearestCAD elementitcanfind.Themodeswitchwillthen

656 CreatingAutoFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

beresettoNOMINALS. UsingFindNomswithFixedProbes: FaroorRomerarmsusingafixedprobedon't generategoodapproachvectors.Becauseof this,PCDMIScannoteasilydeterminewhere tolookforthesurfaces. Toimprovevectorsfromfixedprobes: 1. Placethefixedprobeonthepart. 2. PresstheHitbutton. 3. Movetheprobeawayfromthepart alongtheapproximatesurfacevector. 4. PresstheEndbutton. PCDMISwillcalculateandthenusethe vectorbetweenthehitandtheprobetip's position. Also,becausethedefaultvectorfromaFaro armusestheaxisofthefixedprobe,themore youpositionthevectornormaltothesurface themoreusefulthevectorisforFindNoms operations. IfapointiscreatedwhentheModelistisset toMASTER,thenthenexttimethepartis measured,PCDMISwillsetthenominaldata equaltothemeasureddata.TheModelistwill thenberesettoNOMINALS. TheNOMINALSoptionalsorequiresyouto havenominaldatabeforethemeasurement processbegins.PCDMISwillcomparethe measuredfeaturewiththetheoreticaldatain thedialogbox,usingthemeasuredfeaturefor anynecessarycalculations. TheVECTORoptionallowsyoutoupdateonly thefeature's vectorduringlearnmodeitwillnot updatethenominalXYZvalues. Thisoptionhelpsyoutosetafeature'svector thatyoumaynotbeabletoobtainotherwise. Withthedialogboxopen,takethreehitsonthe feature.Thiswilldetermineitsvector. Youcanusethismodeaslongasthedialog boxremainsopen.Onceyouclosethedialog box,theoptionisnotavailableforthefeaturein theEditwindow. SupportedFeatures:VectorPoint,Surface Point,CornerPoint,Line,Plane,Circle,Ellipse,

Master

Nominals

Vector

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

CreatingAutoFeatures 657

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

RoundSlot,SquareSlot,NotchSlot,Polygon, Cylinder,Cone,Sphere

RelativeTo

RelativeToallowsyoutokeeptherelativepositionandorientationbetweenagivenfeature(or features)andtheautofeature. Beforeselectingarelativeautofeature,youshouldfirstchooseyourrelativemeasuremode.See "SettingUpRelativeMeasure". ClickingthebuttonwilldisplayaRelativeFeaturedialogbox:

RelativeFeaturedialogbox Fromthisdialogboxyoucanchoosetoselecteither: Asinglefeaturefromthelisttotheright Multiplefeatures(oneforeachaxis)fromtheliststotheright

Afteryouselectthefeature(s)andclickOK,theRelativeToboxwillthendisplaytheselected feature(s).ThisoptionsupportstheDMISV3.0RMEASformats1,3,and6.

FeatureLocatorarea

YoucanusetheFeatureLocatorareatoprovidetheoperatorwithinstructionsformeasuringthe currentAutoFeature.Youcandothisbytypingtextualdescriptions,takingscreenshotsofthe

658 CreatingAutoFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

feature,andevenusingpreparedaudiofiles.TheseinstructionswillthenappearintheProbe Toolbox'sFeatureLocatortabwhenthepartprogramattemptstoexecutethepartprogram. YoumayfindthisusefulifyourpartprogramrequiressomeoperatorinteractionintheAuto Featuremeasurement(iftheoperatorisworkinginManualMode,forexample). Forindepthinformationonitsusage,seethetopicinthe documentation.

AnalysisArea

TheAnalysisareaallowsyoutodeterminehoweachmeasuredhit/pointisdisplayedandhow analysisimagesarecapturedanddisplayedinreports. ThisfunctionalitywasoriginallycreatedforPCDMISVision.Forindepthinformationonitsusage, seethetopicinthe documentation. ANoteonPointandArrowVectorSize IfyourvectorarrowsforyourAutoPointfeaturesseemtoosmall,increasingthePt.Size value willincreaseboththesizeofthepointintheGraphicsDisplaywindowand,correspondingly,the sizeofthevectorarrow.SinceAutoFeaturesareusedonwidelydifferingmachines,noone defaultsizewillworkforallusers.Howeveryoucandecidewhatsizeworksbestforyou.PC DMISwillthendefaulttoyourlastenteredvalue. Ifyourpointappearslikealargeblobonyourscreen,youmightwanttosimplysetthesizeto0. Thisgenerallyproducesagoodlookingpointsizeandvectorarrow.

AutoFeatureCommandButtons
CommandButtons Description

ClickingtheMoveTobuttonmoves thefieldofviewintheGraphics Displaywindowandcentersitonthe MoveTobutton(availableonlyinPCcurrentfeature'sXYZlocation. DMISVision) Insomecases,suchasaVector Point,theXYZlocationisactually offsetalongthenormalvectorbythe prehitvalue.Thispreventstheprobe fromcrashingintothepart. Ifafeatureiscomposedofmorethan
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual CreatingAutoFeatures 659

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

onepoint(suchasaline),then clickingthisbuttonswitchesbetween thepointsmakingupthefeature.

Testbutton

ClickingtheTestbuttonallowsyouto testafeature'screationandpreview itsdimensionaldatabeforeit's actuallycreated. Clickingthisbuttonperformsa measurementusingthecurrent parameters. Youcanchangeparametersandclick Testrepeatedlyuntilyouhavean acceptablemeasurement.Thenwhen youclickCreate,thesoftware convertsthetemporaryfeatureintoa normalfeatureinthepartprogram.

Createbutton

ClickingtheCreatebuttoninsertsthe definedAutoFeatureintotheEdit Windowatthecurrentposition. ClickingtheClosebuttonexitsthe AutoFeaturedialogbox.

Closebutton Clickingthe>>buttonextendsthe dialogboxanddisplaysanyadvanced measurementoptions.Thebutton thenchangesto<<. Clickingthe<<buttonshortensthe dialogboxandonlyshowsthebasic optionsforthatautofeature.The buttonthenchangesto>>.

ShowAdvancedMeasurement Options and HideAdvancedMeasurement Options

660 CreatingAutoFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ShowExtendedSheetMetal MeasurementOptions and HideExtendedSheetMetal MeasurementOptions

Forsupportedfeatures,clickingthe <<buttonhidestheExtendedSheet MetalOptionsarea.Thebuttonthen changesto>>. Clickingthe>>buttondisplaysthe ExtendedSheetMetalOptionsarea. Thebuttonthenchangesto<<.

AutoFeatureFieldDefinitions
WhenyoucreateanAutoFeature,PCDMISinsertsthecommandforthatfeatureintotheEdit window.ThistopicdocumentsthedifferentfieldsthatmayappearintheCommandmodeofthe Editwindowforthedifferentfeatures.Inthetablebelow,locatethefieldorcommandlineusedin yourAutoFeaturetoseewhatitdoes. VectorPoint|SurfacePoint|EdgePoint|AnglePoint|CornerPoint|HighPoint|Line| Plane|Circle|Ellipse|RoundSlot|SquareSlot|NotchSlot|Cylinder|Cone|Sphere| Polygon AutoPolygonFieldDefinitions TheEditwindowcommandlineforanAutoPolygonfeaturewouldread:
ID=FEAT/CONTACT/POLYGON,CARTESIAN,IN THEO/TX,TY,TZ,TI,TJ,TK,TAI,TAJ,TAK,TDIAM ACTL/X,Y,Z,I,J,K,AI,AJ,AK,DIAM TARG/targX,targY,targZ,targI,targJ,targK NUMSIDES=n,RADIUS=n REMEASURE=NO,SURFACE/THICKNESS_NONE,0 MEASUREMODE/NOMINALS RMEAS/NONE,NONE,NONE AUTOWRIST/YES CIRCULARMOVES/NO CLEARPLANE/NO GRAPHICALANALYSIS/NO SCREENCAPTURE/CAD,OUTTOL,50%,HIGH FEATURELOCATOR/NO,NO,"" SHOW_CONTACT_PARAMETERS=YES NUMHITS=n,DEPTH=n SAMPLEHITS=n,SPACER=n AVOIDANCEMOVE=BEFORE,DISTANCE=n FINDHOLE=DISABLED,ONERROR=YES,READPOS=YES SHOWHITS=YES HIT/BASIC,TX,TY,TZ,I,J,K,X,Y,Z

AutoSphereFieldDefinitions TheEditwindowcommandlineforanAutoSpherefeaturewouldread:
ID=FEAT/CONTACT/SPHERE,CARTESIAN,IN,LEAST_SQR THEO/TX,TY,TZ,TI,TJ,TK,TDIAM ACTL/X,Y,Z,I,J,K,DIAM TARG/targX,targY,targZ,targI,targJ,targK STARTANG1=n,ENDANG1=n STARTANG2=n,ENDANG2=n ANGLEVEC=I,J,K

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

CreatingAutoFeatures 661

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MEASUREMODE/NOMINALS RMEAS/NONE,NONE,NONE AUTOWRIST/YES CIRCULARMOVES/NO CLEARPLANE/NO GRAPHICALANALYSIS/NO SCREENCAPTURE/CAD,OUTTOL,50%,HIGH FEATURELOCATOR/NO,NO,"" SHOW_CONTACT_PARAMETERS=YES NUMHITS=n,NUMLROWS=n, SAMPLEHITS=n, AVOIDANCEMOVE=BEFORE,DISTANCE=n SHOWHITS=YES HIT/BASIC,TX,TY,TZ,I,J,K,X,Y,Z

AutoConeFieldDefinitions TheEditwindowcommandlineforanAutoConefeaturewouldread:
ID=FEAT/CONTACT/CONE,CARTESIAN,IN THEO/TX,TY,TZ,TI,TJ,TK,TANGLE,TLENGTH,TDIAM ACTL/X,Y,Z,I,J,K,ANGLE,LENGTH,DIAM TARG/targX,targY,targZ,targI,targJ,targK STARTANG=n,ENDANG=n ANGLEVEC=I,J,K SURFACE/ACTL_THICKNESS,n MEASUREMODE/NOMINALS RMEAS/NONE,NONE,NONE AUTOWRIST/YES CIRCULARMOVES/NO CLEARPLANE/NO GRAPHICALANALYSIS/NO SCREENCAPTURE/CAD,OUTTOL,50%,HIGH FEATURELOCATOR/NO,NO,"" SHOW_CONTACT_PARAMETERS=YES NUMHITS=n,NUMLEVELS=n,STARTINGDEPTH=n,ENDINGDEPTH=n SAMPLEHITS=n,SPACER=n AVOIDANCEMOVE=BEFORE,DISTANCE=n ONERROR=NO,READPOS=YES SHOWHITS=YES HIT/BASIC,TX,TY,TZ,I,J,K,X,Y,Z

AutoCylinderFieldDefinitions TheEditwindowcommandlineforanAutoCylinderfeaturewouldread:
ID=FEAT/CONTACT/CYLINDER,CARTESIAN,IN,LEAST_SQR THEO/TX,TY,TZ,TI,TJ,TK,TDIAM,TLENGTH ACTL/X,Y,Z,I,J,K,DIAM,LENGTH TARG/targX,targY,targZ,targI,targJ,targK STARTANG=n,ENDANG=n REMEASURE=NO,USETHEO=YES ANGLEVEC=I,J,K SURFACE/ACTL_THICKNESS,n MEASUREMODE/NOMINALS RMEAS/NONE,NONE,NONE AUTOWRIST/YES CIRCULARMOVES/NO CLEARPLANE/NO GRAPHICALANALYSIS/NO SCREENCAPTURE/CAD,OUTTOL,50%,HIGH FEATURELOCATOR/NO,NO,"" SHOW_CONTACT_PARAMETERS=YES NUMHITS=n,NUMLEVELS=n,STARTINGDEPTH=n,ENDINGDEPTH=n,PITCH=n SAMPLEHITS=n,SPACER=n AVOIDANCEMOVE=BEFORE,DISTANCE=n FINDHOLE=DISABLED,ONERROR=NO,READPOS=YES SHOWHITS=YES HIT/BASIC,TX,TY,TZ,I,J,K,X,Y,Z

662 CreatingAutoFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

AutoNotchSlotFieldDefinitions TheEditwindowcommandlineforanAutoNotchSlotfeaturewouldread:
ID=FEAT/CONTACT/NOTCHSLOT,CARTESIAN THEO/TX,TY,TZ,TI,TJ,TK,TAI,TAJ,TAK,TWIDTH,TLENGTH ACTL/X,Y,Z,I,J,K,AI,AJ,AK,WIDTH,LENGTH TARG/targX,targY,targZ,targI,targJ,targK REMEASURE=NO SURFACE/ACTL_THICKNESS,n MEASUREMODE/NOMINALS RMEAS/NONE,NONE,NONE AUTOWRIST/YES CIRCULARMOVES/NO CLEARPLANE/NO GRAPHICALANALYSIS/NO SCREENCAPTURE/CAD,OUTTOL,50%,HIGH FEATURELOCATOR/NO,NO,"" SHOW_CONTACT_PARAMETERS=YES DEPTH=n SAMPLEHITS=n,SPACER=n,INDENT1=n AVOIDANCEMOVE=BEFORE,DISTANCE=n FINDHOLE=DISABLED,ONERROR=NO,READPOS=YES SHOWHITS=YES HIT/BASIC,TX,TY,TZ,I,J,K,X,Y,Z

AutoSquareSlotFieldDefinitions TheEditwindowcommandlineforanAutoSquareSlotfeaturewithextendedoptionswouldread:
ID=FEAT/CONTACT/SQUARESLOT,CARTESIAN,IN THEO/TX,TY,TZ,TI,TJ,TK,TAI,TAJ,TAK,TWIDTH,TLENGTH ACTL/X,Y,Z,I,J,K,AI,AJ,AK,WIDTH,LENGTH TARG/targX,targY,targZ,targI,targJ,targK MEASWIDTH=YES,RADIUS=n REMEASURE=NO PUNCH=I,J,K,PIN=I,J,KSURFACE/ACTL_THICKNESS,n MEASUREMODE/NOMINALS RMEAS/NONE,NONE,NONE AUTOWRIST/YES CIRCULARMOVES/NO CLEARPLANE/NO GRAPHICALANALYSIS/NO SCREENCAPTURE/CAD,OUTTOL,50%,HIGH FEATURELOCATOR/NO,NO,"" SHOW_CONTACT_PARAMETERS=YES DEPTH=n SAMPLEHITS=n,SPACER=n AVOIDANCEMOVE=BEFORE,DISTANCE=n FINDHOLE=DISABLED,ONERROR=NO,READPOS=YES SHOWHITS=YES HIT/BASIC,TX,TY,TZ,I,J,K,X,Y,Z

AutoRoundSlotFieldDefinitions TheEditwindowcommandlineforanAutoRoundSlotfeaturewithextendedoptionswouldread:
ID=FEAT/CONTACT/ROUNDSLOT,CARTESIAN,IN THEO/TX,TY,TZ,TI,TJ,TK,TAI,TAJ,TAK,TWIDTH,TLENGTH ACTL/X,Y,Z,I,J,K,AI,AJ,AK,WIDTH,LENGTH TARG/targX,targY,targZ,targI,targJ,targK MEASANGLE=n REMEASURE=NO PUNCH=I,J,K,PIN=I,J,KSURFACE/ACTL_THICKNESS,n MEASUREMODE/NOMINALS RMEAS/NONE,NONE,NONE AUTOWRIST/YES CIRCULARMOVES/NO

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

CreatingAutoFeatures 663

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

CLEARPLANE/NO GRAPHICALANALYSIS/NO SCREENCAPTURE/CAD,OUTTOL,50%,HIGH FEATURELOCATOR/NO,NO,"" SHOW_CONTACT_PARAMETERS=YES NUMHITS=n,DEPTH=n SAMPLEHITS=n,SPACER=n AVOIDANCEMOVE=BEFORE,DISTANCE=n FINDHOLE=DISABLED,ONERROR=NO,READPOS=YES SHOWHITS=YES HIT/BASIC,TX,TY,TZ,I,J,K,X,Y,Z

AutoEllipseFieldDefinitions TheEditwindowcommandlineforanAutoEllipsefeaturewouldread:
ID=FEAT/CONTACT/ELLIPSE,CARTESIAN,IN THEO/TX,TY,TZ,TI,TJ,TK,TDIAM,TDIAM2,TAI,TAJ,TAK ACTL/X,Y,Z,I,J,K,DIAM,DIAM2,AI,AJ,AK TARG/targX,targY,targZ,targI,targJ,targK STARTANG=n,ENDANG=n SURFACE/ACTL_THICKNESS,n MEASUREMODE/NOMINALS RMEAS/NONE,NONE,NONE AUTOWRIST/YES CIRCULARMOVES/NO CLEARPLANE/NO GRAPHICALANALYSIS/NO SCREENCAPTURE/CAD,OUTTOL,50%,HIGH FEATURELOCATOR/NO,NO,"" SHOW_CONTACT_PARAMETERS=YES NUMHITS=n,DEPTH=n SAMPLEHITS=n,SPACER=n AVOIDANCEMOVE=BEFORE,DISTANCE=n ONERROR=NO,READPOS=NO SHOWHITS=YES HIT/BASIC,TX,TY,TZ,I,J,K,X,Y,Z

AutoCircleFieldDefinitions TheEditwindowcommandlineforanAutoCirclefeaturewithextendedoptionswouldread:
ID=FEAT/CONTACT/CIRCLE,CARTESIAN,IN,LEAST_SQR THEO/TX,TY,TZ,TI,TJ,TK,TDIAM,TANG1,TANG2 ACTL/X,Y,Z,I,J,K,DIAM,ANG1,ANG2 TARG/targX,targY,targZ,targI,targJ,targK ANGLEVEC=I,J,K REMEASURE=NO PUNCH=I,J,K,PIN=I,J,K SURFACE/ACTL_THICKNESS,n MEASUREMODE/NOMINALS RMEAS/NONE,NONE,NONE AUTOWRIST/YES CIRCULARMOVES/NO CLEARPLANE/NO GRAPHICALANALYSIS/NO SCREENCAPTURE/CAD,OUTTOL,50%,HIGH FEATURELOCATOR/NO,NO,"" SHOW_CONTACT_PARAMETERS=YES NUMHITS=n,DEPTH=n,PITCH=n SAMPLEHITS=n,SPACER=n AVOIDANCEMOVE=BEFORE,DISTANCE=n FINDHOLE=DISABLED,ONERROR=NO,READPOS=NO SHOWHITS=YES HIT/BASIC,TX,TY,TZ,I,J,K,X,Y,Z

AutoPlaneFieldDefinitions

664 CreatingAutoFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TheEditwindowcommandlineforanAutoPlanefeaturewouldread:
ID=FEAT/CONTACT/PLANE,CARTESIAN,TRIANGLE THEO/TX,TY,TZ,TI,TJ,TK ACTL/X,Y,Z,I,J,K TARG/targX,targY,targZ,targI,targJ,targK ANGLEVEC=I,J,K,SQUARE SURFACE/THEO_THICKNESS,n MEASUREMODE/NOMINALS RMEAS/NONE,NONE,NONE AUTOWRIST/YES CLEARPLANE/NO GRAPHICALANALYSIS/NO SCREENCAPTURE/CAD,OUTTOL,50%,HIGH FEATURELOCATOR/NO,NO,"" SHOW_CONTACT_PARAMETERS=YES NUMHITS=n,NUMROWS=n SPACER=n AVOIDANCEMOVE=BEFORE,DISTANCE=n SHOWHITS=YES HIT/BASIC,TX,TY,TZ,I,J,K,X,Y,Z

AutoLineFieldDefinitions TheEditwindowcommandlineforanAutoLinefeaturewouldread:
ID=FEAT/CONTACT/LINE,CARTESIAN THEO/TX,TY,TZ,TI,TJ,TK,TLI,TLJ,TLK,TEI,TEJ,TEK,TSI,TSJ,TSK,TLENGTH ACTL/X,Y,Z,I,J,K,LI,LJ,LK,EI,EJ,EK,SI,SJ,SK,TLENGTH TARG/targX,targY,targZ,targI,targJ,targK BOUNDED REPORTVEC=I,J,K EDGE/THEO_THICKNESS,n SURFACE/THEO_THICKNESS,n MEASUREMODE/NOMINALS RMEAS/NONE,NONE,NONE AUTOWRIST/YES CLEARPLANE/YES GRAPHICALANALYSIS/YES,n,n,n SCREENCAPTURE/CAD,OUTTOL,50%,HIGH FEATURELOCATOR/NO,NO,"" SHOW_CONTACT_PARAMETERS=YES NUMHITS=n,DEPTH=n AVOIDANCEMOVE=BEFORE,DISTANCE=n SHOWHITS=YES HIT/BASIC,TX,TY,TZ,I,J,K,X,Y,Z

AutoHighPointFieldDefinitions TheEditwindowcommandlineforanAutoHighPointfeaturewouldread:
ID=FEAT/CONTACT/HIGHPOINT,CARTESIAN THEO/TX,TY,TZ,TI,TJ,TK MEAS/X,Y,Z,I,J,K TARG/targX,targY,targZ,targI,targJ,targK INCREMENT=n,TOL=n,CIRCULAR,OUTERRADIUS=n,INNERRADIUS=n CENTER=X,Y,Z SURFACE/THEO_THICKNESS,n MEASUREMODE/NOMINALS RMEAS/NONE,NONE,NONE AUTOWRIST/YES CLEARPLANE/NO GRAPHICALANALYSIS/NO SCREENCAPTURE/CAD,OUTTOL,50%,HIGH FEATURELOCATOR/NO,NO,"" SHOW_CONTACT_PARAMETERS=YES AVOIDANCEMOVE=BEFORE,DISTANCE=n

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

CreatingAutoFeatures 665

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

AutoCornerPointFieldDefinitions TheEditwindowcommandlineforanAutoCornerPointfeaturewouldread:
ID=FEAT/CONTACT/CORNERPOINT,CARTESIAN THEO/TX,TY,TZ,TSI,TSJ,TSK,TS2I,TS2J,TS2K,TS3I,TS3J,TS3K MEAS/X,Y,Z,I,J,K,SI,SJ,SK,S2I,S2J,S2K,S2I,S2J,S2K TARG/targX,targY,targZ,targI,targJ,targK EXTERIOR SURFACE2/THEO_THICKNESS,n SURFACE3/THEO_THICKNESS,n SURFACE/THEO_THICKNESS,n MEASUREMODE/NOMINALS RMEAS/NONE,NONE,NONE AUTOWRIST/YES CLEARPLANE/NO GRAPHICALANALYSIS/NO SCREENCAPTURE/CAD,OUTTOL,50%,HIGH FEATURELOCATOR/NO,NO,"" SHOW_CONTACT_PARAMETERS=YES SPACER=n,INDENT1=n,INDENT2=n,INDENT3=n AVOIDANCEMOVE=BEFORE,DISTANCE=n ONERROR=YES SHOWHITS=YES HIT/BASIC,TX,TY,TZ,I,J,K,X,Y,Z

AutoAnglePointFieldDefinitions TheEditwindowcommandblockforanAutoAnglePointwouldread:
ID=FEAT/CONTACT/ANGLEPOINT,CARTESIAN THEO/TX,TY,TZ,TI,TJ,TK,TSI,TSJ,TSK,TS2I,TS2J,TS2K MEAS/X,Y,Z,I,J,K,SI,SJ,SK,S2I,S2J,S2K TARG/targX,targY,targZ,targI,targJ,targK EXTERIOR SURFACE2/THEO_THICKNESS,n SURFACE/THEO_THICKNESS,n MEASUREMODE/FINDNOMS RMEAS/NONE,NONE,NONE AUTOWRIST/YES CLEARPLANE/NO GRAPHICALANALYSIS/NO SCREENCAPTURE/CAD,OUTTOL,50%,HIGH FEATURELOCATOR/NO,NO,"" SHOW_CONTACT_PARAMETERS=YES SAMPLEHITS=n,SPACER=n,INDENT1=n,INDENT2=n AVOIDANCEMOVE=BEFORE,DISTANCE=n ONERROR=YES SHOWHITS=YES HIT/BASIC,TX,TY,TZ,I,J,K,X,Y,Z

AutoEdgePointFieldDefinitions TheEditwindowcommandblockforanAutoEdgePointfeaturewithextendedoptionswould read:


ID=FEAT/CONTACT/EDGEPOINT,CARTESIAN THEO/TX,TY,TZ,TI,TJ,TK ACTL/X,Y,Z,I,J,K TARG/targX,targY,targZ,targI,targJ,targK EDGE/THEO_THICKNESS,n REPORT=I,J,K,SURFACE_REPORT=I,J,K MEASUREORDER=SURFACE /THEO_THICKNESS,n MEASUREMODE/FINDNOMS RMEAS/NONE,NONE,NONE AUTOWRIST/YES CLEARPLANE/NO

666 CreatingAutoFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

GRAPHICALANALYSIS/NO SCREENCAPTURE/CAD,OUTTOL,50%,HIGH FEATURELOCATOR/NO,NO,"" SHOW_CONTACT_PARAMETERS=YES DEPTH=n SAMPLEHITS=n,SPACER=n,INDENT1=n AVOIDANCEMOVE=BEFORE,DISTANCE=n ONERROR=YES SHOWHITS=YES HIT/BASIC,TX,TY,TZ,I,J,K,X,Y,Z

AutoSurfacePointFieldDefinitions TheEditwindowcommandblockforanAutoSurfacePointfeaturewithextendedoptionswould read:


ID=FEAT/CONTACT/SURFACEPOINT,CARTESIAN THEO/TX,TY,TZ,TI,TJ,TK ACTL/X,Y,Z,I,J,K TARG/targX,targY,targZ,targI,targJ,targK REPORTVEC=I,J,K SURFACE/THEO_THICKNESS,n MEASUREMODE/NOMINALS RMEAS/NONE,NONE,NONE AUTOWRIST/YES CLEARPLANE/YES GRAPHICALANALYSIS/YES,n,n,n SCREENCAPTURE/CAD,OUTTOL,50%,HIGH FEATURELOCATOR/NO,NO,"" SHOW_CONTACT_PARAMETERS=YES SAMPLEHITS=n SPACER=n AVOIDANCEMOVE=BEFORE,DISTANCE=n SHOWHITS=YES HIT/BASIC,TX,TY,TZ,I,J,K,X,Y,Z

AutoVectorPointFieldDefinitions TheEditwindowcommandblockforanAutoVectorPointfeaturewithextendedoptionswould read:


ID=FEAT/CONTACT/VECTORPOINT,CARTESIAN THEO/TX,TY,TZ,TI,TJ,TK ACTL/X,Y,Z,I,J,K TARG/targX,targY,targZ,targI,targJ,targK REPORTVEC=I,J,K,UPDATEVEC=I,J,K SURFACE/THEO_THICKNESS,n MEASUREMODE/NOMINALS RMEAS/NONE,NONE,NONE AUTOWRIST/YES CLEARPLANE/NO GRAPHICALANALYSIS/NO SCREENCAPTURE/CAD,OUTTOL,50%,HIGH FEATURELOCATOR/NO,NO,"" SHOW_CONTACT_PARAMETERS=YES AVOIDANCEMOVE=BEFORE,DISTANCE=n SHOWHITS=YES HIT/BASIC,TX,TY,TZ,I,J,K,X,Y,Z

FieldorCommand
ID FEAT/CONTACT

Extended Field

Usedon Onlythese Features

Description Thisfieldshowsthefeature's identificationlabel.See"IDbox". Thiscommanddisplaysthetypeof


CreatingAutoFeatures 667

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

POLARor CARTESIAN

TRIANGLEor OUTLINE

PLANE

probingandtheAutoFeaturetype. See"AutoFeatureTypelist". ThisfieldswitchesbetweenPOLAR andCARTESIANanddisplaysthe X,Y,Z,I,J,K valuesintheselected coordinatesystem.See"Polar/ CartesianToggle". ForaPlanefeature,thisfield switchesbetweenTRIANGLEor OUTLINE.Itdetermineshowthe planegetsdisplayedinthe GraphicsDisplaywindow.See "Displaylist".

INor OUT

CIRCLE, ELLIPSE, ROUND SLOT, SQUARE SLOT, CYLINDER, CONE, SPHERE, POLYGON

ThisfieldswitchesbetweenINor OUT.Itdetermineswhetherornot thefeatureisaninternalfeature (suchasahole)oranexternal feature(suchasastud).See"Inner /Outer".

LEAST_SQR

CIRCLE, CYLINDER, SPHERE

THEO/

Thisfielddeterminesthecalculation routineusedtocreatethefeature fromthemeasuredhits.Itcan togglebetweenLEAST_SQR, MIN_SEP,MAX_INSC, MIN_CIRCSC,andFIXED_RAD. See"Calculationlist". Thisstandsfor"theoretical". TX,TY,TZ,TI,TJ,TKrepresent thetheoretical(ornominal)hit locationandvector. TLI,TLJ,TLKrepresentthe theoreticallinevector. TEI,TEJ,TEKrepresentthe theoreticaledgevector. TSI,TSJ,TSKrepresentthe surfacetheoreticalvector. TS2I,TS2J,TS2Krepresentthe theoreticalvectorforthesecond surface. TLENGTHrepresentsthefeature's theoreticallength. TDIAMrepresentsthefeature's theoreticaldiameter.Forellipses, thisisthemajordiameter.TDIAM2 isanellipse'sminordiameter. TANG1representsthefeature's theoreticalstartingangle.TANG2 representsthefeature'stheoretical endingangle. TAI,TAJ,TAKrepresentsthe theoreticalanglevector.

668 CreatingAutoFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ACTL/

TARG/

MEAS/

NUMSIDES

POLYGON

RADIUS

POLYGON, SQUARE SLOT

TWIDTHandTLENGTHrepresent thetheoreticalwidthandlengthof thefeature. TANGLErepresentsthefeature's angle. Thisstandsfor"actual". X,Y,Z,I,J,Krepresenttheactual measuredhitlocationandvector. SI,SJ,SK,representthemeasured vectorforthesurface. LI,LJ,LKrepresentthemeasured line vector. EI,EJ,EKrepresentthemeasured edgevector. LENGTHrepresentsthefeature's measuredlength. DIAMrepresentsthefeature's measureddiameter.ANG1 representsthefeature'sactual startingangle.TANG2represents thefeature'sactualendingangle. AI,AJ,AKrepresentsthemeasured anglevector. WIDTHandLENGTHrepresentthe measuredwidthandlengthofthe feature. ANGLErepresentsthefeature's angle. Thisstandsfor"target".Thefields targX,targY,targZ,targI,targJ, targKallowyoutocontrolthe measurementlocationandvector approachdirectionforexecution whilehavingtheabilitytohavea completelydifferentTHEOvalue. Thisstandsfor"measured".The fieldsX,Y,Z,I,J,Krepresentthe actualmeasuredhitlocationand vector. SI,SJ,SKrepresentthemeasured vectorforthesurface.S2I,S2J,S2K representthemeasuredvectorfor thesecondsurface. Thiseditablevaluemustbean integerofthreeorhigher.Itdefines howmanysidesareinthepolygon. See"NumSideslist". Thiseditablevaluedefinesaradius foreachcornerinthepolygonor squareslot.Whentakinghits,PC DMISwillmoveinalongthesideby thatamountbeforetakinghits.This helpsavoidtakinghitsdirectlyin thecorner.See"Radiusbox".

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

CreatingAutoFeatures 669

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

STARTANG

ELLIPSE, CONE, CYLINDER SPHERE

STARTANG1

STARTANG2

SPHERE ELLIPSE, CONE, CYLINDER SPHERE

ENDANG

ENDANG1

ENDANG2

SPHERE

MEASANGLE

ROUND SLOT

INCREMENT

HIGH POINT

TOL

HIGH POINT HIGH POINT HIGH POINT HIGH POINT HIGH POINT HIGH POINT LINE

CIRCULARor BOX

OUTERRADIUS

INNERRADIUS

WIDTH

LENGTH BOUNDEDor UNBOUNDED

Thisfielddefinesthefeature's startingangle.See"StartandEnd Angles". Thisfielddefinesthefeature's startinganglehorizontally,around theequatorofasphere.See"Start andEndAngles". Thisfielddefinesthefeature's startinganglevertically,aroundthe polesofasphere.See"Startand EndAngles". Thisfielddefinesthefeature's endingangle.See"StartandEnd Angles". Thisfielddefinesthefeature's endinganglehorizontally,around theequatorofasphere.See"Start andEndAngles". Thisfielddefinesthefeature's startinganglevertically,aroundthe polesofasphere.See"Startand EndAngles". Thisfielddefinesananglevalue determininghowmuchofthearc makinguptheroundededgesof theRoundSlottomeasure.See "MeasAnglebox". Thisfielddefinestheincrement distanceawayfromthestartpoint thattheprobewillmovewhen followingitssearchpattern.See "Incrementbox". Thisdefinesthetolerancevalueto useduringthesearchprocess.See "Tolerancebox". Thisfieldswitchesbetween CIRCULARorBOX.Itdefinesthe searchregion.See"Box/Circular list". ForaCIRCULARsearchregion, thisfielddefinesthesearchregion's outerradius.See"Inner/Outerlist". ForaCIRCULARsearchregion, thisfielddefinesthesearchregion's innerradius.See"Inner/Outerlist". ForaBOXsearchregion,thisfield definesthewidthoftherectangular searchregion.See"Widthbox". ForaBOXsearchregion,thisfield definesthelengthoftherectangular searchregion.See"Lengthbox". ThisfieldappearsforLinefeatures. ItdeterminesthetypeofLine

670 CreatingAutoFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

EXTERIORor INTERIOR

REPORTVEC

ANGLE POINT, CORNER POINT LINE, SURFACE POINT, VECTOR POINT VECTOR POINT

feature.Itswitchesbetween BOUNDEDandUNBOUNDED. See"Boundedlist". Thisfieldswitchesbetween EXTERIORandINTERIORit describesthetypeofangle.See "Interior/Exteriorlist". Thiscommandindicatesthevector usedforreportingdeviation. See "ExtendedSheetMetalOptions area". Thiscommandindicatestheupdate vectorthatwillbeusedtopiercethe CADsurface. See"Extended SheetMetalOptionsarea". Thisdefinestheanglevectorforthe feature.See"IJKAngleboxes".

UPDATEVEC

ANGLEVEC

REMEASURE

PUNCH

PIN

CIRCLE, NOTCH SLOT, SQUARE SLOT, ROUND SLOT, CYLINDER, POLYGON CIRCLE, SQUARE SLOT, ROUND SLOT CIRCLE, SQUARE SLOT, ROUND SLOT EDGE POINT

ThisfieldifsettoYESremeasures thefeatureagainstthefeature's measuredvalues.See"Measure NowandReMeasureToggle".

Thisfieldindicatesthedirectionof thepunchthroughthesheetmetal. Itisaneditablevalue.See "ExtendedSheetMetalOptions area". Thisfieldindicatesthedirectionof thepointthroughtheholeformed bythepunch.See"ExtendedSheet MetalOptionsarea". Thisfieldindicatesthevectorused forreportingdeviation. See "ExtendedSheetMetalOptions area". Thisfieldindicatesthevectorused forreportingdeviation. See "ExtendedSheetMetalOptions area". Thistogglefielddisplaystheorder ofmeasuringthesamplehits.The availablechoicesareSURFACE, EDGEorBOTH.See"Measure Orderlist". ForaPlanefeature,thisfield switchesbetweenSQUAREand RADIAL.Itdefinesthehitpattern

REPORT

SURFACE_REPORT

EDGE POINT

MEASUREORDER

EDGE POINT

SQUAREor RADIAL

PLANE

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

CreatingAutoFeatures 671

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

SURFACE/ SURFACE2/ SURFACE3

EDGE/

LINE

MEASUREMODE/

RMEAS/

forhitsmakingupthefeature.See "Patternlist". Anyofthesecommandlines switchesbetweeneither THEO_THICKNESS, ACTL_THICKNESS,or THICKNESS_NONE.Ifthelatter thennothicknessisused. Otherwise,thisdisplaysthe thicknessofthepartforthePositive ornegativevaluescanbeused. See"UseThickness". ForaLinefeature,thiscommand determinestheedgethicknessof theline.See"UseThickness". Thiscommandswitchesbetween thesemeasuringmodes: FINDNOMS,VECTOR,NOMINAL, MASTER.See"NominalsMode list". Thiscommandhasthreefields separatedbycommas.Ifyouhave asingleRMEASfeature,itwill occupyallthreefields.Ifyouhave anRMEASfeature,oneforeach axis,theywilloccupythethree fieldslefttoright:XaxisRMEAS feature,YaxisRMEASfeature,and ZaxisRMEASfeature.See "SettingUpRelativeMeasure (RMEAS)".

CIRCULARMOVES/

CIRCLE, ELLIPSE, ROUND SLOT, SQUARE SLOT, NOTCH SLOT, CYLINDER, CONE, SPHERE, POLYGON

Thiscommandhasasingle YES/NOtogglefield.Ifsettoyes, thenPCDMISwillmovetheprobe inacircularmotion.See"Circular MovesToggle".

AUTOWRIST/

CLEARPLANE/

Thiscommandhasasingle YES/NOtogglefield.IfsettoYES, thenduringfeaturecreationPC DMISwillautomaticallychoosethe bestprobeangletousefor measuringthefeatureandwill inserttheappropriateTIP/ commandbeforethefeature.See "AutoWristToggle". Thiscommandhasasingle YES/NOtogglefield.IfsettoYES,

672 CreatingAutoFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

GRAPHICALANALYSIS/

SCREENCAPTURE/

thenduringfeaturecreationPC DMISwillautomaticallyinserta MOVE/CLEARPLANE command (relativetothecurrentcoordinate systemandpartorigin)beforethe feature.See"ClearPlaneToggle". ThiscommandhasaYES/NO togglefield.IfsettoYES,thenPC DMISwilldisplayagraphical analysisofthefeatureinthe GraphicsDisplaywindow.Three otherfieldsbecomeenabled.These threefields,fromlefttoright,allow youtodeterminetheGraphical AnalysisPointSize,thePlus Tolerance,andtheMinus Tolerance.See"Analysisarea". Thiscommandbydefaultcontains asingleCAD/NOtogglefield.Ifset toCAD,thenPCDMISwilltake andinsertscreencapturesofthe currentfeature'sgraphicalanalysis intothereportwindow.Three additionalfieldsbecomeavailable whenthefirstfieldissettoCAD. Fromlefttorightthesedothe following: Field2Determineswhatfeatures getoutput.Thosethatareoutof tolerance(OUTTOL)orallfeatures (ALL). Field3Determinesthesizeofthe screenshot:25%,50%,75%,or 100%ofthecurrentscreenview,or TOFITtofitthecurrentwindow. Field4Determinesthequalityof thescreenshot:LOW,GOOD,or HIGH.See"Analysisarea". Initially,thiscommandlookslike this:FEATURELOCATOR/NO,NO,"<text
instructions>"

FEATURELOCATOR/

TheleftmostYES/NOtoggle field indicateswhetherornotthe FeatureLocatortabwilldisplaya bitmapimageIfyousetthistoYES, anadditionalfieldboundedby quotationmarksbecomesenabled, allowingyoutotypethefull pathwaytothebitmapimageto display:
FEATURE LOCATOR/YES,"<pathwayto bitmapfile>",NO,"<text instructions>"

ThenextYES/NOtogglefield indicateswhetherornotthe
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual CreatingAutoFeatures * 673

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

FeatureLocatortabwillplayan audiofile(.wav).Ifyousetthisto YES,anadditionalfieldboundedby quotationmarksbecomesenabled, allowingyoutotypethefull pathwaytotheaudiofiletoplay:


FEATURE LOCATOR/YES,"<pathwayto bitmapfile>",YES,"pathway toaudiofile","<text instructions>"

SHOW_CONTACT_PARAMETERS

Thefinalfield,"<textinstructions>", letsyoudisplaytextualinstructions intheFeatureLocatortab. See "FeatureLocatorarea". ThisYES/NOtogglefield determineswhetherornotPC DMISdisplaysadditionalcontact parametersusedwiththeauto featureintheEditwindow.Setting thistoYESwilldisplaythefollowing fieldsifapplicabletotheauto feature:NUMHITS,NUMROWS, PITCH,DEPTH,STARTING DEPTH,ENDINGDEPTH, SAMPLEHITS,SPACER,INDENT, AVOIDANCEMOVE,FINDHOLE, ONERROR,READPOS. SURFACE POINT, EDGE POINT, ANGLE POINT, CIRCLE, ELLIPSE, ROUND SLOT, SQUARE SLOT, NOTCH SLOT, CYLINDER, CONE, POLYGON SURFACE POINT, EDGE POINT, ANGLE POINT, CORNER POINT, PLANE, CIRCLE, ELLIPSE,

SAMPLEHITS

Forfeaturesthatsupportsample hits,thisvaluedefinesthenumber ofsamplehitstotakeduringfeature measurement.Acceptablevalues dependonthetypeoffeature.See "WorkingwithContactSampleHits Properties"

SPACER

Thisfielddefinesthedistancefrom thenominalpointlocationthatPC DMISwillusetomeasureaplaneif samplehitsarespecified.See "WorkingwithContactSampleHits Properties"

674 * CreatingAutoFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

INDENT1 INDENT2 INDENT3

NUMHITS

ROUND SLOT, SQUARE SLOT, NOTCH SLOT, CYLINDER, CONE, POLYGON EDGE POINT, ANGLE POINT, CORNER POINT, NOTCH SLOT LINE, PLANE, CIRCLE, ELLIPSE, ROUND SLOT, CYLINDER, CONE, SPHERE, POLYGON PLANE

Thisdefinesminimumoffset distancefromthefeature'spointor centerlocationtothefirstsample hit.See"WorkingwithContact SampleHitsProperties".

Thisfielddeterminesthenumberof hitstotakewhenmeasuringthe feature.See"WorkingwithContact PathProperties".

NUMROWS

NUMLEVELS

CYLINDER, CONE EDGE POINT, LINE, CIRCLE, ELLIPSE, ROUND SLOT, SQUARE SLOT, NOTCH SLOT, POLYGON

Thisfielddetermineshowmany rowsofhitstousewhenmeasuring thefeature.See"Workingwith ContactPathProperties". Thisfielddetermineshowmany levelsofhitstousewhen measuringfeatureswithmultiple levels.See"WorkingwithContact PathProperties".

DEPTH

Thisfielddeterminestheoffset distanceeitherbelowasurfaceor upfromthebottomofafeature wherePCDMISwillmeasurethe feature.See"WorkingwithContact PathProperties".

STARTINGDEPTH

CYLINDER, CONE

Thisfielddefinesthestartingdepth ofthefirstlevelofhitsforfeatures withmultiplelevels.Thisdepthis offsetfromthetopofthefeature. See"WorkingwithContactPath Properties".

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

CreatingAutoFeatures * 675

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ENDINGDEPTH

CYLINDER, CONE

PITCH

CIRCLE, CYLINDER

AVOIDANCEMOVE/

Thisfielddefinestheendingdepth ofthelastlevelofhitsforfeatures withmultiplelevels.Thisdepthis offsetfromthetopofthefeature. See"WorkingwithContactPath Properties". Thisfielddeterminesthedistance betweenthreadsalongtheaxisof thefeature.See"Workingwith ContactPathProperties". Thiscommandindicateswhento applyanavoidancemoveandthe amounttomove.Itcontainstwo fields.Theleftfieldtogglesbetween NO(noavoidancemove),BOTH (movebothbeforeandafterthe featureismeasured),BEFORE (moveonlybeforethefeatureis measured)andAFTER(moveonly afterthefeatureismeasured)and therightfield(DISTANCE=n)lets youdefineanumbervaluethat determinesthedistanceofthe avoidancemove.See"Working withContactAutoMove Properties". Thistogglefielddeterminesthe methodPCDMISusestofindhole features.Availableoptionsinclude: DISABLED,CENTER,SINGLE HIT,orNOCENTER.See"Working withContactFindHoleProperties". ThisYES/NOfielddetermines whetherornotPCDMISuses improvederrorcheckingwhenit detectsanunexpectedormissed hit. IfsettoYESandamachineerror (suchasanunexpectedhit)occurs, thenPCDMISwilldisplaytheRead Positiondialogbox.Youcanthen useyourjogboxtomovethe machinetothefeature'slocation andattempttoremeasureit. IfsettoNO,theusual"Movement Interrupted"messageappears instead. See"WorkingwithContactFind HoleProperties".

FINDHOLE

CIRCLE, ROUND SLOT, SQUARE SLOT, NOTCH SLOT, CYLINDER, POLYGON ANGLE POINT, CIRCLE, EDGE POINT, CORNER POINT, ELLIPSE, ROUND SLOT, SQUARE SLOT, NOTCH SLOT, CYLINDER, CONE, POLYGON

ONERROR

676 * CreatingAutoFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

READPOS

CIRCLE, ELLIPSE, ROUND SLOT, SQUARE SLOT, NOTCH SLOT, CYLINDER, CONE, POLYGON

ThisYES/NOfielddetermines whetherornotPCDMISpauses executionabovethesurfacefeature displayingamessage,askingifyou wanttousethecurrentdata.See "WorkingwithContactFindHole Properties".

SHOWHITS

ThisYES/NOtogglefield determineswhetherornotPC DMISdisplaysallthehitsmaking upthefeature.IfsettoYES,then PCDMISwilldisplayaHIT/BASIC commandlineforeachhit. Ifyouwanttoseethehitsinthe GraphicsDisplaywindow,see "ShowHitTargetsToggle". Thiscommandlinedisplaysthe theoreticalXYZ,thetheoreticalIJK, andthemeasuredIJKvaluesfor thehit.

HIT/BASIC

ExtendedSheetMetalVectorDiagrams
Thistopiccontainsvariousdiagramsillustratingthevectorsthatyoucanusewhenyouchoose theshowextendedsheetmetalfeatureoptions: NormalVector:Thenormalvectoristhevectorperpendiculartothesurfaceatapointfeatures location.Seethediagrambelow:

=NormalVector

=Surface

=PointLocation

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

CreatingAutoFeatures * 677

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

DiagramofaNormalVector UpdateVector:Theupdatevectoristhevectorusedtodeterminethedirectiontofollowwhen updatingapointtoanewsurface.Thisupdatevectorisderivedfromthereferencelineusedin theinitialcreationofthefeature.Seethediagrambelow:

=Updatedornew surface

=Originaloroldsurface

=Originalpointlocation

=Updatedpoint location =Referencelineusedto generatepointlocation. Alsoknowntheupdate vector. DiagramofanUpdateVector ReportVector:Thereportvectorisusedtospecifythereportingdirectionofafeature.Itmaybe differentfromthesurfacenormal,usuallyalongaspecifiedaxis(shownbelowaseitherYrorXr). Seethediagrambelow:

=Theoreticalsurface

=Nominalpointlocation

=Actualpointlocation

=DeviationinXaxis

678 * CreatingAutoFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

=DeviationinYaxis DiagramofaReportVector PinVector:Appliedtoslotsandholes,thepinvectorspecifiesthevectorofthepinasitlocates theproduct.Seethediagrambelow: A =Pinvector

DiagramofaPinVector PunchVector:Appliedtoslotsandholes,thepunchvectorspecifiesthedirectionofthepunch usedtocreatethefeature.Thisvectorisusuallyclosetothesurfacenormalwithinafewdegrees. Seethediagrambelow: A =Punchvector.Closeto thesurfacenormalwithin+ or5degrees =ThePunch

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

CreatingAutoFeatures * 679

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

DiagramofaPunchVector

CreatinganAutoVectorPoint

VectorPointdialogbox TheVectorPointmeasurementoptionallowsyoutodefineanominalpointlocationaswellasthe nominalapproachdirectionthattheCMMwillusetomeasurethepointdefined. ToaccesstheVectorPointoption,accesstheautofeatureVectorPointdialogbox(Insert| Feature|Auto|Point|Vector).

MeasuringaVectorPoint
PCDMISallowsseveralmethodsformeasuringavectorpointusingtheautooption.Theyare listedinthefollowingparagraphsas: UsingKeyedinDataforaVectorPoint UsingSurfaceDatawiththeCMMforaVectorPoint UsingSurfaceDataontheScreenforaVectorPoint UsingWireframeDatawiththeCMMforaVectorPoint UsingWireframeDataontheScreenforaVectorPoint

680 * CreatingAutoFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

WithoutUsingCADDataforaVectorPoint

Note:ThemousecannotbeusedintheGraphicsDisplaywindowifCADdataisunavailable.

UsingKeyedinDataforaVectorPoint
ThismethodallowsyoutokeyinthedesiredX,Y,Z,I,J,Kvaluesforthevectorpoint.See "NominalsModelist"foradditionalinformationonnominals.

UsingSurfaceDatawiththeCMMforaVectorPoint
TheFindNomsoptionshould TogenerateavectorpointusingsurfacedatawiththeCMM,touch beONforthismeasurement onthedesiredsurfaceofthepartusingtheprobe.PCDMISwill option. piercetheCADsurfaceclosesttotheprobecontactpoint.

Ifthetouchpointisactuallynearthesurfacedata,the MeasureNowToggleiconisnot selected,andtheDonebuttononthejogboxispressed,thepointfeaturewillbecreated andaddedtotheEditwindowimmediately.Ifthetouchpointisnearthesurfacedata,but theMeasureNowToggleiconisselected,thesurfacedatawillstillbeused,butthe featurewillnotbecreateduntiltheCreatebuttonisclicked. Ifthetouchpointisnotnearthesurfacedata,PCDMISwilltreatthetouchasanactual hit,displayingthehitlocationandapproachvector. IfasecondhitistakenpriortoselectingtheCreatebutton,thelocationdataofthe secondhitwillbeused. Ifathirdhitistaken,thethreehitswillbeusedtodetermineanapproachvector,andthe lasthitwillbeusedforthelocation. Ifmorethanthreehitsaretaken,allbutthelasthitwillbeusedtodeterminethe approachvector.Thelasthitwillalwaysbeusedtodeterminethelocation.

UsingSurfaceDataontheScreenforaVectorPoint
Togenerateavectorpointusingsurfacedata: 1. PositionthecursorintheGraphicsDisplaywindowtoindicatethedesiredlocationofthe point(onthesurface) 2. Clickonthesurface.PCDMISwillhighlighttheselectedsurface. 3. Verifythatthecorrectsurfacehasbeenselected. PCDMISpiercesthehighlightedsurfaceanddisplaysthelocationandvectoroftheselected point.Thedirectionofthesurfacenormalvectorisdeterminedbythesideofthepartthatis accessibletotheprobe.Ifbothsidesofthepartareequallyaccessible,thenormalfromtheCAD dataisused.The"FlipVector"iconletsyouchangethedirectionoftheapproach. IfadditionalmouseclicksaredetectedbeforeyouselecttheCreatebutton,PCDMISwill overwritethepreviouslydisplayedinformationwiththenewdata.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

CreatingAutoFeatures * 681

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

UsingWireframeDatawiththeCMMforaVectorPoint
TheFindNomsoptionshould Togenerateavectorpointusingwireframedata: beONforthismeasurement method.See"Modelist"for moreinformationaboutFind Noms. ThefirsthitthatistakenwillindicatetheX,Y,Znominal.PCDMISwillalsodisplaytheI, J,Kvector.ThisvalueindicatestheoppositedirectionoftheCMMapproachvector (pointingawayfromthesurface).Thisdatacanbeaccepted,oryoucanfollowthe messagesdisplayedinthemessageboxrequestingadditionalhits.Asecondhitwill updatethehitlocationandapproachvectorusingthemostrecenthit. ThethirdhitonthesurfacewillchangethedisplayedX,Y,Znominaltothecurrenthit location.PCDMISwillmakeaplaneoutofthethreehitstofindtheI,J,Kapproach vector. Anyadditionalhitswillupdatethelocationofthehitusingthemostcurrenthitinformation. Theapproachvectorwillalsobeupdatedtoreflectanaverageofallprevioushits(does notincludethemostrecenthit)forthevectorpoint.

Thedisplayeddatacanbeacceptedatanytimeafterthefirst,secondorthirdhitistaken.Evenif thethirdhitwasnotaccepted,PCDMISinternallyresetsthesystem,causingthenexthit(hit#4) tobecomethefirsthitintheseries.

UsingWireframeDataontheScreenforaVectorPoint
TousewireframeCADdatatogenerateavectorpoint: 1. Selecttwoedges(wires)ofthesurfacewherethetargetpointwillbebyclickingonthe desiredwireswiththeleftmousebutton.(Thesewiresshouldbeonthesamesurface.) PCDMISwillhighlighttheselectedwires. 2. Verifythatthecorrectwireshavebeenselected.Amessagewillappear. 3. Selectthetargetpointonthecreatedsurface.Thisfinalselectionwillbeprojectedinto theplanethatisformedbythetwowirevectorsandthefirstwire'sheight.

WithoutUsingCADDataforaVectorPoint
IfthevectorpointistobegeneratedwithouttheuseofCADdata: ThefirsthitthatistakenwillindicatetheX,Y,Znominal.PCDMISalsowilldisplaytheI, J,Kapproachvectorofthathit.ThisvalueindicatestheoppositedirectionoftheCMM approachvector(pointingawayfromthesurface).Thisdatacanbeaccepted,oryoucan followthemessagesdisplayedinthemessageboxrequestingadditionalhits. Asecondhitwillupdatethehitlocationandapproachvectorusingthemostrecenthit. ThethirdhitonthesurfacewillchangethedisplayedX,Y,Znominaltothecurrenthit location.PCDMISwillmakeaplaneoutofthethreehitstofindtheI,J,Kapproach vector. Anyadditionalhitswillupdatethelocationofthehitusingthemostcurrenthitinformation. Theapproachvectoralsowillbeupdatedtoreflectanaverageofallprevioushits(does notincludethemostrecenthit)forthevectorpoint.

682 * CreatingAutoFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

CreatinganAutoSurfacePoint

SurfacePointdialogbox TheSurfacePointmeasurementoptionallowsyoutodefineanominalpointlocationaswellasa nominalapproachdirectionthattheCMMwillusetomeasurethepointdefined.PCDMISallows youtodefinethenumberofpointsthatwillbeusedtomeasureaplanearoundthenominalpoint location,aswellasthesizeoftheplane.Oncetheplaneismeasured,PCDMISwillusethe calculatedsurfacenormalvectoroftheplanetoapproachthenominalpointlocationfor measurement. Note:Theallowablenumberofsamplehitsneededtomeasureasurfacepointiszeroorthree. ToaccesstheSurfacePointoption,accesstheautofeatureSurfacePointdialogbox(Insert| Feature|Auto|Point|Surface).

MeasuringanAutoSurfacePoint
PCDMISallowsseveralmethodsformeasuringasurfacepointusingtheautooption.Theyare listedinthefollowingparagraphsas: UsingKeyedinDataforaSurfacePoint UsingSurfaceDatawiththeCMMforaSurfacePoint UsingSurfaceDataontheScreenforaSurfacePoint
CreatingAutoFeatures * 683

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

UsingWireframeDatawiththeCMMforaSurfacePoint UsingWireframeDataontheScreenforaSurfacePoint WithoutusingCADDataforaSurfacePoint

Note:ThemousecannotbeusedintheGraphicsDisplaywindowifCADdataisunavailable.

UsingKeyedinDataforaSurfacePoint
ThismethodallowsyoutokeyinthedesiredX,Y,Z,I,J,Kvaluesforthesurfacepoint.See "NominalsModelist"foradditionalinformationonnominals.

UsingSurfaceDatawiththeCMMforaSurfacePoint
TheFindNomsoptionshouldTogenerateasurfacepointusingsurfacedatawiththeCMM, beONforthismeasurement touchonthedesiredsurfaceofthepartusingtheprobe.PCDMIS method.See"Modelist"for willpiercetheCADsurfaceclosesttowheretheprobetouched. moreinformationaboutFind Noms. Ifthetouchpointisactuallynearthesurfacedata,andthemeasuredcheckboxisnot selected,thepointfeaturewillbecreatedandaddedtotheEditwindowimmediately Ifthetouchpointisnearthesurfacedata,butthemeasureboxischecked,thesurface datawillstillbeused,butthefeaturewillnotbecreateduntiltheCreatebuttonisclicked. Ifthetouchpointisnotnearthesurfacedata,PCDMISwilltreatthetouchasanactual hit,displayingthehitlocationandapproachvector. IfasecondhitistakenpriortoclickingtheCreatebutton,thelocationdataofthesecond hitwillbeused. Ifathirdhitistaken,thethreehitswillbeusedtodetermineanapproachvector,andthe lasthitwillbeusedforthelocation. Ifmorethanthreehitsaretaken,allbutthelasthitwillbeusedtodeterminethe approachvector.Thelasthitwillalwaysbeusedtodeterminethelocation.

Note:TheFindNomsmodeoptionshouldbeselectedforthismeasurementmethod.See"Mode list"inthischapterforadditionalinformationaboutFindNoms.

UsingSurfaceDataontheScreenforaSurfacePoint
Togenerateasurfacepointusingsurfacedata: 1. ClickontheSurfaceModeicon . 2. PositionthecursorintheGraphicsDisplaywindowtoindicatethedesiredlocationofthe point(onthesurface). 3. Clicktheleftmousebutton.PCDMISwillhighlighttheselectedsurface. 4. Verifythatthecorrectsurfacehasbeenselected. PCDMISpiercesthehighlightedsurface,displayingthelocationandvectoroftheselectedpoint. Thedirectionofthesurfacenormalvectorisdeterminedbythesideofthepartthatisaccessible totheprobe.Ifbothsidesofthepartareequallyaccessible,thenormalfromtheCADdatais used.The"FlipVector"iconletsyouchangethedirectionoftheapproach.

684 * CreatingAutoFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

IfadditionalmouseclicksaredetectedbeforeyouselecttheCreatebutton,PCDMISwill overwritethepreviouslydisplayedinformationwiththenewdata.

UsingWireframeDatawiththeCMMforaSurfacePoint
TheFindNomsoptionshouldIfthesurfacepointistobegeneratedusingwireframeCADdata: beONforthismeasurement method.See"Modelist"for moreinformationaboutFind Noms. ThefirsthitthatistakenwillindicatetheX,Y,Znominal.PCDMISwillalsodisplaytheI, J,Kvector.ThisvalueindicatestheoppositedirectionoftheCMMapproachvector (pointingawayfromthesurface).Thisdatacanbeaccepted,oryoucanfollowthe messagesdisplayedinthemessageboxrequestingadditionalhits.Asecondhitwill updatethehitlocationandapproachvectorusingthemostrecenthit. ThethirdhitonthesurfacewillchangethedisplayedX,Y,Znominaltothecurrenthit location.PCDMISwillmakeaplaneoutofthethreehitstofindtheI,J,Kapproach vector. Anyadditionalhitswillupdatethelocationofthehitusingthemostcurrenthitinformation. Theapproachvectoralsowillbeupdatedtoreflectanaverageofallprevioushits (excludingthemostrecenthit)forthesurfacepoint.

Thedisplayeddatacanbeacceptedatanytimeafterthefirst,secondorthirdhitistaken.Evenif thethirdhitwasnotaccepted,PCDMISinternallyresetsthesystem,causingthenexthit(hit#4) tobecomethefirsthitintheseries.

UsingWireframeDataontheScreenforaSurfacePoint
TouseawireframeCADdatatogenerateasurfacepoint: 1. Selecttwoedges(wires)ofthesurfacewherethetargetpointwillbebyclickingonthe desiredwireswiththeleftmousebutton.(Thesewiresshouldbeonthesamesurface.) PCDMISwillhighlighttheselectedwires. 2. Verifythatthecorrectwireshavebeenselected.Amessageboxwillappear 3. Selectthetargetpointonthecreatedsurface.Thisfinalselectionwillbeprojectedinto theplanethatisformedbythetwowirevectorsandthefirstwire'sheight.

WithoutusingCADDataforaSurfacePoint
IfthesurfacepointistobegeneratedwithouttheuseofCADdata: ThefirsthitthatistakenwillindicatetheX,Y,Znominal.PCDMISwillalsodisplaytheI, J,K vector.ThisvalueindicatestheoppositedirectionoftheCMMapproachvector (pointingawayfromthesurface).Thisdatacanbeaccepted,oryoucanfollowthe messagesdisplayedinthemessageboxrequestingadditionalhits. Asecondhitwillupdatethehitlocationandapproachvectorusingthemostrecenthit. ThethirdhitonthesurfacewillchangethedisplayedX,Y,Znominaltothecurrenthit location.PCDMISwillmakeaplaneoutofthethreehitstofindtheI,J,Kapproach vector. Anyadditionalhitswillupdatethelocationofthehitusingthemostcurrenthitinformation. Theapproachvectoralsowillbeupdatedtoreflectanaverageofallprevioushits(does notincludethemostrecenthit)forthesurfacepoint.
CreatingAutoFeatures * 685

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

CreatinganAutoEdgePoint

EdgePointdialogbox TheEdgePointmeasurementoptionallowsyoutodefineapointmeasurementthatistobetaken onthepart'sedge.Thismeasurementtypeisparticularlyusefulwhenthepart'smaterialisthin enoughthatapreciselycontrolledCMMmeasurementhitisrequired.Fivesamplehitsare neededtoaccuratelymeasureanedgepoint. ToaccesstheEdgePointoption,accesstheautofeatureEdgePointdialogbox(Insert| Feature|Auto|Point|Edge).

MeasuringanAutoEdgePoint

PCDMISallowsseveralmethodsformeasuringanedgepointusingtheautooption.Theyare listedinthefollowingparagraphsas:

686 * CreatingAutoFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

UsingKeyedinDataforanEdgePoint UsingSurfaceDatawiththeCMMforanEdgePoint UsingSurfaceDataontheScreenforanEdgePoint UsingWireframeDatawiththeCMMforanEdgePoint UsingWireframeDataontheScreenforanEdgePoint WithoutusingCADDataforanEdgePoint

Note:ThemousecannotbeusedintheGraphicsDisplaywindowifCADdataisunavailable. Note:PCDMISassumesthatthenormalsurfaceandthemeasurementsurfaceare perpendicular.

UsingKeyedinDataforanEdgePoint
ThismethodallowsyoutokeyinthedesiredX,Y,Z,I,J,Kvaluesfortheedgepoint.See"Mode list"foradditionalinformationonnominals.

UsingSurfaceDatawiththeCMMforanEdgePoint
TheFindNomsoptionshould TogenerateanedgepointusingsurfacedatawiththeCMM: beONforthismeasurement method.See"Modelist"for 1. Touchnearthedesirededgeofthepartusingtheprobe. moreinformationaboutFind 2. Trytomaketheshankasnormaltothesurfaceas Noms. possible. PCDMISwillpiercetheCADsurfaceclosesttowheretheprobe touched.ThedisplayedX,Y,Z valuesreflecttheclosestCAD edgetothehit,nottheactualhit.TheI,J,Kreflectsthesurface normalvector. IfaCADedgeisnotfound,PCDMISwilldisplaytheclosestpoint andaskthatadditionalhitsbetaken. IfasecondtouchistakenontheoppositesurfacepriortoclickingtheCreatebutton,PCDMIS willalterthelocationvaluesasappropriate.Thedisplayedvectors,however,willremainconstant.

UsingSurfaceDataontheScreenforanEdgePoint
Togenerateanedgepointusingsurfacedata: 1. ClickontheSurfaceModeicon . 2. Withthemouse,clickonceonthesurfaceneartheedgewhereyouwanttocreatethe AutoEdgePoint. 3. Verifythatthecorrectsurfacehasbeenselected. Thedialogboxwilldisplaythevalueoftheselectededgepointandvectoroncethepointhas beenindicated.Thedirectionofthesurfacenormalvectorisdeterminedbythesideofthepart thatisaccessibletotheprobe.Ifbothsidesofthepartareequallyaccessible,thenormalfrom theCADdataisused.The"FlipVector"iconletsyouchangethedirectionoftheapproach. IfadditionalmouseclicksaredetectedbeforeyouclicktheCreatebutton,PCDMISwilloverwrite thepreviouslydisplayedinformationwiththenewdata.
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual CreatingAutoFeatures * 687

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

UsingWireframeDatawiththeCMMforanEdgePoint
TheFindNomsoptionshould TogenerateanedgepointusingwireframedatawiththeCMM: beONforthismeasurement method.See"Modelist"for 1. Touchnearthedesirededgeofthepartusingtheprobe. moreinformationaboutFind 2. Trytomaketheshankasnormaltothesurfaceas Noms. possible. PCDMISwillpiercetheCADwireclosesttowheretheprobe touched.ThedisplayedX,Y,ZvaluesreflecttheclosestCAD edgetothehit,nottheactualhit.TheI,J,Kreflectsthesurface normalvector.IfaCADedgeisnotfound,PCDMISwilldisplay theclosestpointandaskthatadditionalhitsbetaken. IfasecondtouchistakenontheoppositesurfacepriortoclickingtheCreatebutton,PCDMIS willalterthelocationvaluesasappropriate.Thedisplayedvectors,however,willremainconstant.

UsingWireframeDataontheScreenforanEdgePoint
WireframeCADdataalsocanbeusedtogenerateanedgepoint. Togenerateanedgepoint: 1. Clicknearthedesiredwireontheedgeside(notwithintheboundaryofthetopsurface). PCDMISwillhighlighttheselectedwire. 2. Verifythatthecorrectfeaturehasbeenselected. Theprobeapproachisalwaysperpendiculartotheline,aswellasperpendiculartothecurrent probecenterlinevector.Theprobewillapproachfromthesideoftheedgethatwasclickedon. Thedialogboxwilldisplaythevalueoftheselectededgepointandthevectoroncethewirehas beenindicated. Ifanadditionaltouchisnecessary,clickontheoppositewireofthe(normal)surface.

WithoutusingCADDataforanEdgePoint
IftheedgepointistobegeneratedwithouttheuseofCADdata: Thefirstthreehitsthataretakenwillindicatethesurfacevectornominal. Thenexttwohitswillfindanddisplaytheothervector.Thisvalueindicatestheopposite directionoftheCMMapproachvector(pointingawayfromthesurface). Thelasthit(sixthhit)willindicatetheactualedgepointlocation.

688 * CreatingAutoFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

CreatinganAutoAnglePoint

AnglePointdialogbox TheAnglePointmeasurementoptionallowsyoutodefineapointmeasurementthatisthe intersectionoftwomeasuredlines.Thismeasurementtypeallowsyoutomeasurethe intersectionoftwolineswithoutmeasuringthelinesseparatelyandconstructinganintersection point.Sixhitsareneededtoaccuratelymeasureananglepoint. ToaccesstheAnglePointoption,accesstheautofeatureAnglePointdialogbox(Insert| Feature|Auto|Point|Angle).

MeasuringanAutoAnglePoint

PCDMISallowsseveralmethodsformeasuringananglepointusingtheautooption.Theyare listedinthefollowingparagraphsas: UsingKeyedinDataforanAnglePoint UsingSurfaceDatawiththeCMMforanAnglePoint UsingSurfaceDataontheScreenforanAnglePoint UsingWireframeDatawiththeCMMforanAnglePoint UsingWireframeDataontheScreenforanAnglePoint WithoutusingCADDataforanAnglePoint


CreatingAutoFeatures * 689

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Note:ThemousecannotbeusedintheGraphicsDisplaywindowifCADdataisunavailable.

UsingKeyedinDataforanAnglePoint
ThismethodallowsyoutokeyinthedesiredX,Y,Z,I,J,Kvaluesfortheanglepoint.See"Mode list"foradditionalinformationonnominals.

UsingSurfaceDatawiththeCMMforanAnglePoint
TheFindNomsoptionshould TogenerateananglepointusingsurfacedatawiththeCMM, beONforthismeasurement touchonceoneachsideoftheangleedge.IftheCADanglepoint method.See"Modelist"for isnotfound,PCDMISwilldisplaytheclosestpointandaskthat moreinformationaboutFind additionalhitsbetaken. Noms.

UsingSurfaceDataontheScreenforanAnglePoint
Togenerateananglepointusingsurfacedata: 1. ClicktheSurfaceModeicon . 2. Usingthemouse,clickoncenear(butnoton)theanglededgeintheGraphicsDisplay window.PCDMISwillhighlighttheselectedsurface. 3. Verifythatthecorrectsurfacehasbeenselected. Thedialogboxwilldisplaythevalueoftheselectedanglepointandvectoroncethepointhas beenindicated.Thedirectionofthesurfacenormalvectorisdeterminedbythesideofthepart thatisaccessibletotheprobe.Ifbothsidesofthepartareequallyaccessible,thenormalfrom theCADdataisused.The"FlipVector"iconletsyouchangethedirectionoftheapproach. IfadditionalmouseclicksaredetectedbeforeyouclicktheCreatebutton,PCDMISwilloverwrite thepreviouslydisplayedinformationwiththenewdata. Note:Ifanadditionaltouchisnecessary,clickontheoppositesurfaceoftheanglededge.

UsingWireframeDatawiththeCMMforanAnglePoint
TheFindNomsoptionshould TogenerateananglepointusingwireframedatawiththeCMM, beONforthismeasurement touchonceoneachsideoftheangleedge.IftheCADanglepoint method.See"Modelist"for isnotfound,PCDMISwilldisplaytheclosestpointandaskthat moreinformationaboutFind additionalhitsbetaken. Noms.

UsingWireframeDataontheScreenforanAnglePoint
WireframeCADdataalsocanbeusedtogenerateananglepoint. Togeneratethepoint: 1. Usingthemouse,clickoncenear(butnoton)theanglededge.PCDMISwillhighlight theselectedsurface.

690 * CreatingAutoFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

2. Verifythatthecorrectsurfacehasbeenselected. Thedialogboxwilldisplaythevalueoftheselectedanglepointandvectoroncethepointhas beenindicated.Thedirectionofthesurfacenormalvectorisdeterminedbythesideofthepart thatisaccessibletotheprobe.Ifbothsidesofthepartareequallyaccessible,thenormalfrom theCADdataisused.The"FlipVector"iconletsyouchangethedirectionoftheapproach. AnyadditionalmouseclickspriortoclickingtheCreatebuttonwilloverwritethe previouslydisplayedinformationwiththenewdata. Ifanadditionaltouchisnecessary,clickontheoppositesurfaceoftheanglededge.

WithoutusingCADDataforanAnglePoint
IftheanglepointistobegeneratedwithouttheuseofCADdata,touchthreetimesoneach surfacetofindthetwoplanes.Thedisplayedanglepointisatthefirsthitlocation.

CreatinganAutoCornerPoint

CornerPointdialogbox TheCornerPointmeasurementoptionallowsyoutodefineapointmeasurementthatisthe intersectionofthreemeasuredplanes.Thismeasurementtypeallowsyoutomeasurethe intersectionofthreeplaneswithoutmeasuringtheplanesseparatelyandconstructingan intersectionpoint.Ninehits(threehitsoneachofthethreeplanes)mustbeusedtomeasurea cornerpoint. ToaccesstheCornerPointoption,accesstheautofeatureCornerPointdialogbox(Insert| Feature|Auto|Point|Corner).


PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual CreatingAutoFeatures * 691

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MeasuringanAutoCornerPoint

PCDMISallowsseveralmethodsformeasuringacornerpointusingtheautooption.Theyare listedinthefollowingparagraphsas: UsingKeyedinDataforaCornerPoint UsingSurfaceDatawiththeCMMforaCornerPoint UsingSurfaceDataontheScreenforaCornerPoint UsingWireframeDatawiththeCMMforaCornerPoint UsingWireframeDataontheScreenforaCornerPoint WithoutusingCADDataforaCornerPoint

Note:ThemousecannotbeusedintheGraphicsDisplaywindowifCADdataisunavailable.

UsingKeyedinDataforaCornerPoint
ThismethodallowsyoutokeyinthedesiredX,Y,Zvaluesforthecornerpoint.See"Modelist" foradditionalinformationonnominals.

UsingSurfaceDatawiththeCMMforaCornerPoint
TheFindNomsoptionshould TogenerateacornerpointusingsurfacedatawiththeCMM: beONforthismeasurement method.See"Modelist"for 1. Touchonceoneachofthethreesurfacesthatconverge moreinformationaboutFind onthecorner. Noms. 2. Makeanyothermodificationstothedialogboxandthe ProbeToolboxasneeded. 3. ClickCreate. IftheCADcornerpointisnotfound,PCDMISwilldisplaythe closestpointandaskthatadditionalhitsbetaken. Note:PCDMISassumesthatthesurfacesaremutuallyperpendicular.

UsingSurfaceDataontheScreenforaCornerPoint
Togenerateacornerpointusingsurfacedata: 1. ClickontheSurfaceModeicon . 2. Usingthemouse,clickoncenearthecorner.You'llnoticePCDMISautomaticallyre positionstheanimatedprobeonthecornerpoint. 3. Verifythatthecorrectcornerpointisselected.Thedialogboxwilldisplaythevalueofthe selectedcornerpointandvectoroncethepointhasbeenindicated. 4. MakeanyothermodificationstothedialogboxandtheProbeToolboxasneeded.

692 * CreatingAutoFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

5. ClickCreate.

UsingWireframeDatawiththeCMMforaCornerPoint
TheFindNomsoptionshould TogenerateacornerpointusingwireframedatawiththeCMM: beONforthismeasurement method.See"Modelist"for 1. Touchtwiceonthefirstsurface moreinformationaboutFind 2. Touchonceneartheedgesthatconvergeonthecorner.If Noms. theCADcornerpointisnotfound,PCDMISwilldisplay theclosestpointandaskthatadditionalhitsbetaken. 3. Makeanyothermodificationstothedialogboxandthe ProbeToolboxasneeded. 4. ClickCreate.

Note:PCDMISassumesthatthesurfacesaremutuallyperpendicular.

UsingWireframeDataontheScreenforaCornerPoint
WireframeCADdatacanalsobeusedtogenerateacornerpoint. Togeneratethepoint: 1. Usingthemouse,clickoncenear(butnoton)thecorner.PCDMISwillhighlightthe selectedsurface. 2. Verifythatthecorrectsurfacehasbeenselected.Thedialogboxwilldisplaythevalueof theselectedcornerpointandvectoroncethepointhasbeenindicated.(Ifnecessary, touchonadifferentedge,leadingintothecorner.) 3. MakeanyothermodificationstothedialogboxandtheProbeToolboxasneeded. 4. ClickCreate.

WithoutusingCADDataforaCornerPoint
TogenerateacornerpointwithouttheuseofCADdata: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Touchthreetimesonthefirstsurface. Touchtwotimesonthesecondsurface. Touchonceonthethirdsurface. MakeanyothermodificationstothedialogboxandtheProbeToolboxasneeded. ClickCreate.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

CreatingAutoFeatures * 693

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

CreatinganAutoHighPoint

HighPointdialogbox TheHighPointautooptionallowsyoutosearchauserdefinedregiontolocatethehighestpoint inthecurrentworkplane.Thissamplestheregionitselfforthehighestpointitdoesn'tsearch existingpointsinyourpartprogram. TheresultofthesearchisasinglepointdefinedbyitsX,Y,Zcoordinatesandapproachvector. ToaccesstheHighPointoption,accesstheautofeatureHighPointdialogbox(Insert| Feature|Auto|Point|High).

MeasuringanAutoHighPoint

Thisfeatureisdirectlydependentonthecurrentworkplane.Thehighpointisdefinedbythe workplanethatiscurrentlydisplayedintheWorkingPlanelist. Tofindthehighpoint,followthisprocedure. 1. AccesstheautofeatureHighPointdialogbox(Insert|Feature|Auto|Point|High).

694 * CreatingAutoFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

2. VerifythatthecorrectworkplaneisdisplayedintheWorkingPlanelist.Forexample,if youwantedtofindthehighpointintheX+plane,youwouldneedtoselectX+fromthe Settingstoolbar. 3. Definethesearchregion. Takeahitonyourpart.Thispointisboththecenterpointofthesearchregion andtheinitialstartpointofthehighpointsearch.PCDMISshowstheselected point'svectoronthescreenanddisplaysthedatainthedialogbox(foravailable methodsofcreatingthisinitialcenterpoint,seethetopicsbelow).PCDMISalso drawsthesearcharea(intheformofacircularbandorrectangle)onthework planeofyourpartmodel. Selectyourdesiredsearchmode(eitherBoxorCircular)fromtheBox/Circular list. DefinethesearchareabytypingvaluesintheWidthandLengthboxes(forBox mode)orintheInnerRadandOuterRadboxes(forCircularmode).Ifyou selectedBoxmode,PCDMISsplitsthedefinedwidthandlengthequallyaround theinitialcenterpoint.PCDMISmodifiesthesearcharea.

4. DetermineanincrementtobeginthesearchbytypingavalueintheIncrementbox.This istheinitialdistancetosearcharoundthestartpoint. 5. TypeatolerancevalueintheTolerancebox.Thisshouldalwaysbelessthanthe incrementvalue. 6. ClickCreatetocreatethehighpoint.ThevalueintheEditwindowwillnotbethehigh point. IftheMeasureNowToggleiconisnotselectedatthetimethattheCreate buttonisclicked,thehighpointfeatureiscreatedandtheinformationdisplayed intheEditwindowwillrepresenttheinitialsearchparameters.Thesevalueswill remainuntilthefeatureisexecuted. IftheMeasureNowToggleiconisselectedatthetimethattheCreatebuttonis clicked,PCDMISwillexecutethesearchproceduretolocatethehighpoint.At thecompletionofthesearch,theactualhighpointwillbedisplayedintheEdit window.

9. Executethefeature.PCDMISmeasuresthegeneratedpointandthensearchesforthe highpoint,bygoingthroughthefollowingprocess:Ifanotherpointisfoundthatishigher inthecurrentworkplane,thenewpointbecomesthecurrentsearchpoint.Thiscontinues untilnootherpointwithinthegivenincrementvalueisfound.Theincrementvalueisthen automaticallydecreasedtofindanypointsthatmaybecloserthantheinitialincrement supplied.ThisincrementvalueisdecreaseduntilitislessthanorequaltotheTolerance valuesupplied,indicatingthatthehighestpointinthecurrentworkplanehasbeen located.Dependingonthespeedofyourcomputer,andthetypeofsettingsthiscould takeacoupleofminutestofindthehighpoint. 10. AccesstheEditwindowandplaceitinCommandmode.LookattheTARG/value.This hasbeenupdatedtoreflecttheXYZIJKvaluesforthehighestpointinthesearchregion. IfyouhavedoubtsaboutthevaluesthatshouldbesuppliedfortheIncrement,Tolerance, Width/Length,orInner/OuterRad values,PCDMISwillautomaticallysupplyvalidsuggestions forthesevaluesafterthestartpointandsearchcenterpointaredefined. PCDMISallowsthesemethodsfordefiningthecenterpointofthesearchareaforthehighpoint usingtheautooption.Thesemethodsarelistedinthefollowingtopicsas: UsingKeyedinDataforaHighPoint
CreatingAutoFeatures * 695

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

UsingSurfaceDatawiththeCMMforaHighPoint UsingSurfaceDataontheScreenforaHighPoint WithoutusingCADDataforaHighPoint

Note:ThemousecannotbeusedintheGraphicsDisplaywindowifCADdatawithsurface informationisunavailable. ForadditionalinformationonAutoHighPointfeatures,considerthesetopics: HighPointTutorial OtherHighPointSearches

HighPointTutorial
ThisofflinetutorialshowshowtousetheHighPointtabtosearchforthehighestpointofa searchregiondefinedonanZ+viewofapartwithaslope: ThistutorialusestheTAPE10A.IGSmodel.Youcanfollowalongusinganymodelthatcontainsa slopeorcurveontheZ+surface.

RotatedY+Viewoftheslope(outlinedinred) Step1. Selecttheworkplaneyou'llbeusing.Forthistutorial,ensurethatZPLUSisselected fromtheSettingstoolbar. Step2. EnsureyouareinSurfacemode. Step3. AccesstheautofeatureHighPointdialogbox(Insert|Feature|Auto|Point|High). Step4. ClickontheZ+planeintheGraphicsDisplaywindowoftheCADmodeltocreatethe initialcenterpointforthesearchregion.Thevectorforthispointisshownwithacoloredarrow:

696 * CreatingAutoFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

CenterPointfortheHighPoint

Step5. IntheHighPointtab,fromtheBox/Circularlist,selectBox.IntheWidthboxtype3. IntheLengthbox,type125.PressTAB.Yourgraphicsdisplaywindowwilldisplayathin rectangularsearchregionthatlookssomethinglikethis:

SearchRegioninY+view.

SearchRegioninZ+view. Step6. NoticethatPCDMISdividestheLengthandWidth valuesequallyaroundthecenter point. Step7. IntheIncrementbox,type2,intheTolerancebox,type.25,thenclickCreate.PC DMIScreatestheinitialHighPoint,shownasPNT1. Step8. PlacePCDMISinSummaryModeandclickontheplussignfortheHighPoint.Expand theinformationforActualsandTarget.Youshouldseesomethinglikethis:

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

CreatingAutoFeatures * 697

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

NoticethatthisonlyshowstheXYZandIJKdataofthecenterpointusedtodefinethesearch region.PCDMIShasn'tstartedsearchingforthehighestpointyetitwilldothisduringprogram execution. Step9. NowMarktheHighPointfeatureandexecutethepartprogram. Bydefaultthestartpointis thesamevalueasthecenter point.Youcanchangethe startpointbymodifyingthe XYZlocationoftheHigh Pointfeatureorbyclicking againontheCADmodel. PCDMISwillbeginit'ssearchatthestartpoint.

PCDMISwilltakeeightsamplinghitsaroundthestart pointatthedistancespecifiedintheIncrementvalue. Ifahigherpointisfound,itbecomesthenewstartpoint andPCDMISagaintakestheeightsamplinghitsaroundthe point.Thiscontinuesuntilahigherpointcannotbefoundat theincrementdistance. PCDMISthencontinuestakingsamplinghitsreducing theincrementvalueuntiltheitmatchesthetolerancevalue thuscompletingthehighpointsearch.

698 * CreatingAutoFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Duringexecution,theprobegraduallyclimbstheslopesearchingforthehighestpointinthe searchregion Oncethesearchfinishes,PCDMISdisplaysthenewhighpointvalueontheCADmodelitselfby movingthePNT1IDtothefoundhighpointlocationwithinthesearchregion.

Thenewhighpointisfound Step10. AccessSummaryModeandexpandthevaluesfortheAutoHighPoint.Expandthe Actualstree,andyou'llseetheXYZvaluesforthefoundhighpoint:

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

CreatingAutoFeatures * 699

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TheXYZActualshavechangedtoreflectthehighpoint.

OtherHighPointSearches
YoucanusetheHighPointoperationtoperformotherusefulsearches.Theseareexplainedhere: LowPointSearch: SupposeyouhaveaZ+surface madeupofhillsandvalleys.To findthelowestpointinavalley, simplyselecttheZ valueinthe Settingstoolbarandlookforthe highpointvalueontheZ+ surface. InBoxmode,ifyoutypeavalue ineitherwidthorlengthforthe lengthofthelineandthentype0 fortheothervalue,thenPC DMISwillsearchalongaline. InCirclemode,ifoneofthe radiiiszerothenacirculararea willbesearched. InCirclemode,ifoneofthe radiiishigherthantheother, thenadonutshapedbandwill besearchedandthecenterwill beignored. InCirclemode,ifbothradiiare thesamevalues,thenonlythe circumferenceissearched.

LineSearch:

SearchaCircularArea:

SearchaCircularBand:

Searchthe Circumference:

700 * CreatingAutoFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

UsingKeyedinDataforaHighPoint
Thismethodallowsyoutokeyinthecenterofthesearchregion(i.e.themiddleoftheboxor centerofthecircle(s))bysupplyingtheX,Y,andZvalues.Italsoallowsforthedefinitionofthe startpointandassociatedapproachvectorbytypingintheX,Y,Z,I,J,andKvalues.

UsingSurfaceDatawiththeCMMforaHighPoint
TheFindNomsoptionshould TodefinethesearchregionforthehighpointwiththeCMM: beONforthismeasurement method.See"Modelist"for Touchthedesiredsurfaceofthepartusingtheprobe.This moreinformationaboutFind willdefineboththecenterofthesearchareaandthestart Noms. pointasbeingthesame. Ifadifferentsearchcenterisdesired,touchthedesired surfacewiththeprobeoncemore.Thiswilldefineanew centerforthesearchregion. Ifanotherpointissampledwiththeprobe,itwillchangethe locationofthestartpointandapproachvector.Eachconsecutive sampletakenwillalternatebetweenthesearchcenterandthe startpoint.Eachtimethattheprobesamplesthesurfaceofthe part,PCDMISwillpiercetheCADsurfaceclosesttowherethe probetouched.Thisinformationgatheredfromthesurfacemodel willbeusedtodefinethestartpointandsearchcenter.

UsingSurfaceDataontheScreenforaHighPoint
Todefinethehighpointsearchareausingsurfacedata: 1. PositionthecursorintheGraphicsDisplaywindowtoindicatethedesired locationofthestartpoint(onthesurface). 2. Clicktheleftmousebutton.PCDMISwillhighlighttheselectedsurface. 3. Verifythatthecorrectsurfacehasbeenselected. PCDMISpiercesthehighlightedsurface,displayingthelocationandvectoroftheselectedpoint. Thedirectionofthesurfacenormalvectorisdeterminedbythesideofthepartthatisaccessible totheprobe.Ifbothsidesofthepartareequallyaccessible,thenormalfromtheCADdatais used.The"FlipVector"iconletsyouchangethedirectionoftheapproach. Thefirstclickonthesurfacewilldefinethecenterofthesearchregionasthesameasthestart point.Ifadifferentsearchcenterisrequired,positionthecursorintheGraphicsDisplaywindow toindicatethedesiredlocationofthesearchcenterandclickoncemorewiththeleftmouse button.Eachconsecutiveclickwiththeleftmousebuttonwillalternatebetweenthestartpoint andthesearchcenter.

WithoutusingCADDataforaHighPoint
IfthesearchregionforthehighpointistobegeneratedwithouttheuseofCADdata,thefirsthit thatistakenwillindicatetheX,Y,Znominalforthestartpointandthesearchcenter.PCDMIS alsowilldisplaytheI,J,Kapproachvectorofthathit.Thisvalueindicatestheoppositedirection oftheCMMapproachvector(pointingawayfromthesurface).Todefineanewstartingpoint,

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

CreatingAutoFeatures * 701

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

samplethesurfaceusingtheprobeatthedesiredcenterpointlocation.Consecutivesampleswill alternatebetweenthestartpointandthesearchcenter.

CreatinganAutoLine

Linedialogbox TheLinemeasurementoptionallowsyoutodefineanominallinethattheCMMwilluseto measurethelinedefined. ToaccesstheLineoption,accesstheautofeatureLinedialogbox(Insert|Feature|Auto| Line).

LineFieldDefinitions
TheEditwindowcommandlineforasampleautolinewouldread: F_ID=AUTO/LINE,SHOWALLPARAMS=YES/NOSHOWHITS=YES/NO THEO/TX1,TY1,TZ1,TX2,TY2,TZ2,TLENGTH ACTL/X1,Y1,Z1,X2,Y2,Z2,LENGTH TARG/targX1,targY1,targZ1,targX2,targY2,targZ2, THEO_THICKNESS=n,TOG1,TOG2,SNAP=YES/NO AUTOMOVE=YES/NO,DISTANCE=n,RMEAS=None NUMHITS=n,DEPTH=n, EDGEVEC=I,J,K SHOWALLPARAMS=ThisYES/NOtogglefieldallowsyoutochoosewhetherornotPC DMISdisplaystheTHEO_THICKNESS,RECT/POLAR,BND/UNBND,AUTOMOVE, DISTANCE,RMEAS,NUMHITS,DEPTH,andEDGEVECfieldsintheEditwindow.

702 * CreatingAutoFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

THEO_THICKNESS=Thisvalueindicatesthekeyedinthicknessofthepart.Positiveor negativevaluescanbeused. TOG1=Thisisatogglefield.TheX,Y,Z,I,J,KwillbedisplayedinRECT(rectangular)or POLR(polar)coordinates. TOG2=Thisisatogglefield.Itswitchesbetweenabounded(BND)andunbounded (UNBND)line. ONERROR=ThisisaYES/NOfieldthatallowsimprovederrorcheckingwhenPCDMIS detectsanunexpectedormissedhit. THEO/=Thisvaluerepresentsthenominalhit. ACTL/=Thisvaluerepresentsthemeasuredhit. TARG/=Thesevaluesallowyoutocontrolthemeasurementlocationandvectorapproach directionforexecutionwhilehavingtheabilitytohaveacompletelydifferentTHEOvalue. AUTOMOVE=Thisisatogglefield.AYESindicatesthatthisoptionisON. DISTANCE=ThisvalueindicatesthedistancetheprobewillmoveusingtheAUTOMOVE option. RMEAS=Thisvalueindicatestherelativepositionandorientationbetweenagivenfeature (orfeatures)andtheautofeature. NUMHITS=Thistogglevaluecanbeeditedorchangedtoreflectthenumberofhitsforthe line. DEPTH=ThisvaluedeterminesthedistancefromtheedgethatPCDMISwilltaketheline's hits. EDGEVEC=Thisdisplaystheapproachdirectionforanedgehitusedtocreatetheline. See"CommonAutoFeatureDialogBoxOptions"forgeneralguidelinesonmeasuringallauto featuretypes.

MeasuringanAutoLine

PCDMISallowsseveralmethodsformeasuringalineusingtheautooption.Theyarelistedin thefollowingparagraphsas: UsingKeyedinDataforaLine UsingWireframeDatawiththeCMMforaLine


CreatingAutoFeatures * 703

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

UsingWireframeDataontheScreenforaLine UsingSurfaceDataontheScreenforaLine WithoutUsingCADDataforaLine

Note:ThemousecannotbeusedintheGraphicsDisplaywindowifCADdataisunavailable.

UsingKeyedinDataforaLine
Thismethodallowsyoutokeyinthevaluesneededtocreateanautoline: ToCreateaBoundedLine 1. SelectYesfromtheBoundedlist. 2. TypethenumberofhitsintheHitsbox. 3. TypethedepthforthelineintheDepthboxontheContactPropertiestaboftheProbe Toolbox. 4. TypetheX,Y,ZvaluesfortheStartandEndpoints. 5. TypetheI,J,Kvectors. 6. Filloutanyotheroptionsasneededinthedialogbox. 7. ClickCreate.PCDMISwillgeneratealinebasedonthevaluesyoukeyedintothedialog box. ToCreateanUnboundedLine 1. SelectNo fromtheBoundedlist. 2. TypethenumberofhitsintheHitsbox. 3. TypethedepthforthelineintheDepthboxontheContactPropertiestaboftheProbe Toolbox. 4. TypetheX,Y,ZvaluesfortheStartpoint. 5. TypetheI,J,Kvectors. 6. TypethelengthofthelineintheLengthbox. 7. Filloutanyotheroptionsasneededinthedialogbox. 8. ClickCreate.PCDMISwillgeneratealinebasedonthevaluesyoukeyedintothedialog box.

UsingWireFramewiththeCMMforaLine
TheFindNomsoptionshould Togeneratealineusingwireframedata: beONforthismeasurement method.See"Modelist"for moreinformationaboutFind Noms. ThefirsthitthatistakenwillindicatetheX,Y,Znominalstartpoint.Asecondhit(needed ifyou'veselectedYesfromtheBoundedlist)willgeneratetheendpointfortheline.After thesecondhit,PCDMISwillalsodisplaytheI,J,KlinevectorandtheI,J,Kedgevector. Anyadditionalhitswillbeequallyspacedalongtheline'slength.Theapproachvectorwill alsobeupdatedtoreflectanaverageofallprevioushits(doesnotincludethemost recenthit)forthevectorpoint.

Thedisplayeddatacanbeacceptedatanytimeafterthesecondhitistaken.

704 * CreatingAutoFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

UsingWireFrameontheScreenforaLine
Togeneratealineonthescreenusingwireframedata: 1. SelectYesorNofromtheBounded list. 2. Selecttwoedges(wires)ofthesurfacewherethetargetpointswillbe(ifboundedbya secondpoint,otherwisejustclickonce)byclickingonthedesiredwireswiththeleft mousebutton.Thesewiresshouldbeonthesamesurface. 3. PCDMISwilldrawthestartlocationand,ifcreatingaboundedline,theendpoint location.Itwillalsodrawthelineandedgepointvectors. 4. Verifythatthecorrectwireshavebeenselected. 5. ModifyanyotheroptionsinthedialogboxandtheContactPathPropertiestabofthe ProbeToolboxasneeded. 6. ClickCreate.PCDMISgeneratesaline.

UsingSurfaceDataontheScreenforaLine
Togenerateanautolineonthescreenusingsurfacedata: 1. SelectYesorNofromtheBounded list. 2. Definetheautoline: IfyouselectedYesfromtheBoundedlist,taketwoclicksonthedesiredsurface todefinetheline'sstartandendpointsrespectively.PCDMISwillsnapthe pointstothenearestintersectionwithanothersurface,placingthepointsalong theintersectionline.PCDMISwilldrawthestartpointlocation,theendpoint location,andlineandedgevectors. IfyouselectedNo fromtheBoundedlist, takeoneclickonthedesiredsurface todefinetheline'sstartpoint.PCDMISwillsnapthepointtothenearest intersectionwithanothersurface,placingitalongtheintersectionline.Next, definethelengthofthelinebytypingitintheLengthbox.PCDMISwilldrawthe startpointlocation,alinethatmatchesthelength,andlineandedgevectors.

SampleBoundedAutoLineShowingtheStartandEndpointsandtheEdgeVector (A)andtheLineVector(B)

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

CreatingAutoFeatures * 705

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

3. Modifyanyotheroptionsinthedialogboxasneeded. 4. ModifyanyitemsintheContactPropertiestaboftheProbeToolboxasneeded. Forexample,fromtheyoumightwanttochangetheHitsvalueandtheDepthvalue:

SimilarAutoLineShowingExtraHits,ADepthValueof3mm,andanEdgeVectorof 0,1,0 Or,youmightwantthelinetobemeasuredalongtheothersurface.Youcouldaccomplish thisbymodifyingtheEdgeVector:

AutoLinewithaModifiedEdgeVectorof0,0,1andaDepthof1mm 3. ClickCreate.PCDMISgeneratestheautoline.

706 * CreatingAutoFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

WithoutUsingCADDataforaLine
IfthelineistobegeneratedwithouttheuseofCADdata: 1. SelectYesorNofromtheBounded list. 2. Ifyouarecreatingaboundedline,taketwohits.Ifyouanunboundedline,takeonehit. 3. AlteranyotheritemsonthedialogboxandtheContactPathPropertiestabofthe ProbeToolboxasneeded. 4. ClickCreate.

CreatinganAutoPlane

Planedialogbox ThePlaneautooptionallowsyoutodefineaplanemeasurement.Atleastthreehitsare necessarytomeasureaplane. ToaccessthePlaneoption,accesstheautofeaturePlanedialogbox(Insert|Feature|Auto| Plane).

MeasuringanAutoPlane

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

CreatingAutoFeatures * 707

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

PCDMISallowsseveralmethodsformeasuringanautoplane.Thesemethodsarelistedinthe followingparagraphsas: UsingKeyedinDataforanAutoPlane UsingWireframeDatawiththeCMMforanAutoPlane UsingWireframeDataontheScreenforanAutoPlane WithoutusingCADdataforanAutoPlane

Note:ThemousecannotbeusedintheGraphicsDisplaywindowifCADdataisunavailable.

UsingKeyedinDataforanAutoPlane
ThismethodallowsyoutokeyinthedesiredX,Y,Z,I,J,Kcentervaluefortheplane. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. AccesstheautofeaturePlanedialogbox(Insert|Feature|Auto|Plane). KeyintheX,Y,Z,I,J,Kvalues. IntheProbeToolbox,ContactPropertiestab,keyintheHitsandLevelsvalues. MakeanyothermodificationstotheAutoFeaturesdialogboxandProbeToolbox. ClickCreate.

PCDMISwillthengeneratethepropernumberofhitsusingthepatternspecified.See"Nominals Modelist"foradditionalinformationonnominals.

UsingWireframeDatawiththeCMMforanAutoPlane
TheFindNomsoptionshould TogenerateaplaneusingwireframedatawiththeCMM: beONforthismeasurement method.See"Modelist"for 1. AccesstheautofeaturePlanedialogbox(Insert|Feature moreinformationaboutFind |Auto|Plane). Noms. 2. Takeonehitonthesurfacewhereyouwanttocreatethe plane.PCDMISwillpiercetheCADsurfaceclosestto wheretheprobetouched.ThedisplayedX,Y,Zvalues reflectthecentervaluefortheplane.TheI,J,Kreflects thesurfacenormalvector. 3. ModifyanyotheritemsinthedialogboxandtheContact PathPropertiestaboftheProbeToolboxasneeded. 4. PresstheDonebuttononthejogbox(orclicktheCreate buttonfromthedialogbox).

UsingWireframeDataontheScreenforanAutoPlane
WireframeCADdataalsocanbeusedtogenerateanautoplane. Togeneratetheplane: 1. AccesstheautofeaturePlanedialogbox(Insert|Feature|Auto|Plane). 2. Clickatleastthreetimesonthesurface. 3. Verifythatthecorrectfeaturehasbeenselected.Theprobeapproachisalways perpendiculartothefeature,aswellasperpendiculartothecurrentprobecenterline vector.Thedialogboxwilldisplaythevalueoftheplane'scenterpointandvector.

708 * CreatingAutoFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

4. MakeanyothermodificationstothedialogboxandtheContactPathPropertiestabof theProbeToolboxasneeded. 5. ClickCreate.

WithoutUsingCADDataforanAutoPlane
TogeneratetheplanewithouttheuseofCADdata: 1. AccesstheautofeaturePlanedialogbox(Insert|Feature|Auto|Plane). 2. Takeatleastthreehitsonasurface. 3. Takeadditionalhitsifneeded.PCDMISwillusethedatafromallofthemeasuredhits. TheX,Y,Zthatisdisplayedisthecalculatedcenteroftheplane. 4. MakeanyothermodificationstothedialogboxandtheContactPathPropertiestabof theProbeToolboxasneeded. 5. ClickCreatebutton.

CreatinganAutoCircle

Circledialogbox TheCircleautooptionallowsyoutodefineacirclemeasurement.Thismeasurementtypeis particularlyusefulwhenthecircleispositionedinaspecificplanethatisnotparallelwithanyof theworkingplanes,orifequallyspacedhitsarerequiredforpartialcircles.Atleastthreehitsare

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

CreatingAutoFeatures * 709

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

necessarytomeasureacircle.Thedefaultnumberofhitsneededtomeasureacircleisbasedon thedefaultinSETUPmode. ToaccesstheCircleoption,accesstheautofeatureCircledialogbox(Insert|Feature|Auto| Circle).

MeasuringanAutoCircle

PCDMISallowsseveralmethodsformeasuringanautocircle.Thesemethodsarelistedinthe followingparagraphsas: UsingKeyedinDataforanAutoCircle UsingSurfaceDatawiththeCMMforanAutoCircle UsingSurfaceDataontheScreenforanAutoCircle UsingWireframeDataontheScreenforanAutoCircle WithoutusingCADDataforanAutoCircle

Inallmethods,itisimportantthattheproperfeaturetype,HOLEorSTUD,isselected(See"Hole orStud"formoreinformation).Verifythatthecorrectoptionisselected. Note:ThemousecannotbeusedintheGraphicsDisplaywindowifCADdataisunavailable.

UsingKeyedinDataforanAutoCircle
ThismethodallowsyoutokeyinthedesiredX,Y,Z,I,J,Kvaluesforthecircle.See"Modelist" foradditionalinformationonnominals.

UsingSurfaceDatawiththeCMMforanAutoCircle
TheFindNomsoptionshould TogenerateacircleusingsurfacedatawiththeCMM,takea beONforthismeasurement minimumofthreehitsintheholeoronthestud.PCDMISwill method.See"Modelist"for piercetheCADsurfaceclosesttowheretheprobetouched.The moreinformationaboutFind displayedX,Y,ZvaluesreflecttheclosestCADcircle,notthe Noms. actualhits.TheI,J,Kreflectsthesurfacenormalvector.IfaCAD circleisnotfound,PCDMISwilldisplaytheclosestpointandask thatadditionalhitsbetaken.

UsingSurfaceDataontheScreenforanAutoCircle
Togenerateacircleusingsurfacedata: 1. ClickontheSurfaceModeicon .

710 * CreatingAutoFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

2. Clickonceeitheroutsideorinsidethedesiredcircle.Thedialogboxwilldisplaythe centerpointanddiameterfromtheCADdataoftheselectedautocircleclosesttowhere youclickedonthepartmodel. 3. MakeanyothermodificationstothedialogboxandtheProbeToolboxasneeded. 4. ClickCreate.

UsingWireframeDataontheScreenforanAutoCircle
WireframeCADdataalsocanbeusedtogenerateanautocircle. Togeneratethecircle: 1. Clicknearthedesiredwireonthecircle.PCDMISwillhighlighttheselectedcircleclosest towhereyouclickedonthepartmodel. 2. Verifythatthecorrectfeaturehasbeenselected.Theprobeapproachisalways perpendiculartothefeature,aswellasperpendiculartothecurrentprobecenterline vector.Thedialogboxwilldisplaythevalueoftheselectedcircle'scenterpointand diameteroncethewirehasbeenindicated. 3. MakeanyothermodificationstothedialogboxandtheProbeToolboxasneeded. 4. ClickCreate. Note:IftheunderlyingCADelementisnotacircleorarc,additionalclicksmaybenecessaryto identifythefeature.IfPCDMISdoesn'thighlightthecorrectfeature,tryclickingonatleasttwo additionallocationsofthecircle.

WithoutusingCADDataforanAutoCircle
TogeneratethecirclewithouttheuseofCADdata: 1. Takethreehitsonthesurfacetofindtheplanethatthecircleislyingin. 2. Takethreeadditionalhitsinthehole(oronthestud).PCDMIScalculatestheautocircle usingallthreehits.Additionalhitscanbetaken.PCDMISwillusethedatafromallofthe measuredhitsuntiltheCreatebuttonisclicked.TheX,Y,Zthatisdisplayedisthe calculatedcenterofthecircle(orstud). 3. MakeanyothermodificationstothedialogboxandtheContactPathPropertiestabof theProbeToolboxasneeded. 4. ClickCreate.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

CreatingAutoFeatures * 711

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

CreatinganAutoEllipse

Ellipsedialogbox TheEllipseautofeatureoptionallowsyoutodefineanellipse.Theellipsefeaturetypeworks muchlikethesheetmetalcirclefeature.Itisparticularlyusefulwhentheellipseispositionedina specificplanethatisnotparallelwithanyoftheworkingplanes.Itisalsousefulifequallyspaced hitsarerequiredforpartialellipses.Theminimumnumberofhitsrequiredtomeasureanellipse isfive. ToaccesstheEllipseoption,accesstheautofeatureEllipsedialogbox(Insert|Feature|Auto |Ellipse).

MeasuringanAutoEllipse

PCDMISallowsseveralmethodsformeasuringanellipseusingthesheetmetaloption.These methodsarelistedinthefollowingparagraphsas: UsingKeyedinDataforanEllipse UsingSurfaceDatawiththeCMMforanEllipse UsingWireFrameorSurfaceDataontheScreenforanEllipse WithoutUsingCADDataforanEllipse

712 * CreatingAutoFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Note:ThemousecannotbeusedintheGraphicsDisplaywindowifCADdataisunavailable.

UsingKeyedinDataforanEllipse
ThismethodallowsyoutokeyinthedesiredX,Y,Z,I,J,Kvaluesfortheellipse.Inaddition,the majorandminordiametersoftheellipseaswellastheanglevectorI2,J2,K2mayalsobekeyed in.See"Modelist"foradditionalinformationonnominals.

UsingSurfaceDatawiththeCMMforanEllipse
TheFindNomsoptionshould Togenerateanellipsemeasurementusingsurfacedatawiththe beONforthismeasurement CMM,takeaminimumoffivehitsontheellipse.PCDMISwill method.See"Modelist"for piercetheCADsurfaceclosesttowheretheprobetouched.The moreinformationaboutFind displayedX,Y,ZvaluesreflecttheclosestCADellipse,notthe Noms. actualhits.TheI,J,Kreflectsthesurfacenormalvector.IfaCAD ellipseisnotfound,PCDMISwilldisplaytheclosestpointandask thatadditionalpointsbetaken.

WithoutusingCADDataforanEllipse
IftheellipseistobegeneratedwithouttheuseofCADdata: 1. Takethreehitsonthesurfacetofindtheplanethattheellipseislyingin. 2. Takefiveadditionalhitsinthehole(oronthestud). PCDMISwillusethedatatocalculatethesheetmetalellipse.Additionalhitscanbetakenuntil theCreatebuttonisclicked.TheX,Y,Zthatisdisplayedisthecalculatedcenteroftheellipse. Alsoshownarethecalculatedmajorandminordiameters,alongwiththeorientationvector.

UsingWireFrameDataorSurfaceDataontheScreenforanEllipse
Togenerateanellipsemeasurementusingsurfacedata: WithSurfaceData 1. ClicktheSurfaceModeicon . 2. Usingyourmouse,clickonceontheellipsedisplayedintheGraphicsDisplaywindow. PCDMISwillcomputethenecessaryX,Y,ZandI,J,Kdata. 3. MakeanyothermodificationstothedialogboxandtheProbeToolboxasneeded. 4. ClickCreate. WithWireFrameData 1. Clicknearthedesiredwireontheellipse.PCDMISwillhighlighttheselectedwire. 2. Verifythatthecorrectfeaturehasbeenselected.Theprobeapproachisalways perpendiculartothefeature,aswellasperpendiculartothecurrentprobecenterline vector.Thedialogboxwilldisplaythevalueoftheselectedellipse'scenterpointand diameteroncethewirehasbeenindicated. 3. MakeanyothermodificationstothedialogboxandtheProbeToolboxasneeded. 4. ClickCreate.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

CreatingAutoFeatures * 713

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Note:IftheunderlyingCADelementisnotanellipse,additionalclicksmaybenecessaryto identifythefeature.IfPCDMISdoesn'thighlightthecorrectfeature,tryclickingonatleasttwo additionallocationsoftheellipse.

CreatinganAutoNotchSlot

Notchdialogbox TheNotchmeasurementoptionallowsyoutodefineanotchmeasurement.Anotchisathree sidedsquareslot.Thismeasurementtypeisparticularlyusefulwhenyoudowanttomeasurea seriesoflinesandconstructintersectionandmidpointsfromthem.Notchesmustbemeasured withfourhits. ToaccesstheNotchoption,accesstheautofeatureNotchdialogbox(Insert|Feature|Auto| Notch).

MeasuringanAutoNotch

714 * CreatingAutoFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

PCDMISallowsseveralmethodsformeasuringannotchusingthesheetmetaloption.These methodsarelistedinthefollowingparagraphsas: UsingKeyedinDataforaNotch UsingSurfaceDatawiththeCMMforaNotch UsingSurfaceDataontheScreenforaNotch UsingWireFrameDatawiththeCMMforaNotch UsingWireFrameDataontheScreenforaNotch WithoutusingCADDataforaNotch

Note:ThemousecannotbeusedintheGraphicsDisplaywindowifCADdataisunavailable.

UsingKeyedinDataforaNotch
ThismethodallowsyoutokeyinthedesiredX,Y,Z,I,J,Kvaluesforthenotch. See"Modelist" foradditionalinformationonnominals.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

CreatingAutoFeatures * 715

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

UsingSurfaceDatawiththeCMMforaNotch
TheFindNomsoptionshouldTogenerateanotchmeasurementusingsurfacedatawiththe beONforthismeasurement CMM: method. See"Modelist"for moreinformationaboutFind 1. Touchtwotimesonthesideoppositetheopeningofthe Noms. notchusingtheprobe.Thiswilldefinealinealongthe edge.

2. Touchthepartonceononeparallelsideofthenotchand onceontheother.Thisdefinesthelength.Thepointis alongtheedgeline,midwaybetweentheparallelsides.

3. Takeonehitontheopenedge.Thisdefinesthewidthof thenotch.

4. Makeanyothermodificationstothedialogboxandthe ProbeToolboxasneeded. 5. ClickCreate.

UsingSurfaceDataontheScreenforaNotch
Togenerateanotchmeasurementusingsurfacedata: 1. ClicktheSurfaceModeicon . 2. Usingtheanimatedprobe,takefivehitsontheCADsurfaceinthesameorderasifusing aCMM(see"UsingSurfaceDatawiththeCMMforaNotch"above).

716 * CreatingAutoFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

3. MakeanyothermodificationstothedialogboxandtheProbeToolboxasneeded. 4. ClickCreate.

UsingWireFrameDatawiththeCMMforaNotch
TheFindNomsoption Togenerateanotchmeasurementusingwireframedatawiththe shouldbeONforthis CMM: measurementmethod.See "Modelist"formore 1. Touchtwiceonthesideoppositetheopeningofthenotch informationaboutFind usingtheprobe.Thiswilldefinealinealongtheedge. Noms.

2. Touchthepartononeparallelsideofthenotchandthenon theotherside.Thisdefinesthelength.Thepointisalongthe edgeline,midwaybetweentheparallelsides.

3. Takeasingletouchontheopenedge.Thisdefinesthe widthofthenotch.

4. Makeanyothermodificationstothedialogboxandthe ProbeToolboxasneeded. 5. ClickCreate.

UsingWireFrameDataontheScreenforaNotch
WireframeCADdatacanalsobeusedtogenerateanotch. Usingtheanimatedprobe:

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

CreatingAutoFeatures * 717

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

1. Touchtwiceonthesideoppositetheopeningofthenotchusingtheprobe.Thiswill definealinealongtheedge.

2. Touchthepartononeparallelsideofthenotchandthenontheotherside.Thisdefines thelength.Thepointisalongtheedgeline,midwaybetweentheparallelsides.

3. Takeasingletouchontheopenedge.Thisdefinesthewidthofthenotch.

4. MakeanyothermodificationstothedialogboxandtheProbeToolboxasneeded. 5. ClickCreate.

WithoutusingCADDataforaNotch
TogenerateanotchwithouttheuseofCADdata: 1. Findthetopsurfaceusingthreehits. 2. Touchtwiceonthesideoppositetheopeningofthenotchusingtheprobe.Thiswill definealinealongtheedge. 3. Touchthepartononeparallelsideofthenotchandthenontheotherside.Thisdefines thelength.Thepointisalongtheedgeline,midwaybetweentheparallelsides. 4. Takeasingletouchontheopenedge.Thisdefinesthewidthofthenotch. 5. MakeanyothermodificationstothedialogboxandtheProbeToolboxasneeded. 6. ClickCreate.

718 * CreatingAutoFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

CreatinganAutoRoundSlot

RoundSlotdialogbox TheRoundSlotoptionallowsyoutodefinearoundslotmeasurement.Thismeasurementtypeis particularlyusefulwhenyoudonotwanttomeasureaseriesoflinesandcircles,orconstruct intersectionsandmidpointsfromthem.Theminimumnumberofhitsneededtomeasurearound slotissix.

RoundSlotwith6MinimumHits ToaccesstheRoundSlotoption,accesstheautofeatureRoundSlotdialogbox(Insert| Feature|Auto|RoundSlot).


PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual CreatingAutoFeatures * 719

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MeasuringanAutoRoundSlot

PCDMISallowsseveralmethodsformeasuringaroundslotusingthesheetmetaloption.These methodsarelistedinthefollowingparagraphsas: UsingKeyedinDataforaRoundSlot UsingSurfaceDatawiththeCMMforaRoundSlot UsingSurfaceDataontheScreenforaRoundSlot UsingWireframeDatawiththeCMMforaRoundSlot UsingWireframeDataontheScreenforaRoundSlot WithoutusingCADDataforaRoundSlot

Note:ThemousecannotbeusedintheGraphicsDisplaywindowifCADdataisunavailable.

UsingKeyedinDataforaRoundSlot
ThismethodallowsyoutokeyinthedesiredX,Y,Z,I,J,Kvaluesfortheroundslot.See"Mode list"foradditionalinformationonnominals.

UsingSurfaceDatawiththeCMMforaRoundSlot
TheFindNomsoptionshould Togeneratearoundslotmeasurementusingsurfacedatawiththe beONforthismeasurement CMM,simplytouchthreetimesoneacharc. method.See"Modelist"for moreinformationaboutFind Noms.

UsingSurfaceDataontheScreenforaRoundSlot
Togeneratearoundslotmeasurementusingsurfacedata: 1. ClicktheSurfaceModeicon . 2. Usingthemouse,simplyclickonceonanyportionoftheslotdisplayedintheGraphics Displaywindow. 3. MakeanyothermodificationstothedialogboxandtheProbeToolboxasneeded. 4. ClickCreate.

720 * CreatingAutoFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

UsingWireframeDatawiththeCMMforaRoundSlot
TheFindNomsoptionshould Togeneratearoundslotmeasurementusingwireframedatawith beONforthismeasurement theCMM,simplytouchonethreetimesoneacharc. method.See"Modelist"for moreinformationaboutFind Note:IftheCADdatadefiningtheendsoftheslotisspecificallya Noms. CIRCLEorARCtype(i.e.,anIGESentity100),PCDMISwill automaticallytaketwoadditionalhitsonthearc.Ifbothendsareof thistype,thenonetouchoneacharcissufficienttomeasurethis featuretype.

UsingWireframeDataontheScreenforaRoundSlot
WireframeCADdatacanalsobeusedtogeneratearoundslot.Usingtheanimatedprobe, simplyclickoncenearanywireoftheslotdisplayedintheGraphicsDisplaywindow.

WithoutusingCADDataforaRoundSlot
IftheroundslotistobegeneratedwithouttheuseofCADdata,touchthreetimesoneacharc (foratotalofsixhits).

CreatinganAutoSquareSlot

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

CreatingAutoFeatures * 721

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

SquareSlotdialogbox TheSquareSlotoptionallowsyoutodefineasquareslotmeasurement.Thismeasurementtype isparticularlyusefulwhenyoudonotwanttomeasureaseriesoflinesandconstructintersection andmidpointsfromthem.Squareslotsmustbemeasuredwithfivehits(orsixifyouselectthe WidthMeascheckbox).

SquareSlotMeasuredwithFiveHits

SquareSlotMeasuredwithSixHits

ToaccesstheSquareSlotoption,accesstheautofeatureSquareSlotdialogbox(Insert| Feature|Auto|SquareSlot).

MeasuringanAutoSquareSlot

PCDMISallowsseveralmethodsformeasuringasquareslotusingthesheetmetaloption. Thesemethodsarelistedinthefollowingparagraphsas: UsingKeyedinDataforaSquareSlot UsingSurfaceDatawiththeCMMforaSquareSlot UsingSurfaceDataontheScreenforaSquareSlot UsingWireFrameDatawiththeCMMforaSquareSlot UsingWireFrameDataontheScreenforaSquareSlot WithoutusingCADDataforaSquareSlot

Note:ThemousecannotbeusedintheGraphicsDisplaywindowifCADdataisunavailable.

UsingKeyedinDataforaSquareSlot
ThismethodallowsyoutokeyinthedesiredX,Y,Z,I,J,Kvaluesforthesquareslot.See"Mode list"foradditionalinformationonnominals.

722 * CreatingAutoFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

UsingSurfaceDatawiththeCMMforaSquareSlot
TheFindNomsoptionshould Togenerateasquareslotmeasurementusingsurfacedatawith beONforthismeasurement theCMM: method.See"Modelist"for moreinformationaboutFind 1. Touchtwiceonthelongsideoftheslotusingtheprobe. Noms. 2. Touchthepartontheshortsideoftheslot. 3. Continuearoundtheslotandtouchthenextlongside. 4. Touchthelastshortside. 5. Makeanyothermodificationstothedialogboxandthe ProbeToolboxasneeded. 6. ClickCreate. Note:Theorderoftouchesshouldbeinacircularpattern (clockwiseorcounterclockwise).

UsingSurfaceDataontheScreenforaSquareSlot
Togenerateasquareslotusingsurfacedata: 1. ClickontheSurfaceModeicon . 2. Usingthemouse,clickonceonanysurfacenearthesquareslot.PCDMISfillsinthe dialogboxwithinformationcollectedfromthemodel. 3. MakeanyothermodificationstothedialogboxandtheProbeToolboxasneeded. 4. ClickCreate.

UsingWireFrameDatawiththeCMMforaSquareSlot
TheFindNomsoptionshould Togenerateasquareslotmeasurementusingwireframedatawith beONforthismeasurement theCMM: method.See"Modelist"for moreinformationaboutFind 1. Touchtwiceonthelongsideoftheslotusingtheprobe. Noms. 2. Touchthepartontheshortsideoftheslot. 3. Continuearoundtheslotandtouchthenextlongside. 4. Touchthelastshortside. 5. Makeanyothermodificationstothedialogboxandthe ProbeToolboxasneeded. 6. ClickCreate. Note:Theorderoftouchesshouldbeinacircularpattern (clockwiseorcounterclockwise).

UsingWireFrameDataontheScreenforaSquareSlot
TogenerateasquareslotusingWireframeCADdata: 1. Usingthemouse,clickoncenearthesquareslot.PCDMISfillsinthedialogboxwith informationcollectedfromthemodel. 2. MakeanyothermodificationstothedialogboxandtheProbeToolboxasneeded. 3. ClickCreate.
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual CreatingAutoFeatures * 723

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

WithoutusingCADDataforaSquareSlot
TogeneratethesquareslotwithouttheuseofCADdata: 1. Findthetopsurfaceusingthreehits. 2. Taketwohitsononeofthelongsidesoftheslot. 3. Takeonehitoneachofthethreeremainingsidesoftheslotinaclockwisedirection. (Thereshouldbeatotalofeighthits.) 4. MakeanyothermodificationstothedialogboxandtheProbeToolboxasneeded. 5. ClickCreate. Note:Theorderofhitsshouldbeinacircularpattern(clockwiseorcounterclockwise).

CreatinganAutoCylinder

Cylinderdialogbox TheCylindermeasurementoptionallowsyoutodefineacylindermeasurement.This measurementtypeisparticularlyusefulwhenequalspacingofthehitsisnecessaryforpartial cylinders.TheminimumnumberofhitsneededtomeasureanAutocylinderissix. ToaccesstheCylinderoption,accesstheautofeatureCylinderdialogbox(Insert|Feature| Auto|Cylinder).

MeasuringanAutoCylinder
PCDMISallowsseveralmethodsformeasuringacylinder.Thesemethodsarelistedin thefollowingparagraphsas: UsingKeyedinDataforaCylinder

724 * CreatingAutoFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

UsingSurfaceDatawiththeCMMforaCylinder UsingSurfaceDataontheScreenforaCylinder UsingWireframeDataontheScreenforaCylinder WithoutusingCADDataforaCylinder

Inallmethods,itisimportantthattheproperfeaturetype,HOLEorSTUD,isselected.See"Hole orStudoptions".Verifythatthecorrectoptionisselected. Note:Beawarethatcertainpatternsofpoints(i.e.tworowsofthreeequallyspacedpointsortwo rowsoffourequallyspacedpoints)resultinmultiplewaystomeasureaperfectcylinder,andPC DMIS'sBestFitalgorithmmaymeasurethecylinderusinganunexpectedsolution.Forbest results,measuredcylindersshoulduseauniquepatternofpoints.

Note:ThemousecannotbeusedintheGraphicsDisplaywindowifCADdataisunavailable.

UsingKeyedinDataforaCylinder
ThismethodallowsyoutokeyinthedesiredX,Y,Z,I,J,Kvaluesforthecylinder.See"Mode list"foradditionalinformationonnominals.

UsingSurfaceDatawiththeCMMforaCylinder
TheFindNomsoptionshould TogenerateacylinderusingsurfacedatawiththeCMM: beONforthismeasurement method.See"Modelist"for 1. Takethreehitsintheholeoronthestud. moreinformationaboutFind 2. Movetheprobetoanotherdepth Noms. 3. Takethreeadditionalhits.PCDMISwillpiercetheCAD surfaceclosesttowheretheprobetouched. ThedisplayedX,Y,ZvaluesreflecttheclosestCADcylinder,not theactualhits.TheI,J,Kreflectsthesurfacenormalvector.Ifa CADcylinderisnotfound,PCDMISwilldisplaytheclosestpoint andaskthatadditionalhitsbetaken.

UsingSurfaceDataontheScreenforaCylinder
Togenerateacylinderusingsurfacedata: 1. ClickontheSurfaceModeicon . 2. Positionthecursor(outsideorinsidethedesiredcylinder). 3. Clickonceonasurfacenearthecylinder.PCDMISwillhighlighttheselectedcylinder. ThedialogboxwilldisplaythecenterpointanddiameterfromtheCADdataofthe selectedcylinder.Itselectstheendofthecylinderclosesttowhereyouclickedonthe partmodel. 4. DefinethelengthofthecylinderbydefiningtheStartingDepthandtheEndingDepthin theContactPathPropertiestaboftheProbeToolbox. 5. MakeanyothermodificationstothedialogboxandtheContactPathPropertiestabof theProbeToolboxasneeded. 6. ClicktheCreatebutton.
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual CreatingAutoFeatures * 725

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

UsingWireframeDataontheScreenforaCylinder
WireframeCADdatacanalsobeusedtogenerateacylinder. Togeneratethecylinderusingwireframedata: 1. Clicknearthedesiredwireonthecylinder.PCDMISwillhighlighttheselectedwireand willselecttheendofthecylinderclosesttowhereyouclickedonthepartmodel. 2. Verifythatthecorrectfeaturehasbeenselected. Theprobeapproachisalwaysperpendiculartothefeature,aswellasperpendiculartothe currentprobecenterlinevector.Thedialogboxwilldisplaythevalueoftheselectedcylinder's centerpointanddiameteroncethewirehasbeenindicated. Note:IftheunderlyingCADelementisnotacylinder,circle,orarc,additionalclicksmaybe necessarytoidentifythefeature.IfPCDMISdoesn'thighlightthecorrectfeature,tryclickingon atleasttwoadditionallocationsonthecylinder.

WithoutusingCADDataforaCylinder
TogeneratethecylinderwithouttheuseofCADdata: 1. Takethreehitsonthesurfacetofindtheplanethatthecylinderislyingin. 2. Takethreehitsinthehole(oronthestud). 3. Takethreeadditionalhitsonanotherlevel. PCDMIScalculatesthesheetmetalcylinderusingallsixhits.Itissometimeshelpfultotakeahit inbetweenthetwolevelsifPCDMIShasdifficultyinidentifyingthefeaturetype.PCDMISwill usethedatafromallofthemeasuredhitsuntiltheCreatebuttonisselected.TheX,Y,Zthatis displayedisthecalculatedcenterofthecylinder(orstud).

726 * CreatingAutoFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

CreatinganAutoCone

Conedialogbox TheConemeasurementoptionallowsyoutodefineaconemeasurement.Thismeasurement typeisparticularlyusefulwhenequalspacingofthehitsisnecessaryforpartialcones.The minimumnumberofhitsneededtomeasureanautoconeissix. ToaccesstheConeoption,accesstheautofeatureConedialogbox(Insert|Feature|Auto| Cone).

MeasuringanAutoCone

PCDMISallowsseveralmethodsformeasuringacone.Thesemethodsarelistedinthe followingparagraphsas: UsingKeyedinDataforaCone UsingSurfaceDatawiththeCMMforaCone UsingSurfaceDataontheScreenforaCone UsingWireframeDataontheScreenforaCone WithoutusingCADDataforaCone

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

CreatingAutoFeatures * 727

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Inallmethods,itisimportantthattheproperfeaturetype,HOLEorSTUD,isselected.See"Hole orStudoptions".Verifythatthecorrectoptionisselected. Note:ThemousecannotbeusedintheGraphicsDisplaywindowifCADdataisunavailable.

UsingKeyedinDataforaCone
ThismethodallowsyoutokeyinthedesiredX,Y,Z,I,J,Kvaluesforthecone.See"Modelist" foradditionalinformationonnominals.

UsingSurfaceDatawiththeCMMforaCone
TheFindNomsoptionshould TogenerateaconeusingsurfacedatawiththeCMM: beONforthismeasurement method.See"Modelist"for 1. Takethreehitsintheholeoronthestud. moreinformationaboutFind 2. Movetheprobetoanotherdepth. Noms. 3. Takethreeadditionalhits.PCDMISwillpiercetheCAD surfaceclosesttowheretheprobetouched. ThedisplayedX,Y,ZvaluesreflecttheclosestCADcone,notthe actualhits.TheI,J,Kreflectsthesurfacenormalvector.IfaCAD coneisnotfound,PCDMISwilldisplaytheclosestpointandask thatadditionalhitsbetaken. Notethatanexternalcone(stud)fromversions3.6andbeforemayneedtohaveitsvectorsand lengthnegatedtocorrectlymeasure.

UsingSurfaceDataontheScreenforaCone
Togenerateaconeusingsurfacedata: 1. ClickontheSurfaceModeicon . 2. Positionthecursor(outsideorinsidethedesiredcone). 3. Clickonceonthecone'ssurface.PCDMISwillhighlighttheselectedcone.Thedialog boxwilldisplaythecenterpoint,angle,anddiameterfromtheCADdataoftheselected cone. 4. MakeanyothermodificationstothedialogboxandtheProbeToolboxasneeded. 5. ClickCreate.

Notethatanexternalcone(stud)fromversions3.6andbeforemayneedtohaveitsvectorsand lengthnegatedtocorrectlymeasure.

UsingWireframeDataontheScreenforaCone
WireframeCADdatacanalsobeusedtogenerateacone. Togeneratetheconeusingwireframedata:

728 * CreatingAutoFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

1. Clicknearthedesiredwireonthecone.PCDMISwillhighlighttheselectedwire.This willgettheconecenter,surfacevector,anddiameter. 2. Clickonasecondwirethatrepresentstheotherendoftheconetocalculatetheangle. Theprobeapproachisalwaysperpendiculartothefeature,aswellasperpendiculartothe currentprobecenterlinevector.Thedialogboxwilldisplaythevalueoftheselectedcone'scenter pointanddiameteroncethewirehasbeenindicated. Notethatanexternalcone(stud)fromversions3.6andbeforemayneedtohaveitsvectorsand lengthnegatedtocorrectlymeasure. Note:IftheunderlyingCADelementisnotacone,circle,orarc,additionalclicksmaybe necessarytoidentifythefeature.IfPCDMISdoesn'thighlightthecorrectfeature,tryclickingon atleasttwoadditionallocationsonthecone.

WithoutusingCADDataforaCone
TogeneratetheconewithoutusingCADdata: 1. Takethreehitsonthesurfacetofindtheplanethattheconeislyingin. 2. Takethreehitsinthehole(oronthestud)atthesamelevel. 3. Takeatleast1hitateitheralowerorhigherlevelthanthefirstthreehits(takeuptothree hitstogetanaccuratedefinitionofthecone). Notethatanexternalcone(stud)fromversions3.6andbeforemayneedtohaveitsvectorsand lengthnegatedtocorrectlymeasure.

CreatinganAutoSphere

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

CreatingAutoFeatures * 729

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Spheredialogbox TheSpheresheetmetaloptionallowsyoutodefineaspheremeasurement.Thismeasurement typeisparticularlyusefulwhenthesphereliesinaspecificplanethatisnotparallelwithanyof theworkingplanes.Theminimumnumberofhitsneededtomeasureanautosphereisfour. ToaccesstheSphereoption,accesstheautofeatureSpheredialogbox(Insert|Feature| Auto|Sphere).

MeasuringanAutoSphere

PCDMISallowsseveralmethodsformeasuringasphereusingthesheetmetaloption.These methodsarelistedinthefollowingparagraphsas: UsingKeyedinDataforaSphere UsingSurfaceDatawiththeCMMforaSphere UsingSurfaceDataontheScreenforaSphere UsingWireframeDataontheScreenforaSphere

Note:ThemousecannotbeusedintheGraphicsDisplaywindowifCADdataisunavailable.

UsingKeyedinDataforaSphere
ThismethodallowsyoutokeyinthedesiredX,Y,Z,I,J,Kvaluesforthesphere.See"Modelist" foradditionalinformationonnominals.

UsingSurfaceDatawiththeCMMforaSphere
TheFindNomsoptionshould TogenerateasphereusingsurfacedatawiththeCMM,touchthe beONforthismeasurement sphereinfourlocationsusingtheprobe. method.See"Modelist"for moreinformationaboutFind Ifadditionalmouseclicksaredetectedbeforeyouselectthe Noms. Createbutton,PCDMISwillfindthebestspherenearthe measuredpoints.

UsingSurfaceDataontheScreenforaSphere
Togenerateasphereusingsurfacedata: 1. ClickontheSurfaceModeicon . 2. PositionthecursorintheGraphicsDisplaywindowtoindicatethedesiredsphere. 3. Clicktheleftmousebutton.

730 * CreatingAutoFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Thedialogboxwilldisplaythevalueoftheselectedsphereandvectoroncethepointshavebeen indicated.

UsingWireframeDataontheScreenforaSphere
TogenerateasphereusingWireframeCADdata: 1. Selectthespheretobemeasured.PCDMISwillhighlighttheselectedsphere,ifitis available.(Ifanotherfeatureisselected,trytakingtwoadditionalhits.) 2. Verifythatthecorrectfeaturehasbeenselected. ThedialogboxwilldisplaythevalueoftheselectedDCCsphereandthevectoroncethesphere hasbeenindicated.

CreatinganAutoPolygon

PolygonDialogBox ThePolygondialogboxletsyoudefineandinsertaPolygonautofeatureintoyourpartprogram. Apolygonisanyfeaturecomposedofthreeormoresidesofequaldistance.Forexample, hexagonoroctagonshapesarebothpolygonfeature.Thisautofeatureisprimarilyusedto measurenutsandbolts.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

CreatingAutoFeatures * 731

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

AnExamplePolygonAutoFeature TodefineandinsertaPolygonoption,accesstheautofeaturePolygondialogbox(Insert| Feature|Auto|Polygon).

MeasuringaPolygon
TocreateanautopolygonusingtheCADmodel 1. AccessthePolygonautofeaturedialogbox(Insert|Feature|Auto|Polygon). 2. IntheNumberofSidesbox,definethenumberofsidesofyourpolygonfeaturehas. 3. ClickonceonthedesiredpolygonfeatureintheGraphicsDisplaywindow.PCDMISfills inthecenterpointinformationforthepolygonanddrawssomepreliminarypathlines.As youmakechangestothedialogbox,noticethatPCDMISdynamicallyupdatestopathto reflectthechanges.

Preliminarypathlinesdisplayed,showing2hitsperside 4. IntheNumberofHitsbox,definehowmanyhitsyouwantPCDMIStotakewhen measuringeachside.PCDMISwillalwaystakeatleasttwohitsontheveryfirstsideof thefeaturetodeterminethefeature'sanglevector.

732 * CreatingAutoFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

5. IntheOrientationarea,determinewhetherit'saninnerpolygonoranouterpolygonby selectingHoleorStudrespectively. 6. IntheCorn.Rad.box,defineacornerradius.Thisdetermineshowfarawayfromthe cornersPCDMISshouldtakehitsonthepolygonsides.Thishelpsavoidtakinghits directlyinthecorners. 7. IntheDiameterbox,ensurethatyouhaveacorrectdiameterforthepolygon. For common,evensidedpolygons,thediameteristhedistancebetweentwoopposingsides. Forotherpolygons,suchasanequilateraltriangle,itistwicetheradiusofthelargest circleyoucaninscribeinsidethepolygon.PCDMISautomaticallyfillsinthisvaluewhen youclickonthepolygon. 8. MakeanyothermodificationstothedialogboxandtheProbeToolboxasneeded. 9. ClickCreate.PCDMISinsertsthePolygonautofeatureintoyourpartprogram. Tocreateanautopolygonbykeyinginthedata: Ifyouknowthetheoreticaldataforthepolygon,youcanalsocreateapolygonautofeatureby simplytypinginitstheoreticaldataintheappropriatefields.UsingthePolygonautofeature dialogbox,specifytheXYZcenterandIJKvectorinformation.Definethenumberofsides,the numberofhitsperside,thediameter,andthecornerradius.ClickCreatewhenfinished. TocreateanautopolygonusingtheCMM: Youcan"learn"anAutoPolygon'spositionwithoutusinganyCADdatabysimplytakinghitson thepartwithyourmachine'sprobe.Filloutthedialogboxwiththenecessaryinformation.With thePolygonAutoFeaturedialogboxremainingopen,takeahitononeofthepolygon'ssides. Afterthefirsthit,theStatusBaratthebottomofyourscreenwillprovideyouwithadditional instructions.FollowthepromptsgivenintheStatusBartocompletethepolygoncreation.Click Createwhenfinished.

SettingUpRelativeMeasure(RMEAS)
TheInsert|ParameterChange|AutoRelativeMeasuremenuoptionsetstherelative measurementmodeforautofeatures.Whenyouselectthismenuoption,PCDMISinsertsan RMEAScommandintotheEditwindowandbydefaultsetsittousetheDEFAULTmode.You canthenchangeittotheLEGACYmodeifdesired: DefaultRMEASMode(previouslycalledAbsoluteMode)usestheRMEASfeaturesmeasured positionandvector,applyinganypositionaloffsetsalongthatvector. LegacyRMEASMode(previouslycalledNormalMode)usesthedeviationoftheRMEAS featurespositionandorientation. Note:RMEASismostlyusedforadjustingfeatureorientation.Defaultmodeshouldbeselected inthesecases.Legacymodeshouldonlybeusedinrareinstanceswhereadjustmentsinboth orientationandpositionareneeded. YoushouldinserttheRMEAScommandintothepartprogrambeforeusingtheRelative MeasurementareaintheAutoFeaturedialogbox.Formoreinformation,see"Relative Measurementarea".

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

CreatingAutoFeatures * 733

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

DefaultRMEASMode
WhenanAutoFeaturehasarelativemeasurefeatureassociatedwithit(see"Relative Measurementarea"),PCDMISmeasurestheAutoFeatureinalocationthatisadjustedtobeon theplaneoftheRMEASfeature. Example:Supposeyoumeasuredaplane(PLN),andanAutoCircle(CIR1)referencedtheplane asitsRMEASfeature.WhenyoumeasureCIR1PCDMISwillmeasureitinthereferencedplane (PLN).See"MathProcessoftheDefaultRMEASMode:". TheEditwindowcommandforthisoptionreads:
RMEAS/DEFAULT

ThisisthedefaultandusualRMEASmodeforsheetmetalfeatures.

MathProcessoftheDefaultRMEASMode:
ThismodecontrolsI,J,K,Z(T)andthereforeworkswellwithRMEASfeatureslikeplanes. Usingthenumericalvaluestakenfromtheexamplefeaturesinthetablebelow,followthesesteps tounderstandhowRMEAS/DEFAULTfunctions. 1. Createacoordinatesystem(translationmatrix)usingtheactualRMEASfeature'sXYZ IJK. 2. MovethenominalAutoFeatureXYZintotheRMEAScoordinatesystem. 3. ZeroouttheZvalueandmovetheXYZbackintothePARTcoordinatesystem. 4. CopytheRMEASfeature'sIJKvaluestotheAutoFeatureiftheRMEASfeatureisplane reducible. ExampleFeature ActualRMEASfeature(plane): NominalAutoFeature(circle): NewNominalAutoFeature: XYZ 2,2,1 0,0,0 0,0,1 IJK 0,0,1 0,.7071,.7071 0,0,1

LegacyRMEASMode
TheLegacyRMEASmodetakesintoaccounttheorientationofthereferencefeature. Tounderstandthis,examineanAutoCirclewiththreesamplehits.PCDMISfirsttakesthreehits onthesurfacearoundthecircleandthenmeasuresthecirclebasedontheplane'slocationand thesurfacenormalvector'sorientation.Therefore,iftheplaneisata45degreeangle,PCDMIS alsomeasurestheAutoCircleata45degreeangle. Similarly,iftherelativemeasurefeatureisrotatedfromitsoriginalorientation,thentheassociated featurewillalsobemeasuredwiththesamerotationaloffset. LegacymodeisalsoslightlysmarterthanDefaultmode,becausewhenitlooksatthereference featureitonlyoffsetsthemainfeaturebyvalidaxesforthereferencefeaturetype.Forexample, foraplaneitdoesn'tmakemuchsensetoshiftinalldirections,butonlybytheplane'snormal vector.

734 * CreatingAutoFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionreads:
RMEAS/LEGACY

Legacymodeshouldonlybeusedinrareinstanceswhereadjustmentsinbothorientationand positionareneeded.

MathProcessoftheLegacyRMEASmode
ThismodecontrolsI,J,K,X,Y,Z(T)andthereforeworkswellwith3dRMEASfeatureslike circleswithsamplehits. Usingthenumericalvaluestakenfromtheexamplefeaturesinthetablebelow,followthesesteps tounderstandhowRMEAS/LEGACYfunctions. 1. Createacoordinatesystem(translationmatrix)giventhenominalRMEASfeatureXYZ IJK. 2. MovethenominalAutoFeatureXYZandIJKintotheRMEAScoordinatesystem. 3. CreateanewcoordinatesystemgiventheactualRMEASfeatureXYZIJK. 4. NowmovethetranslatedAutoFeatureXYZandIJKbackintothePARTcoordinate systemusingthenewRMEAScoordinatesystem. 5. UsethenewnominalXYZandIJKtomeasuretheAutoFeature. ExampleFeature NominalRMEAS feature(circle): NominalAuto Feature(circle): ActualRMEAS feature: NewNominalAuto Feature: XYZ 0,0,2 2,1,0 1,0,1 1.8284,1,1 IJK 0,0,1 .7071,0,.7071 .7071,0,.7071 0,0,1

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

CreatingAutoFeatures * 735

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

CreatingMeasuredFeatures
CreatingMeasuredFeatures:Introduction
Wheneveryoutakehitsonapart,PCDMISinterpretsthosehitsintodifferentfeaturesdepending onthenumberofthehits,theirvectors,etc.PCDMIScreatesmeasuredfeaturesfromthesehits. PCDMISsupportsthefollowingmeasuredfeatures: MeasuredPoint MeasuredLine MeasuredPlane MeasuredCircle MeasuredSphere MeasuredCone MeasuredCylinder MeasuredRoundSlot MeasuredSquareSlot Thesefeaturesaredescribedindetailinthe"UnderstandingtheCommandFormat"topic. Thefollowingmajortopicsarecoveredinthischapter. UnderstandingtheCommandFormat InsertingaMeasuredFeature EditingaMeasuredFeature OverridingaGuessedMeasuredFeature CreatingMeasuredFeatureSets

Note:YoucanalsouseinsertmeasuredfeaturesintoyourpartprogrambyusingtheQuick Starttoolbar.Forinformation,seethe"QuickStart:MeasureToolbar"topicinthe"Using Toolbars"chapter.

UnderstandingtheCommandFormat
AllmeasuredfeaturesaredisplayedinthefollowingformatintheCommandmodeoftheEdit window.Therewillbeslightvariationsthatareexplainedmorethoroughlyinthefollowing sections.TheactualEditreportwillbedisplayedusingallCAPS. Forexample feature_name=FEAT/FEATURE_TYPE,TOG1,TOG4 THEO/TX,TY,TZ,TI,TJ,TK,TD,TL ACTL/X,Y,Z,I,J,K,D,L MEAS/TOG2,TOG3, HIT/TOG5,TX,TY,YZ,TI,TJ,TK,X,Y,Z,USE_THEO=TOG6 ENDMEAS/ feature_name: Thisdisplaysthenameofthefeature.Thisisausereditablefield. FEATURE_TYPE: ThisdenotesthetypeoffeatureandisthesameasTOG2butisnon editableandcannotbetoggled. ......: Thisindicatesthatwhatfollowsisuniquetoeachfeature.
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual Creating MeasuredFeatures * 737

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TOG1: ThisfieldispresentinallfeaturesandcanbetoggledbetweenRECT/POLR.Ifthis featureisRECT,allpointsarerepresentedinCartesiansystem(x,y,z).Ifthefieldis POLR,allthepointsaredisplayedinpolarsystem(x_radius,y_angle,z_height).Vectors donotchange. TOG2: Thisfieldispresentinallmeasuredfeaturesandcanbeswitchedbetween: CIRCLE/CONE/CURVE/CYLINDER/LINE/PLANE/POINT/SET/SLOT/ SPHERE POINTisthedefaultfeaturetypewhenthemeasuredcommandlineisopenedforthe firsttimeinapartprogram.Thedefaultfeaturetypethenbecomesthelastmeasured featuretype. TOG3: Thisfieldrepresentsthenumberofhitsthatwillbetakenaccordingtothetypeof featuredisplayedinTOG2.TheHITlineisvaried,basedonthenumberofhitssetupby theuser.Forexample1hit=1HIT/BASICline,3hits=3HIT/BASIClines.Therequired minimumnumberwillbeindicatedasthedefault. TOG4: Thisfieldalsotakesuniquevaluesaccordingtothetypeoffeaturerepresentedin TOG2.LinearfeatureswillallowyoutotogglebetweenBOUND/UNBOUND.Circular featureswillallowyoutoswitchbetweenIN/OUT.Angularfeatureswillallowyouto switchbetweenLENGTH/ANGLE. TOG5: Thisfieldrepresentsthetypeofhitthatistobetaken: BASIC. TOG6:Thisfieldallowsyoutodeterminewhetherornottousethetheoreticalvectorasthe approachvectorforthehit.ThisdefaultstoYES.IfsettoNO,PCDMIScalculatesthe approachvectorbysubtractingthetheoreticalhitpoint(X,Y,Z)fromthecurrentprobe position. TX,TY,TZ,TI,TJ,TK:Thesenumbers(TX,TY,TZ)representthetheoreticaltargetvectorand thetheoreticalapproachvector(TI,TJ,TK)andareeditablebytheuser. TD:Forcircularfeaturesthisnumberisthetheoreticaldiameter. X,Y,Z,I,J,K:Thesenumbersarenoneditableandrepresentthemeasuredpointand measuredapproachvector. D: Forcircularfeaturesthisnumberisthemeasureddiameter. TL:Thisisthetheoreticallengthoffeaturesthathavealength. L: Thisisthemeasuredlengthoffeaturesthathavealength.

BasicMeasurementFormatforaPoint
Theonlynumberofhitsfor Feature_name=FEAT/POINT,TOG1 THEO/TX,TY,TZ,TI,TJ,TK apointisone. ACTL/X,Y,Z,I,J,K MEAS/POINT,TOG3 HIT/ ENDMEAS/

738 * CreatingMeasuredFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TOG1=ThisfieldcanbetoggledbetweenRECT/POLR. TOG3=ThislistthenumberofhitsthatPCDMISshouldtaketomeasurethisfeature.Since apointcanonlyhaveonepoint,youcannoteditthisvalueforthisfeature. ...= Asinglehitisenteredattheellipsis.

BasicMeasurementFormatforaLine
Theminimumnumberof hitsforalineistwo. Feature_name=FEAT/LINE,TOG1,TOG4 THEO/TX,TY,TZ,TI,TJ,TK ACTL/X,Y,Z,I,J,K MEAS/LINE,TOG3,TOG7 ... ENDMEAS/

TOG1=ThisfieldcanbetoggledbetweenRECT/POLR. TOG3=Thisvalueisusereditableandisdeterminedbythefeaturebeingmeasured.TheHIT lineisvaried,basedonthenumberofhitssetupbytheuser.Forexample,2hits=2 HIT/BASIClines,3hits=3HIT/BASIClines. TOG4=ThisfieldcanbetoggledbetweenBND/UNBND.IfsettoBND,theTHEOandACTL fields,nolongerdisplaythevectorinformation,butinsteadshowtheXYZvaluesforthe secondpointalongwiththefirst.See"LineDefinitionFormat"laterinthischapter. TOG7=Thisfieldswitchesbetweenthevariousreferencetypes.TheseincludeFEATURE, 3D,WORKPLANE,XPLUS,YPLUS,ZPLUS,XMINUS,YMINUS,ZMINUS. ...=Asmanyhitsasarenecessaryareenteredattheellipsis. MeasuredLinesandWorkingPlanes Whencreatingameasuredline,PCDMISexpectsthehitsforthelinetobetakenatavector perpendiculartothecurrentworkingplane. Forexample,ifyourcurrentworkingplaneisZPLUS(withavector0,0,1),andyouhaveablock likepart,thehitsforthemeasuredlinemustbeonaverticalwallofthatpart,suchasthefrontor side. Ifyouthenwantedtomeasurealinefeatureonthetopsurfaceofthepart,youwouldneedto switchtheworkingplanetoXPLUS,XMINUS,YPLUS,orYMINUS,dependingonthedirectionof theline.

BasicMeasurementFormatforaPlane
Theminimumnumberof hitsforaplaneisthree. Feature_name=FEAT/PLANE,TOG1 THEO/TX,TY,TZ,TI,TJ,TK ACTL/X,Y,Z,I,J,K MEAS/PLANE,TOG3 ... ENDMEAS/
Creating MeasuredFeatures * 739

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TOG1=ThisfieldcanbetoggledbetweenRECT/POLR. TOG3=Thisvalueisusereditableandisdeterminedbythefeaturebeingmeasured.TheHIT lineisvaried,basedonthenumberofhitssetupbytheuser.Forexample,3hits=3 HIT/BASIClines,8hits=8HIT/BASIClines. ...= Asmanyhitsasarenecessaryareenteredattheellipsis.

BasicMeasurementFormatforaCircle
Theminimumnumberof Feature_name=FEAT/CIRCLE,TOG1,TOG4,TOG6 hitsforacircleisthree. THEO/TX,TY,TZ,TI,TJ,TK,TD ACTL/X,Y,Z,I,J,K,D MEAS/CIRCLE,TOG3,TOG7 ... ENDMEAS/ TOG1=This fieldcanbetoggledbetweenRECT/POLR. TOG3=Thisvalueisusereditableandisdeterminedbythefeaturebeingmeasured.TheHIT lineisvaried,basedonthenumberofhitssetupbytheuser.Forexample,3hits=3 HIT/BASIClines,5hits=5HIT/BASIClines. TOG4=ThisfieldcanbetoggledbetweenIN/OUT. TOG6=ThisfieldswitchesbetweenthevariousBestFittypesavailable.Theseinclude: LEAST_SQR,MIN_SEP,MAX_INSC,MIN_CIRCSC,FIXED_RAD TOG7=Thisfieldswitchesbetweenthevariousreferencetypes.TheseincludeFEATURE, 3D,WORKPLANE,XPLUS,YPLUS,ZPLUS,XMINUS,YMINUS,ZMINUS. ...=Asmanyhitsasarenecessaryareenteredattheellipsis.

BasicMeasurementFormatforaSphere
Theminimumnumberof Feature_name=FEAT/SPHERE,TOG1,TOG4 hitsforasphereisfour. THEO/TX,TY,TZ,TI,TJ,TK,TD ACTL/X,Y,Z,I,J,K,D MEAS/SPHERE,TOG3 ... ENDMEAS/ TOG1=ThisfieldcanbetoggledbetweenRECT/POLR. TOG3=Thisvalueisusereditableandisdeterminedbythefeaturebeingmeasured.TheHIT lineisvaried,basedonthenumberofhitssetupbytheuser.Forexample,4hits=4 HIT/BASIClines,7hits=7HIT/BASIClines. TOG4=ThisfieldcanbetoggledbetweenIN/OUT. ...=Asmanyhitsasarenecessaryareenteredattheellipsis.

740 * CreatingMeasuredFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

BasicMeasurementFormatforaCone
Theminimumnumberof Feature_name=FEAT/CONE,TOG1,TOG4,TOG5 THEO/TX,TY,TZ,TI,TJ,TK,TL,TD1,TD2 hitsforaconeissix. ACTL/X,Y,Z,I,J,K,L,D1,D2 MEAS/CONE,TOG3 ... ENDMEAS/ TOG1=ThisfieldcanbetoggledbetweenRECT/POLR. TOG3=Thisvalueisusereditableandisdeterminedbythefeaturebeingmeasured.TheHIT lineisvaried,basedonthenumberofhitssetupbytheuser.Forexample,6hits=6 HIT/BASIClines,11hits=11HIT/BASIClines. TOG4=ThisfieldcanbetoggledbetweenIN/OUT. TOG5=ThisfieldcanbetoggledbetweenLENGTH/ANGLE. ...=Asmanyhitsasarenecessaryareenteredattheellipsis. TD1,TD2=Thesearethecone'stwotheoreticaldiameters. D1,D2=Thesearetheactualmeasuredvaluesforthecone'stwodiameters

BasicMeasurementFormatforaCylinder
Theminimumnumberof Feature_name=FEAT/CYLINDER,TOG1,TOG4,TOG6 hitsforacylinderissix. THEO/TX,TY,TZ,TI,TJ,TK,TD,TL ACTL/X,Y,Z,I,J,K,D,L MEAS/CYLINDER,TOG3 ... ENDMEAS/ TOG1=This fieldcanbetoggledbetweenRECT/POLR. TOG3=Thisvalueisusereditableandisdeterminedbythefeaturebeingmeasured.TheHIT lineisvaried,basedonthenumberofhitssetupbytheuser.Forexample,6hits=6 HIT/BASIClines,11hits=11HIT/BASIClines. TOG4=ThisfieldcanbetoggledbetweenIN/OUT. TOG6=ThisfieldswitchesbetweenthevariousBestFittypesavailable.Theseinclude: LEAST_SQR,MIN_SEP,MAX_INSC,MIN_CIRCSC,FIXED_RAD ...=Asmanyhitsasarenecessaryareenteredattheellipsis. Note:Ifyoucreateameasuredcylinderwithmorethantworows,andlaterchangetheNumber ofHitsintheMeasuredCylinderdialogbox,PCDMISwillkeepthenumberofrowsthesame.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Creating MeasuredFeatures * 741

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

BasicMeasurementFormatforaRoundSlot
Theminimumnumberof Feature_name=FEAT/SLOT,TOG1,TOG2 hitsforaroundslotissix. THEO/TX,TY,TZ,TI,TJ,TK,SI,SJ,SK,TW,TL ACTL/X,Y,Z,I,J,K,MI,MJ,MK,W,L MEAS/SLOT,TOG3,TOG4 ... ENDMEAS/ TOG1=ThisfieldcanbetoggledbetweenRECT/POLR. TOG2=ThisfieldcanbetoggledbetweenIN/OUT. TX,TY,TZTheoreticalXYZ TI,TJ,TKTheoreticalIJKvector SI,SJ,SKTheoreticalIJKslotvector TW Theoreticalwidth TLTheoreticallength X,Y,ZActualmeasuredXYZ I,J,KActualmeasuredIJK MI,MJ,MKMeasuredIJKslotvector WActualmeasuredwidth LActualmeasuredlength TOG3=Thisvalueisusereditableandisdeterminedbythefeaturebeingmeasured.TheHIT lineisvaried,basedonthenumberofhitssetupbytheuser.Forexample,6hits=6 HIT/BASIClines,8hits=8HIT/BASIClines. TOG4=Thisvalueletsyouchoosethereferencetypefortheslot. ...=Asmanyhitsasarenecessaryareenteredattheellipsis.

BasicMeasurementFormatforaSquareSlot
Theminimumnumberof Feature_name=FEAT/SLOT,TOG1,TOG2 THEO/TX,TY,TZ,TI,TJ,TK,SI,SJ,SK,TW,TL hitsforasquareslotis ACTL/X,Y,Z,I,J,K,MI,MJ,MK,W,L five. MEAS/SLOT,TOG3,TOG4 ... ENDMEAS/ TOG1=ThisfieldcanbetoggledbetweenRECT/POLR.

742 * CreatingMeasuredFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TOG2=ThisfieldcanbetoggledbetweenIN/OUT. TX,TY,TZTheoreticalXYZ TI,TJ,TKTheoreticalIJKvector SI,SJ,SKTheoreticalIJKslotvector TW Theoreticalwidth TLTheoreticallength X,Y,ZActualmeasuredXYZ I,J,KActualmeasuredIJK MI,MJ,MKMeasuredIJKslotvector WActualmeasuredwidth LActualmeasuredlength TOG3=Thisvalueisusereditableandisdeterminedbythefeaturebeingmeasured.TheHIT lineisvaried,basedonthenumberofhitssetupbytheuser.Forexample,5hits=6 HIT/BASIClines. TOG4=Thisvalueletsyouchoosethereferencetypefortheslot. ...=Asmanyhitsasarenecessaryareenteredattheellipsis.

InsertingaMeasuredFeature
PCDMISallowsyoutoinsertmeasuredfeaturesintoyourpartprogrambyinterpretingyour probehitsandguessingthecorrectfeaturetype.IfPCDMISguessesincorrectly,youcanforce PCDMIStochoosethecorrectfeaturetypeaslongasyouhavetakentheminimumnumberof hitsforthedesiredfeature. Theseproceduresassumethatyouareworkinginofflinemode. Theproceduresgiveninthefollowingtopicassumethatyouareworkinginofflinemode.

GuessingaMeasuredFeatureType
1. 2. 3. 4. AccesstheEditwindowandplaceitineitherCommandorSummarymode. PlacePCDMISintoProgramModeandsettheappropriateprobedepth. AccesstheMeasuredFeaturestoolbarandclicktheGuessModeicon. Clickonthemodelofthepartatthelocationwhereyouwanttoinsertthefeature. Ifyou'reusinganimportedwireframeCADmodel,PCDMISwillautomatically usethenearestwireasthebasisforthefeatureyouselected.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Creating MeasuredFeatures * 743

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Ifyou'reusinganimportedsolidCADmodel,eachmouseclickiscountedasan individualhit.

5. PresstheENDkey.PCDMISinterpretsyourhitsandplacestheguessedfeatureintothe Editwindow. ForinformationabouttheGuessModeiconandtheMeasuredFeaturestoolbar,seethe "MeasuredFeaturesToolbar"topicinthe"UsingToolbars"chapter.

ToForcetheInsertionofaCertainMeasuredFeatureType
IfPCDMISguessesthewrongmeasuredfeaturetype,youcancauseittoinsertthedesiredtype byselectingthecorrectmeasuredfeaturefromtheMeasuredFeaturestoolbarorsubmenuprior topressingtheENDkey.OnceyoupresstheENDkey,PCDMISwillinserttheselectedfeature typeintotheEditwindow.

EditingaMeasuredFeature
PCDMISwillallowyoutoselectthedesiredmeasuredfeatureintheEditwindowandmakeany correctionsdirectlytotheEditwindow.TheMeasuredFeaturedialogboxwascreatedtooffera userfriendlyalternativetoeditingtheeditwindow. ToopenaMeasuredFeaturedialogbox: 1. Placethecursorwithinthefirstfourlinesofthedesiredmeasuredfeature. 2. PresstheF9key.

ASampleMeasuredCircledialogbox Note:GenerallyaMeasuredFeaturedialogboxwillopenbasedonthefeaturetype.However,if thecursorisplacedonalistedhit(i.e.HIT/BASIC)withinthemeasuredfeatureandtheF9keyis pressed,PCDMISwillinsteaddisplaytheMeasuredHitsdialogboxfortheselectedhit.

744 * CreatingMeasuredFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MeasuredFeatureDialogBoxDescription
TheMeasuredFeaturedialogboxallowsyoutoedittheselectedmeasuredfeature.The followingtopicsdescribetheMeasuredFeaturedialogbox.

FeatureName
TheFeatureNameboxallowsyoutochangethenameofthedisplayedfeature.Simplyhighlight thefeatureIDintheEditwindow,typeinanewidentificationandpresstheENTERkey.PC DMISallowsyoutoduplicatefeatureidentifications.Cautionshouldthereforebeusedin changingfeaturenamesifidenticalIDsarenotdesired.

NumberofHits
TheNumberofHitsboxallowsyoutochangethenumberofhitsforaspecifiedfeature. Forexample:Currentlyfourhitsarelistedintheeditbox.Ifyoudeleteahit,thelasthit(#4)inthe featurelistwillbedeleted.Iftwohitsaredeleted,thelasttwohits(#4and#3)willbedeleted.PC DMISwillrenumbertheremaininghitsbasedonitscurrentnumberingassignment. Ifyouaddahit,PCDMISwillincreasetheHitTargetlistbyone,displayinganextrahitatthe endofthehitlist.Thishitwillnotindicateanyx,y,z,i,j,kvaluesuntiltheprogramisexecuted. AtthattimePCDMISwillprompttheoperatortotaketheadditionalhit.PCDMISwillaskifthe hitsaretobeequallyspaced. AnswerbyclickingYes,andPCDMISwilltakethehitsinequallyspacedintervals.Ona cone,sphere,orcylinderfeature,PCDMISdisplaysaLevelsdialogbox.Youcanuse thisdialogboxtospecifythenumberoflevelsPCDMISwillusetoequallyspacethehits. Thedefaultistwo. IfyouclicktheNobutton,PCDMISwilldisplaythehitvaluesas0,0,0,0,0,1.Youwill thenneedtomanuallyenterthehitvalues.

ReferenceType
TheReferenceTypelistcontrolswhetherornotthemeasuredfeatureis3D,projectedtothe currentworkplane,projectedtoaspecifiedplane,orprojectedrelativetoanotherfeature.This affectsmathematicallyhowthefinalcharacteristicsofthefeaturearederived.

BestFitMathType
ThisBestFitMathTypelistindicatesthetypeofmathalgorithmthatwillbeusedtomeasurethe feature.LEAST_SQRisthestandardBestFitmethod.See"CalculationList"inthe"Creating AutoFeatures"chapterforadiscussiononthesetypes.

RegenerateHitTargets
TheRegenerateHitTargetscheckboxregeneratesthisfeature'sHIT/BASIC commandsso thattheyareupdatedwithchangeddatafromtheFeatureTheoreticalsarea.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Creating MeasuredFeatures * 745

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

CopytoActuals
TheCopytoActualscheckboxcopiesanychangesmadetotheFeatureTheoreticalsareaof thedialogboxandappliesthesamechangestotheactualmeasureddata.

CoordinateSystem
TheCoordinateSystemareaallowsyoutochoosebetweenrectangleandpolarcoordinates.If theRectoptionisselected,allpointsarerepresentedinCartesiansystem(x,y,z).IfPolaris selected,allpointsaredisplayedinpolarsystem(x_radius,y_angle,z_height).Vectorsdonot change.

AngularDefinitionFormat
Ifanangularfeatureisdisplayed,PCDMISwillallowyoutochoosebetweenLENGTHand ANGLE. Thelengthoptiondisplaysthediametersoftwocircles.Italsowilldisplaythelength betweenthetwocircles. Theangleoptionwilldisplaythenominal(x,y,z)andvector(i,j,k)ofthepoint.Italso willdisplaytheanglevalue.

CircularFeatureType
Ifacircularfeatureisdisplayed,PCDMISwillallowyoutochoosebetweenINandOUT.

LineDefinitionFormat
Ifalinearfeatureisdisplayed,PCDMISwillallowyoutochoosebetweentheBoundand UnboundoptionsintheLinearDefinitionFormatarea. SelectingBoundcausesPCDMIStodisplaythetwoendpointsthatmakeupthelineinthe FeatureTheoreticalsarea,likethis: X,Y,Z and X2Nom,Y2Nom,andZ2 ForBoundedlines,theLength valueisgrayedoutandunavailableformodification. SelectingUnboundcausesPCDMIStodisplaytheline'snominalinformationintheFeature Theoreticalsarea,likethis: X,Y,Z,andlength and

746 * CreatingMeasuredFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

INom,JNom, andK

FeatureTheoreticals
Thisareacontainsthetheoreticaldataforthefeature.Youcanupdatethisdatabymaking changesandclickingOK.Notethatthiswillonlyupdatethetheoreticaldata.Ifyouwanttoaffect thehitsandtheactualmeasureddata,selecttheRegenerateHitsandCopytoActualscheck boxesdescribedabove.

HitTargets
Supportedfeatures: MeasuredCircle MeasuredCylinder MeasuredPoint MeasuredPlane MeasuredSphere MeasuredLine MeasuredCone Forsupportedmeasuredfeatures,theHitTargetsbuttonallowsyou tovieworchangehitdataforthefeature. ClickingtheHitTargetsbuttonopenstheFeatureHitTargets dialogbox.

FeatureHitTargetsdialogbox Thisdialogboxliststhehitdatabyrows.Thenumberstotheleftoftherowsindicatestheorder ofthehits.Youcanchangethehitdatabydoubleclickingonarowandeditingitsvaluesinthe resultingMeasuredHitsdialogbox. TheFeatureHitsTargetsdialogboxalsoletsyouviewandedithitdatabyusingtheGraphics Displaywindow.AslongastheFeatureHitTargetsdialogboxremainsopen,youcandothe following: Viewindividualhitswithredcoloredarrows.Clickanyoftherowswithhitdatalistedin theFeatureHitTargetsdialogboxandtheassociatedarrowintheGraphicsDisplay areaturnsred.

Clickanddragforeachhittoanewposition.Youcanmoveahitbyselectingthered coloredarrowontheGraphicDisplayareaanddraggingittoanewlocation.Releasing themouseplacesthehitatthatpointandcalculatesthedata,updatingtheFeatureHit


Creating MeasuredFeatures * 747

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Targetsdialogbox.

Insertnewhits.Youcanalsoinsertnewhitsintoanexistingfeature.Selectalocation withinthehitlist,andthentakeanydesiredhits.OnceyoupresstheENDkey,PCDMIS asksifyouwanttoinsertthehit(s)atthecurrentlocation.IfyouselectYes,PCDMISwill insertthenewhit(s)intothatlocationofthecurrentfeature.IfyouselectNo,PCDMIS willmovetheinsertcursortothenextvalidpositioninthepartprogram(generally immediatelybelowthecurrentfeatureintheEditwindow)andcreateanewfeature.

Note:DataintheFeatureHitTargetsdialogboxandintheEditwindowisntupdated dynamicallywhenyoumakechangesusinganyofthesemethods.Youneedtofirstclosethe dialogboxandthenreopenittoseethechangedhitdata. DeleteHitbutton TheDeleteHitbuttoninsidetheFeatureHitTargetsdialogboxonlybecomesenabledwhen editingthehitsforsupportedautofeatures.Todeleteanexistinghit,selectthehitandclick DeleteHit.PCDMISremovesthehitfromthedialogboxandfromthepartprogram.Seethe "DisplayHitsbutton"topicinthe"CreatingAutoFeatures"chapter.

MeasuredHitsDialogBoxDescription

SampleMeasuredHitsdialogbox TheMeasuredHitsdialogboxallowsyoutoeditindividualhitsofameasuredfeature.Youcan editthefollowingitems: HitType X,Y,andZposition. Variousvectors Spacer Indent Depth HitsperSurface

748 * CreatingMeasuredFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Someitemsareunavailableunlessyouselectaspecifichittype.Toupdatehitdataforthe selectedmeasuredfeature,editthevaluesinthisdialogbox,andclickOK.

EditingBasicHitsbyProbing:
YoucanalsoupdateBasichitsbyprobingthepartinonlinemode,orclickingontheCADin offlinemodewiththeMeasuredHitsdialogboxopen.PCDMISwillautomaticallyupdatethe dialogboxwiththenewresults. ForBasichits,thesecheckboxesappear: UseTheoreticalVectorAsApproach Thischeckboxallowsyoutospecify Vector whetherornotthetheoreticalvector shouldbeusedastheapproach vector.Ifdeselected,PCDMIS calculatestheapproachvectorby subtractingthetheoreticalhitpoint (X,Y,Z)fromthecurrentprobe position. LearnHitDuringExecution Thischeckboxallowsyoutospecify whetherornotPCDMISshould relearnthebasichitduringpart programexecution.

OverridingaGuessedMeasuredFeature
TheOverridesubmenuallowsyoutochangethetypeoffeaturethatwasguessed.Forexample, ifthelastfeatureyouwereattemptingtomeasurewascircleandPCDMISguessedthatitwasa plane,thisoptioncanbeusedtoconvertthefeaturetothepropertype.Ifyouintendtooverridea guessedfeature,youmustdosobeforeyoucreateanyotherfeatures. TousetheOverridefeature: 1. 2. 3. 4. AccesstheEditwindow. PlaceyourcursorontheincorrectfeaturetypeintheEditwindow. AccesstheEdit|OverrideGuesssubmenutobegintheOverrideprocess. Selectthecorrectfeaturetype.

YouwillseethatthefeaturechangeswillbemadeintheEditwindow.

CreatingMeasuredFeatureSets
TheInsert|Feature|Measured|FeatureSetmenuiteminsertsaMeasuredFeatureSet command(alsocalledaPointSet)intotheEditwindow.Thiscommandcreatesascanofasingle pointthatwillmeasurethesamepointadefinednumberoftimesinordertoobtainanaveraged (andhopefullymoreaccurate)representationofthepointmeasurement.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Creating MeasuredFeatures * 749

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

PointSetsaremostoftenusedasinputswhenperformingLeapfrogalignmentoperationswitha manualarmmachine.See"PerformingaLeapfrogOperation"inthe"CreatingandUsing Alignments"chapterformoreinformation. InCommandmode,theMeasuredFeatureSetlookslikethis:


SCN1 =FEAT/SET,RECT THEO/0,0,0,0,0,1 ACTL/0,0,0,0,0,1 MEAS/SET,0 ENDMEAS/

PressingF9whileyourcursorlieswithinthiscommanddisplaystheMeasuredSetdialogbox:

MeasuredSetdialogbox Forinformationonthisdialogbox,seethe"EditingaMeasuredFeature"topicabovethisdialog boxcontainsmanyofthesameitemsarealreadydiscussedinthattopic. ToCreateaMeasuredFeatureSet(PointSet): 1. PressF9ontheinsertedmeasurefeaturesetcommand. 2. Inthedialogbox,typeinthepoint'stheoreticalXYZlocationandIJKvector. 3. IntheNumberofHitsbox,specifythenumberofmeasurementsyouwantPCDMISto takeonthispoint.Thehigherthenumber,thebetteraverageyouwillreceive. 4. Selectotheroptionsinthedialogboxasdesired. 5. ClickOK.PCDMISupdatesthecommandintheEditwindow. Forexample,afinishedpointsetscanwith5iterationsmightlooklikethis:
SCN1 =FEAT/SET,RECT THEO/107,11,21,0,0,1 ACTL/0,0,0,0,0,1 MEAS/SET,5 HIT/BASIC,NORMAL,107,11,21,0,0,1,0,0,0,USETHEO=YES HIT/BASIC,NORMAL,107,11,21,0,0,1,0,0,0,USETHEO=YES HIT/BASIC,NORMAL,107,11,21,0,0,1,0,0,0,USETHEO=YES HIT/BASIC,NORMAL,107,11,21,0,0,1,0,0,0,USETHEO=YES HIT/BASIC,NORMAL,107,11,21,0,0,1,0,0,0,USETHEO=YES

750 * CreatingMeasuredFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ENDMEAS/

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Creating MeasuredFeatures * 751

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ConstructingNewFeaturesfrom ExistingFeatures
ConstructingNewFeaturesfromExistingFeatures:Introduction
TheInsert|Feature|Constructedsubmenuisusedwhenprobingonarequiredelementisnot possible(forexample,theintersectionpointoftwoedges). Theitemsfromthismenuallowyoutocreatefeatures(points,lines,circles,etc.)fromexisting features(onesalreadyprobedorconstructed).The"NavigatingtheUserInterface"chapter describestheseveralwaystospecifytheinputfeature(s).Seethe"SelectingFeaturesUsingthe GraphicsDisplayWindow"topicinthe"EditingtheCADDisplay"chapterforadescriptionofthe severalwaystospecifytheinputfeature(s). FeaturescanbeconstructedbyselectingfeaturesinthedialogboxesortheEditwindow(see "ToconstructafeaturefromtheEditwindow"and"Toconstructafeatureusingtheconstruction dialogboxes:"below).Thespecificrulesforconstructingafeaturefromotherfeaturesarefound intheappropriatesections,andapplytobothmethodsofconstruction.Thedefaultmethodfor constructingafeatureisAuto.Inthiscase,PCDMISautomaticallydeterminesthebest constructiontypebasedontheinputfeature(s).Theorderofselection(unlessnotedotherwise)is usuallynotimportant.Itisonlynecessarythatthecorrectfeaturetype(s)bechosen.Forexample, toconstructanintersectpointbetweenalineandaslot,simplyselectthenecessarylineandslot. PCDMISwillcreateapointwherethelineintersectstheslot. ItisimportanttonotethattheExampleofthecommandlineshowingaconstructedpointinthe documentedconventionsareEditwindow: simplyatoolallowingyouto becomefamiliarwiththe CONSTR/POINT,INTOF,line_id,slot_id or,CONSTR/POINT,INTOF,slot_id,line_id. rulesgoverningtheEdit window.TheactualEdit reportwillbedisplayedusing allCAPITALLETTERS. Themaintopicsdiscussedinthischapterinclude: UnderstandingtheGeneralCommandFormat SpecifyingFeatureTheoreticals ConstructingaPointFeature ConstructingaCircleFeature ConstructinganEllipseFeature ConstructingaSphereFeature ConstructingaLineFeature ConstructingaConeFeature ConstructingaCylinderFeature ConstructingaPlaneFeature ConstructingaSlotFeature ConstructingaCurve ConstructingaSurface ConstructingaSetofFeatures ConstructingaFilterSet ConstructinganAdjustedFilter
ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures * 753

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ToconstructafeaturefromtheEditwindow
1. AccesstheEditwindow(View|EditWindow). 2. PlacethecursorwhereyouwanttoconstructthefeatureintheEditwindow. 3. TypethecommandCONSTR/... followedbytheappropriatetext.(Seetheexampleof thecommandlineforaconstructedpointshownabove.)

Toconstructafeatureusingtheconstructiondialogboxes:
1. SelecttheInsert|Feature|Constructedsubmenu. 2. Selectthetypeoffeaturetobeconstructed.Availableoptionsare: Point Circle Ellipse Sphere Line Cone Cylinder Plane Slot Curve Surface FeatureSet FilterSet

3. Oncetheselectionoftheinputfeaturesiscompletedwithinthedialogbox,selectthe Createbutton. PCDMISwillconstructthefeatureanddisplayitonthescreen.Itwillalsodisplaythefeature's centerpointintheEditwindow.PCDMISwillconstructtherequestedfeature,leavingthedialog boxopen,addingthenewlyconstructedfeatureintothedialogbox.Thisallowsyoutoconstruct multiplefeaturesbasedonnewlyconstructedfeatures.

UnderstandingtheGeneralCommandFormat
IntheEditwindowallconstructedfeaturesaredisplayedinthefollowingformat.Therewillbe slightvariationsthatareexplainedmorethoroughlyinthefollowingsections. TheactualEditreportwill Forexample: bedisplayedusingall CAPS. Feature_name=FEAT/TYPEOFFEATURE,TOG1,.....
THEO/x_cord,y_cord,z_cord,i_vec,j_vec,k_vec,...... ACTL/x_cord,y_cord,z_cord,i_vec,j_vec,k_vec,...... CONSTR/TOG2,TOG3,......

feature_name: nameoffeature.Thisisausereditablefield. TYPEOFFEATURE: Thisfielddenotesthefeaturetype.Thisfeaturetypeisthesameas TOG2butisnoneditableandisnotatogglefield.

754 * ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

......:

Thisindicatesthatwhatfollowsisuniquetoeachfeature.Thisisexplainedmore thoroughlyinthenecessaryareasofthemanual.

TOG1: ThisfieldispresentinallfeaturesandcanbeswitchedbetweenRECT/POLR.If thisfeatureisRECT,allpointsarerepresentedinCartesiansystem(x,y,z).Iffieldis POLR,allpointsaredisplayedinpolarsystem(x_radius,y_angle,z_height).Vectorsdo notchange. TOG2: Thisfieldispresentinallfeaturesandcanbeswitchedbetweenthedifferenttypes offeaturestakingthefollowingvalues: CIRCLE/CONE/CYLINDER/LINE/PLANE/POINT/SPHERE/CURVE/SURFACE/ SET/ POINTisthedefaultfeaturetypewhentheconstructcommandlineisopenedforthe firsttimeinapartprogram.Thedefaultfeaturetypethenbecomesthelastconstructed featuretype. TOG3: Thisfieldisalsopresentinallfeatures,buttakesuniquevaluesaccordingtothe typeoffeature.(Seespecificfeaturetypeforadditionalinformation.)

AccessingtheDialogBox
ToaccessthecorrespondingconstructiondialogboxfromwhichanEditwindow'sfeaturewas created: 1. MakesuretheEditwindowisopen. 2. IntheEditwindow,clickthemouseonthefeature'sname. 3. PressF9.Aconstructiondialogboxwillappear. Usingthisdialogboxyoucanmakeanydesiredchanges,andwhenyouclicktheCreatebutton theupdatedchangeswillbemadetotheEditwindow.

DecimalPlacementConventions
Pleasenotethefollowinginformationregardingdecimalplaceconventionsforconstructed features: Allvectors(i_vect,j_vect,k_vect)arerepresentedbyamaximumof5placestotheright ofthedecimal. Alllengthsanddistances(x_cord,y_cord,z_cord,diam,height,length,etc.)are representedbyamaximumof5placestotherightofthedecimal. Allanglesarerepresentedbyamaximumof5placestotherightofthedecimal. Ifthedecimalplaceiszero,thenthenumberisrepresentedasaninteger.

Note:DecimalplacescanbechangedthroughtheDimensiontab(F5)ontheSetupdialogbox. SettingthedecimalplacelimitinsertsaDISPLAYPRECISIONcommandintheEditwindow.All featuresfollowingthiscommandconformtothenumberofdecimalplacesspecified.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures * 755

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

SpecifyingFeatureTheoreticals
PCDMISVersion4.2andaboveprovidestheabilitytospecifytheoreticalinformationformostof theconstructedfeaturetypesinPCDMIS.Traditionally,PCDMIShasusedthetheoretical valuesfromtheinputfeaturestocalculateatheoreticalvaluefortheconstructedfeature.Insome circumstances,however,youmaynotwantthisresult.Tomakeconstructedfeaturesmore flexible,youcanoverridethetraditionalbehaviorandspecifyyourowntheoreticalvaluesforthe feature. AtthebottomtheconstructedfeaturesdialogboxyouwillseethenewFeatureTheoreticals area.ThisarearemainsunavailableforselectionuntilyouselecttheSpecifyTheoscheckbox. Thisenablestheotheritemsinthearea,allowingyoutooverridethecalculatedtheoreticalvalues fromtheinputfeatureswithspecifiedtheoreticalvalues.

FeatureTheoreticalsarea TheitemsthatappearintheFeatureTheoreticalsareachangedependingonthefeatureyou areconstructing.EachfeaturewilldisplayatleasttheX,Y,andZboxes(thelocation)andtheI,J, andKboxes(theorientation).Forfeatureswithcharacteristicsizes,suchascircles,slots,cones, andsoforth,additionalitemswillappearinthisarea. ToOverrideFeatureTheoreticals Tochangeanexistingfeaturefromthetraditionalmethod,tothenewtheoreticaloverride: 1. OpenthefeaturebypressingF9.Thedialogboxforthatconstructedwillappear. 2. SelecttheSpecifyTheoscheckbox.TheFeatureTheoreticalareabecomesenabled foredit. 3. Changethetheoreticalvaluesbyeditingtheavailableitems. 4. ClicktheCreatebuttonwhenfinished. Alternately,youcaneditthefeaturefromtheEditwindowbychangingtheappropriatefield. InCommandModeyouwouldsetthelastfieldonthefirstlineofthefeaturetoYESand thenmanuallytypethevaluesintheTHEOline.

SampleConstructedFeatureinCommandMode

756 * ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

InSummaryModeyouwouldsettheUserSpecifiedTheosvaluetoYESandthen modifytheTheoreticalsgroup.

SampleConstructedFeatureinCommandMode

TohavePCDMISautomaticallycalculatethefeatureinformationbasedontheinputfeatures(the traditionalmethod),simplycleartheSpecifyTheoscheckboxinthedialogbox,orchangethe appropriatevalueintheEditwindow.Thefeatureswillupdateaccordingly. Becauseyouareeditingyourfeaturetheoreticalvalues,PCDMISwillaskifyouwanttoupdate yourmeasuredvaluesandthetheoreticalvaluesofanyassociateddimensions.Thisisstandard PCDMISbehavior. Allconstructedfeatureshavethiscapabilityexceptfor: Curve Surface Filter Set AdjustFilter

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures * 757

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ConstructingaPointFeature

ConstructPointdialogbox ThereareanumberofwaystoconstructapointusingPCDMIS.Thefollowingtableliststhe varioustypesofconstructedpoints,alongwiththeirnecessaryinputs.Somefeaturesmayrequire noinputswhileothersmayrequirethreeinputsormore.Inthetable,theterm'Any'indicatesthat theconstructioncantakeanytypeoffeatureasinputforconstruction.PCDMISallowsthe featurestobeselectedinanyorder. CONSTRUCT FEATURE TYPE CastPoint SYMBOL # OF FEAT INEDIT INPUT #1: WINDOW FEATS CAST 1 Any FEAT #2: FEAT #3: COMMENTS

CornerPoint

CORNER 3

Plane

Plane

Plane

DropPoint

DROP

Any

IntersectPoint INTOF

Cone, Cylinder, Line, Slot Circle, Circle, Cone, Cone, Cylinder,Cylinder, Line, Line, Slot Slot

Constructs pointat centroidof inputfeature Constructs pointatthe intersectionof 3planes Firstfeatureis droppedonto thesecond linefeature Constructs pointatthe intersectionof thelinear attributeof2 features

758 * ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MidPoint

MID

Any

Any

OffsetPoint

OFFSET 1

Any

OriginPoint

ORIGIN

PiercePoint

PIERCE 2

Cone, Cone, Cylinder,Cylinder, Line, Plane, Slot, Sphere, Circle, Circle, Ellipse Ellipse

ProjectPoint

PROJ

1or2

Any

Plane

ConstructsMid Pointbetween centroidsof theinputs Requires3 offsets corresponding toX,Y,&Z Constructs pointat alignment origin Constructs pointwhere feat_1pierces surfaceof feat_2.Order ofselectionis important.If firstfeatureis line,direction isimportant. 1inputfeature willproject pointtowork plane

Note:Ifyouselectinappropriatefeaturetypes,PCDMISdisplays"Cannotconstruct[feature]. Combinationofinputfeaturesnotaccepted."ontheStatusBar. Toconstructapoint: 1. AccesstheConstructPointdialogbox(Insert|Feature|Constructed|Point). 2. Inputthedesiredfeatures. 3. Selectthemethodofconstruction.Availableoptionsinclude: CastPoint CornerPoint DropPoint IntersectPoint MidPoint OffsetPoint OriginPoint PiercePoint ProjectPoint

4. ClicktheCreatebutton. TheEditwindowcommandlineforasamplepointconstructionwouldread: feature_name=FEAT/POINT,TOG1 THEO/x_cord,y_cord,z_cord,i_vec,j_vec,k_vec ACTL/x_cord,y_cord,z_cord,i_vec,j_vec,k_vec CONSTR/TOG2,TOG3,......\


PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures * 759

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Note:TheactualEditreportwillbedisplayedinallCAPS. TOG1=POLRorRECT TOG2=POINT TOG3=CAST/CORNER/DROP/INTOF/MID/OFFSET/ORIG/PIERCE/PROJ ThefirstthreelinesdisplayedintheEditwindowwillbethesameforallconstructedpoints.The fourthlinewillbeslightlydifferent,accordingtothetypeoffeaturebeingconstructed.Youcan switchbetweenthedifferenttypesofpointsbyplacingthecursoronTOG3andpressingF7orF8. (See"CommandModeKeyboardFunctions"inthe"UsingtheEditWindow"chapter.) Whentwoormorefeaturesareinvolved,PCDMISautomaticallydeterminesthenecessaryorder oftheinputfeatures.Thisimprovestheaccuracyofthemeasurementprocess. AUTOisthedefaultmethod Thefollowingparagraphsdescribetheavailableoptionsfor ofconstruction.Thisoption constructingapoint. automaticallydeterminesthe bestwaytoconstructapoint usingtheinputfeature(s). See"AutoPoint Construction".

ConstructingaCastPoint
Apointcanbeconstructedbychanginganygivenfeatureintothepoint.PCDMISwillconstruct thepointatthecentroidoftheinputfeature. ToconstructaCastPoint: 1. 2. 3. 4. AccesstheConstructPointdialogbox(Insert|Feature|Constructed|Point). SelecttheCastoptionfromthelistofoptions. Selectanyfeature. ClicktheCreatebutton.

TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionwouldread:
CONSTR/POINT,CAST,feat_1

ConstructingaCastPointfromaCircle

760 * ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ConstructingaCornerPoint
Apointcanbeconstructedfromthreeplanes.PCDMIScreatesapointattheirintersection.The vectoroftheconstructedcornerpointisthecrossproductofthesecondinputvectorintothethird inputvector. ToconstructaCornerPoint: 1. 2. 3. 4. AccesstheConstructPointdialogbox(Insert|Feature|Constructed|Point). SelecttheCornerPointoptionfromthelistofoptions. Selectthreedifferentplanes. ClicktheCreatebutton.

TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionwouldread:
CONSTR/POINT,CORNER,feat_1,feat_2,feat_3

ConstructingaCornerPointfromthreePlanes

ConstructingaDropPoint
Apointcanbeconstructedfromanyfeatureandaline(cone,cylinderorslot).PCDMISwilldrop thecentroidofthefirstfeatureontothesecondfeature.The"dropped"pointwillbedroppedona linethatisperpendiculartotheline,centerline,orplane.Iftwolinefeaturesareselected,PC DMISwilldropthecentroidofthefirstlinefeatureontothesecondlinefeature. Note:Forthisconstructionmethodyoumustselectfeaturetypesinthecorrectorder. ToconstructaDropPoint: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. AccesstheConstructPointdialogbox(Insert|Feature|Constructed|Point). SelecttheDropPointoptionfromthelistofoptions. Selectthefirstfeature.Itmaybeofanytype. Selectthesecondfeature.Itmustbeofcone,cylinder,line,orslot. ClicktheCreatebutton.

TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionwouldread:
CONSTR/POINT,DROP,feat_1,feat_2

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures * 761

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ConstructingaDropPointfromaCircleandaLine Note:Ifyouselectaslotasoneofyourinputfeatures,PCDMISwillusetheslotcenterline vectorwhenconstructingthispointinsteadoftheslotnormalvector(inversions3.2andearlier PCDMISusedtheslotnormalvector).Ifyouwanttousetheolderslotnormalvector,youwill needtomodifythevaluefortheUseLegacySlotVectorentryinthePCDMISSettingsEditor. Forinformationonhowtodothis,seethe"ModifyingRegistryEntries"appendix.

ConstructinganIntersectPoint
Apointcanbeconstructedbetweenaline(circle,cone,cylinder,orslot)andaline,(circle,cone, cylinder,orslot).Thepointiscreatedwherethelines(centerlines)ofthetwofeaturesintersect.

ConstructinganIntersectPointfromTwoLines Ifyouwanttointersectorpierceacirclewithaline,see"ConstructingaPiercePoint". ToConstructanIntersectPoint: 1. 2. 3. 4. AccesstheConstructPointdialogbox(Insert|Feature|Constructed|Point). SelecttheIntersectoptionfromthelistofoptions. Selecttwofeaturesofthistype(circle,cone,cylinder,line,slot). ClicktheCreatebutton.

TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionwouldread:
CONSTR/POINT,INTOF,feat_1,feat_2

762 * ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Ifthetwofeaturesdonotintersect,thepointisconstructedmidwaybetweenthetwofeaturesat theapparentintersection.Inotherwords,theintersectpointisthemidpointoftheshortestline connectingthetwoinputfeatures.

ConstructinganIntersectPointfromTwoLinesThatDoNotIntersect Youcanintersecttwocirclefeaturesandaslongastheyhavethesame(orverysimilar)vectors, PCDMISwillgenerateaconstructedpointfeatureatoneoftheintersectionpoints.Ifyouswitch theorderoftheselectedinputfeaturesintheConstructPointModedialogbox,PCDMISwill constructapointattheotherintersectionpoint. Note:Ifyouselectaslotasoneofyourinputfeatures,PCDMISwillusetheslotcenterline vectorwhenconstructingthispointinsteadoftheslotnormalvector(inversions3.2andearlier PCDMISusedtheslotnormalvector).Ifyouwanttousetheolderslotnormalvector,youwill needtomodifythevaluefortheUseLegacySlotVectorentryinthePCDMISSettingsEditor. Forinformationonhowtodothis,seethe"ModifyingtheRegistry"appendix.

ConstructingaMidPoint
Apointcanbeconstructedfromanytwofeatureswithoutdirection.PCDMIScreatesamidpoint betweenthecentroidsofthetwoinputfeatures. ToconstructaMidPoint: 1. 2. 3. 4. AccesstheConstructPointdialogbox(Insert|Feature|Constructed|Point). SelecttheMidPointoptionfromthelistofoptions. Selectanytwofeatures. ClicktheCreatebutton.

TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionwouldread:
CONSTR/POINT,MID,feat_1,feat_2

ConstructingaMidPointfromTwoCircles

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures * 763

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ConstructinganOffsetPoint
Apointcanbeconstructedaspecifieddistancefromanyinputfeature. ToconstructanOffsetPoint: 1. 2. 3. 4. AccesstheConstructPointdialogbox(Insert|Feature|Constructed|Point). SelecttheOffsetPointoptionfromthelistofoptions. Selectafeaturefromwhichtocreatetheoffsetpoint. ClicktheCreatebutton.

Tocreateanoffsetpointfromtheorigin,selecttheAtOriginoption.Tocreateanoffsetpoint relativetoaparticularfeature,selectthedesiredfeatureandkeyintheX,Y,andZ OFFSET.

XYZOffset

ThesefieldsallowyoutoenterinoffsetdistancesfortheX,Y,andZ,axes.Theseoptionsare onlyavailableiftheOffsetoptionisselectedfirst. TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionwouldread:


CONSTR/POINT,OFFSET,feat_1,dx,dy,dz

ConstructingaPointattheOrigin
Apointcanbeconstructedatthecurrentalignmentorigin. ToconstructanOriginPoint: 1. 2. 3. 4. AccesstheConstructPointdialogbox(Insert|Feature|Constructed|Point). SelecttheAtOriginoption. Donotselectanyinputfeatures. ClicktheCreatebutton.

TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionwouldread:
CONSTR/POINT,ORIG

ConstructingaPointattheOrigin

764 * ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ConstructingaPiercePoint
Apointcanbeconstructedusingaline(circle,cone,ellipse,slot,orcylinder)andacircle,ellipse orplane(cone,cylinder,orsphere).PCDMISwillcreateapointwherefeat_1piercesthesurface offeat_2. Note:Forthisconstructionmethodyoumustselectfeaturetypesinthecorrectorder. Ifthepiercedfeatureisacircleoranellipse,PCDMIScreatesacylindrical circumferenceaboutthecenterline,andconstructsthepiercepoint.Iftwosimilarfeatures (twocylindersforexample)areprovided,PCDMISwillpiercethesecondfeaturewiththe firstfeature.

Ifthepiercedfeatureisasphere,circle,cone,orcylinderthepiercepointisconstructedwhere thepiercinginputfeaturefirstintersectsthesurfaceofthepiercedelement.Thefirstintersection pointisdeterminedbythedirectionoftheline.Itisimportanttoknowthedirectioninwhichthe linewasdefined.Ifthewrongpointisconstructed,createanew,flippedline(see"Changingthe DirectionofaLine"),anduseittoconstructthepoint. ToconstructaPiercePoint: 1. AccesstheConstructPointdialogbox(Insert|Feature|Constructed|Point). 2. SelectthePierceoptionfromthelistofoptions. 3. Selectthefirstfeature.Itmustbeeitheracone,cylinder,line,slot,circle,or ellipse. 4. Selectthesecondfeature.Itmustbeeitheranellipse,circle,cone,cylinder, plane,orsphere. 5. ClicktheCreatebutton. TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionwouldread:
CONSTR/POINT,PIERCE,feat_1,feat_2

ConstructingaPiercePointfromaLineandaSphere

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures * 765

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ConstructingaProjectedPoint
Apointcanbeconstructedfromanyfeatureandaplane.PCDMISwillprojectthepointwhere theplaneintersectsthepoint.Ifthereisonlyoneinputfeature,theprojectionwillbetothework plane. ToconstructaProjectedPoint: 1. 2. 3. 4. AccesstheConstructPointdialogbox(Insert|Feature|Constructed|Point). SelecttheProjectionoptionfromthelistofoptions. Selectafeaturefromwhichtocreatetheprojectpoint. ClicktheCreatebutton.

TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionwouldread:
CONSTR/POINT,PROJ,feat_1,(feat_2)

ConstructingaProjectedPointfromaPointandaPlane

AutoPointConstruction
Thefollowingtableindicatesthetypeofpointthatwillbeconstructedwhenthespecifiedinputs areselectedandtheAUTOoptionischosen.Theorderoftheselectedfeaturesisnotimportant. Ifanincorrectinputfeature(s)isselected,PCDMISwilldisplayanerrormessageandwillnot automaticallyconstructtheindicatedfeaturetype. ToallowPCDMIStoautomaticallydeterminethebestmethodofconstruction: 1. 2. 3. 4. AccesstheConstructPointdialogbox. SelecttheAutooptionfromthelistofoptions. Selectthedesiredfeature(s)basedonthetablebelow. ClicktheCreatebutton. Constructs CastPoint MidPoint DropPoint DropPoint MidPoint PiercePoint ProjectPoint MidPoint MidPoint MidPoint IntersectPoint IntersectPoint DropPoint

InputFeature(s) Any1Feature= Circle+Circle= Circle+Cone= Circle+Cylinder= Circle+Ellipse Circle+Line= Circle+Plane= Circle+Set= Circle+Slot= Circle+Sphere= Cone+Cone= Cone+Cylinder= Cone+Ellipse

766 * ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Cone+Plane= Cone+Set= Cone+Slot= Cylinder+Ellipse Cylinder+Plane= Cylinder+Set= Cylinder+Slot= Ellipse+Ellipse Line+Cone= Line+Cylinder= Line+Ellipse Line+Line= Line+Plane= Line+Set= Line+Slot= Line+Sphere= Plane+Ellipse Plane+Plane= Plane+Set= 3Points= Point+Circle= Point+Cone= Point+Cylinder= Point+Ellipse= Point+Line= Point+Plane= Point+Point= Point+Set= Point+Slot= Point+Sphere= Set+Ellipse Set+Set= Slot+Ellipse Slot+Plane= Slot+Set= Slot+Slot= Sphere+Cone= Sphere+Cylinder= Sphere+Ellipse Sphere+Plane= Sphere+Set= Sphere+Slot= Sphere+Sphere=

PiercePoint DropPoint IntersectPoint DropPoint PiercePoint DropPoint IntersectPoint MidPoint IntersectPoint IntersectPoint DropPoint IntersectPoint PiercePoint DropPoint IntersectPoint DropPoint ProjectPoint ProjectPoint ProjectPoint CornerPoint MidPoint DropPoint DropPoint MidPoint DropPoint ProjectPoint MidPoint MidPoint MidPoint MidPoint MidPoint MidPoint MidPoint ProjectPoint MidPoint IntersectPoint DropPoint DropPoint MidPoint ProjectPoint MidPoint MidPoint MidPoint

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures * 767

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ConstructingaCircleFeature

ConstructCircledialogbox ThereareseveralwaystoconstructacircleusingPCDMIS.Thefollowingtableliststhevarious typesofconstructedcircles,alongwiththeirnecessaryinputs.Somefeaturesmayrequireno inputswhileothersmayrequirethreeinputsormore.Theterm'Any'inthefollowingtable indicatesthattheconstructioncantakeanytypeoffeatureasinputforconstruction.PCDMIS allowsthefeaturestobeselectedinanyorder. CONSTRUCT SYMBOLINEDIT# OF FEAT#1: FEAT#2: FEATURE WINDOW INPUT TYPE FEATS BestfitCircle BF Atleast3 inputsare needed. COMMENTS

Constructs bestfitcircle usinggiven inputs

768 * ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Bestfitwith BFRE Recompensate Circle

CastCircle

CAST

Atleast3 inputsare needed.(1 mustbea point) 1 Any

Constructs bestfitcircle usinggiven inputs Constructs circleat centroidof inputfeature Constructs circleatthe specified diameteror heightofthe cone Constructs circleatthe intersectionof acircularfeat withaplane, cone,or cylinder

ConeCircle CONE (alsoknownas Gage Diameter)

Cone

IntersectCircle INTOF

Circle, Sphere, Cone,or Cylinder

Plane

Plane

Cone Cylinder Any

ProjectCircle PROJ

1or2

Circle, Sphere, Cone,or Cylinder Coneor Cylinder Cone Plane

ReverseCircleREV

Circle

Tangent2 Lines

TANLINES

Line

Line

Tangent3 Lines

TANLINES

Line

Line

Line

Tangent3 Circles

TANCIRCLES

Circle

Circle

Circle

1input featurewill projectcircle toworkplane Constructs circlewitha reversed vector Constructs circletangent tothetwo linesata given diameter. Constructs circletangent tothethree lines. Constructs circletangent tothethree circles.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures * 769

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ScanSegment SCAN_SEGMENT1 Circle

Scan

Constructs arcfroma partofa LinearOpen orLinear Closescan.

Note:Ifyouselectinappropriatefeaturetypes,PCDMISdisplays"Cannotconstruct[feature]. Combinationofinputfeaturesnotaccepted."onthestatusbar. Toconstructacircle: 1. 2. 3. 4. AccesstheConstructCircledialogbox(Insert|Feature|Constructed|Circle). Inputthedesiredfeatures. SelecttheInorOutoption. Selectthemethodofconstruction.Availableoptionsinclude: AutoCircle BestFitorBestFitRecompensateCircle IntersectCircle CastCircle ProjectedCircle ReversedirectionCircle ScanSegment Tangent2Lines Tangent3Lines Tangent3Circles CirclefromaCone

5. ClicktheCreatebutton. TheEditwindowcommandlineforasampleCircleConstructionwouldread:
feature_name=FEAT/CIRCLE,TOG1,TOG4,TOG5 THEO/x_cord,y_cord,z_cord,i_vec,j_vec,k_vec,diam ACTL/x_cord,y_cord,z_cord,i_vec,j_vec,k_vec,diam CONSTR/TOG2,TOG3

IfTOG2=CIRCLEandTOG3=BForBFREthenthecommandhasthefollowingformat:
feature_name=FEAT/CIRCLE,TOG1,TOG4,TOG5 THEO/x_cord,y_cord,z_cord,i_vec,j_vec,k_vec,diam ACTL/x_cord,y_cord,z_cord,i_vec,j_vec,k_vec,diam CONSTR/CIRCLE,TOG3 OUTLIER_REMOVAL/TOG6,stdDevMultiplier FILTER/TOG6,UPR=cutoffFrequency

Note:TheactualEditreportwillbedisplayedinallCAPS.

770 * ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Autoisthedefaultmethodof construction.See"Auto CircleConstruction".

TOG1=POLRorRECT TOG2=CIRCLE TOG3=BF/BFRE/CAST/CONE/INTOF/PROJ/REV/ TANLINES/TANCIRCLES/SCAN_SEGMENT TOG4=IN/OUT TOG5=LEAST_SQR/MAX_INSC/MIN_CIRCSC/MIN_SEP /FIXED_RAD(onlyformeasured,BFandBFREcircles) TOG6=ON/OFF stdDevMultiplier=Thismultipliervaluedetermineswhetheror notameasuredpointisanoutlier.Ifthepointfromthecircle isfurtherthanthestandarddeviationmultipliedbythis,then itisanoutlierandwillberemovedifyouhaveselectedthe RemoveOutlieroption. cutoffWavelength=This valuecontrolstheamountofdata smoothing.Thelongerthewavelengththemorethe smoothing. ThefirstthreelinesdisplayedintheEditwindowwillbethesame forconstructedcircles.Thefourthlinewillbeslightlydifferent, accordingtothetypeoffeaturebeingconstructed.Youcanswitch betweenthedifferenttypesofcirclesbyplacingthecursoronTOG3 andpressingF7orF8.(See"CommandModeKeyboardFunctions" inthe"UsingtheEditWindow"chapter.) Whentwoormorefeaturesareinvolved,PCDMISautomatically determinesthenecessaryorderoftheinputfeatures.Thisimproves theaccuracyofthemeasurementprocess. Thefollowingparagraphsdescribetheavailableoptionsfor constructingacircle:

In/OutCircle

TheInandOutoptionstellPCDMISwhethertoconstructthecircleasaninternaloranexternal circle. IfyouselectIn,PCDMISconstructsthecircleasaninternalcircle. IfyouselectOut,PCDMISconstructsthecircleasanexternalcircle,orpin.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures * 771

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

AutoCircleConstruction
Thefollowingtableindicatesthetypeofcirclethatwillbeconstructedwhenthespecifiedinputs areselectedandtheAUTOoptionischosen.Theorderoftheselectedfeaturesisnotimportant. Ifanincorrectinputfeature(s)isselected,PCDMISwilldisplayanerrormessageandwillnot automaticallyconstructtheindicatedfeaturetype. ToallowPCDMIStoautomaticallydeterminethebestmethodofconstruction: 1. 2. 3. 4. AccesstheConstructCircledialogbox(Insert|Feature|Constructed|Circle). SelecttheAutooptionfromthelistofoptions. Selectthedesiredfeature(s)basedonthetablebelow. ClicktheCreatebutton. Constructs BestFitCircle ReverseCircle ConeCircle CastCircle IntersectCircle IntersectCircle IntersectCircle IntersectCircle IntersectCircle ProjectCircle ProjectCircle ProjectCircle ProjectCircle ProjectCircle ProjectCircle ProjectCircle IntersectCircle

InputFeature(s) Any1Set= Any1Circle= Any1Cone=(w/Diameter) Any1Feature=(except Circle/Cone/Set) Cone+Cone= Cone+Cylinder= Cone+Plane= Cone+Sphere= Cylinder+Sphere= Plane+Circle= Plane+Ellipse= Plane+Line= Plane+Plane= Plane+Point= Plane+Set= Plane+Slot= Plane+Sphere=

ConstructingaBestFitorBestFitRecompensateCircle
A"bestfit"circlecanbeconstructedfromthreeormorefeatures.Theconstructedcircle'svector isnormaltothecurrentworkingplane.Thebestfitconstructionmethodtakestheactual measuredpoints,ratherthantheball'scenter(asisthecaseofbestfitrecompensate). ToconstructaBestFitCircleoraBestFitRecompensateCircle: 1. AccesstheConstructCircledialogbox(Insert|Feature|Constructed|Circle). 2. SelecteithertheBestFitorBestFitRecompensateoption(shownasBestFitandBF Recomp). 3. SelectthetypeofBestFitconstructionfromtheBestFitTypelist. 4. Selectatleast3features. 5. ClicktheCreatebutton. TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionwouldread:
CONSTR/CIRCLE,BF,feat_1,feat_2, OUTLIER_REMOVAL/(OFF|ON),stdDevMultiple FILTER/(OFF|ON),UPR=cutoffFrequency

772 * ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

OutlierremovalandFilteringaredescribedbelow.

BestFitType

ThislistbecomesavailableifyouselectBestFitorBFRecompoptionswhenconstructingthe circle.ItallowsyoutospecifythetypeofBestFitconstructionused.Availabletypesinclude: LEAST_SQR MAX_INSC MIN_CIRCSC MIN_SEP FIXED_RAD

Thesetypesarediscussedinthetablebelow: ListItem LEAST_SQR Description LeastSquaresThiscalculationtypeprovidesa methodoffittinginwhichtheaveragesquaredradial distancefromthedatapointstothecircleis minimized.Thesquarerootofthisquantityisthe RootMeanSquare(RMS)distance.SincetheRMS distanceisbasedonanaverage,somepointsmay befurtherthantheRMSdistancefromthecomputed circle. MinimumSeparationThiscalculationtype generatesacirclethatishalfwaybetweentwo concentriccirclescontainingthedatapoints,withthe differenceoftheirradiiassmallaspossible.The Min/MaxmathusedbytheMIN_SEPcalculation minimizesthemaximumerror,ordeviation,fromthe inputdatatothecircle.TheMin/Maxerrorisonehalf oftheminimalseparation.Noinputdatapoints(or inputfeatures)liefartherthantheMin/Maxerrorfrom theMin/Maxcircle.Thiscalculationdetermines whetherornotalltheinputdata(orinputfeatures) arewithinthegiventolerances. MaximumInscribedThiscalculationtypegenerates
ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures * 773

MIN_SEP

MAX_INSC

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MIN_CIRCSC

FIXED_RAD

anemptycirclewiththelargestpossiblediameter thatlieswithinthedata.PCDMISfirstcomputesa MinimumCircumscribedcircleandrequiresthatthe centeroftheMaximumInscribedcirclelieswithinit. Thisoptioncouldbeusedforacircularfeaturethat requiresamatingstud.Forexample,iftheinputdata representsahole,thenthiscalculationreturnsa circlewiththediameterofthelargeststudthatwillfit insidethehole. MinimumCircumscribedThiscalculationtype generatesacirclewiththesmallestpossible diameterthatenclosestheinputdata(orinput features).Thisoptioncouldbeusedwhenmeasuring astudthatwouldfitintoamatingcircularfeature. Theresultingfeaturewouldbethesmallestholeinto whichthestudwouldfit. FixedRadiusThiscalculationtypecreatesacircle ofagivendiameter,positionedsothatthemaximal radialdistancefromthedatapointstothecircleis minimized.ItissimilartotheMax/Minmathusedin theMIN_SEPcalculationexceptthat,sincethe diameterisknowninadvance,theradiuscannot vary.Onlythecircle'spositionisallowedtovary.

RemoveOutliers/StandardDeviationMultiple
Forabestfit(BF)orbestfitrecompensate(BFRE)circleyoucanchoosetoremoveoutliers basedonthedistancefromthebestfitfeature.Thisallowstheremovalofanomaliesthatarisein themeasurementprocess. PCDMISfirstfitsacircletothedata,thendetermineswhichpointsareoutliersbasedonthe standarddeviationmultiple.Itthendoesthefollowing: Recalculatesthebestfitcirclewiththoseoutliersremoved. Checksforoutliersagain. Recalculatesthebestfitcircle. ContinuesrepeatingthisprocessuntilnomoreoutliersexistoruntilPCDMIScannot computethecircle(PCDMIScan'tcomputethecircleiftherearefewerthan3data points).

ApplyGaussFilter/CutoffFrequency
TheBestFit(BF)andBestFitRecompensate(BFRE)constructedcircleshavetheoptionof filteringthedeviationsofthemeasureddatapointsfromthebestfitcirclecomputedfromthe measureddata.TheApplyGaussFiltercheckboxisaGaussianfilterwithacutofffrequency inputasundulationsperrevolution(UPR).Generally,alowercutofffrequencyproducessmoother filtereddata.Ifyou'veselectedtheRemoveOutlierscheckboxandarefilteringthedata,then outlierdataisremovedpriortofiltering.

ConstructinganIntersectCircle
Acirclecanbeconstructedbetweenacone(circle,cylinder,sphere)andaplane.Itcanalsobe createdbetweentwoconcentricconesoraconcentriccone/cylindercombination.

774 * ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

PCDMIScreatesacircleattheintersectionofthecircularfeatureandtheplaneorbetweenthe cone/coneorcone/cylindercombinations. Inthecaseofacircularfeatureandaplaneintersection,PCDMISalwaysmakesatrue circle(notanellipse)evenifthecircularfeatureisnotexactlyperpendiculartotheplane. Thecenterpointofthenewcircleisatthepiercepointofthecircularfeature'scenterline andtheplane.Thevectorofthecircleisthevectorofthepiercingcircularfeature. Inthecaseofacone/coneorcone/cylindercombination,atruecircleiscreatedevenif theintersectingfeaturesdonotformatruecircle.

ToconstructanIntersectCircle: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. AccesstheConstructCircledialogbox(Insert|Feature|Constructed|Circle). SelecttheIntersectoption. Selectthefirstfeature.Itmustbeeitheracircle,cone,cylinder,orsphere. Selectthesecondfeature.Itmustbeaplane. ClicktheCreatebutton.

TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionwouldread: CONSTR/CIRCLE,INTOF,feat_1,feat_2

ConstructingaCirclefromaConeandaPlane

ConstructingaCastCircle
Acirclecanbeconstructedbychanginganygivenfeatureintoacircle.PCDMISwillconstruct thecircleatthecentroidoftheinputfeature.Ifasheetmetalpointisused,thediameterwillbe theprobediameter.Forsomesheetmetalfeatures(suchasslotsandnotches)thewidthwillbe usedasthediameter.Forfeaturesthatdonothavediameters(lines,points,etc.),avaluethatis fourtimestheprobediameterwillbeused. YoucanmodifythediameterofthecirclethiswillchangethecirclefromDEPENDENTto INDEPENDENT.Thismeansthatwhenthecircleisexecuted,thediameterwillnotchangebased ontheinputfeaturebutwillbeindependentoftheinputfeature,whilethepositionandvector remaindependentontheinputfeature.Thisallowsyoutohavecontroloverthediameterincases

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures * 775

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

wheretheinputfeaturedoesntreallyhaveadiameter,suchasapoint.The DEPENDENT/INDEPENDENTfieldisatogglefieldyoumaychange. PCDMISwillusethisdiametervalueforallcalculationsinsteadofusingthedefaultdiameter valueasdescribedabove. ToconstructaCastCircle: 1. 2. 3. 4. AccesstheConstructCircledialogbox(Insert|Feature|Constructed|Circle). SelecttheCastoption. Selectatleastonefeaturesofanytype. ClicktheCreatebutton.

TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionwouldread:
CONSTR/CIRCLE,CAST,feat_1,(DEPENDENT|INDEPENDENT)

ConstructingaProjectedCircle
Acirclecanbeconstructedfromanyfeatureandaplane.PCDMISwillprojectthecentroidofthe givenfeatureontotheplane,creatingacircle.Ifthereisonlyoneinputfeature,theprojectionwill betothecurrentworkplane.Thediameteroftheprojectedcirclewillbefourtimestheprobe's diameter. ToconstructaProjectedCircle: 1. AccesstheConstructCircledialogbox(Insert|Feature|Constructed|Circle). 2. SelecttheProjectionoption. 3. Selectafeatureofanytype. Note:Asecondfeaturecanalsobeselected.Itmustbeaplane. 4. ClicktheCreatebutton. TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionwouldread: CONSTR/CIRCLE,PROJ,feat_1,feat_2

ConstructingaCirclefromaCircleandaPlane

776 * ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ChangingtheDirectionofaCircle
Acirclecanbeconstructedwithareversedvector. Tochangethedirectionofacircle: 1. 2. 3. 4. AccesstheConstructCircledialogbox(Insert|Feature|Constructed|Circle). SelecttheReverseoption. Selectonefeature.Itmustbeacircle. ClicktheCreatebutton.

TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionwouldread:
CONSTR/CIRCLE,REV,feat_1

ConstructingaTangentCircle
YoucanconstructthefollowingthreetypesoftangentcirclesusingtheConstructCircledialog box(Insert|Feature|Constructed|Circle): Tangent2LinesThisoptionconstructsacircletangenttotwolines.Theexactlocation isdeterminedbythesizeofthecircleandthedirectionofthelines.TypeaDiameter valuefortheconstructedafterselectingthetwoinputlines,andthenclickCreate.Ifthe constructedcircledoesn'tappearwereexpected,trychangingthedirectionofoneofthe lines. ExamplesofaCircleFeatureConstructedTangentto2Lines Circle7 Constructed Tangentto Lines5and 6

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures * 777

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Circle7 Constructed Tangentto Lines5and 7

Circle7 Constructed Tangentto Lines6and 7

778 * ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Circle7 Constructed Tangentto Lines6and 7. Notethe difference fromthe above example: Line6's direction has changed, thereby changing thelocation ofthe constructed circle. Tangent3LinesThisoptionconstructsacircletangenttothethreeinputlinesthat formatriangle.Selectthethreeinputlines,andthenclickCreate. ExampleofaCircleFeatureConstructedTangentto3Lines

Tangent3CirclesThisoptionconstructsacircletangenttothethreeinputcircles. Selectthethreeinputcircles,andthenclickCreate.Thetangentcirclecaneithercontain allthreecircles(circumscribedcircle)ornoneofthethree(inscribedcircle).

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures * 779

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Exampleofaninscribedcircletangenttothreeinputcircles

Exampleofacircumscribedcircletangenttothreeinputcircles

ConstructinganArcfromPartofaScan
AcirclecanbeconstructedfromasegmentofaLinearOpen,LinearClose,orBasicCirclescan. PCDMISwillcreateanarcfrompartofthescan.Thedetailsoftheconstructionareincluded furtherinthisdiscussion. ToconstructaScanSegmentCircle: 1. 2. 3. 4. AccesstheConstructCircledialogbox(Insert|Feature|Constructed|Circle). SelecttheScanSegmentoption. SelectapreviouslycreatedLinearOpen,LinearClose,orBasicCirclescan. ClicktheSegmentDatabutton.TheScanSegmentdialogwillappear.

ScanSegmentdialogbox 5. SelecteithertheBestFitorBFRecompoption.

780 * ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

6. Selecttheportionofthescanusedintheconstructionfromthisdialogbox. 7. TypethenumberofpointstopotentiallydiscardbyenteringvaluesintheDiscardStart andDiscardEndMaximumboxes. 8. TypeadistancefromthebestfitcircleintotheDiscardTolerancebox.Thistoleranceis aformtoleranceitallowsyoutocontrolwhatendpointsareacceptedaspartofthearc. Ifthedistancefromthescanpointtothebestfitarcisgreaterthanthistolerancevalue, thentheendpointwillbediscarded. 9. InputtheApproximateStartandEndPointsofthescanbymarkingtheSelectPoints checkbox,andthenclickingintheGraphicsDisplaywindowtofillintheX,Y,andZ fields.YoucanclickanywhereintheGraphicsDisplaywindow,however,PCDMISwill placethepointonthescannearesttowhereyouclicked.Youcanalsoeditthepoint valuesbyusingthekeyboard. 10. ClickOKtoacceptthedataandclosetheScanSegmentdialogbox. 11. ClickCreatetoconstructthearcfromthescan. TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionreads:
CONSTR/CIRCLE,SCAN_SEGMENT,fit_type,feat_1,start_x,start_y,start_z,end_x,end_y,end_z,disc ard_start,discard_end,tolerance

Ifyouwantmorethanonearcorlinefromagivenscan,thenyouwillneedtoaddanother commandforadifferentsectionofthescan.

DeterminingtheDataUsedtoConstructtheArc
Thedatausedtoconstructthearcisdeterminedasfollows: First,asegmentofthescanisdeterminedusingastartingpointandanendingpoint withinthescan.Thestartingandendingpointsarechosenasthepointinthescan nearest[start_x,start_y,start_z]andthepointnearest[end_x,end_y, end_z]respectively. Pointsarethendiscardedfromthestartandendpointsofthescan.Thenumberofpoints discardedfromthestartisdiscard_startandfromtheendisdiscard_end.Anarc isthenfittedtothissetofpoints. Finally,thestartingandendingpointsareaddedbackiniftheyarewithinthedefined tolerance.Thearcisthenrefittedoncemoretothenewsetofpoints.

Thevalueoffit_type maybeBF(BestFit)orBFRE(BestFitRecompensate).Thisdetermines whetherabestfitorbestfitwithrecompensationisdonewhencalculatingthearc.Fora descriptionofBestFitandBestFitRecompensate,see"ConstructingaBestFitorBestFit RecompensateCircle".

ConstructingaCircleataScan'sMinimumPoint
Thisfeatureletsyouconstructa2Dcircleofagivenradiusataminimumpointalongalinear scan.PCDMISfindstheminimumpointbyusingastartingpointandadownwarddirection vector(asshowninfigure1below).

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures * 781

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

PCDMISprojectsthescantothecurrentworkplaneandthecirclewilllieinaplaneparalleltothe workplane.Thescanwillbeinterpretedasalinebetweenconsecutivepoints(piecewiselinear). Thus,thecirclethatisplacedattheminimumpointalongthescanwillnotfallbetweentwo consecutivescanpoints,butinsteadwillbeconstrainedtotouchalineconnectingthetwopoints. ValidInputTypes Theinputforthisconstructionmustbealinetypescan.Thisexcludesallscansdesignedtoscan asurface:Patch,UV,Grid,Multisection,ManualLaser,andCylinder. ConstructionProcedure Tostartthisconstruction: 1. 2. 3. 4. AccesstheConstructCircledialogbox(Insert|Feature|Constructed|Circle). SelecttheScanMinimumoption. Selectalinearscanfromthefeaturelist.Youcannotuseasurfacescan. ClicktheSearchSetupbutton.

782 * ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

5. TheCircleMinimumSearchSetupdialogboxappears:

6. Definethecirclesstartpoint,itsdowndirection,anditsdiameter. 7. ClickOKtoconstructthecircle.PCDMISconstructsthecircleandinsertsthe constructioncommandintotheEditwindow.

RulesforConstruction
Avalidstartingpointandvectorforwillfollowtworules: First,acircleofthegivendiameterandstartingpointshouldnotintersectthescan. Figure2 showsaviolationofthisrule.

Second,thecircleprojectedfromthestartpointalongthedownvectormustintersectthe scan. Figure3showsaviolationofthisrule.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures * 783

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

NoLocalMinimum
Ifthescanhasnolocalminimum,oranaturalrestingplaceforthecircle,thenthecirclewillfollow thescantoitslowestpointwhilestillincontactwiththescan(seefigure4).

EditWindowCommandforaConstructedScanMinimumCircle
CIR1 =FEAT/CIRCLE,RECT,OUT THEO/tx,ty,tz,ti,tj,tk,td ACTL/mx,my,mz,mi,mj,mk,md CONSTR/CIRCLE,SCAN_MINIMUM,ScanID START/xSP,xSP,xSP DOWN/iDV,iDV,iDV

784 * ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Where: tx,ty,tz ti,tj,tk td mx,my,mz mi,mj,mk md ScanID xSP,xSP, xSP iDV,iDV,iDV isthetheoreticalcircleposition isthetheoreticalcirclevector isthetheoreticalcirclediameter isthemeasuredcircleposition isthemeasuredcirclevector isthemeasuredcirclediameter istheidofthescantobeused isthestartingpointforfindingtheminimum. isthedownwarddirectionvector.

AdditionalExamples

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures * 785

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ConstructingaCirclefromaCone
Acirclecanbeconstructedfromaconeataspecifieddiameterofthecone,oritcanbe constructedatagivenheightfromthecurrentalignmentplane.AConeCirclefeatureatagiven diameterisalsocommonlyknownasaGageDiameter. UnderstandingtheHeightValue Ifconstructingacircleatagivenheight,PCDMIScalculatesthecircleinthisway.Itcreatesa planefromthereferencepointandthereferencevector. Itthencreatesaparalleloffsetplane fromthisplanebytheheightvalue.Thisparallelplaneintersectswiththeconeaxis,andthe intersectioncreatesthelocationoftheresultingcirclefeature.Thediameterofthecircleisthe diameteroftheconeatthatintersectionpoint. Availablereferencepoint (REF_POINT)options: CONE_VERTEX CONE_START CONE_END ORIGIN Availablereferencevector (REF_VECTOR)options: CONE_VECTOR WORKPLANE ZPLUS ZMINUS XPLUS XMINUS

786 * ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

YPLUS YMINUS

Forexample,ifyouusetheoriginasareferencepoint,andZPLUSasyourreferencevector,PC DMISwouldcreateaplanefromtheoriginpointandtheZPLUSvector.Thenitwouldcreatea parallelplaneatthegivenheightvalue,andwhereitintersectswiththecone,itcreatesthecircle feature.YourEditwindow'scodemightlooksomethinglikethis:


CIR2 =FEAT/CIRCLE,RECT,OUT

THEO/67.295,2.595,7.152,0.0310723,0.0214397,0.9992872,29.411 ACTL/67.295,2.595,7.152,0.0310723,0.0214397,0.9992872,29.411 CONSTR/CIRCLE,CONE,CON2,HEIGHT,5,REF_POINT=ORIGIN,REF_VECTOR=ZPLUS

ProceduretoConstructaConeCircle: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. AccesstheConstructCircledialogbox(Insert|Feature|Constructed|Circle). SelecttheConeoption. Selectonefeature.Thetypemustbeacone. SelecteitherDIAMETERorHEIGHTfromtheTypedropdownlist. TypeavalueforthediameterorheightintotheValuebox. IfyouselectedHeight: SelectareferencepointfromthePointlist. SelectareferencevectorfromtheVectorlist. ClicktheCreatebutton.

TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionwouldread:
CONSTR/CIRCLE,CONE,DIAMETER,feat_1

Or
CONSTR/CIRCLE,CONE,HEIGHT,value,REF_POINT=point,REF_VECTOR=vector,feat_1

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures * 787

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ConstructinganEllipseFeature

ConstructEllipsedialogbox ThereareseveralwaystoconstructanellipseusingPCDMIS.Thefollowingtableliststhe varioustypesofconstructedellipses,alongwiththeirnecessaryinputs.Somefeaturesmay requirenoinputswhileothersmayrequirethreeinputsormore.Theterm'Any' inthefollowing tableindicatesthattheconstructioncantakeanytypeoffeatureasinputforconstruction.PC DMISallowsthefeaturestobeselectedinanyorder. CONSTRUCT SYMBOL FEATURE INEDIT TYPE WINDOW BestfitEllipse BF # OF FEAT#1: FEAT#2: COMMENTS INPUT FEATS Atleast4 Constructs inputsare bestfitellipse neededora usinggiven scanorset inputs with4 points.

788 * ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Bestfitwith BFRE Recompensate Ellipse

Intersection

INT

Atleast4 inputswith oneinput beinga pointare neededora scanorset comprised ofatleast4 points. 2 Cylinder

Constructs bestfitellipse usinggiven inputs

Plane

CastEllipse

CAST

Any

ProjectEllipse PROJ

1or2

Any

Plane

ReverseCircleREV

Circle

Constructsan ellipseatthe intersectionof theinput features Constructs ellipseat centroidof inputfeature 1input featurewill projectellipse toworkplane Constructs circlewitha reversed vector

Note:Ifyouselectinappropriatefeaturetypes,PCDMISdisplays"Cannotconstruct[feature]. Combinationofinputfeaturesnotaccepted."onthestatusbar. Toconstructanellipse: 1. 2. 3. 4. AccesstheConstructEllipsedialogbox(Insert|Feature|Constructed|Ellipse). Inputthedesiredfeatures. SelecttheInorOutoption. Selectthemethodofconstruction.Availableoptionsinclude: AutoCircle BestFitorBestFitRecompensateEllipse CastEllipse ProjectionEllipse ReversedirectionEllipse

5. ClicktheCreatebutton. TheEditwindowcommandlineforasampleEllipseConstructionwouldread: feature_name=FEAT/Ellipse,TOG1,TOG4 THEO/x_cord,y_cord,z_cord,i_vec,j_vec,k_vec,majordiam,minor diam,ianglevec,janglevec,kanglevec ACTL/x_cord,y_cord,z_cord,i_vec,j_vec,k_vec,majordiam,minor diam,ianglevec,janglevec,kanglevec CONSTR/TOG2,TOG3

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures * 789

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Note:TheactualEditreportwillbedisplayedinallCAPS. Autoisthedefaultmethodof construction.See"Auto CircleConstruction". TOG1=POLRorRECT TOG2=ELLIPSE TOG3=BF/BFRE/CAST/INT/PROJ/REV TOG4=IN/OUT ThefirstthreelinesdisplayedintheEditwindowwillbethesame forconstructedellipses.Thefourthlinewillbeslightlydifferent, accordingtothetypeoffeaturebeingconstructed.Youcanswitch betweenthedifferenttypesofellipsesbyplacingthecursoron TOG3andpressingF7andF8.(See"CommandModeKeyboard Functions"inthe"UsingtheEditWindow"chapter.) Whentwoormorefeaturesareinvolved,PCDMISautomatically determinesthenecessaryorderoftheinputfeatures.Thisimproves theaccuracyofthemeasurementprocess. Thefollowingparagraphsdescribetheavailableoptionsfor constructinganellipse:

In/OutEllipse

TheInandOutoptionstellPCDMISwhethertoconstructthecircleasaninternaloranexternal ellipse. IfyouselectIn,PCDMISconstructstheellipseasaninternalellipse. IfyouselectOut,PCDMISconstructstheellipseasanexternalellipse,orpin.

ConstructingaBestFitorBestFitRecompensateEllipse
A"bestfit"ellipsecanbeconstructedfromthreeormorefeatures.Theellipseliesinthecurrent workingplane.Thebestfitconstructionmethodtakestheactualmeasuredpoints,ratherthanthe ball'scenter(asisthecaseofbestfitrecompensate).InbothcasesPCDMIScomputesaleast squaresellipse,oneforwhichPCDMISminimizestheaveragesquareddistancefromthedata pointstotheellipse. ToconstructaBestFitEllipseoraBestFitRecompensateEllipse: 1. AccesstheConstructEllipsedialogbox(Insert|Feature|Constructed|Ellipse). 2. SelecteithertheBestFitorBestFitRecompensateoption(shownasBestFitandBF Recomp). 3. Selectatleast4featuresorascanorasetcomprisedofatleastfourpoints. 4. ClicktheCreatebutton.

790 * ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionwouldread:
CONSTR/ELLIPSE,BF,feat_1,feat_2,feat_3...

(Usestheactualmeasuredpointsforconstruction.) or
CONSTR/ELLIPSE,BFRE,feat_1,feat_2,feat_3...

(Usesthecenterofprobeformeasurement.)

ConstructinganIntersectEllipse
Anellipsecanbeconstructedfromtheintersectionofanonparallelplaneandcylinder. ToconstructanIntersectEllipse: 1. 2. 3. 4. AccesstheConstructEllipsedialogbox(Insert|Feature|Constructed|Ellipse). SelecttheIntersectoption. Selectthefirstfeatureitcanbeeitheracylinderoraplane. Selectthesecondfeature. Ifyouselectedacylinderasthefirstfeature,thenthismustbeaplane. Ifyouselectedaplaneasthefirstfeature,thenthismustbeacylinder.

5. ClicktheCreatebutton.PCDMISwillconstructtheellipseattheintersectionofthetwo features.Theconstructedellipsewillhavetheplane'snormalvector. TheEditwindowcommandblockforasampleellipsewouldlooksomethinglikethis:


ID=FEAT/ELLIPSE,CARTESIAN,OUT,NO THEO/X,Y,Z,I,J,K ACTL/X,Y,Z,I,J,K CONSTR/ELLIPSE,INT,feat1,feat2

ConstructingaCastEllipse
Anellipsecanbeconstructedbychanginganygivenfeatureintoanellipse.PCDMISwill constructtheellipseatthecentroidoftheinputfeature.Ifasheetmetalpointisused,themajor diameterwillbetheprobediameter.Forsomesheetmetalfeatures(suchasslotsandnotches) thewidthwillbeusedasthemajordiameter.Forfeaturesthatdonothaveawidth(lines,points, etc.),avaluethatisfourtimestheprobediameterwillbeused.Theminordiameterwillbethe lengthoftheinputfeature.Forfeaturesthatdonothavealength(points,circles,etc)adefault lengthof1willbeused. Youcanmodifythemajorandminordiametersoftheellipsethiswillchangetheellipsefrom DEPENDENTtoINDEPENDENT.Thismeansthatwhentheellipseisexecutedthatthemajor andminordiameterswillnotchangebasedontheinputfeaturebutwillbeindependentofthe inputfeature,whilethepositionandvectorremaindependentontheinputfeature.Thisallows youtohavecontroloverthediametersincaseswheretheinputfeaturedoesntreallyhavea diameter,suchasapoint.TheDEPENDENT/INDEPENDENTfieldisatogglefieldyoumay change. PCDMISwillusethesediametervaluesforallcalculationsinsteadofusingthedefaultdiameter valuesasdescribedabove.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures * 791

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ToconstructaCastEllipse: 1. 2. 3. 4. AccesstheConstructEllipsedialogbox(Insert|Feature|Constructed|Ellipse). SelecttheCastoption. Selectatleastonefeaturesofanytype. ClicktheCreatebutton.

TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionwouldread:
CONSTR/ELLIPSE,CAST,feat_1,(DEPENDENT|INDEPENDENT)

ConstructingaProjectedEllipse
Anellipsecanbeprojectedontoaplane.PCDMISprojectsthecentroidofthegivenfeatureonto theplane,creatinganellipse.Ifthereisonlyoneinputfeature,theprojectionwillbetothecurrent workplane.Themajordiameteroftheprojectedellipsewillbethewidthoftheprojectedfeature, ortheprobe'sdiameter(forfeaturewithoutadefinedwidth).Theminordiameterwillbethelength oftheinputfeature,orofunit1(forfeatureswithoutalengthdefined). ToconstructaProjectedEllipse: 1. AccesstheConstructEllipsedialogbox(Insert|Feature|Constructed|Ellipse). 2. SelecttheProjectionoption. 3. Selectafeatureofanytype. Note:Asecondfeaturecanalsobeselected.Itmustbeaplane. 4. ClicktheCreatebutton. TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionwouldread:
CONSTR/ELLIPSE,PROJ,feat_1,feat_2

ChangingtheDirectionofanEllipse
AnEllipsecanbeconstructedwithareversedvector. Tochangethedirectionofaellipse: 1. 2. 3. 4. AccesstheConstructEllipsedialogbox(Insert|Feature|Constructed|Ellipse). SelecttheReverseoption. Selectonefeature.Itmustbeanellipse. ClicktheCreatebutton.

TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionwouldread:
CONSTR/ELLIPSE,REV,feat_1

AutoEllipseConstruction
Thefollowingtableindicatesthetypeofellipsethatwillbeconstructedwhenthespecifiedinputs areselectedandtheAUTOoptionischosen.Theorderoftheselectedfeaturesisnotimportant. Ifanincorrectinputfeature(s)isselected,PCDMISwilldisplayanerrormessageandwillnot automaticallyconstructtheindicatedfeaturetype.

792 * ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ToallowPCDMIStoautomaticallydeterminethebestmethodofconstruction: 1. 2. 3. 4. AccesstheConstructEllipsedialogbox(Insert|Feature|Constructed|Ellipse). SelecttheAutooptionfromthelistofoptions. Selectthedesiredfeature(s)basedonthetablebelow. ClicktheCreatebutton. Constructs BestFitEllipse ReverseEllipse CastEllipse ProjectedEllipse BestFitEllipse BestFitEllipse

InputFeature(s) Any1Set= Any1Ellipse= Any1Feature=(except Ellipse/Set) Plane+AnyFeature Set+Set 3ormoreFeatures

ConstructingaSphereFeature

ConstructSpheredialogbox ThereareseveralwaystoconstructasphereusingPCDMIS.Thefollowingtableliststhe varioustypesofconstructedspheres,alongwiththeirnecessaryinputs.Somefeaturesmay requirenoinputswhileothersmayrequirefiveinputsormore.Theterm'Any'indicatesthatthe constructioncantakeanytypeoffeatureasinputforconstruction.PCDMISallowsthefeatures tobeselectedinanyorder. CONSTRUCT SYMBOL # OF FEATURE INEDIT INPUT TYPE WINDOW FEATS FEAT#1: FEAT#2: COMMENTS

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures * 793

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

BestFitSphere BF

Atleast5 inputsare needed.

BestFitwith Recomp Sphere

BFRE

CastSphere

CAST

Atleast5 inputsare needed.(1 mustbea point) 1 Any

Constructs bestfitsphere usinggiven inputs Constructs bestfitsphere usinggiven inputs Constructs sphereat centroidof inputfeature 1input featurewill projectsphere toworkplane Constructs spherewitha reversed vector

ProjectSphere PROJ

1or2

Any

Plane

Reverse Sphere

REV

Sphere

Note:Ifyouselectinappropriatefeaturetypes,PCDMISdisplays"Cannotconstruct[feature]. Combinationofinputfeaturesnotaccepted."onthestatusbar. Toconstructasphere: 1. AccesstheConstructSpheredialogbox(Insert|Feature|Constructed|Sphere). 2. Inputthedesiredfeatures. 3. Selectthemethodofconstruction.Availableoptionsinclude: BestFitorBestFitRecompensateSphere CastSphere ProjectedSphere ReverseddirectionSphere AutoSphere

4. ClicktheCreatebutton. TheEditwindowcommandlineforasampleSphereConstructionwouldread:
feature_name=FEAT/SPHERE,TOG1,TOG4 THEO/x_cord,y_cord,z_cord,i_vec,j_vec,k_vec,diam ACTL/x_cord,y_cord,z_cord,i_vec,j_vec,k_vec,diam CONSTR/TOG2,TOG3

Note:TheactualEditreportwillbedisplayedinallCAPS.

794 * ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

AUTOisthedefaultmethod ofconstruction.Thisoption automaticallydeterminesthe bestwaytoconstructa sphereusingtheinput feature(s).See"AutoSphere Construction".

TOG1=POLRorRECT TOG2=SPHERE TOG3=BF/BFRE/CAST/PROJ/REV TOG4=IN/OUT ThefirstthreelinesdisplayedintheEditwindowwillbethesame forconstructedspheres.Thefourthlinewillbeslightlydifferent, accordingtothetypeoffeaturebeingconstructed.Youcanswitch betweenthedifferenttypesofspheresbyplacingthecursoron TOG3andpressingF7orF8.(See"CommandModeKeyboard Functions"inthe"UsingtheEditWindow"chapter.) Whentwoormorefeaturesareinvolved,PCDMISautomatically determinesthenecessaryorderoftheinputfeatures.Thisimproves theaccuracyofthemeasurementprocess. Thefollowingparagraphsdescribetheavailableoptionsfor constructingasphere.

In/OutSphere

TheInandOutoptionstellPCDMISwhethertoconstructthesphereasaninternaloran externalsphere. IfyouselectIn,PCDMISconstructsthesphereasaninternalsphere. IfyouselectOut,PCDMISconstructsthesphereasanexternalsphere,orpin.

ConstructingaBestFitorBestFitRecompensateSphere
A"bestfit"spherecanbeconstructedusingfiveormorefeatures.Thebestfitconstruction methodtakestheactualmeasuredpoints,ratherthantheball'scenter(asisthecaseofbestfit recompensate).InbothcasesPCDMIScomputesaleastsquaressphere,oneforwhichPC DMISminimizestheaveragesquareddistancefromthedatapointstothesphere. ToconstructaBestFitoraBestFitRecompensateSphere: 1. AccesstheConstructSpheredialogbox(Insert|Feature|Constructed|Sphere). 2. SelecteithertheBestFitorBestFitRecompensateoption(shownasBestFitandBF Recomp). 3. Selectfiveormorefeatures. Note:OnBestFitRecompensate,oneofthefivefeaturesmustbeapoint. 4. ClicktheCreatebutton.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures * 795

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionwouldread: CONSTR/SPHERE,BF,feat_1,feat_2,feat_3,feat_4,feat_5... (Usestheactualmeasuredpointsforconstruction.) or


CONSTR/SPHERE,BFRE,feat_1,feat_2,feat_3,feat_4,feat_5...

(Usesthecenteroftheprobeformeasurement.)

ConstructingaSpherefromfiveorMorePoints

ConstructingaCastSphere
Aspherecanbeconstructedbychanginganygivenfeatureintoasphere.PCDMISwillconstruct thecircleatthecentroidoftheinputfeature.Ifasheetmetalpointisused,thediameterwillbe theprobediameter.Forsomesheetmetalfeatures(suchasslotsandnotches)thewidthwillbe usedasthediameter.Forfeaturesthatdonothavediameters(lines,points,etc.),avaluethatis fourtimestheprobediameterwillbeused. YoucanmodifythediameterofthespherethischangesthespherefromDEPENDENTto INDEPENDENT.Thismeansthatwhenthesphereisexecutedthatdiameterwillnotchange basedontheinputfeaturebutwillbeindependentoftheinputfeature,whilethepositionand vectorremaindependentontheinputfeature.Thisallowsyoutohavecontroloverthediameter incaseswheretheinputfeaturedoesntreallyhaveadiameter,suchasapoint.The DEPENDENT/INDEPENDENTfieldisatogglefieldyoumaychange. PCDMISwillusethisdiametervalueforallcalculationsinsteadofusingthedefaultdiameter valueasdescribedabove. ToconstructaCastSphere: 1. 2. 3. 4. AccesstheConstructSpheredialogbox(Insert|Feature|Constructed|Sphere). SelecttheCastoption. Selectonefeatureofanytype. ClicktheCreatebutton.

TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionwouldread:
CONSTR/SPHERE,CAST,feat_1,(Dependent|Independent)

796 * ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ConstructingaProjectedSphere
Aspherecanbeconstructedbyprojectinganyfeatureintothecurrentworkingplane.PCDMIS willprojectthepointwheretheplaneintersectsthepoint.Ifthereisonlyoneinputfeature,the projectionwillbetotheworkplane.Youshouldinputthedesireddiameterwhenprojectinga featureintotheworkingplaneotherwisePCDMISwillusetheprobes'diameter. ToconstructaProjectedSphere: 1. AccesstheConstructSpheredialogbox(Insert|Feature|Constructed|Sphere). 2. SelecttheProjectionoption. 3. Selecteitheroneortwofeatures.Thefirstfeaturecanbeofanytype.Thesecondfeature mustbeaplane. 4. ClicktheCreatebutton. TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionwouldread: CONSTR/SPHERE,PROJ,feat_1,feat_2

ChangingtheDirectionofaSphere
Aspherecanbeconstructedwithareversedvector. ToconstructaReverseSphere: 1. 2. 3. 4. AccesstheConstructSpheredialogbox(Insert|Feature|Constructed|Sphere). SelecttheReverseoption. Selectonefeature.Itmustbeasphere. ClicktheCreatebutton.

TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionwouldread:
CONSTR/SPHERE,REV,feat_1

AutoSphereConstruction
Thefollowingtableindicatesthetypeofspherethatwillbeconstructedwhenthespecifiedinputs areselectedandtheAUTOoptionischosen.Theorderoftheselectedfeaturesisnotimportant. Ifanincorrectinputfeature(s)isselected,PCDMISwilldisplayanerrormessageandwillnot automaticallyconstructtheindicatedfeaturetype. ToallowPCDMIStoautomaticallydeterminethebestmethodofconstruction: 1. 2. 3. 4. AccesstheConstructSpheredialogbox(Insert|Feature|Constructed|Sphere). SelecttheAutooptionfromthelistofoptions. Selectthedesiredfeature(s)basedonthetablebelow. ClicktheCreatebutton. Constructs BestFitSphere CastSphere BestFitSphere ProjectSphere
ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures * 797

InputFeature(s) 4ormoreFeatures= Any1Feature= (exceptSphere/Set) Any1Set= Plane+AnyFeature=

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Sphere=

Reverse Sphere

ConstructingaLineFeature

ConstructLinedialogbox TherearemanymethodstoconstructalineusingPCDMIS.Thefollowingtableliststhevarious typesofconstructedlines,alongwiththeirnecessaryinputs.Somefeaturesmayrequireno inputswhileothersmayrequirethreeinputsormore.Theterm'Any'inthetablebelowindicates thattheconstructioncantakeanytypeoffeatureasinputforconstruction.PCDMISallowsthe featurestobeselectedinanyorder. CONSTRUCT FEATURE TYPE SYMBOLINEDIT# OF FEAT WINDOW INPUT #1: FEATS FEAT #2: COMMENTS

798 * ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

AlignmentLine ALIGN

BestFitLine

BF

BestFitwith RecompLine

BFRE

CastLine

CAST

Atleast 2inputs are needed. Atleast 2inputs are needed. (1must bea point) 1 Any

Constructs linethrough alignment origin Constructs bestfitline usinginputs Constructs bestfitline usinginputs

IntersectLine

INTOF

MidLine

MID

OffsetLine

OFFSET

ParallelLine

PLTO

Perpendicular Line

PRTO

ProjectLine

PROJ

Constructs lineat centroidof inputfeature 2 Plane Plane Constructs lineatthe intersection of2planes 2 Line, Line, Constructsa Cone, Cone, midline Cylinder, Cylinder,betweenthe Slot, Slot, inputfeatures Plane Plane Atleast Any Any Buildsline 2inputs throughfirst are featureand needed. offsetfrom second featureby specified amount 2 Any Any Constructs lineparallel tofirstfeature andpassing through second feature 2 Any Any Constructs line perpendicular tofirstfeature andpassing through second feature 1or2 Any Plane Using1input featurewill projectlineto workplane
ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures * 799

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ReverseLine

REV

Line

ScanSegment SCAN_SEGMENT1 Line

Scan

Constructs linepassing throughinput withreversed vector Constructs linefroma partofa LinearOpen orLinear Closescan.

Note:Ifyouselectinappropriatefeaturetypes,PCDMISdisplays"Cannotconstruct[feature]. Combinationofinputfeaturesnotaccepted."ontheStatusBar. Toconstructaline: 1. 2. 3. 4. SelectConstructfromthemenubar(Insert|Feature|Constructed|Line). AccesstheConstructLinedialogbox. Inputthedesiredfeatures. Selectthemethodofconstruction.Availableoptionsinclude: AutoLine AlignmentLine BestFitorBestFitRecompensateLine CastLine IntersectLine MidLine OffsetLine ParallelLine PerpendicularLine ProjectedLine ReverseddirectionLine ScanSegmentLine OffsetLine

5. ClicktheCreatebutton. TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionwouldread:
feature_name=FEAT/LINE,TOG1,TOG4 THEO/x_cord,y_cord,z_cord,i_vec,j_vec,k_vec,length ACTL/x_cord,y_cord,z_cord,i_vec,j_vec,k_vec,length CONSTR/TOG2,TOG3,...

IfTOG2=LINEandTOG3=BForBFREthenthecommandhasthefollowingformat:
feature_name=FEAT/LINE,TOG1,TOG4 THEO/x_cord,y_cord,z_cord,i_vec,j_vec,k_vec,length ACTL/x_cord,y_cord,z_cord,i_vec,j_vec,k_vec,length CONSTR/LINE,TOG3 OUTLIER_REMOVAL/TOG5,stdDevMultiplier FILTER/TOG5,WAVELENGTH=cutoffWavelength

Note:TheactualEditreportwillbedisplayedinallCAPS. TOG1=POLRorRECT

800 * ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TOG2=LINE TOG3=ALIGN/BF/BFRE/CAST/INTOF/MID/OFFSET/PLTO/PROJ/PRTO/REV/ SCAN_SEGMENT TOG4=BND/UNBND TOG5=OFF/ON Length=Thisvaluerepresentsthetheoreticaloractuallengthoftheline. stdDevMultiplier=Thismultipliervaluedetermineswhetherornotameasuredpointisanoutlier. Ifthepointfromthelineisfurtherthanthestandarddeviationmultipliedbythis,thenitisan outlierandwillberemovedifyouhaveselectedtheRemoveOutlieroption. cutoffWavelength=This valuecontrolstheamountofdatasmoothing.Thelongerthe wavelengththemoresmoothingtherewillbe. ThefirstthreelinesdisplayedintheEditwindowwillbethesameforconstructedlines.Thefourth linewillbeslightlydifferent,accordingtothetypeoffeaturebeingconstructed.Youcanswitch betweenthedifferenttypesoflinesbyplacingthecursoronTOG3andpressingF7orF8.(See "CommandModeKeyboardFunctions"inthe"UsingtheEditWindow"chapter.) Whentwoormorefeaturesareinvolved,PCDMISautomaticallydeterminesthenecessaryorder oftheinputfeatures.Thisimprovestheaccuracyofthemeasurementprocess. AUTOisthedefaultmethod Thefollowingparagraphsdescribetheavailableoptionsfor ofconstruction.See"Auto constructingaline: LineConstruction"

Variations
ThefirstexampleshownbelowisoftheEditwindowwhentheuserswitchesTOG4toBND.The firstx,y,zindicatesthefirstpointontheline.Thesecondx,y,zindicatestheendingpointonthe sameline.Thelastvaluerepresentsthetheoreticaloractuallengthoftheline. Theunboundedlineformatisdisplayedinthesecondexample.
feature_name=FEAT/LINE,TOG1,BND THEO/x_cord,y_cord,z_cord,x_cord,y_cord,z_cord,length ACTL/x_cord,y_cord,z_cord,x_cord,y_cord,z_cord,length CONSTR/TOG2,TOG3,...,length feature_name=FEAT/LINE,TOG1,UNBND THEO/x_cord,y_cord,z_cord,i_vec,j_vec,k_vec ACTL/x_cord,y_cord,z_cord,i_vec,j_vec,k_vec CONSTR/TOG2,TOG3,...

AutoLineConstruction
Thefollowingtableindicatesthetypeoflinethatwillbeconstructedwhenthespecifiedinputsare selectedandtheAUTOoptionischosen.Theorderoftheselectedfeaturesisnotimportant.Ifan incorrectinputfeature(s)isselected,PCDMISwilldisplayanerrormessageandwillnot automaticallyconstructtheindicatedfeaturetype.
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures * 801

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ToallowPCDMIStoautomaticallydeterminethebestmethodofconstruction: 1. 2. 3. 4. AccesstheConstructLinedialogbox(Insert|Feature|Constructed|Line). SelecttheAutooptionfromthelistofoptions. Selectthedesiredfeature(s)basedonthetablebelow. ClicktheCreatebutton.

InputFeature(s) Constructs 3ormoreFeatures= BestFitLine Any1Feature(except CastLine line/set)= Any1Set= BestFitLine Any2Features+offsetvalue OffsetLine = Circle+Circle= BestFitLine Circle+Ellipse BestFitLine Circle+Point BestFitLine Circle+Set= BestFitLine Circle+Slot= BestFitLine Circle+Sphere= BestFitLine Cone+Circle= ParalleltoLine Cone+Cone= MidLine Cone+Cylinder= MidLine Cone+Ellipse Paralleltoline Cone+Point= ParalleltoLine Cone+Set= ParalleltoLine Cone+Sphere= ParalleltoLine Cylinder+Circle= ParalleltoLine Cylinder+Cylinder= MidLine Cylinder+Ellipse ParalleltoLine Cylinder+Point= ParalleltoLine Cylinder+Set= ParalleltoLine Cylinder+Sphere= ParalleltoLine Ellipse+Ellipse BestFitLine Ellipse+Set BestFitLine Ellipse+Sphere BestFitLine Line= ReverseLine Line+Circle= ParalleltoLine Line+Cone= MidLine Line+Cylinder= MidLine Line+Ellipse ParalleltoLine Line+Line= MidLine Line+Point= ParalleltoLine Line+Set= ParalleltoLine Line+Slot= MidLine Line+Sphere= ParalleltoLine Point+Ellipse BestFitLine Point+Point BestFitLine

802 * ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Point+Sphere Point+Slot Point+Set Plane+AnyFeature(except plane)= Plane+Plane= Slot+Cone= Slot+Cylinder= Slot+Ellipse Slot+Slot=

BestFitLine BestFitLine BestFitLine ProjectLine IntersectLine MidLine MidLine ParalleltoLine BestFitLine

ConstructinganAlignmentLine
Alinecanbeconstructedthroughthecurrentorigin,normaltothecurrentworkplane.(Input featuresdonotneedtobeprovided.) ToConstructanAlignmentLine: 1. 2. 3. 4. AccesstheConstructLinedialogbox(Insert|Feature|Constructed|Line). SelecttheAlignmentoption. Donotenteranyfeatures. ClicktheCreatebutton.

TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionwouldread:
CONSTR/LINE,ALIGN,length

ConstructingaLineNormaltotheWorkPlane

ConstructingaBestFitorBestFitRecompensateLine
BestFitRecompensateis onlyaccuratewhen constructingalineusing points. A'bestfit'2or3dimensionallinecanbeconstructedfromtwoor morefeatures.Thebestfitconstructionmethodtakestheactual measuredpointswhilethebestfitrecompensatemethodtakesthe ball'scenter.Inbothcasestheaveragesquarederrorisminimized intheleastsquaresmethodandthemaximalerrorisminimizedin theminmaxmethod.Youcanalsochoosetoremoveoutliersor applyaGaussianfiltertotheconstructedline.

ToconstructaBestFitorBestFitRecompensateLine:
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures * 803

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

1. 2. 3. 4.

AccesstheConstructLinedialogbox(Insert|Feature|Constructed|Line). SelecteithertheBestFitorBFRecompoption. Enterinatleasttwofeatures. Selecteitherthe2Dlineor3Dlineoption.

Note:ForBestFitRecompensate,onefeaturemustbeapoint. 5. Ifdesired,clicktheRemoveOutlierscheckboxandspecifyavalueintheStandard DeviationMultiplebox. 6. Ifdesired,clicktheApplyGaussFiltercheckboxandspecifyavalueintheCuttoff Wavelengthbox. 7. ClicktheCreatebutton. TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionwouldread:


CONSTR/LINE,BF,feat_1,feat_2, OUTLIER_REMOVAL/(ON|OFF),stdDevMultiple FILTER/(ON|OFF),WAVELENGTH=ctfoffWavelength

(Usestheactualmeasuredpointsforconstruction.) or
CONSTR/LINE,BFRE,feat_1,feat_2, OUTLIER_REMOVAL/(ON|OFF),stdDevMultiple FILTER/(ON|OFF),WAVELENGTH=cutoffWavelength

(Usesthecenteroftheprobeformeasurement,recompensatingaftermeasuringthefeatures.)

ConstructingaLinefromTwoorMoreFeatures

RemoveOutliers/StandardDeviationMultiple
Forabestfit(BF)orbestfitrecompensate(BFRE)lineyoucanchoosetoremoveoutliersbased onthedistancefromthebestfitfeature.Thisallowstheremovalofanomaliesthatariseinthe measurementprocess. PCDMISfirstfitsalinetothedata,andthendetermineswhichpointsareoutliersbasedonthe valueintheStandardDeviationMultiplebox.Itthendoesthefollowing: Recalculatesthebestfitlinewiththoseoutliersremoved. Checksforoutliersagain. Recalculatesthebestfitline.

804 * ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ContinuesrepeatingthisprocessuntilnomoreoutliersexistoruntilPCDMIScannot computetheline(PCDMIScan'tcomputethelineiftherearefewerthan3datapoints).

For2Dlines,thedeviationiscalculatedinaplaneparalleltotheworkplane. For3Dlines,thedeviationiscomputedasthedistancefromthemeasuredpointtothe nearestpointalongtheline.

ApplyGaussFilter/CutoffWavelength
TheBestFit(BF)andBestFitRecompensate(BFRE)constructedlineshavetheoptionof filteringthedeviationsofthemeasureddatapointsfromthebestfitlinecomputedfromthe measureddata.TheApplyGaussFiltercheckboxisaGaussianfilterwiththesmoothing controlledbythecutoffwavelength.Generally,alongercutoffwavelengthproducessmoother filtereddata.Ifyou'veselectedtheRemoveOutlierscheckboxandarefilteringthedata,then outlierdataisremovedpriortofiltering. For2Dlines,PCDMISfiltersthedeviationsinaplaneparalleltotheworkplane. For3Dlines,PCDMISfiltersthedeviationsintwoplanesperpendiculartoeachother,both planescontainingtheline.PCDMISfiltersthesedeviationsin3D.

ConstructingaCastLine
Alinecanbeconstructedbychanginganygivenfeatureintoaline.PCDMISwillconstructthe lineatthecentroidoftheinputfeature. YoucanmodifythelengthofthelinethischangesthelinefromDEPENDENTtoINDEPENDENT. Thismeansthatwhenthelineisexecutedthatthelengthwillnotchangebasedontheinput feature,butwillbeindependentoftheinputfeature,whilethepositionandvectorwillremain dependentontheinputfeature.Thisallowsyoutohavecontroloverthelinelengthincases wheretheinputfeaturedoesntreallyhavealength,suchasapoint.The DEPENDENT/INDEPENDENTfieldisatogglefieldthatyoumaychange. Tochangethelengthofaline: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. OpentheEditwindow. Clickonthelinefeature. PresstheTABkeyuntilthelengthfieldisselected. Typeinanewlength. PressTAB.PCDMISwillupdatethelength.

PCDMISwillusethislengthvalueforallcalculationsinsteadofusingadefaultlength. ToconstructaCastLine: 1. 2. 3. 4. AccesstheConstructLinedialogbox(Insert|Feature|Constructed|Line). SelecttheCastoption. Enterinonefeatureofanytype. ClicktheCreatebutton.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures * 805

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionwouldread:
CONSTR/LINE,CAST,feat_1,length,(DEPENDENT|INDEPENDENT)

ConstructingaLinefromaCylinder

ConstructinganIntersectLine
Alinecanbeconstructedattheintersectionoftwoplanes. ToconstructanIntersectLine: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. AccesstheConstructLinedialogbox(Insert|Feature|Constructed|Line). SelecttheIntersectoption. Enterinthefirstfeature.Itmustbeaplane. Enterinthesecondfeature.Itmustbeaplane. ClicktheCreatebutton.

TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionwouldread:
CONSTR/LINE,INTOF,feat_1,feat_2,length

ConstructingaLinefromTwoPlanes

ConstructingaMidLine
Amidlinecanbeconstructedbetweenaline(cone,slot,cylinder,orplane)andaline(cone,slot, cylinder,orplane).PCDMIScreatesaline(midline)thatisequallyspacedfromthespecified lines.Thisoptioncanbeusedforlinesthatareparallelorlinesthatareatanangletoone

806 * ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

another.Themidlineisconstructedatamidplanebetweenthetwoinputsandbisectsthe smallerincludedanglebetweenthetwoinputs. ToconstructaMidLine: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. AccesstheConstructLinedialogbox(Insert|Feature|Constructed|Line). SelecttheMidoption. Enterinthefirstfeature.Itmustbeeitheraline,cone,cylinder,orslot. Enterinthesecondfeature.Itmustbeeitheraline,cone,cylinder,orslot. ClicktheCreatebutton.

TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionwouldread:
CONSTR/LINE,MID,feat_1,feat_2,length

ConstructingaMidLinefrom2Lines

ConstructingaParallelLine
Alinecanbeconstructedparalleltoanytwofeatures.PCDMIScreatesalineparalleltothefirst inputfeatureandpassingthroughthecenterofthesecondinputfeature. ToconstructaParallelLine: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. AccesstheConstructLinedialogbox(Insert|Feature|Constructed|Line). SelecttheParalleloption. Selecttwofeaturesofanytype. ClicktheCreatebutton. TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionwouldread:
CONSTR/LINE,PLTO,feat_1,feat_2, length

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures * 807

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ConstructingaParallelLine

ConstructingaPerpendicularLine
Alinecanbeconstructedperpendiculartothefirstinputfeatureandpassingthroughthecentroid ofthesecondinputfeature. ToconstructaPerpendicularLine: 1. 2. 3. 4. AccesstheConstructLinedialogbox(Insert|Feature|Constructed|Line). SelectthePerpendicularoption. Selecttwofeaturesofanytype. ClicktheCreatebutton.

TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionwouldread:
CONSTR/LINE,PRTO,feat_1,feat_2,length

ConstructingaPerpendicularLine

ConstructingaProjectedLine
Alinecanbeconstructedfromanyfeatureandaplane.PCDMISwillprojectthelinewherethe planeintersectstheline.Ifthereisonlyoneinputfeature,theprojectionwillbetotheworkplane. ToconstructaProjectedLine:

808 * ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

1. AccesstheConstructLinedialogbox(Insert|Feature|Constructed|Line). 2. SelecttheProjectionoption. 3. Selecteitheroneortwofeatures.Thefirstfeaturemaybeofanytype.Iftwofeaturesare selected,thesecondfeaturemustbeaplane. 4. ClicktheCreatebutton. CommandlineintheEditwindow:


CONSTR/LINE,PROJ,feat_1,feat_2, length

ConstructingaLinefromaLineandaPlane

ChangingtheDirectionofaLine
Alinecanbeconstructedwithareversedvector. ToconstructaReverseLine: 1. 2. 3. 4. AccesstheConstructLinedialogbox(Insert|Feature|Constructed|Line). SelecttheReverseoption. Selectonefeature.Itmustbealine. ClicktheCreatebutton.PCDMISreversesthevectorofthelineandalsoflipsthestart andendpoints.

TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionwouldread:CONSTR/LINE,REV,feat_1,length

ConstructingaLinefromPartofaScan
AlinecanbeconstructedfromasegmentofaLinearOpenorLinearClosescan.PCDMISwill createalinefrompartofthescan.Thedetailsoftheconstructionareincludedfurtherinthis discussion. ToconstructaScanSegmentLine: 1. 2. 3. 4. AccesstheConstructLinedialogbox(Insert|Feature|Constructed|Line). SelecttheScanSegmentoption. SelectapreviouslycreatedLinearOpenorLinearClosescan. ClicktheSegmentDatabutton.TheScanSegmentdialogboxwillappear.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures * 809

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

5. SelecteithertheBestFitorBFRecompoption. 6. Selecttheportionofthescanusedintheconstructionfromthisdialogbox. 7. TypethenumberofpointstopotentiallydiscardbyenteringvaluesintheDiscardStart andDiscardEndMaximumboxes. 8. TypeadistancefromthebestfitlineintotheDiscardTolerancebox.Thistoleranceisa formtoleranceitallowsyoutocontrolwhatendpointsareacceptedaspartoftheline.If thedistancefromthescanpointtothebestfitlineisgreaterthanthistolerancevalue, thentheendpointwillbediscarded. 9. InputtheApproximateStartandEndPointsofthescanbymarkingtheSelectPoints checkbox,andthenclickingintheGraphicsDisplaywindowtofillintheX,Y,andZ fields.YoucanclickanywhereintheGraphicsDisplaywindow,however,PCDMISwill placethepointonthescannearesttowhereyouclicked.Youcanalsoeditthepoint valuesbyusingthekeyboard. 10. ClickOKtoacceptthedataandclosetheScanSegmentdialogbox. 11. ClickCreatetoconstructthelinefromthescan. TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionreads:
CONSTR/LINE,SCAN_SEGMENT,fit_type,feat_1,start_x,start_y,start_z,end_x,end_y,end_z,discar d_start,discard_end,tolerance

Ifyouwantmorethanonearcorlinefromagivenscan,thenyouwillneedtoaddanother commandforadifferentsectionofthescan.

DeterminingtheDataUsedtoConstructtheLine
Thedatausedtoconstructthelineisdeterminedasfollows: Firstasegmentofthescanisdeterminedusingastartingpointandanendingpoint withinthescan.Thestartingandendingpointarechosenasthepointinthescannearest [start_x,start_y,start_z]andthepointnearest[end_x,end_y,end_z], respectively. PointsarethendiscardedfromtheStartandEndPointsofthescan.Thenumberof pointsdiscardedisdiscard_start anddiscard_endfromthestartandend, respectively.Alineisthenfittedtothissetofpoints. Finally,thestartingandendingpointsareaddedbackiniftheyarewithinthetolerance defined.Thelineisthenrefittedoncemoretothenewsetofpoints.

810 * ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Thevalueoffit_type maybeBF (BestFit)orBFRE (BestFitRecompensate).Thisdetermines whetherabestfitorbestfitwithrecompensationisdonewhencalculatingtheline.Fora descriptionofBestFitandBestFitRecompensate,see"ConstructingaBestFitorBestFit RecompensateLine"

ConstructinganOffsetLine
Alinecanbeconstructedaspecifieddistancefromtheinputfeatures. ToconstructanOffsetLine: 1. 2. 3. 4. AccesstheConstructLinedialogbox(Insert|Feature|Constructed|Line). SelecttheOffsetoption. Selectatleasttwofeaturesfromwhichtocreatetheoffsetline.Theycanbeofanytype. ClicktheOffsetsbutton.TheLineOffsetsdialogboxwillappear.

LineOffsetsdialogbox 5. ClicktheCalculateNomsoptionandentertheoffsetvaluesforthedesiredfeaturesin theoffsetfieldorClicktheCalculateOffsetsoptionandchangethenominalvalues(see theproceduresbelow). 6. ClicktheOKbutton.TheLineOffsetsdialogboxwillclose. 7. ClicktheCreatebutton. PCDMISwilliterateandconstructalinesuchthattheshortestdistancefromeachinputfeature tothelineisthecorrespondingoffsetamount.PCDMISwillmakealloffsetsinadirection perpendiculartothegivensurfacenormaldirection.PCDMISwillapplynegativeoffsetsinthe samegeneraldirectionthatthepointsaremeasured.Positiveoffsetvalueswillbeapplied oppositetheprobingdirection.Ifthereisnoprobingdirection(i.e.,theinputpointswere constructed),PCDMISusesthecurrentworkplanetodeterminethegeneraldirectionfor applyingtheoffsets.Positiveoffsetswillbeappliedintheplusdirectionofthethirdaxisofthe currentworkplane.Negativeoffsetswillbeappliedintheminusdirectionofthethirdaxisofthe currentworkplane. Note:Thesign(positiveornegative)oftheoffsetvalue,controlonwhichsideoftheinput featuresthelineisconstructed.Ifyougettheoppositelinethanwasexpected,cancelthefeature andreconstructit,reversingthesignofthekeyedinoffsets.Forexample,iftheoffsetsare1.0, 2.5,3.5,changethemto1.0,2.5,3.5. TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionwouldread:
CONSTR/LINE,OFFSET

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures * 811

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

SURFACENORMAL=i_vec,j_vec,k_vec,TOG1 ID=id1,id2, OFFSET=val1,val2,

Note:TOG1=changesbetweenMULTIPOINTandTWOPOINT.TheTWOPOINTalgorithmis onlyavailableforpartscreatedusingPCDMISversion2.1orearlier. Youcancalculatetheoffsetvalueintwoways: Changingtheoffsetdirectlyfortheinputfeatureofyourchoice,andthenclickthe Calculatebuttontoupdatingthenominalvalues. Changethenominalvaluesfortheselectedfeature,andthenclicktheCalculatebutton toupdatetheoffsetvalues.

Thesearedescribedbelow.

ChangingOffsetsDirectlytoCalculateNominals
Toenternewoffsetvalues: 1. OpentheLineOffsetsdialogboxbyclickingtheOffsetbuttonfromtheConstructLine dialogbox(Insert|Feature|Constructed|Line). 2. SelecttheCalculateNomsoption.Theoffsetsportionofthedialogboxbecomes editable. 3. IntheOffsetcolumn,clickonthe"0.000000"value(orcurrentvalue)tohighlightit. 4. Clickagainontheoffset. 5. Typeanewvalue. 6. PresstheENTERkey. 7. ClickCalculatetoupdatethenominalvaluesbasedonanyoffset(s)youchose. 8. ClickOKtosavetheoffset.

ExampleofCalculatingNominals
TheCalculatebuttoncalculatestheX,Y,andZnominalvaluesfromnewoffsetsentered. Forexample,supposeyouconstructanoffsetlinebetweentwocircles(CIR1andCIR2).After selectingthe featuresandclickingtheOffsetsbutton,youhaveX,Y,andZnominalsof: X=4.5040 Y=3 Z=0.1582 IfyouchangetheoffsetvaluesbytwoforeachcircleandclicktheCalculateNomsbutton,theX, Y,andZareupdatedto: X=4.5040 Y=5

812 * ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Z=0.1582 IfyouthenclickOKandconstructtheoffsetline,you'llnoticethatthenewlyconstructedlinelies 2unitshigherintheYaxis. OnlytheYaxisisoffsetforLineOffsets.

ChangingNominalsDirectlytoCalculateOffsets
Toenternewoffsetvalues: 1. OpentheLineOffsetsdialogboxbyclickingtheOffsetbuttonfromtheConstruct Linedialogbox(Insert|Feature|Constructed|Line). 2. SelecttheCalculateOffsetsoption.TheNominalsportionofthedialogbox becomeseditable. 3. 4. 5. ChangetheXYZ,IJK,orsurfaceIJKvalues. ClickCalculatetoupdatetheoffsetvaluesbasedonanynominalsyou'vechanged. ClickOKtosavetheoffset.

ExampleofCalculatingOffsets
TheCalculateOffsetsbuttoncalculatestheoffsetvaluesappearingintheOffsetcolumnwhen youchangethenominalvalue. Forexample,supposeyouconstructanoffsetlinebetweentwocircles(CIR1andCIR2).After selectingthefeaturesandclickingtheOffsetsbutton,youhaveX,Y,andZnominalsof: X=4.5040 Y=3 Z=0.1582 IfyouchangetheX,Y,andZnominalsto: X=4.5040 Y=4.5 Z=0.1582 andclicktheCalculateOffsetsbuttontheoffsetsforthetwocirclesareupdatedto: 1.500000CIR1 1.500000CIR2

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures * 813

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

IfyouthenclickOKandconstructtheoffsetline,you'llnoticethatthelineisconstructedat1.5 unitshigherintheYaxis.

ConstructingaConeFeature

ConstructConedialogbox PCDMISallowsseveralmethodsforconstructingacone.Thefollowingtableliststhevarious typesofconstructedcones,alongwiththeirnecessaryinputs.Somefeaturesmayrequireno inputswhileothersmayrequiresixinputsormore.Theterm'Any'inthetablebelowindicatesthat theconstructioncantakeanytypeoffeatureasinputforconstruction.PCDMISallowsthe featurestobeselectedinanyorder. CONSTRUCT FEATURE TYPE BestFitCone SYMBOL INEDIT WINDOW BF # OF INPUT FEATS Atleast6 inputsare needed. FEAT#1: FEAT#2: COMMENTS

BestFitwith BFRE RecompCone

CastCone

CAST

Atleast6 inputsare needed.(1 mustbea point) 1 Any

Constructs bestfitcone usinggiven inputs Constructs bestfitcone usinggiven inputs Constructs coneat centroidof inputfeature Using1input featurewill projectconeto workplane

ProjectCone

PROJ

1or2

Any

Plane

814 * ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ReverseCone REV

Cone

Constructs conewitha reversed vectorforthe axis

Note:Ifyouselectinappropriatefeaturetypes,PCDMISdisplays"Cannotconstruct[feature]. Combinationofinputfeaturesnotaccepted."onthestatusbar. Toconstructacone: 1. AccesstheConstructConedialogbox(Insert|Feature|Constructed|Cone). 2. Inputthedesiredfeatures. 3. Selectthemethodofconstruction.Availableoptionsinclude: BestFitorBestFitRecompensateCone CastCone ProjectedCone ReverseddirectionCone AutoCone

4. ClicktheCreatebutton. TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionwouldread:
feature_name=FEAT/CONE,TOG1,TOG4,ANG THEO/x_cord,y_cord,z_cord,i_vec,j_vec,k_vec,ang ACTL/x_cord,y_cord,z_cord,i_vec,j_vec,k_vec,ang CONSTR/TOG2,TOG3,...... feature_name=FEAT/CONE,TOG1,TOG4,LENG THEO/x_cord,y_cord,z_cor,i_vec,j_vec,k_vec,leng,diam_1,diam_2 ACTL/x_cord,y_cord,z_cor,i_vec,j_vec,k_vec,leng,diam_1,diam_2 CONSTR/TOG2,TOG3,......

Note:TheactualEditreportwillbedisplayedinallCAPS. TOG1=POLRorRECT TOG2=CONE TOG3=BF/BFRE/CAST/PROJ/REV TOG4=IN/OUT TOG5=ANG/LENG ThefirstthreelinesdisplayedintheEditwindowaresimilarforconstructedcones.Ifthefeature isboundorunbound,thetheoreticalandactualvaluesthataredisplayedwillvary.Thefourthline willbeslightlydifferent,accordingtothetypeoffeaturebeingconstructed.Youcanswitch betweenthedifferenttypesofconesbyplacingthecursoronTOGandclickingtheleftmouse button.Thekeyboardcanalsobeusedtoswitchtogglefields.(See"CommandModeKeyboard Functions"inthe"UsingtheEditWindow"chapter.)

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures * 815

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Whentwoormorefeaturesareinvolved,PCDMISautomaticallydeterminesthenecessaryorder oftheinputfeatures.Thisimprovestheaccuracyofthemeasurementprocess. Autoisthedefaultmethodof Thefollowingparagraphsdescribetheavailableoptionsfor construction.Thisoption constructingacone: automaticallydeterminesthe bestwaytoconstructacone usingtheinputfeature(s). See"AutoCone Construction"

In/OutCone

TheInandOutoptionstellPCDMISwhethertoconstructtheconeasaninternaloranexternal cone. IfyouselectIn,PCDMISconstructstheconeasaninternalcone. IfyouselectOut,PCDMISconstructstheconeasanexternalcone,orpin.

Variations
ThefirstexampleshownbelowisoftheEditwindowwhentheuserchangesTOG5toANG.The unboundedconeformatisdisplayedinthisfirstexample.Thesecondexampleshowsthedisplay whenyouchangeTOG5toLENG.Diam_1isdefinedasthediameteroftheheightofthefirst threehits.Diam_2isthediameterofthefurthestpointawayfromthefirstdiameter.Lengthisthe distancebetweenthetwodiameters. Theboundedconeformatisshowninthesecondexample.
feature_name=FEAT/CONE,TOG1,TOG4,ANG THEO/x_cord,y_cord,z_cord,i_vec,j_vec,k_vec,ang ACTL/x_cord,y_cord,z_cord,i_vec,j_vec,k_vec,ang CONSTR/TOG2,TOG3,...... feature_name=FEAT/CONE,TOG1,TOG4,LENG THEO/x_cord,y_cord,z_cord,i_vec,j_vec,k_vec,length,diam_1,diam_2 ACTL/x_cord,y_cord,z_cord,i_vec,j_vec,k_vec,length,diam_1,diam_2 CONSTR/TOG2,TOG3,.......

ConstructingaBestFitorBestFitRecompensateCone
Abestfitconecanbeconstructedusingsixormorefeatures.Thefirstthreeinputsmustbeonan approximatelyplanarcrosssectionoftheconethatisnormaltoitscenterline.Theremainderof thepointsshouldlieeitheraboveorbelowtheplanedefinedbythefirstthreepoints,butnoton bothsidesoftheplane.Thismethodofmeasuringwillyieldthebestresults.Thebestfit constructionmethodtakestheactualmeasuredpoints,ratherthantheball'scenter(asinthe caseofbestfitrecompensate).InbothcasesPCDMIScomputesaleastsquarescone,onefor whichPCDMISminimizestheaveragesquareddistancefromthedatapointstothecone. ToConstructaBestFitorBestFitRecompensateCone: 1. AccesstheConstructConedialogbox(Insert|Feature|Constructed|Cone). 2. SelecteithertheBestFitorBFRecompoption.

816 * ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

3. Enterinatleastsixfeatures. Note:IfyouchooseBestFitRecompensateatleastonefeaturemustbeapoint. 4. ClicktheCreatebutton. TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionwouldread: CONSTR/CONE,BF,feat_1,feat_2,feat_3,feat_4,feat_5,feat_6 (Usestheactualmeasuredpointsforconstruction.) or CONSTR/CONE,BFRE,feat_1,feat_2,feat_3,feat_4,feat_5,feat_6 (Usesthecenteroftheprobeformeasurement.)

ConstructingaConefrom6orMorePoints

ConstructingaCastCone
Aconecanbeconstructedbychanginganygivenfeatureintoacone.PCDMISwillconstructthe coneatthecentroidoftheinputfeature.Iftheinputfeatureisnotacone,PCDMISwillusea defaultvaluefortheincludedangle.Iftheinputfeatureisnotalineelement(line,cylinder,orslot), PCDMISwilluseadefaultlengthfortheaxislength. YoucanchangethesizeoftheconethischangestheconefromDEPENDENTto INDEPENDENT.Thismeansthatwhentheconeisexecutedthatthesizewillnotchangebased ontheinputfeature,butwillbeindependentoftheinputfeature,whilethepositionandvector remaindependentontheinputfeature.Thisallowsyoutohavecontroloverthecone'ssizein caseswheretheinputfeaturedoesn'treallyhaveasize,suchasapoint.The DEPENDENT/INDEPENDENTfieldisatogglefieldthatyoumaychange. PCDMISwillusethenewattributesforallcalculations(forexample,ifthehalfangleischanged) insteadofthedefaultvaluesasdescribedabove. ToconstructaCastCone: 1. AccesstheConstructConedialogbox(Insert|Feature|Constructed|Cone). 2. SelecttheCastoption. 3. Selectonefeatureofanytype.
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures * 817

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

4. ClicktheCreatebutton. TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionwouldread:
CONSTR/CONE,CAST,feat_1,(DEPENDENT|INDEPENDENT)

ConstructingaProjectedCone
Aconecanbeconstructedbyprojectinganyfeatureontoaplane.Iftheprojectedinputfeatureis notacone,PCDMISwillusedefaultvaluesfortheincludedangleandtwoaxislengths.Thefirst lengthisthedistancebetweenthevertexandthefirstcircle.Thesecondlengthisthedistance betweenthetwocircles.Ifthereisonlyoneinput,theprojectionwillbetothecurrentworkplane. ToconstructaProjectedCone: 1. AccesstheConstructConedialogbox(Insert|Feature|Constructed|Cone). 2. SelecttheProjectionoption. 3. Selecteitheroneortwofeatures.Ifonefeatureisselected,thefeaturecanbeofany type.Iftwofeaturesareselected,thefirstfeaturecanbeofanytype.Thesecondfeature mustbeaplane. 4. ClicktheCreatebutton. TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionwouldread:
CONSTR/CONE,PROJ,feat_1,feat_2

ChangingtheDirectionofaCone
Aconecanbeconstructedwithareversedvector. ToconstructaReverseCone: 1. 2. 3. 4. AccesstheConstructConedialogbox(Insert|Feature|Constructed|Cone). SelecttheReverseoption. Selectonefeature.Itmustbeacone. ClicktheCreatebutton.

TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionwouldread:
CONSTR/CONE,REV,feat_1

AutoConeConstruction
Thefollowingtableindicatesthetypeofconethatwillbeconstructedwhenthespecifiedinputs areselectedandtheAUTOoptionischosen.Theorderoftheselectedfeaturesisnotimportant. Ifanincorrectinputfeature(s)isselected,PCDMISwilldisplayanerrormessageandwillnot automaticallyconstructtheindicatedfeaturetype. ToallowPCDMIStoautomaticallydeterminethebestmethodofconstruction: 1. 2. 3. 4. AccesstheConstructConedialogbox(Insert|Feature|Constructed|Cone). SelecttheAutooptionthelistofoptions. Selectthedesiredfeature(s)basedonthetablebelow. ClicktheCreatebutton.

818 * ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

InputFeature(s) 6ormoreFeatures= Plane+AnyFeature= Cone= Any1Feature= (otherthanCone/Set) Any1Set=

Constructs BestFitCone ProjectCone ReverseCone CastCone BestFitCone

ConstructingaCylinderFeature

CylinderConstructiondialogbox PCDMISallowsseveralmethodsforconstructingacylinder.Thefollowingtableliststhevarious typesofconstructedcylinders,alongwiththeirnecessaryinputs.Somefeaturesmayrequireno inputswhileothersmayrequiresixinputsormore.Inthefollowingtable,theterm'Any'indicates thattheconstructioncantakeanytypeoffeatureasinputforconstruction.PCDMISallowsthe featurestobeselectedinanyorder. CONSTRUCT FEATURE TYPE BestFit Cylinder SYMBOL INEDIT WINDOW BF # OF INPUT FEATS Atleast6 inputsare needed. SeeNote below. FEAT#1: FEAT#2: COMMENTS

Constructs bestfit cylinderusing giveninputs

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures * 819

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

BestFit Recomp Cylinder

BFRE

CastCylinder CAST

Atleast6 inputsare needed.(1 mustbea point)See Notebelow. 1 Any

Constructs bestfit cylinderusing giveninputs

Project Cylinder

PROJ

1or2

Any

Plane

Reverse Cylinder

REV

Cylinder, Cone,Line, Slot

Constructs cylinderat centroidof inputfeature 1inputfeature willproject cylinderto workplane Constructsa cylinderwitha reversed vector

Note:BestFitandBestFitRecompCylinderscannowbeconstructedfromtwocircles.Theinput circlesmustbeoftypeConstructedBestFit(BF)/BestFitRecompensate(BFRE)orMeasured circles.Thetotalamountofhitsineachcirclemustbeatleastthree.

Note:Ifyouselectinappropriatefeaturetypes,PCDMISdisplays"Cannotconstruct[feature]. Combinationofinputfeaturesnotaccepted."onthestatusbar. Toconstructacylinder: 1. AccesstheConstructCylinderdialogbox(Insert|Feature|Constructed|Cylinder). 2. Inputthedesiredfeatures. 3. Selectthemethodofconstruction.Availableoptionsinclude: BestFitorBestFitRecompensateCylinder CastCylinder ProjectedCylinder ReverseddirectionCylinder AutoCylinder

4. ClicktheCreatebutton. TheEditwindowcommandlineforasampleCylinderConstructionwouldread: feature_name=FEAT/CYLINDER,TOG1,TOG4,TOG5 THEO/x_cord,y_cord,z_cord,i_vec,j_vec,k_vec,diam,length ACTL/x_cord,y_cord,z_cord,i_vec,j_vec,k_vec,diam,length CONSTR/TOG2,TOG3,...... Note:TheactualEditreportwillbedisplayedinallCAPS.

820 * ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

AUTOisthedefaultmethod Thefollowingtextisthebasicformatforcylinders. ofconstruction.Thisoption automaticallydeterminesthe TOG1=POLRorRECT bestwaytoconstructa cylinderusingtheinput TOG2=CYLINDER feature(s).See"Auto CylinderConstruction" TOG3=BF/BFRE/CAST/PROJ/REV TOG4=IN/OUT TOG5=LEAST_SQR/MAX_INSC/MIN_CIRCSC/MIN_SEP /FIXED_RAD(onlyformeasured,BFandBFREcircles) length=ismeasuredbetweenthefirstmeasuredcircle(first threehits)andthefurthestpointawayfromthefirstthree hits. ThefirstthreelinesdisplayedintheEditwindowwillbethesame forconstructedcylinders.Thefourthlinewillbeslightlydifferent, accordingtothetypeoffeaturebeingconstructed.Youcanswitch betweenthedifferenttypesofcylindersbyplacingthecursoron TOG3andpressingF7orF8.(See"CommandModeKeyboard Functions"inthe"UsingtheEditWindow"chapter.) Whentwoormorefeaturesareinvolved,PCDMISautomatically determinesthenecessaryorderoftheinputfeatures.Thisimproves theaccuracyofthemeasurementprocess. Thefollowingparagraphsdescribetheavailableoptionsfor constructingacylinder:

In/OutCylinder

TheInandOutoptionstellPCDMISwhethertoconstructthecylinderasaninternaloran externalcylinder. IfyouselectIn,PCDMISconstructsthecylinderasaninternalcylinder. IfyouselectOut,PCDMISconstructsthecylinderasanexternalcylinder,orpin.

ConstructingaBestFitorBestFitRecompensateCylinder
Abestfitcylindercanbeconstructedfromsixormorepoints.Thefirstthreepointsmustbeonan approximatelyplanarcrosssectionofthecylinderthatisnormaltoitscenterline.Thebestfit constructionmethodtakestheactualmeasuredpoints,ratherthantheball'scenter(asinthe caseofbestfitrecompensate).InbothcasesPCDMIScomputesaleastsquarescylinder,one forwhichPCDMISminimizestheaveragesquareddistancefromthedatapointstothecylinder.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures * 821

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Note:Beawarethatcertainpatternsofpoints(i.e.tworowsofthreeequallyspacedpointsortwo rowsoffourequallyspacedpoints)resultinmultiplewaystoconstructormeasureaperfect cylinder,andPCDMIS'SBestFitalgorithmmayconstructormeasurethecylinderusingan unexpectedsolution.Forbestresults,measuredorconstructedcylindersshoulduseaunique patternofpoints. ToConstructaBestFitorBestFitRecompensateCylinder: 1. AccesstheConstructCylinderdialogbox(Insert|Feature|Constructed|Cylinder). 2. SelecteithertheBestFitorBFRecompoption. 3. Enteryourinputfeaturesbyeitherchoosingatleasttwoappropriatecirclefeaturesorat leastsixfeaturesofanytype. Foratleasttwocirclefeatures,theymustbemeasuredcircles.Thetotalamountofhitsin eachcirclemustbeatleastthree. Foratleastsixfeatures,theycanbeofanytype.However,ifyouselectedBFRecomp,at leastonefeaturemustbeapoint. 4. ClicktheCreatebutton.

Note:ThemathroutinethatPCDMISusestogetsthepointsfromtheinputfeaturesbehaves differentlydependingonthetypeofinputfeature.Constructedfeaturesotherthantheappropriate inputcirclesdescribedabovereturnasinglepoint.TheconstructedBFcircles,constructedBFRE circles,ormeasuredcirclesdescribedabovereturntheirinputpoints. TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionwouldread:


CONSTR/CYLINDER,BF,feat_1,feat_2,feat_3,feat_4,feat_5,feat_6

(Usestheactualmeasuredpointsforconstruction.) or
CONSTR/CYLINDER,BFRE,feat_1,feat_2,feat_3,feat_4,feat_5,...

(Usesthecenteroftheprobeformeasurement.)

ConstructingaCylinderfrom6orMorePoints

822 * ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

BestFitType

ThislistbecomesavailableifyouselectBestFitorBFRecompoptionswhenconstructingthe cylinder.ItallowsyoutospecifythetypeofBestFitconstructionused.Availabletypesinclude: LEAST_SQR MAX_INSC MIN_CIRCSC MIN_SEP FIXED_RAD

Thesecalculationtypesarealreadydiscussedinthe"BestFitType".

ConstructingaCastCylinder
Acylindercanbeconstructedbychanginganygivenfeatureintoacylinder.PCDMISwill constructthecylinderatthecentroidoftheinputfeature.Ifasheetmetalpointisused,the diameterwillbetheprobediameter.Forsomesheetmetalfeatures(suchasslotsandnotches) thewidthwillbeusedasthediameter.Forfeaturesthatdonothavediameters(lines,points,etc.), avaluethatisfourtimestheprobediameterwillbeused. YoucanchangethesizeofthecylinderthischangesthecylinderfromDEPENDENTto INDEPENDENT.Thismeansthatwhenthecylinderisexecutedthatthelengthanddiameterwill notchangebasedontheinputfeaturebutwillbeindependentoftheinputfeature,whilethe positionandvectorwillremaindependentontheinputfeature. Thisallowsyoutohavecontrol overthecylindersizeincaseswheretheinputfeaturedoesntreallyhavealengthanddiameter, suchasapoint.TheDEPENDENT/INDEPENDENTfieldisatogglefieldthatyoumaychange. PCDMISwillusethenewattributesforallcalculations(forexample,ifthediameterischanged) insteadofthedefaultvaluesasdescribedabove. ToconstructaCastCylinder: 1. 2. 3. 4. AccesstheConstructCylinderdialogbox(Insert|Feature|Constructed|Cylinder). SelecttheCastoption. Selectonefeature.Thefeaturecanbeofanytype. ClicktheCreatebutton.

TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionwouldread:
CONSTR/CYLINDER,CAST,feat_1,(DEPENDENT|INDEPENDENT)

ConstructingaProjectedCylinder
Acylindercanbeconstructedfromanyfeatureandaplane.Thediameteroftheprojected cylinderwillbethediameterofthefirstinputfeature(ifcircular)ortwicetheprobediameterifnot acircularfeature.Youwillneedtoinputthelengthanddiameterforboundmeasurements.If thereisonlyoneinputfeature,theprojectionwillbetotheworkplane.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures * 823

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ToconstructaProjectedCylinder: 1. AccesstheConstructCylinderdialogbox(Insert|Feature|Constructed|Cylinder). 2. SelecttheProjectionoption. 3. Selecteitheroneortwofeatures.Ifonefeatureisselected,thefeaturecanbeofany type.Iftwofeaturesareselected,thefirstfeaturecanbeofanytype.Thesecondfeature mustbeaplane. 4. ClicktheCreatebutton. TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionwouldread:


CONSTR/CYLINDER,PROJ,feat_1,feat_2

ChangingtheDirectionofaCylinder
Acylindercanbeconstructedwithareversedvector. ToconstructaReverseCylinder: 1. 2. 3. 4. AccesstheConstructCylinderdialogbox(Insert|Feature|Constructed|Cylinder). SelecttheReverseoption. Selectonefeature.Itmustbeacylinder. ClicktheCreatebutton.

TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionwouldread:
CONSTR/CYLINDER,REV,feat_1

AutoCylinderConstruction
Thefollowingtableindicatesthetypeofcylinderthatwillbeconstructedwhenthespecifiedinputs areselectedandtheAUTOoptionischosen.Theorderoftheselectedfeaturesisnotimportant. Ifanincorrectinputfeature(s)isselected,PCDMISwilldisplayanerrormessageandwillnot automaticallyconstructtheindicatedfeaturetype. InputFeature(s) 5ormoreFeatures= Any1Feature= (otherthanCylinder/Set) Any1Set= Cylinder= Plane+AnyFeature= Constructs BestFit Cylinder CastCylinder BestFit Cylinder Reverse Cylinder ProjectCylinder

Note:Beawarethatcertainpatternsofpoints(i.e.tworowsofthreeequallyspacedpointsortwo rowsoffourequallyspacedpoints)resultinmultiplewaystoconstructormeasureaperfect cylinder,andPCDMIS'SBestFitalgorithmmayconstructormeasurethecylinderusingan unexpectedsolution.Forbestresults,measuredorconstructedcylindersshoulduseaunique patternofpoints. ToallowPCDMIStoautomaticallydeterminethebestmethodofconstruction:

824 * ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

1. 2. 3. 4.

AccesstheConstructCylinderdialogbox(Insert|Feature|Constructed|Cylinder). SelecttheAutooptionfromthelistofoptions. Selectthedesiredfeature(s)basedonthetablebelow. ClicktheCreatebutton.

ConstructingaPlaneFeature

PlaneConstructiondialogbox ThereareseveralmethodsforconstructingaplaneusingPCDMIS.Thefollowingtableliststhe varioustypesofconstructedplanes,alongwiththeirnecessaryinputs.Somefeaturesmay requirenoinputs,whileothersmayrequirethreeinputsormore.Inthefollowingtable,theterm 'Any'indicatesthattheconstructioncantakeanytypeoffeatureasinputforconstruction.PC DMISallowsthefeaturestobeselectedinanyorder. CONSTRUCT SYMBOL # OF FEAT FEATURE INEDIT INPUT #1: TYPE WINDOW FEATS Alignment ALIGN 0 Plane FEAT #2: FEAT #3: COMMENTS

BestFitPlane BF

Atleast3 inputsare needed.

Constructs planeat alignment origin Constructs bestfitplane usinginputs

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures * 825

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

BestFitwith BFRE RecompPlane

CastPlane

CAST

Atleast3 inputsare needed. (1must bea point) 1 Any

Constructs bestfitplane usinginputs

HighPoint Plane

HIPNT

MidPlane

MID

Either1 Ifinputis set(usingaset, a useany minimum ifinputis of3 ascan, features) usea or1scan.Patch scan. 2 Any Any

Constructs planeat centroidof inputfeature Constructs planeusing thehighest available points.

OffsetPlane OFFSET Atleast3 Any inputsare needed. ParallelPlane PLTO 2 Any

Any

Any

Any

Perpendicular PRTO Plane

Any

Any

ReversePlane REV

Plane

Constructs midplane between centroidsof theinputs Buildsplane offsetfrom eachofthe inputfeatures Constructs planeparallel tofirstfeatand passing through secondfeature Constructs plane perpendicular tofirstfeature andpassing through secondfeature Constructs planepassing throughinput withreversed vector

Toconstructaplane: 1. 2. 3. 4. SelectConstructfromthemenubar(Insert|Feature|Constructed|Plane). SelectPlane.TheConstructPlanedialogboxwillappear. Inputthedesiredfeatures. Selectthemethodofconstruction.Availableoptionsinclude: AlignmentPlane BestFitorBestFitRecompensatePlane

826 * ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

CastPlane HighPointPlane MidPlane OffsetPlane ParallelPlane PerpendicularPlane ReverseddirectionPlane AutoPlane

5. ClicktheCreatebutton. TheEditwindowcommandlineforasamplePlaneConstructionwouldread:
feature_name=FEAT/PLANE,TOG1 THEO/x_cord,y_cord,z_cord,i_vec,j_vec,k_vec ACTL/x_cord,y_cord,z_cord,i_vec,j_vec,k_vec CONSTR/TOG2,TOG3,......

IfTOG2=PLANEandTOG3=BForBFREthenthecommandhasthefollowingformat:
feature_name=FEAT/PLANE,TOG1 THEO/x_cord,y_cord,z_cord,i_vec,j_vec,k_vec ACTL/x_cord,y_cord,z_cord,i_vec,j_vec,k_vec CONSTR/PLANE,TOG3 OUTLIER_REMOVAL/TOG5,stdDevMultiplier FILTER/TOG5,WAVELENGTH=cutoffWavelength

Note:TheactualEditreportwillbedisplayedinallCAPS.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures * 827

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

AUTOisthedefaultmethod ofconstruction.Thisoption automaticallydeterminesthe bestwaytoconstructaplane usingtheinputfeature(s). See"AutoPlane Construction".

TOG1=POLRorRECT TOG2=PLANE TOG3=ALIGN/BF/BFRE/CAST/HIPNT/MID/OFFSET/ PLTO/PROJ/PRTO/REV TOG5=ON/OFF stdDevMultiplier=Thismultipliervaluedetermineswhetheror notameasuredpointisanoutlier.Ifthepointfromthe planeisfurtherthanthestandarddeviationmultipliedby this,thenitisanoutlierandwillberemovedifyouhave selectedtheRemoveOutlieroption. cutoffWavelength=This valuecontrolstheamountofdata smoothing.Thelongerthewavelengththemorethe smoothing.

ThefirstthreelinesdisplayedintheEditwindowwillbethesame forconstructedplanes.Thefourthlinewillbeslightlydifferent, accordingtothetypeoffeaturebeingconstructed.Youcanswitch betweenthedifferenttypesofplanesbyplacingthecursoron TOG3andpressingF7orF8.(See"CommandModeKeyboard Functions"inthe"UsingtheEditWindow"chapter.) Whentwoormorefeaturesareinvolved,PCDMISautomatically determinesthenecessaryorderoftheinputfeatures.Thisimproves theaccuracyofthemeasurementprocess. Thefollowingparagraphsdescribetheavailableoptionsfor constructingaplane:

ConstructingaPlanefromanAlignment
Aplanecanbeconstructedthroughthecurrentoriginandparalleltothecurrentworkplane. (Inputfeaturesdonotneedtobeprovided.) Toconstructanalignmentplane: 1. 2. 3. 4. AccesstheConstructPlanedialogbox(Insert|Feature|Constructed|Plane). SelecttheAlignmentoption. Donotselectanyfeatures. ClicktheCreatebutton.

TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionwouldread:CONSTR/PLANE,ALIGN

828 * ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ConstructingaPlanefromanAlignment

ConstructingaBestFitorBestFitRecompensatePlane
A'bestfit'planecanbeconstructedthroughthreeormorefeatures.Thebestfitconstruction methodtakestheactualmeasuredpoints,ratherthantheball'scenter(asinthecaseofbestfit recompensate).InbothcasesPCDMIScomputesaleastsquaresplane,oneforwhichPCDMIS minimizestheaveragesquaredperpendiculardistancefromthedatapointstotheplane. ToConstructaBestFitoraBestFitRecompensatePlane: 1. AccesstheConstructPlanedialogbox(Insert|Feature|Constructed|Plane). 2. SelecteithertheBestFitorBFRecompoption. 3. Selectatleastthreefeatures. Note:IfyouchooseBestFitRecompensateatleastonefeaturemustbeapoint. 4. ClicktheCreatebutton. TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionwouldread:
CONSTR/PLANE,BF,feat_1,feat_2, OUTLIER_REMOVAL/(ON|OFF),stdDevMultiple FILTER/(ON|OFF),WAVELENGTH=cufoffWavelength

(Usestheactualmeasuredpointsforconstruction.)

or
CONSTR/PLANE,BFRE,feat_1,feat_2, OUTLIER_REMOVAL/(ON|OFF),stdDevMultiple FILTER/(ON|OFF),WAVELENGTH=ctfoffWavelength

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures * 829

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

(Usestheprobe'scenterformeasurementpurposes.)

ConstructingaPlanefrom3orMorePoints

RemoveOutliers/StandardDeviationMultiple
ForaBestFit(BF)orBestFitRecompensate(BFRE)planeyoucanchoosetoremoveoutliers basedonthedistancefromthebestfitfeature.Thisallowstheremovalofanomaliesthatarisein themeasurementprocess. PCDMISfirstfitsaplanetothedata,thendetermineswhichpointsareoutliersbasedonthe standarddeviationmultiple.Itthendoesthefollowing: 1. 2. 3. 4. Recalculatesthebestfitplanewiththoseoutliersremoved. Checksforoutliersagain. Recalculatesthebestfitplane. ContinuesrepeatingthisprocessuntilnomoreoutliersexistoruntilPCDMIScannot computetheplane(PCDMIScan'tcomputetheplaneiftherearefewerthan3data points).

ApplyGaussFilter/CutoffWavelength
TheBestFit(BF)andBestFitRecompensate(BFRE)constructedplaneshavetheoptionof filteringthedeviationsofthemeasureddatapointsfromthebestfitplanecomputedfromthe measureddata.TheApplyGaussFiltercheckboxletsyouapplyaGaussianfilterwithacutoff wavelength.Generally,alargercutoffwavelengthproducessmootherfiltereddata.Ifyou've selectedtheRemoveOutlierscheckboxandarefilteringthedata,thenoutlierdataisremoved priortofiltering.ForadditionalinformationonGaussianfiltering,seethe"Gaussian"topicunder "ConstructingaFilterSet".

ConstructingaCastPlane
Aplanecanbeconstructedbychanginganyfeatureintoaplane.PCDMISwillconstructthe planeatthecentroidoftheinputfeature. 1. AccesstheConstructPlanedialogbox(Insert|Feature|Constructed|Plane). 2. SelecttheCastoption.

830 * ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

3. Selectonefeatureofanytype. 4. ClicktheCreatebutton. TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionwouldread: CONSTR/PLANE,CAST,feat_1

ConstructingaHighPointPlane
PCDMISisonlyableto AHighPointplanecanbeconstructedusingfeaturesformingaset constructaHighPointPlaneorapatchscan. fromasetoffeatures.The setmustcontainatleast ToconstructaHighPointPlane: threefeatures. 1. AccesstheConstructPlanedialogbox(Insert|Feature| Constructed|Plane). 2. SelecttheHighPointoption. 3. Selectthreeormorefeatures(anyfeaturetypemaybe used).Asetusingatleastthreefeaturesorapatchscan canalsobeused.See"ConstructingaSetofFeatures"or "PerformingaPatchAdvanced"inthe"ScanningYourPart" chapter. 4. ClicktheCreatebutton. 5. First,PCDMISwillconstructaBestFitplanefromtheinput features.Next,PCDMISrotatestotheBestFitplane.It thenfindsthehighestthreepointsonthisplane(fromthe selectedfeatures)andusesthemtocreatethehighpoint plane. Thecentroidoftheinputfeaturesusedtoconstructthehighpointplanedefinesthecenterof gravity.PCDMISautomaticallycreatesasecondplaneifthefirsthighpointplanedoesn'tinclude thecenterofgravity. TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionwouldread: CONSTR/PLANE,HIPNT,feat_1,feat_2,feat_3,...

ConstructingaHighPointPlane

ConstructingaMidPlane
Aplanecanbeconstructedfromanytwofeatures.Theresultantplane(midplane)isequally spacedfromthecentroidsofthetwospecifiedinputfeatures.
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures * 831

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ToconstructaMidPlane: 1. 2. 3. 4. AccesstheConstructPlanedialogbox(Insert|Feature|Constructed|Plane). SelecttheMidplaneoption. Selecttwofeaturesofanytype. ClicktheCreatebutton.

TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionwouldread: CONSTR/PLANE,MID,feat_1,feat_2

ConstructingaPlanefrom2Planes Theconstructedplaneandit'svectordependsontheinputfeaturesused: Ifyouselectplanesforbothinputfeatures,thenthemidplaneislocatedwhereitbisects thesmallerincludedanglebetweenthetwoinputplanes. Ifyoudon'tselectaplaneforbothinputfeatures,thentheconstructedmidplanepasses throughthepointmidwaybetweenthecentroidsofthetwoinputfeatures. The constructedplane'svectorrunsfromthefirstinputfeature'scentroidtothesecondinput feature'scentroid.

ConstructinganOffsetPlane
Aplanecanbeconstructedaspecifieddistancefromtheinputfeatures. ToconstructanOffsetPlane: 1. 2. 3. 4. AccesstheConstructPlanedialogbox(Insert|Feature|Constructed|Plane). SelecttheOffsetoption. Selectatleastthreefeaturesofanytype. SelecttheOffsetsbutton.ThePlaneOffsetsdialogboxwillappear.

832 * ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

PlaneOffsetsdialogbox 5. ClicktheCalculateNomsoptionandentertheoffsetvaluesforthedesiredfeaturesin theoffsetfieldorClicktheCalculateOffsetsoptionandchangethenominalvalues(see theproceduresbelow). 6. ClickCalculatetocalculateeitherthenominalvaluesortheoffsetvalues. 7. ClicktheOKbutton.ThePlaneOffsetsdialogboxwillclose. 8. ClicktheCreatebutton. PCDMISwilliterateandconstructaplanesuchthattheshortestdistancefromeachinputfeature totheplaneisthecorrespondingoffsetamount.PCDMISwillapplynegativeoffsetsinthesame generaldirectionthatthepointsaremeasured.Positiveoffsetvalueswillbeappliedoppositethe probingdirection.Ifthereisnoprobingdirection(i.e.,theinputpointswereconstructed),PC DMISusesthecurrentworkplanetodeterminethegeneraldirectionforapplyingtheoffsets. Positiveoffsetswillbeappliedintheplusdirectionofthethirdaxisofthecurrentworkplane. Negativeoffsetswillbeappliedintheminusdirectionofthethirdaxisofthecurrentworkplane. Note:Thesign(positiveornegative)oftheoffsetvalue,controlonwhichsideoftheinput featurestheplaneisconstructed.Ifyougettheoppositeplanethanwasexpected,CANCELthe featureandreconstructit,reversingthesignofthekeyedinoffsets.Forexample,iftheoffsets are1.0,2.5,3.5,changethemto1.0,2.5,3.5. TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionwouldread:
CONSTR/PLANE,OFFSET ID=id1,id2,id3, OFFSET=val1,val2,val3,

ChangingOffsetsDirectlytoCalculateNominals
Toenternewoffsetvalues: 1. OpenthePlaneOffsetsdialogboxbyclickingtheOffsetsbuttonfromtheConstruct Planedialogbox(Insert|Feature|Constructed|Plane). 2. IntheOffsetcolumn,clickonthe"0.000000"value(orcurrentvalue)toselectit. 3. Clickagainontheoffset. 4. Typeanewvalue. 5. PresstheENTERkey. 6. ClickCalculatetoupdatethenominalvaluesbasedonanyoffset(s)youchose. 7. ClickOKtosavetheoffset.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures * 833

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ExampleofCalculatingNominals
TheCalculateNomsbuttoncalculatestheX,Y,andZnominalvalues fromnewoffsetsentered. Forexample,supposeyouconstructanoffsetplanebetweenthreecircles(CIR1,CIR2,and CIR3).AfterselectingthefeaturesandclickingtheOffsetsbutton,youhaveX,Y,andZnominals of: X=6 Y=2 Z=0.95 Ifyouchangetheoffsetvaluesby3.0foreachcircleandclicktheCalculateNomsbutton,theX, Y,andZareupdatedto: X=6 Y=2 Z=3.95 IfyouthenclickOKandconstructtheoffsetline,you'llnoticethatthenewlyconstructedlinelies 3.0unitshigherintheZaxis. PlaneoffsetsonlyapplytheoffsetintheZaxis.

ChangingNominalsDirectlytoCalculateOffsets
Toenternewoffsetvalues: 1. OpenthePlaneOffsetsdialogboxbyclickingtheOffsetsbuttonfromtheConstruct Planedialogbox(Insert|Feature|Constructed|Plane). 2. SelecttheCalculateOffsetsoption.TheNominalsportionofthedialogboxbecomes editable. 3. ChangetheXYZorIJKvalues. 4. ClickCalculatetoupdatetheoffsetvaluesbasedonanynominalsyou'vechanged. 5. ClickOKtosavetheoffset.

ExampleofCalculatingOffsets
TheCalculateOffsetsbuttoncalculatestheoffsetvaluesappearingintheOffsetcolumnwhen youchangethenominalvalue. Forexample,supposeyouconstructanoffsetplanebetweenthreecircles(CIR1,CIR2,and CIR3).AfterselectingthefeaturesandclickingtheOffsetsbutton,youhaveX,Y,andZnominals of: X=6

834 * ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Y=2 Z=0.95 IfyouchangetheX,Y,andZnominalsto: X=6 Y=2 Z=3.95 andclicktheCalculateOffsetsbutton,theoffsetsforthethreecirclesareupdatedto: 3.000000CIR1 3.000000CIR2 3.000000CIR3 IfyouthenclickOKandconstructtheoffsetline,you'llnoticethattheplaneisconstructedat3.0 unitshigherintheZaxis.

ConstructingaParallelPlane
Aplanecanbeconstructedparalleltoanytwofeatures.PCDMIScreatesaplaneparalleltothe firstinputfeatureandpassingthroughthecentroidofthesecondinputfeature. ToconstructaParallelPlane: 1. 2. 3. 4. AccesstheConstructPlanedialogbox(Insert|Feature|Constructed|Plane). SelecttheParalleloption. Selecttwofeaturesofanytype. ClicktheCreatebutton.

TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionwouldread:
CONSTR/PLANE,PLTO,feat_1,feat_2,

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures * 835

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ConstructingaParallelPlaneUsingTwoPlanes

ConstructingaParallelPlaneUsingTwoLines

ConstructingaPerpendicularPlane
Aplanecanbeconstructedbetweenanytwofeatures.PCDMIScreatesaplaneperpendicularto thefirstinputfeatureandpassingthroughthecentroidofthesecondinputfeature. ToconstructaPerpendicularPlane: 1. 2. 3. 4. AccesstheConstructPlanedialogbox(Insert|Feature|Constructed|Plane). SelectthePerpendicularoption. Selecttwofeaturesofanytype. ClicktheCreatebutton.

TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionreads:
CONSTR/PLANE,PRTO,feat_1,feat_2

836 * ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ConstructingaPerpendicularPlane

ChangingtheDirectionofaPlane
Aplanecanbeconstructedwithareversedvector. ToconstructaReversePlane: 1. 2. 3. 4. AccesstheConstructPlanedialogbox(Insert|Feature|Constructed|Plane). SelecttheReverseoption. Selectonefeature.Itmustbeaplane. ClicktheCreatebutton.

TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionwouldread:
CONSTR/PLANE,REV,feat_1

AutoPlaneConstruction
ToallowPCDMIStoautomaticallydeterminethebestmethodofconstruction: 1. 2. 3. 4. AccesstheConstructPlanedialogbox(Insert|Feature|Constructed|Plane). SelecttheAutooptionfromthelistofoptions. Selectthedesiredfeature(s)basedonthetablebelow. ClicktheCreatebutton.

Thefollowingtableindicatesthetypeofplanethatwillbeconstructedwhenthespecifiedinputs areselectedandtheAUTOoptionischosen.Theorderoftheselectedfeaturesisnotimportant. Ifanincorrectinputfeature(s)isselected,PCDMISwilldisplayanerrormessageandwillnot automaticallyconstructtheindicatedfeaturetype. InputFeature(s) Constructs 3ormoreFeaturesthataren'tBestFitPlane allmeasured points= 1plane= ReversePlane Any1feature= CastPlane (exceptPlane/Set) Any1Set= BestFitPlane
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures * 837

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Allaremeasuredpoints=

BestFit Recompensate Plane

ConstructingaSlotFeature

ConstructSlotdialogbox TherearetwoslottypesinPCDMIS:aslotcreatedfromtwocircles(Circlesoption),andaslot createdfromfourormoreinputs(BestFitorBFRecompoption).Thetablebelowshowsthe inputsfortheslotandtheeditordefinitions. CONSTRUCT SYMBOL # OF FEAT FEATURE INEDIT INPUT #1: TYPE WINDOW FEATS Slot ROUND 2 Circle SLOT FEAT #2: Circle COMMENTS

Slot

BF

4or more 4or more

Slot

BFRE

Constructsaslot intheplaneofthe firstcirclefrom centertocenter. ConstructsaBest Fitslotusingthe giveninputs ConstructsaBest FitRecompensate slotusingthe giveninputs

Note:Ifyouselectinappropriatefeaturetypes,PCDMISdisplays"Cannotconstruct[feature]. Combinationofinputfeaturesnotaccepted."onthestatusbar.

838 * ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ToconstructaSlot: 1. AccesstheConstructSlotdialogbox(Insert|Feature|Constructed|Slot). 2. SelecttheInorOutoptiontodefinetheconstructedslotasaholeorstudslot respectively. 3. Selectoneofthefollowingconstructionmethods:Circles,BestFit,orBFRecomp. 4. Selectyourinputsbasedonthetypeofslotyouwillconstruct. 5. ClicktheCreatebutton. TheEditwindowcommandlineforasampleSlotConstructionwouldread:


feature_name=FEAT/SLOT,TOG1,TOG2 THEO/x_cord,y_cord,z_cord,i_vec,j_vec,k_vec,width,length ACTL/x_cord,y_cord,z_cord,i_vec,j_vec,k_vec,width,length CONSTR/TOG3,TOG4,feat_1,feat_2,

Note:TheactualreportwillbedisplayedinallCAPS. TOG1=POLRorRECT TOG2=OUTorIN TOG3=SLOT TOG4=CIRCLESorBForBFRE

In/OutSlot

TheInandOutoptionstellPCDMISwhethertoconstructtheslotasaninternaloranexternal slot. IfyouselectIn,PCDMISconstructstheslotasaninternalslot. IfyouselectOut,PCDMISconstructstheslotasanexternalslot,orpin.

ConstructingaCircleSlot
Theroundslotconstructedfromtwocirclesisdefinedmostlybythefirstcircleselected.Theslot isconstructedinthesameplaneasthefirstcircle.Thewidthoftheslotisalsodeterminedbythe diameterofthefirstcircle.Thesecondcircleisonlyusedtodeterminethelengthoftheslot.The lengthisthedistancefromthecenterofthefirstcircletocenterofthesecondplusthediameterof thefirstcircle. Ifthetwoinputcirclesarenotcoplanar,thecenterofthesecondcircleisprojected perpendicularlyontotheplaneofthefirstcircle.Thedistanceisthencalculatedfromthecenterof thefirstcircletotheprojectedcenterofthesecond. ToconstructaRoundSlotfromCircles: 1. AccesstheConstructSlotdialogbox(Insert|Feature|Constructed|Slot). 2. SelectInorOut.
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures * 839

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

3. SelecttheCirclesoption. 4. SelecttwoCirclefeaturesforinputs. 5. ClicktheCreatebutton. TheEditwindowcommandlinefortheRoundSlotwouldread:


CONSTR/SLOT,CIRCLES,feat_1,feat_2

ConstructingaBestFitorBestFitRecompensateSlot
TheBestFit(BF)andtheBestFitRecompensate(BFRE)areconstructedfrom4ormore features.Theconstructedslotsvectorisnormal(perpendicular)totheworkingplane.TheBFRE constructionusestheballcentercombinedwiththeproberadiustocomputetheslot.The compensationisanintegralpartofthefitting. TheBFconstructioncompensatesthemeasured pointspriortofitting. Theheightoftheslotfromtheworkplaneistheaverageofalltheinputfeatures. ToconstructaBForBFRESlot: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. AccesstheConstructSlotdialogbox(Insert|Feature|Constructed|Slot). SelectInorOut. SelecttheBForBFREoption. Selectatleast4features.Theycanbeanyfeaturetype. ClicktheCreatebutton.

TheEditwindowcommandlinefortheBestFitorBestFitRecompensateSlotwouldread:
CONSTR/SLOT,BF(orBFRE),feat_1,feat_2,

840 * ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ConstructingaCurve

ConstructCurvedialogbox Therearetwotypesofconstructedcurves(IndependentCurvesandDependentCurves) availableinPCDMIS.Thefollowingtabledisplaysthetwocurves,alongwiththeirnecessary inputs.Allcurvesrequireasetasinput.Thesetcanbeameasuredset,aconstructedset,ora scan.Theinputsetmustcontainatleastfourfeatures(orinputpointsinthecaseofascan). CONSTRUCT FEATURE TYPE Dependent Curve SYMBOLIN # OF INPUT#1: COMMENTS EDITWINDOWINPUT SETS DEPENDENT 1 Set Curvewillupdateas containing inputfeaturechanges atleast4 Note:Editingacurve willchangedependent inputs curvetoindependent curve. INDEPENDENT1 Set Usesinputfeaturefor containing constructiononly.User atleast4 canmanuallyedit inputs controlpointsofcurve.

Independent Curve

TheEditwindowcommandlineforasampleCurveConstructionusingadependentcurvetype wouldread:
feature_name =FEAT/CURVE,DEPENDENT, num_control_points,num_input_feats, thinning_parameter

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures * 841

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

CONSTR/CURVE,INPUT_TYPE,input_id

ForanindependentcurvetypetheEditwindowcommandlinewouldread:
feature_name =FEAT/CURVE,INDEPENDENT, num_control_points,num_input_feats, thinning_parameter CONSTR/CURVE,

num_control_points=Thisisthenumberofcontrolpointsdefiningthecurve.Morecontrol pointsallowthecurvetomorecloselypassthroughthefeatures,buttoomaycause unexpectedbehavior num_input_feats=Thisisthenumberoffeaturesthatthecurveisattemptingtofit. Note:ThesetwoparametersarenoteditableintheEditwindow. input_id=ThisistheIDofthesetcontainingthefeaturestobefitted.


thinning_parameter=Thisisdescribedinthe"ThinningParameters"topicdescribedbelow.

Note:TheactualEditreportwillbedisplayedinallCAPS

ConstructingaDependent/IndependentCurve
Note:Ifyouselectinappropriatefeaturetypes,PCDMISdisplays"Cannotconstruct[feature]. Combinationofinputfeaturesnotaccepted."onthestatusbar. Toconstructacurve: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. AccesstheConstructCurvedialogbox(Insert|Feature|Constructed|Curve). Inputthedesiredset. SetthevalueintheThinningTolerancebox. EdittheControlpointsifnecessary. ClicktheCreatebutton.

AllconstructedcurvesstartoutasDEPENDENTcurvesandmustbecreatedfromasingleinput, aset.Thesetcanbeoneofthreetypes: Ameasuredset Aconstructedset

Ascancontainingasinglerowofpoints.(See"ConstructingaSetofFeatures".) Theinputsetmustcontainatleastfourfeaturesorpoints(inthecaseofascan). Note:Theresultingcurvedependsontheorderthatthefeaturesareaddedtotheset(firstto last).

842 * ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Youcanalsoconstructacurvebysimplyselectingmultiplefeaturesfromthefeaturelistbox ratherthanselectingaconstructedsetfromthelist.Inthiscasethecommand'sINPUT_TYPE fieldwillbeemptywhenviewingthecommandintheEditwindow. Thefollowingparagraphsdescribetheavailableoptionsforconstructingacurve.

ThinningParameters
Youcanuseoneoftwotypesofthinningparameters,eitherThinningToleranceorThinning Proportion.AUserTolerancecheckboxontheConstructSurfaceandConstructCurvedialog boxesletsyouswitchbetweeneithertoleranceorproportion: Thinningtolerancecontrolsthetightness(orexactness)ofthecurveorsurfacefit.Valid thinningtolerancesrangefrom0.0to5.0,withthedefaultbeing0.01.Thesmallerthe thinningtolerance,thecloserthecurvecomestopassingthroughthecentroidsofthe featuresincludedintheinputset.Ifthethinningtoleranceis0.0,thecurveorsurfacewill passthroughallofthecentroids.Alargerthinningtolerancewillresultinacurveor surfacethathasfewerfluctuations(attheexpenseofnotlyingneartheinputset's features).Theseethis,constructacurveorsurfaceandthenchangetheinputtolerance andexaminehowitsshapechanges. Thinningproportion,alternately,maybeusedtocontrolthequalityofthefit.Valid thinningproportionsrangefrombetween0.0and1.0,withadefaultvalueof0.33.The thinningproportiondeterminesthenumberofdegreesoffreedomavailableinfittingthe curveorsurfacetothecentroids.Atthelowerextremeof0thealgorithmwillattempttofit astraightlineorplanetothecentroids.At1itwillcomputeafitthatpassesthroughallof thecentroids.

TomakeaDEPENDENTcurveanINDEPENDENTcurve(sothatitisnolongerassociatedwith theinputset: 1. 2. 3. 4. OpentheEditwindow Selectthecurvefeatureyouconstructed. NavigatetotheDEPENDENTfieldofthatfeature. PressF7.ItwillchangefromDEPENDENTtoINDEPENDENT.

Theshapeofthecurvecanbechangedbyeditingitscontrolpoints.

EditControlPoint
Ifapreexistingcurveisselected,thedialogboxwillalsocontainalistofcontrolpointswithinthe ControlPointlist.SelectoneofthecontrolpointsandPCDMISwillplacethecorresponding valuesintheX,Y,andZboxessothattheycanbeedited. Toeditthesecontrolpoints: 1. Makesureacurvefeaturealreadyexists. 2. OpentheEditwindow.
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures * 843

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

SelectthecurveintheEditwindow. PressF9toactivatetheCurvedialogbox. SelectthecontrolpointtobechangedintheControlPointlist. EdittheindividualX,Y,Zcomponentsofthepoint. ClicktheOKbutton.

Thecurvewillthenbeupdatedtoreflectthechanges. Note:Ifthecontrolpointsonadependentcurveareedited,itautomaticallybecomesan independentcurvebecauseitisnolongerbasedontheinputset.

ControlPointList
TheControlPointlistisonlyvisiblewhenthereisanexistingcurveassociatedwiththedialog box.Ifacurveexistsandyouwanttoeditthecontrolpointsofthatcurve,theControlPointlist willdisplayallofthecontrolpointsforthatcurve.

ConstructingaSurface

ConstructSurfacedialogbox Therearetwotypesofconstructedsurfaces(IndependentSurfaceandDependentSurface) availableinPCDMIS.Thefollowingtableshowsthetwosurfaces,alongwiththeirnecessary inputs.Theonlyinputthatthesurfacewilltakeisapatchscan.Thescanmustcontainatleast tworowsoffourpointsperrow. Note:Afuturereleasewillallowforcloudsofpointswhenconstructingasurface.

844 * ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

CONSTRUCT FEATURE TYPE Dependent Surface

Independent Surface

SYMBOLIN # OF INPUT#1: COMMENTS EDITWINDOWINPUT SETS DEPENDENT 1 Patchscan Surfacewill containingat updateasinput least2rowswithfeaturechanges 4pointsperrow INDEPENDENT1 Patchscan Usesinput containingat featurefor least2rowswithconstruction 4pointsperrow.only

Note:Ifyouselectinappropriatefeaturetypes,PCDMISdisplays"Cannotconstruct[feature]. Combinationofinputfeaturesnotaccepted."onthestatusbar. ToconstructaSurface: 1. 2. 3. 4. AccesstheConstructSurfacedialogbox(Insert|Feature|Constructed|Surface). Inputthedesiredpatchscan. Selectthevariousconstructionoptions. ClicktheCreatebutton.

TheEditwindowcommandlineforasampleSurfaceConstructionwouldread:
feature_name=FEAT/SURFACE,TOG1,CONTROLPOINTSU, CONTROLPOINTSV,NUMPOINTSFIT,TOG2 THINNINGPARAMETERU,THINNINGPARAMETERV CONSTR/SURFACE,INPUTTYPE,INPUTID

Note:TheactualEditreportwillbedisplayedinallCAPS. DEPENDENTisthedefault TOG1=DependentorIndependent. methodofconstruction. TOG2=ToleranceorProportion Thefollowingparagraphsdescribetheavailableoptionsfor constructingasurface:

ConstructingaDependent/IndependentSurface
Allconstructedsurfacesstartoutasdependentsurfacesandmustbecreatedfromasingleinput apatchscan.Thepatchscanmustcontainatleasttworowswithfourpointsperrow.Thinning tolerancesareusedtocontrolthetightnessofthesurfacefit. Smalltolerances:Ifthethinningtolerancesaresmall,thealgorithmwillattempttofitthe surfacethroughallofthepointsinthescan. Largetolerances:Ifthethinningtolerancesarelarge,thesurfacewillbemoreofan approximationtothescan.Thebestwaytoseethisistoconstructasurfaceandthen changethethinningtolerancesandseehowtheshapeofthesurfacechanges.

Note:Thesmallerthethinningtolerancethelongeritwilltaketocreatethesurface.Beaware thatthesmalltolerances(.01.05)maytakeaconsiderableamountoftime(onehour)tocreate
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures * 845

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

thesurfaceiftheinputscanislargeornotwellbehaved.Validthinningtolerancesrangefrom 0.01to5.0withthedefaultbeing0.5. Theappearanceofthesurfacecanbecontrolledbythesurfacegriddensityvalues.Thesurface willbedisplayedasanNxMmeshofpolylineswiththedefaultbeinga5x5meshandthelowest valuebeinga2x2mesh.Tomakeadependentsurfaceindependentsothatitisnolonger associatedwiththeinputscan,changetheDEPENDENTfieldintheEditwindow. Note:Theshapeofthesurfacecannotbechanged. ToconstructaDependent/IndependentSurface: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. AccesstheConstructSurfacedialogbox(Insert|Feature|Constructed|Surface). Setthevalueforthe ThinningTolU:box Setthevalueforthe ThinningTolV:box.ThisappliesatolerancevaluetotheVaxis. Setthevaluesforthesurfacegriddensity. Checkmarkthedesiredconstructionsoptions.Theseinclude: OptimizeSurface ApplyTensionFactor CreateCorners SmoothBadData

6. Selectapatchscanfeaturesetcontainingatleast2rowswith4pointsperrow. 7. ClicktheCreatebutton.

ThinningParameters
Youcanuseoneoftwotypesofthinningparameters,eitherThinningToleranceorThinning Proportion.AUserTolerancecheckboxontheConstructSurfaceandConstructCurvedialog boxesletsyouswitchbetweeneithertoleranceorproportion: Thinningtolerancecontrolsthetightness(orexactness)ofthecurveorsurfacefit.Valid thinningtolerancesrangefrom0.0to5.0,withthedefaultbeing0.01.Thesmallerthe thinningtolerance,thecloserthecurvecomestopassingthroughthecentroidsofthe featuresincludedintheinputset.Ifthethinningtoleranceis0.0,thecurveorsurfacewill passthroughallofthecentroids.Alargerthinningtolerancewillresultinacurveor surfacethathasfewerfluctuations(attheexpenseofnotlyingneartheinputset's features).Theseethis,constructacurveorsurfaceandthenchangetheinputtolerance andexaminehowitsshapechanges. Thinningproportion,alternately,maybeusedtocontrolthequalityofthefit.Valid thinningproportionsrangefrombetween0.0and1.0,withadefaultvalueof0.33.The thinningproportiondeterminesthenumberofdegreesoffreedomavailableinfittingthe curveorsurfacetothecentroids.Atthelowerextremeof0thealgorithmwillattempttofit astraightlineorplanetothecentroids.At1itwillcomputeafitthatpassesthroughallof thecentroids.

TomakeaDEPENDENTcurveanINDEPENDENTcurve(sothatitisnolongerassociatedwith theinputset:

846 * ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

1. 2. 3. 4.

OpentheEditwindow Selectthecurvefeatureyouconstructed. NavigatetotheDEPENDENTfieldofthatfeature. PressF7.ItwillchangefromDEPENDENTtoINDEPENDENT.

Theshapeofthecurvecanbechangedbyeditingitscontrolpoints.

ThinningParameterU
ThisboxallowsyoutosetathinningparametervalueapplyingtotheUaxisofthesurface.

ThinningParameterV
ThisboxallowsyoutosetathinningparametervalueapplyingtotheVaxisofthesurface.

SurfaceGridDensity
Thisboxallowsyoutosetthedensityofasurfacescan.Thehigherthevalues,themoresplines therewillbe.

OptimizeSurface
ControlPointsarepoints Thischeckboxwillattempttooptimizetheknotsandcontrolpoints thatmarkbeginandend oftheinitialsplinesfromwhichthesurfacewillbeconstructed. pointsofsplinesinasurface grid.

SurfaceGridwithControlPoints,KnotsandSplines.

ApplyTensionFactor
SurfacescreatedusingtheApplyTensionFactorcheckboxwilltendtobetauter(tighter)and shorter,butmayfitthedataslightlylessclosely.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures * 847

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

CreateCorners
Thischeckboxallowsforcornerstobeaddedtothesurfaceatareaswherethedataappearsto makeanabruptchangeindirection.

SmoothBadData
Thischeckboxattemptstothrowoutbaddata.Baddataisevaluatedasdatathathasanabrupt changeindirection.ThisoptionisalmosttheoppositeoftheCreateCornersoptionabove.

ConstructingaSetofFeatures

ConstructFeatureSetdialogbox TheSetmenucommandallowsyoutoconstructasetoffeatures.Thisisdonebyselecting(or keyingin)allthefeaturestobeusedintheset.WhenyouclicktheCreatebutton,PCDMISwill averagealltheinputcentroids,anddisplayasetmarkeralongwiththenewIDfortheset. Note:Ifyouselectinappropriatefeaturetypes,PCDMISdisplays"Cannotconstruct[feature]. Combinationofinputfeaturesnotaccepted."onthestatusbar. ToconstructaFeatureSet: 1. AccesstheConstructFeatureSetdialogbox(Insert|Feature|Constructed|Set). 2. Selectthefeaturesyouwantinyourfeatureset. 3. ClicktheCreatebutton.ThenewfeaturesetisgivenafeatureIDandisplacedinthe GraphicsDisplaywindow. TheEditwindowcommandlineforasampleSurfaceConstructionwouldread:
feature_name=FEAT/SET,TOG1, THEO/x_cord,y_cord,z_cord,i_vec,j_vec,k_vec, ACTL/x_cord,y_cord,z_cord,i_vec,j_vec,k_vec, CONSTR/TOG2,feat_1,feat_2,feat_3...

TOG1=POLRorRECT

848 * ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TOG2=SET ThefirstthreelinesdisplayedintheEditwindowwillbethesameforconstructedsets.Thefourth linewillbeslightlydifferent,accordingtothenumberoffeaturesusedintheset. TherearecurrentlytwousesforsetsinPCDMISforWindows:

ProfileErrorfromaSet
IfCADdataisbeingused,asetcanbeconstructedfrommeasuredpointsonasurface.When youaskforthePROFILEofthefeatureset,PCDMISwillreportthezonebetweentheminimum normaltosurfaceerrorandthemaximumnormaltosurfaceerror.(See"DimensioningSurfaceor LineProfile"inthe"DimensioningFeatures"chapterformoreinformation.)

AverageValuesfromaSet
Whenasetismadefrominputfeatures,PCDMISaveragestheX,Y,andZvaluesoftheinput features.Forexample,thesetcanbeusedtogettheaverageZvalueofaseriesofmeasured points.

UsingaRangeofHitsfromaScanasInputs
Version3.6andhigherallowsyoutousearangeofhitsfromanexistingscanforyourfeatureset inputsinsteadofselectingindividualfeatures. Todothis: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. AccesstheConstructFeatureSetdialogbox. Selectascantouseastheinput. ClickOK.ThecommandappearsintheEditwindow. PlacetheEditwindowintoCommandmode. NavigatetothefeaturesetcommandintheEditwindow. SelectthescanIDontheCONSTR/SETcommandline. ModifythescanIDtotakearangeofhits,usingasyntaxlikethis:

<ID>.HIT<STARTHIT>..<ENDHIT>

<ID>SpecifiestheIDofthescan.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures * 849

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

<STARTHIT>Numberthatspecifiesthebeginninghitintherangeofhits. <ENDHIT>Numberthatspecifiestheendinghitintherangeofhits. Forexample,thefollowingcodeshowsaconstructedsetusinghits1through10ofascannamed SCN1foritsinputfeatures.


SET1 =FEAT/SET,RECT THEO/2.2953,3.7467,0.95,0,0,1 ACTL/2.2953,3.7467,0.95,0,0,1 CONSTR/SET,BASIC,SCN1.HIT[1..10],,

Youcanuseanactualexpression(similartotheinputcode)toassigntheXvaluesofthefirstfive featuresoftheconstructedsetintoanarray.Forexample,thefollowingcodewouldassignjust theXvaluesofthefirstfivehitstovariableV2andthendisplaythevaluesinanoperator comment.


ASSIGN/V2=SET1.HIT[1..5].X COMMENT/OPER,YES,V2is: ,V2

Forinformationonusingexpressionstoreturnarangeofhitsasanarray,seethe"HitArrays" topicinthe"UsingExpressionsandVariables"chapter.

ConstructingaFilterSet

ConstructFilterFeaturedialogbox Thiscommandallowsyoutoconstructafiltersetfromascan,certainconstructedfeatures,or anotherfilterset.Thisisdonebyselecting(orkeyingin)theinputfeature,thetypeoffilterdesired, andtheparameterstobeusedwiththefilter.WhenyouclicktheCreatebutton,PCDMISwill applythefilterroutinetothedataintheinputfeatureanddisplayasetmarkeralongwiththenew IDfortheset. Thiscommandistypicallyusedtosmoothballcenterdatafromascan.PCDMISappliesa lowpassGaussianoranotherlowpassfiltertosmooththedata.

850 * ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Note:Ifyouselectinappropriatefeaturetypes,PCDMISdisplaysanerrormessagesayingit cannotconstructthefeature. ToconstructaFilterSet: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. AccesstheConstructFilterFeaturedialogbox(Insert|Feature|Constructed|Filter). Selectaninputforthefilterset. SelecteitherthePolarorLinearoptiontosmoothcircleorlineardata,respectively. SelectthetypeoffilterfromtheFilterTypelist. Typeinvaluesforanyofthefilterparameters. Ifyouwanttoremoveoutliersbeforefiltering,selecttheOutlierRemovalcheckboxand theStandardDeviationMultiplecheckbox. 7. ClicktheCreatebutton. TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionwouldread:
CONSTR/SET/FILTER,TOG1,TOG2,feat_1, VAL1,VAL2,OUTLIER_REMOVAL/TOG3,VAL3

Forexample:
CONSTR/SET,FILTER,GAUSSIAN,POLAR,SCN1, WIDTH=3,UPR=50,OUTLIER_REMOVAL/ON,3

TOG1=Gaussian/Spline/Uniform/Triangle/Cylindrical TOG2=Polar/Linear Feat_1=Thisistheinputfeatureforthisfilter. VAL1=Filterwidth. VAL2=Cutofffrequencyinundulationsperrevolution(UPR). TOG3=ThisvalueswitchesbetweenONorOFF.Itdeterminesifoutliersshouldberemoved beforefiltering. VAL3=Standarddeviationmultiplier.IfTOG3isONthenallthepointsintheinputthathave morethanthisnumberofstandarddeviationsfromtheleastsquaressubstitutefeature (forexample,circle,orline)willberemovedbeforefiltering. Theoptionssuppliedinthisdialogboxarediscussedbelow.

Linearoption
TheLinearoptionallowsyoutofilterthedatainafeaturethatisnotacircularscan.The deviationsaffectedinthiscaseareperpendiculartotheworkplane.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures * 851

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Note:Forthelinearfilters,thenumberofpointsinthefiltersetmaybelessthanthenumberof inputpoints.PCDMISremovespointsatbothendsforwhichnotenoughdata(totheleftorright) isavailable.Tocomputeavalidoutputpoint,seethe"FilterWidthbox".

Polaroption
ThePolaroptionallowsyoutoapplyafiltertodatainacircularscan.PCDMISassumesthatthe dataisperiodic(meaningitformsonecomplete,closedcircle).Thedeviationsaffectedinthis caseareradialdeviations.

FilterTypelist
TheFilterTypelistallowsyoutoselectfromthefollowingfiltertypes: GAUSSIAN SPLINE UNIFORM TRIANGLE CYLINDRICAL.

IfyouselectGAUSSIAN,UNIFORM,orTRIANGLEthentheworkplaneiscritical.Forthesethree filtertypes,thefollowingapplies: IfyouselecttheLinearoption,thefilteringoccursnormal(i.e.,perpendicular)tothe workplane. IfyouselectPolaroptionthenthefilteringoccursinaradialdirectionwithintheworkplane.

Gaussian
TheGaussianfilteroptionis TheGaussian filteroptionallowsyoutosmooththedataby themostwidelyusedfilter applyingaLinearorPolarGaussianlowpassfiltertoitaccordingto option. theISO11562standard.Theamountofsmoothingiscontrolledby theCutoffWavelength,theCutoffFrequency,ortheFilter Width values. ForthepolarGaussianfilter,thedatashouldbeacompletecirclescan,withradialdeviations. Apartialcirclescanwillnotworkcorrectlywiththisfilter.Theappropriatefilterforapartial circlescanisthecylindricalfilterdiscussedbelow. ForthelinearGaussianfilter,thedatashouldnominallylieinaplanewiththedeviations perpendiculartotheplane.Forthisfilter,thecutoffwavelengthisinunitsoflength.The followingparagraphsdescribehowalinearGaussfilterfunctions: ItestimatesthepointspacingdeltaastheaveragedistancebetweentheX,Ycoordinates ofthe3Dpoints.Theseshouldbeevenlyspacedandcoplanar.ItwillsmooththeZ coordinates. Ifthesmoothingparameteris m=filterwidth (i.e.,thesmoothedvalueisatthecenterof 2m+1 pointsusedina

852 * ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

weightedaverage,startingatpointm),thenthecutoffwavelengthlambdaiscomputed as:
lambda=m*delta/const,(whereconstisanumericalconstant.)

Iftheinputparameterislambda=cutoffwavelength,thenthefilterwidthmiscomputed as:
m=lambda*const/delta(actually,thenexthigherintegervalue).

So,thecutoffwavelengthhasthesameunitsasthepointspacing,butthefilterwidthisa purenumber.

Spline
TheSplinefilteroptionallowsyoutosmooththedatabyfittingasmoothingsplinetoit.The SmoothingParametervaluecontrolstheamountofsmoothing.However,ifyouwanttousethe "optimal"valuecomputedbyGeneralizedCrossValidation(GCV)technique,youshouldsetthis valueto0.TheSplinefilteroptionisa3Dfilteringoptiondeviationsinalldirections perpendiculartothelineareaffected. HowItWorks:Thesplinefilterfitsasplineapproximationtothedataandresamplesit.Thisway, itsmoothesthedatainalldirections,notjustradiallyorperpendicularlytotheworkplane.The fittedsplineisanaturalsmoothingspline.Ithasaparameterthatmediatesbetweeninterpolating thedatatryingtopassthrougheverydatapoint,whichwouldretainalloftheoscillationsand approximatingthedatawithasuccessivelysmootherspline,inthesensethattheoscillationsare damped.Thetwolimitsofthesmoothingparameteryieldaninterpolator(withalloftheoriginal oscillations)andastraightline.Azerovalueforthesplinefilterresultsinasplinethat (asymptotically)minimizestheexpectedmeansquareerrorbetweenitandtheunderlying, unknown,curve.Youshouldusuallyusethezerovaluesincethisremovesthenoiseyetleaves theunderlyingshapereasonablyintact. MathInformation:Sincetherangeofinterestfortheactual(internal)smoothingparameter lambdausuallyinvolvessmallvalues,theConstructFilterFeaturedialogboxaccepts
log10(lambda).

So,insteadof1e6,youjusttype6.Yougetmoresmoothingforsmallervaluesofthe smoothingparameter.Forexample,avalueof5forthesplinefilterwouldgiveyoumore smoothingthanavalueof6.

Uniform
TheUniformfilteroptionfiltersthedatabyaveragingallthepointsinamovingwindow.The widthofthewindowcanbespecifiedbyeithertheSmoothingParameterortheFilter Width values. IftheFilterWidthvalueism,thenthewindowis2m*delta wide,wheredeltaisthepoint spacing.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures * 853

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Triangle
TheTrianglefilteroptionfiltersthedatabyaweightedmovingaverageofallthepointsina movingwindow.Theweightsaredeterminedbyatrianglefunctionwiththepeakinthemiddleof thewindow.ThewidthofthewindowcanbespecifiedbyeithertheSmoothingParameterorthe FilterWidth values. IftheFilterWidthismthenthewindowis2m*delta wide,wheredeltaisthepointspacing.

Cylindrical
TheCylindricalfilteroptionfiltersdatainaspiralscanoracircularscanthatspansmoreorless thanafullcircle.Thedeviationsinthiscaseareradial.AsPCDMISdoesnotconsiderthedatato beperiodic(meaningitdoesnotformacomplete,closedcircle),anumberofpointsequaltothe filterwidthatthebeginningandattheendofthescanwillbeabsentfromthefilterset.

FilterWidthbox
TheFilterWidthvalueisanoptionalsmoothingparameterforallofthefiltertypesexceptthe Splinefilter.Thevalueinthisboxdeterminesthenumberofdatapointsusedforfilteringtothe rightandtotheleftofeachsmootheddatapoint.Forexample,iftheFilterWidthvalueismthen thewindowis2m*delta wide,wheredeltaisthepointspacing.Thedefaultvalueforthis parameteris3. Thevalueyoutypecanbezerooranypositivevalue. Ifthere'snovalueatall(orifthevalueiszero),eithertheCutoffFrequencyorthe CutoffWavelength valuewillbeusedtosettheamountofsmoothing. IfeithertheCutoffFrequencyortheCutoffWavelengthvalueisanynonzero,positive value,thenthefilterwidthcorrespondingtothecutofffrequencyenteredisdisplayed. IftheFilterWidthandtheCutoffFrequencyorCutoffWavelengthdon'thavevalues (orarezero),PCDMISwillnotfilterthedata.

TheFilterWidthvaluealsodetermineshowmanypointswillbeabsentfromthefiltersetwhen doinglinearfiltering.PCDMISremovesthosepointsthatdon'thaveenoughdatatotherightor lefttofillupthedatawindow. Note:Alowpassfilter,onethatfiltersouthighfrequencynoisebuttransmitsthelowerfrequency formandwaviness,worksbyreplacingthevalueatadatapointbyaweightedaverageofthe valuesatasequenceofitsneighbors.FortheGaussfilter,forinstance,theFilterWidthspecifies howmanypointstotheleftandrightofapointareincludedintheweightedaverage.Theweights (whicharepositiveandaddupto1)arevaluesofaGaussiandistributionfunction(alsoknownas aBellCurve).IftheFilterWidthisequaltom,thenthesmoothedpointisatthecenterof 2m+1 pointsusedintheweightedaverage.Ifthedataisperiodic,thenthepointswraparoundand therearealwaysenoughpointstotheleftandrightofapointtocomputethisaverage.Thisisthe caseforaPolarfilter.ButforaLinearfilter,thefirstandlastmpointsdonothaveenough neighborstocomputethefullweightedaverage,sothesepointsareleftoutofthefiltereddataset.

CutoffWavelengthbox
TheCutoffWavelengthvaluedeterminesthewavelengthoftheoscillationsinthedatabelow whichtheamplitudesoftheoscillationswillbereducedwhenapplyingalinearGaussianfilter.

854 * ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

CutoffFrequencybox
TheCutoffFrequencyvaluedeterminesthenumberof"undulationsperrevolution"(orUPR)in thecircledataabovewhichtheamplitudesoftheoscillationsinthedatawillbereducedwhen applyingapolarGaussianfilteroracylindricalfilter.

SmoothingParameterbox
TheSmoothingParametervaluedeterminesthedegreeofsmoothingappliedtothedataforthe spline,uniform,andtriangle filters. Forthesplinefilter,itisbesttosetthisvalueto0toindicatethatthevaluecomputedvia GCVshouldbeused.Thecomputedvaluethenreplacesthe0intheeditwindow. Foruniformandtrianglefilters,thesmoothingparameterrepresentsonehalfofthewidthof thewindowusedinthe(weighted)movingaverage.

RemoveOutlierscheckbox
IfyouselecttheRemoveOutlierscheckbox,PCDMISattemptstoremoveallpointsagiven numberofstandarddeviationsfromthesubstitutefeature(usuallyacircleoraline).Youspecify thenumberofstandarddeviationsintheStandardDeviationMultiplebox.Seethe"Standard DeviationMultiplebox". Outlierremovalbehavessimilartofiltering: IfyouselecttheLinearoption,outlierremovalisbasedonthe3ddistancefromthepointin questiontotheline(bestfitlinethroughthedata). IfyouselectthePolaroption,outlierremovaloccursintheradialdirection(paralleltothe workplane).

StandardDeviationMultiplebox
TheStandardDeviationMultiple valuedeterminesthenumberofstandarddeviationsfromthe substitute(leastsquares)featurebeyondwhichpointsareidentifiedasoutliers.Thedefaultvalue is3.

ConstructinganAdjustedFilter
TheAdjustFilterconstructiontypeletsyouadjustscandatathatwasgatheredwhilescanning aroundthesestandardgeometricfeatures: Sphere Cone Cylinder

Generally,youwillperformthesescansusingananalogprobe,suchasanSP600.Ifyouimagine ascanaroundthetopquarterofasphere,forexample,youwouldideallygetpointsthatliewithin aplanethatcutsthroughthesphere,likethis:

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures * 855

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

However,inreality,astheprobescansaroundthesphereitisphysicallyimpossibleforallthe pointstoremaininsidethecutplaneduetoanaturalriseandfallfloatingmotionoftheCMM. TheAdjustFilterconstructioncantakethepreexistingscannedpointsand,usingtheknown mathematicalpropertiesofthefeature,canbettercompensatethepointsgatheredduringthe measurementprocess,adjustingthemtoliemorewithinthecutplane.YouusetheAdjustFilter dialogboxtodothis.Toaccessthisdialogbox,selectInsert|Feature|Constructed|Adjust Filterfromthemenubar.

AdjustFilterdialogbox DialogBoxItem FeatureType FilterType Description Thisdefinestheprimitive(simplegeometricfeature)being scanned.YoucanonlyselectSphere,Cone,orCylinder. Thisdefinesthetypeoffiltertouse.YoucanselectAxial orRadial(usedforConeandCylinderfeature). Thisletsyoudefinetheinformationaboutthefeature. XYZThefeature'snominalposition. FeatureInfo IJKThefeature'snormalvector. Radius/AngleThissetstheRadiusoftheSphere

856 * ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

orCylinderortheangleoftheCone. Thisareadefinesthelocationandvectorofthecutplane. CutPlaneInfo XYZLocationofthecutplane IJKVectorofthecutplane

ToAdjustScanData: Tocorrectlyadjustthedatainthescan,youneedtogiveenoughinformationtomathematically definethefeature. 1. Selecttheactualsphere,cone,orcylinderfeaturefromthelistoffeaturesintheAdjust Filterdialogbox. 2. Selectapreexistingscanfeaturefromthelist.Generallyyourscannedfeaturewillbea preexistinglinearclosedscan.Thescanmustbeofasphere,cone,orcylinder. 3. ChoosethefeaturetypeyouscannedwiththeselectedscanfromtheFeatureTypelist. 4. FromtheFilterTypelist,choosethecorrectfiltertypeforaConeorCylinderfeature. Thefilterindicateshowtocompensatethedata. IfyouarescanningperpendiculartotheaxisoftheCylinderorCone,choosethe Radialfilter.Thisdefinesthecirclethatwillbeusedtoadjustthepoints. Ifyouarescanningparalleltothefeature'saxis,choosetheAxialfilter.Thisdefines alinethatwillbeusedtoadjustthepoints.

5. 6. 7. 8.

Definethefeature'snominalXYZlocationbytypingthevaluesintheXYZboxes. Definethefeature'snormalvectorbytypingthevaluesintheIJKboxes. Definethefeature'ssizebytypingavalueintheRadiusorAnglebox. IntheCutPlaneInfoarea,definethescan'scutplane.Onceyouspecifyallthenominal informationforthescannedfeature,youcancreatetheconstruction. 9. ClickCreate.Allthepointsareprojectedintothecutplanealongthefeaturestheoretical definition(takingintoaccounttheknowngeometry)ratherthanastraightprojectionalong thefeaturesnormalvector.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ConstructingNew FeaturesfromExistingFeatures * 857

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

CreatingGenericFeatures
CreatingGenericFeatures:Introduction
Thischaptercoverstheabilitytoaddgenericfeaturesintoyoupartprogramandtheabilityto createpointfeaturesattheprobe'scurrentposition. Genericfeaturesareoftenusedtocontrolthemeasuredandtheoreticalvaluesofaspecific featureinordertoperformcalculationsthatPCDMIS's constructedfeaturesdon'tcurrently support.Forexample,supposeyouwanttocreatetheshortestlinebetweentwolines(3D)that don'tintersect.PCDMISdoesn'thavethatconstructionoption.However,youcandothemath yourselfusingthePCDMISExpressionlanguageandthenassignthetheoreticalandmeasured valuesofagenericlinetotheappropriatevalues.Inthisway,youcancreateyourown construction. Thissectioncontainsthesemajortopics: GenericFeatureCommandFormat CreatingaGenericFeature CreatingaReadPointfromtheProbe'sPosition

DescriptionofGenericFeatures
Usuallywhenmeasuringfeaturesonyourpart,PCDMISguessesthecorrectfeaturetype dependentonthenumberofhitstakenandtheinherentfeaturetypeavailableontheimported CADmodelitself. GenericfeaturesarenotguessedbyPCDMIS,butareinsertedandcreatedbytheuser.

PurposeofGenericFeatures
Genericfeaturesareusedtoholdandtransformvalues.Thesevaluescanbeusedtocreatenew constructedfeaturesormodifyexistingfeaturesviatheCALCULATIONcommand. Forinformationoncreatingnewconstructedfeaturesseethe"ConstructingNewFeaturesfrom ExistingFeatures"chapter.

GenericFeatureCommandFormat
AllgenericfeatureshaveXYZandIJKvalues,andmayhaveANGLE,DIAMETER/RADIUSor DISTANCEvaluesdependingonthetypeassignedtothefeature. TheNominal/MeasuredValuestogglebuttonindicatesthevaluesthatwillbeusedinthegeneric feature. CommandlineintheEditwindow(aconeisshown):
feature_name=GENERIC/TOG1,TOG2,TOG3,TOG4 NOM/XYZ,x_cord,y_cord,z_cord MEAS/XYZ,x_cord,y_cord,z_cord

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

CreatingGenericFeatures * 859

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

NOM/IJK,i_cord,j_cord,k_cord MEAS/IJK,i_cord,j_cord,k_cord [RADIUS/radius]|[DIAMETER/diameter] [ANGLE/ang] [DISTANCE/dist]

TOG1=POINT,PLANE,LINE,CIRCLE,SPHERE,CYLINDER,CONE,SLOTorNONE TOG2=indicateswhetherthegenericfeatureisalignmentdependent,orindependent. TOG3=indicateswhetherthefeatureusesPolarorRectangularcoordinates TOG4=indicateswhetherthefeatureisanIN(hole)orOUT(stud)feature. [ ]=optionsshowninbracketsarediscretionaryandareavailablebasedonthetype assignedtothefeaturebyTOG1.RADIUSandDIAMETERaremutuallyexclusive representationsforthevaluerepresentedastheradiusorthediameter.

CreatingaGenericFeature
Whileit'sentirelypossibletocreateagenericfeaturebytypingthewordGENERIC andpressing TABintheEditwindow'sCommandmode,PCDMISprovidesamucheasierwaytocreatenew genericfeatures.TheConstructGenericFeaturedialogbox(Insert|Feature|Generic) providesamuchmoreintuitivewaytocreatenewgenericfeatures.

ToAddaGenericFeature
ToaddaGenericFeature: 1. PlaceyourcursorinanewlineoftheEditwindow. 2. AccesstheConstructGenericFeaturedialogboxbyoneofthefollowing: SelecttheInsert|Feature|Genericmenuitem. TypeGENERICintheCommandmodeoftheEditwindow. SelectGenericFeaturefromthelistthatappearsinSummarymodeafter selectingAddCommand.

3. Makethechangesyoudesire. 4. ClicktheOKbuttontocreatethefeature.PCDMISwillsavethegenericfeatureand updatetheinformationforthefeatureintheEditwindowandtheGraphicsDisplay window.

860 * CreatingGenericFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

DescriptionoftheConstructGenericFeatureDialogBox

ConstructGenericFeaturedialogbox Usethisdialogboxtocreatenewfeatures.YoucanaccessthisdialogboxbyselectingtheInsert |Feature|Generic menuoption.Thefollowingtopicsdescribetheoptionsavailableonthis dialogbox.

FeatureType
Thisareaallowsyoutocreatethesegenericfeaturetypes: Point Plane Line Circle Sphere Cylinder RoundSlot SquareSlot Cone None

Dependingonthetypeoffeatureselectedotherareasofthisdialogboxaredisabledorenabled forselection.

DataType
TheDataTypeareaallowsyoutodeterminewhatvaluesofthegenericfeatureareaffectedby thechangesmadeinthedialogbox.ThechoicesincludeMeasuredValuesortheNominal Values.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

CreatingGenericFeatures * 861

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

XYZBoxes
TheX,Y,andZboxesallowyoutodeterminetheX,Y,andZpositionforthegenericfeature.

IJKBoxes
TheI,J,andKboxesallowyoutodeterminethevectorforthegenericfeature.

AlignmentDependentGenericFeature
Alignmentdependentgenericfeatureshavevaluesdependentuponthealignmentfromwhich theyarereferenced.Theychangesothattheyarealwaysrelativetothecurrentalignment.Their locationisconstantin3Dspace. Examplein2D:Suppose0,0isyourmachineorigin.Analignmentissetupthatlocatesthe originat5,5.Now,analignmentdependentfeatureisdefinedafterthealignmentwiththevalues of2forxand2fory.Relativetothealignment,itsvaluesare2and2.Relativetotheorigin,its valuesare7and7.Nomatterwhatalignmentthenumbersaregivenrelativeto,thepointwill alwaysbelocatedat7,7relativetothetrueorigin.

AlignmentIndependentGenericFeature
Independentgenericfeatureshavevaluesthatremainthesameregardlessofwhichalignment theyarereferencedfrom(thereforeconsidered"independent").Theirlocationin3Dspace changesasthealignmentchanges. Examplein2D:Next,considerthesameexampleof2,2(asshownintheAlignmentDependent exampleabove)butthistimewithanalignmentindependentgenericfeature.Ifyouaskforthex andyvaluesrelativetothealignment,theobjectwillreport2,2.Ifyouaskforitsvaluesrelativeto theorigin,theobjectwillstillreport2,2.Theset2,2relativetothealignmentislocatedat7,7 relativetothetrueorigin.Theset2,2relativetotheoriginisexactlythat:2,2.Thus,thepoint appearstomovein2Dspace.

Note:TheindependentoptionwasaddedsothatagenericfeaturenamedXAXIS,forexample, couldalwaysbeusedasaninputfeaturetoaconstructionoradatumtoadimensionanditwould alwayshavethevaluesof1,0,0independentofthecurrentalignment.

Polar/Rect
Thislistallowsyoutopickwhattypeofcoordinatesystemisusedinthegenericfeature.Youcan selecteitherPOLARorRECT.

FeatureName
Thisboxallowsyoutonameyourfeature.ThisistheIDthatappearsontheFeatureIDlabeland insidetheEditwindow.

862 * CreatingGenericFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Radius/Diameter
Thisallowsyoutodefineeitheraradiusoradiameterforacircularfeature.Selecteitherthe RadiusoptionortheDiameteroption,andthentypeavalueintheboxprovided.

Angle
TheAngleboxallowsyoutodefinetheangleofaCone.Thisboxalsobecomesavailableifyou selectedNone fromtheFeatureTypearea.

Distance
TheDistanceboxallowsyoutodefinetheheightorlengthofanygenericfeaturesthathavea lengthorheight.

CreatingaReadPointfromtheProbe'sPosition
TheReadPointmenuoptiontellsPCDMIStoreadtheprobe'scurrentpositionandtoinserta pointintheEditwindowatthereadinposition. Thefollowingsyntaxillustrateswhat'sinsertedintotheEditwindow.
F_ID= FEAT/POINT,TOG1 THEO/x,y,z,i,j,k ACTL/x,y,z,i,j,k READPOINT

F_IDThisistheFeatureID. TOG1ThistogglefieldthatallowsyoutoswitchbetweenthePOLRandRECTcoordinate systems. X,Y,ZThisistheX,Y,Zlocationfortheconstructedpoint. I,J,KThisistheI,J,Kapproachvectoroftheprobe. READPOINTIdentifiesthisfeatureasareadpointcreatedfromtheprobe'sposition. BelowisanexampleofaReadPointfeature:


F7 =FEAT/POINT,RECT THEO/7.4982,2.0111,0.95,0,0,1 ACTL/7.4982,2.0111,0.95,0,0,1 READPOINT/

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

CreatingGenericFeatures * 863

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

CreatingandUsingAlignments
CreatingandUsingAlignments:Introduction
Onceatiphasbeenactivatedandfeaturesmeasured,acoordinatesystem(oralignment)canbe created.PCDMISprovidesyouwithavarietyoftoolsforcreatingandmanagingcoordinate systems.Toaccessthetoolsthatallowyoutoworkwithalignments,selectthedesiredmenu optionsavailablefromtheInsert|Alignmentssubmenu. Themajortopicsdiscussedinthischapterdescribehowtousethesetoolstoeffectivelycreate andmanagealignmentsinyourpartprogram.Thesetopicsinclude: AlignmentCommandFormat DescriptionoftheAlignmentUtilitiesDialogBox Creatinga321Alignment CreatingaBestFitAlignment CreatinganIterativeAlignment SavinganAlignment RecallinganExistingAlignment UsinganAlignmentinsideLoops EquatinganAlignment EquatingCADtoMeasuredPartData PerformingaLeapFrogOperation ChangingAlignmentNominalValues CreatingaBundleAlignment

AlignmentCommandFormat
AllalignmentsaredisplayedinthefollowingformatintheEditwindow'scommandmode.There willbeslightvariationsthatareexplainedmorethoroughlyinthefollowingsections. Forexample
A1=ALIGNMENT/START,RECALL:,LIST=YES/NO ALIGNMENT/LEVEL,'feature_name' ALIGNMENT/ROTATE,XPLUS,TO,feat_name,ABOUT,ZPLUS ALIGNMENT/TRANS,XAXIS,feature_name ALIGNMENT/TRANS,YAXIS,feature_name ALIGNMENT/TRANS,ZAXIS,feature_name ALIGNMENT/END

See"Conventions"belowforfieldrules. Descriptionsofthealignmentcommandsareavailableattheselocations: FortheStartcommand,see"StartAlignmentCommand". FortheEndcommand,see"EndAlignmentCommand". FortheRecallcommand,see"Recall". FortheLevelcommand,see"Level". FortheRotatecommand,see"Rotate". FortheTranslatecommand,see"Origin".

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

CreatingandUsingAlignments * 865

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

StartAlignmentCommand
Thelinethatstartsthealignmentis:
ALIGN_ID=ALIGNMENT/START,RECALL:ID,LIST=YES/NO

Changeablefields: "Align_ID" ThisistheIDthealignmentwillbestoredas.TheIDisassignedbytheoperator.A defaultnamewillbeassignedifanIDisnotspecified.Example:A1. "ID" IDisapreviousinternalalignmentthatwillberecalledtostartanewalignment.Notethatin version3.6andaboveyoucanalsousetheUSE_ACTIVE_ALIGNMENT keywordinthisfieldto causePCDMIStousetheactivealignmentinsteadofrecallingastoredalignment.Thisisuseful whenusingalignmentswithloopingandconditionalbranching.Seethe"UsinganAlignment InsideLoops"topic. "LIST" SettingthisfieldtoYESorNOletsyoudeterminewhetherornotPCDMISshoulddisplaythe alignmentIDintheAlignmentslistontheSettingstoolbarforlaterinsertioninthepartprogram. ThedefaultsettingisYES.SettingthisfieldtoNOisusefulifyouhavealotoftemporary alignmentsandyoudon'twantthemalllistedintheAlignmentslistontheSettingstoolbar(see "ActiveAlignmentList").

EndAlignmentCommand
TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionreads:
ALIGNMENT/END

Therearenochangeablefieldsinthiscommand.Thiscommandmustbeusedwheneverthe ALIGNMENT/START commandhasbeenused.

AddingLines
Toaddaline,placethecursorinthedesiredlocationandpresstheENTERkey.Beginbytyping thewordALIGNMENT.PresstheTABkey.PCDMISaddsthenewlinedependingonwherethe cursorislocated.Ifthecursorisinthemiddleofacommand,anewlineiscreatedbelowthe currentline.Ifthecursorisplacedatthebeginningofacommandline,PCDMISwillplacethe newlineabovethecurrentcursorposition. Thefirstnewlinethatiscreatedwillalwaysdisplaytheminorcommand:LEVEL.Enteringanew commandcaneasilychangethis.Additionallinescreatedaftertheinitiallinewilldisplaythemost recentcommand.

DeletingLines
Todeleteablankline,presstheDOWNARROWorENTERkey.Thelinemayalsobe highlightedanddeleted.(See"CommandModeKeyboardFunctions"inthe"UsingtheEdit Window"chapter.)

866 * CreatingandUsingAlignments

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Conventions
Allalignmenttextcommandsareinamacrotypeformatwithastartandendcommand. TheALIGNMENT/STARTcommandisalwaysthefirstlineandtheALIGNMENT/END commandisthelastlineofthealignmentstatement. Allalignmentfunctionsmustbeinsidethestartandendcommands.Theoneexceptionis the"ALIGNMENT/RECALL"command,inwhichthestartandendcommandsare executedasone. Ineachofthecommands(except"Start,""End"and"Recall")thesecondfieldallowsyou tochangefromonechoicetoanother.Alloftheotheroperatordependentfieldswillthen changetorepresentthefieldthatiscurrentlyactive.

DescriptionoftheAlignmentUtilitiesDialogBox

AlignmentUtilitiesdialogbox Ifyouarecreatinganewpartprogram,thedialogboxwilldisplaytheSTARTUPcommandthefirst timetheAlignmentUtilitiesdialogboxisopened(Insert|Alignment|New). IfthecursorislocatedinthelastlineoftheEditwindow,thealignmentIDwilldisplayanew identificationandthecurrentalignment. Forexample,inCommandmode,theEditwindowreads:


AlignmentID=A5 RecallAlignmentID=A4

YoualsohavetheoptionofrecallinganyavailablealignmentlistedintheRecalldropdownbox. Onlyalignmentscreatedpriortothecurrentcursorspositionwillbeavailable. TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionreads:

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

CreatingandUsingAlignments * 867

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ALIGNMENT/START ALIGNMENT/BF2D,'feat_id' ALIGNMENT/END

Note:AnalignmentisnotconsideredcompleteduntiltheOKbuttonisselectedandPCDMIS updatestheActiveAlignmentListbox. Oncethealignmentprocedureiscomplete,PCDMISwillindicatetherotationofthealignmentin theleftcorneroftheGraphicsDisplaywindow.Asthegraphicalimageofthepartisscaledtofit thescreen,thealignmentoffsetbecomesaccurate(oncetheaxesreferenceleavesthecornerof thewindow). Ifanyofyouraxesarenotconstrainedonyourcreatedalignment,PCDMISwillwarnyouby causingtheredXYandZoriginsymbol(ortrihedron)tocontinuallymovebetweenthoseaxeson theGraphicsDisplaywindow.Oncethealignmentiscompletelyconstrained,PCDMISdisplays thetrihedroninafixedlocationtorepresentthealignmentposition:

AlignmentTrihedron

AccessingtheDialogBox
PCDMISallowsyoutoaccesstheAlignmentdialogboxfromwithintheEditwindow.Todothis: 1. 2. 3. 4. OpentheEditwindow(View|EditWindow). IntheEditwindownavigatetotheAlignmentblock. Placeyourcursoronthefirstline. PresstheshortcutkeyF9.Thedialogboxassociatedwiththealignmentblockwillappear.

Thedialogboxwilldisplaythecurrentfeature'salignment,allowingyoutomakechanges.

AlignmentID

ThisboxdisplaystheIDforthecurrentalignment. Tochangethisvalue: 1. Highlightthepreviousvalue. 2. TypeinanewID. 3. PresstheTABkey.

868 * CreatingandUsingAlignments

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ActiveAlignmentList

Duringalignmentcreationoranytimeyouwishtovieworeditanalignment,thislistboxdisplays thevariouscomponentsmakingupthecurrentalignment,suchasthealignment'sID,anyrecall alignmentsused,thetypeofalignment,andthefeaturesusedbythealignment'saxestoperform itsrotationandtranslation. EditinganAlignment WhileyoucaneditanyalignmentalreadycreatedinsidetheSummaryorCommandmodesofthe Editwindow,youcanalsoeditanexistingalignmentbyclickingonanelementinthislistand makingtheneededchange.Onceyouselectanitem,theappropriateareaoftheAlignment Utilitiesdialogboxbecomesavailabletoedit.Aftermakingyourchange,clickOKtomodifythe alignment. Forexample,ifyouwantedtomodifythefeaturetowhichthealignmentwasleveled,youwould selectthe"leveledto"linefromthelist.Asshowninthefollowingfigure,PCDMISwoulddisplay thecurrentfeatureusedforthelevelingportionofthealignment,andthenitwouldmakethe Levelbuttonandlistofaxesavailable.

ExampleoftheActiveAlignmentlistusedtoeditanexistingalignment Simplyselectthenewfeature,andaxis,clickLevel,andPCDMISupdatestheActive Alignment listtoreflectyourchange.ThenclickOKtosavethechange.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

CreatingandUsingAlignments * 869

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

DropDownAxes
Thesedropdownlists,allowyoutoselectaxesthatareusedinthedifferentstagesofcreatinga newalignment.Theavailableaxesforeachdropdownlistare: XPLUS XMINUS YPLUS YMINUS ZPLUS ZMINUS

Level

TheLevelbuttonallowsyoutoestablishtheorientationofthenormalaxisofthecurrentworking plane. Tochooseafeatureto"level"to: 1. SpecifythefeaturetobeusedfromtheFeatureListbox. 2. ClicktheLeveloption. Youmayalsospecifytheaxistobeusedinestablishingtheorientationbyselectingitfromthe dropdownlist. TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionreads: ALIGNMENT/LEVEL,ZPLUS,'feat_id' Changeablefields: "ZPLUS" ThisisafieldthatallowsyoutoswitchbetweenthefieldsZPLUS,XPLUS,YPLUS, ZMINUS,XMINUS,andYMINUSintheEditwindow.Thisfieldrepresentsthedirectionof thespecifiedaxisthatthefeatureisleveledto. "feat_id" Thealignmentlevelstothespecifiedfeature. Example:PLANE1.

Rotate

TheRotatebuttonallowsyoutorotatethedefinedaxisoftheworkplanetothefeatureorparallel tothefeature.PCDMISrotatesthedefinedaxisaroundthecentroidusedastheorigin.Youcan definewhichaxistorotateandwhichaxistorotatearound. Tochooseafeaturetorotateto: 1. SelecttheproperreferencefeaturefromtheFeatureListbox.

870 * CreatingandUsingAlignments

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

2. ClicktheRotatebutton. TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionreads: ALIGNMENT/ROTATE,XPLUS,to,'feat_id',about,ZPLUS Changeablefields: "XPLUS","ZPLUS" ThisisatogglefieldthatallowsyoutotogglebetweenthesefieldsintheEditwindow: ZPLUS XPLUS YPLUS ZMINUS XMINUS YMINUS PCDMISwillsetthisaxisparalleltothespecifiedinputfeature.Itwillthenrotateaboutthe secondaxis. "feat_id" Thealignmentrotatesparalleltothespecifiedfeature.Example:LINE1.

RotatebyanOffset
Torotatebyanoffset,selecttheOFFSEToptionbytypingthedesiredangleintheOffsetAngle box.Thenewvaluewillreplacetheoldrotationoffset. TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionreads:
ALIGNMENT/ROTATE_OFFSET,'numeric_value'

Changeablefield:"numeric_value" Thisisthevaluethealignmentwillberotatedbyindegreesofangle(forexample 14.36).Therotationwillbeabouttheaxis,perpendiculartotheactiveworkplane.The rotationwillbeclockwiseiftheangleisnegativeandcounterclockwiseiftheangleis positive.

RotatetoaLinebetweenTwoCircles
Torotatetothelinebetweentwocircles,selecttwocirclesintheFeatureListboxandclickthe Rotatebutton.Asintheothertypeofrotate,selecttheaxistorotate,theaxistorotatearound, andentertheoffsetvalue(ifdesired). TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionreads:
ALIGNMENT/ROTATE_CIRCLE,ID,ID

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

CreatingandUsingAlignments * 871

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Changeablefields:"ID" Thisisoneofthetwoidstowhichtorotate.

SetOriginOffsetDistance

TheOffsetDistanceboxallowsyoutosettheoriginbyaspecificoffsetdistance. TousetheSetOriginOffset: 1. 2. 3. 4. ClickintheOffsetDistancebox. Typeadesiredvaluefortheoffsetdistance. PresstheTABkey. ClicktheSetOriginbutton.

Origin

TheOriginbuttonallowsyoutomovethepartorigintoaspecificlocationorbyaspecificoffset. Tomovethepartorigin: 1. Choosetheoriginthatistobemovedbyselectingtheappropriatecheckbox(X,Y,Z,or AUTO). 2. ClicktheOriginbutton.AUTOwillchoosetheaxestomovebasedonthefeaturetype, theorientationofthatfeature,andtheworkplane.

MovetoaFeature
Tomovetoafeature,simplyselectthefeature. TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionreads:
ALIGNMENT/TRANS,ZAXIS,'feat_id'

Changeablefields: "ZAXIS" ThisisEditwindowfieldallowsyoutoswitchbetweenthefields ZAXIS,XAXIS,and YAXIS.Thisfieldrepresentstheaxisthattheoriginwillbemovedalongtomatchthe input'feat_id'. "feat_id" Thisisthefeaturethealignmentwillsettheoriginto,alongthegivenaxis.Example: CIRCLE1.

MovebyanOffset
Tomovebyanoffset,selecttheOFFSEToptionbyenteringanewoffsetvalue.

872 * CreatingandUsingAlignments

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionreads:
ALIGNMENT/TRANS_OFFSET,ZAXIS,'numeric_value'

Changeablefields: "ZAXIS" ThisEditwindowfieldallowsyoutotogglebetweenthefieldsZAXIS,XAXIS,andYAXIS. Thesefieldsrepresenttheaxisthattheoriginwillmovealongbytheinput 'numeric_value'. "numeric_value" Thisisthevaluethealignmentwillbeoffsetby(forexample:5.12).Thepositivevalue movesinthepositivedirection,andthenegativevaluemovesinthenegativedirection.

Recall

TheRecallbuttonrecallssavedalignmentsandusestheminyourcurrentpartprogram.Seethe "RecallinganExistingAlignment".

Iterative

TheIterativebuttonaccessestheIterativeAlignment dialogbox.Usethisdialogboxtocreate Iterativealignments.Seethe"CreatinganIterativeAlignment".

BestFit

TheBestFitbuttonaccessestheBestFitdialogbox.UsethisdialogboxtocreateBestFit alignments.Seethe"CreatingaBestFitAlignment".

AutoAlign

TheAutoAlignbuttonallowsyoutoselectthreefeaturesfromwhichPCDMISwillautomatically createanalignment.Theorderinwhichthethreefeaturesareselectedisextremelyimportant. Thefirstofthethreefeatureswillbeusedtoestablishtheorientationofthenormal axis tothecurrentworkingplane. Thecurrentworkingplanewillthenberotatedtothesecondfeature. Lastly,thepartoriginwillbesetaccordingtothethirdfeaturetype.

Forexample,ifyouselecta: Plane,LineandaPointwithaZPLUSworkplane: TheplanewillestablishtheZPLUSorientationofthepart.Themeasuredlinebecomes theXPLUSmajoraxis.TheoriginissetwiththeZzeroequaltothatoftheplane.TheY isequaltothatofthelineandtheXisequaltothatofthepoint.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

CreatingandUsingAlignments * 873

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Plane,LineandaMeasuredCirclewithaYMINUSworkplane: TheplanewillestablishtheYMINUSorientationofthepart.Themeasuredlinebecomes theZMINUSmajoraxis.TheoriginissetwiththeYzeroequaltothatoftheplane.TheX andZzeros(origins)areequaltothecenterofthecircle. IfPCDMISisunabletocreateanewalignmentbasedonthethreeselectedfeatures,apop windowwillappearwithanerrormessage. Important:InanAutoAlignmenttheoriginofthealignmentisbasedonthethirdfeatureused. Ifit'sapoint,PCDMISsetstheaxesorigin.Ifnot,PCDMISchecksthefeature'sdefaultaxes. Ifit'sanAutoLine,PCDMISreturnsX,Y,andZandsetstheoriginontheX,Y,andZ. Ifit'saMeasuredLine,PCDMISdetermineswhichaxistheapproachvectormostclosely followsandthenzerosouttheothertwoaxes. Ifit'sanAutoCircle,PCDMISsetsallthreeaxes. Ifit'saMeasuredCircle,PCDMISlooksattheworkplaneandonlysetstwoaxes.

CADEqualsPart

TheCadEqualsPartbuttonishelpfulwhenusingCADdataonline. TosettheCADequaltothepart: 1. Measurefeaturesonthepartorfixture. 2. Usethealignmentoptions(LEVEL,ROTATEandSETORIGIN)tocreateanalignment. 3. SelecttheCadEqualsPartbutton. PCDMISwillcreateabridgebetweentheCADdataandthemeasureddata.Thisallowsthe measureddatatobedisplayedontopoftheCADdata.ItalsousestheCADdatatohelpinspect thepart.Thisoptionisonlyavailableafteracreatedalignmentplacesthepartorigin/orientationat thesamelocationastheCADorigin/orientation. AftertheCadEqualsPartbuttonisselectedforapart,theCADEqualsPartmenuitemwillbe selected.

Creatinga321Alignment
Theinformationpresentedheredescribesthestepsyou'llneedtotaketocreateastandard321 alignment. Hint:ClickthisiconfromtheWizardstoolbar toaccessPCDMIS's321AlignmentWizard.

874 * CreatingandUsingAlignments

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Step1:MeasuretheAlignmentFeatures
Thefirstthingyouwillneedtodoismeasurethefeaturesusedtocreatethe321alignment.A 321alignmentusesthreestandardfeaturetypesforitscreation.Thenumbers3,2,and1refer totheminimumnumberofhitsyouneedtotakeoninordertomeasurethesefeatures. MeasureaPlane.Thefirstfeatureisthelevelingfeatureandshouldbeaplane composedofthreehits.PCDMISwillleveltheparttothisfeature.Thisdefinestheorigin anddirectionofthefirstaxis(usuallytheZaxis). MeasureaLine.Thesecondfeatureistherotationfeatureandshouldbealine composedoftwohits.PCDMISwillrotatetheparttothisfeature,orientingthesecond axis.Thesecondhitofthisfeatureshouldbeinthepositivedirectionoftheaxis,relative toyourfirsthit.Thisfeaturedefinesthedirectionofthesecondaxis(usuallytheXaxis) andtheoriginofthethirdaxis(usuallytheYaxis). MeasureaPoint.Thethirdandfinalfeatureistheoriginfeaturecomposedofjustonehit. SincePCDMIScreatestheoriginforthisaxisfromyourfirsttwofeatures,thethirdpoint merelyestablishestheoriginoftheentirealignment.PCDMISwilltranslatethepartto thisfeature,makingittheX=0,Y=0,andZ=0location.

Onceyou'vemeasuredthenecessaryfeatures,you'rereadytocreateyouralignment.

Step2:Level,Rotate,andTranslatetotheFeatures
ThisstepusestheAlignmentUtilitiesdialogboxtolevel,rotate,andtranslateyourparttothe featuresmeasuredinthepreviousstep. 1. AccesstheAlignmentUtilitiesdialogbox(Insert|Alignment|New).Noticethatthe Featurelistshowsallthepossiblefeaturesthatcanbeusedtolevel,rotate,ortranslate thepart. 2. FromtheFeaturelist,clickontheplanefeatureyoucreatedinthepreviousstep.Once PCDMISselectsthefeature,selecttheaxistowhichPCDMISshouldlevelthepart,and thenclicktheLevelbutton.PCDMISwilldisplayalineoftextinsidetheAlignment Utilitiesdialogboxinformingyouofthefeatureandaxistobeusedintheleveling process. 3. FromtheFeaturelist,clickonthelinefeatureyoucreatedinthepreviousstep.OncePC DMISselectsthefeature,selectwhataxistorotatetoandwhataxistorotateaboutand thenclicktheRotatebutton.Again,PCDMISdisplaysthefeatureandaxistobeusedfor therotationprocess. 4. FromtheFeaturelist,clickonthepointfeatureyoucreatedinthepreviousstep.Once PCDMISselectsthefeature,selecttheappropriateaxischeckboxtodeterminewhich axis(oraxes)youwanttomovetothisoriginfeature,andclicktheOriginbutton. Note:Alternately,youcanselectallthreeofthefeaturesfromtheFeaturelistandclicktheAuto AlignbuttontohavePCDMISautomaticallyleveltothefirstfeatureselected,rotatetothe secondfeatureselected,andtranslatetheaxestothethirdfeatureselected. Nowyou'rereadytocompletethealignmentcreationprocess.

Step3:CompletingtheAlignment
Tocompletethealignment: 1. Ensurethattheinformationinthedialogboxiscorrect.
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual CreatingandUsingAlignments * 875

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

2. Whenyou'reready,clicktheOKbutton.PCDMISclosesthedialogbox.Ifthisnew alignmentdiffersfromtheexistingalignment,PCDMISwilldisplayapromptaskingifyou wanttoupdateaffectedcommandsintheEditwindowtousethenewalignment.Ifthe alignmentdoesn'tchange(orthechangeistoosmalltomatter),PCDMISsimplyinserts thealignmentwithoutdisplayingthepromptorupdatinganycommands. 3. PCDMISinsertsthecodeforthealignmentintotheEditwindow,andgraphicallyshows thealignmentontheCADmodelinsidetheGraphicsDisplaywindow. 4. Youcaneditthealignment'scodeatanytimebyusingthetechniquesdescribedinthe "UsingtheEditwindow"chapter.

CreatingaBestFitAlignment

BestFitAlignmentdialogbox WhenyouclicktheBestFitbuttonfromtheAlignmentUtilitiesdialogbox, PCDMISdisplaystheBestFitAlignmentdialogbox.Thisdialogboxprovidesawayforyouto "bestfit"themeasureddatatothenominalpoints.Thistechniquerequiresatleastthreefeatures tobemeasured.

UnderstandingBestFitAlignments
Toproperlycreateyourbestfitalignment,considertheinformationpresentedhere. WhenPCDMIScomparestwosetsoffeatures,itmeasuresthedifferencebetweentheactual featurelocationstotheircorrespondingnominallocations.Whencomparingasetofpointstothe featurethatiscomputedfromthem,PCDMISmeasuresthedifferencebetweenthepointsand theirorthogonalprojectionontothefeature.Abestfitattemptstofindtheglobalminimumforthe methodusedtodeterminethe"distance"betweenthepointsandthefeature.

876 * CreatingandUsingAlignments

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ThesetopicswillhelpyoutounderstandimportantaspectsofBestFitalignments.

2DBestFitCommandLineFormat
TheEditwindowcommandlinefortheBestFit2Doptionreads:
ALIGNMENT/BF2D,TOG1,TOG2,CREATEWEIGHTS=YES,TOG3,0,0,0,0 CENTEROFROTATION,MEAS_X,MEAS_Y,MEAS_Z,THEO_X,THEO_Y,THEO_Z SHOWALLINPUTS=YES,SHOWALLPARAMS=YES SHOWALLINPUTS=YES,SHOWALLPARAMS=YES ID=

AvailableFields: "TOG1"Thisfieldallowsyoutoswitchbetweentheavailableworkplanes.Thecurrent workingplaneshouldbedisplayed. "TOG2"Thisfieldallowsyoutoswitchbetweentheavailabletypesofbestfits:LEASTSQR, VECFIT,andMINMAX.See"AvailableBestFitTypes"forinformation. CREATEWEIGHTS=ThisoptionletsyoudeterminewhetherornotPCDMIScreates weightsforthefeaturesusedinthebestfitalignment.AvailableoptionsareYESorNO. See"FeatureWeights". "TOG3"Thisfielddeterminesthedegreesoffreedomforthe2Dalignment.Availableoptions are:ROTONLY(rotationonly),ROTANDTRANS(rotationandtranslation),and TRANSONLY(translationonly). CENTEROFROTATIONThisfieldandthemeasuredandtheoreticalXYZvaluesassociated withit,representthecenterofrotation.TheyonlyappearifROTONLYor ROTANDTRANSisusedfortheTOG2field. SHOWALLINPUTS=Thisoptionletsyoudeterminewhetherornotthealignmentcodeblock displaysthefeatureinputsusedtocreatethealignment.AvailableoptionsareYESorNO. SHOWALLPARAMS=Thisoptionletsyoudeterminewhetherornotthealignmentcode blockdisplaysalltheparametersforthefeatureinputs.AvailableoptionsareYESorNO. IfsettoYES,thenPCDMISwilldisplaythisinformationforeachinputfeature:FeatureID, FeatureType,DimensionID,FeatureWeight,FeatureUse. Forexample,itmightlooksomethinglikethis.
ID=CIR2,Circles,LOC12,2.000000,YES

IfsettoNO,thenPCDMISwilldisplayonlytheIDoftheinputfeature
ID=CIR2

ID=Eachlinebeganwith"ID="representsaninputfeatureusedinthealignment.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

CreatingandUsingAlignments * 877

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

3DBestFitCommandLineFormat
TheEditwindowcommandlinefortheBestFit3Doptionreads:
ALIGNMENT/BF3D,TOG1,CREATEWEIGHTS=YES,TOG2,0,0,0,0,0,0 CENTEROFROTATION,MEAS_X,MEAS_Y,MEAS_Z,THEO_X,THEO_Y,THEO_Z SHOWALLINPUTS=YES,SHOWALLPARAMS=YES ID=

AvailableFields: "TOG1"Thisfieldallowsyoutoswitchbetweentheavailabletypesofbestfits. "TOG2"Thisfieldallowsyoutoswitchbetweentheavailabletypesofconstraintsforthe3D alignment.Availableoptionsare:ROTONLY(rotationonly),ROTANDTRANS(rotation andtranslation),andTRANSONLY(translationonly). CENTEROFROTATIONThisfieldandthemeasuredandtheoreticalXYZvaluesassociated withit,representthecenterofrotation.TheyonlyappearifROTONLYor ROTANDTRANSisusedfortheTOG2field. SHOWALLINPUTS=Thisoptionletsyoudeterminewhetherornotthealignmentcodeblock displaysthefeatureinputsusedtocreatethealignment.AvailableoptionsareYESorNO. SHOWALLPARAMS=Thisoptionletsyoudeterminewhetherornotthealignmentcode blockdisplaysalltheparametersforthefeatureinputs.AvailableoptionsareYESorNO. IfsettoYES,thenPCDMISwilldisplaythisinformationforeachinputfeature:FeatureID, FeatureType,DimensionID,FeatureWeight,FeatureUse. Forexample,itmightlooksomethinglikethis:
ID=CIR2,Circles,LOC12,2.000000,YES

IfsettoNO,thenPCDMISwilldisplayonlytheIDoftheinputfeature,likethis: D=CIR2 ID=Eachlinestartingwith"ID="representsaninputfeatureusedinthealignment.

2Dor3DBestFitAlignments
BestFitAlignmentscanbeeithertwoorthreedimensional.Thereisaverysignificantdifference betweena2Danda3Dbestfit. A2DBestFitalignmentrequiresaninitialalignment.Thealignmentiscreatedinthe specifiedworkplaneandisbasedonthecurrentalignment. A3DBestFitalignmentusestheraw(machine)dataandcorrelatesittothetheoretical values.ItdoesNOTuseapreviousalignmentbutcreatesacompletelynewone.

878 * CreatingandUsingAlignments

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

AvailableBestFitTypes
ThereareseveraloptionsavailablewhencreatingaBestFitAlignment.Therearethreedifferent typesofBestFitoptions: 1. LeastSquares(default)minimizestheaveragesquarederrorofthefitamongallofthe featuresincludedinthebestfit.Thisisthemostcommonbestfittype.Theerrorvalueis thesumofthesquareddistances.Outliersdon'thaveasbadaneffectanddirectionof errorplaysnoroleinthisfit. 2. Vector(alsoknownasProjectedLeastSquares)alsominimizestheaveragesquared erroramongthefeaturesbeingfithowever,itfirstsnaps(orprojects)thepointsback ontothenominalvectorsofthefeature.Therefore,allerrorwillbealongthenominal vectors.Theerrorvalueisthesumofthesquaredprojecteddistances.Thistypeoffitis typicallyusedwhenasetofpointsisbeingfittocurvesand/orsurfaces.Withthistype offit,PCDMISallowspointsto'slide'alongthesurfacebutdiscouragesthemfrom pullingawayfromthesurface. Example:IftheNominalpointis:1.1.1withthevector:0,0,1,andMeasurevalues 4,2,0.95,thenthemeasureddatawillbeadjustedto1,1,0.95,snappedtothevectorof 0,0,1. 3. Min/Maxminimizesthemaximumerror(thelargestdistance)amongthefeaturesbeing fit.Badmeasurementscanaffectthiserrorvaluedrastically.Youcanusethiskindof alignmenttodetermineifthereisanalignmentthatwillallowallfeaturesinputtotheBest Fitalignmenttobewithinthegiventolerances.ThistypeoffitisspecifiedbyY14.5. Note:TheMin/Maxoptionisonlyavailablefor2DBestFitalignments.

Constraintsfor3DBestFitAlignments
Therearealsoconstraintsthatcanbeappliedto3DBestFitalignments.Theconstraintoptions are: 1. RotateandTranslate(default)Thisallowsthealignmentfullflexibilitywhilecorrelating themachinedatatothetheoreticalvalues. 2. RotateOnlyThisoptionrestrictsthealignmenttorotationonly,withoutapplyingany translations. 3. TranslateOnlyThisoptionrestrictsthealignmenttotranslationonly,withoutapplying anyrotations.

FeatureWeights
Eachfeatureusedasaninputhasanassociatedweight.Thedefaultvaluefortheseweightsis1. Youcanmodifytheweightsintheeditwindoworinthedialogbox.Thevaluesoftheseweights affecttheresultingalignment.Thelargertheweightofaparticularfeature,themoretheresulting alignmentwillattempttomatchthemeasuredvalueofthatfeaturetoitstheoreticalvalue.This allowsyoutoassignprioritiestothefeaturesinthealignment.Iftheweightsofalltheinput featuresareequalthenthefeatureswillbetreatedequally,regardlessofthevalueoftheweight. AnyoftheweightscanbeeditedbyselectingthefeatureintheInputListandclickingtheEdit Weightbutton.Thenewweightwillbeassignedtothatfeatureandusedduringthecalculations. Weights mayalsobeassignedtoeachfeaturebasedonitsassociateddimension.Ifthereisno associateddimension,itwillbeassignedadefaulttolerance.Theweightsareassignedby

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

CreatingandUsingAlignments * 879

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

clickingtheCreateWeightsbutton.Acompositeweightforthefeatureisthencomputedby multiplyingtheuserdefinedweightswiththetoleranceweights.

FeatureSetsasBestFitAlignmentInputs
Whenusingfeaturesets(constructedsetsorscans)asinputstotheBestFitalignment,aplus(+) signwillappearnexttothefeatureIDintheInputListbox.Byclickingonceontheplus(+)sign, thefeaturesthatcreatethatsetwillbedisplayed.Initiallytheweights foreachfeaturewillbethe sameasitsparentfeature(theoriginalset).Theweightforeachchildfeatureofthesetcanbe editedinthesamefashionasoutlinedabove.Tochangetheweightofallofthefeaturesinthe set,simplyedittheweightonthefeaturesetitself,andthatweightwillbetransferredtoallofits children.

ScansasBestFitAlignmentInputs
Whenworkingwithascan,thereisoneextracomponentthanwhenworkingwithafeatureset. Scansarecomposedofbasicscans.Eachbasicscaniscomposedofindividualpoints.When clickingaplus(+)signnexttoascan,itwillexposeallofthebasicscansassociatedwithit.A plus(+)signwillappearnexttoeachbasicscan.Byclickingtheplus(+)signnexttoeachbasic scan,itwillexposealloftheindividualpointsassociatedwiththebasicscan.Theweightforeach pointcanbeedited,theweightofthebasicscan(andallofitspoints)canbeedited,ortheweight ofthescanitselfcanbeedited.

TaggedFeaturesinaFeatureSetorScan
Also,individualmemberswithinafeaturesetcanbetaggedsothattheyarenotused.Totaga memberofasettonotbeusedinthebestfitalignment,doubleclickitintheInputListbox.This willchangethe"YES"intheUsecolumnoftheInputListboxto"NO".Ifabasicscanisdouble clicked,itandallofitsassociatedpointswillbetaggedwith"NO"andwillnotgetusedinthe calculations.

3DAlignmentCenterofRotation
ForcertainBestFitalignments,youcanspecifyacenterofrotation.Thiscanbedoneoneoftwo ways. 1. SelectafeaturefromtheInputListbox.NextclicktheRotatebutton.Thetheoretical andmeasuredvalueswillautomaticallybeenteredintotheappropriateboxesinthe RotateAboutarea. 2. Ifaspecificcoordinateisdesired,thevaluecanbeenteredmanuallybytypingtheXYZ coordinateintotheTheoreticalandMeasuredboxes.Thevaluemustbeinacomma delimitedformatinordertobevalid.Forexample,Xtheo,Ytheo,Ztheo.

PointFitting
Bydefault,PCDMISfitsthepointsinyourBestFitalignmentagainsttheoriginalnominalpoint cloud.However,youcanhavetheBestFitalignmentfitthepointsagainstthesurfacesorcurves instead.Toturnonthisnewfunctionality,youwillneedtoaccessthePCDMISSettingsEditor andsettheIterateAndRePierceCadOnBestFitAlignments registryentrytoTRUE.Bydefault,this entryissettoFALSE.

880 * CreatingandUsingAlignments

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Whenyouopenyourexistingpartprogramstheywillnotautomaticallyrecalculate.Youwillneed toforcetherecalculationbychangingthetypeintheBestFitMethodareafromaVectorfitto MinMax.Generally,youwillwanttouseMinMaxforprofilecalculationsanyway.Additionally, youmightneedtorecalculateyourdimensions.Youcandothisbyretypingthescannameinthe Editwindow.Youshouldthenseeamuchsmallerprofileerror. Twoadditionalrelatedsettingsalsoexist.


IterateAndRePierceCadOnBestFitAlignmentsToleranceInMM Thissetsthefindnominals

toleranceusedduringthefitting.Youneedtoensurethatthisislargerthantheprobe's radius.Mostofthetime,thedefaultof20millimeterswillsuffice.
IterateAndRePierceCadOnBestFitAlignmentsMaxLoops Thissetsamaximumnumberofloops

incasePCDMISneverconvergestoasolution.Itdefaultsto100which,formost circumstances,willsuffice. Forinformationonmodifyingregistryentries,pleaseviewthe"ModifyingRegistryEntries" appendix

ToCreateaBestFitAlignment
TocreateaBestFitalignment: 1. AccesstheAlignmentUtilitiesdialogbox(Insert|Alignment|New). 2. ClicktheBestFitbutton.TheBestFitAlignmentdialogboxappears.Youwillusethis dialogboxtocreatetheBestFitalignment.See"DescriptionoftheBestFitAlignment DialogBox"ifyouneedinformationaboutthedialogbox. 3. SelectthefeaturestobeusedoutoftheFeatureListbox.Thesewillbedisplayedinthe InputListbox. 4. Selecttheorientationofalignmentbyselectingeitherthe2Dor3Doptionsinthe Orientationarea.Fora2Dalignment,alsoselectthecorrectactiveplanefromthe ActivePlanedropdownlist. 5. SelectthebestfittypebychoosingtheappropriateoptionsfromtheBestFitMethod area.Inthecaseofa3Dalignment,alsochoosetheappropriateconstraintalsofromthe BestFitMethodarea. 6. Toedittheweightsofthefeatures,selecttheCreateWeightsbutton.Selectthefeature whoseweightistobechanged.ClicktheEditWeightbutton.Typethenewweightinthe NewValueboxintheWeightEditorarea,andclicktheEnterbutton. 7. Tosetthepointofrotationaboutagivenfeature,selectthefeaturefromtheInputList, andclicktheRotateAboutbutton.Alternately,avaluecanbeenteredintothe TheoreticalandMeasuredboxesintheRotateAboutareaofthedialogbox. 8. ClicktheOKbutton.TheBestFitAlignmentdialogboxcloses. 9. ClicktheOKbuttonontheAlignmentUtilitiesdialogbox.Thedialogboxcloses.Ifthis newalignmentdiffersfromtheexistingalignment,PCDMISwilldisplayapromptasking ifyouwanttoupdateaffectedcommandsintheEditwindowtousethenewalignment.If thealignmentdoesn'tchange(orthechangeistoosmalltomatter),PCDMISsimply insertsthealignmentwithoutdisplayingthepromptorupdatinganycommands.Following execution,PCDMISwilldisplaya3DAlignmentBestFitGraphicalAnalysisintheReport window.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

CreatingandUsingAlignments * 881

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ASampleBestFitAlignmentGraphicalAnalysis Thisgraphicalanalysisofthe3DBestFitalignmentdisplaysthisinformationinthe Reportwindow: HeaderThiscontainsvariousvaluesusedintheBestFitalignment:Method, StandardDeviation,Mean,Translationoffsets,Rotationoffsets,Maxiterations, Iterations. VerticalAxisThisshowstheamountofdeviationafterthealignment. HorizontalAxisThisdisplaystheIDsofthepointsusedinthealignment.

DescriptionoftheBestFitAlignmentDialogBox

BestFitAlignmentdialogbox ThefollowingitemsappearontheBestFitAlignment dialogbox:

882 * CreatingandUsingAlignments

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Item Featureslist

Description

TheFeatureslistcontainsallthefeatures inyourpartprogram.

InputListbox TheInputListboxcontainsthefeatures thatwillbeusedinthecreationofthe BestFitalignment.Itisalsousedtoedit thefeaturesbeforecreationofthe alignment.

EditWeightbutton

TheEditWeightbuttonputsthecurrent weightoftheselectedfeatureintothe NewValueboxoftheWeightEditor area,allowingtheweighttobechanged. TheCreateWeightsbuttonautomatically createsweightsforeachfeatureinthe InputListbox. TheRotateAboutbuttontakesthe theoreticalandmeasuredvaluesfromthe selectedfeatureintheInputListboxand placesthemintheTheoreticaland MeasuredboxesintheRotateAbout area.Thisvalueisusedasthecenterof rotationduringthecalculationoftheBest Fitalignment. TheWeightEditorarearemains unavailableforuseunlessyouselecta featurefromtheInputListboxandclick EditWeight. ThenewweightisenteredintotheNew Valuebox.TheEnterbuttonappliesthe newlyenteredweighttotheselected featureintheInputListbox.

CreateWeightsbutton

RotateAboutbutton

WeightEditorarea

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

CreatingandUsingAlignments * 883

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

RotateAboutarea

TheRotateAboutareacontainstwo boxestodefinethetheoreticaland measuredcenterofrotation: TheTheoreticalboxcontainsthe theoreticalcenterofrotationfor 3Dbestfitalignments. ThisMeasuredboxcontainsthe measuredcenterofrotationfor 3Dbestfitalignments. The3dimensionaloptioncausesthe resultingalignmenttobea3Dalignment.

Orientationarea

The2Dimensionaloptioncausesthe resultingalignmenttobea2Dalignment. TheActivePlanelistsetstheplanein whicha2Dalignmentwillbecalculated. TheSpecifiedConstraintsoptionlets youselectwhichofthesixdegreesof freedom(rotationaboutX,Y,orZaxis, andtranslationintheX,Y,orZdirection) willconstrainthe3Dor2Dalignment. Whenyouselectthischeckbox,PC DMISwilldisplaytheSelectAxestobe Constrainedareaintheplaceofthe BestFitMethodarea. TheBestFitMethodareacontains severalmethodsyoucanusetocompute thebestfitalignment: TheLeastSquaresoptioncauses theaveragesquarederrorforthe inputfeaturestobeminimizedin thealignment. TheVectoroptionsnapstheerrorsin theinputfeaturesontothe theoreticalvectorsbefore minimizingtheaveragesquared error. TheMin/Maxoptionattemptsto orientthepartsothatPCDMIS minimizesthemaximumerrorin alloftheinputfeatures. Note:Min/Maxisonlyvalidfor2DBest Fits. TheRotate&Translateoption

BestFitMethodarea

884 * CreatingandUsingAlignments

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

allowsmaximumfreedominthe calculationofthealignment, lettingitrotateandtranslate freely. TheRotateOnlyoptionlimitsthe alignmenttorotationonlyinits calculation. TheTranslateOnlyoptionlimitsthe alignmenttotranslationonlyinits calculation. TheSelectAxestobeConstrained arealetsyoudefinetheaxesaboutwhich andalongwhichtherotationand translationwillbeconstrained. Thisareaonlyappearsifyouselectthe SpecifiedConstraintsoptionfromthe Orientationarea. Ifyouselectedthe3Dimensionaloption, allsixcheckboxeswouldbeenabled. Ifyouselectedthe2Dimensionaloption, onlythosecheckboxesappropriatetothe ActivePlanewouldbeenabled. SelectAxestobeConstrainedarea TheRotateaboutXoption constrainsthealignmenttorotate abouttheXaxis. TheRotateaboutYoption constrainsthealignmenttorotate abouttheYaxis. TheRotateaboutZoption constrainsthealignmenttorotate abouttheZaxis. TheTranslatealongXoption constrainsthealignmentto translatealongtheXaxis. TheTranslatealongYoption constrainsthealignmentto translatealongtheYaxis. TheTranslatealongZoption constrainsthealignmentto translatealongtheZaxis.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

CreatingandUsingAlignments * 885

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TheUseScalingcheckboxbecomes availableforselectionfor2Dor3D alignmentswhenyouselecttheLeast Squaresmethod.Itisnotavailablefor alignmentswithspecifiedconstraints. Whenyouusescaling,PCDMIS computesatransformation(rotationand translation)andascalefactorthat optimallymatchesthenominaldatatothe scaledmeasureddata. Thescaledalignmentalsoscalesallof themeasureddataandsubsequent measuredfeaturesinthepartprogram, multiplyingitbythecomputedscale factor. Youmayfindthisuseful,forexample,in compensatingforexpansionor contractionofapartduetotemperature.

UseScalingcheckbox

CreatinganIterativeAlignment

IterativeAlignmentdialogbox Inautomotiveterms,an WhentheIterativebuttonisselectedfromtheAlignmentUtilities IterativeAlignmentwillgive dialogbox(Insert|Alignment|New) "body"coordinates. ,PCDMISwilldisplaytheIterativeAlignmentdialogbox.This dialogboxprovidesawayforyoutothreedimensionally"bestfit" themeasureddatatothenominalpoints(orsurfaces,ifavailable). Thistechniquerequiresatleastthreefeaturestobemeasured. Certainfeaturetypes,suchaspointsandlines,havepoorthree dimensionallocations.Ifoneofthesetypesoffeaturesisselected, additionalfeaturesareneededtoprovideaccuratemeasureddata.

886 * CreatingandUsingAlignments

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Thefirstsetoffeaturesestablishestheorientationofthenormalaxis ofthecurrent workingplanebyfittingaplanethroughthefeaturecentroids.Atleastthreefeaturesmust beusedinthissection(LEVEL3+). Thenextsetoffeaturesrotatesthedefinedaxisoftheworkplanetothefeatures,fittinga linethroughthefeatures.Atleasttwofeaturesneedtobeusedinthissection(ROTATE 2+). Ifnofeatureshavebeenmarked,thealignmentwillusefeaturesfromtheLEVELsection. (ThetwofeaturesusedfromtheLEVELsectionarethesecondandthirdfromlast feature.) Thelastsetoffeaturestranslatesthepartorigintoaspecificlocation(SETORIGIN1). Ifnofeatureshavebeenmarked,thealignmentwillusethelastfeaturefromtheLEVEL section.

UnderstandingIterativeAlignments
Toproperlycreateyouriterativealignment,firstconsidertheinformationpresentedherethese topicswillhelpyoutounderstandimportantaspectsofiterativealignments.

IterativeAlignmentCommandFormat
TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionreads:
ALIGNMENT/ITERATE,'feat_id' ,PNTTARGETRAD=n,STARTLABEL=label,FIXTURETOL=n,ERRORLABEL=label MEASALLFEAT=NO/ALWAYS/ONCE, MAXITERATIONS=n LEVELAXIS=axis,ROTATEAXIS=axis,ORIGINAXIS=axis LEVEL=id,id,id, ROTATE=id,id, ORIGIN=id,

Changeablefield:"feat_id" Thesearethefeaturesthatwillbeusedtodotheiterativealignment.Currently,atleast threedifferentfeaturesmustbeselectedforthecalibration.Featuresthatcanestablisha datumaxisinmorethanonedirection(suchasacircleoraslot)canbespecifiedinmore thanonedatumaxis.Forexample,acirclecouldbeusedbothtoestablishthelevelaxis aswellastherotationaxis.Typically,measuredpoints(includingvectorandsurface points)canonlybeusedtoestablishonedatumaxis. PNTTARGETRAD=Thisoptionspecifiesthetargetradiusvalueforthemeasuredpoint featuresusedinthealignment.See"PointTargetRadius"forcompleteinformation. STARTLABEL=PCDMISstartsatthelabelspecifiedherewhenremeasuringalignment features.YoumustsetMEASALLFEATtoALWAYSforthistowork.See"StartLabel"for completeinformation. FIXTURETOL=ThisisthefittingtolerancethatPCDMISusestocomparemeasuredalignment featurestotheirtheoreticalvalues.See"FixtureTolerance"forcompleteinformation. ERRORLABEL=PCDMISgoestothelabelspecifiedherewhenthefixturetolerancelevelis exceeded.Ifyoudon'tdefinealabel,PCDMISwillgenerateanerrormessageshowingthe amountoferroroneachoftheinputfeatures.See"ErrorLabel"forcompleteinformation. LEVELAXIS=PCDMISusestheLEVELinputfeaturestosettheorientationandoriginofthe axisspecifiedhere.See"Level"forcompleteinformation.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

CreatingandUsingAlignments * 887

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ROTATEAXIS=PCDMISusestheROTATEinputfeaturestosettherotationoftheaxis specifiedhereaboutthelevelaxis.TheoriginoftheaxisspecifiedhereisalsosetbyPCDMIS usingtheROTATEinputfeatures.See"Rotate"forcompleteinformation. ORIGINAXIS=PCDMISusestheORIGINinputfeaturestosettheoriginoftheaxisspecified here.See"Origin"forcompleteinformation. MEASUREALLFEATURES= ThisoptiondetermineshowPCDMISproceedsbyeitherre measuringtheinputfeaturesorautomaticallyreexecutingaportionofthepartprogram inDCCmode.Therearethreepossiblesettingsforthisoption.Theyare: NO. See"PointTargetRadius"forcompleteinformation. ONCE. See"MeasAllOnce"forcompleteinformation. ALWAYS. See"MeasAllAlways"forcompleteinformation. MAXITERATIONS=ThisoptiondeterminesthemaximumnumberofiterationsthatPC DMISwillperformforthisiterativealignment.

IterativeAlignmentRules
Therearesomegeneralruleswhendoinganiterativealignment: PCDMISneedsboththemeasuredvaluesandtheoreticalvaluesforeachoftheelementsinthe sets.Thenormalvectorsforthefirstsetofelementsmustbeapproximatelyparallel.Theone exceptiontothisruleisifonlythreefeaturesarebeingusedintheset. Ifmeasuredpoints(VECTOR,EDGE,orSURFACE)arebeingused,thenallthreesetsof elementsareneeded(threefeaturestoLevel,twofeaturestoRotate,andonefeaturetoSet Origin)todefinethealignment.Anyfeaturetypecanbeused,butthreedimensionalelementsare betterdefinedelementsandthereforeimprovetheaccuracy.Someofthepossible3Delements aresheetmetalcircle,slot,cylinder,sphere,oracornerpoint. Note:Thesheetmetalcircle,slot,andcylinderneedatleastthreesamplehits. Thedifficultyofusingmeasuredpointsliesinnotknowingwheretotakethemeasurementuntil afterthealignment.Thisposesaproblemasthepointsmustbemeasuredbeforethealignment. Threedimensionalelements,bydefinitionforthisuse,areelementsthatcanbemeasured preciselythefirsttime. Further,ifmeasuredpoints(VECTORS,EDGE,orSURFACE)arebeingused,thenormal vectorsofthefeaturesintheROTATEsetmusthavenormalvectorsthatareapproximately perpendiculartothevectorsofthefeaturesintheLEVELset.ThefeaturesintheORIGINset musthaveanormalvectorthatisapproximatelyperpendiculartoboththevectorsfromthe LEVELsetandtheROTATEset. Ifmeasuredpoints(VECTORS,EDGE,orSURFACE)arebeingusedaspartoftheset,PC DMISmayaskthattheyberemeasurediftheyweretakentoofarfromthenominallocation.PC DMISfirst"bestfits"themeasureddatatothenominaldata.Next,PCDMIScheckstoseehow faroffeachmeasuredpointis.IfthedistanceisgreaterthantheamountspecifiedinthePoint TargetRadiusbox(seebelow),PCDMISwillrequestthatthepointberemeasured.PCDMIS

888 * CreatingandUsingAlignments

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ineffectputsacylindricaltolerancezonearoundthetheoreticallocationofeachvector,surface, oredgepoint.Theradiusofthistolerancezoneisthepointtolerancespecifiedinthedialog.PC DMISwillcontinuetoremeasurepointfeaturesuntilallthemeasuredpointsfallinto'tolerance'. Thetolerancezoneonlyaffectsmeasuredpoints. AspecialcapabilityofPCDMISallowsthecenterpointofaslottoslideupordowntheaxisas needed.Forthisreason,aniterativealignmentcannotconvergewhenaslotisusedaspartofthe ORIGINset.ItispossibletouseaslotaspartoftheORIGINsetbyfirstconstructingapointfrom theslotandthenusingthatconstructedpointintheORIGINset. AslotisnotrecommendedaspartoftheORIGINsetofaniterativealignment. Typeof Feature used: Circle Line Point Slot Sphere Minimum#ofFeaturesneeded:

3circles: Thismethoduses3DCCcirclesforthealignment. Thisfeaturetypeisnotrecommended. 6points: Thepointsareusedasa321alignment. ThisfeaturetypeisnotrecommendedaspartoftheORIGINset. 3 Thismethoduses3setspheresforthealignment. spheres:

ToCreateanIterativeAlignment
Hint:ClickthisiconfromtheWizardstoolbartoaccessPCDMIS'sIterativeAlignmentWizard.

Tocreateaniterativealignment: 1. AccesstheAlignmentUtilitiesdialogbox(Insert|Alignment|New). 2. ClicktheIterativebutton.TheIterativeAlignmentdialogboxappears.Youwillusethis dialogboxtocreatetheiterativealignment.See"DescriptionoftheIterativeAlignment DialogBox"ifyouneedinformationaboutthedialogbox. 3. FromtheFeatureListbox,selectthefirstsetoffeatures(atleastthreefeatures)tobe usedinestablishingtheorientationofthenormalaxisonthecurrentworkingplane. 4. VerifythattheLeveloptionisselected. 5. ClicktheSelectbutton. 6. Selectwiththemousethesecondsetoffeatures(atleasttwofeatures)tobeusedinthe rotationprocess. 7. VerifythattheRotateoptionisselected. 8. ClicktheSelectbutton. 9. Selectthefinalsetoffeatures(atleastonefeature)thatindicatethedesiredlocationof thepartorigin.(Thesamefeaturesmaybeusedinmorethanoneprocess.) 10. VerifythattheOriginoptionisselected. 11. ClicktheSelectbutton. 12. ClicktheOKbutton.TheIterativeAlignmentdialogboxcloses. 13. ClicktheOKbuttonontheAlignmentUtilitiesdialogboxtocompletethealignment. Thedialogboxcloses.Ifthisnewalignmentdiffersfromtheexistingalignment,PCDMIS willdisplayapromptaskingifyouwanttoupdateaffectedcommandsintheEditwindow tousethenewalignment.Ifthealignmentdoesn'tchange(orthechangeistoosmallto matter),PCDMISsimplyinsertsthealignmentwithoutdisplayingthepromptorupdating anycommands.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

CreatingandUsingAlignments * 889

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Note:SelectingtheLevel,Rotation,orOriginoptionsafterthey'vealreadybeenassigned featureswilldisplaytheindicatedinputfeaturesforthatoption. Afterthisprocessiscomplete,PCDMISwillthreedimensionally"bestfit"themeasureddataand displaythenewalignmentintheGraphicsDisplaywindowandintheEditwindow.Seethe "IterativeAlignmentCommandFormat".

DescriptionoftheIterativeAlignmentDialogBox
ThefollowingdescribestheitemsincludedintheIterativeAlignmentdialogbox.

Level
TheLevel3optionisusedinconjunctionwithatleastthreefeaturesselectedfromtheFeature Listbox.Thissetoffeaturesestablishestheorientationofthenormalaxisofthecurrentworking planebyfittingaplanethroughthefeaturecentroids. Atleastthreefeaturesmustbeusedtolevel.

Rotate
TheRotate2optionisusedinconjunctionwithatleasttwofeaturesselectedfromtheFeature Listbox.Thissetoffeaturesrotatesthedefinedaxisoftheworkplanetothefeatures,fittinga linethroughthefeatures. Atleasttwofeaturesneedtobeusedtorotate. Note:Ifnofeatureshavebeenmarked,thealignmentwillusefeaturesfromtheLEVELsection. (ThetwofeaturesusedfromtheLEVELsectionarethesecondandthirdfromlastfeature.)

Origin
TheOrigin1optionisusedinconjunctionwithonefeatureselectedfromtheFeatureListbox. Thisfeaturesettranslates(ormoves)thepartorigintoaspecificlocation Onefeaturemustbeusedtosettheorigin. Note:Ifnofeatureshavebeenmarked,thealignmentwillusethelastfeaturefromtheLEVEL section.

Select

TheSelectbuttonallowsyoutouseselectedfeaturesfromtheFeatureListboxtoperformthe Leveling,Rotating,andtranslating(ormoving)totheOriginoperationsforaniterativealignment.

890 * CreatingandUsingAlignments

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MeasAllOnce

IfyouselecttheMeasAllOncecheckbox, PCDMISwillremeasurealltheinputfeaturesatleastonceinDCCmode. Theywillbemeasuredintheorderspecifiedbytheiterativealignmentcommandinthe Editwindow. PCDMISwilldisplaywhichfeatureisabouttobemeasuredinamessagebox. Beforeacceptingthemove,ensurethattheprobecanreachtheindicatedfeature(s) withoutcollidingwiththepart. Storedmovesfoundbeforeoraftereachfeaturewillnotbeexecuted.

Afterallthefeatureshavebeenmeasuredatleastonce,remeasurementofthefeatureswill continueformeasuredpointtypesoffeaturesandthosepointsthatmissedtheirPointTarget Radiustarget(see"PointTargetRadius"). Note:PCDMISwillnotmeasurecirclesmorethanonetimewhileinthismodesincetheir locationneverchanges.

MeasAllAlways
IfyouselecttheMeasAllAlwayscheckbox,PCDMISwillreexecuteaportionofthecurrent partprogramatleastonceinDCCmode.TheportionthatisreexecuteddependsontheStart Label(see"StartLabel") Ifyouprovideastartlabel, PCDMISwillreexecutefromthatdefinedlabeltotheALIGNMENT/STARTcommand thatcontainsthecurrentlyexecutingiterativealignmentcommand.

Ifyoudon'tprovideastartlabel, PCDMISwillbeginthisreexecutionfromthefirstfeaturemeasuredintheprogramthat isusedbytheiterativealignmentcommand. Ifthefirstfeaturehasstoredmovepointsprecedingit,thenPCDMISwillalsoexecute thesemovepoints. Thereexecutionwillcontinueuntilthelastmeasuredfeatureusedbytheiterative alignmentcommand. Ifthereareanystoredmovesafterthiscommand,theywillnotbeexecuted.

Oncethereexecutionfinishes,PCDMISwillrecalculatethealignmentandtestanymeasured inputpointstoseeiftheyareallwithinthetoleranceradiusspecifiedinthePointTargetRadius value. Iftheyareallintarget,reexecutiondoesnotneedtocontinueandPCDMISwill considertheiterativealignmentcommandcomplete. Ifanypointsmissedthetargetarea,thenthesameportionoftheprogramwillbere executedasdescribedabove.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

CreatingandUsingAlignments * 891

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

PointTargetRadius

ThePointTargetRadiusboxallowsyoutospecifythetargetradiustoleranceformeasured pointfeaturesusedasinputsinthealignment.Measuredinputpointsincludethefollowing: MEAS/POINT AUTO/VECTOR AUTO/EDGE AUTO/SURFACE AUTO/ANGLE

Whileyoucaneasilyseethelocationneededtomeasureacircleonapart,determiningtheexact locationtomeasureapointonthesurfaceisn'teasilydone.Withoutanyvisualindicatorstelling youwheretomeasurethepoint,itisdifficulttomanuallymeasurethepointinanexactspot.The PointTargetRadiusallowsyoutospecifyanimaginarytolerancezone(ortarget)thesizeofthe radius,aroundeachpoint.Thisallowsyoutotouchanywherewithintheindicatedtolerance.Ifthe measuredpointdidnottouchwithinthiszone,PCDMISwillremeasurethepointinDCCmode. PCDMISwillattempttoremeasuretheinputfeaturesbasedontheselectedcheckboxesinthe IterativeAlignmentdialogbox(See"MeasAllOnce"and"MeasAllAlways"). IfyoudontselecttheMeasAllAlwaysorMeasAllOncecheckbox(orifyoumanuallyset MEASUREALLFEAT=NO intheEditwindow), PCDMISwillfitthedatumsandchecktoseeifanymeasuredinputpointsmissedtheir targets.Ifso,onlythesefeatureswillberemeasuredinDCCmode. PCDMISwilldisplayadialogboxindicatingthefeaturethatisabouttobemeasured. Thiswillletyouensurethattheprobecanreachthedesiredfeaturewithoutcollidingwith thepart. Onceallpointfeaturesareintarget,PCDMISconsiderstheiterativealignment commandcomplete. Ifthereareanymeasuredpointfeaturesthatmissedtheirtargets,PCDMISwillcontinue toremeasurethesefeaturesuntiltheyareintarget.

Note:ItisimportantnottosetthevectorPointTargetRadius valuetoosmall(forexample50 microns).ManyCMMsareunabletoaccuratelypositiontheprobetotoucheachmeasuredpoint onaminusculetarget.Abetterchoicewouldbeatoleranceofabout.5millimeters.Ifthe remeasurementcontinuesindefinitely,youshouldincreasethisvalue.

FixtureTolerance

TheFixtureToleranceboxallowsyoutotypeafittingtolerancevalueagainstwhichPCDMIS comparesfeatureelementsmakinguptheiterativealignmenttotheirtheoreticalvalues. Ifafterfittingthemeasurementvaluestothetheoreticalvalues,oneormoreoftheinputfeatures haveanerroralongtheirassigneddatumaxisthatexceedsthistolerancevalue,PCDMIS automaticallygoestotheerrorlabel(ifoneexists).See"ErrorLabel".

892 * CreatingandUsingAlignments

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Ifyoudon'tprovideanerrorlabel,PCDMISdisplaysanerrormessageshowingtheerrorsalong eachofthedatums.Youwillhavethechoicetoacceptthedatumasitisandcontinuewiththe restofthepartprogram,ortocancelthepartprogramexecution. PCDMIScanonlyusethefixturetolerancevalueifyouusedmorethantheminimumnumberof pointsneededtocreatethefeature.Forexample,ifyouaremeasuringaplane,theminimum numberofpointsneededforthatplaneisusuallythreepoints.However,ifyouwantedtousethe fixturetolerancevalue,youwouldneedtomeasureatleastfourpoints.Ifyouuseonlythree pointsthenonlyonesolutionexistsandPCDMIScannotadjustorreiterate.

MaxIterations

ThisdeterminesthemaximumnumberofrepetitionsthatPCDMISwillperformwhencreatingthe iterativealignment.

StartLabel

TheStartLabelboxallowsyoutodefinealabelthatPCDMISwillgotowhenremeasuring iterativealignmentfeaturesaslongasyouselecttheMeasAllAlwayscheckbox. PCDMISwillremeasureinDCCmode,startingatthedesignatedlabelandendingat theALIGNMENT/STARTcommand(precedingtheALIGNMENT/ITERATEcommand). ThisismoreconsistentwithhowDMISexpectsthiscommandtofunction.

Ifyoudon'tdefineastartlabel, PCDMISgoestothefirstfeaturemakinguptheiterativealignmentandbeginsDCC measurementthere(PCDMISalsoincludesanymovesjustbeforethisfeature). PCDMISwillcontinuetoreexecutepartprogramcommandsinorderuntilitreachesthe lastfeaturemakinguptheiterativealignment.Ifthereareanymovesafterthisending feature,theywillnotbeexecuted.

Tocreatealabel,see"CreatingLabels"inthe"BranchingbyUsingFlowControl"chapter.

ErrorLabel

TheErrorLabelboxallowsyoutodefinealabelthatPCDMISwillgotowhentheerroralong thedatumforeachoftheinputfeaturesexceedsthefixturetoleranceleveldefinedintheFixture Tolerancebox. Note:Ifyousupplytheminimumnumberofinputsforeachofthedatumaxes(threefortheLevel datum,twofortheRotatedatum,andonefortheOrigindatum),PCDMIScanfittheinput featuremeasurementvaluetoitstheoreticalvalueswithouterrors.InthiscasePCDMISdoesn't reallyneedthefixturetolerance.Ifyousupplymorethantheminimumnumberofinputsforanyof


PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual CreatingandUsingAlignments * 893

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

thedefineddatums,theneitherpartorfixtureerrorsmaymakeitimpossibletofitthe measurementvaluestothetheoreticalvalueswithlesserrorthenthesuppliedfixturetolerance. Ifyoudon'tdefineanerrorlabel,PCDMISwillgenerateanerrormessagedisplayingtheamount oferrorforeachofthedatumfeatures,givingyoutheoptiontocancelorcontinueexecutionwith thedatumsastheyare. Tocreatealabel,see"CreatingLabels"inthe"BranchingbyUsingFlowControl"chapter.

SavinganAlignment

SaveAlignmentdialogbox TheInsert|Alignment|Savemenuoptionsavesthecurrentalignmentinanexternalfilethat canberecalledbyadifferentpartprogram.ThetopicspresentedheredescribetheSave Alignmentdialogbox,andhowtosavethealignmentsoyoucanuseitinotherpartprograms.

ToSaveanAlignment
Notethatyouonlyneedtosavethealignmentusingthefollowingprocedureifthealignmentis goingtoberecalledintoadifferentpartprogram.Allalignmentsareautomaticallysavedwhen usedwithinapartprogram. Tosaveanalignment, 1. SelectInsert|Alignment|Savefromthemenubar.TheSaveAlignmentdialog appears. 2. Typeanalignmentname(maximumtencharacters)intheFileNamebox. 3. SelecteithertheInchesorMillimetersoptiontosavethealignmentaseitherinchesor millimeters.Thedefaultunitofmeasurementforanyalignmentwillbethesameunitof measurementusedbythepartprogramforwhichthealignmentwascreated.Tousean alignmentinadifferentpartprogram,itisnotnecessarythatthealignment'sunitsof measurementbesavedintheunitstypeofthenewpartprogram.Thealignmentwill automaticallyconverttothesameunitsasthenewpartprogram(see"Recall"). 4. ClicktheOKbutton.

894 * CreatingandUsingAlignments

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Ifyoudon'ttypeanameforthealignmentID,PCDMISwillautomaticallyduplicatethefile nameforexternalsavingpurposes.Thealignmentcanbesavedtoanydirectory. However,todisplaythealignmentonscreenitmustbesavedinthesamedirectoryas thepartprogram. TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionreads:


SAVE/ALIGNMENT,align_name,filename,TOG1

TOG1 ThistogglefieldswitchesbetweenBOTHandMACHINETOPARTS.SelectBOTH tostore boththemachinetopartsandtheCADtopartstransformationmatrices.Select MACHINETOPARTStostoreonlythemachinetopartstransformation.

EditingtheSave/AlignmentCommand
YoucaneditthecommandlineusingadifferentSaveAlignmentdialogboxbyplacingthe mouseontheSAVE/ALIGNMENTcommandandpressingF9.

SaveAlignmentdialogbox ThisSaveAlignmentdialogboxallowsyoutocreatenewfilenamesofthesavedalignment. Simplyselectthealignmentfromthelist,makethefilenamechangeintheFileNamebox,and clickOK.PCDMIScreatesanewfilenamebasedoffoftheoldoneyouchangedandmakesthe changeintheEditwindow'sSAVE/ALIGNMENT command. TheShowRootDirectoryandShowWorkDirectorycheckboxesarenoteditablefromthis dialogboxtheymerelymirrorthesettingsintheSearchPathdialogboxforloadingalignments. Youcanchangethesecheckboxesbyfollowingdocumentationdescribedinthe"Specifying ExternalDirectoriestoSearch"inthe"SettingYourPreferences"chapter. IftheShowWorkDirectoryisselected,thelistofalignmentswilldisplayallthe.alnfilesinthe workdirectorylikethis: WORK\filename1.aln WORK\filename2.aln WORK\filename3.aln

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

CreatingandUsingAlignments * 895

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

IfShowRootDirectoryisselected,itshoulddisplayallthe.alnfilesintherootdirectorylikethis: ROOT\filename1.aln ROOT\filename2.aln ROOT\filename3.aln

DescriptionoftheSaveAlignmentDialogBox
ThefollowingtopicsdescribetheitemsusedinsidetheSaveAlignmentdialogbox.

FileName

TheFileNameboxallowsyoutonamethefileofthealignmentyouaresaving.

Directories

Thedirectorystructureallowsyoutonavigatetothedirectorytowhichyouwillbesavingthe alignment.

ListFilesofType

TheListFilesofTypedropdownlist,showsallthefilesinthecurrentdirectorybasedona particularfiletype.Thedefaultfiletypeis*.aln.Thismeansthatonlythosefileswiththe alignmentextension(*.aln)willbeshowninthelist.

Drives

TheDrivesdropdownlistallowsyoutodefinewhichharddrive,orfloppydrivethealignmentis savedto.

896 * CreatingandUsingAlignments

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

AlignmentName

TheAlignmentNameboxdisplaystheAlignmentIDofthealignmentyouaresaving. IfanalignmentIDisnotentered,PCDMISwillautomaticallyduplicatethefilenameforexternal savingpurposes.ThealignmentIDcanbesavedtoanydirectory.However,todisplaythe alignmentonscreenitmustbesavedinthesamedirectoryasthepartprogram. Usethisoptiononlyifthealignmentisgoingtoberecalledintoadifferentpartprogram.All alignmentsareautomaticallysavedwhenusedwithinapartprogram.

Units

TheInchesorMillimetersoptionsintheUnitsareaallowyoutodeterminewhichunitof measurementthealignmentwillbesavedas:inchesormillimeters.

RecallinganExistingAlignment
TheAlignmentBlockisthe TheInsert|Alignment|Recall menuoptionallowsyoutorecall blockoftextintheEdit analignmentthatwaspreviouslycreatedinthecurrentprogram windowthatdefinesthe (InternalAlignment)orsavedfromanotherprogram(External alignment.Itconsistsofthe Alignment). ALIGNMENT/START commandandendswiththe Thiscommandcanonlybeinsertedoutsideanalignmentblock. ALIGNMENT/ENDcommand. Note:TheRecallbuttoninsidetheAlignmentUtilitiesdialogboxalsoallowsyoutorecallan existingalignment,butitonlyallowsyoutorecallalignmentspreviouslycreatedinthatpart program(internalalignments). Beforeanalignmentcanberecalledtoanotherpartprogram,itmustbesavedusingtheInsert| Alignment|Savemenuoption.See"SavinganAlignment" Ifthealignmentbeingrecalledwassavedwithdifferentunitsofmeasurementthanthecurrent partprogram,thealignmentunitswillautomaticallybeconvertedtotheunitsofmeasurementof thecurrentpartprogram.

ToRecallanAlignment
Torecallanalignment, 1. AccesstheInsert|Alignment|Recall menuoption(oraccesstheAlignmentUtilities dialogboxandclicktheRecallbutton).ASelectAlignmentselectionboxappears. 2. Typethe15character(orless)savedalignmentID,orusethedropdownlisttoselect thedesiredalignment. 3. ClickOK.PCDMISinsertstheRECALL/ALIGNMENT commandintotheEditwindow.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

CreatingandUsingAlignments * 897

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

RecallAlignmentCommandLineFormat
TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionreads: RECALL/ALIGNMENT,INTERNAL,'align_id' RECALL/ALIGNMENT,EXTERNAL,'align_id', FILE_NAME:'align_id' CodeUsedtoRecallanInternalAlignment RECALL/ALIGNMENT,INTERNAL,'align_id' align_id Thisistheinternalalignmentthatwillberecalledfromwithinthecurrentpartprogram. PCDMISmustfirstRECALLthespecifiedalignmentIDbeforeanyotheralignment commandscanfunction.ThiscommanddoesnotneedtheALIGNMENT/STARTor ALIGNMENT/END Editwindowcommands. CodeUsedtoRecallanExternalAlignment RECALL/ALIGNMENT,EXTERNAL,'align_id',FILE_NAME:'align_id' align_id Thisistheexternalalignmentthatwillberecalledfromapartprogramotherthanthe currentpartprogram.PCDMISmustfirstRECALLthespecifiedalignmentIDbeforeany otheralignmentcommandscanfunction.Thiscommanddoesnotneedthe ALIGNMENT/STARTorALIGNMENT/END Editwindowcommands. FILE_NAME: Thisisthe.alnfilenameusedforthesavedexternalalignment.

UsinganAlignmentInsideLoops
PCDMIS3.6andhigherfacilitateschangingalignmentsinsideapartprogramthatuseslooping orconditionalbranchingbyusingtheUSE_ACTIVE_ALIGNMENTkeyword. IfyoulookattheALIGNMENT/START commandlineinCommandmode,you'llseethatthefield immediatelyfollowingtheRECALL:texttellstheprogramtouseastoredstartingalignmentfirst. Inthefollowingexample,alignmentD_1startswiththealignmentfromD_0andthenexecutesa 45degreerotationaboutZPLUS: D_1 =ALIGNMENT/START,RECALL:D_0,LIST=YES ALIGNMENT/ROTATE_OFFSET,45.0,ABOUT,ZPLUS ALIGNMENT/END However,ifyouusetheUSE_ACTIVE_ALIGNMENTkeywordinstead,youcancausePCDMISto rotate45degreesfromtheactivealignment:

898 * CreatingandUsingAlignments

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

D_1 =ALIGNMENT/START,RECALL:USE_ACTIVE_ALIGNMENT,LIST=YES ALIGNMENT/ROTATE_OFFSET,45.0,ABOUT,ZPLUS ALIGNMENT/END Whenyouusethiskeywordforanalignmentinsidealoop: Thefirsttimethroughthelooptheactivealignmentwillbethelastexecutedalignment precedingtheloop. Additionaltimesthroughthelooptheactivealignmentwillbeitselfandwillrotateafurther 45degreesfromtheprevioustimethroughtheloop.

WhenyouusetheUSE_ACTIVE_ALIGNMENT keywordyoushouldgenerallydeselecttheReset globalsettingswhenbranchingcheckboxandselecttheTreattheovaluesasifstoredin partcoordinates checkboxfromtheSetUpOptionsdialogbox, Generaltab. Seethe"SettingYourPreferences"chapterforinformationonspecifyingsetuppreferences. Forinformationonlooping,seethe"CreatingGenericLoops"topicinthe"BranchingbyUsing FlowControl"chapter.

EquatinganAlignment

EquateAlignmentdialogbox TheInsert|Alignment|Equateoptionequatestwoalignments.Thisoptionprovidesthemeans to: Changethepositionororientationofapartwhileretainingpreviousdimensional information. Realignthepartandsavepreviouslymeasureddataifthepartisaccidentallybumpedor movedduringtheinspectionprocess.

Note:ForEquateAlignmenttofunctionproperly,thefeaturesreferencedinyournewalignment mustbemeasuredafteryoumoveyourpart.Additionally,youshouldreferenceallofthefeatures foryournewalignmentinasinglealignmentblock.

ToChangeaPart'sPositionandOrientation
Forexample,tomeasureadimensionthatreferences featuresontwosidesofthepartthatare notaccessiblefromasinglepartorientation: 1. Measurethealignmentfeaturesonthefirstsideofthepart. 2. Createtheoriginalalignment. 3. Measureallrequiredfeaturesthatcanbereachedfromthefirstorientationofthepart.
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual CreatingandUsingAlignments * 899

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

4. Movetheparttoitsnewposition. 5. Measurethenewalignmentfeatures.Theoriginmustbethesameandtheaxismustbe inthesamedirectionastheaxisofthealignmentyouareequatingto.Itiseasiestto understandthisifyouimaginethattheoriginaloriginandaxes'arrowsweregluedonto thepartbeforemovingit.Thenewalignmentplacestheoriginandaxes'arrowsinthe samepositionwithrespecttothepart. 6. SelecttheInsert|Alignment|Equatemenuoption.TheEquateAlignmentdialogbox appears. 7. IntheEquateOriginalAlignmentlist,selecttheoriginalalignment. 8. IntheWithNewAlignmentlist,selectthenewalignment. 9. ClicktheOKbutton.TheCADmodelwon'tmoverelativetothealignmentaxes,butthe measuredvalueswillmoveoncePCDMISexecutestheequatealignment.

ToRecoverafterAccidentallyMovingaPart
Ifaparthasbeenmovedaccidentally, 1. SelecttheInsert|Alignment|Equatemenuoption. 2. EntertheIDofthealignmenttoberemeasuredasthefirstandsecondalignmentID. 3. Remeasurethealignmentfeatures.Whenthisiscompleted,alldimensionalandfeature informationwillbetranslatedtothenewpositionofthepart.TheCADmodelwon'tmove relativetothealignmentaxes,butthemeasuredvalueswillmoveoncePCDMIS executestheequatealignment. Ifthiscommandisusedtoequatethesamealignmentinapartprogram,PCDMISwillnot displaythecommandlineintheEditwindow. AcommandlinewillonlybedisplayedintheEditwindowiftwodifferentalignmentsareselected. Anexternalalignmentcanbeusedifitisdifferentfromtheequatedalignment.Theexternal alignment mustberecalledusingtheRECALL/ALIGNMENT,EXTERNALcommandbeforeitwill bedisplayed. TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionreads:
EQUATE/"name"TOALIGNMENT,"alignment_name"

DescriptionoftheEquateAlignmentDialogBox
ThefollowingtopicsdescribetheitemsusedintheEquateAlignmentdialogbox.

EquateOriginalAlignment
TheEquateAlignmentdropdownlistallowsyoutoselecttheoriginalalignmentthatyouwillbe equating.Thisisapreviouslycreatedalignmentthatyouwanttoequatewithanexistingnew alignment.

WithAlignment
TheWithNewAlignmentdropdownlistallowsyoutoselectthenewalignmenttowhichyouare equating.Thisisannewalignmenttowhichyouwillequateyouroriginalcreatedalignment.

900 * CreatingandUsingAlignments

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

EquatingCADtoMeasuredPartData
TheOperation|GraphicsDisplayWindow|CadEqualsPartmenuoption(ortheCAD=Part buttonontheAlignmentUtilitiesdialogbox)linksCADdatatothemeasureddata.Thisoptionis onlyavailableafteracreatedalignmentplacesthepartorigin/orientationatthesamelocationas theCADorigin/orientation.PCDMISofferstheCADEQUALSPARToptionintwoareas(also see"CADEqualsPart"withintheAlignmentoption).SelectthisoptionandPCDMISwilldisplay themeasureddataontopoftheCADdata.ItwillusetheCADdatatohelpinspectthepart. OncetheCadEqualsPartoptionhasbeenusedonapartprogram,theCADEqualsPartmenu optionwillbeselected.

PerformingaLeapfrogOperation

Leapfrog/Relocationdialogbox Leapfrogisavailableforsomeportablemachines.CurrentlytheseincludeFARO,ROMER, Garda,andGOM.Yourhardwarekey(portlock)alsoneedstobeprogrammedtosupportyour portablemachine. TheInsert|Alignment|LeapfrogmenuoptionbringsuptheLeapfrog/Relocationdialogbox. ThisdialogboxallowsyoutomoveyourportableCMMinordertomeasurepartsthataretoo largeforyourCMM.Youshouldbeawareofmachineaccuracylimitationsbeforeusingthis method. Thebasisforleapfrogistomeasureaseriesoffeatures,andthenaftermovingthemachine,re measurethesamefeaturesinthesameorder.Thiscreatesatransformationandmakesthe machinebehaveasifitwerethesamecoordinatesystembeforethemove. PriortoPCDMISversion4.2,Leapfrogtransformationinformationwasstoredinaseparatefile andwastherebyindependentofallpartprograms.ThismeanttheLeapfrogwasstillactivein
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual CreatingandUsingAlignments * 901

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

newlycreatedpartprogramsandyouhadtoremoveitbyclickingtheResetbuttononthe Leapfrog/Relocationdialogbox.Inversion4.2andlater,however,thishaschanged.Leapfrog transformationinformationisnowstoredwiththepartprogramthatusedtheLeapfrogoperation younolongerhavetoremovetheLeapfrogfromnewpartprograms. ALeapfrogcommandisenteredintotheEditwindowwhentheAcceptbuttonisclicked. ThecommandlineintheEditwindowwouldread: LEAPFROG/TOG1,NUM,TOG2 TOG1: ThisfirstparameterintheLeapfrogcommandisatogglefieldthatrelatestothethree typesavailableintheMeasure3areaofthedialogbox.Thesetypesinclude: 1. 2. 3. 4. SPHERES PointSets(shownasPSETSinthecommand) POINTS DATUMS

ThereisalsoanOFFvalueforthisparameter,inwhichcasetheothertwoparameterswillnotbe displayed.TheOFFvaluewillturnoffleapfrogtranslation NUM: ThissecondparameterintheLeapfrogcommandisthenumberofhitsyouwanttotake. ThiscorrespondstotheHitsboxintheLeapfrogdialogbox. TOG2: ThislastparameterintheLeapfrogcommandisatogglefieldallowingyoutoswitch betweeneitheraFULLorPARTIALleapfrog.ThisparametercorrespondstotheHalfRelocation optioninthedialogbox. Whenthiscommandisexecutedyouwillbepromptedtotakeyourhits,andafterallthehitsare taken,aleapfrogtranslationwillbeineffect.

MeasureOptions

TheavailableMeasureoptionbuttonsallowyoutoselectwhatmethodPCDMISwilluseto performthetranslationcomparison. TheMeasure3SpheresoptiontellsPCDMIStousespheresasthefeaturesfor translationcomparison.Thismethodusesthecenterofeachmeasuredsphere. TheMeasure3PointSetsoptiontellsPCDMIStousethecentroidofasetofpoints.It isrecommendedthatyouusethebottomofaninvertedconewithahardprobe.This methodisslightlymoreaccuratethanthespheresmethodandmuchquickerforthe operator. TheMeasure3PointsoptiontellsPCDMIStouseonlythreepointsandistheleast accurateofthethreemethods.

902 * CreatingandUsingAlignments

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TheMeasureDatumsoptiontellsPCDMIStouseexistingdatumfeaturesfromapart programofyourchoice.

NumberofHits

TheNumberofHitsboxallowsyoutospecifythenumberofhitsyouwishtouseforeach feature.Ofcoursethiswillnotbeusedinthepointmethod.

HalfRelocation

TheHalfRelocationcheckboxletsyoudeterminewhetherornotPCDMISperformsaFULL LEAPFROGoperation(ifnotselected)orperformsaPARTIALLEAPFROGoption(ifselected).

DatumProgramFile
Thisarealetsyouspecifywhatprogramfiletouseasthedatumprogramfile.Thisboxbecomes enabledwhenyouclicktheMeasureDatumFeaturesoptionbutton.Youcantypethefull pathwaytothepartprogram(.PRG)fileoryoucanusetheBrowsebuttontonavigatethrough yourdirectorystructureandselectonethatway. Onceyouselectafile,thefeaturesavailableforuseintheLeapfrogoperationappearinthe Availablelist.

AvailableandUsedLists

AvailableandUsedlists TheAvailableandUsedlistsdisplay,respectively,datumfeaturesthatareavailableforuseor datumfeaturesthatyouhavechosentouseintheLeapfrogoperation. AvailableList

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

CreatingandUsingAlignments * 903

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

WhenyouselectaprogramfiletouseintheDatumProgramFilearea,theavailablefeatures fromthatprogramfileappearintheAvailablelist.Youcanthenassignfeaturestothecurrent Leapfrogoperationbyselectingthemandthenclickingthe>>>button. UsedList AssignedfeaturesthatappearintheUsedlistwillbemeasuredwhenyouclicktheMeasure MarkedorMeasureAllbuttonsintheorderthattheyappearintheUsedlist.Youcanremove themfromtheUsedlistbyclickingthe<<<button.Youcanchangeafeature'sorderofexecution byselectingafeatureclickingtheupordownarrowbuttons.

MeasureMarked

TheMeasureMarkedbuttononlyfunctionswhenyouusedatumfeatures.Itallowsyouto measureanyselectedfeaturesfromtheUsed list.PCDMISwillusethesefeaturesinthe Leapfrogoperation.Whenyouclickthisbutton,PCDMISdisplaystheExecutionModeOptions dialogbox,promptingyoutomeasuretheselectedfeaturesonlyafteryoumovetheCMM,not before. Theresultsboxwilldisplaythe3Ddistancebetweenthefeaturestakenbeforethemoveandafter themoveoftheCMM.Ifyoufindtheresultsunsatisfactorythenyoumayremeasurethelastset offeaturesagainasthebuttonwillnowread:Remeasure. Note:AfteryoumovetheCMM,thereisnotawaytoreverttothepreviousalignment.Ifthe LeapfrogresultsareunsatisfactoryaftertheRemeasureprocess,youmustresettheLeapfrog andrestarttheentirepartinspectionprocessbyexecutingthepartprogramfromtheinitial alignment.ThephysicallimitationofusingasingleCMMdevicemakesthisconditionpossiblefor allrelocationmethods.Youshouldtakegreatcareduringtheexecutionofanyrelocation procedure.

MeasureAll

TheMeasureAllbuttonletsopenstheExecutionModeOptionsdialogbox. IfyouareusingMeasure3Spheres,Measure3PointSets,orMeasure3Points,then thisdialogboxwillfirstpromptyoutomeasurethethreefeaturesbeforepromptingyouto movetheCMM.Aftermovingthemachine,youwillbepromptedtoremeasurethesame featuresinthesameorder. IfyouareusingMeasureDatums,thenthisdialogboxwillfirstpromptyou tomeasure allthedatumfeaturesintheUsed listbeforepromptingyoutomovetheCMM.After movingthemachine,youwillbepromptedtoremeasurethesamefeaturesinthesame order.

904 * CreatingandUsingAlignments

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Theresultsboxwilldisplaythe3Ddistancebetweenthefeaturestakenbeforethemoveandafter themoveoftheCMM.Ifyoufindtheresultsunsatisfactorythenyoumayremeasurethelastset offeaturesagainasthebuttonwillnowread:Remeasure. Note:Iftheremeasureprocessprovesunsatisfactory,thenyoumustresettheleapfrogandstart againfromthebeginning.Thisisaproblemwithallleapfrogsystemsandshouldberemembered.

Resultsarea

Resultsarea TheResultsareashowsthedeviationsbetweenthemachine'sfirstpositionanditssubsequent position(s)bydisplayingthe3Ddistancebetweenthefeaturestakenbeforethemoveandafter themoveoftheCMM.

Accept

OnceyouhaveafilledouttheLeapfrog/Relocationdialogbox,youmustclicktheAccept buttonfromtheResultsareabeforetheleapfrogtransformationwillbeused.ClickingAcceptwill addtheLEAPFROGcommandtothepartprogram.Ifyoudon'tclicktheAcceptbuttonbutclick theXintheupperrightcornerorclickOK first,theconstructedleapfrogtranslationwillbelost.

Reset

TheResetbuttonremovesanytranslationbyaddingaLEAPFROG/OFF commandintotheEdit window.

OK

ClickingOKclosestheLeapfrog/Relocationdialogbox.Ifyouclickthisbuttonbeforeclicking theAcceptbutton,thedialogboxwillclosewithoutinsertingtheLEAPFROGcommand.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

CreatingandUsingAlignments * 905

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ChangingAlignmentNominalValues
Ifyoumodifyanalignmentfeature'stheoreticalvaluesduringexecutemode,PCDMISchanges the CADtoPartsalignment.Thismeansthatfeaturesinyourpartprogramthatcomeafterthe alignment,andaremeasuredrelativetothealignmentfeatures,shiftbytheamountofthe changedtheoreticalvalues. IfyouselecttheIgnoreCADtoPartcheckboxfromtheSetupOptionsdialogbox,theCADto Partsalignmentdoesnotchangewhenyouralignmentfeaturetheoreticalvalueschange.The featuresbelowthealignmentarethenmeasuredintheirsameposition.See"IgnoreCADtoPart" inthe"SettingYourPreferences"chapter. Note:YoucannotusetheIgnoreCADtoPartfunctionalityifyouusetruepositioninyourpart program. YoucanalsocontrolhowPCDMIShandlesyourfeatures'nominalvalueswhenyouupdatean alignment'stheoreticalvaluesbyusingthe UpdateBelowChangedAlignmentDuringExecutionentryinthePCDMISsettingseditor. Foradditionalinformation,pleaseviewthe"ModifyingRegistryEntries"appendix.

CreatingaBundleAlignment
BundleAlignmentsareusedtoestablishtheorientationofeachtrackerposition(station)sothat allmeasurementscanbebroughtintothesamecoordinatesystem.Commonpointsorfeatures aremeasuredbetweenstationsthatarephysicallyfixedinspacetofindtheorientationofthe stations.Atthesametime,asthecommonpointsaremeasuredfromdifferentstationsandthe bundlealignmentupdatesthelocationofthepoints.ThisallowsPCDMIStoextendtherangeof capabilitybyusingmultiplestationstomeasurethefeaturesinasinglepartprogram. Asystemmaycontainasingletrackerwhichismovedtodifferentstations,oryoucouldhave multipletrackers(currentlynotsupportedinPCDMISversion4.2)whichmaybemovedto differentstations.Astationisdefinedasalocationwherethetrackerisplaced. Note:BundleAlignmentsareonlyusedforLeicaTrackerdevices. SelecttheInsert|Alignment|Bundle menuoptiontobegincreatingaBundleAlignment.The followingtopicsdiscusstheprocessofcreatingaBundleAlignment: AddingandRemovingStations SettingFitOptions BundleAlignmentSetup BundleAlignmentResults BundleAlignmentCommandText

AddingandRemovingStations
TheStationManagerdialogboxisaccessedbyclickingStationManagerfromtheBundle Alignmentdialogbox,selectingtheTracker|StationManagement menuitemorclickingthe activestationnameintheTrackerStatusBar.

906 * CreatingandUsingAlignments

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

StationManagerdialogbox 1. ClickAddtoaddanewstationtotheStationslistforinclusionintheBundlealignment. 2. SelectanexistingstationformtheStationslistandclickRemovetoremovethatstation. Oriented WhenthevalueisYESintheOrientedcolumn,thestationlocationand orientationhasbeencomputed. Locked WhenthevalueisYESintheLockedcolumnthestationwillnotallowany furthermeasurements.AstationbecomeslockedwhentheTrackerismovedfrom thatposition.

Note:Theasterisknexttothestationnameindicatesthatitistheactivestation. Note:Nomorethan99stationsareallowedinabundlealignmentcalculation.

SettingFitOptions
ClickFitOptionsfromtheBundleAlignmentdialogboxtoopentheFitOptionsdialogbox.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

CreatingandUsingAlignments * 907

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

FitOptionsdialogbox Typically,thedefaultoptions(shownabove)willbeused.Selectfromthefollowingoptionsto determinehowtheBundleAlignmentsolutioniscalculated: NormalSolutionComputestheorientationofeachstationandeachcommonpoint basedonthecurrentorientationofthestationsandcommonpoints. RecalculateallThisrecomputestheorientationofpointsandstationsdisregarding currentorientationofstationsandcommonpoints KeeporientedstationsfixedPreviouslyorientedstationswillremainunchangedand onlythelaststationwillberecomputed.Thecommonpointswillberecomputed. KeeppointsandorientedstationsfixedBothpreviouslymeasuredstationsandthe commonpointswillremainfixed. BalancednetworkThisisusedtobalancethesystemsothatasinglestationisnot constrainedtobetheorigin. BlunderAnalysisThisusedtocomputesituationswheretheusermayhave mistakenlymeasuredthewrongpointwhenmeasuringthecommonfeatures.

908 * CreatingandUsingAlignments

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

BundleAlignmentSetup

BundleAlignmentdialogboxSetuptab SettinguptheBundlealignmententailsassociatingfeaturesthatwillbemeasuredbymultiple LeicaTrackerstations.Todothis: 1. ClickthecheckboxesnexttothefeaturesthatyouwouldliketoincludeintheBundle Alignmentforanypreviouslyorientedstations.Checkedfeatureswillbeincludedinthe bundlecalculation,notnecessarilymeasured.Ifthisisthefirst(reference)station,you wouldselectallofthefeaturesthatyouwillmeasureinStep3.Onlyfeaturesthatare addedtothelistontherightundertheActiveStationwillbemeasuredwhenyouclick Measure. Note:Byclickingthestationnameatthetopofthecolumn,youcaneitherselectof deselectallthefeaturesunderthatcolumn. 2. SelectthereferencestationfromtheActiveStationdropdownbox. Note:Stationsthatarelockedcannotbeselectedastheactivestation. 3. TodefinethefeaturesthatwillbemeasuredbytheActiveStationwhenyouclick Measure,selectthemfromtheFeatureslistandclicktheMoveRightbutton .This willaddthemtothelistfortheActiveStation.ToremovefeaturesfromtheActive Stationfeaturelist,selectthefeatureandclicktheMoveLeftbutton . 4. ClickMeasuretobeginmeasuringtheselectedfeaturesfromtheActiveStation.The BundleAlignmentiscomputeafterthemeasurementhascompleted. 5. Oncethestationhasbeenmeasured,movethemachine(LeicaTracker)toanext location(Station).
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual CreatingandUsingAlignments * 909

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

6. Nowselectthepreviouslymeasuredfeaturesplusanynewfeaturesthatwillbe measuredbythenewstationlocationfromtheFeatureslistbyclickingthecheckboxes nexttothefeatures.ThesefeaturesareincludedintheBundlealignmentcalculation. 7. SelectthenamefromtheActiveStationdropdownboxthatrepresentsthenewlocation whereyouhavemovedtheTracker. 8. RepeatStep3andincludeanyfeaturesmeasuredbythepreviousstation(s),plusany newfeaturestobemeasuredbythecurrentActiveStation. 9. ClickMeasuretobeginmeasuringtheselectedfeaturesfromtheActiveStation.The BundleAlignmentisrecomputedafterthemeasurementhascompleted. ReviewtheresultsviatheResultstab(see"BundleAlignmentResults"). TorecomputetheBundleAlignmentwithouthavingtoremeasurefeatures,clickCompute.This isonlyneeded,whenyoudon'tliketheresults(Seethe"BundleAlignmentResults")andwantto modifyparameters,suchaswhichfeaturestoinclude(checkboxesintheFeaturesmulticolumn listbox),orchangingtheFitOptionssettings(likeabalancednetwork).Thiswillredothe computationbasedonthechangedparameterswithoutremeasuring.

BundleAlignmentResults

BundleAlignmentdialogboxResultstab AfteryouhavemeasuredandcomputedtheconfiguredBundlealignment,youcanverifythe resultsontheResulttab.Ifyouaresatisfiedwiththeresults,thenclickCreatetoinsertthe alignmentintothepartprogram.Thealignmentwillbeexecutedasdefinedduringnormalpart programexecution. InterpretingBundleAlignmentResults: Stations

910 * CreatingandUsingAlignments

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

IDNameoftheLeicaTrackerstation XYZShowsthetranslatedpositionofthestationwithrespecttotheoriginstation. RxRyRzShowstherotationsabouttheoriginstationx,y,andzaxis.

Features IDNameofthePartProgramfeaturename. SourceStationnamefromwhichthefeaturewasoriginallymeasured. RMSThisistherootmeansquareerror(averageerror)ofthegivenpoint. ApexAngleThisprovidesthelargestanglebetweentwoobservationsofameasured point.Ifapointismeasuredfrommorethantwotrackersthenthe anglewhichisclosest to90degreesisgivenastheApexangle. PointingerrorThisisameasureoftheangularerrorforagivenpoint. XYZDisplaystheXYZlocationforthefeature. DevXYZThesevaluesprovidethedeviationfromthemeasurementtakenfromeach individualstationtotherespectivebestfittedvalue. Dev3DThisvalueprovidesthemagnitudeoftheXYZdeviation.

SolutionStatusThisiseitherOKorFAILEDindicatingwhetherthealgorithmwasabletosolve thebundlealignment. RMSErrorThetotalRMSerrorofallofthepoints. VarianceThevarianceofallthepointscombined. WarningsSpecificmessagesareprovidedtoassistinmakingadjustmentstotheBundle AlignmentSolution.

BundleAlignmentCommandText
BUNDLEALIGN/ID=1,SHOWDETAIL=TOG1 FITOPTIONS/TYPE=TOG2,BALANCED=TOG3,BLUNDERANALYSIS=TOG4 MEASUREFEATURES/PNT1,PNT2,PNT3, BUNDLEDFEATURES/ STATION=1,PNT1,PNT2,PNT3,PNT4, STATION=2,PNT1,PNT2,PNT3,, STATION=3,PNT1,PNT2,PNT4,, STATION=

IDThisfieldprovidestheactivestationnumber.Thisisthestationfromwhichfeatures willbemeasured. TOG1(SHOWDETAIL=YES/NO) WhenthisvalueissettoYES,adetailedlistingof theBundleAlignmentisdisplayedintheEditWindow.Bydefault,thisvalueissettoNO, whichwillnotdisplaytheFITOPTIONS.

TOG2(FITOPTIONS/TYPE=type)ChooseoneoffouravailableFitOptions:NORMAL, POINTSANDSTATIONSFIXED,RECALCULATEALL,andSTATIONSFIXED.See"Setting FitOptions". TOG3(BALANCED=OFF/ON) WhenthisvalueissettoON,abalancednetworksolutionis used.Bydefault,thisvalueissettoOFF.See"SettingFitOptions".


PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual CreatingandUsingAlignments * 911

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TOG4(BLUNDERANALYSIS=OFF/ON) WhenthisvalueissettoON,BlunderAnalysisis used.Bydefault,thisvalueissettoOFF.See"SettingFitOptions". MEASUREFEATURESListsfeaturesthatwillbemeasuredfortheactivestation number. BUNDLEDFEATURESListsstationsandthefeaturesthatareincludedintheBundle Alignmentcomputations.

912 * CreatingandUsingAlignments

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

DimensioningFeatures
DimensioningFeatures:Introduction
Onceafeature(s)hasbeenmeasuredorconstructed,theinspectionreportcanbegenerated. Thefirststepinpreparingareportistocalculatedimensionsaccordingtospecificrequirements. Dimensionscanbecalculatedimmediatelyafterameasurementhasbeenmadeorlaterinthe program.PCDMISdisplaystheresultofeachdimensioningoperationintheEditwindow. SeetheEditingaPart PCDMISalsoallowsyoutospecifynominalvalues,modifythe Programchapterforgeneraloutputformat,and/orprintouttheresultsofthecalculations. informationonhowtomodify theEditwindowreport. Tochangethenominalortolerancevaluesdisplayedinthe Editwindow,clickonthevaluetobechangedandtypeina newone. ToshoworhidenominalsortolerancefieldsintheEdit window,changetheselectedcheckboxesinthe DimensionOutputFormatareaoftheDimensiontabin theParametersdialogbox(Edit|Preferences| Parameters).Seethe"ParameterSettings:Dimensiontab" topicinthe"SettingyourPreferences"chapter Tochangethemeasuredvaluesofafeature(forexample, togettheradiusofacircletoprintout)seethe"Modifying ReportandMotionParameters"topicinthe"Settingyour Preferences"chapter. Todimensionafeature,selecttheInsert|Dimensionsubmenufromthemenubaroraccessthe Dimensiontoolbarandthenselectthedesireddimension.Thischaptercoversthelegacy dimensionsfoundintheDimensionsubmenu. Themaintopicsinthischapterinclude: DimensionCommandFormat PrintingDimensionstotheInspectionReport CommonDimensionDialogBoxOptions DimensioningLocation DimensioningTruePosition DimensioningDistance DimensioningAngle DimensioningConcentricity DimensioningCoaxiality DimensioningRoundness DimensioningStraightness DimensioningFlatness DimensioningPerpendicularity DimensioningParallelism DimensioningTotalorCircularRunout DimensioningSurfaceorLineProfile DimensioningAngularity DimensioningSymmetry DimensioningthroughKeyboardInput
DimensioningFeatures * 913

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

DimensioningVariables

DimensionCommandFormat
Alldimensionedfeaturesaredisplayedinthefollowingformat.Therewillbeslightvariationsthat areexplainedmorethoroughlyinthefollowingsections. PCDMISwilldisplay Forexample,theEditwindowdisplaysdimensionsas: dimensionsthataren't dimension_name=TYPEOFDIMENSION,feat_1UNITS=IN,$ linkedtoanyfeatures GRAPH=OFF TEXT=OFF MULT=1.00 OUTPUT=BOTH withthecoloryouhave definedforoutof tolerancetext. AX NOM +TOL TOL MEAS MAX MIN DEV OUT TOL x 8.0000 0.1000 0.1000 8.0000 8.5000 7.5000 0.0000 0.0000 y 3.0000 0.1000 0.1000 3.0000 3.5000 2.5000 0.0000 0.0000 z 0.4947 0.1000 0.1000 0.4947 0.1428 0.8466 0.0000 0.0000 d 1.0000 0.1000 0.1000 1.0000 1.0000 1.0000 0.0000 0.0000 v 0.0000 0.5938 0.8046 ENDOFDIMENSIONdimension_name(forLOCATIONonly) See"Conventions"forfieldrules. TYPEOFDIMENSION: denotesthedimensiontype.Thisfieldcannotbechangedexceptby changingthenameofthefeature. feat_1: nameoffeaturetobedimensioned.Thisisausereditablefield. Allnominalandtolerancevaluesinadimensionareeditable.Toeditthenominalandtolerance values: 1. MovetothedesiredcellbypressingtheTABkey,ordoubleclickonthefieldusingthe leftmousebutton. 2. Typeinthedesiredvalue. 3. PresstheTABkeyagainorclickoutsideofthedimension. PressingtheENTERkeywilladdaline.(See"DimensioningLocation")

AddingLines
Inordertocreateanadditionallinewithinthelocationdimension: 1. 2. 3. 4. Placethecursorinthedesiredlocation. PresstheENTERkey. Typeinthedesiredaxis(X,Y,Z,D,R,A,V,T,L,S,H,M,PR,PA,PD). PresstheTABorENTERkey.

914 * DimensioningFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

PCDMISwillthendisplaythevaluesfortheaddedaxis.PCDMISaddsthenewlinedepending onwherethecursorislocated.Ifthecursorisinthemiddleofacommand,anewlineiscreated belowthecurrentline.Ifthecursorisplacedatthebeginningofacommandline,PCDMISwill createthenewlineabovethecurrentcursorposition.

DeletingLines
Todeleteasingleaxiswithinalocationdimension,highlightthedesiredaxisandthenpressthe BACKSPACEorDELETEkey.(SeeCommandModeKeyboardFunctionsinthe"UsingtheEdit Window"chapter.)

EditingLines
WhenthetolerancesofadimensionareeditedintheEditwindow,adialogboxappearsaskingif youwanttocarrythechangedtolerancesforwardtoanyofthesamedimensiontypes.Ifthe responseisYes,PCDMISwillsearchfromthatpointforwardinthepartprogramtocopythe tolerancesintoanydimensionsthatwereofthesametypeandhadthesameoriginaltolerances. WhenthenominalsofadimensionareeditedintheEditwindow,adialogboxappearsaskingif youalsowanttocarrythechangednominalsbacktothedimensionsfeature.Iftheresponseis Yes,PCDMISwillchangethefeaturenominalstothenewnominalvalues.

Conventions
TheDimensiontabontheSetup Optionsdialogbox(Edit|Preferences|Setup)allowsyouto defineparametersforthedisplayeddimensions. Allanglescanberepresented15placestotherightofthedecimal.Theactualnumber displayedisdeterminedbytheparameterssetintheDimensiontab. Alllengths,distances(x_cord,y_cord,z_cord,diam,height,length,etc.),andvectors (i_vec,j_vec,k_vec)inthedimensionsarerepresented15placestotherightofthe decimal.Theactualnominalthatwillbedisplayedisdeterminedbytheparameterssetin theDimensiontab.

ForinformationonthisDimensiontab,seethe"SetupOptions:Dimensiontab"topicinthe "SettingyourPreferences"chapter.

AccessingtheDialogBox
ToaccessthecorrespondingdimensiondialogboxfromwhichanEditwindow'sdimensionwas created: 1. MakesuretheEditwindowisopen(View|EditWindow). 2. IntheEditwindow,clickthemouseonthedimension. 3. PressF9.Adimensiondialogboxwillappear. Usingthisdialogbox,youcanmakeanydesiredchangestotheexistingdimension.Whenyou clicktheCreatebutton,changeswillalsobeappliedtothedimensionstextintheEditwindow.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

DimensioningFeatures * 915

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

PrintingDimensionstotheInspectionReport
YoucaneasilygeneratedimensionsinsidetheEditwindow,which,inturn,willgeneratethese dimensionsinsideyourinspectionreport.

ToAutomaticallyCreateDimensionsintheEditWindow
TohavePCDMISautomaticallycreatedimensionsintheEditwindow: 1. AccesstheEditwindow(View|EditWindow). 2. Placethecursorwhereyouwantthedimensioninformationtoappear. 3. Typeintheappropriatekeyword. OR 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. SelectEdit|Preferences|SetupmenuoptiontoaccesstheSetupOptionsdialogbox. ChoosetheDimensiontabfromthedialogbox. SelecttheAutoCreateDimensionoption. Selectanyotheroptions. ClicktheOKbutton.

Thenexttimeyoumeasureafeatureanautomaticdimensionwillbecreatedandinsertedintothe Editwindow.

ToModifytheDimensionPriortoPrinting
Inmanycases,thenominals,tolerances,oroutputformatmustbemodifiedbeforeprintingthe results. TochangethenominalsortolerancesfromtheEditwindow: 1. 2. 3. 4. AccesstheEditwindowandplaceitinCommandmode(View|EditWindow). ClickonthedimensionintheEditwindow. PressTABtomovetothevalueyouwanttochange Typeanewvalue.

Toeditthenominalsortolerancesusingthedimension'sdialogbox: 1. 2. 3. 4. ClickonthedimensionintheEditwindow. PressF9toaccessitsdialogbox. Changethenecessaryvalues. ClicktheCreatebutton.

Tochangethecontentsofthedimensionreport,accesstheDimensiontabontheParameter Settingsdialogbox(see"ParameterSettings:Dimensiontab"topicinthe"Settingyour Preferences"chapter)andmodifythedimensioninformationPCDMISshoulddisplay. Note:The"AnalysisSettings"sectionofeachdimension'sdialogboxallowsyoutodisplaythe dimensionprintoutinaformatsuitableforcloseexamination.

916 * DimensioningFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

DisplayingDimensionsinRTFandPDFFiles
YoucansendtheinspectionreportwithitsdimensionstoanexternalRTF(RichTextFormat)or PDF(PortableDocumentFormat)filebyselectingtheoutputoptionsinthePrintOptionsdialog boxfortheEditwindow.See"PrintingfromtheInspectionReport"inthe"UsingBasicFile Options"chapter. BeawarethatbecauseofformattinglimitationsbetweentheRTFandPDFoutputs,dimensions aredisplayedsomewhatdifferentlyinthetwofiles. InRTFfiles,dimensionsareprintedwithalightborderaroundtheheader,ablue backgroundcolor,andthedimensionsymbol. InPDFfiles,dimensionsareprintedwithoutaborder,thereisnobackgroundcolor,and nodimensionsymbol.Dimensionsareprintedwithaleftmargin.

CommonDimensionDialogBoxOptions
ThereareseveraloptionsavailabletomanyoftheDimensiondialogboxes.

MaterialConditions

TheMaterialConditionsareacontainsthefollowingtolerancingmethods: Optionbutton StandsFor M MMC Description Maximummaterial conditionappliedto eitherthefeatureora datum. Regardlessoffeature R RFS sizeappliedtoeither thefeatureoradatum. Leastmaterial L LMC conditionappliedto eitherthefeatureora datum. CurrentlyyoucanselectMaterialConditionmodifiers forTruePosition,Parallelism,and Perpendicularitydimensions. BeawarethatforTruePositiondimensions,selectingtheUseDatumscheckboxwillcausethe XYZoutputvaluestousethealignmentofthedatums.

RecallButton

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

DimensioningFeatures * 917

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TheRecallbuttonintheMaterialConditionsareaallowsyoutoeasilyselectthesamedatums usedinaprevioussimilardimension.Thisbuttonremainsunavailableforselectionuntilyou selectafeaturetodimensionfromtheFeaturelist. Forexample,supposeyouusedfourcircles,asyourdatumsinapreviousTruePosition dimension.YoucaneasilytellPCDMIStousethesesamecirclesasyourfeaturesbyselecting thefeaturetodimensionfromtheFeaturelist,andclickingtheRecallbutton.PCDMISwillthen selectthedatumsfromtheFeaturelist.

DisplayDimensionInfo
TheDisplaycheckboxwillcreateaDIMINFOcommandintheEditwindowafterthedimension. ThiscommandwillshowalldimensioninformationintheGraphicsDisplaywindownexttothe featureselectedintheFeatureListbox.ThisDIMINFOcommandwillalsodisplaythesame dimensionaxesthatareavailableintheEditwindowforthatparticulardimension. TousetheDisplayoption: 1. SelecttheDisplaycheckbox. 2. Selectthefeaturetodimension. 3. ClicktheCreatebutton. DimensioninformationwillthenappearintheGraphicsDisplaywindow.

DimensionalDataDisplayedintheGraphicsDisplaywindow. FormoreindepthinformationonDIMINFOboxesandonrulesgoverningtheircreation,see "InsertingDimensionInfoBoxes"inthe"InsertingReportCommands"chapter.

EditDefaultDimensionInfo

TheEditbuttonwillbringuptheEditDefaultDimensionInfodialogbox.

918 * DimensioningFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

EditDefaultDimensionInfodialogbox ThesecheckboxesallowyoutoselectthetypeofinformationdisplayedintheGraphicsDisplay windowforeachdimension.Theavailablecheckboxesare: Auto TheAutocheckboxautomatically displaysthefollowinginformation: Measured,Nominal,Tolerances, Deviation,MaxMin,OutTol. Measured Thischeckboxdisplaystheactual measureddimensions. Nominal Thischeckboxdisplaysthetheoretical valuesforthedimension. Tolerances Thischeckboxdisplaystheacceptable tolerancelevelseithergreaterthanor lessthanthenominal. Deviation Thischeckboxdisplaysthedeviationof themeasuredvaluefromthenominal. MaxMin Thischeckboxdisplaysthemaximum andminimumvalues forthedimension OutTol Thischeckboxdisplayshowfaroutof tolerancethemeasuredvalueisfrom thenominalandtolerancevalues. Mean Thischeckboxdisplaystheaverageof allthedeviationsforthedimension. StdDev Thischeckboxdisplaysthestandard deviationofallthedeviationsforthe dimension Numberof Thischeckboxdisplaysthenumberof Points pointsusedtomeasurethefeatureofthe dimension. Formoreindepthinformationoneditingdimensionsandonrulesgoverningtheircreation,see "InsertingDimensionInfoBoxes"inthe"InsertingReportCommands"chapter.Thefollowingfive buttons:OK,Cancel,Default,Recall,andResetalldealwiththeEditDefaultDimensionInfo dialogbox.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

DimensioningFeatures * 919

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ResetButton

TheResetbuttonclearsanyselectedcheckboxesintheEditDefaultDimensionInfodialog boxandselectstheAutocheckbox.TheResetbuttoncompletesthedescriptionsofthebuttons foundintheEditDefaultDimensionInfodialogbox.Thefollowingbuttonsandsectionsfinish describingothercommonfunctionsfoundamongthevariousdimensiondialogboxes.

Units

TheUnitsareaallowsyoutochoosebetweenthefollowingtwooptions: Inch=Inches MM=Millimeters

Theunitofmeasurementselectedwillbeusedfordimensioningwhilethecurrentdialogboxis stillopen.Thedefaultselectionisthecurrentunitofmeasurementofthecurrentpartprogram

AnalysisSettings

Analysisareafor Locationand TruePosition dimensions

Analysisareaforall otherdimensions

TheAnalysisareaallowsyoutosetthedimensionaloutputanalysisformattotextual,graphical, orbothwhenviewingadimension'sdeviations. UniquetoLocationandTruePositiondimensions,theAnalysisareaallowsyoutoanalyzenot onlyafeature'slocation,butafeature'sformaswell. Note:UsecautionwheninterpretingaLocationorTruePositiondimension'sgraphicaldataalong withitsintegratedformdimension.You'llfindthatanalysistolerancelineswilllikelyoverlapand makedistinguishingdifficult.

920 * DimensioningFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Textual

WhenyouselecttheTextualcheckbox(ortheOnoptionforLocationandTruePosition dimensions),PCDMISwillprintoutthefollowingintheinspectionreportforeachindividualhit usedinthedimension: MeasuredX,Y,andZvalues MeasuredI,J,andKvalues Deviationofeachindividualhit "MAX"or"MIN"markerattheendofthelinewheneverthehitproduceseithera maximumorminimumdeviation.

ExampleoftheTextualAnalysisReport Youcandeterminewhetherthecoordinatesystemusedinthetextualanalysisdisplayshouldbe PolarorCartesianbyfollowingtheinstructionsdetailedinthe"SwitchingBetweenPolarand CartesianCoordinatesforTextualAnalysis"topic.

SwitchingBetweenPolarandCartesianCoordinatesforTextualAnalysis
TheTextAnalToggleCart/Polmenuoptionallowsyoutotoggletheappearanceofa dimensionstextualanalysissothatthepositionsofoneormorehitsofthetextualanalysisare displayedineithercartesianorpolarcoordinates.APcharacterisdisplayednexttothe numericaldatatoindicatepolardisplaymode. Adimensionsentiretextualanalysiswillbetoggledifthecursorislocatedoverthe dimensioninCommandmode. Anindividualtextualanalysislineofadimensionwillbetoggledifthecursorislocated overthespecifictextualanalysislinewhenthismenuitemisselected.Ifanindividualhit isdisplayedinpolarcoordinatesinthetextualanalysis,thecolumnswilldisplaythe radius,angle,andzvaluesinthex,y,andzcolumns.

Tochangethecoordinatesystemusedinthetextualanalysisdisplay: 1. InReportMode,placethecursoronthedimensionheaderorindividualhit. 2. SelecttheTextAnalToggleCart/Pol menuoption.TheletterPwillbeplacedinthe textualanalysislinestoindicatewhichhitsaredisplayedinpolarcoordinates.

Graphical

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

DimensioningFeatures * 921

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

WhenyouselecttheGraphicalcheckbox(ortheOnoptionforLocationandTruePosition dimensions),PCDMISletsyououtputthedimensionalprintoutinaformatsuitableforclose examination. Whenselected,PCDMISwillgraphicallydisplaythedeviationofeachindividualhitforthe dimensionsusedonthepartintheGraphicalDisplaywindow.Theprogramdisplaystheerrorin theformofindividualarrowsforeachhit.Thesearrows,withtheircolorsanddirections,indicate therelativesizeoftheerror,aswellasitsdirection. CommandlineintheEditwindow:


...GRAPH=ON TEXT=OFF MULT=1.00

Considerthisexamplewhichusesthedimensioninformationdisplayedinthetextualanalysis examplein"Textual":

ExampleofaRoundnessDimensionusingGraphicalAnalysiswithamultiplieroften(ontheleft) andone(ontheright) TheRoundnessexampleabovecontainsvariouscoloredlines,arrows,andcircles.Thefollowing tabledescribesthecoloredelementsintheexampleandwhattheymean: ColoredElement BlackCircle RedCircle Description Showsthenominalcircle. Showsthemeasured,outof tolerancecircle. BlueCircles Showthetolerancebands. ColoredLines Showthelinesbetweenhits. Coloredarrows Showthehitsthemselves(thetipof thearrow),therelativesizeofthe deviationforeachhit(bythecolored arrow),andinwhichdirection deviationoccurs(thedirectionthe arrowpoints). Thecolorsusedinthisexamplearethedefaultdimensioncolors.Youcaneasilychangethese colorsifdesired.Thecolorsusedwillalsocorrespondtothecolorsusedonthebargraphon DimensionInfoandPointInfoboxes.See"EditingDimensionColors"inthe"EditingtheCAD Display"chapter.

922 * DimensioningFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Multiplier

TheMultiplierboxisascalingfactorthatmagnifiesthedeviationarrowsandtolerancezoneby thevaluetypedforthegraphicalanalysismode.Ifyoutypea2.0value,PCDMISwillscalethe arrowstwotimesthecalculateddeviationforeachfeaturehit. Thischangesthearrow'ssizeforviewingpurposesonly.Itdoesnotaffectthesizeofthe deviationinthetextprintoutinanyway.

BothOption(forTruePositionandLocation)
Textual:SelectingBothdisplaysdeviationsforboththelocationandtheformaxesinthe inspectionreport. Graphical:SelectingBothdisplaystolerancinglinesforbothafeature'slocation dimensionandtheintegratedformdimension,possiblyoverlappingoneanother.

FormOption(forTruePositionandLocation)
WiththeFormoptionyoucananalyzedimensionalinformationforafeature'slocationanda feature'sformatthesametime(inversionsearlierthan3.25youwouldhavetodoaseparate dimensiontogetafeature'sform). Remember:YoumustselecttheFormcheckboxintheAxesareaofthedialogboxtousethe Analysisareatoreportonafeature'sform.See"DefaultAxes"foradditionalinformation. SelectingForm,actsasifyouautomaticallyselectedtheBothoptionaswell,sincebotha graphicalandatextualanalysisaregenerated.

OutputTo

Dimensionoutputcanbeprintedtoeithertheinspectionreportortostatisticalfilesusedby statisticssoftware,tobothofthese,ortononeatall.ThisiscontrolledthroughtheOutputTo areaofthedialogbox,whichcontainstheseoptions: Statisticssendsoutputtostatisticalfiles Reportsendsoutputtoinspectionreport Bothsendsoutputtobothinspectionreportandstatisticalfiles Nonedoesn'tsenddimensionoutputanywhere

Uponthedimension'sexecution,theoutputwillgototheinspectionreport,thestatsfile,bothof these,ornoneofthem(dependingontheselection). NotethatifeithertheStatsoptionortheBothoptionisselected,aprecedingSTATS/ON commandmustexistinsidetheEditwindowforthisdimensiontobesenttothestatsfile.


PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual DimensioningFeatures * 923

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

DimensioningLocation

FeatureLocationdialogbox TheInsert|Dimension|LocationmenuoptioncalculatesthedistancefromthefeaturetotheX, Y,Zorigin,paralleltoitsrespectiveaxis.Thefeature'sdiameter,angle,andvectorarealsopart ofthecalculation.Thissectionrelatesonlytolocationorcoordinatedimensioning.Forposition dimensions,see"DimensioningTruePosition". LocationcanbecalculatedusingCartesianorPolarcoordinates,TruePositionorboxtolerancing. ToswitchbetweenCartesianandPolarcoordinates,selectPangorPrad intheFeature Locationdialogbox. ToswitchbetweenTRUEPOSITIONandRECT tolerancingmethodsseethe "DimensioningTruePosition"dimensionoption.

ToDimensionaFeatureUsingtheLOCATIONOption:
1. SelectInsert|Dimension|Locationfromthesubmenu.TheFeatureLocationdialog boxwillappear. 2. Selectthefeature(s)todimensionfromtheFeatureListbox. 3. SelectthedesiredaxesfromtheAxesarea.TheAutocheckboxismarkedasthe default. IftheAutocheckboxismarked,PCDMISwillautomaticallydeterminethedefaultaxesto displayinthedimension.Thedefaultaxesarebasedonthefeaturetype,asshowninthetable below. Thedefaultoutputformatforthefollowingfeaturesis: CIRCLE CONE CYLINDER ELLIPSE LINE X,Y,D(basedontheworkplane). X,Y,Z,A X,Y,Z,D,L(basedontheworkplane). X,Y,Z,D,A,L Basedontheaxisthatisperpendiculartothe

924 * DimensioningFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

PLANE POINT SLOT SPHERE

axisclosestto(andtheaxisrelatedto)the workplanethelineismeasuredin. Basedontheaxismostcloselyrelatedtothe plane. X,Y,Z,T X,Y,D,R,L(basedontheworkplane). X,Y,Z,D

1. SelecttheaxesfromtheAxesdropdownlisttowhichyouwanttoapplyPlusand Minustolerances. 2. TypethePlustolerancevalueinthePlusbox. 3. TypetheMinustolerancevalueintheMinusbox. 4. TypeavaluefortheNominalsizeintheNominalSizebox. 5. SelectaToleranceClassfromtheToleranceClassdropdownlist. 6. SelectaToleranceGradefromtheToleranceGradedropdownlist. 7. SelecttheoptionalDisplaycheckboxifyouwanttoviewdimensioninformationin theGraphicsDisplaywindow. 8. SelecteithertheInchorMMoptionfromtheUnitsareaofthedialogbox. 9. Selectwheretooutputthedimensioninformation.SelecttheStatistics,Report, Both,orNoneoption. 10. SelectthedesiredAnalysisoptionsbyselectingtheTextualcheckboxorthe Graphicalcheckbox.IftheGraphicalcheckboxwasselected,typetheMultiplier valueintheMultiplierbox. 11. Ifdesired,selecttheDisplaycheckboxintheDimensionInfoareaandclickEditto selecttheDimensionInfoFormatyouwouldlikedisplayedintheGraphicsDisplay window. 12. ClicktheCreatebutton.IfyoudidnotselectanycheckboxesfromtheAxesarea, theCreatebuttonwillbeunavailableforselection. ThedimensionwillappearintheEditwindowwiththisinformation: dimension_name=TYPEOFDIMENSION,feat_1UNITS=IN,$ GRAPH=OFF TEXT=OFF MULT=1.00 OUTPUT=BOTH

NOM

+TOL TOL

MEAS

MAX

MIN

DEV

x 8.0000 0.1000 0.1000 8.0000 8.5000 7.5000 0.0000 y 3.0000 0.1000 0.1000 3.0000 3.5000 2.5000 0.0000 z 0.4947 0.1000 0.1000 0.4947 0.1428 0.8466 0.0000 d 1.0000 0.1000 0.1000 1.0000 1.0000 1.0000 0.0000 v 0.0000 0.5938 0.8046 ENDOFDIMENSIONdimension_name(forLOCATIONonly)

OUT TOL 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

DimensioningFeatures * 925

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

DefaultAxesforLocationDimensions

TheDefaultcheckboxallowsyoutoaltertheformatofthedefaultoutput.WhentheAutocheck boxischecked,theaxesdisplayedinthedimensionareselectedaccordingtothedefaultaxesof thefeaturetype.However,insomecircumstancesitmaybenecessarytooverridethedefault setting.Toalterthedefaultoutput: 1. Selecttheappropriateoptions. X=printsXaxisvalue. Y=printsYaxisvalue. Z=printsZaxisvalue. Prad=printsthePolarRadius. Pang=printsthePolarAngle. D=printsDiametervalue.Foranellipse,thisistheminordiametervalue(sameasH). R=printsRadius(halfofDiameter)value. A=printsAnglevalue. L=printsLength(usedforcylinder,slots,andellipses.)Foranellipse,Lgivesyouthe majordiametervalue. H=printstheHeight(usedoncones,cylinders,andellipses).Foranellipse,Hgivesyou theminordiametervalue. V=printstheVectorlocation. Form=printsthefeature'sintegratedformdimensionwiththelocationdimension Foracircleorcylinderfeature,thisistheRoundness(RN)dimension. ForaplanefeaturethisistheFlatness(FL)dimension. ForalinefeaturethisistheStraightness(ST)dimension.

2. SelecttheDefaultcheckbox. Oncetheoutputvalueshavebeenchangedtosomethingotherthanthedefault,PCDMISwill usethenewsettingforallsubsequentdimensions.IfyouwanttoPCDMIStothenusethe originaldefaultaxes,youmustresettheformattothedefaultsettings. Toresettheformattothedefaultsettings: 1. SelecttheAutocheckbox. 2. SelecttheDefaultcheckbox. 3. ClicktheCreatebutton. PCDMISwillautomaticallyresetthedimensiontoprintthedefaultaxesaccordingtofeaturetype.

926 * DimensioningFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

SheetMetalAxes

TheSheetMetalAxesareacontainscheckboxesonlyavailablewhensheetmetalfeaturesare beingdimensioned. T=printserroralongapproachvector(forpointsoncurvedsurfaces). S=printsthedeviationalongthesurfacevector. RT=printsthedeviationalongthereportvector. RS=printsthedeviationalongthesurfacereport. PD=printsthediameterofacircle(perpendiculartothepinvector). IfaT,RT,SorRSaxisisused,noneoftheotherlocationdimensionsareusedfortheanalysis (graphicalortextual). Thedefaultoutputformatforsheetmetalfeaturesis: VECTORPOINT:RT SURFACE:RT EDGE:X,Y,Z,andT CIRCLE:PD

LocationOptions

PCDMISalsoallowsyoutoprinttwospecialtyaxes: RetrolinearOnly GapOnly

EitheroptioncanbeselectedintheLocationsOptionsareaoftheFeatureLocationdialogbox. Allfuturelocationsofvector,surface,andedgepointswithinthepartprogramwillbeprinted usingtheappropriatespecialtyaxesuntiltheoptionisturnedOFF.

RetrolinearOnlyforLocationDimensions
Thischeckboxisavailablewhendimensioningvectorandsurfacepoints.Whentheretrolinear onlyoptionhasbeenselectedforvalidpoints,thelocationaxesarecalculatedby: Findingthelargestcomponentofthetheoreticalsurfacenormalvector(largestinx,y, orzdirection).

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

DimensioningFeatures * 927

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Projectingthemeasuredpointtothislargestcomponentvectorinamannerthatthe projectionisperpendiculartotheoriginaltheoreticalsurfacenormalvector. Thelocationaxesarethencalculatedfromthisnewprojectedpoint.

GapOnlyforLocationDimensions
TheGapOnlycheckboxisavailablewhendimensioningedgepoints.WhenyouselecttheGap Onlycheckbox,andanedgepointismeasured,thelocationaxesarecalculatedby: Projectingthemeasuredpoint(1)tothetheoreticalsurface. Projectingthisnewpointontothetheoreticalapproachvector.

Anylocationaxesarethencalculatedfromthisnewpoint.

TolerancesforLocationDimensions

TheTolerancesareaallowsyoutotypeplusandminustolerancesforeachofthefollowingaxes foundintheAxesdropdownlist. ToEnterinplusandminustolerances:

928 * DimensioningFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

1. SelecttheaxisforwhichyouwillenterthetolerancefromtheAxesdropdownlist. 2. InthePlusboxtypetheplustolerancevalueforthisaxis. 3. IntheMinusboxtypetheMinustolerancevalueforthisaxis. PCDMISallowspositivelowertolerances(orapositivetoleranceinthenegativerange).Thisis donebyenteringinaminussignbeforethevalueintheMinusbox. PCDMISalsoallowsanegativeuppertolerance(oraminustoleranceinthepositiverange). ThisisdonebyenteringinaminussignbeforethevalueinthePlusbox. Example:If1.000isenteredforthenominal,.003isenteredfortheplustoleranceand.001is enteredfortheminustoleranceitwouldbeinterpretedas1.000+.003/.001.Togetthelower tolerancetobe+.001(signchange)simplytypein1.000(nominal),.003(plustol)and.001 (minustol)therebyachievingatolerancerangeof1.000+.003/+.001.

Note:NegativelowertolerancesmaybedisplayedwithaminussigniftheMinusTolsShow Negativeoptionhasbeenselected.SeeMinusTolsShowNegativeinthe"SettingYour Preferences"chapter.

AxesDropDownlist
TheAxesdropdownlistprovidesyouwithalistofavailableaxes,towhichyoucanapplyPlus and/orMinustolerances.Thelistcontainsthefollowing: ALL X Y Z D R A L H PR PA T RT S RS PD FORM Alltheaxesandoptionsdisplayedinthedrop downlist Xaxisvalue Yaxisvalue. Zaxisvalue. Diameter Radius(halfofDiameter) Angle(forcones) Length(usedforcylinders,slots,conesand ellipses) Height PolarRadius PolarAngle Erroralongtheapproachvector(forpointson curvedsurfaces) Deviationalongthereportvector Deviationalongthesurfacevector Deviationalongthesurfacereport Diameterofacircle(perpendiculartothepin vector) Feature'sintegratedformdimension. Foracircleorcylinderfeature,thisisthe

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

DimensioningFeatures * 929

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Roundness(RN)dimension. * ForaplanefeaturethisistheFlatness(FL) dimension. ForalinefeaturethisistheStraightness(ST) dimension.

PlusTolerances
InthePlusboxyoucantypetheplusvaluesfortolerancesoftheaxisoraxesselectedfromthe Axesdropdownlist.

MinusTolerances
IntheMinusboxyoucanentertheminusvaluesfortolerancesoftheaxisoraxesselectedfrom theAxesdropdownlist.

ISOLimitsandFits

TheISOLimitsandFitsareaofthedialogboxallowsyoutoapplyISOstandardizedtolerances tothediameterofcircularfeatures.Whenatoleranceclassandgradehavebeenselected,PC DMISwilllookuptheappropriatetolerancesforthediameterofacylinderorcirclefromthe InternationalOrganizationforStandardizationstablesofLimitsandFits.Thesetablesdefinethe tolerancesforvariousdesignclassesandgradesofdiameters.AlthoughPCDMISallowsthe calculationofISOtolerancesinEnglish(Inch)andmetric(mm)units,theyareonlydefinedby ISOtobeappliedwithmetric(mm)units.Also,becausethesetablesusevariousclassesand gradesofdiameters,cylindersandcirclesaretheonlyappropriatefeaturesforthisoption.Ifno nominaldiameterisentered,PCDMISusesthefeaturesnominaldiameterforthetolerance calculations.

NominalSize
TheNominalSizeboxallowsyoutoenterthenominaldiameterofthefeatureselected.

ToleranceClass
TheToleranceClassdropdownlistallowsyoutoselectfromthefollowingISOTolerance classes: A B H J T U

930 * DimensioningFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

C CD D E EF F FG G

JS K M N P R S

V X Y Z ZA ZB ZC

ToleranceGrade
TheToleranceGradedropdownlistallowsyoutoselectfromthefollowingISOTolerance grades: IT1 IT2 IT3 IT4 IT5 IT6 IT7 IT8 IT9 IT10 IT11 IT12 IT13 IT14 IT15 IT16 IT17 IT18

DimensioningTruePosition

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

DimensioningFeatures * 931

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TruePositiondialogbox TheInsert|Dimension|TruePosition menuoptioncalculatesthetruepositionfromthefeature totheX,Y,orZoriginparalleltoitsrespectiveaxis.Thefeature'sdiameter,angle,andvectorare alsopartofthecalculation. Thissectionrelatesonlytotruepositiondimensions.Locationorcoordinatedimensioningis discussedinthe"DimensioningLocation"section. Important:Ifdatumsareused,themeasuredanddeviationXYZvaluesarecalculatedwith respecttothealignmentofthedatums,butaredisplayedinthecurrentalignmentinorderto interpretthevalues.Thismeansthatafeaturereportedwithonetruepositiondimensioncan havedifferentmeasuredanddeviationvaluesthananothertruepositiondimensionifthe dimensionshavedifferentornodatumsdefined,eveniftheyhavethesamenominalvalues.

ToDimensionaFeatureUsingtheTRUEPOSITIONOption:
1. SelectInsert|Dimension|TruePosition fromthesubmenu.TheTruePositiondialog boxwillappear. 2. Selectthefeature(s)todimensionfromtheFeatureListbox. 3. Ifadatumisdesired,selecttheUseDatumscheckbox.Beawarethatselectingthiswill causethedimensiontobecalculatedwithrespecttothedatums.However,theXYZ outputvalueswillbedisplayedwithrespecttothecurrentalignmentinthepartprogram. 4. SelectanydesireddatumfeaturesfromtheFeatureListbox. 5. SettheMaterialConditionsforthefeature(s)anddatum(s)byselectingtheappropriate optionsintheMaterialConditionsarea. 6. SelectcheckboxesfromtheDeviationareaasdesired. 7. Ifyou'redimensioninganaxialfeature(suchasacylinder),typeavalueintheReference LengthboxandselecttheappropriateoptionfromtheForAxialFeaturesarea. 8. SelectthedesiredaxesfromtheAxesarea.TheAutocheckboxisselectedasthe default. 9. Selecttheaxestowhichyouwanttoapplyplusandminustolerances. 10. TypetheplustolerancevalueinthePlusbox. 11. EntertheminustolerancevalueintheMinusbox. 12. SelecteithertheInchorMMoptionintheUnitsarea. 13. Selectwheretooutputthedimensioninformation.SelecttheStatistics,Report,Both,or Noneoption. 14. SelectthedesiredanalysisoptionsbymarkingtheTextualcheckboxortheGraphical checkbox.IftheGraphicalcheckboxwasmarked,entertheMultipliervalueinthe Multiplierbox. 15. Ifdesired,selecttheDisplaycheckboxintheDimensionInfoareaandclickEditto selecttheDimensionInfoFormatyouwouldlikedisplayedintheGraphicsDisplay window. 16. ClicktheCreatebutton.IfyoudidnotselectanycheckboxesfromtheAxesarea,the Createbuttonwillbeunavailableforselection. ThedimensionwillappearintheEditwindowwiththisinformation:
DIMdimension_name=TRUEPOSITIONOFFEAT_IDUNITS=IN/MM, GRAPH=ON/OFFTEXT=ON/OFFMULT=nOUTPUT=REPORT/STATS/BOTH/NONE FITTODATUMS=ON/OFFDEVPERPENCENTERLINE=ON/OFFDISPLAY=DIAMETER/RADIUS

AX

NOM

MEAS

+TOL

TOL

BON

DEV

DEVANG

OUTTOL

932 * DimensioningFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

X Y DF D1 D2 D3 TP

0.7500 .07500 0.0000 3.0000 3.0000 0.0000

0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 P1ATRFS

1.0000 1.0000 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 PLANE

1.0000 1.0000 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 CIRCLE C1ATMMC 1.0000 1.0000 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 CIRCLE C2ATMMC MMC 1.0000 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 0.000 0.0000

ENDOFdimension_name

ToApplyTruePositiononaGroupofCirclesorCylinders
CreateafeaturesetoftheholesfromtheInsert|Feature|Constructed|Set menuoption(see "ConstructingaSetofFeatures"fromthe"ConstructingNewFeaturesfromExistingFeatures" chapterforinstructionsoncreatingfeaturesets.). 1. SelecttheTruePositionmenuoption.TheTruePositiondialogboxappears. 2. FromtheTruePositiondialogbox,selectthecreatedfeaturesetastheinputfeature, andselectanyotheroptionsusedforthedimension. 3. SelecttheTextualcheckboxfromtheAnalysisarea. 4. AccesstheReportwindow(View|Reportwindow)andfromtheReportingtoolbar, selecttheViewReportModeicon.Youarenowabletoseethedeviationofeachfeature andthetranslationandrotationrequiredtobringthefeaturesintotolerance.Resultsare alwaysshownusingRegardlessofFeatureSize(RFS)onDatumtoseethemaximum deviation.

UsingDatums
AlthoughtherearemanydifferentcombinationsoffeaturesthatmaybeusedasdatumsforTrue Positiondimensions,therearesomegeneralprinciplestofollowwhenselectingdatumfeatures. OnecommonscenariofordesignsthatutilizeTruePositiondimensionsistouseacircleor cylinderasthesoledatumfeature. Anotheracceptedpracticeistoselectasetofdatumfeaturesthatfollow321alignment principles.(Remember,theminimumdefinitionforadatumis3datumpointstodescribethefirst datum,2datumpointstodescribetheseconddatumand1datumpointtodescribethethird datum.)Thismeansthattheselectedfeatureswouldbeaplane,aline,andthenasinglepoint. However,321alignmentprinciplescanalsobeusedwithplane/line/line,plane/line/circle, plane/cylinder/cylinder,andmanyothercombinations. WhenmultiplecircularfeatureshavebeenusedwiththeMaximumMaterialCondition(MMC)or LeastMaterialCondition(LMC), ThebonustolerancefromtheTPaxiswillnotlikelybeasimpleadditionofotherbonus tolerances,asabestfitcalculationwilloccurtodeterminethecorrectbonustolerance. AnycircularorslotfeaturesmaybemeasuredusingMMCorLMC. AllnoncircularfeaturesaremeasuredRegardlessofFeatureSize(RFS).

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

DimensioningFeatures * 933

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Note: Whendatumfeatureshavebeenselected,theTruePosition'sX,Y,Z,PA,andPRaxesare calculatedwithrespecttothealignmentofthedatums,butaredisplayedinthecurrentalignment inordertointerpretthevalues.Also,thedatumfeaturesmustbeselectedusingthegeneralsteps discussedinthistopicorelsethedimensionislikelytogiveunexpectedresults.

UsingtheSameDatumswhenRepeatingDimensions
TousethesamedatumsfromapreviousTruePositiondimensioninyourcurrentTruePosition dimension,selecttheFeaturetodimension,andclicktheRecallbuttonavailableintheMaterial Conditionsarea.See"RecallButton".

DefaultAxesforTruePositionDimensions

TheDefaultcheckboxallowsyoutoaltertheformatofthedefaultoutput.WhentheAutocheck boxischecked,theaxesdisplayedinthedimensionareselectedaccordingtothedefaultaxesof thefeaturetype.However,insomecircumstancesitmaybenecessarytooverridethedefault setting.TodothisyouwouldselecttheDefaultcheckboxandanyotherdesiredaxes. Toaltertheoutput,simplyselectthedesiredcheckboxes: Auto=printsthedefaultaxesbasedonthefeaturetype. X=printsXaxisvalue. Y=printsYaxisvalue. Z=printsZaxisvalue. Form=printstheintegratedformdimensionforthefeature. Foracircleorcylinderfeature,thisistheRoundness(RN)dimension. ForaplanefeaturethisistheFlatness(FL)dimension. ForalinefeaturethisistheStraightness(ST)dimension. Pang=printspolarangle(PA)value. Prad =printspolarradius(PR)value. Default=Alterstheformatofthedefaultoutput.

Oncetheoutputvalueshavebeenchangedtosomethingotherthanthedefault,PCDMISwill usethenewsettingforallsubsequentdimensions.IfyouwanttoPCDMIStothenusethe originaldefaultaxes,youmustresettheformattothedefaultsettings. Toresettheformattothedefaultsettings: 1. SelecttheAutocheckbox. 2. SelecttheDefaultcheckbox. 3. ClicktheCreatebutton. PCDMISwillautomaticallyresetthedimensiontoprintthedefaultaxesaccordingtofeaturetype.

934 * DimensioningFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Note:IftheAutocheckboxismarked,PCDMISwillautomaticallydeterminethedefaultaxesto print.Thedefaultoutputformatisbasedonthefeaturetype.PCDMISwillautomatically determinethetruepositionoftheselectedfeatureusingthedocumented(seeboxabove)axis format.

Deviation

TheDeviationareaallowsyoutoselectoptionsthatdeterminehowyouwantdeviations performedandhowyouwantdeviationsdisplayedintheEditwindow.

FittoDatums
TheFitToDatumscheckboxdetermineswhetherornotPCDMIScallsthefittingalgorithm whendatumsareused. Whenselected,PCDMIScallsthefittingalgorithmwhendatumsarespecified.Itreports theconsideredfeatureinthefittedpositionwiththetotalbonusbeingtheremaining availablebonusafterfitting. Whencleared,PCDMISanalysestheTruePositionDimensionwithfeaturesintheir measuredpositionwithnofittingapplied.Thereportedtotalbonusisthetotalavailable bonusfromtheconsideredfeatureandthedatumaccordingtothedatumconstraints.

DeviationPerpendiculartoCenterline
TheDeviationPerptoCenterlinecheckboxdetermineswhetherPCDMIScalculatesthe deviationperpendiculartothefeature'stheoreticalcenterlineorperpendiculartothedirectX,Y, andZvalues. Ifselected,PCDMIScalculatesthedeviationperpendiculartothefeature'stheoretical centerline,ignoringanydeviationinthedirectionofthecenterline. Ifdeselected,PCDMIScalculatesthedeviationperpendiculartotheX,Y,andZvalues.

Thischeckboxisespeciallyusefulwithsheetmetalpointswhichmayhaveapproachvectorsnot orientedalongtheX,Y,orZaxis.Thischeckboxwillallowthedeviationtobefound perpendiculartotheapproachvector.

DisplayAsRadius
TheDisplayAsRadiuscheckboxdetermineswhetherornotPCDMISwilldisplaytheradiiof thefeaturesanddatumsinsteadofdisplayingtheirdiameters. Ifselected,PCDMISdisplaystheradiiintheDF,D1,D2,D3,andTPlinesandplaces textintheEditwindow'sdimensionfieldshowingwhetherthedimensionisdisplayingthe features'radiusordiameter.
DimensioningFeatures * 935

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Ifdeselected,PCDMISdisplaysthediametersasusual.

Important:Ifyouusethischeckbox,beawarethatitis notcompliantwithISOstandards.

AxialFeatures

Foraxialfeatures,suchascylinders,youcanspecifywherealongtheaxisPCDMISshould createtheTruePositiondimension.YoucantellPCDMIStocreatethedimensionattheaxis' average(orcentroid),attheaxis'startpoint,attheaxis'endpoint,attheaxis'worstend(theend withthegreatestdeviation),oratbothendsoftheaxis.Youcanalsocreatethedimensionata specifiedreferencelengthawayfromtheselectedpointontheaxis. TousethereferencelengthwithaTruePositiondimension: 1. TypethedesiredvalueintheReferenceLengthbox. 2. Selectoneoftheoptionbuttons(FromAxisAverage,FromStartPointOfAxis,From EndPointOfAxis,FromWorstEndOfAxis,orFromBothEndsOfAxis). 3. ClicktheCreatebutton.PCDMISlocatestheselectedpoint(orpointsifyou'veselected FromBothEndsOfAxis)andthenmovesalongtheaxisthedistanceofthespecified referencelengthandcreatesthedimension(s)there. Option ReferenceLength Description Thevalueinthisboxspecifiesthe lengthfromtheselectedpointoraxis endwherePCDMISwillcreatethe TruePositiondimension. ThisoptiontellsPCDMISto dimensiontheaxialfeature,fromthe centroid(oraverage)oftheaxis. ThisoptiontellsPCDMISto dimensiontheaxialfeature fromthe StartPointoftheaxis. ThisoptiontellsPCDMISto dimensiontheaxialfeaturefromthe EndPointoftheaxis. ThisoptiontellsPCDMISto dimensiontheaxialfeaturefromthe startorendpointthatgivestheworst casescenarioforthedimension.PC DMIScreatesthedimensionatthe axisendthatdeviatesthefarthest fromthenominal.Forexampleifyour partcontainsaskewedcylinder,the startorendpointalongthecylinder's

FromAxisAverage

FromStartPointofAxis

FromEndPointofAxis

FromWorstEndofAxis

936 * DimensioningFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

FromBothEndsofAxis

axisthatdeviatesfarthestfromthe nominalisthepointthatgivesthe worstcasescenario. ThisoptiontellsPCDMISto dimensiontheaxialfeature,fromboth thestartandendpointoftheaxis selected.PCDMIScreatesa dimensionatbothendsoftheaxis.

TolerancesforTruePositionDimensions

TheTolerancesareaallowsyoutotypeplusandminustolerancesforeachaxisfoundinthe Axesdropdownlistitalsoletsyoudefinecertainmaterialconditionmodifiers. Toenterinaxestolerances: 1. 2. 3. 4. Selecttheaxisforwhichyouwillenterthetolerance. InthePlusboxenterintheplustolerancevalueforthisaxis. IntheMinusboxenterintheminustolerancevalueforthisaxis. SelectthematerialsconditionmodifiersfromtheMaterialsConditionarea.

Youcansettolerancesformultipleaxesfromthelist.PCDMISstoresyourdefinedtolerances withtheselectedlistitem.EvenifyouselectadifferentitemfromtheAxeslistandgiveit differenttolerances,youcanswitchbetweentheavailableaxestoviewandsettheirindividual storedtolerances.

Axes
TheAxesdropdownlistprovidesyouwithalistofavailableaxes,towhichyoucanapplyplus and/orminustolerances.Thelistcontainsthefollowing: ALL D1 D2 D3 DF LF WF LD WD TP FORM Alltheaxesandoptionsdisplayedinthedrop downlist Diameter/Widthofthefirstdatum Diameter/Widthoftheseconddatum Diameter/Widthofthethirddatum Diameter/Widthofthefeature Lengthofthefeatureifthefeatureisaslot Widthofthefeatureifthefeatureisaslot Lengthofthedatumifthedatumisaslot Widthofthedatumifthedatumisaslot Truepositiontoleranceanditsassociated deviation Theintegratedformdimensionforthefeature.
DimensioningFeatures * 937

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Foracircleorcylinderfeature,thisisthe Roundness(RN)dimension. ForaplanefeaturethisistheFlatness(FL) dimension. ForalinefeaturethisistheStraightness(ST) dimension.

Plus
InthePlusboxyoucanentertheplusvaluesfortolerancesoftheaxisoraxesselectedfromthe Axesdropdownlist.

Minus
IntheMinusboxyoucanentertheminusvaluesfortolerancesoftheaxisoraxesselectedfrom theAxesdropdownlist.

DimensioningDistance

Distancedialogbox TheInsert|Dimension|Distancemenuoptioncalculatesthedistancebetweentwofeatures. Youcanselectathirdfeatureoranaxisforthedirectiontouseinthecalculation. Calculatingdistanceisabitmoredifficulttovisualizethanmostoftheotherdimension calculations.Distancethatiscalculatedbetweentwofeaturesuseseitherthedefaultorstraight linemethod.Twodimensionaldistancesusingastraightlinewillbeparalleltotheworkplane. Threedimensionaldistancesusingastraightlinewillbefromcentroidtocentroid.

ToDimensionaDistanceUsingtheDISTANCEoption:
1. SelectInsert|Dimension|Distancefromthesubmenu.TheDistancedialogboxwill appear. 2. Selectthefeature(s)todimensionfromtheFeatureListbox.

938 * DimensioningFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

3. EntertheplustolerancevalueinthePlusbox. 4. EntertheminustolerancevalueintheMinusbox. 5. Selecteitherthe2Dimensionalor3Dimensionaloptioninordertospecifythedistance type. 6. SelecteitherInchorMMintheUnitsarea. 7. Selectwheretooutputthedimensioninformation.SelecttheStatistics,Report,Both,or Noneoption. 8. SelecteithertheToFeature,ToXAxis, ToYAxisorToZAxisoptiontodeterminethe relationshipthatdefinesthedistance. 9. SelecteitherthePerpenToortheParallelToradiobutton. 10. SelecttheoptionalDisplaycheckboxifyouwanttoviewdimensioninformationinthe GraphicsDisplaywindow. 11. SelectthedesiredanalysisoptionsbyselectingtheTextualcheckboxortheGraphical checkbox.IftheGraphicalcheckboxwasselected,typethemultipliervalueinthe Multiplierbox. 12. Ifdesired,selecttheDisplaycheckboxintheDimensionInfoareaandclickEditto selecttheDimensionInfoFormatyouwouldlikedisplayedintheGraphicsDisplay window. 13. ClicktheCreatebutton. ThedimensionwillappearintheEditwindowwiththisinformation:
DIMdimension_name=2D_DISTANCEFROMfeat_1TOfeat_2TOG1TOTOG2,TOG3,UNITS=MM/IN, GRAPH=ON/OFFTEXT=ON/OFFMULT=nOUTPUT=NONE/REPORT/STATS

or
DIMdimension_name=3D_DISTANCEFROMfeat_1TOfeat_2,TOG3,UNITS=MM/IN, GRAPH=ON/OFFTEXT=ON/OFFMULT=nOUTPUT=NONE/REPORT/STATS

AX M

NOM 5.0000

+TOL

TOL

MEAS

MAX

MIN

DEV

OUTTOL

0.0100 0.0100 5.0000

0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000

TOG1=PAR/PERP(ParallelorPerpendicular) TOG2= XAXIS/YAXIS/ZAXIS/feature workplane=thisfieldcanbechangedtoanyfeature.Thedefaultisthecurrentworkplane. TOG3=NO_RADIUS/ADD_RADIUS/SUB_RADIUS

TolerancesforDistanceDimensions
TheTolerancesareaallowsyoutotypeplusandminustolerancesfordistancesalongtheplus andminusdirections.

PlusTolerance

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

DimensioningFeatures * 939

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ThePlusboxallowsyoutoenteratolerancevaluealongtheplusdirection.Thismeansthatany anglethatmeasuresmorethanyournominalortheoreticalanglecanstillbeavalidangleaslong asitfallswithinthetolerancerangespecified.

MinusTolerance

ThisMinusboxallowsyoutoenteratolerancevaluealongtheminusdirection.Thismeansthat anyanglethatmeasureslessthanyournominalortheoreticalanglecanstillbeavalidangleas longasitfallswithinthetolerancerangespecified.

NominalforDistance

Nominalvaluesforthedistancebetweenfeaturesaren'talwaysbasedonCADdataormeasured data.Oftenyouwillobtainthemfromahardcopyprintout,youcanusetheNominalboxtoenter thenominaldistancevaluefromtheprintout.

GeneralRulesfor2Dand3DDistanceDimensions

2Dand3Ddistancedimensionsapplythefollowingrulesaccordingtotherelatedfeatures: TreatmentofFeatures Spheres,Points,andSetsaretreatedasPoints. Slots,Cylinders,Cones,Lines,andCirclesaretreatedasLines. Planesaretreatednormally,asPlanes.

OtherRules Ifbothelementsarepoints(asdefinedabove),PCDMISgivestheshortestdistancefrom pointtopoint. Ifoneelementisaline(asdefinedabove)andtheotherisapoint,PCDMISgivesthe shortestdistancebetweentheline(orcenterline)andthepoint. Ifbothelementsarelines,PCDMISgivestheshortestdistancebetweenthecentroidof thesecondlinetothefirstline. Ifoneelementisaplaneandtheotherisaline,PCDMISgivestheshortestdistance betweenthecentroidofthelineandtheplane Ifoneelementisaplaneandtheotherisapoint,PCDMISgivestheshortestdistance betweenthepointandtheplane. Ifbothelementsareplanes,PCDMISgivestheshortestdistancebetweenthecentroid ofthesecondplanetothefirstplane.

940 * DimensioningFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

2DDistance
Themaximumandminimum The2Dimensionaloptioncalculatesthetwodimensionaldistance distanceisthemeasured betweenfeatures.Allfeaturesusedtocalculatethe2Ddistanceare distancebetweentwolines firstprojectedintothecurrentworkplanebeforethedistanceis overthelengthofthelines. computed.PCDMIScomputesthemaximum,minimum,and averagedistancesbetweenthetwofeatures.Ifthedistanceis betweentwolinesorplanes,themaximum,minimumandaverage arecomputedusingthemeasurementpointdata.(Verifythatthe distancetypeissetto2Dimensional.) 2Ddistancesthatarecalculatedusingthreefeatureswillbeeitherparallelorperpendiculartoa datumfeature.Thedatumfeaturecanbeanypreviouslymeasuredorconstructedfeature. Tocalculatethedistanceusingthreefeatures: 1. Selectthetwofeaturesthatwillbeusedtocalculatethedistance. 2. Selectthethird(datum)feature.(Usingalineforthethirdfeaturewillprovidethebest results.) 3. Verifythatthecorrectorientationismarked. 4. SelecttheToFeaturecheckbox. 5. ClicktheCreatebutton. PCDMISwillcalculatethedistancebetweenthefirsttwofeaturesparallelorperpendiculartothe third(datum)featureoraxis. Note: WhentheClosebuttonisclicked,PCDMISwillclosetheDistancedialogboxwithout creatinganotherdimension.

3DDistance
The3Dimensionaloptioncalculatesthethreedimensionaldistancebetweentwofeatures. Ifoneoftheinputfeaturesisaline,centerline,orplane,PCDMIScomputesthe3D distancenormaltothatfeature. Ifbothfeaturesarelines,centerlines,orplanesthesecondfeatureisusedforthedatum. Ifneitherinputfeatureisaline,centerline,orplane,PCDMIScomputestheshortest distancebetweenthetwofeatures.(Verifythatthemodeissetto3Dimensional.)

RelationshipforDistanceDimensions RelationshipforDistanceDimensions
ThecheckboxesintheRelationshipareaofthedialogboxallowyoutospecifywhetherthe distancemeasuredbetweentwofeatureswillbeperpendiculartoorparalleltoaspecificaxis,or perpendiculartoorparalleltoaselectedfeature:

ToFeaturecheckbox
WhenyouselecttheToFeaturecheckboxthePerpenTo,orParallelTooptionsinthe Orientationareabecomeavailableforselection.TheseoptionstellPCDMIStocomputethe distancebetweenthefirstselectedfeatureandthesecondselectedfeatureparallelto,or perpendiculartoacertainfeature.
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual DimensioningFeatures * 941

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Ifonlytwofeaturesareselectedfromthelist,PCDMIScomputesthedistancebetween feature1andfeature2,parallelorperpendiculartofeature2. Ifthreefeaturesareselectedfromthelist,PCDMIScomputesthedistancebetweenfeature 1andfeature2,parallelorperpendiculartofeature3. Thefeatureusedtoestablishtherelationshipshouldbealinearfeature.

ToXAxischeckbox
SelecttheToXAxischeckboxifyouaremeasuringthedistancefromthefirstselectedfeature tothesecondselectedfeature,perpendiculartoorparalleltotheXaxis.

ToYAxischeckbox
SelecttheToYAxischeckboxifyouaremeasuringthedistancefromthefirstselectedfeature tothesecondselectedfeature,perpendiculartoorparalleltotheYaxis.

ToZAxischeckbox
SelecttheToZAxischeckboxifyouaremeasuringthedistancefromthefirstselectedfeature tothesecondselectedfeature,perpendiculartoorparalleltotheZaxis.

OrientationforDistanceDimensions

Whenmeasuringthedistancebetweentwofeaturesyouhavetheoptionofdetermininghowthe distanceistobemeasuredbyusingtheseorientationoptions. Measurethedistancebetweenthefirstselectedfeatureparallelorperpendiculartoeither thesecondoranotherselectedfeature. Measurethedistancebetweenthefirstselectedfeatureandthesecondselectedfeature paralleltoorperpendiculartoaspecificaxis.

ThePerpendicularToandtheParallelTooptionsallowyoutodeterminetheorientationofthe features.

PerpendicularTo
SelectthePerpendicularTooptionifthedistancebetweenthetwofeaturesisperpendicularto eitherthesecondfeature,orperpendiculartoaspecifiedaxis.

ParallelTo
SelecttheParallelTooptionifthedistancebetweenthetwofeaturesisparalleltoeitherthe secondfeature,orparalleltoaspecifiedaxis.

942 * DimensioningFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

CircleOptions

WiththeCircleOptionsareayoucanusetheAddRadiusandSubtractRadiusoptionstotell PCDMIStoeitheraddorsubtracttheradiusofthemeasuredfeaturetothetotaldistancethatis measured.Theamountthatisaddedorsubtractedwillalwaysbealongthesamevectorthat calculatesthedistance.Onlyoneoptionisavailableatatime.

UsingtheNoRadiusoptiondoesnotapplytheradiusofthefeaturetothedistancemeasured.

DimensioningAngle

Angledialogbox TheInsert|Dimension|Anglemenuoptioncalculatestheanglebetweentwoselectedfeatures. (VerifythattheoptionToFeatureisselected.)Ifonlyonefeatureisspecified,theangleis calculatedbetweenthemajoraxisofthecurrentworkingplane(thedefaultaxisisX)andthe selectedfeature.IftheanglereportedbyPCDMISisnotinthecorrectquadrant(youwant0.0, not180.0),justtypethecorrectnominalangleintheEditwindow.PCDMISwillautomatically convertthequadranttomatchthenominalangle. Thedirectionofthelinesdeterminestheanglethatismeasured.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

DimensioningFeatures * 943

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TheAngledimensioncalculatestheanglebetweenthespecifiedfeatures,andchecksiftheangle iswithintolerances.TheAngledimension'stolerancebandisinradiansordegreesandformsan angle.

Themeasuredvalueisanangle(blue).TheAngle tolerancebandisanotherangle(black).

ToDimensiontheAngleBetweenTwoFeatures:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. SelectInsert|Dimension|Anglefromthesubmenu.TheAngledialogboxwillappear. Selectthefeature(s)todimensionfromtheFeatureListbox. TypetheplustolerancevalueinthePlusbox. TypetheminustolerancevalueintheMinusbox. Selecteitherthe2Dimensionalor3Dimensionaloptioninordertospecifytheangle type. 6. Selectwheretooutputthedimensioninformation.SelecttheStatistics,Report,Both,or Noneoption. 7. SelecteithertheToFeature,ToXAxis, ToYAxisorToZAxisoptiontodeterminethe relationshipthatdefinestheangle. 8. SelectthedesiredanalysisoptionsbyselectingtheTextualcheckboxortheGraphical checkbox.IftheGraphicalcheckboxwasselected,typethemultipliervalueinthe Multiplierbox. 9. Ifdesired,selecttheDisplaycheckboxintheDimensionInfoareaandclickEditto selecttheDimensionInfoFormatyouwouldlikedisplayedintheGraphicsDisplay window. 10. ClicktheCreatebutton.

944 * DimensioningFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ThedimensionwillappearintheEditwindowwiththisinformation:
dimension_name=2D_ANGLE,FROMfeat_1,TOfeat_2,

or
dimension_name=3D_ANGLE,FROMfeat_1,TOfeat_2

AX A

NOM 5.0000

+TOL

TOL

MEAS

MAX

MIN

DEV

OUTTOL

0.0100 0.0100 5.0000

0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000

TolerancesforAngleDimensions
TheTolerancesareaallowsyoutotypeplusandminustolerancesalongtheplusandminus directions.

PlusTolerance
ThePlusboxallowsyoutoenteratolerancevaluealongtheplusdirection.Thismeansthatany profilethatmeasuresmorethanyournominalortheoreticalprofilecanstillbeavalid measurementaslongasit fallswithinthetolerancerangespecified. PCDMISalsoallowsanegativeuppertolerance(oraminustoleranceinthepositiverange). ThisisdonebyenteringinaminussignbeforethevalueinthePlusbox.

MinusTolerance
TheMinusboxallowsyoutoenteratolerancevaluealongtheminusdirection.Thismeansthat anyprofilethatmeasureslessthanyournominalortheoreticalprofilecanstillbeavalid measurementaslongasitfallswithinthetolerancerangespecified. PCDMISallowspositivelowertolerances(orapositivetoleranceinthenegativerange).Thisis donebytypingaminussignbeforethevalueintheMinusbox.

NominalforAngleBetween

NominalvaluesforAngledimensionsaren'talwaysbasedonCADdataormeasureddata.Often youwillobtainthemfromahardcopyprintout,youcanusetheNominalboxtoenterthenominal anglevaluefromtheprintout.

AngleType
TheAngleTypeareadetermineswhetherornottheangleis2or3dimensional.

2DimensionalAngleType

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

DimensioningFeatures * 945

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

The2Dimensionaloptioncalculatesthetwodimensionalanglebetweenfeatures.

3DimensionalAngleType
The3Dimensionaloptioncalculatesthethreedimensionalanglebetweenfeatures.Ifonlyone featureisselected,theangleiscalculatedbetweenthecurrentworkingplaneandtheselected feature.See"DimensioningAngle"aboveforinstructionsonconvertingthequadrantofthe reportedangle.

RelationshipforAngleBetweenDimensions
ThecheckboxesintheRelationshipareaofthedialogboxallowyoutospecifywhetherthe Angledimensioncancalculatetheanglebetweentwofeatures,orbetweenonefeatureanda particularaxis:Xaxis,Yaxis,andZaxis.

ToFeature
SelecttheToFeaturecheckboxifyouaremeasuringtheanglebetweentwofeatures. Thesecondfeaturewillbethedatumfeature.

ToXAxis
SelecttheToXAxischeckboxifyouaremeasuringtheanglebetweenafeatureandtheXaxis.

ToYAxis
SelecttheToYAxischeckboxifyouaremeasuringtheanglebetweenafeatureandtheYaxis.

ToZAxis
SelecttheToZAxischeckboxifyouaremeasuringtheanglebetweenafeatureandtheZaxis.

DimensioningConcentricity

Concentricitydialogbox

946 * DimensioningFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Ifasphereisselectedasthe TheInsert|Dimension|Concentricitymenuoptioncalculatesthe firstfeature,thesecond concentricityoftwocirclesorcylinders,cones,spheres.Thesecond featuremustalsobea featurethatisenteredisalwaysthedatumfeatureandmaybea sphere.PCDMISwillthen linefeaturethatrepresentsanaxis.Ifonlyonefeatureisselected, threedimensionallycalculatethecurrentworkingplanebecomesthedatumfeature.This theconcentricitybetweenthedimensiontypeisconsideredonesided,meaningasinglepositive twofeatures. valuetoleranceisapplied.

ToDimensionaFeatureUsingtheCONCENTRICITYOption:
1. SelectInsert|Dimension|Concentricityfromthesubmenu.TheConcentricitydialog boxwillappear. 2. Selectthefeature(s)todimensionfromtheFeatureListbox. 3. TypetheplustolerancevalueinthePlusbox. 4. SelecteitherInchorMMintheUnitssection. 5. Selectwheretooutputthedimensioninformation.SelecttheStatistics,Report,Both,or Noneoption. 6. SelecttheoptionalDisplaycheckboxifyouwanttoviewdimensioninformationinthe GraphicsDisplaywindow. 7. SelectthedesiredanalysisoptionsbyselectingtheTextualcheckboxortheGraphical checkbox.IftheGraphicalcheckboxwasmarked,typethemultipliervalueinthe Multiplierbox. 8. Ifdesired,selecttheDisplaycheckboxintheDimensionInfoareaandclickEditto selecttheDimensionInfoFormatyouwouldlikedisplayedintheGraphicsDisplay window. 9. ClicktheCreatebutton. ThedimensionwillappearintheEditwindowwiththisinformation:
dimension_name=CONCENTRICITY,FROMfeat_1,TOfeat_2

or
dimension_name=CONCENTRICITY,FROMfeat_1,TOTHEORIGIN AX M NOM 0.0000 +TOL TOL MEAS MAX MIN DEV OUTTOL

0.0100 0.0100 2.0000

0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000

ToleranceforConcentricityDimensions

ThePlusboxallowsyoutoenteratolerancevaluealongtheplusdirection.Thismeansthatany concentricitythatdiffersfromyournominalortheoreticalconcentricitycanstillbeavalid measurementaslongasitfallswithinthetolerancerangespecified.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

DimensioningFeatures * 947

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

DimensioningCoaxiality

Coaxialitydialogbox TheInsert|Dimension|Coaxialitymenuoptioncalculatesthecoaxialityofacylinder,cone,or linewithadatumfeature.Thesecondfeaturethatisenteredisalwaysthedatumfeature,and maybeacylinder,cone,line,orcircle.Ifonlyonefeatureisselected,andyouclickCreate,PC DMISwillclearthelistboxanddisplayamessageinformingyouthatitneedsasecondfeature. Thisdimensiontypeisconsideredonesided,meaningasinglepositivevaluetoleranceisapplied.

ToDimensionaFeatureUsingtheCOAXIALITYOption:
1. SelectInsert|Dimension|Coaxialityfromthesubmenu.TheCoaxialitydialogboxwill appear. 2. Selectthefeature(s)todimensionfromtheFeatureListbox. 3. TypetheplustolerancevalueinthePlusbox. 4. SelecteitherInchorMMintheUnitsarea. 5. Selectwheretooutputthedimensioninformation.SelecttheStatistics,Report,Both,or Noneoptions. 6. SelecttheoptionalDisplaycheckboxifyouwanttoviewdimensioninformationinthe GraphicsDisplaywindow. 7. SelectthedesiredAnalysisoptionsbyselectingoneorbothofthecheckboxes.Ifthe Graphicalcheckboxwasselected,entertheMultipliervalueintheMultiplierbox. 8. Ifdesired,selecttheDisplaycheckboxintheDimensionInfoareaandclickEditto selecttheDimensionInfoFormatyouwouldlikedisplayedintheGraphicsDisplay window. 9. ClicktheCreatebutton. ThedimensionwillappearintheEditwindowwiththisinformation:
dimension_name=COAXIALITY,FROMfeat_1,TOfeat_2

or
dimension_name=COAXIALITY,FROMfeat_1,TOTHEORIGIN

AX M

NOM 0.0000

+TOL

TOL

MEAS

MAX

MIN

DEV

OUTTOL

0.0100 0.0100 2.0000

0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000

948 * DimensioningFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Note:Afterthedimensioniscreated,thedialogboxwillremainopen.Ifdesired,useyourEdit buttonatthistimetoeditaspectsofyourdimension'sinformation.See"EditDefaultDimension Info".

PlusToleranceforCoaxialityDimensions

ThisPlusboxallowsyoutoenteratolerancevaluealongtheplusdirection.Thismeansthatany coaxialitythatdiffersfromyournominalortheoreticalcoaxialitycanstillbeavalidmeasurement aslongasitfallswithinthetolerancerangespecified.

ProjectedDistanceforCoaxiality

PCDMISallowsyoutotypeareferencedistance.Thisoptionisusefulwhenyouwanttospecify thepointsalongthefeatureaxistobeusedinthecoaxialitycalculations.Whenthisdistanceis zero,thetwopointsusedwillbetheendpointsofthefeature'saxis.Whenthisdistanceis nonzero,thetwopointsusedwillbethestartingpointoftheaxis,andalongtheaxisvectorthe distancefromthestartingpoint. Increasingtheprojecteddistancewillmagnifytheerror.Decreasingthedistancelessenstheerror. Forexample,supposetwotoothpickslayonatable,sharingthesamelineandtouchingeach otheratoneend.Attheotherendofthetoothpicks,abouttwoinchesapart,theerrorbetween theircenterlinesmightbe0.005inches.Nowimaginethosetoothpicksare20incheslong,they wouldstilltouchatoneendandtheerrorwouldbe0.005inchesat2inchesaway,butat20 inchesawayfromthefirstend,thetoothpicksmighthavea0.05incherror. ThevalueyoutypeintheDistanceboxreflectsthetotallengthofthefeature.

DimensioningCircularity

Circularitydialogbox

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

DimensioningFeatures * 949

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Onehit,plusthefeature's minimumhitrequirementis necessarytodeterminethe roundnessofthatfeature. Additionalhitsprovidea betterrepresentationofthe roundnessoftheentire feature.

TheInsert|Dimension|Circularitymenuoptiondeterminesthe roundnessofacircle,sphericityofasphereortheconicityofa cone.Thisdimensiontypeisconsideredonesided,meaninga singlepositivevaluetoleranceisapplied.

ToDimensionaFeatureUsingtheCIRCULARITYOption:
1. SelectInsert|Dimension|Circularityfromthesubmenu.TheCircularitydialogbox willappear. 2. Selectthefeature(s)todimensionfromtheFeatureListbox. 3. TypetheplustolerancevalueinthePlusbox. 4. SelecteitherInchorMMintheUnitssection. 5. Selectwheretooutputthedimensioninformation.SelecttheStatistics,Report,Both,or Noneoption. 6. SelecttheoptionalDisplaycheckboxifyouwanttoviewdimensioninformationinthe GraphicsDisplaywindow. 7. SelectthedesiredAnalysisoptionsbymarkingthe TextualcheckboxortheGraphical checkbox.IftheGraphicalcheckboxwasmarked,entertheMultipliervalueinthe Multiplierbox. 8. Ifdesired,selecttheDisplaycheckboxintheDimensionInfoareaandclickEditto selecttheDimensionInfoFormatyouwouldlikedisplayedintheGraphicsDisplay window. 9. ClicktheCreatebutton. ThedimensionwillappearintheEditwindowwiththisinformation:
dimension_name=CIRCULARITY,OFfeat_1 AX M NOM 0.0000 +TOL TOL MEAS MAX MIN DEV OUTTOL

0.0100 0.0100 5.0000

0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000

PlusToleranceforCircularityDimensions

ThePlusboxallowsyoutoenteratolerancevaluealongtheplusdirection.Thismeansthatany roundnessthatdiffersfromyournominalortheoreticalroundnesscanstillbeavalid measurementaslongasitfallswithinthetolerancerangespecified.

950 * DimensioningFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

DimensioningCylindricity

Cylindricitydialogbox TheInsert|Dimension|Cylindricitymenuoptiondeterminesthecylindricityofacylinder.This dimensiontypeisconsideredonesided,meaningasinglepositivevaluetoleranceisapplied.

ToDimensionaFeatureUsingtheCYLINDRICITYOption
1. SelectInsert|Dimension|Cylindricityfromthesubmenu.TheCylindricitydialogbox willappear. 2. Selectthefeature(s)todimensionfromtheFeatureListbox.Youcanonlyselect cylinderfeatures. 3. TypetheplustolerancevalueinthePlusbox. 4. SelecteitherInchorMMintheUnitssection. 5. Selectwheretooutputthedimensioninformation.SelecttheStatistics,Report,Both,or Noneoption. 6. SelecttheoptionalDisplaycheckboxifyouwanttoviewdimensioninformationinthe GraphicsDisplaywindow. 7. SelectthedesiredAnalysisoptionsbymarkingthe TextualcheckboxortheGraphical checkbox.IftheGraphicalcheckboxwasmarked,entertheMultipliervalueinthe Multiplierbox. 8. Ifdesired,selecttheDisplaycheckboxintheDimensionInfoareaandclickEditto selecttheDimensionInfoFormatyouwouldlikedisplayedintheGraphicsDisplay window. 9. ClicktheCreatebutton. ThedimensionwillappearintheEditwindowwiththisinformation:
dimension_name=CYLINDRICITY,OFfeat_1 AX M NOM 0.0000 +TOL TOL MEAS MAX MIN DEV OUTTOL

0.0100 0.0100 5.0000

0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000

PlusToleranceforCylindricityDimensions

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

DimensioningFeatures * 951

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ThePlusboxallowsyoutoenteratolerancevaluealongtheplusdirection.Thismeansthatany cylindricitythatdiffersfromyournominalortheoreticalcylindricitycanstillbeavalid measurementaslongasitfallswithinthetolerancerangespecified.

DimensioningStraightness

Straightnessdialogbox Aminimumofthreehitsare TheInsert|Dimension|Straightnessoptioncalculatesthe necessarytodeterminethe straightnessofaline.Thisdimensiontypeisconsideredonesided, straightnessofaline. meaningasinglepositivevaluetoleranceisapplied.

ToDimensionaFeatureUsingtheSTRAIGHTNESSOption:
1. SelectInsert|Dimension|Straightnessfromthesubmenu.TheStraightnessdialog boxappears. 2. Selectthefeature(s)todimensionfromtheFeatureListbox. 3. TypetheplustolerancevalueinthePlusbox. 4. SelecteitherInchorMMintheUnitssection. 5. Selectwheretooutputthedimensioninformation.SelecttheStatistics,Report,Both,or Noneoption. 6. SelecttheoptionalDisplaycheckboxifyouwanttoviewdimensioninformationinthe GraphicsDisplaywindow. 7. SelectthedesiredAnalysisoptionsbymarkingthe TextualcheckboxortheGraphical checkbox.IftheGraphicalcheckboxwasmarked,entertheMultipliervalueinthe Multiplierbox. 8. Ifdesired,selecttheDisplaycheckboxintheDimensionInfoareaandclickEditto selecttheDimensionInfoFormatyouwouldlikedisplayedintheGraphicsDisplay window. 9. ClicktheCreatebutton. ThedimensionwillappearintheEditwindowwiththisinformation:
dimension_name=STRAIGHTNESS,OFfeat_1 AX M NOM 0.0000 +TOL TOL MEAS MAX MIN DEV OUTTOL

0.0100 0.0100 5.0000

0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000

952 * DimensioningFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

PlusToleranceforStraightnessDimensions

ThisPlusboxallowsyoutoenteratolerancevaluealongtheplusdirection.Thismeansthatany straightnessthatdiffersfromyournominalortheoreticalstraightnesscanstillbeavalid measurementaslongasitfallswithinthetolerancerangespecified.

DimensioningFlatness

Flatnessdialogbox Aminimumoffourhitsare TheInsert|Dimension|Flatnessmenuoptiondeterminesthe necessarytodeterminethe flatnessofaplane.Thisdimensiontypeisconsideredonesided, flatnessofaplane. meaningasinglepositivevaluetoleranceisapplied.

ToDimensionaFeatureUsingtheFLATNESSOption:
1. SelectInsert|Dimension|Flatnessfromthesubmenu.TheFlatnessdialogboxwill appear. 2. Selectthefeature(s)todimensionfromtheFeatureListbox. 3. TypetheplustolerancevalueinthePlusbox. 4. SelecteitherInchorMMintheUnitssection. 5. Selectwheretooutputthedimensioninformation.SelecttheStatistics,Report,Both,or Noneoption. 6. SelecttheoptionalDisplaycheckboxifyouwanttoviewdimensioninformationinthe GraphicsDisplaywindow. 7. SelectthedesiredAnalysisoptionsbymarkingthe TextualcheckboxortheGraphical checkbox.IftheGraphicalcheckboxwasmarked,enterthemultipliervalueinthe Multiplierbox. 8. Ifdesired,selecttheDisplaycheckboxintheDimensionInfoareaandclickEditto selecttheDimensionInfoFormatyouwouldlikedisplayedintheGraphicsDisplay window. 9. ClicktheCreatebutton. ThedimensionwillappearintheEditwindowwiththisinformation:
dimension_name=FLATNESS,OFfeat_1 AX NOM +TOL TOL MEAS MAX MIN DEV OUTTOL

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

DimensioningFeatures * 953

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

0.0000

0.0100 0.0100 5.0000

0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000

PlusToleranceforFlatness

ThePlusboxallowsyoutoenteratolerancevaluealongtheplusdirection.Thismeansthatany flatnessthatdiffersfromyournominalortheoreticalflatnesscanstillbeavalidmeasurementas longasitfallswithinthetolerancerangespecified.

DimensioningPerpendicularity

Perpendicularitydialogbox TheInsert|Dimension|Perpendicularity menuoptionmeasurestheperpendicularitybetween twofeatures.Thesecondfeatureisalwaysthedatumfeature.Whenonlyonefeatureisselected, thecurrentworkingplanebecomesthedatumfeature.Thisdimensiontypeisconsideredone sided,meaningasinglepositivevaluetoleranceisapplied.

ToDimensionaFeatureUsingthePERPENDICULARITYOption:
1. SelectInsert|Dimension|Perpendicularity fromthesubmenu.ThePerpendicularity dialogboxwillappear. 2. Selectthefeature(s)todimensionfromtheFeatureListbox. 3. SelecttheappropriateMaterialConditionoptionsforthefeature(s)anddatum. 4. Ifadatumfeatureisdesired,selecttheUseDatumscheckboxandselectanother featureintheFeatureListbox. 5. SelecttheappropriateMaterialConditionoptionsforthefeature(s)anddatum. 6. TypetheplustolerancevalueinthePlusbox. 7. EntertheprojecteddistanceintheDistancebox. 8. SelecteitherInchorMMintheUnitssection. 9. Selectwheretooutputthedimensioninformation.SelecttheStatistics,Report,Both,or Noneoption. 10. SelecttheoptionalDisplaycheckboxifyouwanttoviewdimensioninformationinthe GraphicsDisplaywindow.

954 * DimensioningFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

11. SelectthedesiredAnalysisoptionsbymarkingthe TextualcheckboxortheGraphical checkbox.IftheGraphicalcheckboxwasmarked,typetheMultipliervalueinthe Multiplierbox. 12. Ifdesired,selecttheDisplaycheckboxintheDimensionInfoareaandclickEditto selecttheDimensionInfoFormatyouwouldlikedisplayedintheGraphicsDisplay window. 13. ClicktheCreatebutton. ThedimensionwillappearintheEditwindowwiththisinformation:
dimension_name=PERPENDICULARITY,OFfeat_1,TOfeat_2

or
dimension_name=PERPENDICULARITY,OFfeat_1,TOworkplane AX M NOM 0.0000 +TOL TOL MEAS MAX MIN DEV OUTTOL

0.0100 0.0100 5.0000

0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000

PlusToleranceforPerpendicularityDimensions

ThePlusboxallowsyoutoenteratolerancevaluealongtheplusdirection.Thismeansthatany perpendicularitythatdiffersfromyournominalortheoreticalperpendicularitycanstillbeavalid measurementaslongasitfallswithinthetolerancerangespecified.

ProjectedDistanceforPerpendicularityDimensions

PCDMISallowsyoutotypeareferencedistanceintheDistancebox.Thisoptionisusefulwhen thefeaturenotonlyneedstobeperpendiculartothedatumfeature,butneedstobecalculateda certaindistanceawayfromthedatumaswell.

DimensioningParallelism

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

DimensioningFeatures * 955

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Parallelismdialogbox TheInsert|Dimension|Parallelismmenuoptionmeasurestheparallelismbetweentwo features.Thesecondfeatureisalwaysthedatumfeature.Whenonlyonefeatureisselected,the currentworkingplanebecomesthedatumfeature.Thisdimensiontypeisconsideredonesided, meaningasinglepositivevaluetoleranceisapplied.

ToPerformaDimensionUsingPARALLELISM:
1. SelectInsert|Dimension|Parallelismfromthesubmenu.TheParallelismdialogbox appears. 2. Selectthefeature(s)todimensionfromtheFeatureListbox. 3. Ifadatumfeatureisdesired,selecttheUseDatumscheckbox. 4. Ifadatumfeatureisdesired,selectanotherfeatureintheFeatureListbox. 5. SelecttheappropriateMaterialConditionoptionsforthefeature(s)anddatum. 6. TypetheplustolerancevalueinthePlusbox. 7. TypetheprojectiondistanceintheDistancebox. 8. SelecteithertheInchorMMoptionintheUnitsarea. 9. Selectwheretooutputthedimensioninformation.SelecttheStatistics,Report,Both,or Noneoption. 10. SelecttheoptionalDisplaycheckboxifyouwanttoviewdimensioninformationinthe GraphicsDisplaywindow. 11. SelectthedesiredanalysisoptionsbymarkingtheTextualcheckboxortheGraphical checkbox.IftheGraphicalcheckboxwasmarked,entertheMultipliervalueinthe Multiplierbox. 12. Ifdesired,selecttheDisplaycheckboxintheDimensionInfoareaandclickEditto selecttheDimensionInfoFormatyouwouldlikedisplayedintheGraphicsDisplay window. 13. ClicktheCreatebutton. ThedimensionwillappearintheEditwindowwiththisinformation:
dimension_name=PARALLELISM,OFfeat_1,TOG1,TOfeat_2,TOG1

or
dimension_name=PARALLELISM,OFfeat_1,TOG1,TOworkplane AX DF D1 M NOM 1.0000 0.0000 0.0000 +TOL TOL BON MEAS 1.0000 0.0000 MAX DEV OUTTOL

0.0100 0.0100 0.0000 0.0100 0.0100 0.0000 0.0100 0.0100 0.0000

0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000

0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000

TOG1=MMC/RFS/LMC

PlusToleranceforParallelismDimensions

956 * DimensioningFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ThePlusboxallowsyoutoenteratolerancevaluealongtheplusdirection.Thismeansthatany parallelismthatdiffersfromyournominalortheoreticalparallelismcanstillbeavalid measurementaslongasitfallswithinthetolerancerangespecified.

ProjectedDistanceforParallelismDimensions

PCDMISallowsyoutotypeareferencedistanceintheDistancebox.PCDMISusesthisvalue withcylinder,cone,andlinefeaturestocalculatetheparallelismdimension. Forthesefeatures,thepointsusedfortheparallelismcalculationaretheendpointoftheaxisand apointprojectedfromthisendpointalongthefeatureaxis. Thedistancebetweenthesetwopointsisthereferenceddistance.Forotherfeatures,this distancehasnoeffectonthedimension.Thisoptionisusefulwhenthedimensionneedstobe calculatedacertaindistancealongthefeature. UnderstandingParallelism'sDistanceProjection Usuallyaparallelismdimensiontakesthedatumline'svector,andcheckstheendpointsofthe dimensionedfeaturetoseeiftheyarewithintoleranceasshownhere:

Sometimes,however,youcantalwaysmeasurerighttotheedgeoftheline,soyouwillneedto extendthelineoutbyacertaindistance. Sincetheextremedeviationsareusuallyattheendsoftheline,ifyouextendoutthelinetoa distancelongerthantheactuallengthofthelineyouwillusuallygetlargerdeviations.Youcan alsoextendtheline'soppositedirectionbyusinganegativereferencelength. Anextendedlinemaylooklikethis:

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

DimensioningFeatures * 957

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

YoucanalsousetheDistanceboxtospecifyareferencelengthtochecktheaxisofacylinder.

DimensioningTotalorCircularRunout

TotalRunoutorCircularRunoutdialogbox TheInsert|Dimension|RunoutandTotalRun menuoptionsdeterminetherunoutofthefirst featurewithrespecttothesecondfeature(i.e.,thesecondfeaturebecomesthedatumfeature).If onlyonefeatureisselected,theoriginandtheworkplanebecomethedatumfeature.Inthiscase, PCDMISusesthepositionfromtheoriginandthedirectionfromtheworkplaneforthedatum. ThetextintheEditwindowforthedatumfeaturewillread"THEORIGIN". CircularRunoutworksforcircles,cones,cylinders,andspheres. TotalRunoutworksforcylinders,cones,andplanes.

Thisdimensiontypeisconsideredonesided,meaningasinglepositivevaluetoleranceisapplied.

UnderstandingRunout
Runoutdimensioningisgenerallyusedincamshaftoperations.Acamshaftisdesignedtorotate aroundacenterline.Sincetheseparatecylinderscomprisingthecamshaftareallonthesame

958 * DimensioningFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

centerline,youneedtoensurethatthecenterlineisnotonlyparallel,butthatthecylindersare alsocoaxial(orconcentric).

SampleCamshaft Additionally,youneedtomakesurethesurfaceofthecylindersisroundandstraight(straight whencomparedtoaseparatedatumaxis,notjustitsownaxis). Themaindifferencebetweenrunoutandparallelismisthatrunoutischeckingpointsonasurface ofacylinder,andnotjusttheaxisofthecylinder.Runoutalsodiffersfromacylinder's straightnessbecauseitcomparesthesurfaceofthecylindertoadatumaxis,notjusttoitself.A runoutdimensionchecksfortheseconditions.

HowRunoutisMeasured
Thetypical,nonCMMwaytomeasurerunoutistoputasmalldialindicatoronthesurfaceofthe cylinder,zeroouttheindicator,andthenspinthecylinder.Thisindicatormeasuresanydifference alongthatcircleasthecylinderrotates.

RunoutwithaDialIndicator ACMMessentiallydoesthesamething.Insteadofspinningthecylinder,however,theCMM's proberotatesaroundthecylinderandtakesafinitenumberofhits. Thetolerancebandforrunoutwouldlooksomethinglikethis:

SampleRunoutToleranceBand(DottedLines) Thetolerancebandhastheseproperties:

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

DimensioningFeatures * 959

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Ithasawidththesizeoftheplustolerance. Itisparalleltothedatumvector(theaxisofsomeotherlineorcylinder). Itisfixedatacertainradiusfromthecylindersaxis.

TwoCategoriesofRunout:CircularorTotal
Therearetwocategoriesforrunout: CircularRunoutmeasuresjustonecircleonerowofhitsaroundthecylinder. TotalRunoutmeasuresmultiplecirclesupanddowntheentiresurfaceofthecylinder withmultiplerowsofhits.

Obviously,youaresomewhatlimitedusingaCMMfortotalrunoutbecauseyouprobablywillnot take100rowsofhitsaroundyourcylinder,andsomethingaslittleas3rowsofhitsclearlyisnt enoughfordeterminingtotalrunout. Nevertheless,PCDMISprovidesyouwiththeabilitytodimensionbothcircularandtotalrunout andletsyoudeterminewhetherornotyou'vemeasuredenoughrowsofthecylinder.

UsingRunouttoCheckaCylinderEnd
PCDMISalsoallowsyoutotestforanothercaseofrunoutspecifiedinthestandard:Checking theplaneofoneofthecylinder'sends.Thetoleranceforthistypeofrunoutisatafixed orientationperpendiculartothedatumaxis.

SameRunoutofaCylinder'sEnd

ToDimensionaFeatureUsingtheRUNOUTOption:
1. SelectInsert|Dimension|TotalRunoutorCircularRunout fromthesubmenu.The TotalRunoutorCircularRunoutdialogboxappears. 2. Selectthefeature(s)todimensionfromtheFeatureListbox. 3. TypetheplustolerancevalueinthePlusbox. 4. SelecteitherInchorMMintheUnitsarea. 5. Selectwheretooutputthedimensioninformation.SelecttheStatistics,Report,Both,or Noneoption. 6. SelecttheoptionalDisplaycheckboxifyouwanttoviewdimensioninformationinthe GraphicsDisplaywindow. 7. SelectthedesiredanalysisoptionsbymarkingtheTextualcheckboxortheGraphical checkbox.IftheGraphicalcheckboxwasmarked,entertheMultipliervalueinthe Multiplierbox. 8. Ifdesired,selecttheDisplaycheckboxintheDimensionInfoareaandclickEditto selecttheDimensionInfoFormatyouwouldlikedisplayedintheGraphicsDisplay window. 9. ClicktheCreatebutton. ThedimensionwillappearintheEditwindowwiththisinformation:

960 * DimensioningFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

dimension_name=RUNOUT,OFfeat_1,TOfeat_2 AX M NOM 0.0000 +TOL TOL MEAS MAX MIN DEV OUTTOL

0.0100 0.0100 5.0000

0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000

PlusToleranceforRunoutDimensions

ThePlusboxallowsyoutoenteratolerancevaluealongtheplusdirection.Thismeansthatany runoutthatdiffersfromyournominalortheoreticalrunoutcanstillbeavalidmeasurementas longasitfallswithinthetolerancerangespecified.

DimensioningSurfaceorLineProfile

SurfaceProfiledialogbox

LineProfiledialogbox

Theprofile'sSurfaceoptioncomputesthethreedimensionalprofileerrorofasurfaceorcurve feature(Insert|Dimension|Profile|Surface). Theprofile'sLine menuoptioncomputesthetwodimensionalprofileerrorofacurve(Insert| Dimension|Profile|Line). Note:TheProfiledimensionhaschangedfromPCDMIS3.0andearlierversions.Youcannow useanytypeoffeatureforaprofilescan.

ToDimensionaFeatureUsingtheSurfaceProfileOption:
1. SelectInsert|Dimension|Profile|Surfacefromthesubmenu.TheSurfaceProfile dialogboxappears. 2. Selectthefeature(s)todimensionfromtheFeatureListbox.Ifadatumfeatureis selected,itmustbeaplane. 3. TypetheplustolerancevalueinthePlusbox.
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual DimensioningFeatures * 961

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

4. TypetheminustolerancevalueintheMinusbox. 5. SelecteitherInchorMMintheUnitsarea. 6. Selectwheretooutputthedimensioninformation.SelecttheStatistics,Report,Both,or Noneoption. 7. SelecttheoptionalDisplaycheckboxifyouwanttoviewdimensioninformationinthe GraphicsDisplaywindow. 8. SelecteitherFormOnlyorFormandLocation intheControlOptionsareaofthe dialogbox. 9. IfyouselectedFormOnly,selecttheUseBestFitcheckbox.Thiscausesthedimension tousetheinternalbestfitalignmenttoallowtheshapetorotateortranslateuntilitfinds thebestfitforthefeature. 10. SelectthedesiredanalysisoptionsbymarkingtheTextualcheckboxortheGraphical checkbox.IftheGraphicalcheckboxwasmarked,typethemultipliervalueinthe Multiplierbox. 11. Ifdesired,selecttheDisplaycheckboxintheDimensionInfoareaandclickEditto selecttheDimensionInfoFormatyouwouldlikedisplayedintheGraphicsDisplay window. Ifyou'veselectedtheFormandLocationoptionearlier,besuretoselect MaxMincheckboxfromtheDimensionInfoFormatareaoftheEditDefault DimensionInfodialogbox. Ifyou'veselectedtheFormOnlyoptionearlier,besuretoselecttheMeasured checkboxfromtheDimensionInfoFormatareaoftheEditDefaultDimension Infodialogbox.

12. ClicktheCreatebutton. ThedimensionwillappearintheEditwindowwiththisinformation: dimension_name=PROFILE,OFfeat_1 AX M NOM OUT TOL 5.0000 0.0100 0.0100 5.0000 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 +TOL TOL MEAS MAX MIN DEV

DisplayingProfileContourPlots
PCDMISallowsyoutodisplayacoloredsurfacecontourplotthatwillrestonthesurfaceofthe CADmodelintheGraphicsDisplaywindowwhenyouusePatchscansorUVscansandcreatea profiledimensionfromthem. Todothis: 1. ImportasolidCADmodel. 2. AccesstheViewSetupdialogbox. 3. ClicktheSolidcheckboxforoneofyourviewsandthenclosethedialogbox. 4. PlacePCDMISinSurfacemode. CreateaPatchorUVscan(see"PerformingaPatchAdvancedScan"or"PerformingaUV AdvancedScan"inthe"ScanningYourPart"chapter). 5. SelecttheInsert|ReportCommand|Analysismenuoption.TheAnalysisdialogbox appears.

962 * DimensioningFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

6. ClickViewWindowandthenselectOptions|DimensionOptions.TheDimension AnalysisOptionsdialogboxappears. 7. SelecttheShowContourPlotoption,clickOKuntilyoureturntothemainPCDMIS screen. 8. AccesstheSurfaceProfiledialogbox. 9. SelectthePatchorUVscanfromtheFeatureListbox. 10. SelecttheGraphicalcheckboxfromtheAnalysisarea. 11. MakeanyotherdesiredchangestotheSurfaceProfiledialogbox. 12. ClickCreatetogeneratethedimension. You'llnoticethatPCDMISplacesacoloredcontourplotdirectlyontothemodelsurfacewhere thescanwas.

ToDimensiona2DFeatureUsingtheLinePROFILEOption:
1. SelectInsert|Dimension|Profile|Linefromthesubmenu.TheLineProfiledialog boxappears. 2. Selectthefeature(s)todimensionfromtheFeatureListbox.Youcanselectany2D feature.Ifadatumfeatureisselected,itmustbeaplane. 3. TypetheplustolerancevalueinthePlusbox. 4. TypetheminustolerancevalueintheMinusbox. 5. SelecteitherInchorMMintheUnitsarea. 6. Selectwheretooutputthedimensioninformation.SelecttheStatistics,Report,Both,or Noneoption. 7. SelecttheoptionalDisplaycheckboxifyouwanttoviewdimensioninformationinthe GraphicsDisplaywindow. 8. SelecteitherFormOnlyorFormandLocation intheControlOptionsareaofthe dialogbox. 9. IfyouselectedtheFormOnlyoption,selecttheUseBestFitcheckbox.Thiscausesthe dimensionusetheinternalbestfitalignmenttoallowtheshapetorotateortranslateuntil itfindsthebestfitforthefeature. 10. IfyouselectedtheUseBestFitcheckbox,selectthedesiredworkplanetoallowrotation andtranslation. Usingtheworkplanewillrestrictthealignmenttobeatwodimensional alignment. 11. SelectthedesiredanalysisoptionsbymarkingtheTextualcheckboxortheGraphical checkbox.IftheGraphicalcheckboxwasmarked,typethemultipliervalueinthe Multiplierbox. 12. Ifdesired,selecttheDisplaycheckboxintheDimensionInfoareaandclickEditto selecttheDimensionInfoFormatyouwouldlikedisplayedintheGraphicsDisplay window. Ifyou'veselectedtheFormandLocationoptionearlier,besuretoselect MaxMincheckboxfromtheDimensionInfoFormatareaoftheEdit DimensionInfodialogbox. Ifyou'veselectedtheFormOnlyoptionearlier,besuretoselecttheMeasured checkboxfromtheDimensionInfoFormatareaoftheEditDimensionInfo dialogbox.

13. ClicktheCreatebutton. ThedimensionwillappearintheEditwindowwiththisinformation:


dimension_name=PROFILE,OFfeat_1

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

DimensioningFeatures * 963

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

AX
M

NOM
5.0000

TOL MEAS 0.0100 0.0100 5.0000

+TOL

MAX MIN DEV OUTTOL 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000

DisplayingProfileContourPlots
PCDMISallowsyoutodisplayacoloredcontourplotthatwillrestonthesurfaceoftheCAD modelintheGraphicsDisplaywindowforlinearorcurvefeatures. Followtheinstructionslistedin"DisplayingProfileContourPlots"foraSurfaceProfile,andsimply substitutetheinputfeaturewiththeappropriatelineorcurvefeature(orscan).

TolerancesforSurfaceProfileDimensions

Thisdimensiontypeisconsideredeitheronesided,meaningasinglepositivevaluetoleranceis applied,ortwosided,meaningupperandlowertolerancevaluesareapplied. IftheFormOnlyoptionhasbeenselected,onlyaplustolerancecanbeapplied. IftheFormandLocationhasbeenselected,theprofiledimensioncanbeonesidedor twosided.

PlusTolerance
ThePlusboxallowsyoutoenteratolerancevaluealongtheplusdirection.Thismeansthatany profilethatmeasuresmorethanyournominalortheoreticalprofilecanstillbeavalid measurementaslongasitfallswithinthetolerancerangespecified. PCDMISalsoallowsanegativeuppertolerance(oraminustoleranceinthepositiverange). ThisisdonebyenteringinaminussignbeforethevalueinthePlusbox.

MinusTolerance
TheMinusboxallowsyoutoenteratolerancevaluealongtheminusdirection.Thismeansthat anyprofilethatmeasureslessthanyournominalortheoreticalprofilecanstillbeavalid measurementaslongasitfallswithinthetolerancerangespecified. PCDMISallowspositivelowertolerances(orapositivetoleranceinthenegativerange).Thisis donebytypingaminussignbeforethevalueintheMinusbox.

964 * DimensioningFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TolerancesforLineProfileDimensions

Thisdimensiontypeisconsideredeitheronesided,meaningasinglepositivevaluetoleranceis applied,ortwosided,meaningupperandlowertolerancevaluesareapplied. IftheFormOnlyoptionhasbeenselected,onlyaplustolerancecanbeapplied. IftheFormandLocationhasbeenselected,theprofiledimensioncanbeonesidedor twosided.

PlusTolerance

ThePlusTolboxallowsyoutoenteratolerancevaluealongtheplusdirection.Thismeansthat anymeasurementthatmeasuresmorethanyournominalortheoreticalmeasurementcanstillbe avalidmeasurementaslongasitfallswithinthetolerancerangespecified.

MinusTolerance

TheMinusTolboxallowsyoutoenteratolerancevaluealongtheminusdirection.Thismeans thatanymeasurementthatmeasureslessthanyournominalortheoreticalmeasurementcanstill beavalidmeasurementaslongasitfallswithinthetolerancerangespecified.

ControlOptionsforSurfaceProfileDimensions
Theoptionsinthisareadetermineifaprofilematchesthesameform,orformandlocationasits nominal.

FormOnly
Whendimensioningaprofile,selectingtheFormOnlyoption,youcantellPCDMIStoonly determineifaparticularprofilematchesthesameformasitsnominal.Thisoptionignores whetherthelocationoftheprofileisoutsideofacceptabletolerances. ForaFormOnlydimension,payattentiontotheMeasuredvaluesinthegenerateddimension.

FormandLocation

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

DimensioningFeatures * 965

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Whendimensioningaprofile,usingtheFormandLocationoption,youcandetermineifa particularprofilematchesthesameformandthesamelocationasitsnominal.Thisdiffersfrom theFormOnlyoption,becausethelocationoftheprofilemustalsobewithinacceptable tolerances. ForaFormandLocationdimension,payattentiontoMax/Minvaluesinthegenerated dimension.

ControlOptionsforLineProfileDimensions
Theoptionsinthisareadetermineifaprofilematchesthesameform,orformandlocationasits nominal.

FormOnly
Whendimensioningaprofile,selectingtheFormOnlyoption,youcantellPCDMIStoonly determineifaparticularprofilematchesthesameformasitsnominal.Thisoptionignores whetherthelocationoftheprofileisoutsideofacceptabletolerances. ForaFormOnlydimension,payattentiontotheMeasuredvaluesinthegenerateddimension.

FormandLocation

Whendimensioningaprofile,usingtheFormandLocationoption,youcandetermineifa particularprofilematchesthesameformandthesamelocationasitsnominal.Thisdiffersfrom theFormOnlyoption,becausethelocationoftheprofilemustalsobewithinacceptable tolerances. ForaFormandLocationdimension,payattentiontoMax/Minvaluesinthegenerated dimension.

BestFitOptionsforSurfaceProfileDimensions

Note:ThisareaonlyappearsonthedialogboxifyouselecttheFormOnlyoptionfromthe ControlOptionsarea. TheBestFitOptionsarealetsyoucreateaninternalBestFitalignmentonthedimensioned featureusingoneoftheseavailablemethods: NoFitNoalignmentiscreated.

966 * DimensioningFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

LeastSquaresThisfitfindsapositionwherethedeviationsareminimized.Inthisway, theFormOnlyoptioncanignorethelocationofthefeaturewhilecheckingthatthecurve isclosetothenominalshape. Vector Thisfitsnapserrorsintheinputfeaturesontothetheoreticalvectorsbefore minimizingtheaveragesquarederror. Min/MaxThisfitminimizesthemaximumerrorinalloftheinputfeatures. OptimizedThisfitallowsthemeasureddatatoshiftandrotatewithinthetolerance domainuntilthedatafits.Youcanalsospecifythelowertolerancevaluewhichtypically isnotallowedtochangefrom0.0fortheotherfittingtypes.

Seethe"CreatingaBestFitAlignment"topicinthe"CreatingandUsingAlignments"chapter.

BestFitOptionsforLineProfileDimensions

Note:ThisareaonlyappearsonthedialogboxifyouselecttheFormOnlyoptionfromthe ControlOptionsarea. TheBestFitOptionsarealetsyoucreateaninternalBestFitalignmentonthedimensioned featureusingoneoftheseavailablemethods: NoFitNoalignmentiscreated. LeastSquaresThisfitfindsapositionwherethedeviationsareminimized.Inthisway, theFormOnlyoptioncanignorethelocationofthefeaturewhilecheckingthatthecurve isclosetothenominalshape. Vector Thisfitsnapserrorsintheinputfeaturesontothetheoreticalvectorsbefore minimizingtheaveragesquarederror. Min/MaxThisfitminimizesthemaximumerrorinalloftheinputfeatures. OptimizedThisfitallowsthemeasureddatatoshiftandrotatewithinthetolerance domainuntilthedatafits.Youcanalsospecifythelowertolerancevaluewhichtypically isnotallowedtochangefrom0.0fortheotherfittingtypes.

WorkPlane Whenyouusethelineprofiledimension,PCDMIScreatesaninternaltwodimensionalalignment thatrotatesandtranslatesinalldirectionswithintheselectedworkplanetominimizethe deviationsoftheindividualhits.Selectingaworkplanethatdiffersfromthetwodimensional projectionofthecurveresultsinanincorrectcalculation. Seethe"CreatingaBestFitAlignment"topicinthe"CreatingandUsingAlignments"chapter.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

DimensioningFeatures * 967

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

DimensioningAngularity

Angularitydialogbox TheInsert|Dimension|Angularitymenuoptioncomputestheangularityerrorofaplaneorline toadatumplaneorline.(Ifonlyonefeatureisselectedorkeyedin,PCDMISusesthecurrent workingplaneasthedatum.) Similartoperpendicularityorparallelism,theAngularitydimensionallowsyoutospecifyanangle thatisn't90degrees(perpendicularity)or0degrees(parallelism).Forexample,ifyouspecifya 45degreeangle,PCDMIScreatesatolerancebandat45degrees,andchecksthatthehitsare withinthattoleranceband.

Themeasuredvalueisanangle(blue).Theangularity'stolerancebandistwoparallellinesor planes(black)thatnevermeet.

ToComputetheAngularityErrorbyUsingtheANGULARITYOption:
1. SelectInsert|Dimension|Angularityfromthesubmenu.TheAngularitydialogbox willappear. 2. TypethenominalanglefromthedatumintheAnglebox. 3. Selectortypetheplane/line, feature,anddatum. 4. TypetheplustolerancevalueinthePlusbox.

968 * DimensioningFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

5. TypetheprojectiondistanceintheDistancebox. 6. SelecteitherInchorMMintheUnitsarea. 7. Selectwheretooutputthedimensioninformation.SelecttheStatistics,Report,Both,or Noneoption. 8. SelecttheoptionalDisplaycheckboxifyouwanttoviewdimensioninformationinthe GraphicsDisplaywindow. 9. SelecteitherFormOnlyorFormandLocation intheControlOptionsareaofthe dialogbox. 10. SelectthedesiredanalysisoptionsbyselectingtheTextualcheckboxortheGraphical checkbox.IftheGraphicalcheckboxwasselected,typethemultipliervalueinthe Multiplierbox. 11. Ifdesired,selecttheDisplaycheckboxintheDimensionInfoareaandclickEditto selecttheDimensionInfoFormatyouwouldlikedisplayedintheGraphicsDisplay window. 12. ClicktheCreatebutton. ThedimensionwillappearintheEditwindowwiththisinformation:
dimension_name=ANGULARITYFROMfeat_1TOfeat_2EXTENDLENGTH=nANG=nUNITS=MM/IN GRAPCH=ON/OFFTEXT=ON/OFFMULT=nOUTPUT=NONE/BOTH/STATS/REPORT AX M NOM 0.0000 +TOL TOL MEAS MAX MIN DEV OUTTOL

0.0100 0.0100 5.0000

0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000

feat_2:LINEorPLANE. PCDMISthencomputestheangularityerroranddisplaysitinthecurrentdimensionwindow.

ReferenceAngle

TheAngleboxallowsyoutotypethenominalanglefromthedatumfeature.Thisistheangle betweenthetwofeatures.PCDMISthencalculatesthedeviationofonefeaturefromtheangle. ClickingtheFindTheoAnglebuttoncalculatesthenominalreferenceangleyoushouldusefrom thetheoreticalvaluesoftheselectedfeatures.Thismakesitsoyoudon'thavetogoandlookup theangleintheEditwindow.

PlusToleranceforAngularityDimensions

ThePlusboxallowsyoutotypeatolerancevaluealongtheplusdirection.Thismeansthatany angularityerrorthatdiffersfromyournominalortheoreticalangularityerrorcanstillbeavalid measurementaslongasitfallswithinthetolerancerangespecified.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

DimensioningFeatures * 969

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ProjectedDistanceforAngularityDimensions

PCDMISallowsyoutoprojectareferencedistance.Thisoptionisusedwithlinefeaturesto calculatetheangularitydimension. Forthesefeatures,thepointsusedfortheangularitycalculationaretheendpointoftheaxisand apointprojectedfromthisendpointalongthefeatureaxis. Thedistancebetweenthesetwopointsisthereferenceddistance.Forotherfeatures,this distancehasnoeffectonthedimension.Thisoptionisusefulwhenthedimensionneedstobe calculatedacertaindistancealongthefeature.

DimensioningSymmetry

Symmetrydialogbox TheInsert|Dimension|Symmetrymenuoptioncalculatesthesymmetryofasetofpointswith adatumfeature,ortwoopposinglineswithadatumfeature. Ifthefirstfeatureisaset,thesecondfeaturethatisenteredisthedatumfeatureand mustbeeitheraplaneoraline. Ifthefirstfeatureisaline,thesecondfeaturemustalsobealineandthethirdfeature thatisenteredisthedatumfeature.Inthiscasethethirdfeaturemustbeaplaneoraline. Thisdimensiontypeisconsideredonesided,meaningasinglepositivevaluetoleranceis applied. Ifthethirdfeatureisaplane,thesymmetryalgorithmattemptstofindalineonthatplane thatrepresentsthedatum.Tofindthecorrectline,itintersects(orcrosses)thechosen planewiththeworkplane.Forthisreason,youshouldensurethatyouareusingthe correctworkplane.

Accordingtothegeometricdimensioningandtolerancingstandard,thefollowinggraphic indicateshowasymmetrydimensionisinterpretedanddisplayed.

970 * DimensioningFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

GraphicShowinghowPCDMISInterpretsSymmetryDimensions Becauseofthewaythesymmetryisdefined,PCDMISlimitsthefeaturesthatcanbeusedfor thesymmetrydimension.Sincethepointsmustbeequallyarrangedaboutthedatuminorderto findmidpointsbetweenthem,youmusteitherselectafeaturesetwithalternatingpointsortwo opposinglineswiththesamenumberofpoints.

ToDimensionaFeatureUsingtheSYMMETRYOption:
1. SelectInsert|Dimension|Symmetryfromthesubmenu.TheSymmetrydialogbox willappear. 2. Selectthefeature(s)todimensionfromtheFeatureListbox. 3. TypetheplustolerancevalueinthePlusbox. 4. SelecteitherInchorMMintheUnitsarea. 5. Selectwheretooutputthedimensioninformation.SelecttheStatistics,Report,Both,or Noneoptions. 6. SelecttheoptionalDisplaycheckboxifyouwanttoviewdimensioninformationinthe GraphicsDisplaywindow. 7. SelectthedesiredAnalysisoptionsbyselectingoneorbothofthecheckboxes.Ifthe Graphicalcheckboxwasselected,enterthemultipliervalueintheMultiplierbox. 8. Ifdesired,selecttheDisplaycheckboxintheDimensionInfoareaandclickEditto selecttheDimensionInfoFormatyouwouldlikedisplayedintheGraphicsDisplay window. 9. ClicktheCreatebutton. ThedimensionwillappearintheEditwindowwiththisinformation:
dimension_name=SYMMETRY,FROMfeat_1TOfeat_2

or
dimension_name=SYMMETRY,FROMfeat_1ANDfeat2TOfeat3 AX NOM +TOL TOL MEAS MAX MIN DEV OUTTOL

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

DimensioningFeatures * 971

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

0.0000

0.0100 0.0100 2.0000

0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000

Note:Afterthedimensioniscreated,thedialogboxwillremainopen.Ifdesired,useyourEdit buttonatthistimetoeditaspectsofyourdimension'sinformation.See"EditDefaultDimension Info".

PlusToleranceforSymmetry

ThisPlusboxallowsyoutoenteratolerancevaluealongtheplusdirection.Thismeansthatany symmetrythatdiffersfromyournominalortheoreticalsymmetrycanstillbeavalidmeasurement aslongasitfallswithinthetolerancerangespecified.

DimensioningthroughKeyboardInput

DimensionalKeyindialogbox TheInsert|Dimension|Keyin menuoptionallowsyoutocaptureand"keyin"throughthe keyboarddatanotmeasuredwiththeCMM(forinstance,addingadimensionthatismeasured withcalipers).Thisoptionallowsyoutoprintoutallinspectionresultsontheinspectionreport (notjustfeaturesmeasuredwiththeCMM).Itisalsousefulwhencollectingdataforstatistical analysis.

ToAddDimensionsUsingtheKEYINOption:
1. SelectInsert|Dimension|Keyin fromthesubmenu.TheDimensionalKeyindialog boxwillappear. 2. TypetheIDnumberforthedimensionintheID=box. 3. TypethenominalvalueintheNominalbox. 4. TypetheactualvalueintheActualbox. 5. Selectwheretooutputthedimensioninformation.SelecttheStatistics,Report,Both,or Noneoption. 6. ClicktheCreatebutton. ThedimensionwillthenappearintheEditwindowwiththisinformation:
dimension_name=KEYIN,feat_1 AX NOM +TOL TOL MEAS MAX MIN DEV OUTTOL

972 * DimensioningFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

5.0000

0.0100 0.0100 5.0000

0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000

Nominal

TheNominalboxallowsyoutoenterinthenominal(ortheoreticallyperfect)measurementfora feature.

Actual

TheActualboxallowsyoutoenterintheactualmeasurementforafeature.

TolerancesforKeyboardCreatedDimensions
Youcantypetolerancesalongtheplusandminusdirectionsofthenewlygenerateddimension.

PlusTolerance

ThePlusTolboxallowsyoutoenteratolerancevaluealongtheplusdirection.Thismeansthat anymeasurementthatmeasuresmorethanyournominalortheoreticalmeasurementcanstillbe avalidmeasurementaslongasitfallswithinthetolerancerangespecified.

MinusTolerance

TheMinusTolboxallowsyoutoenteratolerancevaluealongtheminusdirection.Thismeans thatanymeasurementthatmeasureslessthanyournominalortheoreticalmeasurementcanstill beavalidmeasurementaslongasitfallswithinthetolerancerangespecified.

DimensioningVariables
Theremaybeinstanceswhenworkingwithexpressionsandvariablesthatyouwanttocreate dimensionsfromvariablesthatcontainstoredvalues.Onepopularwaytodothisistofirstcreate agenericfeature,populatethefieldsoftheGenericFeaturewiththevariableexpressionsyou wanttouse,andthencreateadimensionoftheGenericFeature. ForinformationonGenericFeatures,seethe"CreatingGenericFeatures"chapter.For informationonvariables,seethe"UsingExpressionsandVariables"chapter.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

DimensioningFeatures * 973

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

DimensioningaVariableExample
SupposethatyouhavethesevariablesandyouwantedtocreateaLocationdimensionusing them: ASSIGN/V_THEOX=10 ASSIGN/V_THEOY=5 ASSIGN/V_THEOZ=1 ASSIGN/V_MEASX=10.008 ASSIGN/V_MEASY=5.035 ASSIGN/V_MEASZ=0.997 Note:Foreaseofuse,thisexamplegivesthevariablesconstantvalues.Inreallifeapplication, yourvariableswillmostlikelyhavedynamicvaluesthatchangebasedonuserinputorfromother externalsources. Todimensionthesevariables: 1. CreateagenericfeaturebyselectingtheInsert|Feature|Genericmenuoption.The ConstructGenericFeaturedialogboxappears. 2. SelectthePointoption. 3. SelecttheMeasuredValuesoptionandtypezerovaluesintotheX,Y,andZboxes, thenselectNominalValuesanddothesamething. 4. ClickOK.PCDMISwillinsertanemptyGenericFeature(usuallylabeledF1ifit'syour firstGenericFeature)intotheEditwindow. 5. PlacetheEditwindowinCommandmodeandyouwillseethis:
F1 =GENERIC/POINT,DEPENDENT,RECT,$ NOM/XYZ,0,0,0,$ MEAS/XYZ,0,0,0,$ NOM/IJK,0,0,1,$ MEAS/IJK,0,0,1

6. NownavigatetothelineNOM/XYZ,andinthefirstthreezerofields,typeV_THEOX, V_THEOY,andV_THEOZrespectively.Theseareyournominalvariables. 7. DothesamethingontheMEAS/XYZline,excepttypeV_MEASX,V_MEASY,and VMEASZintothethreezerofieldsofthatline.Yourcommandshouldnowlooklikethis:


F1 =GENERIC/POINT,DEPENDENT,RECT,$ NOM/XYZ,V_THEOX,V_THEOY,V_THEOZ,$ MEAS/XYZ,V_MEASX,V_MEASY,V_MEASZ,$ NOM/IJK,0,0,1,$ MEAS/IJK,0,0,1

8. PressF3tomarktheGenericFeature. 9. CreateaLocationdimensionusingthisfeature.Giveitaplusandminustoleranceof.02.

974 * DimensioningFeatures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

10. Executethepartprogram. Youshouldgetadimensionthatlookssomethinglikethisinyourreport:

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

DimensioningFeatures * 975

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

UsingFeatureControlFrames
UsingFeatureControlFrames:Introduction
PCDMISletsyouinsertvaluabledimensioninginformationintheformofFeatureControlFrames (FCFs)intoyourpartprogram.FCFsarespecial,rectangularboxesthathousestandardGD&T symbolsandinformation. WhenyouinsertaFCFintotheEditwindow,PCDMISalsodrawsthe actualframeintheGraphicsDisplaywindow.

SampleFeatureControlFrame(seeFCF1) ToinsertaFCFcommand,accesstheInsert|Dimensionsubmenu,ensurethattheUse LegacyDimensionsmenuitemisnotselected,andthenselecttheappropriatedimension.PC DMISdisplaystheGD&Tdialogboxforthatdimension.OnceyoucreatetheFCF,PCDMIS insertsitalongwithdimensioninformationintothepartprogram. Note:FCFsprovideyouwithanewwayofdimensioningyourpart.Allofthesameoptionsyou hadwithpreviousDimensioningfunctionalitystillexistwithFCFs(seetheAdvancedtabinthe GD&Tdialogbox).Ifyouprefertheoldwayofdoingdimensions,however,simplyselecttheUse LegacyDimensionsmenuitemandPCDMISwillinsertdimensionstheoldway.Seethe "DimensioningFeatures"chapterforinformationonlegacydimensions. Also,sincetheLocation,Distance,Angle,andKeyindimensionsarenotpartoftheASMEand ISOstandards,theyarealwayscreatedusinglegacydimensions,evenifyoudeselectedtheUse LegacyDimensionsmenuitem. Thischaptercoversthefollowingtopics: WhatisaFeatureControlFrame? CreatingaFeatureControlFrameDimension DefiningDatums TheGD&TDialogBox FeatureControlFrameCommandBlock FeatureControlFrameTrihedron SimultaneouslyEvaluatingFeatureControlFrames

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingFeatureControlFrames * 977

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

WhatisaFeatureControlFrame?

ASampleFeatureControlFrame Afeaturecontrolframe(FCF)isarectangulargraphicthatrepresentsspecifieddimension informationforoneormorefeatures.Itusuallyappearsonablueprintorcadfiletodefine tolerancespecificationsforspecificdimensiontypes.TheASMEY14.51994Geometric DimensioningandTolerancingdescribesappropriateuseoffeaturecontrolframes(FCFs). WhenmultiplefeaturesareselectedintheFCF,PCDMIScreatesaconstructedsetinternalto theFCF.Thissetusestheinputfeaturestocreateapatternfeature,wheretheprimary dimensionlinewillapplytothepatternfeature,andthesecondarydimensionlinewillapplytothe individualfeatures.Intheaboveexamplefeaturecontrolframe,thepatternwillhaveitsposition tolerancedtowithin0.01,whiletheindividualfeatureswillhavetheirpositionstolerancedtowithin 0.005.SeeASMEY14.51994GeometricDimensioningandTolerancingformoreinformation abouthowtheseareapplied. TheElementsofaFCFinPCDMIS AFCFinPCDMIShasfourdifferentlines,asdefinedbytheGD&Tstandards:

1. SizetolerancesThetoplinehasthenumberoffeatures,X,diametersymbol,size nominal,plustolerance,andminustolerance. 2. PrimarydimensionsThesecondline(firstrowintherectangulargrid) mustalways exist,eventhoughyoumaynotuseallofthefields.Thislinehastheprimarydimension symbol,diametersymbol,maintolerance,featurematerialcondition,projectedtolerance zone,projectedtolerancezonematerialcondition,primarydatum,primarydatummaterial condition,secondarydatum,secondarydatummaterialcondition,tertiarydatum,and tertiarydatummaterialcondition.Often,datums,materialconditions,andprojected tolerancezonesarenotrequiredoravailable. 3. SecondarydimensionsThethirdline(secondrowintherectangulargrid)onlyexists forTruePositionandprofiletypes,andnotallofthefieldsarenecessary.Ithasthe secondarydimensionsymbol,diametersymbol,maintolerance,featurematerial condition,projectedtolerancezone,projectedtolerancezonematerialcondition,primary datum,primarydatummaterialcondition,secondarydatum,secondarydatummaterial condition,tertiarydatum,andtertiarydatummaterialcondition. 4. NotesThefourthlinecontainsatextfieldforwhereyoucantypefurtherdescriptionor instructionsoftheFCF.Bydefault,PCDMISplacestheFCF'sIDintothisfieldtohelp identifytheFCFintheGraphicsDisplaywindow.Youcanchangethisnotetodifferent textifyoulike.

978 * UsingFeatureControlFrames

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

CreatingaFeatureControlFrameDimension
ThefollowingprocedureshowsyouhowtocreateaFeatureControlFrame(FCF)dimension: 1. Createthefeaturesthatwillbedatumfeatures.Thesecanbemeasuredfeatures,auto features,orconstructedfeatures. 2. SelectInsert|Dimension|DatumDefinition.TheDatumDefinitiondialogbox appears. 3. Usethedialogboxtoselectthedatumfeaturesandassociatethemwithdatumletters. See"DefiningDatums"forinformationonhowtodothis. 4. Whenfinisheddefiningdatums,closethedialogbox. 5. MakesuretheInsert|Dimension|UseLegacyDimensionsmenuoptiondoesnot displayacheckmark.Ifitdoes,selectthemenuitemtoclearthischeckmark. 6. SelecttheappropriatedimensionfromtheInsert|Dimensionsubmenu.TheGD&T dialogboxforthatdimensionappears. 7. Inthedialogbox,selecttheFeatureControlFrametab. 8. UsethistabtoselectthefeaturestodimensionandtoconstructyourFCF.See"Feature ControlFrameTab"forinformationontheavailableoptionsinthistab. 9. SelecttheAdvancedtab. 10. Selecttheappropriateoptionsfromthistabtodefinehowthedimensioninformation shouldbedisplayed.See"AdvancedTab"forinformationontheavailableoptionsinthis tab. 11. ClickCreate.PCDMISinsertsaFCFcommandintothepartprogramandaFCFgraphic appearsintheGraphicsDisplaywindow.Thegraphicwillhavethesamebackground colorasyourGraphicDisplaywindow'sbackgroundcolor.Youcanclickandmovethe FCFtoanewlocationasneeded. FCFCreationConditions InorderforPCDMIStoproperlycreateaFCFdimension,itmustmeettheappropriateconditions forthetypeofdimensionyouwanttocreate.Consultthefollowingtableasneeded: DimensionType Formdimensions: ConditionstoMeet Nodatums. Nomaterialconditions. Noprojectedzones. Mayormaynothavedatums. Nomaterialconditions. Noprojectedzones. Musthavedatums. Mayhavematerialconditions. Mayhaveprojectedzones. Musthavedatums. Nomaterialconditions. Noprojectedzones. Mayhavedatums. Mayhavematerialconditions. Mayhaveprojectedzones. Musthavedatums. Nomaterialconditions. Noprojectedzones.

Profiledimensions:

Orientationdimensions:

Runoutdimensions:

Positiondimensions:

Otherlocationdimensions (theseincludesymmetry concentricity,coaxiality):

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingFeatureControlFrames * 979

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

DefiningDatums
ADatumisatheoreticallyperfectplane,point,oraxisreferencefeature.ADimensional measurementismadefromadatum.DatumsareusedbyFeatureControlFrames(FCFs)when displayingGD&Tinformation.InordertodefinethedatumsusedinFCFs,youshouldfirstcreate thefeaturesthatwillbecomethedatums.Thesefeaturescancomefromautofeatures,measured features,orconstructedfeatures.Onceyoucreatethefeatures,useDatumDefinition(DATDEF) commandstodefinethemasdatums.EachDATDEFcommandassociatesadatumletter(for example,datumA)withafeatureinyourprogram. CreatingaDatumDefinition Todefineadatum,selectInsert|Dimension|DatumDefinitionorclicktheDatumDefinitions buttonontheGD&Tdialogbox.PCDMISwilldisplaytheDatumDefinitiondialogbox.

DatumDefinitiondialogbox Thedatumletter(intheaboveexampleA),defaultstothenextavailabledatumletter.PCDMIS labelsdatumsfromAtoZandthenfromAAtoZZ.Simplyselectafeaturetobeassociated withthisdatumletterfromtheListofFeatures,andclickCreate.TheCreatebuttonbecomes activatedwheneveryouselectafeaturefromthelist.Whenyoucreateadefinition,PCDMIS insertsaDATDEF commandintotheEditwindow.Forexample,ifyouhadselectedPLN1and associateditwiththeletter"A",theEditwindowcommandwouldread:


DATDEF/FEATURE=PLN1,DATUM=A

IntheDatumDefinitiondialogbox,theDatumboxautomaticallyupdatestothenextavailable datumletter,andthefeatureyouselectedwillappearintheListofFeatureswiththeassociated datumletterinparentheses.FromtheabovePLN1example,itwouldnowappearinthelistas PLN1(A). TocreateadditionalDATDEFcommands,continuetoselectfeaturesandclickCreate.Ifyou don'twanttocreateyourdatumsinthedefaultalphabeticalsequence,youcaneasilymodifythe letterintheDatumboxbeforeclickingCreate. OnceyouhavecreatedallyourdatumsusingtheDatumDefinitiondialogbox,youcanthen createFeatureControlFrame(FCF)dimensionsusingtheGD&Tdialogboxandassignyour defineddatumfeaturestothosedimensions.

980 * UsingFeatureControlFrames

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TheGD&TDialogBox

GD&Tdialogbox WiththeGD&Tdialogbox,youcancreateFeatureControlFrame(FCF)dimensionsandinsert themintoyourpartprogram.ThisdialogboxappearswheneveryouselectasupportedFCF dimensionfromtheInsert|DimensionsubmenuandtheUseLegacyDimensionsmenuitemis notselected. Thedialogboxconsistsoftwotabs,FeatureControlFrameandAdvanced,eachwithseveral controlsthatallowyoutoconstructtheFCFanditsassociateddimensioninformation.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingFeatureControlFrames * 981

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

GD&TDialogBoxFeatureControlFrametab

GD&TdialogboxFeatureControlFrametab TheFeatureControlFrametabgiveshelpsyouconstructaFeatureControlFrame(FCF).It providesyouwiththetoolstodefinedatumfeatures,selectthefeaturesusedintheFCF dimension,aneditortodefinethespecificsymbols,tolerances,anddatumsusedinyourFCF, andapreviewareatoseethecurrentstateoftheFCFasyoubuildit.Forinformationonthe variousitemsinthistab,seethelistofcontrolsbelow: IDThisboxdisplaysthenamefortheFCF.Youcanedititifyouwantsomethingdifferent. FeaturesThislistdisplaysavailablefeaturesfortheparticularFCFtype. Somefeatures mayexistinthepartprogram,butarenotavailabletothefeaturecontrolframe. For example,aplanefeatureisnotavailabletoCircularity.PCDMISupdatesthislistafter youselectthefirstfeature.Thisensuresthatwhenyoucreateapatternoffeaturesfor theFCF,thosefeaturesarecompatiblefeatures. DatumsTheDatumsshowsallthedatumsdefinedwithDATDEFcommands.Itonlylists datumfeaturesabovethecurrentcursorpositionintheEditwindow. LeaderLinesThislistshowsthesamefeaturesthatyouselectedfromtheFeatureslist. Eachfeaturehasacheckboxassociatedwithit.Whenyouselectacheckbox,PCDMIS drawsaleaderlineintheGraphicsDisplaywindowfromtheFCFtothatfeature.By default,PCDMISinitiallydisplaysallpossibleleaderlines,butyoucanclearcheckboxes toturnoffleaderlinesaswell. FeatureControlFrameEditorThisarealetsyouapplychangestotheFCF.Youcan selectfieldswiththemouseorbypressingTABandthenENTERtoplacethefieldinto

982 * UsingFeatureControlFrames

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

editmode.Ifthefieldiseditable,itwilleitherdisplayadropdownlistofavailableoptions, oritwilldisplayaboxintowhichyoucantypetext.Whenfinishededitingafield,press ENTER,TAB,orclickonadifferentfieldtoexittheeditmode.PressingSHIFT+TABwill movebackwardstothepreviousfield. Whenafieldisemptyashortdescriptionisdisplayedwithbracketsarounditfor identification. Thesedescriptionscorrespondtothesefields: <MC>Materialcondition <D>Diameter <Dim>Dimensionorfeaturecontrolframetype <PZ>Projectedzone <num>Numberoffeatures <nom>Nominaloffeaturesize <+tol>Plustolerance <tol>Minustolerance <tol>Tolerance <dat>Datum <sym>Dimensionsymbol <addnoteshere>Notefieldinthefirstline <addoptionaldesignnotes>Optionaldesignnotesinthelastline PlanarZoneThisbuttonappearsintheFeatureControlFrameEditorareaofthistab,if youhaveaTruePositionFCFandthetolerancezoneissettoaplanarzone.Toenable thisbutton,selectthediametersymbolfromtheFCFeditorandsetittoblankasshown here:

OncethePlanarZonebuttonappears,youcanclickittoopenthePlanarZoneDirection dialogbox.
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual UsingFeatureControlFrames * 983

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ThePlanarZoneDirectiondialogboxletsyouspecifythedirectionvectorfortheplanar zoneinoneoftwoways: SelecttheAxisoption.ThenfromtheAxislist,selectanaxisfromthelist:X,Y,orZ. SelecttheVectoroption.ThenintheI,J,andKboxes,typethedirectionvector.

DatumDefinitionsThisbuttonprovidesyouwitheasyaccesstotheDatumDefinitions dialogbox,allowingyoutodefinedatumsforyourcurrentFCFdimension. FeatureControlFrameOptionsThisareacontainstheCompositecheckbox.Thischeck boxcontrolswhetherornottheprimarydimensionrowandsecondarydimensionrow shouldusethesamesymbolinasinglemergedcellthatspansbothrows.Whenyou selectthischeckbox,thesymboldisplayslikethis:

Ifyouclearthecheckbox,theprimaryandsecondaryrowsdisplaywithseparatesymbols, evenifthesymbolrepresentsthesamething.

TheASMEY14.51994GeometricDimensioningandTolerancingdescribesthedifferences ininterpretingtheseconditions. TheFormOnlyorFormandLocationoptionsareavailablefromthisareaforprofile dimensions:

984 * UsingFeatureControlFrames

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

FormOnlySelectthisoptionwhenyouonlywanttodetermineifaparticularprofilematchesthe sameformasitsnominal.Thisoptionignoreswhetherthelocationoftheprofileisoutsideof acceptabletolerances.ForaFormOnlydimension,payattentiontothemeasuredvaluesinthe generateddimension.Also,definetheBestFitAlgorithmintheProfileareaoftheAdvancedtab. Seethe"AdvancedTab"topic. FormandLocationSelectthisoptionwhenyouwanttodetermineifaparticularprofile matchesthesameformandthesamelocationasitsnominal.ThisdiffersfromtheForm Onlyoption,becausethelocationoftheprofilemustalsobewithinacceptabletolerances definedbythePlusandMinusTolerances.ForaFormandLocationdimension,pay attentiontoMax/Minvaluesinthegenerateddimension. ActionsandProceduresThissectiondisplayshintsandinstructionstoassistyouin buildingvalidFCFs. PreviewThissectiondisplaysapreviewoftheFCFwiththecurrentsettings.Itwillnot includeanyoftheemptyfieldsoremptydescriptionsthatappearintheFeatureControl FrameEditorsection,forexamplefieldsthathavebrackets,suchas<dat>. NotesontheFeatureControlFrameEditor IntheFeatureControlFrameEditorareabeawarethatsomeoftheiconfields,iftheyarenot supportedwillnotappearforcertaindimensions.Forexample,ifyouhaveaCircularitydimension, PCDMISdisplaysthetolerancefield,buthidesanydatumormodifierfields. Formdimensions(Circularity,Cylindricity,Flatness)Thesedon'tsupportdatumsor modifies,sothesefieldswillnotappear.Profileinsomecaseswillfallinthiscategory whencheckingfor"FormOnly".But"FormandLocation"forProfiledimensionsallows thedisplayofmodifiers. Orientationdimensions(Parallelism,Perpendicularity,Angularity,Runout,Concentricity, Coaxiality)Theseallowdatumsandmodifiers. Positiondimensions(TruePosition,ProfilewithFormandLocation)Theseallowdatums andmodifiers. Otherdimensions(DistanceandAngleBetween)Thesedon'tallowdatums.Symmetryisa lotliketheformdimensions,anddoesn'tusedatums. Also,onlythesedimensionscanhavemultiplelinesintheeditor: TruePosition Parallelism Perpendicularity

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingFeatureControlFrames * 985

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

GD&TDialogBoxAdvancedtab

GD&TdialogboxAdvancedtab TheAdvancedtabprovidesyouwiththeabilitytosetoutputandanalysisoptionsforyour FeatureControlFrame(FCF)dimensions.Fordocumentationonthistab,seethelistofdialog boxitemsdiscussedbelow.Also,notethatmuchofthisfunctionalityalreadyexistsinthelegacy dimensionsandisdiscussedindetailinthe"DimensioningFeatures"chapter. OutputAreaTheReportandStatisticslistallowsthefeaturecontrolframeoutputtobe printedtoeithertheinspectionreportortostatisticalfilesusedbystatisticssoftware (suchasDataPage),tobothofthese,ortononeatall. Statisticssendsoutputtostatisticalfiles Reportsendsoutputtoinspectionreport Bothsendsoutputtobothinspectionreportandstatisticalfiles Nonedoesntsendoutputanywhere

WhenPCDMISexecutesaFCFcommand,theoutputwillgototheinspectionreport,the statsfile,bothofthese,ornoneofthem,dependingonwhatyouselected. Note:IfeithertheStatsoptionortheBothoptionisselected,aprecedingSTATS/ONcommand mustexist insidetheEditwindowfortheFCFtobesenttothestatsfile.

986 * UsingFeatureControlFrames

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TheUnitslistallowsyoutodeterminetheunitsofmeasurementyourFCFshoulduse.You canchoosebetweentheseoptions: Inch=Inches MM=Millimeters

PCDMISusestheselectedunitofmeasurementfordimensioningaslongasthedialogbox remainsopen.Bydefault,PCDMISusesthesameunitofmeasurementusedbythe currentpartprogram. AnalysisareaThisareasetsthedimensionaloutputanalysisformatfortheFCF. ReportTextualAnalysis WhenyouselectOn(orBoth forTruePositionFCFs),PCDMIS willprintoutthefollowinginthestandardinspectionreportandtheReportwindowfor eachindividualhitusedintheFCF: MeasuredX,Y,andZvalues MeasuredI,J,andKvalues Deviationofeachindividualhit MAXorMINmarkerattheendofthelinewheneverthehitproduceseithera maximumorminimumdeviation.

ReportGraphicalAnalysisThis listdisplaystheoutputfortheFCFinyourreport.Itusesa formatsuitableforcloseexamination.Whenyouselect On(orBoth),PCDMISwill display,inagraphicalformatthatusescoloredarrows,thedeviationofeachindividualhit fortheFCFusedonthepartinthereport.Thesearrows,withtheircolorsanddirections, indicatetherelativesizeoftheerror,aswellasitsdirection. CADGraphicalAnalysisThislistworksthesameastheReportGraphicalAnalysislist, exceptthatitdisplaysthegraphicalanalysisinsidetheGraphicsDisplaywindow. ArrowMultiplierTheMultiplierboxletyousetascalingfactorthatmagnifiesthedeviation arrowsandtolerancezonefortheCADGraphicalAnalysismode.Ifyoutypea2.0 value,PCDMISwillscalethearrowstwotimesthecalculateddeviationforeachfeature hit.TheMultiplierboxisusedforviewingpurposesonly,andisnotreflectedinthetext printout. DimensionInfoareaThisarealetsyoucreateaDimensionInfotextboxfortheFCF.When youselecttheCreateDimensionInfowhenthisdialogclosescheckbox,PCDMISenables theEditbutton.YoucanclicktheEditbuttontoopenupadialogboxthatletsyousetdefault optionsfortheDimensionInfocommand(DIMINFO).SeeEditDefaultDimensionInfoformore information. WhenyoucreateyourFCF,thedialogboxclosesandPCDMIScreatesaDIMINFO commandintheEditwindowaftertheFCF.ThisDIMINFOcommanddisplaysall dimensioninformationintheGraphicsDisplaywindownexttothefeatureselectedfrom theFeaturelistintheFeatureControlFrametab.Italsodisplaysthesameavailable dimensionaxesusedintheEditwindowforthatparticularFCF. FormoreindepthinformationonDIMINFOboxesandonrulesgoverningtheircreation,see InsertingDimensionInfoBoxesintheInsertingReportCommands chapter.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingFeatureControlFrames * 987

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TruePositionareaThisareabecomeavailableonlywhencreatingaTruePositionFCF. ForotherFCFtypesitremainsgrayedout.Itcontainstheseitems: AlignmentSometimeswhenyouviewdimensioninformationrelativetothecurrent alignment,thecalculationsofthedatumscansometimesbehardtodecipher.Thislist letsyoudeterminehowthisinformationshouldgetdisplayed:relativetoaparticular alignmentorrelativetothedatumreferenceframe. FittoDatumsThischeckboxdetermineswhetherornottheFCFusesabestfitcalculation tofindtheoptimalpositionofthedatumreferenceframethatminimizestheerror. NominalsandAxesThisportionletsyoucustomizetheoutputbycontrollingwhichaxes PCDMISshoulddisplayinthereportandallowingyoutomanuallytypethenominal values.

FeatureListThelisttotheleftoftheNominalsandAxescolumnsdisplaysallthefeatures usedintheTruePositionFCF.SelectaFeatureSetorfeaturefromthislist.PCDMIS thendisplaysthepossibleaxesforthatfeature. ReportAxisThiscolumncontainscheckboxesforeachaxis.Aselectedcheckboxsends thataxistothereport. AxisThiscolumnlistsavailableaxesfortheselectedfeature. NominalThiscolumncontainsnominalvalues.Youcanoverwritethembyclickingonthem andtypingdifferentvalues. +Tol/TolTheplusandminustolerancecolumnsprovidefieldsintowhichyoucantype tolerancesforthevariousaxesusedinyourFCF.PCDMISonlyappliesthesetolerance valuestoaxesthatrelatetosize,sincetheaxesthatcontrolpositionusethemain toleranceintheFCF. UpdateFeatureNominalThiscolumnletsyouspecifywhetherornotanychangesyou madetothenominalvaluesshouldgetappliednotonlytotheFCFbuttothefeatureas well. ProfileareaThisarealetsyoudefinetheBestFitAlgorithmtobeusedforProfiledimensions. ThisareisonlyenabledwhenyouarecreatingaProfileLineorSurfaceDimensionandyouhave selecttheFormOnlyoptiononthe"FeatureControlFrametab"

988 * UsingFeatureControlFrames

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

NoFitNoalignmentiscreated. LeastSquaresThisfitfindsapositionwherethedeviationsareminimized.Inthisway, theFormOnlyoptioncanignorethelocationofthefeaturewhilecheckingthatthecurve isclosetothenominalshape. Vector Thisfitsnapserrorsintheinputfeaturesontothetheoreticalvectorsbefore minimizingtheaveragesquarederror.

UsingFlatnessPerUnitArea
TheXactMeasureGD&TFlatnessDimensiondialogboxcontainsaPerUnitcheckboxthat letsyouspecifyaflatnessperunitarea:

XactMeasureGD&TFlatnessDimensiondialogbox WhenyouselectthePerUnitcheckbox,PCDMISchangestheFeatureControlFrameEditor area,addinganadditionallinewhereyoucanenteratolerancevalueaswellastheunitarea values:

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingFeatureControlFrames * 989

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

FeatureControlFrameEditor TheAdvancedtabcontainsaFormAnalysisareawithaPerUnitStepSizeboxwhereyoucan specifyastepsizetotraversethesurface.Bydefault,PCDMISusesavalueof10:

PerUnitStepSizebox OnceyouenterinthedesiredinformationandcreatetheFeatureControlFrame,PCDMISalso appliestheflatnessperunitareaintheFeatureControlFrame:

ExampleofaFinishedFlatnessFCF

FeatureControlFrameCommandBlock
ThefollowingshowsthesyntaxofasampleFeatureControlFrame(FCF)commandblockusing theEditwindow'scommandmode:
FCF6=TRUEPOSITIONOFCIR1,CIR2,CIR3,... FEATCTRLFRAME/SHOWNOMS=YES,SHOWPARAMS=YES,SHOWEXPANDED=YES CADGRAPH=BOTH REPORTGRAPH=OFF TEXT=BOTH MULT=10.00 OUTPUT=BOTH UNITS=IN COMPOSITE=NO,FITTODATUMS=YES,OUTPUTALIGNMENT=DatumReferenceFrame SIZETOLERANCES/4,DIAMETER,0.375,0.01,0.01 PRIMARYDIMENSION/TRUEPOSITION,DIAMETER,0.01,MMC,A,<MC>,B,MMC,C,<MC> SECONDARYDIMENSION/TRUE POSITION,DIAMETER,0.005,MMC,<PZ>,<len>,A,<MC>,B,MMC,<dat>,<MC> NOTE/FCF6 FEATURES/CIR1,CIR2,CIR3,CIR4,, FEATURESET X:NOM=1 Y:NOM=6.0235 Z:NOM=0 <NEW> CIR1

990 * UsingFeatureControlFrames

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

X:NOM=1 Y:NOM=5.07 Z:NOM=0 <NEW> CIR2 X:NOM=2 Y:NOM=6.008 Z:NOM=0 <NEW> CIR3 X:NOM=1 Y:NOM=7.008 Z:NOM=0 <NEW> CIR4 X:NOM=0 Y:NOM=6.008 Z:NOM=0 <NEW> DATUMS D2:NOM=1,+TOL=0.01,TOL=0.01

FeatureControlFramename=FeatureControlFrame(FCF)type(Dimensiontype)OR featurelist. FeatureList=Listoffeatures.Iftherearemorethanthreefeatures,thenthelistprintsouta setofellipsestoensurethatthelinewillfit.Forexample,FEAT1,FEAT2,FEAT3,andso on.Ifthereis morethanone,itistreatedasapatternset,andallfeaturesmustbethe samefeaturetype. SHOWNOMS=YES/NO. WhensettoYES,theFCFtypesthathavenominalswilldisplay themTheseincludetrueposition,distances,anglebetween,andangularity. SHOWPARAMS=YES/NO. WhensettoYES,thefollowingparameterswillbedisplayed withthetext: CADGRAPH,REPORTGRAPH,TEXT,MULT,OUTPUT,UNITS, COMPOSITE,FITTODATUMS,OUTPUTALIGNMENT.Whenoff,thesesameoptions willnotbedisplayed. SHOWEXPANDED=YES/NO. WhensettoYES,thefeaturecontrolframewilldisplayempty fieldswithadescriptioninsidebrackets.Whenoff,theemptyfieldswilldisplayasblank. <MC>Materialcondition <D>Diameter <Dim>Dimensionorfeaturecontrolframetype <PZ>Projectedzone

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingFeatureControlFrames * 991

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

<num>Numberoffeatures <nom>Nominaloffeaturesize <+tol>Plustolerance <tol>Minustolerance <tol>Tolerance <dat>Datum <sym>Dimensionsymbol <addnoteshere>Notefield firstline <addoptionaldesignnotes>Optionaldesignnotes lastline CADGRAPH=OFF/ON/BOTH/FORMDisplaythegraphicalanalysisonthemodelinthe GraphicsDisplaywindow.TruepositiondimensionsincludeBOTH/FORM,dependingon whetherornottheyareusingtheintegratedformoption,butallotherdimensionsonly displayOFF/ON. REPORTGRAPH=OFF/ON/BOTH/FORMDisplaythegraphicalanalysisonreport.True positiondimensionsincludeBOTH/FORM,dependingonwhetherornottheyareusing theintegratedformoption,butallotherdimensionsonlydisplayOFF/ON. TEXT=OFF/ON/BOTH/FORMDisplaythetextualanalysisonreport.Trueposition dimensionsincludeBOTH/FORM,dependingonwhetherornottheyareusingthe integratedformoption,butallotherdimensionsonlydisplayOFF/ON. MULT=Positivenumericvaluethatscalesthegraphicalanalysisinthemaincadgraphics. OUTPUT=STATISTICS/REPORT/BOTH/NONEIncludethefeaturecontrolframe calculationsinthexstats11.tmpfile,outputreport,both,orneither. COMPOSITE=YES/NO. WhensettoYES,thefeaturecontrolframewilldisplaytheprimary andsecondarydimensionlinesasacompositedimension.Thisisavailablefortrue positionandprofiledimensions. FITTODATUMS=YES/NO.ThisoptionisonlyavailablefortruepositionFCFs.Whensetto YES,thecalculationswillallowabestfitcalculationonthedatumstofindanoptimalbest fitthatminimizesthedatumshift. OUTPUTALIGNMENT=DatumReferenceFrame/CurrentAlignment.Thisoptionisonly availablefortruepositionFCFs.WhenDatumReferenceFrameisselected,theX,Y,Z positionswillbedisplayedrelativetothedatumreferenceframe.WhenCurrent Alignmentisselected,theX,Y,Zpositionswillbedisplayedrelativetothecurrent alignment. UNITS=IN/MM.TheunitsthattheFCFwillusetodisplayitsinformation.

992 * UsingFeatureControlFrames

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

SIZETOLERANCES=Representsthetoplineofthefeaturecontrolframe.ForsomeFCF typesthislineisnotshown.Thislinedisplaysthenumberoffeaturesselected,whether ornotthediametersymbolisused,nominalsizeofthefeature(s),andsizetolerances thatwillbeappliedtothenominalvalue. PRIMARYDIMENSIONorDIMENSION=RepresentsthesecondpossiblelineoftheFCF, whichcontainstheprimarytypeofFCF.Notethatsomeofthefieldsareonlyvalidfor someFCFtypes.ThislinedisplaystheFCFtype,whetherornotthediametersymbolis used,maintolerancevalue,materialconditionappliedtothemaintolerance,projected tolerancezonesymbol,projectedtolerancezonevalue,primarydatum,primarydatum materialcondition,secondarydatum,secondarydatummaterialcondition,tertiarydatum, andtertiarydatummaterialcondition.Ifasecondarydimensionisnotpossibleforthe particularFCFtype,thenthislinejustusesthetitleDIMENSION. SECONDARYDIMENSION=RepresentsthethirdpossiblelineoftheFCF,whichcontains theprimarytypeofFCF.ManyFCFtypesdisplaynothingforthesecondarydimension.In addition,someofthefieldsareonlyvalidforsomeFCFtypes.Thislinedisplaysthe featuretype,whetherornotthediametersymbolisused,maintolerancevalue,material conditionappliedtothemaintolerance,projectedtolerancezonesymbol,projected tolerancezonevalue,primarydatum,primarydatummaterialcondition,secondarydatum, secondarydatummaterialcondition,tertiarydatum,andtertiarydatummaterialcondition. Ifasecondarydimensionisvalid,thesecondarydimensionmustfollowtherulesof practicebytheASMEY14.51994DimensioningandTolerancingstandard. NOTE=RepresentsthefinallineoftheFCF.Itdisplaystextnotes.Foreaseofidentifying FCFsinthemaingraphics,thisfielddefaultstodisplaytheFCF'sID. NOMINALLINES: ThesefieldsdisplaythenominalsofthedimensionsinternaltotheFCF. First,itdisplaysthenominalpositionoftheresultingpatternfeatureset,ifmorethanone featurewasselected.Second,itdisplaysthenominalpositionsoftheindividualfeatures. Finally,itdisplaysthenominalsizeandtolerancesofthedatumsthathavesize.Ineach ofthesegroupsitwilllistthenominalsthathavebeenselectedfordisplayonthe AdvancedtaboftheGD&TdialogboxfortheFCF,soeachaxistobedisplayedcanbe turnedonoroff.Toturnonthedisplayofothernominalsintheeditwindow,togglethe <NEW>linetoseeaxesthatareavailablebutnotcurrentlydisplayed.
FEATURESET X:NOM=1 Y:NOM=6.0235 Z:NOM=0 <NEW> CIR1 X:NOM=1 Y:NOM=5.07 Z:NOM=0 <NEW> CIR2 X:NOM=2 Y:NOM=6.008 Z:NOM=0 <NEW> CIR3

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingFeatureControlFrames * 993

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

X:NOM=1 Y:NOM=7.008 Z:NOM=0 <NEW> CIR4 X:NOM=0 Y:NOM=6.008 Z:NOM=0 <NEW> DATUMS D2:NOM=1,+TOL=0.01,TOL=0.01

FeatureControlFrameTrihedron
IfyouselectaFCFcommandintheEditwindow,andthatcommandusesadatumreference frame,PCDMISdisplaysablueandyellowtrihedrontorepresentthereferenceframeforyour FCF.Thisdiffersfromtheredandgreentrihedronusedtorepresentyourpart'scurrentalignment.

Thefollowingscreenshotshowsthealignment'strihedroninredandgreenandtheFCF's trihedroninblueandyellow:

ScreenShotofFCFTrihedron(above)andAlignmentTrihedron(below)

SimultaneouslyEvaluatingFeatureControlFrames
TheInsert|Dimension|SimultaneousEvaluation menuitemletsyoucreateaSimultaneous Evaluationcommandinsideyourpartprogram.Thiscommandevaluatestwoormoretrue positionFeatureControlFrames(FCFs)ortwoormoreprofile(lineorsurface)FCFs simultaneously.

994 * UsingFeatureControlFrames

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Example:Ifyouhavetwosetsofholesonapart,andtheholesofonesetareadifferentsize thantheholesoftheotherset,butyouwanttoevaluatethetruepositionofalltheholesasifthey werealloneset,youcanusetheSimultaneousEvaluationcommand.First,createtwo separatetruepositionFCFs,oneforeachsetofholes.ThencreateaSimultaneousEvaluation commandtoevaluatebothFCFstogether. TheSimultaneousEvaluation menuitemdisplaystheSimultaneousEvaluationdialogbox.

SimultaneousEvaluationdialogbox TherighthandlistshowsalltheFeatureControlFrame(FCF)commandsavailableforthe SimultaneousEvaluationcommand.ItonlylistsFCFsfortruepositionorprofiledimensions. SelectitemsintherighthandlistthatyouwanttoincludeintheSimultaneousEvaluation command.Asyouselectitems,theAddbuttonbecomesactive.Youcanselectmultipleitemsby holdingdowntheCTRLkeywhileselectingtheitems.ClicktheClearbuttontodeselectany highlighteditems. ClicktheAddbuttontoaddtheselecteditemstothelefthandlistintheFeatureControl Framesarea.ThissecondlistdefinestheFCFsthatwillbeevaluatedbytheSimultaneous Evaluationcommand. Whenyouhaveaddeditemstothelefthandlist,youcanremovethemfromthislistbyselecting theitemsinthelefthandlistandpressingDelete.Thisremovesitemsfromthelefthandlistand redisplaysthemintherighthandlist.WhenyouhaveaddedatleasttwoFCFstothelefthand list,theCreatebuttonbecomesactive.ClickCreatetocreatetheSimultaneousEvaluation commandandinsertitintotheEditwindow.IntheCommandmode,itlookssomethinglikethis:
SIMUL1 =SIMULTANEOUS/FCF2,FCF3,FCF4,,

RulesofSimultaneousEvaluation: TheFCFsyouevaluatemustallbethesamedimensiontype.Theymustallbetrue positiondimensionsorallsurfaceprofiledimensionsoralllineprofiledimensions. Simultaneousevaluationdoesnotworkwithorientationdimensions.IfyouaddFCFsof differingtypesofdimensionstothelefthandlist,whenyouclickCreate,PCDMISwill displayanerrormessageinformingyouthatyourFCFsshouldallbethesametype. AlltheFCFsyouevaluatemusthavedimensionsthatreferencethesamedatumsinthe sameorderofprecedence.IfyouaddtwotruepositionFCFstothelefthandlistthatuse differentdatums,whenyouclickCreatePCDMISwilldisplayanerrormessage


UsingFeatureControlFrames * 995

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

informingyouthatyourFCFsmustreferencethesamedatumsandusethesame precedence. Allthedatumsusedmusthavethesamematerialconditions.Ifthedatumsarethesame, buttherearedifferentmaterialconditionsonthedatums,whenyouclickCreate,PC DMISwilldisplayanerrormessageinformingyouthatyoushouldusethesamematerial conditions.

ReportingTruePositionFeatureControlFrames
ThemajorchangesinthereportingformatforTruePositionarethatPCDMIS4.0andlaternow reportsthefollowingintheReportwindow: Thedeviationofeachfeatureinasetandnotjustthedeviationoftheentireset.Thiswill helpyoubetterdeterminewhichfeatureisoutoftoleranceinapatternoffeatures. Theshiftedpositionofthedatumasaresultofthedatumfitting(withdatumsofsize). ThetotaldatumshiftinX,Y,ZandrotationinU,V,Wdonebythefittingalgorithm.

WhenreportingaTruePositionFeatureControlFrame(FCF)thereisalotofinformation available.Toavoidconfusion,andtoseehowtheFCFaffectsthecalculations,PCDMIShas splitthisinformationintofourparts. 1. 2. 3. 4. Sizeinformation.Thisgetsevaluatedseparatelyfromthepositionofthefeature. Bonustoleranceinformationofthemainfeatureorset Datuminformationincludingthedatumshiftanddatumrotation Featureorsetpositioninformation.

Theadditionalinformationismuchmoreusefulthaninversionspriorto4.0.Forexample,the datumshiftinformationwasnotoutputpreviously,butitcanbeabigfactorforanoutoftolerance TruePositiondimension.Now,youcantellwhetherthefeatureordatumisinthewrongplace.

Workingwiththe"DeviationPerpendiculartoCenterline"Functionality
Bydefault,theFCFTruePositiondialogboxhastheDeviationPerpendiculartoCenterline functionalityenabledinthebackground,asthisisconsistentwiththeASMEY14.5standard. WhileaDeviationPerpendiculartoCenterlinecheckboxwasnotaddedtotheFCFTrue Positiondialogbox(asitisthelegacydimension's TruePositiondialogbox),youcanstillturn offthisoptionbyhavingyourFCFTruePositionspecifyasphericalzone(ratherthanacylindrical orplanarzone).InthiscasethedeviationiscalculatedfromtheX,Y,Zaxes. Note:TheonlytimeyoucanselectasphericalzoneiswhenapplyingFCFTruePositiontoa PointoraSphere.

CreatingaSymmetryFeatureControlFrameDimension
TheSymmetryFeatureControlFrame(FCF)dimensionhasbeenmodifiedtoallowanincreased varietyofinputfeaturesanddatumsthanyoumayfindavailableusinglegacysymmetry dimensions.Thesechangesinturngiveyoutheabilitytomoreeasilycreatesymmetry dimensionsthatapplytoabroaderrangeofdimensioningproblems.TheGD&TSymmetrydialog

996 * UsingFeatureControlFrames

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

boxhasnotbeenmodifiedinanyway.Thechangesweremadeonlytotheinternalverificationof consideredfeaturesanddatumsandtheinternaltoleranceanalysis. YouneedtousedatumstoconstructadatumreferenceframealignmentwhichPCDMISwill thenusetoevaluatethesymmetrypoints.Youcanspecifyasingleprimarydatumoraprimary andsecondarydatumtoimposeaperpendicularityconstraint. Ifyouspecifyasingleprimarydatum,itbecomesthelocatingdatumanddefinesthe nominal(0deviation)positionofthesymmetrydimension. Ifyouspecifytwodatums,itimposesaperpendicularityconstraintonthesecondary datum.Inthiscase,thesecondarydatumbecomesthelocatingdatumanddefinesthe nominal(0deviation)positionofthesymmetrydimension.Thedatumreferenceframe alignmentsolvesthesecondarydatuminaconstrainedorientationtotheprimary(asis donewithTruePositionevaluations).Ifthelocatingdatumisaplane,itmaybespecified asacompounddatumreferencingtwoplanardatums,forexample,AB.Inthiscase,the midplaneofAandBisusedastheplanedatum.DatumsarealwaysspecifiedatRFS.

SeetheDescriptioncolumninthetablebelowforspecificdatuminformationforthedifferent symmetryinputfeatures. FeatureTypesforSymmetryFCFDimensions PCDMISnowconsidersanyofthefollowingfeaturetypesasvalidinputfeaturesforaSymmetry FCFdimension: ValidInputFeatures Description Theseplanesmustbenominallyparallelandwillcreateamid planefromwhichPCDMISwilldeterminethesymmetry dimensionofthetwoplanes. Thetwoplanesmustbenominallyparallel.TheFCFwill usetheminternallytoconstructamidplane.Thismid planemustnominallyliewithinthetolerancezoneabout thelocatingdatum. PCDMISchecksthecornerpointsofthemidplaneto verifythattheyliewithintheaplanartolerancezoneof twotimesthemaximumdeviationofthecornerpoints fromthelocatingdatum. 1.)TwoPlanes Thesecornerpointsarecalculatedbyprojectingthe actualprobehitsofeachofthetwoplanesontothe midplane. Themaximumdistanceoftheprojectedpoints fromthecentroidofthemidplaneintheX direction(ofthedatumreferenceframe) determinesthelengthofthemidplane. Themaximumdistanceoftheprojectedpoints fromthecentroidofthemidplaneintheY direction(ofthedatumreferenceframe) determinesthewidthofthemidplane.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingFeatureControlFrames * 997

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Thelengthandwidthcalculatethecornerpoints relativetothecentroidofthemidplane.Ifthereareno actualprobehitstoproject(forexample,thetwoplanes arethemselvesconstructedplanes),thenonlythe centroidofthemidplaneischeckedtoliewithinthe tolerancezone. DatumInformation OneDatumThisisaplanenominallycoplanarwiththe constructedmidplane.Thevectorofthedatumplane definesthedirectionofmeasurement. TwoDatumsFirstdatum:Thisisaplanenominally coplanarwiththeconstructedmidplane.Second datum:Thisiseitheraplanenominallycoplanarwith theconstructedmidplaneoranaxistypefeature whoseaxisnominallyliesintheconstructedmidplane. Ifaplane,thevectorofthesecondarydatumplane determinesthedirectionofmeasurement.Ifanaxis typefeature,"doublecrossing"thevectoroftheaxis datumwiththemidplanevectordeterminesthe directionofmeasurement. Sinceyouhavealreadyconstructedamidplanesothe processinganddatuminformationisthesameascase1 above. Theselinesmustbenominallyparallelandwillcreateamid linefromwhichPCDMISwilldeterminethesymmetry dimensionofthetwolines. Thetwolinesmustbenominallyparallel.TheFCFwill usetheminternallytoconstructamidline.Thismidline mustnominallyliewithinthetolerancezoneaboutthe locatingdatum. PCDMIScheckstheendpointsofthemidlineto verifythattheyliewithintheplanartolerancezoneof twotimesthemaximumdeviationoftheendpoints fromthelocatingdatum. 3.)TwoLines Theseendpointsarecalculatedbyprojectingthe actualprobehitsofthetwolinesontothemidline.The projectedpointsfarthestawayfromthecentroidofthe midlinedeterminetheendpoints. Ifthereareno actualprobehitstoproject(forexample,thetwolines arethemselvesconstructedlines),thenonlythe centroidofthemidlineischeckedtoliewithinthe tolerancezone. DatumInformation OneDatumThisdatumiseitheraplane,nominally perpendiculartotheplaneofthetwolines,thatcontains themidline,oranaxistypefeaturewhoseaxis nominallyliesintheplanethatisperpendiculartothe

2.)AConstructedMid Plane

998 * UsingFeatureControlFrames

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

planeofthetwolinesandcontainsthemidline.Ifa plane,thevectorofthedatumplanedeterminesthe directionofmeasurement.Ifanaxistypefeature,the directionofmeasurementisperpendiculartotheaxis datuminthecurrentworkplane. TwoDatumsFirstDatum:Aplanenominally perpendiculartothemidline.SecondDatum:Thisis eitheraplanefeatureoranaxisfeaturewhichsatisfies thesamerequirementsasasingleprimarydatum.Ifa plane,thevectoroftheplanedeterminesthedirection ofmeasurement.Ifanaxistypefeature,thedirectionof measurementisperpendiculartotheaxisdatuminthe currentworkplane. Withanalreadyconstructedmidline,theinternalprocessing followswhatisdescribedincase3above. DatumInformation OneDatumThisdatumiseitheradatumplanewhich nominallycontainsthemidlineoranaxistypefeature whoseaxisnominallyisparalleltothemidline. TwoDatumsPrimaryDatum:Thisisaplanenominally perpendiculartothemidline.SecondaryDatum:Thisis eitheraplaneoranaxisfeaturewhichsatisfiesthe samerequirementsasasingleprimarydatum.The directionofmeasurementisdeterminedthesameway asforcase2above. TheFCFwillusethesetwopointsinternallytoconstructamid pointthatnominallylieswithintheplanartolerancezoneabout thelocatingdatum.Thereportedtolerancevalueistwotimes themaximumdeviationofthemidpointfromthelocating datum. DatumInformation 5.)TwoPoints OneDatum:Youcanselecteitheraplaneoranaxis typefeatureforyourdatum.Ifaplane,itshouldbe nominallyperpendiculartothelineconnectingthetwo pointsandcontainingthemidpoint.Thevectorofthe datumplanedeterminesthedirectionofmeasurement. Ifanaxisfeature,itshouldlineintheplane perpendiculartothelineconnectingthetwopointsand themidpoint.Thedirectionofmeasurementis perpendiculartotheaxisdatuminthecurrent workplane. Inthiscase,theuserhasalreadyconstructedamidpointand theprocessingshallbethesameasforcase5above. DatumInformation OneDatum:Youcanspecifyeitheraplanethat nominallycontainsthemidpointoranaxistypefeature.
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual UsingFeatureControlFrames * 999

4.)AConstructedMid Line

6.)AConstructedMid Point

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

7.)APointSet

PCDMISdeterminesthedirectionofmeasurementin thewayascase4above. PCDMISassumesthatthepointsmakingupthesetalternate onoppositesidesofthelocatingdatum,suchthatthefirst pointandsecondpointhavetheirmidpointinsidetheplanar tolerancezone.Thisisthesameanalysisasforthelegacy symmetrydimensionusingapointset. DatumInformation OneDatum:Youcanspecifyaplaneoranaxistype feature.Theanalysisinthiscaseisthesameasforthe legacysymmetrydimension. PCDMISassumesthatbothpointsetsarethesamesize,that thepointsineachsetresideonoppositesidesofthelocating datum,andthatthepointswithineachsetareoppositeone another. PCDMISwillcomputemidpointsfromthepointsinside thetwosetsinthisfashion:midpointniscalculated frompointnofthefirstsetandpointnofthesecondset andsoonforeachpoint.Theresultingmidpoints shouldbeinsidetheplanartolerancezoneaboutthe locatingdatum.Thisisthesameanalysisascase7 aboveexceptthatthepointsaretakenfromtwosets. DatumInformation OneDatum:Youcanspecifyaplaneoranaxistype featurefortheprimarydatum.Theanalysisinthisisthe sameasdescribedincase7above. PCDMISwillcalculatea"circleset"(orsets)fromtheinput featureandthenevaluatesforsymmetrythecentroidsofthe sets. Probepointswithin1mmofaplanethatis perpendiculartothefeatureaxis,belongtothesame circleset.PCDMISsolvesthepointsasa2Dcirclein aplaneperpendiculartothefeatureaxis.Thecentroids ofallthecirclesetsareevaluatedforsymmetrytosee iftheyallliewithinthetolerancezoneaboutthedatum. Thetolerancezonemaybecylindricalorplanar dependingonthedatumsused.Thereportedtolerance valueistwotimesthemaximumdeviationofthe centroidsofthecirclesetsfromthelocatingdatum. DatumInformation OneDatumYoucanselectaplanethatnominally containstheconsideredfeature'saxisoranaxistype featurenominallycoincidentwiththeaxisofthe consideredfeature.Ifaplane,thetolerancezoneis planarandthevectoroftheplanedeterminesthe directionofmeasurement.Ifanaxistypefeature,the

8.)TwoPointSets

9.)AMeasuredorAuto Circle,Cone,orCylinder

1000 * UsingFeatureControlFrames

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

tolerancezoneiscylindrical. TwoDatumsPrimaryDatum:Thisisaplanethat nominallyperpendiculartotheconsideredfeature. SecondaryDatum:Youcanselecteitheraplane nominallycontainingtheconsideredfeaturesaxisoran axistypefeaturenominallycoincidentwiththeaxisof theconsideredfeature.Ifyouchooseaplane,the tolerancezoneisplanarandthevectorofthedatum planedeterminesthedirectionofmeasurement.Ifyou chooseanaxistypefeature,thetolerancezoneis cylindrical. PCDMISwillcheckaconstructedconeorcylinderfeature's endpointsoraconstructedcircle'scentroidforsymmetry. Theendpointsmustallliewithinthetolerancezone aboutthelocatingdatum.Thetolerancezonemaybe cylindricalorplanardependingonthedatumsused. Thereportedtolerancevalueshallbetwotimesthe maximumdeviationoftheendpointsfromthelocating datum. DatumInformation Thisisthesameascase9above.

10.)AConstructedCircle, Cone,orCylinder

FeatureControlFrameReportingTables
PCDMISprovidesyouwithavarietyofreportingtablesthatcanbeoutputwhenyougenerate reportsforyourpartprogram.Thesereporttableslookdifferentfromhowlegacydimensions appearinyourreport.Legacydimensionsallappearinonetable.FCFReportingtables,by contrast,aredividedaccordingtodifferentsectionsoftheFCF,allowingforacleanerlooking report.Forexample,youmighthaveonetablethatshowsthesizeportionoftheFCF,while anothertableshowstheforminformation. Asavisualexample,considerthislegacyTruePositiondimensionintheReportwindow:

SampleReportofaLegacyTruePositionDimensionasaSingleTable Now,contrastthatwiththeFCFTruePositiondimensionintheReportwindowshownhere:

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingFeatureControlFrames * 1001

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

SampleReportofaTruePositionFCFDimensionShowingMultipleTables NoticethattheFCFTruePositionisactuallycontainedindistincttablesdisplayingthefollowing information: Size Position DatumShift Summary

AlloftheotherFCFdimensionsalsouseasimilarreportingstyle.Whilethesereportingtables differfromthestyleusedforlegacydimensions,theyprovideacleaner,easiertoreadapproach toreportingdimensioninginformation.

1002 * UsingFeatureControlFrames

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ScanningYourPart
ScanningyourPart:Introduction
PCDMISallowsapointmeasurementtobedefinedbyscanningthesurfaceofthepartat specifiedincrements.Thismeasurementfeatureisparticularlyusefulwhenpreciselycontrolled CMMmeasurementhitsarerequired.Currently,PCDMISsupportsDCC(DirectComputer Control)scanswithtouchtriggerandanalogprobesandmanualscanswithtouchtriggerorhard probes.BothmanualandDCCscansofferdifferentmethodsofdoingscanswhicharedetailedin thischapter. TheDCCstitchtypeusingthetouchtriggerprobescanisdrivenbyPCDMISandtheCMM (CoordinateMeasuringMachine)controller.TheDCCscanningprocedureusesanintelligent, selfadaptingalgorithmthatcancalculatesurfacenormalvectorsforaccurateprobe compensation.PCDMISutilizesaTTP(TouchTriggerprobe),makingitusefulforautomatic pointtopointdigitizingofprofilesonsurfaces.Simplyspecifythenecessaryparametersforthe DCCscan,selecttheMeasurebuttonandthescanningalgorithminPCDMISwilltakecontrolof themeasurementprocess. PCDMISscanscanalsobeusedwithananalogprobeheadtodoacontinuouscontactscan. First,PCDMISsendsthescanningparameterstothecontroller.Thecontrollerthenscansthe partandinformsPCDMISofthescanpoints. AdvancedScansinPCDMISarecomposedofBasicScans.Forexample,aPATCHscan(See "PerformingaPatchAdvancedScan")isactuallymadeupofrowsofdata,eachrowbeinga BasicScan.TheBasicScansactasbuildingblocksforthehigherlevelscanslikePATCHscans. ThemaintopicsinthischapterdiscusstheoptionsavailablefromtheInsert|Scansubmenu: WorkingwithCADSurfaces LocatingPointsinaScan PerformingAdvancedScans PerformingBasicScans PerformingScansManually

WorkingwithCADSurfaces
WhencreatingscansyouoftenneedtoselectoneormoresurfacesthatyouwantPCDMISto scan.Selectedsurfacesareshowninaredhighlightcolor:

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ScanningYourPart * 1003

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ASelectedSurface Sometimesyouwillmakeamistakeandwillneedtodeselectsurfacesaswell.Ratherthan redefiningtheentirescanbecauseyouselectedanincorrectsurface,youcannowdeselectthe desiredCADelementsintheGraphicsDisplaywindowforanyscanthatrequiresyoutoselect surfaces.Previously,youcouldonlydothiswithSectionscans. Todeselect(orselect)adesiredsurface: 1. EnsurethatyourpartisdisplayingsurfacedatabyselectingtheToggle GraphicsWindowinSolidiconfromtheGraphicViewtoolbar. 2. Accesstheappropriatescandialogboxandstartdefiningthescan. 3. Asneeded,presstheCTRLkey,andclicktheleftmousebuttononthe desiredsurfaceintheGraphicsDisplaywindow.PCDMISwilltoggletheselectionstate ofthesurface.

LocatingPointsinaScan
Whenworkingwithscans,youmayfindithelpfultobeabletolocateindividualpointsofascanin theEditwindow. Followthisprocedure: Note:Ifneeded,settheDrawScansAsPoints registryentry(foundintheOption list)toavalueof1 tobetteridentifyindividualpoints.

1004 * ScanningYourPart

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ExampleofaPatchScanwithDrawingScansAsPointssetto1 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Createascan. EnterSummaryModeintheEditwindow. SelecttheTextBoxModeiconfromtheGraphicsModetoolbar. RightclickonascanpointintheGraphicsDisplaywindow.Ashortcutmenuappears. SelecttheMoveCursorTomenuitem.

PCDMISwillmovethecursortotheappropriatepointintheEditwindow.Ifyoudecidetodothis whileinCommandmode,itwillalsogototheappropriatepointaslongastheSHOWHITS parameterissettoYES.

IntroductiontoPerformingAdvancedScans
AdvancedscansareDCCstitchtypescansdonebyaTouchTriggerProbe(TTP)andinsome scansananalogprobe.ThesescansaredrivenbyPCDMISandtheCMMcontroller.TheDCC scanningprocedureusesanintelligent,selfadaptingalgorithmthatcancalculatesurfacenormal vectorsforaccurateprobecompensation. TheseadvancedscansutilizeaTTPwhichallowsforautomaticpointtopointdigitizingofprofiles onsurfaces.SimplyspecifythenecessaryparametersfortheDCCscan,selecttheMeasure buttonandthescanningalgorithminPCDMISwilltakecontrolofthemeasurementprocess. ThetypesofadvancedscanssupportedbyPCDMISinclude: LinearOpen LinearClose Patch Section Perimeter Rotary Freeform UV Grid

ThistopicwillfirstcoverthecommonfunctionsavailabletotheScandialogbox,thedialogbox usedtoperformthesescans,andthenhowtoperformtheavailableadvancedscans.
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual ScanningYourPart * 1005

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

CommonFunctionsoftheScanDialogBox
Manyofthefunctionsdescribedbelowarecommontomanyofthescandialogboxesusedto scanbothDCCandManualscans.Optionsthatrelatespecificallytoonescanmodeare appropriatelyindicated.

ScanType

TheScanTypelistletsyoueasilyswitchbetweenavailablescans.Selectinganewscanwill changethedialogboxtotheselectedscantype.

Basic/Advancedbuttons
The<<BasicandAdvanced>>buttonsswitchbetweendisplayingbasicscanningoptionsonthe scandialogboxormoreindepth,advancedoptions.ClickingAdvanced>>expandsthedialog boxtoincludetheExecution,Graphics,andPathDefinitiontabsonthelowersectionofthe dialogbox.Eachofthesetabscontainsadditionaloptionsyoucanusetodefineyourscan. Clicking<<Basichidesthemoreadvanceditems,displayingthebasicinformationyouneedto createthescan.

Basicitemsarevisible

Advanceditemsarevisible

1006 * ScanningYourPart

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ID

TheIDboxdisplaystheIDofthescantobecreated.

Measure
IftheMeasurecheckboxisselectedandtheCreatebuttonclicked,PCDMISwillstart measuringthescanimmediately.IftheMeasurecheckboxisnotselectedwhentheCreate buttonisclicked,PCDMISwillinsertascanobjectintotheEditwindowthatcanbemeasured later.ThisallowsyoutosetupaseriesofscansthatcanbeinsertedintotheEditwindowand measuredatalatertime. Note:ThischeckboxisavailableonlywhenPCDMISisONLINE.

BoundaryPointsarea
Todefinetheboundaryofascan,PCDMISwillallowpointstobekeyedin,measured,orCAD datatobeused.

AsampleBoundaryPointsarea ThisfunctionisonlyavailableforDCCscans. LINEAROPENThesescanscanalsobemeasuredwithoutanEndpoint.DeletetheEndpoint andPCDMISwillkeepmeasuringthescanuntilyoumanuallystopthescan.Thestartingpoint andthedirectionpointcannotbedeleted. LINEARCLOSEThesescansneedtohavethestartanddirectionpoints.Youcannotdeleteor addboundarypoints. PATCHThesescansneedtohaveatleastthreeboundarypointstocreateatriangularpatchto workwith.ExtrapointscanbeaddedordeletedbyusingtheAddandDeletebuttonsinthe BoundaryPointarea.ItaddsaClosedScancheckboxtothisarea. UsetheClosedPatchScancheckboxtoindicatethatyouwouldlike toscanaclosedfeaturelikeacylinder,cone,slotetc.WhenthisischeckmarkedPC DMISreducesthenumberofboundarypointsneededtodefinethescanboundary.You wouldneedtoenteronlytheStartandDirectionpointsandanEndpoint.TheEndpointis usedtoindicatehowfardown/upthefeaturethescanneedstoexecute.TheStartand

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ScanningYourPart * 1007

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

DirectionpointstogetherwiththeInitialVectordefinetheCutPlanevector.UsuallytheCut Planevectorwillbeparalleltotheaxisofthefeaturebeingmeasured. SECTIONSectionscansusethisareanotonlytosettheboundarypointsfortheSECTION scan,butalsotofindholesdefinedintheCADdata,andtogglebetweendisplayingdataforholes orforboundarypoints.SectionscansaddtheCutCad andShowCutbuttonstothisareaforthis purpose: AfteryoudefineaboundaryandclicktheCutCADbutton,PCDMISwill automaticallysearchthroughtheCADdataforanyholefeaturesalongthescan'spath. Anyholeedgesalongthescanspathwillbeindicatedwithaintegerforthepointfollowed byaH(i.e.2H,3Hetc.).Theholeedgepointswillbesetatadefaultdistanceof0.0787 inchesfromthetheoreticalholeedge. YoucancutCADwithspecific,userselectedsurfaces.Todothis,selecttheboundary points,selecttheSelectcheckbox,selectthedesiredsurfaces,andthenclicktheCut CADbutton.PCDMISwillthencutonlytheselectedsurfacestofindthehole(s). Youdon'tneedtoclicktheCutCADbuttonifyourCADdoesnotcontainholefeatures.If youdon'tusethisbutton,PCDMISwillscanthepartusingthegivenStartandEnd Boundarypoints. Whencuttingsurfaces,PCDMISusesonlythesurfacesthataredisplayedinthefirstView (theBlueView). See"SettinguptheScreenView"inthe"EditingtheCADDisplay"chapter. WhenyouhaveacomplexCADdrawingwithmultiplesurfacesyoucanarrangegroupsof surfacesintoCADlevels.(See"Displaying,Creating,andManipulatingLevels"topicinthe "EditingtheCADDisplay"chapter).DoingthishelpsyourestrictSectionCADCut operationstospecificportionsoftheCADmodel. TheShowCutbuttonallowsyoutoswitchbetweendisplayingboundaryorhole data.AfteraboundaryisdefinedandtheCutCADbuttonhasbeenselected,clickthe ShowCutbuttontoswitchtotheappropriatedisplay. PERIMETERThesescansworksthesameastheLINEAROPENscan. ROTARYThesescansrequireyoutohaveatleastastartpointandadirectionpoint(shownas 1andDrespectivelyintheBoundaryPointslistandontheCADdisplay). Ifyoudon'thaveanendpoint(shownas2),PCDMISwillcontinuemeasuringthescan alongthespecifieddirectionuntilitreturnstothestartpoint. Ifyouhaveastartpointandanendpoint,PCDMISwillscanalongthespecified directionuntilitreachestheendpoint. PCDMISdefaultstoprovidingyouwithastart,direction,andendpointintheBoundary Pointsarea.Whileyoucaneasilydeletetheendpoint,youcannotdeletethestartor directionpoint. Asyoudefineeachboundarypoint(byeitherclickingontheCADortypinginthevalues), PCDMISwillautomaticallysnapeachpointtotheradiusdistancefromthecenterpoint unlessyoudidn'tdefinearadius.Inthiscase,thefirstboundarypointyoudefinewillalso definetheradius.

1008 * ScanningYourPart

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Note:TheBoundaryTypeareaontheExecutiontabreplacestheBoundarybuttonusedinthe BoundaryPointsareapriortoversion4.0.TheBoundaryTypeareaisonlyavailableinDCC modeforLinearOpen,LinearClose,Patch,Section,andRotaryscans.

SettingBoundaryPointsUsingtheKeyinMethod
Tosettheboundaryofascanusingthekeyinmethod: 1. Doubleclickthedesiredboundarypointinthe#column.ThiswilldisplaytheEditScan Itemdialogbox.

EditScanItemdialogbox

2. ManuallyedittheX,Y,orZvalue. 3. ClicktheOKbuttontoapplythechanges. TheCancelbuttondisregardsanychangesthathavebeenmadeandwillclosethedialogbox. TheNextbuttonacceptsthechangesandthenbringsupthenextboundarypointforediting.

SettingBoundaryPointsUsingtheMeasuredPointMethod
Tosettheboundaryofthescanusingmeasuredpoints,touchtheprobeonthepart.Thiswill automaticallyupdatethevalueoftheBoundarypointthatiscurrentlyselectedintheBoundarylist. Thefocuswillthenmovetothenextboundarypoint(ifthereareanyinthelist).Inthecaseofa PATCHscan,anextraboundarypointwillbeaddedautomaticallyifthecurrentpointisthelast pointinthelist.ThePATCHscanwilldisplaythelastpoint(thisisthesameasthepreviouspoint). PCDMISwilldeletethislastpointwhentheOKbuttonisselectedinthedialogbox.

SettingBoundaryPointsUsingtheCADDataMethod
PCDMISallowstheselectionofboundarypoints usingbothwireframeandsurfacedata. WhenusingCADsurfacedata: 1. MakesurethatyouhaveimportedsolidCADdata. 2. MakesurethattheDrawSurfacesicon isselected. 3. SelectaboundarypointbyclickingonthedesiredlocationintheGraphicsDisplay window. Theselectedsurfacewillbehighlighted.PCDMISwillthenautomaticallyupdatethevalueofthe Boundarypointthatiscurrentlyselectedintheboundarylist.Thefocuswillthenmovetothenext boundarypoint(ifanyareavailable).InthecaseofaPATCHscan,anextraboundarypointwill beaddedautomaticallyifthecurrentpointisthelastpointinthelist.
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual ScanningYourPart * 1009

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

WhenusingCADwireframedata,therearetwomodesofselectingCurveelements: WireFrameDataMode1 DepthCurve ADepthCurveisusedbyPCDMISduringFindNomsoperationstoformaplaneusingtwo curves.Ideally,theDepthCurveisnormaltotheotherCurvesselectedsothatPCDMIScan crossthetwovectors(vectoroftheDepthCurveandvectorofanyotherselectedcurve)andform aplanefromwhichitcanfindthenominals. ToindicateaDepthcurve,checktheDepthcheckboxandthenselectacurve.OnlyoneDepth curveistobeselectedandthisshouldbedoneafterothercurveshavebeenselected. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. MakesurethattheCurvemodeicon isselected. SelecttheSelectcheckbox. SelecttheDepthcheckbox. Selectacurve. IndicatethetwoCADedgesthatarenormaltoeachother. Clearthecheckbox. Clickonthepart.

IfaDepthcurveisprovided,PCDMISwillformaplanebycrossingthevectorofeachedgewith thevectorofthedepthcurveandpiercingthatplanetocreateapoint. WireFrameDataMode2 NoDepthCurve 1. 2. 3. 4. CheckmarktheSelectcheckbox. IndicatethetwoCADedgesthatarenormaltoeachother. Deselectthecheckbox. Clickonthepart.

IfadepthcurveisnotselectedPCDMISsimplydropstheselectedpointontothecurve. Note:OnlyLINEAROPEN,LINEARCLOSEandPATCHscanscanusewireframedata.

AddingandDeletingBoundaryPoints

TheAddandDelbuttonsallowyoutoaddordeleteboundarypointstothelistofboundarypoints. Therearesomerestrictionsregardingeachtypeofscan.Forexample,aLINEARCLOSEscan willtakeonlyaStartandDirectionpoint.Itwillnotallowyoutoaddmorepointsordeletethese twopoints.Pleaserefertoeachscanforspecificrestrictions.

EditingBoundaryPoints
Boundarypointscanbeeditedbydoubleclickingthenumberofthedesiredpointinthe# column.

1010 * ScanningYourPart

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ThiswilldisplaytheEditScanItemdialogboxallowingyoutoedittheX,Y,Zvalues.

EditScanItemdialogboxesdepictingFlipbuttonandPointatHolecheckbox ThecolumnwidthsoftheBoundaryPointlistcanbevariedbychangingthewidthofthelist displaycolumnheader.Thisisdonebyselectingtherightorleftedgeofacolumnheaderwith theleftmousebuttonandpullingtheedgetothedesiredsize.Thewidthofeachlistdisplayis individuallysetanddeterminedbytheuser.ThisinformationissavedintheINIfiletobeused eachtimethefieldsarechanged. Flip: TheFlipbuttonisonlyavailablewheneditingavector.Clickingthisbuttonflipstheselected vector. PointAtHole: ThePointAtHolecheckboxonlybecomesavailablewhenyouworkwithSectionscans.It allowsyoutochangeanonholepointtoaholepoint. Aholepointdefineswherealinearsectionscanjumpsoveraholethat'sfoundinitspath.After clickingtheCutCadbuttonPCDMISplacesholepointsoneithersideofanyholethatinterrupts thesectionscan. Holepointsaredefinedwiththeletter"H"followingthepointnumber(Forexample1H,2H,3H etc.).Thesepoints,likeanyboundarypoint,areaddedtoboththeBoundaryPointslistandon thepartmodelintheGraphicsDisplaywindow. Note:ThePointAtHolecheckboxisonlyavailablefornonholepointsthatyouneedtochange toholepoints.Ifyouhaveaholepointthatneedstobechangedtoanonholepoint,deletethe holepointandcreateanewnonholepoint.

ClearingBoundaryPoints
YoucaneasilycleartheBoundaryPointslistofanyofthescantypesbyrightclickingwhilethe cursorisinsidetheBoundaryPointslist.AResetBoundaryPointsbuttonappears.Clicking thisbuttonwillresetalltheboundarypointstozeroandthenumberofboundarypointswillbeset totheminimumforeachscantype.
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual ScanningYourPart * 1011

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Note:PCDMISdoesn'tallowyoutocleartheboundarypointswhileyouareusingtheCutCAD buttonavailableonSectionscans.InthiscaseyouwillneedtoclicktheShowBndbuttonto showtheboundarypointsagainbeforeclearingtheboundarypoints.

DirectionTechniqueareas
TheDirection1TechandDirection2Techareas,letyouselectdirectiontechniquesthat determinehowthescanwilltakeitshits.Mostscansonlyscaninoneroworline,so,theyonly haveonesetofdirectiontechniquesintheDirection1Techlist. Patchscansareuniqueinthattheyscanoveranareaandsohaveadditionalrowsofpointsand useasecondsetofdirectiontechniquesintheDirection2Techlist.IntheDirection2Techlist, theselectedtechniquedeterminestheincrementaltechniquethatwillbeappliedbetweenrows. SelectthedesiredtechniqueandPCDMISwillautomaticallydisplaytheMax/MinorIncrement boxes.

LineTechnique

ForLinearOpen,SectionandPatchscansPCDMISdetermineseachhitbasedontheset incrementandthelasttwomeasuredhits.Theapproachoftheprobeisperpendiculartotheline betweenthelasttwomeasuredhits.Theprobewillstayonthecutplane.PCDMISwillstartat thefirstboundarypointandcontinuetakinghitsatthesetincrement,stoppingwhenitreaches theendboundarypoint. ForLinearClosedscansPCDMISdetermineseachhitbythelasttwohitsmeasured.The approachoftheprobeisperpendiculartothelinebetweenthelasttwomeasuredhits.Theprobe willstayonthecutplane.PCDMISwillnotaskfortheendingpointwhenusingthisscanning technique.Thescanningprocessterminateswhentheprobereturnstothestartingpoint. ForRotaryscansPCDMISdetermineseachhitbasedonthesetincrementandthelasttwo measuredhits.Theapproachoftheprobeisperpendiculartothelinebetweenthelasttwo measuredhits.Theprobewillalwaysmaintainthedefinedradialdistancefromthecenterpoint, perpendiculartothecenterpointvector.PCDMISwillstartatthefirstboundarypointand continuetakinghitsatthesetincrement,stoppingwhenitreachestheendboundarypoint.

BodyAxisTechnique

AvailabletoLinearOpen,Patch,andRotaryscans PCDMISwilltakehitsatthesetincrementalongthecurrentpart'scoordinatesystem.The approachoftheprobeisperpendiculartotheindicatedaxis.Theprobewillstayonthecutplane. Theapproachvectorwillbenormaltotheselectedaxisandonthecutplane.TheBODYAXIS techniqueusesthesameapproachfortakingeachhit(unlikethetechniqueLINE,whichadjusts theapproachtobeperpendiculartothelinebetweentheprevioustwohits).

1012 * ScanningYourPart

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

VariableTechnique

AvailabletoLinearOpen,LinearClosed,Patch,Section,andRotaryscans TheVARIABLEtechniqueallowsyoutosetspecificmaximumandminimumangleand incrementvaluesthatwillbeusedindeterminingwherePCDMISwilltakeahit.Theprobe's approachisperpendiculartothelinebetweenthelasttwomeasuredhits. Enterthemaximumandminimumvaluesthatwillbeusedtodeterminetheincrementsbetween hits.YoualsomustenterthedesiredvaluesfortheMAXandMINangles.PCDMISwilltake threehitsusingtheminimumincrement.Itwillthenmeasuretheanglebetweenhit's12and23. Ifthemeasuredangleisbetweenthemaximumandminimumvaluesdefined,PCDMIS willcontinuetotakehitsatthecurrentincrement. Iftheangleisgreaterthanthemaximumvalue,PCDMISwillerasethelasthitand measureitagainusingonequarterofthecurrentincrementvalue. Iftheangleislessthantheminimumincrement,PCDMISwilltakethehitatthe minimumincrementvalue.

PCDMISwillagainmeasuretheanglebetweenthenewesthitandthetwoprevioushits.Itwill continuetoerasethelasthitanddroptheincrementvaluetoonequarteroftheincrementuntil themeasuredangleiswithintherangedefined,ortheminimumvalueoftheincrementisreached. Ifthemeasuredangleislessthantheminimumangle,PCDMISwilldoublethe incrementforthenexthit. Ifthisisgreaterthanthemaximumincrementvalue,itwilltakethehitatthemaximum increment.

PCDMISwillagainmeasuretheanglebetweenthenewesthitandthetwoprevioushits.Itwill continuetodoubletheincrementvalueuntilthemeasuredangleiswithintherangedefined,or themaximumincrementisreached. IfANGLE >MAXANGthenINC=INC/4untilMININC IfANGLE <MINANGthenINC=INC*2untilMAXINC Note:Patchscansbydefaultalwaysstarteachnewscanlinewiththeminimumincrement.Ifyou wouldpreferthateachnewlinestartwiththeincrementfromthepreviouslyscannedlineyoucan selectthePatchScansMaintainLastIncrementcheckboxfoundintheGeneraltabofthe SetupOptionsdialogbox(see"PatchScansMaintainLastIncrement"inthe"SettingYour Preferences"chapter).

NullfilterTechnique

AvailabletoLinearOpen,LinearClose,Patch,Section,andRotaryscans

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ScanningYourPart * 1013

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TheNULLFILTERtechniquedoesnotfilterdataatall.WhateverdataPCDMISreceivesfromthe machinecontrolleristhedatagivenyou.AlthoughProbeCompensationandFindNomsarestill appliedthereisnodatareduction.Thistechniqueletsyoucontroltheincrementofthehitsby usingtheOPTIONPROBEcommandwhichsetsthepointincrementduringascan.Seethe "ParameterSettings:OptionalProbetab"topicofthe"SettingYourPreferences"chapterformore information. PCDMISwillstartatthefirstboundarypointandcontinuetakinghitsatthesetincrement, stoppingwhenitreachestheendboundarypoint. NOTE:TheNULLFILTERtechniqueonlyappearsintheDirection1Tech.listifyou'reusingan analogprobehead,suchastheSP600. ForRotaryscans,theprobewillalwaysmaintainthedefinedradialdistancefromthecenterpoint, perpendiculartothecenterpointvector.

Max/Minboxes
AvailabletoLinearOpen,LinearClose,Patch,andSectionscans TheMax/Minincrementandangleboxesdescribedbelowareavailablewhenusingthe VARIABLEscanningtechniquedescribedinthe"Direction1Technique(VariableMethod)"topic. OnlytheMaxIncrboxisavailableforallthescanningtechniques. MaxIncrement

TheMaxIncrboxallowsyoutosetthemaximumincrementdistance.Eventhough incrementsmayincreasewhileusingtheVariableoption,theincrementswillneverbe greaterthanthisdistance. MinIncrement

TheMinIncrboxallowsyoutosettheminimumincrement.Eventhoughincrementsmay decreaseusingtheVariableoption,theincrementswillneverbesmallerthanthisdistance. MaxAngle

TheMaxAngboxallowsyoutosetthemaximumangle.Eventhoughanglesmeasured mayincreasewhileusingtheVariableoption,theangleswillneverbegreaterthanthis value. MinAngle

TheMinAngboxallowsyoutosettheminimumangle.Eventhoughanglesmeasured maydecreasewhileusingtheVariableoption,theangleswillneverbelessthanthisvalue.

1014 * ScanningYourPart

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Incrementbox
AvailabletoPatchscans UsedwithPatchscans,theIncrementboxallowsyoutosettheincrementaldistancebetween rowsonthepatchscan.Forexample,ifyouenter.5thenthescanwillsettherowsatincrements of.5.

ScanConstructionarea(forPerimeterScan)

UsedwiththePerimeterScan TheScanConstructionareaofthedialogboxallowsvariousoptionsforconstructinga PerimeterScan.Theseinclude: Increment CADTol Offset OffsetTol(+/) CalculateBoundary Delete

IncrementboxforaPerimeterscan

TheIncrementboxindicatesthedistancebetweeneachofthehitpointsonthescan.

CADTol

TheCADTolboxisusefulindetectingneighboringsurfaces.Thelargerthetolerance,thefarther aparttheCADsurfacescanbeandstillberecognizedasaneighboringsurface.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ScanningYourPart * 1015

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Offset

TheOffsetboxindicatesthedistanceinfromtheperimeterwherethescanwillbecreatedand executed.

Offset+/

TheOffsetTol(+/)boxindicatestheamountofallowabledeviationfromtheoffsetvalue.Itisa usersuppliedvalue.

CalculateBoundary

TheCalculateBoundarybuttondeterminesthecompositeboundaryoftheinputsurfaces.The CalculatedboundaryappearsasreddotsintheGraphicsDisplaywindow.

Delete

TheDeletebuttondeletesthepreviouslycreatedboundary.

SectionLocationarea(forSectionScan)

TheboxintheSectionLocationareaspecifiestheinitialsectionatwhichyouwouldwantthe scantostart.Forexample,ifyouwantmultiplesectionsatX=5,X=5.5,X=6,etc.youmustfirst specify5.0astheinitialsection.AftereachscanPCDMISwillautomaticallyjumptothenext sectionat5.5andsoon.Thisvaluecanbeediteddirectly,oritcanbesetusingthefirst boundarypoint.Thefirstboundarypoints'coordinatevaluecorrespondingtothecutaxisisthe sectionlocation. Whenthefirstboundarypointisdefinedbyeithertakingahit,selectingfrom CADdataorkeyinginavalue,thecoordinatevalueforthecutaxisisused. Example:Ifthefirstboundarypointissetto45,37,100andthecutaxisisY,thesectionlocation isat37.IfthecutaxisisX,thesectionlocationis45.

1016 * ScanningYourPart

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Axislist

TheAxislistallowsyoutoselecttheaxis(X,Y,orZ)whereyouwantmultiplesections.The Noneoptionisalsoavailable.Itallowsyoutoselectasectionlineonscreen.Scansdonot usuallyallowuserstoworkwithcurvedata.However,ifNoneischosen,asectionscanwilllet youselectagraphicallydisplayedsectionlinethatwillthenbeusedtodefinethecutplaneand scanningpath.

Increment

TheIncrementboxspecifiesthejumpdistancealongthesectionaxisaftereachscanisdone.

InitialVectorsarea

TheInitialVectorsareadisplaysalistofvectorsthatwillbeusedtostartandstopascan.Some scansdonotuseanyinitialvectors.TheseareUV,Grid,Perimeter,andFreeFormscans.The followingtableshowstheavailableinitialvectors,whentheyareused,andtheirdescriptions. Vector Type InitVec UsedInScanType LinearOpen,Linear Closed,Section, Patch,Rotary,and Basicscans LinearOpen,Linear Closed,Patch, Section,andseveral Basicscans Description InitialTouchVector.Thevaluesthataredisplayedin theInitialTouchVectorrowindicatethesurface vectorofthefirstpointinthescanningprocess.. CutPlaneVector.Acutplaneisusedinternallyfor DCCscanningcalculations.Thiscutplaneisderived differentlyforeachsupportedscantype. LinearOpen:TheCutPlanevector(CutVec)isthe crossproductoftheInitialTouchvector(InitVec)and thelinebetweenthestartandendpoint.Ifthereis noendpoint,thelinebetweenthestartpointand directionpointisused. LinearClosed:TheCutPlanevector(CutVec)is thecrossproductoftheInitialTouchvector(InitVec) andthelinebetweenthestartandendpoint. PatchScan:Thecutplanevector(CutVec)is
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual ScanningYourPart * 1017

CutVec

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

derivedbycrossingtheInitialTouchvector(InitVect) andthelinebetweenthefirstandsecondpoint.The cutplanevectoristhensettothecorrectdirectionby usingthelinebetweenthesecondandthirdpoints. TheEndTouchvector(EndVec)isthevectorused totakethesecondboundarypointsandisusedto jumptothesecondrowaftercompletingthefirstrow. SectionScan:TheCutPlaneandInitialTouch vectorsareusedtomeasurethescan.TheCut PlanevectoristhecrossproductoftheInitialTouch vectorandthelinebetweenthestartingandend point.Ifthereisnoendpoint,thenthelinebetween startanddirectionpointisused. EndTouchVector.TheEndTouchvectoristhe approachvectorofthescanattheendoftherow. Thisisusedonlytostopthescanortomovetothe nextrow(inthecaseofaPatchscan). BoundaryPlaneVector. TheBoundaryPlanevector andtheEndTouchvectorareusedwiththegiven BoundaryConditiontostopthescan.TheBoundary PlaneVectorhasdifferentuseswhenappliedto differentBoundaryConditions: Plane WhenusedwithaPlaneBoundaryConditionit representsthenormalvectorofthePlane. Sphere ItisnotusedwiththeSphereBoundaryCondition. Cylinder WhenusedwithaCylinderBoundaryConditionit representstheAxisoftheCylinder. Cone WhenusedwithaConeBoundaryConditionit representstheAxisoftheCone. InitialDirectionVector.Itrepresentsthedirectionin whichthescanwillbeginandisusedwiththeInitial TouchvectortoderivetheCutPlanevector. TopSurfaceVector.Thisappearswhenyouusethe Edgehittype.Itisthevectoroftheinitialtopsurface oftheedgeandisusedtostartthescan. Thisrowisthesurfacenormalvectorofthefirst surfaceselectedforanglehits.Itappearswhenyou usetheAnglehittype.ThiscorrespondstotheSurf 1VecvaluesintheAnglePointstabwhencreating AutoFeatures.See"CreatinganAutoAnglePoint" inthe"CreatingAutoFeatures"chapter. Thisrowisthesurfacenormalvectorofthesecond surfaceselectedforanglehits.Itappearswhenyou

EndVec

LinearOpen,Patch, Section,Rotary,and LineBasicscan LinearOpen,Linear Closed,Patch, Section,andRotary

PlaneVec

DirVec

Rotary,Manual,and LineBasicscan LinearOpenand LinearClosed LinearOpenand LinearClosed

SurfVec

vector1

vector2

LinearOpenand LinearClosed

1018 * ScanningYourPart

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

usetheAnglehittype.ThiscorrespondstotheSurf 2VecvaluesintheAnglePointstabwhencreating AutoFeatures.See"CreatinganAutoAnglePoint" inthe"CreatingAutoFeatures"chapter.

GraphicalRepresentationofVectors
Whensettingupthestart,direction,andendpointsofthescan,PCDMISallowsyoutoseea graphicalrepresentationoftheinitialtouchvector,thedirectionvector,andthevectorthatis normaltotheboundaryplanewherethescanwillstop. Thesevectorsareshownasblue,green,andorangecoloredarrowsintheGraphicalDisplay areaofyourpart.

Coloredarrowsshowingvectors Vector InitialTouch Direction BoundaryPlane GraphicalRepresentation Bluearrow Greenarrow Orangearrow

EditingVectors
Youcanediteachofthesevectorsbydoubleclickingonthevectortoeditinthevectorcolumn.

ThiswilldisplaytheEditScanItemdialogbox:

EditScanItemdialogbox

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ScanningYourPart * 1019

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Usingthedifferentfields,youcanedittheI,J,Kvalues. 1. ClickingtheOKbuttonontheEditScanItemdialogboxwillapplyanychangesthat havebeenmade. 2. ClickingtheCancelbuttonwillclosetheEditScanItemdialogboxwithoutapplyingany changes. 3. PressingtheNextbuttoncyclesthroughtheavailablevectorsintheInitialVectorslist. Someoftheinitialvectorscanbeflipped.Ifso,thentheFlipbuttonbecomesavailable ontheEditScanItemdialogbox. 4. PressingtheFlipbuttonallowsyoutoreversethedirectionoftheselectedvector.

SelectCenter(forRotaryScan)

ChoosingtheSelectCentercheckboxallowsyoutoclickontheCADtoindicatethecenterpoint. Asurfacepointorawireframepointcanbeselected.PCDMISwillfillintheCenterPointboxes withtheXYZinformationfortheselectedpoint. Whenyouselectthischeckbox,beawarethattheboundarypointsofthescanwillnotbe updated.OnlywhenyoudeselectthischeckboxwillPCDMISupdatetheboundarypoints.

CenterPointandRadius(forRotaryScan)

TheX,Y,andZ valuesofCenterdefinethecenterpointoftheROTARYscan. YoucandirectlytypethecenterpointX,Y,andZvaluesoryoucanchoosetheSelectCenter checkboxandclickontheCADdrawingtotakethecenterpointdirectlyfromtheCADmodel. Rdefinestheradius.WhenPCDMISexecutesthescanitwillrotatearoundthecenterpoint maintainingthisdistanceasthescanmovesfromtheStarttotheEndpoint.

IJK(forRotaryScan)

TheI,J,andKvaluesmakeupavectornormaltotheplaneinwhichtheRadiusismaintained fromthecenterpoint.PCDMISwillfollowthisvectorwhenperformingthescan.

1020 * ScanningYourPart

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

UVScanSettingsarea

UVScanSettingsarea TheUVScanSettingsareaallowsyoutodefineyourUVscan.ItcontainstheUandVrowsand allowsyoutodefinethefollowingcontrols. TheHits valuesallowyoutospecifyhowmanyhitsthescanwilltakeonthesurfacein theUorVdirection. TheStartandEnd valuesallowpositioningofthehitmatrixonthesurfacethatisbeing scanned.ThesevaluescanbesetforboththeUandVrowsandapplytothescanalong theUandVaxes.NotethatUVspaceusesnumbersbetween0.0and1.0torepresent theentiresurface.So0.0,0.0willbeontheoppositediagonalcornerfrom1.0,1.0. ThenoneditablePosition fieldsindicatetheprobe'scurrentpositionalongtheUandV axes.

GridScanSettingsarea

TheGridScanSettingsarealetsyoudefinethenumberofhitstoequallyspaceintheAandB directionsofaGridscan.TheAdirectionishorizontal,Bisvertical.Forexample,ifyoutyped20 intheAdirectionand20intheBdirection,PCDMISwouldattempttospace20rowsand20 columnsofpointsonthecombinedselectedsurfaceswithintherectangulararea. Inthescreenshotbelow,onlythetopsurfaceontheHexagonblockisselected.PCDMISwill onlydroppointsontothatsurface,nottheothers.

GridScanexample,showingtheAandBdirectionswith20pointsinbothdirections

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ScanningYourPart * 1021

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ExecutionTab

Executiontabfromascandialogbox TheoptionsontheExecutiontabletyoudeterminewhathappenswhenyouexecutethescan beingcreated.Itcontainstheseareas: ExecControlsarea NominalsMethodarea HitControlsarea DisplayControlsarea BoundaryTypearea

ExecControlsarea

Theoptionsinthisareaaren'tusedforallscantypes.Forexample, manualscansonlyuseafew oftheseoptions. Item TheExecutelist Description ThislistletsyoudeterminehowPCDMISwillexecutea scanafterthescanhasbeenlearned. NormalPCDMISwillexecutethescaninits'normal' manneritwilltriggerahitwhentheprobetouchesthe part. Example:IfaDCCscanisexecuted,PCDMISwilltake

1022 * ScanningYourPart

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

hitsateachofthelearnedlocationsinstitchscanning mode,storingthenewlymeasureddata.Thedisplayed nominalswillbethesameaswhenthescanwaslearned andcannotberecalculatedusingadifferentNominals mode. RelearnPCDMISwillexecutethescanasthoughitis learningit.Alllearnedmeasureddatawillreplacethe newmeasureddata.Thenominalwillberecalculated dependingontheNominalsMode(see"Nominals Mode") Example:IfaDCCscanisbeingrelearned,PCDMIS willrelearnthescanfromthebeginning,insteadoftaking hitsatthelearnedlocations(asitwoulddointhecaseof theNORMALmode). DefinedPCDMISallowsthecontrollertodefinea scan.PCDMISgathersallhitlocationsfromtheeditor andpassesthemontothecontrollerforscanning.The controllerwillthenadjustthepathallowingtheprobeto passthroughallthepoints.Thedataisthenreduced accordingtotheincrementprovidedandthenewdata willreplaceanyoldmeasureddata. WhenthisoptionisusedafterGeneratingthescan Offline,thenominallocationsobtainedfromCADwillbe usedeverytimetodrivetheCMM. Thismodeisavailableonlywhenusinganalogprobe headsthatcandocontinuouscontactscanning. TheClearPlanecheckboxinsertsaCLEARPMOVEa predetermineddistancerelativetothecurrentcoordinate systemandpartoriginbeforetakingthefirsthit. Afterthelastpointinthescanismeasured,theprobe willstayatprobedepthuntilcalledtothenextfeature. Usingclearanceplanesreducesprogramming timebecausetheneedtodefineintermediatemovesis reduced.(See"ParameterSettings:ClearplaneTab"in the"SettingYourPreferences"chapterforadditional informationonclearanceplanes.)Thisoptionisonly availableforDCCscans. TheSinglePointcheckboxconsiderseachhitasa singlemeasuredpoint. Ifthisoptionischeckmarked,PCDMISwillmakeeach hitameasuredpointandinsertitintothepartprogram. Thissequencewillhappenafterthemanualscanhas beenreduced.IfthescanisinDCCmode,itwilltake placeafterthescanhasbeenlearned. TheAutoMovecheckboxwillletyouturnonAuto Movesforeachscan.Onceselected,youcantypethe
ScanningYourPart * 1023

ClearPlanecheck box

SinglePoint checkbox

Auto
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Movecheckbox

distanceforthemoveintheAutoMovebox. LINEAROPEN,LINEARCLOSE,PATCH,SECTION, PERIMETERandBASICSCANAXIS ForthesescantypesPCDMISwill Generateanautomaticmoveatthedistance specifiedabovethescan'sstartpoint. Runthescan. Generateanotherautomaticmoveatthe distancespecifiedabovethelastscanpoint.

BASICSCANCIRCLE,CYLINDER,andCENTER ForthesescantypesPCDMISwill Beforethescanstarts,generateanautomatic moveabovethecentroidofthefeatureatthe distancespecified. Performthescan Afterthescanends,generateanotherautomatic moveabovethecentroidofthefeatureatthe distancespecified.

ProbeCompcheckbox

TheProbeCompcheckboxallowsyoutodetermine whetherornotPCDMISturnsonprobecompensation forthisspecificscan. Inmostcasesyouprobablydon'tneedtoperformthis compensationsinceascan'sFINDNOMSoperation automaticallydoesit.However,ifyoudon'thaveCAD andwanttoreverseengineerapart,youshouldselect thischeckbox. ThischeckboxdetermineswhetherornotPCDMIS compensatesforeachpointusingthe3Dsurfacevector fromtheCADfile.Ifnotselected,PCDMISusesa2D cutplaneasusual. Thischeckboxbecomesavailableforselectionifyou selectFINDNOMS fromthelistintheNominalsMethod areaorifyouclickontheCADmodelintheGraphics Displaywindow. Thischeckboxallowsyoutodeterminewhetherornot PCDMISwillperformaninteriororanexteriorperimeter scan. Ifselected,PCDMISwillperformaninterior perimeterscan. Ifdeselected,PCDMISperformsanexterior perimeterscan.

CadCompcheckbox

InnerBoundcheckbox

Foradescriptionofinteriororexteriorscansseethe "PerformingaPerimeterAdvancedScan"topic.

1024 * ScanningYourPart

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

UseCOPcheckbox

Thischeckboxdetermineswhetherornotthescanned pointsalsogetaddedtoanexistingCloudofPoints (COP)command.Ifyouselectthischeckbox,youcan typetheIDfortheCOPcommandintowhichyouwantto addthenewlyscannedpoints.IftheCOPcommand doesn'tyetexist,PCDMISwillaskifitshouldgenerateit foryou. ForinformationonCOPcommands,accessthePC DMISLaserdocumentationwherethiscommandis discussed.

NominalsMethodarea

Thisareacontainstheseitems: Item Description TheNominalslistletsyoudeterminehowPCDMISwillgather nominals forthemeasureddata. MasterScan WhenMASTERisselectedfromtheNominalslist,PCDMIS willconsiderthemeasureddataobtainedthefirsttimethescan isbeinglearnedasnominaldata.Subsequentexecutionsof thisscanwillbecomparedwiththismeasureddata.When MASTERisusedwithaDCCscanandNormalModeis selectedfromtheExecutelist,PCDMISwillexecuteaStitch typescanusingthemeasureddata. FindNoms WhentheFINDNOMSoptionisselected,PCDMISwillpierce theCADmodeltofindtheclosestlocationonaCADsurfaceto themeasuredpoint.Itwillthensetthenominalstothelocation foundontheCADsurface. Note: WiththeCircle,Cylinder,andAxistypesofBasicScans,there isnoneedtohaveCADdatatofindthenominals.Toexecutethe BasicScan,PCDMISobtainsthenominalsfromthenominaldatayou supply.See"NominalsModeTab"formoredetails. IfpropernominalsarenotfoundPCDMISfirstasksyouto
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual ScanningYourPart * 1025

Nominalslist

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

provideanewFindNominaltolerance.

YoucantypeanewtoleranceintheToleranceboxandapplyit toonlyforthecurrentscanorforthewholepartprogram. IftheresponseisYes,thenewtolerancewillbeused tofindnominals. IftheresponseisNo,PCDMISwilldothefollowing:

Ifpropernominalscannotbefoundforanyhitevenafter providinganewtolerance,PCDMISwillaskifthehitscanbe deleted. Nominals WhenNOMINALSisselectedfromtheNominalslist,PC DMISwilluseanymeasureddatathefirsttimeitperformsthe scanasnominaldata.Thisoptionallowsyoutorelearnthe scanwithoutrelearningthenominals.Themaindifference betweenselectingNOMINALSandMASTERisthatthe NOMINALSoptionconstructsanominalcurvefromthe nominaldata.PCDMISwillthencomparesubsequent executionsofthescanagainstthisnominalcurveusingthe valueintheFindNomsTolbox. TheNominalsModecanbeusedwithRelearnModeintheExecute listintheExecControlsarea.See"ExecControlsarea". Note:IfyoutoggletoNOMINALSintheEditwindowfroma differentmode,thenominalcurvewillautomaticallybecreated fromthecurrenttheoreticaldata.Thismaytakesometime dependingontheamountofdataused.AlsoiftheEditwindow issettoNOMINALS andyoutoggletoadifferentmode the nominalcurvegetsdeleted. TheToleranceboxallowsyoutosetanewnominaltoleranceifthe propernominalsarenotfoundwhenusingtheFindNomsoptionfrom theaboveNominalslist. Besuretotypeatolerancevaluethatatleastcompensatesforthe probe'sradius.Ifthisvalueistoolow,PCDMISmaydisplayanerror messagethatitcannotfindthepartwhenitattemptstogeneratethe scan TheUseBestFitcheckboxperformsatemporaryBestFitalignment onthescaninordertofindbetternominalsforthemeasureddata. SeeFindNomsintheNominalslistaboveformoreinformation. IftheresponseisYes,thehitswillbedeleted. IftheresponseisNo,thehitswillremaininthescan.

Tolerancebox

UseBestFit checkbox

1026 * ScanningYourPart

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

PCDMISfollowsthissequenceforyourscan: PCDMISperformsaFindNomsoperation. PCDMISinternallycreatesaBestFitalignmentfromthe foundnominalpointsandthemeasureddataofthescan.Ifit isaPatchscan,theBestFitis3D. PCDMISperformsaFindNomsoperation. PCDMISinternallycreatesaBestFitalignmentfromthe foundnominalpointsandthemeasureddataofthescan.Ifit isaPatchscan,theBestFitis3D. PCDMISperformsaFindNomsoperation. PCDMISrestorestheoriginalalignment.

Forpartswithlargedeviationsfromnominalsthischeckboxhelpsfind thenominaldatathatmoreaccuratelyrepresentsthepart. FormoreinformationonBestFitalignments,see"CreatingaBestFit Alignment"inthe"CreatingandUsingAlignments"chapter Whenyouexecuteascaninyourpartprogram,andyouare searchingforthenominalvaluesforthescan'smeasuredpoints,you canusetheOnlySelectedcheckboxtohavePCDMISonlylookfor thenominalsonthecurrentlyselectedsetofsurfaces. Note:Ifanyofyourselectedsurfacesarealreadydefinedaspriority surfaceswithintheEditCADElementsdialogbox,PCDMIS maintainstheirpriorityovertheotherselectedsurfacesintheset(see "EditingCAD"fromthe"EditingtheCADDisplay"chapter).

OnlySelected checkbox

HitControlsarea

TheHitControlsareacontainsalistthatcontrolswherehitsaretaken.Otherboxesinthisarea gethiddenordisplayeddependingonthetypeofhitselectedfromthehittypelist.Thisarea containstheseitems: Item Description

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ScanningYourPart * 1027

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TheHitTypelistcontainsthesehittypes: Hit Typelist VECTORThescanusesvectorhits. SURFACEThescanistakenalongasurfaceanduses surfacehitdata. EDGEThescanistakenalonganedge.WhenEdge hits areusedandCADdataisavailable,PCDMISwillallowyou toenteraflushthicknessforthenominals.Thisthicknessis appliednormaltotheedgeapproachvectorwhenfindingthe nominalsforthescan.(Thisiscontrarytotheregular thicknessthatisappliedalongthesurfacenormal.) ANGLEThisscanusesANGLEhitdata.

Initial box Permbox

Thescanwillalwaysdoastitchscanregardlessoftheprobehead type. TheInitialboxallowsyoutosethowmanysamplehitsaretaken beforeeachactualpointismeasured.Thesesamplehitsaretaken onlythefirsttimeascanisrun. ThePermboxallowsyoutosethowmanysamplehitsare permanentlytakenbeforeeachactualpointismeasured.These samplehitsaretakeneachtimethescanisrun. TheSpacerboxallowsyoutosetthedistancebetweensamplehits. TheDepthboxallowsyoutosetthedepthfromtheedgewherethe samplehitswillbetaken.ThisoptionisonlyavailableifEDGE is selectedfromtheHitTypelist. TheIndentboxallowsyoutosettheindentonthetopsurfacefrom theedgewherethesamplehitswillbetaken.Thisoptionisonly availableifEDGEisselectedfromtheHitTypelist. TheIndent1boxallowsyoutosettheindentonthetopsurface fromtheedgewherethesamplehitswillbetaken.Thisoptionis onlyavailableifANGLEisselectedfromtheHitTypelist. TheIndent2boxallowsyoutosettheindentonthetopsurface fromtheedgewherethesamplehitswillbetaken.Thisoptionis onlyavailableifANGLEisselectedfromtheHitTypelist. TheFlushboxallowsyoutoenteraflushthicknessforthenominals ifanEdgeorAnglehittypeisusedandCADdataisavailable.This thicknessisappliednormaltotheedgeapproachvectorwhen findingthenominalsforthescan.(Thisdiffersfromtheregular thicknesswhichisappliedalongthesurfacenormal.)

Spacerbox Depthbox

Indentbox

Indent1box

Indent2box

Flushbox

DisplayControlsarea

TheDisplayControlsarealetsyoudeterminewhatkindofinformationthescandisplaysinthe Editwindow.Itcontainstheseitems:

1028 * ScanningYourPart

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Item ShowHits checkbox

Description Ifyouselectthischeckbox,PCDMISdisplayseachscanintheEdit windowasasetofthemeasuredhitssurroundedbyascanobjectandan endmeasuredobject.Ifthisoptionischosen,allofthehitswillbe displayedintheEditwindow.Ifyoudon'tselectit,thehitswillnotbe shown. Ifyouselectthischeckbox,PCDMISwilldisplayintheEditwindowallof thescanparameters,suchas: Cutplanes Boundarypoints Directionvector Initialapproachvector

ShowAll checkbox

Ifyoudon'tselectit,PCDMISonlydisplaysthesedatatypesintheEdit window: Increments Techniques HitTypes

BoundaryTypearea

TheBoundaryTypeareacreatesanimaginaryfeaturethatactsasaboundaryaroundascan's endpoint.Bydefault,thisfeatureisaplaneattheendpointthatwhencrossedonetimestopsthe scan.However,youcandefinetheendboundarytypetobeadifferenttypeoffeature. BoundarytypesareonlyavailableforLinearOpen,LinearClose,Patch,Section,andRotary scansinDCCmode. Theareacontainstheseitems: Item Description Theboundarytypelistletsyouchoosehowascanends.Each boundarytypeusesavaluefromtheCrossingsbox. PlaneThescanwillstopaftertheprobecrossestheplaneattheend pointthegivennumberoftimes.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ScanningYourPart * 1029

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

SphereThescanwillstopaftertheprobecrosses(breaks)the sphereattheendpointthegivennumberoftimes. CylinderThescanwillstopaftertheprobecrosses(breaks)the cylinder attheendpointthegivennumberoftimes.Thecylinderis unbounded(i.e.isconsideredinfiniteinlength). ConeThescanwouldstopaftertheprobecrosses(breaks)thecone attheendpointthegivennumberoftimes.Thecone isunbounded (i.e.isconsideredinfiniteinlength). OldStyle(Retainedforbackwardscompatibility) PreviousversionsofPCDMISusedacombinationofboundary crossingsandscanincrementstostopthescan.OldStyleisnot actuallyanoptionthatyouchoose,ratheritisaninternalsettingfor scansthatwerecreatedinearlierversionsofPCDMIS. WhenscansfromPCDMISversion2.3arereadintoversion3.0and higher,theyareconvertedandtheirrespectiveboundaryconditions aretaggedasOldType. TheEditWindowcommandlinefortheoldstyleboundarytypereads:
BOUNDARY/OLDSTYLE,x,y,z,PlaneVec=i,j,k,EndVec=i,j,k

PlaneVec:Thisvectordefinestheplanenormalvectoratthe endpoint. EndVec:Theapproachvectorattheendpoint.

Crossingsbox

Radiusbox

Anglebox

TheCrossingsboxdetermineshowmanytimesascancrossesthe selectedboundarytypebeforestoppingthescan.Forexample,ifyou specifythatthenumberofcrossingsistwo,thescanwillstoponcethe probe'sBallCentercrossesthegivenconditionssurface(planar, spherical,cylindrical,conicaletc.)twotimes. TheRadiusboxappearswhenyouselecteitherSphereorCylinder asyourboundarytype.Itletsyoudefinetheradiusofthatboundary typefeature. TheAngleboxappearswhenyouselectConeasyourboundary type.Itletsyoudefinethecone'shalfangle.

Note:Youcanchangetheboundaryconditionatanytimeforascan.Ifyouchooseanew conditionforaDCCscan,PCDMISappliesittoallBasicScansmakinguptheDCCscan.If, however,youchosetochangeaspecificvalueinacondition,forexample,maybetheradius of thesphereboundarytype,PCDMISdoesnotpropagatethatchangetotheBasicScans.You wouldhavetochangethatvalueineachBasicScanyourself.

1030 * ScanningYourPart

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

GraphicsTab

Graphicstabfromascandialogbox TheGraphicstabletsyouusetheonscreenCADmodeltoaidincreatingascan.Thistab containstheCadControlsarea.ThisarealetsyouspecifytheCADsurface/wireframeelements thatwillbeusedtofindnominalsaswellasthepart'sthickness. Insomecases,ascanmightstartoveracertainsurfaceandtravelovermanyothersurfaces beforecompletion.Insuchcases,PCDMISdoesnotknowwhichCADelementsaretobeused tofindnominals.ItmustthereforesearchthrougheverysurfaceintheCADmodel.IftheCAD modelhasmanysurfacesitmighttakealongtimebeforetheFINDNOMS operationis successful. Item Selectcheckbox Description Selectingthischeckboxandclickingonsurfacesletsyou definetheexactsurfacestoscan.Manuallydeterminingthe surfacestoscanhelpsspeeduptheFINDNOMSprocess. OnceaCADsurfaceisselected,itwillbehighlightedinthe GraphicsDisplaywindow.TheStatusbarwilldisplaythe numberofsurfacesthathavebeenselected.IftheSelect checkboxisn'tselected,PCDMISwillassumeanyclickson thesurfacetobeBoundaryPoints. Example:Twoedgesthatarenormaltoeachothermustbe selectedforeverysurfacethescanisgoingtotravelover.If thescanisgoingoverthreesurfaces,sixedges (representingthethreesurfaces)mustbeselectedinthe properorder.Thefirsttwoedgeswillindicatesurfaceone. Thethirdandfourthedgeswillindicatesurfacetwo.Edges' fiveandsixwillmakeupthethirdsurface,andsoon.

Deselectbutton

Ifyouselectanincorrectsurface,clickonthatsurfacea secondtime.Thiswilldeselectthesurface.Clickingthe Deselectbuttonwilldeselectonesurfaceatatimewith eachclickofthebuttonfromagroupofhighlightedsurfaces untilallaredeselected.ClickingtheDeselectAllbuttonwill deselectallhighlightedsurfacesatonce. TheDeselectbuttonremovesonehighlightedCADelement atatimefromagroupofCADelementsthatarecreated

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ScanningYourPart * 1031

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

usingtheSelectcheckbox. DeselectAll button Depthcheckbox TheDeselectAllbuttonremovesalltheselectedCAD elementsthatarecreatedusingtheSelectcheckbox. ThischeckboxisusedonlywhenselectingCurveelements. YoucanindicateaparticularCADcurveelementasaDepth element. TousetheDepthcheckbox: 1. SelectallotherCADelementsfirst. 2. SelecttheDepthcheckbox. 3. SelectaCADelement. TheDepthcurveisusedduringFINDNOMSoperations. WheneverPCDMIShastofindnominalsfromcurve elements,itwilltakethevectoroftheDepthCADelement, crossitwiththevectorfromtheotherselectedCAD elementstogetaplane.Itwillthenpiercetheplanetoget thepropernominal.IfmanyCADelementsareselected,the closestpiercepointisusedasthenominalpoint.WhenCAD wireframedataisbeingused,PCDMISwilllookforthewire framedatainpairs. Thevector1checkboxonlyappearsifyouselectAngle fromtheHitTypelistandyouareusingsurfacedata.It allowsyoutoselectCADsurfacesthatPCDMISwilluseto findthenominal.Youcanindicatethegroupofsurfacesthat PCDMISusestofindtheanglehitSurf1Vecbyselecting thischeckboxandthenselectingCADsurfaces fromthe GraphicsDisplaywindow. Thevector2checkboxonlyappearsifyouselectAngle fromtheHitTypelistandyouareusingsurfacedata.It allowsyoutoselectCADsurfacesthatPCDMISwilluseto findthenominal.Youcanindicatethegroupofsurfacesthat PCDMISusestofindtheanglehitSurf2Vecbyselecting thischeckboxandthenselectingCADsurfacesfromthe GraphicsDisplaywindow. TheThicknessboxallowsyoutoinputthepartthickness. Positiveornegativevaluescanbeused.Thisamountis primarilyusedforthinparts(plasticorsheetmetal)where theCADdataonlydescribesoneside.Oftenwiththinparts, theCADengineerwillonlydrawonesideofthepart,and thenspecifythematerialthickness.PCDMISwillapplythis materialthicknessautomaticallywhenusingtheCAD surfacedata. Thisthicknesswillbeappliedalongthesurfacenormal vectorwhenFINDNOMSmodeisselectedandPCDMIS piercestheCADsurfacestogetthenominals,evenwhen usingEdgehits.

vector1checkbox

vector2checkbox

Thicknessbox

1032 * ScanningYourPart

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ControlPointsTab

Note:TheControlPointstabonlyappearsifyouuseananalogprobeheadthatallows continuouscontactscanning. TheControlPointstaballowsyoutoaddcontrolpointstoyourscan.Controlpointsinterruptthe normalscanfunctionsandallowyoutodefinespecificlocationsonthescanwhichalterthescan speed,pointdensityorboth.Goodcontinuousscansoftenrequiredifferentscanspeedsand/or pointdensitiesfordifferentpartsofthescan. Theabilitytoaddcontrolpoints hasbeenaddedtothesetypesofscans: LinearOpen LinearClosed Patch Section Line(BasicScan)

TheControlPointstabcontainstheControlPointsDefinitionarea.Thisarealetsyoudefine eachcontrolpoint.Itcontainstheseitems: Item Typelist Description Thisdefinesthetypeofcontrolpoint.Availabletypesinclude: 1. Plane


PLANE,X,Y,Z,I,J,K,NumCrossings,ScanSpeed,Point Density

2. Sphere
SPHERE,X,Y,Z,I,J,K,NumCrossings,ScanSpeed,Point Density,Diameter

3. Cone
CONE,X,Y,Z,I,J,K,NumCrossings,ScanSpeed,Point Density,Angle

4. Cylinder
CYLINDER,X,Y,Z,I,J,K,NumCrossings,ScanSpeed,Point Density,Diameter

Numberof Crossings box

Thesetypesaresimilartotheboundarypoints. Thisboxdefinesthenumberoftimestheprobemustcrosstheinterrupt boundarybeforeadjustingthespecifiedparameters.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ScanningYourPart * 1033

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Diameterbox Anglebox

ThisboxdefinesthediameteroftheCylinderorSpherecontrolpoint. ThisboxdefinesthehalfangleoftheConecontrolpoint.

PointDensity box Speedbox FromManual Hitcheckbox XYZboxes IJKboxes Addbutton Delete button Next button Prev button Delete All button Update button

Thisboxdefinesthedensityofthepointsthatarereadintothescandata duringacontinuouscontactscan.Thisislistedasnumberofpointsper mm. Thisboxdefinesthespeedofthemachinewhileittraversesthepart surfaceperformingscans. Ifyouselectthischeckbox,youcandefinethecontrolpoint'sXYZand IJKlocationbymanuallytakingahitwiththeprobe(orbyclickingonthe partifworkinginofflinemode). TheseboxesdefinetheXYZlocationofthecontrolpoint. TheseboxesdefinetheIJKvectorofthecontrolpoint. Addsanew,undefinedcontrolpoint. Deletesthecurrentcontrolpoint. Goestothenextcontrolpoint.Theboxesintheareachangetoshowthe newpoint'sdata. Goestothepreviouscontrolpoint.Theboxesintheareachangetoshow thenewpoint'sdata. Deletesallthecontrolpointsinthescan. Updatesallthecontrolpointsinthescanwiththesettingforthecurrent controlpoint.

AddingandUsingControlPoints
1. AccesstheScandialogbox. 2. Defineyourscan.Basedonyourtypeofscan,theminimumnumberofboundarypoints forthefollowingscantypesareautomaticallydefined: Plane Sphere Cone Cylinder 3. ClicktheControlPointstab. 4. Addinterruptpointlocationsbyoneofthreeavailablemethods: Method1:Keyinpointlocations.ClicktheAddbuttonandthentypethe requiredvaluesforeachpoint. Method2:SelecttheFromManualHitcheckboxandthenusethemachineto touchthelocationsonthepartwhereyouwanttohavethecontrolpoints.PC DMISaddstheinformationtotheControlPointsdialogbox. Method3:IntheGraphicsDisplaywindow,leftmouseclickontheCADmodel whereyouwanttohavethecontrolpoints.PCDMISaddstheinformationtothe ControlPointsdialogbox. Formethodstwoandthree,PCDMISautomaticallysnapsthechosenpointsto thecutplaneofthescanforallscantypesexceptPatchscans.

1034 * ScanningYourPart

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

5. Continueusingthemethodsinstep4todefinealldesiredcontrolpoints. 6. Onceyourcontrolpointsaredefined,clicktheCreatebutton.TheScandialogboxwill closeandcreateyourscan. 7. Ifyouwanttoedit,delete,oraddadditionalcontrolpoints,simplyclicktheControl Pointstabatanytimeandmakemodificationsasneeded.

ScanningafterAddingControlPoints
Onceyou'vedefinedallthecontrolpointsandcreatedyourscan,duringexecution,PCDMIS doesthefollowing. 1. ThescanwillinitiallyusethegloballysetScanSpeedandPointDensityvalues. 2. Asitscansalongthepathandpasseswithintheparametersdefinedbythecontrolpoints, thescanbehaviorchangesasdirectedbythecontrolpoints. 3. Oncethescaniscompleted,theScanSpeedandPointDensitywillreturntothe globallysetvalues.

PathDefinitionTab

Note:OnlysomescanssupporttheSplinePatharea.Theseinclude:LinearOpen,Linear Closed,Patch,Section,andFreeform.OnotherscanstheSplinePathareawillnotappear. ThePathDefinitiontabhasatmosttwoareas,TheoreticalPathandSplinePath.Youcanuse theseareastogenerateatheoreticalpathwayforyourscan,and,onsupportedscans,youcanfit thetheoreticaldatapointstoasecondarypath,calledasplinepath.Thisessentiallyfiltersthe numberoftheoreticalpoints. Tocreateatheoreticalpathwayandfitittoasplinepath: 1. Selectascantypethatsupportsasplinepath.TheseincludeLinearOpen,LinearClosed, PatchSection,andFreeform. 2. SelectthePathDefinitiontab. 3. Definethetheoreticalpath.InmostcasesyoucanusetheReadFilebuttontoimporta preexistingsetoftheoreticaldatapoints,orclicktheGeneratebutton.TheGenerate buttonautomaticallygeneratesasetoftheoreticaldatapointsinbetweenyourstarting pointandendingpointfromtheexistingCADdata. Note:inthecaseoftheFreeformscan,theGeneratebuttondoesnotexist,instead youclickyourmouseontheCADitselftoselectthetheoreticalpoints.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ScanningYourPart 1035

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

4. Thepointsappearsequentiallyinthelist,showingtheirXYZ,anIJKdata.Aslongasyou havemorethanfivepointsintheTheoreticalarea,youcanfitittoasplinepathusing theCalculatebuttonintheSplinePatharea.Youdon'thavetofitthetheoreticalpathto asplinepath,buttheinitialdatainthetheoreticallistgenerallymaycontainmanymore hitsthanyouneed. 5. Defineasplinepathtowhichyouwillfitthetheoreticalpath.Determinewhetherornot thetheoreticalpointswillformanopenoraclosedpath,whetherthepath'scalculationis interpolatedorapproximated,whetherornotthepointshaveaweight,andwhetherthe spacingofthepointsiscontrolledbyadefineddensityoracertainnumberofhits. 6. WhenbothareasarefilledoutclickCalculateintheSplinePatharea. PCDMIS changesthetheoreticaldatatofittheparametersspecifiedintheSplinePath.Anorange dotwillappearintheGraphicsDisplaywindowonthepartforeachpoint.Ifyouhave severalpoints,thesedotsmaymeshtogethertoformanorangecoloredband. 7. Whenyouhavethepointsasyoulikethem,clickCreatetogeneratethescan.

TheoreticalPathArea

TheTheoreticalPathareacontainstheseitems: Item Theoretical Pathlist Description Thislistdisplaysthetheoreticalpathwayyourscanwilltakewhenexecuted. ItdisplaystheXYZandIJKdataforeachpoint.Youcanimportpointsfroma textfilebyclickingtheReadFilebuttonorPCDMIScanautomatically generatethetheoreticalpointsbyclickingGenerate.Inthecaseofa Freeformscan,youcancreatethesepointsbyclickingthemontheCAD model. Thesetheoreticalpointsareusereditable.Toeditthevalueofthepoints: 1. Doubleclicktheappropriatepointnumberinthe#column.The EditTheoDatadialogboxwillappear. 2. ChangethevaluesinthedesiredX,Y,ZandI,J,K boxes. 3. ClickOK.ThechangewillbeupdatedintheTheoreticalPath list. ClickingtheNextbuttonintheEditTheoDatadialogboxwillcyclethrough thepointslistedintheTheoreticalPath list,allowingyoutoeditthemone byone. ThisbuttontakesinformationfromtheCADmodelandautomatically generatesthetheoreticalpathwaywithinthescan'sboundaryforthese supportedscans:LinearOpen,LinearClosed,Patch,andSection.This oftengeneratesseveralpoints. Afteryoudefinethescan'sboundaryandclickGeneratePCDMIShidesthe

Generate button

1036 ScanningYourPart

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

dialogbox,allowingyoutoviewthescanasthesoftwaregeneratesiton screen.Afterthescaniscompleted,PCDMISwillredisplaythedialogbox. IftheCreatebuttonisthenpressed,ascanwiththenominalhitdatawillbe insertedintothepartprogram. PCDMISalwaysusestheFindNominalTolerancevalueindicatedinthe SetupOptionsdialogbox,Generaltabwhengeneratingnominaldatafor thescansandwhenfindingthenominalsforthelearnedscan. Thisbuttonletsyouremovethelastactiontakenwhenimporting, generating,ormodifyingthepointsintheTheoreticalPathlist. Thisbuttonletsyouimportpointsfromatextfilewitha.txtfilename extension.Thetextfileshouldbeinacommadelimitedformatwithonepoint oneachline,likethis: X,Y,Z,I,J,K Thischeckboxdetermineswhetherornotthetheoreticalpathshouldjump overholesandotherholelikefeaturesinthesurface.Ifselected,pointdata thatdoesnotliewithintheselectedsurface(forexample,holefeatures)will notappearintheTheoreticalPathlistandwillbeskippedduringscan execution.Ifdeselected,thescanwillscanintoholelikefeatures. ThisappearsonallscansbutPerimeterandFreeform. TheOffsetboxletsyoudefinetheminimumdistanceawayfroma boundary/edgewherescanpointsareconsideredvalid.Scanpointsthatare closertotheboundarythatthespecifiedoffsetdistancewillnotbeallowed. Forexample,ifyousetyouroffsetdistanceto.5mm,anyscanpointlocated within.5mmoftheboundary/edgewillnotbeallowed. TheTol.boxletsyousetthetolerance value.PCDMISusesthisto determinetheholelocationsinordertodetectholesfromCADdata. Ifthedistancebetweenanytwosurfaceboundarypointsislessthan thetolerancedistance,PCDMISwillconsiderthisacontinuous surfaceandscanintothehole. Ifthedistanceisgreaterthanthetolerance,PCDMISwillassume thatthereisaholebetweenthesurfaces,andduringthelearning processitwillskipthehole.

Undobutton ReadFile button

JumpHoles checkbox

Offsetbox

Tol.box

Get Nominals button ToPoints button

ThisappearsonallscansbutPerimeterandFreeform. TheGetNominalsbuttonletsyoufindthenominalafterascanhasbeen learnedorexecuted.PCDMISwillfindthenominalsforthescanfromthe CADdatathatisavailable. TheToPointsbuttonrunsaprocesswherebytheindividualpointsthat makeupanexistingscancanbeconvertedintosinglepointsafter execution.Thescannedsetisthendeleted. Forexample: 1. PlaceyourcursoronascanusinghitdataintheEditwindow. 2. PresstheF9keytodisplaytheScandialogbox. 3. SelecttheToPointsbutton.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ScanningYourPart 1037

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

PCDMISwillconvertallhitdataintosinglepointsanddeletethescanfrom theEditwindow. Note:ThisprocesscanalsobedonebyselectingtheSinglePointcheck box,clickingtheOKbutton,andexecutingthescanfromtheEditwindow. PCDMISwillexecutethescanandthenconvertthehitdataintosingle points. TheFlipbuttonwillfliptheapproachvectorsofthetheoreticalscanpoint selectedfromtheTheoreticalPathlist.PCDMISwillaskifallofthevectors followingthatpointshouldbeflipped. IfyouselectYes,thenthedirectionofallthevectors,includingand followingtheindicatedpoint,willbereversed. IfyouselectNo,thenonlytheindicatedvectorwillbereversed.

FlipandFlip Allbuttons

FlipAllreversesallthevectorsforallpointsinthelist. TheseonlyappearwhenyouworkwithUVorGridscans. ThisbuttonwilldeleteanyselectedpointsfromtheTheoreticalPathlist.It onlyappearswhenyouworkwithUVorGridscans. ThisonlyappearswhenyouworkwithUVorGridscans. ThischeckboxdetermineswhetherornotPCDMISshouldlabeleachhitin thescan.Labeledhitslookssomethinglikethis:

Deletebutton

LabelHits checkbox

AUVscanwithlabeledhits ThisonlyappearswhenyouworkwithUVorGridscans.

SplinePatharea

SplinePatharea TheSplinePathareacontainsseveraloptionsthatyoucanusetocreateasplinepathtowhich yourscan'stheoreticalpathwillbefitted. ThisareadoesnotexistforPerimeter,Rotary,UV,orGridscans.

1038 ScanningYourPart

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Usingthisarea,youcandeterminewhetherornotthesplinepathwillformanopenoraclosed path,whetherthepath'scalculationisinterpolatedorapproximated,whetherornotthepoints haveaweight,andwhetherthespacingofthepointsiscontrolledbyadefineddensityora certainnumberofhits. Whenyoufinallycalculatethesplinepath,theexistingTheoreticalPathlistgetsreplacedwith anyfilteredpoints.Thesepointsbecomethebasisofthescan. Thisareacontainstheseitems: Item Curvelist Description Thislistcontainstwooptions:OpenandClosed.Anopencurvepasses throughthestart,control,andendpointsandthenstops.Aclosedcurve doesthesamebutwhenthecurvepassesthroughtheendpoint,italso returnstothestartpoint. Thislistcontainstwooptions:ApproximateandInterpolated.It determineswhetherthesplinepathpassesthroughpointsinthespline (interpolated)orsimplyapproachesthepoints(approximate).Interpolated resultsinsharpercurvesandapproximateresultsinsmoothercurves. Thislistcontainstwooptions:YesandNo.Whatyouselectdetermines whetherornotPCDMISshouldgivethepointsaweightwhenconstructing thesplinepath.Ifsettoyes,thenPCDMISgivesthemaweightaccording tohowclosetheyaretootherpointsonthecurve.Thefurthertheyare fromotherpointsthegreaterweighttheyhaveinthefittingprocess. Thislistcontainstwooptions:DensityandHits. IfyouselectDensity,PCDMISwillcreatethesplinepathpointsat agivenincrementdefinedbythevalueintheDensity box. IfyouselectHits,PCDMISwillcreatethesplinepathpointsusing andspacingthenumberofhitsyouspecifyintheHitsbox.

Calculation list

Weightlist

Spacinglist

Densitybox Hitsbox

Calculate button

Inthisboxyoutypetheincrementthatcontrolsthedensityofhits.The smallertheincrementthegreaterthedensity. Inthisboxyoutypethenumberofhitstospacealongthetheoretical pathway.Ifyoutyped"50",forexample,PCDMISwouldattempttofitall fiftypointsalongthescanpath. Thisbuttoncalculatesthesplineandfitsthetheoreticaldatapointstothe spline,usually filteringoutseveralhits.Thisbuttononlybecomesenabled ifyouhaveatleastfivehitsintheTheoreticalPathlist.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ScanningYourPart 1039

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

SettingsTab

Note:TheSettingstabonlyappearsifyouuseananalogprobeheadthatallowscontinuous contactscanning. ThistabcontainstheScanProbingParametersarea.Usingtheitemsinthisarea,youcan modifythesefrequentlyusedscanparameters,withouthavingtoleavethescandialog. TheseoptionsarealsoincludedintheParametersdialogboxMotiontabortheOpt.Probe tab.Seethe "ParameterSettings:OptionalProbetab"and"ParameterSettings:Motiontab" topicsinthe"SettingYourPreferences"topicforinformation.

1040 ScanningYourPart

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

PerformingaLinearOpenAdvancedScan

LinearOpenScandialogbox TheInsert|Scan|LinearOpenmethodwillscanthesurfacealonganopenendedline.This procedureusesthestartingandendingpointfortheline,andalsoincludesadirectionpointfor thecalculationofthecutplane.Theprobewillalwaysremainwithinthecutplanewhiledoingthe scan.TherearethreedifferenttypesofLINEAROPENdirectiontechniquesasexplainedinthe "DirectionTechniquesarea".

ASampleLinearOpenScan ToCreateaLinearOpenScan

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ScanningYourPart 1041

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

1. EnsurethatyouhaveaTTPorAnalogprobeenabled. 2. PlacePCDMISintoDCCmode. 3. SelectInsert|Scan|LinearOpenfromthesubmenu.TheLinearOpenScandialog boxappears. 4. TypethenameofthescanintheIDboxifyouwanttouseacustomname. 5. SelecttheappropriateLINEAROPENtypefromtheDirection1Techlist. 6. DependingonyourtypeofLINEAROPENscan,typetheappropriateincrementand anglevaluesintotheavailableMaxIncr,MinIncr,MaxAngle,andMinAngleboxes. 7. Ifyourscantraversesmultiplesurfaces,considerselectingsurfacesbyusingtheSelect checkboxasdiscussedinthe"GraphicsTab"topic. 8. Addthe1point(startingpoint),theDpoint(directiontoscan),andthe2point(ending point),tothescanbyfollowinganappropriateprocedureasdiscussedinthe"Boundary Pointsarea"topic. 9. SelecttheappropriatetypeofhitstotakefromtheHitTypelistintheHitControlsarea. 10. MakeanyneededchangestothevectorsintheInitialVectorsarea.Dothisbydouble clickingonthevector,andmakinganychangestotheEditScanItemdialogbox,and thenclickingOKtoreturntotheLinearOpenScandialogbox. 11. SelecttheappropriatenominalsmodefromtheNominalslistintheNominalsMethod area. 12. IntheToleranceboxintheNominalsMethodarea,typeatolerancevaluethatatleast compensatesfortheprobe'sradius. 13. SelecttheappropriateexecutionmodefromtheExecutelistintheExecControlarea. 14. Ifyouareusingathinpart,typethepart'sthicknessintheThicknessboxinthe Graphicstab. 15. Ifneeded,selectanyofthecheckboxesfromtheareasintheExecutiontab. 16. Ifusingananalogprobe,considerusingtheControlPointstabtorunyourscan optimally. 17. ClicktheGeneratebuttonintheTheoreticalPatharea,PathDefinitionstabto generateapreviewofthescanontheCADmodelintheGraphicsDisplaywindow.When yougeneratethescan,PCDMISwillstartthescanatthestartpoint,andwillfollowthe chosendirectionuntilitreachestheendpoint. 18. Ifdesired,usetheSplinePathareainthesametabtofitthetheoreticalpathtoaspline path. 19. Makeadditionalmodificationtoyourscanasneeded. 20. ClicktheCreatebutton.PCDMISinsertsthescanintotheEditwindow. ToCreateaLinearOpenScanona3DWireframeCADModel ToperformaLinearOpenscanonawireframemodel,youshouldgenerallyusea3Dwireframe cadfile.Youneedthe3Dwirestodefinetheshapeofthefeatureyouwanttoscan,aswellasits "depth"(3Daspect).Thistypeofscanfollowsthesameprocedureasabove. ToCreateaLinearOpenScanona2DWireframeCADModel IfyouabsolutelymustperformaLinearOpenscanona2Dwireframefile,youcandosowith someextrawork. 1. Importthe2Dcadfile.TheCADoriginneedstobeontheCADsomeplaceandnotoffin bodycoordinates(thisjustmakesthingseasier). 2. SelectInsert|Feature|Construct|Line.TheConstructLinedialogboxappears. 3. ChooseAlignment.ThiswillconstructalineattheCADorigin,normaltothesurfaceof the2DCADdata. 4. AccesstheEditwindowand,ifusingmillimetersforyourunitsofmeasurement,change thelengthofthelinefrom1(thedefault)tosomethinglonger,suchas5or10.For programsusinginches,ignorethisstep.

1042 ScanningYourPart

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

5. Exportthepartprogram(thefeaturesonly)toeitheranIGESorDXFfiletypeandstore theexportedfiletoadirectoryofyourchoice. 6. ReturntoyourpartprogramanddeletetheAlignmentLinethatyoucreated. 7. Importthefilethatyoujustexportedbackintothesamepartprogram.Whenprompted, clickMergetomergetheCADwireintoyourGraphicsDisplaywindow.YourCADmodel shouldnowhaveaCADwirenormaltotherestoftheotherCADwires. 8. AccesstheLinearOpenScandialogbox. 9. ClickontheGraphicstabandthenselecttheSelectcheckbox. 10. Clickeachwirethatdefinesthefeaturetobescanned.Selectthemintheorderthatthey willbescanned,startingwiththewirewherethescanwillstart. 11. SelecttheDepthcheckbox. 12. Clickontheimportedwirethatisnormaltoalltheotherwires. 13. CleartheSelectcheckbox.Youcannowselectyour1,D,and2boundarypointsonthe theoreticalsurfacedefinedbythewiresthatdefinethesurface'sshapeandthewire definingthedepth. 14. Ifinonlinemode,selecttheMeasurecheckbox.SelectFindNoms fromtheNominals Methodarea.IntheTolerancebox,selectagoodtolerancevalue. 15. ClickCreate.PCDMISinsertsthescan,andifinonlinemode,beginsthescan,finding thenominals.

PerformingaLinearClosedAdvancedScan

LinearClosedScandialogbox

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ScanningYourPart 1043

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TheInsert|Scan|LinearClosedmethodwillscanthesurfacebeginningatthedesignated STARTINGpoint,completingthescanatthesamepoint.Thistypeofscanisaclosedscan becauseitreturnstoitsinitialstartingpoint.Thisisusefulforscanningcircularfeaturesorslots. Thisprocedurerequiresthatthestartingpointlocationanddirectionpointbedefined.The incrementalvaluefortakinghitsisusersupplied. PCDMISwillscanthesurfaceasdefinedbelow.

ASampleLinearClosedScanwithScanPointsInsideaHole ToCreateaLinearCloseScan 1. EnsurethatyouhaveaTTPorAnalogprobeenabled. 2. PlacePCDMISintoDCCmode. 3. SelectInsert|Scan|LinearClosedfromthesubmenu.TheLinearClosedScandialog boxappears. 4. TypethenameofthescanintheIDboxifyouwanttouseacustomname. 5. SelecttheappropriateLINEARCLOSEtypefromtheDirection1Techlist. 6. DependingonyourtypeofLINEARCLOSEscan,typetheappropriateincrementand anglevaluesintotheavailableMaxIncr,MinIncr,MaxAngle,andMinAngleboxes.

1044 ScanningYourPart

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

7. Ifyourscantraversesmultiplesurfaces,considerselectingsurfacesbyusingtheSelect checkboxasdiscussedinthe"GraphicsTab"topic. 8. Addthe1point(startingpoint)andtheDpoint(directiontoscanin)byfollowingan appropriateprocedureasdiscussedinthe"BoundaryPointsarea"topic. 9. SelecttheappropriatetypeofhitstotakefromtheHit TypelistintheHitControlsarea. 10. MakeanyneededchangestothevectorsintheInitialVectorsarea.Dothisbydouble clickingonthevector,andmakinganychangestotheEditScanItemdialogbox,and thenclickingOKtoreturntotheLinearClosedScandialogbox. 11. SelecttheappropriatenominalsmodefromtheNominalslistintheNominalsMethod area. 12. IntheToleranceboxintheNominalsMethodarea,typeatolerancevaluethatatleast compensatesfortheprobe'sradius. 13. SelecttheappropriateexecutionmodefromtheExecutelistintheExecControlsarea. 14. Ifusingathinpart,typethepart'sthicknessintheThicknessboxintheGraphicstab. 15. Ifneeded,selectanyofthecheckboxesfromtheareasintheExecutiontab. 16. Ifusingananalogprobe,considerusingtheControlPointstabtorunyourscan optimally. 17. ClicktheGeneratebuttonintheTheoreticalPatharea,PathDefinitionstabto generateapreviewofthescanontheCADmodelintheGraphicsDisplaywindow.When yougeneratethescan,PCDMISwillstartthescanatthestartpoint,andwillfollowthe chosendirectionaroundthefeatureuntilitreturnstothestartpoint. 18. Ifdesired,usetheSplinePathareainthesametabtofitthetheoreticalpathtoaspline path. 19. Makeadditionalmodificationtoyourscanasneeded. 20. ClicktheCreatebutton.PCDMISinsertsthescanintotheEditwindow. ToCreateaLinearClosedScanona3DWireframeCADModel ToperformaLinearClosedscanonawireframemodel,youshouldgenerallyusea3Dwireframe cadfile.Youneedthe3Dwirestodefinetheshapeofthefeatureyouwanttoscan,aswellasits "depth"(3Daspect).Thistypeofscanfollowsthesameprocedureasabove. ToCreateaLinearClosedScanona2DWireframeCADModel IfyouabsolutelymustperformaLinearClosedscanona2Dwireframefile,youcandosowith someextrawork. 1. Importthe2Dcadfile.TheCADoriginneedstobeontheCADsomeplaceandnotoffin bodycoordinates(thisjustmakesthingseasier). 2. SelectInsert|Feature|Construct|Line.TheConstructLinedialogboxappears. 3. ChooseAlignment.ThiswillconstructalineattheCADorigin,normaltothesurfaceof the2DCADdata. 4. AccesstheEditwindowand,ifusingmillimetersforyourunitsofmeasurement,change thelengthofthelinefrom1(thedefault)tosomethinglonger,suchas5or10.For programsusinginches,ignorethisstep. 5. Exportthepartprogram(thefeaturesonly)toeitheranIGESorDXFfiletypeandstore theexportedfiletoadirectoryofyourchoice. 6. ReturntoyourpartprogramanddeletetheAlignmentLinethatyoucreated. 7. Importthefilethatyoujustexportedbackintothesamepartprogram.Whenprompted, clickMergetomergetheCADwireintoyourGraphicsDisplaywindow.YourCADmodel shouldnowhaveaCADwirenormaltotherestoftheotherCADwires. 8. AccesstheLinearOpenCloseddialogbox. 9. ClickontheGraphicstabandthenselecttheSelectcheckbox. 10. Clickeachwirethatdefinesthefeaturetobescanned.Selectthemintheorderthatthey willbescanned,startingwiththewirewherethescanwillstart. 11. SelecttheDepthcheckbox.
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual ScanningYourPart 1045

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

12. Clickontheimportedwirethatisnormaltoalltheotherwires. 13. CleartheSelectcheckbox.Youcannowselectyour1(startpoint)andD(direction)on thetheoreticalsurfacedefinedbythewiresthatdefinethesurface'sshapeandthewire definingthedepth. 14. Ifinonlinemode,selecttheMeasurecheckbox.SelectFindNoms fromtheNominals Methodarea.IntheTolerancebox,selectagoodtolerancevalue. 15. ClickCreate.PCDMISinsertsthescan,andifinonlinemode,beginsthescan,finding thenominals.

PerformingaPatchAdvancedScan

PatchScandialogbox

1046 ScanningYourPart

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ThePatchscanislikea TheInsert|Scan|Patchmethodwillscanthesurfacedepending seriesofLinearOpenscansontheselectedtechniquesforDirection1TechareaandDirection doneparalleltoeachother. 2Tech.Theprobewillalwaysremainwithinthecutplanewhile doingthescan.TheDirection1techniqueindicatesthedirection betweenthefirstandsecondboundarypoints.TheDirection2 techniqueindicatesthedirectionbetweenthesecondandthird boundarypoints.PCDMISwillscanthepartonthesurface indicatedbytheDirection1Techarea.Whenitencountersthe secondboundarypoint,PCDMISwillautomaticallymovetothenext rowasindicatedbytheDirection2Techarea.

ASamplePatchScan ToCreateaPatchScan 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. EnsurethatyouhaveaTTPorAnalogprobeenabled. PlacePCDMISintoDCCmode. SelectInsert|Scan|Patchfromthesubmenu.ThePatchScandialogboxappears. TypethenameofthescanintheIDboxifyouwanttouseacustomname. SelecttheappropriatePATCHtypeforthefirstdirectionfromtheDirection1Techlist, anddependingonthetechniqueselected,typetheappropriateincrementandangle valuesintotheavailableMaxIncr,MinIncr,MaxAngle,andMinAngleboxes. Note:Ifthetechnique'BODY'isselectedforthefirstdirection,itmustalsobeselected fortheseconddirection. 6. SelecttheappropriatePATCHtypefortheseconddirectionfromtheDirection2Tech list,anddependingonthetechniqueselected,typetheappropriateincrementandvalues intotheavailableMaxIncr,MinIncr,MaxAngle,andMinAngleboxes. 7. Ifyourscantraversesmultiplesurfaces,considerselectingsurfacesbyusingtheSelect checkboxasdiscussedinthe"GraphicsTab"topic. 8. Addthe1point(startingpoint),theDpoint(thedirectiontobeginscanning),the2point (theendpointofthefirstline),the3point(togenerateaminimumarea),and,ifdesired,
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual ScanningYourPart 1047

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

the4point(toformasquareorrectangulararea).Thiswillselectanareathatyouwishto scan.Pickthesepointsbyfollowinganappropriateprocedureasdiscussedinthe "BoundaryPointsarea"topic. 9. MakeanyneededchangestothevectorsintheInitialVectorsarea.Dothisbydouble clickingonthevector,andmakinganychangestotheEditScanItemdialogbox,and thenclickingOKtoreturntothePathScandialogbox. 10. SelecttheappropriatenominalsmodefromtheNominalslistintheNominalsMethod area. 11. IntheToleranceboxintheNominalsMethodarea,typeatolerancevaluethatatleast compensatesfortheprobe'sradius. 12. SelecttheappropriateexecutionmodefromtheExecutelistintheExecControlarea. 13. Ifyouareusingathinpart,typethepart'sthicknessintheThicknessboxinthe Graphicstab. 14. Ifneeded,selectanyofthecheckboxesfromtheareasintheExecutiontab. 15. Ifusingananalogprobe,considerusingtheControlPointstabtorunyourscan optimally. 16. ClicktheGeneratebuttonintheTheoreticalPatharea,PathDefinitionstabto generateapreviewofthescanontheCADmodelintheGraphicsDisplaywindow.When yougeneratethescan,PCDMISwillstartthescanatthestartpointandwillfollowthe chosendirectionuntilitreachestheboundarypoint.Thescanthenmovesbackandforth scanninginrowsalongthechosenarea,scanninginrowsatthespecifiedincrement valueuntilitfinishestheprocess. 17. Makeadditionalmodificationtoyourscanasneeded. 18. ClicktheCreatebutton.PCDMISinsertsthescanintotheEditwindow.

1048 ScanningYourPart

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

PerformingaPerimeterAdvancedScan

PerimeterScandialogbox TheInsert|Scan|Perimeterscandiffers fromotherlinearscansinthattheyarecreated entirelyfromCADdatabeforeexecution.ThistypeofscanisavailableonlywhenthereisCAD surfacedataavailable.ItallowsPCDMIStoknowexactlywhereitisgoingbeforebeginning(with asmallamountoferror).

ASampleExteriorPerimeterScan TwoTypesofPerimeterScans Therearetwodifferenttypesofperimeterscansavailable,exteriorandinterior.


PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual ScanningYourPart 1049

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

1) Anexteriorscanfollowstheoutsideofselectedsurfaceboundary/boundaries.An exteriorscanhastheabilitytotraverseacrossmultiplesurfaceboundariestocreatea singlescan. 2) Aninteriorscanfollowsaboundarycurveinsideagivensurface.Thesetypesof curvesusuallydefinefeaturessuchasholes,slots,orstuds.Unliketheexteriorscan,an interiorscanislimitedtotheinteriorofasinglesurface. Thefiguresbelow(Scan1andScan2)illustratebothtypesofperimeterscans.InScan1,four surfaceshavebeenselected.Eachsurfacebordersanother,buttheoutsideofeachsurface makesupthecompositeboundary(indicatedbythesolidouterline).Theoffsetdistanceisthe amountthatthescanwillbeoffsetfromthecompositeboundary(indicatedbythebrokenline).In theScan2,theboundaryofaholeisusedtocreatethepathforaninteriorperimeterscan.

Scan1

Scan2 Theprocedureforcreatinganexteriororinteriorscanisthesameandisoutlinedbelow: ToCreateaPerimeterScan TocreateaPerimeterscan: 1. 2. 3. 4. AccessthePerimeterScandialogbox(Insert|Scan|Perimeter). TypethenameofthescanintheIDboxifyouwanttouseacustomname. ForinteriorPerimeterScans,selecttheInnerBoundcheckboxintheExecutiontab. Selectthesurface(s)thatwillbeusedtocreatetheboundary.Ifmultiplesurfacesare selected,thesurfacesshouldbeselectedinthesameorderthattheyaretobetraversed bythescan.Toselectthenecessarysurface(s): VerifythattheSelectcheckboxisselectedintheGraphicstab.

1050 ScanningYourPart

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Click,inturn,thesurfacesyouwishtouseinthescan.Eachsurfacewillbehighlighted asitisselected. Afterthedesiredsurfacesareselected,cleartheSelectcheckbox.

5. Clickonthesurfaceneartheboundarywherethescanistobegin.ThisistheStartPoint. 6. Clickonthesamesurfaceasecondtimeinthedirectionthatthescanwillbeexecuted. ThisistheDirectionPoint. 7. Ifdesired,clickonthepointwherethescanistoend.Thispointisoptional.IfanEnd Pointisnotprovided,thescanwillendatitsStartpoint. Note:PCDMISautomaticallyprovidesanEndPoint.IfthisEndPointisnotbeused,deleteitby highlightingthenumber(thedefaultis2)intheBoundaryPointslistandclickingtheDelete button. 8. TypetheappropriatevaluesintotheScanConstructionarea.Theseincludethe followingboxes: Incrementbox CADTolbox Offsetbox OffsetTol(+/)box. 9. SelecttheCalculateBoundarybutton.Thiswillcalculatetheboundaryfromwhichthe scanwillbecreated.Theorangedotsontheboundaryindicatewherethehitsaretaken ontheperimeterscan. Note:Theboundarycalculationshouldbearelativelyquickprocess. Iftheboundarydoesnotlookcorrect,clicktheDeletebutton.Thiswilldeletetheboundaryand allowanothertobecreated. Iftheboundaryappearsincorrect,itusuallymeansthattheCADtoleranceneedstobeincreased. AfterchangingtheCADtolerance,clicktheCalculateBoundarybuttontorecalculatethe boundary. Verifythattheboundaryiscorrectbeforecalculatingaperimeterscanbecauseittakesmuch longertocalculatethescanpaththanitdoestorecalculatetheboundary. 10. VerifythattheOffset valueiscorrect. 11. ClicktheGeneratebuttonintheTheoreticalPatharea,PathDefinitionstab.PCDMIS willthencalculatethetheoreticalvaluesthatwillbeusedtoexecutethescan.This processinvolvesaverytimeintensivealgorithm.Dependingonthecomplexityofthe selectedsurfacesandtheamountofpointsthatarebeingcalculated,itmaytakeawhile tocomputethescanpath.(Afiveminutewaitisnotuncommon.)Ifthescandoesnot appearcorrect,clicktheUndobuttontodeletetheproposedscanpath.Asneeded,alter theOffsetTolerancevalueandrecalculatethescan. 12. ClicktheCreatebuttontocreatetheperimeterscanandstoreitintheEditwindow.Itwill beexecutedlikeanyotherscan.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ScanningYourPart 1051

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

PerformingaSectionAdvancedScan

SectionScandialogbox TheInsert|Scan|SectionscanisverysimilartoLinearOpenscans.Itwillscanthesurface alongalineonthepart.ThistypeofscanisavailableonlywhenCADsurfacedataisavailable. WithCADsurfacedata,PCDMISwilldetectaStartPointandEndPointatthesection.Section scansusethestartingandendingpointfortheline,andalsoincludesadirectionpoint.Theprobe willalwaysremainwithinthecutplanewhiledoingthescan.Therearethreetypesofsection scandirectiontechniques. DetectandSkipHoles Sectionscanshavetheabilitytodetectholesandthenskipthemwhilescanningalongapart. ThistypeofscanallowsyoutoselectsectionlinesdrawnonthescreenbytheCADengineer andthencontinuethescan. MultipleScansAlongaFixedAxis Oneadvantagetousingasectionscanistheabilitytodomultiplescansalongafixedaxis.For example,supposeyouwanttoscanalinealongtheYaxisatacertainincrementalongtheX axis.SoatX=5.0youwanttoscanyourfirstline.AtX=5.5youwanttoscanyoursecondline, andatX=6.0youwouldscanyourthirdline.YoucoulddothiswithseveralLinearOpenscans, butthesetypesofincrementalscansareeasilyaccomplishedwiththesectionscan.

1052 ScanningYourPart

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Todothis,youwouldsetupthesectionscanwiththeXaxisasthesectionaxisand0.5asthe sectionincrement.Additionalparametersshouldalsobeset(see"PerformingaLinearOpen AdvancedScan".Afterthescanismeasured,PCDMISwillredisplaytheSectionScandialog boxwithalloftheboundarypointsshiftedtothenextsectionbytheincrementyouspecified.

SampleSectionScans ToCreateaSectionScan 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. EnsurethatyouhaveaTTPorAnalogprobeenabled. PlacePCDMISintoDCCmode. SelectInsert|Scan|Sectionfromthesubmenu.TheSectionScandialogboxappears. TypethenameofthescanintheIDboxifyouwanttouseacustomname. SelecttheappropriateSECTIONtypeforthefirstdirectionfromtheDirection1Tech list, anddependingonthetechniqueselected,typetheappropriateincrementandangle valuesintotheavailableMaxIncr,MinIncr,MaxAngle,andMinAngleboxes. Ifyourscantraversesmultiplesurfaces,considerselectingsurfacesbyusingtheSelect checkboxasdiscussedinthe"GraphicsTab"topic. Addthe1point(startingpoint,theDpoint(directiontoscan)andthe2point(ending point)forthesectionscan.Thiswillselectalinethatyouwishtoscan.Pickthesepoints byfollowinganappropriateprocedureasdiscussedinthe"BoundaryPointsarea"topic. SelecttheCutCADbutton.Thiscutsthescanupintosubsections,andshows,the locationsthatPCDMISwillskipbecauseofobstructions(suchasholes)alongthe surface.YoucanclicktheShowBndbuttontoshowtheboundarypointsagain. IntheSectionLocationarea,dothefollowing: SelectfromtheAxislist,theaxisalongwhichsubsequentsectionscanswill increment. Typethelocationvalueforthataxisthatyouwantsetforalltheboundarypoints. TypetheincrementvalueintheIncrementbox.ThisistheamountthatPC DMISwillshiftthescanafteryouclicktheCreatebutton. TypeaholelocationtolerancevalueintheTolerance box.

9.

10. SelecttheappropriatetypeofhitstotakefromtheHitTypelistintheHitControlsarea. 11. MakeanyneededchangestothevectorsintheInitialVectorsarea.Dothisbydouble clickingonthevector,andmakinganychangestotheEditScanItemdialogbox,and thenclickingOKtoreturntotheSectionScandialogbox.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ScanningYourPart 1053

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

12. SelecttheappropriatenominalsmodefromtheNominalslistintheNominalsMethod area. 13. IntheToleranceboxintheNominalsMethodarea,typeatolerancevaluethatatleast compensatesfortheprobe'sradius. 14. SelecttheappropriateexecutionmodefromtheExecutelistintheExecControlarea. 15. Ifyouareusingathinpart,typethepart'sthicknessintheThicknessboxinthe Graphicstab. 16. Ifneeded,selectanyofthecheckboxesfromtheareasintheExecutiontab. 17. Ifusingananalogprobe,considerusingtheControlPointstabtorunyourscan optimally. 18. ClicktheGeneratebuttonintheTheoreticalPatharea,PathDefinitionstabto generateapreviewofthescanontheCADmodelintheGraphicsDisplaywindow.When yougeneratethesectionscan,PCDMISwillstartthescanatthestartpoint,andwill followthechosendirection,skippingoverholes,untilitreachestheboundarypoint. 19. Ifdesired,usetheSplinePathareainthesametabtofitthetheoreticalpathtoaspline path. 20. Makeadditionalmodificationtoyourscanasneeded. 21. ClicktheCreatebutton.PCDMISinsertsthescanintotheEditwindow. 22. Afterthescaniscreated,PCDMISthenshiftstheboundarypointsalongtheselected axisbythespecifiedincrement.ItdisplaysthenewboundariesitintheGraphicsDisplay window,andletsyouusetheSectionScandialogboxagaintocreateanothersection scan.

1054 ScanningYourPart

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

PerformingaRotaryAdvancedScan

RotaryScandialogbox TheInsert|Scan|Rotaryscanmethodwillscanthesurfacearoundagivenpointataspecified radiusfromthatpoint.Theradiuswillbemaintainedregardlessofsurfacechanges.This procedureusesthestartingandendingpointforthearcofthemeasurement,andalsoincludesa directionpointtodefinethedirectionfromstarttoend.

ASampleRotaryScanAroundaCone ToCreateaRotaryScan

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ScanningYourPart 1055

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

EnsurethatyouhaveaTTPorAnalogprobeenabled. PlacePCDMISintoDCCmode. SelectInsert|Scan|Rotaryfromthesubmenu.TheRotaryScandialogboxappears. TypethenameofthescanintheIDboxifyouwanttouseacustomname. Determinethecenterpointfortherotaryscan.Youcandothisinoneoftwoways: SelecttheSelectCentercheckbox,thenclickapointonthepart. Manuallytypethecircle'scenterlocationintotheXYZandIJKboxes.

6. TypearadiusvaluefortherotaryscanintheRbox.Onceyoutypearadius,PCDMIS drawsthelocationofthescanonthepartmodelintheGraphicsDisplaywindow. 7. Verifythatthescan'sXYZcenterandIJKinformationiscorrect. 8. DeselecttheSelectCentercheckbox. 9. SelecttheappropriatetechniquefromtheDirection1Techlist,anddependingonthe techniqueselected,typetheappropriateincrementandanglevaluesintotheavailable MaxIncr,MinIncr,MaxAngle,andMinAngleboxes. 10. Ifyourscantraversesmultiplesurfaces,considerselectingsurfacesbyusingtheSelect checkboxasdiscussedinthe"GraphicsTab"topic. 11. Addthe1point(startingpoint),theDpoint(directiontoscan),andthe2point(ending point)fortherotaryscan.Thiswillselectacurvetoscan.Ifyouwishtoscantheentire circumference,deletethe2point.Picktheseboundarypointsbyfollowinganappropriate procedureasdiscussedinthe"BoundaryPointsarea"topic. 12. SelecttheappropriatetypeofhitstotakefromtheHitTypelistintheHitControlsarea. 13. MakeanyneededchangestothevectorsintheInitialVectorsarea.Dothisbydouble clickingonthevector,andmakinganychangestotheEditScanItemdialogbox,and thenclickingOKtoreturntotheRotaryScandialogbox. 14. SelecttheappropriatenominalsmodefromtheNominalslistintheNominalsMethod area. 15. IntheToleranceboxintheNominalsMethodarea,typeatolerancevaluethatatleast compensatesfortheprobe'sradius. 16. SelecttheappropriateexecutionmodefromtheExecutelistintheExecControlarea. 17. Ifyouareusingathinpart,typethepart'sthicknessintheThicknessboxinthe Graphicstab. 18. Ifneeded,selectanyofthecheckboxesfromtheareasintheExecutiontab. 19. Ifusingananalogprobe,considerusingtheControlPointstabtorunyourscan optimally. 20. ClicktheGeneratebuttonintheTheoreticalPatharea,PathDefinitionstabto generateapreviewofthescanontheCAD modelintheGraphicsDisplaywindow.When yougeneratethescan,PCDMISwillstartthescanatthestartpoint,andwillfollowthe chosendirectionuntilitreachestheboundarypoint. 21. Ifneeded,makeadditionalmodificationtoyourscan. 22. ClicktheCreatebutton.PCDMISinsertsthescanintotheEditwindow.

1056 ScanningYourPart

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

PerformingaFreeformAdvancedScan

FreeFormScandialogbox TheFreeFormScandialogboxallowsyoutoeasilycreateanypathonasurfaceandthescan willfollowthatpath.Thispathiscompletelyuptoyou:itcanbecurvedorstraightandhavemany orfewhits. ExampleFreeformScan BeforeSplinePath ExampleFreeformScan AfterSplinePath

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ScanningYourPart 1057

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TocreateaFreeformscan: 1. 2. 3. 4. ClicktheAdvanced>>buttontomakethetabsatthebottomofthedialogboxvisible. IntheExecutionandGraphicstabs,selectitemsasdesired. SelectthePathDefinitiontab. Definethetheoreticalpath.Addhitstothe TheoreticalPathboxbyclickingonthe surfaceofthepartintheGraphicsDisplaywindow.Witheachclick,anorangepoint appearsonthepartdrawing.OnceyouhavefiveormorepointstheCalculatebuttonin theSplinePathareabecomesenabled. 5. Ifdesired,selectitemsintheSplinePatharea,andthenclickCalculate.Thiscreatesa splinecurvealongthetheoreticalpointsyou'vedefinedandthenrecalculatesthepoints inthetheoreticalpathareatoproduceasmootherpathfortheprobetofollow. 6. ClickCreatetogeneratethescan.

1058 ScanningYourPart

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

PerformingaUVAdvancedScan

UVScandialogbox TheInsert|Scan|UVscanallowsyoutoeasilyscanrowsofpointsonanysurfaceofaknown CADmodel(similartothePatchscan).Thisscandoesn'trequirealotofsetupbecauseituses theUVspaceasdefinedbytheCADmodel.

ExampleUVscanwitheachhitlabeled Note: WhenPCDMISsetsuptheUVscanusingthisdialogbox,itgetseachofthepointsfrom theCADandusesthenominaldataforeachpoint. ToCreateaUVScan


PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual ScanningYourPart 1059

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

EnableaTTPprobe. PlaceyourCADmodelinSolidmode. PlacePCDMISintoDCCmode. AccesstheUVScandialogbox(Insert|Scan|UV). TypethenameofthescanintheIDboxifyouwanttouseacustomname. IntheGraphicstab,clicktheSelectcheckbox. Clickthesurfaceyouwillscan.PCDMIShighlightstheselectedsurface.PCDMISwill displayaUandVontheCADmodel,indicatingthedirectionofeachaxis.

UVaxesarrowsonaCADsurface 8. IntheGraphicstab,cleartheSelectcheckbox. 9. SelecttheStartCADClickcheckboxfromtheUVScanSettingsarea. 10. Clickonceontheselectedsurfacetosetthescan'sstartpoint.Whereyouclickonthe surfacealsoindicateswheretheUVscanwillbegin.Thisdefinesthefirstcornerforthe rectangularareaforthescan. Note:TheUVscannowsupportsscanningofmultiplesurfaces.Toscanmultiplesurfaces,click onthesurfacestobescannedintheorderyouwantthemscanned.PCDMISwilldisplaya numberindicatingthesurfacenumberandtheUandVdirectionarrows.Duringexecution,PC DMISexecutestheUVscanonthefirstsurface,thenthesecond,surfaceandsoon. 11. SelecttheEndCADClickcheckboxfromtheUVScanSettingsarea. 12. Clickagainontheselectedsurfacetosetthescan'sendpoint.Again,PCDMISdisplays aUandVontheCADmodel.Thisdefinesthesecondrectangularareaforthescan. Note:PCDMISautomaticallydeterminesthestartandendpositionsalongboththeUandV axesbasedonthepointsyouclicked.YoucanchangethescandirectionbyswitchingtheStart andEnd valuesintheUandVrows.UVspaceusesnumbersbetween0.0and1.0torepresent theentiresurface.Soinmostcases,0.0,0.0willbeontheoppositediagonalcornerfrom1.0, 1.0.Trimmedsurfaces,however,maystartwithavaluegreaterthan0.0andendwithoneless than1.0inboththeUandVdirections. 13. SelecttheappropriatetypeofhitstotakefromtheHitTypelistintheHitControlsarea. YoucanselecteitherVectororSurface. 14. Modifyanyotheroptionsasneeded. 15. SelecttheGeneratebuttonintheTheoreticalPatharea,PathDefinitionstabto generateapreviewofthescanontheCADmodelintheGraphicsDisplaywindow.PC DMISwilldrawontheCADmodelwherethepointsshouldbetaken.Youwillnoticethat theUVscanautomaticallyskipsanyimpedingholesalongthesurface. 16. Ifneeded,makeanymodificationstoyourscan. 17. ClicktheCreatebutton.PCDMISinsertsthescanintotheEditwindowanddrawsthe routetheprobewilltakeonthesurfaceofthemodelintheGraphicsDisplaywindow.

1060 ScanningYourPart

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

PerformingaGridAdvancedScan

GridScandialogbox TheInsert|Scan|Gridscan,similartotheUVscan,letsyoutoeasilycreateagridofpoints withinavisiblerectangleandthenprojectthosepointsdownontopofanyselectedsurfaces.UV andGridscansaresimilarinthewaythattheyconstructandspacepointswithinaselectedarea. However,theorientationofthepointswithrespecttotheaCADmodel'sorientationdiffers. Considerthesetwofigures: Figure1UVScanon2DRotatedPart Figure2GridScanon2DRotatedPart

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ScanningYourPart 1061

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Figure1showsaUVscanonthetopsurfaceofa2Drotatedsampleblock.Figure2,showsthe sameblockwithaGridscan.NoticehowtheUVaxesinfigure1areinlinewiththeXYaxesof theselectedsurface.TheGridscan,ontheotherhand,doesnotdothisinstead,thepoints remainalignedwiththerectangleview.Whencreated,theGridscancreatesthepointswhere theyfallontheselectedsurfaces,regardlessofpartorientation ToCreateaGridScan 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. EnableaTTPProbe. PlaceyourCADmodelinSolidmode. PlacePCDMISintoDCCmode. AccesstheGridScandialogbox(Insert|Scan|Grid). TypethenameofthescanintheIDboxifyouwanttouseacustomname. Dragarectangleonthescreenoverthesurfaceorsurfacesyouwanttoincludeinyour scan.Thisrectangledefinestheboundaryforthescan.

Examplerectangletakinginseveralsurfaces 7. IntheGraphicstab,selecttheSelectcheckbox. 8. Clickthesurfaceorsurfacesyouwillscan.PCDMIShighlightstheselectedsurfacesas youselectthem.

1062 ScanningYourPart

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Anexampleselectedsurface,highlightedinred 9. SelecttheappropriatetypeofhitstotakefromtheHitTypelistintheHitControlsarea. YoucanselecteitherVectororSurface. 10. IntheGridScanSettingsarea,definehowmanyhitsintheAandBdirectionswillget spacedanddroppedontotheselectedsurface(s). 13. Modifyanyotheroptionsasneeded.OnlyMASTERcanbeselectedfromtheNominals list. 14. SelecttheGeneratebuttonintheTheoreticalPatharea,PathDefinitionstabto generateapreviewofthescanontheCADmodelintheGraphicsDisplaywindow.PC DMISwilldrawpointsontheCADmodel.Itwillnotdrawpointsonanysurfaceyoudid notselect,eveniftheboundaryoftherectangleincludesothersurfaces.

Exampleshowinggeneratedpoints.Noticethatthepointsonlyappearontheselected surface(red),eventhoughseveralothersurfaces(blue)areboundedbytherectangle. 15. Ifneeded,makeanymodificationstoyourscan. 16. ClicktheCreatebutton.PCDMISinsertsthescanintotheEditwindowanddrawsthe routetheprobewilltakeonthesurfaceofthemodelintheGraphicsDisplaywindow.

PerformingBasicScans

IntroductiontoPerformingBasicScans
PCDMISnowofferssupportforscansthatareclassifiedunderanewtypecalledBasicScans. Thesenewscansarefeaturebasedscans(i.e.youcoulddefineafeaturesuchasaCircleor
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual ScanningYourPart 1063

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

CylindertobemeasuredalongwithappropriateparametersandPCDMISwouldexecuteascan thatusestheappropriateBasicScanningcapability). ThefollowingBasicScansareavailablefromtheInsertScansubmenuifyourTTPorAnalog probeisplacedintoDCCmode: CircleScan CylinderScan AxisScan CenterScan LineScan

Note:TheCenterScanmenuoptionwillbeunavailableforselectionuntilyouselectanAnalog ProbeHead. PCDMIS'smoreadvancedscansarecomposedofbasicscans.WhilePCDMISdoesn'tallow youtopickbasicscansfromalistandcreateadvancedscansfromthem,youcancopyand pastebasicscansintoalreadycreatedadvancedscans. ThischapterwillfirstcoverthecommonfunctionsavailabletotheBasicScandialogboxand thenhowtoperformtheavailableBasicScans.

CommonFunctionsoftheBasicScanDialogBox

AsampleBASICSCANdialogbox ManyofthefunctionsdescribedinthissectionarecommontoBasicScans.Someofthese optionsarethesameastheoptionsintheadvancedscansandhavealreadybeendiscussed. (See"CommonFunctionsoftheScanDialogBox"inthischapterforadditionalinformation). Optionsthatrelatespecificallytoonescanmodeareappropriatelyindicated. ThefollowingoptionsareincludedonthefirsttabofeachoftheBasicscans.

1064 ScanningYourPart

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

SurfaceThick:Thisboxallowsyoutoinputpartthickness.PCDMISwillapplythismaterial thicknessautomaticallywhenusingCADsurfacedata.Thisthicknesswillbeapplied alongthesurfacenormalvectorwhenFINDNOMSmodeisselectedandPCDMIS piercestheCADsurfacestogetthenominals. Theothertabsonthedialogboxhelpyoutodefinethescan.Thesearedescribedbelow.

FilterTab

BASICSCANdialogboxFilterTab AvailableoptionsfortheFiltertabarethefollowing: DistanceFilterSeeLinearOpenin"LineTechnique". VariableFilterSeeLinearOpenin"VariableTechnique".Thisscanningtechnique isonlyavailablefortheLinescan. NullFilterSee"NullFilterTechnique".

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ScanningYourPart 1065

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

HitTypeTab

BASICSCANdialogboxHitTypeTab AvailableoptionsfortheHit Typetabarethefollowing: VECTOR SURFACE(OnlyavailableforLinescans)

TheHitTypecorrespondstotheHitTypeinscansdefinedpreviously.SeeHitTypein"Hit Controlsarea"in"CommonFunctionsoftheScanDialogBox".

BoundaryTab

BASICSCANdialogboxBoundarytab

1066 ScanningYourPart

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

SomeoftheBasicScanslikeCircle,Cylinder,Axis,andCenterdonotneedaBoundarycondition sincetheyareexecutedbythecontroller.AvailableoptionsfortheBoundaryarethefollowing: Plane Sphere Cylinder Cone

See"BoundaryTypearea"foradescriptionofthesetypes.

ExecuteModeTab

BASICSCANdialogboxExecuteModetab TheexecutemodesavailableintheExecuteModetabarethefollowing: NORMAL RELEARN DEFINED

See"ExecControlsarea"in"ExecutionTab"formoreinformationontheNormal,Relearn,and Definedmodes. FEATUREThisexecutemodeisavailableonlyforAnalogProbeHeads.When thisisselected,PCDMISusesthebuiltinHighSpeedscanningcapabilityofthe controllertoexecuteascan.

Example:IfyouselectedaCirclescan,PCDMISwilluseacorrespondingCirclescanning commandinthecontrollerandpassontheparameterstothecontrollertoexecute.Inthiscase, PCDMISdoesnotcontrolexecutionofthescans. TheFEATUREexecutemodealsoallowsyoutousethefollowingcheckboxestofurther customizehowPCDMISBasicscansaredoneusingthismode:

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ScanningYourPart 1067

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

UseHSSDATIfyouselectthischeckbox,PCDMISsendsadistinctsetofpointsdefining thefeaturemeasurementpathtothecontroller.Ifyoudon'tselectthischeckbox,PC DMISwillsendthefeaturespecificparameterstothecontroller. UseStart/EnddelaypointsYoumustalsoselecttheUseHSSDATcheckboxtousethis functionality.Ifyouselectthischeckbox,PCDMIStakesthepointssenttothecontroller anddiscardsthosepointstakenduringaccelerationanddecelerationoftheprobeduring thescan.Thishelpstoimprovetheoverallaccuracyofthescan. Note:ThesecheckboxesonlyworkwithcontrollersusingLeitzinterfaces.

NominalsModeTab

BASICSCANdialogboxNominalsModetab TheNominalModesavailablearethefollowing(SeeNominalslistinthe"NominalsMethod area"): MASTERcorrespondstoMastermodedescribedinthe"NominalsMode"section. FINDNOMScorrespondstoFindNomsmodedescribedinthe"NominalsMode"section. YoucantypeinaFindNomsTolerancethatcanbeappliedwhenfindingnominalsfora BasicScan.

UseBestfitThischeckboxcausesPCDMIStousebestfitalgorithmsonthedatafoundfrom theoriginalFINDNOMSoperationandthenrepeattheFINDNOMSoperation.Thisfindsthe nominaldatawithgreateraccuracywhentheactualparthasalotoferrorwithrespecttotheCAD data.See"See"NominalsMode". FindNomsOnlyOnSelectedSurfaceThischeckboxcausesPCDMIStolookfornominal valuesforascan'smeasuredpointsononlytheselectedsetofsurfaces. Note: WiththeCircle,Cylinder,andAxistypesofBasicScans,thereisnoneedtohaveCAD datatofindthenominals.ToexecutetheBasicScan,PCDMISobtainsthenominalsfromthe nominaldatayousupply.

1068 ScanningYourPart

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Forexample,ifyoutypedinnominaldata,suchascenteranddiameter,toexecutethecircle, thatdatawouldbeusedtofindthenominalsfortheCirclescan.

GeneralTab

BASICSCANdialogboxGeneraltab Theoptionsinthisdialogboxhavebeendescribedin"CommonFunctionsoftheScanDialog Box".

PerformingaCircleBasicScan

BASICSCANdialogboxCircletab TheInsert|Scan|Circle menuoptionallowsyoutoscanacirclefeature.Ittakesparameters suchasthecenterofthecircle,diameterofthecircleetc.,andallowstheCMMtoexecutethe scan.TheCircleMethodallowsonlytheDistanceFiltertobeused.ItallowsonlytheVectorHit


PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual ScanningYourPart 1069

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TypeanddoesnotneedaBoundaryCondition.Thefollowingparameterscontrolthescan execution: Centroid:Thispoint(foundinthefirstlist,underthe#column)isthecenterofthecircle. ThecenterofthecirclecanbetypeddirectlyorcanbeobtainedfromMachineorfrom CAD.

ToDefineaBasicCircleScan: YoucandefineaBasicCirclescaninoneoftheseways: Typinginvaluesdirectly.See"CircleBasicScanKeyInMethod"forthisscan. Physicallymeasuringpointsonthecircle.See"CircleBasicScanMeasuredPoint Method"forthisscan. ClickingonthecircleintheCADmodelintheGraphicsDisplaywindow.See"Circle BasicScanSurfaceDataMethod"or"CircleBasicScanWireframeDataMethod". Onceyoucreatethescan,PCDMISinsertsitintotheEditwindow.TheEditwindow commandlineforaCircleBasicScanreads:

ID=BASICSCAN/CIRCLE,ShowHits=YES,ShowAllParams=YES centerx,centery,centerz,CutVec=i,j,k,Type InitVec=i,j,k,diameter,angle,depth,thickness

CircleBasicScanKeyInMethod
ThismethodletsyoutypeintheX,Y,andZvaluesofthecircle'scentroidandvectors. 1. Selectthedesiredcentroidpointinthelist. 2. DoubleclickontheCentroidcolumn.ThiswilldisplayanEditScanItemdialogboxfor thecentroid.ThetitlebarofthedialogboxdisplaystheIDofthespecificparameterbeing edited.

EditDialogbox

3. ManuallyedittheX,Y,orZboxes. 4. ClicktheOKbuttontoapplythechanges.TheCancelbuttonwilldisregardanychanges thathavebeenmadeandwillclosethedialogbox. 5. EdittheCutVecandtheInitVecofthecircleusingthissameprocess.

CircleBasicScanMeasuredPointMethod
TogeneratethecirclewithouttheuseofCADdata: 1. Takethreehitsonthesurfacetofindtheplanethatthecircleislyingin.

1070 ScanningYourPart

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

2. Takethreeadditionalhitsinthehole(oronthestud).PCDMIScalculatesthecircleusing allthreehits. Additionalhitscanbetaken.PCDMISwillusethedatafromallofthemeasuredhits.The Centroidthatisdisplayedisthecalculatedcenterofthehole(orstud).TheCutVecisthecircle axisandtheInitVecofthecircleiscalculatedbasedonthefirstofthelatterthreehitsthatare usedcalculatethecircle.Theangleiscalculatedastheangleofthearcfromthefirsthittothe lasthit.

CircleBasicScanSurfaceDataMethod
Togenerateacircleusingsurfacedata: 1. ClicktheSurfacemodeicon. 2. Positionthecursoreitheroutsideorinsidethedesiredcircle. 3. Clickonceonasurfacenearbythecircle. ThedialogboxwillautomaticallydisplaytheX,Y,Zcenterpoint,diameter,andvectorsforthe circlefromtheselectedCADdata. CutVec:Thisvectoristheaxisofthecircleandistheplaneinwhichthescanningwillbe done. InitVec:Thisvectordescribesdirectioninwhichtheprobewilltakeitsfirsthittostartthe scan.ThisvectoriscalculatedaccordingtothemodeofDataEntry.Thisvectorandthe CutVecarenormaltoeachother.

CircleBasicScanWireframeDataMethod
WireframeCADdatacanalsobeusedtogenerateacircularscan. Togeneratethecircle: 1. Clicknearthedesiredwireonthecircle.PCDMISwillhighlighttheselectedwire. 2. Verifythatthecorrectfeaturehasbeenselected. Thedialogboxwilldisplaythevalueoftheselectedcircle'scenterpointanddiameteroncethe wirehasbeenindicated. Note:IftheunderlyingCADelementisnotacircleorarc,additionalclicksmaybenecessaryto identifythefeature.IfPCDMISdoesn'thighlightthecorrectfeature,tryclickingonatleasttwo additionalpointsnearthecircle. CutVec:Thisvectoristheaxisofthecircleandistheplaneinwhichthescanningwillbe done. InitVec:Thisvectordescribesdirectioninwhichtheprobewilltakeitsfirsthittostartthe scan.ThisvectoriscalculatedaccordingtothemodeofdataentryThisvectorandthe CutVecarenormaltoeachother.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ScanningYourPart 1071

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Circle:CADDataMethod
TheInitVecofthecircleiscalculatedbasedonthefirstclickthatisusedtocalculatethecircle withthismethod. Type: Thefollowingtypesofcirclesareallowed: 1) IN: AHole

2) OUT:AStud

3) PLANE:APlanecircleexecutedontheplanethecircleislyingon. Angle: Thisistheangle(indegreestoscan)fromtheStartPoint.Bothpositiveanglesandnegative anglescanbeused.Positiveanglesareconsideredcounterclockwiseandnegativeanglesare consideredclockwise.TheCutVecisconsideredtheaxisaboutwhichtheanglerotates. Diameter: Thisisthediameterofthecircle. Depth: ThisistheDepthappliedagainsttheCutVecdirection.Bothpositiveandnegativevaluescanbe used. Example:Ifthecirclehasacenterof1,1,3,aCutVecof0,0,1,andadepthof0.5,thecircle centerwillbesetto1,1,2.5duringexecution.IfaDepthof 0.5isusedforthesamecircle,the centroidwouldbeshiftedto1,1,3.5duringexecution.

1072 ScanningYourPart

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

PerformingaCylinderBasicScan

BASICSCANdialogboxCylindertab TheInsert|Scan|Cylindermenuoptionallowsyoutoscanacylinderfeature.Ittakes parameterssuchasthecylinder'sdiameterandpitchetc.,andallowsthecontrollertoexecutethe scan.TheCylinderMethodallowstheDistanceintheFiltertabandtheVectorHitTypeand doesnotneedaBoundaryCondition.Thefollowingparameterscontrolthescanexecution: Centroid:Thispointisthecylindercenterfromwhichexecutionwillstart.Thecenterofthe cylindercanbekeyedindirectlyorcanbeobtainedfromMachineorfromCAD. ToDefineaBasicCylinderScan: YoucandefineaBasicCylinderscaninoneoftheseways: Typinginvaluesdirectly.See"CylinderBasicScanKeyInMethod"forthisscan. Physicallymeasuringpointsonthecylinder.See"CylinderBasicScanMeasuredPointMethod" forthisscan. ClickingonthecylinderintheCADmodelintheGraphicsDisplaywindow.See"CylinderBasic ScanSurfaceDataMethod"or"CylinderBasicScan WireframeDataMethod" Onceyoucreatethescan,PCDMISinsertsitintotheEditwindow.TheEditwindowcommand lineforaCylinderBasicScanreads:
ID=BASICSCAN/CYLINDER,ShowHits=YES,ShowAllParams=YES centerx,centery,centerz,CutVec=i,j,k,Type InitVec=i,j,k,diameter,angle,pitch,depth,thickness

CylinderBasicScanKeyInMethod
ThismethodletsyoutypetheX,Y,andZvalueofthecylinder'scentroid,andvectors.
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual ScanningYourPart 1073

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

1. DoubleclickthecentroidpointintheListBoxinthe#column.ThiswilldisplaytheEdit ScanItemdialogbox.ThetitlebarofthedialogboxdisplaystheIDofthespecific parameterbeingedited.

EditScanItemdialogbox

2. ManuallyedittheX,Y,orZvalue. 3. ClicktheOKbuttontoapplythechanges. TheCancelbuttonwilldisregardanychangesthathavebeenmadeandwillclosethedialogbox. YoushouldalsokeyintheCutVecandtheInitVecofthecylinderusingthissameprocess.

CylinderBasicScanMeasuredPointMethod
TogeneratethecylinderwithouttheuseofCADdata: 1. Takethreehitsonthesurfacetofindtheaxisvectorofthecylinder. 2. Takethreeadditionalhitsinthehole(oronthestud).PCDMIScalculatesthediameterof thecylinderusingallthreehits. Additionalhitscanbetaken.PCDMISwillusethedatafromallofthemeasuredhits.The Centroidthatisdisplayedisthecalculatedcenterofthehole(orstud).TheCutVecisthe cylinderaxisandtheInitVecofthecylinderiscalculatedbasedonthefirstofthelastthreehits thatareusedtocalculatethediameterofthecylinder.Theangleiscalculatedastheangleofthe arcfromthefirsthitusedtocalculatethediameterofthecylindertothelastclick.

CylinderBasicScanSurfaceDataMethod
Togenerateacylinderusingsurfacedata: 1. ClickontheSurfacemodeicon. 2. Positionthecursoreitheroutsideorinsidethedesiredcylinder. 3. Clickonceonasurfacenearthecylinder. ThedialogboxwilldisplaythecenterpointanddiameterfromtheCADdataoftheselectedsheet metalcylinderoncethethirdpointhasbeenindicated. IfadditionalmouseclicksaredetectedPCDMISwillfindthebestcylindernearallofthehits.The CutVecisthecylinderaxisandtheInitVecofthecylinderiscalculatedbasedonthefirstclick. Theangleiscalculatedastheangleofthearcfromthefirstclicktothelastclick.

1074 ScanningYourPart

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

CylinderBasicScanWireframeDataMethod
WireframeCADdataalsocanbeusedtogenerateacylindricalscan. Togeneratethecylinder: 1. Clicknearthedesiredwireonthecylinder.PCDMISwillhighlighttheselectedwire. 2. Verifythatthecorrectfeaturehasbeenselected. Thedialogboxwilldisplaythevalueoftheselectedcylinder'scenterpointanddiameteroncethe wirehasbeenindicated. Note:IftheunderlyingCADelementisnotacylinderorarc,additionalclicksmaybenecessary toidentifythefeature.IfPCDMISdoesn'thighlightthecorrectfeature,tryclickingonatleasttwo additionallocationsofthecylinder. CutVec:Thisvectoristheaxisofthecylinderandistheplaneinwhichthescanningwill bedone. InitVec:Thisvectordescribesdirectioninwhichtheprobewilltakeitsfirsthittostartthe scan.ThisvectoriscalculatedaccordingtothemodeofDataEntry.This vectorandthe CutVecarenormaltoeachother.

Cylinder:CADDataMethod
TheInitVecofthecylinderiscalculatedbasedonthefirstclickthatisusedtocalculatethe cylinderwiththismethod. Type: TheTypedropdownlistofallowsthefollowing: 1) IN:AHole 2) OUT:AStud Angle: TheAngleboxdisplaystheangle(indegreestoscan)fromtheStartPoint.Bothpositiveangles andnegativeanglescanbeused.Positiveanglesareconsideredcounterclockwiseandnegative anglesareconsideredclockwise.TheCutVecisconsideredtheaxisaboutwhichtheangle rotates.Theanglecanbeover360degreesandthescanwillcontinueformorethanone revolution. Example:Ifyouhavegivenanangleof720degreesthescanwouldexecutetworevolutions. Diameter: TheDiameterboxdisplaysthediameterofthecylinder. Depth: TheDepthboxdisplaysthedepthvaluethatisappliedagainsttheCutVecdirection.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ScanningYourPart 1075

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Example: Ifthecylinderhasacenterof1,1,3,aCutVecof0,0,1,andadepthof0.5,thecylinder'scenter issetto2.5duringexecution. Pitch: ThePitchboxshowsthedistancealongtheCutVecbetweentheStartandEndofthescanwhen itdoesonecompleterevolutionof360degrees.Thecylinder'spitchcanhaveapositiveora negativevalueandwhencombinedwiththeCutVecandtheanglecontrolsthedirectionofthe scanup/downthecylinderaxis. Example:IfthecylinderhasaCutVecof0,0,1,aPitchvalueof1.0andapositiveangleof720, thescanwouldexecutetworevolutionsandwouldmoveuptheaxisofthecylindertwounitsfrom thestartpoint.If,forthesamecylinder,anegativepitchisentered,thescanwouldexecutedown theaxisofthecylindertwounits.

PerforminganAxisBasicScan

BASICSCANdialogboxAxistab TheInsert|Scan|Axismenuoptionallowsyoutoscanastraightlinefeature.IttakestheStart PointandEndPointofthelineandallowsyoutoexecutethescan. TheAxisMethod:

1076 ScanningYourPart

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

AllowsonlytheDistanceoptiontobeselectedfromtheFiltertab. AllowstheVectorhittypetobeselectedfromtheHitTypetab. DoesnotneedaBoundaryCondition.

Thetwoparametersthatcontrolthescanexecutionare: StartPoint:Thispointisthestartpointfromwhichexecutionwillstart. EndPoint:Thispointistheendpointatwhichexecutionwillend.

ThepointscanbekeyedindirectlyorcanbeobtainedfromMachineorfromCAD. ToDefineaBasicAxisScan: YoucandefineaBasicAxisscaninoneoftheseways: Typinginvaluesdirectly.See"AxisBasicScanKeyInMethod"forthisscan. Physicallymeasuringpointsonthepart.See"AxisBasicScanMeasuredPointMethod"forthis scan. ClickingpointstodefinetheaxisintheCADmodelintheGraphicsDisplaywindow.See"Axis BasicScanSurfaceDataMethod"or"AxisBasicScanWireframeDataMethod" Onceyoucreatethescan,PCDMISinsertstheitintotheEditwindow.TheEditwindow.TheEdit windowcommandlineforanAxisBasicScanreads:
ID=BASICSCAN/AXIS,ShowHits=YES,ShowAllParams=YES startx,starty,startz,endx,endy,endz CutVec=i,j,k,thickness

AxisBasicScanKeyInMethod
ThismethodletsyoutypetheX,Y,andZvaluesofthestartandendpointsfortheAxisscan. 1. ClickonthedesiredpointintheListBoxinthe#column.ThiswilldisplayanEditScan Itemdialogbox.ThetitlebarofthedialogboxdisplaystheIDofthespecificparameter beingedited.

EditScanItemdialogbox

2. ManuallyedittheX,Y,orZvalue. 3. ClicktheOKbuttontoapplythechanges.
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual ScanningYourPart 1077

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TheCancelbuttonwilldisregardanychangesthathavebeenmadeandwillclosethedialogbox. YoushouldalsotypetheCutVecandtheInitVecvaluesoftheaxisusingthissameprocess.

AxisBasicScanMeasuredPointMethod
TogeneratethelinewithouttheuseofCADdata: 1. Selectthedesiredpointinthelist. 2. Takeahitonthepart.Thiswillfillupthevaluesforthatpoint. TheCutVecisthenormalvectoroftheplaneinwhichthestraightlinelies.

AxisBasicScanSurfaceDataMethod
Togeneratealineusingsurfacedata: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. ClicktheSurfacemodeicon. SelectStartPointfromthelistinthedialogbox. ClickonthepartintheGraphicsDisplaywindowtodefinethestartpoint. SelectEndPoint fromthelistinthedialogbox. ClickonthepartintheGraphicsDisplaywindowtodefinetheendpoint.

PCDMISwillfillupthenecessaryvaluesintheListBox.

AxisBasicScanWireframeDataMethod
WireframeCADdataalsocanbeusedtogeneratepointsforaline.Clicknearthedesiredwire ontheaxis.PCDMISwillhighlighttheentireselectedwire.ItwillalsofilluptheStartPointand EndPointitemsinthedialogboxwiththestartanendingpointsoftheselectedwire. CutVec:ThisvectoristhenormalvectorofthePlaneinwhichthestraightlinelies.

1078 ScanningYourPart

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

PerformingaCenterBasicScan

BASICSCANdialogboxCentertab TheInsert|Scan|CentermenuoptionallowsyoutofindaLow/Highpointinanarea.Ittakesa StartPointofthescanandanEndPointandallowsthecontrollertoexecutethescan.Theoutput fromthisscanisasinglepointonly. TheCenterMethod: AllowsonlytheDistanceoptiontobeusedfromtheFiltertab. AllowsonlytheVectoroptiontobeusedfromtheHitTypetab. DoesnotneedaBoundaryCondition.

Thesetwoparameterscontrolthescanexecution: StartPoint:ThispointistheStartPointfromwhichexecutionwillstart. EndPoint:ThispointistheEndPointatwhichexecutionwillend.

ThepointscanbetypeddirectlyorcanbeobtainedfromMachineorfromCAD. ToDefineaBasicCenterScan: YoucandefineaBasicCenterscaninoneoftheseways: Typinginvaluesdirectly.See"CenterBasicScanKeyInMethod"forthisscan. Physicallymeasuringpointsonthepart.See"CenterBasicScanKeyInMethod"forthisscan. ClickingpointsontheCADmodelintheGraphicsDisplaywindow.See"CenterBasicScan UsingSurfaceDataontheScreen"or"CenterBasicScanWireframeDataMethod" TheEditwindowcommandlineforaCenterBasicScanreads:

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ScanningYourPart 1079

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ID=BASICSCAN/CENTER,ShowHits=YES,ShowAllParams=YES startx,starty,startz,endx,endy,endz,CutVec=i,j,k,Type InitVec=i,j,k,direction,thickness

ExampleCenterScan
Supposeyouhavea"V"shapedblock,wherethe"V"isintheYaxisofthemachineandtheapex ofthe"V"isintheY+directionofthepartcoordinatesystem(seefigurebelow).

Topdown(Z+)viewofaVBlockwith"V"apexinY+direction TohaveaBasicCenterscanfindtheapexofthe"V"usingthePLANEmethod,dothefollowing: 1. Takeahitwhereyouwantthescantostart(ononeofthesidesoftheV).PCDMIS populatestheScandialogboxwiththeX,Y,andZpointinformation. 2. GivetheStartPointandEndPointvaluesthesameX,Y,andZvalues. 3. MakesuretheInitVecvectoris0,1,0. 4. MakesuretheCutVec vectoris0,0,1. 5. SelectPLANEfromtheTypelist. 6. ClickCreate.PCDMISscansdownthe"V"tofinditsapexbysearchingforthelowest pointalongtheinitvector. TohaveaBasicCenterscanfindtheapexofthe"V"usingtheAXISmethod,dothefollowing: 1. Takeahitwhereyouwantthescantostart(ononeofthesidesoftheV).PCDMIS populatestheScandialogboxwiththeX,Y,andZpointinformation. 2. GivetheStartPointandEndPointvaluesthesameXandZvalues.ThenoffsettheY oftheendpointintothematerialofthepart. 3. MakesuretheInitVecvectoris0,1,0. 4. MakesuretheCutVec vectoris0,0,1. 5. SelectAXISfromtheTypelist. 6. ClickCreate.PCDMISscansdownthe"V"tofinditsapexbysearchingforthelowest pointalongtheinitvector.

CenterBasicScanKeyInMethod
ThismethodletsyoutypetheX,Y,andZvaluesofthestartandendpointsfortheCenterscan.

1080 ScanningYourPart

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

1. DoubleclickthedesiredpointintheListinthe#column.ThiswilldisplayanEditScan Itemdialogbox:

EditScanItemdialogbox

2. 3.

ManuallyedittheX,Y,orZ value. PresstheOKbuttontoapplythechanges.

TheCancelbuttonwilldisregardanychangesthathavebeenmadeandwillclosethedialogbox. YoushouldalsokeyintheCutVecandtheInitVecofthecenterusingthissameprocess.

CenterBasicScanMeasuredPointMethod
TogeneratetheCenterscanwithouttheuseofCADdata: 1. Selectthedesiredpointinthelist. 2. Takeahitonthepart.Thiswillfillupthevaluesforthatpoint. TheCutVecisthenormalvectoroftheplaneinwhichtheproberemainsfreewhilecenteringis donebythecontroller.TheInitVecistheinitialapproachvectorattheStartPoint.

CenterBasicScanSurfaceDataMethod
TogenerateaCenteringscanusingsurfacedata: 1. ClickontheSurfacemodeicon. 2. Selectthedesiredpointinthelist. 3. ClickonalocationintheGraphicsscreen.PCDMISwillfillupthenecessaryvaluesin thelist.

CenterBasicScanWireframeDataMethod
WireframeCADdataalsocanbeusedtogeneratepoints. Clicknearthedesiredwireonthecenter.PCDMISwillhighlighttheselectedwire.Itwillfindthe closestpointinthewiretotheclickedlocationandfillupvaluesinthelist. CutVec:ThisvectoristhenormalvectorofthePlaneinwhichtheProbe remainsfreeas centeringhappens.
ScanningYourPart 1081

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Type:

InitVec:ThisvectoristheapproachvectoroftheProbeattheStartPoint.

Thefollowingtypesofcenteringmethodsareallowed: Axis:TheStartPoint(S)isprojectedonthedefinedAxis (A).Theresultingpointis (SP). TheInitVecisprojectedintheplanedefinedbytheProjectedpoint (SP) andtheaxial direction (A).Thedirection (N) thusdefinedisverticaltotheaxialdirection.Thereafter, ascenteringisperformed,theprobescenterpointremainsintheplanedefinedbythe axialdirectionand (SP).Centeringtakeswith/againstthedirection (N) asaninput,and theprobetipisfreeinthedirectiondefinedbytheaxialdirection(A)crossingthe direction(N). S=StartPoint A=DefinedAxis/Axialdirection SP=ProjectedStartPoint N=Thedirectionverticaltotheaxialdirection. Plane:AfterprobingthepointdefinedbytheStartPoint,theCMMcenterswith/against theprobedirectionwhileremainingfreeintheplanedefinedbytheCutVec.

PerformingaLineBasicScan

BASICSCANdialogboxLinetab TheInsert|Scan|Linemenuoptionwillscanthesurfacealongaline.Thisprocedureusesthe startingandendingpointfortheline,andalsoincludesadirectionpointforthecalculationofthe cutplane.Theprobewillalwaysremainwithinthecutplanewhiledoingthescan. TherearethreedifferentTypesofFilters(foundintheFiltertab)allowedasexplainedbelow.

Distance
PCDMISdetermineseachhitbasedonthesetincrementandthelasttwomeasuredhits.The approachoftheprobeisperpendiculartothelinebetweenthelasttwomeasuredhits.Theprobe

1082 ScanningYourPart

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

willstayonthecutplane.PCDMISwillstartatthefirstboundarypointandcontinuetakinghitsat thesetincrement,stoppingwhenitreachestheendboundarypoint.

BodyAxis
PCDMISwilltakehitsatthesetincrementalongthecurrentpart'scoordinatesystem.The approachoftheprobeisperpendiculartotheindicatedaxis.Theprobewillstayonthecutplane. Theapproachvectorwillbenormaltotheselectedaxisandonthecutplane.TheBODYAXIS techniqueusesthesameapproachfortakingeachhit(unlikethetechniqueLINE,whichadjusts theapproachtobeperpendiculartothelinebetweentheprevioustwohits).

Variable
TheVARIABLEtechniqueallowsyoutosetspecificmaximumandminimumangleand incrementvaluesthatwillbeusedindeterminingwherePCDMISwilltakeahit.Theprobe's approachisperpendiculartothelinebetweenthelasttwomeasuredhits.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ScanningYourPart 1083

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Enterthemaximumandminimumvaluesthatwillbeusedtodeterminetheincrementsbetween hits.YoualsomustenterthedesiredvaluesfortheMAXandMINangles.PCDMISwilltake threehitsusingtheminimumincrement.Itwillthenmeasuretheanglebetweenhit's12and23. Ifthemeasuredangleisbetweenthemaximumandminimumvaluesdefined, PCDMISwillcontinuetotakehitsatthecurrentincrement. Iftheangleisgreaterthanthemaximumvalue,PCDMISwillerasethelasthit andmeasureitagainusingonequarterofthecurrentincrementvalue. Iftheangleislessthantheminimumincrement,PCDMISwilltakethehitatthe minimumincrementvalue.

PCDMISwillagainmeasuretheanglebetweenthenewesthitandthetwoprevioushits.Itwill continuetoerasethelasthitanddroptheincrementvaluetoonequarteroftheincrementuntil themeasuredangleiswithintherangedefined,ortheminimumvalueoftheincrementisreached. Ifthemeasuredangleislessthantheminimumangle,PCDMISwilldoubletheincrementforthe nexthit.(Ifthisisgreaterthanthemaximumincrementvalueitwilltakethehitatthemaximum increment.)PCDMISwillagainmeasuretheanglebetweenthenewesthitandthetwoprevious hits.Itwillcontinuetodoubletheincrementvalueuntilthemeasuredangleiswithintherange defined,orthemaximumincrementisreached.

IfANGLE >MAXANGthenINC=INC/4untilMININC IfANGLE <MINANGthenINC=INC2untilMAXINC

MaxIncrement
TheMaxIncrementboxintheFiltertaballowsyoutosettheincrementaldistancebetweenhits onascan.Forexample,if.5isenteredthenthescanwilltouchthepartatincrementsof.5.

Points
TheLINEscanneedsaStartPoint,aDirectionPoint,andanEndPoint. StartPoint:TheStartPointofthescan. D:TheDirectionPointusedtostartthescan. EndPoint:TheendPointtofinishthescan.

1084 ScanningYourPart

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Vectors
LINEscanusethefollowingvectorsforexecution. CutVec:TheCutVectoristhecrossproductoftheInitialVectorandthelinebetween StartandEndPoint.Theprobewillremaininthisplanewhilescanning. InitialVec:TheInitialVectoristheinitialtouchvector usedtostartthescan. EndVec:TheEndVectorisusedastheapproachvectorattheEndpointofthescan. DirVec:TheDirectionVectorisusedtostartscanningandisthevectorfromthe StartPointtotheDirectionPoint.

Thecutvectoristhecrossproductoftheinitialtouchvectorandthelinebetweenthestartand endpoint.

HitType
LINEscanscanbedoneusingVectororSurfacehits.SeeHitTypelistin"HitControlsArea"for moreinformation.

Boundary
LINEscanscanbeexecutedwithoneofthefollowingBoundaryConditions: Plane Sphere Cylinder Cone Oldstyle

Seethe"BoundaryTypearea"topicforinformationontheseboundarytypes. TheEditwindowcommandlineforaLineBasicScanreads:
ID=BASICSCAN/LINE,ShowHits=YES,ShowAllParams=YES startx,starty,startz,endx,endy,endz,CutVec=i,j,k,DirVec=i,j,k InitVec=i,j,k,EndVec=i,j,k,thickness

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ScanningYourPart 1085

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

IntroductiontoPerformingScansManually

AManualScandialogbox Themanualmethodofscanningallowsyoutodefineapointmeasurementbymanually scanningthesurfaceofapart.ThisisparticularlyusefulwhenusercontrolledCMM measurementhitsaredesired. Therearetwotypesofmanualscans. ManualscansusingaTouchTriggerProbe(TTP) ManualscansusingaHardProbe

Tobegincreatingmanualscans,placePCDMISintoManualmodeandthenselectoneofthe availablemanualscantypefromtheScansubmenu.Theseinclude: ManualTTP(onlyavailableifyouareusingaTTP) FixedDistance FixedTime FixedTime/Distance BodyAxis MultiSection ManualFreeForm

Theappropriatemanualscandialogboxwillopen.Forgeneralinformationabouttheoptionson thesedialogboxes,seethe"CommonFunctionsoftheScanDialogBox"topic.

1086 ScanningYourPart

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

CommonFunctionsoftheScanDialogBox
Manyofthefunctionsdescribedbelowarecommontomanyofthescandialogboxesusedto scanbothDCCandManualscans.Optionsthatrelatespecificallytoonescanmodeare appropriatelyindicated.

AdditionalManualScanOptions
Inadditiontothescanningoptionsdetailedin"CommonFunctionsoftheScanDialogBox",PC DMISofferstheseadditionaloptionswhiledoingmanualscans.

NewRow
TheNewRowcommandbuttonallowsyoutostartanewrowforthescan.Thisbuttonisonly availablewhenamanualscanisbeinglearned.ItislocatedintheExecutionModeOptions dialogbox. TousetheNewRowcommandbutton: 1. PressStoptopausethescan. 2. SelecttheNewRowbutton.Thiswillindicatethatanewrowisabouttobescanned. Or 1. 2. 3. 4. SelecttheNewRowbuttonfirst.PCDMISwillautomaticallypausethescan. Movetheprobetothenextrow. PresstheContinuebutton. PCDMISwillbeginscanningthenewrow.

ScanDone
TheScanDonecommandbuttonalertsPCDMISthatthescaniscomplete.Thisbuttonisonly availablewhenamanualscanisbeingexecuted(learned).ItislocatedintheExecutionMode Optionsdialogbox.Asyouexecutethescan,dataisgatheredbyPCDMISfromtheCMM. Simultaneously,PCDMISfilters(reduces)thedataaccordingtothemethod(FixedTime,Fixed Distance,FixedTime/Distanceetc.)youprovide.Datathatdoesnotsatisfythecriteria(such asFixedTimeorDistanceincrements)areexcludedanddatathatsatisfythecriteriaarekept. Insomeearlierversions,aReducebuttonwasavailablebutinthisversionthatisnotused. WhenyoupresstheScanDonecommandbutton,PCDMISstopscollectingdataandprocesses thedataforfindingNominals,Vectorcompensationetc.

RulesforManualScans
Thefollowingtopicsdiscussrulesgoverningmanualscanningingeneral,rulesforstandard HorizontalandBridgeCMM's,andArmCMMs.

RulesforManualScansinGeneral
Manualscansshouldbedonealongthemachineaxis(theX,Y,orZaxis).

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ScanningYourPart 1087

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Forexample,yourpartrequiresascanalongthesurfaceofasphere.Todothisscan: 1. LocktheYaxis.ThisisdonebyusingalockswitchonyourCMM.Thisswitchcanbeset toON/OFFtoprevent/allowmovementinaparticularaxis. 2. Beginscanninginthe+Xdirection. 3. UnlocktheYaxis,andmovetothenextrowalong+YorY. 4. LocktheYaxisagain. 5. Scanbackinthereverse(X)direction. Whenmultiplerowsofmanualscansarebeingdone,werecommendthateveryotherscanline bereversed. Forexample(continuingthescanofthesphereasoutlinedabove): 1. Beginthescanalongthesurfaceinthe+Xdirection. 2. MovetothenextrowandscanalongtheXaxis. 3. Continuetoswitchthedirectionofthescanasneeded.Theinternalalgorithmsdepend onthiskindofregularityandcouldgivepoorresultsiftheschemeisnotfollowed. CompensationLimitations Inpreviousversionstherewasa3Dcheckboxthatletyoutakehitsinathreedimensional manner.Startingwithversion4.0,the3Dcheckboxhasbeenremoved.PCDMISnow automaticallyappliesthisfunctionalitywheneveryouperformsupportedmanualscansusinga hardprobe. WithFixedDistance,FixedTime/Distance,andFixedTimescan,PCDMISautomaticallylets youtakemanualhitsinathreedimensionalmanner,inanydirection.Thisisusefulwhen scanningusingfreemovingmanualCMMs(suchasaRomerorFaroarm)whoseaxescannotbe locked. Sinceyoucanmovetheprobeinanydirection,PCDMIScannotaccuratelydeterminetheproper probecompensation(ortheInputandDirectionvectors)fromthemeasureddata. Therearetwosolutionstothecompensationlimitations: IfCADsurfacesexist,thenyoucanselectFINDNOMS fromtheNominalslist.PCDMIS willattempttofindthenominalvaluesforeachmeasuredpointinthescan.Ifthenominal dataisfound,thenthepointwillbecompensatedalongthefoundvector,allowingproper probecompensationotherwise,itwillremainatBallCenter. IfCADsurfacesdonotexist,thenprobecompensationwillnotoccur.Alldatawillremain atBallCenterwithnoprobecompensationoccurring.

RulesforUsingStandardHorizontalandBridgeCMMs
Thefollowingdescriptioncontainsrulesyoushouldfollowtohavemanualscanningcompensate correctlyandwithgreaterspeedonstandardHorizontalandBridgetypeCMMs. FixedDistanceScans,FixedTimeScansandFixedTime/DistanceScans YoumustlockoneaxisoftheCMMduringthescanPCDMISwilltakethescanina planeperpendicularthelockedaxis.

1088 ScanningYourPart

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

OneachofthesethreetypesofscansyoumusttypetheInitVecandDirVecinthe MachineCoordinateSystem.Thisisrequiredbecauseyouarelockingoneofthe machineaxes.

BodyAxisScans Youshouldnotlockanyaxisduringthescan.PCDMISwilltakethescanbycrossingthe probeoverakeyedinBodyAxislocation.Eachtimetheprobecrossesthisgivenplane, theCMMtakesareadingandpassesittoPCDMIS. OnthistypeofscanyouneedtotypetheInitVecandtheDirVecvaluesinthePart CoordinateSystem.ThisisrequiredsothattheprobecantraversetheBodyAxislocation indicated. MakesureyoutypetheBodyAxisinthePartCoordinateSystem.

RulesforUsingArmCMMs(Gage2000A,Faro,Romer)
Thefollowingdescriptionliststherulesthatyouneedtofollowtohavemanualscanning compensatecorrectlyandwithgreaterspeedonArmCMMs. AllTypesofManualScans Youshouldnotlockanyaxisduringthescan.PCDMIStakesthescanbycrossingthe probeoverakeyedinBodyAxislocation.Eachtimetheprobecrossesthisgivenplane theCMMtakesareadingandpassesittoPCDMIS. OnthistypeofscanyoumusttypetheInitVecandtheDirVecvaluesinthePart CoordinateSystem.ThisisrequiredtoworktogetherwiththeBodyAxislocation. MakesureyoutypetheBodyAxisinthePartCoordinateSystem.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ScanningYourPart 1089

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

PerformingManualScanswithaTouchTriggerProbe

ManualTTPScandialogbox Youcanperformmanualscansusingatouchtriggerprobe(TTP). Todothis: 1. 2. 3. 4. PlacePCDMISintomanualmode. AccesstheManualTTPScandialogbox(Insert|Scan|ManualTTP). Definethenecessaryparameters. ClicktheCreatebutton.PCDMISwilldisplaytheExecutionModeOptionsdialogbox andrequestthatahitbetaken.

ExecutionModeOptionsdialogbox 5. Takethehitsasrequested. 6. Attheendofthescan,clicktheScanDonebuttonintheExecutionModeOptions dialogboxandPCDMISwillstopthescan. Note:SomescanningmethodsarenotavailablewhenusingaTouchTriggerProbe.

1090 ScanningYourPart

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

PerformingManualScanswithaHardProbe
Ahardprobemustbeusedin Manualscanningprovidesfourdifferentmeasurementmethods ordertoaccessthefour thatcanbeusedwithahardprobe.PCDMIScollectsthe measurementmethods. measuredpointsasfastastheyarereadbythecontrollerduring thescanningprocess.Oncethescaniscomplete,PCDMISwill offeryouanopportunitytoreducethecollecteddatabasedon thescanningmethodselected. Thefourmeasurementmethodswithahardprobearedescribedbelow: Note: Whenatouchtriggerprobeisused,PCDMISwillrequireindividualhitsbeateach location.Itwillnotofferthedifferentmeasurementmethodsasdescribedforahardprobescan.

PerformingaFixedDistanceManualScan

FixedDeltadialogbox

TheInsert|Scan|FixedDistancemethodofscanningallowsyoutoreducethe measureddatabysettingadistancevalueintheDistanceBetweenHitsbox.PCDMISwillstart fromthefirsthitandreducethescanbydeletinghitsthatarecloserthanthedistancespecified. Thereductionofhitshappensasdatacomesfromthemachine.PCDMISonlykeepsthepoints thataresetapartbymorethanthespecifiedincrements.


PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual ScanningYourPart 1091

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Example: Ifyouhavespecifiedanincrementof0.5,PCDMISwillonlykeephitsthatareatleast 0.5unitsapartfromeachother.Therestofthehitsfromthecontrollerarediscarded. ToCreateaFixedDistance(Delta)Scan 1. AccesstheFixedDeltadialogbox. 2. SpecifyacustomnameforthescanintheIDbox,ifyoudon'twanttousethedefault name. 3. IntheDistanceBetweenHitsbox,typethedistancethattheprobewillneedtomove beforePCDMIStakesahit.Thisisthe3Ddistancebetweenpoints.Forexample,ifyou type5,andyourunitofmeasurementismillimeters,theprobehastomoveatleast5mm fromthelastpointbeforePCDMISacceptsahitfromthecontroller. 4. Ifyou'reusingaCADmodel,typeaFindNominalstoleranceintheFindNominals Controlarea.Thisdefineshowfarawaytheactualballcenterpointcanbefromthe nominalCADlocation. 5. Setanyotherdialogboxoptionsasneeded. 6. ClickCreate.PCDMISinsertsthebasicscan. 7. Executeyourpartprogram.WhenPCDMISexecutesthescan,theExecutionOptions dialogboxappearsandPCDMISwaitsfordatatocomefromthecontroller. 8. Manuallydragtheprobeoverthesurfaceyouwanttoscan.PCDMISwillaccepthits fromthecontrollerthatareseparatedbyanydistancegreaterthanthedistanceyou definedintheDistanceBetweenHitsbox.

PerformingaFixedTime/DistanceManualScan

VariableDeltadialogbox

1092 ScanningYourPart

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TheInsert|Scan|FixedTime/Distancemethodofscanningallowsyouto reducethenumberofhitstakeninascanbyspecifyingthedistancetheprobemustmoveaswell asthetimethatmustpassbeforeadditionalhitscanbeacceptedbyPCDMISfromthecontroller. ToCreateaFixedTime/Distance(VariableDelta)Scan 1. AccesstheVariableDeltadialogbox. 2. SpecifyacustomnameforthescanintheIDbox,ifyoudon'twanttousethedefault name.

3.

IntheTimeDelayBetweenReadsbox,typethetimeinsecondsthatwill needtoelapsebeforePCDMIStakesahit.

4.

5.

6. 7. 8. 9.

IntheDistanceBetweenHitsbox,typethedistancethattheprobewill needtomovebeforePCDMIStakesahit.Thisisthe3Ddistancebetweenpoints.For example,ifyoutype5,andyourunitofmeasurementismillimeters,theprobehasto moveatleast5mmfromthelastpointbeforePCDMISacceptsahitfromthecontroller. Ifyou'reusingaCADmodel,typeaFindNominalstoleranceintheFindNominals Controlarea.Thisdefineshowfarawaytheactualballcenterpointcanbefromthe nominalCADlocation. Setanyotherdialogboxoptionsasneeded. ClickCreate.PCDMISinsertsthebasicscan. Executeyourpartprogram.WhenPCDMISexecutesthescan,theExecutionOptions dialogboxappearsandPCDMISwaitsfordatatocomefromthecontroller. Manuallydragtheprobeoverthesurfaceyouwanttoscan.PCDMIScheckstheamount oftimeelapsedandthedistancetheprobemoves.Wheneverthetimeanddistance exceedthevaluesspecified,itwillacceptahitfromthecontroller.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ScanningYourPart 1093

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

PerformingaFixedTimeManualScan

TimeDeltadialogbox TheInsert|Scan|FixedTimemethodofscanningallowsyoutoreducethescandataby settingatimeincrementintheTimeDelayBetweenReadsbox.PCDMISwillstartfromthefirst hitandreducethescanbydeletinghitsthatarereadinfasterthanthespecifiedtimedelay. Example:Ifyouspecifyatimeincrement0.05seconds,thenPCDMISwillonlykeephitsfrom thecontrollerthataremeasuredatleast0.05secondsapart.Theotherhitsareexcludedfromthe scan. ToCreateaFixedTime(TimeDelta)Scan 1. AccesstheVariableDeltadialogbox. 2. SpecifyacustomnameforthescanintheIDbox,ifyoudon'twanttousethedefault name.

3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

IntheTimeDelayBetweenReadsbox,typethetimeinsecondsthatwill needtoelapsebeforePCDMIStakesahit. Ifyou'reusingaCADmodel,typeaFindNominalstoleranceintheFindNominals Controlarea.Thisdefineshowfarawaytheactualballcenterpointcanbefromthe nominalCADlocation. Setanyotherdialogboxoptionsasneeded. ClickCreate.PCDMISinsertsthebasicscan. Executeyourpartprogram.WhenPCDMISexecutesthescan,theExecutionOptions dialogboxappearsandPCDMISwaitsfordatatocomefromthecontroller.

1094 ScanningYourPart

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

8. Manuallydragtheprobeoverthesurfaceyouwanttoscan.Whenevertheelapsedtime exceedsthevaluesspecifiedintheTimeDelayBetweenreadsbox,PCDMISwillaccept ahitfromthecontroller.

PerformingaBodyAxisManualScan

BodyAxisdialogbox

TheInsert|Scan|BodyAxisofscanningallowsyoutoscanapartbyspecifying acutplane onacertainpartaxisanddraggingtheprobeacrosstheCutPlane.Asyouscanthe part,youshouldscansothattheprobecrisscrossesthedefinedCutPlaneasmanytimesas desired.PCDMISthenfollowsthisprocedure: 1. PCDMISgetsdatafromthecontrollerandfindsthetwodatahitsthatareclosesttothe CutPlaneoneithersideasyoucrisscross. 2. PCDMISthenformsalinebetweenthetwohitswhichwillpiercetheCutPlane. 3. ThepiercedpointthenbecomesahitontheCutPlane. ThisoperationhappenseverytimeyoucrosstheCutPlaneandyouwillfinallyhavemanyhits thatareontheCutPlane. Youcanusethismethodtoinspectmultiplerows(PATCH)ofscansbyspecifyinganincrement forthecutplanelocation.Afterscanningthefirstrow,PCDMISwillmovethecutplanetothe nextlocationbyaddingthecurrentlocationtotheincrement.Youcanthencontinuescanningthe nextrowatthenewCutPlanelocation. ToCreateaBodyAxisScan
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual ScanningYourPart 1095

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

1. AccesstheBodyAxisdialogbox. 2. SpecifyacustomnameforthescanintheIDbox,ifyoudon'twanttousethedefault name. 3. FromtheAxislist,selectanaxis.TheavailableaxesareX,Y,andZ.Thecutplanethat yourprobewillcrisscrosswillbeparalleltothisaxis. 4. IntheLocationbox,specifyadistancefromthedefinedaxiswhereyourcutplanewillbe located.

5.

IntheIncrementbox,specifythedistancebetweenplanesifyouwillbe scanningacrossmultipleplanes. 6. Ifyou'reusingaCADmodel,typeaFindNominalstoleranceintheFindNominals Controlarea.Thisdefineshowfarawaytheactualballcenterpointcanbefromthe nominalCADlocation. 7. Setanyotherdialogboxoptionsasneeded. 8. ClickCreate.PCDMISinsertsthebasicscan. 9. Executeyourpartprogram.WhenPCDMISexecutesthescan,theExecutionOptions dialogboxappearsandPCDMISwaitsfordatatocomefromthecontroller. 10. Manuallydragtheprobebackandforthoverthesurfaceyouwanttoscan.Astheprobe approachesadefinedcutplane,youwillhearacontinualaudibletonethatgradually increasesinpitchuntiltheprobecrossestheplane.Thisaudiblecuehelpsyoudetermine howclosetheprobeistoanycutplanes.PCDMISwillaccepthitsfromthecontroller eachtimetheprobecrossesthedefinedplane.

PerformingaMultisectionManualScan

Multisectiondialogbox

1096 ScanningYourPart

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TheInsert|Scan|Multisectionmethodofscanningfunctionsmuchlikethe BodyAxismanualscanwiththesedifferences: Itcancrossmultiplesections. ItdoesnothavetobeparalleltotheX,Y,orZaxis.

ToCreateaMultisectionScan 1. AccesstheMultisectiondialogbox. 2. SpecifyacustomnameforthescanintheIDbox,ifyoudon'twanttousethedefault name. 3. FromtheSectionTypelist,choosethetypeofsectionsyouwanttoscan.Available typesinclude: ParallelPlanesThesectionsareplanesrunningthroughyourpart.Everytimethe probecrossesaplane,PCDMISrecordsahit.Planesarerelativetothestartpoint anddirectionvector.Ifyouselectthistype,definethevectoroftheinitialplaneinthe InitialVectorsarea.

RadialPlanesThesesectionsareplanesradiateoutfromthestartpoint.Every timetheprobecrossesaplane,PCDMIStakesahit.Ifyouselectthistype,define twovectorsintheInitialVectorsarea.Thevectoroftheinitialplane(PlaneVec),the other,thevectoraroundwhichtheplanesarerotated(AxisVec).

ConcentricCirclesThesesectionsareconcentriccircleswithincreasinglylarger diameterscenteredaroundthestartpoint.Everytimetheprobecrossesacircle,PC DMIStakesahit.Ifyouselectthistype,defineasinglevectorintheInitialVectors areawhichdefinestheplaneinwhichthecirclelies(AxisVec).

5. IntheNumberofSectionsbox,typehowmanysectionsyouwanttohaveinyourscan. 6. Ifyouchoseatleasttwosections,specifytheincrementbetweensectionsinthe Incrementbox.Forparallelplanesandcircles,thisisthedistancebetweenplaces,for radialplanesthisvalueisanangle.PCDMISautomaticallyspacesthesectionsonthe part.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ScanningYourPart 1097

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

7. Definethescan'sstartpoint.IntheStartPointareatypetheX,Y,andZ values,orclick onyourparttohavePCDMISselectthestartpointfromtheCADdrawing.Thesections arecalculatedfromthistemporarypointbasedontheincrementvalue. 8. Ifyou'reusingaCADmodel,typeaFindNominalstoleranceintheFindNominals Controlarea.Thisdefineshowfarawaytheactualballcenterpointcanbefromthe nominalCADlocation. 9. Setanyotherdialogboxoptionsasneeded. 10. ClickCreate.PCDMISinsertsthebasicscan. 11. Executeyourpartprogram.WhenPCDMISexecutesthescan,theExecutionOptions dialogboxappearsandPCDMISwaitsfordatatocomefromthecontroller. 12. Manuallydragtheprobeoverthesurfaceyouwanttoscan.Astheprobeapproaches eachsection,youwillhearacontinualaudibletonethatgraduallyincreasesinpitchuntil theprobecrossesthesection.Thisaudiblecuehelpsyoudeterminehowclosetheprobe istoasectioncrossing.PCDMISwillaccepthitsfromthecontrollereachtimetheprobe crossesthedefinedsection(s).

PerformingaFreeformManualScan

ManualFreeformdialogbox TheInsert|Scan| ManualFreeformscanletsyoucreateafreeformscanwithahardprobe. Thisscandoesn'trequireainitialordirectionvector,likemanyoftheothermanualscans.Similar toit'sDCCcounterpart,allyouneedtodotocreateafreeformscanistoclickpointsonthe surfaceyouwishtoscan. TocreateaManualFreeformscan: 1. ClicktheAdvanced>>buttontomakethetabsatthebottomofthedialogboxvisible. 2. ClickonthesurfaceofthepartintheGraphicsDisplaywindowtodefineyourscan'spath. Witheachclick,anorangepointappearsonthepartdrawing.

1098 ScanningYourPart

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

3. Onceyouhavesufficientpointsforyourscan,clickCreate.PCDMISinsertsthescan intotheEditwindow.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ScanningYourPart 1099

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

InsertingMoveCommands
InsertingMoveCommands:Introduction
Thischapterdiscussesthevariousmovecommandsthatcanbeplacedinyourpartprogram. Movecommandsprovideyouwiththeabilitytoalterthemovementoftheprobebetweenhits. Themaintopicscoveredinthischapterreflectthemovecommandsthatyoucaninsertfromthe Insert|Movesubmenuandanyothermovecommands.Thesetopicsinclude: InsertingaMovePointCommand InsertingaMoveIncrementCommand InsertingaClearancePlane InsertingaMoveClearPlaneCommand InsertingaMoveCircularCommand InsertingaMoveSyncCommand InsertingaMoveSweepCommand InsertingaMoveAllCommand InsertingaMoveRotaryTableCommand InsertinganExclusionZoneCommand

Thesearediscussedbelowindetail.

InsertingaMovePointCommand
TheMovePointcommandallowsyoutoinsertamovepointintothepartprogram. Tousethisoption,selecttheInsert|Move|MovePointmenuoption.Onceselected,PCDMIS willinsertamovepointatthecurrentprobelocation.Ifyouattempttoinsertthemovepointina locationthatPCDMISdoesn'tallow,thesoftwarewillaskyouifyouwanttoinsertthemovepoint atthenextvalidlocation. TheEditwindowcommandlineforasampleMovePointwouldread:
MOVE/POINTtog1,x,y,z

tog1ThisfielddisplayseitherNORMALorRELEARN. x,y,zThesefieldsdisplaythemovepointlocation. TochangethedisplayedvaluesintheEditwindow,selectthedesiredvalueandtypeanewvalue, orpressF9onthecommandtoaccessthe Movepointdialogbox.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

InsertingMoveCommands 1101

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MovePointdialogbox ThisdialogboxprovidesyouwithamoreuserfriendlywayofcreatingoreditingtheMOVE/POINT commandaswellasadditionaloptionsforthemovepoint. Inversion3.5andlaterwhenyouinsertaMOVE/POINT command,PCDMISautomaticallymarksit forexecution. UsingMovePointsWhileAnimating IfthismenuoptionisselectedduringprobepathanimationwiththeCMM,PCDMISwill alwaysaskwhetherthemoveistobeinsertedbeforeorafterthecurrentposition.The currentpositionwillbelistedinthestatusbar. InsertingMovePointsfromtheStatusBar TheabilitytoinsertamovepointcanalsobeaccessedwhilethesystemisinProgramMode, byplacingthecursoronthestatusbaroverthereadoutsandclickingtheleftmouse button. InsertingMovePointsfromtheJogBox PressingthePRINTbuttononthejogbox(onSharpe32systems)whileinLearnmodewill automaticallyinsertamoveintothepartprogram.ThePrintButtonentryofthe registrymustbesettoTRUEforthisfunctiontobeavailable. Note:SelectingtheOperation|MoveTomenuoptionwilldisplaytheMovePointdialogbox insteadofautomaticallyinsertingaMovePointintothepartprogram.Thisallowsyoutospecify theXYZlocationtheprobeshouldmoveto.

1102 InsertingMoveCommands

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

XYZMove

TheXYZMoveboxesdisplaytheX,Y,andZnominalforthepositionoftheMOVE/POINTorthe incrementdistanceoftheMOVE/INCREMENTcommand. TochangetheX,Y,orZvalues: 1. Selectthefieldyouwanttochange. 2. Typeanewvalue. Afteranewvalueisentered,PCDMISwilldrawtheanimatedprobeatthenewlocation.This indicatesthelocationofthestoredmove.WhentheCreatebuttonisclicked,PCDMISwillinsert theMovecommandandpositiontheCMMtothelocationspecified.Ifyoucreatedanoffsetmove, itwillupdatethevaluesintheXYZboxestomatchthecomputedoffsetlocation.

OffsetMove

TheOffsetMovearealetsyoucreatemovepointsoffsetfromaselectedCADpointorfroma selectedfeature'scentroid. OffsetThisboxdeterminestheoffsetdistancefromtheCADpointorfeaturecentroid.The unitofmeasurementisthesameasyourpartprogram.Thedefaultis50mmor1.96 inches. OffsetfromCADThisoptionwhenyouclickontheCADwillcomputethemovepointatthe selectedpointonthesurfaceandwilloffsetthemovepointbythespecifieddistance. Ifyoudon'tselectOffsetAlongTipVector,themovepointiscreatedoffsetfromaway fromthesurfacealongsurface'snormalvector. Ifyoudoselectit,themovepointiscreatedinthedirectionoftheprobetip'svector.

OffsetfromFeatureThisoption,ifyouclickonafeature,willcomputethemovepointby theoffsetdistanceatthefeature'scentroid. Ifyoudon'tselectOffsetAlongTipVector,themovepointiscreatedoffsetinthe directionofthefeature'svector.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

InsertingMoveCommands 1103

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Ifyoudoselectit,themovepointiscreatedinthedirectionoftheprobetip'svector.

OffsetAlongTipVectorIfyouselectthisoption,PCDMISwilloffsetthemovepointalong theactivetip'svector.Ifyoudon'tselectit,PCDMISwilloffsetthemovepointalong eithertheCAD'ssurfacevectororalongthefeature'svector. Note:Differentfeaturetypeshavedifferentvectors,whenoffsettingalongavectorofthefeature, PCDMISwillusethevectorthatgivesthebestrepresentationofbeing"outward"fromthe surfaceofthepart.

StoreMove

IftheStoreMovecheckboxisselected,theappropriatemovecommand(MOVE/POINTor MOVE/INCREMENT)forthegivenX,Y,Zvalueswillbeinsertedintothepartprogram.

OKtoMove
IftheOKtoMovecheckboxisselected,PCDMISwillimmediatelymovetheprobetotheX,Y, Zposition(orbytheX,Y,Zincrementamount)whenyouclickOKorCreate.Thisallowsyouto positiontheCMMwithoutstoringthemove.ThisoptionfillsintheX,Y,Zvalueswiththecurrent positionoftheprobe.

LearnDuringExecution

IfyouselecttheLearnDuringExecutioncheckbox,PCDMISwillmovetoandrelearntheXYZ pointlocationdisplayedinthedialogboxwhenitexecutesthepartprogram.Youmustalsoselect theStoreMovecheckboxforthiscommandtowork. TheEditwindowcommandlineforanmovepointthatPCDMISwillrelearnduringprogram execution,wouldread:


MOVE/POINT,RELEARN

InsertingaMoveIncrementCommand
TheInsert|Move|MoveIncrement... menuoptiondisplaystheMoveIncrementdialogbox. Youwillusethisdialogboxtodefinethemoveincrementcommandbeforeyouinsertitintoyour partprogram.

1104 InsertingMoveCommands

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MoveIncrementdialogbox WhenyouclickOK,PCDMISwillinserttheMoveIncrementcommand. TheEditwindowcommandlineforaMoveIncrementwouldread:


MOVE/INCREMENT,x,y,z

WhenPCDMISencountersthiscommanditmovestheprobetheindicatedXYZdistance(notan XYZlocationasinaMOVE/POINTcommand).YoumustselecttheStoreMovecheckboxfor thiscommandtoappearintheEditwindow.

XYZMove

TheXYZMoveboxesdisplaytheX,Y,andZnominalforthepositionoftheMOVE/POINTorthe incrementdistanceoftheMOVE/INCREMENTcommand. TochangetheX,Y,orZvalues: 1. Selectthefieldyouwanttochange. 2. Typeanewvalue. Afteranewvalueisentered,PCDMISwilldrawtheanimatedprobeatthenewlocation.This indicatesthelocationofthestoredmove.WhentheCreatebuttonisclicked,PCDMISwillinsert theMovecommandandpositiontheCMMtothelocationspecified.Ifyoucreatedanoffsetmove, itwillupdatethevaluesintheXYZboxestomatchthecomputedoffsetlocation.

StoreMove

IftheStoreMovecheckboxisselected,theappropriatemovecommand(MOVE/POINTor MOVE/INCREMENT)forthegivenX,Y,Zvalueswillbeinsertedintothepartprogram.

OKtoMove
IftheOKtoMovecheckboxisselected,PCDMISwillimmediatelymovetheprobetotheX,Y, Zposition(orbytheX,Y,Zincrementamount)whenyouclickOKorCreate.Thisallowsyouto positiontheCMMwithoutstoringthemove.ThisoptionfillsintheX,Y,Zvalueswiththecurrent positionoftheprobe.

InsertingaClearancePlane
TheCLEARP command(Insert|ParameterChange|ClearancePlanes)allowsyoutodefinea clearanceplanevalueforthecurrentworkingplane.Clearanceplanes,inessence,createan
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual InsertingMoveCommands 1105

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

envelopearoundapartwheretheprobewillalwaystraveltowhenmovingfromonefeatureto another. TheClearPlanetaboftheParametersdialogbox(Seethe"ParameterSettings:ClearPlanetab" topicinthe"SettingYourPreferences"chapter)allowsyoutoturnclearanceplanesonglobally. TheCLEARPcommandonlydefinestheclearanceplaneforthefirsthitofafeature.Toset additionalclearanceplanesforafeature,openanewlineatthedesiredlocationandtypethe command:CLEARP.

InsertingaMoveClearPlaneCommand
TheInsert|Move|MoveClearplanecommandallowsyoutoinserttheMOVE/CLEARPLANE commandbetweenblocksandwithinfeatures. ThiscommandworksinconjunctionwiththeCLEARP/command.Eachtimethiscommandis encounteredduringexecutionitwillmovetheprobetotheclearanceplanedefinedbythe CLEARP/ command.Theprobewillremainattheclearanceplaneuntilacommandis encounteredthewillmovetheprobeawayfromtheclearanceplanesuchasaMEAS,HIT ,or MOVE/POINTcommand.Ifyouwanttheprobetomovetotheclearanceplanebeforeeachhitof ameasuredcirclethenaMOVE/CLEARPLANEcommandmustbeinserteddirectlybeforeeach HIT/command. PCDMISwillsearchfortheclearanceplanedefinition.Forthiscommandtowork,the parametersmusthavealreadybeenset. TosettheparametersforaClearplanecommand: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. AccesstheParameterSettingsdialogbox(Edit|Preferences|Parameters). SelecttheClearPlanetab. TypethedistancefortheValueboxintheActivePlanearea. TypethedistancefortheclearanceplaneintheValueboxofthePassThrougharea. SelecttheClearancePlanesActivecheckbox. ClicktheOKbutton.

Iftheparametershavenotbeenset,PCDMISwilldisplayanerrormessage. TheEditwindowcommandlineforasampleMoveClearplanewouldread:
MOVE/CLEARPLANE

InsertingaMoveCircularCommand
TheInsert|Move|MoveCircularoptionallowsyoutoinsertaMOVE/CIRCULARcommandat thecursor'slocationintheEditwindow. WhenPCDMISencountersthiscommand,theprobefollowsacircularpathwhentakingthenext hit.Itwillmovefromonepointtoanotherinacircularfashionbasedontheradiusofthefeature beingmeasured. Bytakingacircularpath,theprobemayavoidcollidingwithcertainfeaturesthatwouldotherwise beinthewayofthestandardstraightlinepath.Forexample,ifyou'remeasuringaholethathas asquarepininside,thatpinmayblockyourprobepathunlessMoveCircularisused.

1106 InsertingMoveCommands

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Overall,thiscommandhasveryspecificuses,althoughusingittomeasureapinspeedsup measurementsomewhatsincePCDMISdoesn'thavetomoveasfarawayfromitslasthit.

InsertingaMoveSyncCommand
Multiplearmpartprogramshavecommandsthatcontrolmultiplearms.Eachmachineexecutes thesecommandsseparately,keepingbotharmsmoving. TheInsert|Move|MoveSyncmenuoptionallowsyoutoinsertaMOVE/SYNC commandintothe Editwindow. Usingthiscommandondualarmmachinesallowyoutosynchronizethemotionofthearms. WhicheverarmreachestheMOVE/SYNCcommandinthepartprogramfirstwillstopandwaituntil theotherarmalsoarrivesbeforetheyproceedtogetherwiththerestofthepartprogram.

InsertingaMoveSweepCommand
TheInsert|Move|MoveSweepmenuiteminsertsthefollowingsweepblockintotheEdit window.
SWEEPSTART/ SWEEPEND/ MOVE/SWEEP MovementcommandsinsertedbetweenSweepstartandSweependwillcausethe

probetomoveinallfiveaxessimultaneously(threeoftheseaxesaretheX,Y,andZaxes,used whenmovingthemachineitself.Theothertwoaxesrefertotheprobe'sABanglemovement)if usingaPHSwristforaSharpe32Zcontroller. Note:Thiscommandwillfunctiononlywithacontinuoustypewrist(CW43,CW43Light,orPHS) andonlywithaRenishawSP600orWolf&BeckOTM3laserprobe(probedevicessuchasthose fromPerceptronorMetrismayalsofunction).However,sinceSP600saren'tusuallysoldwith infinitelyindexingwristdevices,thisfunctionalityisverymuchlimitedtotheOTM3laserprobe.


PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual InsertingMoveCommands 1107

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Movementinthesefiveaxestakesplacesimultaneously.ThisdiffersfromaPH9wrist,which mustfirstmovethemachineintheX,Y,andZaxes.Then,whenthemachinestops,theprobe orientation(ABangles)moves. Example:SupposeyourcurrentCMM'spositionis10,10,10(intheX,Y,andZaxes),andyour wrist'sorientation(ABposition)is0,0.IfyouwantedtomovetheCMMto20,20,20andthe probe'sorientationto0,180,aPHSwristusingMoveSweepcommands,couldaccomplishboth movementssimultaneously.APH9wrist,however,wouldfirstmovetheCMMandthenthewrist orientation. Forcomparison: APH9wristisabletomovebetween0to110intheAaxisand+180to180intheB axis. APHSwristisabletomovebetween180and+180inboththeAandBaxesat.1 degreeincrements.

AdvantagesofusingMoveSweepcommandsinclude: Amuchmorefluidmovementavailable,makingiteasiertomeasurehardtoreach features. TimesavedsinceyounolongerhavetowaitfortheCMM'sramandarmtomovetothe X,Y,andZlocationbeforechangingtheProbe'sorientation. Reducedvibrationslightlyimprovesaccuracy.

Note:PCDMISrequiresatleastthreeMOVE/SWEEPcommandsbetweentheSWEEPSTART/and SWEEPEND/commandblock.Thesemovecommandsareessentialtogeneratetheelliptical movementpath.

InsertingaMoveAllCommand
TheMOVE/ALL command willfunctionwithany motorizedprobehead continuousor indexingandanyprobe combination. TheInsert|Move|MoveAllmenuoptioninsertsaMOVE/ALL commandintotheEditwindow. AMOVE/ALLcommandisthesameasaMOVE/POINTcommand combinedwithaTIP/command.Thiscommandhasthebenefitof rotatingtheprobeheadtogetherwithmachinemovement.

Whenusingawristdevice(PHS,CW43L,orCW43)thismovement issynchronizedsuchthatthewrist'sABmovementwillstartand enditsmotionatthesametimethatthemachinestartsandends theX,Y,andZmovement. WhenusingthiscommandwithanindexablewristsuchasaPH10M,thismovementcannotbe synchronizedandwilloccuratanunspecifiedtimeduringthemachinemovement(dependingon timedelaysinthesignalprocessingoftheelectronichardware).Becauseofthis,theABwrist movementmaynotalwayscompletebythetimethemachineperformstheX,Y,andZmove. TheMOVE/ALLEditwindowcommandlookslikethis:


MOVE/ALL,X,Y,Z,TIP=T1A0B0,SHANKIJK=0,0,1,ANGLE=0

X,Y,ZallowyoutospecifytheX,Y,andZcoordinatestowhichtomovetheprobe.

1108 InsertingMoveCommands

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TIP=T1A0B0showstheABwristmovementtoperform. SHANKIJK=IJKallowsyoutospecifytheshank'svector. ANGLE=0specifiesthetheoreticalangle.

NotethattheprobeheadanglewillusuallybeapredefinedTIPposition.

InsertingaMoveRotaryTableCommand
TheInsert|Move|MoveRotaryTablemenuitemallowsyouinsertaMOVE/ROTABcommand atthecursor'scurrentlocation.ThecompletecommandlineintheEditwindowis CommandlineintheEditwindow:
MOVE/ROTAB,angle,DIRECTION

Direction=determinesthedirectionofthetablerotation.Availableoptionsare: Clockwise: Rotatesthetableinaclockwisedirection untilitreachestheangleenteredinthe RotateTableAnglebox. Counterclockwise: Rotatesthetableinacounterclockwise directionuntilitreachestheangle enteredintheRotateTableAnglebox. Shortest: Rotatestakingtheshortestroute(either ClockwiseorCounterclockwise)untilit reachestheangleenteredintheRotate TableAnglebox. Uponencounteringthiscommand,PCDMISwillrotatethetabletoapositiondeterminedby whicheverMOVE/ROTAB commandisactive. Example:ConsiderapartprogramthathasmultipledifferentMOVE/ROTAB commands.Ifyou clickonaparticularportionofthepartprogramandselecttheMoveRotaryTablemenuoption, PCDMISrotatesthetabletothepositiondeterminedbywhicheverMOVE/ROTAB commandis activeatthatpointinthepartprogram. Thismenuoptionisonlyavailableifyourportlockisconfiguredforrotarytables.

InsertinganExclusionZoneCommand
TheInsert|Move|ExclusionZone menuoptionallowsyoutoinsertanexclusionzonesothat thetwoarmsonadualarmsystemdon'tcollidewitheachother. SelectingthisoptionopenstheExclusiveMoveZonedialogbox.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

InsertingMoveCommands 1109

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ExclusiveMoveZonedialogbox YoucanusethisdialogboxtoinsertaMOVE/EXCLUSIVE_ZONE commandintotheEditwindow. TheMOVE/EXCLUSIVE_ZONE commandappliestoeitherthemasterortheslavearm. BeforePCDMISexecutesthiscommanditmakessurethatthearmassignedtothecommand hasnotalreadyrequestedanexclusivemovezonethatoverlapswiththenewrequest. Ifthereisaconflictofmovement,theMOVE/EXCLUSIVE_ZONE commandwill Waituntilthearmassignedtothecommandhasreleasedthecommandedvolume ProceedtoexecutethemotioncommandslistedbelowtheMOVE/EXCLUSIVE_ZONE command.

DefiningtheExclusionZone
Therearesomethingstokeepinmindwhiledefininganexclusionzone: ThereneedstobeaMOVE/EXCLUSIVE_ZONE commandbeforeeachsectionofmotion commandsinthepartprogramthatcommandseitherarmintotheoverlappingregionof thedualarmvolume.TheMOVE/EXCLUSIVE_ZONE commandshoulddefinea3Dbox aroundallthemotionthatisabouttobecommandedintheoverlappedareaofthedual armCMM. TheremustbeanMOVE/EXCLUSIVE_ZONE=OFFcommandaftertheprobehasbeen withdrawnfromtheoverlappedpartofthedualarmCMM.

Forexampleifyouwanteacharmtocheckacommonsphereusingautomaticspherecommands, youshouldsetupthepartprogramlikethis:
MOVE/EXCLUSIVE_ZONE=ON(forArm1) AUTO/SPHERE(forArm1) MOVE/EXCLUSIVE_ZONE=OFF(forArm1) MOVE/EXCLUSIVE_ZONE=ON(forArm2) AUTO/SPHERE(forArm2) MOVE/EXCLUSIVE_ZONE=OFF(forArm2)

Thefollowingstepsdescribehowtodefinetheexclusionzone.

1110 InsertingMoveCommands

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Step1TurnonExclusiveMove
SelecttheTurnexclusivemoveoncheckbox.ThisallowsyoutoedittheX,Y,andZvalues undertheCornerPoint1andCornerPoint2options. Alternately,ifyouclickonanalreadyinsertedMOVE/EXCLUSIVE_ZONE commandintheEditwindow andpresstheF9key,theExclusiveMoveZonedialogboxopens,andyouareabletoselector deselectthischeckbox. IfthisboxisselectedwhenyouclicktheOKbutton,PCDMISwilldisplaythefollowing commandintheEditwindow:
MOVE/EXCLUSIVE_ZONE=ON,CORNER1=x,y,z,CORNER2=x,y,z

IfthisboxisnotselectedwhenyouclicktheOKbutton,PCDMISwilldisplaythe followingcommandintheEditwindow:
MOVE/EXCLUSIVE_ZONE=OFF

Step2EnterCornerPointValues
TypetheX,Y,andZvaluesforCorner1andCorner2.Youcanreadintheprobe'scurrentinto theselectedcornerpointbyclickingtheReadPositionbutton. Definingtwocornerssetsuptheexclusionzonebesuretoselectthecornerpointsthatwill correctlydefinetheexclusionzone.Thetwopoints(corner1andcorner2)representtwocorners thatarediagonalfromeachother. Arectangularzonecanbecreatedin3Dspacefromtwopointsifyouusethecurrentcoordinate systemtocreatethesides.Acombinationofdifferentpartsofthetwopointscanconstructthe eightpointsneededtoformtherectangulararea. Example: Firstcorner=X1,Y1,Z1 Secondcorner=X2,Y2,Z2 Thirdcorner=X1,Y1,Z2 Forthcorner=X1,Y2,Z1 Fifthcorner=X1,Y2,Z2 Sixthcorner=X2,Y1,Z1 Seventhcorner=X2,Y1,Z2 Eightcorner=X2,Y2,Z1

Step3ClickOK
FinishdefiningtheExclusionZonebyclickingtheOKbutton.PCDMISthenplacesthedefined informationintotheEditwindowwhichreads:
MOVE/EXCLUSIVE_ZONE=TOG1,CORNER1=X,Y,Z,CORNER2=X,Y,Z

TOG1

Thisdefineswhethertheexclusionzoneisin effectornot.Thistogglefieldswitchesbetween ONandOFF. X,Y,Z Thesecoordinatesdefinethecornerpointsused toformtheexclusionzone. ClickingtheCancelbuttonclosesthedialogboxwithoutmakinganychangestoyourpart program.


PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual InsertingMoveCommands 1111

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

BranchingbyUsingFlowControl
BranchingbyUsingFlowControl:Introduction
Supposeyouhaveapartwithmanyfeatures,butyoujustwanttomeasureafewfeaturesover andovertogetacomprehensivestatisticalsetofdataforthosefeatures.Supposeyouwantto jumptoaparticularpartinyourpartprogramdependentonaresponsefromtheuser.Youcan accomplishtaskssuchasthese,andmanyothers,byusingflowcontrolcommands.Bysettingup conditionsforcertaincommands,youcancontroltheflowofyourpartprogram. Thischapterwillprovideyouwiththeinformationyouneedtoaccomplishsuchtasks.Itexplains thesyntaxconditionalstatements,loops,andsubroutines.Italsoprovidesmanycodesamples. Note: Whenloopingorbranchingoccursinthecodesamples,indentationhasbeenusedfor claritytoshowstatementsassignedtoacertaincondition.IntheactualEditwindowcode,you won'tseeanyindentation. Themaintopicscoveredinthischapterincludethefollowing: UsingControlPairs CreatingGenericLoops EndingGenericLoops CreatingLabels JumpingtoaLabel JumpingtoaLabelBasedonConditions BranchingonaCMMError BranchingwithSubroutines EndingaPartProgram

UsingControlPairs
TheInsert|FlowControlCommand|ControlPairssubmenuoffersvariouspairedcommands thatworkwithintheEditwindowtogovernor"control"theproperflowofthepartprogram.To insertacontrolpairtypecommandintotheEditwindow,simplytypethecommand,orchoosea commandfromthissubmenu. Important: WhenusingaconditionalbranchingstatementtotestforathevalueofaYES/NO comment,beawarethatyourtestshouldlookforanuppercase"YES"or"NO"value.A lowercase"Yes"or"No"willnotwork.Forinformationoncomments,seethe"Inserting ProgrammerComments"topicinthe"InsertingReportCommands"chapter.

If/EndIf
TheInsert|FlowControlCommand|ControlPairs|If/EndIfmenuoptionallowsyoutoadd aconditionalblocktothepartprogram.TheitemsbetweentheIFandtheENDIFcommandswill onlyexecuteiftheexpressionfortheIFcommandevaluatestotrue(nonzero).Otherwise,flowof executionwilljumptothefirstcommandaftertheEND/IFcommand.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

BranchingbyUsingFlowControl 1113

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TheEditwindowcommandlineforaIF/ENDIFstatementreads:
IF/expression END_IF/

ToinserttheIf/EndIfcommands: 1. PlacethecursorinthedesiredlocationoftheEditwindow. 2. SelectIf/EndIffromthemenubar.TheIF/ENDIFstatementwillappearintheEdit window.

CodeSampleofIf/EndIf
Considerthefollowingexamplethataskstheuserifheorshewouldlikemeasureapointfeature.
C1=COMMENT/YESNO,Wouldyouliketomeasurethepointfeature,PNT1? IF/C1.INPUT=="YES" PNT1=FEAT/POINT,RECT ENDMEAS/ END_IF/

ExplanationofSampleCode C1=COMMENT/YESNO ThislinetakesandstorestheYESorNOresponsefromtheuser. IF/C1.INPUT=="YES" Thislineistheexpression.Itteststoseeiftheinputofcomment1isaYES.Ifit'saYES thentheIFstatementisTRUEandcontinuesexecutingthestatementsaftertheIF statement,inthiscaseitmeasuresthePNT1 feature.IfNOitmovestotheEND_IF statement. END_IF ThislineendstheexecutionofcommandsinsidetheIF/ENDIFblockofcode.Any commandfollowingthislineiswherePCDMISwillgotoiftheuserclicksNoatthe comment.

ElseIf/EndElseIf
TheInsert|FlowControlCommand|ControlPairs|ElseIf/EndElseIfmenuoptionallows youtoaddaconditionalblocktothepartprogram.TheitemsbetweentheELSEIFandtheEND ELSEIFcommandswillonlyexecuteiftheexpressionfortheELSEIFcommandevaluatesto true(nonzero).TheELSEIF/ENDELSEIFblockmustbepositioneddirectlyafteranIF/ENDIF blockoranotherELSEIF/ENDELSEIFblock.IfallIF/ELSEIFexpressionsabovethecurrent blockhaveevaluatedtofalse,thentheexpressionwillbeevaluated.Iftheexpressionevaluates tofalse(zero),thenexecutionwilljumptothenextcommandfollowingtheENDELSEIF command.IfanyoftheIF/ELSE ifexpressionsabovethecurrentblockevaluatetotrue,all subsequentELSEIF/ENDELSEIFblocksinthissequencewillbeskipped.

1114 BranchingbyUsingFlowControl

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TheEditwindowcommandlineforaELSEIF/ENDELSEIFstatementreads:
ELSE_IF/expression END_ELSE_IF/

ToinserttheELSEIF/ENDELSEIFcommands: 1. PlacethecursorinthedesiredlocationoftheEditwindow,afteranexistingIF/ENDIF statementorELSEIF/ENDELSEIFstatement. 2. SelectElseIf/EndElseIf fromthemenubar.TheELSEIF/ENDELSEIFstatement willappearintheEditwindow. Note:ThistypeofblockisonlyvalidwhenpositionedafteranIF/ENDIForELSEIF/END ELSEIFblock.InvalidlypositionedcontrolpairsareshowninredtextintheEditwindow.

CodeSampleofElseIf/EndElseIf
ConsiderthefollowingexamplethatdisplaysamessagenotifyingtheuserwhenanyoneoftheX, Y,orZvaluesforameasuredpointexceedsdefinedtolerances:
PNT2=FEAT/POINT,RECT ENDMEAS/ IF/PNT2.X<6.9ORPNT2.X>7.1 COMMENT/OPER,"ThemeasuredXvalueofPNT2:"+PNT2.X+"isoutoftolerance." END_IF/ ELSE_IF/PNT2.Y<3.3ORPNT2.Y>3.5 COMMENT/OPER,"ThemeasuredYvalueforPNT2:"+PNT2.Y+"isoutoftolerance." END_ELSEIF/ ELSE_IF/PNT2.Z<.9ORPNT2.Z>1.1 COMMENT/OPER,"ThemeasuredZvalueforPNT2:"+PNT2.Z+"isoutoftolerance." END_ELSEIF/

ExplanationofSampleCode ThiscodefirstteststheXvalueofthepoint.Iftheconditionevaluatestofalse,thenthecode testsfortheYvalue.IftheconditionfortheYvalueevaluatestofalse,thenittestsfortheZvalue. Ifanyoftheseconditionsevaluatestotrue,PCDMISdisplaysthecommentassociatedwithit andskipstheremainingconditionalstatements. IF/PNT2.X<6.9ORPNT2.X>7.1 Thislineistheexpression.ItteststoseeifthemeasuredXvalueislessthan6.9or greaterthan7.1.Ifitexceedseitheroftheseboundariesitexecutesthefirstcomment. END_IF ThislineendstheexecutionofcommandsinsidetheIF/ENDIFblockofcode.Any commandfollowingthislineiswherePCDMISwillgotoiftheIFTHENcondition evaluatestofalse.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

BranchingbyUsingFlow Control 1115

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ELSE_IF/PNT2.Y<3.3orPNT2.Y>3.5 ThislineistheexpressionforthefirstELSE_IFcommand.ItonlygetsexecutediftheIF/ ENDIFblockaboveitreturnsfalse.ItteststoseeifthemeasuredYvalueislessthan 3.3orgreaterthan3.5.Ifitexceedseitheroftheseboundariesitexecutesthesecond comment. END_ELSEIF/ ThislineendstheexecutionofcommandsinsidethefirstELSEIF/ENDELSEIFblock ofcode. ELSE_IF/PNT2.Z<.9ORPNT2.Z>1.1 ThislineistheexpressionforthesecondELSEIFcommand.Itonlygetsexecutedifthe ELSEIF/ENDELSEIFblockaboveitreturnsfalse.ItteststoseeifthemeasuredZ valueislessthan.9orgreaterthan1.1.Ifitexceedseitheroftheseboundariesit executesthethirdcomment END_ELSEIF/ ThislineendstheexecutionofcommandsinsidethesecondELSEIF/ENDELSEIF blockofcode.

Else/EndElse
TheInsert|FlowControlCommand|ControlPairs|Else/EndElsemenuoptionallowsyou toaddaconditionalblocktothepartprogram.TheitemsbetweentheELSEandtheENDELSE commandswillexecuteonlyifallotherif/endifandelseif/endelseifblocksabovetheelse blockhavefailed(Allevaluatedtozero).ELSE/ENDELSEblocksmustbelocatedattheend of asetofIF/ENDIForELSEIF/ENDELSEIF blocksinordertobevalid. TheEditwindowcommandlineforaELSE/ENDELSEstatementreads:
ELSE/ END_ELSE/

ToinsertElse/EndElsecommands: 1. PlacethecursorinthedesiredlocationoftheEditwindow.NotethatElse/ENDELSE blocksmustbepositionedafteraIF/ENDIForELSEIF/ENDELSEIFblocks. 2. SelectElse/EndElsefromthemenubar.TheELSE/ENDELSEstatementwillappear intheEditwindow.

CodeSampleofElse/EndElse
Considerthefollowingexamplethataskstheuserifheorshewouldlikemeasureapointfeature.
C1=COMMENT/YESNO,Wouldyouliketomeasurethepointfeature,PNT1?ClickingNomeasures thenextfeature. IF/C1.INPUT=="YES" PNT1=FEAT/POINT,RECT ENDMEAS/

1116 BranchingbyUsingFlow Control

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

END_IF/ ELSE PNT2=FEAT/POINT,RECT ENDMEAS/ ENDELSE

ExplanationofSampleCode C1=COMMENT/YESNO ThislinetakesandstorestheYESorNOresponsefromtheuser. IF/C1.INPUT=="YES" Thislineistheexpression.Itteststoseeiftheinputofcomment1isaYES.Ifit'saYES thentheIFstatementisTRUEandcontinuesexecutingthestatementsaftertheIF statement,inthiscaseitmeasuresthePNT1 feature.IfNOitmovestotheEND_IF statement. END_IF ThislineendstheexecutionofcommandsinsidetheIF/ENDIFblockofcode.Any commandfollowingthislineiswherePCDMISwillgotoiftheuserclicksNoatthe comment. ELSE IftheaboveIF/ENDIFblockevaluatestofalsethencommandlinesfallingafterthisline andbeforetheENDELSElinewillbeexecuted.Inthiscase,PNT2getsexecuted. ENDELSE ThislineendstheexecutionofcommandsinsidetheELSE/ENDELSEblockofcode.

While/EndWhile
TheInsert|FlowControlCommand|ControlPairs|While/EndWhile menuoptionallows youtoaddaconditionallooptothepartprogram.TheitemsbetweentheWHILEandtheEND WHILEcommandwillcontinuetoexecuteinaloopuntilthecondition(orexpression)keeping theloopactivatedisnolongermet,meaningtheexpressionforthewhileloopevaluatesto FALSE(i.e.zero).TheWHILEcommandcanbeaddedanywhereinthepartprogram.The expressionistestedatthestartofeachloop. TheEditwindowcommandlineforaWHILE/ENDWHILEstatementreads:
WHILE/expression END_WHILE/

ToinsertaWhile/EndWhileoption: 1. PlacethecursorinthedesiredlocationoftheEditwindow. 2. SelectWhile/EndWhilefromthemenubar.The WHILE/ENDWHILEstatementwill appearintheEditwindow.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

BranchingbyUsingFlow Control 1117

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

CodeSampleofWhile/EndWhile
Considerthefollowingexamplethatmeasuresafeatureanamountspecifiedbythepartprogram user.
C1=COMMENT/INPUT,HowmanytimeswouldyouliketomeasurePNT1?Pleasetypeaninteger only.

ASSIGN/COUNT=0 WHILE/COUNT<C1.INPUT PNT2=FEAT/POINT,RECT


ENDMEAS/ ASSIGN/COUNT=COUNT+1
COMMENT/OPER,"Measured"+COUNT+"outof"+C1.INPUT+"times."

END_WHILE/

ExplanationofSampleCode
C1=COMMENT/INPUT

ThislinetakesandstorestheintegerinputfromtheuserintothevariableC1.INPUT. ASSIGN/COUNT=0 ThislineinitializesCOUNT,auserdefinedvariable,andgivesitaninitialvalueof0.The codeusesthisvariabletocountthenumberoftimesPCDMISmeasuresthefeature insidetheloop. WHILE/COUNT<C1.INPUT Thislineistheexpression.ItteststoifthevalueofCOUNT(initiallysetto0)islessthan theintegerselectedbytheuser.Ifthisteststrue,thenthestatementsinfollowing WHILE/andbeforeEND_WHILE/areexecuted ASSIGN/COUNT=COUNT+1 ThislineincrementstheCOUNT variablebyonesothatiteventuallyexitstheloopwhenit failstheconditiontest.
COMMENT/OPER,"Measured"+COUNT+"outof"+C1.INPUT+"times."

Thislinedisplaysamessageshowingthenumberoftimes,outofthetotal,thattheloop isrunning. END_WHILE ThislineendstheexecutionofcommandsinsidetheWHILE/ENDWHILEblockaslong astheconditionisfalse.OtherwisewhenPCDMISencountersthiscommanditloops backtotheWHILE statement.

Do/Until
TheInsert|FlowControlCommand|ControlPairs|Do/Untilmenuoptionallowsyoutoadd aconditionallooptothepartprogram.TheitemsbetweentheDOandtheUNTILcommandswill

1118 BranchingbyUsingFlow Control

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

continuetoexecuteinaloopuntiltheexpressionoftheUNTILcommandevaluatestoTRUE (nonzero).TheDO/UNTILcommandscanbeaddedanywhereinthepartprogram.The expressionistestedattheendofeachloop. TheEditwindowcommandlineforaDO/UNTILstatementreads:


DO/ UNTIL/expression

ToinsertDO/UNTILcommands: 1. PlacethecursorinthedesiredlocationoftheEditwindow. 2. SelectDo/Untilfromthemenubar.TheDO/UNTILstatementswillappearintheEdit window.

CodeSampleofDo/Until
Considerthefollowingexamplethatmeasuresafeatureanamountspecifiedbythepartprogram user.ThisissimilartotheexamplegivenundertheWhile/EndWhiletopic,exceptthatPCDMIS testsfortheconditionattheendoftheloopinsteadofatthebeginning.

C1= COMMENT/INPUT,TypethenumberoftimesPCDMISshouldmeasurethePNT1 feature:(typeanintegeronly)

ASSIGN/COUNT=0 DO/ PNT1=FEAT/POINT,RECT


ENDMEAS/ ASSIGN/COUNT=COUNT+1
COMMENT/OPER,"Measured"+COUNT+"outof"+ C1.INPUT+"times."

UNTIL/COUNT==C1.INPUT

ExplanationofSampleCode
C1=COMMENT/INPUT

ThislinetakesandstorestheintegerinputfromtheuserintothevariableC1.INPUT. ASSIGN/COUNT=0 ThislineinitializesCOUNT,auserdefinedvariable,andgivesitaninitialvalueof0.The codeusesthisvariabletocountthenumberoftimesPCDMISmeasuresthefeature insidetheloop. DO/ BeginstheDO/UNTILloop.Allstatementsareexecutedatleastonceandprogramflow exitsoutofthelooponcetheexpressionevaluatestofalse. ASSIGN/COUNT=COUNT+1 ThislineincrementstheCOUNT variablebyonesothatiteventuallyexitstheloopwhenit failstheconditiontest.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

BranchingbyUsingFlow Control 1119

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

COMMENT/OPER,"Measured"+COUNT+"outof"+C1.INPUT+"times."

Thislinedisplaysamessageshowingthenumberoftimes,outofthetotal,thattheloop isrunning. UNTIL/COUNT==C1.INPUT ThislineendstheexecutionofcommandsinsidetheDO/UNTILloopaslongasthe conditionevaluatestofalse.Otherwise,whenPCDMISencountersthiscommandit loopsbacktotheDO statement.

Select/EndSelect
TheInsert|FlowControlCommand|ControlPairs|Select/EndSelectmenuoptionallow fortheadditionofaconditionalblockthatisusedinconjunctionwiththeCASE/ENDCASEand DefaultCase/EndDefaultCasepairs.TheexpressionfortheSelectcommandprovidesdata thatiscomparedagainsttheexpressionintheCasestatements.Ifthetwoexpressionsevaluate tothesamething,thenthestatementswithintheCase/EndCaseBlockwillexecute.The SELECT/ENDSELECTblocksurroundsthesetsofCASE/ENDCASEandDEFAULTCASE/ ENDDEFAULTCASEblocks. TheEditwindowcommandlineforaSELECT/ENDSELECTstatementreads:
SELECT/expression END_SELECT/

ToinserttheSelect/EndSelectcommands: 1. PlacethecursorinthedesiredlocationoftheEditwindow. 2. ChooseSelect/EndSelectfromthemenubar.TheSELECT/ENDSELECT statementswillappearintheEditwindow.

CodeSampleofSelect/EndSelect
Thepairs, SELECT/END_SELECT,CASE /END_CASE,DEFAULTCASE/END_DEFAULTCASE, allworktogetherevaluatemultipleconditionsprovidingawiderangeofalternatives. Supposeyouhavefivecircles,labeledCIR1throughCIR5,andyouwanttheoperatortobeable tomeasureacirclebysimplypressingakeyonthekeyboard.Youcouldusecodesimilartothe following: EntireCode
DO/
C1=COMMENT/INPUT,Typeanumbertomeasurethatcircle: ,FORCIR1Type1 ,FORCIR2Type2 ,FORCIR3Type3 ,FORCIR4Type4 ,FORCIR5Type5 ,Anyothercharacterexitstheloop SELECT/C1.INPUT

CASE/1 CIR1=FEAT/CIRCLE

1120 BranchingbyUsingFlow Control

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ENDMEAS/ END_CASE CASE/2 CIR2=FEAT/CIRCLE


ENDMEAS/ END_CASE CASE/3 CIR3=FEAT/CIRCLE


ENDMEAS/ END_CASE CASE/4 CIR4=FEAT/CIRCLE


ENDMEAS/ END_CASE CASE/5 CIR5=FEAT/CIRCLE


ENDMEAS/ END_CASE DEFAULTCASE


COMMENT/OPER,Nowexitingloop.

END_DEFAULTCASE END_SELECT UNTILC1.INPUT<1ORC1.INPUT>5

ExplanationofSampleCode SELECT/C1.INPUT Thislineofcodetakesanumberorstringvalue(inthiscaseanumber)typedbytheuser anddetermineswhichCASE/END_CASEblockwillexecutefromtheinput.Noticethat SELECT/END_SELECT pairsurroundstheentirelistofcode.AllCASE/END_CASE andDEFAULTCASE/END_DEFAULTCASEpairsmustresidewithinthesetwolines. END_SELECT ThismarkstheendofthecodeheldinsidetheSELECT/ENDSELECTpair. CASE/1throughCASE/5 DependingonthevalueofC1.INPUT,oneoftheCASEcodeblocksexecutes.For
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual BranchingbyUsingFlow Control 1121

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

example,ifC1.INPUT evaluatesto1,theCASE1blockofcodeexecutes,measuring CIR1.Ifitevaluatesto2,thentheCASE2blockofcodeexecutes,measuringCIR2,and soforth. END_CASE Theselinesendthespecificcaseblocksofcode. DEFAULTCASE IfthevalueoftheC1.INPUTdoesntmatchanyofthedefinedCASEstatements(ifthe valueisntanumberonethroughfive)thentheDEFAULTCASEcodeblockexecutes.In thiscaseitdisplaysamessagelettingyouknowthatyouareexitingtheloop. NoticehowtheDO/UNTILloopsurroundstheentirecodesample.Thisallowstheuserto continuetochoosefromthemenucreatedfromtheCOMMENT/INPUTlineuntiltheuserselectsa characternotrecognizedbytheCASEstatements.

Case/EndCase
TheInsert|FlowControlCommand|ControlPairs|Case/EndCasemenuoptionallows youtoaddaconditionalblocktothepartprogram.TheitemsbetweentheCASEandtheEND CASEcommandswillexecuteiftheexpressionforthecasestatementevaluatestoavalueequal totheexpressionofthecorrespondingSELECTcommand.Otherwise,theblockofstatements willbeskipped.TheCASE/ENDCASEstatementblockmustbelocateddirectlyafteraSELECT commandoranENDCASEcommandofapreviousCASE/ENDCASEblock.Also,PCDMIS cannotcomparemultipleexpressionsonasinglecasestatement. TheEditwindowcommandlineforaCASE/ENDCASEstatementreads:
CASE/expression END_CASE/

ToinserttheCase/EndCaseoption: 1. PlacethecursorinthedesiredlocationoftheEditwindow.Notethepositional requirementsstatedabove. 2. SelectCase/EndCasefromthemenubar.TheCASE/ENDCASEstatementswill appearintheEditwindow.

DefaultCase/EndDefaultCase
TheInsert|FlowControlCommand|ControlPairs|DefaultCase/EndDefaultCasemenu optionallowsyoutoaddaconditionalblocktothepartprogram.Theitemsbetweenthe DEFAULTCASEandtheENDDEFAULTCASEcommandswillexecuteifallotherexpressions inpreviousCASE/ENDCASEblockswithinthecorrespondingSELECT/ENDSELECTblock evaluatedtofalse.OnlyoneDEFAULTCASE/ENDDEFAULTCASEblockisallowedwithina SELECT/ENDSELECTblock.TheDEFAULTCASE/ENDDEFAULTCASEblockmustbe locatedafterallCASE/ENDCASEblockswithintheSELECT/ENDSELECTblock. TheEditwindowcommandlineforaDEFAULTCASE/ENDDEFAULTCASEstatement reads:
DEFAULTCASE/ END_DEFAULT_CASE/

ToinsertDEFAULTCASE/ENDDEFAULTCASEcommands:

1122 BranchingbyUsingFlow Control

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

1. PlacethecursorinthedesiredlocationoftheEditwindownotingpositionallimitationsas statedabove. 2. SelectDefaultCase/EndDefaultCasefromthemenubar.TheDEFAULTCASE/ ENDDEFAULTCASEstatementswillappearintheEditwindow.

CreatingGenericLoops

LoopingParametersdialogbox TheInsert|FlowControlCommand|Loopingmenuoptionallowsyoutorepeatthepart program(orportionsofthepartprogram)withorwithoutanyoftheoffsets.TheLOOPcommand canbeaddedanywhereinthepartprogram,althoughthisfunctionismostusefulatthebeginning andendoftheprogram.

UsesforLooping
Therearethreemainusesfortheloopingoption: Youhaveamultiplepartfixturethatholdsagridofparts.Thefixtureshoulduse consistentspacingbetweentherows.Thetranslation/rotationoffsetsallowyoutoindex fromoneparttothenextinthegridofparts. Youhaveafixturethatholdsonepartandyouwanttoswapinanewpartbeforeeach loopoftheprogram.ACOMMENTcommandishelpfultostoptheCMMwhenthepartis beingreplacedwithanewone.Thecommandcanbeatthebeginningorendoftheloop. YouwanttousetheLOOPoptiontorotatethepartprogramtomeasureadifferent portionofthesamepart.Forexample,youcouldcreateapartprogramtomeasurea complicatedholepatternthatwasduplicated10timesonthepart.Yourpartprogram wouldonlyneedtomeasureoneoftheholepatterns.TheLOOPoptioncouldbeusedto offsetthispartprogramtomeasuretheother9occurrencesofthepattern.

Note:Ifyou'reusinganalignmentinsideofaloopPCDMIS3.6andaboveallowsyoutousethe activealignmentintheALIGNMENT/STARTcommandlineinsteadofalwaysrecallinga previouslystoredalignment.Seethe"UsinganAlignmentInsideLoops"topicinthe"Creating andUsingAlignments"chapter.

ToUseLooping:
1. SelectInsert|FlowControlCommand|Loopingfromthemenubar.TheLooping Parametersdialogboxwillappear. 2. Makeanynecessarychangestotheboxes.
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual BranchingbyUsingFlow Control 1123

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

3. Selectparametersasneeded(i.e.NumberofParts,StartNumber,SkipNumber,offsets inXYorZ,Angle). 4. PlacethecursorinalocationintheEditwindowwhereyouwanttobegintheloop. 5. SelecttheOKbutton. TheEditwindowcommandlineforloopingreads:


VARNAME=LOOP/START,ID=Y/N,NUMBER=0,START=1,SKIP=, OFFSET:XAXIS=0,YAXIS=0,ZAXIS=0,ANGLE=0

Note:Tocompletetheloopingprocedure,youmusthaveanEndLoopcommandinsidetheEdit window.PCDMISwillloopEditwindowcommandsthattheLOOP/STARTandLOOP/END commandsencompass.See"EndLoop"formoreinformation.

EndNumber

TheEndNumberboxtellsPCDMIShowmanytimestoloopthroughthepartprogram.This numberisusuallythesameasthenumberofpartsthatthefixtureholds(orpatternsonthepart) inthex(yorz)direction.PCDMISwillalsoaskforthestartingpart(pattern)number. Example:Youhave10partsinthex(yorz)direction,andyouwanttostartwithpositionnumber 5.Enter10(ten)fortheEndNumberboxand5(five)forintheStartNumberbox.

StartNumber

TheStartNumberboxtellsPCDMISthestartingpositionnumberinaseriesofparts. Example:Youhave10parts,andyouwanttostartwithpositionnumber5,youwouldenter10 forthetotalnumberofpartsand5forthestartingposition.

SkipNumber

TheSkipNumberboxrepeatsapartprogramtheindicatednumberoftimes,allowingyoutoskip aspecifiedincrement. Example:Youcansettheparametertoskipeverythirdincrementoftheloop.Ifthenumber threeisindicated,PCDMISwillmeasurethefirstandsecondpartandthenskiptothefourth part.

AxesandAngleOffset

1124 BranchingbyUsingFlow Control

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Theoffsetareacontainstheseboxes: XAxis,YAxis,andZAxisboxes.Theseboxessetupthex,y,orzoffsetbetweenparts,or patternsonthesamepart.Thesewilloffsetthepartbytheentereddistanceeachtime theloopruns.Thefirstoffsetisbasedonthepart'sorigin. TheAngleboxsetsuptheangularoffsetbetweenparts,orpatternsonthesamepart.The firstoffsetisbasedonthepart'sorigin.PCDMISoffsetsthepartbytheanglevalueeach timetheloopruns.

LoopingOffsetsandAlignments
Ifyouhaveanalignmentcommandinsidealoopandtheloopisusingoffsets,youmustdefineall axesforthatalignment.Additionallythealignmentinsidetheloopmustusefeaturesmeasured insidetheloop.

LoopIds
Ifthisoptionisselected,PCDMISincrementsthefeatureID's(withintheloop)tocoincidewith theloopincrement. Example:CIR1willbecomeCIR1[1]onthefirstloop,CIR1[2]onthesecondloop,andsoon.

FeatureIDsinStatisticalDatabases
IfyouselecttheLoopIDscheckboxandaresendingstatisticaldatatoadatabase,PCDMISwill sometimesremovetheseloopIDsfromthedatabase. Considerthefollowing: IfyouhaveaSTATS/ONcommandandaSTATS/UPDATEcommandinsideaprogramloop, thenloopIDsarenotdisplayedinsidethedatabase. IfyouhaveaSTATS/ONcommandoutsideaprogramloopandaSTATS/UPDATE commandinsideaprogramloop,thenloopIDsarenotdisplayedinsidethedatabase. IfyouhaveaSTATS/ONcommandoutsideaprogramloopandaSTATS/UPDATE commandoutsideaprogramloop,thenloopIDsaredisplayedinsidethedatabase. IfyouhaveaSTATS/ONcommandinsideaprogramloopandaSTATS/UPDATEcommand outsideaprogramcommand,thenloopIDsaredisplayedinsidethedatabase.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

BranchingbyUsingFlow Control 1125

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

VariableID

TheVariableIDboxallowsyoutodefinethevariablenameusedtotracktheloop'scurrent iteration(orcurrentloopwithinthenumberofspecifiedloops).Duringthepartprogram's execution,thisvariablewillbeequaltothecurrentiterationnumberoftheloop.

EndLoop

TheEndLoopbuttoncompletestheloopingprocess.ThecommandLOOP/STARTmustbe followedbythecommandLOOP/ENDintheEditwindow. TheEditwindowcommandlineforendingaloopreads:


LOOP/END

EndingGenericLoops
TheInsert|FlowControlCommand|EndLoopmenuoptiondoesthesamethingastheEnd LoopcommandbuttonintheLoopParametersdialogbox.ItinsertsaLOOP/END commandinthe Editwindow,thuscompletingtheloopingprocess.

CreatingLabels
TheInsert|FlowControlCommand|LabeloptionopenstheEditLabelNamedialogbox whichallowsyoutocreateanameidentificationthatcanbeusedwithaGOTOorIFstatement.

EditLabelNamedialogbox PCDMISwillallowyoutocreatetheIDusinguptofifteencharacters.TheIDwillbedisplayed usingallcapitalletters. TheEditwindowcommandlinefortheLabeloptionreads:


ID=LABEL/

Tocreatealabel: 1. 2. 3. 4. SelectthelocationintheEditwindow. SelectLabelfromthemenubar. TypetheIDforthelabelintheNewLabelNamebox. ClicktheOKbutton.

1126 BranchingbyUsingFlow Control

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

5. ThelabelIDwillappearinthenextpossiblelocationintheEditwindow.

JumpingtoaLabel

GoTodialogbox TheInsert|FlowControlCommand|GotooptionwillbringuptheGoTodialogboxwhich allowsyoutocreateGOTOstatementswithinyourpartprogram.Whentheprogramisexecuted andPCDMISencountersaGOTOstatement,itwillmovetothelocationofthelabelidentification. TheEditwindowcommandlineforGOTOreads:


GOTO/label_ID

TocreateaGOTOStatementintheEditwindow: 1. SelectGoto fromthesubmenu. 2. SelectthelabelyouwanttousefromtheCurrentLabelsbox. 3. ClicktheOKbutton. TheGotodialogboxalsoallowsyoutocreatenewlabelIDsthatcanthenbeattachedtoa GOTOstatement.Todothis: 1. SelectGoto fromthesubmenu. 2. TypethenameofthelabelyouwillcreateintheGotoLabelbox.TheGOTO/label commandisenteredintheEditwindow. Note:IfalabeliscreatedwithintheGoTodialogbox,youmustcreatethelabelidentification usingtheLabelmenuoptionpriortoexecutingthepartprogram.

GoToLabel

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

BranchingbyUsingFlow Control 1127

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TheGoToLabelboxallowsyoutotypeinanexistinglabelthatthepartprogramwillgotoduring execution..

CurrentLabels

TheCurrentLabelsboxcontainsalistingofexistinglabelswhichyoucanselectwiththemouse.

JumpingtoaLabelBasedonConditions

IfExpressiondialogbox TheInsert|FlowControlCommand|IfGotooptionwillallowyoutocreateIFGOTO statementswithinyourpartprogram.WhenthepartprogramisexecutedandPCDMIS encountersanIFstatement,itwillGOTOthelocationofthelabelidentificationifthespecified expressionevaluatestoanonzerovalue.Seethe"UsingExpressionsandVariables"chapterfor informationoncreatingexpressions. TheEditwindowcommandlineforanIF_GOTOstatementreads:


IF_GOTO/expression,GOTO=Label

Expression

TheExpressionbuttonbringsuptheexpressionbuilder.Withtheexpressionbuilderyoucan createavarietyofdifferentexpressionsthatyoumayneedwithinyourpartprogram.Seethe "UsingExpressionsandVariables"chapterforinformationonusingexpressions.

Label

1128 BranchingbyUsingFlow Control

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TheLabelboxallowsyoutotypeintheLabelthatPCDMISwillusefortheGOTOcommand. TheLabelbuttonbringsuptheGotodialogbox.Fromthisdialogboxyoucanchoosethelabelto beused.ThelabelwillappearintheLabelbox.See"JumpingtoaLabel".

BranchingonaCMMError

OnErrordialogbox TheInsert|FlowControlCommand|OnErrorcommandcanbeusedtotellPCDMISwhat actiontotakeinthecasethataCMMErroroccurs. PCDMIStrackstwokindsoferrorconditions:UnexpectedProbeHitandMissedProbeHit.For eachoftheseerrorconditions,threepossibleactionscanbetaken: Jumptoalabel Setavariable'svaluetoone Donothing

Bydefault,allpartprogramsstartwiththeactionforbothtypesoferrorssettothethirdoption (Donothing).Theactionmodeforeacherrortypecanbechangedthroughouttheprogram. Example:Ifduringexecution,PCDMISencountersanONERROR/UnexpectedHit/Jump ToLabelcommand,anyunexpectedhitsthatoccurafterthatpointintheprogramwillcause executiontojumptothespecifiedlabel.Theactionto'SetaVariablesvaluetoonecausesthe variabletobesetassoonasthespecifiederrortypeoccurs.Thisvalueofthevariablecanthen betestedusinganIFstatementtocauseexecutiontojumptoanewpointinthepartprogram. TheEditwindowcommandlinefortheONERRORoptionreads: ONERROR/UNEXPECTED_HIT,modeID or, ONERROR/PROBE_MISS,modeID TousetheONERRORcommand: 1. SelectOnError.TheOnErrordialogboxwillappear. 2. SelecteitherUnexpectedProbeHitorMissedProbeHitfromtheErrorTypedrop downlist. 3. SelectoneofthefollowingErrorModeoptionstodefinewhatactionshouldtakeplace: Off GotoLabel Doesnothing. Jumpstoadefinedlabel.
BranchingbyUsingFlow Control 1129

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

SetVariable

Setsavariable'svalueto one.

4. ClicktheOKbuttontoapplytheONERRORoption.TheCancelbuttonwillclosetheOn Errordialogboxwithoutapplyinganychanges.

ErrorType
TheErrorTypedropdownwindowallowsyoutochooseoneoftheseErrorTypes: UnexpectedProbeHit MissedProbeHit

Off
WhentheCMMhasanerror,choosingtheOffoptioncommandsPCDMIStodonothing.

GotoLabel
WhentheCMMhasanerror,choosingtheGotoLabeloptioncommandsthepartprogramto jumptoadefinedlabel

SetVariable
WhentheCMMhasanerror,choosingtheSetVariableoptioncommandsthepartprogramto setavariable'svaluetoone.

SupportedInterfaces
NotallinterfacessupporttheONERRORcommand.Consultthefollowingtabletoseeifyour interfaceissupported. Ifyourinterfaceislisted,asmallblackboxindicateswhaterrortypeissupportedbythat interface. Ifyourinterfaceisn'tlisted,thenit'snotabletousetheONERRORcommand. UnexpectedProbeMissedProbeHit Hit

Supported Interfaces B&SStandard Dea Elm Federal/Renault Johansson Leitz LKDirect(also knownas LKRS232) LKDriver Metrolog MitutoyoBright

1130 BranchingbyUsingFlow Control

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Mitutoyo Mora Omnitech Renishaw Sharpe Sheffield Wenzel Zeiss

BranchingwithSubroutines
TheInsert|FlowControlCommand|Subroutineoptionallowsyoutoaccesspartprogram commandsfromthecurrentfile(orexternalfile)andusethesecommandsrepeatedly.PCDMIS willallowyoutopassargumentstoandfromthesubroutine.Theonlylimitationtothenumberof argumentsandnestedsubroutinesistheamountofavailablememory.Theexternalsubroutine doesnothaveaccesstofeatures,variables,oralignmentsfromthemainpartprogram.Itsimply allowsyoutopassthenecessarydata.However,thesubroutinedoeshaveaccesstoitemswithin thepartprogram. TheEditwindowcommandlineforasamplesubroutinewouldread:
SUBROUTINE/name, S1=Arg1:Description

name=thenameofthesubroutine. S1=thelocalvariablenametobeusedinthesubroutine.Thisvariablegenerallycannot beaccessedoutsideofthesubroutine. Arg1=thedefaultvalueforthefirstargument. Description=Thedescriptionoftheargumentinthesubroutine. ENDSUB/isusedtoendthesubroutinedefinition. Thetypesofargumentsthatcanbepassedintoasubroutinearenumericvalues,variables,text strings,andfeaturenames.

PassingNumericCharactersintoaSubroutine
Topassnumericcharacters,simplytypethenumberintheValueboxoftheArgumentEdit dialogbox.See"CreatingaNewSubroutine".

PassingVariablesintoaSubroutine
Argumentsthatcanpassdatabackarevariables.EnterthevariableintheValueboxofthe ArgumentEditdialogbox.See"CreatingaNewSubroutine"formoredetails. Whenyouuseavariableasanargumenttoasubroutine,anychangesthatoccurtothe correspondingvariableinthesubroutinearepassedbackandbecomethevalueofthevariable thatwaspassedin. Example:Thisexampleshowshowavariable,usedasanargumenttoasubroutine,valueis passedbackfromasubroutine:ThevariableV1isassignedthevalue6:ASSIGN/V1=6.A subroutinecallpassesV1asthefirstargument:CALL/SUBMySub,V1.Thesubroutineis

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

BranchingbyUsingFlow Control 1131

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

definedasfollows.SUBROUTINE/MySub,A1=0.A1isthenameforthefirstargumentsowhen thecallismade,A1willhavethesamevaluethatV1didatthetimeofthecall,6.Thesubroutine containsonestatement:ASSIGN/A1=A1+1.ThisincrementsthevalueofA1to7.The subroutineends,END/SUBROUTINE.Flowofexecutionreturnstothestatementdirectly followingthecallsubcommand.Asexecutionjumpsback,any variablesthatwereusedas arguments,V1inthiscase,areupdatedtothevalueofthecorrespondingvariablesinthe subroutine,A1inthiscase.SoV1nowhasavalueof7.Thevaluewaspassedbackfromthe subroutine.

PassingTextStringsintoaSubroutine
Topassatextstring,placethealphanumericwithintheValueboxoftheArgumentEditdialog box.See"CreatingaNewSubroutine"formoredetails.Makesurethealphanumericcharacters areplacedwithindoublequotations,forexample"Passthistext1."

PassingFeatureNamesintoaSubroutine
Featurenamesarepassedwithincurlybrackets,forexample{F1}wouldbeplacedwithinthe ValueboxoftheArgumentEditdialogboxtocallthefeaturedesignatedasF1intotheEdit window. Also,whenpassingthefeaturename,thesubroutinehasfullaccesstothatfeature.The subroutinecanchangeanytheoreticalvalueofthefeature.Forexample:iffeatureF1ispassed in,tosetthetheoXvalues,usethecommandASSIGN/F1.TX=5 intheEditwindow.

CreatingaNewSubroutine
Tocreateanewsubroutine: 1. SelectInsert|FlowControlCommand|Subroutinefromthesubmenu.Thisbringsup theSubroutineCreationdialogbox.Forinformationonthisdialogbox,seethe "UnderstandingtheSubroutineCreationDialogBox"topic.

SubroutineCreationdialogbox

2. TypethenameforthesubroutineintheNamebox. 3. ClicktheAddArgbutton.TheArgumentEditdialogboxappears.Forinformationon thisdialogbox,seethe"UnderstandingtheArgumentEditDialogBox"topic.

1132 BranchingbyUsingFlow Control

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ArgumentEditdialogbox 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. TypethenamefortheargumentintheNamebox. ClickintheValuebox TypethevaluefortheargumentintheValuebox. ClickintheDescriptionbox. TypeadescriptionoftheargumentintheDescriptionbox.Thisdescriptionwillappear nexttotheargumentintheEditwindow.

TheCancelbuttonwillcancelanychangesyoumadetoanargumentandreturnyoutothe SubroutineCreationdialogbox. Note:Youcanalsodeletearguments byusingtheDeleteArgbuttonintheSubroutine Creationdialogbox.

UnderstandingtheSubroutineCreationDialogBox
ThefollowingtopicsdescribethevariousoptionsavailableintheSubroutineCreationdialogbox.

SubroutineCreationdialogbox

SubroutineName

IntheNamebox,typeinthenameofthesubroutineyouarecreating.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

BranchingbyUsingFlow Control 1133

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ArgumentsListBox

TheNumberofArgumentslistshowstheargumentsforthesubroutineyouarecreating.Toedit theargumentsimplydoubleclickontheargumentyouwanttochange.TheArgumentEdit dialogboxwillopen.

AddArg

TheAddArgbuttonallowsyoutoaddnewargumentstoyoursubroutine.Simplyclickonthis buttonandtheAddArgumentdialogboxappears:

DeleteArgumentfromSubroutine

TheDeleteArgbuttonallowsyoutodeleteargumentsfromyoursubroutine.Simply,selectthe argumentfromthelist,andclicktheDeleteArgbutton.

ValuesBox

TheValuesboxcontainsalistofthevaluesofeachargumentassociatedwiththesubroutine.To changethesevalues,simplydoubleclickonthevalueyouwishtochangeandtheEdit Argumentdialogboxwillappear.

DeleteArg

ThisbuttonwillallowyoutodeletetheargumentsfromtheValuesBox.Simplyselectthevalue displayedandclicktheDeleteArgbutton.Theargumentassociatedwiththatvalueisthen deleted.

1134 BranchingbyUsingFlow Control

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

EditinganExistingSubroutine
Toeditanexistingsubroutine: 1. PlaceyourcursoronthesubroutineintheEditwindow. 2. PressF9.ThisbringsuptheSubroutineCreationdialogbox.Forinformationonthis dialogbox,seethe"UnderstandingtheSubroutineCreationDialogBox"topic. 3. SelecttheargumentyouwishtochangeintheNumberofArgumentsbox.The ArgumentEditdialogboxopens.Forinformationonthisdialogbox,seethe "UnderstandingtheArgumentEditDialogBox"topic. 4. Makethenecessarychangesinthedesiredboxes. 5. ClicktheOKbuttontoclosetheArgumentEditdialogboxandsaveyourchanges.Here youcanchooseotherargumentstoedit. Whenyou'refinishededitingyoursubroutine,clicktheOKbuttontosaveyourchangesand returntoPCDMISmainwindow. TheCancelbuttonwillcancelanychangesyoumadetoanargumentandreturnyoutothe SubroutineCreationdialogbox. Note:YoucanalsodeleteargumentsbyusingtheDeleteArgbuttonintheSubroutine Creationdialogbox

UnderstandingtheArgumentEditDialogBox
ThefollowingtopicsdescribethevariousoptionsavailableintheArgumentEditdialogbox.

ArgumentEditdialogbox

ArgumentName

IntheNameboxyouenterthenamefortheargument youarecreatingorediting.

ArgumentValue

IntheValueboxyouenterthevalueoftheargument. Validvaluesare: Numeric Variable TextString


BranchingbyUsingFlow Control 1135

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ArgumentDescription

IntheDescriptionboxyoucanenteradescriptionoftheargument.Thisdescriptionwillappear nexttotheargumentintheEditwindow.

EndingaSubroutine
TheInsert|FlowControlCommand|EndSubmenuoptionendsasubroutinebyplacingan "ENDSUB/"commandintheEditwindow. Toplacethiscommand: 1. PlaceyourcursorinthedesiredspotoftheEditwindow. 2. Fromthesubmenu,selectEndSub. The"ENDSUB/"commandwillappearintheEditwindow.

CallingaSubroutine

CallSubroutinedialogbox TheCallsub menucommandwillcallanalreadyexistingsubroutinefromthecurrentpart programintoadifferentlocation,orfromadifferentpartprogramintothecurrentpartprogram. Tocallasubroutine: 1. SelecttheInsert|FlowControlCommand|CallSuboptionfromthesubmenu.The CallSubroutinedialogboxopens. 2. ClicktheSelectSubroutinebutton.TheSelectSubroutinedialogboxopens.

1136 BranchingbyUsingFlow Control

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

SelectSubroutinedialogbox 3. SelecteithertheUserDirectorycheckboxortheCurrentDirectorycheckboxorboth. Ifthepartprogramthesubroutineisfromresidesinthedirectoryspecifiedtobesearched forsubroutines,selecttheUserDirectorycheckbox.Ifitisfromthecurrentdirectory, marktheCurrentDirectorycheckbox.PCDMISlistsallthepartprogramsavailablefor selection. 4. Selectthepartprogramwhichcontainsthesubroutineyouwant.Youwillseeall subroutinesassociatedwiththeselectedprogramappearintheSubroutineNamebox. 5. Selectthesubroutineyouwanttocall. 6. ClicktheOKbutton.Thesubroutineinformationyouaregoingtocallwillappearinthe CallSubroutinedialogbox. 7. ClicktheOKbuttonagainandthecalledsubroutinewillappearintheselectedlocationof theEditwindow. TheEditwindowcommandlineforasamplecalledsubroutinereads:
CS2 =CALLSUB/name,file\prog:Arg1,

CS2=thelabelcreatedfortheCallSubcommand. name=theoptionnameofthesubroutinetobecalled. file=thepartprogramthatcontainsthesubroutine.(Ifthisfieldisblank,PCDMISwill lookinthecallingpartprogramforthesubroutine). prog=thenameofthepartprogramfromwhichthesubroutineiscalled Arg1=theargumenttobepassedtothesubroutine.(Ifthisfieldisblank,thedefault valuewillbeused.). Note:InyourCALLSUBcommandyoushouldkeepasetofpointerstoalloftheobjectsmadefor thesubroutinesothatyoucaneasilyrefertothemafterwardsusingthesubroutine'sID.Formore informationonpointers,see"Pointers"inthe"UsingExpressionsandVariables"chapter. TheCallSubroutinedialogboxalsoallowsyoutoadd,edit,ordeletearguments tothecalled subroutine.

ToaddanewargumentusingtheCallSubroutineDialogbox:
1. ClicktheAddArgbutton.TheArgumentEditdialogboxwillappear. 2. ClickintheValuebox.
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual BranchingbyUsingFlow Control 1137

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

3. TypethevaluefortheargumentintheValuebox. 4. ClickintheDescriptionbox. 5. TypeadescriptionoftheargumentintheDescriptionbox.Thisdescriptionwillappear nexttotheargumentintheEditwindow.

ToeditexistingargumentsusingtheCallSubroutineDialogbox:
1. Doubleclickonthevalueoftheargumentyouwanttochange.Avalueboxwillappear whichshowsthedefaultvalueforthecalledsubroutine. 2. Typeanewvalue. 3. ClicktheOKbutton. See"CreatingaNewSubroutine"and"EditinganExistingSubroutine"foradditionalinformation onhowtoeditorcreatenewargumentsforasubroutine.

TodeleteargumentsfromaCALLSUBcommand:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. PlacethecursorontheCALLSUB command. PressF9toaccesstheCallSubroutinedialogbox. Selectthedesiredargument(s)fromthelist. ClicktheDeleteArgbutton. ClickOK.

YoucanalsodeleteanargumentintheEditwindowtextdirectly.Todothis, 1. PlacePCDMISinCommandmode. 2. PlacethecursorontheCALLSUB command,andpressTABuntilyouhighlightthedesired argument. 3. Typetheletters"del".Thiswilldeletetheargument.PressingDELETEorBACKSPACE won'twork.Theymerelychangetheargumenttoanemptyargument.

UsingCALLSUBStatementsinMultipleArmMode
IfyoumarkaCALLSUB statementasMasterOnlyallofthecommandsinthesubroutinewill bemarkedasMasterOnlywhenthesubroutineiscalled. IfyoumarkaCALLSUB statementasSlaveOnlyallofthecommandsinthesubroutinewillbe markedasSlaveOnlywhenthesubroutineiscalled. IfyoumarkaCALLSUB statementforbotharms,PCDMISleavesthesubroutinemarkingsas theywereoriginallysetup. IfasubroutinecontainsaMOVE/SYNC commandinit,andyoumarktheCALLSUB statementas MasterOnlyorSlaveonly,atexecutiontimePCDMISdisplaysanerrorindicatingthat thisisinvalidandthesubroutineisnotcalled. Forinformationonassigningacommandtoexecuteforaspecificarm,seethe"Assigninga CommandtoanArm"topicinthe"UsingMultipleArmMode"chapter.

UnderstandingtheCallSubroutineDialogBox
ThefollowingtopicsdescribethevariousoptionsavailableintheCallSubroutinedialogbox.

1138 BranchingbyUsingFlow Control

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

NameBoxinCallSubroutine

TheNameboxcontainsthenameofthesubroutineyouhaveselectedafterusingtheSelect Subroutinebutton.

FileBoxinCallSubroutine

TheFileboxcontainsthedirectorypathwaytothesubroutine fileyouhavecalled.

SelectSubroutine

TheSelectSubroutinebuttonbringsuptheSelectSubroutinedialogbox.

SelectSubroutinedialogbox Thisdialogboxallowsyoutocallpreviouslycreatedsubroutinesbysearchingintheuser directoryorthecurrentdirectory.

CodeSampleofaSubroutine
ThefollowingcodesampleallowstheoperatortohaveachoiceofchangingthetheoreticalX,Y, andZvaluesofafeatureafterits measurement.Subsequentrunswillthenusetheupdated theoreticalvalues.
PNT1=FEAT/POINT,RECT ENDMEAS/ C1=COMMENT/YESNO,DoyouwanttochangethetheoreticalvaluesforPNT1? IF/C1.INPUT=="YES" CS1=CALLSUB/CHANGETHEO,:, END_IF/ COMMENT/OPER,TheXYZtheoreticalandactualvaluesforPNT1are: ,"TheoX="+PNT1.TX

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

BranchingbyUsingFlow Control 1139

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

,"TheoY="+PNT1.TY ,"TheoZ="+PNT1.TZ , ,"ActlX="+PNT1.X ,"ActlY="+PNT1.Y ,"ActlZ="+PNT1.Z PROGRAM/END SUBROUTINE/CHANGETHEO, POINT1={PNT1}:, = DIMINFO/DIMID,FEATIDHEADINGS,GRAPHAXISMEAS,NOM,TOL,DEV,MAXMIN,OUTTOL,,, C2=COMMENT/INPUT,TypethenewXtheovalueforPNT1. ,"It'scurrentvalueis:"+PNT1.TX ASSIGN/PNT1.TX=C2.INPUT C3=COMMENT/INPUT,TypethenewYtheovalueforPNT1. ,"It'scurrentvalueis:"+PNT1.TY ASSIGN/PNT1.TY=C3.INPUT C4=COMMENT/INPUT,TypethenewZtheovalueforPNT1. ,"It'scurrentvalueis:"+PNT1.TZ ASSIGN/PNT1.TZ=C4.INPUT ENDSUB/

ExplanationofSampleCode C1=COMMENT/YESNO ThislinetakesandstorestheYESorNOresponsefromtheuser. IF/C1.INPUT=="YES" Thislineistheexpression.Itteststoseeiftheinputofcomment1isaYES.Ifit'saYES thentheIFstatementisTRUEandcontinuesexecutingthestatementsaftertheIF statement,inthiscaseitmeasuresthePNT1 feature.IfNOitmovestotheEND_IF statement. CS1=CALLSUB/CHANGETHEO,:, ThislinecallsthesubroutinenamedCHANGETHEO.Theflowofthepartprogramnow jumpstotheSUBROUTINE/CHANGETHEO line. SUBROUTINE/CHANGETHEO ThislineinitializestheCHANGETHEOsubroutine.Programflowcontinueswiththe executionofcodebetweenthislineandtheENDSUB/ line. POINT1={PNT1}: , Thisistheonlyargumentofthesubroutine.Itallowsthesubroutinetoaccessinformation fromthePNT1feature. C2=COMMENT/INPUT,C3=COMMENT/INPUT,C4=COMMENT/INPUT TheseinputcommentsalltakethenewtheoreticalX,Y,andZvaluesfromtheuserand storetheminC2.INPUT,C3.INPUT,andC4.INPUTrespectively.

1140 BranchingbyUsingFlow Control

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ASSIGN/PNT1.TX=C2.INPUT ThislinetakesthetheoreticalXvaluefromC2.INPUTandassignsittothePNT1.TX variable.PNT1.TXisaPCDMISvariablethatholdsthetheoreticalXvalue(denotedby TX)forthepointwiththeIDlabelofPNT1. ASSIGN/PNT1.TY=C3.INPUT ThislinetakesthetheoreticalYvaluefromC3.INPUTandassignsittothePNT1.TY variable.PNT1.TYisaPCDMISvariablethatholdsthetheoreticalYvalue(denotedby TY)forthepointwiththeIDlabelofPNT1. ASSIGN/PNT1.TZ=C4.INPUT ThislinetakesthetheoreticalZvaluefromC4.INPUTandassignsittothePNT1.TZ variable.PNT1.TZisaPCDMISvariablethatholdsthetheoreticalZvalue(denotedby TZ)forthepointwiththeIDlabelofPNT1. ENDSUB/ Thislineendsthesubroutine,andprogramflowreturnstothelineimmediatelyfollowing thesubroutinecall.InthiscasetheEND_IF/statement. Theprogramflowthencontinueswiththenextoperatorcommentwhichdisplaysthe theoreticalandactualX,Y,andZvalues,andthenthepartprogramendswiththe PROGRAM/ENDcommand.

EndingaPartProgram
TheInsert|FlowControlCommand|EndProgrammenuiteminsertsaPROGRAM/END commandintotheEditwindow.WheneverPCDMISencountersthiscommandduringprogram execution,itwillimmediatelystoppartprogramexecution. Thiscommandisusefulwhenyouwanttoendapartprogramearlierthanusual,basedon definedconditions.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

BranchingbyUsingFlow Control 1141

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TrackingStatisticalData
TrackingStatisticalData:Introduction
PCDMISallowsyoutotrackandmanagestatisticaldataforyourmeasuredparts.Informationin anydimensionortracefieldcanbesenttoaselectedstatisticalsoftwarepackagebyinsertinga STATScommandbeforethedimensionortracefield. Themaintopicsinthischapterincludethefollowing: UsingTraceFields SendingCurrentStatstoaFile UsingtheStatisticsOptionsDialogBox

UsingTraceFields

TraceFielddialogbox TheInsert|StatisticsCommand|TraceFieldmenuoptiondisplaystheTraceFielddialogbox. ThisdialogboxletsyouestablishtracefieldsintheEditwindow.Thisinformationwillbeusedin theSTATSdatabase(seetheXSTATS11.TMP file).WiththetracefieldintheEditwindow,the nameofatracefieldandthecurrentvalueforthattracefieldcanbechanged. TochangethevaluesassociatedwithaTraceField: 1. Placeyourcursorintheboxyouwantchanged. 2. Selectthepreviousvalue. 3. Typeanewvalue. IftheDisplayoptionisselected,theTraceFielddialogboxwillappeareverytimethepart programisexecuted. IftheNoDisplayoptionisselected,itwillnotappearduringexecution. TheEditwindowcommandlineforatracefieldoptionreads:
TRACEFIELD/DISPLAYSTATEfieldname:value

DISPLAYSTATE=Thistogglefieldcontrolswhetherornotthetracefielddialogboxis displayedduringexecution.ThisfieldswitchesbetweenDISPLAYandNODISPLAY. fieldname=Thisstringrepresentsthenameofthetracefield.Thereisa15characterlimit. value=Thisdisplaysthecurrentvalueofthetracefield.Thereisa15characterlimit.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

TrackingStatisticalData 1143

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Important:TheTRACEFIELDcommandshouldcomeaftertheSTATS/ONcommand.

Options

TheOptionsareacontrolstheoptionsofthetracefield: NoDisplay Display ValueLimit

NoDisplay
SelectingtheNoDisplayoptionindicatesthatadialogboxwillnotbedisplayedwhenthetrace fieldisexecuted.Thiswillallowtracefieldstobecontrolledbyvariableswithoutrequiringinput fromtheuser.

Display
SelectingtheDisplayoptionindicatesthatadialogboxwillbedisplayedwhenthetracefieldis executed.Thisrequiresthetracefieldtohaveinputfromtheuserduringexecution. Note:TracefieldsthatareenteredusingtheLogo.datwillnotprintwhenencounteredbyan execution.Theyarehowever,stillsenttothestatsfile.

ValueLimit
TheValueLimitboxdeterminesthemaximumnumberofcharactersallowedforthetracefield's value.SoifyouspecifyaValueLimitof5,youwon'tbeabletotypemorethanfivecharacters intotheValuebox.

SendingCurrentStatstoaFile
TheOperation|SendCurrentStatsToFilemenuoptionallowsyoutosenddatatoadatabase ortheXSTATS11.tmpfilewithouthavingtoexecutethepartprogram. Selectingthisoptionimmediatelysendsallofthedimensionsandtracefieldsthatfollowa STATS/ONcommandtotheselecteddatabase.Statisticsonlygetsenttoadatabaseifyouhave adatabaseregisteredandhavetheSTATS/ON commandmarked.Otherwise,PCDMISsends statisticaldatatotheXSTATS11.tmp file.

1144 TrackingStatisticalData

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

UsingtheStatisticsOptionsDialogBox

StatisticsOptionsdialogbox TheInsert|StatisticsCommand|Statisticsmenuoptionallowsyoutomanagestatistical informationthatisreceivedfrommeasuringapart.ThisisdonebyinsertingaSTATScommandin apartprogrambeforeanydesireddimensionortracefieldcommands.Thisinformationcanthen besenttoaselectedstatisticalsoftwarepackage.

StatsOptions
TheStatsOptionsareaisalwaysavailableontheStatisticsOptionsdialogbox.TheStats Optionsareaallowsyoutousethefollowingcommands. Turnstatsoff Turnstatson Transferstatstoanotherdirectory Updatethestats

StatsOff
SelectingtheOffoptionstopsstatisticalinformationfrombeingsentfromyourpartprogram. Withstatsoff,DimensionorTraceFieldcommandswillnotsendstatisticalinformationtothe databaseunlessyouselecttheStatsOnoption.

StatsOn

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

TrackingStatisticalData 1145

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

SelectingtheOnoptionallowsstatisticalinformationtogofromyourpartprogramtothe database.Withstatson,youcansenddatatothestatsfile,transfertheinformationtoadifferent directory,orstoretheinformationinadatabaseapplication. AnydimensionsthatfollowaSTATS/ONcommandandprecedethenextSTATS/OFFcommand willbesenttothestatsfileordatabaseuponexecutionofthenextSTATS/TRANSFER, STATS/UPDATE,orfinalcommandofthepartprogram.WiththeSTATS/ONcommandyoucan sendtheoutputinformationtomultipledatabases,evenwithinthesamepartprogram. UponeachexecutionofapartprogramthatincludesatleastoneSTATS/ONcommand,PC DMISwillaskwhetherornottosendtheoutputinformationtoanystatisticaldatabasedirectories. ThispromptcanbebypassedbyselectingtheALWAYSUpdateDatabasecheckboxaccessible fromtheDimensiontaboftheSetupOptionsdialogbox.Seethe"SetupOptions:Dimension tab"topicinthe"SettingYourPreferences"chapter. Note:IfyouselectedDataPagefromDatabaseOptions,PCDMISautomaticallycallsthe DPUPDATE.exeexecutabletoinsertthedataintheXSTATS11.tmpfileintoanyselected DataPagedirectories. TurningstatsoninsidealoopcanresultinslightlydifferentoutputtotheXSTATS11.tmpfilefor thedimensionandfeatureIDs. TheEditwindowcommandlineforSTATSONreads:
STATS/ON,databaseoption directoryorDSN, userID,readlock,writelock,memorypages,usermode,variablename

databaseoption=Thistogglefieldindicatesthedatabasetypetowhichthestatswillbe sent.ThisfieldcanbeDATAPAGE,DES,orSPC_DATABASE. DirectoryorDSN=IfthedatabaseoptionisDATAPAGEorDES,thisstringindicatesthe databasedirectoriestowhichthestatisticswillbesent.Thismustbeavaliddatabase directory.IfthedatabaseoptionisSPC_DATABASE,thisstringindicatestheDSNname ofthedatabase.ThisDSNnamecanbecreatedintheODBCoptionsofthecomputers controlpanel.ThisDSNmustbecreatedtolinktoavalidSPCdatabase. userID=Thisninedigitstringindicatestheportlockserialnumber.Thisfieldisonlyusedfor theDataPagedatabaseoption. readlock=ThisfieldindicatesthemaximumnumberofsecondsPCDMISwillwaitfor databaseaccesswhenreading.Thedefaultsettingis10seconds.Thisfieldisonlyused fortheDataPagedatabaseoption. writelock=ThisfieldindicatesthemaximumnumberofsecondsPCDMISwillwaitfor databaseaccesswhenwriting.Thedefaultsettingis20seconds.Thisfieldisonlyused fortheDataPagedatabaseoption. memorypages=Thisfieldindicatesthenumberof4Kpagestoreservefordatabasetables whenopeningdatabase.Thisoptionwillaffectperformance.Theminimumnumberthat canbeenteredis4(alsodefault).ThisfieldisonlyusedfortheDataPagedatabase option.

1146 TrackingStatisticalData

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

usermode=Thisfieldindicatestheusermodesetting.Singleusermodewillonlyallowa singleuseraccesstothedatabase.Thevalue0(zero)signifiesthatsingleusermodeis set.Avalueof1(one)signifiesthatmultiusermodeison.Singleusermodewillimprove performance.ThisfieldisonlyusedfortheDataPagedatabaseoption. variablename=Thisfieldindicatesthevariablenamesetting.Thevalue0(zero)indicates thatdimensionnameswillbedisplayed.Avalueof1(one)indicatesthatfeatureID'swill bedisplayed.ThisfieldisonlyusedfortheDataPagedatabaseoption.

Transfer
TheTransferoptionallowsstatisticalinformationfromapartprogramtobetransferredtoa specifieddirectoryuponexecutionoftheSTATS/TRANSFERcommand. Note:ThisoptionmaybeespeciallyusefulwiththeAutoUpdateoptionofDataPage. Totransferyourstatstoadifferentdirectory: 1. ClicktheTransferoption. 2. IntheTransferDirectorybox,enterthedirectorypathofthedirectorytowhichyouwill transferyourstatsfile.

Update

TheUpdateoptioncreatesaSTATS/UPDATEcommandthattellsPCDMIStoupdatethe statisticaldatabaseeverytimethecommandisexecuted.Thestatisticalsoftwareapplication mustbeinstalledandON. Note:TheAlwaysUpdateDatabasecheckboxfromtheDimensiontaboftheSetupOptions dialogboxallowsyoutobypassthe"UpdateDatabaseNow?"messagethatPCDMISshowsat theendofapartprogramexecutionthatcontainsaSTATS/ONcommand.Seethe"Setup Options:Dimensiontab"inthe"SettingYourPreferences"chapter.

DatabaseOptions
TheDatabaseOptionsallowyouspecifyoneof thefollowingstatisticalsoftwarepackagesto sendthemeasurementinformation: DataPage DES SPCDatabase

TheStatisticsOptionsdialogwillchangewhenoneoftheDatabaseOptionsisselected.

DataPageOption
WhenyouselecttheDatapageoption,theStatisticsOptionsdialogboxchangestoaddthe following:

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

TrackingStatisticalData 1147

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

DatabaseDirectorieslist AddDirectoryToListbutton DeleteDirectoryFromListbutton DeleteCurrentStatsFilebutton DataPageVariableNamearea DoControlCalculationsarea ReadLockbox WriteLockbox MemoryPagesbox

StatisticsOptionsdialogboxDataPageoption

DatabaseDirectories

TheDatabaseDirectorieslistshowsthedifferentdirectoriesinwhichadatabaseapplication couldreside.Youcanaddordeletedirectoriesfromthislist.Amaximumoftendirectoriesper STATS/ONcommandcanbeselectedtowhichstatisticalinformationcanbesent.

AddDirectorytoList

IfyouwanttoaddanewdirectorytotheDatabaseDirectorieslist: 1. ClicktheAddDirectoryToListbutton.Aboxwillappearinwhichyoucanenterthe directorypathway. 2. Typethedirectorypathwayforthedatabase. 3. ClicktheOKbutton.Thedirectorywillnowappearinthelist.

1148 TrackingStatisticalData

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

DeleteDirectoryfromList

Ifyouwanttodeleteadatabasedirectory fromtheDatabaseDirectorieslist: 1. SelectthedirectoryyouwanttodeletefromtheDatabaseDirectorieslist. 2. ClicktheDeleteDirectoryfromListbutton.Thedirectorywillbedeletedfromthelist.

DeleteCurrentStatsFile

Ifyouwanttodeleteyourxstats11.tmpfile,clicktheDeleteCurrentStatsFilebutton.

DataPageVariableName

Theseoptionsonlyfunction TheoptionsintheDataPageVariableNameareaindicatewhether withtheDataPage thedimensionnameorfeaturenamewillbeusedtoidentifyentries statisticaldatabaseprogram.inDataPage.Themaximumlengthofthenameis10characters. Tochooseeitherthedimensionnameorthefeaturename,selecttheUseDimensionName optionortheUseFeatureNameoption.

DoControlCalculations

TheoptionsintheDoControlCalculationsareaindicatewhetherthecontrolcalculationsthat takeplacewithinDatapageshouldbeused.SelectingtheOnoptionperformstheoutoftolerance controlcalculations.Additionally,itcommandstheDataPagestatisticsupdateprogram (DPUPDATE)toperformthecontrolcalculationsandsetthepart/variableandin/outof tolerance/controlindicatorsinthedatabase.YoucanmonitorthisdatabaseusingDataPage's Monitormodebyturningonthepart/variablescolors(red/yellow/green)basedonthose calculations.Foradditionalinformation,seethehelpfilethatshipswithDataPage'sMonitormode application. ToturncontrolcalculationsonoroffsimplyselecteithertheOnortheOffoption.Thedefault settingis Off.

ReadLock

TheReadLockboxallowsyoutodeterminethemaximumnumberofsecondsthatPCDMISwill waitfordatabaseaccesswhenreading.Thedefaultvalueis10seconds. TochangethenumberofsecondsthatPCDMISwillwait:

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

TrackingStatisticalData 1149

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

1. 2. 3. 4.

SelectthecurrentvalueintheReadLockbox. Typeanewvalue. PresstheTABkey. ClickOK.

WriteLock

TheWriteLockboxallowsyoutodeterminethemaximumnumberofsecondsthatPCDMISwill waitfordatabaseaccesswhenwriting.Thedefaultvalueis20seconds. TochangethenumberofsecondsthatPCDMISwillwait: 1. 2. 3. 4. SelectthecurrentvalueintheWriteLockbox. Typeanewvalue. PresstheTABkey. ClickOK.

MemoryPages

TheMemoryPagesboxallowsyoutoenterinthenumberof4Kpagestoreservefordatabase tableswhenopeningadatabase.Theminimum(anddefault)numberofpagesthatcanbeopen isfour. TochangethenumberofMemoryPages: 1. 2. 3. 4. SelectthevalueintheMemoryPagesbox. Typeanewvalue. PresstheTABkey. ClickOK.

DESOption
TheDESoptiononlyfunctionswiththestatisticaldatabaseprogram,DES.WhenyouselectDES, theStatisticsOptionsdialogboxchangessothatitonlyincludestheStatsOptionsarea,the DatabaseOptionsarea,andtheUpdateDatabaseNow,OK,andCancelcommandbuttons.

1150 TrackingStatisticalData

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

StatisticsOptionsdialogboxDESoption

SPCDatabaseOption
TheSPCDatabaseoptiononlyfunctionswithPCDMIS'sownstatisticaldatabaseprogram,SPC. WhenyouselecttheSPCDatabaseoption,theStatisticsOptionsdialogchangestoincludethe following: DataSourcebox View/EditDatabase

StatisticsOptionsdialogboxSPCDatabaseoption

DataSource
UsetheDataSourcelisttoselectaDataSourceName(DSN).ADSNiscreatedinitiallyby usingtheOpenDatabaseConnectivity(ODBC)optionsinthecomputersControlPanel. IfyouneedtocreateaDSN:
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual TrackingStatisticalData 1151

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

1. 2. 3. 4.

AccesstheWindowsControlPanel. SelectAdministrativeTools. DoubleclickontheODBCDataSourcesicon. FollowtheinstructionsinyouroperatingsystemsHelpfiletocreatetheDSN.

ByusingtheODBC,PCDMIScanpassdatadirectlytotheSPCdatabase,andthedatacanbe viewedwithinastatisticalpackagethatsupportstheSPCdatabase.

View/EditDatabase
TheView/EditDatabasebuttoncanonlybeusedonceavalidDataSourcehasbeenselected fromtheDataSourcebox.ClickingthisbuttonallowsthedataintheSPCdatabasetobeviewed anddeletedfromtheSPCDatabasedialogbox:

SPCDatabasedialogbox TheSPCdatabasecanbeviewedwithinPCDMISusingthefollowingtabsonthedialogbox: PartPrograms Dimensions DimensionValues Traces TraceValues

YoucanalsoviewdatabasesusingtheSPCDatabase menuoption

UpdateDatabaseNow

TheUpdateDatabaseNowbuttonallowsyoutoupdateyourdatabaseapplicationwithstatistical datagainedfromyourcurrentpartprogram. Toupdateyourdatabasenow:

1152 TrackingStatisticalData

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

1. ClicktheUpdateDatabaseNowbutton. 2. Followtheinstructionsonscreen. Uponsuccessfulexecutionofapartprogram,selectedDimensionandTraceFieldinformationis storedwithinafilenamedXSTATS11.tmplocatedinthedirectorytowhichyouinstalledPCDMIS (usuallytheC:\PCDMISWdirectory).Theinformationinthisfilecanthenbetransferredtoa differentdirectory,printedout,orsenttoadatabaseapplication. Note:Ifadatabaseapplicationisunavailable,PCDMISwilldisplayamessageinformingyou thatitcouldn'tfindtheupdateexecutable(fortheDataPageapplication,thisisDPUPDATE.exe) toloadXSTATS11.tmpintothedatabase.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

TrackingStatisticalData 1153

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ReportingMeasurementResults
ReportingMeasurementResults:Overview
Afteryoumeasureyourpart,it'simportanttobeabletocommunicateyourmeasurementresults withothers.PCDMIS,bydefault,sendsyourmeasurementdatatoastandardtextualreport, calledaninspectionreport,whichincludescomprehensivedataabouteachfeaturemeasuredby yourpartprogram.Youcanprintthisreporttotheprinterortoafileandlaterviewstoredreports byselectingView|InspectionReport.See"ViewinganInspectionReport"and"Printingthe InspectionReport". Formanytasks,thestandardinspectionreportmaybeexactlywhatyouneed.However,in version4.0andlater,PCDMISalsogivesyousomepowerfultoolstogenerateyourown interactivereports.Withthesetoolsyoucandetermineexactlyhowyourreportswilllookand whatinformationgetsincludedinthembyusingtemplates.Also,withthesetemplatesyoucan maintainaconsistentlookandfeelacrossseveralreports. Inaddition,inversion4.2andlater,youwillfindtheabilitytocreatereportsforspecificpart programs,called"CustomReports",ausefulsolutionwhenyourreportingneedsdon'trequirethe useofreporttemplates. Thischaptercoversthefollowingmajortopics: ReportingChanges MigratingHyperViewReports ReportGenerationSequence AbouttheReportWindow UsingStandardReports ModifyingStandardTemplates CreatingCustomTemplates CreatingCustomReports EmbeddingReportsorReportTemplatesinaPartProgram

ReportingChanges
ThemajorreportingchangesinPCDMIS4.xincludeacompleteoverhauloftheHyperView reportingfunctionalityandtheinclusionofapowerfultemplatesystem. ThefollowingitemsdetailthemajorchangestoPCDMISreportingsinceversion3.7: ReportingisnolongerapartoftheEditwindow.AnewReportingwindowwithitsowntoolbar displaysmeasurementresults.See"AbouttheReportWindow". Reportsnowusetemplates.Thismeansyoucanplugthesamedataintodifferenttemplates therebygeneratingdifferentreportsfromthesamedata,oryoucanstandardizeyourreportsand createasinglereporttemplate,maintainingthesamelookandfeelacrossallyourreportseven thoughthedatacomesfromseveraldifferentpartprograms.See"AboutReportsandReport Templates".

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1155

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ReporttemplatesalsoutilizeLabelstoreportspecificdimensionorfeatureinformation.Youcan createyourowncustomizedlabeltemplates.See"AboutLabelsandLabelTemplates". TheHyperViewreportingeditorhasbeenreorganizedintoseparateeditingenvironments fordifferentaspectsofthenewreportingapproach: ReportTemplateEditor LabelTemplateEditor CustomReportEditor FormsEditor TheoldHyperViewObjectBarhasbeenreorganizedintothefollowing: 1. ReportTemplateEditorObjectBar

2. LabelTemplateEditorObjectBar

3. FormEditorObjectBar

1156 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

4. CustomReportEditorObjectBar

TheoldFeatureText,PointInfo,andDimensionInfoobjectsarenolongerused.PCDMIS nowuseslabeltemplatestoperformthoseandothertasks. Anyobject'spropertycanbemade"userdefinable"sothatwhenthereportisexecutedora templateischosen,theuserisqueriedtoinsertavalueforthatproperty.See"WorkingwithUser AssignedProperties". PreviousHyperViewreportsstillfunctionandcanstillbeexecutedinsideyourpartprogram,but theyarenolongereditableinthenewtemplatereportingenvironment.Ifyouneedtoedita HyperViewreportfromapreviousversion,youwillhavetouseaversionearlierthanversion4.0. See"WorkingwithExistingHyperViewReports".Ifyoudesire,youcanalsomigrateyourold HyperViewreportstoaCustomReportorFormsformat.See"MigratingHyperViewReports". SimilartotheoldHyperViewreportingistheabilitytocreateareportthatdoesnotuseareport templatebutisinsteadspecifictoapartprogram.See"CreatingCustomReports".

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1157

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MigratingLegacy(HyperView)Reports
SinceyoucannolongereditHyperViewreportsinsidePCDMIS,thesoftwareprovidesyouwith theabilitytomigrateexistingHyperViewreportsintoPCDMIS'snewreportingenvironmentso thatyoucanworkwiththemthereinstead. ToconvertanexistingHyperViewreport: 1. SelectInsert|ReportCommand|LegacyReport...andusethedialogboxtoinsert yourHyperViewreportinsidePCDMIS.PCDMISinsertstheappropriate REPORT/LEGACYcommandandthenautomaticallylaunchestheHyperViewreportin RunMode. 2. PressCTRL+EtoexitRunModeandenterEditMode.PCDMISwilldisplayamessage sayingitcannoteditlegacyreportsanditwillaskyouifyouwouldliketoconvertthe reportintoeitheraCustomReportoraForm. 3. ClickeitherReportorForm. IfyouclickReport,PCDMISwillconvertyourHyperViewreporttoworkwiththe CustomReportEditor,displayingalltheobjectscontainedinyouroriginal HyperViewreport. IfyouclickForm,PCDMISwillconvertyourHyperViewreporttoworkwiththe FormsEditor,displayingalltheobjectscontainedinyouroriginalHyperViewreport.

Youcanthenmodifythereportorformintheappropriateeditor.TheoriginalHyperViewreport remainsuntouched. Note:BeawarethatcertainobjectsthatusedtoappearintheHyperViewReportEditormaynot besupportedbyyourselectedmigrationroute.Forexample,ifyourHyperViewreportcontains buttonobjects,andyoumigratethemintotheCustomReportEditor,thebuttonswillappearinthe editor,buttheywillnotfunctionintheReportwindow.

ReportGenerationSequence
Thistopicdescribestheprocessbywhichthereportobjectsareboundtomeasurementdataand drawnintheReportwindowduringthereportgenerationprocess. PCDMISexecuteseachcommandfromthepartprogram. Informationfromeachcommandgoestothereporttemplateforpossibleprocessing. Reportobjectsonthereporttemplatearequeried,andifthecommandfromwhichthe informationcameisdefinedintheRuleTreeEditortocallalabeltemplate,thenthethat labeltemplateiscalled.Ifnot,theinformationwillnotbedisplayedinthefinalreport. Dataissenttoanycalledlabeltemplatestobeformattedanddisplayedaccordingtohow theGridControlObjectandotherreportingobjectsinthelabeltemplatearedefined. Thereporttemplatefinallydisplaysthecalledlabeltemplateswiththeirformatteddata anddisplaysitsowninformationandanystaticelementsintheReportwindow.

1158 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

AbouttheReportWindow
SelectingView|ReportWindow,displaystheReportwindow.Thiswindow,afterpartprogram execution,displaysyourmeasurementresultsandautomaticallyconfigurestheoutputaccording toadefaultreporttemplate.Youcansetanyreporttemplateasthedefaultreporttemplate,but initiallyPCDMISusesthe"TEXTONLY.RTP"template.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1159

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ReportWindowshowingastandard,textbasedreportfromTEXTONLY.RPT TheReportwindowactsasanyotherwindowinthePCDMISapplicationandissubjecttothe operationsontheWindowmenuaswell.Thereportwindowcontainsstaticcontentbasedonthe selectedreporttemplateandthecurrentpartprogram. TheReportwindowalsohasitsowntoolbar,theReportingtoolbar.

ReportingToolbar

Reportingtoolbar TheReportwindow'sReportingtoolbarperformsthesefunctions: Icon Description Redrawsthereport.Ifyoumodifythecurrentreporttemplate,label template,orcustomreport,oryourpartprogramchanges,clickthisicon tohaveyourreportredrawnandupdatedtousethenewlymodified templateornewprogramdata. Selectingthe TemplateSelectionicondisplaysadialogboxthatallows youtomanageyourtemplatesandselectatemplatefromwhichto generateyourreportoutput.See"ApplyingorRemovingaReport Template" SelectingtheCustomReportSelectionicondisplaysadialogboxthat allowsyoutochoosewhatcustomreporttodisplay.See"Creating CustomReports". Printsthereporttoyourdefaultprinter. Setsthecurrentlyusedtemplateasthenewdefaulttemplateforyour currentpartprogram.PCDMISwillautomaticallyusethedefineddefault reporttemplatewheneveryouopenyourpartprogramatalaterdate. Initially,thisdefaultreportissettoTEXTONLY.RTP. SelectingtheSaveLayouticon,savesthecurrentreporttemplateor customreportasalayout.Anewsavedlayouticonwillappearonthe toolbarwiththesamenameasyourtemplate.Whenyouselectthaticon, theReportwindowautomaticallyusesthesavedtemplatelayoutto displayyourreport. SelectingtheFullReportModeicongeneratesthereportfromthefirst commandtothelastcommandinthepartprogram,regardlessofhow PCDMISlastexecutedtheprogram. SelectingtheLastExecutionReportModeiconwillshowonlythose itemsexecutedinthemostrecentpartprogramexecution.Italsoshows thecommandsinthesameorderinwhichtheywereexecuted.If commandswereexecutedmultipletimesduetoaloop,itwouldshow thosemultipleexecutionsaswell.Theinformationwillonlystayinthis reportaslongasthepartprogramremainsopen.Ifyoucloseyourpart program,PCDMISclearsthisreport. Selectinganitemfromthisdropdownlistsetsthereport'smagnification intheReportwindow.Forsmallpercentages,thepagesarelaidoutside bysidehorizontallyfirstandthenvertically.Thezoomleveldoesn'taffect howthereportprintsout,butyoumayfindtheseoptionshelpfulwhen

1160 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

previewingthereportordeterminingwhattemplatetouse. Savedreportlayoutsusetheseicons.Simplyclickonthemto immediatelyswitchyourreportbetweenfrequentlyusedtemplates.To removeasavedlayout,holddowntheSHIFTkeyandthenuseyour mousetodragtheiconoffofthetoolbar. Note:TheReportingtoolbaronlyresideswithintheReportwindow.Youcannotselectitfromthe toolbarareaofthemainPCDMISinterface.

ChangingtheReportWindow'sContents
EditTextReporting TheReportdialogbox.letsyoudeterminetheoverallinformationthatPCDMISwillincludeinthe Reportwindowandhowitshouldbedisplayed.Youcanaccessthisdialogboxinatheseways:

Reportdialogbox RightclickonanytextonlyreportingtextorwhitespaceattheendoftheReportwindow andthenselecttheEditObject...menuitemwhentheshortcutmenuappears.

Foradditionalinformationonthisshortcutmenu,seethe"ShortcutMenusintheReportWindow" topicfromthe"UsingShortcutKeysandShortcutMenus:Introduction"appendix.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1161

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

PressSHIFTandthenrightclickonanylabelobjectintheReportwindow,andthen selecttheEditObject... menuitem.

Thefollowingcheckboxesletyoushoworhidevariousitems: ShowFeatures Thisoptiondisplaysallfeature measurements inyourpart program. Ifyouareusingthedefault reporttemplate,textonly.rtp, andyourpartprogram measuresafeaturewithmore thantheminimumnumberof points,italsodisplaysaform plotofthefeature. Thisoptionshowsalignment changesastheyoccurduring thepartprogram.Itwilldisplay allalignmentchangesthat occurinthedimensionor featurelists. Thisoptionshowsany commentsthathavebeen addedtothepartprogram. (See"InsertingProgrammer Comments" inthe"Inserting ReportCommands"chapter foradditionalinformation.) Thisoptiondisplaysthe header/footerfromthe LOGO.DAT,HEADER.DAT, andELOGO.DATfiles.(See "ModifyingHeadersand Footers"inthe"UsingtheEdit Window"chapterfor informationonalteringthese files.) Thisoptiondisplaysany graphicsrelatedto DISPLAY/METAFILE and ANALYSISVIEWcommandsin thereport.(See"UsingScreen CapturesoftheGraphics DisplayWindow"inthe"Editing theCADDisplay"chapter.)

ShowAlignments

ShowComments

ShowHeader/ Footer

ShowScreen Captures

TheDimensionsareaallowsyoutocontrolthedisplayofdimensionsinyourreports.Todisplay dimensions,selecttheShowcheckbox.Onceselected,theotheritemsinthisareabecome availableforselection.Theseinclude: All Selectingthisoptionactsjustasifyouhad

1162 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

selectedboththeOutofToleranceOnlyand theDimensionsOutsideLimitsoptions. Outof Tolerance Only Ifthisoptionismarked,PCDMISwillonly showtheoutoftolerancedimensions.("Show Dimensions"mustbeON.) Thisoptionisonlyavailablewhenyouselect ShowDimensionsanddeselectShow DimensionsOutsideLimits. Dimensions Ifyouselectthisoption,PCDMISwillonly OutsideLimits showthedimensionsthatlieoutsidethe percentageofthetolerancezone. WhenyouselecttheShowDimensions OutsideLimitscheckbox,thetolerance percentageswillbecomeeditable,allowing onepercentageforunilateraltolerancesand anupperandlowerpercentageforbilateral tolerances. Thetolerancezonecanbeconsideredasa rangebetween0and100percent(similarto howdimensioncolorsareappliedtotolerance zoneregionsorhowthecoloredbargraphs aredrawnattheendofdimensions).The lowerlimit(nominalminustol)correspondsto 0%andtheupperlimit(nominal+plustol) correspondsto100%. Dimensionsthathavedeviationsoutsidethe tolerancezonewilleitherbelessthanzeroor greaterthanonehundredpercent. Foraunilateraldimension(likeroundness, whichonlyhasaplustolerance),thezero deviationsareatzeropercent,andoutof toleranceisanythinglargerthanonehundred percent. UnilateralExample UnilateralPercentage: Nominal:0.0000 Measured:0.0028 Deviation:0.0028 PlusTol:0.0050

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1163

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MinusTol:0.0000 Becausethisdeviationis56%ofthe tolerancerange,itwillbedisplayedif UnilateralPercentageislessthan56%. Forabilateraldimension(likedistance,which hasbothaplusandminustolerance),thezero deviationsaresomewhereinthemiddle.Ifthe tolerancesareequal,thezerodeviationswill beatthefiftypercentposition. BilateralUpperExample BilateralUpperPercentage: Nominal:3.0000 Measured:3.0075 Deviation:0.0075 PlusTol:0.0100 MinusTol:0.0100 Thepercentageiscalculatedusingthe LeverRule: (measuredvaluelowerlimit)/(upper limitlowerlimit)*100. Withthisdata,itwouldbe: (3.00752.9900)/(3.01002.9900)* 100.=87.5% Thisdimensionwillbedisplayedinthe inspectionreportiftheBilateralUpper Percentageisgreaterthan87.5%. BilateralLowerExample BilateralLowerPercentage: Nominal:3.0000 Measured:2.9925 Deviation:0.0075

1164 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

PlusTol:0.0100 MinusTol:0.0100 Thepercentageiscalculatedusingthe LeverRule: (measuredvaluelowerlimit)/(upper limitlowerlimit)*100. Withthisdata,itwouldbe: (2.99252.9900)/(3.01002.9900)* 100.=12.5.% Thisdimensionwillbedisplayedinthe inspectionreportiftheBilateralUpper Percentageislessthan12.5%. UseTextMode ThischeckboxdetermineswhetherPCDMIS Dimension usesformattedtext(selected)orusesa Reporting graphicstable(notselected)fordisplayingthe dimensions. Important:IfPCDMIScannotfindaspecified reporttemplate,itwillendupusingatemplate named"default.rtp".Thisgenerictemplate providesyouwithabasictextbasedreport. Sincedefault.rtponlysupportstextbased reporting,deselectingthischeckboxwilldo nothing

EditLabelPositioningandSize Ifyourlabelhasleaderlinesoritisafreelabel(itisn'tpartofaTextReportObject),ifyoupress CTRLandthenclickonalabel(orifyoudragthemousetoboxselectalabel),youwillseethatit becomesselected.Onceselected,youcandragittoanewlocationorresizeitbyclickingand thendraggingtheblacksquarehandlesthatsurroundtheselectedlabel. EditLabelReporting IfyourightclickonalabelandclickEditObject...,theLabelPropertiesdialogboxappears.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1165

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Withthisdialogboxyoucanchangetheorderofcolumnsandrows,oryoucancontrolthe visibilitystateofindividualcolumnsandrows. TochangetheorderSelectaroworcolumn,thenclicktheblackupordownarrow. TohideorshowanitemClearthecheckboxnexttotheitemtohideit.Selectthecheck boxtodisplayit. Onceyouhavemadethedesiredmodificationstothelabel,selectoneoftheoptionbuttonsat thebottomtoapplythechangestothecurrentlabel,allsimilarlabelsonthecurrentpage,orall similarlabelsintheentiresection. Determinewhatthelabelwilldowheneveryouhideorshowcolumns,byselectinganitemfrom theResizeTypelist.Thislistcontainstheseitems: ResizeGridThisretainsexistingcolumnsizesandresizesthelabeltofitthenewwidth. ResizeColumnstoFitThisretainsthelabel'sexistingwidthandresizeseachcolumn equallytofittheexistingwidth. HideTextThisdoesn'tresizethelabelorthecolumns.Itsimplyhidesthetext. ClickOKandPCDMISwillchangethedisplay. EditCADModelReporting IfyoudoubleclickonanyCADReportObject,itbecomes"active".Thismeansyoucanrotateor zoomtheCADmodeltohowyoulikeitjustasyoucaninsidetheGraphicsDisplaywindow.Click outsideoftheCADReportObjecttousetheneworientationandzoomlevel.See "CadReportObject"forinformationonthis.

1166 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Inv4.1andhigher,ifyourightclickonaCADReportObjectintheReportwindow,andselectEdit Object...,PCDMISdisplaystheLabelLayoutWizard allowingyoutoquicklymodifylabel positionsandtheCADmodel'slocationdirectlywithintheReportwindow.See"TheLabelLayout Wizard"topicunderthe"CadReportObject"forinformationonhowtousethiswizard. Inv4.2andhigheryoucansizeandmovetheCADReportObjectasdescribedin"EditLabel PositioningandSize"above. RemovingyourModifications Toquicklyremovemodificationsthatyouhavemadetoareportobject(aTextReportObject, CADReportObject,orLabelobject),rightclickonthedesiredobject,andselecttheRemove ObjectModifications menuitem.PCDMISwillreturnthereportobjectbacktoitsdefaultstate.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1167

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

UsingTooltipsintheReportWindow

Examplereportshowingatooltipwiththenameofthelabelbeingused BysimplymovingyourmouseoverdifferentpartsoftheReportwindow,youcangetinformation intheformofatooltipaboutwhatlabelisbeingused,orifthereisnolabel,thetooltipwilldisplay eitherthenameoftheobjectorthecurrentpagenumber. Iftheobjectisalabel,thetooltipdisplaysthelabeltemplatefilename. Iftheobjectisnotalabel,forexample,ifit'saTextReportObjectoraCadReportObject, thetooltipdisplaystheobjectnamethatisdefinedinthereporttemplate. Ifyouholdthemouseoveranemptyspaceonthepage,(technicallythePageobject), thetooltipdisplaysthepagenumber.

Thesetooltipsprovideyouwithasimplewaytofindoutwhatobjectsarebeingusedinthereport.

UsingStandardReports
Thedefaultstandardreporttemplate,TEXTONLY.RTP,isreallynothingmorethanasimple templatethatplugsmeasurementdataintoaTextReportObjecttomimichowtextbasedreports appearedinpreviousversionsofPCDMIS.

1168 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ReportWindowshowingastandard,textbasedreport Ifthedefaultstandardreporttemplatedoesn'tworkforyou,PCDMISalsoshipswithadditional standardreporttemplatesthatyoumay finduseful.Youcaneasilychangethelayoutusedforthe currentreportbyclickingtheappropriateiconfromtheReportingtoolbar. TEXTONLY.RTP:theTextReportObjectwithsomestandardlabelsincluded. CADONLY.RTP:theCadReportingObjectwithsomestandardlabelsincludedinportrait layout.SincethistemplatesupportsfewerlabelsthanCADONLY_LANDSCAPE.RTP(up to10),thelabelsarelargerandmoredetailed. TEXTANDCAD.RTP:theTextReportObjectandtheCadReportingObjectwithsome standardlabelsincluded. CADONLY_LANDSCAPE:SimilartoCADONLYbutdisplaysinlandscapelayout.Since thistemplatesupportsmorelabelsthanCADONLY.RTP(upto30),thelabelsaresmaller andlessdetailed.

PPAP:ThistemplateproducesareportthatcanbeusedinProductionPartApprovalProcess (PPAP).Ifthisreporttemplatedoesn'treadilyappear,youmayneedtomanuallyapplyit.See "ApplyingorRemovingaReportTemplate"forinformationonhowtoapplyanewtemplate. ThesetemplatesexistintheReportTemplatesdialogbox(ortheReportingsubdirectory)by default.See"ApplyingorRemovingaReportTemplate"forinformationonusingthisdialogbox. Note:Ifyouloadapartprogramthatusesareporttemplatethatdoesnotexistinthespecified reportingdirectorynorinthedirectorywhereyouinstalledPCDMIS,thenPCDMISwillgenerate atextonlyreporttemplateontheflycalled"default.rtp".Thisallowsyoutoalwaysseeareportin theReportwindowevenifyoudon'thavethespecifiedreporttemplate.Remember,default.rtp onlydisplaysinformationinatextonlyformat.ThismeansyoucannotdeselecttheUseText ModeDimensionReportcheckboxintheReportdialogbox.See"ChangingtheReport Window'sContents"forinformationonthatdialogbox.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1169

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ModifyingStandardTemplates
YoumaywanttomodifythestandardreportingandlabeltemplatesthatshipwithPCDMIS. ReportorlabeltemplatefilesthatshipwithPCDMISareprotectedwithareadonlyattributeto preventanyinadvertentmodification. YoushouldmakeacopyoftheReportingsubdirectoryandstoreitinasafeplacebefore modifyingthem.Thenyoucaneasilyrestoresomethingifyourchangeshappentocause problems. RemovingtheReadonlyAttribute 1. UsingWindowsExplorer,opentheReportingsubdirectory,andnavigatetothereportor labeltemplateyouwanttomodify. 2. Rightclickonit,andselectPropertiesfromthemenu.ThePropertiesdialogbox appears. 3. NearthebottomofthedialogwhereitdisplaysAttributes,deselecttheReadonlycheck box. 4. ClickOK.Youcannowmodifyyourreportorlabeltemplateinsideitsrespectiveeditor. ChangingProperties Tochangepropertiesinyourreport,selecttheappropriateobjectinthetemplateeditor,rightclick onit,andmodifyitspropertiesinthePropertiesdialogbox.See"AboutObjectProperties". Tochangeyourreport'sheader,see"ModifyingyourReport'sHeader".

ModifyingtheReport'sHeader
Manyuserswanttochangetheheaderinsomeway,usuallytomodifythedefaultgraphicthat appearsinthedefaultreport'sheadertosomethingmorecompanyspecific.Youcanchangethe headergraphicbyfollowingthisprocedure. Yourreporttemplate(bydefaultthisisTEXTONLY.RTP)callsalabeltemplatetodisplaythe headerinformation(bydefaultthisisFILE_HEADER.LBL).So,thisisthefileyouwillneedto modify. RemovetheReadonlyattributefromthetemplatefile. 1. OpenthefileintheLabelTemplateeditor. o SelectFile|Reporting|EditLabelTemplate.AnOpendialogboxappears. o SelecttheFILE_HEADER.LBLtemplateandclickOpen. o IntheLabelTemplateEditoryoushouldnowseetheeditareafilledwitha GridControlObject.Thisobjectcontrolsalltheheaderdatathatyouseeinthe report. 2. Changethegraphic. o DoubleclickontheGridControlObject.Youwillseeahashborderaroundthe object.Thistellsyouthatyoucaneditthecodeoritemsinsideoftheheader. o RightclickonthePCDMISgraphicandaGridPropertiesdialogboxappears. o IntheCelltab,clickSelect.AnOpendialogboxappears.

1170 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Exampleshowingthebuttontousetochangethereportheader'sgraphic o Navigatetothegraphicimageyouwantintheheader,selectit,andclickOpen. Thedialogboxcloses. o ClickApply.Thenewgraphicappearsinthecell. 3. Saveandtestthemodifiedlabeltemplate. o Onceyouhavethingsasyoulikeit,clickOK,andthenselectFile|Savetosave yourchangedLabelTemplate. o SelectFile|ClosetoclosetheLabeltemplateeditor,returningtoyourpart program. o SelectView|Reportwindow.Ifyourchangedoesn'timmediatelyappear,select theRedrawthereporticonfromtheReportingtoolbar.

AbouttheReportingandFormEditors
TheReportTemplateEditor,LabelTemplateEditor,CustomReportEditor,andFormEditorare usedtomodifyexistingorcreatenew,templates,customreports,orforms.Theseeditorsshare manyofthesamecommonuserinterfaceelements:themenubar,thetoolbars,theobjectbar, andsoon.Whiletheindividualiconsoritemsonthesemenusmaychangebetweeneditors,the lookandfeelisessentiallythesame. Theuserinterfaceisdiscussedinthefollowingtopics.

MenuBarfortheFormandReportingEditors
Filemenu File|NewCreatesablanktemplateorform. File|OpenOpensapreviouslystoredreporttemplatefileorform.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1171

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

File|CloseClosesthetemplateeditororform. File|SaveAsSavesthecurrenttemplateorformwithanewfilename. File|Edit/File|RunLetsyoutogglebetweentheeditor'stwomodes:EditModeandRun Mode.Runmodeletsyou"run"ortestaform.Editmodeletsyoumodifyatemplateor form.(RunmodeonlyworkswiththeFormEditoritdoesexistintheReportorLabel templateeditors.) File|ExitExitsPCDMIS.Ifyouhaveunsavedchanges,PCDMISwilldisplayamessage boxaskingifyouwouldliketosavethem. Editmenu Edit|Layout|AlignObjects,SpaceEvenly,CenterinView,MakeSameSizeThese submenusletsyoulayout,align,andspaceobjectsintheeditor.Seethe"LayoutBar"for additionalinformation. Edit|Layout|PropertiesDisplaysthepropertysheetforthecurrentlyselectedobject.If noobjectisselected,thisdisplaysthepropertysheetfortheeditingarea(calleda"Section" or"TheFrame/View").See"PropertySheet"and"AboutSections". Edit|Layout|CheckMnemonicsThismenuitemensuresthatanyshortcutkeysusing theALTkeyplusaletterareuniqueonformortemplateitemsthathaveatextdisplay (suchasbuttons).Todefineashortcutkeyforaformordialogboxcontrol,typean ampersandsymbol(&)beforethecharacter.Forexample,abuttonwiththetextlabelof "&Continue",wouldlooklike"Continue"ontheformandwouldbeaccessiblewithALT+ C. Edit|Layout|GridSettingsDisplaystheGridSettingsdialogbox.Thisdialogboxlets youdisplayorhideagridofpointsonyourlayout'sbackground.See"WorkingwiththeGrid". Edit|Layout|ObjectsDisplaystheObjectSheetdialogbox.Usethisdialogboxtoview orselecttheobjectsintheFormandtosettheirtaborder.See"ObjectSheet".(Only availableintheFormEditor.)

ObjectSheetdialogbox Edit|OrderThissubmenuletsyoumoveobjectsbehindorinfrontofotherobjectsthat overlapeachother. Edit|UndoLetsyouundothelastactiontakenintheeditor.

1172 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Edit|RedoLetsyouredothelastundoneaction. Edit|CutCutstheobjectandstoresitforpasting. Edit|CopyCopiestheobjectandstoresitforpasting. Edit|DeleteDeletestheselectedobjects. Edit|PastePastesthecutorcopiedobject.Iffromacopiedobjectthisoftenthispastes theobjectrightontopofthecopiedobject,soyouwillneedtodragittoanewlocationor elseitwilloverlaptheobjectfromwhichitwascopied. Edit|PasteSpecialThisdiffersfromthestandardPastemenuitemsinceitallowsyouto maintainalinkbetweenthepasteditemandthesourcefromwhichitwascopiedsothat ifthesourcechanges,thepasteditemwillalsogetupdated.ForExample: SupposeyouwanttoplaceaMicrosoftExcelchartobjectinyourHyperReportandyouwantto keepthechart'sdatainsynchwiththedatafromtheExcelfile.Todothis: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. IntheMicrosoftExcelfile,copythechartobject. Accessyourtemplateorform. SelectEdit|PasteSpecial.ThePasteSpecialdialogboxappears. SelectthePastLinkoption. ClickOK.Thechartobjectappearsinyourtemplateorform.

Now,ifyoumakechangestothedataforyourchartobjectinyourExcelfile,PCDMISwillupdate thechartobjectinthereportorform. Edit|SetTabOrderThisletsyoudeterminetheobjectsthatgetselectedwhenauser pressesTABtocyclethroughobjectsinRunMode.(ThisonlyworksintheFormsEditor.) Edit|UserAssignedPropertiesAccessestheUserAssignedPropertiesdialogbox, allowingyoutomanageallyouruserassignedpropertiesatonce.See"Workingwith UserDefinableProperties".(OnlyavailableintheReportTemplateEditor.) Viewmenu View|GraphicsDisplayWindow,EditWindow,PreviewWindow,FormEditor,Marked SetsWindow,BasicScriptEditor,InspectionReport,ProbeReadouts,Probe ToolboxShowsorhidesthesePCDMISwindowsoreditors.Mostofthetimethesedo notserveanypurposewhenworkingintheeditorandyoucanhidethem. View|ObjectBarDisplaystheeditor'sObjectBar.See"ObjectBar". View|LayoutBarDisplaystheeditor'sLayoutBar.See"LayoutBar". View|FontBarDisplaystheeditor'sFontBar.See"FontBar"

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1173

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

View|RulerBarsDisplaystherulersonthetopandleftsidesoftheeditor.See"Toggle Ruler" View|SnapPointsDisplaysthe"snappoints"foranyoftheobjectsintheeditor.See "ViewSnapPoints" View|RouteThisonlyfunctionswithsnappoints.Oncomplexpageswithalotofobjects, youmayfinditusefultousethethismenuoptiontoseethechainofobjectsconnectedtothe currentlyselectedobjectviasnappoints.Thismenuoptionselectsallobjectsconnectedin somewaybysnappointstothecurrentlyselectedobject.(OnlyavailableintheFormEditor.) Windowsmenu ThismenuletsyouperformstandardwindowmanipulationswithanyofthewindowsinPCDMIS. Seethe"NavigatingandDisplayingMultipleWindows"chapter. Helpmenu Help|IndexAccessesthePCDMISHelpfile. Help|UsingHelpDisplaysatopicaboutusingtheHelpfile. Help|AboutPCDMISDisplaystheAboutPCDMISdialogbox,showinginformation aboutyourversionofPCDMIS.

TheFontBar
Theeditor's FontBarletsyoumodifyfrequentlymodifiedfont,color,background,orline propertiesforvariousobjects.

FontBarItem

Description Changestheobject'sfontifitsupportstext.Identicalto settingtheFontproperty. Changestheobject'sfontsizeifitsupportstext. IdenticaltosettingtheFontproperty. Displaysyourobject'stextinboldface.Identicalto settingtheFontproperty. Displaysyourobject'stextinitalics.Identicaltosetting theFontproperty. Alignsyourtexttotheleftsideofyourobject,directlyin thecenter,ortotherightside.Identicaltosettingthe Alignmentproperty. Setsthebackgroundandforegroundcolorsofyour object.Foregroundsetsanytextandbordercolors. IdenticaltosettingtheBackColorandForecolor properties. Setstheborderorline'swidth.Clickingthismultiple timesswitchesbetweenvariousoptions.Identicalto

1174 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

settingtheLineWidthproperty. Setsthestyleofaline(doesnotapplytoborders). Clickingthismultipletimesswitchesthelinestyle betweenasolidlineandvariousdottedlines.Identical tosettingtheLineStyleproperty. PlacesarrowheadsattheendorendsofaLineobject. Clickingthismultipletimesswitchesthearrowto differentlocationsoneitherorbothendsoftheline. IdenticaltosettingtheArrowheadproperty. Setsabackgroundpattern,calleda"hatchstyle",on anobjectthatsupportshatchstyles.Clickingthis multipletimesswitchesbetweentheavailablehatch styles.IdenticaltosettingtheHatchStyleproperty. Setsashadowundertheobject,onobjectsthat supportsshadows.Clickingthismultipletimesswitches betweentheavailableshadowstyles.Identicalto settingtheShadowStyleproperty.

TheObjectBar
TheObjectBarisatoolbarthatletsyouinsertvariousobjectsintoatemplateorobjectsand controlsintoaform.Youcaninserttext,pictures,multimedia,dialogboxcontrols,specialPC DMISspecificobjects,andotheritemstohelpyoucreatecustomlabels,reports,andforms. ThisbarappearswheneveryouenteraneditingenvironmentsuchastheReportTemplateEditor, theLabelTemplateEditor,theCustomReportEditor,ortheFormEditor. TheObjectBarcomesinoneofthesetypes,oneforeacheditingenvironment: Report TemplateEditor LabelTemplate Editor CustomReport Editor FormEditor

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1175

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

AddingObjects: Toaddanobjecttoatemplate,customreport,orform: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Insidetheappropriateeditor,accesstheObjectBar. Clickontheobjectyouwanttoinsertintoyourreport. Next,holddowntheleftmousebuttonanddragarectangleonyourcurrentsection. Finally,releasethemousebutton. Uponcreation,theobjectisselected,asshownbysmallgreensquares,calledhandles, ateachcorneroftheobject.

AsampleTextobjectshowinghandles SelectingandManipulatingObjects: Tomanipulateanobjectyouhavetofirstselectit.Toselectanobject,clickontheobjectsothat thegreenhandlesareshowing. TodraganobjecttoanewlocationSelecttheobject.Clickandholdthemouseontop oftheobject,thendragittothenewlocation.Releasethemouse. ToresizeanobjectSelecttheobject,moveyourmouseoveroneofthegreenhandles untilitchangestoaresizecursor,alinewithtwoarrows.Thenclickonthehandleand dragthemousetoanewlocation.Releasethemouse.Theobjectexpandsorshrinks. Tochangeanobject'spropertiesSelecttheobject,rightclickontheobjectsothatthe Propertiesdialogboxappears.Selectpropertiesandchangethemasdesired. Toalign,group,ungroup,andperformotheroperationsUsetheLayoutBarorthe Edit|LayoutandEdit|Ordersubmenus. CodingObjectstoChangeDynamically Forsomeobjects,youcanuseBASICscriptingtodynamicallychangecertainpropertiesofthose objects.Forexample,youcouldusecodetoautomaticallypopulateplottedpointsonaGraph object,oryoumightwanttousetheGaugeobjectlikeabargraphofsomesort.Foranexample ofhowtodothis,seethetopic,"ExampleofUsingBASICScriptingtoDynamicallyChangethe Gauge'sValue"

ActiveXObject

TheActiveXObjectinsertsanActiveXcontrolintoyourtemplateorform.Onceinserted,adialog boxtitledInsertOLEControlwillappear.

1176 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

InsertActiveXControldialogbox Thisdialogboxallowsyoutoselectthetypeofcontroltobeinsertedfromalistofknowncontrols onyourcomputer.ThecontrolsintheObjectTypelistareuniquetoeachcomputer,basedon theprogramsinstalled,etc.ActiveXcontrolsexpandthepossibilitiesofwhatyoucandoinaform ortemplate.Forexample,youcouldinsertachartcontrolandthenwithVisualBASICcode,pass partprogramdatatodynamicallycreatethechart. PCDMISActiveXControls PCDMISshipswiththefollowingActiveXcontrolsrelatedtofeatureanalysis.Theseappearin certaincellsoftheGridControlObjectonsomeofthestandardlabelsthatcomewithPCDMIS. Ingeneral,thesoftwareusesthesecontrolstodisplaygraphicalanalysisinformation.Youcan inserttheseintoyourowntemplatesorformsfromtheInsertActiveXControldialogbox. ThePCDMISActiveXcontrolsinclude: BFANALYSISACTIVEXControl DIMANALYSISACTIVEXControl DimensionReportLinearControl DimensionReportLinear2Control(SurferNTStyleControl) DimensionReportRadialControl DimensionReportRectangleControl FeatureAnalysisActiveXControl

Aswithanyotherobject,thePCDMISActiveXobjectalsocontainsproperties,bothstandardand unique,thatyoucanmodifyusingthePropertiesdialogbox.Thetopicbelowcontains informationonaccessingthoseproperties.

AccessinganActiveXObjectsMethodsandPropertiesfromBasic
Ifyouhaveaddedacontrol,forexample,anActiveXcalendarcontrolandcalleditMSCAL,you canaccessitseventsandpropertiesthroughthepropertysheetjustlikeanyotherobject.Inthis case,sinceitisanActiveXobject,anewsectionofpropertieswillappearcalledActiveX.It containsauseraccessiblelistofvariablesandpropertieswiththeirdefaultvalues. TosetpropertiesfortheActiveXcontrolinsidetheVBSMiniEditorforaneventhandler,type thenameofthecontrol,inthiscase,"MSCAL."(withtheperiod).Awindowappearsallowingthe variablesandmethodstobeaccessible.Selectthe"X"fromthelist.Anotherpopupwindowwill appearlistingasetofinternaleditablevariablesfortheActiveXcontrol.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1177

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ArcObject

TheArcobjectinsertsanellipticalarcintothetemplateorform.Adefaultarcdoesn'thaveafill colorandhasabeginningangleof0degreesandanendingangleof90degrees. Alongwiththeabilitytoresizetheobject,addafillcolor,addabordercolor,andchangeother attributes,thefollowingeditablepropertiesareincludedforarcobjects: Property PenWidth PenStyle Description Thissetstheborderwidthin pixels. Thischangesthearc'sborder styletoSolid,Dash,Dot, Dashdot,andDashdot dot. Thisnumbersetsthestart angleforthearc.Thedefaultis 0degrees. Thisnumbersetstheendangle forthearc.Thedefaultis90 degrees. IfsettoNO (thedefault),PC DMISdrawsafilledarcwithout awedge,likethis:

Angle1

Angle2

IsWedge

IfsettoYES,PCDMISdrawsa filledarcwithawedgelikethis:

AnalysisObject

TheAnalysisobjectisusedtoinsertaPCDMISanalysiswindowintoalabeltemplate.Then,in theReportWindow,PCDMISwilldisplayagraphicalanalysisofdimensionsthatuseareport templateusingthelabeltemplatewithananalysisobjectinit. Important:TheanalysisobjectwillonlyfunctionwithFeatureControlFramedimensionsandwill notfunctionwithLegacydimensions.

1178 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ManipulatingtheObject Inversion4.1andabove,youcandoubleclickonthisobjecttoactivateitintheReportwindow. ThisletsyoumanipulateitsdisplayintheReportwindowonthefly.Onceactivated,youcan zoominoroutontheobject'sgraphicaldisplayandchangeitsrotation.Doubleclickingoutsideof theobjectdeactivatesit. ChangingProperties Todeterminewhatthisobjectwilldisplayyoucanmodifyitsmanyproperties.Youcanalsouse the(SettingsDialog)propertytoaccesstheDimensionAnalysisOptionsdialogbox.This dialogboxletsyouquicklyandeasilysetmanyoftheanalysisobject'sproperties.

DimensionAnalysisOptionsdialogbox Thisdialogboxisnearlyidenticaltothedialogboxalreadydiscussedinthe"DimensionOptions" topicinthe"InsertingReportCommands"chapter.Seethattopicforinformationonmostofthe dialogboxoptions. OneexceptionistheShowBordercheckbox.ThisoptionfunctionsonlywithanAnalysisobject, notwiththeAnalysiswindow.SelectingthischeckboxdrawsaborderaroundtheAnalysisobject. Theavailablepropertiesforthisobjectarelistedbelow: Property (SettingsDialog) Description DisplaystheGraphical AnalysisOptionsdialogbox fortheselectedAnalysisobject. SameastheShowArrow Headscheckboxinthedialog box. CommonProperties ShowsorhidestheAnalysis object'sborder.

ArrowHeads

BackColor BorderShow

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1179

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Bottom CircularityMaxMinDiameters

Left MaxMin

MultShow

ProfileMeasured

ProfileNominal

ProfileOptions

ProfileTolerances

Right Top TPDiameters Enable Visible

CommonProperties SameastheShowBestFit, MaxInscribed,andMin CircumscribedDiameters checkboxinthedialogbox. CommonProperties SameastheShowMax/Min Deviationscheckboxinthe dialogbox. Showorhidesthearrow multipliervalueastextonthe Analysisobject.So,ifsetto YESandyouhaveamultiplier valueof10,itwoulddisplay "MULT=10." SameastheShowLines BetweenMeasuredHitscheck boxinthedialogbox. SameastheShowLines BetweenNominalscheckbox inthedialogbox. Sameasselectingoneofthe optionbuttonsfromtheProfile Dimensionsareainthedialog box. SameastheShowTolerance Linescheckboxinthedialog box. CommonProperties CommonProperties SameastheShowDiameters checkboxinthedialogbox. CommonProperties CommonProperties

BorderObject

TheBorderobjectinsertsarectangularborderintothetemplateorform.Alongwiththeabilityto resizetheobject,addafillcolor,addabordercolor,andchangeotherattributes,thefollowing editablepropertiesareincludedforborderobjects: Property PenWidth HatchStyle Description Thissetsthewidthofthe object'sborderinpixels. Thissetsthetypeofpattern(or hash)tousetofilltheresulting polygon.Availablepatternsare:

1180 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Horizontal

Vertical

Diagonal

ReverseDiagonal

Cross

ShadowStyle

DiagonalCross Thissetsthelocationofthe3D shadowontheresulting polygon.Availablelocations are: Top/Left,Bottom/Right,or None. Thissetsthecolorusedforthe BorderStyleproperty. Thissetsthe3Dhighlightstyle oftheobject'sborder.Options includeNormal,3D,Sunken andRaised.

HiliteColor BorderStyle

BitmapObject

TheBitmapObjectallowsyoutoinsertaprecreatedbitmapgraphicintoyourtemplateorform. Whenyouclickthisicon,adialogboxappears.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1181

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

BitmapDialog TheOKbuttonallowsyoutoinsertabitmaploadedintothedialogboxintotheformor template. TheCancelbuttonallowsyoutoclosethedialogboxwithoutinsertinganybitmap. TheCopybuttonallowsyoutocopyabitmaptotheClipboardthatyouhavealready loadedintothisdialogboxthroughtheLoadbutton. ThePastebuttonallowsyoutopasteacopiedbitmapgraphicfromtheClipboardintothe dialogbox.AfteryoupasteagraphicyoucanselecttheRLEcheckboxtocompressthe graphicwhenit'ssavedwiththereport. TheLoadbuttonallowsyoutoloadagraphicimage(bitmaporJPEGfile)intothedialog box.Afteryouloadthegraphic,youcanselecttheLinkcheckboxtolinkthebitmapto thetemplateorformbyitsdirectorypath.Thismeansifthegraphicgetsupdated,itwill appearinitsupdatedforminsidethetemplateorform. TheClearbuttonallowsyoutocleartheloadedbitmapoutofthedialogbox. TheTransparentlistallowsyoutospecifyonecolorwithinthebitmapthatwillbemade transparent.

Alongwiththeabilitytoresizetheobjectandchangeotherattributes,thefollowingeditable propertiesareincludedforbitmapobjects: Property Bitmap Layout Description Thiscontainsthefilenamefor thebitmap. Center,Left, or Right isthealignmentofthebitmap withintherectangle. Stretchexpandsorshrinks thegraphictofitthesizeofthe box. SizetoFitautomatically expandstherectanglesizetofit thesizeofthegraphic.

ButtonObject

TheButtonobjectinsertsabuttoncontrolintoaform.Youcanchoosetheactiontheformwill takewhenthebuttonisclickedbymodifyingtheButtonTypeproperty. Alongwiththeabilitytoresizetheobject,changecolors,andchangeotherattributes,youcan furthercustomizebuttonobjectsbyusingtheseproperties: Property Default Description Thisdetermineshowbuttons willrespondwhenyoupress theENTERkey.

1182 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

YESThebuttonrespondstoa pressedENTERkeyevenif anotherbuttonhasthefocus. NOIfENTERispressedonly thebuttonthathasthefocus willrespond. Thisdeterminesthelookofthe button.Optionsinclude: 0Normal: changesshape toastandardbutton. 1Propertytab Inactive:changesshapeto anunselectedpropertysheet tab. 2PropertytabActive: changesshapetoaselected propertysheettab. Thisdeterminesthetextthat appearsonthebutton. Thisplacesabitmapofyour choiceontopofthebutton face.Itusesthesamedialog boxandpropertiesas describedinthe"Bitmap Object". Thisdeterminesthepositionof thebitmaportextonthe button'sface.Thevalues include: 0Center 1Left 2Right 3Top 4Bottom Thisdeterminestheactiona buttonwilltakewhenit's clicked. 0 Cancel:closestheform anddoesnothing. 1 EventClick:executesa

ButtonShape

Text Bitmap

Layout

ButtonType

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1183

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

C++orVBScriptaction. 2 Goto:goestotheMulti DocumentInterface(MDI) associatedfile. 3 Help:invokesthe WinHelp()functionusingthe HelpContextIDpropertytoopen thepropertopic. 4OK:recordschangesand closestheform. 5Record:records changesandkeepstheform open. ThisdeterminestheMDI associatedfiletheformwillgo towhenthebuttonisclicked. Thisismostlyusedto implementpropertysheetlike controls.

GotoPath

CadReportObject

TheCadReportObjectletsyou viewyourCADdrawinginsideafinishedreport.Whenyou initiallydroptheCadReportObjectintoareporttemplate,PCDMISautomaticallylaunchesthe LabelLayoutWizard.AfterusingthiswizardtopositionthelabelsyouwantPCDMIStouse, youwillseeadummygraphicoftheHexagontestblock,andifnorulesaredefined,dummy labelsaswell.Itwilllooksomethinglikethis:

AsampleCadReportObjectinsertedintoareporttemplate Remember,thesedummyitemsaresimplyrepresentationsofwhatyouwantonyourreport.In theactualreportwindow,itwillshowtheactualCADmodel.Thelabelsdisplayapictureofthe labeltemplatedefinedbythefirstruleintheCadReportObject'sruletree.Ifthelabelisnot associated,andnorulesapply,itdrawsthedummylabelimage.

1184 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

HowitWorksintheReportWindow: IntheReportwindow,yourCADdisplaywillinitiallyappearexactlyasshowninyourGraphics Displaywindowwhenitfinishesexecutingyourprogramoratthetimeyouredrawyourreport, exceptthatitwillnotzoominanycloser.However,onceyoumakemodificationstoa CadReportObjectintheReportwindow,PCDMISwillretainthosechangestotheCADimageon thereportuntilyoureexecutethepartprogram. WhileyourReportwindowoftenshowsyourentireCADdrawing,itonlyshowslabelsandleader linesforthosefeaturesyouhavespecifiedintheRuleTreeEditor.Forexample,ifyourpart programhasfourmeasuredcirclesandtwomeasuredlines,yetintheRuleTreeEditoryour CadReportObjectdisplayslabelsonlyforthemeasuredcircles,thenreportwillonlyshowlabel informationforthosecircles,eventhoughyoumayhavemeasuredthelinesaswellinyourlast execution. Also,ifaCadReportObjectisconfiguredtodisplayusingtheLabelCountlistontheLabel LayoutWizardafewernumberoflabelsthanthenumberoffeaturesitisspecifiedtoreporton intheRuleTreeEditor,thentheReportwindowwilldisplayadditionalinstancesofyourCAD drawingonadditionalpagesintheReportwindow.Theseadditionalimageswillshowleaderlines andlabelstoanyremainingfeatures.Thisisespeciallyhelpfulifyourlabelshavealotof informationthatmaymakeyourreportlookclutteredifyouhavemorethanoneortwolabels aroundapartdrawing. Rotating,Moving,andZoomingtheCADReportObject'sCADImage YoucaneasilychangetheCADimage'sorientationandzoomlevelintheReportwindow,or moveittoanewlocation. Torotatetheimage,doubleclickontheobjectto"activate"it.Onceactivated,pressand holdthemousewheelbuttonanddragthemouse,orpressdownCTRLandrightclick whiledraggingthemouse. Tozoominoroutoftheimage,doubleclickontheobjectto"active"it.Onceactivated, clickaboveorbelowanimaginaryhorizontallinethecutsacrossthemiddleoftheCAD model. TomovetheCADReportObject,rightclickontheobjecttoselectit.Onceselected,click ontheobjectanddragthemouse.

Tocancelzoomorrotationchanges,presstheESCkey.TheCadReportObjectwillbe deactivatedwithoutapplyingyourchanges. Tosavezoomorrotationchanges,doubleclickoutsideoftheCadReportObject.The CadReportObjectwillbedeactivatedandtheCADimagewillusetheneworientationandzoom level.IfyouareusingtheFeaturebasedlabellayoutontheCadReportObject,theentirereport willbereloadedwiththeneworientationandzoomlevelappliedtotheCADimage. Tosavemovementchanges,clickoutsideoftheselectedobject. Properties: Property (SettingsDialog) Description ThisopenstheLabelLayout Wizard.Thisletsyouquickly layoutmultiplelabelsaround yourCADdrawing.See"The LabelLayoutWizard"formore
Reporting MeasurementResults 1185

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

RulesTree

ShowBorder LeaderLineTermination

information. ThisopenstheRulesTree Editordialogbox.Thisdialog boxletsyoudefineconditions andactionsforthisobject.See "AbouttheRuleTreeEditor"for moreinformation. Thisdrawsorhidesaborder aroundtheCADReportObject.` Thisdrawstheleaderlinefrom thelabeltoeithertheMeasured featureontheCADorthe NominalfeatureontheCAD.

TheLabelLayoutWizard
TheLabelLayoutWizardisatoolthatletsyouquicklyarrangemultiplelabelsaroundyourCAD drawingintheReportTemplateEditoranddeterminehowtheleaderlinesaredrawn.Inthe ReportTemplateEditor,thiswizardappearsautomaticallywheneveryouinserta CadReportObject.Italsoappearswhenyouselectthe(SettingsDialog)propertyfora CadReportObject.

LabelLayoutWizard

1186 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Inversion4.1andhigher,youcanalsoutilizethiswizardintheReportwindow.Toaccessit, rightclickontheCadReportObjectintheReportwindowandselectEditObject....IntheReport window,thewizarddisplaystherealpartmodelusedwithyourpartprogram.IntheReport TemplateEditor,however,itdisplaystheHexagontestblockasafillermodel. Anychangesyoumakeinsidethiswizardwillautomaticallychangetheappearanceofthe CadReportObject. Thiswizardcontainsthesetwomainparts: LayoutPreviewarea Asettingsarea

LayoutPreviewarea TheLayout Previewarealets youpreviewhow thelayoutswill appeararoundthe CadReportObject.

Dependingonhowyouwantyourlabelstoappear,youcanrotatelabelsalongeithera rectangularoranellipticalpathbyclickingonthesquare,whitehandle,locatedatthecenterof therectangleorellipseanddraggingittoanewlocation.Youcanclickanddraganyoftheouter whitehandlestosizethisrotationpath. Ifyouwanttorelocateyourpartdrawing,simplyclickonitanddragittoanewlocation. Settingsarea LayoutStyle Thedropdownlistletsyoucontrolthespacingandrotate pathsforthelabelsintheLayoutPreviewarea.Youcan choosebetweentheseoptions:

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1187

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

RectangularDistributedThiscreatesarectangular paththatlabelsrotatearound.Thelabelsaredistributed equallyaroundtherectangle. RectangularPackedThiscreatesarectangularpath thatlabelsrotatearound.Thelabelsareclosetogether alongonesideoftherectangle. EllipticalDistributedThiscreatesanellipticalpaththat labelsrotatearound.Thelabelsaredistributedequally aroundtheellipse. EllipticalPackedThiscreatesanellipticalpaththat labelsrotatearound.Thelabelsareclosetogetheralong theellipse. FeatureBasedThissettingautomaticallyplacesinthe Reportwindowallthefeaturelabelsaroundthepartmodel inlocationsclosetoeachfeature'slocation.Thisisuseful whenyouhave,forexample,alargeamountofedgepoints andyouwanttodisplayalltheirlabelsinoneCADdrawing. SelectingthisoptiondisablestheLabelCountboxand enablestheFeatureBasedOptionareawhereyoucan definetheminimumleaderlinelength. FeatureBasedRestrictedThisactsthesameas FeatureBasedexceptthatitenablestheLabelCountbox, allowingyoutorestrictthenumberoflabelsthatwillappear intheobjectintheReportwindow.Iftheobjectneedsto displaymorelabelsthanyouhavedefined,theextralabels willappearinadditionalinstancesoftheCADdrawingon newpages. Thisarealetsyouchoosewheretheleaderlinesfromthe labelswillterminateontheCADdrawing. MeasuredThisoptionterminatestheleaderlineatthe measuredvalue'sposition.

LeaderLine Termination

NominalThisoptionterminatestheleaderlineatthe

1188 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

nominal value'sposition.

UseFeatureCentroidThischeckboxterminatesthe leaderlinestothecentroidofthefeature. AttwofeaturesforangleThischeckboxdrawsasingle leaderlinefromthelabelthatthensplitsintotwolines pointingtothetwofeaturesmakingupanAngledimension. AttwofeaturesfordistanceThischeckboxdrawsa singlelinefromthelabelthatthensplitsintotwolines pointingtothetwofeaturesmakingupaDistance dimension. DrawColorBallThischeckboxdrawsacoloredball wheretheleaderlineterminates.Thecoloroftheball matchesthetolerancecolorbandforthatfeature'svalue. BallSizeThislistdeterminesthesizeofthecoloredball drawnwheretheleaderlineterminates.Itbecomes enabledforselectionwhentheDrawColorBallcheckbox isselected.Youcanchoosebetweensmall,medium,and large.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1189

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Large

Medium

ShowBorder

AutoZoom

FeatureBasedOption

LabelCount

Small Thischeckboxdrawsorremovesaborderaroundthe entireCADReportObjectinsidethetemplateeditoror Reportwindow. ThischeckboxwillautomaticallyzoominontheCAD displayintheReportwindowinsuchawaythatitfocuses theattentionononlythatportionoftheCADmodelfor whichlabelobjectsarecurrentlydisplayed. ThisareabecomesenabledwhenyouselectFeature BasedorFeatureBasedRestricted.Itcontainstwooption buttons,mmandinch,andanOffsetbox.Youcanusethe Offsetboxtodefinetheminimumleaderlinelengthused withthelabels.Dependingonavailableroomin the CadReportObject,theleaderlinelengthmaygrow,but itwillnevergobelowthisminimumvalue. Thischangesthemaximumnumberoflabelsareport's pagewilldisplay.Itbecomesdisabledwhenyouselect FeatureBased.

1190 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

LabelSizeOptions

Thisarealetsyouswitchbetweenautomaticormanual sizingoflabelobjects.Tomakeyourlabelobjectsaspecific size,clickonEnableManualSizingandtypeinvaluesin theWidthandHeightboxes. Changingthelabelssizesaffectsdesignpurposesonly.It doesnotaffectlabelsizesintheactualReportwindow. ThisareaonlyappearswhenusingthewizardintheReport TemplateEditor.

CommandTextObject

TheCommandTextObjectmerelyactsasacontainerforasimplestringoftextthatgivesan overviewofafeatureordimension. Whenyouuseatemplatewiththisobjectwithactualreportdata,PCDMISwilldisplayastringof textthatshows,forafeature,thefeature'stextlabel,thefeature'stype,andhowmanyhitswere usedtomeasurethefeature.Foradimension,itshowsthedimension'snameandtypeandwhat unitsofmeasurementareusedinthedimension. AlabelthathasonlytheCommandTextObjectwithactualreportdatamightlooksomethinglike thiswhendisplayedintheReportwindow:

Report ofCircleFeaturesGeneratedfromaLabelthatUsesaCommandTextObject Property Colors


PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Description Letsyouchangethecolorsof
Reporting MeasurementResults 1191

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

thetextdisplayed.Bydefault, PCDMIScausesthisobjectto usethesamecolorsschemeas usedintheEditwindow's Commandmode,soifyouclick thispropertyPCDMISdisplays amessageboxaskingifyou wanttocreateanindependent colorset.ClickingYes accessestheColorEditor dialogbox.Youcanthenuse thiseditortodefineanewcolor schemefortheselected CommandTextObject. See"DefiningEditWindow Colors"in"SettingYour Preferences"forinformationon howtousetheColorEditor.

CheckbuttonObject

TheCheckbuttonobjectinsertsacheckbuttonobject,orcheckbox,intotheform.Checkboxes, unlikeoptionbuttons,arenevermutuallyexclusive.Youcanselectasmanycheckboxesas desired(providedtheyareenabledforselection). Alongwiththeabilitytoresizetheobject,changecolors,andchangeotherattributes,youcan furthercustomizecheckboxesbyusingtheseproperties: Property OwnerDrawn Description Thisspecifieshowtheform shoulddrawthecheckbox. IfsettoTRUE,thecheckbox getsdrawnfromabitmap specifiedintheBitmapand Bitmap(Off)properties. IfsettoFALSE,thecheckbox isdrawnnormally. Thisallowsyoutospecifya bitmaptouseifOwnerDrawn issettoTRUE andifthecheck boxisselected. Additionally,thespecified bitmapmustbethesame shapeasastandardcheckbox. Thisallowsyoutospecifya

Bitmap

BitmapOffState

1192 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

bitmaptouseifOwnerDrawn issettoTRUE andifthecheck boxisnotselected. Additionally,thespecified bitmapmustbethesame shapeasastandardcheckbox. InsteadofjusttheTRUE(ON) andFALSE(OFF)states,this propertyletsyourcheckbox havethreestates:true,false, andpartiallytrue,thusallowing youdeterminewhethera portionofaselectedoptionis true. IfsettoYES,thismovesthe texttotheleftofthecheckbox likethis: TextHere[ ] IfsettoNO,thismovesthetext totherightofthecheckboxlike this: [ ]TextHere Thetextspecifiedheregets displayedonthecheckbox control. SelectingYESshowsa questionmarkhelpbuttonnext tothecheckbox.

TriState

AlignTextLeft

Text

HelpHotButton

ValueID

ClickingthisbuttoninRun modelaunchesthePCDMIS OnlineHelp. ThiscontainstheCurPageand NumPagesvariable.Youget andsetthispropertyusingthe control.

ComboBoxObject

TheComboBoxobjectinsertsacombolistintoyourform.Usingthislistyoucandisplayoptions toselectwhenyouclickthelistinRunmode.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1193

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Alongwiththeabilitytoresizetheobject,changecolors,andchangeotherattributes,youcan furthercustomizethisobjectbyusingtheseproperties: Property Accelerator Description Thisallowsyoutodefinethe lettertouseinconjunctionwith theALTkeytocreatean acceleratorforthecontrol. Theletterorsymboldefined shouldbeuniquefromthose usedforotheraccelerators (includingtheacceleratorson themenubar). Thisdetermineswhetherornot thiscontrolshouldusecolors specifiedinBackColorand TextColorproperties. Thisdefinesthelistofitems andtheassociatedvalues(see thedescriptionoftheList Choicesdialogboxdescribed inthe"RadiobuttonObject"). Thenumberspecified determineshowmanylistitems theformdisplayswhenyou clickonthelistinRunmode. SelectingYESsortsthelist itemsinalphabeticorder. Thisspecifiesthetypeof combolist.Youcanselect eitherDroplistorDropdown. SelectingYES,showsa questionmarkhelpbuttonnext tothecheckbox.

UseColors

ListItems

NumDropped

Sort ComboType

HelpHotButton

ValueID

ClickingthishelpbuttoninRun modelaunchesthePCDMIS OnlineHelp. ThiscontainstheCurPageand NumPagesvariable.Youget andsetthesevariablesusing thiscontrol.

DimensionColorKeyObject

1194 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Thedimensioncolorkeyobjectisusedtodropacolorkeydirectlyintothetemplate.Thiscolor keydepictsthecolorsthatareusedtorepresentthedimensionaltolerancezonesforanalysis andhistogramobjects.Toseehowthesetolerancezonesaredefinedortochangethecolors representingeachtolerancezone,seeEditingDimensionColorsinthe"EditingtheCAD Display"chapter.

EditBoxObject

TheEditBoxobjectinsertsaneditableboxintotheform.YoucanusethisobjectwithVisual BASICscriptingtocollectinformationfromthoserunningtheform. Alongwiththeabilitytoresizetheobject,changecolors,andchangeotherattributes,youcan furthercustomizethisobjectbyusingtheseproperties: Property Accelerator Description Thisallowsyoutodefinethe lettertouseinconjunctionwith theALTkeytocreatean acceleratorforthecontrol. Theletterorsymboldefined shouldbeuniquefromthose usedforotheraccelerators (includingtheacceleratorson themenubar). Thisalignsthetextwithinthe object.Availablealignments are:Left,Center,and Right. SettingthistoYESmakesthe textreadonlyandthereforenot editablewhentheformisin Runmode. SettingthistoYESdrawsa borderaroundthecontrol. Thissetsthestyleofthetextin thebox.Youcanselectoneof thefollowing: 0None: doesn'tchange thedisplayofthetext. 1LowerCase: displays thecaseofthetextinthebox toalllowercase. 2UpperCase: displays thecaseofthetextinthebox

Alignment

ReadOnly

BorderDrawn CaseOrPassword

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1195

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

toalluppercase. 3Password: maskseach characterofthetextwithan asterisk. IfsettoYESthencolors specifiedinBackColorand TextColoraredisplayed. SelectingYES,showsa questionmarkhelpbuttonnext tothecheckbox.

UseColors

HelpHotButton

ValueID

ClickingthishelpbuttoninRun modelaunchesthePCDMIS OnlineHelp. ThiscontainstheCurPageand NumPagesvariables.Youget andsetthesevariablesusing thiscontrol.

EditDblBoxObject

TheEditDblBoxobjectinsertsaneditboxinthefromthatacceptsvariablesofdoubletypes.This hasallthepropertiesoftheEditBoxobject(see"EditBoxObject")withtheadditionof MinimumEqandMaximumEqproperties: Property MinimumEq Description Minimumequation(Thisvalue canbeasetconstantnumber, avalueevaluatedfromasimple equation,orareturnedvalue fromaVBScript). $,$,CONST Maximumequation(Thisvalue canbeasetconstantnumber, avalueevaluatedfromasimple equation,orareturnedvalue fromaVBScript). $,$,CONST

MaximumEq

EditLongBoxObject

1196 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TheEditLongBoxobjectinsertsaneditboxintheformthatonlyacceptsLongnumericalvalues. ThishasallthepropertiesoftheEditBoxobject(see"EditBoxObject")withtheadditionof MinimumEqandMaximumEqproperties: Property MinimumEq Description Minimumequation(Thisvalue canbeasetconstantnumber, avalueevaluatedfromasimple equation,orareturnedvalue fromaVBScript). $,$,CONST Maximumequation(Thisvalue canbeasetconstantnumber, avalueevaluatedfromasimple equation,orareturnedvalue fromaVBScript). $,$,CONST

MaximumEq

EllipseObject

TheEllipseobjectinsertsanellipseintotheformortemplate.Thedefaultellipseisacirclewith thesamedistancefromthecentroidofthecircletoallpointsalongthecircumferencehowever youcaneasilystretchthecircletoformanellipse. Alongwiththeabilitytoresizetheobject,addafillcolor,addabordercolor,andchangeother attributes,thefollowingeditablepropertiesareincludedforellipseobjects: Property Width PenStyle Description Thissetsthewidthofthe object'sborderinpixels. Thischangesthelinestyleto Solid,Dash,Dot,Dashdot, andDashdotdot. Thissetsthetypeofpattern(or hash)tousetofilltheresulting polygon.Availablepatternsare:

HatchStyle

Horizontal

Vertical

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1197

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Diagonal

ReverseDiagonal

Cross

DiagonalCross

FrameObject

TheFrameobjectinsertsaframeintotheform.You'llgenerallyusethisobjecttosetoffgroups ofsimilaroptionswhendesigningyourowndialogboxesinsideyourform. Alongwiththeabilitytoresizetheobject,addafillcolor,addabordercolor,andchangeother attributes,thefollowingeditablepropertiesareincludedforframeobjects: Property BorderColor HiliteColor Description Thissetsthecolorofthe border. Thissetsthecolorusedforthe BorderStylepropertywhen youuseRaisedorSunken. Thissetsthe3Dhighlightstyle oftheobject'sborder.Options includeNormal,3D,Sunken andRaised. Thissetsthewidthofthe object'sborderinpixels. Texttypedheredeterminesthe nameusedfortheframe'stitle. Thisalignsthetextwithinthe object.Availablealignments are:Left,Center,and Right.

BorderStyle

BorderWidth Text Alignment

GaugeObject

TheGaugeobjectinsertsagaugeobject(orprogressbar)intoyourformortemplate.

1198 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Alongwiththeabilitytoresizetheobject,changecolors,andchangeotherattributes,youcan causetheobject'spercentilebartomovebyusingthesepropertiesinconjunctionwithVisual BASICcode: Property ValueEq Description Valueequation(Thisvaluecan beasetconstantnumber,a valueevaluatedfromasimple equation,orareturnedvalue fromaVBScript). $,$,CONST Minimumequation(Thisvalue canbeasetconstantnumber, avalueevaluatedfromasimple equation,orareturnedvalue fromaVBScript). $,$,CONST Maximumequation(Thisvalue canbeasetconstantnumber, avalueevaluatedfromasimple equation,orareturnedvalue fromaVBScript). $,$,CONST Tip: Ifyouchangethedirectionofthegauge,theprogressofthegaugewillalsochangetothe directionspecified.

MinimumEq

MaximumEq

ExampleofUsingBASICScriptingtoDynamicallyChangetheGauge's Value
YoucanalsouseBASICcodeintheVBSMiniEditortodynamicallychangethevalueofthe gaugeatagiventime.Supposeyouwanttocreateaformthatmovesthegaugefrom0to100 percentbasedonhowcloselyacircle'sdiameterapproachesitsminimumandmaximumallowed tolerances.Youcandothisbyfollowingthisprocedure: 1. Createanewformandmakesureit'sinEditmode.First,youwillneedtocreateaglobal variablenamedMYDIAMETERthatwilltakethediametervalueofthecircle. 2. RightclickonthegridandmakesureTheFrame/TheView isselectedfromtheobject listonthepropertysheet. 3. ClickontheSettingstabonthepropertysheetandthenselectthevalueforthe LocalVariablesproperty.TheLocalVariablesdialogboxappears. 4. ClicktheAddbuttontoaddanewvariable.SelectDoublefromtheTypelist.Inthe NameboxtypeMYDIAMETER.LeavetheValueas0.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1199

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

LocalVariablesdialogboxshowingtheMYDIAMETERglobalvariable 5. ClickOKtoreturntothePropertySheet.TheMYDIAMETERvariableisnowaddedto theform. 6. Next,insertaGaugeobjectintotheform. 7. SelecttheGaugeobjectandplaceandsizeitasdesired.Theverticaldistanceisthe totaldistancethepercentilebarcantravel. 8. DoubleclickontheGaugeobjecttoaccessthePropertySheetdialogbox. 9. SelectthePCDMIStab. 10. ClickontheMaximumEqproperty.TheVBSMiniEditorappearsmuchofitis unavailableforselection. 11. SelectCONSTfromthelist.Thisvalueallowsyoutodefinethegauge's100%value. 12. Typethemaximumallowedvalueforthecircle'sdiameter.Thisexamplemeasuresaone inchdiametercirclewithanallowedtoleranceof.010.Sothemaximumallowedvalue wouldbe1.010. 13. ClickOKtoreturntothepropertysheet. 14. ClickontheMinimumEqproperty.TheVBSMiniEditorreappears.Thisvalueallows youtodefinethegauge's0%value. 15. SelectCONSTfromthelist. 16. Typetheminimumallowedvalueforthecircle'sdiameter.Again,sincethisexample measuresaoneinchdiametercirclewithanallowedtoleranceof.010,theminimum allowedvaluewouldbe0.990. 17. ClickOKtoreturntothepropertysheet.Nowyouneedtogivetheactualvalueofthe gaugethediameterofthecircle. 18. Withthegaugeobjectstillselectedfromthepropertysheet,clickthePCDMIStaband thenselecttheValueEqproperty.TheVBSMiniEditorappearsmuchofitis unavailableforselection. 19. Inthelistontheleft,select+EQ($). 20. Inthelistontheright,selectthe<MYDIAMETER>.

1200 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

UsingtheVBSMiniEditortosetthevalueofthegaugeobject 21. ClickOKtoclosetheVBSMiniEditor. 22. Closethepropertysheetandsavetheform.Thisexamplegivestheformthenameof gaugetest.form. 23. YouwillnowcreateagenericcirclefeatureinsidePCDMIS. 24. SelectPCDMIS'sEditwindowandplaceitinCommandmode. 25. InsertagenericfeaturebytypingGENERICandpressingTAB.Initially,agenericpoint featureappearsintheEditwindowwiththefeature'sIDselected. 26. PressF9toaccessthedialogboxforthisgenericfeature. 27. IntheFeatureTypearea,selectCircle. 28. IntheDataTypearea,selectNominalValues. 29. TypeanameforthecircleintheFeatureNamebox.ThisexampleusesCIR1forthe featurename. 30. TypetheXYZandIJKvaluesforCIR1. 31. SelecttheDiameteroptionandgiveCIR1anominaldiametervalueof1. 32. ChangeanyotheroptionsasdesiredandthenclickOKwhenfinished.Thegenericcircle inyourEditwindowshouldlooksomethinglikethis:
CIR1 =GENERIC/CIRCLE,DEPENDENT,RECT,OUT,$ NOM/XYZ,1,1,0.95,$ MEAS/XYZ,1,1,1,$ NOM/IJK,0,0,1,$ MEAS/IJK,0,0,1,$ DIAMETER/1,0

33. MoreyourcursorbeforetheCIR1featureandinsertaninputcommentthatwilltakea measureddiametervalue(sincethisexampleisdoneinofflinemode,the"measured" valuesareinsertedmanually).Forexample:


C1 =COMMENT/INPUT,PleasetypeCIR1'smeasureddiameter:

34. NowgotothecommandblockforCIR1andonthelastlinewhereitsaysDIAMETER/1,0 changethesecondparameter,themeasureddiameterof0,toC1.INPUT.Thisassigns thevaluefromtheinputcommenttoCIR1'smeasureddiameter.


DIAMETER/1,C1.INPUT

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1201

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

35. NowmovethecursoraftertheCIR1featureandembedthesavedformbyselectingthe Insert|ReportCommand|Formmenuoption. 36. NowintheFORM/FILENAMEcommandwhereitsaysPARAM/=,placeyourcursor immediatelybeforetheequalssignandtypeMYDIAMETER.Thenmovethecursor immediatelyaftertheequalssignandtypeCIR1.DIAMETER.Thecodetoembedyour formshouldlooksomethinglikethis:


CS1 =FORM/FILENAME=C:\PCDMIS35\GAUGETEST.FORM,AUTOPRINT=NO PARAM/MYDIAMETER=CIR1.DIAMETER PARAM/= ENDFORM/

37. Markthenewlyaddedcommandsandthenexecutethepartprogram.Thediameterfor CIR1getspassedasaparameterintotheformandthegaugeobject'spercentile dynamicallychangesdependingonthecircle'smeasureddiameter. Forexample,ifthemeasureddiameterforCIR1was.9987youwouldgetaformthatlooks somethinglikethis:

SampleFormShowingtheGaugeObjectDynamicallyLinkedtoaFeature'sMeasuredDiameter

GraphObject

TheGraphobjectinsertsagraphintoyourformortemplatewiththeabilitytodynamicallyupdate itsdata.TheGraphobjectallowsyoutostoreandthendisplayanarrayofdatapoints.Youcan useXandYvaluestospecifythepointsofdataonthegraph.

1202 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

DefaultGraphobject Alongwiththeabilitytoresizetheobject,changecolors,andchangeotherattributes,youcan causegraphobjectstoupdatetheirdatadynamicallybyusingthesepropertiesinconjunction withVisualBASICcode: Property DataPointColor Description Thischangesthecolorsused ontheX,Ydatapointsandon anylinesdrawnbetween points. Thischangesthediameter(in pixels)ofthedatapoint. SettingthistoYESdrawslines betweenthedatapointsonthe graph,visuallyconnectingthem together. SettingthistoNOreversesthe Yaxis,makingthetopnegative andthebottompositive. ThisdividestheXaxisofthe graph,essentiallyaddingthe specifiednumberofcolumns. ThisdividestheYaxisofthe graph,essentiallyaddingthe specifiednumberofrows. Ifsetto1,yourgraphaccepts theadditionofnewdatapoints. Ifsetto0,yourgraphrejects theadditionofnewdatapoints. Ifsetto1,alldatapointsare clearedfromthegraphthenext timeyourformentersRun mode. Ifsetto0,alldatapoints remaininthegraph. ThisistheXvalueforyourdata pointonthegraph.Youcan useasimpleequation,or evaluatethedatafroma VBScript. ThisistheYvalueforyourdata pointonthegraph.Youcan useasimpleequation,or
Reporting MeasurementResults 1203

Width ConnectPoints

Clockwise

Xdivisions

Ydivisions

EnablePoint

ClearAllPoint

XpointEq

YpointEq

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

XminEq

evaluatethedatafroma VBScript. ThisistheXaxisminimum equation.Thevalueused determinesthebeginningvalue makinguptheXaxis.

Youcanuseasimple equation,orevaluatethe datafromaVBScript.


YminEq ThisistheYaxisminimum equation.Thevalueused determinesthebeginningvalue makinguptheYaxis.

XmaxEq

Youcanuseasimpleequation, orevaluatethedatafroma VBScript. ThisistheXaxismaximum equation.Thevalueused determinestheendingvalue makinguptheXaxis.

YmaxEq

Youcanuseasimpleequation, orevaluatethedatafroma VBScript. ThisistheYaxismaximum equation.Thevalueused determinestheendingvalue makinguptheYaxis.

1204 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Youcanuseasimpleequation, orevaluatethedatafroma VBScript. Tip: YoucanrescaletheYaxisbyclickingontheupanddownarrows origin. nearthegraph's

HistogramObject

Thehistogramobjectdisplaysinbargraphformat,thenumberofdeviationswithineachofthe differenttolerancezones.

ASampleHistogram Whenadimensiononlyhasasingletolerancevalue,suchasaformdimension,PCDMIS displaysthetolerancebandasarange,andnotinafixedlocation.PCDMISwillnotdisplayTOL or+TOLintheresultinghistogrambutwillinsteadshowtheheading"TOLERANCEZONE"atthe topandincludealocationforthemeanvaluelikethis:

ASampleHistogramwithaSingleTolerance InsertingtheHistogramObject UsetheLabelTemplateEditorforaneworexistinglabeltemplateandthenaddandsizethe Histogramobjectsothatitappearsverticallyorhorizontallyasdesiredinyourlabeltemplate editor'sdisplayarea.Next,usetheRuleTreeEditordialogboxforaneworexistingreport templatetospecifyunderwhatconditions(forwhatdimensions)PCDMISwillcallanddisplay thatlabeltemplate.Seethe"AbouttheRuleTreeEditor"topicinthischapterforinformationon howtodothis.


PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual Reporting MeasurementResults 1205

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Note:Histogramobjectsarenotavailablefordimensionsthatarenotdirectlycalculatedusingthe individualhitsoftheirfeatures,suchaslocation,trueposition,andkeyindimensions. ChangingHistogramColors Toseehowthesetolerancezonesaredefinedortochangethecolorsrepresentingeach tolerancezone,seeEditingDimensionColorsinthe"EditingtheCADDisplay"chapter.

GridControlObject

TheGridControlObjecticoninsertsacustomizablegridofcolumnsandrowsintoyourreportor labeltemplate.

ANewlyInsertedGridControlObject Thisuniqueobjectismorethanjustastandardtablethough.Infact,youcanprogramthe individualcells,rows,orcolumnsusingthereportingexpressionlanguagetocausePCDMISto pullanddisplayspecificreportinginformationfromyourpartprogram. Aswiththeotherobjects,youcaneasilyresizeandmovethisobjecttoanewlocation.Whenyou resizethisobject,beawarethatPCDMISdynamicallysizesthecolumnsandrowstofitthenew objectssize. AccessingtheGridControlObjectEditor OnceyouinsertaGridControlObject,selectit,doubleclickinsideanycell,andthenrightclick todisplayatabbeddialogbox.Thisdialogboxgivesyoupowerfulformattingandeditingabilities thatletyouprogrameachgridcelltoyourindividualspecifications.

1206 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

CelltaboftheGridControlObject'sEditor Seethesetopicsforinformationonusingthiseditor: GridControlObjectEditorTheCellTab GridControlObjectEditorTheRowTab GridControlObjectEditorTheColumnTab

Properties Property NumColumns NumRows Description Determinesthenumberof columnsinthegrid. Determinesthenumberofrows inthegrid.

TableFormat

Specifiesagridlayoutnameto use.Ifthispropertymatchesthe gridlayoutnameintheRules TreeEditor,thenyoucanuse theTABLE/FORMAT Editwindow commandtodirectlycontrolrow andcolumnorderandvisibility foryourlabeltemplate.

IncreasingtheNumRowspropertyaddsnewrowstothebottomofavailablerows.Decreasing themwilldeletethebottommostrowandworkup.Similarly,increasingtheNumColumns propertyaddsnewcolumnstotherightoftheavailablerows.Decreasingthenumberofcolumns willdeletetherightmostcolumnandworkleft.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1207

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

GridControlObjectEditorTheCellTab

CelltaboftheGridControlObject'sEditor CellTypeLetsyouconfigurewhatyouwillinsertintothespecificcell.Optionsare: TextThisletsyoutypestraighttextoranexpressioncommandintotheCell Expressionbox.Theevaluatedexpressionorthestraighttextappearsinthecell. ImageThisinsertsanimageintothecell.YoucanselectitusingtheSelect button.

ActiveXThisinsertsanActiveXobjectintothecell.GenerallyPCDMIStemplatesusetheseto displaygraphicalanalysisinformation.YoucanselectwhatActiveXcontroltoaddbyusingthe Selectbutton.FormoreindepthinformationonActiveXobjects,seethe"ActiveXObject"topic. CellExpressionThisboxletsyoutypeareportingexpressionintothecell.PCDMISevaluates theexpressionwhenitusesthetemplatetodisplaytheactualreportdata.Forexample,to displayafeature'sID,type=IDintothisbox.See"AboutReportExpressions"forarobustlisting ofexpressionsyoucaninclude. CellHeightandWidthTheseboxesletyoudefinethecell'sheightandwidthinpixels.Note thatifyoumodifyaheight,allcellsinthatrowaremodified.Ifyouchangethewidth,allcellsin thatcolumnaremodified.Ifyouhavevaryingheightsandwidthsamongmultiplecells,theEven WidthandEvenHeightbuttonsevenouttheheightandwidthamongtheselectedcells CellJustificationThesebuttonsletyousetthealignmentofthetextwithinthecell,either verticallyorhorizontally.Ifhorizontal,yourcanalignthetexttotheleft,thecenter,ortherightof thecell.Ifvertical,youcanalignthetexttothetop,themiddle,orthebottom.

1208 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

HorizontalAlignmentButtons Leftalignment Centeralignment Rightalignment VerticalAlignmentButtons Topalignment Middlealignment Bottomalignment

LinesareaThisareacontainsalistforeachsideofthecell.Youcanseteachsideofthecell (plustheoutsideorinsidelinesofmultiplecells)toaparticularlinetype.Optionsinclude:None, Thin,Thick,Double,orDashed.

FontThisbuttondisplaysastandardFontdialogboxallowingyoutosetathefont,size,style, effects,andcolorfortheselectedcell(s). ColorsThisarealetsyousetthecolorsforthebackground,text,orlineoftheselectedcell(s). ClickingoneofthebuttonsdisplaysastandardColordialogboxfromwhichyoucanselecta specificstandardcolororcreateacustomcolor. MergeCellsThisbuttonmergesmultiplecellstogetherintoonecell. UnmergeCellsThisbuttonunmergespreviouslymergedcellsintotheiroriginalandprevious unmergedstate.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1209

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

GridControlObjectEditorTheRowTab

RowtaboftheGridControlObject'sEditor RepeatingGroupThischeckboxenablestheRepeatExpressionboxandtellsPCDMISthat theselectedrowwillcontinuerepeatingitselfwithdatafromthereportuntiltheexpressioninthe RepeatExpressionboxissatisfied.WhenyouselectacellintheGridControlObject,PCDMIS indicatesanyrepeatingrowsintheobjectbydrawingsmallverticalorangebarsontheirleftand rightsides.

Noticetheorangebarsontheleftandrightsidesoftherow. RepeatExpressionThisboxdetermineshowmanytimesPCDMISwillrepeattherow.You willusuallyputanexpressioninthisboxthatwillevaluatetoacountednumberofitems.For example,togetthenumberofaxesinadimension,youwouldusethisexpression: =COUNT(AXIS) Thenineachcelloftherow,youwouldneedtoappendthistoexistingexpressions: :N ThisessentiallytellsPCDMIStorepeattherowthecountednumberoftimes.So,iftheCell ExpressionboxintheCelltabused=AXIStolistadimension'saxis,andyouchangedittoread =AXIS:N,PCDMISwouldcontinuetorepeattherowwithuniquedimensionaxisdatauntilall axeswerereported.

1210 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

RowLabelTheRowLabellistletsyoudefinealabelforyourrowtousewiththeTableFormat command.WhenyouaccesstheTableFormatcommand'sproperties,youwillseetherowlabels you'vedefinedhere.UsingtheTableFormatcommand,youcanredefinetheorderoftherowsin thegrid,amongotherthings. LockedRowThischeckboxlockstherowsothatyoucannotmodifyitusingtheTableFormat command.

GridControlObjectEditorTheColumnTab

ColumntaboftheGridControlObject'sEditor ColumnLabelTheColumnLabellistletsyoudefinealabelforyourcolumntousewiththe TableFormatcommand.WhenyouaccesstheTableFormatcommand'sproperties,youwillsee thecolumnlabelsyou'vedefinedhere.UsingtheTableFormatcommand,youcanredefinethe orderofthecolumnsinthegrid,amongotherthings.

LabelObject

TheLabelobjecticoninsertsaLabelobjectintoyourreporttemplateorcustomreport.Label objectsareusedtodisplayreportdatainyourreport.TheLabelobjectbehavesdifferently dependingonthecontextinwhichitisused.IfyouusetheLabelobjectintheReportTemplate Editor,itfunctionsdifferentlythanusingitintheCustomReportEditor.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1211

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

UsingtheLabelObjectwithintheReportTemplateEditor
ClickanddragontheReportTemplateEditortoaddthisobject.Whenyoureleasethemouse button,theinsertedLabelobjectlookssomethinglikethis:

ASampleLabelObject ALabelobjectactsjustlikeaTextReportObjectorCadReportObjectitdoesn'tcontainany realdataandmerelyactsasaplaceholderforalabeltemplate.Thelabeltemplateactually controlswhatdatagetspulledfromapartprogramexecution.Ifyoudon'tdefinewhatthelabel objectwilldisplay,thenitdoesn'tappearinthereport. AssignaLabelTemplate TogiveaLabelobjectsomethingtodisplay,youneedtoassignalabeltemplateforittouse. Followthisprocedure: 1. Rightclickonthelabelobject.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears. 2. ClickRulesfromtheRulesTreeproperty.TheRulesTreedialogboxappears. 3. UsingtheRulesTreedialogbox,selectanitemfromtheexpandablelistofwhenyou wantthelabeltodisplaydata. 4. ClickAddtoaddarulethatusesthatitem.TheEditRuledialogboxappears. 5. SelectUseLabelTemplateforReportoption. 6. Clickthebrowsebutton ,andselectalabeltemplatefile(.lblfilenameextension). 7. ClickOKtoclosetheEditRuledialogbox. 8. ClickOKtoclosetheRulesTreedialogbox.Thelabelobjectyouinsertedwillnow displayapictureofthelabeltemplatedefinedinthefirstruleintheRuleTreedialogbox. 9. Saveandtestyourreporttemplate.PCDMISwilldisplaytheselectedlabelwhenthe conditionyouspecifiedismet. See"AbouttheRuleTreeEditor"forinformationaboutcreatingrules.

UsingtheLabelObjectwithintheCustomReportEditor
OnecrucialdifferencebetweentheReportTemplateEditorandtheCustomReportEditoristhat intheCustomReportEditorLabelobjectsdonotusetheirownRuleTreeEditor.Instead,the PageobjectcontainsaRuleTreeEditorthatdefineswhatlabeltemplateisusedwhenthe differentcommandsanddataareinsertedintotheCustomReportEditor. MostofthetimeyouwilllikelysimplycreateyourcustomreportbydraggingitemsfromtheEdit window'sSummarymodeintotheCustomReportEditor.Inthiscase,PCDMISusesthelabel templatesdefinedinthePageobject'sRuleTreeEditorforthecommandyouareinserting.

1212 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

IfyoudoinsertaLabelobjectintoyourcustomreport,PCDMISinsertsablankLabelobject, similartohowitwouldappearintheReportTemplateEditor:

ASampleLabelObject Inthisstate,itismerelyanemptyplaceholder,anditwon'tdisplayanydatauntilyoudragand dropacommandfromtheEditwindowontotheobject.PCDMISwillthendisplaythelabel templatedefinedinthePageobject'sRuleTreeEditor. See"CreatingCustomReports"formoreinformation.

LeaderLineObject

TheleaderlineobjectletsyoudrawaconnectinglinebetweenaLabelobjectanda CADReportObject.Todothis,simplyselecttheobject,thenclickanddragitfromoneobjectto theother. Ifdoneproperly,theleaderlinewillautomaticallysnapbetweenthetwoobjectssothatifyoulater changetheirlocations,theleaderlinechangessizeandmovesaccordingly.Forexamplethis figureshowsaCADReportObjectobjectwiththreeLabelobjectsarounditallwithconnecting LeaderLineobjects.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1213

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ThreeLabelobjectswithleaderlinesobjectsdrawntoaCADReportObject. Ifitcan'tdetectthetwoobjects,aLeaderLineConstructiondialogboxwillappearallowingyou toselectthetwoobjectsbetweenwhichPCDMISshoulddrawtheleaderline.

LeaderLineConstructiondialogbox IfyoudeletetheLabeloraCADReportObjectobject,PCDMISalsodeletestheleaderline objectautomatically.

LineObject

TheLineobjectallowsyoutoquicklyinsertastandardlineintoyourformortemplate.Youcan thenrightclickontheinsertedlineandmodifyitsproperties. Commonpropertiesusedonalineobjectare: Property PenWidth PenStyle Description Thissetsthewidthofthelinein pixels. Thischangesthelinestyleto Solid,Dash,Dot,Dashdot, andDashdotdot. Thisdeterminesiftheline shouldcontainanarrowhead andthedirectionthearrowhead points.Youcanchooseoneof theseformats: (none) < > <>(both) Thisdeterminestheheightof

Arrowhead

ArrowheadHeight

1214 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

thearrowheadinpixels.

ListBoxObject

TheListBoxobjectinsertsanopenlistinsidetheform. Alongwiththeabilitytoresizetheobject,changecolors,andchangeotherattributes,youcan furthercustomizethisobjectbyusingtheseproperties: Property Accelerator Description Thisallowsyoutodefinethe lettertouseinconjunctionwith theALTkeytocreatean acceleratorforthecontrol. Theletterorsymboldefined shouldbeuniquefromthose usedforotheraccelerators (includingtheacceleratorson themenubar). Thisdetermineswhetherornot thecontrolshouldusethe colorsspecifiedinthe BackColorandTextColor properties. SelectingYESsortsthelist itemsalphabetically. SelectingAlwaysplacesa horizontalscrollbaronthelist boxevenifthetextforalist itemisn'tlongenoughtocause ittoscroll. SelectingNoneremovesthe scrollbar. SelectingAlwaysplacesa verticalscrollbaronthelistbox eveniftherearen'tenoughlist itemstocauseittoscroll. SelectingNoneremovesthe scrollbar. Thisdetermineswhetherornot thelistboxshouldusetab stops.IfsettoYES,pressing TABinRunmodewill eventuallymakethislistboxthe activecontrol. Thisdetermineswhetherornot
Reporting MeasurementResults 1215

UseColors

Sort HorizontalScroll

VerticalScroll

UseTabstops

WantKeyInput
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

RemoveSelection

ListID

thelistboxshouldaccept keyboardinput. SelectingYESremovesthe selectionfromthelistbox (ListID)whenrecorded. ThisistheIDofthelist.You cansetorgetthisbyusingthe control.Itshouldbeinthis format: item1\r\nitem 2\r\nitem3andsoon. ThisistheIDofthevalue.You cansetorgetthisbyusingthe control.

ValueID

MultiEditBoxObject

TheMultiEditBoxobjectinsertsaneditboxthatsupportsmorethanonelineoftext.Thishasall thepropertiesoftheEditBoxobject(see"EditBoxObject"),plusthefollowing: Property HorizontalScroll Description SelectingAlwaysplacesa horizontalscrollbaronthe controlevenifthetextisn'tlong enoughtocauseittoscroll. SelectingNoneremovesthe scrollbar. SelectingAlwaysplacesa verticalscrollbaronthecontrol evenifthetextisn'tlong enoughtocauseittoscroll. SelectingAutomaticplacesa verticalscrollbaronlywhenthe amountoftextexceedsthe verticalheightofthebox. SelectingNoneremovesthe scrollbar.

VerticalScroll

OLEObject

1216 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TheOLEobjectembedsorlinksanobjectfromanotherapplicationintoyourtemplateorform. Forexample,usingthisobjectyoucaninsertaneditableMicrosoftWord fileintoyourtemplateor form,toprovidespecialinstructionstotheoperator. OnceyouinsertanOLEobject,adialogboxtitledInsertObjectappears.

InsertObjectdialogbox ThisdialogboxallowsyoutoselectthetypeofOLEobjectfromalistofobjectsthatarecurrently availableonyourcomputer.TheOLEobjectsinthelistareuniquetoyourindividualcomputer dependingonwhatisinstalled,etc. IfyouselecttheCancelbuttonnothingisaddedtotheformortemplateandthedialogcloses.

AccessinganOLEObjectsAutomationMethodsandPropertiesfromBasic
IfyouhaveaddedanOLEcontrol,forexampletheBitmapcontrol,andcalleditBITMAP,youmay wishtoaccesstheOLEobjectsautomationmethodsandpropertiesfromBASIC.Forexample, youmightwishtoaddprogramcodetochangethebitmapbeingdisplayed,populatean embeddedMicrosoftExcelspreadsheetobjectwithdata,orsetthetextinanembeddedMicrosoft Worddocument.InordertoaccesstheOLEautomationmethodsandpropertiesfortheobject namedBITMAP,usethefollowingcode:
AttachOLE("BITMAP_X")

TheobjectvariableBITMAP_Xmaynowbeusedasfollows: BITMAP_X.{property}={value} or BITMAP_X.{automationmethodcall}. Note:YoumusthavedocumentationfortheparticularOLEobjectyouareusingtoknowwhat methodsandpropertiesareavailable.

ProvidingOperatorInstructionsUsingOLEObjectswithForms
UsingexistingtoolsinconjunctionwithPCDMIScanprovideyouwithmuchdesiredfunctionality. Forexample,supposeyouwanttoprovideanoperatorwithdetailedinstructionsregardingpart setupormeasurement.Onewaytodothisistoembedintoacustomform,usingtheOLEobject,
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual Reporting MeasurementResults 1217

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

anexternalfilecontainingtheseinstructions.Belowaresomeexamplesofhowtoembed instructionalfilesintoformsusingsomecommonMicrosoftOfficetools. TheseexamplesdemonstratehowtouseaMicrosoftWordfileandMicrosoftPowerPointfileas OLEobjectsinsideofaformtoprovideinstructionstoanoperatorduringpartprogramexecution. TheywillgiveyouatasteofthingsyoucoulddowithOLEobjectsinsideofyourreportorform. Howyouputthisknowledgetouseforyourownsituationisuptoyou.

ProvidingInstructionsUsingaMicrosoftWordOLEObject
Perhapsoneofthesimplestwaystoprovideinstructionstothoserunningyourpart programsistosimplyusesomethinglikeMicrosoftWord. ThistopicandthestepsbelowassumeyouhaveMicrosoftWordinstalledonyour computer. Step1CreateandSavetheInstructionsasaWordDocument 1. CreateyourpartsetupinstructionsinsideofaWorddocument. 2. Savethe.docfiletoadirectoryonyourdisk.Feelfreetoincludepictures,tables,and otheradvancedformattinginsideyour.docfile.Thesampledocfileusedforthistopic lookslikethis:

Step2CreatetheForm 3. SelectView|FormEditor.TheFormEditorappears. 4. IftheEditwindowisopen,selectView|Editwindowtocloseitgivingyoumorescreen space. 5. MaximizetheFormEditor. 6. Sizetheformsothatitwillproperlyhousethecontentsofyourfile. 7. Addanyotherobjectsasdesired.Intheexampleformusedforthistopic,aCloseForm buttonwasaddedwiththefollowingproperties: Text="CloseForm" ButtonType=OK

1218 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Whenclicked,theformautomaticallycloses. Step3InserttheOLEObject 8. FromtheObjectBar,clicktheOLEObjecticon.Dragtheobjectsothatitfitstheentire formexceptforahalfinchmarginonallsides.Whenyoureleasethemousebutton,the InsertObjectdialogboxappears. 9. SelecttheCreatefromFileoption. 10. IntheFilebox,eithertypethecompletepathwaytothe.docfile,orusetheBrowse buttontolocateit. 11. SelecttheLinkcheckbox.ThismaintainsalinkbetweentheOLEobjectonyourform andyour.docfile,sothatifyoulaterupdateyourinstructionsPCDMISwillalwaysuse thelatestinformation. 12. ClickOK.Thedocumentisembeddedintoyourformlikethis:

13. Savetheformandgiveitanameofyourchoice. TheInsertObjectdialogboxisthesamedialogboxthatappearsifyouchoosetoinsertan externalobjectintotheEditwindowbyusingInsert|ReportCommand|ExternalObject. Consultthe"InsertingExternalObjects"topicfromthe"InsertingReportCommands"sectionif youneedmoreinformationonthisdialogbox. Step4InsertandTesttheForm 14. SelectView|EditWindowtomaketheEditwindowvisible. 15. SelectInsert|ReportCommand|Form.Usethedialogboxtoselectyoursavedform. 16. PCDMISinsertsaFORM/FILENAMEcommandblockintoyourpartprogramwitha pathwaytotheformfile.
CS1 =FORM/FILENAME=<PathwaytoFormFile> PARAM/= ENDFORM/

17. Markthecommandblockforexecution.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1219

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

18. Executethepartprogram.WhenPCDMISreachestheFORM/FILENAMEcommand block,itdisplaystheform:

19. ClickContinuefromtheExecuteModeOptionsdialogboxtoclosetheformand resumeexecution.

ProvidingInstructionsUsingaMicrosoftPowerPointOLEObject
ThistopicdemonstrateshowtouseaMicrosoftPowerPointfile(.ppt)asanOLEobject insideofaformtoprovidedetailedslideshowtypeinstructionstoanoperator. ThistopicandthestepsbelowassumeyouhaveMicrosoftPowerPointinstalledonyour computer. Step1CreateandSavetheInstructionsasaPowerPoint 1. CreateyourpartsetupinstructionsinsideofaPowerPointfile(.ppt).

1220 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

2. Savethe.pptfiletoadirectoryonyourdisk. Step2CreatetheForm 3. SelectView|FormEditor.TheFormEditorappears. 4. IftheEditwindowisopen,selectView|Editwindowtocloseitgivingyoumorescreen space. 5. MaximizetheFormEditor. 6. Sizetheformsothatitwillproperlyhousethecontentsofyourfile. 7. Addanyotherobjectsasdesired.Intheexampleformusedforthistopic,aClosethe Formbuttonwasaddedwiththefollowingproperties: Text="ClosetheForm" ButtonType=OK Whenclicked,theformautomaticallycloses. Step3InserttheOLEObject 8. FromtheObjectBar,clicktheOLEObjecticon.Dragtheobjectsothatitfitstheentire formexceptforahalfinchmarginonallsides.Whenyoureleasethemousebutton,the InsertObjectdialogboxappears. 9. SelecttheCreatefromFileoption. 10. IntheFilebox,eithertypethecompletepathwaytothe.pptfile,orusetheBrowse buttontolocateit. 11. SelecttheLinkcheckbox.ThismaintainsalinkbetweentheOLEobjectonyourform andyour.pptfile,sothatifyoulaterupdateyourinstructionsPCDMISwillalwaysuse thelatestinformation. 12. ClickOK.ThePowerPointfileisembeddedintoyourform.

13. Savetheformandgiveitanameofyourchoice. TheInsertObjectdialogboxisthesamedialogboxthatappearsifyouchoosetoinsertan externalobjectintotheEditwindowbyusingInsert|ReportCommand|ExternalObject. Consultthe"InsertingExternalObjects"topicfromthe"InsertingReportCommands"sectionif youneedmoreinformationonthisdialogbox.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1221

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Step4InsertandTesttheForm 14. SelectView|EditWindowtomaketheEditwindowvisible. 15. SelectInsert|ReportCommand|Form.Usethedialogboxtoselectyoursavedform. 16. PCDMISinsertsaFORM/FILENAMEcommandblockintoyourpartprogramwitha pathwaytotheformfile.


CS1 =FORM/FILENAME=<PathwaytoFormFile> PARAM/= ENDFORM/

17. Markthecommandblockforexecution. 18. Executethepartprogram.WhenPCDMISreachestheFORM/FILENAMEcommand block,itdisplaystheformandtheembeddedPowerPointpresentation.

19. Doubleclickontheembeddedpresentation.TheMicrosoftPowerPointsoftwarewill launchanddisplaythepresentation.Whenitfinishes,PowerPointwillclose. 20. ClickContinuefromtheExecuteModeOptionsdialogboxtoclosetheformand resumeexecution.

PointerObject

ThePointerobjectinsertsadynamic,movable,coloredpointerintotheformortemplate.The colordefaultstoyellow. Alongwiththeabilitytoresizetheobject,changecolors,andchangeotherattributes,youcan causethisobjecttomovebyusingthesepropertiesinconjunctionwithVisualBASICcode: Property ValueEq Description Valueequation(Thisvaluecan

1222 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

beasetconstantnumber,a valueevaluatedfromasimple equation,orareturnedvalue fromaVBScript). $,$,CONST Minimumequation(Thisvalue canbeasetconstantnumber, avalueevaluatedfromasimple equation,orareturnedvalue fromaVBScript). $,$,CONST Maximumequation(Thisvalue canbeasetconstantnumber, avalueevaluatedfromasimple equation,orareturnedvalue fromaVBScript). $,$,CONST Tip: Ifyouchangethedirectionofthepointer,themovementofthearrowwillalsochangetothe directionspecified.

MinimumEq

MaximumEq

PolylineObject

ThePolylineobjectallowsyoutolinklinestogethertoconstructanarea.Whenyouclickand createthefirstline,asecondlineisautomaticallystartedattheendpointofthefirstline.Polyline objectscontainthesamepropertiesasastandardlineobjectwiththeseadditions: Property PenWidth HatchStyle Description Thissetsthewidthofthe object'sborderinpixels. Thissetsthetypeofpattern(or hash)tousetofilltheresulting polygon.Availablepatternsare:

Horizontal

Vertical

Diagonal

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1223

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ReverseDiagonal

Cross

ShadowStyle

DiagonalCross Thissetsthelocationofthe3D shadowontheresulting polygon.Availablelocations are: Top/Left,Bottom/Right,or None.

RadiobuttonObject

TheRadiobuttonobjectinsertsoptionbuttonsintotheform.Optionbuttonsaremutually exclusive,youcanonlyhaveoneoptionbuttonselectedinsideyourreportatatime.The ListItemspropertyallowsyoutodefineasetofoptionbuttons. Alongwiththeabilitytoresizetheobject,changecolors,andchangeotherattributes,youcan furthercustomizethisobjectbyusingtheseproperties: Property Bitmap Description Thisallowsyoutospecifya bitmaptouseforaselected optionbutton. Thespecifiedbitmapmustbe thesameshapeasastandard checkbox. Thisallowsyoutospecifya bitmaptouseforadeselected option Thespecifiedbitmapmustbe thesameshapeasastandard optionbutton. IfsettoYES,thismovesthe texttotheleftoftheoption buttonlikethis: TextHere() IfsettoNO,thismovesthetext totherightoftheoptionbutton

BitmapOffState

AlignTextLeft

1224 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

likethis: ()TextHere Thisdefinesalistofoption buttonsanditsassociated values(seethedescriptionon theListChoicesdialogbox below). ValueID ThiscontainstheCurPageand NumPagesvariable.Youget andsetthispropertyusingthe control. TheListItemspropertydisplaystheListChoicesdialogbox. ListItems

ListChoicesdialogbox Thisdialogboxallowsyoutoadd,rename,anddeleteoptionbuttonsandassignnumerical values.Generally,whenaddinganewoptionthevalueforthatoptionincrementsautomatically, soonlyonebuttonisselectedatatime.However,youcanchangethenumericalvaluestoallow theselectionofgroupsofoptionswithonemouseclickwheninRunmode. Forexample,supposeyouhavefiveoptionbuttonsthatyou'venamedOptionsAthroughE,and youchangetheirassignedvaluestothefollowing: Optionbuttons Value OptionA 0 OptionB 0 OptionC 1 OptionD 2 OptionE 2 WhenyouenterRunmodeandselectOptionA,bothOptionAandOptionBwillbeselected. Thisisbecausethey'reassignedthesamevalue.ThesameisalsotrueifyouselectOptionE, bothOptionDandOptionEwillbeselected.OnlyOptionChasauniquevalue,sowhenyou selectit,onlyitisselected.

SelectObject

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1225

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TheSelectobjectallowsyoutoselectanobjectalreadyinsertedintoyourtemplate.Simplyclick ontheobjectinthereportandPCDMISwillsurroundtheobjectwithaborderandsmallgreen squares.Thisletsyouknowtheobjecthasbeenselected.Onceselected,youcanmove,resize, oredittheobject.

SectionCutObject

TheSectionCutObjectletsyoudefineasectioncut(cutawayview)oftheCADmodel.Youcan insertaSectionCutObjectintotheReportTemplateEditoraswithotherobjects,oryoucan insertitintoafinalreportpageontheReportwindowdirectly.Toinsertthisobject,positionthe mousepointer,anddragabox.Whenyoureleasethemouse,theobjectappears,andatleast intheReportTemplateEditoritwilldisplayNoImage!untilyouassociatetheCADmodelwith theobjectbymodifyingitsproperties. ChangingtheObject'sProperties IfyouinserttheSectionCutObjectintotheReportTemplateEditor,rightclickonittoaccessthe object'sPropertiesdialogbox.YoucanmodifythepropertiesdirectlyinthePropertiesdialog boxorselectthe(SettingsDialog)property,andclickthe...buttontousetheSectionCut Settingsdialogboxtomoreeasilymodifyitsproperties. IfyouinsertthisobjectontheflyintoareportpageoftheReportwindow,thesameSectionCut Settingsdialogboxappears.

SectionCutSettingsdialogbox Youcanusethisdialogboxtodefineacutawayimageofyourpartmodelthatwilllaterappearin yourreport.

1226 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

DefiningaCutawayImageUsingtheSelectionCutSettingsDialogBox 1. FillouttheX,Y,andZboxestodefineapointontheCADmodelwheretheclipping planeintersectswiththemodel. 2. FillouttheI,J,andKboxestodefinethedirectiontheplanefaces. 3. ModifytheTolerancevalueasneeded. 4. ClicktheLoadbuttontoseealivepreviewthecutawayimageintheSectionCut Settingsdialogbox. 5. Usethelargeleftandrightarrowiconstofinetunetheplacementoftheplane,getting theexactcutawayviewthatyouneed.Thepreviewinthedialogboxupdatestomatch theplacementoftheplane. 6. Repositiontheimageasdesired.Pantheimagebyrightclickdragging.Zoominorout onthecutawayimagebyrightclickingaboveorbelowtheimaginaryhorizontallinethat splitstheimageview.2DrotatethepartimagebyholdingtheCTRLkeyandrightclick dragging. 7. Finally,placecalloutsontothedialogboximagebyusingtheAddTagbutton. 8. ClickOKtoacceptyourchanges. SectionCutSettingsDialogBoxItems Item X,Y,andZboxes Description Theseboxesdefineapointon theCADmodelwherethe clippingplanewillcutthe model. TheseboxesdefinetheIJK directionvectoroftheclipping plane. Thetoleranceparameteris usedto: 1. Checkifthepolylineis closed.Thestartand endpointdistanceis lessthanthetolerance value. 2. Reducethepolyline. 3. Mergepolylines. Loadbutton Thispreviewsthesectioncut lineontheCADimageaswell asthesectioncutprofile. Thishidesthesectioncut profileimageonthepreview window.IfyouclicktheOK button,PCDMISalsohidesthe sectioncutprofileimageinthe ReportTemplateEditororon theReportwindow'spage. Thisareacontainsaneditbox andarrowbuttons. Theeditboxdefinesthe distancethattheclippingplane willmovewhenyouclicktheleft
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual Reporting MeasurementResults 1227

I,J,andKboxes

Tolerancebox

HideImagecheckbox

Moveclippingplanealong aboveIJKarea

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

arroworrightarrowbutton. Thearrowbuttonsmovethe clippingplanealongtheIJK vector,bythespecifieddistance witheachclick. Ifyouhave1,0,0thentheplane willmovealongtheXaxis. Ifyouhave0,1,0thentheplane willmovealongtheYaxis. Ifyouhave0,0,1thentheplane willmovealongtheZaxis. Thisbuttonallowsyoutoplace calloutsonthecutawayimage ofthepartmodel. Clickingthisbuttonchanges yourcursortoacrosshairicon. Youcanclickanddragaleader lineonthecutawayimagein thedialogbox.Whenyou releasethemousebutton,a smalltextboxappearsallowing youtotypethecallouttext. Youshouldplacetagsonthe imageonlywhenthecutaway imagehasbeencompletely finalized.Ifnot,thetaglikelywill bedeletedwithanyfuture modificationtoimage. ClickingOKappliesyour changestothesectioncut profileimageanddisplaysthe imageintheReportTemplate EditororReportwindow.Ifyour reportcontainsa CadReportObject,thesection cutlinewillappearontheCAD image. ClickingCancelclosesthe dialogboxwithoutapplyingyour changes.However,ifyou've addedtheobjectontheflyinto yourReportwindow,the SectionCutObjectwillstillexit.If desired,youcanremoveitby rightclickingontheobjectand selectingRemoveObject.

AddTagbutton

OKandCancel

1228 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ObjectProperties Property (SettingsDialog) Bottom Left PlaneAnchorX Description ThisdisplaystheSectionCut Settingsdialogbox. CommonProperties CommonProperties Seedescriptionintable describingdialogboxitems above. Seedescriptionintable describingdialogboxitems above. Seedescriptionintable describingdialogboxitems above. Seedescriptionintable describingdialogboxitems above. Seedescriptionintable describingdialogboxitems above. Seedescriptionintable describingdialogboxitems above. CommonProperties

PlaneAnchorY

PlaneAnchorZ

PlaneVectorI

PlaneVectorJ

PlaneVectorK

Right

Tolerance

Seedescriptionintable describingdialogboxitems above. CommonProperties

Top

Enable

CommonProperties

Font

CommonProperties

HideImage

Seedescriptionintable describingdialogboxitems above. CommonProperties

Visible

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1229

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

EventReportData

AboutEventsandVisualBasic Code

DefiningOnTheFlySectionCutProfiles Perhapstheeasiestwaytousesectioncutprofilesistodefinethemusinganontheflycreation methodwithinthefinalreportintheReportwindowitself.Todothis: 1. RightclickontheReportwindow.Ashortcutmenuappears. 2. Selectthe AddObjectonPage|SectionCutProfile...menuitem. 3. ClickanddragaboxdirectlyontheReportwindowthesizeofthecutawayimageyou want.Whenyoureleasethemousebutton,theSectionCutSettingsdialogboxappears. 4. Usethedialogboxtodefinethecutprofileasdescribedabove.PCDMISinsertsthe sectioncutprofileintotheReportwindow.

SampleSectionCutProfile ModifyingSectionCutProfilesintheReportWindow RightclickontheobjectandselectEditObject...fromtheresultingshortcutmenu.

1230 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

SliderObject

TheSliderobjectinsertsasliderintoyourtemplate.Withasliderinyourreportyoucanallow userstosetavaluefromarangeofcontinuouspossiblevalues. Alongwiththeabilitytoresizetheobject,andchangeotherattributes,youcanfurthercustomize thisobjectbyusingtheseproperties: Property Accelerator Description Thisallowsyoutodefinethe lettertouseinconjunctionwith theALTkeytocreatean acceleratorforthecontrol. Theletterorsymboldefined shouldbeuniquefromthose usedforotheraccelerators (includingtheacceleratorson themenubar). Thissetstheorientationofthe slider. SelectingHorizontalsetsthe slidertomovehorizontally,side toside. SelectingVerticalsetsthe slidertomovevertically,upand down. Thisallowsyoutosethowticks aredisplayedonaslider. 0Both: setstheticksto aboveandbelowtheslider(ifa horizontalslider)ortotheright andleftsides(ifavertical slider).

Orientation

TickStyle

1Top/Left: setsthe ticksabovetheslider(ifa horizontalslider)ortotheleft(if averticalslider).

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1231

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

2Bottom/Right:setsthe ticksbelowtheslider(ifa horizontalslider)ortotheright (ifaverticalslider).

AutoTicks

TickFrequency

HelpHotButton

SettingthistoYESdisplays ticksontheslider.Atickisa shortvertical/horizontallinethat isplacedatintervals(setbythe TickFrequency property) alongtherangeoftheslider. Thisvaluedeterminesthe frequencythatticksare displayed.Youcansetavalue between2and200ticks equallyspacedalongtherange oftheslider. SelectingYES,showsa questionmarkhelpbuttonnext totheslider.

ValueID

MinimumEq

ClickingthishelpbuttoninRun modelaunchesthePCDMIS OnlineHelp. ThisistheIDofthevalue.You cansetorgetthisbyusingthe control. Minimumequation(Thisvalue canbeasetconstantnumber, avalueevaluatedfromasimple equation,orareturnedvalue fromaVBScript). $,$,CONST Maximumequation(Thisvalue canbeasetconstantnumber, avalueevaluatedfromasimple equation,orareturnedvalue fromaVBScript). $,$,CONST

MaximumEq

1232 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

DisplayID

Thisdetermineswhetherornot theDisplayIDgetsupdated whentheslidergetsadjusted.

SpinnerObject

TheSpinnerobjectinsertsaspinnercontrolintoyourtemplate.Youcansetthiscontroltowork withaneditbox,allowingyoutoselectanumericalvaluebycyclingthrougharangeofnumbers. TherangeofnumbersissetusingtheMinimumEQandMaximumEQproperties. Alongwiththeabilitytoresizetheobjectvertically,andchangeotherattributes,youcanfurther customizethisobjectbyusingtheseproperties: Property Accelerator Description Thisallowsyoutodefinethe lettertouseinconjunctionwith theALTkeytocreatean acceleratorforthecontrol. Theletterorsymboldefined shouldbeuniquefromthose usedforotheraccelerators (includingtheacceleratorson themenubar). Thissetstheorientationofthe spinnercontrol. SelectingHorizontalrotates theorientationofthespinner arrowstopointhorizontally. SelectingVerticalrotates theorientationofthespinner arrowstopointvertically. Ifincrementingordecrementing thelistofvaluesandyoucome totheminimumormaximum value,youcansetthisproperty toYES,andyourreportwill wraptothebeginningorendof thelist. SelectingYES,associatesthe spinnertotheeditcontrol immediatelyprecedingthe spinnerinthetaborder.You canviewthetaborderby selectinganobjectinEditmode andpressingSHIFT+ENTER. Thissetsthebaseofthe
Reporting MeasurementResults 1233

Orientation

WrapAround

EditBuddy

DecimalBase
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

IncrAccelerator

ValueID

MinimumEq

spinnertoeitherdecimalbased (selectYES)orhexadecimal based(selectNO). Thisvaluedeterminesthe amounttoincrementor decrementthespinnereach timeyouclickanarrow.The defaultis1. ThiscontainstheCurPageand NumPagesvariable.Youget andsetthesevariablesusing thiscontrol. Minimumequation(Thisvalue canbeasetconstantnumber, avalueevaluatedfromasimple equation,orareturnedvalue fromaVBScript). $,$,CONST Maximumequation(Thisvalue canbeasetconstantnumber, avalueevaluatedfromasimple equation,orareturnedvalue fromaVBScript). $,$,CONST

MaximumEq

TextReportObject

TheTextReportObjectobjectallowsyoutoinsertacontainerforyourtextualreportdatainto yourreporttemplate.Whenyouinsertthisobject,PCDMISinitiallydisplaysaboxfilledwith somesamplereportdata,usefulfordesignpurposes.Onceyourtemplategetsappliedtoareport, youractualreportdataisused.

ATextReportObjectwithSampleReportData

1234 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Asamplereportwindowshowingactualreportdata YoucanchangeaninsertedTextReportObject'sdisplaybyselectingtheobject,rightclickingonit, andeditingitsproperties. Propertiesspecifictothisobjectinclude: Property Colors Description Letsyouchangethecolorsof thetextdisplayed.Bydefault, PCDMIScausesthisobjectto usethesamecolorsschemeas usedintheEditwindow's Commandmode,soifyouclick thispropertyPCDMISdisplays amessageboxaskingifyou wanttocreateanindependent colorset.ClickingYes accessestheColorEditor dialogbox.Youcanthenuse thiseditortodefineanewcolor schemefortheselected TextReportObject. See"DefiningEditWindow Colors"in"SettingYour Preferences"forinformationon howtousetheColorEditor. Showsorhidesalignmentsin yourreport. Showsorhidescommentsin yourreport. Determineswhichdimensions getdisplayedinyourreport.

ShowAlignments ShowComments ShowDimensions

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1235

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

AllShowsalldimensions. NoneNoneofthedimensions isshown. OutofToleranceShows onlyoutoftolerance dimensions. WithinLimitsShowsonly dimensionswithintolerance limits. Showsorhidesfeaturesinyour report. Showsorhidesthereport's headerandfooterinformation. Showsorhidesmove commandsinyourreport. Showsorhidesscreen capturesinyourreport. AccessestheRulesTree Editorforthisobject.This allowsyoutocreaterulesto determinewhenandhow expressionsorlabeltemplates areusedintheobject. Labeltemplatesand expressionsletyoucontrol specificallywhatreportdata appearsinthisobject.See "AbouttheRuleTreeEditor"

ShowFeatures ShowHeaderFooter ShowMoves ShowScreenCaptures RulesTree

TextObject

TheTextobjectallowsyoutoinserttextuallabels,descriptions,andmarkingsintoyourtemplate. Thisishelpfulinmakingyourreport moremeaningful.Youcanchangeaninsertedtextobject's displaybyselectingthetextobject,rightclickingonit,andeditingitsproperties. Thepropertiesforthetextobjectaredescribedinthe"CommonProperties"topic.

TextVarObject

TheTextVarobjectallowsyoutoinsertdynamic,numericaltextintoyourtemplate. Thisobject differsfromtheTextobjectbydeletingtheTEXTpropertyandaddingthese2properties:

1236 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Property ValueEq

Description Valueequation(Thisvaluecan beasetconstantnumber,a valueevaluatedfromasimple equation,orareturnedvalue fromaVBScript).Thevalueis formattedanddisplayedatrun time. $,$,CONST

Format

Thisformatsthenumerical valueusing'C'language standards.However,you shoulduseonlythenumeric portion.Forexample,the format%5.2lfbecomes5.2, %5dbecomes5.Oneexception tothisiswhenusingBOOLEAN variables,the$stringgets convertedintoNOorYES.

TousethisobjectedittheValueEqpropertysothatit'ssettodisplayavariablenumbervalue.

TheLayoutBar

TheLayoutBargivesyouthetoolsyouneedtoeffectivelyarrange,organize,anddisplayyour objectsinsidetheeditmodegrid.Thefollowingtopicsdiscussthefunctionalityofeachicon.

Edit
TheEdit iconplacesthetemplateintoRunmode.TheReportTemplateandLabelTemplate editorsalwaysremaininEditmode.ThisicononlyfunctionswhenworkingwiththeFormEditor.

PropertySheet
ThePropertySheeticondisplaysthepropertiesfortheselectedobjectintheProperty Sheetdialogbox.ThePropertySheetdialogboxallowsyoutochangethepropertiesfora selectedobject.Youcaneasilychangetheobjectwhosepropertiesyou'relookingatbychoosing adifferentexistingobjectfromthelistatthetopofthePropertySheetdialogbox. Forcompleteinformationontheavailableproperties,see"AboutObjectProperties".

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1237

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ToggleGrid
TheToggleGridiconshowsorhidestheavailablegrid.UsedinEditmode,thegridisuseful forsizingobjectspreciselysinceitcontainsadoteverytenthofaninch.See"Workingwiththe Grid".

ViewSnapPoints
TheViewSnapPointsiconshowsthesnappointsoneachobject.Snappointsareusefulin tyingobjectstogetherwithlines.Forexample,youcancreatealinebetweenatextbox descriptionpointingtoanobject,suchasacircle,byusingalinetoconnectsnappointsonthe textboxdescriptionandthecircleobject.Then,likealeaderline,whenyoumovethecircletoa newlocation,theattachedlinestretchesandshrinkstoaccommodatethenewpositionofthe circle. Tousesnappointsasdescribedintheaboveexample, 1. Createacircleobject. 2. Createalineobject. 3. Ineditmode,selecttheViewSnapPointsiconfromtheLayoutBar.Youwillnoticethat objectsonthegridthathaveanareawilldisplaybluecoloredpoints.Thesebluepoints aresnappoints.

Samplecircleshowingfivesnappoints

4. Selectthelineanddragoneendofituntiltheendrestsdirectlyonthedesiredsnappoint ofthecircle.Trymovingthecircleobjectthelineisattachedtothecircleobject'ssnap point. 5. Createatextobjectforadescriptionforthecircleandedititwithabriefdescription. 6. Selecttheotherendofthelineanddragituntilitrestsononeofthesnappointsofthe textobject. 7. Nowselectanddrageitherthetextboxdescriptionorthecircleobject.Noticethatthe lineobjectgetslongerorshorterandmovessothatthere'salwaysastraightline betweentheusedsnappointsofthetwoobjects. Todetachobjectsattachedtoasnappoint,simplydragtheattachedendoftheobjectoffofthe snappoint. SnapPointsvs.LeaderLineobjects MostofthetimeyouwillprobablyusetheLeaderLineobjectinsteadofsnappoints.Ithasnearly allthesamefunctionalityassnappointsandiseasiertouse(seethe"LeaderLineObject"topic). OneadvantagesnappointshaveovertheLeaderLineobject,istheirabilitytosupportmore thanonelinebetweenobjectsandtheirabilitytofittheconnectinglineexactlytoasnappoint. Forexample,withsnappointsyoucancreateamorecomplexshapedirectlyintheeditmode,as shownhere:

1238 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

SampleCylindercreatedwithtwofourlinesfittedtosnappointsonthetwofilledcircles. SupportedObjects OnlyLineandPolylineobjectscanattachtoobjectsthathavesnappoints.Belowaretheobjects thathavesnappoints: Text TextVar Border Ellipse Bitmap DimensionColorKey Histogram FeatureText DimensionInfo PointInfo

ViewingAttachedObjects Oncomplexpageswithalotofobjects,youmayfinditusefultousetheView|Routemenu optiontoseethechainofobjectsconnectedtothecurrentlyselectedobject.Thismenuoption selectsallobjectsconnectedinsomewaybysnappointstothecurrentlyselectedobject.

ToggleRuler
TheToggleRulericonallowsyoutoturnonorofftherulerlocatedonthetopandleftsides ofthegrid.Therulershowsthesizeofthegridininches.Italsodisplaysyourcursor'sposition alongthegrid'shorizontalaxis(topruler)andverticalaxis(sideruler).

ZoomInorOut
TheseiconsallowyoutozoominoroutofyourHyperreportandthenrestoretheoriginalview: Zoomin100% Thiszoomsinonyourreportby100percentperclick.Youcanclick thisiconatmostfivetimestogeta500percentzoom. Zoomout100% Thiszoomsoutofyourreportby100percentperclickifyou'realready zoomedin.Ifyouhaven'tzoomedinatall,youwillonlybeabletozoomoutby100 percentonetime.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1239

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Zoomto1:1Thisrestoresthesizeofyourreporttotheoriginal1to1zoomsize. Nomatterwhatyouzoomto,PCDMISrestorestheoriginalzoomwheneveryouactivatea controlthathasan"activated"or"deactivated"mode(forexample,doubleclickingonthe CadReportObjectorGridControlObject).Whenyouleavethesecontrolsandreturntotheediting environment,thezoomsizegoesbacktowhatitwas.

Group
TheGroupiconallowsyoutoselectmultipleobjectsandgroupthemtogether.Once grouped,theeditorwillshowthegroupedobjectsasoneobject. Togroupmultipleobjects,eitherholddowntheSHIFTbutton,andselectallobjectsinthegroup, orboxselectallobjects,andthenclicktheGroupicon.

Ungroup
TheUngroupiconrestoresobjectinagrouptotheirindividualungroupedstates.Todothis, selectagroupedobjectandclickUngroup.

Regroup
TheRegroupiconregroupsthelastungroupedsetofobjectswithoutyourhavingtoreselect theindividualobjects.

AlignEdges
TheAlignEdgesiconprovidesyouwiththeseadditionaliconsthatallowyoutoarrangea setofselectedobjectsalongtheirleft,right,top,orbottomedges: Alignsselectedobjectsalongtheirleftedges Alignsselectedobjectsalongtheirrightedges Alignsselectedobjectsalongtheirtopedges Alignsselectedobjectsalongtheirbottomedges

AlignCenter
TheAlignCentericonprovidesyouwiththeseadditionaliconsthatallowyoutocenter selectedobjectseitherhorizontallyorvertically: Centersselectedobjectsalongthehorizontalaxis

1240 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Centersselectedobjectsalongtheverticalaxis

Space
TheSpaceiconprovidesyouwiththeseadditionaliconsthatallowyoutoequallyspace selectedobjectseitherhorizontallyorvertically: Equallyspacesselectedobjectsalongthehorizontalaxis Equallyspacesselectedobjectsalongtheverticalaxis

MakeSameSize
TheMakeSamesizeiconprovidesyouwiththeseadditionaliconsthatallowyouto equalizethewidth,theheight,orboththewidthandheightofallselectedobjects: Equallysizesthewidthsoftheselectedobjects Equallysizestheheightsoftheselectedobjects Equallysizesboththewidthsandtheheightsoftheselectedobjects

ToFrontorBack
TheToFrontorBackiconprovidesyouwithadditionaliconsthatallowyoutoplacea selectedobject(orobjects)infrontorinbackofotherobjects.Thisishelpfulwhenyouhave multipleobjectsontopofeachotherandyouwantcertainobjectstobevisible.Theavailable iconsincludethefollowing: Movestheselectedobject(s)infrontofallotherobjectssothatitisshownontop Movestheselectedobject(s)behindallotherobjectssothatisshownbeneath

UndotheLastAction
TheUndotheLastActioniconwillundothelastactionyoutookintheeditor.

WorkingwiththeGrid
Whenworkinginaformortemplateeditor,PCDMIScandisplayorhideagridonthe backgroundofyourformortemplatebyclickingtheToggleGridicon fromtheLayoutBarorby pressingCTRL+G.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1241

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Youcanusethisgridasatoolfortheaccurateplacingand/orsizingofobjectsandhowtocontrol atemplate'smarginguidelines.

Exampleshowingthedefaultgrid'smarkingsandguidelines SelectEdit|Layout|GridSettingstoaccesstheGridSettingsdialogbox.

GridSettingsdialogbox Youcanthenusethisdialogboxtocustomizethegrid.Foradescriptionofthecontrolsinthis dialogbox,seethetablebelow: DialogBoxControl ShowGridcheckbox SnaptoGridcheckbox Description TheShowGridcheckbox togglesthedisplayofthegrid. TheSnaptoGridcheckbox determineswhetherornot controlsplacedonthegridget moved,orsnapped,tothe nearestgridlocation. TheSpacingareasetsthe amountofspacingbetweenthe gridmarkings.Thesmalleryou setthesenumbers,thecloser togetherthegridmarkingswill be. TheGuidelinesareaallows youtodeterminethelocationof thetop,left,right,andbottom marginguidelinesforthe templateeditor. Thevalueineachofthese

Spacingarea

Guidelinesarea

1242 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

boxessetsthedistanceingrid markingstowheretheguideline willbeset.Settingthevalueto zerowillremovetheguideline completely. Youcannotplaceobjects beyondtheseguidelines.

RedothePreviouslyUndoneAction
TheRedothePreviouslyUndoneActioniconwillredotheactionthatwasundonewhen youclickedtheUndotheLastActionicon.

AboutObjectProperties
Eachobjectaddedtoatemplateorformhasasetofproperties(orattributes)associatedwithit thatcontrolsuchthingsastheobjectsposition,size,colors,font,text,name,andsoon.Each objectalsohasassociatedwithitasetofeventhandlerfunctionsthataretriggeredwhencertain eventstakeplace,suchastheclickingordoubleclickingthemouseonthatobject.These propertiesandeventhandlersmaybeviewedand/ormodifiedusingthePropertiesdialogbox, alsosometimescalleda"propertysheet". AccessinganObject'sProperties ThePropertiesdialogboxmaybeviewedbyselectinganobject(bysingleclickingwithinits boundaries)andthenrightclicking.Here'sanexamplepropertysheetthatshowsatextobject, namedText1,anditsvariousproperties:

AsamplePropertiesdialogbox ViewingPropertiesofAvailableObjects

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1243

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

AtthetopofthePropertiesdialogboxisadropdownlist.Thislistboxcontainsanentryforeach oftheobjectsinyourtemplateorform,aswellassomeobjectsthatalwaysexistandcannotbe deleted,suchasthemaineditingareaitself.IntheReporteditor,themaineditingareaiscalled thePage.IntheLabelEditorandtheFormEditoritiscalledTheFrame/TheView. Youcanviewthepropertiesforanyoftheobjectsinyourformortemplatebyselectingadifferent objectfromthisdropdownlist.Ifyouhaveareporttemplatewithmorethanonesection,thislist onlyshowsobjectsinthecurrentsection. Note:Forreporttemplates,anadditionalobjectcalledReportexiststhatyoucanonlyaccess fromthisdropdownlist.ItcontainstwopropertiesintheAdvancedcategorythatallowyouto specifyyourownexternalexecutable(a.exefile)tocollectuserassignedproperties.These propertiesareTemplateSelectionProgramandPartProgramExecutionProgram.PCDMIS runsthespecifiedprogramsduringtemplateselectionandduringpartprogramexecution respectively. UnderstandingPropertyOrganization Propertiesforeachobjectaredividedupintothreemaincategories:Standard,Advanced,and Events.Youcancollapseorexpandeachofthesecategoriesbyclickingthe+orsymboltothe leftofeachcategory. Ingeneral,Standardpropertiesgenerallycontrolcolor,position,andlinestyles.Advanced propertiescontrolsuchthingsaswhetherornottheobjectisenabledorvisible.Eventsallowyou tousetheBASIClanguagetocodespecificinstructionswhenspecifiedeventsoccur. Note:ActiveXandOLEobjectshaveanadditionalsection,discussedintheirrespectivetopics: "ActiveXObject"and"OLEObject". Foradescriptionofavailableproperties,seethe"CommonProperties"topicbelow,orifa descriptionisn'tfoundthere,viewobjectspecificdocumentationavailablefromthe"TheObject Bar"topic.ForinformationonEvents,seethe"AboutEvents"topic. UnderstandingtheNameIdentifier Whenyouinsertanobjecttoatemplateorform,auniquenameidentifierisautomatically assignedtotheobject'sObjectCodeproperty.Subsequentobjectsofthesametypehavethe samenamewithanincrementednumericalvaluebehindit.Forexample,theeditorautomatically namesyourfirstTextobject"Text1".ItnamessubsequentTextobjects"Text2","Text3",andso on.Youcan,ofcourse,changethisvaluetoadifferentname.Ifyoudo,ensurethatyougiveita uniquename.AnyBASICscriptingthatmakesuseofanobject'scodemustalsobeupdatedif yourmodifythatobject'snameidentifier. ChangingPropertyValues Youcanmodifyanypropertybyselectingit,clickingitsvalue,andeitherselectinganewvalueif itdisplaysadropdownlist,orbytypinganewvalueifit'saneditfield. ExpressionsasPropertyValues Somepropertyvaluescanholdreportingexpressionsinsteadofaconstantvalue,justasacell fromaGridControlObjectcanholdexpressions.Remembertoprefacetheexpressionwithan equalssign(=).Forexample,supposeyouhaveaTextobjectinalabeltemplateandyouwantit todisplaythecurrentfeature'sIDinsteadofsomeothertext.IntheTextproperty,youwouldtype "=ID".Duringexecution,itwouldpullthefeature'snamefromPCDMISanddisplayitinthatText object.

1244 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

CommonProperties
ThefollowingarepropertiestakenfromasampleTextobject.Thesepropertiesalsomakeupthe coresetofpropertiesformanyotherobjects.Propertiesspecifictoanobjectaredocumentedin thatobject'sdocumentation.Eventspropertiesaredetailedinthe"AboutEvents"topic.

AsamplePropertiesdialogbox CommonStandardandAdvancedProperties Common Properties (ObjectCode) Description Uniquenamethatidentifiesanobjectinatemplateorform.Whenever youneedtoaccessapropertyormethodofanobjectusingtheBASIC language,usethefollowingsyntax:{ObjectCode}.{propertyormethod name} Textalignmentwithinthetextobjectsdefiningrectangle.

Alignment

AnchorSnaps

Fieldwhichallowsyoutocreate,deleteormodifysnappointsbyusing theEnterSnapPointsdialogbox.Snappointsarefoundontheellipse, rectangle,textbox,orbitmapimageobjects. YoucanconnectLineorPolylineobjectstoanobject'ssnappointsby draggingthetipofthelineontothedisplayedbluesnappoint. Onceconnected,whenyoudragtheobjecttoanewlocation,the resultinglineremainsconnectedtothesnappoint,rotating,elongating, andshrinkingasnecessary.Thisfeatureishelpfulwhenyouneedto createa"leaderline"thatconstantlypointstoanobjectthatyou'll frequentlybemoving. Todisplaysnappoints,fromtheLayouttoolbarclicktheViewSnap

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1245

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Pointsicon:

BackColor

Backgroundcoloroftheobject.Thiscolorisusedtofilltheobjects definingrectangle. NilThisstandsfornovalue.Itmeansthebackgroundwillbe transparent,allowingothercolorsofobjectsbehindthisobjecttoshow through.Bydefault,anythingwithaBackColorpropertywillbesettoNil. Technically,settingthecolortoNilactuallydefinesthecoloras RGB(255,255,254).ThatcoloristhenmadetransparentwithintheReport window. IfyoutrytospecifyacolorofRGB(255,255,254),PCDMISwill automaticallysetittoRGB(255,255,255),anontransparentcolor.This willnotaffectwhatyouvisuallysee. Beawarethatifyourlabelhasabitmapimagethatusesthecolor RGB(255,255,254),thatcolorwillbemadetransparentinsidetheReport window. Styleofborderdrawnaroundtheobject.

BorderStyle

Bottom

Distance,inpixels,ofthebottomoftheobjectsrectanglefromthetopof thetemplateorform.

CursorPointer

Cursordisplayedwhentheuserdragsthemouseovertheobject.

Enable

Enableordisabletheobject.Adisabledobjectmaystillbevisible,butwill notrespondtouserinput.

Font

Fontusedfortextrenderedintheobject.

ForeColor

Foregroundcoloroftheobject.Inthecaseofthetextobject,specifiesthe textcolor.

HatchStyle

Hatchstyleusedinfillingthebackgroundboxoftheobject.

HelpContextID

ThisisthecontextIDofaspecifichelptopictocall.Thisisoftenusedin conjunctionwiththeHelpbuttontypewhichinvokesWinHelp().

1246 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

HiliteColor

(ThisobjectnotincludedwithPCDMIS)

Layer

Thisassignsthecurrentobjecttotheselectedlayer.

Left

Distance,inpixels,oftheleftsideoftheobjectsrectanglefromtheleft sideofthetemplateorform.

Orientation

Orientationofthetextinsidetheobject.Horizontaltextflowsfromleftto right.VerticalUpflowsfrombottomtotop.VerticalDownflowsfromtopto bottom.

PenWidth

Widthofthepenusedtodrawtheobject.Inthecaseofthetextobject, thepenwidthonlyaffectstheborderdrawnaroundthetext.

Right

Distance,inpixels,oftherightsideoftheobjectsrectanglefromtheleft sideofthetemplateorform.

ShadowStyle

Shadoweffectusedwhenrenderingtheobject.

Tag

Placeholderthatstoresuserdefineddata.

Text

ToolTipText

Textappearinginthetextobject.Youcanalsotypeanampersandsymbol(&) infrontofanyalphanumericcharacterinthisfieldtocreateashortcutkey (shownasanunderlinedcharacter)thatwhenpressedwiththeALTkeyin RunMode,causesthatcontroltoimmediatelyhavethefocus.Ifyouplanon usingalotofshortcutkeys,youcanensuretheyareuniquebyusingtheEdit |Layout|CheckMnemonicsmenuiteminEditMode. TextdisplayedwhenyoumovethemouseovertheobjectinsideRun mode.

Top

Distance,inpixels,ofthetopoftheobjectsrectanglefromthetopofthe templateorform.

Visible

Visibilitystateoftheobject.Avalueof1correspondstovisible,0to hidden.

PCDMIS Commands

(AppearsonlyforobjectsaddedtotheCustomReportEditor) AddsorRemovescommandreferencestoexistingobjectsinyourreport. Selectanobjectinyourreport,andselectthisproperty.ThePCDMIS

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1247

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Commandsdialogboxappears.

PCDMISCommandsdialogbox Allthecommandsinyourpartprogramappearintheexpandableand collapsiblelistontheleft.Therighthandlistdisplaysallthecommands referencedbytheobject. 1. Selectthecommandsfromthelefthandlistthatyouwantthe selectedobjecttoreference.Theywillappearintherighthandlist istheobjectsupportstakingmultiplecommands.However,In mostcases,youwillonlybeabletoselectonecommand. 2. ClickOK.ThedialogboxclosesandPCDMISnowreferences thenewcommandintheselectedobject. Thisessentiallyprovidesanalternateapproachtoupdatinganobjecttouse differentdatafromthepartprogram.See"DraggingandDroppingInformation intoaCustomReport"fortheusualwayofupdatingobjects. Forobjectsthatsupportmultiplecommands(suchasthe GridControlObject),thisdialogboxletsyouchangetheorderof referencedcommands. (AppearsonlyforobjectsaddedtotheCustomReportEditor) Tracksthecommandsreferencedbytheselectedreportingobject.During reportgeneration,foreachcommand,PCDMISchecksthecommand referencesofeachobject.Ifthatobjectindicatesthatithasareferenceto thecommandbeingprocessed,PCDMISsendsthecommanddatato thatobject. Mostobjectsonlysupportonecommandatatime,butsomeobjectscan supportdatafrommultiplecommands(suchastheGridControlObject).If youdraganddropcommandsintotheCustomReportEditor,PCDMIS takescareofmanagingthereferencesforyouinternally.Youshouldonly needtousethispropertyifyoudecidetohavemanualcontroloverwhich commandsarereferencedforsomereason.

PCDMIS References

1248 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TheFrame/TheViewProperties
ThemaineditingareaintheLabelTemplateEditorandtheFormEditorcontainsaspecialobject called TheFrame/TheView.Thisobjectalsocontainspropertiesthatcanbeaccessedandset justaswithanyotherobject. Usedin Label Template Editoror Form Editor Both Both Both Label Template Editor Label Template Editor

Property

Description

Height Width LocalDecls Page Orientation

Definestheheight,inpixels,ofthemainediting area. Definesthewidth,inpixels,ofthemainediting area. Declaresvariableswithascopeavailabletoyour entireformorlabel. Setsthelabeltooneofthepredefinedstandard orientations,eitherPortraitorLandscape. Setsthelabeltooneofthepagesizesavailable onyourdefaultprinter.Youmayseeitemssuch asLetter,A4,oroneofseveralothersizes dependingonyourtypeofprinter. DisplaystheSupportedCommandTypesdialog box.Withthisdialogboxyoucandefinewhat commandsshouldusethislabeltemplate.Thenin theReportwindow,whenyourightclickonalabel andselecttheChangeReport...menuitem,PC DMISwillonlydisplaythoselabelsthatsupport theselectedcommandtype. Setsthehorizontalpositionoftheformwithinthe windowwhenexecuted. SeetheDeclareGlobalUsingtheLocalVariables Propertytopic. IfsettoYes,thisdisplaysaMaximizeiconinthe upperrightcorneroftheform.Clickingthisicon runmodeorduringexecutionallowsyouto maximizeyourformwindowtofilltheavailable space. IfMaximizeBoxissettoYesbutMinimizeBoxis settoNo,thentheMinimizeiconwillstillappear butwillbeunavailableforselection. IfsettoYes,thisdisplaysaMinimizeiconinthe upperrightcorneroftheform.Clickingthisicon
Reporting MeasurementResults 1249

PageSize

Supported Command Types

Label Template Editor

Horizontal Positioning LocalVariables

FormEditor FormEditor

MaximizeBox

FormEditor

MinimizeBox

FormEditor

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

duringrunmodeorduringexecutionallowsyouto minimizeyourformwindowtothetaskbar. IfMinimizeBoxissettoYesbutMaximizeBoxis settoNo,thentheMaximizeiconwillstillappear butwillbeunavailableforselection. Setstheverticalpositionoftheformwithinthe windowwhenexecuted. CommonProperties

Vertical Positioning ToolTipText

FormEditor Both

SectionandPageProperties
ThemaineditingareasintheReportTemplateEditorandtheCustomReportEditor,arespecial objectscalledtheSectionandthePagerespectively.Theseobjectscontainpropertiesthatcan beaccessedandsetjustaswithanyotherobject. Property Height Width (FormCode) Description Definestheheight,inpixels,ofthemaineditingarea. Definesthewidth,inpixels,ofthemaineditingarea. DefinesthenameofthePage. Defineshowcommandsgetprocessedwithinthecurrent section(Pagetab). AllCommandsThesettingwillprocessthe entirecommandsetinthecurrentsection(Page tab).Thisisthedefaultvalue. ContinuefromPreviousSectionThissetting continuestoprocessthecommandsetfromthe previoussection,continuingwherethelastsection stopprocessing. SameasPreviousSectionThissettingwill causethesection(Pagetab)totakeexactlythe samecommandsetastheprevioussection.The headsectionandallsubsequentsectionswiththis settingwillformaminigroup.Allsubsequent sectionsintheminigroupwillcreateonepagewith theheadpage. Providesawindowforyoutodeclarevariableslocalto thisobject.Oncedeclaredyoucanusethesevariablesin eventsthataffecttheobject.Thistypeofdeclarationlets yougivethevariableavalueinoneeventandthencheck thatvalueinadifferentevent.Thevariableissafefrom accidentalmodificationsinceitisinvisibletootherobjects inthereportorform. SeetheDeclareGlobalUsingtheLocalVariables Propertytopic. Definesthemaximumnumberofreportpagesthatwill usethedesignofthecurrentPagetab.

CommandSet

LocalDecls

LocalVariables MaximumNumberOf Pages

1250 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Forexample,ifyousetthisvalueto2,butyouhaveeasily enoughdimensionsinyourpartprogramtofillfivepages, thesectionwillnotprocesscommandsoncethenumber ofpagesforthatsectionreachesthespecifiedmaximum oftwopages.Thecurrentprocesscommandwillneeda newlycreatedsection(Pagetab)inordertodisplay additionalinformation. Thedefaultvalueof0meansthereisnomaximumand soallpageswillbedisplayed. CommonProperties

ToolTipText

Examplesof"CommandSet"and"MaximumNumberofPages"Properties InthefollowingexamplessupposethatyourreporttemplatehasfoursectionsnamedA,B,C, andDandthateachcontainsaTextReportObject.Additionally,supposethatyourpartprogram hasenoughdimensionstodisplaythreepagesofdimensionspersection.Foreachexample,a tablewilldetailthepropertysettings. Example1 Sections Maximum Number ofPages 0 0 0 0 CommandSet

A B C D

AllCommands AllCommands AllCommands AllCommands

Inthisexample,PCDMISwoulddisplaythepagesinthefinalreportlikethis: A1,A2,A3,B1,B2,B3,C1,C2,C3,D1,D2,D3 Example2 Sections Maximum Number ofPages 1 0 0 1 CommandSet

A B C D

AllCommands AllCommands AllCommands AllCommands

Inthisexample,PCDMISwoulddisplaythepagesinthefinalreportlikethis: A1,B1,B2,B3,C1,C2,C3,D1 Example3 Sections Maximum CommandSet


Reporting MeasurementResults 1251

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

A B C D

Number ofPages 1 0 0 1

AllCommands AllCommands SameAsPrevious Section AllCommands

Inthisexample,PCDMISwoulddisplaythepagesinthefinalreportlikethis: A1,B1,C1,B2,C2,B3,C3,D1 Example4 Sections Maximum Number ofPages 1 0 0 1 CommandSet

A B C D

AllCommands ContinueFrom PreviousSection SameAsPrevious Section AllCommands

Inthisexample,PCDMISwoulddisplaythepagesinthefinalreportlikethis: A1,B2,C2,B3,C3,D1

WorkingwithUserAssignedProperties
IntheReportTemplateEditorinversion4.0,thePropertiesdialogboxcontainsaveryhandy feature,theabilitytomakeapropertyuserdefinable.Thisallowsyoutoletprogramoperators changeobjectpropertiesatruntime. Forexample,supposeyouwantyourreporttitletochangedynamicallyaccordingtowhateverthe currentpartprogramoperatorwants.Youcaneasilyaddaninteractiveapproachsuchasthisto yourreportsbyusingthisfunctionality. ToMakeaPropertyUserAssigned: 1. Selectanobjectinoneoftheeditors.Forourexampleabove,youwouldselectaText object. 2. Rightclickontheobject.Thiscausesthepropertysheetforthatobjecttoappearonthe rightsideoftheeditor.Ontheleftsideofthepropertysheetyouwillseecheckboxes nexttomostproperties.Thesecheckboxesdeterminewhatpropertiesyoucanmake userdefinable.

1252 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

SamplePropertySheetforaTextobject.Noticetheuserdefinablecheckboxesonthe left.

3. Selectthecheckboxnexttothepropertyyouwanttomakedefinable.Forourexample above,youwouldselecttheTextpropertyfora Textobject.AUserAssignedProperty dialogboxappearsaskingyoutodeterminethemessagethatwillprompttheuserforthe propertyvalueandwhentheusershouldbeprompted.

UserAssignedPropertydialogbox

4. InthePromptbox,typetheprompttheuserwillreceive,thenselectfromoneofthetwo optionbuttonswhentheuserwillreceivetheprompt.Youcanchoosetoprompttheuser eitherduringtemplateselectionorpartprogramexecution. 5. ClickOK.TheUserAssignedPropertydialogboxcloses. 6. Savethereporttemplateandreturntoyourpartprogram.


PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual Reporting MeasurementResults 1253

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

7. Nowtotestthis,usetheReportwindow,clicktheTemplateSelectioniconandselect thereporttemplatefromthedialogbox,thenexecuteyourpartprogram. 8. Atsometimeduringthepreviousstep,PCDMISwilldisplaytheDefineUserAssigned Propertiesdialogboxtopromptyoufortheproperties'valuesaccordingtotheoption buttonyouselectedintheUserAssignedPropertydialogbox

DefineUserAssignedPropertiesdialogbox

ToViewandManipulateallYourUserAssignedProperties: 1. Accessareportorlabeltemplatethathasuserdefinableproperties. 2. SelectEdit|UserAssignableProperties.TheUserAssignedPropertiesdialogbox appears.Thisdialogboxshowsthosepropertiesthatwillbepresentedduringtemplate selectionorpartprogramexecution.

UserAssignedPropertiesdialogbox

1254 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

3. SelectanitemfromthePromptStyledropdownlisttofilterwhatgetsdisplayedinthis dialog.Theuserassignedpropertiesappearinthelistboxbelow.Thelistboxtracksall theproperties,whatobjectstheybelongto,andtheirprompts.

Toremoveaproperty,selectthepropertyandclickthebigredX.Thatobject'sproperty willnolongerbeuserdefinableandwillusethedefaultvaluealreadydefinedinthe template.

DeletePropertyicon Toreorderaproperty,selectthepropertyyouwanttomoveandthenclicktheredupor downarrows.Thiswillmovetheselectedpropertyupordowninthelist.

RedUpandDownArrows Tochangeaproperty'spromptorwhenthepromptshouldappear,doubleclickonthe propertyintheFeaturecolumn.PCDMISdisplaysUserAssignedPropertydialogbox, allowingyoutomakethechange.

UserAssignedPropertydialogbox

Important:IfyouselectedPromptwhenuserselectstemplate fromtheUserAssigned Propertydialogbox,PCDMISwillonlypromptyouonceforanyuserassignedvalues. Thereafter,forthatpartprogram,PCDMISwillautomaticallyusetheinitialpropertyvalueuntil youclearoutalltemplateassociateddata.Seethe"ClearingTemplateAssociatedData"topicin thischapter. IfyouselectedPromptwhenreportisexecuted,thenPCDMISwillautomaticallydisplaythe DefineUserAssignedPropertiesdialogboxeachtimethepartprogramisexecuted.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1255

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ClearingTemplateAssociatedData
TheFile|Reporting|ClearTemplateAssociatedDatamenuitemremovesthefollowingitems usedinthecurrentpartprogramwiththecurrentselectedreporttemplate: Anyuserassignedpropertyvalues.Byclearingthese,PCDMISwillagainpromptyoufor valuestoanyuserassignedpropertiesinthecurrenttemplate. Tablecustomizationsonlabels. LabelplacementcustomizationsaroundCADReportObjectobjects. ChangestotherotationorzoomfactorofanyCADReportObjectobjects.

TheFile|Reporting|ClearAllTemplateAssociatedDatamenuitemdoesthesameasthe abovemenuitembutaffectsallreporttemplatesusedbythisreport. Forinformation,onuserdefinedpropertiesseethe"WorkingwithUserAssignedProperties"topic inthischapter.

AboutEventsandVisualBasicCode
ThissectionassumesthatyouhaveatleastsomebackgroundwiththeVisualBasic programminglanguage.IfyouneedtolearnVisualBasic,pleaseconsultabookorotherexternal resourceonthesubject. TheEventssectiononthePropertiesdialogboxcontainsalistofeventhandlerfunctionsthat yourtemplateorformobjectsupports.Aneventhandlerfunctionwillbecalledwheneverthe eventimpliedbythenameofthefunctionoccursforthegivenobject.Whenthatfunctiongets called,anyVisualBasiccodeinsidethatfunctiongetsexecuted. AvailableEventHandlerFunctions EventClick EventDblClick Calledwhenthemouseisclickedontheobject. Calledwhenthemouseisdoubleclickedontheobject.

EventDragDrop

Calledwhenanother"draggable"itemisdroppedontotheobject.

EventDragEnter

Calledwhenadraggableitemisinitiallydraggedontotheobject.

EventDragOver

Calledwhenadraggableitemisdraggedovertheobject.

EventInitialize

CalledwhentheformfirstentersintoRunModebeforeanyother handlersarecalledontheobject. Calledwhenamousebuttonisdepressedwhileovertheobject. Parameterspassedtothefunctionindicatewhichbuttonwas pressed,iftheSHIFTkeywaspressed,andthecoordinatesofthe mouseatthemomentthemousebuttonwasdepressed.

EventMouseDown

1256 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

EventMouseMove

EventMouseUp

EventPumpData

EventTerminate

Calledwhenthemouseispassedovertheobject.Parameters passedtothefunctionindicatewhichbuttonwaspressed,ifthe SHIFTkeywaspressed,andthecoordinatesofthemousewhenthe moveeventwassent. Calledwhenthemousebuttonisreleasedovertheobject. Parameterspassedtothefunctionindicatewhichbuttonwas pressed,iftheSHIFTkeywaspressed,andthecoordinatesofthe mouseatthemomentthemousebuttonwasreleased. ThisisperhapsthemostwidelyusedhandlerfunctionintheForm Editor.EventPumpDataiscalledwheneverBASICvariablesthat mayaffecttheobjectchangevalue.Yourcodecanalsoforce EventPumpDatatobecalledonindividualobjects(oronallobjects inareport)whenyouwishanobjecttoupdateitself.Basically,any codethatanobjectneedstoreinitializeitselfbasedonvariable valuesorthestateofotherobjectsshouldoccurinEventPumpData. CalledwhenthereportisbeingclosedorwhentogglingfromRun ModetoEditModeintheFormeditor. ThishandlerfunctionisonlyavailablefortheSectionediting environments.

EventReportData

ThisisperhapsthemostwidelyusedhandlerfunctionintheReport andLabelTemplateeditors.Itgetscalledwheneverreportdatagets pluggedintothecurrenttemplate. ItsprimaryfunctionistoletyoucreateyourownActiveXcontrolsthat getplacedintoalabel.Forexample,PCDMIS'sbestfitandfeature analysiscontrolsusethiseventtosentdatatotheActiveXcontrol fromthecommand.Toseethis,openthelabelnamed best_fit_analysis.lbl,clickontheActiveXcontrolinsidethelabel,and thenlookattheBASICcodeinsideitseventhandler.Asingleline passesdatafromthecommandintothecontrol. WithdatapassedtoyourownActiveXcontrol,youcanthenuse Automationcommandstoextractandmanipulatethedata.Seethe PcdbasichelpfileforinformationonPCDMISautomation. Important:Thiseventgetscalledonceforeachcommandwhen applyingthereporttemplateorduringprogramexecution.

AddingCodetoEventHandlers InordertoaddBASIClanguagecodetoanyoftheeventhandlers: 1. Clickonthefunctionsentryfromthelistofeventhandlers.AMiniVisualBASIC languageeditorwillappear,withtheopeningandclosingstatementsofthesubroutine alreadyfilledin. 2. TypeadditionalBASIClanguagestatementscodeintotheeditor. 3. ClickOK. 4. Testyourcode.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1257

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

IfyouareusingtheFormEditor,testyourformbypressingCTRL+Etoenter Runmode. Ifyouareusingoneofthetemplateeditors,testyourcodebyapplyingthe templatetoareportandredrawingthereportusingtheRedrawReporticonfrom theReportingToolbar.

Note:Sinceyoudon'tinteractwithclickablebuttons,lists,fields,orotherinteractiveelements whenusingareport,theonlyeventhandlerfunctionavailableistheEventReportDatafunction.

EventExample1:CallingCodeonanEventClickEvent
ThiseventexampleusesaButtonobject.Totestthis,youwillneedtousetheFormEditor. 1. SelectView|FormEditortoaccesstheFormEditor. 2. First,insertabuttonintoyourformbyclickingontheButtoniconontheObjecttoolbar andthendraggingoutarectangleforthebuttonontotheform. 3. Makesurethatthebuttonisselected(highlighted).

4. Rightclickonthebuttontobringupthedialogshowingthebuttonsproperties. 5. Ifnotexpanded,clickonthe+signnexttotheEventssectiontoexpandthelist.You shouldseealistofalloftheavailableeventhandlerfunctions forthebuttonobject.

ExampleofaButtonObject'sEvents 6. doubleclickontheEventClickfunctioninthelist.AVisualBASICEditorentitledVBS MiniEditoropens. 7. AddthefollowingcodetotheEventClickfunctioninsidetheVBSMiniEditor: MsgBoxI'vebeenclicked.".

1258 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

8. ClicktheOKbuttonintheupperrighthandcorneroftheVBSMiniEditor.Closethe PropertySheet. 9. SavethereportbyselectingFile|Save.YouarenowreadytotestthereportinRun Mode. 10. SwitchtoRunMode(pressCTRL+E). 11. Clickonthebuttonyoucreated.AmessageboxwiththetextIvebeenclicked!should appear.

Thissimpleexampleillustratesthebasicsofscriptableformsandeventhandlers.

EventExample2:ModifyObjectPropertiesonTriggeredEvent
Thisexercisefollowstheaboveexercise,youshouldhavecompleteditfirst.Thisexamplealso usestheFormEditor. Supposeyouwanttomodifythepropertiesofanotherobject(saythetextinatextobject)when thebuttonhasbeenclicked. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. SelectView|FormEditortoaccesstheFormEditor. SwitchbacktoEditMode(pressCTRL+E). Createanewtextobject. Openthetextobjectsproperties(selectandthenrightmouseclick). MakesurethatthetextitemsObjectCodepropertyreadsText1.TheObjectCode propertyisthenamethatisusedtorefertothatobjectfromBASICcode. 6. Ifnotexpanded,clickonthe+signnexttotheEventssectiontoexpandthelist. 7. doubleclickontheEventInitializehandlerfunction.TheVBSMiniEditoropens. 8. AddthefollowingcodetotheEventInitializefunction: SetThis=Text1

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1259

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

9. PresstheENTERkeytogettoanewline.Onthenextlinetypethiscode:
This.Text=Thebuttonhasnotyetbeenclicked

10. ClicktheOkbuttontoclosetheeditor. 11. OncetheobjectText1hasbeensetupasdescribed,openthepropertysheetforthe buttonobjectaddedinthepriorexercise. 12. ClicktheEventstab. 13. doubleclickontheEventClickfunction. 14. Replacethebasiccodeyouaddedinthepreviousexamplewiththefollowingtwolines: Line1:MsgBoxIvebeenclicked,andamabouttomodifyText1stext Line2:Text1.Text=Thebuttonwasclicked!!! 15. ClicktheOKbuttontoclosetheVBSMiniEditor. 16. ClosethePropertySheet. 17. SwitchtoRunMode(pressCTRL+E).ThecodeyouaddedtoText1sEventInitialize functionwillsetText1toinitiallyreadThebuttonhasnotyetbeenclicked. 18. Nowtryclickingonthebutton.TheIvebeenclicked,andamabouttomodifyText1s textmessageshouldappear.Assoonasyouclosethemessagebox,Text1stext shouldbemodifiedtoreadThebuttonwasclicked!!!. ThisexampleillustrateshowthepropertiesofanyobjectinaformmaybeaccessedfromBasic codeviatheObjectCode.property_namesyntax.

AccessObjectMethods
Manyoftheobjectssupportvariousmethodsinadditiontotheirproperties.Thesemethodsmay beaccessedfromBASICcodeviatheObjectCode.method_namesyntax.Thismeansyoucan seewhatpropertiesandmethodsareavailableforanygivenobjectbytypingtheobjectsObject CodeintheVBSMiniEditorfollowedbyaperiod.Assoonastheperiodistyped,aminiwizard willpopupshowingtheavailablemethodsandpropertiesforthatobject. Soifyouhadatextobjectnamed"Text1"youcouldtype"Text1"followedbyaperiodandalistof availablemethodsorpropertiesforatextobjectwouldappear. Variablesdeclaredwithinaneventhandlerfunction(viatheBASICDimvar_nameasvar_type syntax)areinscopeonlyduringthateventhandlerfunction.Therewillundoubtedlyarise situationswhenyouwouldliketodeclarevariables,functions,orsubroutinesthatareaccessible fromallBASICcodeinatemplateorformvariableswithglobalscopeforaparticularreport. Thetemplateandformeditorsprovideaplacetomakethesedeclarations.

DeclareGlobalVariablesUsingtheLocalVariablesProperty
Ifyouwishtodeclareglobalvariablesofanyofthestandarddatatypes(String,Integer,Double, etc.)andhavethemshowupintheBasicWizard,youcanusetheLocalVariablespropertyof TheFrame/TheVieworSection. TousetheLocalVariablesproperty: 1. OpenthePropertySheetfor TheFrame/TheView.Dothisbyselecting,then rightclickingonanobject.ThePropertySheetwillappear. 2. SelecttheSettingstab. 3. ScrolldowntotheLocalVariablesproperty. DoubleclickingontheLocalVariablespropertywillbringuptheLocalVariablesdialogbox.

1260 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

LocalVariablesdialogbox TheLocalVariablesdialogboxallowslocalvariablesofanyofthebasictypestobeadded, removed,named,andinitialvaluestobeset.Again,thesevariablesareglobaltothistemplateor formandwillbeaccessiblefromanyoftheBASICcodewrittenforthistemplateorform.Theywill alsoappearintheLocalVariablesareaoftheScriptWizard. Note:ThenameLocalVariablesissomethingofamisnomer,sincevariablesdeclaredinthe LocalVariablesdialogboxactuallyhaveaglobalscopetothatparticulartemplateorform.It indicatesthatthevariablesdeclaredhereare"local"tothisparticulartemplateorformandcannot beaccessedonotherforms.Nevertheless,theyaresetasglobalvariables,availabletoother routineselsewhereinthetemplateorformtheyaredefinedfrom.

Declare/DefineVariables,Functions,orSubroutines
Todeclareand/ordefinevariables,functions,orsubroutinesthataretobeaccessiblefromall BASICcodeinareport,usetheLocalDeclspropertyofTheFrame/TheViewfoundonthePC DMIStabofthePropertySheet.Todothis: 1. 2. 3. 4. OpenthePropertySheetforanobject. Select TheFrame/TheViewfromthedropdownlist. ClickonthePCDMIStab. DoubleclickontheLocalDeclsitemonthepropertysheet.AVBSMiniEditorappears.

YoumayaddanyBASICcodeyouwishtothiswindow,includingvariabledeclarationsand functionorsubroutinedefinitions.Anyvariables,functions,orsubroutinesdeclaredherewillbe global,butwillnotappearintheScriptWizard.

UnderstandingtheReportTemplateEditor
YoucanaccesstheReportTemplateEditorbyselectingFile|Reporting|New|Report Template.YoucanalsoopenanexistingreporttemplatebyselectingFile|Reporting|Edit| ReportTemplate. PCDMISdisplaystheReportTemplateEditorinanewwindow.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1261

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ReportTemplateEditor TheReportTemplateEditoractsasaworkarea,allowingyoutodrag,size,andplacevarious objectsandsettheirproperties.Youplaceyourobjectsontopofthewhitearea,calledthe templateorsection.Ifyouhaveworkedwithlegacy(HyperView)reportinginpreviousversionsof PCDMIS,youwillfeelathomewiththiseditorsinceitessentiallyfunctionsmuchthesameway andcontainsmanyofthesameuserinterfaceelements. Withthenewtemplateapproachtoreporting,youcannotplacetheReportorLabeltemplate editorsintoRunMode.TheyonlyopeninEditModeandcannotbeswitched.RunModestill functionswiththeFormEditor. RunModeThismodeonlyworkswiththeFormEditor.InRunModeyoucanrun(or execute)yourform,testingitforhowitwouldlookorbehaveinanactualpartprogram executionenvironment. EditModeThisisthedefaultmodeforallthereportingeditorsandistheonlymodeforthe ReportandLabeltemplateeditors. YoucanswitchbetweenrunandeditmodesbypressingCTRL+E. Theeditorcontainsthefollowingelements: TheMenubar TheFontBar(toolbar) TheObjectBar(toolbar) TheLayoutBar(toolbar) ObjectPropertySheets Sections WorkingwiththeGrid

1262 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

AboutSections

SampleSections Sectionsmakeupthemaineditingareainareporttemplate.Thesetabbed,scrollableareasin theReportTemplateEditorarewhereyoucaninsertobjectsintoyourcurrentreporttemplate. Sectionsgiveyougreatercontroloverwhenobjectsappearinyourreport. InversionspriortoPCDMIS4.0,creatingandmaintainingamultiplepageHyperViewreport wherecertainobjectsonlyappearedoncertainpagesinvolvedasomewhatcumbersome approach.Itrequiredcomplexcodingwithaliberaldoseoflayerstohideandshowvarious objectsonvariouspages.WiththenewReportTemplateEditor,youcaneasilyaddadditional sectionstoyourtemplateandcreatepowerfulmultisectionreportswithease. Sections,however,arenotthesameaspages.Objectsinsertedintoonesectionwillnotbe displayedinothersectionsbutwillbedisplayedinmultiplepagesofthesamesection.This approachlessensthecomplexityofcreatingreportitemslikeheadersandtitlesthatyouwantto remainstatic. Forexample,youmightchoosetoplaceadescriptionofthereportandauthordataonthefirst sectionofyourtemplate,aTextReportObjectontothesecondsection,andaCadReportObject ontothethirdsection.Then,dependingonthelengthofyourreportdata,eachsectioninyour reportmayspawnuptoseveralpages. SectionsareonlyusedintheReportTemplateEditor.Beforeversion4.0,themaineditingarea forHyperViewreportswascalled,"TheFrame/TheView".ThisnameisstillusedintheForm EditorandtheLabelTemplateEditorwheresectionsarenotused.FortheReportTemplate Editor,theeditor's"Section"iswhereyouplaceyourreportingobjects. ToAddaNewSection 1. 2. 3. 4. MakesureyourReportTemplateEditorwindowismaximized. Scrolltotheverybottomofyourtemplate. RightclickontheSection1tab. SelectInsertfromtheshortcutmenu.PCDMISinsertsanewsection,Section2,into yourtemplate.Yourtemplateshouldnowhavetwosections,likethis:

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1263

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ToDeleteaSection 1. 2. 3. 4. MakesureyourReportTemplateEditorwindowismaximized. Scrolltotheverybottomofyourtemplate. Rightclickonthesectiontabyouwanttodelete. SelectDeletefromtheshortcutmenu.PCDMISdeletesthesection.

ToModifyaSection'sProperties 1. 2. 3. 4. MakesureyourReportTemplateEditorwindowismaximized. Scrolltotheverybottomofyourtemplate. Rightclickonthesectionitself.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears. Modifythepropertiesasdesired.Torenameasection,renamethesection'sFormCode property.

SpanningCommandSetsAcrossSectionstoControlPageLayoutandOutputCollated Pages PriortoPCDMIS4.2therewasnowaytospanacommandsetfromonereporttemplatesection toanother.Now,twonewpropertieshavebeenaddedtosection(Page)objectsthatprovidethis functionality,makingiteasiertocreatedifferentpageswithdifferentlayoutswhileusingthesame commandset.Youcanusethesepropertiesaswelltooutputthereportascollatedpages.See the"PageProperties"topicforinformationandexamplesontheCommandSetandMaximum NumberofPagesproperties.

AbouttheLabelTemplateEditor
YoucanaccesstheLabelTemplateEditorbyselectingFile|Reporting|New|LabelTemplate. YoucanalsoopenanexistinglabeltemplatebyselectingFile|Reporting|Edit|Label Template. PCDMISdisplaystheLabelTemplateEditorinanewwindow.

1264 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

LabelTemplateEditor ThiseditorissimilartotheReportTemplateEditorandtheFormEditorwiththeexceptionof somedifferencesinits ObjectBar,theuserinterfaceisessentiallythesame.Whileyoucan technicallyputanyobjectfromtheLabelTemplateEditor'sObjectBarintoalabeltemplate,you willgenerallyworkwiththeGridControlObject.Thelabeltemplate,isthewhite,sizable,boxon topofthe"LABEL"background. Withthenewtemplateapproachtoreporting,youcannotplacetheReportorLabeltemplate editorsintoRunMode.TheyonlyopeninEditModeandcannotbeswitched.RunModestill functionswiththeFormEditor. RunModeThismodeonlyworkswiththeFormEditor.InRunModeyoucanrun(or execute)yourform,testingitforhowitwouldlookorbehaveinanactualpartprogram executionenvironment. EditModeThisisthedefaultmodeforallthereportingeditorsandistheonlymodeforthe ReportandLabeltemplateeditors. YoucanswitchbetweenrunandeditmodesbypressingCTRL+E. Theeditorcontainsthefollowingelements: TheMenubar TheFontBar(toolbar) TheObjectBar(toolbar) TheLayoutBar(toolbar) ObjectPropertySheets

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1265

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

AbouttheCustomReportEditor
YoucanaccesstheCustomReportEditorbyselectingFile|Reporting|New|CustomReport. Youcanalsoopenexistingcustomreports,ifany,foryourcurrentpartprogrambyselectingFile |Reporting|Edit|CustomReport. PCDMISdisplaystheCustomReportEditorinanewwindow.IftheEditwindowisopenPC DMISautomaticallyplacesitintoSummarymode.

CustomReportEditor ThiseditorissimilartotheReportTemplateEditor,theLabelTemplateEditor,andtheForm EditorwiththeexceptionofsomedifferencesinitsObjectBar,theuserinterfaceisessentially thesame. Thecustomreportisthewhite,sizable,areaontopofthe"CUSTOM"background.Notethat whenusingthiseditor,youarenotcreatingatemplate,butarecreatingtheactualreportthatwill bedisplayedintheReportwindow.Usually,youwillwanttorunthiseditorsidebysidewiththe EditwindowsetinSummarymodesothatyoucandragthedesiredobjectsfromSummarymode ontoyourCustomReport.See"CreatingCustomReports". WiththeCustomReportEditor,youcannotplacetheReportorLabeltemplateeditorsintoRun ModeasyoudidwiththeHyperVieweditor.ItonlyopensinEditModeandcannotbeswitched. RunModestillfunctionswiththeFormEditor. RunModeThismodeonlyworkswiththeFormEditor.InRunModeyoucanrun(or execute)yourform,testingitforhowitwouldlookorbehaveinanactualpartprogram executionenvironment.

1266 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

EditModeThisisthedefaultmodeforallthereportingeditorsandistheonlymodeforthe ReportandLabeltemplateeditors. YoucanswitchbetweenrunandeditmodesbypressingCTRL+E. Theeditorcontainsthefollowingelements: TheMenubar TheFontBar(toolbar) TheObjectBar(toolbar) TheLayoutBar(toolbar) ObjectPropertySheets

UnderstandingtheFormEditor
YoucanaccesstheFormEditorbyselectingView|FormEditor.PCDMISdisplaystheForm Editorinanewwindow.

FormEditor TheFormEditoractsasaworkarea,allowingyoutodrag,size,andplacevariousinteractive formobjects,suchasbuttons,listboxes,editboxes,andsoforth,andtosettheirproperties. Objectsgetplacedonthegray,sizablearea,calledaform.IfyouhaveworkedwithHyperView reportinginpreviousversionsofPCDMIS,youwillfeelathomewiththiseditorsinceit essentiallyfunctionsmuchthesamewayandcontainsmanyofthesameuserinterfaceelements. Withthenewtemplateapproachtoreporting,onlytheFormEditorcanusetheRunMode capability.Thereportandlabeltemplateeditorsdonotuseit.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1267

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

RunModeThismodeonlyworkswiththeFormEditor.InRunModeyoucanrun(or execute)yourform,testingitforhowitwouldlookorbehaveinanactualpartprogram executionenvironment. EditModeThisisthedefaultmodeforallthereportingeditorsandistheonlymodeforthe ReportandLabeltemplateeditors. YoucanswitchbetweenrunandeditmodesbypressingCTRL+E. Theeditorcontainsthefollowingelements: TheMenubar TheFontBar(toolbar) TheObjectBar(toolbar) TheLayoutBar(toolbar) ObjectPropertySheets

CreatingCustomTemplates
WhilePCDMIScomeswithsomepredesignedtemplatesthatfitmostusers'needs,youcan,of course,delveintothepowerfultemplateeditorstocreateyourowncustomreportandlabel templates.YoucanalsousetheFormEditortocreateamoreinteractiveapproachtoexecution andreporting. Thefollowingtopicsdiscusshowtocreateyourowncustomtemplatesbyusingthereport templateandlabeltemplateeditors Hint:Newtotemplatereporting?Followthe"CreatingaReportTemplate"tutorialandthe "CreatingLabelTemplates"tutorial.

AboutReportsandReportTemplates
InolderversionsofPCDMISyouwouldhavehadtocreateadifferentreportforeachpart program,butnolonger.Now,PCDMISusesreporttemplates.Areporttemplateisnotareport, butadescriptionforareport.ThetemplatedescribeswhatdataPCDMISshouldusetocreatea report,whereitwillgo,andwhatitwilllooklike.Youcanusereporttemplatesformorethanone partprogram,lettingyouquicklyandeasilystandardizethelookandfeelofseveralreports. YoucreatetemplatesinsideoftheReportTemplateEditor.Reporttemplatefileshavea.rtp filenameextensionandarecreatedinsidethePCDMISreporttemplateeditor. Youcanmakereporttemplatefilesassimpleorascomplexasyoulike.Asimplereporttemplate mightcontainasingleTextReportObject,whileacomplexreporttemplatemightcontainseveral differentobjects,bitmapimages,shapes,orevenitemsthatusethereportingexpression languagetodetailexactlywhatappearsfromthereportdata. Important:Donotconfusethereporttemplate'sfilenameextension,.rtpwiththeolder HyperViewreportfilenameextension,.rpt.Thesearecompletelydifferentfileformatsyoucannot openupaHyperViewreportinsidetheReportTemplateEditor.WhilePCDMIS4.0andlaterstill letyourunanembeddedHyperViewreport,youwillneedaversionofPCDMISthatsupports report(.rpt)filesinordertoeditthem.

1268 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TutorialCreatingaReportTemplate
Thistopicwalksyouthroughaverybasictutorialthatwillcreateasimplereporttemplatewitha fewobjectsandsomelabels.Thisshouldgiveyouabasicoverviewofhowthingsworktogether sothatyoucancreateanduseyourownreporttemplates. Note:Inordertogiveyouagoodfoundationonhowtousethetemplateeditors,thistutorial showshowtocreateareporttemplatefromscratch.However,inpracticaluseyouwillmostlikely finditmucheasiertocustomizeoneofthestandardtemplatestosuityourneeds. Beforebeginningthistutorial,createasimplepartprogramthatcanmeasurefourcirclesona simplepart.ThistutorialusestheHexagontestblock(Hexblock_Wireframe_Surface.igs).

Createapartprogramthatmeasuresfourcircles,similartothis. Step1:CreateaBlankReportTemplate 1. SelectFile|Reporting|New|ReportTemplatetoaccesstheReportTemplateEditor. Ablankreporttemplateautomaticallyappears. 2. Hideunusedtoolbarsbyrightclickingonthetoolbarareaandremovingtoolbars. 3. HideunusedPCDMISwindowsbyselectingtheopenwindowfromtheView menu. 4. Maximizethetemplateeditorbyclickingthemaximizebuttontheeditor'swindow.You shouldseethewords"REPORT"onthebackgroundoftheeditorandyoureditorshould havea"Section1"tabatthebottom.YourReportTemplateEditorshouldnowlook somethinglikethis:

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1269

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Step1:ReportTemplateEditor Hint: Whenworkingwithoneofthetemplateeditors,youmayfindithelpfultohideyourusual PCDMIStoolbarsandwindows,therebyfreeingupsomescreenspace.Ifyouworkfrequently withtemplates,youmaywanttocreateastoredscreenlayoutforyourtemplate.Forinformation onlayouts,seethe"WindowLayoutsToolbar"topicinthe"UsingToolbars"chapter. Inaddition,youmayfinditusefultocreateyourowntoolbarwiththeFile|Reportingcommands onit.Forinformationoncreatingcustomtoolbars,seethe"CustomizingToolbars"topicinthe "CustomizingtheUserInterface"chapter. Step2:InsertandFormataTextObjectforaSectionTitle 1. FromtheObjectBar,clickona Textobject. 2. Insertitintothereportbydraggingarectangleontothecurrentsection. Whenyou releasethemouse,theobjectisselected,asshownbysmallgreensquares,called handles,ateachcorneroftheobject.

AsampleTextobjectshowinghandles 3. SelecttheTextobjectyouinserted,anddragthegreenhandlessothatithasaheightof 1inchandalengthof6inches.UsetheRulerBarsonthetopandleftborderofthe editorasneeded.SelectView|RulerBarsiftherulersaren'tavailable. 4. rightclickontheTextobject. 5. SelecttheBackColorpropertyandchangeittoalightbluecolor(0.255.255).

1270 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

6. ClicktheForeColorpropertyandchangeittoadarkbluecolor(0.0.128). 7. ClicktheLineWidthpropertyandchangethevalueto5. 8. ClicktheTextpropertyandchangeitto"ACustomReport". 9. ClicktheFontproperty.TheFontdialogboxappears. 10. ChangetheSizeto20,theFontStyletoBold,andtheFonttoArial. 11. ClickOK. Youhaveformattedyourtextobject.Itshouldlooksimilartothis:

Step3:MakePropertiesUserAssignable 1. SelecttheTextobjectyoucreatedinthepreviousstep. 2. Rightclickontheobject.ThiscausesthePropertiesdialogboxforthatobjecttoappear ontherightsideoftheeditor.Ontheleftsideofthedialogboxyouwillseecheckboxes nexttomostproperties.Thesecheckboxesdeterminewhatpropertiesyoucanmake userdefinable.

SamplePropertySheetforaTextobject.Noticetheuserdefinablecheckboxesonthe left.

3. SelectthecheckboxtotheleftoftheTextproperty.A UserAssignedPropertydialog boxappearsaskingyoutodeterminethemessagethatwillprompttheuserforthe propertyvalueandwhentheusershouldbeprompted.


PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual Reporting MeasurementResults 1271

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

UserAssignedPropertydialogbox 4. 5. 6. 7. InthePromptbox,type"TypeYourReport'sTitleNow". SelectthePromptwhenreportisexecutedoption. ClickOK.TheUserAssignedPropertydialogboxcloses. SelectthecheckboxtotheleftoftheBackColorproperty.Intheresultingdialogbox, type"ChooseYourBackgroundColorNow"forthepromptandoncemorechoosethe Promptwhenreportisexecutedoption. 8. ClickOK.TheUserAssignedPropertydialogboxcloses. Inthisstep,youselectedtwopropertiesandmadethem"userassignable".Thismeanswhoever executesyourpartprogramwillbeabletosettheseproperties. Step4:AddaTextReportObject 1. Fromtheeditor'sObjectBar,clickontheTextReportObjecticon.Yourmousepointer willchangefromanarrowpointertoacross. 2. AddtheTextReportObjectonthetemplatebydraggingaboxonyourtemplate'ssection. PCDMISautomaticallyaddssomedefaultfillerreporttext.Whenyouapplythistemplate toyourreport,PCDMISwilluseyouractualreportdata.Thisfillertextsimplyhelpsyou understandwhatyourdesignwilllooklike.Yourobjectshouldlooksomethinglikethis:

SampleTextReportObject 3. SizetheobjectsothatitsclosetothewidthoftheText objectyouaddedearlier.Youcan sizetheobjectbyclickinganddraggingoneofthegreenboxessurroundingtheobject. 4. SelecttheTextobjectyouaddedearlier.HolddowntheSHIFTkeyandselectthe TextReportObject.

1272 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

5. Withbothselected,usetheLayoutBarandtheclicktheappropriateMakeSameSize andAlignCentericonstomaketheobjectsthesamewidthandtoalignthemsothat theyarecenteredinbetweentheleftandrightsidesoftheeditor. YourtemplateshouldnowhaveaTextReportObjectonthefirstsection. Step5:AddaNewSectiontotheTemplate 1. 2. 3. 4. MakesureyourReportTemplateEditorwindowismaximized. Scrolltotheverybottomofyourtemplate. rightclickontheSection1tab. SelectInsertfromtheshortcutmenu.PCDMISinsertsanewsection,Section2,into yourtemplate.

Yourtemplateshouldnowhavetwosections,likethis:

Step6:AddaCADReportObject 1. ClickontheSection2tabtomakethattheactivesection. 2. Fromtheeditor'sObjectBar,clickontheCADReportObjecticon.Yourmouseiconwill changefromanarrowpointertoacross. 3. AddtheCADReportObjectonthetemplatebydraggingaboxonyourtemplate'ssection. Sizetheboxsothatitmeasuresabout6incheswideand4inchestall.Youcansizethe objectbyclickinganddraggingoneofthegreenboxessurroundingtheobject. 4. Whenyoufinishdrawingthebox,PCDMISautomaticallydisplaystheLabelLayout Wizard.Thiswizardshowsafakepartsurroundedbysomefakelabels.Thesedummy itemsaresimplydesignaidswhileworkinginthetemplateeditor.Youcanusethis wizardstoquicklysetuplabelsaroundyourpart.Forindepthinformation,seethe"The LabelLayoutWizard"topic.Whenyouapplythistemplatetoyourreport,PCDMISwill useyouractualCADdrawingandlabelinformation. 5. ChangetheLabelCountboxnumberoflabelsto4. 6. ChangetoEllipticalPacked. 7. Clickonthesmall,square,whitehandleinthemiddleoftheCADdrawing,anddragthe squareclockwiseorcounterclockwisetorotatethelabelsalongtheellipticalpath. 8. RotatethelabelsuntilallfourareabovetheCADdrawinguntiltheLayoutPreviewarea oftheLabelLayoutWizardlookslikethis:

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1273

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

LayoutPreviewareashowingfourlabelsellipticallypackedabovetheCADdrawing 9. ClickOK.PCDMISinsertstheobjectintoSection2. YourSection2layoutshouldnowcontainaCADReportObjectlookingsomethinglikethis:

ExampleCADreportobjectshowingthefourdummylabelsabovethedummypart Step7:DefineWhatMeasurementInformationShouldAppear 1. ClickontheSection1tabandrightclickontheTextReportObjectyouinsertedearlier. 2. FromthePropertiesdialogbox,changetheseproperties: ShowAlignmentsOFF ShowCommentsOFF ShowDimensionsNone ShowFeaturesON ShowHeaderFooterOFF

1274 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ShowMovesOFF ShowScreenCapturesOFF 3. ClickontheSection2tab. 4. rightclickontheCADReportObjectyouaddedintoSection2.Therightpartofthe screendisplaysadockedPropertiesSheetdialogbox.Thisdialogboxcontainsvarious propertiesspecifictotheselectedobject. 5. ClickonRulesintheRulesTreeproperty.TheRuleTreeEditorappears:

RulesTreeproperty

RuleTreeEditordialogbox 6. ExpandtheFeaturesheading.Alistoffeaturesappears. 7. ExpandtheCirclesheading.Alistofvariouscirclefeaturesappears. 8. ClicktheMeasuredCircleitem,andthenclicktheAddbutton.ThistellsPCDMISyou areaddingarulethatyouwantthetemplatetofollow.TheEditRuledialogboxappears. Thisdialogboxallowsyoutomakedecisions foryourreporttemplate.Inthiscase,you aretellingyourreporttemplatetodosomethingwhenitencountersmeasuredcirclesin thepartprogram'sreportdata.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1275

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

EditRuledialogbox 9. SelecttheUseLabelTemplateforReportoption.TheLabelNameboxbecomes availableforedit. 10. Clickthe...button.AnOpendialogboxappearsallowingyoutoselectaspecific templatefile.

AsampleOpendialogboxshowingseveralavailablelabeltemplates 11. NavigatetowhereyouinstalledPCDMIS,andopenuptheReportingsubdirectory. Selectthesummary.lbllabel,andclickOpen.IntheEditRuledialogbox,PCDMIS displaysthenameofthetemplateyouselected.See"AboutLabelsandLabel Templates"forinformationandatutorialoncreatinglabels. 12. ClickOKtoclosetheEditRuledialogboxandapplytherule.Youwillnoticethatthe MeasuredCircleiteminthelisthasaboldfonttoindicatethataruleexistsforthat featuretype. 13. ClickOKtoclosetheRuleTreeEditordialogbox. YouhavecreatedarulethattellsPCDMIStouseathesummary.lbllabeltemplatetodisplay summaryinformationaboutthemeasuredcirclefeaturetype.

1276 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Step8:SaveandTesttheTemplate 1. InsidetheReportTemplateEditor,selectFile|Save.IntheSaveAsdialogboxsavethe templateastest1.rtp. 2. SelectFile|ClosetoclosetheReportTemplateEditor. 3. SelectView|Reportwindow.TheReportwindowappears,showingthedefaultreport template. 4. FromtheReportingtoolbarontheReportwindow,clicktheTemplateSelectionDialog icon.TheReportTemplatesdialogboxappears 5. AddyourreporttotheReportTemplatesdialogboxbyclickingtheAddbutton. 6. Navigatetoandselecttest1.rtp.ThenclickOpen.PCDMISaddsathumbnailviewof yourreportintotheReportTemplatesdialogbox.

ReportTemplatesdialogboxshowingTest1.rtp 7. Selectyourtemplate'sthumbnailicon,andclickOpenReport.PCDMISopensthe Reportwindowusingyournewlycreatedtemplate. 8. Finally,executeyourpartprogram.Thefirsttimeyouexecutethepartprogramusingthis reporttemplate,PCDMISwilldisplayaDefineUserAssignedPropertiesdialogbox askingyoutogivethereportanewtitleandtosetthebackgroundcolor. 9. SetthesepropertiesasdesiredandclickOK.ThedialogboxclosesandPCDMISruns yourpartprogram. 10. Whenexecutionfinishes,PCDMISwillshowthereportdatawiththenewtemplate. Congratulations!YouhavefinishedtheReportTemplatetutorial.

ApplyingorRemovingaReportTemplate
Toapplyareporttemplatetoyourmeasurementresults,ortoremoveareporttemplate,you mustfirstaccesstheReportTemplatesdialogbox: ToAccesstheReportTemplatesdialogbox: 1. SelectView|ReportWindowtoaccesstheReportwindow.
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual Reporting MeasurementResults 1277

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

2. FromtheReporttoolbarontheReportwindow,clicktheTemplateSelectionicon . TheReportTemplatesdialogboxappearsshowingavailablereporttemplatesas.rtp files:

ReportTemplatesdialogbox Youcanusethisdialogboxtomanageyourreporttemplates. ToAddaReportTemplate: 1. FromtheReportTemplatesdialogbox,clicktheAdd button.AstandardOpendialog boxappears.

Opendialogbox 2. Navigatetothereporttemplatefile,selectit,andclickOpen.

1278 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

3. PCDMISaddsthetemplatetotheAthumbnailpictureofthetemplatewillappearinthe ReportTemplatesdialogbox. 4. Yourdialogboxmightcontainfewormanytemplates.Toresizethedialogboxtobetter suityourneeds,dragthedialogbox'sedgetoanewlocation. ToRemoveaReportTemplate: 1. FromtheReportTemplatesdialogbox,selectatemplate. 2. ClicktheRemovebutton(toremovealltemplates,clickRemoveAll). 3. PCDMISremovesthereporttemplatefromtheReportTemplatesdialogbox. Removingreporttemplatesdoesn'tdeletethem.Itmerelyremovesthemfromthisdialogbox. YoucanalwaysaddthemlaterusingtheAddbutton.

Note:ThetemplateslistedintheReportTemplatesdialogboxaredifferentforeachuser accountontheWindowsoperatingsystem.

SharingReportTemplates
Youcaneasilyshareareporttemplatewithotherusers.Whenyousaveareporttemplate,PC DMISautomaticallysavesacopyofanyassociatedlabeltemplatesintothereporttemplateitself. Thisway,ifyouwanttoshareareporttemplate,youdon'thavetoworryaboutsendingallthe associatedlabeltemplatesalongwithit.Evenso,thereporttemplatewillalwayscheckforthe actuallabeltemplatefileinthedirectoryfirst.Ifitfindstheactuallabeltemplatefile,itwillusethat. Iftheactuallabeltemplatefiledoesn'texistasexpected,thenthereporttemplatewillusethe copiedversionofthelabeltemplatefilethatisstoredwiththereporttemplateitself.

AboutLabelsandLabelTemplates
LabelsareabrandnewconceptinPCDMISreporting.Alabeltemplateessentiallyactslikea minireporttemplatethatyouassociatewithaspecificcommand(orcommands)inthereport. Thisgivesyoualotoffreedomwithdatathatyoucanincludeinyourreport.Forexampleyoucan displaylabelsfordimensions,labelsformeasuredfeatures,forautofeatures,andsoforth. PCDMISshipswithseveralstandardlabelsthatyoucanassociatewithobjectsinyourReport templates.However,aswithReporttemplates,youcancreateyourownlabeltemplatesaswell. LabeltemplatescancontainanyobjectfromtheLabelTemplateEditor'sObjectBar,butthey usuallycontaintheGridControlObjectortheGraphobject. TheLabelTemplateEditorisusedtocreatelabeltemplates.

TutorialCreatingLabelTemplates
Thistopicwalksyouthroughabasictutorialthatwillcreateasimplelabeltemplatewithafew objectsandaGridControlObject.Thisshouldgiveyouabasicoverviewofhowlabeltemplates worksothatyoucanusethemtodisplaycustominformationinyourreports. Thistutorialbuildsonskillsyoulearnedinthe"CreatingaReportTemplate"tutorialbesureto completethatsectionfirst.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1279

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Step1:CreateaBlankLabelTemplate 1. SelectFile|Reporting|New|LabelTemplatetoaccesstheLabelTemplateEditor.A blanklabeltemplateautomaticallyappears. 2. Hideunusedtoolbarsbyrightclickingonthetoolbarareaandremovingtoolbars. 3. HideunusedPCDMISwindowsbyselectingtheopenwindowfromtheView menu. 4. Maximizethetemplateeditorbyclickingthemaximizebuttontheeditor'swindow.You shouldseethewords"LABEL"onthebackgroundoftheeditor. 5. SizeTheFrame/TheViewinthelabeltemplateeditingareato4incheswideand1.5 incheshigh.Youcandothisbydraggingonthebottomrighthandcornerofthelabel templateanddraggingthemouse.Usetherulersasaguide. Youhavecreatedablanklabeltemplate.Whenfinishedwiththisstep,itshouldlooksomething likethis:

LabelTemplateEditor Hint: Whenworkingwithoneofthetemplateeditors,youmayfindithelpfultohideyourusual PCDMIStoolbarsandwindows,therebyfreeingupsomescreenspace.Ifyouworkfrequently withtemplates,youmaywanttocreateastoredscreenlayoutforyourtemplate.Forinformation onlayouts,seethe"WindowLayoutsToolbar"topicinthe"UsingToolbars"chapter. Step2:AddaCommandTextObjectandStaticInformationintotheTemplate 1. ClicktheCommandTextObjecticon.Thepointerchangestoacrosshair. 2. Usingthepointer,dragaboxsothatitstretchesabout3incheswideby.5incheshigh.A CommandTextObjectgetsinsertedintoyourlabeltemplate.Rightclickonittoaccessthe Propertiesdialogbox. 3. ClicktheColorsproperty.IfPCDMISasksifyouwanttodefineacolorsetindependent fromthedefaultapplicationcolors,clickYes.

1280 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

4. TheColorEditorappears.PCDMISusesthiseditortodefineEditwindowcolors. However,inthiscase,itwillonlyaffectthecurrentCommandTextObject. 5. UnderBackgroundColor,clickEdit.AstandardColordialogboxappears. 6. Givetheobject'sbackgroundcoloradarkbluecolor.ChangethevaluesintheRed, Green,Blueboxesto0,0,128respectivelytodothis.ClickOK. 7. IntheUnmarkedbox,clickEdit.AstandardColordialogboxappears. 8. Selectwhite,andthenclick OK.IfPCDMISasksifyouwanttochangetheitem's children,clickNo. 9. Useabitmapimageofacircle(orusetheEllipseobjecttodrawacircle)andplaceitin thetoprightofthecanvas. YouhaveaddedtheCommandTextObjectandastaticBitmaporEllipseobjectforacircle shapeintothelabeltemplate.Attheendofthisstep,yourlabeltemplateshouldlookssomething likethis:

LabelTemplateshowingtheCommandTextObjectandastaticBitmapobject Step3:InsertandFormataGridControlObject 1. ClicktheGridControlObjecticon.Thepointerchangestoacrosshair. 2. Withthepointer,dragaboxforthisobjectunderthepreviouslyinserted CommandTextOjbect,sothatithasthesamewidth. 3. SizetheheightsothatitnearlyfillstherestoftheFrame/TheView.Wheninserted,the gridwillshowseveralrowsandcolumns. 4. Accesstheobject'sproperties,andthenchangetheColumnsandRowspropertiesto3 each. 5. Selecttheobjectandselectacell.Todothis,doubleclickonthefirstcellinthetoprow. Itwillhighlightthecellinabluebackgroundtoshowthatyouhaveselectedit. 6. Selecttheentiretoprow.Todothis,withthefirstcellselected,pressSHIFTandclickon thelastcellinthatrowtoselecttheentirecell.PCDMIShighlightstheentirerow. 7. Rightclick.Theobject'sdialogboxappears.Thisdialogboxletsyoucontrolthe formattingoftheselectedcellsaswellasinserttextandexpressions.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1281

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TheGridControlObject'sdialogbox 8. ClicktheMergebuttontomergetheselectedcells. 9. Setthebackgroundcolorforthemergedcell.ClicktheBackgroundcolorbutton.A Colordialogboxappears.ChooseadarkbluecolorandclickOK. 10. Setthetextcolorforthemergedcell.ClicktheTextcolorbuttonandselectwhiteinthe sameway. 11. Createheadings.Selectthefirstcellinthesecondrowandrightclicktobringupthe dialogbox.IntheCellExpressionbox,type"MeasuredX".Closethedialogboxand repeattheprocessonthesecondcell,typing"MeasuredY".Finally.repeatitagainfor thelastcell,typing"MeasuredZ". 12. Selecttheentiresecondrow.Rightclickandusethedialogboxtoselectalightgreen backgroundcolor. 13. UnderCellJustification,underVertical,clickthemiddlebuttontoverticallycenterthe textintheircells. 14. ClickOKtoclosethedialogboxandthendeselecttheobject. YouhaveinsertedaGridControlObjectandlearnedhowtochangethenumberofrowsand columns.Youlearnedhowtoaddtextintoacellandhowtoformatthegridbyusingthisobject's specialdialogbox.Whenfinishedwiththisstep,yourlabeltemplateshouldlooksomethinglike this:

LabelshowingtheinsertedandformattedGridControlObject

1282 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Step4:AddExpressionsIntotheGridControlObject 1. SelecttheGridControlObject'sfirstrow. 2. Onceit'sselected,type"=ID"directlyintothecell.ThisisanexpressionthattellsPC DMISyouwanttodisplaythefeature'sIDinthecell. 3. Selectthefirstcellinthethirdrowandtype"=MEAS_X" 4. Selectthesecondcellandtype"=MEAS_Y". 5. Selectthethirdcellandtype"=MEAS_Z".TheseexpressionstellPCDMISyouwantto displaythefeature'sX,Y,andZvalues.Whenyoudeselecttheobject,PCDMIS displaystheexpressionvaluesfromthefillertextusedbytheobject.See"AboutReport Expressions"forinformationonexpressions. 6. UsetheBorderobjectanddrawaborderobjectaroundthelabel.Youmayneedto resizethelabeltocloseto4.5incheswideby2incheshigh. 7. Rightclickontheborderandgiveitalinewidthof2. 8. Adjustthelocationofthecontentssotheyarewithintheborder. Youhaveaddedsomereportexpressionsintoyourlabeltemplateandthendrewaborderaround thetemplatepriortotestingit.Whenyoufinishthisstepyourtemplateshouldlooksomethinglike this:

Labelshowingtheresultsoftheexpressions Step5:SaveandTesttheLabelTemplate 1. SelectFile|Savetosavethelabeltemplate.IntheSaveAsdialogbox,namethe template"TestLabel.lbl". 2. SelectFile|Closetoclosedownthistemplateeditor. 3. SelectFile|Reporting|Edit|ReportTemplateandthenselecttheTest1.rtptemplate fileyoucreatedfromtheprevioustutorial. 4. SelecttheTextReportObjectyouinsertedintothefirstsectionofthereporttemplateand thenaccessitsproperties. 5. UsetheRulesTreeEditorandtheEditRuledialogboxestocreatearulethatwill displayTestLabel.lblinthatTextReportObjectobjectforallmeasuredcircles.Ifyoucan't rememberhowtocreaterules,followtheprocedureinthe"DefiningaRuletopic". 6. SelectFile|Savetosaveyourreporttemplate. 7. SelectFile|Closetocloseit. 8. Executethepartprogramandapplythetemplate. 9. SelectView|Reportwindowtodisplaythefinalreport. Afteryousaveandtestyourlabeltemplate,itshouldlooksomethinglikethis:

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1283

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Reportwindowexampleshowingthenewlycreatedlabel.NoticethemeasuredX,Y,andZcenter pointdataforeachcirclefeature. Step6:CreateaRepeatingRow Sofar,yourlabeldisplaystheXYZofyourcircles'centers.Suppose,however,youwantedtoget individualhitdatainstead.Youcandothisusingrepeatingrows. 1. SelectFile|Reporting|Edit|LabelTemplate.SelectTestLabel.lblfromthedialogbox andclickOpen.PCDMISloadstheLabelTemplateEditoranddisplaysTestLabel.lbl. 2. AccesstheGridControlObject. 3. Selectthefirstcellinthethirdrow.Onceyouselectit,rightclicktobringupthe GridControlObject'sdialogbox. 4. ClicktheRowtab. 5. SelecttheRepeatingGroupcheckbox.ThistellsPCDMISthatyouwanttomakethat rowrepeatable.TheRepeatExpressiondialogboxbecomesavailable.Noticethatthe row,atthispointcontainsorangemarkersontheleftandrightsides.Thisindicatesthat therowisarepeatingrow.

Arowshowingorangemarkers 6. Type"=N_HITS"intheRepeatExpressionbox.ThistellsPCDMIStogetthetotal numberofhitsinthefeatureandtorepeattherowforeachavailablehit. 7. ClicktheCelltab.Youshouldsee"=MEAS_X"intheCellExpressionbox.Append":N" totheexpressionsothatitreads,"=MEAS_X:N".ThistellsPCDMIStorepeatthe expressioninthatcellforeachavailablehit. 8. Selecttheothertwocellsintherow,andmodifythemsothattheyhavethe":N"code addedaswell:"=MEAS_Y:N"and"=MEAS_Z:N".

1284 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

9. BecausethelabelswillexpandtoincludeallthedatapassedintotheGridControlObject, whentherowrepeats,youdonotneedtoadjustthelabel'ssizeforthis. 10. ClickOKtoclosetheGridControlObject'sdialogbox. 11. SavethelabeltemplateandaccessReportwindow.ClicktheRedrawtheReporticon fromtheReportingtoolbartoseeyourlatestchanges.Noticethatinsteadofdisplaying thecenterpointdataforthecircles,PCDMISdisplaysindividualhits. Youhavelearnedhowtocreateabasicrepeatingrowtocountanddisplayseveralitemsofdata withoutneedingtocreatedifferentreporttemplateswithdifferentrowconfigurations. Step7:UsetheColumnsTabtoDefineColumns 1. AccesstheTestLabel.lbllabeltemplateandselecttheexistingGridControlObject. 2. Selectitsfirstrow.Onceselected,rightclicktobringuptheGridControlObject'sdialog box. 3. ClicktheUnmergeCellsbutton.Thesinglecellmakingupthefirstrownowbecomes threecells. 4. Deletethe"=ID"expressiontextinthefirstcell.Youdon'treallyneedthisexpressionin yourfinallabeltemplatebecausetheCommandTextObjectdisplaysitautomatically. 5. UsetheBackgroundColorandTextColorbuttonstochangethecell'sbackground colortowhiteanditstexttoblack. 6. Deletetheinsidecolumnlinesinthefirstrow.Todothis,selectthefirstcell,accessthe dialogbox,intheCelltab,intheLinesarea,changethelinevalueoftheRight listfrom ThintoNone.Repeatthisforthemiddlecellaswell. 7. ClickOKtoclosetheGridControlObject'sdialogbox.Whileyourlabeltemplatemay appeartohaveitscellsmerged,inreality,columnlinesinthosecellsaremerelyhidden. 8. Selecttheleftcellinthefirstrowandaccessthedialogbox. 9. ClicktheColumntab.IntheColumnlistbox,type"MeasuredX".ClickOKtoclosethe GridControlObject'sdialogbox. 10. Repeatthisforthemiddleandrightcells,typing"MeasuredY"and"MeasuredZ" respectively.Youwillusethesecolumnheadingstocontroleachcolumnsvisibilityand orderinglateron. 11. SelecttheCommandTextObjectyouaddedtothetemplateearlier,anddragitdownso thatitrestsontopoftheGridControlObject'sfirstrow. 12. ModifythelocationorsizeoftheEllipseorcircleBitmapobjectyoucreatedearliersothat it'scenteredalongtherightsideoftheGridControlObject. 13. SelectandthendragthetoplineoftheBorderobjectdownsothatit'sjustabovethe GridControlObject. 14. Dragaboxaroundalltheobjectsinthelabeltoselectthemall.Thendragthoseobjects uptothetopandtotheleftasfarastheywillgoonthelabel'scanvas. 15. RightclicktoaccesstheGridControlObject'sproperties. 16. Type"TestTableFormat"intheTableFormatproperty,andpressTAB. 17. Saveandcloseyourlabeltemplate. Inthisstep,youlearnedhowtounmergecells,setcelllineproperties,insertcolumnheadings, andselectandmovemultipleobjects.Definingcolumnheadingswillletyoucontrolthevisibility andorderingofyourcolumnsonthefly.Whenyouhavefinishedthisstep,yourlabeltemplate shouldlooksomethinglikethis:

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1285

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Step8:DefineaGridFormatTable 1. Openthereporttemplate,Test1.rtp,intheReportTemplateEditor. 2. SelecttheTextReportObjectandrightclicktoaccessthePropertiesdialogbox. 3. IntheRulesTreeproperty,clickRulestoaccesstheRuleTreeEditordialogbox. 4. UsetheRuleTreeEditorandnavigatetotheruleyoucreatedearlier. 5. SelecttheruleandclickEdit.TheEditRuledialogboxappears. 6. ClicktheGridFormatbutton.TheTableFormatPropertiesdialogboxappears. 7. IntheNewTableNamebox,type"TestTableFormat",andclickAddTable. 8. UndertheColumnslistintheeditbox,type"MeasuredX",andthenclickAddColumn. 9. Addcolumnsfor"MeasuredY"and"MeasuredZ"inthissamemanner. 10. ClickOKonthevariousdialogboxesuntilyourreturntotheReportTemplateEditor. 11. SelectFile|Savetosavethereporttemplate. 12. SelectFile|ClosetoclosetheReportTemplateEditor. InthisstepyoutiedtheGridControlObject'scolumnstotheTestTableFormattableintheTable FormatPropertiesdialogboxbyaddingcolumnswiththeexactsamenameandnamingthe tablethesamenameyougavetheTableFormatproperty.Sinceyouhaven'tchangedtheorder orvisibilityatthispoint,thenewlycreatedtableinthedialogboxshouldlooklikethis:

TableFormatPropertiesdialogboxshowingthenewlycreatedTestTableFormattable

1286 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Step9:UseTable/FormatCommandtoControlColumnVisibilityandOrder 1. Ifnotvisible,selectView|EditWindowtodisplaytheEditwindow. 2. PlacetheEditwindowincommandmode. 3. SelectInsert|ReportCommand|TableFormat.The TableFormatPropertiesdialog boxappears. 4. FromtheTableIDlist,selecttheTESTTABLEFORMATtable.TheColumnsarea showsthecolumnsavailabletothiscustomtableformat. 5. CleartheMeasuredZboxtohidethatcolumninthefinalreport. 6. SelectMeasuredYandclicktheuparrowiconnexttotheColumnsareatoreorderthe MeasuredYcolumnsothatitgetsdisplayedfirstinthereport. 7. ClickOK.PCDMISinsertsaTABLE/FORMAT commandintotheEditwindow.This commandcontrolsthevisibilityandorderofyourcolumns.
TABLE/FORMAT,TESTTABLEFORMAT COLUMN/ORDER,MEASUREDY,MEASUREDX,, ROW/ORDER

8. Saveandexecuteyourpartprogram.WhenPCDMISruns,noticethattheorderofthe MeasuredXandMeasuredYvalueshavechanged,andtheZcolumnishidden InthisfinalstepyoulearnedhowtoinsertanduseaTABLE/FORMAT commandtodefinetheorder andvisibilityofthecolumnsinthelabeltemplate.Yourfinishedreportshouldlooksomethinglike this:

FinishedreportshowingonlytheMeasuredYandXcolumns

UsingLabelswithReports
Touselabelswithyourreports,youneedtoopenareporttemplateandaddatleastoneofthese objects: Labelobject TextReportObject CadReportObject

Onceanobjectexists,rightclickonittoaccessitsPropertiesdialogbox.Finally,usetheRules TreeEditortodefinerulesthatuseoneormorelabeltemplates. Whenyouapplyyourreporttemplate,PCDMISwillfollowtherulesyouspecifiedandusethe chosenlabeltemplates.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1287

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

UnderstandingStandaloneLabelOrdering IfyouusestandaloneLabelobjectsinyourreporttemplate,beawarethat,bydefault,PCDMIS willfillthemwithmeasureddatainthereportinfronttobackorder.Toillustratethis,whenyou addstandalonelabels,PCDMISdefineseachlabelbyaprogressivealphanumericID(Label1, Label2.LabelN).WhilelabelIDsdon'tcontroltheorderinwhichthelabelsarefilled,theyare discussedheretomoreeasilyillustratehoworderingtakesplace.Duringreportcreation, assumingyouhaven'tmodifiedthelabelIDsinanyway,LabelNisactivatedandfilledfirst,while Label1isactivatedandfilledlast. Note:Thisonlyhappenswithstandalonelabels,notwithlabelsusedwithintheTextReportObject orCadReportObject. ChangingStandaloneLabelOrdering SincePCDMISmaynotinitiallyfillthelabelsintheorderyouwouldlike,youcanchangethe drawingorderofthelabelstodeterminewhichlabelsarefilledfirstbyusingmenuitemslocated ontheEdit|Ordersubmenu. Hint:YoucanalsousetheToFrontorBackiconsontheLayoutBar. Afterchangingthedrawingorder,PCDMISwillfillthetopmostdrawnlabelfirstandthebottom mostdrawnlabellast.Forexample,supposeyouhavethreelargelabelsthatfillupasingle sectionwithLabel1atthetop,Label2inthemiddle,andLablel3atthebottom.Initially,itfillsup Label3first,thenLabel2,andthenLabel1.ToguaranteethatPCDMISdisplaysyourdatainpart programorder,youcanchangethedrawingorderofthelabels,likethis:

1288 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ASampleReportTemplatewithThreeLargeLabels

1. SelectLabel1andchooseEdit|Order|BringtoFront. 2. SelectLabel2andchooseEdit|Order|SenttoBack. 3. SelectLabel3andchooseEdit|Order|SendtoBack.

ArrangingLabelsintheReportWindow
Whenthereporttemplatereceivespartprogramdata,ithastosizethelabelsdynamicallytofit thatdata.So,theselabelsmaynotbeinthebestlocationormayoverlapotherlabelsafterpart programexecution.Noworriesthough,youcaneasilymodifywheretoputlabels,byselectinga labelandthendraggingittoanewlocation. Youcanselectalabelinoneoftheseways.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1289

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Doubleclickonthelabel. PressCTRLandleftclickonthelabel. Dragaboxaroundthelabel.

Thelattertwomethodsareusedtoselectmultiplelabelsaswell.

UsingtheTableFormatCommand
TheTABLE/FORMAT EditwindowcommandletsyoucontrolaGridControlObject'scolumnandrow orderingandvisibilityontheflyfromwithinyourpartprogram.Thismeansyoudon'thavetouse theLabelTemplateEditortocreatedifferentvariationsofthesamelabeltemplateifyouonly wanttoreorderorhidecertainrowsorcolumns.Instead,youcansimplyinsertthiscommandinto yourprogramtodeterminehowtodisplaytheGridControlObjectinthelabeltemplate. Important:Forthiscommandtoworkproperly,youmustsetthevalueofthe GridControlObject'sTableFormatpropertytotheexactsametableformatnamedefinedinthe GridFormatbuttonoftheEditRuledialogbox. InsertingtheCommand Toinsertthiscommand,selectInsert|ReportCommand|TableFormat.TheTableFormat Propertiesdialogboxappears.Thisdialogbox,likethedialogboxusedintheRulesTree Editor,alsocontrolsthevisibilityandorderingofrowsandcolumnsforlabeltemplatesusingthe GridControlObject.Whenyoufinishmanipulatingtherowsandcolumns,clickOK,andPC DMISinsertstheTABLE/FORMAT commandintotheEditwindow. AninsertedTABLE/FORMAT commandtakesprecedenceoveranyorderingyoumayhavealready definedwiththeEditRuledialogbox'sGridFormatbutton.

AbouttheRuleTreeEditor
TheRuleTreeEditordialogboxletsyoudefinerulesorconditionsandresponsesthatcertain objectsfollowwhendisplayingreportinformation.Forexample,youmayonlywanttoshow roundnessdimensioninformationforcirclefeaturesinyourreport,eventhoughyourpartprogram containsmanyotherfeatures.Youcandothisbyusingthiseditor.Inyourreporttemplate,you mightaddaCadReportObjectandthenaccesstheRuleTreeEditorforthatobject.Insidethe editor,youcanthenspecifyacirclefeaturetypeandthenselectalabeltemplatethatis programmedtodisplayroundnessdata.

1290 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

RuleTreeEditordialogbox SupportedObjects: TheRuleTreeEditorworkswiththeseobjectsavailablefromtheReportTemplateEditor" TextReportObject CadReportObject LabelObject

ItalsoworkswithPageobjectavailablewithintheCustomReportEditor.Onlytheseobjects canaccessdatafromapartprogramusingtheRuleTreeEditor. AccessingtheRuleTreeEditor: 1. Insertasupportedobjectintoyourreporttemplate,orselectthePageobjectinthe CustomReportEditor. 2. Rightclickontheobject. 3. ClickontheRuleTreeproperty.TheRuleTreeEditordialogboxappears.

DefiningaRuleintheRuleTreeEditor
TodefinearuleusingtheRuleTreeEditordialogbox,followthisprocedure: 1. 2. 3. 4. SelectFile|Reporting|New|ReportTemplatetoaccesstheReportTemplateEditor. AddaTextReportObject,CadReportObject,oraLabelobjectontothetemplate. Rightclickontheobject.APropertiesdialogboxappears. SelecttheRulesTreepropertyfromthePropertiesdialogbox.TheRuleTreeEditor dialogboxappears.Youwillseealistofvariousitemsmakingupapartprogram.Many oftheseitemsyoucanexpandbyclickingonaplussymbol(+)toviewmorespecific
Reporting MeasurementResults 1291

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

itemsorcommands.Someitemsexistsontheirownandaren'tinsideofanyexpanding lists,theseitemsinclude:

RuleTreeEditordialogbox TopofFirstPageinSectionIfyouselectthisitem,youcanselectalabelortext expressiontodisplayatthetopofthefirstpageinthecurrentsectionofyourReport window. BottomofLastPageinSectionIfyouselectthisitem,youcanselectalabelor textexpressiontodisplayatthebottomofthelastpageofthecurrentsection. FileHeaderIfyouselectthisitem,youcanselectalabelortextexpressionto displayintheplaceoftheusualreport'sfileheaderofPARTNAME,REVNUMBER, SERNUMBER,andSTATSCOUNT.TheFileHeaderlabelortextwillappearonthe firstpageinthecurrentsectionofyourreport. 5. Defineconditionstobemet. Fromthelistofitems,findanitemthatyouwanttodefineasacondition. SelecttheitemandclickAdd.TheEditRuledialogboxappears.

1292 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

EditRuledialogbox Ifyouwanttodefineanothercondition,youcanchooseeitherareporting languageexpressionoraBASICscriptasyourcondition.Todothis,selectthe UseAdditionalExpressionorScriptcheckbox,andthenintheConditionalarea, selecteithertheExpressionorScriptoption. IfyouselectedExpression,typetheexpressionforyourconditionintothe ConditionalExpressionbox.Forexample,ifyouarecreatingarulefora measuredcircle,youcantestanyofthecirclesdatatypefieldvaluestocontrol whetherornottodisplayalabel.Supposeyouonlywanttodisplayalabelifthe measuredcirclehaslessthanfourhits.IntheConditionalExpressionbox,you wouldtype: N_HITS<4 ThenifthisconditionevaluatedtoTRUE,PCDMISwouldusetheassociated label.Notethatyoudon'tneedtoincludetheentireIFexpressionstatement.The IFstatementisalreadyunderstoodandevaluatedinthisbox. IfyouselectedScript,clicktheEditbuttontocreateyourBASICscript.AVBS Minieditorappearswhereyoucantypeyourcode.Createyourscriptinsidethis codeeditor.ThescriptmustreturnTRUEfortheconditiontobemet.When finished,rightclickandselectCheckSyntax.ClickOKwhenfinished.PCDMIS automaticallystoresthescriptwiththedefinedrule. Note:Iftheruleevergetsdeleted,youwillloseyourscript.Youshould storeyourscriptinaseparatetextfileifyouareconcernedaboutit gettingdeleted. 6. Definealabelorexpressiontodisplayiftheconditionorconditionsdefinedaremet. WiththeEditRuledialogboxopen,chooseeitherUseTextExpressionforReport orUseLabelTemplateforReport.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1293

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Ifyouchosetouseatextexpression,typeasimpletextmessageordefinean expressionintheTextExpressionbox.Forexample,wheneverPCDMIS measuredacircle,youcantypestatictextsuchas:


"Wejustmeasuredacircle!"

Or,youcoulduseexpressionstoincludeinformationaboutthecircle,suchas:
"Wejustmeasuredacircle!Ithad"+N_HITS+"hits!"

Ifyouchosetousealabeltemplate,selectalabeltemplate.Ifdesired,clickthe GridFormatbuttontoaccesstheTableFormatPropertiesdialogbox.Using thisdialogbox,youcandefineagridformatforyourreport.Agridformatletsyou reorderorhideyourcolumnsandrowswithoutcreatingabrandnewlabel template.Additionally,definingagridformatalsoletsyouusetheTABLE/FORMAT Editwindowcommandtocontrolrowandcolumnorderingfromwithinthepart program.See"UsingtheTableFormatPropertiesdialogbox". WhenyouhavefilledouttheEditRuledialogbox,clickOK.PCDMISplacesthe itemfromthelistinaboldfacefontandinsertstheruleforthatitematthebottomof theRuleTreeEditordialogbox. 7. Organizeyourrules.Youcanhaveasmanyrulesasyouwantforagivencommandtype. Ifyouhavemorethanonerule,PCDMISwillevaluatetherulesintheorderthatthey appear.YoucanchangetheevaluationorderbyselectingaruleandclickingMoveUpor MoveDownintheRuleTreeEditordialogbox. Youcancopyandpasterulesfromoneitemtoanotheritemortomultipleitems,ortoan entirelydifferenttreebyusingtheCopyandPastebuttons.See"CopyingandPasting Rules". YoucanremoverulesfromanindividualitembyclickingDeleteorClear.Ifyouwantto removetherulesformultipleitems,youcanselectthemandclickClear.See"Clearing Rules" 6. ClickOKtosavechangesmadetotheRuleTreeEditor. 7. Testtherule. Savethereporttemplate. ApplythereporttemplatetothereportdatabyusingtheReportingtoolbaronthe Reportwindow. Executethepartprogram.

ImportingandExportingRules
Ifyouworkinacollaborativeenvironment,youwillprobablywanttosharerulesthatarecreated fromdifferentreporttemplateswitheachother.UsingtheRulesTreeEditordialogbox,youcan easilydothisandimportsomeoneelse'srulesbyusingtheImportbutton,oryoucanshareyour ownruleswithsomeoneelsebyusingtheExportbutton. Arulesfilehasa".rul"filenameextension. ImportingaRulesFile: 1. AccesstheRulesTreeEditordialogbox.

1294 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

2. 3. 4. 5.

ClicktheImportbutton.AnOpendialogboxappears. Navigatetothedirectorycontainingtherulesfile(.rul)youwanttoimport. ClickOpen.PCDMISimportstherulefileintotheRulesTreeEditor. ClickOKtosavetheimportedrule.

ExportingtoaRulesFile: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. AccesstheRulesTreeEditordialogbox. ClicktheExportbutton.ASaveAsdialogboxappears. Navigatetothedirectorywhereyouwanttostoretherules(.rul)file. TypeanameforthefileIntheFilenamebox. ClickSave.Allrulesassociatedwiththatobjectgetexported.Someoneelsecannow importanduseyourexportedrulesfile.

CopyingandPastingRules
TheRuleTreeEditorcontainsCopyandPastebuttonssothatyoucancopyandpasterules betweenthecurrentRuleTreeEditorandaRulesTreeEditorforadifferentobjectortoa differentitemwithinthesameRuleTreeEditor. ToCopyandPasteRules: 1. SelectasingleitemfromtheRuleTreeEditor.Ifyouselectmorethanoneitemfromthe treeeditor,theCopybuttonwillneverbecomeenabled. 2. Selectoneormorerulesfromtherulelistbox.TheCopybuttonbecomesenabledfor selection.

ExampleofCopyingTwoRules 3. ClickCopy. 4. Selectandhighlightoneormoreitemsfromaruletree.HolddowntheCTRLkeywhile clickingtoselectmultipleitems.ThePastebuttonbecomesavailable.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1295

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ExampleofPastingCopiedRulesintoanEmptyItem 3. ClickPastetopastethecopiedrule(s)intotheselecteditem(s).Notethatifyoupastea copiedruleorrulesintoanitemthatalreadycontainsoneormorerules,theexisting rulesarenotoverwrittenbythenewrules,butthenewrulesareinsteadappendedtothe existinglist.YoucanclickPastemultipletimesintoseveraldifferentruletreeitems. 4. ClickOKontheRuleTreeEditortosaveyourchanges.

ClearingRules
TheClearbuttonremovesanyrulesassociatedwithoneormoreselecteditemsfromtherule tree.YoucanselectmorethanoneitembypressingtheCTRLkeywhileselectingadditional items.

1296 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ExampleofClearingRulesforaSelectedItem

UsingtheTableFormatPropertiesDialogBox
TheTableFormatdialogboxworkswithaGridControlObject'sdefinedcolumnandrownames allowingyoutocontrolthevisibilityandorderofcolumnsandlabelsinaGridControlObjectina labeltemplate.

TableFormatPropertiesdialogbox
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual Reporting MeasurementResults 1297

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Thisdialogboxcontainsdifferenttableformats.Atableformatsimplydefineshowyouwant namedrowsandcolumnstoappearinyourfinalreport.Thisdialogboxletsyouchangetheorder andvisibilitystateofallexistingtableformats.Youcanalsousethisdialogboxtocreateyour owncustomtableformats. Forthepreexistingtableformatstheonlythingyoucanmodifyistheirvisibilitystateandthe orderoftheirrowsorcolumns.Youcannotdeletethesetableformatsnorchangewhatrowsor columnstheyhave. Inorderusetableformats,youmustfirstusealabeltemplatewithaGridControlObjectthathas itscolumnsorrowsalreadynamed. DialogBoxItem TableID NewTableName AddTable DeleteTable Rows AddRow/Column Delete Row/Column Description Listsallavailabletableformats. Definesanewtableformat. Addsthenewtableformat.Thisbuttononlybecomesenabledwhen youtypeanameintheNewTableNamebox. Deletestheselectedcustomtableformat.Thisbuttononlybecomes enabledwhenyouselectacustomtablefromtheTableIDlist. Liststherowsandcolumnsinyourtableformat.Youcanreorder thembyclickingtheupanddownarrows. AddsaroworcolumnnametotheRowsorColumnsarea.Youcan onlyaddtocustomtableformats. DeletestheselectedroworcolumnfromtheRowsorColumns area.Youcanonlydeleteitemsfromcustomtableformats. Determineswhatthetablewillwhenyoushoworhidecolumns.The listcontainsthreeitems: ResizeGridThisretainsexistingcolumnsizesandresizesthegrid tofitthenewwidth. ResizeType ResizeColumnstoFitThisretainsthegrid'sexistingwidthand resizeseachcolumnequallytofitthatwidth. HideTextThisdoesn'tresizethegridorthecolumns.Itsimply hidesthetext. Closesthedialogboxwithoutapplyinganychanges. UsestheselectedtableformatfortheruleintheRuleTreeEditoror fortheTABLE/FORMAT commandintheEditwindow.

Cancel OK

TonameacolumnorrowinaGridControlObject: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. IntheLabelTemplateEditor,selecttheGridControlObject. doubleclickonthefirstcellinacolumnorrow. rightclicktoaccessthepropertyeditor. ClickeithertheCellorColumntab. IntheRowLabelboxorColumnLabelboxenteravalue.Youcanselectfromthelistor typeacustomvalue.Customlabelscanonlyshowuponcustomtableformats.

Toreordercolumnsorrows:

1298 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

1. SelectatableformatfromtheTableIDlist. 2. Itsrowsorcolumnsalreadyappear. 3. IntheRowsorColumnsarea,selecttheroworcolumnyouwanttoreorder,thenclick theupordownarrowbuttonstoeithersendthatitemeitherupordowninthelist.Items higherinthelistgetdisplayedbeforeothers. Uparrowbutton

Downarrowbutton Toshow/hidecolumnsorrows: 1. SelectatableformatfromtheTableIDlist. 2. Itsrowsorcolumnsalreadyappear. 3. IntheRowsorColumnsarea,clearthecheckboxtotheleftoftheroworcolumnname tohidethatiteminthelabel.Selectthecheckboxtoshowitinthelabel. Tocreateacustomtableformat: 1. IntheNewTableNamebox,typeaname. 2. ClicktheAddTablebutton.Thecustomtableappearsinthe TableIDlistandremains untilyoudeleteit. 3. IntheAddRoworAddColumnbox,typeanamethatmatchesaroworcolumnlabel nameyougavetotheGridControlObject. 4. ClickAddRoworAddColumntoaddthatitemtothetable. 5. Continueaddingroworcolumnsanddeletingorrearrangingthemasdesireduntilthe tableformatcontainstheinformationyouwant. RemovingyourModifications Toquicklyremoveamodification,rightclickonthedesiredreportobject(aTextReportObject, CADReportObject,orLabelobject),andselecttheRemoveObjectModificationsbutton.PC DMISwillreturnthereportobjectbacktoitsdefaultstate.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1299

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ChangingaTemplate'sPreviewThumbnailIcon
Wheneveryoucreateareportorlabeltemplate,PCDMISautomaticallycreatesathumbnail sizedpreviewofthattemplatebasedonwhatappearsonthetemplate'sinitialpageorsection. ThisthumbnailpreviewappearswheneveryouattempttoeditatemplateandaccesstheOpen dialogbox(SelectFile|Reporting|Edit|ReportTemplateorLabelTemplate).

AsampleOpendialogboxshowingseveralreporttemplatepreviewicons Ifyouwanttouseacustomimagefileinsteadofthedefaultgeneratedpreviewforatemplate, youcandothiswithintheOpendialogbox. ToChangeaTemplate'sPreviewThumbnail: 1. SelectthetemplatefilefromtheOpendialogbox. 2. ClicktheChangePreviewbutton.TheTemplateImageSelectiondialogboxappears.

TemplateImageSelectiondialogbox 3. SelecttheSelectImagefromFileoptionbutton. 4. ClickOK.AnotherOpendialogboxappearsallowingyoutoselectapreexistingimage file.

1300 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

5. Navigatetothedirectorycontainingeithera.bmpor.jpegfile,selecttheimagefile,and clickOpen.PCDMISusestheselectedimageforyourpreview.

AnexampleshowingTest1.rtpwithabitmappreviewimage

CreatingCustomReports
CustomReporting,addedtoversion4.2,providesaflexibleandeasytouseapproachto reportingyourmeasurementresults.Youwillfindthismostusefulwhenyouneedtogeneratea reportquicklyandsimplyforaspecificpartprogram,butyoudon'tneedthepoweravailableto thetemplatebasedapproach.Sinceitdoesnotuseanyreporttemplate,andinsteadutilizesyour currentpartprogram'sdatadirectly,CustomReportsaregenerallyeasiertocreateand customize,buttheylackthepowerandscopeoftemplatereporting. AdvantagesofCustomReporting: Datacanbeplacedanywhereonthepageandinanyorder. Datafrommultiplecommandscanbecombinedasasingleelementonthereport. Thereportsaregeneratedbyafastandsimpleuniquedraganddropmethod. Thereporteditorusestheactualdatafromthepartprogram,notthedummydata.This makescustomizingthereportmuchsimpler.

DisadvantagesofCustomReporting: Youarecreatingasinglereport,notatemplateandthisreportistiedtoyourpart program.Whileyoucanuseimportthestructureofthereporttousewithotherpart programsthereusabilityisnotasgreataswithreporttemplatesdesignedwithspecific rules. Reportgenerationmaytakelongerthanworkingwithtemplatereportingforlargereports. Forexample,ifyouwantedtoinclude50orsodimensions,youwouldhavetodrageach dimensionfromSummarymodeontoyourreporteditorandthenplacethemasdesired. Itisn'tasextensibleastemplatereporting.Supposeyouaddanewfeatureordimension latertoyourpartprogram.Forittoshowup,youwillneedtodraganddropthenewitem intoyourreporteditor.

Thefollowingtopicsprovideyouwithatutorialthatwalksyouthroughhowtocreate,view,and printyourfirstcustomreport.Proceduraltopicswillalsobeprovidedforquickaccessshouldyou needthemlater.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1301

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TutorialCreatingaCustomReport
Thistopicwalksyouthroughaverybasictutorialthatwillresultinyoucreatingasimplecustom report.ThisshouldgiveyouabasicoverviewofhowCustomReportsarecreatedwithinthe CustomReportingEditorandhowtheyinteractwithexistinglabeltemplatessoyoucanlater createanduseyourowncustomreports. Beforebeginningthistutorial,createasimplepartprogramthathasfour measuredcirclesona simplepartandfourCircularitydimensions,oneforeachcircle.ThistutorialusestheHexagon testblock(Hexblock_Wireframe_Surface.igs).

Createapartprogramthatmeasuresfourcircles,similartothis. Step1:SettinguptheWorkEnvironment InthistutorialyouwillusetheEditwindowinSummarymodealongwiththeCustomReporting Editor.Setthemupsotheyarebothvisibleasfollows: 1. AccesstheEditwindow. 2. PlacetheEditwindowintoSummarymode. 2. SelectFile|Reporting|New|CustomReport fromthemenubar.TheCustomReport Editorappears. 3. Hideanyunusedtoolbarsbyrightclickingonthetoolbarareaandremovingthem. 4. HideanyunusedPCDMISwindowsbyselectingtheopenwindowfromtheView menu. KeeptheEditwindowopen. 5. MaximizetheCustomReportEditorbyclickingthemaximizebuttonintheupperright corneroftheeditor'swindow.Youshouldseethewords"CUSTOM"onthebackground oftheeditor. 6. DragtheEditwindowunderneaththeCustomReportEditor'sObjectBar.Yourwork environmentshouldnowlooksomethinglikethis:

1302 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

CustomReportEditor Hint: WhenworkingwiththeCustomReportEditor,youmayfindithelpfultohideyourusualPC DMIStoolbarsandwindows,therebyfreeingupsomescreenspace.Ifyouworkfrequentlywith thiseditor,youmaywanttocreateastoredscreenlayoutforit.Forinformationonlayouts,see the"WindowLayoutsToolbar"topicinthe"UsingToolbars"chapter.

Step2:Dragging,Dropping,andPositioningObjects InthisstepyouwilldragthereportitemsintotheCustomReportEditor. 1. FromtheEditwindowinSummarymode,selectFileHeaderanddragitoutontothe editor.Youwillnoticeatransparentimageofthatitem'siconasyoudragitoutontothe workarea. 2. Releasethemousebutton.PCDMIScreatesaFileHeaderobjectintheeditor. 3. DraganddropCIR1andCIR2ontoyourreport.Don'tworryaboutpositioningthem properly.Fornow,justdropthemintoanyemptyspaceonthefirstpageofthereport. 4. IntheReportEditor,selecttheFileHeaderobjectalreadyinyourreportanddragittoa placenearthetopofthereportandcenterithorizontallyonthePage. 5. Next,selectthelabelobjectforCIR1anddragitsothatthetopedgeisjustunderthe bottomedgeoftheFileHeaderobject.Trytoaligntheirleftsidesaswell.Dragitslowly untilabluearrowappears.Thenreleasethemousebutton.Thisalignsthedragged object'sleftsidewiththeobjectaboveit. 6. RepeatthisstepforCIR2. 7. Now,dragtheCIR3featurefromtheEditwindowtothebottomofthelabelusedforCIR2. Noticethatasyoumoveyourmouseoverthevariouslabelsalreadyintheeditor,green handlesappeararoundthelabels.WhenthebluearrowappearsjustbelowCIR2, releasethemouse.ThefeatureisdroppedintotheeditorbelowCIR2andthelabelobject foritbecomesautomaticallyalignedwiththeobjectaboveit. 8. RepeattheabovestepforCIR4,attachingitjustbelowCIR3. 9. SelectFile|Save.Adialogboxwillappearallowingyoutosaveyourreport.Chooseany nameandclickSave.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1303

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

YourCustomReportEditorshouldlooksomethinglikethis:

Step4:UsingMultiplePages Inthisstepyouwillworkwithmultiplepages.Youwilladdtwoadditionalpagesandmodifyone pagetosupportadifferentpagesize.Thenyouwillrearrangethepages. 1. IntheReportEditor,atthebottomofthepage,rightclickonthePage1tabandselect Insert.Anewpageappears,calledPage2. 2. RightclickonthatpageandthePropertiesdialogboxappears. 3. ChangeHeightto850andpressTAB. 4. ChangeWidthto1100andpressTAB.Changingthesetwopropertiesessentially formatsthepageforLandscapeprinting. 5. Createathirdpage,Page3. 6. RightclickonPage2andclickMoveRight.NoticehowthismovesthePage2tabtothe rightofPage3. 7. RightclickonPage3andclickMoveLeft.YourpagesarenowreorderedtoshowPage3, followedbyPage1,followedbyPage2.Inthiswayyoucaneasilyrearrangeyourpages. 8. Saveyourreport. Yourreportnowhasthreepagesandtheirorderhasbeenchanged.

Step5:DroppingontoOtherObjects Thisstepdemonstrateshowyoucanreplaceexistinglabelobjectswithnewlabelobjectsand howtousetheCADReportObjectinsideacustomreport. 1. IntheCustomReportEditor,selectthePage1tab.Toreplaceanyobjectinyourreport, simplydraganddropanyotheritemofasimilartypeontopofit.Forexample,youcan dropanyitemthatuseslabelsontopofanyexistinglabelinyoureditor.

1304 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

2. SelectthelabelinyourreportfortheCIR1feature.Youshouldalreadyhavefour Circularitydimensions.Ifnot,createthemnow,oneforeachcirclefeature. 3. DragtheCircularitydimensionfortheCIR1featurefromyourEditwindowanddropiton topofthefeaturelabelalreadyinyourreporteditorforCIR1,likethis:

Noticethatthelabelobjectisupdatedwithanewlabelobject. 4. Iftheupdatedobjectmoved,repositionit. 5. Dragtheotherdimensionsontopoftheirrespectivefeaturelabelsintheeditor.PCDMIS updatesallthelabelsaccordinglysothattheylooksomethinglikethis:

ReportEditorNowShowingtheFourDimensionLabels

6. Now,clickonthePage2tab.DragaCADReportObjectfromtheObjectBarontothat page,andsizeitsoitfillsthepage. 7. DragthefourdimensionsoneatatimeontopoftheCADReportObject.Forthisobject, noticePCDMISdoesnotreplaceitwithalabelobjectforthedimension.Instead,PC DMISautomaticallycreatestheappropriatelabelsandleaderlinesontopofthe CADReportObjectforthedimensions. 8. Saveyourreport. Page1nowhasdimensionlabelsinsteadoffeaturelabelsandtheCADReportObjectinPage2 shouldlooklikethis: Step6:InsertingDataItems InthisstepyouwillinsertaGridControlObjectandgetitreadytodisplayvaluesfromtheEdit window.Youwillthendragthemeasuredandnominalvaluesfromafeature'sdataitemsintothe availablecellsoftheobject.
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual Reporting MeasurementResults 1305

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

1. 2. 3. 4.

ClickonthePage3tab. ClickontheGridControlObjecticonanddragtheobjectontothepage. AccessthePropertiesdialogboxandsetNumRowsto8andNumColsto3. Inthefirstrow,themiddlecell,doubleclick,andthentype"Nominal".Intherightcell,do thesameandtype"Measured". 5. Startingwiththefirstrow,andfirstcolumn,andthenmovingdownthroughtheotherrows type"X","Y","Z","I","J","K",and"Diameter".Thiswillfillinrows2through8incolumn1. YourGridControlObjectshouldlooklikethis:

AGridControlObjectwithStaticText Note:Rememberwhentypinginformationintoacell,youmustclickinanothercellor pressTABforthevaluetoactuallybedisplayed. 6. IntheEditwindow,clicktheplussignnexttoCIR1,andthenclicktheplussignnextto Theoreticals.Youwillseealistofdataitems.

DataItemsintheTheoreticalsList 7. DragtheTheoreticalXdataitemanddropitintotheRow2,Column2.

1306 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Draggingtheitem

DroppingtheItem

8. Doubleclickontheitemyoujustdroppedintothecell.Youwillseethatcellisnotreally holdingstatictext.Underthehood,thecellactuallyholdstheexpressionneededto displaythedata.Thismeanstheinformationisnothardcodedandifitchanges,your reportwillbechangedaswelltomatch.

LookingattheDataItem'sExpression 9. ContinuetodraganddroptheremainingdataitemsfromtheTheoreticalslistintothe appropriatecellsintheNominalcolumn. 10. IntheEditwindowexpandtheActualslistforCIR1anddropthedataitemsintothe appropriatecellsoftheMeasuredcolumn. 11. ExpandtheSettingslistforCIR1,anddraganddroptheIDdataitemintothecellatrow 1,column1. 12. Finally,applysometextandbackgroundformattingofyourchoicetorow1andcolumn1, andthensaveyourreport.TheGridControlObjectshouldlooksimilartothis:

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1307

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ASampleGridControlObjectcontainingDataItems 13. SelectFile|ClosetoclosetheCustomReportEditor. Yourvaluesmaydifferdependingonthepartandcirclesmeasured. ThisstepdemonstratedhowtodraganddropdataitemsintoaGridControlObject. Note:Dataitemsdon'thavetobedroppedonlyontoa GridControlObjectyoucanalsodrop themontotheeditor'spagedirectly. Step7:Viewing,Updating,andPrintingyourReport ThisfinalstepexplainshowtoloadyourcustomreportintotheReportwindow,howtoviewit, howtoupdateareportfromapartprogramthatchanges,andfinallyhowtoprintit. 1. SelectView|ReportWindowtoaccesstheReportwindow. 2. FromtheReportwindowtoolbar,selecttheCustomReportSelectionDialogicon.A dialogboxappearsshowingallcustomreports. 3. SelectyourreportandclickOpen.YourreportappearsintheReportwindow. 4. Next,youwillupdateyourreport.SelectFile|Reporting|Edit|CustomReport.A dialogappearsshowingallthereportsyou'vecreatedforyourcurrentpartprogram. 5. SelectyourreportandclickOpen.YourreportopensinsidetheCustomReportEditor. 6. Goaheadandmakeanychangetoyourreportintheeditorandthensaveyourreport again. 7. TogetthenewlyupdatedreporttoappearintheReportwindow,simplyreexecuteyour partprogram,orclicktheRedrawiconfromtheReportingtoolbar. 8. Finally,youneedtoprintyourreport.SelecttheFile|Printing|ReportWindowPrint Setup...menuitem. 9. SelectthePrintercheckboxatthedialogboxtosendittoyourprintingdevice. 10. FromtheReportwindow'sReportingtoolbar,clickthePrinticon.PCDMISprintsyour report. Inthisstepyou'veloadedanexistingreportintotheReportwindow,updatedit,andthensentitto yourprinter. Congratulations!You'vesuccessfullycompletedtheCreatingaCustomReporttutorial.

1308 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

CustomReportGeneration
Tocreateacustomreport,followthesesteps: 1. SelectFile|Reporting|New|CustomReport.TheCustomReportEditorappears. 2. IftheEditwindowisn'topen,accessit,andsetittoSummarymode.Ifitisalreadyopen, PCDMISwillautomaticallysettheEditwindowtoSummarymodewhenyouaccessthe editor. 3. DragitemsfromtheEditwindowanddropthemintotheeditor.PCDMISautomatically usesthelabelsdefinedbythecurrentPageobject'srulesettodisplaytheobjects.Ifyou dropanobjectanditdoesn'thaveanassociatedlabel,anOpendialogboxwillappear allowingyoutochoosealabeldefinedforthedroppeditem. 4. Addandconfigureadditionalobjectsfromtheeditor's ObjectBarasneeded. 5. Positionreportelementsasdesired. 6. SelectFile|Savetosaveyourreport.Adialogboxappearsallowingyoutospecifythe nameofyourreport.

PositioningReportObjects
InsidetheCustomReportEditoryoucaneasilypositionobjectsbydraggingobjectswhereyou wantthemorbyusingtheappropriatealignmenticonsfromtheeditor's LayoutBar. Inaddition,PCDMISprovidesausefultooltoessentiallysnapanobjectbelowanobjectaboveit. Todothis,slowlydraganobjectsothatitstopandleftedgesaremoreorlessalignedwith anotherobject'sbottomandleftedges.Yourmousepointerwillchangetoincludeasmallblue arrow:Thisarrowindicatesthattheobject'sleftsideyouarepositioningwillbealignedwiththe object'sleftsideaboveit.

AligningObjectsUsingtheBlueArrow Whenthisarrowappears,youcanreleaseyoumousebutton,andtheobjectyouaredragging willalignitselftotheotherobject:


PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual Reporting MeasurementResults 1309

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ObjectsAreAligned Thebluearrowcanalsohelpwithdroppinganobjectpreciselyunderanotherobject.Simplydrag theobjectoveranexistingobjectuntilgreenhandlesappeararoundtheexistingobject,thendrag themouseslightlyunderthatobjectuntilthebluearrowappears.Releasethemousewhenit appears,andthedroppedobjectwillappearalignedtotheotherobject. Thisallowsyoutocreatealistofobjectswithoutwhitespaceinbetween,usefulwhenaligninga listoflabelscontainingyourfeatureordimensiondata.

DraggingandDroppingInformationintoaCustomReport
Aswasdescribedin"CustomReportGeneration"topic,youcandragfeaturesandotheritems fromtheEditwindowinSummaryModeintotheCustomReportEditor.

ExampleofDraggingaFileHeaderobjectontotheeditingarea(thePageobject) Whenyoudropanitemintotheeditor,theappropriatelabelforthatfeature,asdefinedbythe Pageobject'sRuleTreeEditor,automaticallygetscreated:

1310 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ExampleofaDroppedFileHeaderobject ReplacingInformationbyDroppingontopofExistinglabels Ifyoudraganitemontopofanexistinglabellikethis:

ExampleofDroppingaDimensionontopofanExistingLabel PCDMISwillreplacethelabelwiththedroppeditem:

ExampleoftheUpdatedLabel DroppingDataonaCADReportObject IfyoudragafeatureordimensionontopofaCADReportObject,likethis:

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1311

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ExampleofDroppingaDimensionontopofaCADReportObject PCDMISwilladdtheappropriatelabelobjectandleaderlineforthedroppedobjectontopofthe CADReportObject.ThelabeldisplayeddependsonthelabelspecifiedintheCADReportObject's RuleTreeEditor,nottheRuleTreeEditorforthePageobject.

ExampleofaDroppedDimensionontopofaCADReportObject DroppingDataonanAnalysisObject IfyoudragadimensionontopofaAnalysisobject,likethis:

1312 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ExampleofDroppingaDimensionontopofanAnalysisObject PCDMISwilldisplaythegraphicalanalysisinformationforthedroppeddimensioninsidethe Analysisobject.

ExampleofaDroppedDimensionontopofanAnalysisObject DroppingDataonaHistogramObject IfyoudragadimensionontopofaHistogramobject,likethis:

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1313

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ExampleofDroppingaDimensionontopofaHistogramObject PCDMISwilldisplaythehistograminformationforthedroppeddimensioninsidetheHistogram object.

ExampleofaDroppedDimensionontopofaHistogramObject DroppingDataItems Ifyouexpandanitem'slistintheSummarymodetowhereitdisplaysthedifferentdataitems, youcandraganddropthesedataitemsdirectlyontothePageobjectorintoacellofthe GridControlObject.

1314 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ExampleofDroppingaDataItemoftheTheoreticalXValueofaFeatureintoa GridControlObjectCell PCDMISwillautomaticallydisplaytheappropriatedroppedvalue:

ExampleoftheDroppedaDataItem Ifyoulookunderthehood,youcanseethatPCDMISautomaticallyusestheappropriate reportingexpressiontodisplaythedroppeddata:

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1315

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ExampleoftheDataItem'sExpression Usingexpressions,insteadofahardcodedvaluemeansthatifthisdataitemchangesforsome reason,itwillautomaticallygetupdatedinyourreportwhenyoureexecuteorredrawyourreport. InvalidDropAreas Ifyoutrytodropanitemontopofaninvalidobject(forexampleifyoudragaFeatureor DimensionontopofaTextobject),whenyoudragtheitemontopoftheobject,PCDMISwill changeyourmouseicontodisplayared"notallowed"icontoshowyouthatyoucannotdropthat itemthere.

ExampleofanInvalidDropAreaforaDraggedDimension UsingSHIFTandCTRLKeysWhenDropping Whileperformingthedropofacommand(suchasafeatureordimension),ifyouholddownthe SHIFTorCTRLkeysandyoureleasethebutton,PCDMISdoesthefollowing: SHIFTkeyPCDMISwillinsertaCommandTextObjectforthatitem.Thisletsyou displaytheinformationforthatiteminatextual,nontableformat. CTRLkeyPCDMISwilldisplayanOpendialogboxallowingyoutoselectadifferent labeltemplatefortheitem.

Whenperformingadropofadataitem,ifyouholddowntheCTRLkeyPCDMISdisplaysnot onlytheevaluatedexpressionforthedataitembutthedescriptivestringoftextfromthe Summarymodeprecedingitaswell.

UsingRules
Liketemplatereports,customreportsusetheRuleTreeEditortodeterminewhatlabel templatesshouldbeusedinyourreport.Adefaultsetofrulesisautomaticallyincluded,soyou onlyneedtochangethedefaultrulesifyouwanttoloadsomesortofcustomlabeltemplate. Toworkwiththeserules, 1. 2. 3. 4. Rightclickontheeditingarea(thePageobject)intheCustomReportEditor. SelectPropertiesfromthesmallpopupmenu.ThePropertiesdialogboxappears. ClickonRule...intheRuleTreeEditorproperty.The RuleTreeEditorappears Modifytherulesasdesired.

ForinformationonusingtheRuleTreeEditor,see"AbouttheRuleTreeEditor".

1316 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

WorkingwithMultiplePages
WhenyoucreateanewcustomreportusingtheCustomReportEditor,theeditingareaisblank. Noobjectsexistintheeditingareaexceptfortheeditingareaitself.Theeditingareaisactuallya Pageobject,anditspropertiescanbemodifiedaswithanyotherobject.Simplyrightclickonthe objectandselectProperties. SimilartoSectiontabsintheReportTemplateEditor,youcancreatemultiplePagetabs(Page objects)intheCustomReportEditor.Todothis,rightclickonthetabandselectInsertfromthe popupmenu.Anadditionaltabwillappearatthebottomoftheeditingarea:

ExampleofMultiplePagetabs ThiswillcreateadditionalreportingpagesthatwilllaterappearintheReportwindow.While similartoSectiontabs,Pagetabsreflectasingleadditionalpageinyourfinalreport,whereasa singleSectiontabmayactuallyendupdisplayingmultiplepagesinthefinalreportdependingon anydefinedrulesforobjectsinthatsectionandthelengthofyourpartprogram. YoucansizeyourPageobjectstomeetdifferentneeds.Forexample,youcanmodifyonepage's propertiestodisplayitscontentsinastandardPortraitformatandanotherpage'spropertiesto displayitsinformationinaLandscapeformatortomatchprinterorpagesettingsforaspecific locale. Youcaneasilyreorderpagesaswell.Todothis,rightclickonaPagetab,andselecteither MoveRightorMoveLeft.ThetabsatthebottomoftheEditingareawillbereordered accordingly.

ViewingandPrintingCustomReports
CustomreportsareviewedandprintedusingtheReportwindow. Toviewyourreport, 1. AccesstheReportwindow(selectView|ReportWindow). 2. FromtheReportwindowtoolbar,selecttheCustomReportSelectionDialogicon.A dialogboxappearsshowingallcustomreports. 3. SelectyourreportandclickOpen.YourreportappearsintheReportwindow. Toprintyourreport, 1. DefineyouroutputusingtheFile|Printing|ReportWindowPrintSetup... menuitem. 2. Eitherexecuteyourpartprogram,orclickthePrinticonfromtheReportingtoolbar.
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual Reporting MeasurementResults 1317

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

DeletingCustomReports
Sincecustomreportsarenotstoredasarealfile,butarepartofthepartprogramfile,they cannotbedeletedusingWindowsExploreroraWindowsdialogbox.Theymustbedeletedwithin PCDMIS. TodeleteCustomReports: 1. 2. 3. 4. SelectView|ReportWindowtoselecttheReportwindow. IntheReportWindow,clickontheCustomReportSelectionDialog icon. Selectthereporttodelete. PresstheDELETEkey.

UsingaCustomReportfromanotherPartProgram
YoucanuseaCustomReportfromanotherpartprograminyourcurrentpartprogramtoa certainextent. Todothis, 1. SelecttheFile|Reporting|Edit|CustomReportfromOtherpartProgrammenu item.AnOpendialogboxappearsshowingallyourpartprograms. 2. SelectyourpartprogramandclickOpen.ACustomReportdialogboxappears.Ifa reportexistsfortheselectedpartprogram,itwillshowupinthisdialogbox. 3. Fromthedialogbox,selectthereportyouwanttouseandclickOpen.PCDMISloads thereportintheCustomReportEditor. Ifafeatureoritemisnotfoundinthepartprogram,thelabelorobjectwillbeblank.

AboutForms
TheFormEditorletsyoubuildinteractiveformsanddialogboxesandactivatethemwhenapart programgetsexecuted.Theseinteractiveformsarelimitedonlybyyourimaginationandyour abilitytounderstandandprogramtheVisualBASIClanguage.Forms,mixedwithgood understandingoftheVisualBASIClanguageandPCDMISAutomation,giveevenmorepower andflexibilitytoyourpartprograms. InpreviousversionsofPCDMIS,theabilitytocreateinteractiveformswasincludedinthe HyperViewReportEditor.Inversion4.0andlater,interactiveformsmovedoutfromunderthe umbrellaofHyperViewreportingandintomoregeneraluses.However,formsstillplayanactive partinreportingbecausewheneveryouuseaformtocontrolwhatgetsexecuted,youindirectly controlwhatendsupinyourreport. Thissection,however,doesnotattempttocovereverythingthatyoucandowithforms.Instead, itwillcoverhowtousecreateanduseformsingeneral,andinareportingsense,howtoget informationfromtheuserandintoareportusingstandardPCDMIScommands. Formscanalsobeusedinanonreportingrole,asawaytoprovideusefulinstructionsto operators.See"ProvidingOperatorInstructionsUsingOLEObjectswithForms"forsome examplesonhowtodothis.

1318 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TutorialCreatingForms
Thistopicwalksyouthroughabasictutorialthatwillcreateasimpleformwithsomeinteractive dialogboxcontrolsthat,whenexecuted,willallowyoutoselectausernamefromalistandthen choosetomeasureonlycertainfeatures.Theinformationyouselectwillthenappearinafinal report. WhileyoucancertainlyduplicateaspectsofthisbyusingcertainEditwindowcommands,this tutorialwillgiveyouanideaofwhat'spossiblewiththeFormEditor,someimagination,andalittle programmingskill. Important:Thistutorialusesfilesyoucreatedinthe"CreatingaReportTemplate"and"Creating LabelTemplates"tutorials.Ifyouhaven'talreadydoneso,completethosetutorialsfirst. Step1:PreparingtheWorkEnvironment 1. InthistutorialyouwillswitchbetweentheFormEditorandtheEditwindow,sofirst preparetheEditwindow. RightclickonyourEditwindowandselectDockingViewfromtheshortcutmenuto undockit. Selectthemaximizebuttonsothatitfillsthescreen. PlacetheEditwindowintoCommandmode. 2. SelectView|FormEditorfromthemenubar.TheFormEditorappears. 3. Hideanyunusedtoolbarsbyrightclickingonthetoolbarareaandremovingthem. 4. HideanyunusedPCDMISwindowsbyselectingtheopenwindowfromtheView menu. KeeptheEditwindowopen. 5. MaximizetheFormEditorbyclickingthemaximizebuttonintheupperrightcornerofthe editor'swindow.Youshouldseethewords"FORMS"onthebackgroundoftheeditor. YourFormEditorshouldnowlooksomethinglikethis:

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1319

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

FormEditor Hint: WhenworkingwiththeFormEditor,youmayfindithelpfultohideyourusualPCDMIS toolbarsandwindows,therebyfreeingupsomescreenspace.Ifyouworkfrequentlywiththis editor,youmaywanttocreateastoredscreenlayoutforyourtemplate.Forinformationon layouts,seethe"WindowLayoutsToolbar"topicinthe"UsingToolbars"chapter.

Step2:CreatetheForm 1. DragtheTheFrame/TheView'sgraybackgroundsothatitis5incheswideby6inches tall. 2. AddaBorderobject,anddragthebordersothatitfitsjustwithintheform'sarea.Setthe border'spropertiessothatithasaLineWidthvalueof3andaForeColorofdarkblue (0.0.128). 3. AddaBitmapobjectinthetopoftheform.TheBitmapDialogappears.UsetheLoad buttontonavigatetoabitmapfileofyourchoice,suchasacorporatelogo.Sizeand positionthebitmapsothatit'swithinthetop1.5inchesoftheform. 4. AddaRadioButtonobjectundertheBitmapobject.AccesstheRadioButton'sproperties, andclickontheListItems value.TheListChoicesdialogboxappears.Thisdialogbox letsyoucreatealistofoptionbuttonsfortheobject. SelecttheexistingRadioButton1itemfromtheListChoicesbox.IntheName box,changethenameto"CIRCLE1".TheindexValueshouldalreadydisplay0. ClicktheAddbuttontoaddthreemoreitems.Thenchangethenewlyadded itemstoread"CIRCLE2","CIRCLE3",and"CIRCLE4".Theyshouldhaveindex valuesof1,2,and3respectively.TheListChoicesdialogbox,shouldlooklike this:

1320 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ListChoicesdialogbox,showingfouroptionswithfourindexvaluesrangingfrom 0to3. ClickOKwhenfinished. 5. RenametheRadioButtonobjectbychangingthe(ObjectCode) valueforfrom "RadioButton1"to"optMeasure". 6. AddaFrameobjectanddragitaroundyourRadioButtonobject.ChangetheFrame's Textpropertytoread"SelectWhattoMeasure". 7. AddanEditBoxobjecttotherightoftheRadioButtonobject,andrenameitfrom "EditBox1"to"txtMeasure". 8. AddaTextobject(Text1)undertheRadioButtonobject,andsetits Textpropertytoread "SelectUser:". 9. AddaComboBoxtotherightoftheoftheTextobject,andrenameitfrom"ComboBox1" to"cboUsers".Thiscontrolwillcontainalistofusers. ClickontheListItemsvaluetoaddthelistofusers.ThisaccessestheListChoices dialogboxagain. Changethenameofthefirstiteminthelistfrom"(None)"to"[SelectaUser]",and giveitanindexValueof0. Continuetousethisdialogboxasyoudidbeforetoaddfiveorsixusernames.This tutorialused"Bob","Allen","Mary","Shelly","Jared",and"Kurt". UsetheUporDownbuttonsasdesiredtochangewhereanitemappearsinthelist. Thedialogbox,whenfinished,shouldlooksomethinglikethis:

ListChoicesdialogboxshowingalistofusernamesfortheComboBox ClickOK.YourComboBoxobjectnowcontainsthoselistitems. 10. AddanEditBoxobjecttotherightoftheComboBox,andrenameitfrom"EditBox2"to "txtUser". 11. AddanotherTextobject(Text2)undertheobjectthatreads"SelectUser",andsetits Textpropertytoread"TypeaReportDescription:".


PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual Reporting MeasurementResults 1321

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

12. AddanotherEditBoxobjecttotherightoftheaboveTextobject,andrenameitfrom "EditBox3"to"txtDescription". 13. AddaButtonobjecttothebottomoftheform,andrenameitfrom"Button1"to "cmdContinue".ChangeitsTextpropertytoread"&Continue".Theampersandsymbol letsyoudefinewhatevercharacterfollowsitasashortcutcharactertobeusedwithALT. So,pressingALT+ConyourforminRunModewillactasifyouclickedtheContinue button. 14. SelectFile|Savetosavetheform.Giveitthename"TestForm.Form"andsaveitina directoryofyourchoice. 15. PressCTRL+EtotestyourforminRunMode.There'snocodetiedtoanyofthe controlssonothingmuchhappensifyouclickonanything,butyou'lladdthatnext.When finished,pressCTRL+EagaintoreturntoEditMode. Inthisstep,youhavecompletedthebasicform,addingvariouscontrolsandassigningitemsto lists.Itshouldlooksomethinglikethis:

Formwiththevariousformcontrolsadded Step3:AddCodetotheRadioButtonControl 1. SelecttheRadioButtonobject,optMeasure,andaccessitsproperties. 2. ClickontheEventChangeevent.TheVBSMiniEditorappears.Thissmallcode windowletsyoutypeVisualBASICcodestatementsthatwillrunwheneveryouselecta newvaluefromthelistofoptionbuttons. 3. Inthecodewindow,typethiscode:


DimintIndexAsInteger

1322 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

intIndex=optMeasure.Index SelectCaseintIndex Case0 txtMeasure.Text="Circle1" Case1 txtMeasure.Text="Circle2" Case2 txtMeasure.Text="Circle3" Case3 txtMeasure.Text="Circle4" EndSelect

4. ClickOK.Theminieditorcloses. 5. SelectFile|Savetosavetheform. 6. TestyourreportbypressingCTRL+EandenteringRunMode.Selectafeatureto measure. Thiscoderunswhenyouselectafeaturetomeasurefromthelist.Itlooksatwhatgetsselected fromthelistofoptionbuttonsandsetstheTextpropertyoftxtMeasuretodisplayatextstringof "CIRCLE1","CIRCLE2",andsoon.PressCTRL+EtoexitRunModeandreturntoEditMode. Step4:AddCodetotheComboBoxControl 1. SelecttheComboBoxobject,cboUsers,andaccessitsproperties. 2. ClickontheEventChangeevent.TheVBSMiniEditorappears. 3. Inthiscodewindow,typethiscode:
txtUser.Text=cboUsers.TextValue

4. ClickOK.Theminieditorcloses. 5. SelectFile|Savetosavetheform. 6. TestyourreportbypressingCTRL+EandenteringRunMode.Selectafeatureto measure. Thiscoderunswhenyouselectauserfromthelist.Itlooksatthetextvalueoftheselectedlist itemandsetstheTextpropertyoftxtUsertodisplayatextstringoftheselecteduser.Press CTRL+EtoexitRunModeandreturntoEditMode. Step5:AddCodetotheContinuebutton 1. SelecttheButtonobject,cmdContinue,andaccessitsproperties. 2. ClickontheEventClickevent.TheVBSMiniEditorappears. 3. Inthiscodewindow,typethiscode:
IfcboUsers.Value>0AndLen(txtDescription.Text)>0AndLen (txtMeasure.Text)>0Then TheView.Cancel Else MsgBox"Pleasefillouttheentireformbeforecontinuing." EndIf

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1323

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

4. ClickOK.Theminieditorcloses. 5. SelectFile|Savetosavetheform. 6. TestyourreportbypressingCTRL+EandenteringRunMode.ClicktheContinue button. ThiscoderunswhenyouclicktheContinuebutton.Itcheckstomakesuretheformisalltheway filledout,andifitis,itclosestheFormEditor.Ifnot,itdisplaysamessage tellingtheusertofill outwhat'smissing. TheLen()functionteststhelength(orthenumberofcharacters)forthetextstringinthe editboxes,makingsuresomethingisthere. ThecboUsers.Value>0codecheckstomakesureausernamegetsselectedfromthe list.

Step6:AssignEditWindowVariablestoHoldFormProperties Nowthatyouhavedefinedyourform,youneedawaytopassdatabackandforth,betweenthe Editwindowandtheform. 1. 2. 3. 4. Ifyouhaven'talreadydoneso,saveyourform. FromtheWindow menuselectEditWindowtomaketheEditwindowcometothefront. Makesuretheitisincommandmode. Definevariablesthatyouwillassigntoworkwiththeform,bytypingthiscodeintheEdit windowbeforethemeasuredcirclefeatures:


ASSIGN/STR_DESCRIPTION="" ASSIGN/STR_USER="" ASSIGN/STR_MEASURE=""

5. Placeyourcursorimmediatelyafterthesestatements,andselectInsert|Report Command|Form.AnInsertFormdialogboxappears.Navigatetowhereyoustored "TestForm.FORM",selectit,andclickOpen. 6. PCDMISinsertsaFORM/FILENAME commandblockintotheEditwindowwithapathwayto theselectedformfile.Thiscommand,whenmarkedandexecuted,willruntheform.It thenwaitsuntiltheformisclosedbeforecontinuingexecutionoftheEditwindow. NoticethatthiscommandcontainsaPARAM/= statement,ora"parameter".These parametersletyoupassvaluesbackandforthbetweenthePCDMISEditwindow variableandtheformcontrolproperties. 7. ClickjustbeforetheleftsideoftheequalssigninthePARAM/= statement,andtype "TXTDESCRIPTION.TEXT".Clickontherightsideoftheequalssign,andtype "STR_DESCRIPTION".PressENTER.AnotherPARAM/= statementappears. RememberthattxtDescriptionisthenameyougavetheEditBoxobjectinyourformthat willholdauserentereddescriptionofthereport. Duringexecution,theTextpropertyoftxtDescriptionwillinitiallytakethevalueof whateverSTR_DESCRIPTION holds.Inthiscase,itwouldtakeanemptystring.Afteryou closetheform,itpasseswhatevervaluetheformhasbackintoSTR_DESCRIPTION. 8. ContinuetodefineparametersinthiswayforboththeSTR_USER andSTR_MEASURE variables,tyingthemtothetxtUserandtxtMeasureobjects'Textpropertiesrespectively.

1324 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

9. SaveyourchangestotheEditwindow.Whenfinished,yourFORM/FILENAME command block,shouldlooksomethinglikethis.


CS7 =FORM/FILENAME=D:\PARTPROGRAMS\TESTFORM.FORM PARAM/TXTDESCRIPTION.TEXT=STR_DESCRIPTION PARAM/TXTMEASURE.TEXT=STR_MEASURE PARAM/TXTUSER.TEXT=STR_USER PARAM/= ENDFORM/

Step7:AddEditWindowConditionalCodetoControlMeasurement Whenyoucreatedyourform,youcreatedalistofoptionbuttons(usingtheRadioButtonobject) tocontrolwhatexactlygetsmeasured.YounowneedtoaddconditionalstatementsintotheEdit windowtoo,sothattheproperfeaturegetsmeasuredaccordingtowhatgetsselectedfromthe form. 1. IntheEditwindow,placeyourcursorrightbeforethefirstCIR1featureandpressENTER. YourcursorshouldbeinablanklineabovetheCIR1feature. 2. SelectInsert|FlowControlCommand|ControlPairs|If/EndIf.PCDMISinsertsan IF/ENDIFconditionalstatementintotheEditwindow:


IF/0 END_IF/

2. Definethecondition.Highlightthedefaultvalueof0andtype:
STR_MEASURE=="CIRCLE1"

3. PressENTER. 4. SelecttheentireCIR1featureandselectEdit|Cut.ThenselectEdit|Pastetomoveit ontoablanklineaftertheIF/STR_MEASURE=="CIRCLE1" linebutbeforetheEND_IF/ line. Yourfirstconditionalblockshouldlooklikethis:


IF/STR_MEASURE=="CIRCLE1" CIR1featuregoeshere... END_IF/

RememberthatSTR_MEASURE,afterexecution,willholdthevalueofthetxtMeasureobject's Text property.Accordingtotheformcode,thiswillbeeither: "CIRCLE1","CIRCLE2","CIRCLE3",or"CIRCLE4". ThisfirstlinechecksthevariablevalueofSTR_MEASURE andifitmatchesthestringvalueof "CIRCLE1"thenitwillmeasuretheCIR1feature.Ifnot,itwillskipandgotowhateverfollowsthe END_IF/statement. 5. Continuerepeatingtheabovesteps,definingconditionalstatementsfortheothercircle featuresaswell.Whenfinished,yourEditwindowcodeshouldlooksomethinglikethis:
ASSIGN/STR_DESCRIPTION="" ASSIGN/STR_USER="" ASSIGN/STR_MEASURE="" CS7 =FORM/FILENAME=D:\PARTPROGRAMS\TESTFORM.FORM PARAM/TXTDESCRIPTION.TEXT=STR_DESCRIPTION PARAM/TXTMEASURE.TEXT=STR_MEASURE

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1325

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

PARAM/TXTUSER.TEXT=STR_USER PARAM/= ENDFORM/ IF/STR_MEASURE=="CIRCLE1" CIR1 =FEAT/CIRCLE... END_IF/ IF/STR_MEASURE=="CIRCLE2" CIR2 =FEAT/CIRCLE... END_IF/ IF/STR_MEASURE=="CIRCLE3" CIR3 =FEAT/CIRCLE... END_IF/ IF/STR_MEASURE=="CIRCLE4" CIR4 =FEAT/CIRCLE... END_IF/

Step8:AddFinishingTouches Now,youneedtoapplysomefinishingtouches.First,youneedtotellPCDMIStosendthe valuesofourformtothefinalreportintheReportwindowbyusingreportcomments.Thenyou needtomakesomeobjectsinvisibleontheform. 1. IntheEditwindow,typethesecommandsimmediatelyfollowingtheFORM/FILENAME command.


COMMENT/REPT,"User:"+STR_USER COMMENT/REPT,"ReportDescription:"+STR_DESCRIPTION COMMENT/REPT,"MeasureRoutine:"+STR_MEASURE

2. SelectWindow|FormEditortogobacktotheFormEditor. 3. RightclicktoaccessthePropertiesdialogbox.SelecttxtMeasurefromthedropdown list.PCDMISselectstheobject. 4. ClickAdvanced,andsettheVisiblepropertytoNO. 5. SelecttxtUserfromthedropdownlist.PCDMISselectstheobject. 6. ClickAdvanced,andsettheVisiblepropertytoNO.Sinceauserdoesn'tneedtosee thesevaluesandtheonlyreasonweusedthemwastopassavaluebacktoPCDMIS, settingthispropertytoNOmakestheseobjectsinvisibleduringexecution. Step9:ExecutethePartProgram 1. SelectView|ReportWindowandusetheTemplateSelectionDialogtoolbariconto setthereporttousethedefaultstandardreporttemplate,TextOnly.rtp. 2. ReturntotheEditwindow.MarktheentireEditwindow,saveyourpartprogram,andthen selectFile|Executetotestyourpartprogram. 3. WhenPCDMISreachestheFORM/FILENAME command,itwillruntheformandpause executionuntilyoufinishfillingitout. 4. FillouttheformandclicktheContinuebutton.PCDMISpassesthevaluesfromthe formbackintothePCDMISvariables. 5. TheconditionalstatementscheckthevalueoftheSTR_MEASURE variableandexecutethe appropriatecirclefeatureaccordingly. 6. PCDMISprintsthereportcommentsandthemeasuredresultsforthemeasuredfeature totheReportwindow.

1326 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

UsingFormswithReports
Formsusuallyonlymodifyreportsindirectly.Forexample,youmayhaveaformthatcontrols whetherornotcertainfeaturesgetexecuted.Inthiscase,thefinalreportisn'tmodifieddirectly, butindirectlybecausereportsalwaysshowwhatgetsexecutedanyway. YoucanhoweverusetheFORM/FILENAME commandtopassparametersbackandforthbetween theEditwindowandaform'sobjects,anduseCommentstocausethoseparameterstoappearin afinalreport.Seethe"CreatingForms"tutorialandthe"InsertingaFORMCommand"topicfor examplesofthistypeofformsuse. Additionally,aftergettingthevaluesfromaformintotheEditwindow,youcanalsousethe REPORT/FILENAME commandtopassparametersfromtheEditwindowintoareporttemplateinthe samewaythatyouusetheFORM/FILENAME command. SelectInsert|ReportCommand|HyperviewReporttoinsertaREPORT/FILENAME command, thenassignparametervaluestomodifyobjectpropertiesinthereporttemplate.Seethe "CreatingForms"tutorialonhowtodothis,usingtheFORM/FILENAME commandasaguide,but insteadofselectinga.FORMfilename,selectaReportTemplate(.rtpfilename).Also,seethe "EmbeddingHyperViewReportsorReportTemplatesinaPartProgram"topic.

AboutReportExpressions
ReportExpressionsarespecialcommandsthatyouplaceinsideofsupportingreportorlabel templateobjectstopullspecificdatafromPCDMISandplacethemintothoseobjects.For example,supposeyouwantedtoinsertafeatureIDintoalabeltemplate.Youwouldsimplyadd anobjectthatsupportsexpressionsintoyourreport,suchastheGridControlObject.Then, insideofanExpressionCellofthegrid,youwouldtype"=ID". Therearefourareaswhereyoucaninsertreportexpressions: 1)TheRulesTreeEditorintheConditionalExpressionandTextExpressionboxes. 2)TheGridControlObjectinitsgridcells. 3)TheGridControlObjectintheRepeatExpressionboxintheRowtabforrepeat expressions. 4)PropertySheetValuesoneditfieldsorcomboboxesthattaketextvalues. Consultthosetopicsforinformationonwheretoinsertreportexpressioncode. Foravailableexpressions,consult"FunctionsandOperators"and"UsingDataTypestoFinda ReportExpression"forlistsofavailablefunctions,operators,anddatatypes. Note:ReportingexpressionscanalsousemanynormalPCDMISexpressions,discussedinthe "UsingExpressionsandVariables"chapter.Simplyprecedetheexpressionswiththe"="sign whentypingtheminthecell.
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual Reporting MeasurementResults 1327

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

FunctionsandOperators
HereisthelistoffunctionsandoperatorsavailabletotheReportingexpressionlanguage.These workthesameasandarealsoavailableinthePCDMISexpressionlanguage. TheReportingexpressionlanguagedoesnotsupportvariables,structures,orfunctionslikethe PCDMISexpressionlanguagedoes.Inplaceof variables,anewtypecalledDATA_TYPEhas beenaddedtothelanguage.See"UsingDataTypestoFindaReportExpression"formore information.AnothernewdifferenceintheReportinglanguageistheadditionofasetofconstants describedin"PredefinedConstants". Note:Remembertoprecedeyourexpressionwithanequalssign(=).Also,makesurethatthe commandfromwhichyouaregettingyourdatasupportstheexpressionyouwanttouse. Functions Itemsprecededwithanasterisksymbol(*)areuniquetothereportingexpressionlanguage. Function
ABS(<expression>) ACOS(<expression>)

Description Returnstheabsolutevalueoftheinputvalue. Returnsthearccosinefortheinputvalue.Inputand resultareinradians. Returnstheanglebetweenthetwoinputs expression1andexpression2,whichshouldbeof typepoint.Resultisindegrees. Createsanarrayoutoftheinputvalues. Returnsthearcsinefortheinputvalue.Inputand resultareinradians. Returnsthearctangentfortheinputvalue.Input andresultareinradians. ReturnstheASCIIcharactervalueforthe correspondinginputvaluewhichshouldbyoftype integer. Makesthetextvalueofexpression1useoneofthe4 colorsascurrentlydefinedinthecolortree.1= MarkedColor2=UnmarkedColor3=StepMode Color4=ErrorColor.See"ChangingaString'sText Color".

ANGLEBETWEEN(<expression1>, <expression2>)

ARRAY(<expression1>,<expression2>,& <expressionN>) ASIN(<expression>)

ATAN(<expression>)

CHR(<expression>)

*COLOR(<expression1>,<expression2>)

1328 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

*GetTolColor(expression1,expression2, expression3)

Thistakesthreeexpressions,thedeviation,plus tolerance,andtheminustoleranceandreturnsthe currenttolerancecolorastypeCOLORREFbased onthedeviation. expression1isthedeviationasadoublevalue, expression2istheplustoleranceasadoublevalue, andexpression3istheminusdeviationasadouble value. Youcanusethisreturnedcolorwithcolorproperties ofobjectsinreportingsuchasForeColorand BackColortodynamicallychangethecolorofthe objecttoreflectthecurrenttolerancevalue. ThesecolorsarespecifiedintheEditDimension Colordialogbox.See"EditingDimensionColors"in the"EditingtheCADDisplay"chapter Concatenatesallofthestringsspecifiedin expressions1throughNtogetherinto1string. Returnsthecosinefortheinputvalue.Inputand resultareinradians. Returnsthenumberofinstancesofthedatatype specifiedinexpression1forthecurrentcommand. Returnsthecrossproductofexpession1and expression2bothofwhichshouldbeoftypepoint. UsedonlywithintheCustomReportEditor,this returnsinformationfromaspecificdatafieldwithina feature,dimension,orcommand.Thistakesthree parameters:expression1isastringrepresentingthe uniqueidoridofthecommand,expression2isa stringrepresentingthedatatype,andexpression3is thetypeindex.Normallythetypeindexis0,butin caseswhereadtypeoccursmorethanonce,itwill be1orgreater. Thisexpressionisautomaticallycreatedandused whenyoudraganddropitemsfromtheEditwindow intoyourcustomreport. SameasinPCDMISexpressionlanguage. Convertstheinputfromdegreestoradians. Outputisnewpointmovedalongthevector specifiedinexpression2bythedistancespecifiedin expession3fromthepointspecifiedinexpression1. Returnsthedotproductofexpression1and expression2.Inputvaluesshouldbeoftypepoint. Convertstheinputvaluefromitscurrenttypetoa double.Inthecaseofapoint,thedistanceofthe pointfromtheoriginisreturned.
Reporting MeasurementResults 1329

CONCAT(<expression1>,<expression2>,& <expressionN>) COS(<expression>)

*COUNT(expression1)

CROSS(<expression1>,<expression2>)

*DATAFIELD(<expression1>, <expression2>,<expression3>)

DATEVALUE() DEG2RAD(<expression>) DELTA(<expression1>,<expression2>, <expression3>)

DOT(<expression1>,<expression2>)

DOUBLE(<expression>)

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

*ELAPSEDTIME()

Returnstheamountoftimetakenforexecution. SameasinPCDMISexpressionlanguage. Testswhethertwoarraysareidenticalandreturns1 iftheyare,otherwise0.

ELEMENT(<expression1>,<expression2>, <expression3>) EQUAL(<expression1>,<expression2>)

<expression1>^<expression2>

SameasinPCDMISexpressionlanguage.
EXPON(<expression>) *FILENAME()

Returnsthefullpathandfilenameofthepart program. SameasinPCDMISexpressionlanguage.

FORMAT(<expression1>,<expression2>)

*GETCOUNT(expression1)

IF(<expression1>,<expression2>, <expression3>)

Returnsalongvalueofthenumberofinstancesthat existfortheENUM_FIELD_TYPESdatatype, specifiedinexpression1.Forexample,alocation dimensionthatreportsinX,Y,Z,andDwouldreturn 4fortheAxisdatatype. Ifexpression1evaluatestoanonzerovalue,the valueofexpression2isreturned,otherwise,the valueofexpression3isreturned.

INDEX(<expression1>,<expression2>)

INTEGER(<expression>)

SameasinPCDMISexpressionlanguage.

LEFT(<expression1>,<expression2>) LEN(<expression>)

Forastring,returnsthenumberofcharactersinthe string.Foranarray,returnsthenumberofelements inthearray. SameasinPCDMISexpressionlanguage. Loadsthestringusingthenumericalvaluefromthe resourcefiles.Anegativenumericalvaluecauses thestringtobeloadedfromthestringsresources. See"LoadingStringsfromPCDMIS"formore information. SameasinPCDMISexpressionlanguage.

LN(<expression>) *LOADSTR(<expression>)

LOG(<expression>) LOWERCASE(<expression>) <expression1><<expression2> MAX(<expression>)

1330 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MAXINDEX(<expression>) MAXINDICES(<expression>) *MEASSCALE() MIN(<expression>) MININDEX(<expression>) MININDICES(<expression>)

Returnstherescalefactorusedwhenmeasuring.

SameasinPCDMISexpressionlanguage.
MID(<expression1>,<expression2>, <expression3>) MPOINT(<expression1>,<expression2>, <expression3>) *NUMMEAS()

Displaysanumbervaluerepresentingthenumberof dimensionsreported. Displaysthenumberofreporteddimensionthat wereoutoftolerance.

*NUMOUTTOL()

ORD(<expression>)

SameasinPCDMISexpressionlanguage.

*PARTNAME()

Displaysthepartname(thesameaswhatisshown inthefileheader). Displaysthecurrentpagenumber. Displaysthetotalnumberofpages. SameasinPCDMISexpressionlanguage. SameasinPCDMISexpressionlanguage. Displaysavalueofaspecificregistrysetting.This takesthesetwoparameters:expression1 determinesthesection,andexpression2determines theentry. Displaysthevalueofanotherobject'sproperty.It takesoneparameter,shownasexpression1.This shouldbeastringvalueoftheobject'suniqueID followedbyaperiodandthentheproperty'sname, forexample,=REPORTVALUE("text1.text") Displaystherevisionnumber(thesameaswhatis showninthefileheader). Colorsthestringspecifiedinexpression1tothe colorspecifiedviatheRGBvaluesofexpressions2, 3,and4. See"ChangingaString'sTextColor".

*PAGE() *PAGES()

RAD2DEG(<expression>)

REAL(<expression>)

*REGSETTING(<expression1>, <expression2>)

*REPORTVALUE(<expression1>)

*REVNUM()

*RGB(<expression1>,<expression2>, <expression3>,<expression4>)

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1331

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

RIGHT(<expression1>,<expression2>) ROUND(<expression1>,<expression2>)

SameasinPCDMISexpressionlanguage.

*SECTION()

Displaysthecurrentsectionnumber. Displaystheserialnumber(thesameaswhatis showninthefileheader).

*SERNUM()

SIN(<expression>) SORTUP(<expression>)

SameasinPCDMISexpressionlanguage.
SORTDOWN(<expression>) SQRT(<expression>) *STATCOUNT()

Returnsthestatisticscount(sameasinthefile header).

STR(<expression>) STRING(<expression>) SUM(<expression>) SYSTIME() SYSTEMDATE(<expression>) SYSTEMTIME(<expression>) TAB(<expression>) *TOGGLESTR(<expression1>, <expression2>)

SameasinPCDMISexpressionlanguage.

Pullsthetogglestringfromtheresourcesbaseon theresourceidvalueinexpression1.Again,a negativenumberisusedforcaseswherethestring shouldcomefromthestringsresources.Thevalue ofexpression2isusedtospecifywhichsubstringof thetogglestringiswanted.Theresultisthe substring. Ifthespecifieddatatypeforthegivencommandisof typetogglestring,thefulltogglestringisreturned. Ifthespecifieddatatypeforthegivencommandisof typetogglestring,theindexnumber(ortogglevalue) ofthetogglestringisreturned. Expression1isthestringbeingcolored.Expression 2isthetestvalue,Expression3istheplus tolerance,andExpression4istheminustolerance. Ifthetestvalueisintolerance(Betweenthevalues forExpression3andExpression4),thenthecurrent markedcolorfromthecolortreeisused.Otherwise, theErrorcolor(usuallyred)isusedasthecolorfor thetext.

*TOGGLESTRING(DATA_TYPE)

*TOGGLEVALUE(DATA_TYPE)

*TOL(<expression1>,<expresion2>, <expression3>,<expression4>)

1332 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

UNIT(<expression>) *VARIABLE(<expression1>,<expression2>)

SameasinPCDMISexpressionlanguage. Displaysthedefinedvariable'svalue.Thisfunction takesoneortwoparameters.Expression1isthe stringvaluerepresentingthevariable'sID. Expression2isanoptionalIDofanothercommand IDorUID.See"DisplayingaVariable'sValue"for moreinformation. SameasinPCDMISexpressionlanguage.

VECX(<expression>) VECY(<expression>) VECZ(<expression>)

Operators Operators
<expression1>==<expression2> <expression1>>=<expression2>

Description Evaluatesto1ifexpression1equals expression2.Otherwise,evaluatesto0. Evaluatesto1ifexpression1isgreaterthanor equaltoexpression2.Otherwise,evaluatesto0. Evaluatesto1ifexpression1islessthanor equaltoexpression2.Otherwise,evaluatesto0. Evaluatesto1ifexpression1isgreaterthan expression2.Otherwise,evaluatesto0. Evaluatesto1ifexpression1islessthan expression2.Otherwise,evaluatesto0. Subtractsexpression2fromexpression1. Dividesexpression1byexpression2. Returnstheremainderfromexpression1divided byexpression2ifany. Multipliesexpression1byexpression2. Comparesexpression1toexpression2,ifthey don'tmatchitevaluatesto1.Iftheydomatch,it evaluatesto0. Theunaryminusoperatornegatesthevalueof theoperandinexpression. Evaluatesto1iftheexpressiondoesn'texist. otherwiseevaluatesto0. PerformsabinaryANDoperationontwo numbers.Otherwise,concatenatesstringsor numberstogetherinthecaseofmixedtypes. PerformsabinaryORexpressionontwo numbers. Addsexpression1andexpression2together.

<expression1><=<expression2>

<expression1>><expression2>

<expression1><<expression2> <expression1><expression2> <expression1>/<expression2> <expression1>%<expression2> <expression1>*<expression2> <expression1><><expression2>

<expression> !<expression> <expression1>AND<expression2>

<expression1>OR<expression2> <expression1>+<expression2>

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1333

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

()Parenthesesareusedtogroupexpressionsanddetermineevaluationorder.

LoadingStringsfromPCDMIS
Similartohowyoucanchangethetextcolorforacellinthe"ChangingExpressionTextColor" topic,theReportingexpressionlanguageletsyoupullstringsfromPCDMIS'scurrentrunning languagebyusingthisexpression:
=LOADSTR(<integerexpression>)

Thisstringtakesasingleparameter,anintegernumberthatcorrespondstothevalueofastring locatedinresource.dllorstrings.dll. Apositivenumberpullsthestringfromtheresource.dllfile. Anegativenumberpullsthestringfromthestrings.dllfile.

IfyoutypethisfunctionintheCellExpressionbox(orcell)oftheGridControlObject,clickOK, andthenclickoutsideoftheobject.PCDMISevaluatestheexpressionandreturnsthestring assignedtothespecifiedintegervalue. Note:ThisfunctionalitywasaddedprimarilysothatthelabeltemplatesthatshipwithPCDMIS usestringdatafromyourcurrentlanguage.

ChangingaString'sTextColor
UsingtheRGBFunction TheReportingexpressionlanguageletsyouuseaRGBfunctiontodefineanRGB(RedGreen Blue)colorvalueandapplyittoastringofcharactersinexpressiontext.Thisfunctiontakesfour parameters,astringparameter,followedbycommaseparatedRGBparameters,likethis:
=RGB(string,R,G,B)

IfyoutypethisfunctionintheCellExpressionbox(orcell)oftheGridControlObject,clickOK, andthenclickoutsideoftheobject,PCDMISevaluatestheexpressionandgivesthetextthe specifiedcolorvalue.

CellExpressionboxshowingtheRGBexpression Forexample,ifyoutypethisexpressionintoacell,
=RGB("BlueText",0,0,255)+RGB("BlackText",0,0,0)+RGB("YellowText",255,255,0)

1334 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

thenthewordswouldlooklikethisinatemplateeditor:

UsingtheColorFunction TheColorfunctiontakestwoparameters.Thefirst,acolorparameter,isactuallyanumberthat representsoneoftheprincipleEditwindowcolors.Thesecond,isthestringvaluetowhichPC DMISappliesthecolor.


=COLOR(1,"MyText")

Thefirstparameterisavalueof1to4andpassestheEditwindowcolorthatassociatedwiththe following: 1passestheMarkedColor 2passestheUnmarkedColor 3passestheStepModeColor 4passestheErrorColor ThesecolorsaredefinedintheEditwindow'sColorEditordialogbox.See"DefiningEdit WindowColors"in"SettingYourPreferences"forinformation.

DisplayingaVariable'sValue
PCDMIS'sreportinglanguageletsyoudisplayavariable'svalueinyourreportbyusingthe Variable()function.Thisfunctionhasthefollowingsyntax: Variable(<varname>,[<optionalcommandidoruid>]) Thefirstparameter,coercedtoastringtype,representsthenameofthevariable.Thesecond optionalparametercanbeusedtosolveforthevariable'svaluerelativetoanothercommand. Forexample,supposeyouthiscodeinyourpartprogram:
ASSIGN/V1=2 F1=FEAT/CIRCLE... ASSIGN/V1=F1.X COMMENT/OPER,"Somecommenttext"

Forthepurposesofthisexample,assumethatthecommenthasauniqueIDor"UID"of245. Nowconsiderthefollowingexampleswiththecodeabove:
=VARIABLE("V1")

IftherearenootherstatementssettingthevaluetoV1inthereport,then thevaluemaybeeither0,2,orthesameasthemeasuredcentroidxvalueoffeatureF1. Italldependsonwhichcommandshavealreadyexecutedatthepointthatthereport expressionisevaluatedandwhichcommandiscurrentlybeingprocessedforthereport.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1335

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

=VARIABLE("V1","F1") Ifthisistheonlyfeaturenamed"F1"intheprogram,thentheresult

ofevaluatingthisexpressionshouldbe2sinceV1isassignedto2directlyabovefeature F1.
=VARIABLE("V1",245) Inthiscase,theUIDisusedsothevalueofthisexpressiononthe

reportshouldbethesameasF1.X.

UsingDataTypestoFindaReportExpression
Whenusingexpressions,youusuallyuseexpressionsthatpulldatafromPCDMIS.Youneedto makesurethatthecommandorfeatureyouassociatewiththelabeltemplatetodothishasthe datayouaretryingtodisplay.DataTypescanhelpyoufindthecorrectexpressiontouse. Forexample,supposeyoucreatealabeltemplatethathasaGridReportObject,andinoneof thecellsyoutypethisexpressiontodisplayafeature'smeasuredXdata:
=MEAS_X

Now,ifyoucreateareporttemplate,addaTextReportObject,andusetheRuleTreeEditorto associateyourlabeltemplatewithPREHITcommands,intheReportwindowthecellwillnot displayanything.Why?BecausethePREHITcommanddoesnothaveameasuredXfield.To usethecorrectexpression,youcanviewdatatypesfordifferentfieldsintheEditwindow's commandmode. Thisprocedureexplainshowtoturnonandviewdatatypes: 1. AccesstheEditwindow. 2. PlacetheEditwindowintoCommandmode. 3. RightclickontheEditwindow.Ashortcutmenuappears.

DataTypeInformationmenuitem 4. SelectChangePopupDisplay|DataTypeInformation. 5. Hoveryourmousepointeroverafieldinacommand,andPCDMISwilldisplayasmall, yellowpopupthatshowsthatfield'sdatatype.Thefirstpartofthevalueinparenthesesis thedatatypeandanequivalentexpressionexistsinthelistofexpressions.

1336 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Considerthisexample:

ThisdatatypepopupshowsthatTHEO_Xisavalidexpressionforthiscommand.Ifyoutyped "=THEO_X"intoanappropriatelocation,PCDMISwoulddisplaythisfeature'stheoreticalXvalue. Usingdatatypesyoucanensurethatyourreportandlabeltemplatesareusingexpressions supportedbythatcommand.

AListofAvailableDataTypes
ABOVEBELOW_CONFIG ADDITIONAL_CHART ALIGN_LIST ANGLE_COMP_TOGGLE ANGLE_OFFSET ANGULARITY_NOM_ANGLE ANGVEC_I ANGVEC_J ANGVEC_K ARROW_MULTIPLIER ARTICULATEDARM_TYPE AUTO_CLEAR_PLANE AUTO_DEV_DIRECTION AUTO_ONERROR_TYPE AUTO_PH9 AUTO_PRINT AUTOBEEPING

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1337

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

AUTOFIT_CONSTRAINT AUTOTOLZONE AUTOTRIGGERONOFF AVERAGE_ERROR AXIS AXIS_DESCRIPTION AXIS_MINUS_TOL AXIS_NOMINAL AXIS_PLUS_TOL BF_MATH_TYPE BOUND_TYPE BOUNDARY_POINT_X BOUNDARY_POINT_Y BOUNDARY_POINT_Z BSMETHOD_TYPE BUFFER_SIZE_TYPE CAD_COMP CAD_TOLERANCE CALC_STYLE_FILE CENTER_OF_ROTATION_MEAS CENTER_OF_ROTATION_THEO CENTER_POINT CHART_SUB_TYPE CHART_TYPE CIRC_TYPE

1338 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

CLIP_LEFT_DIST CLIP_LOW_DIST CLIP_RIGHT_DIST CLIP_UP_DIST COL132_TYPE COLUMN_HDR COLUMN_ID COMMAND_STRING COMMAND_TYPE COMMENT_FIELD COMMENT_INPUT COMMENT_TYPE COMPOSITE CONE_CONVEX_TYPE CONE_LENGTH_ANGLE_TYPE COORD_TYPE COP_BOOLEANTYPE COP_COLORMAP COP_COPLEMENT COP_FILETYPE COP_FILTER COP_IMPORTFILETYPE COP_SELECTIONTYPE COP_SIZE COP_TYPE

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1339

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

CPOINT_DIAM CPOINT_F_SCANSPEED CPOINT_I CPOINT_J CPOINT_K CPOINT_SCAN_CROSS_TOTAL CPOINT_SCAN_DENSITY CPOINT_TYPE CPOINT_X CPOINT_Y CPOINT_Z CREATE_WEIGHTS CURVE_TYPE DATA_MEM_PAGES DATA_READ_LOCK DATA_WRITE_LOCK DATUM1_MODIFIER DATUM1_MODIFIER2 DATUM2 DATUM2_MODIFIER DATUM2_MODIFIER2 DATUM3_MODIFIER DATUM3_MODIFIER2 DB_CHART_NAME DB_SOURCE_TYPE

1340 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

DB_QUERY_OP DELETE_TYPE DESCRIPTION DESCRIPTION2 DEST_EXPR DEV_DIAM DEV_MAX DEV_PERPEN_CENTERLINE DEV_X DEV_Y DEV_Z DEVIATION_ANGLE DEVIATION_SYMBOLS DEVPERCENT_NOM DEVPERCENT2 DIGIT_COUNT DIM_BONUS DIM_DEVIATION DIM_HEADING DIM_ID DIM_INFO_LOC DIM_INFO_ORDER DIM_INFO_TP_LOC DIM_ITEM_NUMBER DIM_LENGTH

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1341

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

DIM_LENGTH2 DIM_MAX DIM_MEASURED DIM_MIN DIM_OUTTOL DIM_RPT_DATUM DIM_RPT_DEVPERCENT DIM_RPT_GRAPHIC DIM_RPT_ISBILATERAL DIM_RPT_ISDATUM DIM_RPT_NUMZONES DIM_TEXT DIM_TEXT_OPTIONS DIMENSION_TABLES DISPLAY_ADVANCED_PARAMETERS DISPLAY_HITS DISPLAY_ID DISPLAY_PROBE_PARAMETERS DISPLAY_TRACE DISPLAY_TYPE DISTANCE DRF_COLUMN_HDR DRF_ROTATIONX DRF_ROTATIONY DRF_ROTATIONZ

1342 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

DRF_SEGNAME DRF_SHIFTX DRF_SHIFTY DRF_SHIFTZ DRF_TBLHDR DTYPE_LEAPFROGFULLPARTIAL DTYPE_LEAPFROGNUMHITS DTYPE_LEAPFROGTYPE EDGEVEC_MEAS_I EDGEVEC_MEAS_J EDGEVEC_MEAS_K EDGEVEC_TARG_I EDGEVEC_TARG_J EDGEVEC_TARG_K EDGEVEC_THEO_I EDGEVEC_THEO_J EDGEVEC_THEO_K END_ANG END_NUM ERROR_LABEL ERROR_MODE ERROR_TYPE EXCLUSION_ZONE EXECUTE EXPOSURE

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1343

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

F_AUTOMOVE F_BOXLENGTH F_BOXWIDTH F_CHECK F_CIRCRADIN F_CIRCRADOUT F_CORNER_RADIUS F_DEPTH F_ENDING_DEPTH F_INCREMENT F_INDENT F_LOCATION F_MAXACCELX F_MAXACCELY F_MAXACCELZ F_MINUS_TOL F_MOVESPEED F_OFFSET F_PITCH F_PLUS_TOL F_SCANSPEED F_SIZE F_SPACER F_THICKNESS F_THICKNESS_3

1344 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

F_THICKNESS_EDGE F_TOLERANCE F_TOUCHSPEED FAIL_ON_EXIST FCF_RPT_LINE1_COLUMN_HDR FEAT_ITEM_NUMBER FEAT_TYPE FIELD_WIDTH FILE_COMMAND_TYPE FILE_NAME FILE_POINTER FILTER_NEIGHBOR_NUM FILTER_TOGGLE FILTER_TOL_ABOVE FILTER_TOL_BELOW FILTER_TOL_RIGHT FILTER_TYPE FIND_HOLE_PERCENT FIND_NOM_AXIS_TYPE FIND_NOMS_TYPE FINDHOLE_TYPE FINDNOMS_BESTFIT FINDNOMS_ONLYSELECTED FIT FIXTURE_TOL

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1345

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

FIXTURE_TYPE FLY_MODE_TYPE FREQUENCY GAP_ONLY_TYPE GDT_SYMBOL GDT_SYMBOL2 GEN_ALIGN_TYPE GEN_FEAT_TYPE GRAPH_ANALYSIS GRAPH_ANALYSIS_MINUS_TOL GRAPH_ANALYSIS_PLUS_TOL GRAPH_ANALYSIS_POINT_SIZE GRAPH_OPTION GRAPHIC GRID HIGH_ACCURACY HIGH_THRESHOLD HISTOGRAM HIT_TYPE HITINT_TYPE ID IGNOREMOTIONERRORS_TYPE INDEX_END INDEX_START INIT_HITS

1346 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

INOUT_TYPE INTERNAL_EXTERNAL IOCHANNEL_NUMBER IOCHANNEL_PULSE_DURATION IOCHANNEL_PULSE_INTERVAL IOCHANNEL_PULSE_WIDTH ISLAND_AI ISLAND_AJ ISLAND_AK ISLAND_CLEARANCEDIST ISLAND_DIAM ISLAND_I ISLAND_J ISLAND_K ISLAND_LENGTH ISLAND_TYPE ISLAND_WIDTH ISLAND_X ISLAND_Y ISLAND_Z ITEM_USED ITERATE_COLUMNS LABEL_ID LASER_CLIP_LEFT_DIST LASER_CLIP_LOW_DIST

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1347

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

LASER_CLIP_RIGHT_DIST LASER_CLIP_UP_DIST LASER_EXPOSURE LASER_FILTER_NEIGHBOR_NUM LASER_FILTER_TOGGLE LASER_FILTER_TOL_ABOVE LASER_FILTER_TOL_BELOW LASER_FILTER_TOL_RIGHT LASER_FREQUENCY LASER_INTENSITY LASER_PIXEL_TOGGLE LASER_STRIPE_OVERLAP LASER_STRIPE_OVERSCAN LEADER_LINE_ID LEFTYRIGHTY_CONFIG LEVEL_REF_ID LIN_POL_FILT_TYPE LINE1_BONUS LINE1_CALLOUT LINE1_COLUMN_HDR LINE1_DEV LINE1_DEVPERCENT LINE1_DEVPERCENT_NOM LINE1_DEVPERCENT2 LINE1_FEATNAME

1348 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

LINE1_ISBILATERAL LINE1_MAX LINE1_MEAS LINE1_MIN LINE1_MINUSTOL LINE1_NOMINAL LINE1_NUMZONES LINE1_OUTTOL LINE1_PLUSTOL LINE1_TBLHDR LINE1_USE2DEVIATIONS LINE2_AXIS LINE2_BONUS LINE2_CALLOUT LINE2_COLUMN_HDR LINE2_DATUMSHFT LINE2_DEV LINE2_DEVANG LINE2_DEVPERCENT LINE2_DEVPERCENT_NOM LINE2_DEVPERCENT2 LINE2_FEATNAME LINE2_ISBILATERAL LINE2_ISPLANAR LINE2_MAX

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1349

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

LINE2_MEAS LINE2_MIN LINE2_MINUSTOL LINE2_NOMINAL LINE2_NUMZONES LINE2_OUTTOL LINE2_PLANAR_OPEN_IN_X LINE2_PLANAR_XDEV LINE2_PLANAR_XTOL LINE2_PLANAR_YDEV LINE2_PLANAR_YTOL LINE2_PLUSTOL LINE2_TBLHDR LINE2_TOL LINE2_UNUSEDZONE LINE2_USE2DEVIATIONS LINE3_BONUS LINE3_CALLOUT LINE3_COLUMN_HDR LINE3_DATUMSHFT LINE3_DEV LINE3_DEVANG LINE3_DEVPERCENT LINE3_DEVPERCENT_NOM LINE3_DEVPERCENT2

1350 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

LINE3_FEATNAME LINE3_ISBILATERAL LINE3_ISPLANAR LINE3_MAX LINE3_MEAS LINE3_MIN LINE3_MINUSTOL LINE3_NOMINAL LINE3_NUMZONES LINE3_OUTTOL LINE3_PLANAR_OPEN_IN_X LINE3_PLANAR_XDEV LINE3_PLANAR_XTOL LINE3_PLANAR_YDEV LINE3_PLANAR_YTOL LINE3_PLUSTOL LINE3_TBLHDR LINE3_TOL LINE3_UNUSEDZONE LINE3_USE2DEVIATIONS LOAD_TYPE LOCATOR_BMP LOCATOR_WAV LOW_FORCE LOW_THRESHOLD

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1351

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MACHINE_TYPE MAGNIFICATION MAN_RETRACT MANUAL_FINE_PROBING MANUAL_PREPOSITION MATERIAL_COEFFICIENT MAX_ANGLE MAX_FORCE MAX_INCREMENT MEAN MEAS_A MEAS_A2 MEAS_ANGLE MEAS_AREA MEAS_DEPTH MEAS_DIAM MEAS_EA MEAS_EH MEAS_END_ANG MEAS_ER MEAS_EX MEAS_EY MEAS_EZ MEAS_FLUSH MEAS_GAP

1352 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MEAS_H MEAS_H2 MEAS_HEIGHT MEAS_I MEAS_J MEAS_K MEAS_LENGTH MEAS_MINOR_AXIS MEAS_PERIMETER MEAS_R MEAS_R2 MEAS_SA MEAS_SH MEAS_SLOTVEC_I MEAS_SLOTVEC_J MEAS_SLOTVEC_K MEAS_SR MEAS_START_ANG MEAS_SX MEAS_SY MEAS_SZ MEAS_WIDTH MEAS_X MEAS_X2 MEAS_Y

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1353

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MEAS_Y2 MEAS_Z MEAS_Z2 MEASURE_ALL_FEATURES MEASURE_ORDER_TYPE MEASURED_2D3D_TYPE MEASVEC_I MEASVEC_J MEASVEC_K METHOD_TYPE MIDPOINT_X MIDPOINT_Y MIDPOINT_Z MIN_ANGLE MIN_INCREMENT MINOR_WORD_TOGGLE MODE_TYPE MOVE_TYPE N_CONTROLPOINTS N_HITS N_INIT_HITS_TYPE NINGUNO_TIPO N_PERM_HITS_TYPE N_ROWS NEW_STATS_DIR

1354 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

NEW_TIP NOFLIPFLIP_CONFIG NOMINAL NOMINAL_COLOR NORM_RELEARN NUM_CONTROL_POINTS NUM_FIT_POINTS NUM_ITERATIONS NUM_RETURN_DATA OFFSET_LINE_METHOD OFFSET_TOLERANCE OLD_TIP ONOFF_TYPE OPERTYPE ORIGIN ORIGIN_REF_ID OUTPUT_DMIS_REPORT OUTPUT_FEAT_W_DIMENS OUTPUT_FEATURE_NOMS OUTPUT_TYPE OVERLAP OVERSCAN OVERWRITE PAGEDIMCOUNT("CadReportObjectId",Range)Thisdatatypetakestwoparameters.Ifthefirst parameterisempty(nothinginsidethequotemarks),thenthisreturnsthenumberofdimensions inthecurrentpagewithamaxdeviationlessthanRange*Tol.Thesecondparameter,Range,isa floatingnumber.IfyouincludetheCadReportObjectIDinthefirstparameter,thenthisreturnsthe numberofdimensionsintoleranceassociatedwiththespecifiedCADReportObject.Supposeyou
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual Reporting MeasurementResults 1355

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

wanttoreturnthenumberofoutoftolerancedimensionswithCADReportObject1.Youcoulduse thefollowingcodetodothis:
=TotalPageDimCount("CadReportOjbect1")PageDimCount("CadReportOjbect1",1.0)

Youcanalsocalculatethenumberofdimensionsthatcontainaspecificnumberofaxesby appending":N"totheID,whereNisanumberrepresentingthenumberofaxes.Forexample, typing=PageDimCount("CadReportOjbect1:4",1.0) wouldreturnthenumberofdimensions associatedwithCadReportOjbect1thatcontainedatleastfouraxesandthathadthefourthaxis withinthespecifiedtoleranceof1.0.Ifyoudonotspecifythenumberofaxes,itwouldreturnthe numberofdimensionsassociatedwithCadReportOjbect1ifallofitsaxeswerewithinthe specifiedtoleranceof1.0. PART_NAME PATTERN_TYPE PERCENTAGE PERM_HITS PERP_PARALLEL_TYPE PINVEC_I PINVEC_J PINVEC_K PIXEL_TOGGLE POINT_INFO_HEADING POINTINFO_FILTER_DEVIATION POINTINFO_FILTER_DEVIATION_NUMBER POINTINFO_FILTER_INTERVAL POINTINFO_FILTER_INTERVAL_NUMBER POINTINFO_FILTER_OUTTOL POINTINFO_FILTER_WORST POINTINFO_FILTER_WORST_NUMBER POLAR_VECTOR_COMPENSATION POS_REPORT_AXIS_X POS_REPORT_AXIS_Y

1356 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

POS_REPORT_AXIS_Z POS_REPT_DISPLAY_OPTION POSITIONAL_ACCURACY PPAP_INDEX PPROG PRECISION PRINT_DELETE_RUNS PRINT_DRAFTMODE PRINT_TO_FILE PRINT_TO_PRINTER PROBE_ACCURACY PROBE_COMP PROBE_DIRECTION PROBING_MODE PROBE_DIRECTIONDisplaystheprobingdirectioninthemaindirectionoftheCADreference asasymbol.Symbolsare:">"Front,"<"=Back,""=Left,"+"=Right,"v"=Top,"^"=Bottom. PROFILE_FORM_TYPE PROFILE_TYPE PROGRAM_GAGE_FEAT_TYPE PROGRAM_GAGE_TYPE PUNCHVEC_I PUNCHVEC_J PUNCHVEC_K QUERY_SHOW_GRAPHIC_SETTINGS RADIUS_TYPE READ_WRITE
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual Reporting MeasurementResults 1357

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

READPOS_TYPE REF_ID REF_TEMP REGR REPIERCE_CAD REPORT_SURFVEC_I REPORT_SURFVEC_J REPORT_SURFVEC_K REPORTVEC_I REPORTVEC_J REPORTVEC_K RET_ONLY_TYPE RETURN_SPEED REVISION_NUMBER RMEAS_TYPE RMEASFEATID RMEASFEATIDX RMEASFEATIDY RMEASFEATIDZ ROTATE_REF_ID ROTATION_TYPE ROW_ID RPT_DIMENSION_TABLES SAVE_ALIGN_CAD_TO_PARTS SCALING

1358 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

SCAN_ACCELERATION SCAN_AXISVEC_I SCAN_AXISVEC_J SCAN_AXISVEC_K SCAN_BNDRY_TYPE SCAN_CROSS_TOTAL SCAN_CUTPLANEVEC_I SCAN_CUTPLANEVEC_J SCAN_CUTPLANEVEC_K SCAN_DENSITY SCAN_EDGE_THICK SCAN_ENDVEC_I SCAN_ENDVEC_J SCAN_ENDVEC_K SCAN_INITDIR_I SCAN_INITDIR_J SCAN_INITDIR_K SCAN_INITVEC_I SCAN_INITVEC_J SCAN_INITVEC_K SCAN_OFFSET_FORCE SCAN_TECHNIQUE SCAN_TIME_INCR SCREEN_CAPTURE_AUTO_TYPE SCREEN_CAPTURE_AUTO_TIME

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1359

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

SCREEN_CAPTURE_QUALITY SCREEN_CAPTURE_SCALE SCREEN_CAPTURE_TYPE SEARCHMODE_TYPE SECTION_INDEX SENSOR_LIST SERIAL_NUMBER SHOW_COLUMN SHOW_DETAILS SHOW_HEADINGS SHOW_IDS SHOW_MORE_SPC_CALCS SHOW_NOMS SHOW_OPTIONS SHOW_POINT_INFO SHOW_ROW SHOW_SPC_CALCS SIDES SIMULT_EVAL SINGLE_POINT SKIP_NUM SLOT_MIN_MAX_TYPE SLOT_NUMBER SLOT_TYPE SLOTVEC_I

1360 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

SLOTVEC_J SLOTVEC_K SNAP_TYPE SOLID SPEC_LIMITS SPEC_OFFSET SRC_EXPR STANDARD_DEVIATION START_ANG START_LABEL START_NUM STAT_CALC_TYPE STAT_COUNT STAT_NAME_TYPE STATIC_TOGGLE STATS_DATASOURCE STATS_DB_TYPE STATS_DIR STATS_TYPE STDDEV SUB_NAME SUMMARY_AXIS SUMMARY_BONUS SUMMARY_COLUMN_HDR SUMMARY_DEV

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1361

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

SUMMARY_FEAT SUMMARY_MAX SUMMARY_MEAS SUMMARY_MIN SUMMARY_MINUSTOL SUMMARY_NOMINAL SUMMARY_OUTTOL SUMMARY_PLUSTOL SUMMARY_TBLHDR SURFACE SURFVEC_I SURFVEC_J SURFVEC_K SURFVEC_MEAS_I SURFVEC_MEAS_J SURFVEC_MEAS_K SURFVEC_TARG_I SURFVEC_TARG_J SURFVEC_TARG_K T_VALUE TARG_A TARG_EA TARG_EH TARG_ER TARG_EX

1362 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TARG_EY TARG_EZ TARG_H TARG_I TARG_J TARG_K TARG_R TARG_SA TARG_SH TARG_SR TARG_SX TARG_SY TARG_SZ TARG_X TARG_Y TARG_Z TARGET_SURFACE_CROSSHAIR_HEIGHT TARGET_BLOB_IP_TYPE TARGET_BLOB_TYPE TARGET_COLOR TARGET_DIRECTION TARGET_EDGE_ANGLE TARGET_EDGE_DENSITY TARGET_EDGE_EDGEDETECT TARGET_EDGE_EDGENUM

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1363

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TARGET_EDGE_EDGESELECT TARGET_EDGE_FILTER_AREA_SIZE TARGET_EDGE_FILTER_CLEAN TARGET_EDGE_FILTER_CLEAN_STRENGTH TARGET_EDGE_FILTER_AREA TARGET_EDGE_GAGE TARGET_EDGE_GRADIENT TARGET_EDGE_HEIGHT TARGET_EDGE_ILLUM TARGET_EDGE_POLARITY TARGET_EDGE_SIZE TARGET_EDGE_STRENGTH TARGET_EDGE_TOL TARGET_EDGE_TYPE TARGET_EDGE_UNDERSCAN TARGET_EDGE_WIDTH TARGET_FILTER_AREA TARGET_FILTER_AREA_SIZE TARGET_FILTER_CLEAN TARGET_FILTER_CLEAN_STRENGTH TARGET_FILTER_OUTLIER TARGET_FILTER_OUTLIER_DISTANCE_THRESHOLD TARGET_FILTER_OUTLIER_PASS_1_DEVIATION TARGET_FILTER_OUTLIER_STD_DEV_THRESHOLD TARGET_FOCUS

1364 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TARGET_SURFACE_DURATION TARGET_SURFACE_HEIGHT TARGET_SURFACE_HIACC TARGET_SURFACE_ILLUM TARGET_SURFACE_MODE TARGET_SURFACE_RANGE TARGET_SURFACE_TYPE TARGET_SURFACE_WIDTH TARGET_TYPE TARGSLOT_I TARGSLOT_J TARGSLOT_K TEMPP TEMPX TEMPY TEMPZ TEXT_ANALYSIS TEXTANAL_LABEL_DEV TEXTANAL_LABEL_MEAS_X TEXTANAL_LABEL_MEAS_J TEXTANAL_LABEL_MEAS_K TEXTANAL_LABEL_MEAS_I TEXTANAL_LABEL_MEAS_Y TEXTANAL_LABEL_MEAS_Z TEXTANAL_LABEL_MINMAX

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1365

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

THEO_A THEO_A2 THEO_ANGLE THEO_AREA THEO_DEPTH THEO_DIAM THEO_EA THEO_EH THEO_END_ANG THEO_ER THEO_EX THEO_EY THEO_EZ THEO_FLUSH THEO_GAP THEO_H THEO_H2 THEO_HEIGHT THEO_I THEO_J THEO_K THEO_LENGTH THEO_MINOR_AXIS THEO_PERIMETER THEO_R

1366 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

THEO_R2 THEO_SA THEO_SH THEO_SR THEO_START_ANG THEO_SX THEO_SY THEO_SZ THEO_WIDTH THEO_X THEO_X2 THEO_Y THEO_Y2 THEO_Z THEO_Z2 THEOBF_TYPE THICKNESS_TYPE THICKNESS_TYPE_3 THICKNESS_TYPE_EDGE THINNING_TOL THRESHOLD TIME_ARG TIME_FILTER TIP_I TIP_J

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1367

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TIP_K TITLE TOOL_DIAM TOOL_X TOOL_Y TOOL_Z TOTALPAGEDIMCOUNT("CadReportObjectID")Thisdatatypecontainsoneparameter.Ifitis empty(nothingbetweenthequotemarks),thisreturnsthetotalnumberofdimensionsinthe currentpage.IfyoutypetheIDofaCadReportObjectintheparameter,PCDMISreturnsthe totalnumberofdimensionsassociatedwiththatCadReportObject.Forexample,ifyouusedthis expression=TotalPageDimCount("CadReportObject3") thenPCDMISwouldreturnthetotal numberofdimensionsassociatedwithCadReportObject3.Youcanalsocalculatethenumberof dimensionsthatcontainaspecificnumberofaxesbyappending":N"totheID,whereNisa numberrepresentingthenumberofaxes.Forexample,typing =TotalPageDimCount("CadReportOjbect1:4") wouldreturnthetotalnumberofdimensions associatedwithCadReportOjbect1thatcontainedatleast4axes. TP_MODIFIER TP_MODIFIER2 TRACE_FILTER TRACE_FILTER_ARG TRACE_NAME TRACE_VALUE TRACE_VALUE_LIMIT TRANSFER_DIR TRIGGER_FORCE TRIGGERPLANE TRIGGERTOLERANCE TRIGGERTOLVALUE TWO_D_THREE_D_TYPE U_HITS

1368 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

U_L_BOUNDS UCL_LCL UNIT_TYPE UP_FORCE UPDATEVEC_I UPDATEVEC_J UPDATEVEC_K USE_3DFILTER USE_AXIS USE_AXIS2 USE_HSSDAT USE_SCALING USE_STARTENDDELAY USE_THEO USEPIN_TYPE USER_DEFINED_THEOS USETWODEVIATIONS V_HITS VIDEO_GAIN VIDEO_LASERLIGHT1 VIDEO_LASERLIGHT2 VIDEO_LEDLIGHT VIDEO_LSEG VIDEO_OFFSET VIDEO_XSEG

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1369

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

VIDEO_YEND VIDEO_YORIGIN VIDEO_YSEG VOID_DETECT WAVE_FILE WEIGHT WORK_PLANE X_OFFSET Y_OFFSET Z_OFFSET ZONES

UsingaTypeIndextoDisplaySpecificData
Typeindexesletyoupullinveryspecificdataintoyourreport.Forexample,ifyouhadacylinder featurewitheighthits,youcoulduseatypeindextograbthesecondhit'smeasuredXvalue.To useatypeindex,simplyappendacolonandanumbertotheexpressiontogetthathitorthatrow ofdimensiondata. TypeIndexestoDisplaySpecificData Todemonstratehowthisworks,ifyoutyped:
=MEAS_X

PCDMISwouldnotuseatypeindex(thetypeindexwoulddefaultto0)andPCDMISwould displaythemeasuredXvalueofthefeature'scenterpoint. But,ifyoutyped:


=MEAS_X:1

PCDMISwoulddisplaythemeasuredXvalueofthefirsthit. Ifyoutyped:
=MEAS_X:2

PCDMISwouldwillretrievethemeasuredXvalueofthesecondhit. RepeatingRowstoDisplayallData

1370 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Similartotypeindexes,IntheGridControlObjectyoucandefinearowasa"repeatingrow". Withrepeatingrows,thecharacter"N"evaluatestothecurrentrepeatindexoftherowbeing drawn.Whenyoudefinearepeatingrow,youcanalsodefinearepeatingrowexpressionthat, whenevaluated,determineshowmanytimestherowrepeats. So,ifyouwantedtodisplayallofthemeasuredXvaluesforallhitsinafeature,youcoulddefine asinglerepeatingrowwiththefollowingexpression:


=MEAS_X:N

Youcouldthensettherepeatingrowexpressionto"=N_HITS"togetthetotalnumberofhits.PC DMISwouldcontinuetorepeattherowwithsubsequenthitdatauntilthetotalnumberofhitswas displayed.

UsingaPrefixNumbertoAccessReferenceFeatureData
Previoustoversion4.2youcouldnotaccessareferencefeature'sdatathroughreport expressions.Whilethereportexpressionlanguageprovidedaccesstopracticallyeverydatafield ofthegivencommand,therewasn'taneasywaytoaccessdataforreferredcommands. For example,youcouldnotdetermineifalocationdimensionwasforacircle,aplane,oraline. Startingwithversion4.2however,areportexpressioncannowtakeanoptionalprefixnumber insidecurlybracketstoindicatefromwhichreferencecommandthedatashouldbetaken. Forexample,ifyoucreatealabeltemplateforaRoundnessdimension,andyouwanttoshow themeasureddiameteronthelabeltemplate,youcouldusethisexpression:
={1}MEAS_DIAM()

Noticethe{1}.Thisindicatesthatthedataneedstocomefromthefirstreferencecommand(the feature)insteadofthecommandforwhichthetemplateisbeingcreated(thedimension). Ifthereismorethanonereferencefeatureused,thenumberwithinthecurlybracesrepresents thefeaturefromwhichPCDMISwillpulltheinformation.Forexample,aDistancedimension usestwofeaturestocomputethedistance.Using{1}wouldpullinformationfromthefirst referencefeatureand{2}wouldpullitfromthesecondreferencefeature.

PredefinedConstants
Thereportingexpressionlanguagealsomakesuseofsomepredefinedconstantsforthetype indicesusedwiththeDIMENSION_TABLESdatatype.
LINE1_SIZE_TABLE=1 LINE2_POSITION_TABLE=2 LINE3_POSITION_TABLE=3 DATUM_SHIFT_TABLE=4 SUMMARY_TABLE=5 LINE2_ORIENTATION_TABLE=7 LINE3_ORIENTATION_TABLE=8 LINE2_BASIC_DIMENSION_TABLE=9 LINE3_BASIC_DIMENSION_TABLE=10 TRUE_POSITION_TABLE =11

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Reporting MeasurementResults 1371

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

DIMENSION_TABLE=12 DIMENSION_WITH_BONUS_TABLE=13

NEWLINE NEWLINEisusedtoaddacarriagereturntoatextexpression: Thisexpression,


=Thisisline1+andthisisline2

wouldappearas,
Thisisline1andthisisline2

onthereport. Theexpression,
=Thisisline1+NEWLINE+andthisisline2

wouldappearsas,
Thisisline1 andthisisline2

onthereport. N: Whenusingrepeatingrowsinagrid,Nevaluatestothecurrentrowcountintherepeating rows. Thisisusefulwhenplacingexpressionsthatuseadatatypemorethanonceinarepeating row. Belowisasamplegridusedtoshowhitvaluesinatable.Nisbeingusedintheexpressionsfor therepeatingrow. Whentheexpressionsforthefirstinstanceoftherepeatingrowareevaluated, Nwillequal1,andsotheX,Y,andZvaluesofthefirsthitwillbeshown.Whenthesecondrowis added,Nwillequal2,andsotheX,Y,andZvalueofthesecondhitwillbeshown.

ExpressionsUsedinStandardTemplates
Inthevariousstandardreportandlabeltemplates,youwillseeseveralreportingexpressions usedtodisplaydifferentpiecesofinformationortoformatthedisplayofinformation.Forexample, considerthecodebehindfeature.lbl,astandardlabeltemplatethatshipswithPCDMIS. Inthistemplate,youwillseeseveralreportingexpressions(=LOADSTR,=DIM_MEASURED, =NOMINALandsoon)thatdeterminewhatinformationPCDMISshoulddisplayinthecells. CommonExpressions

1372 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Thefollowinglistdescribesthemostcommonexpressionsusedinthevariousstandard templates: Someofthesefunctionsarealsodiscussedinthe"FunctionsandOperators"topic. =IDThisdisplaysthefeatureordimensionID. =DIM_MEASUREDThisdisplaysthemeasuredvaluefromadimension. =UNIT_TYPEThisdisplaystheunitofmeasurementforthefeatureordimension. =LOADSTRThisloadsastringfromatableofstoredstringswithinPCDMIS.See "LoadingStringsfromPCDMIS"formoreinformation. =AXISThisdisplaysthecurrentaxisname(XAXIS,YAXIS,orZAXIS). =NOMINALThisdisplaysthenominaldataforafeature. =F_PLUS_TOLThisdisplaysafeature'splustolerance. =F_MINUS_TOLThisdisplaysafeature'sminustolerance. =DIM_DEVIATIONThisdisplayshowmuchadimensiondeviatesfromthenominal. =DIM_MEASUREDThisdisplaysadimension'smeasuredvalue. =DIM_OUTTOLThisdisplaystheoutoftolerancevalueforadimension. =DIM_MAXThisdisplaysthemaximumvalueforthegivenaxisamongallpointsrelated totheinputfeature. =DIM_MINThisdisplaystheminimumvalueforthegivenaxisamongallpointsrelated totheinputfeature. =<Expression>:NThisallowsyoutodisplayrepeatedinformation.See"UsingaType IndextoDisplaySpecificData"and"PredefinedConstants"formoreinformationon repeatingrows. =TOLThisfunctioncolorsanytextorexpressions. =Page()ThisdisplaysthecurrentpagenumberoftheReportwindow. =Pages()ThisdisplaysthetotalnumberofpagesoftheReportwindow.

CombinedExpressions Youmayalsofindthatexpressionscanbecombinedandusedtogetherwithotherexpressions, asshowninthiscodestringtakenfromtheLegacy_Dimension_Cad.lbllabeltemplate:


=TOL(DIM_DEVIATION:N,DIM_OUTTOL:N,0.0,0.0)

Thisusesthe=TOLfunctiontodisplaythedimension'sdeviationvalueandgiveittheErrorcolor (usuallyred). Anotherexampleisfoundinstandardreporttemplatesinversion4.2andhigher.TheTextobject atthebottomofthosetemplatesusesthiscombinedexpressionintheTextpropertytodisplay thecurrentpagenumberalongwiththetotalnumberofpages:


=page()+"Of"+pages()

SopagesixofatenpagereportwouldreadasfollowsatthebottomofthepageintheReport window: 6Of10

EmbeddingReportsorTemplatesintoaPartProgram
Youcanembedalegacyreport(HyperViewreport),areporttemplate,orcustomreportintoyour partprogram.WhenPCDMISexecutestheembeddedcode,itlaunchesthereportortemplate allowingyoutoprintit,orviewit,andpassvaluestoandfromtheembeddeditem.
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual Reporting MeasurementResults 1373

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Important:legacyreportsarereportsthatwerecreatedintheHyperViewreporteditorinPC DMISversions3.0,3.2,3.25,3.5,or3.7.Duetothenewtemplateapproachtoreportingsince version4.0,HyperViewreportscanonlybeexecuted,theycannotbecreatedoredited.Toeditor createaHyperViewreport,youwillneedtouseanolderversionofPCDMISthatsupports HyperViewreportcreation. Toembedareportortemplate: 1. MakesuretheEditwindowisinCommandMode. 2. SelectInsert|ReportCommand,andthenchooseoneofthesemenuitems. CustomReport TemplateReport LegacyReport Adialogboxappearsallowingyoutoselectyourreportortemplate. 3. SelectthereportortemplateyouwanttoembedinthePartProgram. 4. ClicktheOpenbuttontoinsertthecommand. PCDMISwillinsertoneofthefollowingcommandsintotheEditwindowatthecursorposition:
REPORT/CUSTOM REPORT/TEMPLATE REPORT/LEGACY

TheREPORTCommand
TheReportcommandobjectisidentifiedwiththeREPORT commandintheEditwindow. TheREPORTCommandSyntax AREPORTcommandwillhavethefollowingsyntaxintheEditwindow'sCommandmode:
<ID> =REPORT/<TOG1>,FILENAME=<PATHWAY>,AUTOPRINT=<TOG2>,Section=<NUM1> PARAM/= ENDREPORT/

Item <ID> REPORT/<TOG1> FILNAME=<PATHWAY>

Description ThisistheIDfortheREPORTcommand. ThischangesthetypeofREPORTcommand.Itcanbe CUSTOM,LEGACY,orTEMPLATE. Thisdeterminesthereportortemplatetoload. <PATHWAY>isthefullfilenamepathwaypointingtothe desiredfile. <TOG2>canswitchbetweenPRINTandPDF. SettingAUTOPRINT=PRINTwillcausethereportor Reporttemplatetobeprintedtothedefaultprinterafterit hasloadedandexecuted.Thereportwillclose immediatelyaftertheprintjobhasbeenspooledand executionofthepartprogramwillresume.

AUTOPRINT=<TOG2>

1374 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

SettingAUTOPRINT=PDFwillcausetheHyperView ReporttobeprintedtoaPortableDocumentFormat (PDF)file.Thefollowingrulesapply: ThenameofthegeneratedPDFfilewillhavethe samebasenameasthereportortemplate filenameappendedbyanumericalindexand extension. Thegeneratedfilewillbelocatedinthesame directoryastheReportfile. Ifafileexistswiththesamenameasthe generatedfilename,theindexwillautomatically incrementitselfuntilauniquefilenameisfound.

<NUM>determinesthesectionintowhichthereportor templatewillbeinserted. Section=<NUM> Ifyoutype1oravaluegreaterthanthenumberof sectionsinthedefaulttemplate,thereportgetsinserted attheend. ThePARAM/optionallowsyoutomapPCDMIS expressionstoareportorareporttemplate'svariablesor properties.ThesyntaxofthePARAM/optionis:


PARAM/{objectorvariablename}={PCDMISexpression}

Example:IfyouhaveaGlobalVariableinareportnamed NumBoltHoles.ThefollowingPARAM/optionwould mapthePCDMISexpressiontoNumBoltHoles: PARAM/NumBoltHoles=360.0/angle Changestothevariableintheeditorcanalsochangethe PCDMISvariable. Example:UsingthefollowingPARAM/option, NumBoltHolesissetequaltonumBolts.Changeswithin theHyperViewreporttotheHyperViewvariable NumBoltHoleswillbereflectedinthePCDMISvariable numBolts: PARAM/NumBoltHoles=numBolts Important:Afterexecutionanyobjectsyouchangedby passingparametersintoaReporttemplateora HyperViewreportwillreverttowhattheyhadbeenbefore executionifyouredrawormodifythereportinanyway. Thismeansifyouwanttoretaintheresultsofpassinga parametertoyourtemplateorreport,youwillneedtofirst printthereportbeforemakingmodifications.Youcando thisusingtheAUTOPRINTparameterorbyprinting directlyfromtheReportwindow. See"MappingPCDMISexpressionstopropertiesof
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual Reporting MeasurementResults 1375

PARAM/

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

HyperViewObjects"foradditionalinformationonusing parameters.

Hint:PressingF9onaREPORT/CUSTOM commandopensupthecustomreport intheCustom ReportEditor. REPORT/TEMPLATEReportGeneration PCDMISgeneratesthedefaultreportasusualuntilitreachesthiscommand.Whenitexecutes thiscommand,PCDMISutilizesthespecifiedtemplateandgeneratesaseparatereportforall thepartprogramcommandsinanewsectionwithinthecurrentreport.AfterPCDMISgenerates thisnewreportsection,itswitchesbacktothepreviousreportandcontinuesgenerating commandsintheoriginalreportfromthatpointforward.

MappingPCDMISExpressionstoObjectProperties
PCDMISexpressionscanbemappedtopropertyobjectsusingthePARAM/commandinthe Editwindow.ThesyntaxformappingaPCDMISexpressiontoanobjectpropertyis:
PARAM /{objectcode}.{propertyname}={PCDMISexpression}

Example:ThefollowingPARAM/optionchangestheBorderStylepropertyoftheobject,Text1: PARAM/Text1.BorderStyle=1

1376 ReportingMeasurementResults

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

InsertingReportCommands
InsertingReportCommands:Introduction
PCDMISallowsyoutoinsertavarietyofcommandsintotheEditwindowthataffecthowand whatinformationgetsdisplayedinreports.Thesecommands,insertedbyselectingmenuoptions fromtheInsert|ReportCommandsubmenu,allowtheprogrammertoconfigure,view,print, andotherwisecustomizetheappearanceoftheEditwindow. Thefollowingtopicsarecoveredinthischapter. InsertingCommandsRelatedtotheAnalysisWindow InsertingDimensionInfoBoxes InsertingPointInfoBoxes EmbeddingHyperViewReports InsertingProgrammerComments InsertingExternalObjects InsertingaPrintCommand InsertingaFormFeedCommand DefiningandSavingaViewset RecallingaSavedViewSet InsertingaFORMCommand InsertingScreenCaptures

InsertingCommandsRelatedtotheAnalysisWindow

Analysisdialogbox TheInsert|ReportCommand|AnalysismenuoptionbringsuptheAnalysisdialogboxwhich allowsyoutooutputthedimensionalprintoutinaformatsuitableforcloseexamination. IftheAnalysisdialogboxisopen,youcanpressCTRLandclicktheleftmousebuttonona featureintheGraphicsDisplaywindowandanydimensionsusingthatselectedfeaturewillbe highlightedintheDimensionListbox.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

InsertingReportCommands 1377

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Analysis

TheAnalysisareaofthisdialogboxallowsyoutochoosetoviewthedimension(s)selectedfrom theDimensionListboxineitheragraphicaloratextualreadout. BydefaultthecheckboxesintheAnalysisareaarenotselected. Whenyouselecteitherthe TextualorGraphicalcheckboxandclickApply,PCDMISwillshowtheselecteddimensionsin atextualformatoragraphicalimage.ItwillnotdisplayanyCADdata. ItishelpfultohaveeithertheGraphicalorTextualAnalysisoptiononwhenhavingaproblemwith afeaturewhosecauseneedstobedetermined. Example:Supposeyouareinspectingaplaneforflatness,andyoufinditisoutoftolerance. UsingtheGraphicalAnalysisoptionwillallowyoutoexaminetheplaneanddetermineifa specificareaisbadoriftheentiresurfaceisirregular. ToselectGraphicalorTextualanalysisfromwithinaDimensiondialogbox: 1. SelectDimensionfromthemenubar. 2. Selectthedimensionoptionyouwillbeusingfromthemenu.Adimensiondialogboxwill appear. 3. SelecteithertheGraphicalorTextualcheckboxes. 4. Finishthedimensioningprocess.

Graphical
IftheGraphicalcheckboxisselected,PCDMISstoresthedimensioninformationinaformatto beviewedgraphically.

Textual
IftheTextualcheckboxisselected,PCDMISstoresthedimensioninformationinaformattobe viewedtextually.

Multiplier

1378 InsertingReportCommands

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ThevalueintheMultiplierboxisascalingfactorthatmagnifiesthearrowandtolerancezonefor thegraphicalanalysismode.Forexample,ifavalueof2.0isentered,PCDMISwillscalethe arrowtwotimesthegraphicalimage. Thisoptionisusedforviewingpurposesonly,andisnotreflectedinthetextprintout.

ShowAllArrows

TheShowAllArrowsbuttonshowsthegraphicalanalysisarrowsusedtomarkdeviation.These graphicalanalysisarrowscanbehiddenarrowbyarrow.Todothis,pressCTRL+SHIFT,and clickthearrowstohide.ClickingtheShowAllArrowsbuttonredisplaysthearrows.The graphicalanalysisarrowswillthenberesetfordisplaypurposes.

ViewWindow

TheViewWindowbuttondisplaystheAnalysiswindow.Thiswindowallowsthedimensionsto bedisplayedinthemostsuitableview. ToeffectivelyusetheViewwindow: 1. SelectthedimensionthatneedstobeexaminedintheAnalysiswindow. EnteravaluefortheMultiplierbox(see"Multiplier"). 2. PresstheViewwindowbutton.PCDMISbringsuptheAnalysiswindow. UsingthemenubarprovidedwiththeAnalysiswindowyoucanalterthegraphicalimage,capture thecurrentgraphicsscreen,oredittheselecteddimensioncolors.

AnalysisWindow ThemenubarontheAnalysisWindowprovidesthesemenus:

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

InsertingReportCommands 1379

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

File View Show Options

InordertodeterminetheinitialviewofthegraphicalanalysisintheAnalysisWindow,PCDMIS useseitherthescancutvectorforprofiledimensionsofscansorthecurrentworkplaneforother dimensions.Thisviewcanbealteredlater.

FileMenu
TheAnalysiswindow'sFilemenuallowsyoutosendthecontentsoftheGraphicsAnalysis windowdirectlytotheprinterforprintingpurposes.

ViewMenu
TheAnalysiswindow'sViewmenuallowsyoutotemporarilyalterthegraphicsdisplayedforthe selecteddimension.Byrotating,scalingorchangingtheviewyoucaneasilyaccessthe necessarydimensions. Note:Thisoptionisespeciallyusefulwhenviewingtheprofileerrorofasetofpoints.

Change
TheView|Change menuoptionletsyoucreatenewviewsfromaCADfile.Thisfunctionis usefulwhena2DIGESfileisusedthatcontainsseveralviewsofapartinoneplaneandthe viewsneedtobeassociatedwiththeircorrectorientationintheGraphicsDisplaywindow.See "SettingUptheScreenView"inthe"EditingtheCADDisplay"chapterformoreinformationon manipulatingviews.

ScaletoFit
TheView|ScaleToFit menuoptionredrawsthepartimagetofitentirelywithintheGraphics Displaywindow.Thisfunctionisusefulwhenevertheimagebecomestoolargeorsmall.

Rotate
TheView|Rotate menuoptiondisplaystheRotatedialogboxallowingyoutorotatethepart imageinthreedimensions. Thetopic"RotatingtheDrawing"inthe"EditingtheCADDisplay"chapterdescribesrotatingin furtherdetail.

1380 InsertingReportCommands

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ShowMenu

ShowOptionsdialogbox TheAnalysiswindow'sShow|ShowOptionsmenucommanddisplaystheShowOptions dialogbox.ThisdialogboxallowsyoutochoosewhatthingsyouwantdisplayedintheAnalysis window. TheAnalysiswindow'sShow|ShowDimensionsStatsbringsuptheEditDimensionInfo dialogbox.ThisDialogboxallowsyoutoeditindepththedimensionhighlighted.See"Common DimensionDialogBoxOptions"inthe"DimensioningFeatures"chapterand"InsertingDimension InfoBoxes"in thischapterformoreinformation.

ShowStatistics
TheShowStatisticscheckboxontheShowOptionsdialogboxdisplaysvariousstatisticsin theAnalysiswindow.IftheShowStatisticscheckboxisnotselected,dimensionalinformation textwillnotbedisplayed(foranydimensions).SeetheEditDimensionInfomenuoptionto changetheformatofthestatisticsdisplayedintheAnalysiswindow.

ShowHistogram
TheShowHistogramcheckboxontheShowOptionsdialogboxdisplaysahistogramofthe deviationsforeachpoint.HistogramscanbemovedtonewlocationswithintheAnalysiswindow. TomovetoanewlocationwithintheAnalysiswindow: 1. Clickonthedesiredhistogram. 2. Dragthecursortothedesiredlocation. 3. Releasethemousebutton.

ShowMax/MinDeviations
TheShowMax/MinDeviationscheckboxontheShowOptionsdialogboxallowsthe maximumandminimumdeviationstobeindicatedwitha'*+'or'*'symbol.

OptionsMenu
TheAnalysiswindow'sOptions menuallowsyoutocapturethecurrentgraphicsscreenforlater use.ItalsoprovidesaccesstotheEditColordialogboxandsizingoftheAnalysiswindow.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

InsertingReportCommands 1381

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

CreateAnalysisViewCommand
TheAnalysiswindow'sOptions|CreateAnalysisViewCommand menuoptiondisplaysthe ANALYSISVIEW commandintheEditwindow.Whenthiscommandismarkedandexecuted,PC DMISwilldisplaythelistofdimensionsinitsownanalysislevelwindow,withthenumberofview androtationsselectedpreviously.ItwillautomaticallytakeascreencaptureoftheAnalysisLevel windowwiththelisteddimensions.Thesescreencapturesarethenavailabletobedisplayedand printedintheinspectionreport. TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionreads:
ANALYSISVIEW/D1,D2,D3,,

D1,D2,D3=listofdimensionstobedisplayed. Thereisnolimittothenumberofdimensionparametersthatcanbeused. Typing"ANALYSISVIEW"intheEditwindowalsocreatesanANALYSISVIEW command.Any dimensionsselectedforanalysiswillbecomeparametersforthiscommand.

SaveGraphicstoReport
Theimagewillremainonthe TheAnalysiswindow'sOptions|SaveGraphicsToReport clipboarduntilanother menuoptioncapturestheviewintheAnalysiswindowandstoresit screeniscaptured,orthe inaDISPLAY/METAFILEcommand.Whenexecutedthisinturn partprogramisclosed. sendsthecaptureintotheinspectionreport. PCDMISdoesnothavetheabilitytoeditorformatthecaptured image.Thegraphicswillbedisplayedatthecursor'slocation. ThisDISPLAY/METAFILEcommanddiffersfromthe DISPLAY/METAFILEcommandgeneratedfromthemainmenuin theseways: IttakesthescreencaptureoftheviewintheAnalysis windowwhenyouselectthemenuitem,nottheGraphics Displaywindow. Thescreencapturedoesnotgetretakenduringexecution,it isastaticimage.

See"CreateAnalysisViewCommand"forcreatingascreencapture thatautomaticallyupdatesitselfuponexecution. See"ScreenCaptures"inthe "UsingtheEditWindow"chapterfor additionalinformationontheDISPLAY/METAFILEcommand.

EditDimensionColors
TheAnalysiswindow'sOptions|EditDimensionColorsmenuoptionallowsyoutosetthe colorforaspecifiedtolerancerange.SelectingthisoptionwilldisplaytheEditDimensionColor dialogbox.

1382 InsertingReportCommands

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

EditDimensionColordialogbox Seethe"EditingDimensionColors"topicinthe"EditingtheCADDisplayOptions"chapterfor instructionsonhowtousethisdialogboxtochangedimensioncolorsforatolerance.

DimensionOptions
ThisGraphicalAnalysisOptionsdialogboxallowsyoutodeterminetheinformationthatgets displayedintheAnalysiswindow.

DimensionAnalysisOptions
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual InsertingReportCommands 1383

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Toaccessthisoption 1. 2. 3. 4. SelectAnalysisfromthemenu.TheAnalysisdialogboxwillappear. Selectthedimensionfromthelistbox. ClicktheViewWindowbutton.TheAnalysiswindowwillappear. SelectOptions|DimensionOptionsfromtheAnalysiswindow.TheDimension AnalysisOptionsdialogboxopens.Mostoptionsareunavailableuntilyouselectany dimensionintheAnalysisdialogbox.Relevantoptionsbecomeavailableforselection.

Thefollowingoptionsareavailableonthisdialogbox: DialogBox Option ShowArrow Heads ShowLines Between Meas.Hits ShowLines Between Nominals Show Tolerance Lines ShowMax/ Min Deviations ShowGrid Description TheShowArrowHeadscheckboxturnsthearrowheadsonoroffofthe deviationlines. TheShowLinesBetweenMeasuredHitscheckboxtogglesonorofflines betweenthemeasuredhits. TheShowLinesBetweenNominalscheckboxtoggleslinesdrawnbetweenthe nominalvalues. TheShowToleranceLinescheckboxtogglesthedisplayoftheacceptable tolerancesforthedimension. TheShowMax/MinDeviationscheckboxallowsthemaximumandminimum deviationstobeindicatedwitha'*+'or'*'symbol. TheShowGridcheckboxletsyoudisplaya3Dgridlikebackdropforthe graphicalanalysis.Enablingthegridmayhelpyoubettervisualizerotateditems. ItalsoenablestheGridOptionsbutton.ClickingGridOptionsopensthe AnalysisGridOptionsdialogboxwhichyoucanusetodefineyourgrid.

SampleGraphicalAnalysiswiththeGridenabled

1384 InsertingReportCommands

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

AnalysisGridOptionsdialogbox Thedialogboxcontainstheseoptions: AutomaticallySizeThisautomaticallysizesthegridbasedonthe numberofobjectsspecifiedintheX,Y,andZfields. SpecifiedSizeThisenablestheMaximumBoundaryandMinimum Boundaryboxes,lettingyoutypespecificsizesforthemaximumand minimumboundaries. NumberofElementsThisdefinesthenumberofdivisionsthatwillbe drawnontheanalysisgrid. MaximumBoundaryThisdefinesupperlimitsoftheanalysisgrid coordinates. MinimumBoundaryThisdefinesthelowerlimitsoftheanalysisgrid coordinates. TheGridOptionsbuttondisplaystheGridOptionsdialogbox. TheMultiplierboxallowsyoutoenterascalingfactorthatmagnifiesthe deviationarrowsandtolerancezoneforthegraphicalanalysismode.Ifavalueof 2.0isentered,PCDMISwillscalethearrowstwotimesthecalculateddeviation foreachfeaturehit.

GridOptions Multiplier

Thisoptionisusedforviewingpurposesonly,andisnotreflectedinthetextonly printout. TheShowDiameterscheckboxallowsyoutoshowthediametersofavailable Show Diameters TruePositiondimensions. ShowBest Thischeckboxallowsyoutoturnonoroffthevariousdiametersthatmayalsobe Fit,Max drawnwiththeCircularitydimension.Thesediametersarethosethatrepresent Inscribed,and theaverage,maximum,andminimumdeviationsforaroundfeature. Min Circumscribed Diameters ShowContour TheShowContourPlotoptiononlyworksforpatchscansandbecomes Plot availableforProfiledimensions.Thecontourplotusesthepatchscanpointsto createameshandthenshadesthemeshwiththecolorsrelatedtotheprofile deviationsfromeachhit. PCDMISalsoallowsyoutodisplaythecontourplotontheCADmodelinthe GraphicsDisplaywindowitself.See"DisplayingProfileContourPlots"inthe "DimensioningFeatures"chapter. TheShowColorInterpolationBetweenHitsoptionallowsyoutoinsertcolors
InsertingReportCommands 1385

ShowColor

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Inter. BetweenHits ShowArrows

betweenhits.ThisoptionisavailableforProfiledimensions. TheShowArrowsoptionallowsthearrowsfordeviationlinestobetoggledonor off.ThisoptionisavailableforProfiledimensions.

SizeOptions

AnalysisSizeOptionsdialogbox TheAnalysisSizeOptionsdialogboxallowsyoutodeterminehowtheAnalysiswindowwillbe displayed.TheseoptionsalsoallowyoutosetyourANALYSISVIEWcommandsothatPCDMIS takesthescreencaptureinoneoftheseselectedmodesduringexecution.(See"CreateAnalysis ViewCommand".) Youcanselectthefollowingoptions: Portrait Thisoptionsizesthe Analysiswindowsothatit matchesthestandard Portraitpagesize. Thisoptionsizesthe Analysiswindowsothat itmatchesthestandard Landscapepagesize. Thischeckboxscalesthe windowsoitwouldfitan entireprintedpage.

Landscape

ScaletoFitWholePage

1386 InsertingReportCommands

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

InsertingDimensionInfoBoxes

EditDimensionInfodialogbox TheInsert|ReportCommand|DimensionInfo menuoptionbringsuptheEditDimension Infodialogbox.ThisdialogallowsyoutocreateaDIMINFOcommandthatdisplaysselected dimensionalinformationintheGraphicsDisplaywindow.See"DIMINFOCommand"for informationoneditingaDIMINFOcommandintheEditWindow.

SampleDimensionInfobox Thedimensionlistinsidethedialogboxwillshowanasterisk(*)ifthedimensionalreadycontains aDIMINFOtextboxanditwillshowanumbersign(#)iftheDIMINFOtextboxishiddenfrom viewintheGraphicsDisplaywindow.

SampledimensionlistshowingexistingandhiddenDIMINFOboxes TheAutocheckbox(undertheDimensionInfoFormatareaofthisdialog)automatically determinestheappropriatedimensionoutputformattodisplay,basedonthetypeofdimension thatwasselected.Tooverridethisoption,selectthedesiredDimensionInfoformatcheck box(es).PCDMISwillindicatetheorderoftheoutputselectionsbydisplayinganumbertothe


PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual InsertingReportCommands 1387

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

leftofthecheckbox.Thisallowstheorderoftheformattobealteredtomeetindividualneeds. Youcanclearacheckboxbysimplyselectingitasecondtime. Ifthisoptionisdisplayed,youcanpresstheCTRLkeyandwhilekeepingitheld,clicktheleft mousebuttontoselectafeatureintheGraphicsDisplaywindow.Anydimensionsusingthat selectedfeaturewillbehighlightedintheDimensionListbox. ThisEditDimensionInfodialogboxallowsyoutoeditthedimensioninformationbeing displayed.Thefollowingparagraphsdescribethecommandsandoptionsavailabletothisdialog box.

DimensionInfoCreationRules
WhencreatingaDIMINFOboxfromtheEditDimensioninfodialogbox,theDimensionList boxonlydisplaysthosedimensionsthatexistabovethecursor'scurrentposition. WhencreatingDIMINFOboxesusingTextBoxmodeandboxselectinginsidetheGraphics Displaywindow,PCDMISwillnotcreateaDIMINFOboxforeveryfeatureselected.Itwillonly createthemforfeaturesthatexistabovethecursor'scurrentposition. Ifthepartprogramhasmultipleviewsets,theDIMINFOboxonlyappearsintheviewsetthat containsthecorrespondingdimensionandlower.Forexample,supposeyourpartprogramhad thesecommands:
VIEWSET1 F1=FEAT VIEWSET2 VIEWSET3 D1=DIMENSION VIEWSET4

YoucouldonlyaddaDIMINFOboxforfeatureF1iftheinsertionpointexistedbelowD1.Once theDIMINFOboxgetscreated,PCDMISwillshowitinVIEWSET3and4,butnotinVIEWSET1 and2.

DisplayOptions

TheDisplayOptionsareaallowsdifferentdisplaypossibilitiesforeachdimensionwithinthe GraphicsDisplaywindow.Thefollowingoptionsavailableare: ShowIcon Thischeckboxtogglesthe displaystheappropriate dimensioniconintheheader

1388 InsertingReportCommands

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ShowDimensionID

ShowFeatureID

ShowHeadings

ShowVerticalLines

ShowHorizontalLines

portionoftheDimensionInfo box. Thischeckboxtogglesthe abilitytodisplaytheIDforthe dimensionwithintheGraphics Displaywindow. Thischeckboxtogglesthe abilitytodisplaytheIDforthe featurewhosedimensionsare beingmeasured. Thischeckboxtogglesthe displayofrowandcolumn headingsintheDimensionInfo box. Thischeckboxtogglesthe displayoftheverticallines betweencolumnsinsidethe DimensionInfobox. Thischeckboxtogglesthe displayofthehorizontallines betweenrowsinsidethe DimensionInfobox.

GraphOptions

TheGraphOptionsareaallowsforgraphicaldisplayofthedimensionpercentageinthe DimensionInfobox.

NoGraph
SelectthisoptionifyoudonotwanttodisplayagraphintheDimensionInfobox.

GraphWorstAxis
SelectthisoptiontodisplayagraphatthetopoftheDimensionInfobox.Onlytheworst dimensionpercentagewillbeusedforthegraph.

GraphEachAxis
SelectthisoptiontodisplayadimensionpercentagegraphforeveryaxisintheDimensionInfo box.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

InsertingReportCommands 1389

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

DimensionInfobox

GraphicOptions

GraphicOptionsarea TheGraphicOptionsareaallowsyoutodeterminethebackgroundcolorandlinecolorofthe currentPointInfobox.YoucanalsodeterminewhetherornotPCDMISdisplaysashadow aroundtheborderofthePointInfobox. TochangethegraphicoptionsforthePointInfobox,selectthedesiredoptionfromthisareaand clickCreateorOK. YoucansetthedefaultgraphicoptionsfornewlycreatedPointInfoboxesbysimplyselectingthe desiredoptionsandthenclickingtheDefaultbuttoninthePointInfoFormatarea.

DimensionInfoFormat

ThecheckboxesintheDimensionInfoFormatareaallowyoutoselectthetypeofinformation displayedintheGraphicsDisplaywindowforeachdimension.WhentheDisplaycheckboxis selectedfromwithinadimension'sdialogbox,PCDMISdisplaystheinformationintheGraphics Displaywindow.

1390 InsertingReportCommands

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

DimensionalDataDisplayedforFeatureCIR1intheGraphicsDisplaywindow. TheavailablecheckboxesintheDimensionInfoareaofthedialogboxare: Auto TheAutocheckbox automaticallydisplaysthe followinginformation: Measured,Nominal, Tolerances,Deviation,MaxMin, OutTol.

Measured

Thischeckboxdisplaysthe actualmeasureddimensions.

Nominal

Thischeckboxdisplaysthe theoreticalvaluesforthe dimension.

Tolerances

Thischeckboxdisplaysthe acceptabletolerancelevels eithergreaterthanorlessthan thenominal.

Deviation

Thischeckboxdisplaysthe deviationofthemeasured valuefromthenominal.

MaxMin

Thischeckboxdisplaysthe maximumandminimum valuesforthedimension.

OutTol

Thischeckboxdisplayshowfar outoftolerancethemeasured valueisfromthenominaland tolerancevalues.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

InsertingReportCommands 1391

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Mean

Thischeckboxdisplaysthe averageofallthedeviationsfor thedimension.

StdDev

Thischeckboxdisplaysthe standarddeviationofallthe deviationsforthedimension.

NumberofPoints

Thischeckboxdisplaysthe numberofpointsusedto measurethefeatureofthe dimension.

ResetButton

TheResetbuttonclearsoutanycheckmarkedboxesinthissectionandselectstheAutocheck box.

LocationAxes

ThistabledescribestheavailableLocationAxes andtheirfunctionsthatyoucanchoosefrom whileeditingdimensioninformation. Worst Thisoptionusestheaxisthat givestheworstoutoftolerance condition.PCDMISsearches throughtheavailableaxesand selectstheonethatgivesthe worstcasescenarioforthe dimension. Thisoptionsimplyusesthe axesthatwerepreviously definedinthedimension's dialogbox. DisplaystheXaxisvalue. DisplaystheYaxisvalue.

UseDimAxes

X Y

1392 InsertingReportCommands

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Z Prad

Pang

D R A L

H V T

RT S RS PD

Form

DisplaystheZaxisvalue. PradstandsforPolarRadius. ThisoptionselectsPolar coordinates. PangstandsforPolarAngle. ThisoptionselectsPolar coordinates. DisplaysDiametervalue. DisplaystheRadius(halfof Diameter)value. DisplaystheAngle(forcones) value. DisplaystheLength(usedfor cylinders,slots,cones,and ellipses). Displaystheheight. Displaysthevectorlocation. Displayserroralongapproach vector(forpointsoncurved surfaces). Displaysthedeviationalongthe reportvector. Displaysthedeviationalongthe surfacevector. Displaysthedeviationalongthe surfacereportvector. Displaysthediameterofacircle (perpendiculartothepin vector). Displaystheintegratedform dimensionforthefeature.See "DefaultAxesforLocation Dimensions"inthe "DimensioningFeatures" chapter.

TruePositionAxes

ThistabledescribestheavailableTruePositionAxesandtheirfunctionsthatyoucanchoose fromwhileeditingdimensioninformation. Worst Thischeckboxusestheaxis thatgivestheworstoutof tolerancecondition.PCDMIS searchesthroughtheavailable


InsertingReportCommands 1393

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

UseDimAxes

X Y Z Prad

Pang

DF TP

D1

D2

D3

Form

axesandselectstheonethat givestheworstcasescenario forthedimension. Thischeckboxsimplyusesthe axesthatwerepreviously definedinthedimension's dialogbox. ThischeckboxdisplaysXaxis value. ThischeckboxdisplaysYaxis value. ThischeckboxdisplaysZaxis value. PradstandsforPolarRadius. ThisoptionselectsPolar coordinates. PangstandsforPolarAngle. ThischeckboxselectsPolar coordinates. Thischeckboxdisplays diameterofthefeature. Thischeckboxdisplaysthe truepositiontoleranceandits associateddeviation. Thischeckboxdisplaysthe diameter/widthvalueofthefirst datum. Thischeckboxdisplaysthe diameter/widthvalueofthe seconddatum. Thischeckboxdisplaysthe diameter/widthvalueofthethird datum. Thischeckboxdisplaysthe integratedformdimensionfor thefeature.See"DefaultAxes forTruePositionDimensions" inthe"DimensioningFeatures" chapter

DeleteInfos

TheDeleteInfosbuttonremovesall POINTINFO commandsfromthepartprogram.

DIMINFOCommand
TheDIMINFO commandiscreatedbytheEditDimensionInfodialogbox(Insert|Report Command|DimensionInfo).

1394 InsertingReportCommands

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

WhenaDIMINFO commandhasbeeninsertedinthepartprogram,thedimensiondatais displayedintheGraphicsDisplaywindow.TheDIMINFO commandcanbemodifiedintheEdit window.ThecommandlinefortheDIMINFO commandreads:


DIMINFO/DimIDICON,DIMID,FEATID,VERT,HORIZHEADINGS,"GRAPHOPTION""DIMENSION OUTPUT, ,$ AXESOUTPUT

DimID=TheIDofthedimensionselectedtobedisplayed. ICON=AtogglestringthatshowsablankwhenitisOFF,andICONwhenitisON.Whenit isON,theDIMINFOwilldisplaythedimensionorfeatureIDwiththeappropriateicon. DIMID=AtogglestringthatshowsablankwhenitisOFF,andDIMIDwhenitisON.When itisON,theDIMINFOwilldisplaythedimensionIDwiththedimensionalinformation. FEATID=AtogglestringthatshowsablankwhenitisOFF,andFEATIDwhenitisON. WhenitisON,theDIMINFOwilldisplaytheIDofthedimensionsfirstfeaturewiththe dimensionalinformation. VERT=AtogglestringthatshowsablankwhenitisOFF,andVERTwhenitisON.When itisON,theDIMINFOwilldisplaywiththeverticallinesbetweenthecolumns. HORIZ=AtogglestringthatshowsablankwhenitisOFF,andHORIZwhenitisON. WhenitisON,theDIMINFOwilldisplaywiththehorizontallinesbetweentherows. HEADINGS=AtogglestringthatshowsablankwhenitisOFFandHEADINGSwhenitis ON.WhenitisON,thecolumnandrowheaderswillbedisplayedintheDimensionInfo box. GRAPHOPTION=Thegraphoptionforgraphicaldisplayofthedimensionpercentageinthe DimensionInfobox.PossibletogglevaluesareGRAPHWORSTandGRAPHAXIS. Whenthetogglestringshowsablank,nographwillbeshowinthebox. DIMENSIONOUTPUT=Theformatofthedimensioninformationthatwillbedisplayedbased ontheorderofselection.AvailableoutputoptionsareMEAS,NOM,TOL,DEV,MAXMIN, OUTTOL,MEAN,STDDEV,andNUMPTS.Optionscannotbeduplicated. AXESOUTPUT=Theformatofthedimensionaxesthatwillbedisplayedbasedontheorder ofselection.Availableaxesdependuponthedimensiontypeandincludealllocationand truepositionaxes.IfUSEDIMistoggledinthefirstaxisposition,theDIMINFOwilldisplay theaxesthathavebeenspecifiedinthedimension.IfWORSTistoggledinanyaxis position,theaxisthatproducedthelargestoutoftolerancevalueisdisplayed.This outputisnotavailablefordimensionsthatarenotlocationortruepositiondimensions. Axescannotbeduplicated.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

InsertingReportCommands 1395

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

InsertingPointInfoBoxes

EditPointInfodialogbox TheInsert|ReportCommand|PointInfomenuoptionbringsuptheEditPointInfodialogbox. ThisdialogcreatesaPOINTINFO commandthatcanbeusedtodisplayindividualpointinformation intheGraphicsDisplaywindowinaPointInfobox.See"POINTINFOCommand"forinformation oneditingaPOINTINFO commandintheEditWindow. TodisplayindividualpointinformationintheGraphicsDisplaywindowusingtheEditPointInfo dialogbox: 1. OpentheEditPointInfodialogboxbyselectingEditPointInfofromthemainmenu. 2. YouwillseethatthefeaturesappearintheFeatureListboxandthatdimensionsappear intheDimensionListbox. 3. Selectatleastonefeatureordimension.Theindividualpointsassociatedwiththat featureappearintheHitsListbox. 4. Selectthepoint(s)fromtheHitsListboxthatyouwantdisplayed.Ifmorethanone dimensionorfeatureisselected,allpointsfromthedimensionorfeaturewillbedisplayed inthepointinfo. 5. MakesuretheShowPointInfocheckboxisselected. 6. Clicktheapplybutton.Informationabouttheselectedhit(s)willappearinaPointInfo boxintheGraphicsDisplaywindow.

PointInfoboxshowingthefirsthitinacirclefeature EachPointInfoboxmaydisplaythehitnumber,theXYZposition,theIJKvector,andthe deviationrelatedtoaparticularhit.

1396 InsertingReportCommands

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Theformatsmaybechanged,saved,andmovedinasimilarmannertohowtheDimensionInfo boxformatsaresetandmoved.

PointInfoFormat

Thisportionofthedialogboxallowsyoutodeterminethetypeofinformationdisplayedinthe Graphic'sDisplayareanexttoafeatureordimension.Thecheckboxesinthissectionmustbe usedinconjunctionwiththeCreate(Applywhenediting)ortheOKbuttontoeitherselector removeinformationtodisplay.

HitsNumber
TheHitsNumbercheckboxdisplaysthehitsequenceofapointonafeature. Example:Ifacirclegenerallytakesfourhits,andoneofthehitsusedtomeasurethatcirclewas selected,thisoptiondisplaysanumber(onethroughfour)indicatingwhenthathitwastakenin st nd rd th thesequence:1 ,2 ,3 ,or4 .

Point
ThePointcheckboxdisplaystheX,Y,andZpointlocationofthehitselected.

Vector
TheVectorcheckboxdisplaystheIJKvectorofthehitselected.

Deviation
TheDeviationcheckboxdisplaysthedeviationofthepointfromthenominal. Forfeaturesthepointdeviationisthedistancebetweenthemeasuredhitsandtheactual hits. Fordimensionsthepointdeviationisrelatedtothedimensiontypeandisthesameas thedeviationdisplayedfortheindividualpointsinthetextualanalysisofthedimension.

ShowIcon
TheShowIconcheckboxdisplaysthefeature'siconintheheaderportionofthePointInfobox.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

InsertingReportCommands 1397

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ShowID
TheShowIDcheckboxallowsyoutodisplaytheIDofaparticularfeatureordimension.

ShowType
TheShowTypecheckboxallowsyoutodisplaythetypeoffeatureordimensiondisplayed.

ShowHeadings
TheShowHeadingscheckboxallowsyoutodisplaytherowheadersinthePointInfobox.

ShowGraph
TheShowGraphcheckboxallowsyoutodisplaythedimensionpercentagegraphinthePoint Infobox.

ShowVerticalLines
TheShowVerticalLinescheckboxallowsyoutodisplayorhidetheverticallinesinsidethe PointInfobox.

ShowHorizontalLines
TheShowHorizontalLinescheckboxallowsyoutodisplayorhidethehorizontallinesinside thePointInfobox.

HitList

Thissectionofthedialogboxallowsyoutoselectafeature'soradimension'sindividualhitstobe displayed.

ListBox
TheHitListboxcontainsalistofallthehitsassociatedwithaparticularfeatureordimension. Simplyselectthehitswhoseinformationyouwouldliketoview.

1398 InsertingReportCommands

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

FeatureListArea

Thissectionofthedialogboxallowsyouselectanindividualfeature.Thehitsassociatedwiththat featurewillbedisplayedintheHitListbox.

Listbox
TheFeatureListboxcontainsalistofallthefeaturesassociatedwithaparticularpartprogram. Simplyselectthefeaturewhosehitinformationyouwouldliketoview.

DimensionListArea

TheDimensionListallowsyoutoselectanindividualdimension.Thehitsassociatedwiththat dimensionwillbedisplayedintheHitListbox.

Listbox
TheDimensionListboxcontainsalistofallthedimensionsassociatedwithaparticularpart program.Simplyselectthedimensionwhosehitinformationyouwouldliketoview.

DeleteInfos

TheDeleteInfosbuttonremovesall DIMINFOcommandsfromthepartprogram.

POINTINFOCommand
ThePOINTINFO commandiscreatedbytheEditPointInfodialogbox(Insert|Report Command|EditPointinfo).

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

InsertingReportCommands 1399

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

WhenaPOINTINFO commandhasbeeninsertedinthepartprogram,aPointInfoboxisdisplayed intheGraphicsDisplaywindow.ThePOINTINFO commandcanbemodifiedintheEditwindow. ThecommandlineforthePOINTINFO commandreads:


POINTINFO/DimIDorFeatIDFILTERFILTER_TYPEFILTER_NUMICON,ID,TYPE,VERT,HORIZ HEADINGS,GRAPHOUTPUTFORMAT,$ HITNUMBERS

DimIDorFeatID=TheIDofthedimensionorfeaturetobedisplayed. FILTER_TYPE=AtogglestringthatshowsthefilteroptionofNONE,INTERVAL,WORST, DEVIATION,orOUTTOL. FILTER_NUM=AnumberfieldavailablewhenthefilteroptionisINTERVAL,WORST,or DEVIATION. ICON=AtogglestringthatshowsablankwhenitisOFF,andICONwhenitisON.Whenit isON,thePOINTINFOwilldisplaythedimensionorfeatureIDwiththeappropriateicon. ID=AtogglestringthatshowsablankwhenitisOFF,andIDwhenitisON.WhenitisON, thePOINTINFOwilldisplaythedimensionorfeatureIDwiththepointinformation. TYPE=AtogglestringthatshowsablankwhenitisOFF,andTYPEwhenitisON. Whenit isON,thePOINTINFOwilldisplayfeatureordimensiontype(i.e.CIRCLE,POINT, ROUNDNESS,LOCATION)withthepointinformation. VERT=AtogglestringthatshowsablankwhenitisOFF,andVERTwhenitisON.When itisON,thePOINTINFOwilldisplaywiththeverticallinesbetweenthecolumns. HORIZ=AtogglestringthatshowsablankwhenitisOFF,andHORIZwhenitisON. WhenitisON,thePOINTINFOwilldisplaywiththehorizontallinesbetweentherows. HEADINGS=AtogglestringthatshowsablankwhenitisOFFandHEADINGSwhenitis ON.WhenitisON,therowheaderswillbedisplayedinthePointInfobox. GRAPH=AtogglestringthatshowsablankwhenitisOFFandGRAPHwhenitisON. WhenitisON,thedimensionpercentagewillbegraphicallydisplayedinthePointInfo box. OUTPUTFORMAT=Theformatofthepointinformationthatwillbedisplayedbasedonthe orderofselection.AvailableoutputoptionsareHIT,PT,V,andDEV.Optionscannotbe duplicated. HITNUMBERS=Thehitnumbersarethespecificnumberedhitsthatarecontrolledbythis particularPOINTINFOcommand.Multiplehitscanbedisplayedusingthesame POINTINFOcommand.Eachfieldinthehitnumbersisatogglestring.WhenahitisON, thestringinthenumberpositionisthehitnumber(1,2,3,etc.).WhenahitisOFF,the togglestringdisplaysablank.

1400 InsertingReportCommands

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

GraphicOptions

TheGraphicOptionsareaallowsyoutodeterminethebackgroundcolorandlinecolorofthe currentDimensionInfoboxdisplayedintheGraphicsDisplaywindow.Youcanalsodetermine whetherornotPCDMISdisplaysashadowaroundtheborderoftheDimensionInfobox. TochangethegraphicoptionsfortheDimensionInfobox,selectthedesiredoptionfromthisarea andclickCreateorOK. YoucanalsosetthedefaultgraphicoptionsfornewlycreatedDimensionInfoboxes.Todothis, selectthedesiredoptionsandthenclicktheDefaultbuttonintheDimensionInfoFormatarea.

Filters

Filtersarea TheFiltersareaallowsyoutosetfilteroptionstobeusedwhendisplayingindividualpoint information.

Filter:NoneUsed
TheNoneUsedoptiontellsPCDMISnottouseanyfilteringforthePOINTINFO command.Allhits selectedwillbedisplayedwiththePOINTINFO command.

Filter:HitInterval
TheHitIntervaloptioncheckstheintegervalueintheboxtoitsright,andonlydisplaysthe particularhitintervalchosenwiththePOINTINFO command.Forexample,if2werechosen,then nd rd th every2 hitwouldbedisplayed,if3,thenevery3 hit,if4thenevery4 hit,etc.

Filter:Worst
TheWorstoptioncheckstheintegervalueintheboxtoitsright,andonlydisplaysthehitsthat givetheworstdeviationsforthedimension.Forexample,ifyoutype3inthebox,thePOINTINFO commandonlydisplaysthethreeworstdeviations.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

InsertingReportCommands 1401

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Filter:DeviationAbove
TheDeviationAboveoptionchecksthenumbervalueintheboxtoitsright,andonlydisplays thehitsthathavedeviationslargerthanthisvalue.Forexample,ifyoutype0.01inthebox,the deviationsof0.013and0.015willbedisplayed,whiledeviationsof0.003and0.005willnotbe displayed.

Filter:OutofTolerance
TheOutofToleranceoptiononlydisplaysthehitsthathavedeviationsthatareoutoftolerance. Forhitsrelatedtofeatures(notrelatedtodimensions),onlythosehitswithdeviationslargerthan theShowDeviationsToleranceontheSetupOptionsdialogbox's Generaltabaredisplayed. (See"ShowDeviationsTolerance"inthe"SettingYourPreferences"chapter.)

InsertingProgrammerComments

Commentdialogbox TheInsert|ReportCommand|Commentmenuoptionallowsyoutoaddoperatornotesor instructionsintotheEditwindowthatwillbedisplayedinaCommentTextboxwhenthepart programisexecutedortheinspectionreportisprinted.Thereisnolimittothelengthofthe commenthowever,inCommandmodeonly255characterswillfitperline.Whenthetext reachestherightsideoftheEditwindow,presstheENTERkey.(Thisallowstheentiretexttobe viewedintheCommentTextbox.)Tocreateanewline,placethecursorinthedesiredlocation oftheCommentTextboxandpresstheENTERkey. TodisplaytheCommentdialogbox,selectCommentfromthemenu. UsingVariablesinCommentStrings Supposeyouwanttoconcatenate,oradd,avariabletoanexistingcommentstring.Youcando thisintwoways.First,youcanpressENTER,andtypethevariableonanewcommentline,like this:
C1=COMMENT/INPUT,NO,'Typeyourvariable' ASSIGN/V1=C1.INPUT COMMENT/OPER,NO,YourV1variableis ,V1

1402 InsertingReportCommands

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Second,youcanplacethemonthesamelinebyplacingquotationmarksaroundthenon variablestringandusingtheplussignoperatortoaddthevariabletothestring,likethis:
COMMENT/OPER,NO,"YourV1variableis"+V1

ChangingCommentColor Youmaywantyourcommentstostandoutmore.Youcandothisbychangingyourcomment color.TochangethemintheEditwindow,see"DefiningEditWindowColors".Tochange commentcolorsforcommentsthatappearintheReportwindow,changetheColorspropertyof theTextReportObjectintheintheReportTemplateEditor.

Operator

Thisoptionallowsyoutodisplaytextwhenexecutingthepartprogram. TouseOperatoroption: 1. 2. 3. 4. SelecttheCommentmenuoption.TheCommentdialogboxappears. SelecttheOperatoroption. TypeinthedesiredtextintheCommentTextbox. Whenthecommentsarecompleted,clicktheOKbutton(orpressENTER)toclosethe dialogbox.

TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionreads:
COMMENT/OPER,TOG1,commenttext

TOG1=ThisYES/NOfieldallowsyoutospecifywhetherorthecommentshowsupinthe inspectionreport. HowitWorks WhenPCDMISexecutesthepartprogram,amessageboxwilldisplaytheappropriate commentsjustundertheExecutionModeOptionsdialog.

ASamplePCDMISMessagedialogbox

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

InsertingReportCommands 1403

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

PCDMISwillnotallowyoutoeditthismessage.ClickontheOKbuttontocontinueexecution. ClickCanceltocancelpartprogramexecution.

Report

Thisoptionallowsyoutosendtexttotheinspectionreport. TousetheReportoption: 1. 2. 3. 4. SelecttheCommentmenuoption.TheCommentdialogboxappears. SelecttheReportoption. EnterinthedesiredtextintheCommentTextbox. Whenthecommentsarecompleted,clicktheOKbutton(orpresstheENTERkey)to closethedialogbox.

WhenPCDMISexecutesthepartprogram,thesemessageswillnotbeviewed.PCDMISwill, however,sendthesecommentstotheinspectionreportwhenitisprinted. TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionreads:


COMMENT/REPT,commenttext

Note:Ifdashes(orothercharacters)needtobeincorporatedunderneathtextintheinspection report,useasecondcommentlinetocreatetheadditionallineofcharacters. Forexample: COMMENT/REPT,InspectionReportComment COMMENT/REPT, ThissetofcommandlineswillcreateanInspectionReportCommentlineintheinspectionreport.

Document

Thisoptionprovidesyouwiththeabilitytoaddtexttotheinternalprogram.Itisnotusedfor anythingexceptdocumentingprogrammers'notes.Itisnotsenttotheinspectionreportandwill notdisplayanythingwhenexecuted.Itsimplyallowsyoutohaveanoptionfordocumenting insidetheEditwindow. TousetheDocumentoption: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. PlacethecursorwhereyouwantthetexttobeinsertedintheEditwindow. SelecttheCommentmenuoption.TheCommentdialogboxappears. SelecttheDocumentoption. EnterinthedesiredtextintheCommentTextbox. Whenthecommentsarecompleted,clicktheOKbutton(orpresstheENTERkey)to closethedialogbox.

TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionreads:
$$TOG1,PleaseEditCommentText!

1404 InsertingReportCommands

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TOG1=ThisYES/NOfieldallowsyoutospecifywhetherorthecommentshowsupinthe inspectionreport. Note: Whenyouopenapartprogramthatwassavedfromalaterversionintothecurrentversion, anycommandsthatarenotsupportedinthecurrentversionwillshowupasDOCcomments.See "SaveAs"inthe"UsingBasicFileOptions"chapter.

Input
TheInputoptionissimilartotheOperatoroptioninthatitallowsyoutodisplaytextwhen executingapartprogram.Inadditiontodisplayingamessageboxwiththepreviouslyentered text,acommentboxwillappear.Thisallowsyoutoenternumericalinformationthatwillbewritten totheinspectionreport. Thisoptionisextremelyhelpfultouserswishingtoenterapartnumberorserialnumberwhile executingthepartprogram. TousetheInputoption: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. PlacethecursorwhereyouwantthisoptiontobeinsertedintheEditwindow. SelecttheCommentmenuoption.TheCommentdialogboxappears. SelecttheInputoption. EnterinthedesiredtextintheCommentTextbox. Whenthecommentsarecompleted,clicktheOKbutton(orpresstheENTERkey)to closethedialogbox.

TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionreads:
commentID=COMMENT/INPUT,TOG1commenttext

TOG1=ThisYES/NOfieldallowsyoutospecifywhetherorthecommentshowsupinthe inspectionreport. Theinputisassignedtothevariablespecifiedonthelefthandsideofthecommand.Thevariable iscoercedtobeoftypestring.This variablecanthenbeusedanywhereanexpressionisallowed byusingthissyntax<COMMENTID>.INPUT.ForexampleifyourcommentIDisC1,youcan passthatvariableintoanothervariablelikethis:


C1=COMMENT/INPUT,NO,"Pleaseenteryourname:" ASSIGN/V1=C1.INPUT

HowitWorks Themessageboxwilldisplaytheprompttoenterthenecessarynumber(i.e.,serialnumber)and thendisplaythisnumberintheinspectionreport.ThispromptwillappearontopoftheExecution ModeOptionsdialogboxduringexecution:

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

InsertingReportCommands 1405

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ASampleInputCommentdialogbox TypeyourtextintheOperatorInputdialogboxandclickOKtocontinuepartprogramexecution. Thisinformationgetsstoredintothecomment'sID.INPUTvariable.ClickingCancelwillstoppart programexecution.

Yes/No
TheYes/Nooptionfunctionssimilarlytothe"Operator"optioninthatitallowsyoutodisplaytext whenexecutingapartprogram.Inaddition,YesandNobuttonswillappearatthebottomofthe dialogboxallowingtheoperatortoanswerYESorNOtosimplequestions. TousetheYes/Nooption: 1. PlacethecursorwhereyouwanttheCOMMENT/YESNOcommandtobeinsertedinthe Editwindow. 2. SelecttheCommentmenuoption.TheCommentdialogboxappears. 3. SelecttheYes/Nooption. 4. TypethedesiredtextintheCommentTextbox. 5. Whenthecommentsarecompleted,clicktheOKbutton(orENTERkey)toclosethe dialog. TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionreads:
commentID=COMMENT/YESNO,TOG1,commenttext

TOG1=ThisYES/NOfieldallowsyoutospecifywhetherornotthecommentshowsupinthe inspectionreport. HowitWorks Duringexecution,thePCDMISMessagedialogboxappearsjustbelowtheExecutionMode Optionsdialogbox,allowingtheoperatortoselectYES,NO,orclickCancel.:

1406 InsertingReportCommands

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ASamplePCDMISMessagedialogshowingYESandNO Executionpausesuntilabuttonisclicked.Theanswertheoperatorselectsisaccessibleusing expressionswiththeIDofthecomment.Forexample,ifthecommenthasanIDofC1andthe Yesbuttonisclicked,theexpression"C1.INPUT"willhavethevalue'YES'.IftheNobuttonis clicked,theexpression"C1.INPUT"willhavethevalue'NO'.Thisoptionisusefultouserswishing tobranchorloopona'Yes'or'No'response.IftheoperatorclicksCancelpartprogram executioniscanceled. Important: WhenusingaconditionalbranchingstatementtotestforthevalueofaYES/NO comment,beawarethatyourtestshouldlookforanuppercase"YES"or"NO"value.A lowercase"Yes"or"No"willnotwork.Forinformationonprogrambranching,seethe"Branching byUsingFlowControl"chapter.

Readout

TheReadoutoptiondisplaysthecommenttextatthebottomoftheProbeReadoutwindow.You mustselecttheDisplayprompthistorycheckboxontheProbeReadoutSetupdialogboxfor thistowork. TousetheYes/Nooption: 1. PlacethecursorwhereyouwanttheCOMMENT/YESNOcommandtobeinsertedinthe Editwindow. 2. SelecttheCommentmenuoption.TheCommentdialogboxappears. 3. SelecttheYes/Nooption. 4. TypethedesiredtextintheCommentTextbox. 5. Whenthecommentsarecompleted,clicktheOKbutton(orENTERkey)toclosethe dialog.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

InsertingReportCommands 1407

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionreads:
COMMENT/READOUT,TOG1,commenttext

TOG1=ThisYES/NOfieldallowsyoutospecifywhetherorthecommentshowsupinthe inspectionreport. Formoreinformationonsettingupthisoption,see"SettinguptheReadoutWindow"inthe "SettingYourPreferences"chapter. FormoreinformationontheProbeReadoutwindow,see"UsingtheProbeReadoutWindow"in the"UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools"chapter.

EnableReport

Thischeckboxallowsyoutodeterminewhetherornotyourcommentandanysubmittedtext(if usinganInputcomment,forexample)appearinthefinalreportgeneratedintheReportwindow. Ifselected,thecomment'sYES/NOtogglefield,whichspecifieswhetherornotacommentshows upinthereport,issettoYES. TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionreads:


COMMENT/TOG1,TOG2,commenttext

TOG1=AnycommenttypeexceptReport. TOG2=ThisYES/NOfieldallowsyoutospecifywhetherorthecommentshowsupinthe inspectionreport.

CommentText

TheCommentTextboxcontainsthetextyouwishtodisplayinconjunctionwiththeComment Typeoptionsasshownhere: Operator Report Input Document Yes/No Readout

1408 InsertingReportCommands

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

EmbeddingReportsorTemplates
Toembedalegacy(HyperView)Report,acustomreport,oraReportTemplateintoaPart Program,seethe"EmbeddingReportsorReportTemplatesinaPartProgram"topicinthe "ReportingMeasurementResults"chapter.

InsertingExternalObjects
Toaddexternalobjectstoyourreport,selecttheInsert|ReportCommand|ExternalObject menuitem.Seethe"AddingExternalElements"chapterformoreinformation.

InsertingaPrintCommand
PCDMISallowsyoutoinsertaPRINT/REPORTcommandintotheEditwindowthatwhen markedandexecutedwillcausetheEditwindowcontentstobesenttothedefinedoutput destination(printerorfile). ToinsertaPRINT/REPORTcommandintotheEditwindow: 1. OpentheEditwindow(View|EditWindow). 2. ClicktheCommandModeiconfromtheEditwindowtoolbar,placingPCDMISinto CommandMode. 3. SelecttheInsert|ReportCommand|PrintCommandmenuoption(ortypePRINTat thedesiredlocationandpressTAB).PCDMISdisplaysthePRINT/REPORTcommand aswellasthevariousoptionsyoucanconfigure. ThePRINT/REPORTcommandisusedtocontroltheprintingofEditwindowreportsfromwithin thepartprogram.WhenPCDMISreachesthiscommandduringpartprogramexecution,areport isgeneratedandsenttothespecifiedoutputdestination. Note:AlloptionsavailableviatheFile|Printing|ReportSetup menuoption(withtheexception oftheDMISoutputoptions)arealsoavailablethroughthiscommand.

UnderstandingtheSyntaxforthePRINT/REPORTCommand
Thesyntaxofthecommandisasfollows:
PRINT/REPORT,EXECMODE=END,$ TO_FILE=OFF,TOG1,$ TO_PRINTER=OFF,$ TO_DMIS_REPORT=OFF,FILE_OPTION=OVERWRITE,FILENAME=,$ REPORT_THEORETICALS=ALL,REPORT_FEATURE_WITH_DIMENSIONS=YES,$ PREVIOUS_RUNS=DELETE_INSTANCES

EXECMODE= BecauseDMISandPCDMISmanagereportdatadifferently,thisoptionlets youcontrolhowandwhenthesoftwaresendsreportdatatoDMISandPCDMISoutput files.DMISrequiresthattheoutputfilenamesandotherprintingparametersbedefined firstbeforetheprogramisexecuted.PCDMIS,ontheotherhand,waitsuntilafterthe


PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual InsertingReportCommands 1409

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

partprogramisexecutedbeforedecidingwheretodumpthereportdata.Thisoption allowsyoutosupportbothformats.Ittakesoneoftwovalues,eitherSTARTorEND. START ThistellsPCDMIStobeginprintingwheniteitherencounterstheendofprogramor anotherPRINT/REPORTcommand.IfyouimportaDMISfile,andithasaprintreport command,itwilluseSTARTasitsinitialvalue. END ThistellsPCDMIStoprinteverythingalreadyexecuteduptothisPRINT/REPORT command.Ifyoudon'timportaDMISfilewithaprintreportcommand,butinsteadinsert yourownPRINT/REPORTcommandfromwithinPCDMIS,itwillhaveENDasitsinitial value. Important:IfyourpartprogramcontainsmorethanonePRINT/REPORTcommand,be awarethatPCDMISmaynotprintsomecommands.Forexample,ifyourfirst PRINT/REPORTcommandusesENDandyoursecondprintreportcommandusesSTART, thenPCDMISwillnotprinteverythinginbetween. AlsoifaPRINT/REPORTcommandusesSTARTandthenyourverynextprintreport commandusesEND,thesecondprintingwillbeemptysincethefirstprintreportcommand hasclearedthereportbuffer. TO_FILE=Usethisoptiontoindicatewhethertheprintedreportshouldbesenttoafile(ON) ornot(OFF). AUTO=UsethisoptiontohavePCDMISgeneratethereportfilenameautomatically. WhentheAUTOoptionisselected,thiskeywordisfollowedbyanumericfield,for example,AUTO=10.Thenameofthegeneratedfilenamewillhavethesamenameasthe partprogramappendedbythenumericalindexanda.RTFextension.Also,the generatedfilewillbelocatedinthesamedirectoryasthepartprogram.Ifafileexistswith thesamenameasthegeneratedfilename,AUTOwillincrementtheindexuntilaunique filenameisfound. TOG1Thisvaluecontrolstheactiontakenwhenprintingtoafile.Theoptionsavailableare APPEND/AUTO/OVERWRITE/PROMPT.Dependingontheoptionselected,different informationmayappear. OVERWRITE Usethisoptiontooverwritereportinformationtothespecifiedfilename.Whenthe OVERWRITEoptionisselected,thiskeywordis followedbyafilenamefield,forexample, OVERWRITE=D:\REPORTS\FILE001.RTF.Notethatthecompletepathmustbe specifiedotherwisePCDMISwillassumethesamedirectoryasthepartprogram.Also,if thefiledoesnotexist,itwillbecreatedwhenthePRINT/REPORTcommandisexecuted. APPEND Usethisoptiontoappendreportinformationtothespecifiedfilename.Whenthe APPENDoptionisselected,thiskeywordisfollowedbyafilenamefield,forexample, APPEND=D:\REPORTS\FILE001.RTF.Notethatthecompletepathmustbespecified otherwisePCDMISwillassumethesamedirectoryasthepartprogram.Also,ifthefile doesnotexist,itwillbecreatedwhenthePRINT/REPORTcommandisexecuted.

1410 InsertingReportCommands

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

PROMPT UsethisoptiontocausePCDMIStoquerytheuser,viaaSaveAsdialogbox,forthe filenametowhichthereportinformationwillbewritten. TO_PRINTER=Usethisoptiontoindicatewhethertheprintedreportshouldbesenttothe printer(ON)ornot(OFF). TO_DMIS_REPORT=UsethisoptiontodeterminewhetherornotPCDMISwillsendthe reporttoaDMISOutputfile(.dmo)specifiedinFILENAME.ThiscanbeONorOFF. FILENAME=UsethisoptiontospecifyaDMISoutputdirectorylocationandfilename.If TO_DMIS_REPORTissettoON,thenPCDMISstoresthereportdatainthefile specified.Forexample,ifthisfieldhadd:\pcdmisreports\mydmis.dmo,PCDMIScause thereportdatatobesavedinthatDMISfileinthatlocation. FILE_OPTION= ThisoptionletsyouchooseoneofthefollowingfileoptionsforyourDMIS fileoutput: APPEND ThisappendsthereportdatatotheendoftheDMISfilespecifiedinFILENAME. OVERWRITE ThisoverwritestheDMISfilespecifiedinFILENAMEwiththelatestreportdata. INDEX ThisappendstotheDMISfilenamespecifiedinFILENAMEanumericalvaluethat incrementsonsubsequentpartprogramexecutions.Forexample,ifFILENAMEis mydmis.dmo,itwouldbecomemydmis001.dmo,thenmydmis002.dmo,then mydmis003.dmo,andsoforth,similartotheAUTO=option. REPORT_THEORETICALS=ThistellshowPCDMISreportstheoreticalvaluesintheDMIS outputfile. ALL PCDMISoutputsalltheoreticalvaluesalongwiththemeasuredvaluestotheoutput DMISfile. NONE Notheoreticalvaluesareincludedinthereport. IMPORT_SETTINGS Onlythosetheoreticalvaluesexplicitlyoutputbytheoriginal DMISprogramareoutputin thereport. REPORT_FEATURE_WITH_DIMENSIONS=ThisdetermineswhetherornotPCDMISwill keepthemeasuredfeaturesandassociatedtolerancestogetherintheoutputfile.Ittakes eitherYESorNO. YES IntheDMISreportfile,PCDMISwritesthemeasurementresultsimmediatelybefore theirassociatedtoleranceresultsforeachdimensionassociatedtothefeatureitself.Ifa featureisnotassociatedwithanytolerance,PCDMISwillnotgenerateanyoutput.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

InsertingReportCommands 1411

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

NO IntheDMISreportfile,PCDMISwritesthemeasurementresultsexactlywhenthe featureismeasuredandnotlaterwhenPCDMISexecutestheassociateddimensions. PREVIOUS_RUNS=ThisoptionisparticularlyusefulwhenusingthePRINT/REPORT commandfromwithinaloop.Whenafeatureismeasuredmorethanonceinasingle execution,previousinstancesofthatfeature'smeasureddataaresaved.UseTOG2to havePCDMISdelete(DELETE_INSTANCES)orkeep(KEEP_INSTANCES)thesaved measureddata.

EditingthePRINT/REPORTCommand
ToedittheseoptionsinthePrintOptionsdialogbox, 1. 2. 3. 4. PlacethecursoroverthePRINT/REPORTcommandline. PressF9. Makeanychanges. ClickOK.

You'llnoticethatPCDMISupdatesthecommandtomatchyourchanges.Notethatthisis differentthanaccessingthePrintOptionsdialogboxdirectlyfromtheEditwindow'sReport menu.AccessingthedialogboxdirectlyfromtheReportmenudoesnotinsertaPRINT/REPORT commandintotheEditwindow. Note:ThePRINT/REPORTcommandmaybeusedmorethanonceinthepartprogram.

Note:ThePRINT/REPORTcommandisauniqueinstanceoftheinformationcontainedinPrint Optionsdialogbox.Therefore,optionsthatareselectedfromthePrintOptionsdialogboxbut notusingaPRINT/REPORT commandareindependentofanyPRINT/REPORTcommandand willaffectprintingwhenthepartprogramhascompletedexecution. ForinformationonprintingtheEditwindowingeneralseethe"PrintingfromtheEditwindow" topicinthe"UsingBasicFileOptions"chapter.

InsertingaFormFeedCommand
PCDMISletsyouinsertaFORMFEEDcommandintotheEditwindow.Thiscommandcausesthe printedpageofareporttobeejectedfromtheprinterwhentheFORMFEEDcommandhasbeen markedandexecuted.TheFORMFEEDcommandhasnoeffectwhenprintingtoafile. ToinsertaFORMFEEDcommandintotheEditwindow: 1. OpentheEditwindow(View|EditWindow). 2. ClicktheCommandModeiconfromtheEditwindowtoolbar,placingPCDMISinto CommandMode. 3. SelecttheInsert|ReportCommand|FormFeedmenuoption(ortypeFORMFEED at thedesiredlocationandpressTAB).PCDMISdisplaystheFORMFEED command.

1412 InsertingReportCommands

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

DefiningandSavingaViewset
YoucancreateandsavedifferentGraphicsDisplaywindowviewsforfuturereference.The CreateViewsetmenuoptionallowsyoutosaveanunlimitednumberofviews.Thesearecalled Viewsets. Tosavethecurrentview: 1. SelecttheInsert|ReportCommand|CreateViewsetmenuoption.Apopupboxwill appearwiththeprompt"EnterViewNameToSave." 2. Inthepopupbox,typeinthedesiredname(19characterlimit)fortheview. 3. ClicktheOKbuttonorpresstheENTERkey.PCDMISsetsthecurrentviewsetequalto thenameyouchosebyinsertingan=VIEWSETcommand. YoucanquicklyrecallthecreatedviewsetbyselectingitfromtheViewslistontheSettings toolbarorbyusingtheRecallViewsetmenuoption. Note:Ifyoujustwanttochangeandthensavethecurrentviewsetwithoutcreatinganew viewset,selecttheSaveViewsetmenuoptioninstead.

RecallingaSavedViewSet
SelectingtheInsert|ReportCommand|RecallViewsetmenuoptionwillinserta RECALL/VIEWSETcommandintotheEditwindow.Ifyoumarkandexecutethiscommand,PC DMISwilldisplaythesavedviewintheGraphicsDisplaywindow.

InsertingaFORMCommand
TheInsert|ReportCommand|Form... menuitemletsyouinsertapredefined.FORMfileinto yourpartprogram.Whenyouselectthismenuitem,anInsertFormdialogboxappears.

InsertFormdialogbox

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

InsertingReportCommands 1413

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Navigatetothe.FORMfile,selectit,andclickOpen.PCDMISwillinsertaFORM/FILENAME commandsimilartothefollowingintotheEditwindow:
CS1 =FORM/FILENAME=C:\PCDMIS40RELEASE\REPORTING\TESTFORM.FORM PARAM/= ENDFORM/

FILENAME=Thisdefinesthelocationofthe.FORMfiletoload. PARAM/Thisletsyousendinformationtotheform.ForexampleusingaPARAMstatement ofPARAM/Text1.Text=C1.INPUT willsendthevalueofthecommentC1.INPUTandsend ittothecontrol. Alternately,youcantypeFORMandpressTABtoinserttheFORM/FILENAMEcommandinto thepartprogram,andthenmanuallytypethepathwayloadthedesiredform. WhenPCDMISexecutesthiscommand,itwilllaunchthedefinedform,andthenpassany definedparameterstothecontrolsintheform. CommunicatingbetweentheFORMandthePartProgram YoucanpassvaluestoandfromaformbyusingacombinationofASSIGNandPARAM statements.Thisletsyouestablishusefultwowaycommunicationsbetweentheformandthe partprogram. ASSIGNStatementsYoucaninitializevaluesforaform'scontrolsthroughASSIGNstatements. Thesestatementsalsocreatevariablesthatcanlaterreceiveupdatedvaluesfromtheformwhen theformcloses. Forexample,supposeyouhaveaformthathasfourunnamedcheckboxes,butyouwantthe partprogramtogivethemnamesandvaluesdynamically.IntheEditwindow,youcanusethe ASSIGNstatementstonameandinitializethecheckboxesasfollows:
ASSIGN/CHECK1VALUE=0 ASSIGN/CHECK1TEXT="Point" ASSIGN/CHECK2VALUE=1 ASSIGN/CHECK2TEXT="Line" ASSIGN/CHECK3VALUE=0 ASSIGN/CHECK3TEXT="Circle" ASSIGN/CHECK4VALUE=1 ASSIGN/CHECK4TEXT="Sphere"

PARAMStatementsNowthatyouhaveseveralvariables,youcanusethePARAMstatements toestablishtheconnectionbetweenthevariablesandtheformitself,likethis:
CS1 =FORM/FILENAME=C:\PCDMIS40RELEASE\REPORTING\TESTFORM.FORM PARAM/CHECKBUTTON1.VALUE=CHECK1VALUE PARAM/CHECKBUTTON1.TEXT=CHECK1TEXT PARAM/CHECKBUTTON2.VALUE=CHECK2VALUE PARAM/CHECKBUTTON2.TEXT=CHECK2TEXT

1414 InsertingReportCommands

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

PARAM/CHECKBUTTON3.VALUE=CHECK3VALUE PARAM/CHECKBUTTON3.TEXT=CHECK3TEXT PARAM/CHECKBUTTON4.VALUE=CHECK4VALUE PARAM/CHECKBUTTON4.TEXT=CHECK4TEXT PARAM/= ENDFORM/

Whentheformloads,CHECKBUTTON1isuncheckedanditstextlabeldisplays "Point", CHECKBUTTON2ischeckedanditstextlabelis"Line", CHECKBUTTON3is uncheckedanditstextlabelis"Circle"and CHECKBUTTON4ischeckedanditstextlabelis "Sphere". Withtheformloaded,youcanselectorclearthecheckboxestosomethingdifferent,andwhen youclosetheform,thevariablesthatinitiallysetthestateofthecheckedstate(CHECK1VALUE, CHECK2VALUE,CHECK3VALUEandCHECK4VALUE)nowholdthecurrentvalueofthecheck boxes.

InsertingScreenCaptures
TheInsert|ReportCommand|ScreenCapturemenuoptiondisplaysscreencapturesinyour report.SelectingthismenuoptionplacesaDISPLAY/METAFILEcommandintheEditwindow. Whenthiscommandismarkedandexecuted,PCDMISautomaticallyrefreshesthescreen captureanddisplaysitinthereport. CommandlineintheEditwindow:
DISPLAY/METAFILE,"___",TOG1,TOG2

___=Thisfieldwillallowyoutoenteradescriptionofthecapturedscreen.Themaximum textis255characters. TOG1=Thisfielddeterminesthesizeofthescreencapture.Youcantogglebetweenthe following:25%,50%,75%,100%,TOFIT. TOG2=Thisfielddeterminesthequalityofthescreencapture.Youcantogglebetweenthe following:HIGH,GOOD,LOW ForthistoappearintheReportwindow,rightclickonsometextwithintheReportwindow,select Edit,andwhentheReportdialogboxappears,selecttheShowScreenCapturecheckbox. ThiscommandissimilartotheANALYSISVIEWcommandandtheDISPLAY/METAFILE commandthatarecreatedintheAnalysisWindow.FormoreinformationontheAnalysisWindow, see"Analysis"inthe"InsertingReportingCommands"chapter. Note:UsingTrueTypeFontfortextintheGraphicsDisplaywindowwillcreatethebestresults whencapturingtheimage.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

InsertingReportCommands 1415

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

UsingFileInput/Output
UsingFileInput/Output:Introduction
Thischapterexplainshowtoinputandoutputinformationtoandfromyourpartprograms.The availablemenuoptionsallowforopeningfilesinreadorwritemode.Datacanthenbereadfrom orwrittentothesefiles.TheFileI/Ocommandsallowdatatobereadinfromexternalfilesthat aretobeusedinapartprogram.Also,measurementandtolerancinginformationcanbewritten backouttofilesusingthesecommands.Youcanalsoperformotherfileoperationsbyusing thesecommands. ThischapterdetailsthesefileI/Ooperationsandincludesfunctionalexamplesforeachofthe variousoperations.Theseexamplesuseitemsdiscussedinthe"BranchingbyUsingFlow Control"chapterandthe"UsingExpressionsandVariables"chapter. Note: Whenloopingorbranchingoccursinthecodesamples,indentationhasbeenusedfor claritytoshowstatementsassignedtoacertaincondition.IntheactualEditwindowcode,you won'tseeanyindentation. Themaintopicsdescribedinthistopicinclude: UnderstandingBasicFileI/OConcepts UsingtheFileI/ODialogBox OpeningaFileforReadingorWriting ClosinganOpenedFileafterReadingorWriting ReadingaCharacterfromaFile ReadingaLinefromaFile ReadingaBlockofTextfromaFile ReadingTextuptoaDelimiter WritingaCharactertoaFile WritingaLinetoaFile WritingaBlockofTexttoaFile PositioningaFilePointerattheBeginningofaFile SavingaFilePointer'sCurrentPosition RecallingaSavedFilePointer'sPosition CopyingaFile MovingaFile DeletingaFile CheckingforaFile'sExistence DisplayingaFileDialogBox CheckingfortheEndofaFileortheEndofaLine

UnderstandingBasicFileI/OConcepts
CheckingforFileExistence: ForallthefileI/Ooperationsyouwillprobablywanttofirstcheckforthefile'sexistence.This shouldprobablybeputinanIF/THENloopsothatifthecheckfails,youcannotifytheuser. Whenwritingtoafileyoumustfirstcreatethefileinsidethewindowsenvironment. See"CheckingforaFile'sExistence".
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual UsingFileInput/Output 1417

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

OpeningandClosingFiles: Foroperationsthatreadfromorwritetofilesyouneedtofirstopenthemtoyoursystem's processes.Youdothisbyassigningthefiletoavariablecalledafilepointer.Whenopeningafile, youcanspecifywhetherthefilewillbeopenedforreading,forwriting(overwriting),orfor appending.Onceopened,youcanthenreadfromorwritetothefile.Whenyou'refinished workingwithafile,youshouldclosethefilepointerthisclosesthefileandallowsittobe accessedbyothersystemprocesses.Youcannotopenfilesthatarealreadyopenedbyanother process. See"OpeningaFileforReadingorWriting"and"ClosinganOpenedFileafterReadingor Writing". FilePointersandPositions: Filepointersarevariablesthatpointtoafile.Theystoreanopenedfile'snameandlocationand arethenusedtoreadfromorwritetothatfile.Onceafileisopenedandsettoafilepointer,the pointerbehaveslikeacursoractsinawordprocessor.Theyindicatewhereyouarecurrently readingfromorwritingtowithinthefile. Ifyou'reappendingtoafile,youwillusuallywantyourfilepointertobeattheendofthe file. Ifyou'rereadingafileoroverwritingafile,thefilepointershouldusuallystartatthe beginningofafile.

UsingDelimitersWhenWritingorReading Whenwritingdata,considerusingdelimiterstoseparatepiecesofdata.Thiswillmakeiteasierto readthedatabackintoapartprogram.Adelimitercanbeanycharacterorstringofcharacters. Forexample,supposeyouhaveapoint,namedPNT1withtheX,Y,andZmeasuredvaluesof 2.5,4.3,6.1.Youcaneasilywritethesevaluesseparatedbyacommadelimiterintoadatafile withcodesimilartothefollowing:


FILE/WRITELINE,FPTR,PNT1.X+","+PNT1.Y+","+PNT1.Z

Whenreadingdata,youcanseparatetheincomingdatabasedonaspecifieddelimiterandplace thedataintovariablesforlatermanipulation.Forexample,supposeyouwanttoreadinthesame X,Y,andZvalueslistedabove.Thevaluesshouldbeinasinglelineoftextlikethis: 2.5,4.3,6.1.Youcanseparatethetextatthecommaandplacethosevaluesinto correspondingvariablesusingalineofcodesimilartothefollowing:


V1=FILE/READLINE,FPTR,{ValX}+","+{ValY}+","+{ValZ}

YoucanthenuseValX,ValY,andValZasnormalvariablesinyourpartprogram.ValXwill contain2.5,ValYwillcontain4.3,andValZwillcontain6.1.

UsingtheFileI/ODialogBox
AllfileI/Ocommandsareinitiallyinsertedintothepartprogrambyselectingtheappropriatefile I/Omenuoption(selectInsert|FileI/OCommand).OnceacommandexistsintheEditwindow, youcanthenpressF9onthecommandtoaccessitsassociatedFileI/Odialogbox.

1418 UsingFileInput/Output

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

AsampleFileI/Odialogbox Thisdialogboxsimplyprovidesavisualwaytoeditthe currentfileI/Ocommand.Alternately,you canmodifyacommandinsidetheEditwindowbyusingthetechniquesdiscussedintheUsing theEditWindowchapter. YoushouldnotusethisdialogboxtoinsertnewfileI/Ocommands.Thatmustbedoneby selectingtheappropriatemenuoptionorbytypingthecommandsdirectlyintotheEditwindow.

OpeningaFileforReadingorWriting
TheInsert|FileI/OCommand|FileOpenmenuoptionallowsyoutoputacommandintheEdit windowthatwillopenadiskfileduringexecutionofthepartprogram. Filescanbeopenedsimplytoviewinformationortoaddandsaveinformation. ThesyntaxofthiscommandintheEditwindowis:
<filepointername>=File/Open,<filename>,<openmode>

<filepointername> ThisistheuserchosenIDofthe filepointerthatisusedtoaccessthe openedfile.ThisIDisusedtorefertothe openfileinotherfileI/Ocommands. <filename> Thisisthefilenameofthediskfileto open. <openmode> Thisisthemodethefileshouldbeopened in.Filescanbeopenedinthefollowing modes:Read,Write,orAppend. ToaccessthedialogboxassociatedwiththisFileI/Ocommand: 1. OpentheEditwindow. 2. PlaceyourcursorontheFileOpencommand. 3. PressF9.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingFileInput/Output 1419

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

SampleCodeforFileOpen
ThesamplecodebelowshouldbeenteredinsidetheEditwindow'sCommandMode,notinside theFileI/Odialogbox. ThiscodeopensafilenamedTEST.TXTforreading,writing,andappendingandstoresthefile nametoafilepointernamedFPTR.
FPTR=FILE/OPEN,C:\PCDMISW\TEST.TXT,READ FPTR=FILE/OPEN,C:\PCDMISW\TEST.TXT,WRITE FPTR=FILE/OPEN,C:\PCDMISW\TEST.TXT,APPEND

Beawarethatyoucanuseaninputcommenttotakethefullpathwayasaninputanduseitina FILE/OPENcommand.YoucanalsodothesamethingbyusingtheFILE/DIALOGcommand. Considertheseexamples:


C1=COMMENT/INPUT,Typethefullpathwayandnameofthefile. V1=FILE/DIALOG,CHOOSEAFILETOOPEN FPTR=FILE/OPEN,C1.INPUT,READ FPTR=FILE/OPEN,V1,READ

See"DisplayingaFileDialogBox".

ClosinganOpenedFileafterReadingorWriting
TheInsert|FileI/OCommand|FileClosemenuoptionallowsyoutoinsertacommandinthe Editwindowthatwillcloseanopenedfilewhenthepartprogramisexecuted.Closingfilesfrees upresourcesusedwhenfilesareopenandcommitsanychangesthathavebeenmadetothefile todisk. ThesyntaxofthiscommandintheEditwindowis:
File/Close,<filepointername>,<closemode>

<filepointername> ThisistheIDusedtoidentifythefileand iscreatedwhenthefileisopened. <closemode> Thisparameterhastwooptions,KEEPor DELETE.UsingKEEP,PCDMISsimply closesthefiledefinedinthefilepointer. UsingDELETE,PCDMISclosesthefile andthendeletesit.

1420 UsingFileInput/Output

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ToaccessthedialogboxassociatedwiththisFileI/Ocommand: 1. 2. 3. OpentheEditwindow. PlacingyourcursorontheFileClosecommand. PressF9.

SampleCodeforFileClose
ThesamplecodebelowshouldbeenteredinsidetheEditwindow'sCommandMode,notinside theFileI/Odialogbox. Thiscodesimplyclosesthefileassignedtothefilepointer,FPTR:
FILE/CLOSE,FPTR,KEEP

Thiscode,whichusestheDELETEparameter,closesanddeletesthefileassignedtoFPTR:
FILE/CLOSE,FPTR,DELETE

ReadingaCharacterfromaFile
TheInsert|FileI/OCommand|ReadingCommands|ReadCharactermenuoptionplacesa commandintheEditwindowwhichreadsasinglecharacterfromthefilespecifiedbythe filepointernamefield(seesyntaxbelow)andassignsthatcharactertothevariablespecifiedinthe variablenamefield. ThesyntaxofthiscommandintheEditwindowis:
<varname>=File/ReadCharacter,<filepointername>

<filepointername> ThisistheIDusedtoopenthefile. <varname> Thisisthenameofthevariablethatwill holdthatcharacter ToaccessthedialogboxassociatedwiththisFileI/Ocommand: 1. OpentheEditwindow. 2. PlacingyourcursorontheReadCharactercommand.


PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual UsingFileInput/Output 1421

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

3. PressF9.

SampleCodeforReadCharacter
ThesamplecodebelowshouldbeenteredinsidetheEditwindow'sCommandMode,notinside theFileI/Odialogbox. Considerthisexamplethatreadsinalinefromadatafileonecharacteratatimeuntilit encountersaspace.
V1=FILE/EXISTS,test.txt IF/V1<>0 COMMENT/OPER,Abletoreadfromdatafile.ClickOKtocontinue. ASSIGN/V3="" FPTR=FILE/OPEN,D:\ProgramFiles\pcdmis35\test.txt,READ DO/ V2=FILE/READ_CHARACTER,FPTR ASSIGN/V3=V3+V2 UNTIL/V2=="" FILE/CLOSE,FPTR COMMENT/OPER,"Thefirstwordfromalineoftextfromthefileis:"+V3 END_IF/ ELSE/ COMMENT/OPER,Wasn'tabletoreadfromdatafile.Programwillnowquit. GOTO/END END_ELSE/ END=LABEL/ PROGRAM/END

CodeExplanation V1=FILE/EXISTS Thislinecheckstoseeifthespecifiedfileexists.Thefilemustbeplacedinthedirectory wherePCDMISresidesforthiscodetowork,otherwisethelinecontainingthefilemust alsocontainthefullpathwayforthefile.V1receivestheresultofthefilecheck.It'sanon zerovalueifitexists0otherwise.

1422 UsingFileInput/Output

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

IF/V1<>0 ThislinetakesthevalueofV1andcheckstoseeifitevaluatestoanonzerovalue.Ifso, thenacommentappearssignifyingthatit'sreadytobeginthereadprocess.Ifequalto zerothenthepartprogramends. ASSIGN/V3="" ThislinecreatesanemptystringandassignsittoV3.Thecodeusesthisvariableto buildastringfromtheindividualreadincharacters. Ifyoudon'tcreatetheemptystring, thenV3hasitsdefaultvalueof0. FPTR=FILE/OPEN ThislineopensthespecifiedfileforreadingandassignsittothedefaultfilepointerFPTR. DO ThislinebeginsaDO/UNTILloop.ItboundstheFILE/READ_CHARACTERcodesothat charactersarecontinuallyreadinoneatatime.Theloopexitswheneveritreadsina characterspace. V2=FILE/READ_CHARACTER,FPTR Thislinereadsinacharacterfromtheopenfiletiedtothefilepointer,FPTR.The characterisstoredinthevariable,V2. ASSIGN/V3=V3+V2 ThislineusestheemptyV3variable,concatenatesthestringV3withV2,andthen reassignsthevaluetoV3.So,withsubsequentrunsoftheDO/UNTILloop,V3willget onemorecharacteraddedtoit. UNTIL/V2=="" ThislineendstheDO/UNTILlooponcetheFILE/READ_CHARACTERcodeencounters aspacecharacterfromtheopenedfile. FILE/CLOSE,FPTR Thislineclosestheopeneddatafile,therebyallowingittobeaccessedbyothersystem processes.Therestofthecodefinishesrunninganddisplaysthefirstwordfromthedata fileinanoperatorcomment.

ReadingaLinefromaFile
TheInsert|FileI/OCommand|ReadingCommands|ReadLine menuoptionplacesa commandintheEditwindowthatreadsalinefromthespecifiedfileduringexecution.This commandsetsthevariablespecifiedbythevariableIDto1(true)or0(false)toindicatesuccess (true)orfailure(false)ofthecall.Theexpressionrequiredbythiscommandcanbeusedto delimitthelinereadinandtoautomaticallyfillupvariablesandreferenceswithdatareadinfrom thefile.Informationisreadinfromtheinputfileuptothenextcarriagereturncharacter. ThesyntaxofthiscommandintheEditwindowis:
<varname>=File/ReadLine,<filepointername>,<expr>

<varname>

Thisisthenameofthevariablethatwill holdtheresultindicatingsuccessor
UsingFileInput/Output 1423

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

failureoftheReadLinecommand.It returns"OK"or"EOF". <filepointername> Thisisthenamespecifiedforthefile pointerwhenthefilewasopened. <expr> Thisisthedestinationvariable(s)forthe inputdata.Inputdatacanbedelimitedby texttoallowforeaseinparsingincoming linesofdata.Variablesandfeature referencesshouldbesurroundedbycurly brackets. ToaccessthedialogboxassociatedwiththisFileI/Ocommand: 1. OpentheEditwindow. 2. PlacingyourcursorontheReadLinecommand. 3. PressF9.

SampleCodeforReadLine
ThesamplecodebelowshouldbeenteredinsidetheEditwindow'sCommandMode,notinside theFileI/Odialogbox. Considerthisexamplethatreadsinalinefromadatafileonelineatatimeuntilthe FILE/READ_LINEcommandencountersanemptyline.Thepartprogramthendisplaysthe resultingblockoftextandquits.
V1=FILE/EXISTS,test.txt IF/V1<>0 COMMENT/OPER,Abletoreadfromdatafile.ClickOKtocontinue. ASSIGN/V3="" FPTR=FILE/OPEN,D:\ProgramFiles\pcdmis35\test.txt,READ DO/ V2=FILE/READLINE,FPTR,{LINE} ASSIGN/V3=V3+LINE COMMENT/OPER,"ThecurrentvalueofvariableV3is: ,V3 UNTIL/V2=="EOF" FILE/CLOSE,FPTR

1424 UsingFileInput/Output

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

COMMENT/OPER,"Theblockoftextreadsasfollows:" ,V3 END_IF/ ELSE/ COMMENT/OPER,Wasn'tabletoreadfromdatafile.Programwillnowquit. GOTO/END END_ELSE/ END=LABEL/ PROGRAM/END

CodeExplanation Muchofthiscodeissimilartothatexplainedin"SampleCodeforReadCharacter".Onlycode uniquetothisexampleislistedhere. DO ThislinebeginsaDO/UNTILloop.ItboundstheFILE/READ_LINEcodesothatthe linesarecontinuallyreadinoneatatime.Theloopexitswhenitreachestheendofthe file. V2=FILE/READLINE,FPTR,{LINE} Thislinereadsinallthetextuntilitencountersacarriagereturn.Insteadofstoringthe textinV2,likeFILE/READ_CHARACTERwould,however,thiscodeactsdifferently. V2inthiscasereturnstwovalues:either"OK"or"EOF"."OK"ifthere'sstillalineto readin."EOF"iftheendofthefileisreached. The{LINE}codeisauserenteredvariablethatstorestheactualtext.Itisenclosed incurlybracketstotellPCDMISit'savariableandnotapartofanydelimitingtext. Withoutthecurlybrackets,PCDMISwouldlookforastringofcharactersinthefile called"LINE"andwouldreturnonlythetextafter"LINE"andbeforethecarriage return.

ASSIGN/V3=V3+LINE ThislineusestheemptyV3 variableandconcatenatesthestringV3withLINE,andthen reassignstheconcatenatedvaluetoV3.So,withsubsequentrunsoftheDO/UNTILloop, V3willgetonemorelineaddedtoit. UNTIL/V2=="EOF" ThislinetestsfortheconditionoftheDO/UNTILloop.OncetheFILE/READLINEcode encounterstheendoffile,theloopexits.Oncetheprogramflowexitstheloop,therestof thecodefinishesrunninganddisplaystheentireblockofcodeinsideanoperator comment. OtherExamples: Thecommandline: Result=File/ReadLine,F1,"PartID:" +{V1}wouldcauseanytextappearing inthereadinlineafterthetext"PartID:"tobeassignedtoV1.Thelinewouldbereadinfromthe fileopenedusingF1asthefilepointername.Theresultoftheread(successorfailure)wouldbe storedinthevariableResult. Thecommandlines: File/ReadLine,F1,"Location:"+{VARX}+","+{VARY}+","+{VARZ}+ ","+{VARI}+","+{VARJ}+","+{VARK}
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual UsingFileInput/Output 1425

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ASSIGN/CIR1.XYZ=MPOINT(VARX,VARY,VARZ) ASSIGN/CIR1.IJK=MPOINT(VARI,VARJ,VARK) wouldreadincommadelimitedtextafterthestring"Location:"andstorethevaluesintheX,Y,Z, andI,J,KvaluesofCIR1. Thecommandline: File/ReadLine,F1,"Value#"+loopvar+":"+{var2}wouldcausevar2to befilledwiththetextappearingafterthecolon.Theloopvarvariableinthisexampleisnot surroundedbycurlybracketsandasaresultcontributestothedelimitingtext.

ReadingaBlockofTextfromaFile
TheInsert|FileI/OCommand|ReadingCommands|ReadBlockmenuoptionplacesa commandintheEditwindowthatwillreadinablockofcharactersfromanopenfileatexecution time.Theamountofcharactersreadinisindicatedbythesizeparameter. ThesyntaxofthiscommandintheEditwindowis:
<varname>=File/Read_Block,<fptrname>,<size>

<varname> Thisisavariableidforthevariablethat receivesthevalueindicatingsuccessorfailure ofthereadblockoperation. <fptrname> Thisisthenamespecifiedforthefilepointer whenthefilewasopened. <size> Thisisthenumberofcharacterstoread ToaccessthedialogboxassociatedwiththisFileI/Ocommand: 1. 2. 3. OpentheEditwindow. PlacingyourcursorontheReadBlockcommand. PressF9.

SampleCodeforReadBlock
ThesamplecodebelowshouldbeenteredinsidetheEditwindow'sCommandMode,notinside theFileI/Odialogbox.

1426 UsingFileInput/Output

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Supposeyouhavevariousexternaldatafilesthatcontainmiscellaneouspartdataandthefirst fewcharactersofeachfiledesignatewhatthefileisfor.YoucanusetheFile/Read_Block commandtoreadonlythosefirstfewcharactersbeforedecidingtoreadinandprocesseveryline. Considerthiscode:


C3=COMMENT/INPUT,Pleasetypethenameofthe ,filecodetosearchfor. ASSIGN/BLOCKSIZE=LEN(C3.INPUT) ASSIGN/FILECODE=C3.INPUT DO/ C1=COMMENT/INPUT,Pleasetypethefullpathway, ,filename,andextensiontothe ,fileyouwanttoprocess. ,Type[Q]toquit. IF/C1.INPUT=="Q"ORC1.INPUT=="q" COMMENT/OPER,You'vechosentoquit.Programnowending. GOTO/END END_IF/ V1=FILE/EXISTS,C1.INPUT IF/V1<>0 COMMENT/OPER,"Datafile["+C1.INPUT+"]exists.ClickOKtocontinue." FPTR=FILE/OPEN,C1.INPUT,READ V2=FILE/READ_BLOCK,FPTR,BLOCKSIZE FILE/CLOSE,FPTR IF/V2<>FILECODE COMMENT/OPER,"Thefile'scodeof["+V2+"]doesn'tmatch" ,"theFILECODEof["+FILECODE+"]." END_IF/ UNTIL/V2==FILECODE COMMENT/OPER,"File["+C1.INPUT+"]isamatch." ,"Thefile'scodeof["+V2+"]matches" ,"theFILECODEof["+FILECODE+"]." COMMENT/OPER,Programthenprocessesthefile. END_IF/ ELSE/ COMMENT/OPER,"Datafile["+C1.INPUT+"]doesn'texist.Pleaseretryusinganexisting datafile." GOTO/END END_ELSE/ END=LABEL/ PROGRAM/END

CodeExplanation Someofthiscodeissimilartothatexplainedin"SampleCodeforReadCharacter"orin"Sample CodeforReadLine". Onlyexplanationsuniquetothisexamplearegivenhere.


PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual UsingFileInput/Output 1427

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ASSIGN/BLOCKSIZE=LEN(C3.INPUT) ThislineusescreatesauserdefinedvariablenamedBLOCKSIZEthatcontainsan integerequaltothenumberofcharactersfoundinC3.INPUT.Thiswillbeusedasthe sizeoftheblockofcharacterstoreadin. ASSIGN/FILECODE=C3.INPUT ThislinecreatestheFILECODEvariableandgivesitthevalueofC3.INPUT. C1=COMMENT/INPUT ThiscommentstoresthefullpathwayenteredbytheuserintotheC1.INPUT variable. V1=FILE/EXISTS,C1.INPUT ThislinechecksfortheexistenceofthefilenamedefinedintheC1comment. DO/ ThislinebeginsaDO/UNTILloop.Itboundstheblockofcodethatallowstheuserto specifyafiletoreadfrom.ItwillcontinueloopinguntilthetextassignedtoFILECODE variablematchesthetextreadfromthefile. V2=FILE/READ_BLOCK,FPTR,BLOCKSIZE Thislinereadstheamountofcharactersequaltotheintegercontainedinthe BLOCKSIZEvariable.ThetextisthenstoredinV2variable. IF/V2<>FILECODE ThislinebeginsanIF/ENDIFcodeblockthatteststoseeifthetextintheV2 variable matchesthetextstoredintheFILECODE variable.Ifitdoesmatch,thentheprogram continuesrunning.Otherwiseitdisplaysamessagesayingthetwocodesdon'tmatch. UNTIL/V2==FILECODE ThislinecheckstheconditionoftheDO/UNTILlooptoseeifthetextintheV2 variable matchesthetextintheFILECODE variable.Ifthestatementevaluatestofalse,theDO looprunsagain,allowingtheusertochooseadifferentfilename.Ifthestatement evaluatestotrue,thentheloopexitsandtheprogramdisplaysamessagesayingit matches.PCDMIScouldthencontinuetoreadeachlineofdatafromthespecifieddata file.

ReadingTextuptoaDelimiter
TheInsert|FileI/OCommand|ReadingCommands|ReadUpTomenuoptionplacesa commandintheEditwindowthatreadsalltextuptooneofthegivendelimitersfromthe specifiedfileduringexecution.Anytextreadbythiscommandisplacedinthespecified destinationvariable.ThecommandstopsreadingtextwhenPCDMISencountersthefollowing: Defineddelimiters Carriagereturns Linefeedcharacters

Iftheendofthefileisreached,thedestinationvariablewillbesetto"EOF"(EndofFile). ThesyntaxofthiscommandintheEditwindowis:
<varname>=FILE/READ_UPTO,<fptrname>,<delimiters>

1428 UsingFileInput/Output

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

<varname> <fptrname>

Thisisthenameofthedestinationvariable. Thisisthenamespecifiedforthefilepointer whenthefilewasopened. <delimiters> Thisisastringwhichcontainszeroormore delimitercharacters. ToaccessthedialogboxassociatedwiththisFileI/Ocommand: 1. SelecttheEditWindowtoopentheEditwindow. 2. PlaceyourcursorontheFILE/READcommand. 3. PressF9.TheFileI/Odialogboxopens.

Oncethedialogboxappears: 1. TypethevariablenamethatwillreceivethereadininformationintotheVariableIDbox. 2. TypethefilepointernameintotheFilePointerIDbox. 3. TypethedelimiterintotheTextbox(besureandusequotationmarksaroundyour chosendelimiter). 4. ClickOK.

SampleCodeforReadUpTo
ThesamplecodebelowshouldbeenteredinsidetheEditwindow'sCommandMode,notinside theFileI/Odialogbox. Example:Supposeyouhavetextfilenamed"sample.txt"inyourc:\tempdirectorywhichcontains thisinformationonthefirstline. root:x:0:0:root:/root:/bin/bash TousetheReadUpTocommandonthisfile: 1. InsertaFILE/OPENcommandintheEditwindow. 2. UseaFilePointerNameofyourchoicetonameyourFileOpencommand.Thisexample uses"sample"asthefilepointername. TheFileOpencommandshouldlooksomethinglikethis:
SAMPLE =FILE/OPEN,C:\TEMP\SAMPLE.TXT,READ

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingFileInput/Output 1429

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Now,usingPCDMISReadUpTocommands,definesomevariablesthatcalldifferentsegments ofdata.Thisexampleusesthefollowingvariableslookingfora":"(withoutthequotationmarks) asthedelimiter.


USERNAME PASSWORD USER =FILE/READ_UPTO,SAMPLE,: =FILE/READ_UPTO,SAMPLE,: =FILE/READ_UPTO,SAMPLE,:

Thus,whenPCDMISexecutestheselines,itsets username=root password=x user=0 Todisplaythisonscreenduringexecutionyoucanuseanoperatorcommentsuchastheone shownhere:


COMMENT/OPER,Thefollowingtextisreadinfromsample.txt ,Username: ,USERNAME ,Password: ,PASSWORD ,User: ,USER

WritingaCharactertoaFile
TheInsert|FileI/OCommand|WritingCommands|WriteCharactermenuoptioninsertsa commandintotheEditwindowthatwillcauseasinglecharactertobeoutputtoadiskfileupon execution. ThesyntaxofthiscommandintheEditwindowis:
File/Write_Character,<fptrname>,<expr>

<fptrname>

Thisisthenameofthefilepointerspecified whenthefilewasopened. <expr> Thisisthecharactertobewrittentofile.Ifthe expressionevaluatestomorethanone character,onlythefirstcharacteriswritten. ToaccessthedialogboxassociatedwiththisFileI/Ocommand: 1. OpentheEditwindow. 2. PlacingyourcursorontheWriteCharactercommand. 3. PressF9.

1430 UsingFileInput/Output

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

SampleCodeforWriteCharacter
ThesamplecodebelowshouldbeenteredinsidetheEditwindow'sCommandMode,notinside theFileI/Odialogbox. Considerthiscodethatwritesastringprovidedbytheusertoadatafileonecharacteratatime.
C1=COMMENT/INPUT,Typethenameofthefiletowrite ,to(includethecompletepath). FPTR=FILE/OPEN,C1.INPUT,WRITE C2=COMMENT/INPUT,Typesomethingtosendtothefile. ,Thiswillsendthestringonecharacter ,atatime. ASSIGN/COUNT=0 ASSIGN/LENGTH=LEN(C2.INPUT) DO/ ASSIGN/WRITETHIS=MID(C2.INPUT,COUNT,1) FILE/WRITE_CHARACTER,FPTR,WRITETHIS ASSIGN/COUNT=COUNT+1 UNTIL/COUNT==LENGTH

CodeExplanation Someofthiscodeissimilartothatexplainedin"SampleCodeforReadCharacter"orin"Sample CodeforReadLine". Onlyexplanationsuniquetothisexamplearegivenhere. FPTR=FILE/OPEN,C1.INPUT,WRITE ThislineopensthefilespecifiedintheC1commentforwriting,andassignsittothefile pointer,FPTR.Alldatainthisfilewillgetoverwrittenaslongasthefilepointerbeginsat thestartofthedatafile. ASSIGN/COUNT=0 ThislineassignsauserdefinedvariableCOUNTavalueofzero.Thisisusedforlooping purposestoprintthestringonecharacteratatime.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingFileInput/Output 1431

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ASSIGN/LENGTH=LEN(C2.INPUT) ThislineusestheLEN()functiontoreturnthelengthofastring.Thisfunctiontakesone parameter,thestring.Itcountsthenumberofcharactersinthestring(includingspaces) andreturnsanintegervalueofthatamount.Inthiscasetheuserdefinedvariable, LENGTHholdsthisvalue. DO/ ThislinebeginsaDO/UNTILloop.CodebetweentheDOandtheUNTILstatementswill beexecuteduntiltheloop'sconditionevaluatestotrue. ASSIGN/WRITETHIS=MID(C2.INPUT,COUNT,1) ThislinecreatesauserdefinedvariablecalledWRITETHISandusestheMID()function toreturnasubstringcharacterfromtheC2.INPUTstringandgiveittoWRITETHIS.MID() takesthreeparameters. Parameter1:isthestringfromwhichtogetvalues.InthiscaseC2.INPUTisused.

Parameter2:isthepositioninthestringtotakethecharacterfrom.Thefirst characterinastringwouldbeposition0,thesecondposition1,thethirdposition2and soforth.Inthiscase,thevariableCOUNTisused. Parameter3:ishowmanycharactersstartingfromthepositionofthesecond parametertograb.Inthiscase,thevalueof1isused(thesampleonlywritesone characteratatime,sothere'snoreasontogetmore). FILE/WRITE_CHARACTER,FPTR,WRITETHIS ThislinewritesthecharacterstoredintheWRITETHIS variabletothefilespecifiedbythe filepointer,FPTR. ASSIGN/COUNT=COUNT+1 ThislinetakesthecurrentCOUNT value,incrementsitbyone,andthenplacesthenew valuebackintoCOUNT. UNTIL/COUNT==LENGTH ThislineteststheconditionoftheDO/UNTILloop.Inthiscase,theloopwillkeep incrementingtheCOUNT variableuntilithasthesamevalueastheLENGTHvariable. Thentheloopwillexit,endingtheprogram.

WritingaLinetoaFile
TheInsert|FileI/OCommand|WritingCommands|WriteLinemenuoptioninsertsa commandintotheEditwindowthatwillcausealineoftexttobeoutputtoadiskfileupon execution.Useexpressionsyntaxtooutputvariablesandpartprograminformationtofile.A carriagereturnisautomaticallyappendedtothetextwrittenout. ThesyntaxofthiscommandintheEditwindowis:
File/WriteLine,<fptrname>,<expr>

<fptrname> <expr>

Thisisthenameofthefilereference specifiedwhenthefilewasopened. Thisisthetexttobewrittentofile. Expressionscanbeusedinthisfield

1432 UsingFileInput/Output

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ToaccessthedialogboxassociatedwiththisFileI/Ocommand: 1. OpentheEditwindow. 2. PlacingyourcursorontheWriteLinecommand. 3. PressF9.

SampleCodeforWriteLine
ThesamplecodebelowshouldbeenteredinsidetheEditwindow'sCommandMode,notinside theFileI/Odialogbox. SupposeyouwanttoexportsomemeasuredXYZvaluestoadatafile.Thefollowingcodeallows youtoinputafeaturelabelandadatafileandsendtheX,Y,andZdataforthatfeaturetoadata file.
C1=COMMENT/INPUT,Typethelabelofthefeature. ,touse. C2=COMMENT/INPUT,Typethenameofthefiletowrite ,to(includethecompletepath). FPTR=FILE/OPEN,C2.INPUT,APPEND ASSIGN/FEATNAME=C1.INPUT ASSIGN/ALLVALS=FEATNAME.X+","+FEATNAME.Y+","+FEATNAME.Z COMMENT/OPER,"Texttowriteis:"+ALLVALS FILE/WRITELINE,FPTR,ALLVALS FILE/CLOSE,FPTR

CodeExplanation Someofthiscodeissimilartothatexplainedin"SampleCodeforReadCharacter"orin"Sample CodeforReadLine". Onlyexplanationsuniquetothisexamplearegivenhere. FPTR=FILE/OPEN,C2.INPUT,APPEND ThislineopensthefilespecifiedintheC2commentforappending,andassignsittothe filepointer,FPTR.Ifinstead,youchangeAPPENDtoWRITE,thenexistingcontentinthe datafilewillgetoverwritten.


PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual UsingFileInput/Output 1433

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ASSIGN/FEATNAME=C1.INPUT ThislineassignsthestringofthefeaturelabelfromC1.INPUTtotheuserdefined variable,FEATNAME. ASSIGN/ALLVALS=FEATNAME.X+","+FEATNAME.Y+","+FEATNAME.Z ThislinegivestheuserdefinedvariableALLVALSthevalueof FEATNAME.X,FEATNAME.Y,FEATNAME.Z,inotherwordsitnowholdstheX,Y,andZ valuesofthefeaturelabeltypedintotheC1inputcomment. FILE/WRITELINE,FPTR,ALLVALS ThislinewritesthevaluescontainedinALLVALStothefilespecifiedbythefilepointer, FPTR.

WritingaBlockofTexttoaFile
TheInsert|FileI/OCommand|WritingCommands|WriteBlockmenuoptioninsertsa commandintotheEditwindowthatwillcauseablockoftexttobeoutputtoadiskfileupon execution.Useexpressionsyntaxtooutputthevariablesandpartprograminformationtofile. Unlikethewritelinecommand,writeblockdoesnotappendacarriagereturnattheend. ThesyntaxofthiscommandintheEditwindowis:
File/WriteBlock,<fptrname>,<expr>

<fptrname>

Thisisthenameofthefilereference specifiedwhenthefilewasopened. <expr> Thisisthetexttobewrittentofile. Expressionscanbeusedinthisfield. ToaccessthedialogboxassociatedwiththisFileI/Ocommand: 1. OpentheEditwindow. 2. PlacingyourcursorontheWriteBlockcommand. 3. PressF9.

SampleCodeforWriteBlock
ThesamplecodebelowshouldbeenteredinsidetheEditwindow'sCommandMode,notinside theFileI/Odialogbox.

1434 UsingFileInput/Output

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Thefollowingcodewriteswhatevertheuserinputsintoaninputcomment,appendingacolonto beusedasadelimiter.
C1=COMMENT/INPUT,Typeanystring.PCDMISwillappendacolon(fordelimiterpurposes) andwritethestringtoafileofyourchoice. C2=COMMENT/INPUT,Typethenameofthefiletowrite ,to(includethecompletepath). FPTR=FILE/OPEN,C2.INPUT,APPEND ASSIGN/WRITETHIS=C1.INPUT+":" COMMENT/OPER,"Texttowriteis:"+WRITETHIS FILE/WRITELINE,FPTR,WRITETHIS FILE/CLOSE,FPTR

CodeExplanation Someofthiscodeissimilartothatexplainedin"SampleCodeforReadCharacter"orin"Sample CodeforReadLine". Onlyexplanationsuniquetothisexamplearegivenhere. FPTR=FILE/OPEN,C2.INPUT,APPEND ThislineopensthefilespecifiedintheC2commentforappending,andassignsittothe filepointer,FPTR. ASSIGN/WRITETHIS=C1.INPUT+":" ThislineappendsacolontothetextcontainedinC1.INPUTandassignsthenewstring totheuserdefinedvariable,WRITETHIS. FILE/WRITELINE,FPTR,WRITETHIS ThislinewritesthevaluescontainedinWRITETHIStothefilespecifiedbythefilepointer, FPTR.Youcanlaterreadintextfromthefilebyusingthecolonasadelimiter.

PositioningaFilePointerattheBeginningofaFile
TheInsert|FileI/OCommand|PositionCommands|RewindToStart menuoptioninsertsa commandintotheEditwindowthatwillpositionthefilepointertothebeginningofthefilestream. ThesyntaxofthiscommandintheEditwindowis:
File/Rewind,<fptrname>

<fptrname>

Thisisthenameofthefilepointerto repositionatthebeginningofthefile. ToaccessthedialogboxassociatedwiththisFileI/Ocommand: 1. OpentheEditwindow. 2. PlacingyourcursorontheRewindtoStartcommand. 3. PressF9.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingFileInput/Output 1435

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

SampleCodeforRewindtoStart
ThesamplecodebelowshouldbeenteredinsidetheEditwindow'sCommandMode,notinside theFileI/Odialogbox. Considerthisexamplethatreadsindatafromanexternalfileonelineatatime.Aftereachline, youhavetheoptionofstartingoverandreadingfromthebeginningofthefile.Thisillustratesthe useoftheFILE/REWINDcommand.
C1=COMMENT/INPUT,Pleasetypeafiletoreadfrom. ,(includethefullpath) V1=FILE/EXISTS,C1.INPUT IF/V1<>0 DO/ FPTR=FILE/OPEN,C1.INPUT,READ C2=COMMENT/YESNO,Doyouwanttoreadfromthebeginning? IF/C2.INPUT=="YES" FILE/REWIND,FPTR END_IF/ V2=FILE/READLINE,FPTR,{LINE} COMMENT/OPER,"Thecurrentlineis:"+LINE UNTIL/V2=="EOF" END_IF/ FILE/CLOSE,FPTR COMMENT/OPER,Programquitting.

CodeExplanation Someofthiscodeissimilartothatexplainedin"SampleCodeforReadCharacter"orin"Sample CodeforReadLine". Onlyexplanationsuniquetothisexamplearegivenhere. C2=COMMENT/YESNO Thislineasksifyouwanttostartreadingthefilefromthebeginning.Itstoresthe YES/NOresponseintothevariable,C2.INPUT.

1436 UsingFileInput/Output

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

IF/C2.INPUT=="YES" ThislinebeginsanIF/ENDIFblock.ItteststheconditionofC2.INPUThavingthevalue ofYES.Iftheconditionistrue,thenPCDMISexecutesthelinesfollowingtheIF statement.Iftheconditionisfalse,thenPCDMISexecutesthecodefollowingthe END_IFstatement. FILE/REWIND,FPTR Thislinerewindsthefilepointertothebeginningofthedatafile. END_IF/ ThislinequitstheIF/ENDIFcodeblock.

SavingaFilePointer'sCurrentPosition
TheInsert|FileI/OCommand|PositionCommands|SaveFilePositionmenuoptioninserts acommandintotheEditwindowthatsavesthecurrentpositionofafilepointerwithinthefile stream.Thesavedpositioncanlaterberecalledusingtherecallfilepositioncommand. ThesyntaxofthiscommandintheEditwindowis:
File/SavePosition,<fptrname>

<fptrname>

Thisisthenameofthefilepointerwhose filepositionissaved. ToaccessthedialogboxassociatedwiththisFileI/Ocommand: 1. OpentheEditwindow. 2. PlacingyourcursorontheSaveFilePositioncommand. 3. PressF9.

SampleCodeforSaveFilePosition
ThesamplecodebelowshouldbeenteredinsidetheEditwindow'sCommandMode,notinside theFileI/Odialogbox. Considerthisexamplethatreadsindatafromanexternalfileonelineatatime.Aftereachline, youhavetheoptionofsavingthefilepositionforlaterrecall.Thisillustratestheuseofthe FILE/SAVE_POSITIONcommand.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingFileInput/Output 1437

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

C1=COMMENT/INPUT,Pleasetypeafiletoreadfrom. ,(includethefullpath) V1=FILE/EXISTS,C1.INPUT IF/V1<>0 DO/ FPTR=FILE/OPEN,C1.INPUT,READ C2=COMMENT/YESNO,Doyouwanttosavethefilepositionandrecallitlater?Theloopwill quit. IF/C2.INPUT=="YES" FILE/SAVE_POSITION,FPTR GOTO/QUITLOOP END_IF/ V2=FILE/READLINE,FPTR,{LINE} COMMENT/OPER,"Thecurrentlineis:"+LINE UNTIL/V2=="EOF" END_IF/ FILE/CLOSE,FPTR QUITLOOP=LABEL/ COMMENT/OPER,You'vestoppedreading. PROGRAM/END

CodeExplanation Thiscodeissimilartothatexplainedin"SampleCodeforRewindtoStart". Onlyexplanationsuniquetothisexamplearegivenhere. C2=COMMENT/YESNO Thislineasksifyouwanttostorethecurrentfilepositionandexittheloop.Itstoresthe YES/NOresponseintothevariable,C2.INPUT. FILE/SAVE_POSITION,FPTR Thislinestoresthefilepointer'spositioninthefilestream. Aslongasyouopenthesamefilewithsamefilepointernameinthesamepartprogram,youcan recallastoredfilepositionandcontinuereadingwhereyouleftoff.Tocontinuethisexample,see the"SampleCodeforRecallFilePosition"topic.

RecallingaSavedFilePointer'sPosition
TheInsert|FileI/OCommand|PositionCommands|RecallFilePositioninsertsa commandintotheEditwindowthatwillrecallapreviouslysavedfileposition.Usethesavefile positioncommandtosaveapositionwithinanopenfile. ThesyntaxofthiscommandintheEditwindowis:
File/RecallPosition,<fptrname>

<fptrname>

Thisisthenameofthefilepointerwhose positionisbeingrecalled. ToaccessthedialogboxassociatedwiththisFileI/Ocommand:

1438 UsingFileInput/Output

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

1. OpentheEditwindow. 2. PlacingyourcursorontheRecallFilePositioncommand. 3. PressF9.

SampleCodeforRecallFilePosition
ThesamplecodebelowshouldbeenteredinsidetheEditwindow'sCommandMode,notinside theFileI/Odialogbox. Thisexampleopensapreviouslyclosedfile,usesapreviousfilepointer,andrecallsthestored filepointer'ssavedposition.Itthenreadsindatafromthatposition.Thiscodeillustratestheuse oftheFILE/RECALL_POSITIONcommand,anditcontinuesthecodesamplegiveninthe "SampleCodeforSaveFilePosition"topic.
COMMENT/OPER,Theprogramwillnowrecallthestoredfileposition. FPTR=FILE/OPEN,C1.INPUT,READ FILE/REWIND,FPTR COMMENT/OPER,Totest,filehasbeenrewound. ,Thefirstlinewillbereadintotesttherewind. V3=FILE/READLINE,FPTR,{LINE} COMMENT/OPER,Thefirstlineis: ,LINE FILE/REWIND,FPTR FILE/RECALL_POSITION,FPTR COMMENT/OPER,Previouslystoredfilepositionhasbeenrecalled. ,Dataonthelineatthestoredpositionwillnowprint. V4=FILE/READLINE,FPTR,{STORED} COMMENT/OPER,Thetextatthestoredpositionis: ,STORED

CodeExplanation Thiscodeissimilartothatexplainedin"SampleCodeforRewindtoStart"onpage251033. Onlyexplanationsuniquetothisexamplearegivenhere.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingFileInput/Output 1439

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

FILE/RECALL_POSITION,FPTR Thislinerecallsthestoredfilepointerpositioninthefilestreamforthefilepointer designatedasFPTR. V4=FILE/READLINE,FPTR,{STORED} Thislinereadsinthenextlineafterthestoredfilepointerpositionandassignsittothe userdefinedvariableof STORED.Thisvariableisthenprintedoutinthenextoperator comment.

CopyingaFile
TheInsert|FileI/OCommand|FileCopymenuoptioninsertsacommandintotheEditwindow whichwillcauseafilecopyoperationtooccuruponexecution. ThesyntaxofthiscommandintheEditwindowis:
File/Copy,<srcfilename>,<destfilename>,<replacemode>

<srcfilename>

Thisisthenameofthesourcefile(file copiedfrom) <destfilename> Thisisthenameofthedestinationfile (filecopiedto) <replacemode> Thisistheactiontotakeifthe destinationfilealreadyexists.Thetwo modesareoverwriteandfailif destinationexists. ToaccessthedialogboxassociatedwiththisFileI/Ocommand: 1. 2. 3. OpentheEditwindow. PlacingyourcursorontheFileCopycommand. PressF9.

SampleCodeforFileCopy
ThesamplecodebelowshouldbeenteredinsidetheEditwindow'sCommandMode,notinside theFileI/Odialogbox.

1440 UsingFileInput/Output

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Thefollowingcodeasksforafilenametocopyandforadestinationdirectoryandfiletocopyto.
C1=COMMENT/INPUT,Pleasetypeafileyouwanttocopy. ,(Includefullfilepath) C2=COMMENT/INPUT,Pleasetypeadestinationfilename. ,(Includefullfilepath) V1=FILE/EXISTS,C1.INPUT IF/V1<>0 COMMENT/OPER,Fileexiststocopy.Copyingcommencing. FILE/COPY,C1.INPUT,C2.INPUT,FAIL_IF_DEST_EXISTS V2=FILE/EXISTS,C2.INPUT IF/V2==0 COMMENT/OPER,"Filedoesn'texistat:"+C2.INPUT ,Copyending. PROGRAM/END END_IF/ ELSE/ COMMENT/OPER,Filecopysuccessful. PROGRAM/END END_ELSE/ END_IF/ COMMENT/OPER,Filetocopydoesn'texist.

CodeExplanation Muchofthiscodeissimilartothatexplainedin"SampleCodeforReadCharacter"orin"Sample CodeforReadLine". Onlyexplanationsuniquetothisexamplearegivenhere. C1=COMMENT/INPUT ThislinetakesthefullpathwayofthefiletocopyandplacesitintotheC1.INPUT variable. C2=COMMENT/INPUT ThislinetakesthefullpathwayofthedestinationfileandplacesitintotheC2.INPUT variable FILE/COPY,C1.INPUT,C2.INPUT,FAIL_IF_DEST_EXISTS Thislinecopiestheoriginalfiletoadestinationfile.Thiscommandtakesthree parameters. Parameter1isC1.INPUT.Thisisthefullpathtothefiletocopy. Parameter2isC2.INPUT,orthefullpathtothedestinationfile. Parameter3,inthiscase,abortstheFILE/COPYprocedureifitencountersan existingfilewiththesamedestinationfilename.Youcansetthissothatit overwritesexistingfilesofthesamename.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingFileInput/Output 1441

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MovingaFile
TheInsert|FileI/OCommand|FileMovemenuoptioninsertsacommandintotheEditwindow whichwillcauseafilemoveoperationtooccuruponexecution. ThesyntaxofthiscommandintheEditwindowis:
File/Move,<oldfilename>,<newfilename>

<oldfilename>

Thisisthelocationandnameofthe file <newfilename> Thisisthenewlocationandnameof thefile ToaccessthedialogboxassociatedwiththisFileI/Ocommand: 1. OpentheEditwindow. 2. PlacingyourcursorontheFileMovecommand. 3. PressF9.

SampleCodeforFileMove
ThesamplecodebelowshouldbeenteredinsidetheEditwindow'sCommandMode,notinside theFileI/Odialogbox. Thefollowingcodeasksforafilenametomoveandalocationdirectoryandfilenametomoveto andthenperformsthefilemoveoperation.
C1=COMMENT/INPUT,Pleasetypeafileyouwanttomove. ,(Includefullfilepath) C2=COMMENT/INPUT,Pleasetypeadestinationfilename. ,(Includefullfilepath) V1=FILE/EXISTS,C1.INPUT IF/V1<>0 COMMENT/OPER,Fileexiststomove.Filemovecommencing. FILE/MOVE,C1.INPUT,C2.INPUT V2=FILE/EXISTS,C2.INPUT IF/V2==0

1442 UsingFileInput/Output

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

COMMENT/OPER,"Filedoesn'texistat:"+C2.INPUT ,TheMOVEdidn'tfunctionproperly. PROGRAM/END END_IF/ ELSE/ COMMENT/OPER,FileMOVEsuccessful. PROGRAM/END END_ELSE/ END_IF/ COMMENT/OPER,Originalfiledoesn'texist.Tryagain.

CodeExplanation Muchofthiscodeissimilartothatexplainedin"SampleCodeforFile". Onlyexplanationsuniquetothisexamplearegivenhere. FILE/MOVE,C1.INPUT,C2.INPUT Thislinecopiestheoriginalfiletoadestinationfile.Thiscommandtakestwoparameters. Parameter1isC1.INPUT.Thisisthefullpathtothefiletomove. Parameter2isC2.INPUT,orthefullpathtothedestinationfile.

DeletingaFile
TheInsert|FileI/OCommand|FileDeletemenuoptioninsertsacommandintotheEdit windowwhichwillcauseafiletobedeletedwhenthecommandisexecuted. ThesyntaxofthiscommandintheEditwindowis:
File/Delete,<filename>

<filename>

Thisisthenameofthefiletobe deleted. ToaccessthedialogboxassociatedwiththisFileI/Ocommand: 1. OpentheEditwindow. 2. PlacingyourcursorontheFileDeletecommand. 3. PressF9.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingFileInput/Output 1443

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

SampleCodeforFileDelete
ThesamplecodebelowshouldbeenteredinsidetheEditwindow'sCommandMode,notinside theFileI/Odialogbox. Thefollowingcodeasksforafilenameandthendeletesthefile.
C1=COMMENT/INPUT,Pleasetypeafileyouwanttodelete. ,(Includefullfilepath) V1=FILE/EXISTS,C1.INPUT IF/V1<>0 COMMENT/OPER,Fileexists.Readytodelete. FILE/DELETE,C1.INPUT V2=FILE/EXISTS, IF/V2==0 COMMENT/OPER,Filedeletedsuccessfully PROGRAM/END END_IF/ ELSE/ COMMENT/OPER,Filestillexists PROGRAM/END END_ELSE/ END_IF/ COMMENT/OPER,Filedoesn'texisttodelete.Chooseafilethatexists.

CodeExplanation Muchofthiscodeissimilartothatexplainedin"SampleCodeforFileMove". Onlyexplanationsuniquetothisexamplearegivenhere. FILE/DELETE,C1.INPUT Thislinedeletesthefilespecified.Thiscommandtakesoneparameter,thenameofthe filetodelete.Inthiscase,C1.INPUT.

1444 UsingFileInput/Output

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

CheckingforaFile'sExistence
TheInsert|FileI/OCommand|FileExistsmenuoptioninsertsacommandintotheEdit windowwhichwillcheckfortheexistenceofafilewhenexecutedandwillsetthesupplied variablewiththeresult. ThesyntaxofthiscommandintheEditwindowis:
<varname>=File/Exists,<filename>

<filename>

Thisisthenameofthefilebeingchecked toseeifitexistsondisk <varname> Thisisthenameofthevariablethatisset totheresultofthecheckthatisperformed. Thevariablewillbesetto1ifthefileexists and0ifthefiledoesnotexist. ToaccessthedialogboxassociatedwiththisFileI/Ocommand: 1. OpentheEditwindow. 2. PlacingyourcursorontheFileExistscommand. 3. PressF9.

SampleCodeforFileExists
ThesamplecodebelowshouldbeenteredinsidetheEditwindow'sCommandMode,notinside theFileI/Odialogbox. Thefollowingcodeasksforafilenameandthenchecksforthefile'sexistence.
C1=COMMENT/INPUT,Pleasetypeafileyouwanttocheck. V1=FILE/EXISTS,C1.INPUT IF/V1<>0 COMMENT/OPER,Fileexists. END_IF/ ELSE/ COMMENT/OPER,Filedoesn'texist END_ELSE/

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingFileInput/Output 1445

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

CodeExplanation Muchofthiscodeissimilartothatexplainedin"SampleCodeforReadCharacter"orin"Sample CodeforReadLine". Onlyexplanationsuniquetothisexamplearegivenhere. V1=FILE/EXISTS,C1.INPUT Thislinecheckstoseeifthespecifiedfileexists.Thefilemustbeplacedinthedirectory wherePCDMISresidesforthiscodetowork,otherwisethelinecontainingthefilemust alsocontainthefullpathwayforthefile.V1receivestheresultofthefilecheck.It'sanon zerovalueifitexists0otherwise.

DisplayingaFileDialogBox
TheInsert|FileI/OCommand|FileDialogmenuoptioninsertsacommandintotheEdit windowwhichwillcheckbringupafiledialogboxduringexecution.Thisfiledialogcanbeused toallowthepartprogramoperatortochooseafilenameatruntime.Thenameofthefilechosen willbestoredinthevariablespecified. ThesyntaxofthiscommandintheEditwindowis:
<varname>=File/Dialog,<expr>

<varname> Thisisthenameofthevariablethatwillbe settothenameofthefilechosenbythe userinthefiledialog. <expr> Thisisthetextthatwillappearonthetitle barofthefiledialog ToaccessthedialogboxassociatedwiththisFileI/Ocommand: 1. OpentheEditwindow. 2. PlacingyourcursorontheFileDialogcommand. 3. PressF9.

SampleCodeforFileDialog
ThesamplecodebelowshouldbeenteredinsidetheEditwindow'sCommandMode,notinside theFileI/Odialogbox. Thefollowingcodesubmitsadialogboxthatallowsyoutochooseafiletodelete.
V1=FILE/DIALOG,Chooseafiletodelete. V2=FILE/EXISTS,V1 IF/V2<>0 COMMENT/OPER,Fileexists.Readytodelete. FILE/DELETE,V1 V3=FILE/EXISTS, IF/V3==0 COMMENT/OPER,Filedeletedsuccessfully

1446 UsingFileInput/Output

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

PROGRAM/END END_IF/ ELSE/ COMMENT/OPER,Filestillexists PROGRAM/END END_ELSE/ END_IF/ COMMENT/OPER,Filedoesn'texisttodelete.Chooseafilethatexists.

Muchofthiscodeissimilartothatexplainedin"SampleCodeforReadCharacter"orin"Sample CodeforReadLine". Onlyexplanationsuniquetothisexamplearegivenhere. V1=FILE/Dialog,Chooseafiletodelete Thislinedisplaysadialogboxwiththetitle"Chooseafiletodelete".Youcanbrowsetoa fileandwhenyouclickOpen,PCDMISgivesV1thefullpathwaytotheselectedfile.The restoftheprogramdeletestheselectedfile.

CheckingfortheEndofaFileortheEndofaLine
PCDMISallowsyoutocheckfortheEndofaFilebyusingthefunctionsEOForEOLina conditionaltest. EOFstandsforENDOFFILE.Thisfunctiontakesafilepointeroftypestring.Whenproperly placedwithinaconditionalstatement,itteststoseeifthefilepointerhasreachedtheend ofthespecifiedfile.Ifithas,thenthefunctionreturnstrue. EOLstandsforENDOFLINE.Thisfunctiontakesafilepointeroftypestring.Whenproperly placedwithinaconditionalstatement,itteststoseeifthefilepointerhasreachedtheend ofalineinthespecifiedfile.Ifithas,thenthefunctionreturnstrue.Thisworksbestinside ofaloop. ThesyntaxofthiscommandintheEditwindowis:
EOF<filepointer>orEOL<filepointer>

<filepointer> Thisisthenameofthefilepointerthat you'rechecking.

SamplecodeforEOFandEOL
ThesamplecodebelowshouldbeenteredinsidetheEditwindow'sCommandMode,notinside theFileI/Odialogbox. Thefollowingcodeopenstest.txtandreadsthroughthefile.Aslongastheendoffilehasn'tbeen reached(designatedwiththecode,WHILE/!EOF),PCDMISreadsthroughthefilecharacterby character,assigningacharactertoV1. IfPCDMISreachestheendofalineinthefile,PCDMISshowsthelastcharacteronthatline.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingFileInput/Output 1447

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ThisrepeatsuntilPCDMISreachestheendofthefile.PCDMISthenshowsthetext"EndofFile Reached".
FPTR=FILE/OPEN,D:\temp\test.txt,READ WHILE/!EOF("FPTR") V1=FILE/READ_CHARACTER,FPTR IF/EOL("FPTR") COMMENT/OPER,NO,"EndofLineReached.Thelastcharacteris:" ,V1 END_IF/ END_WHILE/ COMMENT/OPER,NO,"EndofFileReached..."

1448 UsingFileInput/Output

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

UsingExpressionsandVariables
UsingExpressionsandVariables:Introduction
Anexpressionisauser ExpressionsareanimportantpartingettingPCDMISto definedconditionusedwith accomplishyourspecifictasks.Usingexpressionsinconjunction PCDMIS'sflowcontrol withflowcontrolcommands,youcanunleashevenmoreofPC commands.Usingflow DMIS'spowerfulfunctionality. controlstatementsyoucan thentesttheseconditionsin Thischapterexplainswhathowtocreateanduseexpressions yourpartprogram,andifthe insidePCDMIS'sEditwindow.Whenworkingwithexpressions, conditionismetornot,you youshouldplacePCDMIS'sEditwindowintoCommandmode. candeterminewhataction ThiswillallowyoutoviewtheEditwindowcodedirectly. PCDMIStakes. Thefollowingmajortopicsarecoveredinthischapter: UsingExpressionsinaPartProgram CreatingExpressionswiththeExpressionBuilder UsingVariableswithExpressions UnderstandingExpressionComponents AccessingaReport'sObjectProperties

UsingExpressionsinaPartProgram
ThePCDMISEditwindowallowsexpressionsinmostofitseditablefields.Editablefieldsare usuallythosefieldshighlightedinyellowwhenyoupressTABinsidetheEditwindowwhilein Commandmode.Fieldsthatchangethetypeofthefeaturedonotallowexpressions. Example:Theboxofanautofeaturewhichspecifiesthetypeoftheautofeaturei.e.Surface point,AutoCircle,AutoRoundSlot,etc.doesnotallowexpressions. Thesubtopicsunderthistopicofferacompletereferencetoavailableexpressions.

ViewingExpressionValues
Toseethevalueofanexpression,positionthemousecursorovertheexpressionandleaveitin positionforatleastonesecond.Theexpressionwillbeevaluatedandasmallyellowpopup windowdisplayingtheexpressionanditscurrentvaluewillappearjustbelowthemousecursor.

KeepingExpressionValuesOnly
ToimmediatelysolveanexpressionintheEditwindow,thuskeepingonlythevalue: 1. SelecttheexpressiontextintheEditwindow. 2. Precedetheexpressiontextwitha`(accentgrave)character. Example:Supposeyoutypetheexpression"`1/7"inanumericfield.Theexpressionwillbe immediatelysolvedandonlythevalue(0.143)willbeplacedinthefield.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingExpressionsandVariables 1449

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

UsingExpressionswithBranching
Theflowcontrolcommandsuseexpressionstodetermineflowofprogramexecution.Please refertothe"BranchingbyUsingFlowControl"chapterforinformationonwhenbranchingmayor maynotoccur.

UsingExpressionswithFileInput/Output
Writingdatatoanexternaldatafileorreadingdatafromanexternaldatafileoftenusesvariables andotherexpressionstoeffectivelymanageandstoreordisplaythatdata.Pleaserefertothe "UsingFileInput/Output"chapterformoreinformation.

CreatingExpressionswiththeExpressionBuilder

ExpressionBuilderdialogbox PCDMISallowsyoutocreateandaddexpressionsintotheEditwindowbysimplytypingthemin orbyusingthefriendlierinterfaceoftheExpressionBuilderdialogbox.TheEdit|Expression menuoptiondisplaystheExpressionBuilderdialogbox. Thisdialogboxallowsyoutocreateanexpressionandinsertitintoaneditablefield.Pressingthe F2keywhilethecursorisonafieldthatallowsexpressionswillalsobringuptheExpression Builderdialogbox. TheExpressionsBuilderdialoglistsallofthetypesofoperatorsandfunctionsavailablefor expressions.

CreatinganExpressionbyTyping
TocreateanexpressionbytypingitdirectlytotheEditwindow: 1. OpentheEditwindow. 2. PlacetheEditwindowintocommandmode. 3. PressTABtomoveyourcursortoaneditablefieldwhereyouwanttoinsertthe expression.Fieldswithayellowhighlightareconsidered"editable".

1450 UsingExpressionsandVariables

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

4. Typetheexpression.

CreatinganExpressionwiththeExpressionBuilder
ToenteranexpressionbyusingtheExpressionBuilderdialogbox: 1. 2. 3. 4. OpentheEditwindow. PlacetheEditwindowintocommandmode. Movethecursortoaneditablefieldwhereyouwanttoinserttheexpression. PresstheF2keywhilethecursorisonafieldthatallowsexpressions.TheExpression Builderdialogboxwillappear.TheExpressionBuilderdialogboxlistsallofthetypes ofoperators,operands,andfunctions.Thefollowingcanbereferencedthroughthis dialogbox: Availableexpressiontypes Variables Features Dimensions Alignments Comments

5. Selecttheexpressionelementtypefromthefirstdropdownlist.Dependingonyour selection,othercomboboxeswillappear. 6. SelectthedesiredIDfromtheIDdropdownlist. 7. SelectanextensionfromtheExtensiondropdownlist. 8. SelectanotherextensionfromtheSecondExtension dropdownlist.Iftheexpressionis usable,theAddbuttonbecomesavailable. 9. ClicktheAddbutton.Theexpressionappearsinaneditbox. 10. ClicktheOKbutton.TheexpressionnowappearswhereyourcursorisintheEdit window. Note:YoucanalsoopentheExpressionBuilderdialogboxfromtheseotherdialogboxes: TheIfExpressiondialogboxSelectInsert|FlowControl|IfGoto.Clickonthe Expressionbutton. TheAssignmentdialogboxSelectInsert|Assignment.ClicktheAssignToorAssign Frombutton. Oncetheexpressioniscreated,PCDMISautomaticallyinsertstheexpressionatthenextlegal positionintheEditwindow.

CheckingtheExpressionforCorrectness
Whenyourcursorleavesthefieldwhereyouaddedtheexpression,PCDMISattemptstocheck theexpressionforcorrectness.Ifthereisaproblemwiththeexpression,anerrormessage indicatinganinvalidnumbermayappear,ortheexpressiontextmayturnred.Also,expressions thatrefertononexistentobjectswillshowupinredtext. Sincethetestofexpressioncorrectnessoccursatthetimeyouleaveafield,afieldthatturned redduetoareferenceofanonexistentobject,(ex.CIRCLE1.X),willremainredevenifthenew object,(ex.CIRCLE1),isadded.Thefieldremainsreduntiltheexpressionisretestedfor correctness.
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual UsingExpressionsandVariables 1451

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Toretesttheexpressionforcorrectness: 1. Moveyourcursortothefieldoftheexpression. 2. PresstheF2key.TheExpressionBuilderdialogboxopensagain.Anychangestoyour expressionappearintheeditbox. 3. PresstheENTERkeytoclosethedialogbox.

ExpressionElementType
TheExpressionElementTypedropdownlistintheExpressionBuilderdialogboxliststhe variousexpressionelementtypesavailabletobeplacedintoexpressions.Theseinclude: Functions Operators Alignments Comments Dimensions Features Variables

ID
TheIDdropdownlistoftheExpressionBuilderdialogboxliststhesetofitemsavailablebased ontheexpressionelementtypeselectedintheExpressionElementTypedropdownlist. ForExample: WhenFunctions&OperatorsischosenfromtheExpressionElementTypedrop downlisttheIDdropdownlistwillcontainalistoftheavailablefunctionsandoperators. WhenFeaturesischosenintheExpressionElementTypedropdownlist,theIDdrop downlistdisplaystheIDsofthefeaturesinthepartprogram.

Extension
TheExtensiondropdownlistbecomesavailablewhentheitemchoseninIDdropdownlist requirestheadditionofanextensioninordertoformauseableexpressionelement.The ExtensiondropdownlistdisplaysavailableextensionsbasedontheitemselectedintheID dropdownlist. Example:SupposeyouselectafeaturefromtheIDdropdownlist.Thelistofpossible extensionsthatcanbeusedtoreferencedataofthatfeature(suchas"X","Y","Z","Diam", "Length",etc.)arethenlistedintheExtensiondropdownlist.

SecondExtension
TheSecondExtensiondropdownlistbecomesavailableonlyiftheitemchoseninthe Extensiondropdownlistrequirestheadditionofasecondextensioninordertoformauseable expressionelement. Example:SupposeyouarereferencingthenominalvalueoftheXlocationaxisofadimension named"D1".

1452 UsingExpressionsandVariables

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Youwould: ChooseD1fromtheIDdropdownlist. SelectXfromtheExtensiondropdownlist SelectNom fromtheSecondExtensiondropdownlist.

AddButton
Wheneveryouselectauseableorcompleteexpressionelementusingthedropdownlists,the Addbuttonbecomesavailable.Whenclickedthisbuttondisplaysthetexttobeaddedtothe expression. Forexample,ifthefollowingwerechosen: DimensionsfromtheExpressionElementTypelist D1fromtheIDlist XfromtheExtensionlist NomfromtheSecondExtensionlist

ThentheAddbuttonwouldbecomeenabledandwouldhavethefollowingtext:AddD1.X.NOM. UponclickingtheAddbutton,thetextthenappearsintheeditboxatthebottomofthedialogbox. Note: WhenyouclicktheOKbutton,thetextfromtheeditboxisaddedtotheEditwindow,tothe expressionfieldwhereyourcursoris.IfyouselectanitemfromtheEditwindow'sexpression field,andthetexttobeaddedcontainsparenthesis,thentheselecteditemwouldbeplaced insideoftheparenthesisoftheaddedtext.

Editbox
AtthebottomoftheExpressionBuilderdialogboxisaneditboxshowingthecurrent expression.Theexpressioncanbetypeddirectlytothisbox,oryoucanusetheAddbutton.

DescriptionArea
TheExpressionBuilderdialogboxalsocontainsaDescriptionareawhichgivesinformation aboutitemsselectedfromthedropdownlists.AfieldnexttotheAddbuttonalsoshowsthe currentvalueoftheexpression. Note:Invalidexpressionshaveavalueof0.

UsingVariableswithExpressions
Variablesareobjectsthatholdvalues.Variablesrefertointeger,real,string,orpointoperands. Variablesareessentialtousingexpressions.Avariablehasanameandavalue.Thenameis usedtoaccessthevalueofthevariable.Thenameisconstant,thevaluecanbechanged.You assignavaluetoavariablebyusingtheASSIGN/command. Forexample,thestatementASSIGN/V1=2 createsavariablewithanameofV1andavalueof2. ASSIGN/V2=V1+2 accessesthevalueofV1.IfV1stillhadavalueof2whenthisassign statementwasexecuted,V2wouldthenhaveavalueof4.
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual UsingExpressionsandVariables 1453

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Formoreinformationonvariables,see"Variables".

AssigningValuestoVariablesbyUsingtheAssignmentDialogBox

Assignmentdialogbox TheInsert|AssignmentmenuoptiondisplaystheAssignmentdialogbox.Thisdialogbox allowsyoutoassignavaluetoavariableordataelementofapartprogramfeature,dimension, oralignment.UseoftheassignmentcommandrequiresabasicunderstandingofPCDMIS expressions.

AssignTo
TheAssignTobuttonallowsyoutodesignatethevariablethatisreceivingthevaluecalculated intheAssignFrombox.InformationchosenusingtheAssignTobuttonisplacedintheAssign Tobox.Thisvaluecanbethenameofavariable,orareferencetoadataelementofafeature, dimension,oralignment.

AssignFrom
Theresultofsolvingthe mathematicalexpressionfor avalueiswhatismeantby theterm"evaluated". TheAssignFrombuttonallowsyoutoplacethevaluebeing assignedintotheAssignFrombox.Ifthisboxcontainsan expression,theexpressionisevaluatedatexecutiontimeandthe resultorvalueofthecalculationisassignedtotheobjectspecified intheAssignTobox.

Insert
TheInsertbuttoninsertsanassignmentcommandintothepartprogramwhilekeepingthe Assignmentdialogboxopen.Thisbuttonallowsyoutoinsertaseriesofassignmentcommands withoutclosingthedialogbox.

UnderstandingExpressionComponents
Expressionshavethesetypesofoperands: Integers RealNumbers Strings Points FeaturePointers Arrays Functions

1454 UsingExpressionsandVariables

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Thesearediscussedindetailbelow.

OperandTypes
Theoperandsmayexistintheformof: Literals References Variables Structures Pointers

Literals
*Integers: 1,6,209 Reals: 1,6,2.4,0.1,345.6789 Strings: "HelloWorld", "47", "CIRCLE1" Points: Aliteralrepresentationisnotavailableforpoints.However,pointscanbemadefrom otherliteralsusingtheMPOINTfunction: MPOINT(0,0,1), MPOINT(2.2,3.1,4.0). Pointer: ThenameofafeatureenclosedinFrenchbrackets: {CIR1},{LIN2},{F3} Arrays: Aliteralrepresentationisnotavailableforarrays.However,arrayscanbecreatedfrom otherliteralsusingtheARRAYfunction: ex.ARRAY(3,5,6),ARRAY("Hello",2.3,9).These functionscreate3elementarrayswiththeintegerelements3,5,and6inthefirstexampleand thestringelement"Hello",doubleelement2.3,andintegerelement9inthesecondexample. Functions: Aliteralrepresentationisnotavailableforfunctions.Functionsaredefinedusingthe FUNCTIONkeywordandaccessedviavariableids.Forexample,ASSIGN/Add2= FUNCTION((X),X+2)definesafunctionthattakesoneargumentandadds2toit.Thevariable Add2isassignedthefunction.ThefunctioncanbecalledusingthevariableAdd2asfollows. ASSIGN/Result=Add2(5).Resultisassignedthevalue7. Note:NumericLiteralsareinterpretedasrealnumbersunlesstheoperatororfunctionimpliesthe useofintegers.Forexample,theexpression10/8evaluatesto1.25insteadof1.Notealsothat discretedivisionisalsopossibleviatheoperandcoercionoperators.TheexpressionINT(10)/ INT(8)doesevaluateto1.

References
Referencesrefertodatamembersofotherobjectsinapartprogram.ReferencesusetheIDof anobjectinthepartprogramfollowedbyadotandanextensionthatreferstothedatamember oftheobject.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingExpressionsandVariables 1455

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Example:IfCIRCLE1werethenameofameasuredcircleinthepartprogram,CIRCLE1.X wouldrefertothemeasuredvalueoftheXcomponentofCIRCLE1.Allreferencesareevaluated inpartcoordinatesrelativetothecurrentalignment.

ReferencesofTypeDouble
Thefollowingreferenceexpressionsareavailable: ValidExtensionsforFeatureReferencesofTypeDoublebyExample Format:<FeatureId>.<Extension>>CIRCLE1.X CIRCLE1.X MeasuredXValueofCIRCLE1 CIRCLE1.Y MeasuredYValueofCIRCLE1 CIRCLE1.Z MeasuredZValueofCIRCLE1 CIRCLE1.TX Theoretical(Nominal)XValueofCIRCLE1 CIRCLE1.TY Theoretical(Nominal)YValueofCIRCLE1 CIRCLE1.TZ Theoretical(Nominal)ZValueofCIRCLE1 LINE1.SX MeasuredXValueoftheStartpointofLINE1 LINE1.SY LINE1.SZ LINE1.TSXTheoreticalXValueoftheStartpointofLINE1 LINE1.TSY LINE1.TSZ LINE1.EXMeasuredXValueoftheEndpointofLINE1 LINE1.EY LINE1.EZ LINE1.TEXTheoreticalXValueoftheEndpointofLINE1 LINE1.TEY LINE1.TEZ POINT.I MeasuredIComponentofVectorforPOINT POINT.J POINT.K POINT.TITheoreticalIComponentofVectorforPOINT POINT.TJ POINT.TK FEAT1.TYP Thetypeofthefeature(i.e.circle,slot,cone).Thiscanbeusedtochangethetype ofagenericfeature(Assign/Gen1.TYP=Feat1.TYP). FEAT1.ALL Referstoallelementsofthefeature.Thisisvaluableforcopyinginformationtoa genericfeature.(Assign/Gen1.ALL=Feat1.ALL) SurfaceVector EDGE.SURFI

1456 UsingExpressionsandVariables

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

EDGE.SURFJ EDGE.SURFK EDGE.TSURFI EDGE.TSURFJ EDGE.TSURFK AngleVector CIR.ANGI CIR.ANGJ CIR.ANGK CIR.TANGI CIR.TANGJ CIR.TANGK Radius CIRCLE1.R CIRCLE1.TR CIRCLE1.RAD CIRCLE1.TRAD CIRCLE1.RADIUS CIRCLE1.PRPolarRadius CIRCLE1.TPRTheoreticalPolarRadius CIRCLE1.TRADIUS(OnlytheFirstCharactersaresignificant) Diameter CIRCLE1.D CIRCLE1.TD CIRCLE1.DIAM

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingExpressionsandVariables 1457

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

CIRCLE1.TDIAM CIRCLE1.DIAMETER CIRCLE1.TDIAMETER(Onlythefirstcharactersaresignificant) Angle CONE.A CONE.TA CONE.ANG CONE.TANG CONE.ANGLE CONE.TANGLE CONE.PAPolarAngle CONE.TPATheoreticalPolarAngle(OnlytheFirstCharactersaresignificant) Length LINE.L LINE.TL LINE.LEN LINE.TLEN LINE.LENGTH LINE.TLENGTH(OnlytheFirstCharactersaresignificant) Height CYLINDER.PHPolarHeight CYLINDER.TPHTheoreticalPolarHeight Radius,Angle,Height POINT.RAHPointwithMeasuredRadius,Angle,andHeight POINT.TRAHPointwithTheoreticalRadius,Angle,andHeight

1458 UsingExpressionsandVariables

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ValidExtensionsforDimensionReferenceofTypeDoublebyExample Format:<DimensionID>.<AXIS>.<DimensionElement>>DIM1.X.NOM DIM1.X.NOM DIM1.X.MEAS DIM1.X.MAX DIM1.X.MIN DIM1.X.PTOL DIM1.X.MTOL DIM1.X.DEV DIM1.X.OUTTOL DIM1.Y.NOM DIM1.Z.DEV DIM3.PA.MEAS DIM4.M.PTOL *DIM4.PTOL TheNominalValueforXAxisLocation ofDIM1 TheMeasuredValuefortheXAxis LocationofDIM1 TheMaxDeviationforXAxisLocation ofDIM1 TheMinDeviationforXAxisLocation ofDIM1 ThePlusToleranceValuefortheX AxisLocationofDIM1 TheMinusToleranceValuefortheX AxisLocationofDIM1 TheDeviationontheXAxisLocation ofDIM1 TheOutofTolerancevalueontheX AxisLocationofDIM1 TheNominalValuefortheYAxis LocationofDIM1 TheDeviationontheZAxisLocation ofDIM1 TheMeasuredValueforthePolar AngleLocationofDIM3 ThePlusToleranceValuefortheM AxisofDIM4 ThePlusToleranceValuefortheM AxisofDIM4(SeeNoteunder"Valid Axes"below). TheBonusToleranceValuewhere DIM5isaTruePosition.

DIM5.BTOL

ValidAxes: X,Y,Z,D,R,A,T,V,L,PR,PA,M,PD,RS,RT,S,H,DD,DF,TP Note:*Dimensionsthathaveonlyoneaxisbydefinition(i.e.roundness,concentricity,etc.)can omittheaxisqualifier.Iftheaxisqualifierisused,notethatallofthesetypesofdimensions(that haveonlyoneaxis)usetheMAxisqualifierwiththeexceptionof2Dand3Dangledimensions, whichusetheAAxisqualifier. ValidExtensionsforAlignmentReferencesofTypeDoublebyExample: Format:<AlignmentID>.<AlignmentAxisorOrigin>.<AlignmentAxisorOriginComponent>> A1.ORIGIN.X A1.ORIGIN.X A2.ORIGIN.Y XComponentofalignmentA1s measuredorigin YComponentofalignmentA2s measuredorigin

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingExpressionsandVariables 1459

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

A1.ORIGIN.Z A1.XAXIS.I A1.YAXIS.J A1.ZAXIS.K A1.CORIGIN.X

A1.CXAXIS.J

ZComponentofalignmentA1s measuredorigin IComponentof alignmentA1s measuredXaxis JComponentofalignmentA1s measuredYaxis KComponentofalignmentA1s measuredZaxis XComponentofalignmentA1sorigin basedontheoretical(CisforCAD) data JComponentofalignmentA1sXaxis basedontheoretical(CisforCAD)data

ReferencesofTypePoint
Thefollowingreferenceexpressionsareavailable: ValidExtensionsforFeatureReferencesofTypePointbyExample Format:<FeatureID>.<Extension>>CIRCLE1.XYZ CIRCLE1.XYZ CIRCLE1.TXYZ LINE1.SXYZ LINE1.TSXYZ LINE1.EXYZ LINE1.TEXYZ CIRCLE1.IJK CIRCLE1.TIJK EDGE.SURFIJK EDGE.TSURFIJK AUTOCIR1.ANGIJK AUTOCIR1.TANGIJK MeasuredcentroidofCIRCLE1 TheoreticalcentroidofCIRCLE1 MeasuredstartpointofLINE1 TheoreticalstartpointofLINE1 MeasuredendpointofLINE1 TheoreticalendpointofLINE1 MeasuredVectorofCIRCLE1 TheoreticalVectorofCIRCLE1 MeasuredSurfaceVectorofEDGE TheoreticalSurfaceVectorofEDGE MeasuredAngleVectorofAUTOCIR1 TheoreticalAngleVectorofAUTOCIR1

ValidExtensionsforAlignmentReferenceofTypePointbyExample Format: <AlignmentID>.<AlignmentAxisorOrigin>>A1.XAXIS A1.ORIGIN A1.XAXIS A1.YAXIS A1.ZAXIS A1.CORIGIN A1.CXAXIS A1.CYAXIS A1.CZAXIS MeasuredoriginofalignmentA1 MeasuredXaxisofalignmentA1 MeasuredYaxisofalignmentA1 MeasuredZaxisofalignmentA1 TheoreticaloriginofalignmentA1 TheoreticalXaxisofalignmentA1 TheoreticalYaxisofalignmentA1 TheoreticalZaxisofalignmentA1

1460 UsingExpressionsandVariables

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ReferencesofTypeString
Referencestocommentsaretheonlyobjecttypesthatareoftypestring.OnlyINPUTcomments orYES/NOcommentscanbereferredtoviareferences.ThesecommenttypeshaveanIDwhich canbeusedtoidentifythecomment. Format:<CommentID>.INPUT>C1.INPUT C1.INPUTTheinputvalue(fromtheoperator)forcommentC1 YES/NOcommenttypessettheinputtotheappropriateyesornostringbasedonthecurrent languageofPCDMIS.IntheEnglishversionofPCDMISiftheoperatorpressestheyesbutton, thestringissetto"YES",iftheoperatorpressesthenobutton,thestringissetto"NO".When comparingstringstotestfor"YES"or"NO",thecomparisoniscasesensitive.Thus,comparing against"yes"or"no"willalwaysfaileveniftheYES/NOcommentinputissetto"YES"or"NO".

Variables
Variablescanbeofanyofthesevenoperandtypes:integer,real,string,point,featurepointer, array,orfunction.VariablescomeintoexistenceandreceivetheirvalueandtypeviatheASSIGN statement.ThevariableID canbeanyalphanumericstringthatdoesnotbeginwithanumeric character.Underscorescanalsobeusedinthevariableidprovidedthattheunderscoreisnotthe firstcharacter. Variablevaluesaresavedbetweenexecutionruns.Thismeansifprogramexecutionstopsand restarts,thevaluesthevariableshavewhenexecutionstopswillbethesamevalueswhen executionstartsagain. Note:IftheEditwindowisactive,PCDMISwillindicatethecurrentvalueofthevariable wheneverthecursorisplacedinthefield.Duringexecution,variablevalueswillchangebasedon flowofexecution.Positionthemousepointeroverthedesiredvariabletofindoutitscurrent value. VariableV1isareal numberwiththe valueof4.2 VariableVAR1isa ASSIGN/VAR1=CIRCLE1.X realnumberwitha valueequaltothe measuredvalueof CIRCLE1.Xatthe timeofassignment. VariableMYVARis ASSIGN/MYVAR=LINE1.XYZ apointwiththe samevalueofthe measuredcentroid ofLINE1atthe timeofassignment. VariableSVARisa ASSIGN/SVAR ="HelloWorld" stringwiththevalue "HelloWorld" Intheseexamples,variablesarebeingassignedvalues.Onceavariablehasbeenassigneda value,thevariablecanbeusedasanoperandinanyexpressionfield.
ASSIGN/V1=2.2+2

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingExpressionsandVariables 1461

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ExampleofV1beingusedinanumericfield:
ASSIGN/V1=1/3 PREHIT/V1

Here,V1isusedastheprehitvalueoftheprehitcommand. Note:Sinceexpressionscanbeusedinmosteditablefields,thefollowingexpressionisalso legalandhasthesameeffect:PREHIT/1/3. Thecomponentsofvariablesoftypepointcanbereferredtoindividuallyusingthedotextension notationusedforreferences.


ASSIGN/V1=MPOINT(3,4,5) ASSIGN/XVAR=V1.X

ASSIGN/YVAR=V1.Y

ASSIGN/IVAR=V1.I

ASSIGN/REDUNVAR=V1.XYZ

V1isoftypepoint withvalueof3,4,5 XVARisoftype doublewiththe valueof3 YVARisoftype doublewiththe valueof4 IVARisoftype doublewiththe valueof3 REDUNVARisof typepointwiththe valueof3,4,5

Thefollowingextensionsareequivalenttoeachother.Bothareprovidedtoclarifythemeaningof anexpressioninapartprogram. GiventhatV1isoftypepoint. V1.XisthesameasV1.I V1.YisthesameasV1.J V1.ZisthesameasV1.K V1.XYZisthesameasV1.IJKandV1withoutanyextension. Ifavariableoftypestringhasastringvalueequaltothenameoftheidofafeature,dimension, oralignment,thevariablecanbeusedasareferenceobject. Example:
ASSIGN/V1="CIRCLE1"

ThefollowingoperandsarepossibleandvalidprovidedafeaturewiththenameCIRCLE1exists. V1.XThemeasuredXvalueofCIRCLE1 V1.TXThetheoreticalXvalueofCIRCLE1 V1.DiameterThemeasureddiameterofCIRCLE1 V1.RadiusThemeasuredradiusofCIRCLE1

1462 UsingExpressionsandVariables

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Thistypeofindirectionavailableonstringvariablesisonlyavailabletoonelevelofindirection. Thefollowingwillnotwork.
ASSIGN/V1="CIRCLE1" ASSIGN/V2="V1" V2.XThiswillevaluateto0insteadofthecurrentmeasuredvalueofCIRCLE1.X.

Note:ThereferenceV2.Xwillnotbeflaggedasanerrorwithredtexteventhoughanexpression aboveitsetsitstypetoastring.Thereasonitcannotbeflaggedasanerrorisbecausetheflow ofexecutionofthepartprogramisnotknownuntilexecutetime. However,ifyouusecurlybracketsthefollowingdoeswork:


ASSIGN/V1={CIRCLE1} ASSIGN/V2={V1} V2.XThiswillgiveyouthevalueofCIRCLE1.X.

Considerthefollowingexample:
ASSIGN/V1="CIRCLE1" ASSIGN/V2="V1" IF/CIRCLE1.X>CIRCLE1.TX,GOTO,L2 L1=LABEL/ ASSIGN/V3=V2.X GOTO/LABEL,L3 L2=LABEL/ ASSIGN/V2=MPOINT(2,5,7) GOTO/LABEL,L1 L3=LABEL/

IfduringprogramexecutionthevalueofCIRCLE1.XisgreaterthanthevalueofCIRCLE1.TX, thentheexpressionV2.Xwillbevalidandwillevaluateto2.Otherwise,theexpressionV2.Xwill evaluateto0sincethevalueofV2atthetimeoftheASSIGNforV3isthestring"V1".Itisthe responsibilityofthepartprogrammertoensurethatexpressionswilldoasexpectedinthese cases. AdditionalnoteontheAssignStatement:Almostallofthefeaturereferencescanbeusedon thelefthandsideoftheassignmentstatementtoputavalueintoameasuredortheoreticaldata memberofafeature.TheonlyexceptionisthesingleI,J,Kcomponentsofvectors.Toassignto vectors,thecompletevectormustbeassignedatonceusinganexpressionthatevaluatestoa point.Vectordataisnormalizedasitisinputintothefeaturesvectordatamembers. Example:
ASSIGN/CIRCLE1.I=2 illegal ASSIGN/CIRCLE1.IJK=MPOINT(2,0,0)legal(vectorisnormalizedto1,0,0)

Forinformationonusingvariableswithindimensions,seethe"DimensioningVariables"topicin the"DimensioningFeatures"chapter.

Structures
Withversion3.5andlateryoucanuseanewvariabletypecalledstructures.Structuresallowyou toplaceextensionsonavariabletoidentifysubelementofthatvariable.Considerthisexample: Example:
ASSIGN/V1.HEIGHT=6 ASSIGN/V1.WIDTH=4.3 ASSIGN/V1.MODE="CIRCULAR" ASSIGN/V1.POINT=MPOINT(100.3,37.5,63.1)

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingExpressionsandVariables 1463

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Inthisexample, V1isthestructure. HEIGHT,WIDTH,MODE,andPOINTaresubelementsofthestructure.

RulesforStructures
LikeVariables,Structuresdonotneedtobedeclared. Subelementsofastructurecanbeanyofthesevariabletypes:
q q q q q q q

Integer Double Point FeaturePointer Function Array Structure

Forexample,itispossibletohavestructureelementsthatarearraysandarrayelementsthatare structures.Thismakesthefollowingexampleexpressionsvalid: Example


ASSIGN/CAR.LEFTSIDE.DOOR[2].QUADRANT[3].JOINT[5].HIT[4]=MPOINT(558.89,910.12,42.45) COMMENT/OPER,"CurrentZPosition:"+CAR.LEFTSIDE.DOOR[2].QUADRANT[3].JOINT[5].HIT[4].Z ASSIGN/CURRENTJOINT=LEFTSIDE.DOOR[2].QUADRANT[3].JOINT[5] COMMENT/OPER,"NextHit:"+CURRENTJOINT.HIT[4]

StructureswithVariablesofTypePoint
Ifavariableisoftypepoint,theusercanstillusethe.X,.Y,.Z,.I,.J,and.Kextensionstogetat individualitemsofthepoint.Theusercanalsouseanyoftheextensionsfromthisexamplein theirstructureswithoutbeingforcedtousethemaspointelements. Example:
ASSIGN/V1.X="Somestring" ASSIGN/V1.Y=ARRAY(1,3,5,9,7) ASSIGN/V1.Z=MPOINT(3,5,7)

COMMENT/REPT,V1.X COMMENT/REPT,V1.Y[2]

Outputis"Somestring" Outputis3,the secondelementofthe

1464 UsingExpressionsandVariables

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

array. COMMENT/REPT,V1.Z.Y Outputis5,theY valueoftheMPOINT.

BycombiningstructureswiththefunctioncapabilityofthePCDMISexpressionlanguage,itis possibletohavedynamicstructurereferencesasshownhere: (examplecontinued)


ASSIGN/DYNAMICSTRUCT=FUNCTION((X,Y),X.Y) C1=COMMENT/INPUT,Pleaseenterinitem ASSIGN/TESTSTR=C1.INPUT ASSIGN/FRONT=LEFT(TESTSTR,INDEX(TESTSTR,".")1) ASSIGN/BACK=MID(TESTSTR,INDEX(TESTSTR,".")) ASSIGN/RESULT=DYNAMICSTRUCT(FRONT,BACK)

Thisportionoftheexampleasksyoutoinputavariablereference,splitsthereferenceatthefirst '.',andthenassignsRESULTtobeequaltothatreferencebyusingthefunctionDYNAMICSTRUCT. So,iffromyouhadtypedV1.Y[4] fortheC1.INPUTvariable,RESULTwouldendupwiththe valueof9(thefourthelementofthearrayassignedtoV1.Y). Thelearntimeevaluationofexpressionshasbeenenhancedtoaccuratelyshowallelementsofa structureoranarray.

Pointers
Pointersarealsoknownas "FeaturePointers".Seethe Glossaryterm"Feature Pointers"formoreinformation. Pointersprovideasimplewaytoreferenceafeatureviaa variableortopassobjectsusingthecallsubcommand.Pointers aresimilartoindirectionviastringnames.However,the advantageofusingpointersiswithsubroutines.Pointers,unlike strings,whenpassedinasargumentsofasubroutine,allowfor directmodificationoftheobjectpointedtobythesubroutine. Pointersarenotusedincomplexexpressions.Ifitisusedina complexexpressionthepointerwillevaluatetozero. Considerthefollowingexamples: PointerUseExample:
ASSIGN/V1={CIR1} ASSIGN/DIST= DOUBLE(V1.XYZ)

V1isnowapointerthat pointstoCIR1. Dist=distanceofCIR1 fromorigin.

Youcanalsoputanexpressionbetweencurlybrackets inordertoobtainafeaturepointer.Inversionspriorto version3.5thiswasinvalid.Nowthefollowing examplesarealllegalwaystogetthepointertofeature CIR1: Assignsexpression ASSIGN/FEATCOUNT=1 "CIR1"toV1. ASSIGN/V1={"CIR"+


FEATCOUNT} ASSIGN/V2="CIR1" ASSIGN/V3={V2} C1=COMMENT/INPUT,Please typeafeaturename.

Assignsexpression "CIR1"fromvariableV2 tovariableV3 Thistakesthefeature nameofC1.INPUTand


UsingExpressionsandVariables 1465

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ASSIGN/V4={C1.INPUT}

placesitintovariable,V4.

SubroutineExample: Inthecallingprogram:
CS1=CALLSUB/SUB.PRG,CHANGEX,{CIR1}

Inthesubroutineprogram
GEN1=GENERIC/FEATURE SUBROUTINE/CHANGEX,ARG1={GEN1}

(WhenCIR1ispassedinittakestheplaceofGEN1)
ARG1.X=5

(SetsthemeasuredXvalueofCIR1to5)
END/SUBROUTINE

ComplexExpressionExample:
ASSIGN/V1={CIR1}+2

{CIR1}evaluatestozeroandsoentireexpressionevaluatesto2.

Arrays
Threetypesofarraysareavailable:Featurearrays,hitarrays,andvariableArrays. Important:Eventhoughmultidimensionalarraysaredisplayedasmultidimensionalinthe software,youcanreallyonlyusethemassingledimensionalarraysuntilyouprecedethearrays withanARRAYINDICEScommand(seethe"ArrayIndicesObject:"topic).

FeatureArrays:
Whenafeatureismeasuredmorethanonceduringprogramexecution,afeaturearrayis automaticallycreated.Thenumberofelementsinthefeaturearrayisequaltothenumberof timesthefeaturehasbeenexecuted. Example:Ifameasuredcircleobjectwerelocatedinawhileloopthatexecutedfivetimes,then anarrayoffivemeasuredcircleswouldexist.Iftheidofthemeasuredcirclewere"Circle1",then anarrayexpressioncouldbeusedtoaccessindividualinstancesofthemeasuredcircleobject. Squarebracketsareusedtoindicatetheinstancedesired.
Assign/V1= Circle1[3].x

V1isassignedthe measuredxvalueofthe thirdinstanceofCircle1.

Note: Whenafeaturearrayexistsforagivenfeaturebutarraynotationisnotusedinareference tothatfeature.Themostrecentinstanceisused.Fromtheaboveexample,thereference

1466 UsingExpressionsandVariables

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Circle1.xwouldbethesameasCircle1[5].xsincethefifthinstancewouldbethemostrecent instanceoftheobject. Expressionscanbeusedwithinthesquarebracketsofanarrayexpression.Circle1[3].xand Circle1[2+1].xwouldthereforebeequivalent.Thefollowingexampleusesalooptoprintoutthe measuredcentroidofthefivecirclesfromtheexamplesabove. Example:


Assign/V1=1 While/V1<6 Comment/Rept,"Centroidofinstance#"+V1+"ofCircle1: "+Circle1[V1].XYZ Assign/V1=V1+1 End/While

Possibleoutputfromtheaboveexample: Centroidofinstance#1ofCircle1: 3.4,2.6,1.43 Centroidofinstance#2ofCircle1: 4.4,3.6,2.43 Centroidofinstance#3ofCircle1:5.4,4.6,3.43 Centroidofinstance#4ofCircle1:6.4,5.6,4.43 Centroidofinstance#5ofCircle1: 7.5,6.6,5.43 Arraysalsoexistondimensionsandalignmentsthathavebeenexecutedmultipletimesina givenexecutionrun.Thus,Dim1[2].NomandAlign1[4].Originwouldbeavailablegiventhatthe Dimension"Dim1"hasexecutedatleasttwiceandthealignment"Align1"hasexecutedatleast fourtimes. Ifafeaturearrayreferenceisoutofbounds(i.e.,theuserasksforCircle1[2.5]or>Circle1["Hello, World"])theupperorlowerbounditemisreturned.IfCircle1had3instances,thanCircle1[4]and abovewouldreturnCircle1[3]andCircle[0]andbelowwouldreturnCircle1[1].Allexpressions betweensquarebracketsarecoercedtointeger,thus2.5wouldbecome2and"HelloWorld" wouldbecome0.

ArrayIndicesObject:
Bydefault,featurearraysarealwaysonedimensionalarrays.Ifitismoreconvenienttotreata featurearrayasamultidimensionalarray,thiscanbedonebyusingthearrayindicesobject. Thearrayindicesobjectallowsyoutospecifyupperandlowerboundsformultiplearray dimensions. Bysettingtheupperandlowerboundsofthefirstdimensionatwodimensionalarrayis createdwherethefirstdimensionisboundandtheseconddimensionisunbound. Bysettingtheupperandlowerboundsofthefirsttwodimensionsofanarray,athree dimensionalarrayiscreated.Thelastdimensionisalwaysunbound.

Example:

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingExpressionsandVariables 1467

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

FeatureF1islocatedinsideanestedWHILEloop.TheinnerWHILEloopexecutesfivetimesand theouterWHILEloopexecutesthreetimes.Atcompletionofexecution,F1hasbeenexecuted15 timesandso15instancesofF1exist. Considerthefollowingexamplepartprogramsegment:


ARRAY_INDICES/1..5,.. ASSIGN/V1=1 WHILE/V1<=3 ASSIGN/V2=1 WHILE/V2<=5 F1=FEAT/POINT,RECT THEO/V2,V1,0,0,0,1 ACTL/1,1,0,0,0,1 MEAS/POINT,1 HIT/BASIC,V2,V1,0,0,0,1,1,1,0 ENDMEAS/ ASSIGN/V2=V2+1 COMMENT/REPT,"LocationofF1["+V2+","+V1+"]:"+F1[V2,V1].XYZ END_WHILE/ ASSIGN/V1=V1+1 END_WHILE/

Thiscodesegmentcreatesa3X5gridof15measuredpoints. Thearrayindicescommandhaslimitedthefirstdimensionofthefeaturearraytobebetween1 and5inclusively.Thusontheinspectionreport,insteadofappearingasF1[1]F1[15],the objectswillappearasF1[1,1]F1[5,3],moreconsistentwiththelayoutofthefeatures.Notice thatthecommentalsoreferstothefeaturearrayusingatwodimensionalarraysyntax. Toinsertanarray_indicesobjectinapartprogram: 1. Usingthekeyboard,type"Array"onanemptylineintheEditwindow. 2. PresstheTABkey. Note:IftheDisplayBracketsforFeatureArrayscheckboxhasbeencleared,thefeaturewill notappearwiththebracketedname.See"DisplayBracketsforFeatureArrays"inthe"Setting YourPreferences"chapter.

HitArrays:
Thehitsofagivenfeatureareavailableasanarrayandcanbeaccessedviaexpressionsusing arraysyntaxoftheform<FeatID>.Hit[<ArrayExpression>].<Extension>ortheform <FeatID>.RawHit[<ArrayExpression>].<Extension>.Hitreturnsprobecompensateddatawhen probecompensationison.RawHitalwaysreturnuncompensateddata.ValidextensionsareX,Y, Z,I,J,K,TX,TY,TZ,TI,TJ,TK,XYZ,TXYZ,IJK,andTIJK Themeasuredcentroid(probe compensated)ofhit1of "Circle1". Themeasuredvectorofhit2of Circle1.Hit[2].IJK "Circle1" Hitdataisavailableforallobjectsthathavehits,whethertheactualhitsaredisplayedintheedit windowornot.Thus,hitscanbeobtainedforscansandautofeatures.
Circle1.Hit[1].XYZ

Thefollowingtopicsdescribesomeadditionalarrayfunctionsthatareusefulforfindingthe minimumormaximumpointsinascan:

1468 UsingExpressionsandVariables

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

AssigningaRangeofHitstoanArray Youcanalsoassignarangeofhitstoanarraybyusingthissyntax: <FeatureId>.<Hittype>[<Startnum>..<Endnum>].<Extension> where <FeatureId>isthenameofthefeature <Hittype>canbeeithertheword"HIT"forcompensateddataor"RAWHIT"for uncompensateddata.Ifprobecompensationifturnedoff,thereturnsvaluesarealways uncompensated. <Startnum>isanexpressionthatidentifiesthefirstindexvalueoftherangeofhits <Endnum>isanexpressionthatidentifiesthesecondindexvalueoftherangeofhits <Extension>identifiesthetypeofdata.Possibleextensionsincludethesemeasuredor theoreticaldatatypes: XMeasuredXvaluesofthehits YMeasuredYvaluesofthehits ZMeasuredZvaluesofthehits XYZMeasuredXYZvaluesofthehits IMeasuredIvaluesofthehits JMeasuredJvaluesofthehits KMeasuredKvaluesofthehits IJKMeasuredIJKvaluesofthehits

TXTheoreticalXvaluesofthehits TYTheoreticalYvaluesofthehits TZTheoreticalZvaluesofthehits TXYZTheoreticalXYZvaluesofthehits TITheoreticalI valuesofthehits TJTheoreticalJvaluesofthehits TKTheoreticalKvaluesofthehits TIJKTheoreticalIJKvaluesofthehits

Forexample,
ASSIGN/V1=SCAN1.HIT[1..10].X

ASSIGN/V2= SCAN1.HIT[1..SCAN1.NUMHITS].XYZ

V1isassignedtoanarrayof 10valueswhicharethe measuredXvaluesfromthe first10hitsofSCAN1. V2isassignedtoanarrayof pointsfromeachofthe centroidsofthehitsinthe scan.


UsingExpressionsandVariables 1469

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

SortingArrays PCDMISallowsyoutosortarraysineitherascendingordescendingorder.Thefollowingtwo expressionstakeanarrayandreturnasortedarray: Tosortinascendingorderuse:


SORTUP(<array>)

Tosortindescendingorderuse:
SORTDOWN(<array>)

Forexample,
ASSIGN/V1= ARRAY(5,8,3,9,2,6,1,7) ASSIGN/V2=SORTUP(V1) ASSIGN/V3=SORTDOWN(V1)

V1isassignedthearrayof"5,8,3,9,2,6,1,7" V2willholdthearrayvaluessortedinascending order:"1,2,3,5,6,7,8,9" V3willholdthearrayvaluessortedindescending order:"9,8,7,6,5,3,2,1"

ReturningtheGreatestorLeastIndexValuesfromanArray: Youcaninputanarrayintoafunctionandreturntheindexnumberoftheelementthathasthe greatestortheleastvaluebyusingthesefunctions: Toreturntheindexvalueofthe Toreturntheindexvalueofthe elementwiththegreatestvalue,use: elementwiththeleast value,use:


MAXINDEX(<array>) MININDEX(<array>)

Forexample,
ASSIGN/V1= ARRAY(5,8,3,9,2,6,1,7) ASSIGN/V2=MAXINDEX(V1)

V1isassignedthearrayof"5,8,3,9,2,6,1,7"

V2willholdthearray'sindexvalueof4.Theactual valueofthatarrayelementis9 V3willholdthearray'sindexvalueof7.Theactual ASSIGN/V3=MININDEX(V1) valueofthatarrayelementis1 Youcanthenusereturnedindexvaluestogettheactualarrayelementvalue. ReturningSortedIndexValuesfromanArray Youcaninputanarrayintoafunction,sortthearray'svaluesinascendingordescendingorder andthenreturntheindexvaluesbyusingthesefunctions: Toreturnthearray'sindexpositions Toreturnthearray'sindexpositionsin inorderoftheirvaluessortedfrom orderoftheirvaluessortedfromleast greatesttoleastuse: togreatestuse:
MAXINDICES(<array>) MINIDICES(<array>)

Forexample,
ASSIGN/V1= ARRAY(4,8,2,9,5,7) ASSIGN/V2=MAXINDICES(V1) ASSIGN/V3=MININDICES(V1)

V1isassignedthearrayof"4,8,2,9,5,7" V2willholdanarraywiththesevalues:"4,2,6,5,1,3" V3willholdanarraywiththesevalues:"3,1,5,6,2,4"

1470 UsingExpressionsandVariables

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ExampleofUsingArrayFunctionstoFindtheMinimumandMaximumPointsinaScan Themainpurposeofthehitarrayfunctionsdiscussedaboveistogiveyouaneasywaytofind theminimumandmaximumpointsinascan. TodimensionthepointfromSCAN1thathasthegreatestmeasuredXvalue,youcouldusethis expression:


ASSIGN/MAXPTINDEX=MAXINDEX(SCAN1.HIT[1..SCAN1.NUMHITS].X) D1=LOCATIONOFFEATURESCAN1.HIT[MAXPTINDEX]

TofindthethreehighestpointsintheZaxisofSCAN2,youcouldusethisexpression:
ASSIGN/MI=MAXINDICES(SCAN2.HIT[1..SCAN2.NUMHITS].Z) ASSIGN/THREEPOINTS=ARRAY(SCAN2.HIT[MI[1]].XYZ,SCAN2.HIT(MI[2]].XYZ, SCAN2.HIT[MI[3]].XYZ)

VariableArrays:
Variablearraysdonotneedtobedeclared.Variablearrayscomeintoexistenceviatheassign statementwhentheexpressionontherighthandsideoftheassignstatementevaluatestoan arrayorwhenthelefthandsideoftheassignstatementreferstoanelementinavariablearray.
Assign/V1=Array(3,4,5,6, 7) Assign/V2=V1[3] Assign/V1[4]=23

Create5elementarrayand assignsittoV1 AssignsV2thevalueofthe thirdelementinarrayV1:5 th Assigns4 elementofarray V1to23

Arraysarecreatedandallocateddynamically.Thusanarraycanbecreatedbyusinganarray referenceonthelefthandsideofanassignstatement.
Assign/V3[5]=8

Dynamicallycreatesarray th with5 elementsetequalto8

Whenreferencinganarrayelementthathasneverreceivedavalue,thearrayexpressionwill evaluateto0.
Assign/V3[5]=8 Assign/V4=V3[5] Assign/V5=V3[6]

V4issetequaltothevalue 8 IfthesixthelementofV3has neverbeenset,V5isset equalto0.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingExpressionsandVariables 1471

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Likeotherarraytypes,expressionscanbeusedwithinthesquarebrackets.
Assign/V3[5]=8 Assign/V4=V3[2+3]

V4issetequaltothevalue8

Variablearrayscanhavemultipledimensions.
Assign/V6=Array(Array(4, 7,2),Array(9,2,6))

Assign/V7=V6[2,1]

V6issettoa2by3 dimensionalarraywhere V6[1,1]equals4,V6[1,2] equals7,V6[1,3]equals2, V6[2,1]equals9,V6[2,2] equals2,andV6[2,3]equals 6. V7issettothevalue9

Variablearrayscanhavenegativeindexes:
Assign/V8[3]=5
rd The3 indexofarrayV8is setto5.

Arrayassignmentwilloverwritepreviousvalues:
Assign/V8="Hello" Assign/V8[2]=5

Assign/V8=9

ThevariableV8isequaltothe string"Hello" V8isnolongeroftypestring, butoftypearray,thesecond elementofwhichhasavalue of5. V8isnolongeranarray,but anintegerofvalue9.

Arrayscanbemadeupofmultipletypes:
Assign/V9=Array("Hello", 3,2.9,{FEAT1})

CreatesarrayV9with4 elements.Thefirstelementis astring,thesecondelement isaninteger,thethird elementisarealnumber,and thefourthelementisapointer toFEAT1.

OperatorsforExpressions
ThefollowingbasicoperatorsareavailableinsidePCDMIS:

1472 UsingExpressionsandVariables

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

+ Addition: <Expression>+<Expression>
Addsthetwoexpressionstogether.Inthecaseofstrings,stringsareconcatenated.

Subtraction: <Expression><Expression>
Subtractsthefirstexpressionfromthesecondexpression.

* Multiplication:<Expression>*<Expression>
Multipliesthetwoexpressions.

/ Division: <Expression>/<Expression>
Dividesfirstexpressionbythesecondexpression.

^ Exponentiation: <Expression>^<Expression>
Raisesthefirstexpressiontothepowerofthesecondexpression.

% Modulo: <Expression>%<Expression>
Returnstheremainderofoneexpressiondividedbytheother.

AdditiveInverse <Expression> Returnstheadditiveinverseoftheexpression. LogicalNot: !<Expression> Returnsthelogicalnotof theexpression.

== EqualTo: <Expression>==<Expression>
Evaluatesto1ifexpressionsareequal.Otherwise,itevaluatesto0.(Twoequalsigns areusedtodistinguishfromtheassignmentoperator=intheassignmentstatement).

<> NotEqualTo: <Expression><><Expression>


Evaluatesto1ifexpressionarenotequal.Otherwise,itevaluatesto0.

>

GreaterThan: <Expression>><Expression> Evaluatesto1iffirstexpressionisgreaterthansecondexpression.Otherwise,it evaluatesto0.

>= GreaterThanorEqualTo: <Expression>>=<Expression>


Evaluatesto1ifthefirstexpressionisgreaterthanorequaltothesecondexpression. Otherwise,itevaluatesto0.

<

LessThan: <Expression><<Expression> Evaluatesto1iffirstexpressionislessthanthesecondexpression.Otherwise,it evaluatesto0. LessThanorEqualTo: <Expression><=<Expression> Evaluatesto1ifthefirstexpressionislessthanorequaltothesecondexpression. Otherwise,itevaluatesto0.

<=

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingExpressionsandVariables 1473

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

AND LogicalAnd: <Expression>AND<Expression> Evaluatesto1ifbothexpressionsdoesnotevaluateto0.Otherwise,itevaluatesto0. OR LogicalOr: <Expression>OR<Expression> Evaluatesto1ifeitherexpressionsdoes notevaluateto0.Otherwise,itevaluatesto0.

() Parenthesis: (<Expression>)
Givesevaluationtoprecedencetoexpressioninsideofparenthesis.

Precedence
Expressionsareevaluatedwiththeprecedenceshownbelow(listedfromhighestprecedenceto lowestprecedence). HighestPrecedence Operands (unaryminus),!,(),functions(i.e.ABS,COS,STR,LEN,CROSS,etc.) ^ *,/,% +, ==,<>,<,<=,>,>= AND OR

LowestPrecedence

Functions
FunctionsarePCDMISspecificexpressionsoruserdefinedexpressionsthattakeparameters andreturnresults.Theparametersaresubstitutedintotheexpressionbeforetheexpressionis evaluated.

FunctionsList
ThefollowingalphabeticallistcontainsallthefunctionsavailabletoPCDMIS'sexpression language. ABS(mathematical) ACOS(mathematical) ANGLEBETWEEN(point) ARCSEGMENTENDINDEX(miscellaneous) ARCSEGMENTSTARTINDEX(miscellaneous) ARRAY(array) ASIN(mathematical) ATAN(mathematical) CHR(string) COS(mathematical) CROSS(point) DEG2RAD(mathematical) DELTA(point)

1474 UsingExpressionsandVariables

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

DIST2D(pointer) DIST3D(pointer) DOT(point) ELEMENT(string) EOF(miscellaneous) EOL(miscellaneous) EQUAL(array) EQUAL(string) EXP(mathematical) FORMAT(string) FUNCTION(function) GETCOMMAND(pointer) GETSETTING(string) GETTEXT(string) IF(miscellaneous) INDEX(string) ISIOCHANNELSET(miscellaneous) LEFT(string) LEN(array) LEN(pointer) LEN(string) LINESEGMENTENDINDEX(miscellaneous) LINESEGMENTSTARTINDEX(miscellaneous) LN(mathematical) LOG(mathematical) LOWERCASE(string) MAX(array) MID(string) MIN(array) ORD(string) PROBEDATA(miscellaneous) QUALTOOLDATA(miscellaneous) RAD2DEG(mathematical) RIGHT(string) ROUND(mathematical) SIN(mathematical) SQRT(mathematical) SYSTEMDATE(string) SYSTEMTIME(string) SYSTIME(string) TAN(mathematical) TUTORELEMENT(miscellaneous) UNIT(point) UPPERCASE(string)

StringFunctions
Thefollowingfunctionsareusedwithtextstrings. CHR

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingExpressionsandVariables 1475

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

CHR CharacterConversion: CHR(<Integer>) Returnsastring,whichconsistsofthecharactercorrespondingtotheASCIIdecimalvalue. ELEMENT ELEMENT Delimitedsubstringlocation: ELEMENT(<Integer>,<String1>,<String2>) Returnsthenthsubstring(element)fromstring2usingstring1asthedelimitingtextthat dividestheelementsinstring2.Forexample,ifstring2is"6,12,8,4,5" andstring1is"," thenthe5elementsthatcanbeindividuallyretrievedwiththeelementcommandare"6", "12","8","4",and"5". EQUAL EQUAL Caseinsensitivestringcomparison: EQUAL(<String>,<String>) Comparestwostrings(ignoringcase)todetermineiftheyareidentical.Returnsand integersetto1ifthestringsarethesame,and0iftheyarenot. FORMAT FORMATFormat: FORMAT(<String>,<Integer,double,orpoint>) Thisfunctiontakestwoexpressionsandreturnsaformattedstring,similartousingthe sprintffunctioninsideC++. Expression1shouldbeastringtypeandcontainsoneorthreeformat specifiers.Ifitisadifferenttype,theexpressionevaluatorattemptsto coerceittoastring.Thestringshouldcontainoneformatspecifierif Expression2isanintegerordoubletypesandthreeformatspecifiers (seeparagraphsbelow)ifExpression2isapointtype. Expression2isexpectedtobeoftypeinteger,double,orpoint.Ifa differenttypeisused,thevalueoftheexpressionis0.

FormatSpecifierforFormatFunction: Theformatspecifiershouldhavethesamesyntaxasaformatspecifierusedinthesprintf functionusedintheC++programminglanguage. Aformatspecifierconsistsofoptionalandrequiredfields,andhasthefollowingsyntax: %[flags][width][.precision]type Eachfieldoftheformatspecifieriseitherasinglecharacteroranumbersignifyinga particularformatoption.Thesimplestformatspecifierusesonlythepercentsignanda typecharacter(forexample,%d).Ifapercentsignisfollowedbyacharacterthathasno meaningasaformatfield,thecharacteriscopiedtoSTDOUT.Forexample,toprinta percentsigncharacter,use%%. Theoptionalflag,width,andprecisionfields,whichappearbeforethetypecharacter, controlotheraspectsoftheformatting.Thesearedescribedbelow:

1476 UsingExpressionsandVariables

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

flags Theseoptionalcharacterscontroloutputjustificationandtheprintingofsigns,blanks, decimalpoints,andoctal/hexadecimalprefixes.Morethanoneflagcanappearina formatspecifier. Herearethepossibleflags: Meaning:Leftaligntheresultwithinthegivenfieldwidth. Default:Rightalign. + Meaning:Prefixtheoutputvaluewithasign(+or)iftheoutputvalueisofa signedtype. Default:Signappearsonlyfornegativesignedvalues(). 0 Meaning:Ifwidthisprefixedwith0,zerosareaddeduntiltheminimumwidthis reached.If0andappear,the0isignored.If0isspecifiedwithanintegerformat (i,u,x,X,o,d)the0isignored. Default:Nopadding. blank('') Meaning:Prefixtheoutputvaluewithablankiftheoutputvalueissignedand positivetheblankisignoredifboththeblankand+flagsappear. Default:Noblankappears. # Meaning1: Whenusedwiththeo,x,orXtype,the#flagprefixesanynonzero outputvaluewith0,0x,or0X,respectively. Default1:Noprefixappears. Meaning2: Whenusedwiththee,E,orftype,the#flagforcestheoutputvalue tocontainadecimalpointinallcases. Default2:Decimalpointappearsonlyifdigitsfollowit. Meaning3: WhenusedwiththegorGformat,the#flagforcestheoutputvalue tocontainadecimalpointinallcasesandpreventsthetruncationoftrailingzeros. Default3:Decimalpointappearsonlyifdigitsfollowit.Trailingzerosare truncated. Note:Ignoredwhenusedwithd,i,oru. width Thissecondoptionalfield,orargument,controlstheminimumnumberofcharacters printed.Itisanonnegativedecimalinteger. Ifthenumberofcharactersintheoutputvalueislessthanthespecified width,blanksareaddedtotheleftortherightofthevaluesdepending onwhethertheflag(forleftalignment)isspecifieduntiltheminimum widthisreached. Ifwidthisprefixedwith0,zerosareaddeduntiltheminimumwidthis reached(notusefulforleftalignednumbers). Thewidthspecificationnevercausesavaluetobetruncated.Ifthe numberofcharactersintheoutputvalueisgreaterthanthespecified width,orifwidthisnotgiven,allcharactersofthevalueareprinted (subjecttotheprecisionspecificationlistedbelow).

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingExpressionsandVariables 1477

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

precision Thisthirdoptionalfield,orargument,specifiesthenumberofcharactersto beprinted,thenumberofdecimalplaces,orthenumberofsignificantdigits.Unlikethe widthspecification,theprecisionspecificationcancauseeithertruncationoftheoutput valueorroundingofafloatingpointvalue.Itisanonnegativedecimalinteger,preceded byaperiod(.) type Thisrequiredcharacterdetermineswhethertheassociatedargumentisaninteger,a double,orapoint.Thelistofavailabletypesincludes: dsigneddecimalinteger isigneddecimalinteger ounsignedoctalinteger uunsigneddecimalinteger xunsignedhexadecimalinteger,using"abcdef" Xunsignedhexadecimalinteger,using"ABCDEF" edoubleinexponentialform[]d.dddde[sign]ddd EsameaseexceptusesEtointroduceexponent fdoublewiththeform[]dddd.dddd g formatstoeithertheeorfformatdependingonwhichismorecompact GsameasgexceptandEisusedwhenintroducingtheexponent FORMATExample: ThisexampleshowsseveralstatementsusingtheFORMATfunctioninsideapartprogram:
ASSIGN/V1=PROBEDATA("OFFSET")

ASSIGN/V3=FORMAT("%.5f,%.5f, %.5f",V1)

ASSIGN/V4=1.123456789 ASSIGN/V5=FORMAT("%.5f",V4) +FORMAT("%.6f",V4)+ FORMAT("%.7f",V4)+

V1becomestypepoint representingtheOffsetsof thecurrentprobe.Usingthe valuesfromthepartprogram usedforthisexample,V1 becomes: <1.8898,1.8898, 5.704> V3becomestypestring. Thestringisformatted usingthepointobjectof variableV1.V3nowhas: 1.88976,1.88976, 5.70403 V4becomestypedouble. V5becomestypestring withthisvalue: 1.123461.123457

1478 UsingExpressionsandVariables

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

FORMAT("%.8f",V4) ASSIGN/V6A="ThevalueofV4 is:"+FORMAT("%.8f",V4)

ASSIGN/V6B=FORMAT("Thevalue ofV4is:%.8f",V4) ASSIGN/V7=4444

ASSIGN/V8=FORMAT("%o", INT(V7)) ASSIGN/V9=FORMAT("%u",INT( 1)) ASSIGN/V10=FORMAT("%x", INT(2143)) ASSIGN/V11=FORMAT("%X", INT(9567)) ASSIGN/V12=FORMAT("%e", 0.0005432) ASSIGN/V13=FORMAT("%E", 145.3421) ASSIGN/V14=FORMAT(",%6d,", INT(1)) ASSIGN/V15=FORMAT(",%6d,", INT(1))

1.12345681.12345679 V6Abecomestypestring withvalueof: ThevalueofV4is: 1.12345679 Theexpressionresult remainsthesameforsame asV6Aabove. V7becomestypedouble sinceallnumbersare assumeddoubleunless coercedtoaninteger. V8becomestypestring withthisvalue: 10534 V9becomestypestring withthisvalue: 4294967295 V10becomestypestring withthisvalue: 85f V11becomestypestring withthisvalue: 255F V12becomestypestring withthisvalue: 5.432000e004 V13becomestypestring withthisvalue: 1.453421E+002 V14becomestypestring withthisvalue: , 1, V15becomestypestring with thisvalue: ,1 ,

GETSETTING GETSETTINGThisallowsyoutoreturnvarioussettingsofPCDMISdependingonthe stringparameterinserted. GETSETTING(<String>) Youcanusethesestringparameters: "DCCMode"Returnsa1ifPCDMISisinDCCMode,0otherwise. "ManualMode"Returnsa1ifPDMISisinManualMode,0otherwise. "CurrentAlignment"Returnsastringofthecurrentalignment. "CurrentWorkplane"Returnsastringofthecurrentworkplane. "WorkplaneValue"Returnsanumericalvalueofthecurrentworkplane.
UsingExpressionsandVariables 1479

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

"PreHit"Returnsthecurrentprehitvalueasadoubleprecisionnumber. "Retract"Returnsthecurrentretractvalueasadoubleprecisionnumber. "Check"Returnsthecurrentcheckvalueasadoubleprecisionnumber. "TouchSpeed"ReturnsthecurrentTouchSpeedvalueasadoubleprecisionnumber. "MoveSpeed"ReturnsthecurrentMoveSpeedvalueasa doubleprecisionnumber. "FlyMode"Returnsa1ifPCDMISusestheFlyMode,0otherwise. "Ph9present"Returnsa1ifthePh9/Ph10ispresent,0otherwise. "ManualCMM"Returns1iftheCMMisamanualCMM,0otherwise. "LangStr(<NumberorID>)"ReturnsastringfromPCDMIS'sresourcesinthecurrent languagefromaresourceIDnumberorfromoneoftheseIDs: "Yes","No","Oper","Rept","Input","Doc","YesNo","Readout","Internal","External", "Rect","Polr","Out","In","Least_Sqr","Min_Sep","Max_Insc","Min_CircSc", "Fixed_Rad","Workplane","Xaxis","YAxis","ZAxis","Xplus","Xminus","YPlus", "YMinus","ZPlus","ZMinus","Point","Plane","Line","Circle","Sphere","Cylinder", "Round_Slot","Square_slot","Cone",or"None". Ifthevalueyouuseisapositivenumber,PCDMISpullsthestringfromitsresource.dll file.Ifyouuseanegativenumber,PCDMISpullsthestringfromitsstrings.dllfile(the stringstable). "ExtendedSheetMetal"Returnsa1iftheShowExtendedSheetMetalOptions checkboxisselectedinsidetheSetUpOptionsdialogbox,0otherwise. "LastHitMove(X)"ReturnstheXvalueofthemostrecentHIT/BASICorMOVE/POINT command.PCDMISmustbeinDCCmodeforthistowork. "LastHitMove(Y)"ReturnstheYvalueofthemostrecentHIT/BASICorMOVE/POINT command.PCDMISmustbeinDCCmodeforthistowork. "LastHitMove(Z)"ReturnstheZvalueofthemostrecentHIT/BASICorMOVE/POINT command.PCDMISmustbeinDCCmodeforthistowork. TodeterminewhetherPCDMISisinMANUALorDCCmode,considerthisexampleof usingtheGETSETTINGfunction:

Example: ASSIGN/DCCMODEVAR=GETSETTING("DCCMode") givesthevariableDCCMODEVARthevalueof1ifPCDMISisinDCCMode,otherwise0. ASSIGN/MANMODEVAR=GETSETTING("ManualMode") givesthevariableMANMODEVARthevalueof1ifPCDMISisinManualMode,otherwise0. Todeterminethecurrentworkplane,considerthisexample: Example: ASSIGN/WORKPLANE_ID=GETSETTING("CurrentWorkplane") givesthevariableWORKPLANE_IDthestringvalueofthecurrentworkplane(ZPLUS,ZMINUS etc.). ASSIGN/WORKPLANE_VALUE=GETSETTING("WorkplaneValue") givesthevariableWORKPLANE_VALUEanumericalvaluerepresentingtheworkplane.The workplaneshavethesevaluesassociatedwiththem:ZPLUS=0,ZMINUS=3,XPLUS=1, XMINUS=4,YPLUS=2,orYMINUS=5. GETTEXT GETTEXT Returnsthecurrenttextfromthespecifieddatafield:GETTEXT(<Stringor Integer>,<Integer>,<Pointer>)

1480 UsingExpressionsandVariables

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Thisfunctionhasthreefields. FirstFieldDataFieldNumberorDescription Thefirstfieldcanbeeitherastring(whichisthedescriptionofthedatafield)orthedata fieldnumber. Toobtainthesevalues: 1. 2. 3. PlacePCDMISinCommandMode.RightclickanywhereintheEditwindow.A shortcutmenuappears. Fromtheshortcutmenu,selectChangePopupDisplayandthenDataType Information. PositionthemouseoveradatafieldintheEditwindow.Thetypedescription, typenumberandthetypeindexforthatdataitemaredisplayed.

Note:Sincethetypedescriptionmaybedifferentfordifferentlanguages,usethetypenumberif you'reusingthepartprogramunderalanguageotherthanthecurrentone. SecondFieldTypeIndex Thesecondfieldisthetypeindex.Thisfieldisusuallyzero.Thecorrectvalueforthisfield canbeobtainedinthesamemannerasdescribedforthefirstfield. ThirdFieldCommandPointer Thethirdfieldisacommandpointer.Itpointstothecommandcontainingthefieldfrom whichthetextisbeingobtained.Thisfieldcanbespecifiedeitherbyusingcommand pointernotation(i.e.{F15})orbyusingtheGetCommandexpressionasshowninthis example. Example: ASSIGN/V1=GETTEXT("BestFitMathType",0,{F15}) ThiscommandassignsV1thecurrentvalueofthebestfitmathtypetoggleoffeatureF15. ASSIGN/V2=GETCOMMAND("Comment","TOP",1) ASSIGN/V3=GETTEXT("CommentType",1,V2) V2 isassignedapointertothefirstcommentfromthetopofthepartprogram. V3isassignedthevalueoftheCommentTypetogglefield. Ifthefirstcommentinthepart programisacommenttobedisplayedtotheoperator,thevalueofV3willbethestring"OPER". Seethe"PointerFunctions"forinformationonsettingapointertoacommand. INDEX INDEX SubstringLocation: INDEX(<String>,<String>) Returnsthelocationofthesecondstringwithinthefirststring.Thefirstletterofstringis1. Areturnvalueofzeroindicatesthatthesubstringisnotfoundinthestring. LEFT LEFT Leftncharactersofstring: LEFT(<String>,<String>) Returnsastringconsistingofthenleftmostcharactersspecifiedbythesecondexpression fromthestringspecifiedinthefirstexpression.Firstexpressioncoercedtotypestring, secondexpressioncoercedtotypeinteger.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingExpressionsandVariables 1481

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

LEN LEN Lengthofstring: LEN(<String>) Returnsthenumberofcharactersofthestring. LOWERCASE LOWERCASE Createlowercasestring: LOWERCASE(<String>) Returnsastringthatisthelowercaseequivalentofstring. MID MID Middlencharactersofastring: MID(<String>,<Integer>,<OptionalInteger>) Returnsasubstringconsistingofthecharactersofthestringspecifiedinthefirst parameterstartingatthepositionspecifiedbythesecondparameterforalengthofn charactersasspecifiedbythethirdparameter.Ifthethirdparameterisnotsupplied,the restofthestringisreturned. ORD ORD OrdinalConversion: ORD(<String>) ReturnstheintegerASCIIvalueoffirstletterofthestring.(0255). RIGHT RIGHT Rightncharactersofstring: RIGHT(<String>,<Integer>) Returnsastringconsistingofthenrightmostcharactersspecifiedbyintegerfromthe string. SYSTEMDATE SYSTEMDATE SystemDate: SYSTEMDATE(<DateFormatString>) Returnsthedateformattedstringwiththecurrentdatedetailsfilledin.Forexample,the commandSYSTEMDATE("MM/dd/yy")willreturnthestring"03/15/99"ifthecurrentdate isMarch15,1999. Usethefollowingstringelementstocreatethedatestring.Elementsmustbeinthesame caseasshownbelow(MMinsteadofmm).Nondatecharacters(suchasspaces) appearingbetweendateformatstringelementswillappearintheoutputstringinthesame locationastheinputstring.Charactersintheinputstringdelimitedbysinglequoteswill appearinthesamelocationintheoutputstringwithoutthesinglequotes. d Dayofthemonthasdigits.Noleadingzeroforsingledigitdates. ddDayofthemonthasdigits.Leadingzerousedforsingledigitdates. dddThreeletterabbreviationforthedayoftheweek. ddddFullnameforthecurrentdayoftheweek.

1482 UsingExpressionsandVariables

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MMonthasdigitswithnoleadingzerosforsingledigitmonths. MMMonthasdigitswithleadingzeroforsingledigitmonths. MMMMonthasthreeletterabbreviation. MMMMFullnameofMonth. yYearasdigitswithnoleadingzerosforsingledigityears. yyYearasdigitswithleadingzeroforsingledigityears. yyyyYearrepresentedbyfourdigits. SYSTEMTIME SYSTEMTIME FormattedSystemTime:SYSTEMTIME(<TimeFormatString>) Returnsthetimeformattedstringwiththecurrenttimedetailsfilledin.Forexample,the commandSYSTEMTIME("hh:mm:sstt")willreturnthestring"11:29:40PM"ifthatisthe currenttime. Usethefollowingstringelementstocreatethetimestring.Elementsmustbeinthesame caseasshownbelow(ttinsteadofTT).Nontimecharacters(suchasspaces)appearing betweentimeformatstringelementswillappearintheoutputstringinthesamelocationas theinputstring.Charactersintheinputstringdelimitedbysinglequoteswillappearinthe samelocationintheoutputstringwithoutthesinglequotes. h Hourswithnoleadingzeroforsingledigithours12hourclock hhHourswithleadingzeroforsingledigithours12hourclock HHourswithnoleadingzeroforsingledigithours24hourclock HHHourswithloadingzeroforsingledigithours24hourclock mMinuteswithnoleadingzeroforsingledigitminutes mmMinuteswithleadingzeroforsingledigitminutes sSecondswithnoleadingzeroforsingledigitseconds ssSecondswithleadingzeroforsingledigitseconds tOnecharactertimemarkerstring,suchasAorP ttMulticharactertimemarkerstring,suchasAMorPM SYSTIME

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingExpressionsandVariables 1483

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

SYSTIME SystemTime: SYSTIME() Returnsastringwiththecurrentsystemtime.ThisfunctiondiffersfromtheSYSTEMTIME functiondescribedabove.Itautomaticallyreturnstheday,thedate,thetime,followedby theyear. Example: "FriMay0213:50:211997" Note:Thereturnedstring,showingcurrentsystemtime,isadjustedtolocaltimezonesettings. UPPERCASE UPPERCASE Createsuppercasestring: UPPERCASE(<String>) Returnsastringthatistheuppercaseequivalentofstring.

MathematicalFunctions
ABS ABS AbsoluteValue: ABS(<Double>) Returnsabsolutevalueofinput. EXP EXP Exponential: EXP(<Double>) Returnstheexponentialoftheexpression. LOG LOG LogBase10: LOG(<Double>) Returnsthelogbase10oftheexpression. LN LN NaturalLog: LN(<Double>) Returnsthenaturallogarithmoftheexpression. ROUND ROUND Rounding: ROUND(<Double>) Returnstheinputroundedtothenearestinteger. SQRT SQRT SquareRoot: SQRT(<Double>) Returnsthesquarerootoftheinput. TrigonometryFunctions Important:Eachofthetrigonometryfunctionsbydefaulttakesandreturnsradians.Ifyouwant valuesindegrees,usetheRAD2DEGfunctiondescribedbelow.

1484 UsingExpressionsandVariables

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ACOS ACOS ArcCosine: ACOS(<Double>) Returnsthearccosineoftheexpression.Forexample,ACOS(5.0)returns0.Ingeneral, ACOS(<expression>)returnsthearccosineofthevalueoftheexpression. ASIN ASIN ArcSine: ASIN(<Double>) Returnsthearcsineoftheinput. ATAN ATAN ArcTangent: ATAN(<Double>) Returnsthearctangentoftheinput. COS COS Cosine: COS(<Double>) Returnsthecosineoftheinput. DEG2RAD DEG2RAD DegreestoRadians: DEG2RAD(<Double>) Returnstheinputdividedby360andmultipliedby2p.Convertsfromdegreestoradians. RAD2DEG RAD2DEG RadianstoDegrees: RAD2DEG(<Double>) Returnstheinputmultipliedby360anddividedby2p.Convertsfromradianstodegrees. SIN SIN Sine: SIN(<Double>) Returnsthesineoftheinput. TAN TAN Tangent: TAN(<Double>) Returnsthetangentoftheinput. Note:Functionswheretheinputisoutofrange(i.e.,forACOS,ASIN,LOG,LN,SQRTetc.that wouldcausethecomputertocrash)return0.

PointFunctions
ANGLEBETWEEN ANGLEBETWEEN AngleBetween: ANGLEBETWEEN(<Point>,<Point>) Returnstheanglebetweenthetwovectorsindegrees.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingExpressionsandVariables 1485

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

CROSS CROSS CrossProduct: CROSS(<Point>,<Point>) Returnvalueisoftypepointandisthecrossproductoffirstandsecondexpressions. DELTA DELTA VectorOffset: DELTA(<Point>,<Point>,<Double>) Thefunctiontakesthefirstexpression(point)andcalculatesanewpointinthedirection ofthesecondexpression(vector)atanoffsetofthethirdexpression.Forexample, DELTA(MPOINT(0,0,0),MPOINT(1,0,0),10) returnsthepoint10,0,0. DOT DOT DotProduct: DOT(<Point>,<Point>) Returnsthedotproductofthetwopoints(vectors). UNIT UNIT : UnitVector: UNIT(<Point>) Returnsthepointdividedbyitslength.Forexample,UNIT(MPOINT(0,0,0)) returnsthe point0,0,1.

PointerFunctions
DIST2D DIST2D: 2dDistance:DIST2D(<FEAT1>,<FEAT2>,<FEAT3>) Calculatesthe2ddistancebetweenFeat1andFeat2afterprojectingthemontoFeat3. DIST3D DIST3D: 3DDistance:DIST3D(<FEAT1>,<FEAT2>) Calculatesthe3DdistancebetweenFeat1andFeat2. GETCOMMAND GETCOMMAND: Obtainsapointertothecommandspecifiedbythe parameters: GETCOMMAND(<IntegerorString>,<String>,<Integer> FirstParameterCommandInfoField Thefirstparameteristhecommandinfofield.Itspecifiesthecommandtypeforwhichto search.Thefollowingcanbepassedin: Acommanddescriptionstring Acommandtypenumber Theuniquenumberidentifier Iftheuniqueidofthecommandispassedin,nootherargumentsarenecessary.

1486 UsingExpressionsandVariables

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Toobtainthecommanddescriptionstring,thecommandtypenumber,andthecommands uniquenumberidentifier: 1. RightclickintheEditwindow 2. ChooseChangePopupDisplay|CommandInformation(PCDMISmustbein CommandMode). 3. Positionthemouseoverthedesiredcommand.Thecommanddescription,typenumber, anduniquenumberidentifierforthatcommandwillbedisplayedinthepopup. SecondParameterSearchDirection Thesecondparameteristhesearchdirection.Legalvaluesinclude: Value UP Description Thisvaluesignifiesthesearch shouldstartatthecurrent commandandproceed upwards Thisvaluesignifiesthesearch shouldstartatthecurrent commandandproceed downwards. This valuesignifiesthatthe searchshouldbeginatthe beginningofthepartprogramin adownwardsdirection Thisvaluesignifiesthatthe searchshouldbeginwiththe lastobjectinthepartprogram inanupwardsdirection

DOWN

TOP

BOTTOM

ThirdParameterWhichInstancetoFind Thethirdparameterindicateswhichinstanceofthecommandshouldbefound. Example: IfthepartprogramhasfourinstancesofaSet/Activetipandyouwouldliketoobtaina pointertothesecondinstancefromthetop,"2"wouldbepassedinasthethirdparameterand "TOP"wouldbepassedinasthesecondparameterasshownhere. ASSIGN/V1=GETCOMMAND("SetActiveTip","TOP",2) TheGETCOMMANDfunctioncanbeusedtosupplythethirdparametertotheGETTEXTstring function.See"StringFunctions"forinformationonGETTEXT. LEN LEN: Pointerloopcount:LEN(<POINTER>) Returnsthenumberoftimesapointerhasbeeninaloop.Forexample,iffeatureCIR1is inaloopthatiterates10times,youcanstorehowmanytimesCIR1hasbeenmeasured inavariable,byusinganASSIGNstatementlikethis:ASSIGN/V1=LEN({CIR1})

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingExpressionsandVariables 1487

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ArrayFunctions
ARRAY: CreateArray: ARRAY(<EXPRESSION1>,<EXPRESSION2>, <EXPRESSION3>,) Createsanarrayobjectwitharrayelementsindicatedbyexpressionparameters.The arrayelementsarenumberedwithabaseindexof1. EQUAL: ElementbyElementArrayComparison: EQUAL(<ARRAY>,<ARRAY>) Comparesthetwoarrayselementbyelementtodetermineifthearraysholdthesame elements.Ifthetwoarraysarenotthesamesizeorifanyoftheelements inonearraydo notmatchthecorrespondingelementintheotherarray,thefunctionreturns0.Otherwise, thefunctionreturns1. LEN: Arrayelementcount:LEN(<ARRAY>) Returnsthenumberofelementsinthearray. MAX:Largestarrayelement:MAX(<ARRAY>) Returnsthelargestelementinthearray.Itemsinthearrayarecomparednumericallyor alphabetically. MIN: Smallestarrayelement:MIN(<ARRAY>) Returnsthesmallestelementinthearray.Itemsinthearrayarecomparednumericallyor alphabetically.

MiscellaneousFunctions
ARCSEGMENTENDINDEX: Thisreturnstheindexnumberoftheendingpointofaspecified arcsegmentfromascan: ARCSEGMENTENDINDEX(<ID>,<index>,<tol1>,<tol2>) <ID>ThefirstparameterisastringvalueoftheIDofthescanonwhichthisfunctionpulls outtheindexnumberoftheendingpointforthearc.ThiscaneitherbetheIDinquotation marksoranyexpressionthatwhencoercedtotypestringendsupbeingtheIDofascan. <index>Thesecondparameteristheindexnumberforthearcfromwhichyouwanttoget theendingpointnumber.Thisisaonebasedvalue.Forexample,thearcindexnumber wouldbe3ifyouwanttheendingpointnumberforthethirdarcinthescan. <tol1>Thethirdparameteristhegeneralfeaturetolerance.Itisamaximumformerror usedtobreakupthescanintolinesandarcs. <tol2>Thefourthparameteristherefinetolerance.Generally,thistightertoleranceisused todroppointsfromeitherendofthefeatureuntiltheformerrorofthesegmentiswithin thistolerance. OnceyouhavetheStartandEndindicesforanarc,youcanusethesepointsinsidea constructedfeaturetoconstructaseparatearcfeature.See"ExampleofaLineFeatureCreated fromaScanSegment"forasimilarexample. ARCSEGMENTSTARTINDEX:Thisreturnstheindexnumberofthestartingpointofa specifiedarcsegmentfromascan:ARCSEGMENTSTARTINDEX(<ID>, <index>,<tol1>,<tol2>).

1488 UsingExpressionsandVariables

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

<ID>ThefirstparameterisastringvalueoftheIDofthescanonwhichthisfunctionpulls outtheindexnumberofthestartpointforthearc.ThiscaneitherbetheIDinquotation marksoranyexpressionthatwhencoercedtotypestringendsupbeingtheIDofascan. <index>Thesecondparameteristheindexnumberforthearcfromwhichyouwanttoget thestartpointnumber.Thisisaonebasedvalue.Forexample,thearcindexnumber wouldbe3ifyouwantthestartpointnumberforthethirdarcinthescan. <tol1>Thethirdparameteristhegeneralfeaturetolerance.Itisamaximumformerror usedtobreakupthescanintolinesandarcs. <tol2>Thefourthparameteristherefinetolerance.Generally,thistightertoleranceisused todroppointsfromeitherendofthefeatureuntiltheformerrorofthesegmentiswithin thistolerance. OnceyouhavetheStartandEndindicesforanarc,youcanusethesepointsinsidea constructedfeaturetoconstructaseparatearcfeature.See"ExampleofaLineFeatureCreated fromaScanSegment"forasimilarexample. EOFandEOL:Forinformationonthesefunctions,see"CheckingfortheEndofaFileortheEnd ofaLine"inthe"UsingFileInput/Output"chapter. FUNCTION:Createsafunction: FUNCTION((<PARAM1>,<PARAM2>), <EXPRESSION>) Createsafunctionthattakesthenumberofparametersindicatedbytheparameterlistand substitutesthoseparametersintotheexpression. ThefirstitemwhenusingtheFUNCTIONkeywordistheparameterlist. Thislistconsistsofparameternamesseparatedbycommas. Theparameterlistisalsosurroundedbyparenthesis. Theseconditemistheexpression. Theexpressionwillcontaintheparameternameswheretheparametersshouldbe substitutedwhenthefunctioniscalled.

Seethe"GenericFunctionExample"topicforanexample. IF: Conditionalexpressionevaluation: IF(<EXPRESSION1>,<EXPRESSION2>, <EXPRESSION3>) Ifexpression1evaluatestotrue(nonzero)thenthisfunctionreturnsthevalueofexpression2 otherwise,thisfunctionreturnsthevalueofexpression3. ISIOCHANNELSET:Thisexpressiontakestwoparameters.Thefirstparameterindicates whichI/Ochannelwillbechecked(therangeofnumbersthatisavailableisbasedonthe machinebeingused).Thesecondparameterdetermineswhetherthesoftwarewillquery themasterorslavemachine.Ifthesecondparameterissetto1(one)itwillquerythe slavecontroller.Ifthesecondparameterisnotpresent(orissettozero),thentheIO Channelwillquerythemastercontroller.Themastercontrollerisyouronlyoptionifyou arenotinmultiplearmmode. Note:Ifaninvalidprobedatatype,tipid,probefilename,orchannelnumberissupplied,the expressionwillevaluateto0.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingExpressionsandVariables 1489

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Example:
ASSIGN/V4=ISIOCHANNELSET(3,0)

V4willequal1 (evaluatetotrue) whenthechannel isset,otherwiseit willequal0 (evaluatetofalse).

LINESEGMENTENDINDEX:Thisreturnstheindexnumberoftheendingpointofaspecified linesegmentfromascan:ARCSEGMENTSTARTINDEX(<ID>,<index>,<tol1>,<tol2>). <ID>ThefirstparameterisastringvalueoftheIDofthescanonwhichthisfunctionpulls outtheindexnumberoftheendingpointforthelinesegment.ThiscaneitherbetheIDin quotationmarksoranyexpressionthatwhencoercedtotypestringendsupbeingtheID ofascan. <index>Thesecondparameteristheindexnumberforthelinesegmentfromwhichyou wanttogettheendpointnumber.Thisisaonebasedvalue.Forexample,theline segmentindexnumberwouldbe3ifyouwanttheendpointnumberforthethirdlinein thescan. <tol1>Thethirdparameteristhegeneralfeaturetolerance.Itisamaximumformerror usedtobreakupthescanintolinesandarcs. <tol2>Thefourthparameteristherefinetolerance.Generally,thistightertoleranceisused todroppointsfromeitherendofthefeatureuntiltheformerrorofthesegmentiswithin thistolerance. OnceyouhavetheStartandEndindicesforalinesegment,youcanusethesepointsinsidea constructedfeaturetoconstructaseparatelinefeature.See"ExampleofaLineFeatureCreated fromaScanSegment"foranexample. LINESEGMENTSTARTINDEX:Thisreturnstheindexnumberofthestartingpointofa specifiedlinesegmentfromascan:ARCSEGMENTSTARTINDEX(<ID>, <index>,<tol1>,<tol2>). <ID>ThefirstparameterisastringvalueoftheIDofthescanonwhichthisfunctionpulls outtheindexnumberofthestartpointforthelinesegment.ThiscaneitherbetheIDin quotationmarksoranyexpressionthatwhencoercedtotypestringendsupbeingtheID ofascan. <index>Thesecondparameteristheindexnumberforthelinesegmentfromwhichyou wanttogetthestartpointnumber.Thisisaonebasedvalue.Forexample,theline segmentindexnumberwouldbe3ifyouwantthestartpointnumberforthethirdlinein thescan. <tol1>Thethirdparameteristhegeneralfeaturetolerance.Itisamaximumformerror usedtobreakupthescanintolinesandarcs. <tol2>Thefourthparameteristherefinetolerance.Generally,thistightertoleranceisused todroppointsfromeitherendofthefeatureuntiltheformerrorofthesegmentiswithin thistolerance.

1490 UsingExpressionsandVariables

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

OnceyouhavetheStartandEndindicesforalinesegment,youcanusethesepointsinsidea constructedfeaturetoconstructaseparatelinefeature.See"ExampleofaLineFeatureCreated fromaScanSegment"foranexample. PROBEDATA: Returnsdataaboutthecurrentorspecified probe: PROBEDATA(<OPTPROBEDATATYPE>,<OPTTIPID>, <OPTPROBEFILENAME>) OPTPROBEDATATYPE: Optionalparameterwhichspecifieswhatprobedatathe expressionshouldreturn.Ifthisparameterisnotsupplied,thecurrenttipIDisreturned. Thisparameterisoftypestring.Anyexpressionthatevaluatestoavalidstring expressioncanbeputinthefirstexpressionslot.Validstringexpressions(notcase sensitive)forthefirstparameterincludethefollowing.Thesearestringexpressionsand shouldbeinsidedoublequotationmarks: "Offset"MeasuredtipX,Y,Zoffset.Returnstypepoint. "Vector"TipVector.Returnstypepoint. "A"TipAAngle.Returnstypedouble. "B"TipBAngle.Returnstypedouble. "Diam(eter)" Measuredtipdiameter.Thefirstfourlettersarerequired"Diam",butcould includemorelettersuptothefullname.Returnstypedouble. "Thick(ness)"Measuredtipthickness.Thefirstfivelettersarerequired"Thick",butcould includemorelettersuptothefullname.Returnstypedouble. "Date"Datethetipwaslastqualified.Returnstypestring. "Time"Timethetipwaslastqualified.Returnstypestring. "ID"TipID.Defaultparameter.Returnstypestring. "PrbRdv"Theprobesradialdeviation.Returnstypedouble. "Standarddeviation"Theprobesstandarddeviation.Returnstypedouble. "C" TheCangleofaCW43lightprobehead.Returnstypeinteger. Note:Addinga"T"infrontof"Offset","Diameter",or"Thickness"willreturnthetheoretical information(i.e.TOFFSET,TDIAMETER,andTTHICKNESS). OPTTIPID:Thisoptionalparameterspecifiesthetiptobeusedwhenobtainingtheprobe dataspecifiedinthefirstexpression.Ifnotsupplied,thecurrenttipisused.This parametershouldbetypestring. OPTPROBEFILENAME:Thisoptionalparameterspecifiestheprobefilenametobeusedin obtainingtheprobedata.Ifnotsupplied,thecurrentprobefileisused. Examples:
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual UsingExpressionsandVariables 1491

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ASSIGN/V1=PROBEDATA() ASSIGN/V2=PROBEDATA("TOFFSET", "T1A45B0")

ASSIGN/V3=PROBEDATA("Date", "T1A90B90","MYPROB")

V1issettocurrent tipid(i.e."T1A0B0") V2issettothe theoreticalprobe offsetforthetip T1A45B0 V3issettoastring representingthe datetipT1A90B90of theprobefile MYPROBwaslast qualified.

TUTORELEMENT: WiththeadditionoftheTutortranslator,PCDMISversion3.5and abovesupportsthenewintrinsicTutorElementfunction.Thisfunctiontakesoneargument, eitheranumberorastring(astringwouldbetheIDofafeature). Thisfunctionworkswiththevariabletype,Structures.See"Structures"forexplanationsof structureandsubelements. Examples:


ASSIGN/E=TUTORELEMENT(1)

ASSIGN/WM=TUTORELEMENT(n)

ASSIGN/CIR1E=TUTORELEMENT("CIR1")

Createsasingle TutorElement Structure Foranynumber over1,createsan arrayof nTutor ElementStructures CopiesDatafrom featureCIR1intothe TutorElement Structures.

TheTutorElementstructurecurrentlyhasthefollowingsubelements: SubElement ID TYPE X,Y,Z PR PA CX CY CZ DM DM2 DS A Description StringoftheFeature'sID INTEGER(FTYPE) X,Y,andZcoordinate values PolarRadius PolarAngle I J K Diameter1 Diameter2 Distancefromtheorigin Angle

1492 UsingExpressionsandVariables

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

AXY AngleintheXYplane AYZ AngleintheYZplane AZX AngleintheZXplane F FormError SDEV StandardDeviation TP TruePosition QUALTOOLDATA:Thisfunctionreturnsdataaboutthecurrentorspecifiedcalibration tool.Ithasthissyntax: QUALTOOLDATA(<TOOLINFO>,<TOOLID>,<FACENUMBER>) Thisfunctiontakesuptothreeparameters.Itneedsatleastoneparametertoreturnany data: Thefirstparameter,<TOOLINFO>,isastringthatspecifiesthetypeofinformationto returnaboutthecalibrationtool. Ifyoudon'tpassthisparameter,thisfunctionreturnsthe nameofthecurrentorspecifiedcalibrationtool. "DIAM"Thisreturnsthediameterofthetoolasadoublevalue. "ID"Thisreturnsthenameofthetoolasastringvalue.

"LENGTH"Thisactsthesameas"DIAM".Italsoreturnsthediameterofthe toolasadoublevalue. "OVERRIDEIJK"ThisreturnsthesearchoverrideIJKvectorasapoint value. "POLYDIAM"Thisreturnsthediameterofthespecifiedpolyhedralfaceasa doublevalue. "POLYIJK"ThisreturnstheIJKvectorofthespecifiedpolyhedralfaceasa pointvalue. "POLYXYZ"ThisreturnstheXYZcenterofthespecifiedpolyhedralfaceas apoint value. "SHANKIJK"ThisreturnstheIJKvectoroftheshankasapointvalue.

"TYPE"Thisreturnsthetypeoftoolasanintegervalue(0forasphere,1 foraslavesphere,2forapolyhedral,3foraslavepolyhedral). "WIDTH"Thisparameterisnolongerused. "XYZ"ThisreturnstheXYZlocationofthetoolasapointvalue.

Thesecondparameter,<TOOLID>,isastringthatspecifiesthenameforthecalibrationtool forwhichtheuserwouldliketoreceive information.Ifyoudon'tpassthisparameter,PC

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingExpressionsandVariables 1493

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

DMISassumesyouwantinformationfromthecurrentcalibrationtool.Thestringisnot casesensitive. Thethirdparameter,<FACENUMBER>,youonlyneedwhenworkingwithapolyhedral calibrationtoolandonlywhenthefirstparameteris"POLYXYZ","POLYIJK",or "POLYDIAM". Thisisanintegervaluethatspecifiesthefaceofthepolyhedraltooltouse inordertoobtaindata. Examples:


ASSIGN/VDIAM= QUALTOOLDATA("DIAM","SPHERE_1_IN")

ASSIGN/VID=QUALTOOLDATA("ID")

ASSIGN/VTYPE=QUALTOOLDATA("TYPE")

ASSIGN/VPOLYDIAM= QUALTOOLDATA("POLYDIAM","POLYTEST",3)

Givesthevariable VDIAMthediameter ofthetool SPHERE_1_IN. Givesthevariable VID thecurrent tool'sname. Givesthevariable VTYPEthecurrent tool'stype. Givesthevariable VPOLYDIAMthe diameterofface3 onthepolyhedral tool,POLYTEST.

FunctionExamples
Belowaresomedifferentexamplesoffunctionsthatmayhelpyouincreatingandusingyourown functions: GenericFunctionExample FunctionsPassedasVariablesExample FunctionwithMultipleParametersExample FunctionsCreatingOtherFunctionsExample FunctionsAsMembersofanArrayExample FunctionsDefinedRecursivelyExample

GenericFunctionExample

Assign/MYFUNC= FUNCTION((X,Y,Z),X*3+Y*2+ Z)

Createsauserdefined functionandassignsittothe variableMYFUNC.The functiontakesthree parameters,X,Y,andZ. Xismultipliedby3.

1494 UsingExpressionsandVariables

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Yismultipliedby2. Zsimplyholdsthepassed value. ThetotalofX+Y+Ziswhat getsreturned. AssignsV1thevalue30by evaluatingtheparameters passedintothefunction MYFUNC(7,2,5).7isthe parameterandissubstituted whereXoccursinthe expressionportionofthe functiondefinition.Thus,X*3 becomes7*3,or21. 2issubstitutedwhereY occurs,thusY*2becomes2*2, or4. 5issubstitutedwhereZ occurs. Thevaluesarethenalladded together(21+4+5)and passedtoV1.

Assign/V1=MYFUNC(7,2,5)

FunctionsPassedasVariablesExample
Functionscanbepassedasvariables.ThefollowingexamplebuildsontheGenericFunction Exampleabove:
Assign/NEWFUNC=MYFUNC

Assign/V3=NEWFUNC(12,2,3)

SetsthevariableNEWFUNCto havethesamefunctionthat MYFUNChas. AssignsV3tohavethevalue 43fromtheevaluated expressionswithinthefunction (36+4+3).

FunctionwithMultipleParametersExample
Functionscanhavemultipleparameters:
Assign/ADDANDDOUBLE= FUNCTION((A,B),2*(A+B))

Assign/V2=ADDANDDOUBLE(4,

Createsafunctionandassigns ittothefunction ADDANDDOUBLE.The functiontakestwoparameters, addsthemtogetherandthen multipliestheresultby2. AssignsV2thevalue18.The


UsingExpressionsandVariables 1495

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

5)

parameters4and5are substitutedintotheexpression portionofthefunction,thus becoming2*(4+5).

FunctionsCreatingOtherFunctionsExample
Functionscancreateotherfunctions.
Assign/COMPOSE=FUNCTION((F, G),FUNCTION((X),G(F(X))))

Assign/ADD2=FUNCTION((X), X+2) Assign/ADD3=FUNCTION((X), X+3) Assign/ADD5=COMPOSE(ADD2, ADD3) Assign/V5=ADD5(3)

AssignsCOMPOSEtobea functionthattakestwo functionsasparametersand createsanewfunctionusing thetwofunctions. AssignsADD2tobea functionthataddstwotothe parameterpassedin. AssignsADD3tobea functionthataddsthreetothe parameterpassedin. AssignsADD5tobea functioncomposedofthe functionsADD2andADD3. AssignsV5tohavethevalue V8.

FunctionsAsMembersofanArrayExample
Functionscanbemembersofanarray.
Assign/ANARRAY=ARRAY(3, FACTORIAL,"HelloWorld", ADD5)

Assign/V6=ANARRAY[2](4)

Assign/V7= ANARRAY[2](ANARRAY[4] (ANARRAY[1]))

AssignsANARRAYtobean arrayof4elements:anumber (3),afunction(FACTORIAL),a string,("HelloWorld"),anda function(Add5). Thesecondelementof ANARRAYisthefunction FACTORIAL.Theparameter 4ispassedintothisfunction andtheresultof24is assignedtoV6. Fromtheinsideout: Thefirst elementofANARRAY(3)is passedtothefunctionofthe fourtharrayelement(Add5). Theresult,8,ispassedtothe functionofthesecondarray element(FACTORIAL)and assignedtoV7.V7receivesa valueof40320.

1496 UsingExpressionsandVariables

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

FunctionsDefinedRecursivelyExample
Functionscanbedefinedrecursively(i.e.theycanbedefinedtocallthemselves).
Assign/FACTORIAL= FUNCTION((X),IF(X<=1,1, X*FACTORIAL(X1))

Assign/V4=FACTORIAL(5)

Createsafunctioncalled factorialthattakesone parameter.Iftheparameteris lessthanorequalto1it evaluatesto1,otherwiseit evaluatestoXmultipliedbythe FACTORIALofX1. AssignsV4thevalueof120 (5*4*3*2*1).

ExampleofaLineFeatureCreatedfromaScanSegment
ThistopicprovidesanexampleofhowtousePCDMISexpressionlanguage,specificallytheline segmentfunctions,toexportstartandendpointnumbersforlinesegmentswithinascanand thentocreateyourownlinefeaturebyusingtheextractedpointswithinaconstructedfeature. Youcanusethesameprinciplescoveredinthisexampletocreateanarcsegmentfromascan aswell. SupposeyourpartprogramhasascanfeaturenamedSCN1thatlookslikethis:
SCN1 =FEAT/SCAN,LINEAROPEN,SHOWHITS=NO,SHOWALLPARAMS=YES

EXECMODE=RELEARN,NOMSMODE=FINDNOMS,CLEARPLANE=NO,SINGLE POINT=NO,THICKNESS=0 FINDNOMS=5,SELECTEDONLY=NO,USEBESTFIT=NO,PROBECOMP=YES,AVOIDANCE MOVE=NO,DISTANCE=0,CADCompensation=NO DIR1=VARIABLE, HITTYPE=VECTOR INITVEC=0,1,0 DIRVEC=1,0,0 CUTVEC=0,0,1 ENDVEC=0,1,0 PLANEVEC=1,0,0 POINT1=100,0,5 POINT2=70,0,5 MEAS/SCAN BASICSCAN/LINE,SHOWHITS=NO,SHOWALLPARAMS=YES <100,0,5>,<70,0,5>,CutVec=0,0,1,DirVec=1,0,0 InitVec=0,1,0,EndVec=0,1,0,THICKNESS=0 FILTER/NULLFILTER, EXECMODE=RELEARN BOUNDARY/PLANE,<70,0,5>,PlaneVec=1,0,0,Crossings=2 HITTYPE/VECTOR NOMSMODE=FINDNOMS,5 ENDSCAN ENDMEAS/

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingExpressionsandVariables 1497

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TocreatealinefromthisscanyouwillneedtousetheLINESEGMENTSTARTINDEXand LINESEGMENTENDINDEXfunctionstopulloutthedata,likethis:
ASSIGN/LINESTARTINDEX=LINESEGMENTSTARTINDEX("SCN1",1,0.4,0.1) ASSIGN/LINEENDINDEX=LINESEGMENTENDINDEX("SCN1",1,0.4,0.1)

ThistellsPCDMIStogotothescannamed"SCN1",andfromitsfirstlinesegmentpulloutthe startingandendingindexvaluesthatfallwithinthedefinedtolerances.Itthenassignsthoseindex valuestovariablesnamedLINESTARTINDEXandLINEENDINDEX. Onceyouhavethestartandendingindexvaluesforthelinesegmentassignedtovariables,you canusethosevariableswithinaconstructedline,likethis:


LIN4 =FEAT/LINE,RECT,UNBND THEO/100.225,0,5.011,1,0,0 ACTL/100.225,0.005,5.011,1,0.0000388,0 CONSTR/LINE,BF,2D,SCN1.HITS[LINESTARTINDEX..LINEENDINDEX],, OUTLIER_REMOVAL/OFF,3 FILTER/OFF,WAVELENGTH=0

Noticethatinthehighlightedcodefromthelinefeatureabove,PCDMISusesthestartingand endingnumbersyoupulledoutofthescantocreatethefeature:
SCN1.HITS[LINESTARTINDEX..LINEENDINDEX]

OperandCoercion
Operandscanbecoercedtoothertypesusinganyofthecoercionoperators:

IntegerCoercion
INT(<Expression>)Coercesvalueofexpressiontotypeinteger
INT(4) INT(4.5) INT("HelloWorld") INT("2") INT("2.2") INT("3BlindMice") INT("The3BlindMice") INT("3,4, 5") INT(MPOINT(0,0,1))

Evaluatesto4 Evaluatesto4 Evaluatesto0 Evaluatesto2 Evaluates2 Evaluatesto3 Evaluatesto0 Evaluatesto3 Evaluatestothedistanceof thepointfromtheorigin,in thiscase1 Distanceevaluatesto 7.0711,thisexpression evaluatesto7

INT(MPOINT(3,4,5))

1498 UsingExpressionsandVariables

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

DoubleCoercion
DOUBLE(<Expression>)Coercesvalueofexpressiontotypedouble
DOUBLE(4) DOUBLE(4.5) DOUBLE("AString") DOUBLE("3.5") DOUBLE("3.5inches") DOUBLE("Thecirclemeasures3.5 inchesindiameter") DOUBLE(MPOINT(0,0,1)) DOUBLE(MPOINT(3,4,5))

Evaluatesto4.0 Evaluatesto4.5 Evaluatesto0.0 Evaluatesto3.5 Evaluatesto3.5 Evaluatesto0.0 Evaluatesto1.0 Evaluatesto7.0711

StringCoercion
STR(<Expression>)Coercesvalueofexpressiontotypestring
STR(4) STR(4.5) STR("HelloWorld") STR(MPOINT(3,4,5))

Evaluatesto"4" Evaluatesto"4.5" Evaluatesto"HelloWorld" Evaluatesto"3,4,5"

PointCoercion
MPOINT(<Expression1>,<Expression2>,<Expression3>)Coercesvaluesofexpressionsto typepointaftercoercingeachexpressiontotypedouble.
MPOINT(1,1,1) MPOINT(1.1,1.1,1.1) MPOINT("1","1","1") MPOINT(3,4.5,"5.6") MPOINT(MPOINT(1,0,0), MPOINT(0,1,0),MPOINT(3,4,5))

Evaluatestopoint 1.0,1.0,1.0 Evaluatestopoint1.1,1.1, 1.1 Evaluatestopoint 1.0,1.0,1.0 Evaluatestopoint3.0,4.5, 5.6 Evaluatesto1.0,1.0,7.0711

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingExpressionsandVariables 1499

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

OperandCoercionandMixedTypeExpressions
Theexpressionevaluatorautomaticallycoercesvariablesinmixedtypeexpressions.Iftheresult ofanexpressionisnotwhatisexpectedbecauseofautomaticcoercion,useofthecoercion operatorsinsomecaseswillyieldthedesiredresult.Thefollowingareexamplesofautomatic coercionsinmixedtypeexpressions. "CIR"+1 "2"+2 "TheValueof2+2is"+2+2 Evaluatesto"CIR1" Evaluatesto4 Evaluatesto"TheValue of 2+2is22"(Since expressionsareevaluated lefttoright) Evaluatesto"TheValueof 2+2is4" Evaluatesto1ifthe distanceofthecentroidof LINE1fromtheoriginis greaterthan2 Evaluatesto1ifthe centroidofLINE1isfurther fromtheoriginthanthe centroidofLINE2 Evaluatesto1ifthe centroidsofLINE1and LINE2arethesame(no coercionoccursinthis case) Evaluatesto1ifthe centroidsarethesame distancefromtheorigin Evaluatesto2(%isthe modulooperatordesigned toworkwithintegers.It returnstheremainderfrom discretedivision.11%3= 2.) EvaluatestomeasuredX valueofthirdhitofCircle1. Theargument3.2is automaticallycoercedtoan integerwithavalueof3.

"TheValueof 2+2is"+(2+2) LINE1.XYZ>2

LINE1.XYZ>LINE2.XYZ

LINE1.XYZ=LINE2.XYZ

DOUBLE(LINE1.XYZ)= DOUBLE(LINE2.XYZ) 11%3.1

CIRCLE1.HIT[3.2].X

IDExpressions
ManyofthePCDMIScommandsusefeatureIDsasparameters.Forexample,constructed featuresuseIDstoindicatewhichfeaturesaretobeusedasinputsfortheconstructedfeature. IDexpressionsallowtheusertorefertoaspecificinstanceofafeature,agroupofsimilarly namedfeatures,aninstanceofafeatureinsideacalltoasubroutine,orafeatureinanexternal partprogram.

1500 UsingExpressionsandVariables

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

FeatureArrayID
Useafeaturearrayidtorefertoaspecificinstanceofafeatureortoarangeoffeatureinstances. Forexample,ifthefeature"Circle1"werelocatedinawhileloopthatloopedfivetimes,thenfive instancesofthecirclewouldexistuponexitingtheloop.Torefertoanindividualinstanceofthe fiveinstancesof"Circle1",usefeaturearraysyntaxasdescribedunder"FeatureArrays:"where "Circle1[1]"wouldrefertothefirstinstance,"Circle1[2]"wouldrefertothesecondinstance,etc. Torefertoarangeofinstancesusethe..notation."Circle1[1..3]"referstothe1 through3 rd th instancesofCircle1."Circle[3..5]referstothe3 through5 instancesofCircle1. st th "Circle[1..5]"wouldrefertothe1 through5 instancesofCircle1.Whenarangeof featureisreferredto,thesetistreatedandbehavesasaconstructedset.
st rd

IDWildCards
UseIDWildCardstorefertoasetofsimilarlynamedfeatures.Thetwowildcardcharacters are"*"and"?".(See"SelectingFeaturesUsingMetacharactermatching"inthe"Editing theCADDisplay"chapterforadditionalinformation.) Theasterisk*characterisusedtoreferto0ormoreinstancesofanycharacter.Toreferto thesetofallfeaturethatstartwiththeletters"CIR",usetheexpressionID"CIR*".This syntaxwillcreateasetoffeaturesthatincludeallfeatureswithIdsthatwith"CIR",such as"CIRCLE1","CIRCLE2","CIR3",or"CIR". Note:IfCIR3hasseveralexecutionsonlythemostrecentmeasurementisused.Togetthe differentinstancesoftheexecutions,thefollowingexpressioncouldbeused:CIR?[1..3] Thequestionmark?characterisusedtorefertoasingleinstanceofanycharacter. Example:TheIDexpression"MY???1"wouldcreateasetoffeaturesthataresixcharacters long,beginwith"MY"andendwith"1",suchas"MYCIR1","MYCON1","MYLIN1",or"MYFT21".

IDsforfeatureswithinsubroutines,basicscripts,orexternalprograms
Subroutinescanbelocatedwithinthecurrentpartprogramorinanexternalpartprogram.When thesubroutineislocatedinthesameprogramasthecalltothesubroutine,thefeaturearrayID syntaxexplainedunder"FeatureArrays:"canbeusedtorefertoindividualinstancesofafeature createdinthesubroutine.However,whenthesubroutineislocatedinanexternalpartprogram, thefollowingsyntaxcanbeusedtorefertoanyfeaturescreatedinthesubroutine: "<CallSub ID>:<FeatID>".Forexample,ifafeaturenamed"F1"werelocatedinanexternalsubroutinethat wascalledfromaCallSubcommandwiththeid"CS1",thentheIDexpression"CS1:F1"could beusedtorefertothatfeature. Example:ThisexamplemerelyillustratestheuseofthesyntaxCS1.F1andisnotintendedto use. Program1:PLUS1.PRG
SUBROUTINE/PLUS1,A1=0,A2=0,A3=0 F1=FEAT/POINT,RECT THEO/A1+1,A2+1,A3+1,0,0,1

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingExpressionsandVariables 1501

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ACTL/3,1,1,0,0,1 MEAS/POINT,1 HIT/BASIC,A1+1,A2+1,A3+1,0,0,1,0,0,0 ENDMEAS/ ENDSUB/

Program2:TEST.PRG
CS1=CALLSUB/PLUS1,D:\V30\WINDEBUG\PLUS1.PRG:3,3,3,, DIMD1=LOCATIONOFPOINTCS1:F1UNITS=IN,$ GRAPH=OFFTEXT=OFFMULT=10.00OUTPUT=BOTH AXNOMINAL+TOLTOLMEASMAXMINDEVOUTTOL X3.00000.00000.00003.00003.00003.00000.00000.0000 # ENDOFDIMENSIOND1

Basicscriptscreateanddeleteobjectsdynamically.Usethesyntax"<BasicScriptID>:<FeatID>" torefertoafeaturecreatedbyabasicscript.Forexample,ifabasicscriptwithID"BS1"creates afeaturewithID"F2",usetheIDexpression"BS1:F2"torefertothatfeature. ExternalprogramscanbeattachedtoPCDMISusingtheattachcommand.Torefertofeatures intheattachedprogramusethefollowingsyntax:"<AttachProgID>:<FeatID>".Toreferto feature"F3"intheattachedpartprogramwithID"GEAR1",usetheexpression,"GEAR1:F3". (See"AttachinganExternalPartProgram"inthe"AddingExternalElements"chapterformore information.)

IDExpressionCombinations
ArrayIDExpressions,WildCardIDExpressions,andexternalsubroutine,basicscript,and externalpartprogramIDExpressionscanbeusedincombination.Forexample,torefer tothethirdinstanceofallfeaturesthatstartwiththeletters"CIR"inanexternalpart programattachedwiththeID"BOLTPAT"usetheIDexpression"BOLTPAT:CIR*[3]". Also,IDExpressionscanbeusedinregularexpressions.Thus,themeasuredcentroidofthe abovesetoffeaturescouldbeassignedtovariablewiththefollowingexpression:
ASSIGN/V1=BOLTPAT:CIR*[3].XYZ

Also,IDExpressionscanbeusedinregularexpressions.Thus,themeasuredcentroidofthe abovesetoffeaturescouldbeassignedtovariablewiththefollowingexpression:
ASSIGN/V1=BOLTPAT:CIR*[3].XYZ

AccessingaReport'sObjectProperties
PCDMISversions4.0andabovesupporttheabilitytocreateyourowncustomreportandlabel templateswhichPCDMISusestodisplayreportdatainsideaReportwindow(seeView|Report Window).ThesetemplatesarecreatedusingtemplateeditorswhichutilizeaVisualBasiclike interfacewhichletsyouinsert,relocate,andsizespecialcomponentscalled"objects". Eachobjectconsistsof"properties"thatdefinehowitwillbedisplayedandwhatinformationit holds.Someofthesepropertiesareincommonwithallotherobjects,someareincommonwith onlyrelatedobjects,andothersareuniquetothatspecificobject. ThePCDMISExpressionLanguagecanquerythecurrentloadedReportandstoreproperty valuesofaparticularobjectinavariable.ItcanobtainvaluesoftypeString,Integer,andRealby usingthissyntax:

1502 UsingExpressionsandVariables

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

PropertyQuerySyntax
Assign/V1=Report.<ObjectName>.<PropertyName>

Reportisareferencetothecurrentlyloadedreport.<ObjectName>istheobject'suniquename and<PropertyName>isavalidpropertynameforthatobject. ASimpleExample Suppose,forexample,thatyourreporttemplatehasatextobjectcalled"Text1"thatyouwantto useinthefinalreporttodisplaytheoperator'sname.Theactualstringofcharactersrepresenting theoperator'snamewillbestoredintheTextpropertyoftheobject.Bydefault,thetextproperty (displayedtext)initiallyhasthevalue of"Text1"(seethefigurebelow).Becausethisisauser assignedproperty,thiswillchangewhentheoperatortypesinthenameduringexecution.

Propertiesdialogbox,showingaselectedobjectandthepropertytoquery TousetheExpressionLanguagecodetoquerythisTextobject's"Text"propertyandobtainthe keyedindata,youwouldusethefollowingcommand:


Assign/V1=Report.Text1.Text

Inthiscode,"Report"tellsthecodetolookatthereportloadedintheReportwindow."Text1"tells ittolookfortheobjectnamed"Text1"."Text"tellsittolookforthe"Text"propertywithinthat object.Thevalueofthe"Text"propertythengetspassedintotheV1variablewhichyoucould thenfurthermanipulateordisplayusingthePCDMISExpressionLanguage. FindingProperties YoucanfindwhatpropertiesareassociatedwithaparticularobjectbyaccessingtheReport templateintheReporttemplateeditor(File|Reporting|Edit|ReportTemplate),selectingthe object,andthenrightclickingontheobjecttodisplayitspropertysheet.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingExpressionsandVariables 1503

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ThepropertysheetforaTextobject Thepropertysheetcontainstwocolumns.Theleftcolumndisplaysthepropertyname,andthe rightcolumndisplaysthecurrentvalue.Besuretousetheexactpropertynameinyour expressioncode. Important: Whenqueryingpropertyvalues,youmayfindthatsomepropertiesreturnaseemingly uselessnumericalvalue.Generallythishappenswhenthepropertyhasasetlistofavailable options,andPCDMISreturnsaninternalvaluefortheselectedpropertythatdoesn'trelatetothe displayedproperty. Forexample,theTextobjecthasanOrientationpropertywiththesevalues: 0Horizontal 1Verticalup 2Verticaldown However,ifyouobtainthevalueusingPCDMISexpressionlanguage,thesoftwarewillinstead returnthefollowing: 0(forHorizontal) 900(forVerticalup) 900(forVerticaldown) Itmayrequiresometrialanderrortodeterminewhatreturnedvaluescorrespondwiththevalue displayedonthepropertysheet.

1504 UsingExpressionsandVariables

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

AddingExternalElements
AddingExternalElements:Introduction
Thischapterdiscussesvariousexternalelementsyoucaninsertintoyourpartprograms.These includeexternalapplications,BASICscripts,partprograms,andotherobjectsthatwillfurther enhanceyourpartprogram'scapability. Themaintopicsdiscussedinthischapterinclude: InsertinganExternalCommand InsertingBASICScripts AttachinganExternalPartProgram InsertingExternalObjects

InsertinganExternalCommand

ExternalCommanddialogbox TheInsert|ExternalCommandmenuoptionallowsyoutoinsertacommandintotheEdit windowthat,whenmarkedandexecuted,runsanexternalexecutableorbatchfilefromthepart program. NormalDOScommandscanbeexecutediftheyareputintoabatchfile. ThecommandmustbemarkedintheEditwindowforPCDMIStoexecutetheexternal command. Avalidpathandfilenamemustbeused. PCDMISwillhalttheexecutionoftheprogramanddisplayamessagewhenit encountersanEXTERNALCOMMAND/DISPLAYcommandduringexecution.ClickOKto continuepartprogramexecution.

ToinsertanExternalCommand:
SelecttheExternalCommand menuoption.TheExternalCommanddialogboxappears. 1. Specifyanexternalcommandinthedialogbox.Youcandothisbyeithertypingthe completepathwayforthefileintotheavailableboxorbyfindingthefileusingthe... button. 2. ChooseeitherDisplayorNoDisplay. 3. ClickOK.ThecommandgetsinsertedintotheEditwindow. TheEditwindowcommandlineforthisoptionreads:

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

AddingExternalElements 1505

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

EXTERNALCOMMAND/DISPLAYSTATEpathname DISPLAYSTATE=ThistogglefieldcontrolswhetherornotPCDMISpausesexecutionand displaysamessagenotifyingyouofanexternalexecution.Thisfieldswitchesbetween DISPLAYandNODISPLAY. pathname=Thisstringrepresentsthepathandfilenameoftheexecutableorbatchfile.

Displayoption
SelectingtheDisplayoptiondisplaysamessagethatletsyouknowthatprogramexecutionis pausedinordertoruntheexternalcommand.PCDMISpausesexecutionuntilyouclickOKon thedisplayedmessage.Notethatthismessageonlyappearsifyouhaveturneditoninsidethe WarningsDisplayOptionsdialogbox. Togetthismessagetoappear, 1. PressF5toaccesstheSetupOptionsdialogbox. 2. FromtheGeneraltab,clicktheWarningsbutton.TheWarningsDisplayOptions dialogboxappears. 3. SelectthecheckboxthatreadsOKExecutionpausedinordertospawnaprocess. SelectOKtocontinueexecution.

NoDisplayoption
SelectingtheNoDisplayoptionrunsthespecifiedexternalcommandwithoutdisplayinganysort ofmessage.PCDMISwillcontinueexecutionwhiletheexecutableorbatchfileruns simultaneously.

WaitandNoWaitoptions
TheseoptionsremainunavailableuntilyouselecttheNoDisplayoption. TheWaitoptionpausespartprogramexecutionuntiltheexternalcommandfinishesits operation. TheNoWaitoptioncontinuespartprogramexecutioneveniftheexternalcommandhasn't finisheditsoperation.

...button
The...buttononthedialogboxopensanOpendialogbox.Itallowsyoutoselectthefilename fortheexternalcommand.Onceyouopenthefile,PCDMISinsertsthefullpathintotheExternal Commanddialogbox.

CreatinganExternalCommandasaMenuItemorToolbarItem
PCDMISallowsyoutocustomizetoolbarsandmenustoacceptnewmenuitemstied to.EXE,.BAT,or.BASfiles.Forinformationonhowtodothis,seethe"CustomizingtheUser Interface"topicinthe"NavigatingtheUserInterface"chapter.

1506 AddingExternalElements

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ExampleUsingtheExternalCommandtoDisplayaFile
Thisexampleshowshowtocreateabatchfile(anexternalprogram)thatworkswiththe EXTERNALCOMMANDtoopenanddisplayafile.Forexample,supposeyouwanttodisplayan imagefile,butyoudon'twanttousetheInsert|ReportCommand|ExternalObjectmenu option,youcanuseacommandline(orDOS)promptinsideofabatchfiletodothis. Note:Theadvantageordisadvantage(dependingonyourneeds)tothisapproachisthatthe imagewillnotappearinthereportattheendofpartprogramexecution. First,createabatchfiletodisplaytheimage: 1. Openatexteditor,suchasNotepad,andonthefirstlineputinthiscommand: start<PATHWAY> where<PATHWAY>isthecompletepathwaytothepicture(forexample,start d:\temp\mypart.gif). ThiscommandtellsWindowstoopentheimagefileusingitsdefaultimageviewerapplication. 2. Savethefileandgiveita.batfilenameextension. Second,linktheExternalCommanddialogboxtothebatchfile: 1. SelectInsert|ExternalCommand.TheExternalCommanddialogboxappears. 2. Clickthe...button.AnOpendialogboxappears. 3. UnderFilesofTypelistatthebottomoftheOpendialogbox,changethetypetoBAT Files(*.bat). 4. Navigatetoandselectyourbatchfile. 5. ClicktheOpenbutton.TheOpendialogcloses,andtheExternalCommanddialogbox nowcontainsthepathwaytothebatch(.bat)file. Third,controlwhathappens,andinsertthecommand: 1. Chooseeithertodisplayornotdisplayamessagethatpausestheexecutionofthepart programbyselectingtheDisplayortheNoDisplayoptionfromtheExternalCommand dialogbox. 2. ClickOKandtheEXTERNALCOMMANDgetsinsertedintotheEditwindow.
EXTERNALCOMMAND/DISPLAYE:\BATCH\TEST.BAT

Fourth,executetheprogram: 1. MarktheresultingcommandlineintheEditwindow. 2. Executeyourpartprogram. 3. PCDMISwillrunthespecifiedbatchprogram,displayingthepictureand,dependingon whatyouselectedontheExternalCommanddialogbox,willeitherpauseorcontinuethe partprogramwhileyouviewthepicture.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

AddingExternalElements 1507

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

InsertingBASICScripts
TheBasicLanguageExtensiontoPCDMISprovidesapowerfulextensiontothesoftwares functionality.Basiclanguagescriptsorapplications maybewrittenfromwithinPCDMIS(or importedfromelsewhere)andlinkedtoabuttononauserdefinabletoolbar,allowingthesimple executionofpowerfulmacros.TheversionofBasicfeaturedinPCDMISprovidesallofthe featuresofahighlevellanguage,includingcustomdialogs(createdusingthebuiltinDialog Editor),ODBC supportandOLEsupport.Theseoptionsareonlyavailableasanaddedoptionto thebasicPCDMISgeometricsoftwarepackage. TheEditwindowcommandlineforasamplescriptreads:
SCRIPT/FILENAME=C:\PCDMISW\sample.bas FUNCTION/Main,SHOW=YES,, ENDSCRIPT/

TheFILENAME= fieldletsyouspecifythepathwaytotheBASICfile(.basfilenameextension) thatyouwanttoinsertandexecutewiththepartprogram. TheFUNCTION/Mainfieldrunsthe"Main"subroutine.Youcanchangethistospecifyadifferent subroutineorfunctionintheBASICfiletorun. TheSHOW=fieldletsyoudeterminewhetherornotcommandsautomaticallygeneratedbyyour BasicScriptappearinyourpartprogramafterexecution. WhenyousetSHOW=NO,generatedcommandswillnotappearinSummarymode, Commandmode,orDMISmode(commandsstillappearintheinspectionreport, however).Also,PCDMISwillnotsaveanygeneratedcommandswiththepartprogram. WhenyousetSHOW=YES,thengeneratedcommandsappearinthepartprogramand PCDMISwillsavegeneratedcommandswiththepartprogram. Thedefaultis SHOW=YESforpartprogramcompatibilityfrompreviousversions.

ThePCDMISBasicLanguageReferenceManualcompletelydescribesthisaddonpackage.If youdidnotreceiveacopyofthemanualwithyourBasicLanguagepackage,pleasecontactyour PCDMISsoftwaresupportrepresentative.

ToInsertaBasicScriptasaCommand
TheInsert|BasicScriptmenuoptionbringsuptheInsertBasicScriptdialogbox. Thisdialogboxallowsyoutoaddabasicscriptobjecttothepartprogram.Basicscriptobjects containthenameofthebasicscriptthatshouldbeexecutedwhenthebasicscriptobjectis executed.Executionofthepartprogramdoesnotcontinueuntilthebasicscripthasexecuted.If thebasicscriptcreatesanyobjectswhileexecuting,thoseobjectswillbeinsertedintothepart programandexecuted.ObjectsinsertedbyBasicScriptsarehighlightedinadifferentcolorthan otherobjectstoindicatethatthebasicscriptcreatedthem.FormoreinformationonBasicScripts, seethePCDMISBASICmanual.

ToInsertaBasicScriptasaMenuorToolbarItem
PCDMISallowsyoutocustomizetoolbarsandmenustoacceptnewmenuitemstied to.EXE,.BAT,or.BASfiles.Forinformationonhowtodothis,seethe"CustomizingtheUser Interface"topicinthe"NavigatingtheUserInterface"chapter.

1508 AddingExternalElements

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

PassingVariablesToandFromBASICScripts
FromPCDMIScode,variablescanonlybepassedtoBASICscripts,notfromBASICscripts. TheonlysupportedvariabletypesthatcanbepassedintoBASICscriptsfromPCDMISare: Integer String Double

Considertheseexamples: Note:PCDMISvariablesonlyholdvaluesduringpartprogramexecutionatlearntime,PC DMISvariableswillalwayshaveavalueofzero.

Example1:UsingtheFunctionLinetoPassVariables
ThefollowingcommandwillexecuteaBASICscriptnamedTEST.BAS.Itwillalso,upon execution,passthevariablesdefinedfromtheFUNCTION/lineintotheTEST.BASscript:
CS2=SCRIPT/FILENAME=D:\PROGRAMFILES\PCDMIS35\TEST.BAS FUNCTION/ShowVars,3,"Hello",2.5,, STARTSCRIPT/

Nowhere'stheTEST.BASscriptonexecutionitwilldisplaythepassedinvariablesintheir respectivemessageboxes:
SubShowVars(IntVarAsInteger,StrVarAsString,DoubleVarAsDouble) msgbox"Thepassedintegervariableis"&IntVar msgbox"Thepassedstringvariableis"&StrVar msgbox"Thepasseddoublevariableis"&DoubleVar EndSub

Example2:UsingtheGetVariableValueandSetVariableValueMethodsto PassVariables
ThefollowingexamplefirstusesPCDMIScodetoreceiveanintegervaluefromtheuserand assignsittotheV1variable.
C1=COMMENT/INPUT,Pleasetypeanintegervalue. ASSIGN/V1=INT(C1.INPUT) COMMENT/OPER,BEFORESCRIPT:Variableis: ,V1

ItthencallsaBASICscriptnamedTEST2.BAS.
CS1=SCRIPT/FILENAME=D:\PROGRAMFILES\PCDMIS35\TEST2.BAS FUNCTION/Main,, STARTSCRIPT/ ENDSCRIPT/

HereisTEST2.BAS:

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

AddingExternalElements 1509

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

SubMain DimAppAsObject SetApp=CreateObject("PCDLRN.Application") DimPartAsObject SetPart=App.ActivePartProgram DimVarAsObject SetVar=Part.GetVariableValue("V1") DimIAsObject IfNotVarIsNothingThen Var.LongValue=Var.LongValue+1 Part.SetVariableValue"V1",Var MsgBox"V1isnow:"&Var Else Msgbox"CouldNotfindvariable" EndIf EndSub

ThisscripttakesV1variableand,usingtheGetVariableValueandSetVariableValue automationmethods,incrementstheV1byoneandthensetsthenewvalueforV1inthepart program. PCDMISthendisplaysthechangedvariableinanoperatorcomment.


COMMENT/OPER,AFTERSCRIPT:Variableisnow ,V1

AttachinganExternalPartProgram
TheInsert|AttachPartProgramclassopenstheAttachExternalPartProgramdialogbox. Youcanusethisdialogboxtoattachapartprogramtothecurrentpartprogram.Thisdoesnot meanthatPCDMISwillactuallyattachandexecuteallthecommandinthespecifiedpart program.Instead,itattachesapointertothepartprogram,allowingyoutoaccessitsdimensional andfeaturedata.See"UsingaPointertoReferenceData"below.

AttachExternalPartProgramdialogbox Thisdialogboxcontainsthefollowingoptions: Option Externalpartprogramfilename Description Thisboxallowsyoutotypethe pathwayforthepartprogramyouare goingtoattach.Ifyouprefer,youcan usetheBrowsebuttonwhichwillalso placethefilenamepathwayintothe box. Thisareaallowsyoutoshare alignmentsbetweentwopart

EquateProgramAlignments

1510 AddingExternalElements

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

programsbyselectingthemfromthe availablelists.See"Equatingan Alignment"inthe"CreatingandUsing Alignments"chapterforadditional information. TheAttachPartProgrammenuoptionisespeciallyusefulwhenworkinginmultiplearmmode. Withthisoptionyoucanattachapartprogramfromthe"Slave"armontothepartprogramofthe "Master"arm.Attachingthepartprogramallowsthesharingofdatasothatboth"Master"and "Slave"armscanrunoffthesamealignment,passfeaturedatafromonepartprogramtoanother forcalculations,andgenerallyworkinacooperativemanner.(Seethe"UsingMultipleArmMode" chapter,formoreinformationonmultiplearmmode.)

UsingaPointertoReferenceData
Oftenwhenyouaccessanattachedpartprogram,youwillwanttousedatafromthatpart program.Whenreferencingthisdatayoumustreferencethepointer(orvariable)thatcontains thelocationofyourpartprogram. Consideranexample: Supposeyou'reattachingTEST_A.prgtoyourcurrentpartprogram.Yourattachcommandwould looksomethinglikethis:
CS1=ATTACH/C:\PCDMISW\TEST_A.PRG,Machine= EQUATE/LOCALALIGNMENT=A1,ATTACHEDALIGNMENT=A1

Noticethepointer,CS1.Youwillusethispointertoextractdatafromtheattachedpartprogram. Now,supposeyouwantedtodisplaythemeasuredXvalueforfeatureF1fromTEST_A.prg insideyourcurrentpartprogram.Youwoulduseastatementlikethis.


COMMENT/OPER,"TheXvalueforF1fromtheattachedpartprogramis:" ,CS1:F1.X

Thecode,CS1:F1.X,essentiallytellsPCDMIStolookatTEST_A.prg,findfeatureF1,and displaytheXvalue.ThisisthewaypointersarereferencedinsidePCDMIS. PCDMISalsolistsfeaturesfromanattachedpartprogramintheConstructionorDimension dialogbox.PCDMISwilldisplaytheattachedpartprogramsIDpointerwithintheFeatureList box.Aplussign(+)appearstotheleftofthepointer.Clickingthisplussignexpandsorcollapses aviewofallthefeaturesintheattachedpartprogram.Afteryouexpandtheviewtoshowallthe featuresoftheattachedpartprogram,youcanselectanyofthosefeaturestouseinthe constructionordimensionprocess. Note:Youcannotselecttheattachedprogramspointer.OnlytheexpandedIDsassociatedwith thatpointercanbeselected.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

AddingExternalElements 1511

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

InsertingExternalObjects

InsertObjectdialogbox TheInsert|ReportCommand|ExternalObjectmenuoptionallowsyoutoentervarioustypes ofobjectsfromotherapplicationsonyoursystemintotheEditwindow.Typesofobjectsthatcan beinserteddependontheapplicationsinstalledonthecomputersystem.Examplesofobjects thatcanbeinsertedincludegraphics,soundclips,movieclips,midiclips,documents,worksheets, databasetables,etc.Useexternalobjectstoimport aninstructionalvideo,audioinstructionsor writteninstructionsintoyourpartprogram. Important:BesuretoplacetheEditwindowbeincommandmode externalobjects. whenworkingwith

CreateNew
TheCreateNewoptionallowsyoutocreateanewfileofaparticularobjecttypeataspecified locationintheEditwindow.TheobjecttypesarechosenfromtheObjectTypelist.Objectscan onlybeplacedjustafterorjustbeforeafeatureinthepartprogram. TocreateanewobjectandplaceitintheEditwindow: 1. SelecttheCreateNewoption. 2. SelectthedesiredobjecttypefromtheObjectTypelist.Theobjectwillappearinabox, boundedbysmallrectangularpointswithinyourEditwindow.Usingyourmouseyoucan dragtheboxtoanotherlocationorresizetheboxusingthesmallrectangles. 3. Doubleclickwithintheobject.Youwillseethattheapplicationthatrunsthatparticular objectwillopenintheEditwindow. 4. Modifytheobjectbyusingthetoolsspecifictotheinsertedapplication. 5. Whenyouaredone,clickontheportionoftheEditwindowthatisoutsideoftheinserted object. Example:IfyouwanttoincludeanewworddocumentintheEditwindow: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. SelecttheCreateNewoption. SelectaworddocumentobjectfromtheObjectTypelist. DragtheobjectboxwiththemousetoadesiredlocationwithintheEditwindow. Resizetheboxtothedesiredsize. Typetheinformationwithintheworddocumentobject.

1512 AddingExternalElements

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

6. ClickoutsideoftheobjecttoreturntonormalPCDMISEditwindowfunctions.Theword documentwillremainintheEditwindow.

ExampleofaworddocumentcreatedintheEditwindow.NoticehowtheEditwindowmenusand toolbarsarereplacedwiththemenusandtoolbarsoftheapplicationthatcorrespondstothe objectyouarecreating.

CreatefromFile
TheCreatefromFileoptionallowsyoutoinsertpreviouslycreatedfileasanobjectintotheEdit window. Toinsertapreviouslycreatedobject: 1. SelecttheCreatefromFileoption. 2. Typethedirectorypaththatcontainsthefileyouwanttoplaceasanobject.Orusethe Browsebuttontonavigatetothecorrectdirectory. 3. Selectthefiletoinsertasanobject. 4. ClicktheOKbutton.TheobjectwillnowappearintheEditwindow.Usingyourmouse youcandragtheboxtoanotherlocationorresizetheboxusingthesmallrectangles. Example:IfyouwanttoinsertapreviouslywrittenworddocumentintotheEditwindowthat includesasetofinstructionsaboutoperatingtheCMM,selecttheCreatefromFileoption, navigatetothedirectorythatcontainsthedocument,clicktheOKbutton.Thedocumentappears withintheobjectboxintheEditwindow.Usingthemouse,movetheobjectboxtowhereyou wantitintheEditwindowandresizeit.

Link
WhenyouselecttheCreatefromFileoptionyouhavetheopportunityto"link"yourobjecttothe Editwindow.Whenyoulinkyourobjectbacktoitsoriginalfile,anychangesmadetotheoriginal filewillalsobeupdatedwithintheEditwindow.

DisplayasIcon

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

AddingExternalElements 1513

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TheDisplayasIconcheckboxallowsyoutodisplaytheimbeddedobjectasanicon,insteadof displayingtheinformationoutright.OnceyoudoubleclickontheiconwithintheEditwindow,it willthenactivate. Example:SupposeyouplaceaworddocumentintheEditwindowandselecttheDisplayAs Iconcheckbox.Theworddocumentwillappearasanicon.However,ifyoudoubleclickonthe icon,theimbeddedapplicationopens,displayingtheinformationcontainedintheworddocument.

Exampleofaworddocumentobjectdisplayedasanicon

ObjectTypeList

SampleObjectTypelist TheObjectTypelistcontainstheobjecttypesavailableonyourcomputersystem.Thesewill varyfromcomputertocomputerdependingonwhatapplicationprogramsyouhaveinstalledon yourharddrive. Tochooseanobjecttype: 1. UsethescrollbarorUPARROWandDOWNARROWkeystofindtheobject. 2. Selecttheobject. 3. ClicktheOKbutton.

MarkingExternalObjectsforExecution
Bydefault,externalobjectsprintanddonotexecutewhenexecutingapartprogram.However, withsomeobjects,thedesiredactionmaybetoexecuteandnotprint.

1514 AddingExternalElements

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Example: Whenembeddingagraphic,thedesiredactionmaybetoprintthegraphictothe reportwhilewhenembeddingasoundormovieclip,thedesiredactionmaybetoexecutethe objecttoplaytheclipatexecutiontime. Externalobjectshavefourmodesofexecution: 1. 2. 3. 4. PrintDontexecute DontprintDontexecute DontPrintExecute PrintExecute

Toswitchbetweenthedifferentmodes,pressF3whiletheinsertionpointisonthesamelineas theexternalobjectintheEditwindow.

Hashlinesdiagonallinesthat Hashlinesandhashedbordersareusedtoindicatetheobjectscurrentmodeofexecu crossthegraphic. Hashedbordersdiagonallines thatcrosstheborderaroundthe graphic. Nohashlines

Hashedborder

Whennohashlinesappearoverthe object,theobjectwillprinttothe report. Whenahashedborderoutlinesthe object,theobjectwillexecute.

Note:Theexecuteactionisalwaysthesameactionthatoccurswhenanexternalobjectis doubleclicked.Formediaclips,thisdefaultactionisusuallyplay.Formostotherobjects,the defaultactionisedit. Play Soundclipswillplaysound.Movieclipswillplaytheirmovie,etc. Edit Objectsthathaveadefaultactionofeditwillusuallynotbeobjectsthatwouldneedtobe executed.However,someapplicationobjectsalsohavetheabilitytoruncustombasicscripts uponbeingactivated.Aworddocumentorexcelspreadsheetareexamplesofthistypeof externalobject.WiththesetypesofobjectsandthePCDMISautomationcommands,itis possibletochangetheobjectusingdatafromthepartprogram.Forexample,anexcelgraph couldbeinsertedinsideapartprogramthathasabasicscriptthat,whenactivated,wouldpull dataoutofthepartprogramusingthePCDMISautomationcommandsandadjustthegraph accordinglybeforeitwasprintedontheinspectionreport.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

AddingExternalElements 1515

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

DisplayingFilesinaDifferentWay
AnalternatewaytodisplayfilesisbyusingPCDMIS'sEXTERNALCOMMANDEditwindow command.See"ExampleUsingtheExternalCommandtoDisplayaFile"forinformation.

1516 AddingExternalElements

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

UsingMultipleArmMode
UsingMultipleArmMode:Introduction
TheMultipleArmmodewascreatedtodrivemultiplearmCMMs.TheMultipleArmmodeis availableasanaddonpackage.Currently,thisversiononlysupportsamultiplearmmodeoftwo arms.ThetwoarmsmustbeconnectedtoseparatecomputerswithaversionofPCDMISanda portlockoneachcomputer.Thesearmswillshareacommonalignment. LaterversionsofPCDMIS,willallowyoutodriveuptofourmachinearmsfromoneversionof PCDMIS,usinganycombinationofonetofourcomputers. Whilethemeasurementprocessformultiplearmsiscomparabletosinglearmunits,PCDMIS mustbeabletodistinguishthearmthatistakingthemeasurementwhenusingamultiplearm system.Thetopicsinthischapterwillexplainhowtodothis. ThemaintopicsinthischapterdescribehowtosetupaMultipleArmCMM,howtocreatepart programsusingmultiplearms,andhowtoruna'master'partprogramona'slave'arm.These topicsare: SettingupaMultipleArmCMM CreatingaPartProgramUsingMultipleArmMode RunningaMasterPartProgramontheSlaveArm

Note:PCDMISmustbeinstalledonallsystemspriortorunninginmultiplearmmode.

SettingupaMultipleArmCMM
TosetupamultiplearmCMM,followthesesteps:

Step1:InstallPCDMISonAllComputers
Thefirststepneeded,tomakethisoptionaccessible,istoinstallPCDMISonallthecomputers thatwilldrivethemultiplearms.(Seethedocumentationonsoftwareinstallationproceduresif necessary.) TheMultipleArmoptionmustbeprogrammedinallportlocks.Toverifythis: 1. SelectHelp|AboutPCDMISForWindows.TheAboutPCDMISforWindowsdialog boxopensdisplayinginformationaboutthedevelopersandmodulesinstalled. 2. PulldowntheModulesdropdownlistandlookforMultipleArm.Ifitislisted,thenitis turnedonforthecurrentportlock. Thisshouldbeavailableonallcomputers.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingMultipleArmMode 1517

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Step2:DeterminetheMasterSystem
Determinethemastersystem.Inmostcases,anyarmcontrollercanbeused.However,ifthe multiplearmsystemhasarotarytable,thenthemastermustbethecontrollerthatcontrolsthe rotarytable. Labelthemasterandslavearmsinsomeway.Mostusersusuallycallthemasterarm"ARM1" andtheslavearm"ARM2".

Step3:MatchtheCMMAxesforEachArm
TheCMMaxesforeacharmmustmatch.ThatistheX+,Y+,andZ+axes forallarmsmustgoin thesamedirection. Ifyouneedtochangetheaxesassignmentsanddirections: 1. Makesureyou'rerunningPCDMISinOnlinemode. 2. Ontheslavecomputer,selectEdit|Preferences|MachineInterfaceSetup.The MachineOptionsdialogboxwillappear. 3. SelecttheAxestab.ThiswillshowtheX,Y,andZaxescombinationboxes.

4. UsingtheX,Y,orZ lists,reassigntheaxesoftheconnectedCMMsothattheymatchthe axesofthemasterarm.UsuallyonlytheXandYaxeswillneedmodification. 5. ClickApplytokeepthechanges. 6. Oncethedialogboxcloses,exitPCDMIS. 7. RestartPCDMIS,andverifythatthechangesarecorrectbymovingtheaxesforboth armsinthesamedirections.Makesuretheaxiscountersincrementaccordingly. Note:Thenumericalvaluesinthecounterswillnotmatchuntilyoucompletethemultiplearm calibration.)

Step4:ConfigureProbeHeadMountOrientation
OncePCDMISisloadedonallsystems,andtheaxesmatchforbotharms,configureyourprobe headmountorientation: 1. SelectEdit|Preferences|SetuptobringuptheSetUpOptionsdialogbox. 2. SelectthePart/Machinetab. 3. ClicktheProbeHeadOrientationbutton.TheProbeHeadWristAngleConfiguration dialogboxappears.

1518 UsingMultipleArmMode

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ProbeHeadWristAngleConfigurationdialogbox 4. ChangethemountorientationasneededforeachCMMarm.

Step5:SetuptheMasterandSlave
Thenextstepistosetupthemultiplearmmodeforthecurrentcomputer.SelecttheEdit| Preferences|MultipleArmSetupmenuoption.ThismenuoptiondisplaystheMultipleArm Setupdialogbox.

MultipleArmSetupdialogbox Usethisdialogboxtodeterminewhetherthecurrentcomputeristhemastercomputerandsends commandstotheslavearms,orifthecurrentcomputerisaslavecomputerthatrelays commandsfromthemastercomputer. WhenyoufinishmakingchangestothisdialogboxandclickOK,PCDMISdisplaysawarning messagethatsaysyouwillneedtorestartPCDMISinorderforyourchangestotakeeffect.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingMultipleArmMode 1519

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Thiscomputer(slave)relayscommandsfromthemaincomputer

The'Thiscomputer(slave)relayscommandsfromthemaincomputer'optionallowsthe computertobeusedonlywithaslavearmandrelayscommandsfromthemaincomputer.You canchoosetoconnectusingaTCPIPPort.

Thiscomputer(master)drivesallarms

The'Thiscomputer(master)drivesallarms'optionallowsthecomputertobethemaster computerthatdrivesallthearms.Youcanchoosetoconnectthecomputertotheotherarms usingeitheraDirectConnectionoraRemoteConnection. IfyouselecttheRemoteConnectionoption,youcanconnecttotheotherarms.Todothis: 1. SelectthearmfromtheConnectionSettingsforArmlist. 2. TypetheIPaddressintheboxnexttoRemoteConnection.TypetheIPaddress'port numberinthePortNumberbox. 3. SpecifytheTCPIPconnectiondelayintheDelayforTCPIPconnectioninmilliseconds box.ThisvalueisthenumberofmillisecondsthatPCDMISwilldelaybeforeattemptinga TCPIPconnectiontothecurrentarmtothecurrentcomputer.

Thiscomputerisnotusedinamultiplearmsetting

Ifthecomputerisnotusedinamultiplearmsetup,selectthe'Thiscomputerisnotusedina multiplearmsetting'option.

Step6:ConnecttheComputers
Now,youneedtoconnectthecomputerssotheycancommunicatewitheachother.Youcan eitheruseanullmodemserialcablebetweenthecomputers,orifthecomputersareconnected toanetwork,youcanusethenetworktocommunicatebetweenthem.The"Step5:Setupthe MasterandSlave"topicallowsyoutoconfigurethesecommunicationsettings. Oncethecomputersareconnected, 1. StartupPCDMISontheSlavesystems.Donotcreateanewpartprogramoractivatea program.TheSlavesystemsarenowready.

1520 UsingMultipleArmMode

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

2. StartupPCDMISontheMastersystem.Createanewpartprogram(oractivateonethat isalreadyavailable).Ifyouarecreatinganewpartprogram,PCDMISautomatically openstheProbeUtilitiesdialogbox. 3. Eitherselectorcreateaprobefilethatdescribesaprobeonthemasterarm.Makesure thatyouaddanABangleforthetipyouplantousetocalibratetherelationshipbetween thetwoarms.Don'tcalibratetheprobeatthistime.

Step7:EnterMultipleArmMode
Onceyouhavesetupthecomputers,andareinapartprogram,theOperation|EnterMultiple ArmModemenuoptionbecomesselectablefromthemastercomputer.SelecttheEnter MultipleArmModeoption. PCDMISdisplaysacheckmarktotheleftoftheOperation|EnterMultipleArmModeoptionin themenu.PCDMISalsodisplaystheActiveArmstoolbar WhenPCDMISentersmultiplearmmodeitattemptstoestablishalinkbetweenthemultiple computersystems.Thislinkcoordinatestheactivitiesofallthearms. Troubleshooting IfPCDMIScannotestablishthelinkamongthecomputersafter enteringmultiplearmmode,youwillgetanerrormessage informingyouofthearmthatisn'tresponding.Thefollowingmay causethiscommunicationproblem: PCDMISisnotrunningonacomputer Anonlinepartprogramisactiveonaslavecomputer Thecableconnections(orothernetworkconnections) betweenthecomputersarenotfunctioning SettingsenteredintheMultipleArmSetupdialogboxare incorrect

Onceyouhavealinkestablishedbetweenthemultiplecomputers,youcancalibratethe relationshipbetweenthearms. Note:Exitingtheactivepartprogram,alsoremovesPCDMISfrommultiplearmmode.

Step8:CalibratetheMultipleArmSystem
Thestepwalksyouthroughthecalibrationofthemultiplearmsystem. PriortocalibrationandafterPCDMIShasbeenstartedonthecomputersystems,youmust defineanyprobesthatwillbeusedinthemeasurementprocess.PCDMISusesthetheoretical datafromtheprobestocalibratethemultiplearmsystem. Important:Donotcalibratetheprobesatthistime,onlyensuretheyareproperlydefinedand thatyouaddanABangleforthetipyouplanonusingtocalibratethemultiplearmsystem.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingMultipleArmMode 1521

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Inyourpartprogram,youshouldhavemultipleLOADPROBEcommands,oneforeacharm. Caution:Ifyou'veattemptedamultiplearmcalibrationpreviously,thenPCDMIShascreated armtoarm.dat fileslocatedwhereyouinstalledPCDMISonboththemasterandslave computers.Youshoulddeleteorrenamethesefilesbeforeproceedingsothatdatafromprevious calibrationattemptsdoesn'tnegativelyaffectyourcurrentcalibrationprocess. Followthesecalibrationprocedures:

Part1ofCalibrationProcedure

MultipleArmCalibrationdialogbox 1. SelecttheOperation|Calibrate/Edit|MultipleArmMode menuoption(onlyavailable inonlinemode).ThiswilldisplaytheMultipleArmCalibrationdialogbox. 2. Ensurethatthecorrectprobefilesandtipsareselectedfromthearmlistsinthedialog box. 3. EnsurethatthecalibrationtoolyouwillbeusingisavailablefromtheListofAvailable Toolslist.YouwillonlyneedthetoolifyouselectedtheBotharmsmeasuretooloption. 4. ChoosewhatyouwanttocalibratebyselectingeithertheOrientationandoriginoption, ortheOriginonlyoption. SelectingtheOrientationandoriginoptioncreatesa3Dtransformation betweenthetwoarmstocompensateforanyoutofsquarenessbetweenthetwo arms.Youmustdothisatleastonce(normallythisisdoneperiodicallyeveryfew months). SelectingOriginonlycorrectsonlytheoriginbetweenthetwoarms.Youshould dothistypeofcalibrationmorefrequently,basedonprobecalibrationprocedures. Whencalibratingyourprobe,PCDMISasksifyoumovedyourtool.Ifyou normallyindicatetoPCDMISthatyouhaven'tmovedthetool,thenyoudon't havetoadjustyourarmtoarmorigin.Ifyouanswerthatyouhavemovedthetool, thenaftercalibratingyourprobetipsyoushouldreturntothisdialogboxand choosetheOriginonlytypeofarmtoarmcalibration.

1522 UsingMultipleArmMode

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Important: WhenselectingtocalibratetheOriginonly,makesureyouareusingcalibratedtips. 5. ChoosehowyouwanttoperformthecalibrationbyselectingeitherManualCalibration orDCCCalibration. IfyouselectedtheManualCalibrationoption,PCDMISwillpromptyouto measureeachspherepositionusingtheCMM'sjogbox.Onceyouhavetaken thefirsthitonthetopofthesphere,PCDMISwilltaketherestofhitsinDCC mode. IfyouselectedtheDCCCalibrationoption,PCDMISwillallowyoutosupplythe spherepositionsanditwilldoallthemotionundercomputercontrol.Clickthe EditPositionsbuttontochangethelocationofeachspherepositionbytyping theX,YandZcoordinates. Youmayfindithelpfultoreadthepositionofthe activearmtofillinthesethreevalues.BeawarethatclickingtheDonebuttonon yourjogboxcanreadthearm'scurrentposition

Important:YoumustfirstdoatleastoneoriginarmtoarmcalibrationinManualmodeto establishthebasicrelationshipbetweenthetwoarms.Whenyoucompleteanarmtoarm calibration,PCDMISgeneratesanarmarm.resultsfilestoredinthedirectorydefinedthroughthe SetSearchPathmenuoption(seethe"SpecifyingExternalDirectoriestoSearch"topicinthe "SettingyourPreferences"chapter.Thistextfileisviewableusinganytexteditor.Itshowshow beneficialthesphereswhereonceyouhavedonetheinitialfit.Inparticularitdisplaysthe"fitment error".Thisinformationmayhelptoshowtheoverallaccuracyofthecalibration.. 6. TypeanumberintheNumberofspherestomeasurebox.Thevaluedetermineshow manyspheresPCDMISwillmeasureforeacharm.Ifyoutypeanumberofspheres greaterthan1,PCDMISwillaveragethemeasurementstocreatetheorigin. Ifyou'reusingtheManualCalibrationoption,PCDMISwillpromptyouto manuallymeasurethesepositions. Ifyou'reusingtheDCCCalibrationoption,PCDMISwillautomaticallydrive eacharmtomeasurethesepositions.Theminimumnumberofspheresisthree.

Caution:Ensurethatthespheresaren'tinthesameposition.Otherwisecalibrationwillfinishwith incorrectresults. 7. Usingtheavailableoptionsbelow,determinehowthearmsareusedtomeasurethe tools. Botharmsmeasuretool IfyouselectthisoptionwhileusingManualCalibration,PC DMISwillpromptyoutomeasureeachspherepositionwithboth arms. IfyouselectthisoptionwhileusingDCCCalibration,PCDMIS willdrivebotharmstomeasureasphereateachofthepositions definedintheEditCalibrationPositionsdialogbox.Besureto havethedesirednumberofspherepositionsactuallypresenton theCMMsincetherewillnotbeenoughtimetophysicallymove thespherearoundinbetweenmeasurements.

Firstarmholdstoolandsecondarmmeasures

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingMultipleArmMode 1523

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

IfyouselectthisoptionwhileusingManualCalibration,PC DMISwillpromptyoutomovethemasterarmtoeachposition andthenmeasurethesphericaltoolwiththeslavearm IfyouselectthisoptionwhileusingDCCCalibration,PCDMIS willmovetheMasterarmtoeachofthegivencalibration positionsandthencommandtheSlavearmtomeasurethe sphereatthatposition.Forthisoption,youwillneedaspecial spheremountedintotheendofthearm.

Secondarmholdstoolandfirstarmmeasures IfyouselectthisoptionwhileusingManualCalibration,PC DMISwillpromptyoutomovetheslavearmtoeachpositionand thenmeasurethesphericaltoolwiththemasterarm. IfyouselectthisoptionwhileusingDCCCalibration,PCDMIS willmovetheslavearmtoeachofthegivencalibrationpositions andthencommandthemasterarmtomeasurethesphereat thatposition.Forthisoption,youwillneedaspecialsphere mountedintotheendofthearm.

8. ClickCalibrateoncethisbuttonbecomesenabled.Itremainsdisableduntilyouselectall neededcalibrationparameters. IfyouselectBotharmsmeasuretool,youmustprovidethefollowingitems beforetheCalibratebuttonwillbecomeavailable: AvalidArm1probefilenameandtipangle. AvalidArm2probefilenameandtipangle. AvalidToolspecifiedintheListofAvailableTools.

IfyouselectFirstarmholdstoolandsecondarmmeasures,youmustprovide thefollowingitemsbeforetheCalibratebuttonwillbecomeavailable: AvalidArm1probefilenameandtipangle. AvalidArm2probefilenameandtipangle. TheArm1tiptypemustbeoftypeFIXEDBALLasspecifiedinthe probe.dat.

IfyouselectSecondarmholdstoolandfirstarmmeasures,youmustprovide thefollowingitemsbeforetheCalibratebuttonwillbecomeavailable: AvalidArm1probefilenameandtipangle. AvalidArm2probefilenameandtipangle. TheArm2tiptypemustbeoftypeFIXEDBALLasspecifiedinthe probe.dat.

9. OnceyouclickthisbuttonPCDMISwillbeginthecalibrationthatyouhaverequested. Thiscreatesanalignmentbetweenthemasterandtheslavearm,byleveling,rotating, andsettingtheorigin. IfyouselectedtheManualCalibrationoption,youwillbeginbytakingonepoint onthetopofthetool.PCDMISwillthenautomaticallymeasuretherestofthe

1524 UsingMultipleArmMode

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

points.Onceyouhavemeasuredthetoolinthecurrentposition,PCDMISwill promptyoutomoveittoanewlocationonthetable. IfyouselectedtheDCCCalibrationoption,PCDMISwilljustmeasureeachof thegivencalibrationspherepositions.Makesurethetoollocationsonthetable arenotcolinear(inaline).Positionthetoollocationsasfaraspossiblefrom eachother,withatleastoneofthepositions,beingraisedupintheZaxis.

Note:AnalternatewaytocalibrateDCCmachinesinvolvesperformingaManualOriginonly calibrationfollowedbyaDCCOrientationandorigincalibration.Thismethodisusefulonlarger machineswhereitisreasonabletoassumethattheXandZaxesarerelativelyparallel.This wouldthenbefollowedwithprobecalibrationandthenanOriginonlycalibrationasdescribed laterinthischapter.

Part2ofCalibrationProcedure
OnceyouhavecompletedthecalibrationdescribedinPart1,youneedtocalibratethemaster andslaveprobefilesonthesamecalibrationtool.Thisresetstheoriginrelationshipbetweenthe twotips.Itdoesn'tchangethelevelortherotateofthealignment,onlytheorigin.Ifyouareusing aPHSwrist,youneedtodoawristcalibrationwithbotharmsonthecommontool. Followthisprocedure: 1. ClicktheArm1ActivebuttonontheActiveArmstoolbar.Mostusersassignthisbutton totheMastercomputer. 2. AccesstheProbeUtilitiesdialogbox(Insert|HardwareDefinition|Probe). 3. IfPCDMISasksyouifyouwanttoloadanewprobefile,clickNo. 4. Calibratethemasterprobe(ordoawristcalibrationifyouareusingaPHS).PCDMIS willaskifthetoolhasbeenmoved. 5. ClickYes. 6. Whenyoucompletethecalibration,thenexittheProbeUtilitiesdialogbox. 7. ClicktheArm2ActivebuttonontheActiveArmstoolbar.Mostusersassignthisbutton totheSlavecomputer. 8. AccesstheProbeUtilitiesdialogboxtocalibratetheslaveprobe(ordoawrist calibrationifyouareusingaPHS). 9. ThistimewhenPCDMISasksyouifthetoolhasbeenmoved,clickNo. Onceyouhavecalibratedbothprobefilesinmultiplearmmode,youaredonewiththecalibration ofthemultiplearms.PCDMISwillcopytheslaveprobefile,thetooldata,andthearmtoarm transformationdatatotheslavecomputer.Thisallowsyoutoruntheslavearmonitsownasifit wereanextensionofthemastercoordinatesystemoryoucanalwaysrunthemtogetherin multiplearmmode.

PerforminganAutomaticCalibration
Inadditiontotheusualmultiplearmcalibration,PCDMISallowsyoutoperformanautomatic calibrationofthearms. PCDMISprovidesacommandthatautomaticallycalibratesthecurrentprobeduringpart programexecution.PCDMISwillbeginthecalibrationroutineonceitexecutesthecommand. Toinsertthiscommand,selecttheInsert|Calibrate|AutoCalibrateMultipleArmmenuoption. ThefollowingcommandblockisinsertedintotheEditwindow:
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual UsingMultipleArmMode 1525

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

AUTOCALIBRATE/MULTIPLEARM,ARM_THAT_MEASURES=BOTH,CALIBRATION_MODE=DCC, QUALTOOL_ID=cal_m,MEASURE_AT_CENTER=0,0,0

Adescriptionoftheitemsinthiscommandblockisgivenhere: Item Description ARM_THAT_MEASURES= Indicateswhicharmwillperform themeasurement(notwhicharm willholdthetool).Choicesare BOTH,ARM2orARM1. CALIBRATION_MODE= Indicateswhetheryouwillperform thecalibrationinMANUAL or DCC mode. QUALTOOL_ID= Specifiesthenameofthe qualificationtoolused. MEASURE_AT_CENTER= TheX,Y,Zlocationtobeusedfor measurementwhenusing CALIBRATION_MODE=DCC.This willnotbepresentonthe commandisusing CALIBRATION_MODE=MANUAL PressingF9accessestheAutoCalibrateMultipleArmsdialogbox.

AutoCalibrateMultipleArmdialogbox MostoftheitemsinthisdialogboxarethesameasthoseusedintheMultipleArmCalibration dialogbox.Belowaretwosignificantdifferences.

1526 UsingMultipleArmMode

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

First,PCDMIScurrentlyonlysupportstheOriginOnlycalibrationtypeforthiscommand. Therefore,OriginOnlyandthenumberofspherescannotbechanged.SincePCDMISonly supportsonesphereforthiscommand,thereisn'taseparatebuttonforeditingallthesphere locations.Youcanspecifytheonespherelocationinthisdialogbox,usingtheX,Y,andZCenter boxes.TheyspecifytheX,Y,andZcoordinatesfortheonespherelocationwhenusingDCC Calibration. Second,youcannotspecifytheprobeandtipforthemasterorslave.Theyareshowninthelists onthisdialogboxforinformationpurposesonly.TheAUTOCALIBRATE/MULTIPLEARMcommand willgetthemfromthecontentoftheprograminwhichthecommandisused. MasterProbe Fordisplayonly.Thisisdeterminedbythe LOADPROBEcommandfortheMasterArm thatprecedesthe AUTOCALIBRATE/MULTIPLEARMcommand Fordisplayonly.Thisisdeterminedbythe TIPcommandfortheMasterArmthat precedesthe AUTOCALIBRATE/MULTIPLEARM command Fordisplayonly.Thisisdeterminedbythe LOADPROBEcommandfortheSlaveArmthat precedesthe AUTOCALIBRATE/MULTIPLEARM command Fordisplayonly.Thisisdeterminedbythe TIPcommandfortheSlaveArmthat precedesthe AUTOCALIBRATE/MULTIPLEARM command

MasterTip

SlaveProbe

SlaveTip

Step9:CalibratetheMultipleArmProbeFiles
Nowthatthesystemhasbeencalibrated,youwillneedtocalibratethemultiplearmprobefiles. Forthiscalibration,youcan: Calibrateanyarminanyorder. Usedifferentcalibrationtoolstocalibratethedifferentarms. Calibratetheslavearmfromtheslavecomputerandthemasterarmfromthemaster computer. Calibratetheslaveprobeonthesamecalibrationtoolasthemasterprobe Onlycalibrateonearmatatime.

Afterthiscalibration,PCDMISsynchronizestheprobefilesfromthemultiplecomputersthenext timeyouentermultiplearmmodeontheMastercomputer.

MasterProbeFileCalibration
Ifyouwanttocalibratethemasterprobefile, 1. SelecttheArm1ActiveiconfromtheActiveArmstoolbar. 2. AccesstheProbeUtilitiesdialogbox(Insert|HardwareDefinition|Probe). 3. Followexistingproceduresinthe"Measure"topicofthe"DefiningHardware"chapterfor informationonhowtocalibrateprobefiles.
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual UsingMultipleArmMode 1527

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

SlaveProbeFileCalibration
Ifyouwanttocalibratetheslaveprobefile, 1. SelectoneoftheslavearmiconsfromtheActiveArmstoolbar(Arm2Active,Arm3 Active,orArm4Active). 2. AccesstheProbeUtilitiesdialogbox. 3. Followexistingproceduresinthe"Measure"topicofthe"DefiningHardware"chapterfor informationonhowtocalibrateprobefiles. Ifyouwanttouseacalibrationtooldifferentfromtheoneusedforthemasterprobefile,select theSLAVESPHEREtoolduringslaveprobecalibration. ToselecttheSLAVESPHEREtool: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. SelectInsert|HardwareDefinition|Probefromthemenubar. ClickMeasure.TheMeasureProbedialogboxappears. ClickEditTool.TheEditTooldialogboxappears. SelectSLAVESPHERE fromtheToolTypelist. ClickOKtoconfirmyourchoice.TheSLAVESPHEREinformationappearsinthebottom oftheMeasureProbedialogbox.

Step10:SettheMultipleArmOrigin
Thefinalstepincalibratingthemultiplearmsystemistosettheoriginbetweenthetwoarms. Thisshouldbedonewithcalibratedprobefilesonboththemasterandslavearms. Tosetthemultiplearmorigin: 1. AccessMultipleArmCalibrationdialogbox(Operation|Calibrate/Edit|MultipleArm Mode).

MultipleArmCalibrationdialogbox

1528 UsingMultipleArmMode

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

2. SelecttheOriginonlyoption. 3. IntheNumberofspherestomeasurebox,typethenumberofspheresyouwantto measuretoestablishtheorigin.Ifmorethanonespherepositionismeasured,PCDMIS willaveragethepositionstoestablishtheorigin. 4. SelecttheBotharmsmeasuretooloption. 5. Selectthecorrectprobefilesandtips. 6. SelecteithertheDCCCalibrationorManualCalibrationoptions.IfyouselectedDCC Calibration,makesureyoudefinethecorrectspherepositionusingtheEditCalibration Positionsdialogbox. 7. FromtheListofAvailableTools,selectatoolthatdefinesthecorrectdiameterand orientationofthecalibrationtooltobemeasured. 8. ClicktheOKbutton. IfyouselectedtheManualCalibrationoption,PCDMISwillaskyoutomeasurea singlepointonthespherewiththemultiplearms.Itwillthenmeasuretherestofthe pointsinDCCmodearoundthesphere. IfyouselectedtheDCCCalibrationoption,PCDMISwilldrivethearmstothe spherepositionsthataredefinedintheEditCalibrationPositionsdialogbox.

Onceyouhavecalibratedalltheprobefilesinmultiplearmmodeandsetthearmtoarmorigin, thecalibrationprocessiscomplete. Important:Afteryoufinishyourmultiplearmcalibrationandperformawristcalibration(see "WristCalibration"inthe"UsingaWristDevice"chapter),youneedtorepeattheOriginOnlywrist operationasdiscussedearlyoninthe"Step8:CalibratetheMultipleArmSystem". PCDMISwillcopytheslaveprobefile,thetooldata,andthearmtoarmtransformationdatato theslavecomputer.Thisallowsyoutoruntheslavearmonitsownasifitwereanextensionof themastercoordinatesystem.Youalsohavetheoptionofrunningthemtogetherinmultiplearm mode.Eachtimeyouentermultiplearmmode(byselectingOperation|EnterMultipleArm Mode),PCDMISwillsynchronizethefollowingbetweenthetwocomputers: Probefilechanges Wristcalibrationchanges Errormapdatachanges Probechangerdata Calibrationtooldatachanges

CreatingaPartProgramUsingMultipleArmMode
Oncetheprobeshavebeendefinedandcalibrated,thepartprogramcanbecreated.Youcreate amultiplearmpartprogramlikeanyotherpartprogramwithsomedifferences.Mainly,ina multiplearmpartprogram,youneedtoassignspecificarmstoexecutedifferentcommandsand defineexclusionzonessothatthearmsdon'tcollide.Thetopicsbelowdescribehowtodothis:

AssigningaCommandtoAnArm
BydefaultPCDMISassignsnewcommandstothecurrentactivearm.YoucanusetheActive Armstoolbartoswitchthecurrentactivearmortoexecuteonlythosecommandstiedtoa specificarm.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingMultipleArmMode 1529

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ActiveArmstoolbar TheActiveArmstoolbarcontainsmultiplearmiconswithcorrespondingcolorcodedcheckmark icons.Eacharmiconcorrespondstoanarmonthemachine. Thearmiconsallowyoutoswitchthecurrentactivearm. Theexecuteicons(thosewithcheckmarks)allowyoutoexecuteonlythosecommands associatedwithaspecificarm. Afteryouenteringintomultiplearmmode,PCDMISinsertscoloredverticallinesintotheleft marginoftheEditwindow'scommandmodetoshowwhatarmwillusetheselectedcommand. (InSummaryModePCDMISindicatescommandsassignedtoaslavearmwithboldtext.):

Editwindowwithgreen(featureCIR1)andred(featureLIN1)linesdesignatingarm2andarm1 portionsrespectively Featuresassignedtoarm1(themasterarm)areindicatedusingtheredline. Featuresassignedtoarm2(theslavearm)areindicatedusingthegreenline. Featuresassignedtomultiplearmsareindicatedusingmultiplecoloredlines.

Coloredhorizontalbars(insteadofvertical)signifythatthecommandsaffectbotharmsand neitherarmwillbeallowedtoexecutethiscommanduntilbotharmshaveexecutedallprior commands.Thistypeofcommand(usuallyabranchingoralignmentcommand)isexecutedby botharmsatthesametime.

1530 UsingMultipleArmMode

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

AssigningExistingCommandstoaNewArm
TheToggleMultipleArm Ifyouhavecommandsassignedtoaparticulararmandyouwantto Markings menuitemisonly assignthemtoadifferentarm,dothefollowing. availableonsystemsthat haveenteredintomultiple 1. PlacetheEditwindowintoCommandmode. armmode. 2. SelecttheEditwindowcommandyouwanttoadd. 3. SelecttheOperation|ToggleMultipleArmMarkings menuitemfromthemenubar. Whenyouselectthisoption,PCDMISwillconnectallofthehighlighted commandstotheotherarm. Ifyoudon'thighlightanycommands,thenPCDMISwillconnectthecommandwherethe cursorresidesintheEditwindow. Youcanconnectmostcommandstothemasterarm,theslavearm,orbotharms.For example,youcouldcreateaPREHITorALIGNMENTcommandthatappliestoboththe masterandtheslavearm,ortojustoneofthearms. Youcannotassigncertaincommandstomultiplearms.Theseincludefeatures,hits, dimensions,andprobecommands.

MultipleArmProgramExecution
Unlessyouchoosetoexecutejustthecommandsassignedtoaparticulararm,whenyou executethepartprogram,theprogramflowcontinuesasitnormallydoesfromthetopoftheEdit windowtothebottom,andeacharmexecutesthecommandsassignedtoit. Note: Whenexecutinginmultiplearmmode,theslavearmwillalwaysrunalittlebehindthe masterarm.Thistypeofdelayisnormal.

SettingStartPointsforMultipleArms
PCDMISallowsyoutoassignstartpointsforthecurrentarmbyselectingtheSetStartPoint iconfromtheEditwindowtoolbarorbyrightclickingintheEditwindowinCommandmodeand selectingitfromtheshortcutmenu.

Tosetmultiplestartpoints,changethecurrentlearnarmbeforeclickingontheSetStartPoint toolbaricon.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingMultipleArmMode 1531

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Aspecialstartpointarrowwillappearintheleft marginoftheEditwindowinacolorthat correspondstotheactivearmcolorontheActive Armstoolbar. ThescreencapturetotheleftshowsthatArm1, inred,willbeginexecutionatCIR3whileArm2, ingreen,willbeginexecutionatCIR2.

Ifyoucancelexecution,PCDMISwillautomaticallymovethestartpointsforeacharmtothe commandwhereexecutionwascancelledforeacharm. StartpointstellPCDMIStobegintheprogram'sexecutionatthatpointwhenyouselecttheFile| PartialExecution|ExecuteFromStartPoints menuoption.ForinformationonusingStart Points,seethe"SettingStartPoints"topicinthe"EditingaPartProgram"chapter. Important:Beawarethatifthecurrenttipforthatlocationintheprogramdoesnotmatchthe currentorientationoftheprobehead,PCDMISwillnottryandgobacktoexecutethetip commandaboveitinordertochangethetiporientation.

CausinganArmtoWaittoPreventCollision
Sometimesyoumaywantonearmtowaituntiltheotherarmhasfinishedmeasuringinanarea thatisoverlapping.Thisisusuallytopreventacollisionbetweenthearms.Therearetwodifferent commandstopreventthis.

UsingaMoveSyncCommand
YoucanputMOVE/SYNCcommandsatthebeginningandendofameasurementsequence whereyouwanttomakesurethatonlyonearmismoving.See"InsertingaMoveSync Command"inthe"InsertingMoveCommands"chapterforadditionalinformation.

1532 UsingMultipleArmMode

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

UsingaMoveExclusiveCommand
YoucanusetheMOVE/EXCLUSIVE_ZONE command. TheadvantageofusingthismethodisthatPCDMISwillonlymakeoneofthearmswait iftheotherarmisinitszone. ThedisadvantageisthatyouneedtoputMOVE/EXCLUSIVE_ZONEcommandsaroundall theblocksofcommandsthatcommandanarmintotheoverlappedareainthemiddleof thedualarmvolume.

Tousethiscommand: 1. Findthesequenceofcommandsthatcauseoneofthearmstoenterintoanoverlapped portionoftheCMMvolume. 2. PlaceaMOVE/EXCLUSIVE_ZONE=ONcommandatthestartofthesequence. 3. PlaceaMOVE/EXCLUSIVE_ZONE=OFFattheendofthesequence. TheMOVE/EXCLUSIVE_ZONE=ONallowsyoutospecifytwocornerpointsthatforma3Dzone. Thiszonewillbereservedforthearmthatisassignedthecommand.Iftheotherarmisalreadyin therequestedzone,thenPCDMISwillwaituntilthefirstarmisoutofthewayandexitsthe contestedspacewithaMOVE/EXCLUSIVE_ZONE=OFF command.See"InsertinganExclusion ZoneCommand"inthe"InsertingMoveCommands"chapterforadditionalinformation.

UsingTemperatureCompensationwithMultipleArmCalibration
Athermocoupleisa thermoelectriccouplethat measurestemperature differences. Ifyou'recompensatingfortemperatureontheCMMs,youwillneed toinserttwotemperaturecompensationcommandsintothe programonecommandforthemasterarmandanothercommand fortheslavearm.Also,onlythethermocoupleforthepartwhichis attachedtothemastercontrollerwillbeusedforrecordingthepart temperature. InadditiontohavingtheSTPfile(Serv1.stp)intheappropriate directoryontheslavearm'scomputer,youmustalsoensurethat anotherSTPfilefortheslavearm(namedServ1s.stp)residesin thecorrespondingdirectoryonthemasterarm'scomputer.Todo this,copyServ1.stpfromtheslavearm'scomputer,renameitto Serv1s.stpandplaceitonthemasterarm'scomputer. FormoreinformationonTemperatureCompensation,seethe "CompensatingforTemperature"topicinthe"SettingYour Preferences"chapter.

RunningaMasterPartProgramontheSlaveArm
Ifyouneedtorunyourmasterpartprogramonaslavearm,youcanrunPCDMISinReverse Axesmode.ThismodeinternallyreversesthesignoftheXandYaxes,makingtheYaxis positivetowardsthecenterofthemachineandtheXaxisoppositethemasterarm'sXaxis. Allexistingprobefiles,wristmaps,toolchangers,andothercalibrationanderrorcompfileswill beusableinthismodewithoutanychange.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingMultipleArmMode 1533

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Note:CalibrationsdoneineithernormalorReverseAxesmodewillbecorrectandusablein eithermode.

ToaddaniconthatrunsPCDMISinReverseAxesmode:
1. UsingExplorer,navigatetothedirectorywhereyouwanttoaddtheicon. 2. FromExplorer'sFilemenu,selectNew|shortcut.ACreateShortcutwizardappears askingyoutoenterthepathwaytotheprogram. 3. IntheCommandLinebox,eithertypethecompletepathwaytothePCDMISexecutable file,orusetheBrowsebuttontonavigatetoandselectthefile.Thedefaultpathwayis "C:\Pcdmisw\Pcdlrn.exe". 4. OnceyouhavethepathwayintheCommandLinebox,placeyourcursorattheendof thepathway,typeaspace,andthentype/rorr.ThistellsPCDMIStoruninReverse Axesmode.YoucanalsocombinethiswithOperatormodebyaddingaoor/otothe commandline. 5. ClickNext. 6. IntheSelectaNamefortheShortcutbox,typesomethinglike"PCDMISReverse AxesMode". 7. ClickFinish.Thenewiconappears.

1534 UsingMultipleArmMode

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

NavigatingandDisplayingMultiple Windows
NavigatingandDisplayingMultipleWindows:Introduction
Thischapterdescribeshowtoeasilynavigatebetweenandviewmultipleopenpartprogramsby usingtheWindowmenu. Themaintopicsinthischapterinclude: SwitchingBetweenOpenPartPrograms ArrangingOpenWindows GivingOpenWindowstheProgramFocus

SwitchingBetweenOpenPartPrograms
Herearesomewaysyoucaneasilyswitchbetweenopenpartprograms: ClickingtheNextorPreviousOptions: SelecttheNextorPreviousmenu optionstoswitchtothenextorpreviouspartprograminarangeofopenpartprograms. Whenyou'vereachedtheendofalltheopenpartprograms,selectingtheNextagainwill notdoanything. ClickingonaListofOpenPartPrograms: attheverybottomoftheWindowsmenu,PC DMISdisplaysalistofallopenpartprograms.Youcaneasilyselectwhichpartprogram youwanttohavethefocusbyselectingthepartprogram'snamefromthelist. ClickingonaTitleBar:Ifapartprogram'sEditwindoworGraphicsDisplaywindowtitlebar isshowing,simplyclickonthetitlebartoswitchtothatpartprogram.

ArrangingOpenWindows
Thefollowingmenuoptionsallowyoutoarrangeallopenwindows.Thesemenuoptionswillnot affecttheEditwindowuntilyouremovetheEditwindowfromitsdockedpositionbyrightclicking ontheEditwindowanddeselectingtheDockingViewmenuoption. Icon MenuOption Cascade Description Stacksthewindows oneontopofthe otherwithjustthe titlebarsshowing, placingthewindow withthefocuson thetopofthestack. Tilesthewindows horizontally,placing windowwiththe focusonthetop.
NavigatingandDisplaying MultipleWindows 1535

TileHorizontally

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TileVertically

ActivateNext Window

Tilesthewindows vertically,placing thewindowwiththe focusontheleft. Activatesthenext openwindow.

GivingOpenWindowstheProgramFocus

SampleWindowmenu Abovethelistofpartprograms,PCDMISalsolistsallopenwindowsintheWindow menu. Simplyselectingthewindowsfromthismenuwillgivethatwindowtheprogramfocus.

1536 NavigatingandDisplaying MultipleWindows

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

WorkinginOfflineMode
WorkinginOfflineMode:Introduction
TheofflineversionofPCDMISisdesignedtoallowtheusertoprepareanddebugpart programswithoutusingaCMM.Theabilitytoprogramofflinehasbecomeincreasinglyimportant overthelastseveralyears.UsersofCMM'shavebecomemoreawareofthefactthat,inorderto fullyrealizetheirinvestmentsinCMMs,theirequipmentmustbeusedtomeasureparts,notwrite programstomeasureparts. CMMmanufacturers'firstattemptsataddingofflineprogrammingcapabilitiesinvolved cumbersome,specializedtexteditors.Theseproducts,althoughoflimiteduse,spurreduser interestinofflineprogramming.Drivenbythisinterest,severalCADvendorsdevelopedproducts thatalloweduserstogeneratepartprogramsusingCADmodels. Althoughtheseproductswerevastlysuperiortotexteditors,theyhadonemajordisadvantage cost.SinceeachCMMvendorhastheirownspecificmeasurementlanguageorlanguages,which wereconstantlychangingorinsomecasesbeingreplaced,theexpenseofdevelopingand maintainingtheseproductsputthemoutofthereachofallbutafewwellfinancedusers. ThissituationbroughtaboutthedevelopmentoftheDMISspecification,agenericCMMlanguage. DMISallowedCADvendorstodeveloppartprogrammingpackagesthatweretargetedtowarda singlelanguageinsteadofmany,greatlyreducingtheircosts.Thesesavingswerepassedonto theircustomersandofflinepartprogrammingbecameaviableoptionforalargegroupofCMM users.However,therewasstilloneproblem.WhataboutCMMuserswhoseCADvendorsdidnot supportanddidnotplantosupportofflinepartprogramming? AlthoughmanymainframeCADvendors,drivenbymajorcustomers,haveintroducedDMIS extensionstotheirproducts,PCbasedCADvendorswiththeirdiversecustomerbaseshave shownlittleinterestinthisarea.ManyCMMusers,particularlysmallshops,usePCbasedCAD systemsexclusively.PCDMISbringsofflineprogrammingcapabilitiestothisgroup. WithPCDMIS,programmersusingstandardIGESmodels,whicharesupportedbyvirtually everyCADvendor,cangeneratepartprogramsonaninexpensivePCorPCclonewithoutgoing nearaCMM.ThesepartprogramscanthenbeusedtodriveanyCMMeitherrunningPCDMIS orsupportingtheDMISspecification. Thetechniquesforprogrammingofflinearemuchthesameasthoseusedforprogrammingon line.However,asmightbeexpected,themethodsusedforqualifyingprobes,taking measurementsanddebuggingprogramsdifferfromthoseusedintheonlineversion.This appendixdescribesPCDMIS'Sofflineprogrammingtechniques. Themaintopicsinthischapterinclude: Prerequisites OfflineProbes SettingProbeDepth MeasuringFeaturesOffline ExecutingandDebuggingPartProgramsOffLine

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Workingin OfflineMode 1537

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Prerequisites
TousePCDMISoffline,CADdata,intheformofanIGESmodel,aDESfile,aDXFfile,or X,Y,Z,I,J,Kdatamustbeavailable.The"ImportingCADorProgramData"topicofthe"Using AdvancedFileOptions"chapterhasinformationonimportingthesefilesintothePCDMIS system.

IGESEntitiesSupported
IGESEntity 100 102 104 106 108 110 112 Description CIRCLE/ARC COMPOSITECURVE CONICARC COPIOUSDATA(multiplepoint line) PLANE LINE PARAMETRICSPLINECURVE (withcurvesandsurfaces option) PARAMETRICSPLINE SURFACE(withcurvesand surfacesoption) POINT RULEDSURFACE(withcurves andsurfacesoption) SURFACEOFREVOLUTION (withcurvesandsurfaces option) TABULATEDCYLINDER(with curvesandsurfacesoption) TRANSFORMATIONMATRIX RATIONALBSPLINECURVE (withcurvesandsurfaces option) RATIONALBSPLINE SURFACE(withcurvesand surfacesoption) OFFSETSURFACE TRIMMEDSURFACE(with curvesandsurfacesoption) ASSOCIATIVITYINSTANCE SUBFIGURE VIEW

114

116 118 120

122 124 126

128

140 144/142 402 408/308 410

IGESCompatibility
PCDMISiscompatiblewithIGES3.0,4.0,and5.1.

1538 Workingin OfflineMode

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

DXFInput
PCDMISwillreadinaDXF(DrawingInterchangeFile)fileasCADdatatobeusedtocreatepart programs.Thisfileformatwillnotsupporttext.Theonlytypeofdatathatissupportedisfeature data. ThisoptionisnotpartofPCDMIS'Sstandardmodule.PleasecontactyourPCDMISsoftware representativeifyouareinterestedinpurchasingthisaddonpackage.

DESInput
PCDMISwillreadinaDES(DataExchangeStandard)fileasCADdatatobeusedtocreatepart programs.Thedatacancomeinasfeatureorfixturedata.Ifitisfeaturedata,youhavethe optiontousethefeaturelabeltodefinethetypeoffeature.ByselectingtheDESpointfromthe PCDMISdisplay,thecorrectDCCfeaturedialogisdisplayedwiththevaluesfilledinfromthe DESpoint. TheDESfeaturetypeisdefinedbythefifthpositionofthefeaturelabel.Thisisthefifteenth(15) columnofthedatatypeLINEintheDESfile.Thecharacterandfeaturetypefollow. CHAR DESType S T H X Y Z Surface Trim HemEdge Hole Stud Slot PCDMIS SheetMetalType SurfacePoint EdgePoint EdgePoint Circle(in) Circle(out) RoundSlot

XYZASCIIFile
PCDMISwillreadinanyASCIIfilethatcontainsXYZ(andpossiblyIJK)data.Thefileshould containthenominal(theoretical)inspectionpointsthatneedtobemeasured. FordetailedinformationonXYZASCIIfiles,see"ImportinganXYZIJKFile"inthe"Using AdvancedFileOptions"chapter.

OfflineProbes
Withtheofflineversion,alltheprobedefinitionandcalibrationcapabilitiesasdefinedintheon lineversioncanbeused.However,valuescanonlybekeyedin.Measurementscannotbemade. (Forexample,youcannotactuallymeasureacalibrationartifacttofindthediameterofaprobe.) See"DefiningProbes"inthe"DefiningHardware"chapterforinformationondefiningaprobe. Note:Itissuggested(butnotmandatory)thattheprobeusedtocreatetheofflinepartprogram bethesameastheprobethatwillbeusedtoexecutethepartprogramonline.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Workingin OfflineMode 1539

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

SettingProbeDepth
Toprogrammeasurementsoffline,itisimportanttosetthedepthoftheprobeataspecified distance(inrelationtothesurfaceofthecurrentworkingplane).PCDMISoffersseveral methodsforsettingtheprobesdepth. Note:ItisnecessarytobeinProgramModetouseanyofthesetechniques.Verifythatthe STATEbuttondisplaysPROG.

SettingApproximateProbeDepth
Inmostcircumstancesitisonlynecessarytosetanapproximateprobedepthtoproperly measureafeature.TodothisusingofflinePCDMIS 1. Positionthemousecursoronthedrawingatthedesireddepthforhittaking. 2. Rightclickatthecurrentlocation.PCDMISwillthenredrawtheprobeinitsnewposition.

SettingProbeDepth

SettingProbeDepthonaFeature
Topositiontheprobeonaspecificfeature(i.e.,aplane): 1. Movethecursorclosetothefeature. 2. Holddowntherightmousebutton. 3. Releasethemousebutton. Whenthebuttonisreleased,PCDMISwillsnaptheprobetotheclosestCADelementand displaythemessage:"PreciseDepthSeton". Thestatusbardisplaysthecurrentnumberofhitsandtheprobeslocation.

1540 Workingin OfflineMode

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

SettingProbeDepthonaFeature

SettingProbeDepthonaSphere
PCDMISofferstwoproceduresthatallowyoutosettheprobedepthonasphere.Depending wheretheprobeislocatedinrelationtothecenterlineofthedrawingdetermineswherethehitwill betakenonthesphere.Iftheprobeisbelowthecenterline,PCDMISwilltakethehitonthe bottomofthesphere.Totakeahitonthetopofthesphere,theprobedepthmustbesetabove thecenterline.See"MeasuringFeaturesOffline" foradditionalinformationonthefollowing procedures. ThreeDimensionalProcedure Tosettheprecisedepthonathreedimensionalsphericalsurface: 1. Movetheanimatedprobetothedesiredcircle. 2. Holddowntherightmousebutton. 3. Releasethemousebutton.Theprecisedepthwillbesetonthesphere. PCDMISwillpositiontheprobeonthesideofthefeaturewherethemousebuttonwasfirstheld. Thisdeterminesthetypeoffeaturethatwillbemeasured.Iftheprobesnapstotheoutsideofa circularCADelement,thehitswillbeplacedoutsidethecircle.Iftheprobesnapstotheinsideof thesameelement,thehitswillbeplacedinsidethecircle.Thecirclesthreedimensionalorigin mustbethesamelocationasthespherescenter. Oncetheprecisedepthhasbeenset,allthepointsthataregeneratedwillsnapontothe sphericalsurface. TwoDimensionalProcedure Whenusingatwodimensionaldrawing,PCDMISrequiresatleasttwoviewsofthesphere.The sphereshouldbevisibleasacircle(orarc)inbothviews. 1. Settheprecisedepthfortwooftheaxesusingoneoftheviews.(See"SettingProbe DepthonaFeature"aboveforsettingprecisedepth.)PCDMISwilldisplaythemessage: PreciseDepthSeton." 2. Usingthesecondview,settheprecisedepthforthethirdaxis.PCDMISdisplaysthe message:PreciseDepthsetonSphere.Thisprocedurefindsthetruethree dimensionalcenterpointofthesphere.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Workingin OfflineMode 1541

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Oncetheprecisedepthhasbeenset,allthepointsthataregeneratedwillsnapontothe sphericalsurface.

SettingProbeDepthonaCone
PCDMISofferstwoproceduresthatallowyoutosettheprobedepthonacone.See"Measuring FeaturesOffline"foradditionalinformationonthefollowingprocedures. ThreeDimensionalProcedure Tosettheprecisedepthonaconicalsurface,PCDMISrequiresthattwoCADcircles(orarcs) ontheconebedisplayed.Itissuggestedthattwoviewsofthesurfacebeusedforthisprocedure, butitisnotrequired.(Isometricviewsarealsoaviablewayofsettingprobedepthonacone.) 1. Settheprecisedepthforoneendoftheconeusingoneofthecircles.PCDMISdisplays thismessage:PreciseDepthSeton. 2. Next,settheprecisedepthfortheotherendoftheconeusingthesecondcircle.PC DMISdisplaysthismessage:PreciseDepthsetonCone. Oncetheprecisedepthisset,allthepointsthataregeneratedwillsnapontotheconicalsurface. Singlehitscanbetakenonconesbyholdingdowntheleftmousebutton.Clickingtheleftmouse buttonpromptsPCDMIStotakeequallyspacedhitsaroundthecone. TwoDimensionalProcedure Tosettheprecisedepthonaconicalsurfaceintwodimensionaldrawings,PCDMISrequires thatthelengthbetweenthetwocircles(asdescribedabove)bedefined.Becausethesecircles areatthesamedepth,itisnecessarytoalsodefinetheprecisedepthofaline.Thiscanbeeither astraightline,oralineontheedgeofthecone.Aftersettingtheprecisedepthonthecircles, holddowntherightmousebuttonnexttothelinethatwillbeusedforthelength. Oncetheprecisedepthisset,allthepointsthataregeneratedwillsnapontotheconicalsurface. Singlehitscanbetakenonconesbyholdingdowntheleftmousebutton.Clickingtheleftmouse buttonpromptsPCDMIStotakeequallyspacedhitsaroundthecone.

KeyinginProbeDepth
Itissometimesnecessarytosettheprobeatsomespecificlocationinspace.Todothis: ClickontheX,Y,ZportionofthestatusbarwhileinPROGRAMmode(orselecttheOperation| MoveTooptiondescribedinthe"InsertingMoveCommands"chapter). 1. TheAutoMovePointdialogboxwillappear.Thedefaultsettingindicatestheprobe's currentlocation. 2. ChangetheX,Y,Ztothedesiredvalues.ByselectingtheStoreMovecheckbox,the MOVEPOINT commandcanbeaddedtotheprogram.Youalsohavetheabilitytoselect theIncrementmovescheckboxandtheOKtoMove checkbox. 3. OncethenewX,Y,orZvaluesareentered,clickonDoneandPCDMISwillmovethe animatedprobetothenewposition.

1542 Workingin OfflineMode

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MeasuringFeaturesOffline
PCDMISoffersseveralmethodsforprogrammingmeasurementroutinesoffline.Ahitistaken byholdingdowntheleftmousebutton.TheALT+(minus)keycombinationallowsyouto removeaspecifiednumberofhitsaslongasthemeasurementprocessisn'tcomplete.(Press ALT+minus foreachhitthatistoberemoved.)TheENDkeyallowsyoutocompletethe measurementprocess. Note:PresstheENDkeytoterminatethemeasurementprocess.PCDMISwillcontinueto accumulatehitsinthehitsbufferuntiltheENDkeyispressed.

AutomaticMeasurements
BasedupontheIGESdefinitionofcircularandlinearfeaturetypes,PCDMIScanmakesome assumptionsaboutthewaytheyshouldbemeasured.Takeadvantageoftheseassumptionsto speedupthepartprogrammingprocess.

CircularFeatures
Thedefaultnumberofhits PCDMIScanautomaticallygeneratehitsforcircles,cylindersand PCDMISgeneratesona arcs.Todothis: circularfeatureisasystem option.Tochangethisvalue, 1. Movethecursorclosetothecircumferenceofthefeature. accesstheSetupOptions 2. Clicktheleftmousebutton.(TheSTATEiconsmustbeset dialogbox(Edit| toProgrammode.)PCDMISwillthengenerateequally Preferences|Setup),and spacedhitsonthefeatureatthecurrentprobedepth.(See thenclicktheGeneraltab. "SetupOptions:GeneralTab"inthe"SettingYour Typethenewdefaultnumber Preferences"chapterforsettingthenumberofhitsfor intheAutoCircleHitsedit circles.) box. Followthesemeasurementrulesforcircularfeatures.

Foraninsidediameter(ID),placethecursorjustinsidethefeature. Foranoutsidediameter(OD),placethecursorjustoutsidethefeature. Toautomaticallyprogramcylinders,takeatleasttwosetsofhitsatdifferentprobedepths. Whenprogramminganarc,PCDMISwillspacethehitsalongthelengthofthearc.

Tomeasureasphereoracone,firstsetprecisedepthonthesphereorconebeforegenerating anyhits.See"SettingProbeDepthonaSphere"and"SettingProbeDepthonaCone".

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Workingin OfflineMode 1543

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

LinearFeatures
Thedefaultnumberofhits PCDMIScanautomaticallygeneratehitsforlinesandplanes.To PCDMISgeneratesona dothis: linearfeatureisasystem option.Tochangethisvalue, 1. Movethecursorclosetotheline. accesstheSetupOptions 2. Clicktheleftmousebutton.(TheSTATEiconsmustbeset dialogbox(Edit| toProgrammode.) Preferences|Setup),and thenclicktheGeneraltab. Followtheserulesformeasuringlinearfeatures: Typethenewdefaultvaluein theAutoLineHitseditbox. PCDMISwillgenerateequallyspacedhitsalongthelengthofthelineatthecurrent probedepth.(See"SetupOptions:GeneralTab"inthe"SettingYourPreferences" chapterforsettingthenumberofhitsforlines.) Thecursormustbeplacedonthesideofthelinewherethehitsaretobetaken. Toautomaticallyprogramplanes,atleasttwosetsofhitsatdifferentprobedepthsmust betaken.

SurfaceFeatures
UVscancanbeusedtoautomaticallyplacepointsonasurfacealongtheUVdirectionofthe surface.InProgrammodeandSurfaceSelectmode,presstheleftmousebuttoninsidethe surfacetobeselected.AdialogboxwillappearallowingtheinputofthestartandendUVvalues, aswellasthenumberofpointsalongeachUVdirection.

DiscreteMeasurements
Automaticmeasurementsspeeduptheprogrammingprocess,butitissometimesnecessarydue toeitherpartgeometryorfeaturetypetopreciselyplacehitsonafeature.Therearetwo techniquesforplacinghits.

PlacingHitsonaSurface
Inmanyinstancesitisnecessarytopreciselypositionthehitsonasurface(i.e.,plane,sphereor conemeasurement).Todothis: 1. Movethecursortothepositionwhereyouwishtotakethehit. 2. Holddowntheleftmousebutton(donotmovethemouse). 3. Releasethebutton.PCDMISwillprogramthehitatthatpoint. Thecursormustbeheldinonepositionwhileholdingdownthebutton.Otherwise,PCDMISwill misinterpretyourintention.Iftheprobetipsnapsontoafeatureafterthebuttonisreleased,then themousewasmovedduringtheprocess.PresstheALT+""(minus)keycombinationto removethehitandbeginagain. Note:Precisedepthmustbesetbeforeplacingdiscreethitsonacone,sphere,orplane.

1544 Workingin OfflineMode

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

PlacingHitsonaFeature
Inmanyinstancesitisnecessarytopreciselypositionhitsonafeatureotherthanaplane.Todo this: 1. Movethecursorclosetothepositionwhereyouwishtotakethehits. 2. Holddowntheleftmousebutton. 3. Movetheprobetowardsthepositionwhereyouwanttotakethehit.(theprobemustbe movedatleast1/8"onthescreen). 4. Releasethebutton. PCDMISwill"snap"thehitonthefeature.PCDMISwilllocatethehitonthesideofthefeature wherethecursorwaspositionedwhenyoufirsthelddownthemouse.

EndingaMeasurement
Toendameasurementintheofflinemode,presstheENDkey.

ExecutingandDebuggingPartProgramsOffLine
TheexecutionofpartprogramsinofflinePCDMISisthesameasinonlinePCDMIS.TheEdit windowprovidesimmediateaccesstoallofthecommandsinapartprogram,makingitaseasy tofinetuneanofflinepartprogramasaprogramdoneonaCMM. Pleaseseethe"EditingaPartProgram"chapter,foranoverviewofthemanyeditoptionsinPC DMIS. Itistheprogrammer'sresponsibilitytopaycarefulattentiontotheprobeanimationtodetect collisionsandmisplacedhits.Thebestwaytodothisistoreduceboththemoveandtouch speeds.ThisisdonebyenteringtheProbeSetupoption(seethe"ModifyingReportandMotion Parameters"topicinthe"SettingyourPreferences"chapter.)andkeyinginthedesiredspeedsin theappropriateeditbox.PCDMISwillstopthemeasurementprocesswhentheStopbuttonis pressed,resumingonlyaftertheContinuebuttonisselected.

Path
TheOperation|GraphicsDisplayWindow|PathLinesmenuoptionprovidesagraphical representationoftheprobespathalongthepart.Thisoptionisapowerfultoolforprobepath editingandisveryhelpfulintheofflinemeasurementprocedure.Toaccessthisoption: 1. MarkthefeaturesthatwillbeusedfortheprobepatheditingintheEditwindowofthe applicablepartprogram.(See"MarkingCommandsforExecution"inthe"Editinga PartProgram"chapter.) 2. SelecttheView|PathLinesoption.PCDMISwilldisplaythepathlinesoftheprobe thatwerecreatedduringthelearningportionofthepartprogram.The"Showingand AnimatingPathLines"topicfromthe"EditingtheCADDisplay"chapterhas additionalinformationonusingpathlines.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Workingin OfflineMode 1545

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TranslatingDOS/AVAILintoPCDMIS
TranslatingDOS/AVAILintoPCDMIS:Introduction
PCDMISwillallowausertotakepartprogramsthatwerecreatedinDOSorAvailandtranslate themtoruninPCDMISforWindows.Theoriginalpartprogrammusthavebeencreatedusing AvailorPCDMIS(DOS).TheoriginalpartprogrammusthavebeencreatedusingAvailorPC DMIS(DOS)version3.2orhigherinorderforthetranslationprocesstobeavailable. Note:ImportingTutorforWindowspartprogramswillnotbeavailableinthisrelease. Themaintopicsinthischapterinclude: Introduction TranslateaPartProgramFile ImportingaPartProgramFile

TranslateaPartProgramFile
Totranslateafile,thefollowingproceduremustbefollowed:

DOStoWindows
1. 2. 3. 4. UsingDOS,startupPCDMISforDOS.TheActivePartslistwillbedisplayed. ClickthePOSTbuttonfromthemenulist. Selectthepartprogramtobetranslated.PCDMISwilldisplaythePostOptionsmenu. SelecttheDIMS CMDSbutton(DIMScommands)fromthemenulist.PCDMISwillask fortheOutputFilename. 5. Typetheappropriatefilename,followedbythethreecharacterextension.Itissuggested (butnotmandatory)tousetheextension".dim". 6. WhenPCDMISispostprocessingthepartprogram,itwillaskyoutoenterthenameofa PCDMISforWindowsProbeFile.Typetheappropriatename. 7. MakesurethatitisaprobefilebeingusedforWindows. 8. PresstheENTERkey. 9. Whenthepostprocessingiscomplete,PCDMISwilldisplayamessageaskingyouto pressanykeytocontinue.PCDMISwillthenreturntotheActivePartslist. 10. ExitoutofPCDMISforDOS.

Avail/MMIVtoWindows
Avail/MMIVfilesneedtobetranslatedinordertoruninPCDMISforWindows.Itis recommended(butnotnecessary)thatthefilesaresavedwithaLLF*.*filename.Simplyfollow theinstructionslocatedin"ImportingaPartProgramFile".

ImportingaPartProgramFile
Thefollowingprocedureshouldbefollowedwhenimportingapartprogramfile.Theprocessis thesameregardlessofthefiletype.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

TranslatingDOS/AVAIL intoPCDMIS 1547

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

DOS,AvailandMMIVFiles
1. StartPCDMISforWindowsbydoubleclickingontheappropriatedesktopicon(orby selectingthedesktop'sStartButton|ProgramFiles|PCDMISForWindows).PC DMISwillloadandshowtheOpenFiledialogbox. 2. ClicktheCancelbuttontoclosethedialogbox. 3. SelecttheFile|Newmenuoptiontocreateanewpartprogram.TheNewPartProgram dialogboxwillappear. 4. Typeanewpartprogramfilenameandotherinformationasneeded. 5. ClicktheOKbutton.ThedialogwillcloseandPCDMISwillopentheProbeUtilities dialogbox. 6. ClicktheCancelbuttontoclosetheProbeUtilitiesdialogbox. 7. SelecttheFile|Importsubmenu. 8. Selecttheappropriateinputdatatype(DIMS,AVAIL,orMMIV).AnOpendialogbox appears 9. Selectthecorrectfile.Ifitwassavedwitha.DIM/.LLF*.*extension,PCDMISwill automaticallydisplayallavailablefileswiththeappropriateextension.Ifnecessary, changetothecorrectdirectory. 10. ClicktheImportbutton.IfCADdataalreadyexistsforyourpartprogram,youcan choosetoeitherMergeorReplacetheexistingCADdatawiththeimportedCADdata. TheChooseTranslationOptiondialogboxappearswiththesetranslationoptions: TranslatemainprogramandallcalledsubroutinesintooneDIMSpartprogram. Translatespecifiedfileonly. Includesubroutinecallsbutdonottranslate subroutinefiles. TranslatemainprogramandcalledsubroutinesintoseparateDIMSpart programs.

11. Selectoneoftheavailabletranslationmethods. 12. ClicktheOKbutton(orpresstheENTERkey). PCDMISwilltranslatetheDIMS/AVAIL/MMIVdataandreturntothepartprogram.


q q

ForeachTOOLCHANGEyouwillbepromptedtoselectaPCDMISprobefile. ForeachTIPCHANGEyouwillbepromptedtoselectaPCDMISprobe.

YourpartprogramisnowreadytoruninPCDMISforWindows. Important: WhenimportinganAVAILpartprogramsthatcontainsanIFTESTkeywordora GOTO/LABELcommandinsideofafeatureblock,oranMMIVpartprogramscontaininga BRANCH/TESTkeywordoraBRANCH/LABELcommandinsideofafeatureblock,PCDMISwill moveitsrespectiveIF andGOTOcommandsbeforethefeatureblock.Thiswillbecorrectedin futureversionsofPCDMIS.

UnderstandingtheMOVE/PH9_OFFSETCommandforImportedDOSPart Programs
IntheDOSversion,thesoftwarerotatedthePH9tothenewanglesandthenmadeanautomatic movesothatthetipwouldendupwhereitwaspriortotheanglechange.HoweverinthePC DMISforWindowswhenrotatingthePH9tonewangles,thesoftwaredoesn'tmakethisextra move.So,fortranslatedandimportedDOSpartprograms,PCDMISforWindowsautomatically

1548 TranslatingDOS/AVAILintoPCDMIS

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

insertsMOVE/PH9_OFFSETcommandstofacilitatethetranslationfromtheDOSversionofPC DMIStoPCDMISforWindows. Thiscommandhasthissyntaxandtakestwoinputs:


MOVE/PH9_OFFSET,INPUT1,INPUT2

INPUT1istheoldtipangle. INPUT2isthenewtipangle. Note:Youwon'tneedtousethiscommandinanormalPCDMISforWindowspartprogramsand youcan'tselectitfromanyofthemenus.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

TranslatingDOS/AVAIL intoPCDMIS 1549

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

UsingaWristDevice
UsingaWristDevice:Introduction
PCDMISprovidescompletesupportforcalibratingandusinginfinitelyindexablewristdevices suchastheRenishawPHS,theDEACW43,andtheDEACW43Laswellasdevicesprovidedby othermanufacturers. Themaintopicsinthischapterinclude: Installation TipCalibration CalibratetheUnit QualificationCheck HometheUnit UsingtheWristinaPartProgram

Installation
IfawristisinstalledonyourCMM,PCDMISwilladdAandBaxestotheX,Y,andZreadouts thatarenormallydisplayed.ThewristoptionmustbeturnedonintheportlockforPCDMISto enablethewristsupport.Becauseofthevarietyofinfinitewristsandinterfacessupported,you shouldconsultwithyoursoftwarevendorforspecificsonwhatPCDMISregistryentriesneedto bechanged(seethe"ModifyingRegistryEntries"appendixforinformationonusingthePCDMIS SettingsEditortomodifyregistryentries). PCDMISwillautomaticallyquerythecontrolleranddeterminethatthewristispresent.

NotesforRenishawPHSwithLeitzInterface
WhenyouareusingthekinematicsmountfortheRenishawwrist,youneedtomodifythe "RenishawKinematicMount=1"registryentryinthe[Option]sectionofthePCDMIS SettingsEditor.Forinformationonmodifyingregistryentries,pleaseviewthe"ModifyingRegistry Entries"appendix. PCDMISwillask(uponstartupofthesystem)ifthePHSWristismountedontheCMM.PC DMISwillonlyaskthisquestionwhenthecontrollerhasjustbeenpoweredon.Onceyouinform PCDMISwhatisontheendofthearm,itwillnotaskthequestionagainuntilitsensesthe controllerhasbeenshutdownandrestarted.Whenyouhavethewristmounted,PCDMISwill addAandBaxestothereadouts.ThisisinadditiontotheX,Y,Zaxisreadoutsthatarenormally displayed. Note:ThereadoutdisplaywillnotreflectthevaluechangesuntilyourunPCDMISafter respondingfavorablytothequestionregardingthePHSWrist

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingaWristDevice 1551

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TipCalibration
Tipcalibrationassumesthatyouhavealreadycalibratedthewrist.Itdoesnotneedtobedonefor thetipthatisusedtocalibratethewrist.Tipcalibrationisdoneautomaticallyforthetipusedto calibratethewrist. Thepurposeoftipcalibrationistocalculatethedistancefromthelast(Ajoint)joint'scenterpoint tothetipcenter.Theoretically,measuringonetipA,Bcombinationwillbesufficienttocompute thisdistanceoncethewristiscalibrated.However,itisagoodideatomeasuremorethanone A,BcombinationsothatPCDMIScanaveragethetipoffsetscomputed.Thiswillresultinbetter accuracy.

NewProbeFile
Onceyouhavecalibratedthewrist,youcanchangethetipattachedtothewristanddoatip calibration.Tocalibrateanewtiponthewrist: 1. AccesstheProbeUtilitiesdialogboxbyselectingtheInsert|HardwareDefinition| Probemenuoption. 2. Makesuretheprobedescriptionmatchesthenewtipthatyouhaveloaded. 3. SelectoneormoreA,Bcombination(s)fromtheActiveTiplistthatcorrespondtothis newtip.IfadesiredA,Bcombinationisnotinthelist,youcanadditbyselectingtheAdd Anglesbutton.YoumustselectatleastoneA,Bcombinationfromthetiplistinorderto calibratethetip.Ifyouselectmorethanone,PCDMISwillaveragetheresultstogeta moreaccuratetipoffset. 4. Whenyouhavethedesiredtipsselected,presstheMeasurebutton.Thiswilldisplaythe MeasureProbedialogbox.Thisallowsyoutosetthenumberofhits,prehit/retract,and speeds. 5. SelecttheCalibrateTipsoptionbuttonfromtheOptionsToCalibrate 6. Setthedesiredparameters. 7. ClicktheMeasurebutton. PCDMISwillbegintomeasurethespherewiththeselectedA,Banglecombinations.

CalibratetheUnitforInfiniteWristDevices
WhenyouhaveanindexablewristontheCMM,PCDMISwillallowyoutoaccesstheCalibrate theUnitandHometheUnitoptionsintheTypeofOperationareaoftheMeasureProbe dialogbox.

1552 UsingaWristDevice

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MeasureProbedialogbox

TypeofOperationareashowingtheCalibratetheUnitoptionenabled Note:Thiswristcalibrationisonlydonewithasinglestylusnotstarprobes.AfterPCDMIS completesthiscalibration,anyangularpositionofthewristmaybeutilizedinnewprobefilesby calibratingaminimumofoneprobeangle.Foradditionalinformation,see"CalibratetheUnit" underthe"TypeofOperationarea"topic.Seethe"Measure"topicinthe"DefiningHardware" chapterforgeneralinformationaboutcalibratingprobes. TheCalibratetheUnitoptionallowsyoutocalibratethewrist.Thisprocedureallowsyouto measureseveralanglesonaspheretodeterminetheinternaldistanceswithinthewristitself. Oncethisinformationiscalculated,PCDMISwilluseittoaccuratelypredictthetippositionat anyA,Banglepair.ThisallowsyoutouseanyA,Bangleinyourpartprogramwithoutcalibrating eachindividualposition. Note:BesureyoutypeyourdesiredmeasurementvaluesintheMeasureProbedialogboxfor thespheremeasurement,andselectthequalificationtoolbeforemeasuringwiththeCalibrate theUnitoptionselected.Youcansetthenumberofhits,theprobeprehitandretractdistances,
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual UsingaWristDevice 1553

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

andvariousspeedsusedinthemeasurementprocessfromtheMeasuredialogbox.See MeasureintheDefiningHardwarechapter.

WristCalibration
Inordertocalibratethewrist,youneedtomeasureatleastthreeAanglepositionsandatleast threeBanglepositionsforatotalofninespheremeasurements(eachAanglepositionmustbe measuredateveryBposition).TheWristCalibrationAngleSetupareaoftheMeasureProbe dialogboxgivesyoutheabilitytospecifytheanglesforcalibratingboththeAandtheBaxes. ThefirstthreeoptionsareforcalibratingtheAjoint. ForinformationonusingtheWristCalibrationAngleSetupareatodefinetheABangle positions,seethe"WristCalibrationAngleSetup"topicinthe"DefiningHardware"chapter. Note: WhenusingaRenishawPHS,everytimetheresaninterruptioninelectricalpowertothe PHScontroller,youmusteitherperformawristcalibrationorselectHometheUnitfromthe TypeofOperationareaoftheMeasureProbedialogboxandclickMeasureagain. CautionWhenUsingSP600Probes Formostprobetypesonaninfinitewrist,thewristdevicecalibratesazoneofanglesand approximatestherest.However,ifyouhaveanSP600probeonaninfinitewrist,theSP600 probeneedsitsowndeflectionmatrix.Youmust,therefore,calibrateeachABtipanglethat wasn'tpartoftheoriginalmappingprocessorsufferinaccurateresultsinyourmeasurements.

CalculateErrorMap
Normally,wristdevicesarecalibratedatrelativelysmallincrements(e.g.20degrees).Whenyou calibrateaninfinitelyindexablewrist,withtheCalibratetheUnitcheckboxselected,PCDMIS automaticallycreatesawristerrorcompensationfilenamedabcomp.datthatitusestocorrectfor angularerrorsinthewrist.Creatinganerrormapwillincreasetheaccuracyofthewristwhen usedtomeasureatpositionsnotpreviouslycalibratedbyallowingPCDMIStointerpolatethe probingoffsets. Aftercalculatingtheerrormap,theresultsarestoredonyourcomputersharddrivesothatany timeyouusethewrist,itwilltakeadvantageoftheimprovedangularaccuracy.Youshouldonly calculatetheerrormapperiodically(onceaweekorless),orasnecessary.Whencalculatingthe errormap,PCDMISalsoperformsavalidwristandtipcalibrationforthecurrentlyloadedprobe file. Note:Youshoulddoawristcalibrationeachtimethemountingofthewristchanges.Also,you shouldrefertoyourhardwareandvendorinformationforallappropriatetimestomapawrist sincethiscanchangebasedondeviceconstructionandmanufacturerrecommendations. Oncetheinfinitelyindexablewristdeviceiscalibratedandawristerrormapfileexists,youshould thentellPCDMIStousetheerrormapfile.Todothis,selecttheUseWristMapIfAvailable checkboxfromtheProbeUtilitiesdialogbox(seethe"UseWristMapIfAvailablecheckbox" topicinthe"DefiningHardware"chapter).Youcanthencreateanduseanypositionofnewprobe fileswithaminimumofcalibrations. Todothis,simplycreateanewprobefileandperformanormaltipcalibrationusingatleastone probepositiononthequalificationtoolthatmaintainsalinktoprobefileusedduringtheCalibrate theUnitprocess.However,itisimportantthatyouusemorethenoneprobepositionforthis

1554 UsingaWristDevice

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

calibrationsinceabetterfittingoftheprobeoffsetdatatothewristerrormatrixwilloccur.Thisis especiallytrueifseveralwristpositionswillbeutilizedinthenewprobefile. Note:Failuretomaintainalinktotheprobefileusedduringwristmappingwillresultin measurementerrors.

QualificationCheck

TypeofOperationareashowingQualificationCheckoption Afteryoucalibratetheunit,aqualificationcheckisrecommended,butnotrequired. Performingaqualificationcheckwillprovideyouwithinformationregardingthegeneral accuracyofthewristcalibrationandfuturemeasurements.Aqualificationcheckcanalso beusedtochecktheerrorsofnewtipsaddedtonewprobefiles. Toperformaqualificationcheck: 1. AccesstheProbeUtilitiesdialogboxbyselectingtheInsert|HardwareDefinition| Probemenuoption. 2. SelecttheanglesyouwishtouseforthequalificationcheckfromtheActiveTipList. Its recommendedthatyouselectprobeanglesbothusedandnotusedinthewrist calibration. 3. ClicktheMeasurebutton.TheMeasureProbedialogboxappears. 4. Providetheparametersyouwishtouseduringthecalibrationcheckincludingselecting theappropriatecalibrationtool. 5. SelecttheQualificationCheckoption fromtheTypeofOperationarea. 6. ClicktheMeasurebutton. 7. Followanyonscreeninstructions.

HometheUnit

TypeofOperationareashowingtheHometheUnitoption SomewristdevicessuchastheRenishawPHSdonothavepredefinedzeropositionsand usepotentiometersinsteadofscalestopositionthewrist. Thesetypesofwristdevicesneedto havethezeroredefinedeverytimepowertotheprobeheadcontrollerisinterrupted. Inorderto redefinethewristzeroposition,youmaychoosetheCalibratetheUnitoption(seeTip Calibration)ortheHometheUnitoption.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingaWristDevice 1555

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

SelectingHometheUnitwillcalculatetheangularerroroffsetfromthepreviouslycalculated wristzeropositionbyqualifyingoneormoreprobeanglesonapreviouslycalibratedsphere position.Theadvantagetothisisyoucanuseaminimumofoneprobetipanglemakingthe processmuchfasterthanawristcalibration. ItisrecommendedthatyouusemorethanoneprobeangletoaccomplishHometheUnitsince PCDMISwillaveragetheerrorsofthehomingproceduretoprovideamoreaccurateadjustment tothewristerrormap. ToperformaHometheUnit: 1. AccesstheProbeUtilitiesdialogboxbyselectingtheInsert|HardwareDefinition| Probemenuoption. 2. Selectthesameprobefilethatwasusedtocalibratetheunit. 3. SelecttheanglesyouwishtouseforthecalibrationcheckfromtheActiveTipList. 4. ClicktheMeasurebutton.TheMeasureProbedialogboxappears. 5. Providetheparametersyouwishtouseduringthecalibrationcheckincludingselecting thesamecalibrationtoolusedduringCalibratetheUnit. 6. SelecttheHometheUnitoptionfromtheTypeofOperationarea. 7. ClicktheMeasurebutton. Note:Aftercalibratingtheunitandpriortohomingtheunit,youshouldntmovethecalibration sphere.Ifitismoved,youmustrecalibratetheunit(seeTipCalibration).

UsingtheWristinaPartProgram
Onmachinesthatsupportit,PCDMISwillautomaticallysensewhenthewristhasbeenrotated withthejogbox.ThetipoffsetswilldynamicallybeupdatedbasedonthecurrentA,Bangles. Thatis,theXYZreadoutwilldisplaythecurrenttippositionasitisbeingrotated.Therearefour ways(discussedbelow)toaddanewA,Btipcombinationintoapartprogram. OnceyouhaveaddedanewA,Btipcombinationintoyourpartprogrambyusingoneofthe optionsbelow,PCDMISdisplaystheactivetipasprogrammedinthepartprogramintheActive tipdropdownlistonthetoolbar.ThisisthepriorTIP/commandabovewherethecursorisinthe Editwindow.InordertomovethewristtothisA,Banglecombination,pulldownandclosetheTip Listbox.PCDMISwillaskifyouwanttorotatetheprobe.AYesresponsewillrotatethewristto thedesiredposition.Thisisusefulwhenyouwanttogobackandinsertmeasurementsand movesintothepartprogram.

Option1
IntheProbeUtilitiesdialogbox,selecttheAddAnglesoption.Thiswillallowyoutokeyinnew A,Banglepairstotheprobefile.Ifthetiphasalreadybeencalibrated,thenthenewA,B combinationswillalsobecalibratedandreadytouse.OnceyouleavetheProbeUtilitiesdialog box,youcanusethesenewA,BcombinationsbyselectingthemfromtheTipListboxlocatedon thetoolbar.

Option2
ManuallyjogthewristtothedesiredA,Banglesusingthejogbox.Whenyoureachthedesired position,presstheStoreMovebuttononthejogbox,ortakeamanualprobing.ThecurrentA,B angleswillbereadautomatically.IftheAorBangleshavechangedbymorethanthePH9 warningdelta (seethe"WristWarningDelta"topicinthe"SettingyourPreferences"chapter),

1556 UsingaWristDevice

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

thenPCDMISwillautomaticallyaddthecurrentA,BanglestotheTipListandinsertaTIP/ commandinthepartprogram.ThenewTIP/commandwillbeaddedtothepartprogrambefore thestoredmoveormanualprobing.Whenthepartprogramisthenexecuted,PCDMISwillfirst changethetipbeforemovingtotheprogrammedlocation.

Option3
TypeinaTIP/commandintheEditwindow.Onceyoufinisheditingthevector,PCDMISwill calculatethebestA,Bcombinationsthatputthetipshankparalleltothatvector.PCDMISwill displaytheseanglesintheWristAnglesMatchingRequestedVectordialogbox.

WristAnglesMatchingRequestedVector ThereareoftentwoormoreA,Bcombinationsthatputtheshankintherequestedorientation. Thesewillbedisplayedinthedialog,andtheA,BcombinationthatisclosesttothecurrentA,B combinationonthewristwillbethedefaultchoice.Ifthedesiredvectorcanbeobtainedbyan infiniteAorBaxisposition,PCDMISwillmarkthisentrywiththewordsanyangle.PCDMIS willdefaultthisentrytothecurrentvalueonthisaxis.Youcankeyinadifferentvalueifrequired. OnceyouclickOKonthisdialog,PCDMISwilladdtheselectedA,Bcombinationtothetiplistfor theactiveprobe,andchangetheTIP/commandtousethisnewtip.

Option4
IntheAutoFeaturesdialogbox,eachtabentryhasacheckboxforAutoPH9. Whenthis optionischecked,PCDMISwilltakethedefinitionofthefeaturetodeterminethebesttipshank vectortomeasurethecurrentfeature.Itwillthenusethistipshankvectortocalculatethebest A,Bcombinations.ThesewillbedisplayedintheWristAnglesMatchingRequestedVector dialogboxdescribedin"Option3"above.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingaWristDevice 1557

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

CalibratingLessCommonProbes
CalibratingLessCommonProbes:Introduction
Thisappendixdescribeshowtocalibratelesscommonprobetypes.ManycustomersofPC DMISusetouchtriggerprobes,andtheinstructionsoncalibratingthoseprobetypesarealready coveredinthe"Measure"topicofthe"DefiningHardware"chapterofthemanual. Thecurrentprobecalibrationprocedurescoveredinthisappendixincludethefollowing: CalibratingOTM3SeriesLaserProbes CalibratingNextelLaserProbes CalibratingNC100VideoProbes

CalibratingOTM3SeriesLaserProbes
TheOTM3seriesarelaserscanningprobes.Therearetwomethodsforcalibratingtheseprobe types.ThesearesupportedonlyonmachinesusingaLeitzinterface.

CalibrateLaser:Method1
Qualifyatouchtriggerprobeonthespherethatyouwillusetocalibratethelaserprobe.Thisalso calibratesthelocationofthespheresothatyoucancalibratethelaserprobeentirelyinDCC mode.

CalibrateLaser:Method2
1. Whenyouarerequiredtotakethefirstmanualpoint,dothefollowing: 2. Movestheprobeperpendicular,towardthesurfaceuntilthegreen"InRange"lightis illuminatedontheWolf&BeckcontrollerandtheProbeEnablebuttononthejogboxis illuminatedingreen. 3. Pressthejogbox'sProbeEnablebuttontorecordthepoint'slocation. 4. Movetheprobeawayfromthesurface. 5. PresstheContinuebutton. Note:Beawarecalibrationresultscanlookverybad.Youmayevenhavenegativeprobe diameters.Also,duringcalibration,theportionofthecalibrationtoolusedisonlyfrom>=65 degreesto90degrees.

CalibratingNC100VideoProbes
TheNC100videoprobeisconsidereda"noncontactprobe".Thismeanstheprobenever touchesthepartwhiletakingmeasurements. Youwillneedtocalibratethisprobeonaspecialpolyhedralcalibrationtoolthathas17faces, requiring17orientationsoftheprobehead.Youwillalsoneedtoutilizeacalibratedtouchtrigger probetocalibratetheorientationofthepolyhedraltool.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

CalibratingLessCommonProbes 1559

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TheentireNC100VideoProbecalibrationprocesstakesaboutonehourtoperform.Besureto allowenoughtimetocompletetheprocess.Segmentingthisproceduremayresultinhavingto starttheprocessfromthebeginning. Youwillneedtwotypesofcalibrationtools:Aspherecalibrationtoolandapolyhedralcalibration tool.

CalibratetheTouchTriggerProbe:
First,youwillneedtocalibrateyourtouchtriggerprobe.Itneedstobecalibratedinaleasttwo positions(althoughdependingonyoursystem,youmayhavethree).

ThreeAxisProbe Youshouldusethefollowingpositionsformachineconfigurationsandgageorientations: A0B0C0 A90B180C0

Theprocessofcreatinganewtouchtriggerprobefileandcalibratingthetouchtriggerprobetype isalreadycoveredinthe"DefiningProbes"topicofthe"DefiningHardware"chapter.Refertothat topicifyouneedadditionalinformation. Followthestepsbelowtocompletethisphaseofthecalibration.

Step1:DefinetheTouchTriggerProbeandTwoTipPositions
Thefirstthingyouwillneedtodoisdefinethecorrectprobe,extensions,tipandtippositionsfor yourtouchtriggerprobe.

1560 CalibratingLessCommonProbes

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

1. FromtheProbeUtilitiesdialogbox(Insert|HardwareDefinition|Probe),definethe probe,extension,andtipsintheProbeDescriptionbox. 2. ClicktheAddAnglesbutton.TheAddNewAnglesdialogboxappears.

3. AddtheA0B0C0andA90B180C0anglesintotheNewAnglesList. 4. ClickOKtoacceptthetipanglesspecifiedintheAddNewAnglesdialogbox.The anglesnowappearintheActiveTipListoftheProbeUtilitiesdialogbox.

Step2:CalibratetheProbeTipPositionsonaSphereCalibrationTool
Nowyouwillcalibratethetwotippositionsonaspherecalibrationtool. 1. SelectthetwotipsthatyouwillusetoestablishtheinitialorientationofthePolyhedral GagefromtheActiveTipList. 2. ClicktheMeasurebuttonontheProbeUtilitiesdialogbox.TheMeasureProbedialog boxappears. 3. SelectacalibrationspherefromtheListofAvailableToolslist. 4. ClickMeasuretocalibratetheT1A0B0C0,T1A90B180C0tipsonacalibrationsphere. 5. Followtheonscreeninstructions.
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual CalibratingLessCommonProbes 1561

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Note:Eventhoughyouwillusethepolyhedralcalibrationtoolinsubsequentstepsyoushould keepthespheretoolwhereitisontheCMMplateforfurtheruseinthisprocedure.

Step3:CreatethePolyhedralCalibration Tool
Priortocalibratingonthepolyhedralcalibrationtool,youwillneedtodefinethepolyhedraltool. 1. SelectthetwotipsthatyouhavejustcalibratedfromtheActiveTipListoftheProbe Utilitiesdialogbox. 2. ClicktheMeasurebuttonagain.TheMeasureProbedialogboxappears. 3. ClicktheAddToolbutton.TheAddTooldialogboxappears.

4. FromtheToolTypelist,selectPOLYHEDRAL. 5. TypeanameforthetoolintheToolIDbox. 6. DefinetheI,J,KShankVector.Youwon'tneedtodefinetheDiameter/Lengthsincethis isalreadyhardcodedbasedonyourcalibrationtooltypeselection.

7. ClickOK.PCDMISdisplaystheMeasureProbedialogboxagain.

Step4:FillouttheMeasureProbeDialogBox
IntheMeasureProbedialogbox,youwillnowseevaluesdisplayedinthevariousboxes.These aretheparametersettingsthatPCDMISwillusedduringthemeasurementprocess.

1562 CalibratingLessCommonProbes

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Youcanacceptthesedefaultvaluesorchangethemtomeetyourspecificneeds.

1. SelectCalibrateNC100ArtifactoptionbuttonfromtheTypeofOperationarea. 2. SelecttheManual,DCC,orManDCCoption. Note:EvenifDCCorManDCCmodeisselected,PCDMISwillrequireyoutomanuallytakehits onthecalibrationtool.

Step5:EstablishingtheOrientationofthePolyhedralCalibrationTool
PCDMISwillaskyoutomeasuretwoplanesonthepolyhedralcalibrationtool.Theseplaneswill thenbeusedtoestablishtheorientationofthetool. 1. ClicktheMeasurebuttonintheMeasureProbedialogbox.Amessageboxappearsand asksifyouwouldliketoestablishtheinitialorientation. 2. ClickYES.YoushouldonlyclickNOifyouhadpreviouslyestablishedtheorientation. AnothermessageboxappearsaskingifyouwanttomovethePH9/10head. 3. ClickYES.TheExecuteModedialogboxappears.PCDMISasksyoutotakethreehits tomeasureaplane. 4. Takethethreehitsonthefaceofthecalibrationtoolthatismostnormaltotheprobe positionofT1A0,B0,C0. 5. PressDoneonyourjogbox.PCDMISthenasksifyou'rereadytorotatethePH9/10to thesecondposition. 6. ClickOK.PCDMISrotatesthetipangletothesecondtipangleofT1A90B180C0.Again, PCDMISasksyoutotakethreehitstomeasureaplane. 7. Takethreehitsonthefaceofthecalibrationtoolthatismostnormaltothecurrentprobe position. 8. PressDoneonyourjobbox.AfteryoupressDone,PCDMISdisplaysanothermessage box,statingthatnotallofthetipsrequiredforcalibrationareavailableintheprobefile. 9. ClickYEStoaddthesetippositions.PCDMISwillthenaddupto17newpositionswillto theActiveTipListintheProbeUtilitiesdialogbox. Important:Donotmovethepolyhedraltoolafterestablishingthisinitialorientation!Eventhough thespherecalibrationtoolisusedinthenextstep,youwillusethepolyhedraltoolagain,andif youmovethetool,youwillneedtobeginthecalibrationprocessfromthebeginning.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

CalibratingLessCommonProbes 1563

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Step6:CalibratingAllNeededProbeTipPositionsontheSphereTool
Inthisstepyouwillbeusingthespherecalibrationtooltomeasurethenewpositionsaddedat theendofthepreviousstep.It'sbestifyouhaven'tmovedthetoolsinceyouuseditlast.

1. SelectthenewlyaddedtippositionsfromtheActiveTipListoftheProbeUtilities dialogbox. 2. ClicktheMeasurebutton.TheMeasureProbedialogboxappears. 3. SelecttheDCCorManDCCoptionbutton. 4. SelecttheCalibrateTipsoptionbuttonintheTypeofOperationarea. 5. SelectthespherecalibrationtoolfromtheListofAvailableToolslist. 6. ClicktheMeasurebutton.IftheDCCoptionwasselected,PCDMISwillautomatically begintomeasurethesphereusingthevariousprobetippositions. 7. Aftercalibration,PCDMISreturnstotheProbeUtilitiesdialogbox.

Step7:CalibratingtheNC100Artifact
InthisstepPCDMISwillcalibratethepolyhedraltoolbymeasuringeachholeoneachfaceofthe polyhedraltool.

1564 CalibratingLessCommonProbes

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

1. ClicktheMeasurebuttonfromtheProbeUtilitiesdialogbox.TheMeasureProbe dialogboxappears. 2. EnsurethattheNumberofHitsboxhasthevalueof4orhigher.Thisnumberindicates thenumberofhitstakentomeasureeachholeonthefacesofthetool. 3. SelecttheDCCoptionbutton. 4. SelecttheCalibrateNC100ArtifactoptionbuttonfromtheTypeofOperationarea 5. SelectthepolyhedraltoolfromtheListofAvailableToolslist. 6. ClicktheMeasurebutton.PCDMISdisplaystwomessageboxesatthispoint.Thefirst asksifyouwouldliketoestablishtheinitialorientation. 7. ClickNO.Youalreadyperformedthisstepearlier.Thesecondmessageboxasksifthe qualificationtoolhasbeenmoved. 8. Sinceyouhaven'tcalibratedthepolyhedraltoolyet,clickYES.PCDMISnowasksyouif theCMMisreadytorotatetheprobehead. 9. ClickOK.TheExecutionModeOptionsdialogboxappearsandPCDMISwillbeginthe measurementprocess.Youwillmeasuretheveryfirstfaceofthetoolmanually.PC DMISwillpromptyoutofirsttakethreesamplehits. 10. Takethethreesamplehitsonthefacemostnormaltotheshankvector(theverytopof thetool).PCDMISwillthenpromptyoutotakehitsinsidethehole(basedonthenumber ofhitsyouspecifiedearlier). 11. Takethehitsinsidethehole.Afteryoumeasurethefirstface manually,PCDMISwill takeoverandmeasuretheremainingfacesinDCCmode. WhenPCDMISfinishesmeasuringall17facesofthepolyhedraltool,itwilldisplaytheProbe Utilitiesdialogboxagain.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

CalibratingLessCommonProbes 1565

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Youhavenowcompletedthefirsthalfandmostcomplexpartofthevideoprobecalibration process.Therestoftheprocessislesstediousandshouldonlytakeafewmoreminutes.

CalibrateNC100VideoProbe
Nowyouwillneedtocalibratetheanglesusedbyyournoncontact(oroptical)probe.ANC100 videoprobeisthefirstopticalprobeavailableonthemarketthatcanbecalibratedinmultiple orientations.

1. FromtheProbeUtilitiesdialogboxspecifytheprobe,extensionandopticalprobefor yourNC100system. 2. ClicktheAddAnglesbutton.TheAddNewAnglesdialogboxappears. 3. Addanyanglesrequiredbyyourpartprogram.Theseanglesshouldbenormaltothe partfeatureyouwillmeasure. 4. ClickOKtoreturntotheProbeUtilitiesdialogbox. 5. ClickMeasure.TheMeasureProbedialogboxappears. 6. SelecttheDCCoptionbutton. 7. SelecttheCalibrateTipsoptionbuttonfromtheTypeofOperationarea. 8. SelectthepolyhedraltoolfromtheListofAvailableToolslist. 9. ClicktheMeasurebutton.PCDMISwillcalibratetheprobepositionsyouselected. You'vesuccessfullycalibratedyourprobe.

1566 CalibratingLessCommonProbes

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

WorkingwithPortableDevices
WorkingwithPortableDevices:Introduction
Portabledevicesaremanuallyoperatedmeasuringmachinesthatarerelativelyeasytomoveto newlocationsduetotheirsizeanddesign.Thesearesometimescalled"manualmachines",or "hardprobemachines".becausetheycannotruninDCCmodenordotheyhaveatouchtrigger mechanismtorecordhits.Infact,someportabledevices,suchastheSMXtracker,usealaser probeinsteadofaphysicalprobetotakehits. Thissectionprovidesyouwithmiscellaneousinformationaboutthesedevicesandhowtheywork withPCDMIS.Itdoesn'tdiscussusingthemtocalibrateorperformhardprobemanualscans sincethosetopicsarealreadydiscussedinthe"DefiningHardware"and"ScanningYourPart" chaptersrespectively.Nordoesitcovercomplexoperationsthatarelikelyalreadydiscussedin documentationthatcamewithyourportablehardware. Thissectioncoversthesetopics: LaunchingPCDMISPortable UsingMouseMode ConvertingHitstoPoints ScanningforSampleHits PulledHits

LaunchingPCDMISPortable
PCDMISgivesyoutheoptiontolaunchaslightlydifferentuserinterfacewhenworkingwith portabledevices.APortabletoolbarappears(see"PortableToolbar"inthe"UsingToolbars" chapter).Inaddition,toolbariconsandmenuitemswillbelarger,easiertoseefromadistance. Youcanaccessthisinterfacebyappending"/portable:on"tothePCDMIScommandline. TocreateashortcutthatlaunchesPCDMISinPortablemode, 1. InsideafolderinWindows,rightclickandselectNew|Shortcut.TheCreateShortcut wizardappears. 2. ClickBrowse,andselectPcdlrn.exefromwhereyouhavePCDMISinstalled. 3. IntheboxthatpointstothelocationofPcdlrn.exeappendthefollowingtoapathway:
/portable:on

4. So,ifPCDMISwasinstalledinthe"C:\Pcdmisw"directory,thecommandlineinthe wizardwouldlooklikethis:

5. ClickNextandspecifyanamefortheshortcut.
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual WorkingwithPortableDevices 1567

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

6. ClickFinish.Theshortcutgetscreatedatthespecified location. 7. DoubleclickonthenewlycreatedshortcuttolaunchPCDMISPortable.

AscreenshotofthePortableuserinterface,showingthelargerfontsizesandtoolbar icons Alternately,youcanaccesstheCustomizedialogbox(rightclickontoolbarareaandselect Customize)andthenselecttheUseLargeMenusandUseLargeToolbarIconscheckboxes.

UsingMouseMode
PCDMISletsyouplaceyourportabledeviceinto"MouseMode".Thisspecialmodeletsyou performstandardmousepointeractions(movethepointer,clickorrightclick,etc.)insidePC DMISbymovingthearmandprobeheadaroundandpressingbuttonstoperformmouse"clicks". PCDMISinterpretsthemotionasifyouwereusingastandardmouse.Thisallowsyoutoremain withyourportabledeviceratherthancontinuallyswitchingbetweendeviceandcomputer. IfPCDMISisinMouseModeandyouattempttopickupanduseyourregularmouse,itwill behaveerratically.Youshouldexitoutofthismodepriortousingyourstandardmouse functionality. MouseModefunctionsoutsideofPCDMISbutonlyifPCDMISremainsrunningandminimized inthebackground. ToEnterMouseMode 3ButtonConfiguration:Pressthethirdbutton.TheportabledeviceentersMouseMode andPCDMISassignsyourprobe'smovementstothemousepointeronthescreen. 2ButtonConfiguration:Pressandholdthetakehitbuttonandthenquicklypressthe donebutton(withinthefirstsecond).

1568 WorkingwithPortableDevices

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TakingMouseClicks 3ButtonConfiguration:Themiddlebutton(button2),performsaleftclickandthefirst button,performsarightclick. 2ButtonConfiguration: Onebuttonperformsaleftclickandtheotherbuttonperforms arightclick.

ToExitMouseMode 3ButtonConfiguration:Toexitmousemodewithathreebuttonmouseyoupressthe thirdbutton. 2ButtonConfiguration: Movethecursortothetopofthescreenandpresstheleft mousebutton.

ConvertingHitstoPoints
YoucancausePCDMIStoreceiveastreamofpointsfromtheinterface.Todothis,holddown theTakeHitbuttononyourportabledevice.Thisletsyouquicklyscanoverasurfacetaking severalpointsinaveryshortamountoftime. OncePCDMISreceivesthestreamofpoints,itcandooneoftwothingswiththem: CreateIndividualPointFeatures.IfyouareinPointOnlyModeorifyouhavetheAuto FeatureVectorPointdialogboxopen,PCDMISwillcreateindividualpointfeaturesfrom thisstreamofpoints. ToenterPointOnlyMode,clickthePointOnlyModeiconfromtheGraphics Modestoolbar. ToaccesstheVectorPointdialogbox,selecttheVectorPointiconfromthe AutoFeaturestoolbar. GuesstheFeature.Ifyouarenotineitherofthesemodesthepointswillgoontothehits bufferandyouwillseethehitcountincrementontheStatusBar.Whenyoufinish measuring,theresultingfeaturedependsonyoursettingsandifGuessModeisbeing used.

ScanningforAutoFeatureSampleHits
IfyoumeasureanAutoFeaturethatusessamplehits,PCDMISwillpromptyoutotakethose samplehitsduringpartprogramexecution.Insteadoftakingjustafewindividualhitswithyour portablearm,however,youcannowscanthesurfacewiththeprobetoretrievemultiplehitsvery rapidlyoneachsurface.Thishelpstoimproveyouraccuracy. Somefeatures,suchasanAutoCirclehaveonesampleplane.OtherautofeaturessuchasAuto AnglePointorAutoCornerPointhavemultiplesampleplanes.Toscanasurface,simplypress thebuttononyourportablemachinethatbeginsretrievinghitsfromthecontroller,thenpassthe probeoverthesurfaceforaslongasyoulike,PCDMISwillreadinmultiplehits.Whenyou releasethebuttonandfinishscanningthesurface,PCDMISwillpromptyoutotakethenextset ofsamplehitsonthenextsurface.Continuethisprocessuntilyouhavescannedallnecessary samplehitsonallsurfaces. RulesofScanningforSampleHits Youcannotscanformultiplesampleplanesinonescansegment.Inotherwords,you cantscansamplehitsaroundcorners.Whenyouscanforsamplehits,eachscanmust
WorkingwithPortableDevices 1569

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

remainonasinglesurface.Ifafeatureneedssamplehitsfrommorethanonesurface, suchasacornerpointfeaturethatusesthreesurfaces,eachsurfaceneedsitsownscan. Youcannotscanforsamplehitsandthenmeasureafeatureusingthesamescan segment.Whenscanningsamplehitspriortoactuallyscanningthefeaturetomeasureit, youshouldperformascansegmentforeachsurfaceneedingsamplehits,andthena separatescansegmentfortheactualfeaturemeasurement. Whenscanningtheactualfeature,notthesamplehits,youcanperformthefeature measurementinasinglescan.Forexample,foranAutoSquareSlotyouwillscanallfour sidesinonecontinuoussegment.

ForinformationonAutoFeaturesandsamplehits,seethe"CreatingAutoFeatures"chapter. RegistryEntriesforHardProbeScanning ThereareseveralregistryentriesinthePCDMISSettingsEditorthatcontrolhowwhenpoints arereadintoPCDMISfromyourportablearm'scontroller.Thefollowingentriesarelocatedin theHardProbeScanningInFeaturessection:


MinDeltaBetweenPointsInMM Thissetstheminimumdistance(inmillimeters)thatyour

probemustpassbeforeanewhitgetssentfromthecontrollertoPCDMIS. MinTimeDeltaBetweenPointsInMilliseconds Thissetstheminimumtime(inmilliseconds) thatmustpassbeforePCDMIStakesanewhit. MaxPointsForAFeature Thissetsthemaximumnumberofpointsneededforafeature. AnypointsreadintoPCDMISfromthecontrollerbeyondthismaximumnumberare ignored.

Forinformationontheseentries,launchyourPCDMISSettingsEditorandpressF1toaccessits helpfile.Thennavigatetotheappropriatetopics.

UsingPulledHits
WithportableCMMsusinghardprobes,theprobesshankvectorisused asthehitvector.However,duetotheshapeofaparticularpart,youmay notbeabletopositiontheprobesshanktogetaproperhitvector. Forexample,ifyouwanttomeasureasmall,deephole(B),buttheendof thearm(A)istoolargetofitintothathole,youneedtotake"pulledhits"to geteachhitvectortoproperlypointtowardsthecenterofthehole,thereby determiningtheproperin/outcompensation.Pulledhitsarehitswhose vectorsmatchthedirectionpulledawayfromthehitlocation,notthe defaultshankvectoroftheprobe. ArmDeviceExample Foraportablearmdevice(notatracker),youwouldfollowthisproceduretotakeapulledhit: 1. Pressandholdthehitbuttonlongenoughtogetapulledhit,butnotsolongthatPC DMISstartsscanningthepart.Tochangethelengthoftimetodistinguishbetween pulledhitandstartscanning,youcanmodify the DelayToStartSendingScanPointsToManualHitregistryentryusingthePC DMISSettingsEditor. 2. MovethetipinthedirectionofthevectoryouwanttosendtoPCDMIS,awayfromthe hitlocation.Youmustmoveitadistanceequaltoorgreaterthanthedefinedvector distance.Todefinetheminimumdistancefromthehitthatyoumustmovetheprobefora

1570 WorkingwithPortableDevices

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

pulledhittobeaccepted,youcanmodifytheVectorToIMMregistryentryusingthePC DMISSettingsEditor. 3. Releasethebutton.Youwillhearadifferentloweraudibletone. SupportedInterfaces Thefollowinginterfacessupportpulledhits: FaroInterface Romer Axila SMXLaser(Farotracker) Leica

Note:ForAutoFeatures,thelasthitvectordeterminesthecompensationdirection.For MeasuredFeatures,thefirsthitvectordeterminesthecompensationdirection.

ConfiguringtheRomerInfiniteArmwithaPerceptronContourSensor
ThissectioncontainssupplementalmaterialtothestandardWinRDSdocumentationforyour RomerInfiniteArmusingaPerceptronContourSensor.Foradditionalinformationpleaseconsult theothermanuals. ToconfigureyourInfiniteArmtouseaPerceptronContourSensor,followthesesteps: RomerInfiniteArmSetup SettingWinRDSEnvironmentVariables InstallPCDMISforRomer ConnecttheContourSensorControllerBox ConfiguretheNetworkCard AttachYourContourSensor CompletethePCDMISConfiguration VerifySensorInstallation

RomerInfiniteArmSetup
1. Mountthefixturingbasetoastableplatformusingthemountingscrewsormagnetic chucks. 2. Placethearmonthefixturingbasebyscrewingthelargethreadedringatthebaseofthe armtothefixturingbase. 3. Oncethearmissecurelymounted,pluginthepowertothearmandverifythepower comeson.Turnoffthearmuntilstep6. 4. InstallWinRDS(version2.3.5oflater)ifithasnotalreadybeeninstalledonthecomputer. WinRDSisavailableviathislink:ftp://ftp.wilcoxassoc.com/3rdParty/Romer/Romer235.zip EarlierversionsofWinRDSdonotadequatelysupportthePerceptronsensor.Installing WinRDSwillplacetwoiconsonyourcomputerdesktopOneiscalledArmUtilitiesand theotherQuickCheckTools. Important:TherearetwowaysofcommunicatingwiththeInfinitearm.1)viaUSBconnection,2) viawirelessconnectionifyourcomputerhasawirelessNetworkInterfaceCard(NIC).Becauseof thehighcommunicationspeedrequiredbylaserscanners,itispreferredthatyouconnectyour computertotheInfinitearmviatheUSBcomport.Wirelesscommunicationisnotcoveredinthis

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WorkingwithPortableDevices 1571

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

document.Ifyouwanttoconnectviathewirelesssupport,pleaseseeyourCimCoreInfinitearm ownersmanualandthedocumentationinstalledwiththeWinRDS installation. 5. PlugintheUSBconnectorintooneoftheUSBportonyourcomputer. 6. Startupthearmbytogglingthepowerswitch.IfyouarerunningWindow2KorWindows XP,yourcomputerwilldetecttheconnectionandaskyouifyouwanttoinstalltheUSB driversforthearm.GoaheadandinstalltheUSBdrivers. 7. Oncethedriverinstallationiscomplete,doubleclicktheArmUtilitiesicononyour Desktop.ThiswilllaunchtheArmUtilitiesapplication.Whentheapplicationstartsup,it willautomaticallytrytoconnecttothemachine.Ifthemachineisconnectedproperly,it willconnecttothearmandaskyoutoresettheaxes.Ifthereareproblems,please consulttheWinRDSandCimCoredocumentation. 8. Toresettheaxes,moveallofthejointsonthearmuntileachofthejointsarezeroedout. Atthispointthemachineisconnectedandreadytowork.

SettingWinRDSEnvironmentVariables
ThereisonelaststeptoworkwithPCDMIS.IfyouareusingaversionofWinRDSpriorto version5.0,youwillneedtosettheWinRDSdirectoryinthepathofthecomputer.Todothis, followthesesteps: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. OpentheControlPanelbyclickingtheStartbuttonandselectingControlPanel. DoubleclicktheSystemicontoopentheSystemPropertiesdialogbox. SelecttheAdvancedtab. SelecttheEnvironmentVariablesbutton. IntheSystemVariablessectionoftheEnvironmentVariablesdialogbox,scrolldown untilyouseePathontheleft.SelectPathfromthelistandselecttheEditbutton. 6. GototheendoftheVariableValuelineandaddasemicolon()followedbythepathof theWinRDSinstallation(i.e.c:\ProgramFiles\CIMCORE\WinRDS) 7. ClickOKontheEditSystemVariabledialogbox,clickOKontheEnvironment VariablesdialogboxandclickOKontheSystemPropertiesdialogbox. AtthispointyoucanlaunchPCDMIS.YoumaygetamessagesayingRetrievingarmspecs fromthemachinedependingonhowyouhaveconfiguredWinRDS.Thissettingcanbechanged throughtheArmUtilitiesprogram.

InstallPCDMISforRomer
OnceyouhaveverifiedconnectionofthePCtothearm,installPCDMISbydoingthefollowing: 1. ProgramyourportlockwithLaserandPerceptronoptionsbeforeinstallingPCDMIS.If youdonthaveLaserandPerceptronspecifiedintheportlock,youwillnothavethe necessaryPerceptronfilesasindicatedbelow.Additionalfileswillbeinstalledthatare requiredbyWinRDSwhenyouinstallPCDMIS. 2. InstallPCDMIS.DonotrunPCDMISatthispoint. 3. Verifythattheprobe.8 filehasbeeninstalledinyourArmDatadirectory(usually c:\ProgramFiles\CIMCORE\WinRDS\ArmData).ThisfileshouldbeinstalledbyPCDMIS duringtheinstallprocessaslongasyourportlockisprogrammedcorrectly.Theprobe.8 fileisusedbyWinRDSastheidentifierforthePerceptronContoursensor.Ifyoudonot haveacopyofthisfile,makesurethatyoucontactyourPCDMISdistributor.

1572 WorkingwithPortableDevices

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ConnectthePerceptronSensorControllerBox
TheconnectiontothePerceptronSensorcontrollerboxrequiresadedicatedNetworkInterface Card(NIC).YouwillneedtousetheintegratedNIConyourcomputerorpurchaseanadditional NICbecausethePerceptronrequiresadedicatedNICforcommunicationwiththeirPerceptron Sensorcontrollerbox. Important:AUSBNICisnotsufficientforthisconnection.Ifyouareusingadesktopcomputer, youwillneedanadditionalPCINICorifyouareusingalaptop,youwillneedaPCMCIANIC. ToConnectYourPerceptronSensorControllerBox: 1. RemovethecaponthebackoftheInfiniteArmlabeledSCANNER. 2. TakethesensorcablefromthePerceptronboxandplugitintothe"Sensorconnectoron thePerceptroncontrollerbox.Plugtheotherendintothe"SCANNER"connectiononthe backofthearm. 3. TheremaybeasmallpigtailthatcomesoffoftheendpluggedintothePerceptron controllerboxdependingonwhatversionofPerceptroncontrolleryouhave.Ifyouhavea pigtail,plugthepigtailintotheconnectormarkedTrigger. 4. OntheothersideofthePerceptroncontrollerbox,connectacrossoverRJ45cable. ConnecttheotherendtothededicatedNIConthecomputer.

ConfiguretheNetworkCard
InordertocommunicatewiththePerceptroncontrollerboxyouwillneedtoconfigureyour dedicatedNICfollowingthesesteps: 1. OpentheControlPanelbyclickingtheStartbuttonandselectingControlPanel. 2. DoubleclicktheNetworkConnectionsicontoviewthecurrentNetworkConnections. 3. FromthelistofLANorHighSpeedInternet,doubleclickonthenameoftheNIC connectedtothePerceptroncontrollerbox. 4. ClickPropertiesontheGeneraltab. 5. DeselectallitemsexceptInternetProtocol(TCP/IP)byclickinginthecheckboxnextto anyoftheitemsthatarecurrentlychecked.ThisshouldleavethelistwithonlyInternet Protocolchecked.

6. HighlightInternetProtocolbyselectingthetext(notthecheckbox)andselect Properties. 7. OntheGeneraltaboftheInternetProtocol(TCP/IP)Propertiesdialogbox,selectthe radiobuttonlabeledUsethefollowingIPaddressandtypethefollowingvaluesas shownintheimage:

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WorkingwithPortableDevices 1573

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

IPaddress:192.168.19.1 Subnetmask:255.255.255.0

8. ClickAdvancedtoopentheAdvancedTCP/IPSettingdialogbox. 9. FromtheAdvancedTCP/IPSettingsdialogboxselecttheWINStab. 10. SelecttheDisableNetBIOSoverTCP/IPoptionintheNetBIOSsettingarea. 11. ClickOKontheAdvancedTCP/IPSettingsdialogbox,clickOKontheInternet Protocol(TCP/IP)PropertiesdialogboxandthenclickOKonthe<dedicatedNIC> Propertiesdialogbox.

AttachYourContourSensor
1. MounttheContoursensortothewrist.Ifyouareusingasevenaxisinfinite,youwillneed tomountthesensorinthemountthatisintheaxisoftheseventhjoint. 2. TurnonthePerceptronSensorcontrollerboxbypressingthepowerbuttonlocatedclose tothepowerconnectorandthetriggerconnector.Thisisnottobeconfusedwiththe sensorpowerrockerswitchlocatedonthesamesideofthecontrollerbox.Theboot sequenceforthecontrollerboxmaytakeaslongastwominutes.Youwillknowwhenthe bootcycleiscompletebecausethegreenReadyLEDwillbelit. 3. Whenthebootcycleiscomplete,turnthesensorpowerrockerswitchtotheonposition. Thiswillprovidepowertothesensor.Youcanverifythatthesensorhaspowerby lookingatthethreeLEDsonthesideofthesensorhead.TheLEDslabeled+12Vand +5Vshouldbelit.Iftheyarenoton,checkthepoweronthesensorcontrollerboxandthe sensorcable.TheLEDmarkedLASERonlycomesonwhenscanning. 4. Withthepoweron,browsetothePerceptronsubdirectoryinsidethePCDMISinstall directory.DoubleclickontheWinSenapplication.Thisisadiagnosticapplication providedbyPerceptron.Whentheapplicationislauncheditwilltrytoestablish communicationwiththesensor.Ifsuccessfulyoushouldreceiveseveralmessageswith Status=0x00000000(AllOK).YoushouldalsoseealineindicatingthesensorID.Ifthere isnosensorID,thereisacommunicationwiththesensor. 5. PointthesensoratsomethingandthenselecttheImage|LiveSensorDisplaymenu item.Youshouldthenbeabletosee(ifyouarewithinthecamerasfieldofview)thelive cameraimageofthepartyouarescanning.Youshouldalsoseearedlaserstripe projectedontothepart. 6. Onceyouaresatisfiedthesystemisworkingcorrectly,closeWinSen. Note:Thesensorcannotcommunicatewithtwodifferenthostapplicationsatthesametime. WhenyourunPCDMISyoumustmakesurethatWinSenoranyotherapplicationthat communicateswiththesensorcontrollerisoff.

CompletethePCDMISConfiguration
YouarenowreadytostartPCDMIS.AfterlaunchingPCDMIS,openanewpartprogramand followthesestepstocompletetheconfiguration:

1574 WorkingwithPortableDevices

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

1. OpentheSetupOptionsdialogboxbypressingF5. 2. SelecttheLasertab. 3. TypethepathtotheCSGMain.binfileintheSensorBinaryFileeditbox.Thisis normallyinstalledwithPCDMISintothePerceptronsubdirectoryofthemainPCDMIS installation.Alternatively,youcanusetheBrowsebuttontolocatethisfile. 4. ClickOKontheSetupOptionsdialogbox. ToverifythatthesensorisworkinginPCDMIS,closedownPCDMISandrestart.Thiswill ensurethatallnecessaryinformationiswrittentothesystemregistry.

VerifySensorInstallation
1. StartPCDMISandopentheoriginalpartprogramcreatedinthepreviousstep.PCDMIS shouldbeabletoidentifytheprobethatiscurrentlyonthesystem.Onceyouhavea probeinyourpartprogram,youwillseeanewtabintheGraphicsDisplayWindow.This isthePCDMISLiveViewtab.Itallowsyoutoseerealtimethedatathatiscollectedby thesensor. 2. SwitchtotheLiveViewtab.Itmighttaketenortwentysecondstoinitializethesensorso bepatient.Youshouldseeaslightlyskewedgreentrapezoidinthecenterofthewindow withacrosshairabouttwothirdsthewaytothetopofthetrapezoid.Ifyouseeanything else,PCDMISwasunabletoconnecttothesensorandshouldgiveyouanerror message.Ifthishappens,itusuallymeansthatthecontour.dllfiledidnotregister correctlyduringinstallation.Seethe"Contour.dllRegistration"topic. Note:AnotherpotentialproblemisduplicateCSGMain.binfiles.Verifythattherearenoother copiesoftheCSGMain.binfile.IfyoudonothavethecorrectversionofCSGMain.bin,thesensor willnotinitialize.Delete(orrename)anyotherCSGMain.binfilesnotinthecurrentinstallofPC DMIS. 3. PresstheLiveViewbuttontostartthescannerstriping.Theliveimageshouldupdate withthedatabeingcollectedbythescanner.YoucannowuseyourscannerinPCDMIS. Note:Ifyouarestillhavingproblems,callPCDMISsupport. ForadditionalinformationonhowtousethescannerinPCDMIS,pleaseconsultthePCDMIS Laseronlinehelp. ForadditionalinformationonthePerceptronsystem,seethePerceptrondocumentationincluded withyourPCDMISinstallinthePerceptronsubdirectory.

Contour.dllRegistration
ToManuallyRegistertheContour.dll: 1. CheckthatthepoweronthePerceptronSensorcontrollerboxisonaswellasthepower tothearm. 2. Openacommandwindow(DOSprompt)andchangetothePerceptrondirectory.Thisis asubdirectoryofthemainPCDMISinstalldirectory. 3. Typethefollowingonthecommandlineregsvr32contour.dll.Afterafewsecondsyou shouldgetamessagesayingContour.dllregisteredsuccessfully. 4. Ifthefiledoesnotregistersuccessfully,contactPCDMISsupport.Otherwise,restartPC DMIS.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WorkingwithPortableDevices 1575

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

WorkinginOperatorMode
WorkinginOperatorMode:Introduction
TheOperatorModelimitstheoptionsthatwillbeavailablewhenoperatingPCDMIS.Oncethe restrictionsareinplace,theoperatorcanonlyopenandexecutethepartprogram. TostartPCDMISinOperatorMode,fromtheStart menu,selectPrograms|PCDMISfor Windows|OperatorMode. WhenPCDMISlaunchesinOperatorMode,onlytheoptionsnecessarytorunthepartprogram willbeavailable. Themaintopicsinthischapterinclude: FileOpenOptions OperatorModeMenuOptions UsingtheMarkedSetsWindowinOperatorMode

FileOpenOptions

Opendialogbox TheOpendialogboxisastandardWindowsfileopendialog.Youcanactivateapartprogramin OperatorModebydoubleclickingonthepartprogramfilenameorbyselectingthepartprogram filenameandclickingtheOpenbutton. ThefollowingoptionshavebeendisabledfromthisdialogboxinOperatorMode: ImportingtoPCDMIS,accessiblewhennotinOperatorModebyrightmouseclicking onapartprogramandselectingImport toPCDMISfromthepopuplist. ExportingfromPCDMIS,accessiblewhennotinOperatorModebyrightmouse clickingonapartprogramandselectingExportfromPCDMISfromthepopuplist. EditingthePartName,SerialNumber,orRevisionNumberonthepartprogramsPC DMISpropertypage,accessiblewhennotinOperatorModebyrightmouseclickingona partprogramandselectingPropertiesfromthepopuplist.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Workingin OperatorMode 1577

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

OperatorModeMenuOptions
Onceapartprogramhasbeenactivated,themainPCDMISscreenwillbedisplayedwiththe followingmenuoptions.

GraphicsDisplaywindowinOperatorMode

File
TheFilemenuallowsyoutoopenanexistingpartprogram,closethecurrentpartprogram, exportthecurrentpartprogram,orexitthesoftware.

Open
TheFile|Openmenuoptionallowsyoutoswitchbetweenpartprogramsanytimebyinvoking theOpendialogboxandallowingyoutoselectadifferentpartprogram.Ifthepartprogramyou selectisdifferentfromthecurrentlyexecutingpart,PCDMISwillautomaticallysaveandclose theactivepartprogrambeforeloadingthenewlyselectedpartprogram.Ifhowever,youtryto selectandinitiatetheactivepartprogramasecondtimefromtheOpendialogbox,PCDMIS offerstwochoices: DiscardallchangesmadetotheactivepartprogramsincethelastSaveoperationand reloadtheselectedpartprogramwithoutthechanges. CanceltheentireoperationandreturntotheOpendialogbox.

YoucanonlyhaveonepartprogramopenatagiventimeinOperatorMode.

Close
SelectingFile|Closeclosesthepartprogramandsavesthemeasurementvaluesofany executedmarkedsets.

1578 Workingin Operator Mode

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Quit
SelectingFile|Quitclosesthecurrentpartprogramwithoutsavinganyrecentlytaken measurementvaluesfromexecutedmarkedsets.Onlypreexistingdatawillberetrievable.

Export
Toexportyourcurrentpartprogram,choosetheFile|Exportmenuoption.Thiswilldisplaythe ExportDatadialogbox.Selectthedatatypetoexportas,andadirectorylocation,andthenclick OK.Formoreinformationonexporting,see"ExportingCADData"inthe"UsingAdvancedFile Options"chapter.

Exit
ToquitPCDMIS,allotherprograms,andlogoffthecomputer,choosetheFile|Exitmenu option.PCDMISautomaticallysavesthecurrentpartprogrambeforeexiting.

Edit
TheProbeReadoutSetupdialogbox.Youcansetuphowinformationisdisplayedusingthis dialogbox.See"SettinguptheReadoutWindow"topicinthe"SettingyourPreferences"chapter forinformation.

View
ThismenuallowsyoutovieworhidethefollowingwindowswhileinOperatorMode: GraphicsDisplaywindowSelectingthisoptionshowsandhidestheGraphicsDisplay window.See"TheGraphicsDisplayWindow"inthe"NavigatingtheUserInterface" chapter. PreviewWindowSelectingthisoptionshowsandhidesthePreviewwindow.See"Using thePreviewwindow"inthe"UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools"chapter. ProbeReadoutsSelectingthisoptionshowsandhidestheProbeReadoutwindow.See "UsingthePreviewwindow"inthe"UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools"chapter. MarkedSetsWindowSelectingthisoptionshowsandhidestheMarkedSetswindow.See "UsingtheMarkedSetswindow"inthe"UsingOtherWindows,Editors,andTools" chapter.See"UsingtheMarkedSetsWindowinOperatorMode".

Window
TheWindowmenuprovidesoperationstomanagemultipleopenpartprogramsandwindows. Seethe"NavigatingandDisplayingMultipleWindows"chapter

Help
TheHelp menuprovidesallthemenuitemsasinPCDMIS'sstandardmodeofoperation.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Workingin OperatorMode 1579

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

UsingtheMarkedSetsWindowinOperatorMode

MarkedSetswindow Assoonasyouopenapartprogram,theMarkedSetswindowautomaticallylaunches.The followingoptionsareavailabletotheMarkedSetswindowinOperatorMode:

ExittoFileManager

SelectingExittoFileManagerwillaccesstheOpendialogbox,allowingyoutoselect partprogramstoopen.

PrintFullReport

ThePrintfullreporticonprintsthecompletereporttotheoutputsourcethatwassetup inthe'learning'portionofthepartprogram. Iftheoutputissenttoafile,itwillbesavedinaRTFformat.Ifthisisthefirstinspectionreportto besavedsincepoweringupthesystem,PCDMISwillrequireavaluetobeenteredintheNew File#box.IfAutoischecked,aftertheinitialfileissavedPCDMISwillsaveallfuturefiles incrementallyfromtheinitialnumberthatwasentered(aslongasthesystemhasnotbeen powereddown).Thedisplayednumbercanbechangedatanytimesimplybyenteringanother value. IftheDraftModecheckboxwasmarkedduringthelearnmode,PCDMISwillchangetheEdit windowfontstoadraftmodetypeforprintingpurposes.Anycolorsusedinthereport(to distinguishtolerances,modes,etc.)willbechangedtoblack.Thesealterationswillgreatly improvethespeedofprinting. ToprintthecurrentEditreport,choosethePrintFullReportbutton(orpressF4).TheEdit windowoutputwillbesenttotheprinterand/orapreselectedfile.

CalibrateTips

TheCalibrateTipsbuttoncalibratesalltipanglesforallprobesinthecurrentpart program.ThisprocesswilltellPCDMISthelocationanddiameterofeachprobetip.

1580 Workingin Operator Mode

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Note:PCDMISdoesnottrackthecalibrationofprobes.Itisthereforenecessarythatyouverify thataprobeisrecalibratedifitischangedinanyway.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Workingin OperatorMode 1581

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MeasuringAutoFeatureswiththe NC100VideoProbe
MeasuringAutoFeatureswiththeNC100VideoProbe: Introduction
ThisappendixdealsspecificallywithusingtheNC100VideoprobetomeasureAutoFeatures. ForinformationonsettinguptheNC100Videoprobe,see"SetupOptions:NC100Setuptab"in the"SettingYourPreferences"chapter. TheInsert|Feature|Auto menuallowsyoutoaccesstheDirectComputerControl(DCC) functionsifanautomaticCMM(CoordinateMeasuringMachine)isbeingused.TheAuto FeaturesdialogboxallowsyoutocreateanytypeofDCCfeature. Themaintopicsdiscussedinthischapterinclude: CommonDialogBoxFunctionsSpecifictoNC100VideoProbe VectorPointwithNC EdgePointwithNC CharacteristicPoints Circle,Pin,orBaricenterwithNC SquareSlot/Gap&FlushwithNC RoundSlotwithNC

Oncertaintopicsthismanualwillreferyoutothe"CreatingAutoFeatures"sectionformore completeinformation. Note:Seethe"CreatingAutoFeatures"chapterforinformationonmeasuringAutoFeaturesin general,butbeawarethatsomeoptionsdocumentedinthatchaptermaynotbeavailablewhen usingtheNC100Videoprobe.

CommonDialogBoxFunctionsSpecifictoNC100VideoProbe
The"AutoFeatureDialogBox"topicinthe"CreatingAutoFeatures"chapterprovidesacomplete descriptionofthemanydialogboxoptionsavailableontheAutoFeaturesdialogbox. Thistopicdiscussessomeofthesesamedialogboxfunctionsandhowthey'reusedwithNC100 videoprobesaswellassomedialogboxfunctionsthatonlyappearwhenusingNC100video probes.

Capturebutton

TheCapturebuttoncollectsactualmeasureddataasthenominalsforafeature.Tousethe capturebutton: 1. PlacetheNC100videoprobeoverthefeaturetobemeasured.


PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual MeasuringAutoFeatureswiththeNC100VideoProbe 1583

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

2. SetupparametersforthevideoprobebyclickingtheVideoSetupbutton. 3. Whenfinished,clicktheCapturebutton. PCDMIS,alongwiththeNC100computersystemwillmeasurethefeatureandplacethe measureddataintheTHEOboxes.ThisallowsyoutomeasurefeatureswithoutCADdata.

VideoSetupbutton
ForinformationontheVideoSetupbutton,see"SetupOptions:NC100Setuptab"inthe "SettingYourPreferences"chapter.

FeatureTypelist
TheFeatTypelistprovidesyouwiththefollowingfeaturetypes:

ForEdgePoints

NORMAL=ThisistheNormaledgetypemeasurementthatoccursatthesurfaceheightof theedge. DELTAZ=Thisoptionallowsthemeasurementofanedgeataspecifieddepthinrespectto theplaneonwhichthesurfacelies. HIGHPOINT=Thisoptionallowsthemeasureofanedgeatthemaximumvalueina specifieddirection. BIGHOLE=Thisoptionallowsthemeasureofanedgeusedtomeasureapartofahole biggerthanthesensorfieldofview.

ForCharacteristicPoints

FromtheFeatTypelistyoucanselecttheavailabletypesofcharacteristicpoints.Theseinclude: CHAR1=Thistypeoffeatureallowsthemeasurementoftwopoints(oneoneachsurface) atagivenindentfromtheintersectionoftwoplanes. CHAR2=Thistypeoffeaturemeasuresthepointattheintersectionoftwoplanes.

Indentboxes
Seealso"Indentboxes"inthe"CreatingAutoFeatures"chapter.

1584 MeasuringAutoFeatureswiththeNC100VideoProbe

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Characteristic Point

PCDMISallowsyoutousetwoindentvalues,Indent1and Indent2,forsettingtheoffsetdistancesoftheCharacteristic Point.PCDMISusestheseoffsetdistancestocalculatea pointlocationoneachofthetwosurfacesoftheangleina CharacteristicPoint. Theindentboxesbecomeavailableonlyafteryouselect CHAR1fromtheFeatTypelist.

Measurecharacteristicpointusingtwotheoreticaldistances TheIndent1boxallowsyoutosettheoffsetdistance fromthepointlocationtothesamplehitsonthefirstsurface oftheangle. TheIndent2boxallowsyoutosettheoffsetdistance fromthepointlocationforthesamplehitsonthesecond surfaceoftheangle.

Heightbox
Seealso"Heightbox"inthe"CreatingAutoFeatures"chapter. BendRadius WhenTYPE=HOLE,theHeightboxdefinesthenominal lengthofthefeature.IfyouenteraHeight valuebutdonot defineadepth,PCDMISequallydividestheHeight value bythreeandusesitforthedepth. WhenTYPE=STUD,thisoptionwillallowforanextrahiton thetopofthestudinthecenter.Ifthisvalueisanythingbut 0,PCDMISwilltakeanextrahitinthecenterofthestud.It thenwillcomputetheheightofthestud.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

MeasuringAutoFeatureswiththeNC100VideoProbe 1585

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

VectorPointwithNC100

VectorPointtabAutoFeaturesdialogbox TheVectorPointmeasurementoptionallowsyoutodefineanominalpointlocationaswellasthe nominalapproachdirectionthattheCMMwillusetomeasurethepoint.

Singlepointmeasurement ToaccesstheVectorPointoption, 1. AccesstheAutoFeaturesdialogbox(Insert|Feature|Auto|Point|Vector). 2. SelecttheVectorPointautofeaturetype.

1586 MeasuringAutoFeatureswiththeNC100VideoProbe

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TheEditwindowcommandlineforasampleVectorPointwouldread:
F_ID=AUTO/VECTORPOINT,THEO_THICKNESS=n,TOG,SNAP=Y/N THEO/TX,TY,TZ,TI,TJ,TK ACTL/X,Y,Z,I,J,K TARG/targX,targY,targZ,targI,targJ,targK AUTOMOVE=Y/N,DISTANCE=n

VectorPointFieldDefinitionswithNC100
Thisisalreadycoveredinthe"VectorPointFieldDefinitions"topicinthe"CreatingAuto Features"chapter.ThefollowingdefinitionisspecifictoNC100videoprobes: ACTL_THICKNESS=Thisvalueindicatesthekeyedinoffsetthicknessofthemeasured data.Positiveornegativevaluescanbeused.

MeasuringaVectorPointwithNC100
PCDMISallowsseveralmethodsformeasuringavectorpointusingtheautofeatureoption. Theyarelistedinthefollowingparagraphsas: UsingKeyedinDataforaVectorPointwithNC100 UsingSurfaceDataontheScreenforaVectorPointwithNC100 UsingWireframeDataontheScreenforaVectorPointwithNC100

Note:ThemousecannotbeusedintheGraphicsDisplaywindowifCADdataisunavailable.

UsingKeyedinDataforaVectorPointwithNC100
ThismethodallowsyoutokeyinthedesiredX,Y,Z,I,J,Kvaluesforthevectorpoint.

UsingSurfaceDataontheScreenforaVectorPointwithNC100
Togenerateavectorpointusingsurfacedata: 1. PositionthecursorintheGraphicsDisplaywindowtoindicatethedesiredlocationofthe point(onthesurface) 2. Clickonthesurface.PCDMISwillhighlighttheselectedsurface. 3. Verifythatthecorrectsurfacehasbeenselected. Forcompleteinformationonthisprocedure,see"UsingSurfaceDataontheScreenforaVector Point"inthe"CreatingAutoFeatures"chapter.

UsingWireframeDataontheScreenforaVectorPointwithNC100
Thisiscoveredin"UsingWireframeDataontheScreenforaVectorPoint"inthe"CreatingAuto Features"chapter.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

MeasuringAutoFeatureswiththeNC100VideoProbe 1587

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

EdgePointwithNC100

EdgePointtabAutoFeaturesdialogbox TheEdgePointmeasurementoptionallowsyoutodefineapointmeasurementthatistobetaken onthepart'sedge. Therearefourtypesofedgemeasurements.Theseinclude: EDGENORMAL EDGEDELTAZ EDGEHIGH EDGEBIGHOLE

Theyrequiredifferentinputoutputparametersettingsanddifferenttheoreticaldefinitionsinthe PCDMIScommand.

1588 MeasuringAutoFeatureswiththeNC100VideoProbe

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Pointacquiredbyvisionsystem ToaccesstheEdgePointoption: 1. AccesstheAutoFeaturesdialogbox(Insert|Feature|Auto|Point|Edge). 2. SelecttheEdgePointautofeaturetype. TheEditwindowcommandlineforasampleEdgePointwouldread:


F_ID=AUTO/EDGENORMAL,SHOWHITS=Y/N,SHOWALLPARAMS=Y/N, THEO/TX,TY,TZ,TI,TJ,TK ACTL/X,Y,Z,I,J,K TARG/targX,targY,targZ,targI,targJ,targK THEO_THICKNESS=n,TOG3,EDGETHEO_THICKNESS=.n AUTOMOVE=TOG,DISTANCE=n, SURFACENORMAL=I,J,K,DEPTH=n

EdgePointTypeDefinitionwithNC100
EDGENORMAL=ThisistheNormaledgetypemeasurementthatoccursatthesurface heightoftheedge. EDGEDELTAZ=Thisrequestallowsthemeasurementofanedgeataspecifieddepthin respecttotheplaneonwhichthesurfacelies.

Edgeatapredefineddepthfromthepartsurface

EDGEHIGH=Thisrequestallowsthemeasureofanedgeatthemaximumvalueina specifieddirection.

Edgeatmaximumvaluealongaknowndirection EDGEBIGHOLE=Thisrequestallowsthemeasureofanedgeusedtomeasureapartofa holebiggerthanthesensorfieldofview.


PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual MeasuringAutoFeatureswiththeNC100VideoProbe 1589

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Bigholecontourmeasurement

EdgePointFieldDefinitionwithNC100
Thisisalreadycoveredinthe"EdgePointFieldDefinitions"topicinthe"CreatingAutoFeatures" chapter.ThefollowingisspecifictoNC100videoprobes: ACTL_THICKNESS=Thisvalueindicatesthekeyedinoffsetthicknessofthemeasured data.Positiveornegativevaluescanbeused. SHOWHITS=Thisisatogglefield.IttogglesfromYEStoNOanddeterminesifhitswillbe displayedwiththisfeature.ThisisnotcurrentlyavailablewithEdgePoints. SHOWALLPARAMS=Thisisatogglefield.IttogglesfromYEStoNOastodisplayingall theparametersonanEdgePoint EDGEACTL_THICKNESS=Thisvalueindicatesthekeyedinoffsetthicknessofthe measurededge.Positiveornegativevaluescanbeused. DEPTH=Thisvalueisaneditabledistances.(OnlyAvailableonEDGEDELTAZ)

MeasuringanEdgePointwithNC100
PCDMISallowsthesemethodsformeasuringanedgepointwiththeNC100videoprobe: UsingKeyedinDataforanEdgePoint UsingSurfaceDataontheScreenforanEdgePoint UsingWireframeDataontheScreenforanEdgePoint

Note:ThemousecannotbeusedintheGraphicsDisplaywindowifCADdataisunavailable.

Note:PCDMISassumesthatthenormalsurfaceandthemeasurementsurfaceare perpendicular.

UsingKeyedinDataforanEdgePointwithNC100
Thisiscoveredin"UsingKeyedinDataforanEdgePoint"inthe"CreatingAutoFeatures" chapter.

1590 MeasuringAutoFeatureswiththeNC100VideoProbe

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

UsingSurfaceDataontheScreenforanEdgePointwithNC100
Thisiscoveredin"UsingSurfaceDataontheScreenforanEdgePoint"inthe"CreatingAuto Features"chapter.

UsingWireframeDataontheScreenforanEdgePointwithNC100
Thisiscoveredin"UsingWireframeDataontheScreenforanEdgePoint"inthe"CreatingAuto Features"chapter.

CharacteristicPoints

CharacteristicPointtabAutoFeaturesdialogbox TheCharacteristicPointtabAcharacteristicpointisessentiallyananglepoint.Therearetwo isonlyavailablewhenusing typesofcharacteristicpointsdescribedin"CharacteristicPoint aNC100videoprobe. TypeDefinition"theyrequiredifferentinputoutputparameter settingsanddifferenttheoreticaldefinitionsintheDMIScommand. TheDMISmeasurementcommandisthesameforboth characteristicpoints.Thisdiagramshowsagenericmeasurement ofaCharacteristicPoint.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

MeasuringAutoFeatureswiththeNC100VideoProbe 1591

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Characteristicpointmeasuring ToaccesstheCharacteristicPointoption: 1. AccesstheAutoFeaturesdialogbox(Insert|Feature|Auto|Point| Characteristic). 2. SelecttheCharacteristicPtsautofeaturetype. TheEditwindowcommandlineforasampleCharacteristicPointwouldread:


F_ID=AUTO/CHARACTERISTIC1,SHOWHITS=Y/N,SHOWALLPARAMS=Y/N THEO/TX,TY,TZ,TI,TJ,TK,TX2,TY2,TZ2 ACTL/X,Y,Z,I,J,K,X2,Y2,Z2 TARG/targX,targY,targZ,targI,targJ,targK THEO_THICKNESS=n,TOG AUTOMOVE=Y/N,DISTANCE=nVECTOR1=I,J,K,VECTOR2=I,J,K INDENT1=n,INDENT2=n

CharacteristicPointTypeDefinition
CHARACTERISTIC1=Thistypeoffeatureallowsthemeasurementoftwopoints(oneon eachsurface)atagivenindentfromtheintersectionoftwoplanes.Thisgivestwopoints ofdata. CHARACTERISTIC2=Thistypeoffeaturemeasuresthepointattheintersectionoftwo planes.Thisgivesonepointofdata.

CharacteristicPointFieldDefinitions
SHOWHITS=Thisisatogglefield.IttogglesfromYEStoNOanddeterminesifhitswillbe displayedwiththisfeature.Thisiscurrentlyunavailable. SHOWALLPARAMS=Thisisatogglefield.IttogglesfromYEStoNOastodisplayingall theparametersonthefeature. THEO_THICKNESS=This valueindicatesthekeyedinthicknessofthepart.Positiveor negativevaluescanbeused. ACTL_THICKNESS=Thisvalueindicatesthekeyedinoffsetthicknessofthemeasured data.Positiveornegativevaluescanbeused.

1592 MeasuringAutoFeatureswiththeNC100VideoProbe

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TOG1=Thisisatogglefield.TheX,Y,Z,I,J,KwillbedisplayedinRECT(rectangular)or POLR(polar)coordinates. THEO/=Thisvaluerepresentsthetargethit. ACTL/=Thisvaluerepresentsthemeasuredhit. TARG=Thesevaluesallowyoutocontrolthemeasurementlocationandvectorapproach directionforexecutionwhilehavingtheabilitytohaveacompletelydifferentTHEOvalue. AUTOMOVE=Thisisatogglefield.AYESindicatesthatthisoptionisON. DISTANCE=ThisvalueindicatesthedistancetheprobewillmoveusingtheAUTOMOVE option. VECTOR1=Thethreenumbers(IJKvalues)areaneditablevectorandwillbeforcedtobe perpendiculartothevectoronthefirstsurface. VECTOR2=Thethreenumbers(IJKvalues)areaneditablevectorandwillbeforcedtobe perpendiculartothevectoronthesecondsurface. INDENT1=Thiseditablenumberistheoffsetdistanceforthepointlocationonthefirst surfaceoftheangle.ItisnotusedforCharacteristicPoint2. INDENT2=Thiseditablenumberistheoffsetdistanceforthepointlocationonthesecond surfaceoftheangle.ItisnotusedforCharacteristicPoint2. Seethe"CommonAutoFeatureDialogBoxOptions"topicinthe"CreatingAutoFeatures" sectionforgeneralguidelinesonmeasuringallAutoFeaturetypes. Seethe"CommonAutoFeatureDialogBoxOptions"topicinthe"CreatingAutoFeatures" chapter forgeneralguidelinesonmeasuringallAutoFeaturetypes.

MeasuringaCharacteristicPoint
PCDMISallowsseveralmethodsformeasuringaCharacteristicPointusingtheAutoFeature option.Theyarelistedinthefollowingparagraphsas: UsingKeyedinDataforaCharacteristicPoint UsingSurfaceDataontheScreenforaCharacteristicPoint UsingWireframeDataontheScreenforaCharacteristicPoint

Note:ThemousecannotbeusedintheGraphicsDisplaywindowifCADdataisunavailable.

UsingKeyedinDataforaCharacteristicPoint
ThismethodallowsyoutokeyinthedesiredX,Y,Z,I,J,KvaluesfortheCharacteristicPoint.

UsingSurfaceDataontheScreenforaCharacteristicPoint
TogenerateaCharacteristicPointusingsurfacedata:
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual MeasuringAutoFeatureswiththeNC100VideoProbe 1593

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

1. ClicktheSurfaceModeicon . 2. Usingtheanimatedprobe,touchoncenear(butnoton)theanglededge.PCDMISwill highlighttheselectedsurface. 3. Verifythatthecorrectsurfacehasbeenselected. ThedialogboxwilldisplaythevalueoftheselectedCharacteristicPointand vectoroncethepoint hasbeenindicated.Thedirectionofthesurfacenormalvectorisdeterminedbythesideofthe partthatisaccessibletotheprobe.Ifbothsidesofthepartareequallyaccessible,thenormal fromtheCADdataisused.TheFlipVectorbuttonletsyouchangethedirectionoftheapproach. IfadditionalmouseclicksaredetectedbeforeyouclicktheCreatebutton,PCDMISwilloverwrite thepreviouslydisplayedinformationwiththenewdata. Note:Ifanadditionaltouchisnecessary,clickontheoppositesurfaceoftheanglededge.

UsingWireframeDataontheScreenforaCharacteristicPoint
WireframeCADdataalsocanbeusedtogenerateaCharacteristicPoint. Togeneratethepoint: 1. Usingtheanimatedprobe,touchoncenear(butnoton)theanglededge.PCDMISwill highlighttheselectedsurface. 2. Verifythatthecorrectsurfacehasbeenselected. TheCharacteristicPtsautofeaturetypeoftheAutoFeaturesdialogboxwilldisplaythevalue oftheselectedCharacteristicPointandvectoroncethepointhasbeenindicated.Thedirectionof thesurfacenormalvectorisdeterminedbythesideofthepartthatisaccessibletotheprobe.If bothsidesofthepartareequallyaccessible,thenormalvectorfromtheCADdataisused.The FlipVectorbuttonletsyouchangethedirectionoftheapproach. Anyadditionalmouseclicks,priortoclickingtheCreatebutton,willoverwritethe previouslydisplayedinformationwiththenewdata. Ifanadditionaltouchisnecessary,clickontheoppositesurfaceoftheanglededge.

1594 MeasuringAutoFeatureswiththeNC100VideoProbe

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Circle,Pin,orBaricenterwithNC100

CircletabAutoFeaturesdialogbox TheCircleAutoFeatureoptionallowsyoutodefineacirclemeasurement.Thethreepossible measurementtypesarediscussedin"CircleTypeDefinitionwithNC100".Ifthenumberofthe requiredpointsisgreaterthan10,orifthesensorisnotabletoidentifytheintersectionpoints,the sensorselectspointsontheholecontourandprojectsthemontheplane.Thesepointscanbe identifiedusingtheinfraredlines.

Holemeasurementwithinfraredlinescrossingholecontour ToaccesstheCircleoption:
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual MeasuringAutoFeatureswiththeNC100VideoProbe 1595

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

1. AccesstheAutoFeaturesdialogbox(Insert|Feature|Auto|Circle). 2. SelecttheCircleautofeaturetype. TheEditwindowcommandlineforasamplecirclereads:


F_ID=AUTO/CIRCLE,SHOWHITS=Y/N,SHOWALLPARAMS=Y/N THEO/TX,TY,TZ,TI,TJ,TK,TDIAM, ACTL/X,Y,Z,I,J,K,DIAM, TARG/targX,targY,targZ,targI,targJ,targK THEO_THICKNESS=n,TOG1,TOG2,TOG3 AUTOMOVE=Y/N,DISTANCE=n NUMHITS=n

CircleTypeDefinitionwithNC100
HOLE=Thistypeoffeatureallowsthemeasurementofaninsideoroutsidecircularhole. PIN=Thistypeoffeatureallowsthemeasurementofapin.

Pinmeasurement

BARICENTER=Thistypeoffeatureisthemeasurementofaholeofundeterminedshape. Onlythelocationisreported.

Differentshapeholesmeasurement

CircleFieldDefinitionswithNC100
Manyofthedefinitionsarealreadycoveredinthe"CircleFieldDefinitions"topicinthe"Creating AutoFeatures"chapter.ThefollowingdefinitionsareaddedorchangedwhenusingaNC100 videoprobe: SHOWHITS=Thisisatogglefield.IttogglesfromYEStoNOanddeterminesifhitswillbe displayedwiththisfeature.

1596 MeasuringAutoFeatureswiththeNC100VideoProbe

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

SHOWALLPARAMS=Thisisatogglefield.IttogglesfromYEStoNOastodisplayingall theparametersonthefeature. THEO_THICKNESS=Thiseditablevalueindicatesthekeyedinthicknessofthepart. Positiveornegativevaluescanbeused. ACTL_THICKNESS=Thisvalueindicatesthekeyedinoffsetthicknessofthemeasured data.Positiveornegativevaluescanbeused. THEO/=Thisvaluerepresentsthetheoreticfeaturelocation.DNOMisthediameter's nominalvalue. ACTL/=Thisvaluerepresentsthemeasuredhit.DNOMisthediameter'smeasuredvalue. TOG2=ThistogglefieldswitchesbetweenINandOUT.PCDMISwilldeterminethetypeof circlethatismeasuredbasedonthelocationoftheprobewhentakingthehit.(Insidea circle=IN,outsideastud=OUT.)OnlyavailablewithHolefeaturetype. TOG3=ThistogglefieldswitchesbetweenLEAST_SQR,MAX_INSC,MIN_CIRCSC, MIN_SEP,andFIXEDRAD.OnlyavailablewithHolefeaturetype. NUMHITS=Thiseditablevaluemustbeanintegerthatisgreaterthantwo.Onlyavailable withHolefeaturetype. Seethe"CommonAutoFeatureDialogBoxOptions"topicinthe"CreatingAutoFeatures" chapter forgeneralguidelinesonmeasuringallAutoFeaturetypes.

MeasuringaCirclewithNC100
PCDMISallowsseveralmethodsformeasuringanautocircle.Thesemethodsarelistedinthe followingparagraphsas: UsingKeyedinDataforaCirclewithNC UsingSurfaceDataontheScreenforaCirclewithNC UsingWireframeDataontheScreenforaCirclewithNC

Note:ThemousecannotbeusedintheGraphicsDisplaywindowifCADdataisunavailable.

UsingKeyedinDataforaCirclewithNC100
Thisisdescribedin"UsingKeyedinDataforanAutoCircle"inthe"CreatingAutoFeatures" chapter.

UsingSurfaceDataontheScreenforaCirclewithNC100
Thisisdescribedin"UsingSurfaceDataontheScreenforanAutoCircle"inthe"CreatingAuto Features"chapter.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

MeasuringAutoFeatureswiththeNC100VideoProbe 1597

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

UsingWireframeDataontheScreenforaCirclewithNC100
Thisisdescribedin"UsingWireframeDataontheScreenforanAutoCircle"inthe"Creating AutoFeatures"chapter.

SquareSlot/Gap&FlushwithNC100

SquareSlotFeaturedialogbox TheSquareSlotoptionallowsyoutodefineasquareslotmeasurementoraGap&Flush measurement.See"SquareSlotandGap&FlushTypeDefinitionwithNC100"fortheavailable measurementtypes. TheSquareSlotcanbemeasuredusingthepointsinsidetheROIandalongtheslotcontour.

1598 MeasuringAutoFeatureswiththeNC100VideoProbe

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Squareslotmeasurement ToaccesstheSquareSlotoption: 1. AccesstheAutoFeaturesdialogbox(Insert|Feature|Auto|Slot|Square). 2. SelecttheSquareSlotautofeaturetype. TheEditwindowcommandlineforasampleSquareSlotwouldread:


F_ID=AUTO/SQUARESLOT,SHOWHITS=Y/N,SHOWALLPARAMS=Y/N THEO/TX,TY,TZ,TI,TJ,TK,TWIDTH,TLENGTH, ACTL/X,Y,Z,I,J,K,WIDTH,LENGTH, TARG/targX,targY,targZ,targI,targJ,targK THEO_THICKNESS=n,TOG1 AUTOMOVE=Y/N,DISTANCE=n

TheEditwindowcommandlineforasampleGap&Flushwouldread:
F_ID=AUTO/GAPDELTAZ,SHOWHITS=Y/N,SHOWALLPARAMS=Y/N THEO/TX,TY,TZ,TI,TJ,TK,TGAP,TFLUSH ACTL/X,Y,Z,I,J,K,GAP,FLUSH TARG/targX,targY,targZ,targI,targJ,targK THEO_THICKNESS=n,TOG1,TOG2 AUTOMOVE=Y/N,DISTANCE=n,DEPTH=n,DEPTH2=n

SquareSlotandGap&FlushTypeDefinitionwithNC100
SQUARESLOT=Thistypeoffeatureallowsthemeasurementofasquareslot GAPNORMAL=Thistypeoffeatureallowsthemeasurementofthegapandflushofagap atthesurfacelevelofthefixedside. Thefollowingdescriptionshowsagenericcaseofpointacquisition:

GapNormalPointacquiredbyvisionsystem

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

MeasuringAutoFeatureswiththeNC100VideoProbe 1599

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

GAPDELTAZ=Thisrequestallowsthemeasurementofagapataspecifieddepthin respecttothefixedsideofthepart.

Gap&Flushmeasurementataspecifieddepth

SquareSlotandGap&FlushFieldDefinitionwithNC100
Manyofthedefinitionsarealreadycoveredinthe"SquareSlotFieldDefinitions"topicinthe "CreatingAutoFeatures"chapter.Thefollowingdefinitionsareaddedorchangedwhenusinga NC100videoprobe: SHOWHITS=Thisisatogglefield.IttogglesfromYEStoNOanddeterminesifhitswillbe displayedwiththisfeature. SHOWALLPARAMS=Thisisatogglefield.IttogglesfromYEStoNOastodisplayingall theparametersonthefeature. ACTL_THICKNESS=Thisvalueindicatesthekeyedinoffsetthicknessofthemeasured data.Positiveornegativevaluescanbeused. TOG2=ThisfielddeterminesthefixedsideofaGap&Flushmeasurement.Onlyavailable onGap&Flush. THEO/=Thisvaluerepresentsthetheoreticfeaturelocation. DEPTH=Thisvalueiseditableandrepresentsthedepthofmeasurementonthefixedside ofaGap&Flush. DEPTH2=Thisvaluesiseditableandrepresentsthedepthofmeasurementonthemoving sideofaGap&Flush. Seethe"CommonAutoFeatureDialogBoxOptions"topicinthe"CreatingAutoFeatures" chapter forgeneralguidelinesonmeasuringallAutoFeaturetypes.

MeasuringaSquareSlotwithNC100
PCDMISallowsseveralmethodsformeasuringasquareslotusingtheAutoFeatureoption. Thesemethodsarelistedinthefollowingparagraphsas: UsingKeyedinDataforaSquareSlotwithNC UsingSurfaceDataontheScreenforaSquareSlotwithNC

1600 MeasuringAutoFeatureswiththeNC100VideoProbe

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

UsingWireFrameDataontheScreenforaSquareSlotwithNC

Note:ThemousecannotbeusedintheGraphicsDisplaywindowifCADdataisunavailable.

UsingKeyedinDataforaSquareSlotwithNC100
Thisisdescribedin"UsingKeyedinDataforaSquareSlot"inthe"CreatingAutoFeatures" chapter.

UsingSurfaceDataontheScreenforaSquareSlotwithNC100
Thisisdescribedin"UsingSurfaceDataontheScreenforaSquareSlot"inthe"CreatingAuto Features"chapter.

UsingWireFrameDataontheScreenforaSquareSlotwithNC100
Thisisdescribedin"UsingWireFrameDataontheScreenforaSquareSlot"inthe"Creating AutoFeatures"chapter.

DepthforaGap&FlushwithNC100
TheDepthboxdefinesthedistancebelowthesurfaceofthefixedsidethatPCDMISwill measurethegap&flush.ThisbecomesavailableifyouselectGAPDELTAZfromtheFeatType list. Tochangethedepth: 1. Selecttheexistingvalue. 2. Typeanewvalue.

Depth2foraGap&FlushwithNC100
TheDepth2boxdefinesthedistancebelowthesurfaceofthemovingsidethatPCDMISwill measurethegap&flush.ThisbecomesavailableifyouselectGAPDELTAZfromtheFeatType list. Tochangethedepth: 1. Selecttheexistingvalue. 2. Typeanewvalue.

GapforaGap&FlushwithNC100

TheGapboxdisplaysthegapoftheGap&Flush. Tochangethisvalue: 1. Selecttheexistingvalue. 2. Typeanewvalue.


PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual MeasuringAutoFeatureswiththeNC100VideoProbe 1601

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

FlushforaGap&FlushwithNC100

TheFlushboxdisplaystheFlushoftheGap&Flush Tochangethisvalue: 1. SelecttheFlushbox. 2. Typeanewvalue.

Type=RIGHT/LEFTforaGap&FlushwithNC100
TheRIGHToptionandtheLEFToptiondefinethefixedsideoftheGap&Flushmeasurement.In Gap&Flushmeasurementsyouneedtodefineonesideasthefixed(ornominal)side.Thefixed sidebecomesthedatumagainstwhichtheothersideismeasured.

FeatureTypeforaSquareSlotandGap&FlushMeasurementswithNC 100
TheFeatTypelistprovidesyouwiththeavailabletypesofSquareSlotandGap&Flush measurements.Theseinclude: SLOT=Thistypeoffeatureallowsthemeasurementofasquareslot. GAPNORMAL=Thistypeoffeatureallowsthemeasurementofthegapandflushofagap atthesurfacelevelofthefixedside. GAPDELTAZ=Thisfeaturetypeallowsthemeasurementofagapataspecifieddepthin respecttothefixedsideofthepart. GAPGAUGE=Thismeasurementtypeiscurrentlyunavailable.

1602 MeasuringAutoFeatureswiththeNC100VideoProbe

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

RoundSlotwithNC100

RoundSlottabAutoFeaturesdialogbox TheRoundSlotoptionallowsyoutodefinearoundslotmeasurement.Thismeasurementtypeis particularlyusefulwhenyoudonotwanttomeasureaseriesoflinesandcircles,orconstruct intersectionsandmidpointsfromthem. TheRoundSlotcanbemeasuredusingthepointsinsidetheROIalongtheslotcontour.

RoundSlotmeasurement ToaccesstheRoundSlotoption:
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual MeasuringAutoFeatureswiththeNC100VideoProbe 1603

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

1. AccesstheAutoFeaturesdialogbox(Insert|Feature|Auto|Slot|Round). 2. SelecttheRoundSlotautofeaturetype. TheEditwindowcommandlineforasampleRoundSlotwouldread:


F_ID=AUTO/ROUNDSLOT,SHOWHITS=Y/NSHOWALLPARAMS=Y/N THEO/TX,TY,TZ,TI,TJ,TK,TLENGTH,TWIDTH ACTL/X,Y,Z,I,J,K,LENGTH,WIDTH TARG/targX,targY,targZ,targI,targJ,targK THEO_THICKNESS=n,TOG1 AUTOMOVE=Y/N,DISTANCE=n

RoundSlotFieldDefinitionswithNC100
Manyofthedefinitionsarealreadycoveredinthe"RoundSlotFieldDefinitions"topicinthe "CreatingAutoFeatures"chapter.Thefollowingdefinitionsareaddedorchangedwhenusinga NC100videoprobe: SHOWHITS=Thisisatogglefield.IttogglesfromYEStoNOanddeterminesifhitswillbe displayedwiththisfeature.Thisisnotcurrentlyavailable. SHOWALLPARAMS=Thisisatogglefield.IttogglesfromYEStoNOastodisplayingall theparametersonthefeature. ACTL_THICKNESS=Thisvalueindicatesthekeyedinoffsetthicknessofthemeasured data.Positiveornegativevaluescanbeused. Seethe"CommonAutoFeatureDialogBoxOptions"topicinthe"CreatingAutoFeatures" chapter forgeneralguidelinesonmeasuringallAutoFeaturetypes.

MeasuringaRoundSlotwithNC100
PCDMISallowsseveralmethodsformeasuringaroundslotusingtheAutoFeatureoption. Thesemethodsarelistedinthefollowingparagraphsas: UsingKeyedinDataforaRoundSlot UsingSurfaceDataontheScreenforaRoundSlot UsingWireframeDataontheScreenforaRoundSlot

Note:ThemousecannotbeusedintheGraphicsDisplaywindowifCADdataisunavailable.

UsingKeyedinDataforaRoundSlotwithNC100
Thisisdescribedin"UsingKeyedinDataforaRoundSlot"inthe"CreatingAutoFeatures" chapter.

UsingSurfaceDataontheScreenforaRoundSlotwithNC100
Thisisdescribedin"UsingSurfaceDataontheScreenforaRoundSlot"inthe"CreatingAuto Features"chapter.

1604 MeasuringAutoFeatureswiththeNC100VideoProbe

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Note:IftheCADdatadefiningtheendsoftheslotisspecificallyaCIRCLEorARCtype(i.e.,an IGESentity100),PCDMISwillautomaticallytaketwoadditionalhitsonthearc.Ifbothendsare ofthistype,thenonetouchoneacharcissufficienttomeasurethisfeaturetype.

UsingWireframeDataontheScreenforaRoundSlotwithNC100
Thisisdescribedin"UsingWireframeDataontheScreenforaRoundSlot"inthe"CreatingAuto Features"chapter.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

MeasuringAutoFeatureswiththeNC100VideoProbe 1605

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

UsingShortcutKeysandShortcut Menus
UsingShortcutKeysandShortcutMenus:Introduction
Thisappendixcoversshortcutstomanyofthemenuoptions,dialogboxes,andcommandsused inPCDMIS.Usingshortcutswillspeedupyourprogrammingtimeandincreaseproductivityand efficiency. Themaintopicscoveredinthisappendixare: ShortcutKeysReference ShortcutMenusReference

ShortcutKeysReference
Thistableprovidesaneasyreferenceoftheavailableshortcutkeys.Ifthedescriptionofa shortcutkeyisprecededbyitalicizedtext,theiteminitalicizedtextmustbetheactivewindowor focuseditemfortheshortcutkeytofunctionproperly.Forspecificinformationregardingthe functionofeachoption,pleaseseetheappropriatesectionofthemanual. Key
F1

Description
Accessesonline Help.

Key
CTRL+A

Description
Editwindow: Selectsalltext. Editwindow: Copiesselected text.

Key
CTRL+F1

Description
PlacesPCDMIS intoTranslate Mode. PlacesPCDMIS intoRotate2D Mode.

F2

F3

Editwindow: CTRL+C Opensthe Expression Builderdialogbox ifcursorisonaline thatallows expressions. EditWindow: CTRL+D Marks/unmarks thecommandfor execution. Ifyourcursor residesonan ExternalObject,F3 switchesbetween printandexecute modes. Editwindow: Printscontentsof theEditwindow. Accessesthe SetupOptions dialogbox. Editwindow: Withinaselected togglefield,cycles forwardtonext alphabeticalentry. Editwindow:

CTRL+F2

Deletesthecurrent CTRL+F3 feature.

PlacesPCDMIS intoRotate3D Modeandopens Rotatedialogbox.

F4

CTRL+E

Executesselected feature. OpenstheAuto Featuresdialog box. Insertsa READPOINT/ commandintothe Editwindow. Editwindow:

CTRL+F4

PlacesPCDMIS intoProgramMode. PlacesPCDMIS intoTextBoxMode. Minimizesor restorestheEdit window.

F5

CTRL+F

CTRL+F5

F7

CTRL+G

CTRL+TAB

F8

CTRL+J

CTRL+SHIFT

Hidesselected

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingShortcutKeysandShortcutMenus 1607

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

F9

F10

Withinaselected togglefield,cycles backwardstolast alphabeticalentry. Editwindow: CTRL+K Opensthedialog boxassociatedwith thecommandat cursor'sposition. Opensthe CTRL+M Parameter Settingsdialog box. CTRL+N

Jumpstoa referenced command. Savestheselected CTRL+END dimensioninthe Editreport.

graphicalanalysis arrow.

Editwindow: Movescursortothe endofthecurrent partprogram.

F12

Opensthe FixturingSetup dialogbox. SHIFT+Rightclick OpenstheScale Drawingdialog box. Editwindow: SHIFT+TAB Movescursor backwardstothe previoususer editablefield.

CTRL+O

Editwindow: Movescursortothe beginningofthe currentpart program. CreatesaNewPart CTRL+ALT+A Opensthe Program. Alignmentdialog box. OpensaPart CTRL+ALT+P OpenstheProbe Program. Utilitiesdialogbox. InsertsaMovePoint CTRL+HOME command. PrintstheGraphics CTRL+Left Displaywindow. click InTextBoxmode, performingthis actiononafeature orlabelIDinthe GraphicsDisplay windowwillmove yourcursortothat featureintheEdit window. Performingthis actionwiththe Analysisdialog boxopen,itselects anyassociated dimensions. RotatestheCAD modelin3Dinthe GraphicsDisplay windowwhen draggingthe mouse. Editwindow: Movescursorto nextavailable elementabovethe currentposition.

CTRL+P

SHIFT+ARROW

Highlightsalltext ascursormoves.

CTRL+Q

Editwindow: Executesthe currentpart program.

CTRL+Right click (Alsoclickand dragcenter mousewheel button) UPARROW

SHIFT+F5

SHIFT+F10

Editwindow: CTRL+R Changesa dimension'shit displaybetween cartesianandpolar coordinates.A'P' characterindicates polardisplaymode. Editwindow: CTRL+S Accessesthe JumpTodialog box. Endsmeasurement CTRL+T ofafeature. Editwindow: Movescursortothe endofthepresent line.

OpensRotate dialogbox.

END

DOWNARROW Editwindow: Movescursorto nextavailable elementbelowthe currentposition. Editwindow: RIGHTARROW Editwindow: Assignsthecurrent Movescursorto command(or nextavailable selected elementtotheright commands)tothe ofthecurrent Masterarm,Slave position. arm,orbotharms. Savesthecurrent partprogram. InSummaryMode thisexpandsa collapsedlist.

1608 UsingShortcutKeysandShortcutMenus

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

HOME

Editwindow: CTRL+V Movescursortothe beginningofthe presentline.

Editwindow: Pastesclipboard contents.

LEFTARROW

Editwindow: Movescursorto nextavailable elementtotheleft ofthecurrent position. InSummaryMode thiscollapsesan expandedlist. AccessestheHelp menu.

TAB

ESC

DELETE

Editwindow: CTRL+X Movescursor forwardtothenext usereditablefield. Abortsanyprocess CTRL+Y (otherthandata entry)ifpressed priortopressing theENTERkey. Editwindow: CTRL+Z See'Backspace'.

Editwindow: Cutsselectedtext.

ALT+H

Editwindow: Executesthepart programfromthe cursor'slocation.

ALT+J

EditWindow: Jumpsbackfroma referenced command. Editwindow: OpenstheFind dialogbox. Editwindow: Undoesthelast actiontakeninthe Editwindow.

ActivatestheScale ALT+F3 toFitfunction. Editwindow: ALT+ InSummaryMode BACKSPACE thiskeyboard shortcutallowsyou toselecta commandtoaddto theEditwindow.

Editwindow: CTRL+ENTER Deletesany orRETURN highlighted characters.If nothingis highlighted,then functionsasina normaleditor.If itemcannotbe deleted,anerror messagewillbe displayed. ALT+""(minus) PressingALTand thentheminuskey deletesthelasthit inthehitbuffer. ENTERorRETURN Editwindow: Createsanewline. Linewill automaticallybe deletedifnot completedbefore cursorismoved fromline. BACKSPACE Selectsa command.

SHIFT+ BACKSPACE

SHIFT+Right Click

Editwindow: Redoesthelast undoneactionin theEditwindow. ReportWindow LabelObject: Displaysthe Reportdialogbox.

ShortcutMenusReference
Shortcutmenusallowyoutodocommoncommandsatthesimpleclickofamousebutton.This sectionexplainshowtoaccessthevariousshortcutmenusandwhatthevariousmenuoptionsdo. Shortcutmenusexistwhentheprogramactivatestheselocations.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingShortcutKeysandShortcutMenus 1609

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ShortcutMenusinStandardWindowsDialogBoxes
BeyondthestandardcommandsthatexistinWindowsbaseddialogboxes,PCDMIS,incertain circumstances,addsadditionalfunctionalitytoshortcutmenus.Manyoftheseareexplainedin the"UsingBasicFileOptions"and"UsingAdvancedFileOptions"chapter. Whenopening,saving,orusingotherfileoperations,rightclickonthepartprogramfilename listedinthedialogboxtobringuptheseshortcutmenuoptions. Option PCDMISImport Description Importsdatafromaninputfile intotheselectedpartprogram. See"ImportingCADData"in the"UsingAdvancedFile Options"chapter. Exportsdatatoanoutputfile fromtheselectedpartprogram. See"ExportingCADData"in the"UsingAdvancedFile Options"chapter. Opensapartprogram.See "OpeningExistingPart Programs"inthe"UsingBasic FileOptions"chapter Cutsapartprogramandmoves ittotheClipboardthisisused withWindowsPastecommand toplacethecutfileintoanother folder. Copiesapartprogramtothe Clipboardthisisusedwiththe Pastecommandtoplacethe copiedfileintoanotherfolder. See"PerformingFile Operations"inthe"UsingBasic FileOptions"chapter Renamesapartprogram. Deletesapartprogram.See "PerformingFileOperations"in the"UsingBasicFileOptions" chapter Displayspartprogram'sfile information.Youcanviewor modifyapartprogram'sname, serialnumber,orrevision number.See"OpeningExisting PartPrograms"inthe"Using BasicFileOptions"chapter.

PCDMISExport

Open

Cut

Copy

Rename Delete

Properties|PCDMIStab

ShortcutMenusontheToolbarArea
WhenrightclickingontheToolbararea,PCDMISdisplaysalistofthetoolbarsandother optionsthatyoucaninstantlyaccess.Theseinclude:

1610 UsingShortcutKeysandShortcutMenus

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Option FileOperations

GraphicsModes

EditWindow

QuickStart

WindowLayouts

MacroPlay/Record

AutoFeatures

MeasuredFeatures

ConstructedFeatures

Description AddsorremovestheFile Operationstoolbartoandfrom thetoolbararea. AddsorremovestheGraphics Modestoolbartoandfromthe toolbararea AddsorremovestheEdit Windowtoolbartoandfromthe toolbararea. AddsorremovestheQuick Starttoolbartoandfromthe toolbararea. AddsorremovestheWindow Layoutstoolbartoandfromthe toolbararea. AddsorremovestheMacro Play/Recordtoolbartoand fromthetoolbararea. AddsorremovestheAuto Featurestoolbartoandfrom thetoolbararea. AddsorremovestheMeasured Featurestoolbartoandfrom thetoolbararea. Addsorremovesthe ConstructedFeatures toolbartoandfromthetoolbar area.
UsingShortcutKeysandShortcutMenus 1611

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Dimension

Addsorremovesthe Dimensiontoolbartoandfrom thetoolbararea AddsorremovestheSettings Settings toolbartoandfromthetoolbar area AddsorremovestheProbe ProbeMode Modetoolbartoandfromthe toolbararea AddsorremovestheActive ActiveArms Armstoolbartoandfromthe toolbararea. AddsorremovestheActive ActiveRotaryTable RotaryTabletoolbartoand fromthetoolbararea. AddsorremovestheWizards Wizards toolbartoandfromthetoolbar area. Customize Customizesthetoolbarsand themenustomeetspecific needs.See"Customizingthe UserInterface"inthe "NavigatingtheUserInterface" chapter. Thesetoolbarsarediscussedindetailinthe"UsingToolbars"chapter.

ShortcutMenusintheGraphicsDisplayWindow
ThefollowingshortcutmenusareavailableinsidetheGraphicsDisplaywindow.Accessthemby rightclickingonspecificareas.SomerequirethatPCDMISbeinspecificmodes(seethe "GraphicsModesToolbar"topicinthe"UsingToolbars"chapter).Dependingonwhatmodeyou arein,PCDMISpresentsyouwithdifferentmenuoptions.

FeatureShortcutMenu
Toaccessthisshortcutmenu,rightclickonafeatureIDlabel,aDiminfobox,oraPointinfobox insidetheGraphicsDisplaywindow.

1612 UsingShortcutKeysandShortcutMenus

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Option HideID

HideIDinView

ShowIDs,HideIDs

Description Thismenuoptionhidesasingle IDlabelintheGraphicsDisplay window.Ahiddenlabelstill existsit'smerelyhiddenfrom view. Thishidestheselectedfeature's IDlabelonlyinthecurrentview. Inotherviewsitremainsvisible. Thesesubmenusletyoushow orhidethedifferentfeatureID labels.Youcanchoosetoshow orhidethesetypesofIDlabels: All FeatureLabels DimensionInfos PointInfos FeatureControlFrames

IfyouchoosetohidetheID labelstheIDlabelsstillexist andaremerelyhiddenfrom view. ShowIDinAllViews Thisshowstheselected feature'sIDlabelinallviews. HideFeature Thisoptionhidesasingle feature,removingitfromthe GraphicsDisplaywindow.The featurestillexistsandismerely hiddenfromview. HideAllFeatures Thisoptionhidesallfeatureson apart,removingthemfromthe GraphicsDisplaywindow.The featuresstillexistandare merelyhiddenfromview. ShowAllFeatures Thisoptiondisplaysall previouslyhiddenfeaturesin theGraphicsDisplaywindow. ResetID ThisoptionmovesasingleID labelbacktoitsoriginallocation nexttothefeature. ResetAllIDs ThisoptionmovesallIDlabels backtotheiroriginallocations nexttotheirrespectivefeatures. MoveCursorTo Selectthismenuoptiontomove theEditwindow'scursortothis feature'scommandlineinthe Editwindow.Thisonlyaffects thelocationofthecursorinthe Editwindowthelocationofthe probeintheGraphicsDisplay windowremainsunchanged. ChangeBackgroundColor Thisoptiondisplaysthe
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual UsingShortcutKeysandShortcutMenus 1613

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ChangeLabelOptionsdialog box.Youcanusethisdialog boxtochangethebackground colorforthefeature'sIDlabel. Youcanchoosetochangeall featurelabelstothisnewcolor orjustthecurrentlabeltype. Therearethreedifferentlabel types:featureIDlabels,Diminfo boxes,andPointinfoboxes. Youcanmakeyourchanges thedefaultsettingsbyclicking theDefaultbutton. Thisdoesnotfunctionwith FeatureControlFrames. Thisoptiondisplaysthe ChangeLabelOptionsdialog box.Youcanusethisdialog boxtochangethebordercolor forthefeature'sIDlabel.You canchoosetochangeall featurelabelborderstothisnew colororjustthecurrentlabel type.Therearethreedifferent labeltypes:featureIDlabels, Diminfoboxes,andPointinfo boxes. Youcanmakeyourchanges thedefaultsettingsbyclicking theDefaultbutton. Thisdoesnotfunctionwith FeatureControlFrames. Thisoptiondisplaysthe ChangeLabelOptionsdialog box.Youcanusethisdialog boxtodisplayorhideasmall shadowunderthefeature'sID label.Youcanchoosetoadda shadowtoalllabeltypesor to justthecurrentlabeltype. Therearethreedifferentlabel types:featureIDlabels,Diminfo boxes,andPointinfoboxes. Youcanmakeyourchanges thedefaultsettingsbyclicking theDefaultbutton. Thisdoesnotfunctionwith FeatureControlFrames.

ChangeLineColor

ShowShadow

1614 UsingShortcutKeysandShortcutMenus

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

FeatureShortcutMenuAdditionsinTextBoxMode PCDMISaddstheseadditionaloptionstothestandardFeatureShortCutmenuwheninText BoxMode.Theseinclude:

Option CreateFeatureControl Frame...

CreateDimInfoBox...

Description ThisoptioncreatesaTrue PositionFeatureControlFrame (FCF)dimensionfromthe selectedfeature.TheGD&T dialogboxappears.For informationonhowtocreate FCFdimensions,see"Using FeatureControlFrames". ThisoptioncreatesaDimension Informationtextboxfromthe highlightedfeature.AnEdit DimInfodialogboxappears, showingtheavailable dimensionsfromwhichyoucan createtheDimensioninfotext box. Ifnodimensionsareassociated withthefeature,PCDMIS automaticallycreatesadefault Locationdimensionforthe feature(see"Dimensioning Location"inthe"Dimensioning Features"chapter).For informationonhowtousethe EditDimensionInfodialog box,see"InsertingDimension InfoBoxes"inthe"Inserting ReportCommands"chapter. Thismenuoptioncreatesa PointInfotextboxfromthe highlightedfeature.AnEdit PointInfodialogboxappears, showingthefeature(andany availabledimensions)from whichyoucancreatethePoint Infotextbox.Forinformationon howtousetheEditPointInfo dialogboxtocreateaPointInfo textbox,see"InsertingPoint InfoBoxes"inthe"Inserting ReportCommands"chapter.

CreatePointInfoBox

Toaccessthesenewoptions:

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingShortcutKeysandShortcutMenus 1615

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

1. SelecttheTextBoxModeicon(see"TextBoxMode"inthe"EditingtheCADDisplay" chapter). 2. Rightclickonafeatureorfeature'sIDlabelintheGraphicsDisplaywindowtodisplaythe shortcutmenu. Dimension/PointInfoMenuinTextBoxMode Whenintextboxmode,ifyourightclickonaDimInfoboxorPointInfobox,PCDMISadds thesetwooptionstothestandardFeatureShortcutMenu:

Option Edit

Description Thisoptionallowsyoutoedit theselectedDimensionInfoor PointInfotextbox.Aslightly modifiedEditDimensionInfo orEditPointInfodialogbox opens.Inadditiontothe standardbuttonsalongthe bottomofthedialogbox,an additionalApplyToAllbutton isavailable:

ClickApplyToAlltohaveany changesmadeinthedialogbox applytoallDimensionInfoor PointInfoboxes: Note:Onlythechangesmade fromtheoriginaltothemodified infoboxwillbeappliedacross allDimInfoorPointInfoboxes. Settingsontheoriginalinfobox thatalreadydifferfromother infoboxeswillnotbeappliedto theotherinfoboxes. Foradditionalinformationsee "InsertingDimensionInfo Boxes"inthe"InsertingReport Commands"chapter. Selectthismenuoptionto deletetheselecteddimension orpointinfotextbox.The correspondingPOINTINFOor DIMINFOcommandintheEdit windowwillalsobedeleted.

Delete

Toaccessthesenewoptions: 1. SelecttheTextBoxModeicon(see"TextBoxMode"inthe"EditingtheCADDisplay" chapter). 2. RightclickonaDimInfoorPointInfoboxintheGraphicsDisplaywindow.

1616 UsingShortcutKeysandShortcutMenus

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

BoxSelectShortcutMenu
ThisshortcutmenuonlyworksinTextBoxMode.Toaccessthismenu: 1. SelecttheTextBoxModeicon(see"TextBoxMode"inthe"EditingtheCADDisplay" chapter). 2. Boxselectoneormorefeatures.PCDMISselectsallgraphicalfeaturesorfeatureID labelsinsidethebox. Ashortcutwiththeseoptionsappears:

Option CreateDimInfoBoxes

Description Thismenuoptioncreates DimensionInfotextboxesfrom theselectedfeatures. AnEditDimensionInfodialog boxappearsforoneofthe highlightedfeatures,showing theavailabledimensionsfrom whichyoucancreatethefirst DimensionInfobox. Onceyouveselectedthe desiredoptionsintheEdit DimensionInfodialogbox, clickeithertheOKorCreate button(Applybuttonwhen editing)tocreatetheDimInfo boxes. ThefirstDimInfoboxwillbe createdfromtheselected dimension(s)intheEdit DimensionInfodialogbox. Subsequentinfoboxeswillbe createdfromalldimensions associatedwitheachfeature. Ifnodimensionsareassociated withanyofthefeatures,a defaultLocationdimensionwill automaticallybecreatedforthat feature(see"Dimensioning

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingShortcutKeysandShortcutMenus 1617

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

CreatePointInfoBox

Location"inthe"Dimensioning Features"chapter).For informationonhowtousethe EditDimensionInfodialog box,see"InsertingDimension InfoBoxes"inthe"Inserting ReportCommands"chapter. Selectthismenuoptionto createPointInfotextboxes fromthehighlightedfeatures. AnEditPointInfodialogbox appearsforoneofthe highlightedfeatures,showing thefeature(andanyavailable dimensions)fromwhichyou cancreatethePointInfotext box. Onceyouveselectedthe desiredoptionsintheEditPoint Infodialog,selecttheOKor Createbutton(Applybutton whenediting)tocreatetheinfo boxes. Thefirstinfoboxwillbecreated fromtheselectedfeatureor dimension(s)intheEditPoint Infodialogbox.Subsequent PointInfoboxeswillbecreated fromalldimensionsassociated witheachfeatureandthe featureitself.APointInfobox willbecreatedforalldimension andfeaturehits.Forinformation onhowtousetheEditPoint InfodialogboxtocreateaPoint Infotextbox,see"Inserting PointInfoBoxes"inthe "InsertingReportCommands" chapter. Selectoneofthesemenu optionstoshoworhideallthe selectedfeatures'IDlabels.If youchoosetohidetheIDlabels theIDlabelsstillexistandare merelyhiddenfromview. Thisoptionhidesallselected featuresonapart,removing themfromtheGraphicsDisplay window.Thefeaturesstillexist andaremerelyhiddenfrom view. Thisoptionmovesallselected IDlabelsbacktotheiroriginal

ShowIDs,HideIds

HideFeatures

ResetIds

1618 UsingShortcutKeysandShortcutMenus

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

locationsnexttotheirrespective features.

QuickFixtureShortcutMenu
ThisshortcutmenuonlyworksinQuickFixtureMode (see"InsertingQuickFixtures"inthe "DefiningHardware"chapter).Toaccessthismenu: 1. SelecttheQuickFixtureModeiconfromtheGraphicsModestoolbar. 2. RightclickonaquickfixtureobjectthatyouhavealreadyinsertedintotheGraphics Displaywindow. Ashortcutwiththeseoptionsappears:

Option Dropobject

Description Thisdropstheselectedquick fixtureontowhateverliesbelow itintheGraphicsDisplay window.Ifthereisnothinginthe Zdirection,thennothing happens.Ifthereis,thenthe fixturedropsdownuntilit touchestheobject(s)below. Thistakesthenormalsurface vectorofwhereyoujustright clickedandsquaresthatupwith themachinecoordinatesystem. Thistakesthepointwhereyou justrightclickedanddropsiton totheclosestedge.Itthen squaresupthevectorthatis tangenttothecurveatthedrop point.Therotateisa2D squaring,lookingdownthe currentviewnormal. Thissquaresuptheselected quickfixturesothatitsaxesare
UsingShortcutKeysandShortcutMenus 1619

Levelobject

Rotateobject

Squareup

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

LinkFixtureComponents

UnlinkFixtureComponents

FixComponentinPlace

SaveFixture

Xmoveonly

Ymoveonly

Zmoveonly

paralleltotheCADaxes (minimalchange) Thisgroupsallonscreenfixture componentstogethersothat draggingorrotatingonefixture dragsorrotatesthemall together. Thisunlinksfixturecomponents, allowingyoutomanipulatethem individually. Ifyouhavelinkedfixture components,youcanusethis selectiontofixthelocationof theselectedcomponentinthe setoflinkedcomponents.That componentwillremainfixedat itscurrentlocation,evenifyou thenmoveothercomponentsof thelinkedset. Selectingthismenuitems bringsupaSaveAsdialogbox thatletsyousaveanyon screenfixtureelements.Ifyou havemorethanonefixtureon thescreen,thenPCDMIS savesthemallasasingleset. Savedfixturesgetstoredinthe expandableUSERtreeinthe QuickFixdialogboxforlater use. Selectingthismenuitemand draggingthefixturewillmoveit alongtheXaxisonly. Selectingthismenuitemand draggingthefixturewillmoveit alongtheYaxisonly. Selectingthismenuitemand draggingthefixturewillmoveit alongtheZaxisonly. Selectingthismenuitemand draggingthefixturewillmoveit alongtheXandYaxesonly. Selectingthismenuitemand draggingthefixturewillmoveit alongtheYandZaxesonly. Selectingthismenuitemand draggingthefixturewillmoveit alongtheZandXaxesonly. Selectingthismenuitemcauses therotationtotakeplaceonlyin theXYplane.Youcanrotateby pressingCTRLanddragging thefixture.Selectagaintoclear thisoption.

XYmoveonly YZmoveonly

ZXmoveonly

XYrotateonly

1620 UsingShortcutKeysandShortcutMenus

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

YZrotateonly

ZXrotateonly

Selectingthismenuitemcauses therotationtotakeplaceonlyin theYZplane.Youcanrotateby pressingCTRLanddragging thefixture.Selectagaintoclear thisoption. Selectingthismenuitemcauses therotationtotakeplaceonlyin theZXplane.Youcanrotateby pressingCTRLanddragging thefixture.Selectagaintoclear thisoption.

AutoFeaturePathLinesShortcutMenu

Toaccessthisshortcutmenu,selecttheShowPathTogglebutton dialogbox. Option InsertHit Description Insertsanadditionalhitintotheautofeature.

insideanAutoFeature

DeleteHit InsertSample Hit

Deletestheselectedhitfromtheautofeature. Insertsasamplehitfortheautofeature.

DeleteSample Hit InsertRow

Deletestheselectedsamplehitfromtheautofeature. Whenworkingwithafeaturethatusesmultiplerowsofhits,suchasa cylinderorcone,thisinsertsanotherrowofhits. Whenworkingwithafeaturethatusesmultiplerowsofhits,suchasa cylinderorcone,thisdeletestheselectedrowofhits. Thismenuoptionbecomesautomaticallyselectedwheneveryou manuallymakeachangetoahitorpathusingthemouse. Ifyouthendeselectthis menuoption,PCDMISrevertsyourchange

DeleteRow UserDefined Hits

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingShortcutKeysandShortcutMenus 1621

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

backtowhatitwasbefore. Additionally,ifyouhavethisoptionselectedforahitandthenchange tothefeature'sperpendicularview,usingViewPerpendicular, you canadjustthedepthorheightforthatspecifichit. ThischangestheCADviewofthefeaturetoatopdownview. ThischangestheCADviewofthefeaturetoasideview,idealfor definingafeature'sdepthoraddingadditionallevelsofhits.

ViewNormal View Perpendicular

ShortcutMenusintheEditWindow
PCDMIS'sEditwindowcontainsthefollowingshortcutmenusdependingonwhatEditwindow modeisselected.

SummaryModeCommandShortcutMenu
WhenyouselectacommanditemintheEditwindow'sSummaryMode(see"Workingin SummaryMode"inthe"UsingtheEditWindow"chapter)andrightclickonthecommanditem, thecommandshortcutmenuappears.Thismenuhasthefollowingoptions:

Option Edit

Mark

Delete

Copy Cut

Description Thisoptioncausesthedialog forthecurrentobjecttobe displayed. Thisoptiontogglesthemark stateoftheobjectfor execution. Thisoptiondeletestheselected commandandanysub commandsoutofthepart program. Thisoptioncopiestheselected commandtotheClipboard. Thisoptioncutstheselected

1622 UsingShortcutKeysandShortcutMenus

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Paste

CollapseGroups

CollapseAll ExpandCommand

AddCommand

commandtotheClipboardand removesthecommandfromthe partprogram. Thisoptionpastesacommand thatwaspreviouslycutor copiedfromtheClipboardand placesitbelowtheselected command. Thisoptioncollapsesall expandeduserdefinedgroups. Otherexpandeditemsremain expanded. Thisoptioncollapsesall expandeditems. Thisoptionexpandsthecurrent commandlineanddisplaysany dataorgroupitemsassociated withtheselectedcommand. Thisoptionallowsyoutoadda commandtotheEditwindow fromanalphabetizedscrollable list. STEP1:Navigatethroughthe listbytypingthefirstfewletters ofthecommand.PCDMIS automaticallygoestothat command. STEP2:Selectthecommand fromthelist. STEP3:PresseitherCTRL+ ENTERorENTERtoplacethe newcommandintotheEdit window. PressingCTRL+ENTER placesthecommandafterthe commandblockusedtoopen theshortcutmenu.. PressingENTERplacesthe commandinsidethecommand blockusedtoopentheshortcut menu.UsingtheENTERkey onlyfunctionsinthismannerif thecommandyouareaddingis atypeofcommandthatPC DMISallowstobeinsertedinto anothercommandblock. OtherwisePCDMISinsertsit afterthecurrentcommand. Thismenuoptiondetermines
UsingShortcutKeysandShortcutMenus 1623

DockingView
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

whetherornottheEditwindow isdockedorundocked. Ifyoudeselectthisoption,the Editwindowbehaveslikeitdid inpreviousversionsofPC DMIS,floatingoverthe GraphicsDisplaywindow. Ifyouselectthisoption,youwill beabletodocktheEditwindow tothesidesortoporbottomof theGraphicsDisplaywindow. Thismenuoptionletsyou performarunthepath optimizationroutineifyouare usingtheInspectionPlanner module,otherwisethisoptionis notaccessible.Seethe InspectionPlanner documentationonhowtouse this. Thismenuoptiononlyappears whenrightclickingonanauto feature. Itperformsatestexecutionof theselectedautofeature.This functionsthesameastheTest buttonintheAutoFeature dialogbox. Note:Careshouldbetaken whenusingthisoptionasa probecollisionmayoccurdueto ignoredclearanceplanes. Thismenuoptiononlyappears whenrightclickingonanauto feature. Itmovestheprobetothecenter oftheselectedautofeature. Thisfunctionsthesameasthe MoveTobuttonintheAuto Featuredialogbox. Note:Careshouldbetaken whenusingthisoptionasa probecollisionmayoccurdueto ignoredclearanceplanes.

OptimizePath

Test<Feature>

MoveTo<Feature>

1624 UsingShortcutKeysandShortcutMenus

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

DataItemShortcutMenu
ThedataitemshortcutmenuappearswhenrightclickingonadataitemintheEditwindow's SummaryMode(see"WorkinginSummaryMode"inthe"UsingtheEditWindow"chapter).This shortcutmenuhasthefollowingoptions:

Option Edit

Value/ExpressionText:

UseExpressionBuilder:

Copy

ValueText: ExpressionText:

DescriptionText: Paste

DockingView

Description Thesubmenuforthisitem includesValue/Expression TextandUseExpression Builder. Allowsyoutoeditthecurrent itemiftheitemcanbeedited.If thedataitemisatoggleitem,a togglelistwillappear,otherwise aboxforeditingthecurrent valuewillappear. Iftheitemcanbeedited,brings uptheExpressionBuilder dialogboxallowingyouto createexpressionsforthe selectedfield. Copiesoneofthreetextoptions totheClipboardforthe selecteddataitem. Copiesthecurrentvalueofthe dataitemtotheClipboard. Copiesthecurrentexpression texttotheClipboardifan expressionexistsforthedata item. Copiesthecurrentdataitem descriptiontotheClipboard. Thispastesacopiedvalue, expressiontext,oritem descriptiontoanewlocation. Seedescriptiongiveninthe "SummaryModeCommand ShortcutMenu".

CommandModeShortcutMenu
ThefollowingshortcutmenuoptionsareavailablewhenPCDMISisinCommandMode.For informationonthesemodes,see"WorkinginCommandMode"inthe"UsingtheEditWindow" chapter.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingShortcutKeysandShortcutMenus 1625

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Option SelectCommand SelectBlock

ExecuteFromCommand

ExecuteBlock

JumpTo<Feature>

JumpBack

Edit

Mark

Description Highlightsthecommandthat themouseispositionedover Ifthemouseisoverastartor endblockobject,selectsthe entireblock. Thisoptionstartsexecution fromthecurrentlocationofthe insertionpointintheedit window. Thisoptionexecutesthe currentlymarkedblockof commands. Thisoptionjumpsfromthe currentcommandtothe referencedfeatureID. Thisoptionjumpsbacktothe commandyouwereatbefore youselectedtheJumpTo option. Thisopensupthedialogbox thatallowsyoutoeditthe commandthatthecursor resideson. Thisoptiontogglesthemark

1626 UsingShortcutKeysandShortcutMenus

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Group

CollapseGroup

SetasStartPoint

Breakpoint

Bookmark

OverrideFindNoms

Copy

Cut

Paste

stateoftheobjectfor execution.Formoreinformation onmarking,see"Mark"inthe "EditingaPartProgram" chapter. Thisoptioninsertsthelistof contiguousselectedcommands intoauserdefinedgroup. Thisoptioncollapsesall expandeduserdefinedgroups. Otherexpandeditemsremain expanded. Thisoptiondeterminesthe startinglocationatwhichpart programexecutionbegins whenyouselecttheFile| PartialExecution|Execute FromStartPointsmenu option.See"SettingStart Points"inthe"EditingaPart Program"chapter. Thisoptioninsertsabreakpoint atthecursor'slocation.For moreinformationon breakpoints,see"Using Breakpoints"inthe"Editinga PartProgram"chapter. Thisoptioninsertsabookmark atthecursor'slocation.For moreinformationon bookmarks,see"Using Bookmarks"inthe"Editinga PartProgram"chapter. Thisoptionoverridesthe defaultFindNomsbehaviorof PCDMISduringLearnMode andExecutemode.Formore information,see"Overriding FoundNominals"inthe"Editing aPartProgram"chapter. Thisoptioncopiestheselected Editwindowtexttothe Clipboard.Formoreinformation oncopyingintheEditwindow, see"Copy"inthe"Editinga PartProgram"chapter. Thisoptioncutstheselected Editwindowtexttothe Clipboard.Formoreinformation oncuttingintheEditwindow, see"Cut"inthe"EditingaPart Program"chapter. Thisoptionpastestextfromthe ClipboardintotheEditwindow atthecursor'slocation.For
UsingShortcutKeysandShortcutMenus 1627

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

DockingView

moreinformationonpastingin theEditwindow,see"Paste"in the"EditingaPartProgram" chapter. Seedescriptiongiveninthe "SummaryModeCommand ShortcutMenu". 1. SelectExpression Value. 2. Letyourcursorrest overanexpression. 3. Asmallpopupwindow appears,displayingthe currentvalueofthe expression. 1. SelectDataType Information. 2. Letyourcursorrest overadatafield. 3. Asmallpopupwindow appears,displaying informationaboutthat datafieldincludingthe datatypedescription, thedatatypenumber, andthetypeindex. Theinformationdisplayedin thispopupwindowcanbe usedwiththeGETTEXT expression.Seethe"Using ExpressionsandVariables" chapter. 1. SelectCommand Information. 2. Letyourcursorrest overanyEditwindow command. Asmallpopupwindow appears,displayingcommand descriptioninformationandthe commandtypenumber.The informationdisplayedinthis popupwindowcanbeused withtheGETCOMMAND expression.Seethe"Using ExpressionsandVariables" chapter. Thismenuoptionremains unavailableforselectionuntil youinsertanexternalobject

ChangePopupDisplay ExpressionValue

DataTypeInformation

CommandInformation

Object

1628 UsingShortcutKeysandShortcutMenus

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

intotheEditwindow.See "InsertingExternalObjects"in the"AddingExternalElements" chapterforinformationonhow todothis. Onceyouselecttheinserted externalobjectintheEdit windowandthenrightclickon it,thismenuchangestoreflect optionsuniquetothatparticular object.Thesemayinclude optionssuchasopeningthe object,editingtheobject,or simplymodifyingtheobject's properties. Thismenuoptiononlyappears whenrightclickingonanauto feature. Itperformsatestexecutionof theselectedautofeature.This functionsthesameastheTest buttonintheAutoFeature dialogbox. Careshouldbetakenwhen usingthisoptionasaprobe collisionmayoccurdueto ignoredclearanceplanes. Thismenuoptiononlyappears whenrightclickingonanauto feature. Itmovestheprobetothecenter oftheselectedautofeature. Thisfunctionsthesameasthe MoveTobuttonintheAuto Featuredialogbox. Careshouldbetakenwhen usingthisoptionasaprobe collisionmayoccurdueto ignoredclearanceplanes.

Test<Feature>

MoveTo<Feature>

ShortcutMenusintheReportWindow
IfyourightclickintheReportwindow,PCDMISdisplaysashortcutmenuwithmenuitemsthat affecthowobjectsaredisplayedintheReportwindow.Certainmenuitemsonlyappearifyou rightclickonspecificunderlyingobjectsintheReportwindow.Thevariousmenuitemsyoucan accessfromtheReportwindow'sshortcutmenuarediscussedinthetablebelow: Option Description
UsingShortcutKeysandShortcutMenus 1629

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

EditObject...

ThisoptionallowsyoutomodifythecurrentobjectintheReportwindowfrom itsdefaultstate. IfyourightclickedonalabelobjectintheReportwindow,theLabel Propertiesdialogboxappears,allowingyoutomodifythatlabel. IfyourightclickedontheTextReportObject(essentiallyanywhitespacetext attheendofyourreportoranynontablelikereportingtext),theReport dialogboxappearsallowingyoutodeterminewhatgetsincludedinyour report. Hint:PressingSHIFTandrightclickingonanylabelobjectwilldisplay theReportdialogbox. Formoreinformationsee"ChangingtheReportWindow'sContents"inthe "ReportingMeasurementResults"chapter. ThisoptionhidesanyselectedlabelsusedwiththeCADReportObject. Selectthelabelsyouwanttohideandthenrightclickononeoftheselected labelsforthismenuitemtoappear. Youcanselectmultiplelabelsatatimebydraggingaboxaroundthedesired labelswiththemouseorbyholdingdowntheCTRLkeyandclickingonthe desiredlabels. Thisoptionshowsallhiddenlabels.RightclickontheCADReportObjectfor thismenuitemtoappear. Thisoptionremovesaselectedlabelobjectorsectioncutprofileobjectthat youaddedusingtheAddObjectonPagesubmenu. YoushouldnotusetheDELETEkeywhenattemptingtoremoveselected objectsdoingsodeletesselectedcommandsintheEditwindowinstead. Thisoptionreturnstheobjectyourightclickedontoitsoriginalstate, removinganymodificationsyoumayhavemadeusingtheEditObject... menuitemormaderesizingorrepositioningsupportedobjects. ThisoptiondisplaysanOpendialogbox,allowingyoutochangethetemplate usedtodisplayandformatthedatafromtheunderlyingcommand.Only thosetemplatesspecifiedtoworkwiththecommandwillappearinthedialog box. Thisoptioncreatesanidenticalpageoftheoneonwhichyourightclicked immediatelyfollowingthecurrentpage.Youmayfindthishelpfulin organizinglabelsthatcan'tfitononepageacrossmultiplepages. Youcanremoveaduplicatedpagebyrightclickingonitandselecting RemoveDuplicatedPage. Thisoptiononlyappearsinthemenuwhenyourightclickonapreviously duplicatedpage.Selectingitremovestheduplicatedpagefromthereport. Thisoptioninsertsasectioncutprofileofyourpartmodelintothereport.

HideSelected Labels

ShowHidden Labels RemoveObject

RemoveObject Modifications Change Template...

DuplicatePage

Remove Duplicatedpage AddObjecton Page>Section CutProfile

1630 UsingShortcutKeysandShortcutMenus

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

SampleSectionCutProfile Afterselectingthisoption,useyourmouseanddragaboxintheReport windowtoinsertthesectioncutprofile.Seetheinformationinthe "SectionCutObject"topicintheinthe"ReportingMeasurementResults" chapterfordetailedinformation. Usingthismethodyoucaninsertmultiplecutawayviewsintoyourreport. Thismenuitemletsyouinsertacustomlabelobjectontheflyintotheactive report.ThistypeoflabelinsertionprocessisnottiedinanywaytotheRule TreeEditor. SelectthismenuitemandthendragaboxintheReportwindow.AnOpen dialogboxappears,allowingyoutoinsertaselectedlabeltemplateonthefly intothecurrentpageofthereport.

AddObjecton Page>Custom Label...

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

UsingShortcutKeysandShortcutMenus 1631

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ErrorCodes
ErrorCodes:Introduction
Errorcodesareusedtoalerttheoperatorofwarningsanderrorconditionsthatoccurwithinthe CoordinateMeasuringSystem(CMS).TheCMSconsistsofacoordinatemeasurementmachine (CMM), theCMMelectronics,andapersonalcomputer(PC)runningMeasureMax+or MaxLite. TheerrorcodesinthissectionarespecifictotheSheffieldcomponentswhichincludestheCMM electronicsandMeasurementLibrary(MLB)commands. Errorcodesaredenotedbyagroupname,ahyphenandanumber. AfewexamplesareMP523, MLB010,andTempComp200. Theerrorgroupsare: MLB MP DCC RCU TempComp

MLBErrorInformation
AnMLBerrorisgeneratedbyanMLBcommandthatcannotbeprocessed.Itcanoccurwhena partprogramisrunning,whenapartisbeingmeasured,orwhenapartprogramisbeingedited withinQuickTeachorMaxLite. MLBerrorsdonotincludeerrorsdetectedbyVisualBasic. Refer totheVBhelpforassistancewithVBerrors. SomeexamplesofMLBerrorsare: Aresourceisnotavailable,suchasMLB090for'DCCnotavailable',orRCU050for 'RCUnotavailable'. Commandsyntaxisinvalid,suchasMLB020for'improperparameter',orMLB010 for'unidentifiedfunctioncommandstring'. CMMcannotcompletethemotion,suchasMLB168for'unexpectedtouch',orMLB 169for'unexpectedendoftravel'. Datacannotbeprocessed,suchasMLB038for'cannotintersectlineparallelwith cylinderaxis',orMLB070for'referencenotsaved'. MLBerrorsaredisplayedatthePC,typicallyinadialogbox.
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual ErrorCodes 1633

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TheMLBerrorcodesarelistedinthistable:

MLB001 MLB003 MLB004 MLB005 MLB006 MLB007 MLB010 MLB011 MLB012 MLB013 MLB014 MLB015 MLB016 MLB017 MLB018 MLB019 MLB020 MLB021 MLB022 MLB023 MLB024 MLB025

MLB026 MLB027 MLB028 MLB029 MLB030 MLB031 MLB032 MLB033 MLB034 MLB035 MLB036 MLB037 MLB038 MLB040 MLB041 MLB042 MLB043 MLB044 MLB045 MLB050 MLB060 MLB061

MLB062 MLB063 MLB064 MLB070 MLB071 MLB072 MLB080 MLB088 MLB089 MLB090 MLB091 MLB092 MLB093 MLB094 MLB095 MLB096 MLB100 MLB101 MLB110 MLB111 MLB112 MLB113

MLB114 MLB115 MLB116 MLB120 MLB130 MLB131 MLB132 MLB140 MLB150 MLB151 MLB152 MLB153 MLB154 MLB155 MLB156 MLB157 MLB158 MLB160 MLB161 MLB162 MLB164 MLB166

MLB168 MLB169 MLB170 MLB173 MLB190 MLB191 MLB505

MLB001MPInternalsyntaxerror AsystemerrorinternaltotheMeasurementProcessor(MP)occurred. Effect Commandisaborted.Furtherpartprogramoperationsmaybeimpossible. Whatyoushoulddo Resetsystem. Iftheerrorreoccurs,contactyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative.

1634 ErrorCodes

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MLB003Communicationserror Thisisgenerallycausedbyarequiredsystemresourcethatisnotpresentoris notfunctional.ThisisanMPinternalsystemerror. Effect Commandisaborted.Furthersystemoperationsmaynotbepossible. Whatyoushoulddo Resetsystem. Iftheerrorreoccurs,contactyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MLB004Numericerror Aconditionexiststhatpreventsavalidresultfromanarithmeticoperation,e.g., anattempteddivisionbyzero.ThisisanMPinternalsystemerror. Effect Commandisnotexecuted. Whatyoushoulddo Ensurethepointsbeingmeasureddefineafeatureofthetypethatisbeing inspectedorthattheattemptedfeatureconstructionoperationmakes sense. Ifnocausecanbedeterminedfortheerror,contactyourGiddings&Lewis servicerepresentative. MLB005Communicationserror IOcommandhadcommunicationerrorswiththeMP.ThisisanMPinternal systemerror. Effect TheI/Obitscannotbereadorwrittenproperly. Whatyoushoulddo Resetsystem. Iftheerrorreoccurs,contactyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ErrorCodes 1635

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MLB006Outputmasklogicaltranslationerror IOcommandhaderrortranslatingoutputmasklogical.ThisisanMPinternal systemerror. Effect Commandisnotexecuted. Whatyoushoulddo Correcttheoutputmasklogicalformatandreruntheprogram. Resetsystem. Iftheerrorreoccurs,contactyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MLB007Outputunavailable IOcommanddeterminedoutputunavailableusingoutputmasklogical.Thisisan MPinternalsystemerror. Effect Commandisnotexecuted. Whatyoushoulddo Changetheoutputportnumberandreruntheprogram. Resetsystem. Iftheerrorreoccurs,contactyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MLB010UnidentifiedFCS ThespecifiedFunctionCommandString(FCS)didnotcorrespondtoanydefined MLBcommand. Effect Commandisnotexecuted. Whatyoushoulddo CorrectthepartprogramtousethecorrectFCSidentifier.

1636 ErrorCodes

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MLB011Firstrecordinskipfileisinvalid Thefirstlineoftheskipfilemustbeeither"Type=SKIP"or"Type=EXEC". Effect Skipfileisignoredandnormalpartprogramoperationwilloccurifyoucontinue. Whatyoushoulddo Correctthecontentsoftheskipfile. MLB012Invalidrecordinskipfile Alineintheskipfiledidnotcorrespondtoeitheracommentoravalidly formattedcodeblockname. Effect Invalidlineisignored. Whatyoushoulddo Correctthecontentsoftheskipfile. MLB013Skipfileaccesserror Anerroroccurredwhilereadingtheskipfile. Effect Skipfileisignored. Whatyoushoulddo Checktheskipfileandskipfilemediaforerrors.

MLB014Nestedcodeblocks Partprogramcontainsnestednamedcodeblocks.Thebeginning(BB)ofa secondcodeblockoccurredbeforetheend(EB)oftheprecedingcodeblock Effect

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ErrorCodes 1637

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Commandisnotexecuted. Whatyoushoulddo Correctthepartprogram. MLB015Missingbeginblock Anendblock(EB)commandwasencounteredwithoutamatchingbeginblock (BB)command. Effect Commandisnotexecuted. Whatyoushoulddo Correctthepartprogram. MLB016Nestedskipsequence Partprogramcontainsnestedskipsequence.Asecondbeginskipcommand wasencounteredwithoutaninterveningendskipstatement. Effect Commandisnotexecuted. Whatyoushoulddo Correctthepartprogram. MLB017Invalidendskipblockfunction Anendskipsequencecommandwasfoundwithoutamatchingbeginskip sequencecommand. Effect Commandisnotexecuted. Whatyoushoulddo Correctthepartprogram.

1638 ErrorCodes

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MLB018Impropertolerancingmode Boltcircleorrectangularpatternfunctioncannotbecalledwheninlimit tolerancingmode. Effect Commandisnotexecuted. Whatyoushoulddo Correctthepartprogram. MLB019Improperparameter Toomanyornotenoughparametersspecified,oraninvalidparameterwas specified. Effect Commandisnotexecuted. Whatyoushoulddo Checkthecommand'sdefinitionandcorrectthepartprogram. MLB020Noparameterpermitted Thespecifiedcommanddoesnotallowanyparametersbutaparameterwas specified. Effect Commandisnotexecuted. Whatyoushoulddo Checkthecommand'sdefinitionandcorrectthepartprogram. MLB021Firstparameterinvalid Thefirstparameterspecifiedwasnotvalidforthisfunction. Effect Commandisnotexecuted.
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual ErrorCodes 1639

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Whatyoushoulddo Checkthecommand'sdefinitionandcorrectthepartprogram. MLB022Secondparameterinvalid Thesecondparameterspecifiedwasnotvalidforthisfunction. Effect Commandisnotexecuted. Whatyoushoulddo Checkthecommand'sdefinitionandcorrectthepartprogram. MLB023Thirdparameterinvalid Thethirdparameterspecifiedwasnotvalidforthisfunction. Effect Commandisnotexecuted. Whatyoushoulddo Checkthecommand'sdefinitionandcorrectthepartprogram. MLB024Fourthparameterinvalid Thefourthparameterspecifiedwasnotvalidforthisfunction. Effect Commandisnotexecuted. Whatyoushoulddo Checkthecommand'sdefinitionandcorrectthepartprogram. MLB025Invalidparameterspecified Oneoftheparametersspecifiedwasnotvalidforthisfunction. Effect

1640 ErrorCodes

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Commandisnotexecuted. Whatyoushoulddo Checkthecommand'sdefinitionandcorrectthepartprogram. MLB026Invalidtipspecified Thespecifiedtiphasnotbeencalibrated,orthetipnumberisoutofrange. Effect Commandisnotexecuted. Whatyoushoulddo Checkthespecifiedtipandeithercorrectthename,calibratethetip,orselect thecorrectprobetipfile. MLB027Excessiveangulardeviation Anattempthasbeenmadetocomputeparallelismbetweentwofeaturesthatare almostperpendicularortocomputeperpendicularitybetweentwofeaturesthat arealmostparallel. Effect Commandisnotexecuted. Whatyoushoulddo Correctthepartprogramtospecifythecorrectfeaturesorthecorrect command. MLB028Insufficientnumberofparameters Arequiredparameterhasnotbeenspecifiedforthisfunction. Effect Commandisnotexecuted. Whatyoushoulddo Checkthecommand'sdefinitionandcorrectthepartprogram.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ErrorCodes 1641

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MLB029Dimensionalarrayvaluesoutofrange DataintheDimensionalArrayistoolargeortoosmalltobeusedasspecifiedfor thisfunction. Effect Commandisnotexecuted. Whatyoushoulddo Checkthecommand'sdefinitionandcorrecttheDimensionalArraydata. MLB030Featurestackdoesnotcontainrequiredfeatures Oneofthefollowingconditionsexist: Featureregisterisempty Specifiedorrequiredfeaturepositionisempty Featurestackdoesnotcontaintwofeatures Featurestackdoesnotcontaintherequiredfeatures Featurestackdoesnotcontaintherequirednumberofpointstodefinethe feature. Effect Commandisnotexecuted. Whatyoushoulddo Checkthecommand'sdefinitionandcorrectthepartprogramtogetthe properdataintothefeaturestack. MLB031Firstparameterspecifiesinvalidtype Thefeaturespecifiedbythefirstfunctionparameterisnotthecorrecttypeforthe function.Notethatthiserrormayoccurifnoparameterisspecifiedandthe functiondefaultstousingthedataintheFeatureRegisterandthetypeofthat featureisincorrect. Effect Commandisnotexecuted. Whatyoushoulddo

1642 ErrorCodes

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Checkthecommand'sdefinitionandcorrectthepartprogram. MLB032Secondparameterspecifiesinvalidtype Thefeaturespecifiedbythesecondfunctionparameterisnotthecorrecttypefor thefunction.Notethatthiserrormayoccurifnoparameterisspecifiedandthe functiondefaultstousingthedatainthefirstfeaturestackposition(F1)andthe typeofthatfeatureisincorrect. Effect Commandisnotexecuted. Whatyoushoulddo Checkthecommand'sdefinitionandcorrectthepartprogram. MLB033Planeisinvalidtype Thespecifiedfeatureisaplaneandaplanetypefeatureisnotvalidforthe function. Effect Commandisnotexecuted. Whatyoushoulddo Checkthecommand'sdefinitionandcorrectthepartprogram. MLB034Cannotintersectconcentriccircles Thecirclesspecifiedforthecomputationofanintersectionpointwereconcentric anddonotintersect. Effect Commandisnotexecuted. Whatyoushoulddo Checkthecommand'sdefinitionandcorrectthepartprogram.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ErrorCodes 1643

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MLB035Lineperpendiculartoworkingplane Thefunctionoperationrequiredthatthespecifiedlinebeprojectedintotheactive workingplanebutthelinewasperpendiculartothatplaneandcouldnotbe projected. Effect Commandisnotexecuted. Whatyoushoulddo Checkthecommand'sdefinitionandcorrectthepartprogram. MLB036Invalid(null)featureaddressed Thespecifiedfeatureisoftype'null',indicatingthatitistheresultofaskipped operation,butthisfunctioncannotbeexecutedwitha'null'feature. Effect Commandisnotexecuted. Whatyoushoulddo Checkthecommand'sdefinitionandcorrectthepartprogram. MLB037Invalidfeaturetype Thetypeofthefeatureselectedforthisfunctionisnotvalid. Effect Commandisnotexecuted. Whatyoushoulddo Checkthecommand'sdefinitionandcorrectthepartprogram. MLB038Cannotintersectlineparallelwithcylinderaxis Executionofthecommandrequiredcomputingalinewithacylindricalsurface butthespecifiedlineisparalleltothecylinder'saxisanddoesnotinsectthe cylindricalsurface. Effect

1644 ErrorCodes

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Commandisnotexecuted. Whatyoushoulddo Checkthecommand'sdefinitionandcorrectthepartprogram. MLB040Summationarraydoesnotcontainenoughfeatures Thenumberofpointsrequiredforthiscommandarenotcontainedinthe summationarray. Effect Commandisnotexecuted. Whatyoushoulddo Checkthecommand'sdefinitionandcorrectthepartprogram. MLB041Pointsdonotdefinethefeature Oneofthefollowingconditionsexist: Thepointsdonotdefinethefeature(circle,lineintheworkingplane,linein space,oraplane). Thefeaturesdonotdefineanoffsetangle. Eitherthelineisperpendiculartothemeasurementplane,orthepointsare equalwhenprojectedontothemeasurementplane.Theoffsetangleisnot changed. Thefeaturesareparallel. Thefeaturesareperpendicular. Thefeaturesareidentical. Effect Commandisnotexecuted. Whatyoushoulddo Checkthecommand'sdefinitionandcorrectthepartprogram. MLB042Summationsinvalid Thespecifiedsummationarrayisinvalidduetoaprecedingoperation. Effect
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual ErrorCodes 1645

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Commandisnotexecuted. Whatyoushoulddo Checkthecommand'sdefinitionandcorrectthepartprogram. MLB043Segmentationinprogress Thecommandcannotbeexecutedwhileasegmentedmeasurementisin progress. Effect Commandisnotexecuted. Whatyoushoulddo Correctthepartprogram. MLB044Segmentationnotinitialized Anattemptwasmadetoexecutea'nextsegment'commandwhenasegmented measurementsequencehadnotbeenproperlyinitialized. Effect Commandisnotexecuted. Whatyoushoulddo Correctthepartprogram. MLB045Commandcannotbeskipped AnMLBcommandwhichmaynotbeskippedwasincludedwithinaskipped blockofcode. Effect Commandisnotexecuted. Whatyoushoulddo Checkthecommand'sdefinitionandcorrectthepartprogram.

1646 ErrorCodes

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MLB050RCUnotavailable ThecommandrequiresanRCUtobepresentwhennoRCUisavailable. Effect Commandisnotexecuted. Whatyoushoulddo Checkthecommand'sdefinitionandcorrectthepartprogram. MLB060Rotarytablenotavailable Thecommandrequiresarotarytabletobepresentwhennorotarytableis available. Effect Commandisnotexecuted. Whatyoushoulddo Checkthecommand'sdefinitionandcorrectthepartprogram. MLB061Rotarytablecounternotavailable Thecommandrequiresarotarytablewithacountertobepresent. Effect Commandisnotexecuted. Whatyoushoulddo Checkthecommand'sdefinitionandcorrectthepartprogram. MLB062Notallowedonrotarytablewithcounter Thecommandisnotvalidifthesystemcontainsarotarytablewithacounter. Effect Commandisnotexecuted. Whatyoushoulddo
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual ErrorCodes 1647

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Checkthecommand'sdefinitionandcorrectthepartprogram. MLB063Notallowedonerrorcorrectedrotarytable Thecommandisnotvalidifthesystemcontainsanerrorcorrectedrotarytable. Effect Commandisnotexecuted. Whatyoushoulddo Checkthecommand'sdefinitionandcorrectthepartprogram. MLB064NotallowedonaHirthcouplingtable ThecommandisnotsupportedforaHirthcoupledtable. Effect Commandisnotexecuted. Whatyoushoulddo Checkthecommand'sdefinitionandcorrectthepartprogram. MLB070Referencenotsaved Thecommandattemptedtorecallareferenceframethathadnotbeensaved. Effect Commandisnotexecuted. Whatyoushoulddo Checkthecommand'sdefinitionandcorrectthepartprogram. MLB071Featurestorageoverflow Thesystemdoesnothaveenoughstorageavailabletosaveanotherfeature. Effect Commandisnotexecuted.

1648 ErrorCodes

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Whatyoushoulddo Checkthesystemspecificationsandcorrectthepartprogram.Previously savedfeaturesmayneedtobedeleted. MLB072Featurenotfound Thecommandattemptedtorecallordeleteafeaturethathadnotbeensaved. Effect Commandisnotexecuted. Whatyoushoulddo Checkthecommand'sdefinitionandcorrectthepartprogram. MLB080Improperprobeinstalled Thefunctionisnotcompatiblewiththetypeofprobeinstalledforexample,a sweepfunctionisnotvalidwhenatouchprobeisinstalled.Thiserrormayalso occuronasystemwithaprobechangerifthesystemispoweredupwithaprobe mountedoraprobeismanuallymountedwhenthesystembelievesthatno probeisinstalled. Effect Commandisnotexecuted. Whatyoushoulddo Checkthecommand'sdefinitionandcorrectthepartprogram. Adjusttheinstalledequipmenttocorrecttheproblem. MLB088RCUDrivebuttonusedwithQU TheQUcommandwasterminatedbytheDrivekeyontheRCUII. MLB089RCUReturntoscreenbuttonusedwithQU TheQUcommandwasterminatedbytheReturntoscreenkeyontheRCUII. MLB090DCCnotavailable ThecommandrequiresDCCfunctionality whenDCCoperationsarenot currentlyavailableinthesystem.
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual ErrorCodes 1649

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Effect Commandisnotexecuted. Whatyoushoulddo Checkthecommand'sdefinitionandcorrectthepartprogram. Adjusttheinstalledequipmenttocorrecttheproblem. CorrectanyproblemwhichispreventingDCCoperations. MLB091Contactnotmadewithpart DuringanattemptedDCCtouch,theprobehastraveledtothetargetplusthe overdrivedistanceandtheparthasnotbeencontacted. Effect Pointdataisnotrecorded.Itmaynotbepossibletocontinuethepartprogram. Whatyoushoulddo Determinethecauseoftheproblem.Eithercorrecttheprogramorcorrectly positionthepart. MLB092Insufficientclearance Thespecifiedprobediameterandclearancedoesnotallowtheprobetoentera bore. Effect Commandisnotexecuted. Whatyoushoulddo Determinethecauseoftheproblem.Eithercorrectthespecifiedboresize, reducetheallowedclearanceoruseasmallerprobe. MLB093Remoteautonotconfigured Thecommandtoselectautomaticmodehasbeenexecutedonasystemthatis notproperlyconfiguredtosupportthisoperation. Effect Commandisnotexecuted.

1650 ErrorCodes

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Whatyoushoulddo Determinethecauseoftheproblem.Eithercorrecttheprogramorcorrectly configurethesystem. Iftheerrorreoccursanditissupposedtosupportthisoperation,contactyour Giddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MLB094Remoteautointerlocknotengaged Thecommandtoselectautomaticmodehasbeenexecutedbuttheremoteauto hardwareinterlockisnotengaged. Effect Commandisnotexecuted. Whatyoushoulddo Determinethecauseoftheproblem.Eithercorrecttheprogramorengage theremoteautointerlock.ManuallyselectAUTOmodetocontinuethe partprogram. Iftheerrorreoccursanditissupposedtosupportthisoperation,contactyour Giddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MLB095Servopowerfailedtoengage Thecommandtoselectautomaticmodehasbeenexecutedbutthesystemwas unabletoturnonservopower. Effect Commandisnotexecuted. Whatyoushoulddo Determinethecauseoftheproblem.Eithercorrecttheprogramoreliminate thehardwareproblemthatispreventingservopowerfromengaging. ManuallyturnonservopowerandselectAUTOmodetocontinuethepart program. Iftheerrorreoccursanditissupposedtosupportthisoperation,contactyour Giddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MLB096UnabletoselectAutomode Thecommandtoselectautomaticmodehasbeenexecutedbutthesystemwas unabletoselectAutomode.
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual ErrorCodes 1651

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Effect Commandisnotexecuted. Whatyoushoulddo Determinethecauseoftheproblem.Eithercorrecttheprogramoreliminate thehardwareproblemthatispreventingAutomode.ManuallyselectAuto modetocontinuethepartprogram. Iftheerrorreoccursanditissupposedtosupportthisoperation,contactyour Giddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MLB100Probeheaddatumerror ThePH9orPH102axisprobedidnotseatproperlyafteramoveandisnot lockedinposition. Effect Commandisnotexecuted. Whatyoushoulddo Reseatthe2axisprobeheadandcontinue. MLB101Probeheadobstructionerror ThePH9orPH10probeheaddidnotcompletethemoveintopositionduetoan obstruction. Effect Commandisnotexecuted. Whatyoushoulddo Reseatthe2axisprobeheadandcontinue. MLB110Tip0notcalibrated Anattemptwasmadetocalibrateatipotherthanthemastertip(tip#0)whenthe calibrationfixture'slocationrelativetotip0wasunknown.Tip0mustbe calibratedbeforeanyothertipcanbecalibrated.Notethatthiserrormayoccurif atip0calibrationoperationwasstartedandthenaborted. Effect

1652 ErrorCodes

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Commandisnotexecuted. Whatyoushoulddo Calibratetip0. MLB111Sphericalcalibrationfixturerequired AutomaticcalibrationattemptedafterexecutionofanMLBcommandthat specifiedthecalibrationfixturewasaconeratherthanasphere. Effect Commandisnotexecuted. Whatyoushoulddo Correctthepartprogram. MLB112Temperaturechangeinvalidatedtip0calibration Onasystemwithautomatictemperaturesensors,thetemperaturehaschanged enoughsincetip0wascalibratedsothatadditionaltipscannotbecalibrated accurately. Effect Commandisnotexecuted. Whatyoushoulddo Recalibratetip0beforecalibratingadditionaltips. MLB113Negativeprobediameterinvalidatedcalibration Aprobecalibrationoperationresultedincomputinganegativeprobediameter. Thisistypicallycausedbyspecifyingthewrongsizeforthecalibrationsphereor havingthewrongmeasurementunitsactivewhenspecifyingthecalibration spheresize. Effect Commandisnotexecuted. Whatyoushoulddo

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ErrorCodes 1653

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Correcttheproblemandrecalibratetheprobe. MLB114Excessiveprobeoffsetsinvalidatedcalibration Aprobecalibrationoperationresultedincomputingprobeoffsetsthatwere obviouslyinvalid.Thisistypicallycausedbyspecifyingthatthecalibrationsphere isattheMEApositionwhenitisnotorbymovingthecalibrationsphereafter calibratingtip0withoutthenexecutingthe'locatesphere'function. Effect Commandisnotexecuted. Whatyoushoulddo Correcttheproblemandrecalibratetheprobe. MLB115Fileerroronfeatureorprobestorageoperation Featureorprobedatacouldnotbestoredinthehostdiskdatastorage.Diskmay bewriteprotectedorfull. Effect Commandisnotexecuted. Whatyoushoulddo Correcttheproblemandreruntheprogram. MLB116Notoncircleatbeginningofcircularmove TheCMMisnotpositionedwithinthemovetoleranceofthecommandedcircleat thebeginningofacircularmovecommand. Effect Commandisnotexecuted.SMPisputintomanualmode. Whatyoushoulddo Checkthemovecommandsimmediatelybeforethecircularmove.

1654 ErrorCodes

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MLB120Partimproperlyalignedorscaled Partnotalignedwithmachineorscaleddifferentlyforrectangularscan,orpart notlevelorscaleddifferentlyforPolarscan. Effect Commandisnotexecuted. Whatyoushoulddo Correcttheprogramtocorrectlyalignand/orscalethepart. MLB130Operatorabort Theoperationwasabortedduetoanoperatorselection. Effect Commandisnotexecuted. Whatyoushoulddo Acknowledgetheerrormessageandeithercontinueorabortthepart programasappropriate. MLB131Electroniclevelnotavailable Acommandtoreadtheelectroniclevelwasexecutedandtheelectroniclevelis notavailable. Effect Commandisnotexecuted. Whatyoushoulddo Verifythattheelectroniclevelisavailableinthissystemandisnotfunctional. MLB132Electroniclevelinterfacetimeout Acommandtoreadtheelectroniclevelwasexecutedandtheelectroniclevel timedout. Effect

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ErrorCodes 1655

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Commandisnotexecuted. Whatyoushoulddo Verifythattheelectroniclevelisfunctional. MLB140Pointnotavailable Thespecifieddatapointisnotinthesummationarray.Theprogramdidnotstore thepoint. Effect Commandisnotexecuted. Whatyoushoulddo Correctthepartprogram. MLB150APCracknotconnected ThecablethatshouldconnecttheautomaticprobechangerracktotheACUis notattachedtotherackand/ortheACU. Effect Commandisnotexecuted. Whatyoushoulddo Ifyouhaveanautomaticprobechanger(APC)rack,connectit. IfyoudonothaveanAPCrack,useanalternateMLBcommandthatdoes notrequireanAPCrack. MLB151APCfirmwareorinterfacenotpresent Youhaverequestedanautomaticprobechanger(APC)rackfunction,butthe APCorsupportfirmwareisnotavailable. Effect Commandisnotexecuted. Whatyoushoulddo UseanalternatefunctionthatdoesnotrequiretheAPC.

1656 ErrorCodes

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MLB152APCracknotcalibrated Youaretryingtorunapartprogramusingtheautomaticprobechanger(APC) rack,butithasnotbeencalibrated. Effect Commandisnotexecuted. Whatyoushoulddo Calibratetheautomaticprobechangerrack. MLB153APC/MPcommunicationerror ThecommunicationsbetweentheautomaticprobechangerrackandtheMPare down. Effect TheMPcannotcommunicatewiththeautomaticprobechangerrack. Whatyoushoulddo ResettheMPandtheautomaticprobechangerrack. Iftheerrorreoccurs,contactyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MLB154APCracktimeoutorlockfailure Thetimeallottedforaprobetransactionwasexceededoranadapterfailedto lock. Effect Commandisaborted. Whatyoushoulddo Resettheautomaticprobechangerrack. MLB155APCrackovertravel Excessmotionoftheautomaticprobechangerrackassembly. Effect

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ErrorCodes 1657

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Commandisnotexecuted. Whatyoushoulddo Recalibratetheautomaticprobechangerrack. MLB156Safepositionnotdefined AsafePH9Arotationpositionhasnotbeendefined. Effect Youcannotusetheautomaticprobechangerrack. Whatyoushoulddo DefineasafePH9Arotationposition. MLB157Noextensionsloaded Youaretryingtoassembleamultistationprobe,whentherearenoextensionsin theautomaticprobechangerrack. Effect Commandisnotexecuted. Whatyoushoulddo Loadandcalibratethenecessaryextensions. MLB158Toomanyextensionsloaded Youtriedtoloadmorethanthreeextensionsontheprobe. Effect Commandisnotexecuted. Whatyoushoulddo Makesurethelastautomaticprobechangerstationspecifiedinaprobe configurationcontainsastylus.

1658 ErrorCodes

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MLB160Firmwareentitynotfound ThereisabadROMorCPUboardintheMP. Effect Systemisinoperable. Whatyoushoulddo ContactyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MLB161APCrackcouldnotbelowered APCrackcouldnotbelowered. Effect AcommandwasexecutedwhichrequiredtheAPCracktobeloweredandit couldnotbelowered. Whatyoushoulddo Checkthecommand'sdefinitionandcorrectthepartprogram. CorrectproblemwiththeAPCracklower/raisecapability. Iftheerrorreoccurs,contactyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MLB162APCrackcouldnotberaised AcommandwasexecutedwhichrequiredthattheAPCrackberaisedandit couldnotberaised. Effect Commandisnotexecuted. Whatyoushoulddo Checkthecommand'sdefinitionandcorrectthepartprogram. CorrectproblemwiththeAPCracklower/raisecapability. Iftheerrorreoccurs,contactyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MLB164Insufficientanalogprobedeflection Theanalogprobeisdeflectedlessthanonehalfofitsnominaldeflectionatthe beginningofanAScommand.
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual ErrorCodes 1659

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Effect Commandisnotexecuted. Whatyoushoulddo CheckthemovecommandsimmediatelybeforetheAScommand.The nominalanalogprobedeflectioncanbereadusingtheKDcommand. MLB166Notacircle Cause TheCMMisnotpositionedwithinthemovetoleranceofthecommandedcircleat thebeginningofacircularmovecommand. Effect Commandnotexecuted,SMPputintomanualmode. UserAction Checkthemovecommandimmediatelybeforethecircularmovecommand. ManagerAction None. MLB168Unexpectedtouch Touchprobewasdeflectedwhileinautomodeotherthanduringatouchorseek command.ThistypicallyhappensduringaDCCmotionthatwaspresumedtobe overaclearpath. Effect Machineisplacedinmanualmode. Whatyoushoulddo Removeobstructionandputthemachinebackinautomodeorreprogramthe machinemotioninstructions.

1660 ErrorCodes

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MLB169Unexpectedendoftravel Machinemotionwaspreventedbyaphysicalobstruction.Typicallythishappens asaresultofattemptingtodrivebeyondthephysicallimitsofoneormoreaxes. Effect Machineisplacedinmanualmode. Whatyoushoulddo Determinethecauseoftheproblem.Removethephysicalobstructionor correctthepartprogram. MLB170Touchprobewillnotrearm Inautomode,thetouchprobewasdeflectedandfailedtorearmafterbacking awayfromthesurface.Thismayhappenbecauseofanobstructionoraninternal problem. Effect Machineisplacedinmanualmode. Whatyoushoulddo Freetheprobeifitisobstructedorcheckandadjusttheprobetension. Putthesystembackintoautooncetheprobeisrearmedtoallowtheprogram tocontinue. MLB173PH9probeoverload ThePH9orPH10hasexperiencedenoughforceononeofitsaxestocauseitto loseitsprogrammedposition. Effect Machineisplacedinmanualmode. Whatyoushoulddo ResetthePH9viatheRCU,ifpossible.Aftertheprobeheadhasbeen reseated,placethesystembackintoAUTOmodetoallowthepart programtocontinue.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ErrorCodes 1661

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MLB190Toomuchprobedeflection Theanalogprobeisoverdeflectedduringascanmovecommand. Effect SMPisputintomanualmodewhen: TrapScanDeflectStatus=False(SystemDefault).Thecommandis temporarilyhalteduntilSMPisputintoautomaticmode. TrapScanDeflectStatus=True.Thecommandisnotexecuted.Thevariable ScanDeflectStatusequals2. Whatyoushoulddo Checkpartsurface. Checkcurrentsoftprobedeflectionvalue. Initiateusergeneratedscanerrorrecoveryroutine. MLB191Cameoffsurface Theanalogprobeisunderdeflectedduringascanmovecommand. Effect SMPisputintomanualmodewhen: TrapScanDeflectStatus=False(SystemDefault).Thecommandis temporarilyhalteduntilSMPisputintoautomaticmode. TrapScanDeflectStatus=True.Thecommandisnotexecuted.Thevariable ScanDeflectStatusequals0. Whatyoushoulddo Checkpartsurface. Checkcurrentsoftprobedeflectionvalue. Initiateusergeneratedscanerrorrecoveryroutine. MLB505UserKeyUnknown TheUKcommandspecifiesauserkeythatisnotdefined. Effect Commandisnotexecuted.

1662 ErrorCodes

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Whatyoushoulddo Checkthecommand'sdefinitionandcorrectthepartprogram. AddtheuserkeytothedatabaselabelsinMeasureMax+.

MPErrorInformation
AnMPerrorisassociatedwiththeCMMelectronics.Theerrornumbersarecategorizedintothe followinggroups: Group MP TempComp MP MP MP RCU Range 1199 200299 300399 500599 600699 700799 Description Diagnosticerrors Temperaturecompensation StandaloneoperationusingMPfrontpanelon MP30/35 MPpowerup DCCpowerup RCUpowerup

MPerrornumbersaretypicallydisplayedonthefourthrowoftheXYZDisplayat thePC. XYZDisplayisamonitorthatcanbedisplayedasawindowin MeasureMax+andSTI. OnMaxLitesystems,itisdisplayedinthelowerright corner. IfyouhaveanMP30/35systemwithafrontpanel,thentheerrorisalso shownintheWaxisdisplayoftheMPfrontpanel. Formemoryerrors,additionalinformationisshownintheZaxisoftheXYZ Display(orMPfrontpanel,ifavailable). Thehexadecimaladdressandbit informationallowstheGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentativetodiagnosethe sourceoftheerror. Memory errorsaredisplayedintheformat"AAAAAC", where"AAAAA"istheaddressand"C"isthebit. InthecaseofMPRAM,"C"isthebitlocationwheretheerroroccurred.For MPROM,DCCRAMandROMerrors,"C"isthebytewheretheerror occurred. Iftheerrornumberis500599,theaddressandbitinformationpertainstothe MPCPUboard. Iftheerrornumberis600699,theaddressandbit(orchip)information pertainstotheDCCboard.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ErrorCodes 1663

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

IferrorMP160occursduringpowerup,checktheDCCboardLED,cyclepower andwatchtheLED. AsequenceofcharactersflashesontheLEDastesting takesplace.Eachcharacterrepresentsatestofaspecificsystemcomponentor ofcommunicationbetweencomponents.Ifoneofthesetestsfails,thecharacter representingthattestremainsontheLED.TheDCCLedsequenceis: A B C D E F TestingsharedRAMmemorycells TestingDCCtoMPinterrupt TestingMPinterruptacknowledge TestingMPtoDCCinterrupt TestingDCCROMandRAM AlltestspassedwaitingforfirstMPinterrupt

IftheDCCboardfailsafterthesystemison,errorMP060orMP151occurs. TheseerrorsindicatethattheMPisunabletocommunicatewiththeDCCboard. ChecktheDCCboardLEDforthefollowingnumbers: 1 2 3 8 9 32mssincelastD/Aupdate 32mssincelastMPupdate DCCtoMPinterruptnotacknowledgedfor32ms Systemrunningnormally WaitingforinitialMPsharedRAMsyncup

OntheDCCboardLED,adecimalpointbeforetheerrornumbermeanstheCPU isinactive.Adecimalpointaftertheerrornumbermeansthehardwaredetected afailuretoupdateD/Afor32milliseconds.

ForMPpowerupfailures(errornumber500599),itmaynotbeabletotransmit anerrormessagetothecomputer.OnanMP30/35systemwithafrontpanel, theerrorisshownintheWaxisdisplayoftheMPfrontpanel. OnanSMP system,theerrorisshowninthediagnosticLED. ThefollowingtablecontainstheavailableMPerrorcodes: MP001 MP047 MP124 MP176 MP522 MP561

1664 ErrorCodes

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MP002 MP003 MP004 MP007 MP008 MP013 MP015 MP018 MP019 MP021 MP022 MP023 MP024 MP025 MP026 MP027 MP028 MP029 MP030 MP031 MP032 MP033 MP034 MP035 MP036 MP042 MP043 MP045 MP046

MP048 MP055 MP059 MP060 MP064 MP077 MP078 MP079 MP080 MP081 MP082 MP083 MP090 MP091 MP092 MP093 MP094 MP095 MP105 MP108 MP109 MP111 MP117 MP118 MP119 MP120 MP121 MP122 MP123

MP127 MP129 MP130 MP131 MP142 MP143 MP146 MP147 MP148 MP149 MP151 MP158 MP159 MP160 MP161 MP162 MP163 MP164 MP165 MP166 MP167 MP168 MP169 MP170 MP171 MP172 MP173 MP174 MP175

MP177 MP178 MP179 MP180 MP181 MP182 MP183 MP184 MP186 MP310 MP320 MP330 MP340 MP501 MP502 MP503 MP504 MP505 MP506 MP507 MP508 MP510 MP511 MP512 MP515 MP516 MP517 MP519 MP521

MP523 MP524 MP525 MP526 MP527 MP528 MP529 MP530 MP531 MP532 MP533 MP534 MP535 MP536 MP537 MP538 MP539 MP540 MP541 MP542 MP543 MP544 MP545 MP546 MP547 MP548 MP550 MP551 MP560

MP562 MP563 MP564 MP565 MP566 MP601 MP619 MP621 MP650 MP651 MP697 MP698

MP001Badcommandmessagesyntaxerror Oneofthefollowingconditionshasdeemedthecommandmessageinvalid:

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ErrorCodes 1665

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TheMP,DCC,orRCUcouldnotunderstandamessageitreceivedfrom anothercomponentinthesystem. OnMP30systemtherequiredexpansionROMisbadornotinstalled correctly. OnMP30systemthePH9scanorprobechangeroptionshavebeen configuredintothesystem,andtheexpansionROMsarenotontheMP CPUboard. Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,powertheMPdown. PowertheMPbackup. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP002DestinationnotpresentorMPruntimesystemerror Thecommunicationssystemreceivedamessagetosendtoanonexistenttask. Possibleexplanationsare: InternalMPfirmwareerror. OnMP30systemtherequiredexpansionROMisbadornotinstalled correctly. OnMP30thePH9,scan,orprobechangeroptionshavebeenconfigured intothesystem,andtheexpansionROMsarenotontheMPCPUboard. Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,powertheMPdown. PowertheMPbackup. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP003Resourceshortage TheMPcannotexecuteapropercommandbecausearequiredresourceisnot available.Thesoftwarecannotaccesstherequiredpieceofhardware. Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,powertheMPdown. Makesureallrequiredequipmentiscorrectlyandfirmlyconnected. PowertheMPbackup. Ifyoufindnoproblemandtheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewis servicerepresentative.

1666 ErrorCodes

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MP004Numericerror Anumericerror indicatesaninternalMPfirmwareproblem. Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,powertheMPdown. PowertheMPbackup. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP007CPUEPROMchecksumerror AchecksumerrorhasbeendetectedfortheMP30CPUboardEPROMsorthe SMP400codesegmentmemory.Thischecksumiscontinuouslyrecalculated whiletheMPison.ThiserrorindicatesthattheCPUboardisnolonger functioningreliably.RefertoMPErrorCodesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,powertheMPdown. PowertheMPbackup. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP008CPUEPROMchecksumerror AchecksumerrorhasbeendetectedfortheMP30DCCboardEPROMs.The checksumiscontinuouslyrecalculatedwhiletheMPison.Thiserrorindicates thattheDCCboardisnolongerfunctioningreliably. RefertoMPErrorCodesfor additionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,powertheMPdown. PowertheMPbackup. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP013MPtoHostbufferoverflow TheMPtoHostmessagebufferhasoverflowed.Itcanstoreamaximumoften messages. Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,powertheMPdown. PowertheMPbackup. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative.
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual ErrorCodes 1667

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MP015MPforegroundtobackgroundbufferoverflow TheinternalbufferusedbytheMPforegroundtotransmitstatusinformationto thestatusmonitorhasoverflowed. Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,powertheMPdown. PowertheMPbackup. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP018MPinternalcountererror ThelowbyteofoneofthesoftwareX/Y/Zcountersdiffersfromthelowbyteof thecorrespondinghardwarecounter.ThiserrorindicatesaprobableCPUboard failure,notacounterboardfailure.RefertoMPErrorCodesforadditional information. Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,powertheMPdown. PowertheMPbackup. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP019MPandDCCfirmwareincompatibility TheversionnumberoftheDCCfirmwareisincompatiblewiththeMP30CPU boardfirmware.RefertoMPErrorCodesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,powertheMPdown. PowertheMPbackup. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative.Either theDCCortheCPUboardfirmwaremustbeupdated. MP021AtlasY2counterfault Theamp/check/divideboarddetectedaY2axiscounterfault.Possiblecauses are: Thelaserbeamisblocked. Thelaserbeamisnotproperlyalignedintheinterferometer. ThereistoomuchDCoffsetintheOPDLissajous. ThereisnotsufficientamplitudeintheOPDLissajous. Theaxisismovingtoofast(over25in/sec.forlasermachines).

1668 ErrorCodes

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,clickClearerrorintheXYZDisplaywindow.Toclearit usinganRCUII,pressandholddowntheServoPowerOffbuttonand thenpresstheJoybuttontwice. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP022AtlasY3counterfault Theamp/check/divideboarddetectedaY3axiscounterfault.Possiblecauses are: Thelaserbeamisblocked. Thelaserbeamisnotproperlyalignedintheinterferometer. ThereistoomuchDCoffsetintheOPDLissajous. ThereisnotsufficientamplitudeintheOPDLissajous. Theaxisismovingtoofast(over25in/sec.forlasermachines). Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,clickClearerrorintheXYZDisplaywindow.Toclearit usinganRCUII,pressandholddowntheServoPowerOffbuttonand thenpresstheJoybuttontwice. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP023AtlasY2beamblockerror Thereisabeamblock,probablycausedbyanopticalmisalignmentoracablein thebeampath. Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,powertheMPdown. PowertheMPbackup. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP024AtlasY3beamblockerror Thereisabeamblock,probablycausedbyanopticalmisalignmentoracablein thebeampath. Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,powertheMPdown. PowertheMPbackup. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative.
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual ErrorCodes 1669

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MP025AuxiliaryXaxisA/Dconversionerror AnA/DconversionerrorhasbeenreportedfortheXaxisontheauxiliarythree axiscounterboard. Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,powertheMPdown. PowertheMPbackup. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP026AuxiliaryYaxisA/Dconversionerror AnA/DconversionerrorhasbeenreportedfortheYaxisontheauxiliarythree axiscounterboard. Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,powertheMPdown. PowertheMPbackup. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP027AuxiliaryZaxisA/Dconversionerror AnA/DconversionerrorhasbeenreportedfortheZaxisontheauxiliarythree axiscounterboard. Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,powertheMPdown. PowertheMPbackup. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP028SP600+12voltfuseblown AnerrorhasbeenreportedbytheSP600interfacecardintheSMP400.This errorcanbecausedbyadefectivePH10articulatingheadorablownfuseonthe SP600interfacecard.ThemostlikelysourceoftheerroristhePH10articulating probehead. Whatyoushoulddo Thisisnotaclearableerror.Theproblemmustbecorrectedbyreplacingthe PH10articulatingprobeheadortheinterfacecard. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative.

1670 ErrorCodes

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MP029SP60012voltfuseblown AnerrorhasbeenreportedbytheSP600interfacecardintheSMP400.This errorcanbecausedbyadefectivePH10articulatingheadorablownfuseonthe SP600interfacecard.ThemostlikelysourceoftheerroristhePH10articulating probehead. Whatyoushoulddo Thisisnotaclearableerror.Theproblemmustbecorrectedbyreplacingthe PH10articulatingprobeheadortheinterfacecard. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP030SP600+5voltfuseblown AnerrorhasbeenreportedbytheSP600interfacecardintheSMP400.This errorcanbecausedbyadefectivePH10articulatingheadorablownfuseonthe SP600interfacecard.ThemostlikelysourceoftheerroristhePH10articulating probehead. Whatyoushoulddo Thisisnotaclearableerror.Theproblemmustbecorrectedbyreplacingthe PH10articulatingprobeheadortheinterfacecard. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP031Probeovertravelfault (MP30)Bit5,I/Oaddress39(hex)=1. Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,clickClearerrorintheXYZDisplaywindow.Toclearit usinganRCUII,pressandholddowntheServoPowerOffbuttonand thenpresstheJoybuttontwice. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP032Counterhardware/configurationmismatch Thesystemhasbeenconfiguredasalasersystem,buthasstandard12bit counterboardsratherthanthe16bitcounterboardsrequired. Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,powertheMPdown. PowertheMPbackup.
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual ErrorCodes 1671

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP033Waxiscounterfault Theamp/check/divideboarddetectedaWaxiscounterfault.Possiblecauses are: Thegratingsaredirty. ThereistoomuchDCoffset. Thereisnotsufficientamplitudeinthereadheadsignals. Thereadheadskewangleisimproper. Theaxisismovingtoofast(rotarytableismovingfasterthan48/sec). Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,clickClearerrorintheXYZDisplaywindow.Toclearit usinganRCUII,pressandholddowntheServoPowerOffbuttonand thenpresstheJoybuttontwice. Cleanthegratingsusingasoft,lintfreeclothandisopropylordenatured alcohol.. ChecktomakesuretheDCoffset,amplitude,readheadskew,andaxis speedarewithinallowablelimits. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP034Xaxiscounterfault Theamp/check/divideboarddetectedanXaxiscounterfault.IftheXaxisusesa scaleandreadinghead,thenpossiblecausesare: Thegratingsaredirty. ThereistoomuchDCoffsetintheAmpCheckBoardLissajous. ThereisnotsufficientamplitudeinthereadheadsignalsintheAmpCheck BoardLissajous. Thereadheadskewangleisimproper,asviewedontheAmpCheckBoard Lissajous. Theaxisismovingtoofast(over40in/sec.forstandardmachinesandover 25in/sec.forlasermachinesorover15in/sec.onsomeDiscovery machines). IftheXaxisusesalaserinterferometer,thenpossiblecausesare: Thelaserbeamisblocked. Thelaserbeamisnotproperlyalignedintheinterferometer. ThereistoomuchDCoffsetintheOPDLissajous. ThereisnotsufficientamplitudeintheOPDLissajous. Theaxisismovingtoofast(over25in/sec.forlasermachines).

1672 ErrorCodes

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,clickClearerrorintheXYZDisplaywindow.Toclearit usinganRCUII,pressandholddowntheServoPowerOffbuttonand thenpresstheJoybuttontwice. Iftheaxisusesascaleandreadinghead, Cleanthegratingsusingasoft,lintfreeclothandisopropylordenatured alcohol. ChecktomakesuretheDCoffset,amplitude,readheadskew,andaxis speedarewithinallowablelimits. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP035Yaxiscounterfault Theamp/check/divideboarddetectedaYaxiscounterfault.IftheYaxisusesa scaleandreadinghead,thenpossiblecausesare: Thegratingsaredirty. ThereistoomuchDCoffset. Thereisnotsufficientamplitudeinthereadheadsignals. Thereadheadskewangleisimproper. Theaxisismovingtoofast(over40in/sec.) IftheYaxisusesalaserinterferometer,thenpossiblecausesare: Thelaserbeamisblocked. Thelaserbeamisnotproperlyalignedintheinterferometer. ThereistoomuchDCoffsetintheOPDlissajous. ThereisnotsufficientamplitudeintheOPDlissajous. Theaxisismovingtoofast(over25in/sec.) Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,clickClearerrorintheXYZDisplaywindow.Toclearit usinganRCUII,pressandholddowntheServoPowerOffbuttonand thenpresstheJoybuttontwice. Iftheaxisusesascaleandreadinghead, Cleanthegratingsusingasoft,lintfreeclothandisopropylordenatured alcohol. ChecktomakesuretheDCoffset,amplitude,readheadskew,andaxis speedarewithinallowablelimits. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ErrorCodes 1673

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MP036Zaxiscounterfault Theamp/check/divideboarddetectedaZaxiscounterfault.Possiblecauses are: Iftheaxisusesascaleandreadinghead,thenpossiblecausesare: Thegratingsaredirty. ThereistoomuchDCoffset. Thereisnotsufficientamplitudeinthereadheadsignals. Thereadheadskewangleisimproper. Theaxisismovingtoofast(over40in/sec.) Iftheaxisusesalaserinterferometer,thenpossiblecausesare: Thelaserbeamisblocked. Thelaserbeamisnotproperlyalignedintheinterferometer. ThereistoomuchDCoffsetintheOPDlissajous. ThereisnotsufficientamplitudeintheOPDlissajous. Theaxisismovingtoofast(over25in/sec.) Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,clickClearerrorintheXYZDisplaywindow.Toclearit usinganRCUII,pressandholddowntheServoPowerOffbuttonand thenpresstheJoybuttontwice. Iftheaxisusesascaleandreadinghead, Cleanthegratingsusingasoft,lintfreeclothandisopropylordenatured alcohol. ChecktomakesuretheDCoffset,amplitude,readheadskew,andaxis speedarewithinallowablelimits. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP042TemperatureCompensationhardwareabsent ThesystemisconfiguredforTemperatureCompensation,buttheTemperature Compensationboardisnotpresent. Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,clickClearerrorintheXYZDisplaywindow.Toclearit usinganRCUII,pressandholddowntheServoPowerOffbuttonand thenpresstheJoybuttontwice. ObtainnecessaryTemperatureCompensationhardware. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative.

1674 ErrorCodes

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MP043TemperatureCompensationhardwarefailure ThesystemisconfiguredforTemperatureCompensation.TheTemperature Compensationboardispresent,butaninvalidA/Dvalueoccurredforarequired input. Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,clickClearerrorintheXYZDisplaywindow.Toclearit usinganRCUII,pressandholddowntheServoPowerOffbuttonand thenpresstheJoybuttontwice. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP045ExcessiveMPhardwaretemperatures TemperatureinMPelectronicsenclosureistoohigh. Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,clickClearerrorintheXYZDisplaywindow.Toclearit usinganRCUII,pressandholddowntheServoPowerOffbuttonand thenpresstheJoybuttontwice. Iftheerrorimmediatelyreoccurs,turnpowertotheMPoffandallowittocool downbeforeturningitbackon. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP046TemperatureCompensationorDigitalI/Oboardfailure Areadafterwritetodigitaloutputsdoesnotmatchactualwrittenvalue.Mayalso indicateawatchdogtimerfailureontheTemperatureCompensationboard. Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,clickClearerrorintheXYZDisplaywindow.Toclearit usinganRCUII,pressandholddowntheServoPowerOffbuttonand thenpresstheJoybuttontwice. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP047TemperatureCompensationD/Afailure AD/AconversionontheTemperatureCompensationboardfailedtocomplete withintheallottedtimeof32milliseconds. Whatyoushoulddo

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ErrorCodes 1675

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Tocleartheerror,clickClearerrorintheXYZDisplaywindow.Toclearit usinganRCUII,pressandholddowntheServoPowerOffbuttonand thenpresstheJoybuttontwice. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP048TempComporLasersystemconfigurationerror TemperatureCompensationconfigurationisincomplete,wrong,orinconsistent. Possiblecausesare: X,Y,orZtemperatureinputsarenotdefined. Nopartthermistorshavebeendefined. Noprobethermistorshavebeendefined. Pressureorhumidityinputshavenotbeendefinedonalasersystem. Aninternalinconsistencyexistsintheconfigurationdata(e.g.,areferenceto anonexistentthermistor). Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,clickClearerrorintheXYZDisplaywindow.Toclearit usinganRCUII,pressandholddowntheServoPowerOffbuttonand thenpresstheJoybuttontwice. Iftheerrorreoccurs,attempttocorrecttheproblembyrestoringthesystem configurationdatafromeithertheCONFGdisketteorasavedhostfile. Iftheerrorpersists,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP055SP600interfacecardA/Dconversionfailure WhiletheSP600analogprobewasinusetheRenishawAC2interfacecardwas commandedtoperformanA/Dconversionbutthatconversionwasnotcomplete within200microseconds.Thiserrorindicatesacriticalfailureoftheinterface card. Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,powertheMPdown. PowertheMPbackup. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP059Renishawemergencystoperror TheRenishawPI7,PI12,orPI200probecontrolleristurnedoff,anSCR200over travelerrorhasoccurredortheRenishawhardwarehasrequestedan emergencystop. Whatyoushoulddo

1676 ErrorCodes

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Tocleartheerror,clickClearerrorintheXYZDisplaywindow.Toclearit usinganRCUII,pressandholddowntheServoPowerOffbuttonand thenpresstheJoybuttontwice. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP060DCCtoMPacknowledgetimeout TheMP35DCCboarddidnotrespondtoanMPtoDCCinterruptwithin32 milliseconds.TheDCCboardisincorrectlyseatedorfaulty.CheckingtheDCC boardLEDmayprovideadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo ChecktheDCCLEDtodeterminethestateoftheDCCprocessor. Tocleartheerror,powertheMPdown. ReseattheDCCboard. PowertheMPbackup. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP064APLchecksumerror AnAPLcontrolEPROMappearstobepresentontheTemperature Compensationboard,butthecomputedchecksumfailedtoagreewiththe memory.Thismayoccuratpoweruporduringanysysteminitialization. Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,clickClearerrorintheXYZDisplaywindow.Toclearit usinganRCUII,pressandholddowntheServoPowerOffbuttonand thenpresstheJoybuttontwice. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP077Waxisbeamblockerror Onalasersystem,thereisabeamblock,probablycausedbyanoptical misalignmentoracableinthebeampath.Onascalesystemwithadivideby 256boardthiserrorindicatesanA/Dconversionerror. Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,powertheMPdown. PowertheMPbackup. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ErrorCodes 1677

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MP078Xaxisbeamblockerror Onalasersystem,thereisabeamblock,probablycausedbyanoptical misalignmentoracableinthebeampath.Onascalesystemwithadivideby 256boardthiserrorindicatesanA/Dconversionerror. Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,powertheMPdown. PowertheMPbackup. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP079Yaxisbeamblockerror Onalasersystem,thereisabeamblock,probablycausedbyanoptical misalignmentoracableinthebeampath.Onascalesystemwithadivideby 256boardthiserrorindicatesanA/Dconversionerror. Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,powertheMPdown. PowertheMPbackup. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP080Zaxisbeamblockerror Onalasersystem,thereisabeamblock,probablycausedbyanoptical misalignmentoracableinthebeampath.Onascalesystemwithadivideby 256boardthiserrorindicatesanA/Dconversionerror. Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,powertheMPdown. PowertheMPbackup. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP081Laseroffortotalbeamblockerror Thereisabeamblock,probablybecausepowertothelaserheadisoff. Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,powertheMPdown. PowertheMPbackup. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative.

1678 ErrorCodes

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MP082Laserlockerror Thelaser'sfrequencyhasbecomeunstable.Thiserrormayindicatethatthe laserbeamhasbeenmomentarilyreflectedbacktothesourcebysome obstruction. Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,powertheMPdown. PowertheMPbackup. Iftheerrorreoccurs,takeoffthecoversandcheckthestatuslightsatthe backofeachlasertodeterminewhichlaserisatfault. Iftheerrorpersists,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP083Lasernotstableafterwarmuptimelimit Thelasertubehasnotwarmedupwithintheallowabletime. Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,powertheMPdown. PowertheMPbackup. Iftheerrorreoccurs,takeoffthecoversandcheckthestatuslightsatthe backofeachlasertodeterminewhichlaserisatfault. Iftheerrorpersists,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP090APCUARTinputerror AnRS232datatransmissionerror(suchascharacteroverrun)hasoccurredon theAPCtoSMP400communicationline. Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,clickClearerrorintheXYZDisplaywindow.Toclearit usinganRCUII,pressandholddowntheServoPowerOffbuttonand thenpresstheJoybuttontwice. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP091APCdatainputbufferoverflow TheAPChassentcharacterstotheSMP400fasterthantheycouldbe processed. Whatyoushoulddo

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ErrorCodes 1679

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Tocleartheerror,clickClearerrorintheXYZDisplaywindow.Toclearit usinganRCUII,pressandholddowntheServoPowerOffbuttonand thenpresstheJoybuttontwice. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP092APCGOmessagetimeout TheAPCreportedthattheprobechangerscrewfailedtoturnwithintheallowed time. Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,clickClearerrorintheXYZDisplaywindow.Toclearit usinganRCUII,pressandholddowntheServoPowerOffbuttonand thenpresstheJoybuttontwice. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP093APClockerror TheAPChasreportedaprobelockfailure. Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,clickClearerrorintheXYZDisplaywindow.Toclearit usinganRCUII,pressandholddowntheServoPowerOffbuttonand thenpresstheJoybuttontwice. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP094APClidtimeouterror TheAPChasreportedthatastationlidwasintheopenpositionforanexcessive amountoftime. Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,clickClearerrorintheXYZDisplaywindow.Toclearit usinganRCUII,pressandholddowntheServoPowerOffbuttonand thenpresstheJoybuttontwice. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP095APCexcessiveentryspeed TheAPCcontrollerhasreportedthattheprobequillenteredtherackattoohigh aspeed. Whatyoushoulddo

1680 ErrorCodes

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Tocleartheerror,clickClearerrorintheXYZDisplaywindow.Toclearit usinganRCUII,pressandholddowntheServoPowerOffbuttonand thenpresstheJoybuttontwice. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP105HosttoMPcommunicationinterrupted TheMPreceivedwhatappearedtobethestartofahostmessageovertheRS 232communicationlinebutthemessagewasnotproperlyterminatedandat leastten(10)secondshaveelapsedsincethelastcharacterwasreceived.This mayhavebeencausedbyoneofthefollowing: alooseRS232connection, cyclingpoweronthehostcomputer, ahostsoftwarefailure,or anelectricallynoisyenvironment. RefertoMPErrorCodesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo CheckandtightenbothendsofthehosttoMPRS232cable. Tocleartheerror,clickClearerrorintheXYZDisplaywindow.Toclearit usinganRCUII,pressandholddowntheServoPowerOffbuttonand thenpresstheJoybuttontwice. Iftheerroroccurredwhileexecutingapartprogram,thenassumethatthe partprogramoperationhasbeenseriouslydisrupted.Abortthepart program. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative (Exception:Seenotebelow). Note:Iftheerroroccurredshortlyafterturningonthehostcomputer,thenitis almostcertainlytheresultofthissinceitisnormalforsomerandomcharacterto begeneratedovertheRS232linewhenthePCpoweriscycled.Inthiscase,the errorcanbeclearedandignored. MP108MPtoRCUcommunicationserror TheMPimproperlytransmittedamessagetotheRCU. Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,powertheMPdown. PowertheMPbackup. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ErrorCodes 1681

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MP109RCUtoMPcommunicationserror TheRCUimproperlytransmittedamessagetotheMP. Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,powertheMPdown. PowertheMPbackup. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP111HosttoMPcommunicationerror TheMPdetectedanerrorduringdatatransmissionfromthehostcomputer.Ifthe hosttoMPcommunicationlinkisRS232,possibleerrorsare: Overrunerror, Parityerror, Framingerror, Overflowofthe256byteinputbuffer. Themostprobablecausesofthefirstthreeerrorsareincompatibilitiesbetween theMPandthehostinbaudrate,characterlength,parityselectionandchecking, ornumberofstopbits. Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,powertheMPdown. OnanMP30makesuretheRS232switchsettingsontheMPcontrolboard andquadserialboardarecorrect. OnanSMP400makesurethatthehostRS232settingsagreewiththe SMP400internalswitchsettings. PowertheMPbackup. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP117Waxisservoamplifieroverheat Thiserrorappliesonlyto1000and2000SeriesDCCmachineswith22"high servochassis.TheWaxisservoamplifieroverheatedandshutdown. Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,clickClearerrorintheXYZDisplaywindow.Toclearit usinganRCUII,pressandholddowntheServoPowerOffbuttonand thenpresstheJoybuttontwice. Allowtheservostocoolbeforeyouproceed. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative.

1682 ErrorCodes

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MP118Xaxisservoamplifieroverheat WhereErrorisDisplayed Thiserrorappliesonlyto1000and2000SeriesDCCmachineswith22"high servochassis.TheXaxisservoamplifieroverheatedandshutdown. Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,clickClearerrorintheXYZDisplaywindow.Toclearit usinganRCUII,pressandholddowntheServoPowerOffbuttonand thenpresstheJoybuttontwice. Allowtheservostocoolbeforeyouproceed. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP119Yaxisservoamplifieroverheat Thiserrorappliesonlyto1000and2000SeriesDCCmachineswith22"high servochassis.TheYaxisservoamplifieroverheatedandshutdown. Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,clickClearerrorintheXYZDisplaywindow.Toclearit usinganRCUII,pressandholddowntheServoPowerOffbuttonand thenpresstheJoybuttontwice. Allowtheservostocoolbeforeyouproceed. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP120Zaxisservoamplifieroverheat Thiserrorappliesonlyto1000and2000SeriesDCCmachineswith22"high servochassis.TheZaxisservoamplifieroverheatedandshutdown. Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,clickClearerrorintheXYZDisplaywindow.Toclearit usinganRCUII,pressandholddowntheServoPowerOffbuttonand thenpresstheJoybuttontwice. Allowtheservostocoolbeforeyouproceed. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP121Waxisservoamplifierfault LEDontheservoamplifierPCboardontheservocontrolunit(SCU)chassis indicatesoneofthefollowingfaults:

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ErrorCodes 1683

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Excesscurrent, Servoampoverheated, Equipmentimproperlygrounded, Suddensurgeincurrent,or Voltagetoohighortoolow. Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,clickClearerrorintheXYZDisplaywindow.Toclearit usinganRCUII,pressandholddowntheServoPowerOffbuttonand thenpresstheJoybuttontwice. Allowtheservostocoolbeforeyouproceed. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP122Xaxisservoamplifierfault LEDontheservoamplifierPCboardontheservocontrolunit(SCU)chassis indicatesoneofthefollowingfaults: Excesscurrent, Servoampoverheated, Equipmentimproperlygrounded, Suddensurgeincurrent,or Voltagetoohighortoolow. Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,clickClearerrorintheXYZDisplaywindow.Toclearit usinganRCUII,pressandholddowntheServoPowerOffbuttonand thenpresstheJoybuttontwice. Allowtheservostocoolbeforeyouproceed. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP123Yaxisservoamplifierfault LEDontheservoamplifierPCboardontheservocontrolunit(SCU)chassis indicatesoneofthefollowingfaults: Excesscurrent, Servoampoverheated, Equipmentimproperlygrounded, Suddensurgeincurrent,or Voltagetoohighortoolow. Whatyoushoulddo

1684 ErrorCodes

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Tocleartheerror,clickClearerrorintheXYZDisplaywindow.Toclearit usinganRCUII,pressandholddowntheServoPowerOffbuttonand thenpresstheJoybuttontwice. Allowtheservostocoolbeforeyouproceed. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP124Zaxisservoamplifierfault LEDontheservoamplifierPCboardontheservocontrolunit(SCU)chassis indicatesoneofthefollowingfaults: Excesscurrent, Servoampoverheated, Equipmentimproperlygrounded, Suddensurgeincurrent,or Voltagetoohighortoolow. Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,clickClearerrorintheXYZDisplaywindow.Toclearit usinganRCUII,pressandholddowntheServoPowerOffbuttonand thenpresstheJoybuttontwice. Allowtheservostocoolbeforeyouproceed. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP127Piezotoucherror Thesystemhasattemptedtomakeaprogrammedtouchfiveconsecutivetimes withafalsetouchreportedoneeachattempt.Thiserrorcanonlyoccurwhen usingaTP7,TP12,orTP200.Thismaybetheresultofanexcessivelyslow touchspeed,adirtypart,orabadprobeassembly. Effect ThesystemdropsintoManualmodeuntiltheerrorisacknowledged. Whatyoushoulddo Acknowledgetheerrorreport. Checktheprobeassemblyforanyobviousproblems(looseprobetip,etc.). PutthesystembackintoAutomode.Thiswillallowthesystemto automaticallyreattemptthecommandedtouch. Ifthetouchcontinuestofail,abortthecommandandthepartprogram. Changeprobeassembliesandrecalibrate,thentryagain. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ErrorCodes 1685

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MP129WaxisHirthcouplinglockfailure TheHirthcouplingontheWaxisrotarytablefailedtolockafteramove. Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,clickClearerrorintheXYZDisplaywindow.Toclearit usinganRCUII,pressandholddowntheServoPowerOffbuttonand thenpresstheJoybuttontwice. Verifythatthetablecouplinghasthecorrectairpressure. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP130Operatorabort Theoperationwasabortedduetoanoperatorselection. Effect Commandnotexecuted. Whatyoushoulddo Acknowledgetheerrormessageandeithercontinueorabortthepart programasappropriate. MP131WaxisHirthcouplingunlockfailure TheHirthcouplingontheWaxisrotarytablefailedtounlockbeforeamove. Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,clickClearerrorintheXYZDisplaywindow.Toclearit usinganRCUII,pressandholddowntheServoPowerOffbuttonand thenpresstheJoybuttontwice. Verifythatthetablecouplinghasthecorrectairpressure. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP142Waxisisbound AWaxisDCCmovewasattempted,buttheWaxiswouldnotmove.Possible causesare: Thereisinsufficientairpressure. Thedrivenutistootight. Thereisacounterfailure.

1686 ErrorCodes

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,powertheMPdown. PowertheMPbackup. Checktheairpressuretomakesureitissetcorrectly. Checkthedrivenut,andloosenitifnecessary. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP143Servochassispowersupplyfault Thereisa+60vDCpowersupplyfailureontheservocontrolunit(SCU)chassis. Itcouldbecausedbyablownfuseinthe60vpowersupplyPCboardonthe SCUchassis. Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,clickClearerrorintheXYZDisplaywindow.Toclearit usinganRCUII,pressandholddowntheServoPowerOffbuttonand thenpresstheJoybuttontwice. Determinewhatcausedthelossofpowersupply.Ifitwascausedbyablown fuse,changethefuse. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP146Waxisrunaway ThefirmwaredetectedexcessivelagfortheWaxis.Possiblecausesare: Theservomotorisnotworkingproperly,orisnotreceivingadequatepower fromtheservocontrolunit(SCU)chassis. Thedrive(drivebeltorrolexnutandrod)isnotworkingproperly. Somethingispreventingtheaxisfrommoving. Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,clickClearerrorintheXYZDisplaywindow.Toclearit usinganRCUII,pressandholddowntheServoPowerOffbuttonand thenpresstheJoybuttontwice. Checktoseethatnothingispreventingaxismovement. Checktheservomotor'stachometeranddrivemechanism. Checktoseethattheservocontrolunit(SCU)chassisispoweringthemotor properly. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP147Xaxisrunaway ThefirmwaredetectedexcessivelagfortheXaxis.Possiblecausesare:
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual ErrorCodes 1687

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Theservomotorisnotworkingproperly,orisnotreceivingadequatepower fromtheservocontrolunit(SCU)chassis. Drivemechanism(drivebeltorrolexnutandrod)isnotworkingproperly. Somethingispreventingtheaxisfrommoving. Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,clickClearerrorintheXYZDisplaywindow.Toclearit usinganRCUII,pressandholddowntheServoPowerOffbuttonand thenpresstheJoybuttontwice. Checktoseethatnothingispreventingaxismovement. Checktheservomotor'stachometeranddrivemechanism. Checktoseethattheservocontrolunit(SCU)chassisispoweringthemotor properly. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP148Yaxisrunaway ThefirmwaredetectedexcessivelagfortheYaxis.Possiblecausesare: Theservomotorisnotworkingproperly,orisnotreceivingadequatepower fromtheservocontrolunit(SCU)chassis. Drivemechanism(drivebeltorrolexnutandrod)isnotworkingproperly. Somethingispreventingtheaxisfrommoving. Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,clickClearerrorintheXYZDisplaywindow.Toclearit usinganRCUII,pressandholddowntheServoPowerOffbuttonand thenpresstheJoybuttontwice. Checktoseethatnothingispreventingaxismovement. Checktheservomotor'stachometeranddrivemechanism. Checktoseethattheservocontrolunit(SCU)chassisispoweringthemotor properly. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP149Zaxisrunaway ThefirmwaredetectedexcessivelagfortheZaxis.Possiblecausesare: Theservomotorisnotworkingproperly,orisnotreceivingadequatepower fromtheservocontrolunit(SCU)chassis. Thedrivemechanism(drivebeltorrolexnutandrod)isnotworkingproperly. Somethingispreventingtheaxisfrommoving. Whatyoushoulddo

1688 ErrorCodes

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Tocleartheerror,clickClearerrorintheXYZDisplaywindow.Toclearit usinganRCUII,pressandholddowntheServoPowerOffbuttonand thenpresstheJoybuttontwice. Checktoseethatnothingispreventingaxismovement. Checktheservomotor'stachometeranddrivemechanism. Checktoseethattheservocontrolunit(SCU)chassisispoweringthemotor properly. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP151D/Aupdateswerelateormissing OnanMP35,theMPhasnotsenttheDCCboardnewaxispositioncoordinates inthelast32milliseconds.Thedigital/analog(D/A)boardfailed. OnanSMP400,theservoD/A'shavenotbeenupdatedforatleast8 milliseconds. RefertoDCCErrorCodesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,powertheMPdown. PowertheMPbackup. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP158Xaxisexcessivebias Xaxisbiasvalueishigherthan25%oftotalD/Adynamicrange. Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,clickClearerrorintheXYZDisplaywindow.Toclearit usinganRCUII,pressandholddowntheServoPowerOffbuttonand thenpresstheJoybuttontwice. Checktoseethatnothingispreventingaxismovement. Checktheservomotor'stachometeranddrivemechanism. Checktoseethattheservocontrolunit(SCU)chassisispoweringthemotor properly. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP159Xaxisboundup DCChasdetectedanendoftravelconditionandhasmadethreeunsuccessful attemptstomoveawayfromtheobstruction. Whatyoushoulddo
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual ErrorCodes 1689

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Tocleartheerror,clickClearerrorintheXYZDisplaywindow.Toclearit usinganRCUII,pressandholddowntheServoPowerOffbuttonand thenpresstheJoybuttontwice. Checktoseethatnothingispreventingaxismovement. Checktheservomotor'stachometeranddrivemechanism. Checktoseethattheservocontrolunit(SCU)chassisispoweringthemotor properly. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP160DCCboardinoperative OnanMP30,theDCCboardfaileditsstartupdiagnostics. OnanSMP400,theDCCboardwasnotpresentthoughtheSMP400was configuredforDCCoperationsortheDCCboardfailedtofunctionproperly.In thelattercaseapreviouserrorreportdefinedthecauseofthefailure. RefertoDCCErrorCodesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,powertheMPdown. PowertheMPbackup. UsetheconfigurationdataprogramtoconfiguretheMPcorrectly. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP161RCUinoperative TheRCUisnotcommunicatingwiththeMP.Possiblecausesare: TheRCUispresentbutcannotrunbecauseofapowerupdiagnosticerror. TheRCUisnotreceivingpower. TheRCUisnotpluggedintotheMPproperly. RefertoRCUErrorCodesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,powertheMPdown. CheckthepowercordtotheRCUtomakesureitisreceivingpower. MakesurethecablefromtheRCUisconnectedproperlytotheMP. PowertheMPbackup. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP162Yaxisexcessivebias Yaxisbiasvalueishigherthan25%oftotalD/Adynamicrange.

1690 ErrorCodes

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,clickClearerrorintheXYZDisplaywindow.Toclearit usinganRCUII,pressandholddowntheServoPowerOffbuttonand thenpresstheJoybuttontwice. Checktoseethatnothingispreventingaxismovement. Checktheservomotor'stachometeranddrivemechanism. Checktoseethattheservocontrolunit(SCU)chassisispoweringthemotor properly. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP163Yaxisboundup DCChasdetectedanendoftravelconditionandhasmadethreeunsuccessful attemptstomoveawayfromtheobstruction. Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,clickClearerrorintheXYZDisplaywindow.Toclearit usinganRCUII,pressandholddowntheServoPowerOffbuttonand thenpresstheJoybuttontwice. Checktoseethatnothingispreventingaxismovement. Checktheservomotor'stachometeranddrivemechanism. Checktoseethattheservocontrolunit(SCU)chassisispoweringthemotor properly. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP164Waxisoverspeed TheDCCboardWaxisoverspeedsensehasdetectedatachometervoltage greaterthanshouldberequiredfornormalDCCcommandvelocity.Possible causesare: Excessivetachometercommutationnoisevoltagespikes. Theservodriveisslippingduringaccelerationandoverspeedsduringits constantvelocitymovecommandto"catchup''tothecommandedposition. ThespeedsensepotentiometerontheDCCboardfortheWaxisissettoo low. Thereisashortcircuitinthepoweroutputdriverofthe Waxisservoamplifier ontheservocontrolunit(SCU)chassis.Itiscausingfull60VDCpowerto besenttothemotor. Whatyoushoulddo

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ErrorCodes 1691

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Tocleartheerror,clickClearerrorintheXYZDisplaywindow.Toclearit usinganRCUII,pressandholddowntheServoPowerOffbuttonand thenpresstheJoybuttontwice. Makesurethattheservotachometerisoperatingproperly. Makesurethatthedrivemechanismisoperatingproperly. MakesurethattheDCCboardoverspeedsensepotentiometerreference voltageissethighenough. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP165Xaxisoverspeed TheDCCboardXaxisoverspeedsensecircuithasdetectedatachometer voltagegreaterthanshouldberequiredfornormalDCCcommandvelocity. Possiblecausesare: Excessivetachometercommutationnoisevoltagespikes. Theservodriveisslippingduringaccelerationandoverspeedsduringits constantvelocitymovecommandto"catchup''tothecommandedposition. ThespeedsensepotentiometerontheDCCboardfortheXaxisissettoo low. ThereisashortcircuitinthepoweroutputdriveroftheXaxisservoamplifier ontheservocontrolunit(SCU)chassis.Itiscausingfull60VDCpowerto besenttothemotor. Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,clickClearerrorintheXYZDisplaywindow.Toclearit usinganRCUII,pressandholddowntheServoPowerOffbuttonand thenpresstheJoybuttontwice. Makesurethattheservotachometerisoperatingproperly. Makesurethatthedrivemechanismisoperatingproperly. MakesurethattheDCCboardoverspeedsensepotentiometerreference voltageissethighenough. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP166Yaxisoverspeed TheDCCboardYaxisoverspeedsensecircuithasdetectedatachometer voltagegreaterthanshouldberequiredforDCCnormalcommandvelocity. Possiblecausesare: Excessivetachometercommutationnoisevoltagespikes. Theservodriveisslippingduringaccelerationandoverspeedsduringits constantvelocitymovecommandto"catchup''tothecommandedposition. ThespeedsensepotentiometerontheDCCboardfortheYaxisissettoo low.

1692 ErrorCodes

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ThereisashortcircuitinthepoweroutputdriveroftheYaxisservoamplifier ontheservocontrolunit(SCU)chassis.Itiscausingfull60VDCpowerto besenttothemotor. Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,clickClearerrorintheXYZDisplaywindow.Toclearit usinganRCUII,pressandholddowntheServoPowerOffbuttonand thenpresstheJoybuttontwice. Makesurethattheservotachometerisoperatingproperly. Makesurethatthedrivemechanismisoperatingproperly. MakesurethattheDCCboardoverspeedsensepotentiometerreference voltageissethighenough. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP167Zaxisoverspeed TheDCCboardZaxisoverspeedsensecircuithasdetectedatachometer voltagegreaterthanshouldberequiredfornormalDCCcommandvelocity. Possiblecausesare: Excessivetachometercommutationnoisevoltagespikes.Theservodriveis slippingduringaccelerationandoverspeedsduringitsconstantvelocity movecommandto"catchup''tothecommandedposition. ThespeedsensepotentiometerontheDCCboardfortheZaxisissettoo low. ThereisashortcircuitinthepoweroutputdriveroftheZaxisservoamplifier ontheservocontrolunit(SCU)chassis.Itiscausingfull60VDCpowerto besenttothemotor. Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,clickClearerrorintheXYZDisplaywindow.Toclearit usinganRCUII,pressandholddowntheServoPowerOffbuttonand thenpresstheJoybuttontwice. Makesurethattheservotachometerisoperatingproperly. Makesurethatthedrivemechanismisoperatingproperly. MakesurethattheDCCboardoverspeedsensepotentiometerreference voltageissethighenough. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP168Unexpectedtouch Touchprobewasdeflectedwhileinautomodeotherthanduringatouchorseek command.ThistypicallyhappensduringaDCCmotionthatwaspresumedtobe overaclearpath.
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual ErrorCodes 1693

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Effect Machineisplacedinmanualmode. Whatyoushoulddo Removeobstructionandputthemachinebackinautomodeorreprogramthe machinemotioninstructions. MP169Unexpectedendoftravel Machinemotionwaspreventedbyaphysicalobstruction.Typicallythishappens asaresultofattemptingtodrivebeyondthephysicallimitsofoneormoreaxes. Effect Machineisplacedinmanualmode. Whatyoushoulddo Determinethecauseoftheproblem.Removethephysicalobstructionor correctthepartprogram. Iftheproblempersistswhenthemachinemotionisnotobviouslyrestricted, callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP170Touchprobewillnotrearm Inautomode,thetouchprobewasdeflectedandfailedtorearmafterbacking awayfromthesurface.Thismayhappenbecauseofanobstructionoraninternal problem. Effect Thesystemgoesintomanualmode. Whatyoushoulddo Freetheprobeifitisobstructedorcheckandadjusttheprobetension.Put thesystembackintoautooncetheprobeisrearmedtoallowtheprogram tocontinue. MP171MPtoPH9/PH10communicationerror ThePH9/PH10controllerdetectedanerrorinamessagetransmittedfromthe MPtothePH9/PH10.ThePH9/PH10controllerthentransmittedamessageto theMPreportingthiserror.

1694 ErrorCodes

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,powertheMPdown. PowertheMPbackup. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP172PH9/PH10toMPcommunicationerror ThePH9/PH10improperlytransmittedamessagetotheMP. Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,powertheMPdown. PowertheMPbackup. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP173PH9probeoverload ThePH9orPH10hasexperiencedenoughforceononeofitsaxestocauseitto loseitsprogrammedposition. Effect Machineisplacedinmanualmode. Whatyoushoulddo ResetthePH9viatheRCU,ifpossible.Aftertheprobeheadhasbeen reseated,placethesystembackintoautomodetoallowthepartprogram tocontinue. MP174PH9/PH10toMPbufferoverflow ThePH9/PH10sentmoremessagestotheMPthantheMP'smessagebuffer canhold. Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,powertheMPdown. PowertheMPbackup. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP175Zaxisexcessivebias Zaxisbiasvalueishigherthan25%oftotalD/Adynamicrange.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ErrorCodes 1695

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,clickClearerrorintheXYZDisplaywindow.Toclearit usinganRCUII,pressandholddowntheServoPowerOffbuttonand thenpresstheJoybuttontwice. Checktoseethatnothingispreventingaxismovement. Checktheservomotor'stachometeranddrivemechanism. Checktoseethattheservocontrolunit(SCU)chassisispoweringthemotor properly. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP176Zaxisboundup DCChasdetectedanendoftravelconditionandhasmadethreeunsuccessful attemptstomoveawayfromtheobstruction. Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,clickClearerrorintheXYZDisplaywindow.Toclearit usinganRCUII,pressandholddowntheServoPowerOffbuttonand thenpresstheJoybuttontwice. Checktoseethatnothingispreventingaxismovement. Checktheservomotor'stachometeranddrivemechanism. Checktoseethattheservocontrolunit(SCU)chassisispoweringthemotor properly. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP177MPfrontpanelkeyboarderror AkeyisstuckonthefrontpanelofanMP30/35.Thekeywaspressedwhenthe MPwasturnedon. Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,powertheMPdown. PowertheMPbackup. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP178MPconfigurationdatachecksumerror InvalidsystemconfigurationinformationisstoredintheEEPROM. Whatyoushoulddo Reloadtheconfigurationdatawiththecorrectconfigurationinformationfrom theCONFGdisk.

1696 ErrorCodes

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP179Probechecksumerror InvalidprobecalibrationdataisstoredintheEEPROM. Whatyoushoulddo Deletedataforallprobetips. PowertheMPdown. PowertheMPbackup. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP180MicroprocessorEnhancedAccuracy(MEA)checksumerror InvalidMEAdataisstoredintheEEPROM. Whatyoushoulddo Reloadtheconfigurationdatawiththecorrectconfigurationinformationfrom theCONFGdisk. CyclepowerontheMP. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP181InvalidMEAdata MEAdatahasnotbeencollectedforthismachine. Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,clickClearerrorintheXYZDisplaywindow.Toclearit usinganRCUII,pressandholddowntheServoPowerOffbuttonand thenpresstheJoybuttontwice. Reloadtheconfigurationdatawiththecorrectconfigurationinformationfrom theCONFGdisk. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP182Optionalinterfaceerror Apowerupdiagnosticerrorwasdetectedinoneoftheoptionalinterfaces(PH9 /PH10,probechanger,softprobe,orhostcomputerRS232interface).The actualinterfaceisidentifiedinthepreviouserror: MP30only: ErrorMP522SoftprobeD/Ainterfaceboardfailure. ErrorMP523HostInterfacers232boardfailure. ErrorMP524PH9/PH10RS232boardfailure.
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual ErrorCodes 1697

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ErrorMP525ProbechangerRS232boardfailure. Whatyoushoulddo Followthestepsfortherelatederrorlistedabove. MP183Probechangerrackdisconnected Theprobechangercontrolunitandtheprobechangerrackarenotconnectedto oneanother. Whatyoushoulddo Connecttheprobechangercontrolunittotheprobechangerrack. Tocleartheerror,clickClearerrorintheXYZDisplaywindow.Toclearit usinganRCUII,pressandholddowntheServoPowerOffbuttonand thenpresstheJoybuttontwice. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP184Probechangerovertravelerror TheCMMhasapproachedastationincorrectlywhenloadingorunloadinga probe. Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,clickClearerrorintheXYZDisplaywindow.Toclearit usinganRCUII,pressandholddowntheServoPowerOffbuttonand thenpresstheJoybuttontwice. Recalibratetheautomaticprobechanger(APC)rack. Recalibratethestations. MP186InvalidWaxisMEAdata MEAdatahasnotbeencollectedforthismachine'sWaxisortheWaxisMEA datainEEPROMhasbeencorrupted. Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,clickClearerrorintheXYZDisplaywindow.Toclearit usinganRCUII,pressandholddowntheServoPowerOffbuttonand thenpresstheJoybuttontwice. CollectWaxisMEAdatausingAutoCalorreloadtheconfigurationdatawith thecorrectconfigurationinformationfromtheCONFGdisk. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative.

1698 ErrorCodes

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MP310Invalidfrontpanelkeystrokecombination TheMPdoesnotrecognizethecommand.Anillegalcommandwasentered throughtheMPfrontpanelkeypadonanMP30/35system. ThiserroronlyoccurswhentheMPfrontpanelonanMP30/35systemisused. Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,presstheMPCLEARkeyontheMPfrontpanel. Enteravalidcommand.Themistakemaybecausedbyoperatorinput. Ifthesystemgivestheerrormessageagain,confirmingthatthefunctionis illegal,usealegalfunction. MP320Invalidfunctionselected TheMPcannotprocesstherequestedfunctioninstandaloneoperation.You mayhaveenteredafunctionthatcannotbeusedinstandaloneoperation. ThiserroronlyoccurswhentheMPfrontpanelonanMP30/35systemisused. Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,presstheMPCLEARkeyontheMPfrontpanel. Enteravalidcommand.Themistakemaybecausedbyoperatorinput. MP330Keystrokebufferoverflow TheMPcannotprocessmorethan41keystrokesbeforeyoupressthe[ENTER] keyontheMPfrontpanel.Usefewerthan41keystrokesbeforeyoupressthe [ENTER]key. ThiserroronlyoccurswhentheMPfrontpanelonanMP30/35systemisused. Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,presstheMPCLEARkeyontheMPfrontpanel. Enteravalidcommand.Themistakemaybecausedbyoperatorinput. MP340Offsetangleerror TheMPcannotprocessanestablishoffsetcommand.Lessthan2pointsmaybe recorded,orthepointsmayberecordedlessthan2mmapart. ThiserroronlyoccurswhentheMPfrontpanelonanMP30/35systemisused.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ErrorCodes 1699

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,presstheMPCLEARkeyontheMPfrontpanel. Recordmorepointsatleast2mmapart. Entertheoffsetcommandagain. MP501MPCPUBoardRAMfailure OnanMP30systemaRAMchipisbad. OnanSMPsystemeithertheDRAMSIMMontheprocessorboardorthe processorboarditselfhasfailed. RefertoMPErrorCodesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo NotetheaddressandlocationdisplayontheMP. CallyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP502CPUInterruptchipfailure Theinterruptcontrollerchipisbad. RefertoMPErrorCodesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo CallyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP503NonexistentI/OdeviceorRAMfailure OnanMP30systemthesystemtriedtoreadfromanonexistentI/Odevice.No defaultdatawassupplied. OnanSMPsystemeithertheDRAMSIMMontheprocessorboardorthe processorboarditselfhasfailed. RefertoMPErrorCodesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo CallyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative.

1700 ErrorCodes

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MP504Realtimeclockfailure Therealtime(2millisecondinterrupt)clockisnotworking. RefertoMPErrorCodesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo CallyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP505Twomillisecondclockinterruptfailure Thetwomillisecondclockinterruptdidnotoccureventhoughthetimeris operating.Theinterruptcontrollerchipisbad. RefertoMPErrorCodesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo CallyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP506Controlboardread/writefailure OnanMP30systemthecountingpatternreadfromthecontrolboarddidnot matchthecountingpatternwritten. RefertoMPErrorCodesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo CallyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP507ControlboardRCUinterfaceUARTfailure RCUUARTinitializationfailed.TheRCUserialUARTontheMP30control boardortheSMPDCCboardisbad. RefertoMPErrorCodesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo CallyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP508ControlboardRCUinterfaceUARTinterruptfailure Therequiredinterruptfrom UARTisnotpending.
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual ErrorCodes 1701

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

RefertoMPErrorCodesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo CallyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP510Interruptsnotoperating OnanMP30systemthetwomillisecondclockinterruptandcontrolUART interruptarebothpendingbutneitheroccurs. RefertoMPErrorCodesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo CallyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP511ControlboardRCUinterfaceinterruptfail OnanMP30systemtherequiredcontrolboardUARTinterruptisnotpending. RefertoMPErrorCodesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo CallyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP512Interruptpriorityfail OnanMP30systemtheUARTinterrupthasbeengivenpriorityoverthetwo millisecondclock. RefertoMPErrorCodesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo CallyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP515IEEE488initializationfailure OnanMP30systemthereisanIEEEaddressingortransmissionerror.Thereis afaultyIEEEchiporcontrolboard.Ithasfailedto: Setupatalkaddressoralistenaddress,or Putthechipintalkeronly,listeneronly,talkeractive,orlisteneractivemodes.

1702 ErrorCodes

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

RefertoMPErrorCodesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo CallyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP516Frontpaneldecodefail Areceivingortransmittinginformationerroroccurredatthefrontpanel.The keypadentryreturnstononzeroeventhoughtheentryiscleared.Thecablesto thefrontpanelmaynotbeconnectedproperly. RefertoMPErrorCodesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo Makesurethecablestothefrontpanelareconnectedproperly. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP517MPpanelswitchstuck OnanMP30systemakeyontheMPfrontpanelisstuck.Thecablestothe frontpanelmaynotbeconnectedproperly,orthepanelmaybebad. RefertoMPErrorCodesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo Makesurethecablestothefrontpanelareconnectedproperly. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP519EPROMchecksumerror OnanMP30systemthechecksumgeneratedfromEPROMcontentsdidnot matchstoredchecksum.Possiblecausesare: EPROMchipfailure. CPUboardfailure(datalines,address,decoding,etc.). RefertoMPErrorCodesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo NotetheaddressandlocationdisplayontheMP. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ErrorCodes 1703

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MP521EPROMdirectoryerror OnanMP30systemtheerrormaybecausedby: EPROMchipfailure. CPUboardfailure(datalines,address,decoding,etc.). RefertoMPErrorCodesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo CallyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP522D/Aboardconversionfailure Therewasafailurewhilethedigital/analog(D/A)boardusedforhighgrade scanningwasbeinginitialized.Theboardmayhavefailedormaynotbeinstalled intheMP. RefertoMPErrorCodesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo CallyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP523RS232hostinterfacefailure OnanMP30system,diagnosticsontheMPRS232interfaceboardport3failed. TheboardmayhavefailedormaynotbeinstalledintheMP. OnanSMPsystem,diagnosticsonthehostRS232interfaceonthe amp/check/dividecardhasfailed. RefertoMPErrorCodesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo CallyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP524RS232PH9/PH10interfacefailure DiagnosticsontheMPRS232interfaceboardport0failed.Theboardmayhave failedormaynotbeinstalledintheMP. OnanMP30system,diagnosticsontheMPRS232interfaceboardport0failed. TheboardmayhavefailedormaynotbeinstalledintheMP.

1704 ErrorCodes

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

OnanSMPsystem,diagnosticsonthePH9/PH10RS232interfaceontheDCC cardhasfailed. RefertoMPErrorCodesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo CallyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP525RS232Probechangerinterfacefailure DiagnosticsontheMPRS232interfaceboardport2failed.Theboardmayhave failedormaynotbeinstalledintheMP. OnanMP30system,diagnosticsontheMPRS232interfaceboardport2failed. TheboardmayhavefailedormaynotbeinstalledintheMP. OnanSMPsystem,diagnosticsontheprobechangerRS232interfaceonthe DCCcardhasfailed. RefertoMPErrorCodesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo CallyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP526RS232electroniclevelinterfacefailure OnanMP30system,diagnosticsontheMPRS232interfaceboardport1failed. TheboardmayhavefailedormaynotbeinstalledintheMP. OnanSMPsystem,diagnosticsontheelectroniclevelRS232interfaceonthe DCCcardhasfailed. DiagnosticsontheMPRS232interfaceboardport1failed.Theboardmayhave failedormaynotbeinstalledintheMP. RefertoMPErrorCodesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo CallyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP527SMP400FLASHmemoryerror OnanSMP400system,invalidrecordmarkerfoundinFLASHmemory.
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual ErrorCodes 1705

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

RefertoMPErrorCodesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo ReloadtheSMP400operatingsystemcodefromtheinstallationdisk. Iferrorpersists,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP528SMP400FLASHmemoryerror OnanSMP400system,invalidrecordtypefoundinFLASHmemory. RefertoMPErrorCodesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo ReloadtheSMP400operatingsystemcodefromtheinstallationdisk. Iferrorpersists,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP529SMP400FLASHmemoryerror OnanSMP400system,invalidrecordchecksumfoundinFLASHmemory. RefertoMPErrorCodesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo ReloadtheSMP400operatingsystemcodefromtheinstallationdisk. Iferrorpersists,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP530SMP400FLASHmemoryerror OnanSMP400system,nostartingaddressrecordfoundinFLASHmemory. RefertoMPErrorCodesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo ReloadtheSMP400operatingsystemcodefromtheinstallationdisk. Iferrorpersists,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP531SMP400RAMmemoryerror OnanSMP400system,eithertheDRAMSIMMontheprocessorboardorthe processorboarditselfhasfailed. RefertoMPErrorCodesforadditionalinformation.

1706 ErrorCodes

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Whatyoushoulddo NotetheerrordatadisplayedontheSMP400diagnosticLED. CallyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP532SMP400RAMmemoryerror OnanSMP400system,eithertheDRAMSIMMontheprocessorboardorthe processorboarditselfhasfailed. RefertoMPErrorCodesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo NotetheerrordatadisplayedontheSMP400diagnosticLED. CallyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP533Noamp/check/divideboardpresent TheSMP400requiresthatanamp/check/dividecardbepresentatthebase address.Theamp/check/dividecardmayhavefailedormaybesettothewrong address. RefertoMPErrorCodesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo NotetheerrordatadisplayedontheSMP400diagnosticLED. CallyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP534Amp/check/divideboardfailure OnanSMP400system,awrite/readerroroccurredwhilewritingtoorreading fromoneoftheregistersinternaltoU23ontheampcheckcard. RefertoMPErrorCodesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo NotetheerrordatadisplayedontheSMP400diagnosticLED. CallyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP535NoDCCboardpresent OnanSMP400system,readataddress170(hex)didnotreturnavalidDCC boardID.TheIDisreadfromU30ontheDCCboard.
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual ErrorCodes 1707

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

RefertoMPErrorCodesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo NotetheerrordatadisplayedontheSMP400diagnosticLED. CallyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP536DCCboardfailure OnanSMP400system,awrite/readerroroccurredwhilewritingtoorreading fromtheXaxisD/AconverterU6ontheDCCboard. RefertoMPErrorCodesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo NotetheerrordatadisplayedontheSMP400diagnosticLED. CallyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP537DCCboardfailure OnanSMP400system,awrite/readerroroccurredwhilewritingtoorreading fromtheYaxisD/AconverterU7ontheDCCboard. RefertoMPErrorCodesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo NotetheerrordatadisplayedontheSMP400diagnosticLED. CallyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP538DCCboardfailure OnanSMP400system,awrite/readerroroccurredwhilewritingtoorreading fromtheZaxisD/AconverterU11ontheDCCboard. RefertoMPErrorCodesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo NotetheerrordatadisplayedontheSMP400diagnosticLED. CallyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative.

1708 ErrorCodes

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MP539DCCboardfailure OnanSMP400system,awrite/readerroroccurredwhilewritingtoorreading fromtheWaxisD/AconverterU12ontheDCCboard. RefertoMPErrorCodesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo NotetheerrordatadisplayedontheSMP400diagnosticLED. CallyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP540NoTempCompboardpresent OnanSMP400system,readataddress1CE(hex)didnotreturnavalid TempCompboardID.TheIDisreadfromU18ontheTempCompboard. RefertoMPErrorCodesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo NotetheerrordatadisplayedontheSMP400diagnosticLED. CallyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP541TempCompboardfailure OnanSMP400system,awrite/readerroroccurredwhilewritingtoorreading fromtheA/DmultiplexorregisterontheTempCompboard.Theregisteris internaltoU18. RefertoMPErrorCodesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo NotetheerrordatadisplayedontheSMP400diagnosticLED. CallyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP542TempCompboardfailure OnanSMP400system,A/DconversionfailureontheTempCompboard. RefertoMPErrorCodesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo NotetheerrordatadisplayedontheSMP400diagnosticLED.
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual ErrorCodes 1709

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

CallyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP543TempCompboardfailure OnanSMP400,offsetnumberoneontheTempCompboardwasread incorrectly. RefertoMPErrorCodesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo NotetheerrordatadisplayedontheSMP400diagnosticLED. CallyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP544TempCompboardfailure OnanSMP400system,gainnumberoneontheTempCompboardwasread incorrectly. RefertoMPErrorCodesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo NotetheerrordatadisplayedontheSMP400diagnosticLED. CallyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP545TempCompboardfailure OnanSMP400system,offsetnumbertwoontheTempCompboardwasread incorrectly. RefertoMPErrorCodesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo NotetheerrordatadisplayedontheSMP400diagnosticLED. CallyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP546TempCompboardfailure OnanSMP400system,gainnumbertwoontheTempCompboardwasread incorrectly. RefertoMPErrorCodesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo

1710 ErrorCodes

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

NotetheerrordatadisplayedontheSMP400diagnosticLED. CallyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP547Processorboardfailure OnanSMP400system,interruptgeneratedonhostUARTbutnotreceivedby theinterruptcontrollerchipontheprocessorboard. RefertoMPErrorCodesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo NotetheerrordatadisplayedontheSMP400diagnosticLED. CallyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP548Processorboardfailure OnanSMP400system,unabletoclearhostUARTinterruptintheinterrupt controllerchipontheprocessorboard. RefertoMPErrorCodesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo NotetheerrordatadisplayedontheSMP400diagnosticLED. CallyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP550InsufficientRAM Therewasinsufficientmemoryspacetostartthesystem.TheRAMisbad. OnanMP30system,aRAMchipisbad. OnanSMP400system,eithertheDRAMSIMMontheprocessorboardorthe processorboarditselfhasfailed. RefertoMPErrorCodesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo CallyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP551Toomanysoftrategroups Therearemorerategroupsthanthesystemcanhandle.MayindicateanMP operatingsystemsoftwarefailure.
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual ErrorCodes 1711

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

OnanMP30system,aRAMchipisbad. OnanSMP400system,eithertheDRAMSIMMontheprocessorboardorthe processorboarditselfhasfailed. RefertoMPErrorCodesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo CallyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP560Processorboardfailure OnanSMP400system,unabletocleartheRCUUARTinterruptintheinterrupt controllerchipontheprocessorboard. RefertoMPErrorCodesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo NotetheerrordatadisplayedontheSMP400internaldiagnosticLED. CallyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP561UARTinterruptfailure OnanSMP400system,interruptgeneratedonPH9/PH10UARTbutnot receivedbytheinterruptcontrollerchipontheprocessorboard. RefertoMPErrorCodesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo NotetheerrordatadisplayedontheSMP400internaldiagnosticLED. CallyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP562UARTinterruptfailure OnanSMP400system,unabletoclearthePH9/PH10UARTinterruptinthe interruptcontrollerchipontheprocessorboard. RefertoMPErrorCodesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo NotetheerrordatadisplayedontheSMP400internaldiagnosticLED. CallyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative.

1712 ErrorCodes

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MP563UARTinterruptfailure OnanSMP400system,interruptgeneratedonprobechangerUARTbutnot receivedbytheinterruptcontrollerchipontheprocessorboard. RefertoMPErrorCodesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo NotetheerrordatadisplayedontheSMP400internaldiagnosticLED. CallyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP564UARTinterruptfailure OnanSMP400system,unabletocleartheprobechangerUARTinterruptinthe interruptcontrollerchipontheprocessorboard. RefertoMPErrorCodesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo NotetheerrordatadisplayedontheSMP400internaldiagnosticLED. CallyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP565UARTinterruptfailure OnanSMP400system,interruptgeneratedonelectroniclevelUARTbutnot receivedbytheinterruptcontrollerchipontheprocessorboard. RefertoMPErrorCodesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo NotetheerrordatadisplayedontheSMP400internaldiagnosticLED. CallyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP566UARTinterruptfailure OnanSMP400system,unabletocleartheelectroniclevelUARTinterruptinthe interruptcontrollerchipontheprocessorboard. RefertoMPErrorCodesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo NotetheerrordatadisplayedontheSMP400internaldiagnosticLED.
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual ErrorCodes 1713

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

CallyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP601DCCRAMfailure ThepatternreadfromtheDCCboardRAMdidnotmatchthepatternwritten.The RAMisbad. RefertoDCCErrorCodesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo CallyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP619DCCEPROMchecksumerror ChecksumgeneratedfromDCCEPROMcontentsdidnotmatchstored checksum. RefertoDCCErrorCodesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo CallyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP621DCCEPROMdirectoryerror ThefirstwordinanEPROMchipsetwasnotreadas4140hex.Thiswordisat 0F0000(hex). RefertoDCCErrorCodesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo CallyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative.

MP650InsufficientDCCRAM ThereisinsufficientRAMfortheDCCcontrollertooperate. RefertoDCCErrorCodesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo CallyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative.

1714 ErrorCodes

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MP651ToomanyDCCsoftwarerategroupspresent TherearetoomanyDCCsoftwarerategroups. RefertoDCCErrorCodesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo CallyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP697Servooffpushbuttonstuck Theservooffbuttonisstuck.Thebuttonmayhavebeenpressedwhenthe systemwasturnedon. RefertoDCCErrorCodesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,powerMPdown. PowerMPbackup. Checktheservooffbuttontoseeifitisopen. ChecktheconnectionsbetweenthecontrolpanellocatedatthetopoftheMP consoleandtheservochassis,andbetweentheservochassisandDCC board.Makesurealltheconnectionsaresecure. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. MP698Estopcircuitopen Theemergencystop(Estop)circuitwasopenatpowerup. RefertoDCCErrorCodesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo SomesystemshaveconsoleEstopbuttonsthatlockwhenpressed.Iflocked, twistknobclockwisetorelease. Tocleartheerror,powerMPdown. PowerMPbackup. CheckallEstopbuttonsandthecircuittoseeifanyareopen. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative.

DCCErrorInformation
DCCerrorsaredisplayedontheDCCboardLED.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ErrorCodes 1715

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

IferrorMP160occursduringstartup,checktheDCCboardLED,cyclepowerandwatchthe LED. AsequenceofcharactersflashesontheLEDastestingtakesplace.Eachcharacter representsatestofaspecificsystemcomponentorofcommunicationbetweencomponents.If oneofthesetestsfails,thecharacterrepresentingthattestremainsontheLED.TheDCCLed sequenceis: A B C D E F TestingsharedRAMmemorycells TestingDCCtoMPinterrupt TestingMPinterruptacknowledge TestingMPtoDCCinterrupt TestingDCCROMandRAM AlltestspassedwaitingforfirstMPinterrupt

IftheDCCboardfailsafterthesystemison,errorMP060orMP151occurs.Theseerrors indicatethattheMPisunabletocommunicatewiththeDCCboard.ChecktheDCCboardLED forthefollowingnumbers: 1 2 3 8 9 32mssincelastD/Aupdate 32mssincelastMPupdate DCCtoMPinterruptnotacknowledgedfor32ms Systemrunningnormally WaitingforinitialMPsharedRAMsyncup

OntheDCCboardLED,adecimalpointbeforetheerrornumbermeanstheCPUisinactive.A decimalpointaftertheerrornumbermeansthehardwaredetectedafailuretoupdatetheD/Afor 32milliseconds. ThefollowingtablecontainstheavailableDCCerrorcodes: DCC001 DCC002 DCC003

DCC132millisecondssincelastD/Aupdate Thedigital/analog(D/A)convertersontheDCCboardhavenotbeenupdatedfor atleast32milliseconds. RefertoDCCErrorCodesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,powertheMPdown. ReseattheDCCboard. PowertheMPbackup.

1716 ErrorCodes

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. DCC232millisecondssincelastMPupdate TheDCChasnotbeenupdatedforatleast32milliseconds.RefertoDCCError Codesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,powertheMPdown. ReseattheDCCboard. PowertheMPbackup. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. DCC3DCCtoMPinterruptnotacknowledgedfor32milliseconds TheDCCsentaninterrupttotheMP.TheMPhasnotacknowledgedthe interruptinthelast32milliseconds.RefertoDCCErrorCodesforadditional information. Whatyoushoulddo Tocleartheerror,powertheMPdown. ReseattheDCCboard. ReseattheMPCPUboard. PowertheMPbackup. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative.

RCUErrorInformation
AnRCUerrorisgeneratedonlybytheolderRemoteControlUnitRCUI.RCUerrornumbers appearinthescrollingdisplayontheRCUI. AnRCUerrornumberisfollowedbyathreedigitnumberrepresentingtheversionnumbersofthe threeEPROMsintheRCUatlocationF8,F10andR12. Youcanseetheversionnumberby pressingtheDISPLAYkeyontheRCUI. ThefollowingtablecontainstheavailableRCUerrorcodes: RCU003 RCU700 RCU701 RCU702 RCU703 RCU704

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ErrorCodes 1717

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

RCU705 RCU706 RCU707 RCU708

RCU003Resourceshortage UsertriedtorepositionnonexistentPH9orrotarytable,ortriedtocommanda rotarytablemovewithservopoweroff. RefertoRCUErrorCodesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo PresstheCLEARkeyontheRCUI. Ifyouaretryingtomoverotarytable,turnonservopower. IfyouaretryingtomovePH9orrotarytablewithservopoweron,makesure yoursystemhastherequiredhardwareandisproperlyconfigured. RCU700RCURAMfailure RCUonboardRAMhasatleast1badmemorybit. RefertoRCUErrorCodesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo NotethedisplayontheMP. Tocleartheerror,powerMPdown. PowerMPbackup. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. RCU701RCU6802RAMaddressfailure RCUonchipRAMhasfailed. RefertoRCUErrorCodesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo NotethedisplayontheMP. Tocleartheerror,powerMPdown. PowerMPbackup.

1718 ErrorCodes

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. RCU702RCU2114RAMfailure RCUonboardRAMhasatleast1badmemorybit. RefertoRCUErrorCodesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo NotethedisplayontheMP. Tocleartheerror,powerMPdown. PowerMPbackup. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. RCU703RCU2114RAMaddressfailure RCURAMchiphasfailed. RefertoRCUErrorCodesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo NotethedisplayontheMP. Tocleartheerror,powerMPdown. PowerMPbackup. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. RCU704RCUEPROMchecksumorversion#error ThereisanRCUchecksumerror. RefertoRCUErrorCodesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo NotethedisplayontheMP. Tocleartheerror,powerMPdown. PowerMPbackup. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. RCU705Stuckkeyerror AkeyisstuckontheRCU. RefertoRCUErrorCodesforadditionalinformation.
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual ErrorCodes 1719

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Whatyoushoulddo NotethedisplayontheMP. Tocleartheerror,powerMPdown. PowerMPbackup. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. RCU706RCUEPROMAchecksumerror ThereisachecksumerrorinEPROMatboardpositionF8. RefertoRCUErrorCodesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo NotethedisplayontheMP. Tocleartheerror,powerMPdown. PowerMPbackup. Reseatthe2716chipatboardpositionF8. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. RCU707RCUEPROMBchecksumerror ThereisachecksumerrorinEPROMatboardpositionF10. RefertoRCUErrorCodesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo NotethedisplayontheMP. Tocleartheerror,powerMPdown. PowerMPbackup. Reseatthe2716chipatboardpositionF10. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. RCU708RCUEPROMCchecksumerror ThereisachecksumerrorinEPROMatboardpositionF11. RefertoRCUErrorCodesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo NotethedisplayontheMP. Tocleartheerror,powerMPdown. PowerMPbackup.

1720 ErrorCodes

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Reseatthe2716chipatboardpositionF11. Iftheerrorreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative.

TempCompErrorInformation
ATempComperrorisgeneratedbythetemperaturecompensationfeatureonsystemsthat supportthisoption.TempComperrorsareappendedtotheInspectionReportanddisplayedin thePromptMonitor. ThefollowingtablecontainstheavailableTempComperrorcodes: TempComp200 TempComp201 TempComp202 TempComp203 TempComp204 TempComp205 TempComp206

TempComp200TempCompnotavailable Temperaturecompensationhasbeenrequestedbutiscurrentlynotavailable. Themessagedisplayedincludesanumberinparenthesesattheendthat indicatesthespecificreasonasfollows: 2>Nopartthermistorsareavailable 1>Temperaturecompensationhasbeendisabledbyapreviouslyreported error. 0>Temperaturecompensationisnotproperlyconfigured. 128>Theindicatedthermistorhasfailed. RefertoTempCompErrorCodesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo Ifpossible,correcttheidentifiedproblem. Ifthewarningreoccurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. TempComp201Absolutetemperaturelimitexceeded Temperaturecompensationhasbeenrequestedbutathermistorcurrently indicatesatemperaturethatexceedstheconfiguredsystemabsolute temperaturelimits.Temperaturecompensationisactivebutsystemconditions
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual ErrorCodes 1721

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

mayprecludeachievingthedesiredsystemaccuracy.Themessageincludesthe thermistornumberandrecordedtemperaturethatcausedthewarning. RefertoTempCompErrorCodesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo Ifpossible,correcttheidentifiedproblem. Ifthewarningreoccursandcannotbeexplainedbytheenvironmental conditions,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. TempComp202Gradienttemperaturelimitexceeded Temperaturecompensationhasbeenrequestedbutthedifferencein temperaturebetweenapairorthermistorsindicatesatemperaturegradientthat exceedstheconfiguredsystemlimits.Temperaturecompensationisactivebut systemconditionsmayprecludeachievingthedesiredsystemaccuracy.The messageincludesthethermistornumbersandrecordedtemperaturesthat causedthewarning. RefertoTempCompErrorCodesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo Ifpossible,correcttheidentifiedproblem. Ifthewarningreoccursandcannotbeexplainedbytheenvironmental conditions,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. TempComp203Transienttemperaturelimitexceeded Temperaturecompensationhasbeenrequestedbuttherecordoftemperatures recordedbyathermistorindicatesatemperaturechange(transient)thatexceeds theconfiguredsystemlimits.Temperaturecompensationisactivebutsystem conditionsmayprecludeachievingthedesiredsystemaccuracy.Themessage includesthethermistornumberandrecordedhighandlowtemperaturesthat causedthewarning. RefertoTempCompErrorCodesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo Ifpossible,correcttheidentifiedproblem. Ifthewarningreoccursandcannotbeexplainedbytheenvironmental conditions,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative.

1722 ErrorCodes

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TempComp204Lasercompensationisinactive Onalasersystemahardwarefailurehasoccurredthatpreventsproper compensationofthelasermeasurementsforenvironmentalconditions.The systemisoperationalbutcannotachievedesiredsystemaccuracies. RefertoTempCompErrorCodesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo Ifpossible,correcttheidentifiedproblem. Ifthewarningrecurs,callyourGiddings&Lewisservicerepresentative. TempComp205Probecalibrationdatamaybeinvalid Temperaturecompensationhasbeenrequestedbuteithertheprobeshavenot beencalibratedsincepoweruporthetemperaturechangesinceprobecalibration exceedstheconfiguredsystemlimit.Thevaluedisplayedwiththemessage indicateswhetherthefirst(1)orthesecond(2)conditioncausedthewarning. RefertoTempCompErrorCodesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo Recalibrateprobestoensurehighestsystemaccuracy. TempComp206Rotarytablecalibrationmaybeinvalid Temperaturecompensationhasbeenrequestedbutthetemperaturechange sincerotarytablecentercalibrationexceedstheconfiguredsystemlimit.The rotarytablecentershouldberecalibratedtoensurethehighestdegreeofsystem accuracy. RefertoTempCompErrorCodesforadditionalinformation. Whatyoushoulddo Recalibratetherotarytablecentertoensurehighestsystemaccuracy.

MiscellaneousTopics
AKAutomaticTracking TheADcommanddirectsthesystemtoenableautomatictracking. CommandFormat
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual ErrorCodes 1723

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MLString"AK p1,p2" Example MLString"AKY" Automaticallytrackasurfaceintheactivepartreferenceframe. MLString"AK Z" Automaticallytrackasurfaceintheactivepartreferenceframe. MLString"AK" Disable MLString"AK1,1,0" Automaticallytrackasurface.Theprobeistomoveinitiallyinpart coordinatedirection(1,1,0)untilthesurfaceiscontacted. MLString"AK1,1,0,C" Automaticallytrackasurface.Theprobeistomoveinitiallyinpart coordinatedirection(1,1,0)untilthesurfaceiscontacted.Whenthe surfaceiscontacted,theprobewillcontinuetotraveluntiltheprobeself centersalongthespecifiedvector Input p1=signedpartaxisorpartcoordinatedirectionvector(Stringoptional) p2="C"(Stringoptional) Theoptionalparameterp1specifiesaseitherasignedpartaxisdesignator(e.g., +XorZ)orasanumericXYZpartcoordinatedirectionvector.Ifanumeric vectorisspecifiedthenitmustbenonzero.Itmaybeaunitvectorbutthisisnot required.Ifp1isnotspecifiedthentrackingisdisabled. Theoptionalparameterp2mayonlybetheletter"C". Inthefirstexample,Yisthep1argument.Itindicatestoautomaticallytracka surfaceinthemachineYaxis.ThesurfaceliesinthepositiveYdirectionfrom theprobecenter.

1724 ErrorCodes

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Inthesecondexample,Zisthep1argument.Itindicatestoautomaticallytracka surfacenominallyperpendiculartothemachineZaxis.Thesurfaceliesinthe negativeZdirectionfromtheprobecenter. Inthethirdexamplethereisnoargument.Itindicatestodisableautomaticmode forsoftprobetracking. Inthefourthexample,thepartdirectionvector(1,1,0)isthep1argument.It indicatestoautomaticallytrackalongthedirectionvector(1,1,0)(e.g.,i=1,j=1, andk=0). Results ThiscommandisaddedtotheDCCcommandqueue.Whenexecuted,the systembeginstracking.Ifthesoftprobeisnotinsurfacecontactwhenthis commandisexecutedthentheprobeismovedinthespecifieddirectionuntilin surfacecontact.Thetouchmodeofthesoftprobeisdisabledifactive(seeTF command)andthesoftprobeisactivated(seeBRcommand).Thesoftprobe musthavebeencalibratedpriortoexecutionofthiscommand. Notethatmachinevelocityisrestrictedtotrackingspeed(seeKScommand). SkipAction Ignorednotexecutedifpartofaskipblock. ErrorMessages MLB090DCCisnotavailable. ASAutomaticScanning TheAScommandsetsupcontrolsforanautomaticscanning/datacollection operation.BeawarethatithasbeenredefinedforSMP400,version104.0and later. CommandFormat MLString"ASp1,p2,p3,p4,p5,p6" Example MLString"ASY,S55.6,I10"

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ErrorCodes 1725

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Performanautomaticscan,collectingsamplesasafunctionofYposition beginningatYequalto55.6andcollectingadatapointevery10units. Datapointsareaccumulatedonlyinthescandataarray. MLString"ASA,C12.3,5.75,S0,I1,USER" Performanautomaticscan,collectingsamplesasafunctionofpolarangle relativetotheworkingplanepoint(12.3,5.75),beginningatzerodegrees andcollectingadatapointeverydegree.Datapointsareaccumulatedin thescandataarrayandintheUserSummationArray.Datareturnedto thehostwiththeRNcommandisinRadius/Angle/Heightformat. Input p1=Independentaxisforscan(Stringrequired) p2=Centerpointforpolarscan(String/numericoptional) p3=Startingvalueforindependentaxis(Stringoptional) p4=Intervalbetweensuccessivetargets(Stringornumericoptional) p5='USER'or'INTERNAL'toselectsummationarray(Stringoptional) p6=Numberofpointstocollect(Stringornumericoptional) Therequiredparameterp1specifiestheindependent"axis"forthescan.This canonlybeA,P,S,X,Y,orZ.AspecifiesapolarscanwithdatareturnedinR,A, H(radius,angle,height)format.Pspecifiesapolarscanwithdatareturnedin normalX,Y,Zformat.Sindicatesthattargetsaretobespacedalongthesurface withtheinitialprobelocationtobetreatedas0.0.X,Y,andZindicateapartaxis tobeusedastheindependentaxis. Theoptionalparameterp2istheletter'C'followedbytwocoordinatevalues.This parameterhasmeaningonlyforpolarscansanddefinestheworkingplane nominalcenterofthescannedsurface.Thevaluesspecifiedinordercorrespond toXandYfortheXYplaneYandZfortheYZplaneandZandXfortheZX plane.Forpolarscanswhenp2isnotspecifiedthecenterpointisassumedtobe at(0,0). Theoptionalparameterp3istheletter'S'followedbytheindependentaxis startingcoordinate.Ifp4(below)isspecifiedwithoutp3thendataiscollected beginningatthecurrentprobeposition.Notethatp3cannotbespecifiedwithout p4.

1726 ErrorCodes

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Theoptionalparameterp4istheletter'I'followedbytheincremental displacementbetweentargets.Ifp3andp4arebothomittedthenitisassumed thatthescantargetsareabsoluteratherthanincrementalandhavebeen previouslycommunicatedusingtheSBcommand. Theoptionalstringparameterp5canbe"USER"or"INTERNAL".Ifp5is specifiedthenthescandataisaccumulatedinthespecifiedSummationArrayas wellasinthescandatabuffer. Theoptionalparameterp6istheletter'N'followedbythenumberofpointstobe collected.Ifnotspecified,datacollectioncontinuesuntilanRNcommandis executed. Results TheAScommandputstheSMPintoadatacollectionmode.Beforethis commandisexecutedtrackingshouldbeenabled(seeAKcommand)andthe probeshouldbepositionedaheadofthefirsttargetifdoingclosedloopscanning ortheprobeshouldbepositionedtoitsnominaldeflectionifdoingopenloop scanning.Followingtheexecutionofthiscommand,appropriatemove commandsareexecutedtomovetheprobethroughthetargetarea.Finally,the commandRNisexecutedtoterminatedatacollectionand/ortoreturnthe collectedscandatatothehost. SkipAction Ignorednotexecutedifpartofaskipblock. ErrorMessages MLB080Thesoftprobeisnotenabledortrackingisnotturnedon. MLB090DCCisnotavailable. MLB164Insufficientanalogprobedeflection. BBBeginBlock TheBBcommandmarksthebeginningofacodeblockthatisusedwithSkip Action. FormatofMLBCommand MLString"BBp1" FormatofSheffieldRoutine BeginBlock"p1"

ExampleofMLBCommand
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ExampleofSheffieldRoutine
ErrorCodes 1727

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Example#1 MLString"BBFRONTFACE" Input

BeginBlock"FRONTFACE"

p1=Maximumof10characters(Stringrequired) p1givesanidentifyingnametotheprogramblock.Thenamecanbe10orfewer alphanumericcharacters. Results Thefunctionsetstheinternalflagsthatindicatethebeginningofablock. SkipAction Anerroroccursifthiscommandoccurswithinablockofcodebeingskipped. ErrorMessages MLB014Thereisanestedcodeblock. BeginBlock TheBeginBlockroutinemarksthebeginningofacodeblockthatisusedwith SkipAction. FormoreinformationontheBeginBlockroutine,seetheMLBcommandBB. BFTurnSoftProbeOff TheBFcommanddisablesthesoftprobe.Ifathreeaxisanalogprobe(e.g.,the RenishawSP600)isinuse,thenthetouchprobeisenabled. CommandFormat MLString"BF" Example MLString"BF" Input None.

1728 ErrorCodes

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Results Thesystemdisablesthesoftprobeandstopsincludingsoftprobedeflectionsas partofthetippositioncoordinatedata. SkipAction Ignored. ErrorMessages None. BRTurnSoftProbeOn TheBRcommandenablesthesoftprobe.Thetouchprobeisdisabledwhenthis commandisexecuted. CommandFormat MLString"BR" Example MLString"BR" Input None. Results Thesystemenablesthesoftprobeandstartsincludingsoftprobedeflectionsas partofthetippositioncoordinatedata. SkipAction Executesevenwheninsideaskipblock. ErrorMessages MLB080Thesoftprobehasnotbeencalibrated.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ErrorCodes 1729

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

EBEndBlock TheEBcommandmarkstheendofacodeblockthatstartedwithaBB command. FormatofMLBCommand MLString"EB" FormatofSheffieldRoutine EndBlock

ExampleofMLBCommand Example#1 MLString"EB" Input None. Results

ExampleofSheffieldRoutine EndBlock

Thecommandmarkstheendoftheblockofcodethatbeganwiththeprevious BBcommand. SkipAction Executesevenwheninsideaskipblock. ErrorMessages MLB015Thereisnomatchingblockbeginning. EndBlock TheEndBlockroutinemarkstheendofacodeblockthatstartedwithaBB command. FormoreinformationontheEndBlockroutine,seetheMLBcommandEB. ILInitializeLibrary TheILcommandinitializestheMeasurementLibrary.Flagsandvariablesrevert tothedefaultstateatsysteminitialization.Thisfunctiondoesnotclearsystem errorscausedbyafaultinthesystemhardware.Separatecorrectiveactionmust betakenforsucherrors. CommandFormat

1730 ErrorCodes

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MLString"IL" Examples MLString"IL" Input None. Results Thesystem: Deletesallmeasuredfeatures, Resetsthepartandmachinescaleratiosto1:1, Cancelsaxistranslationsandrotations, Setsthefeaturenumberandsequencenumbertozero, Revertstothedefaultvaluesformeasurementunitsandtheworkingplane, and Clearsallothervariablesorsetsthemtothedefaultvalues. Thisfunctiondoesnotaffect: SelectedtiporProbediameter, Calibrationofanyprobetips, Calibrationoftherotarytable,or Savedreferenceframes1through48.Otherreferenceframesaredeleted SkipAction Thisfunctionmaynotoccurinasectionofcodetobeskipped.Error. ErrorMessages None.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ErrorCodes 1731

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

IOIOStat TheIOcommandallowstestingofoneoftheinput(readonlyorreadwrite)bits orchangingthestatusofoneoftheoutput(writeonlyorreadwrite)bits. CommandFormat MLString"IOp1,p2" Examples MLString"IO3,1" MLString"IO2" Input p1=0through67(Numericrequired) p2=0or1(Numericoptional) p1isanumberwhichcorrespondstotheinputoroutputbitwhosestatusisbeing viewedorchanged.p1mustbeadigitfrom0through67.Somebitsareread only,somearewriteonly,andothersarebothreadandwrite.ConsultGiddings &Lewisfordetails. Ifp2isspecified,p1identifiesanoutput(writeonlyorreadwrite)bit.p2maynot bespecifiedwithareadonlybit.p2indicatesthestatetowhichtheoutputbit identifiedbyp1istobechanged.p2mustbeeitherazero(0)oraone(1). Theoutputbitsarelikeswitcheswhichmaybeopenedorclosed.FortheControl Board,whenp2iszero(0),theswitchisclosed,andwhenp2isone(1),the switchisopen.OntheAuxiliaryDigitalInputOutputBoardandtheTemperature CompensationBoard,theswitchisopenedwhenp2iszero(0),andtheswitchis closedwhenp2isone(1).Inthefirstexample,thestateofthewrite/onlybit number3isbeingchangedtoone. Ifp2isnotspecified,p1identifiesaninput(readonly,readwrite)bit.The programmercanonlyviewthestatusofabitwhichhasbeenidentifiedasan inputbit.Thestatusofaninputbitcannotbechanged.Inthesecondexample, thebitwhosestatusistobeviewedisthereadonlybit#2ontheControlBoard. Results Ifp2isnotspecified,thecurrentstatusoftheinputbitidentifiedbyp1isstoredin thevariableS7.ThevariableS7mustbecheckedimmediatelyafterexecuting

1732 ErrorCodes

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

thisfunctiontoverifythestatusoftheinputbit.IfS7iszero(0),thereisno currentflowintotheinputbit.IfS7isone(1),thereiscurrentflowintothebit. ThisistruefortheControlBoardandtheAuxiliaryDigitalInputOutputBoards. FortheTemperatureCompensationBoard,ifS7iszero,theinputbitisanopen circuit(+V).IfS7isone,theinputbitisground(OV).Forthereadwriteinputbits, S7containsthelastvaluewrittentotheoutputbit. Ifp2isspecifiedintheIOcommand,thevalueofS7ismeaningless.Notethatall inputbitsand/oroutputbitsmaynotbeavailabletotheuser.Availabilityis dependentontheMPconfigurationpurchased. SkipAction Executesevenwheninsideaskipblock. ErrorMessages MLB005Communicationerror. MLB006Outputmasklogicaltranslationerror. MLB007Outputunavailable. MLB021FirstParameterInvalid. MLB022SecondParameterInvalid. KDSetnominalsoftprobedeflection TheKDcommandsetsthenominalsoftprobedeflectiontobeused. CommandFormat MLString"KDp1" Examples MLString"KD0.05" Setthenominalsoftprobedeflectionto0.05units. Input p1=nominalsoftprobedeflection(Numericoptional)

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ErrorCodes 1733

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Theoptionalnumericparameterp1specifiesthenominalsoftprobedeflectionin currentunits.Thisvaluemustbepositive. Ifp1isnotspecifiedthenthecurrentsettingfornominalsoftprobedeflectionis returned.Thedefaultvalueafterinitialization(IL)is0.05". Results Ifavalueisspecified,thenominalsoftprobedeflectionissettothisvalueexcept asnotedabove.Ifavalueisnotspecifiedthenthecurrentvalueisreturnedto variableS7. SkipAction Executednormally. ErrorMessages MLB090DCCisnotavailable. KSSetTracking/ScanningSpeed TheKScommandsetstheprobespeedtobeusedduringDCCmoveswhile trackingorscanning. CommandFormat MLString"KSp1,p2" Examples MLString"KS0.5" Setthetracking/scanningmovespeedto0.5unitspersecond. Input p1=tracking/scanningmovespeed(Numericoptional) p2=tracking/scanningmovespeed(Numericoptional) Theoptionalnumericparametersp1andp2specifythedesiredtracking/ scanningmovespeedincurrentunitspersecond.Thisvaluemustbepositive.If thespecifiedvalueexceedsthemachineallowedmaximumthenthatwillbe usedratherthanthespecifiedvalue.

1734 ErrorCodes

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Ifonlyp1isspecified,thep1valueisusedforbothopenloopandclosedloop scan. Ifbothp1andp2arespecified,p1isusedforopenloopscanandp2is usedforclosedloopscan. Ifnoisspecifiedthenthecurrentsettingsfortracking/scanningmovespeedare returned.Thedefaultvaluesafterinitialization(IL)are0.1"(or2.54mm)per second. Results Ifavalueisspecified,thetracking/scanningmovespeedissettothisvalue exceptasnotedabove.Ifavalueisnotspecifiedthenthecurrentopenloop valueisreturnedtovariableS7andtheclosedloopvalueisreturnedtovariable S8.ThesystemusesthisasthemaximumvelocitywheneveraDCCorjoystick moveiscommandedwhiletrackingasurfacewithasoftprobeorscanningwitha softprobe. SkipAction Executednormally. ErrorMessages MLB090DCCisnotavailable. RNReturnScanData TheRNcommandterminatescollectionofscandataand/orreturnscollected scandatatoMeasureMax+. CommandFormat MLString"RNp1" Examples MLString"RN" IfscanningisactivewaitfortheDCCqueuetobecomeemptyandthe finalmovetobeintolerance,thenterminatescanning.Returnthenumber ofdatapointstothehost. MLString"RN0" IfscanningisactivewaitfortheDCCqueuetobecomeemptyandthe finalmovetobeintolerance,thenterminatescanning.Returnthe
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual ErrorCodes 1735

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

collecteddatapoints(beginningwithpointnumber0)andthenumberof datapointstothehost. Input p1=pointindex(Numericoptional) Theoptionalnumericparameterp1cannotbeanegativenumber.Ifspecified,p1 requeststhatscandatapointsbereturnedtothehostbeginningwithpoint#p1. Notethatthefirstpointcollectedhasindex0(zero).Ifp1isnotspecifiedthe collecteddataisnottobereturnedtothehostcomputer. Results TheRNcommandcompletesascandatacollectionoperationinitiatedbytheAS command.IfscanningisactiveitwillbeterminatedwhentheDCCqueue becomesemptyandthefinalmovetobeintolerance.Ifp1isspecifiedthe collecteddatapointsarereturnedfromthescanbuffertothehostcomputerand storedintheS9array.ForallscantypesexceptA(seeAScommand),thepoint dataisstoredintheS9arrayinnormalX,Y,Zorderthatis,theXcoordinate datavaluesarestoredinS9(*,0),YvaluesinS9(*,1),andZvaluesinS9(*,2). ForascanoftypeA,polarradiusvaluesarestoredinS9(*,0),polarangle valuesarestoredinS9(*,1),andthirdaxisvalues(height)arestoredinS9(*,2). ThenumberofcollecteddatapointsisreturnedtovariableS7. SkipAction Ignored. ErrorMessages None. SBScanTarget TheSBcommandtransmitstheindependentaxistargetsfromthescanbuffer S9(*,0)totheMP,sothattheycanbeusedinthenextscan.Thepartprogram mustexecutetheSBcommandbeforeitexecutestheSNcommandifituses absolutetargets. CommandFormat MLString"SBp1" Examples

1736 ErrorCodes

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MLString"SB100" Input p1=Numberoftargetstotransmit(Numericrequired) p1specifiesthenumberofindependentaxistargetstotransmit.p1mustbean integerequaltoorgreaterthan1.Intheexample,p1is100.Theprobescans 100targetsforthismeasurement.Thefirsttargetisinthescanbufferlocation S9(0,0).Ifyouarescanninginseveralphases,transferalltargetsatonce.S9is arealarray,sothenumberofdigitsthatmakeupthetargetcoordinatevalueis notrestricted. Results TargetsaresenttotheMPstartingatS9(0,0).Iftheprogramtransmits100 targets,thelasttargetsentisatS9(99,0). SkipAction Ignorednotexecutedifpartofaskippedblock. ErrorMessages None. SNScan TheSNcommandisusedtoinitiateasurfacescan.ThisisforMeasureMax version1.03systemsonly.

Warning TheSNcommandisnotsupportedbycurrentMeasureMax+systems.

CommandFormat MLString"SNp1,p2,p3,p4,p5" Examples MLString"SN1,XY,400,12,.1"


PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual ErrorCodes 1737

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MLString"SNXY,400" Input p1=Columninscanbuffer(Numericoptional) p2=Dependentandindependentaxes(Stringrequired) p3=Numberoftargetstoscan(Numericrequired) p4=Startingposition(Numericoptional) p5=Intervalbetweensuccessivetargets(Numericoptional) Theoptionalnumericparameterp1istheindexofthecolumnintheS9scan dataarraytobeusedfordependentaxisscanresults.Ifp1isnotspecifiedthen scanresultsarestoredincolumnzero(0). Therequiredstringparameterp2definesthedependentandindependentaxes forthescan.Thefirstletteridentifiesthedependentaxis.Validsettingsforp2are XY,XZ,YX,YZ,ZX,ZY,XW,YW,ZW,andRA. Therequirednumericparameterp3mustbeavaluefrom1to1000andspecifies thenumberoftargetstobescanned. Theoptionalnumericparametersp4andp5definethefirstindependentaxis scantargetandthespacingbetweentargetsforanincrementalscan.Ifp4and p5arenotspecifiedthentargetsareabsoluteandmusthavebeenpreviously transmittedtotheMP(seeSBcommand). Theusermusthavetheprobeinpositionbeforethefirstscantargetbeforethis commandisexecuted.WhenthiscommandisexecutedtheWAITlightonthe MPcomeson.Theuserthenmovestheprobealongthescanpathtocollect data.AfterthefirsttargetispassedtheWAITlightwillflashuntilallscantargets havebeencollected,thengoout. Thefirstexamplescans400targetsalongYcollectingXdataincolumn1ofthe S9array.ThefirsttargetisataYreadingof12andsubsequenttargetsare spacedata0.1intervalinthepositivedirection. Thesecondexamplescans400targetsalongYcollectingXdataincolumn0 (default)oftheS9array.TheYaxistargetshavebeenpreviouslysentwiththe SBcommand. Results

1738 ErrorCodes

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ThesystemcollectsthescanneddataandstorestheresultsintheS9array. SkipAction Ignorednotexecutedifpartofaskippedblock. ErrorMessages MLB080Improperprobeinstalled.Eitherahardprobeorananalogprobeis required. TFTouchModeOff TheTFcommandpreventsthesystemfromsensingdeflectionofthetouch probeexceptduringcommandedtouchesorseeks.Inthismode,thesystemcan ignoretouchesresultingfromthevibrationexperiencedbyalongprobethatis travelingatahighvelocity.Becausedamagecanresultiftheprobecontactsa surfacewithforce,useextremecautionwhenusingthisfunction. WheneverthiscommandisusedinapartprogramtheTNcommandshouldbe usedtoreenablethetouchprobebeforeterminatingthepartprogram. CommandFormat MLString"TF" Example MLString"TF" Input None. Results Afterthiscommandisexecutedthesystemdoesnotrecognizetouchprobehits exceptduringprogrammedDCCtouchoperations.Recognitionoftouchprobe hitscanbereenabledbytheTNcommandorbyapartprograminitialization. SkipAction Executesevenwheninsideaskippedblock. ErrorMessages

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ErrorCodes 1739

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MLB090DCCisnotavailable. TNEnableTouchProbe TheTNcommandsetsthetouchmodetoon,reenablingthetouchprobe previouslydisabledwiththeTFcommand.Ifathreeaxisanalogprobe(e.g.,the RenishawSP600)isinuse,thenthesoftprobeisdisabled(seetheBF command). CommandFormat MLString"TN" Example MLString"TN" Input None. Results Thetouchprobeisenabledduringallmoves. SkipAction Executesevenwheninsideaskippedblock. ErrorMessages MLB090DCCisnotavailable.

1740 ErrorCodes

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ModifyingRegistryEntries
ModifyingRegistryEntries:Introduction
ThePCDMISSettingsEditorapplicationletsyouchangeregistryentriesthatcontrolvariousPC DMISsettings. TolaunchthePCDMISSettingsEditor,makesureyouhaveclosedPCDMIS,thenaccessthe SettingsEditorshortcutfromtheprogramgroupwhereyouinstalledPCDMIS.Toaccessthe helpfileassociatedwiththePCDMISSettingsEditor,launchtheSettingsEditorandpressF1.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

ModifyingRegistryEntries 1741

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Glossary
#
95%ConfidenceFactor:GivenaGaussiandistribution(orfilter)oferrors,an adequatenumberofhits,andtheresultingstandarddeviation,youcanbe 95%confidentthattheactualdimensionwillbelessthanthemeasured value.

A
ABangles:ThepositionoftheseAandBaxesdeterminetheanglesaprobewill useduringtipcalibration.ThesearealsoreferredtoasABpositions.*Ais theverticalwristangle.A=0whenthetipispointingstraightdownandit isnormaltotheprobe.*Bistherotationangle.B=0willvaryaccording tomachinetypeandbrandandalsoprobeheadtype. ActiveTip:Theactivetipreferstothepartoftheprobe(alsoreferredtoasthe stylus)thatiscurrentlyloadedforuse.Severaltipscanbeconsidered activeatatimeandarereferencedintheActivetiplist. ActiveTool:Thisreferstothecalibrationtoolthatisusedtocalibratetheactive tip.SeealsoTool. ACTL:ThismeansActual,meaningthe"measured"sizeorlocationinformation asopposedtothe"theoretical"sizeorlocationinformation. ActualPoint(APT):Outofthemultiplereadingsthatthecontrollertakesduring theprobingcycle,theActualPointistheonethatisreturnedfromthe controller. AlignmentBlock:ThisisasectionofpartprogramcodeintheEditwindow beginningwiththe"Label=ALIGNMENT/START,..."commandlineand continuingtothe"ALIGNMENT/END"commandline. Alignmentoffset:ThisisthedistanceofthepartfromtheX,Y,andZ(0,0,0) location. AlignmentRotationFeature:ThisRotatebutton(foundinAlignmentdialogbox) allowsyoutorotatethepartaboutaparticularaxis.Thisisusedfor creatingalignments. AnalogProbe:Thistypeofprobeisanelectronicdevicecapableofperforming acontinuouscontactscanofapart'ssurfacewithouthavingtoleavethe part'ssurfaceinordertorecordmeasurementdata.Whennotperforming scans,theprobefunctionssimilartoaTouchTriggerProbe(TTP). Arguments:Theseareconditionsusedinasubroutineorequation,suchasan IFTHENstatement.IFacertainargument(orcondition)ismetTHENa certainresultfollows.
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual Glossary 1743

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Assignment:Assignmentistheprocessofgivingthevalueofanoperation,set ofoperations,orarealnumbertoavariableandisaccomplishedbyuse oftheassignmentoperator(=).Theassignmentoperatorisautomatically createdwhentheassignmentoptionisselected(fromthemenubar, selecttheAssignmentoption). Asterisk(*)MetaCharacter:Theasterisk(*)metacharacterwillmatch,ortake theplace,ofanycharacterorcharactersinasearch. Axes:Thisispluralforaxis.SeeAxis. Axis:Anaxisisoneofthereferencelinesinasystemofcoordinates.The variousaxes(pluralforaxis)areXPLUS,XMINUS,YPLUS,YMINUS, ZPLUS,andZMINUS.Anaxiscanalsobedefinedasthederivedmedian linealongthelengthofacylinder,cone,slot,orellipse. AxisCounters:Thesearedigitalreadouthardwaredevicesconnectedtoyour machinethatgiveareadoutofthemachine'saxesX,Y,andZpositions.

B
BallTip:Tipshapedasasmallball. Baricenter:Thecenterofgravityforaholeofanyshape. BasicScript:Abasicscriptisaseriesofbasiccommandswritteninthe programminglanguageBASIC. Baud:Thisistherateatwhichdatacanbetransmittedorreceivedbya computer.Thisisusuallydefinedasanumberofbitspersecond(bps). BendRadius:Thisisessentiallyanoutsidecylinder(pin)measurementfor sheetmetal.Itmeasuresthecenterlocationandsize. BestFit:Thisisamathematicalprocessthatcalculatesfeatureoralignment parametersbyminimizingcertainerrorconditionsbetweenmeasuredand theoreticalpointsorfeatures. BestGuessAlgorithms:ThesearemathematicalcalculationsthatPCDMIS usestodeterminewhatfeaturetypeisbeingmeasuredbasedonthe numberofhitstaken.Basedontheresultsofthecalculations,PCDMIS makesitsbestguesstodeterminethefeaturetype.Incorrectguessescan beoverriddenusingtheOverridecommandonthemainmenu. BlockEdit:ThisreferstomovingaportionoftextfromoneareaoftheEdit windowtoanotherarea. Boss:A"boss"isusuallyanexternalconeorcylinderthathasaflattoptoitthat aboltmaythreadinto.Sometimesthisisalsotermedasa"Stud". BoundaryCrossings:Thisnumericalvalue(usedintheNumberofBoundary Crossingsbox)tellsPCDMIShowmanytimestheprobe'sBallCentercan crossthegivencondition'ssurface(planar,spherical,cylindrical)before stoppingagivenscan.OncetheBallCentercrossesthecondition's

1744 Glossary

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

surfaceforthenthtime(wheren=thenumberentered),thenthescan stops. BoundaryPlane:TheBoundaryPlaneiscreatedperpendiculartotheBoundary PlaneVectorwiththesameXYZcoordinatesasthestartpointofthescan. TheBoundaryPlaneisoftenusedtodeterminewhentostopascanby indicatingamaximumnumberoftimesthescanmaycrosstheboundary plane. BoundaryPlaneVector:TheBoundaryPlaneVectorisdeterminedinitiallyby thedirectionfromthestartpointofascantothedirectionpointofthescan. BoundaryPoints:Thesearesamplepointswhichwilldeterminethelimitsofthe areatobecontainedwithinascannedlineorsurface. BoxSelecting:BoxselectingisafunctionwithintheGraphicDisplayareathat allowsyoutodrawaboxwiththemousearoundagroupoffeatures, highlightingthosefeaturesinaFeatureIDlistbox. BoxTolerancing:AvariationofBoxSelecting.BoxTolerancingcanbe performedwithanopenDimensiondialogwindowandBoxSelectinga groupofmeasuredfeatures.ThetoleranceoptionsintheDimension Dialogboxcanthenbeusedtoapplythesametolerancestoallofthe featuresthatareselected. Branching:Branchingisthepath(nottheprobepathbutthelogicalpathorflow thatanexecutingpartprogramtakes)followedduringexecutionofapart programwhichmaybevariableasaresultofsomelogicalstatement, suchasIF,ELSEIF,ELSE,DO,andWHILE,thatcausesthepartprogram toexecutedifferentlydependingonthevalueofsomeinputorvariable thatiscomputedormeasuredinthepartprogram.

C
CADCoordinates:Theposition,expressedasX,Y,andZvalues,ofafeaturein aCADfile. CADfile:ACADfileisagraphicalimagefilecreatedusingComputerAided Draftingwhichcontainsinformationaboutapartorpartsandtheir features'dimensions,orientations,andsizes.Thesefilesareusually savedinoneofthefollowingformats:IGES,DFX,DES,STEP,and XZYIJK. CalWrist:AbbreviationforCalibrateWrist.Usedtocalculatetheprobehead offsetsforeachwristpositionthatisused. CalculateBoundary:AbbreviationforCalculateBoundaryPoints.Usedwith PerimeterScanstodeterminethelimitsoftravelduringthescanning operation. Calibration:ThisprocesssimplytellsPCDMISthelocationanddiameterofthe probetip.Itisalsoreferredtoas"qualification".
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual Glossary 1745

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

CalibrationTool:ACalibrationToolisacalibratedartifactusedtoqualifya probetip.Itisnormallyaprecisiontoolingball.Itisalsoknownasa "QualificationTool". Capability:Thisisacalculatednumberbasedonmeasureddataandthe tolerances(USLandLSL).Ittellsyouhowwellaprocesscanproduce partswithrespecttothespecifiedtolerances. CapabilityinEquationForm:Itistheminimumbetween:(USL XBarBar)/(3*sigma)and:(XBarBarLSL)/(3*sigma).WhereXBarBaris themeanofthesubgroup'smeansforthedatainconsideration.Inorder fortheprocesstobelabeledas"capable",thecalculatedcapability(above equation)mustbegreaterthantheuserenteredcapabilitythreshold.Ifa processisnotcapableitisconsidered"incapable". CapabilityThreshold:Thisisthenumberbywhichtheprocess'scapabilityis determined.Thecapabilityandthecapabilitythresholdaretwodifferent values. CarBodyAlignment:MostCarBody(andAircraft)alignmentshavea coordinatesystem thatisoffinspace.Inthecaseofacar,itisusually downinthelowercenterofthecar,undertheinstrumentpanel. Dimensioningoffeaturestakesplacefromthatpoint. CD:CollisionDetection. Centroid:Thecentermostpointofafeature. CharacteristicPoint:ThisisameasurementusedbytheNC100videoprobe thatisessentiallyanAnglePointmeasurement.Ithastwomeasurement types.1)Measuresapointattheintersectionoftwosurfaces(this measurementtypeismostlikeananglepoint).2)Measurestwopoints, oneoneachsurfaceataspecifieddistancefromtheintersection. Child:A'child'isacommandthatisdependentuponanothercommandinorder tofunction. CircMove:CircularMove. ClearP:AnabbreviationforClearancePlane.Itisalsoacommandenteredinthe Editwindowtodefinetheplanetheprobemustcleartoavoidcollisionwith thepart. Cmk:Machinecapabilityprocess.Thisvalueisusedtodeterminehowwella givenprocesscanmatchthespecificationlimitsfortheprocess. CMM:CoordinateMeasuringMachine. CollisionTolerance:IndicatesameasurablevaluefromthesurfaceoftheCAD data.Itisdesignedtoalertyoutoanycollisionsbetweentheprobeand part. Columnlocator:Anothertermfor"Gripper".

1746 Glossary

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Columnpassinglane:Thecolumnpassinglaneisasmallcorridorbehindthe usablefixturevolumewherecolumnsaremovedfromonearmtothe otherandpulledfromtherackforplacementonthemachinetable. Comm:Communicationsport. ContinuousContactScanning:AContinuousContactScancanbeperformed onlywhenusingeitherananalogprobe,hardprobe,orsomelaserprobes andopticalprobes.Inthistypeofscantheprobetipisbroughtincontact withthesurfaceofapartandmovedinalinearfashionwithoutleavingthe surfaceofthepartuntilthescanoraportionofthescaniscomplete. Controller:EveryCMMhasacontroller.Thecontrollerdrivestheservosto movethemachine,readsthescalestokeeptrackoftheposition, interfacestotheactualprobe,etc.AgivenCMM(ormachine)cananyone ofseveraldifferenttypesofcontrollers. CoordinateSystem:AcoordinatesystemconsistsofanoriginandX,Y,andZ axes. Coplanar:Coplanarmeansthatfeaturesresideinthesameplane. Cpk:Processcapabilityindex.Thisvalueisusedtodeterminehowwellagiven processcanmatchthespecificationlimitsfortheprocess. CTE:CoefficientofThermalExpansion CutPlane:TheCutPlaneisatheoreticalplanewhichiscreatedperpendicularto theCutPlaneVectorwiththesameXYZcoordinatesasthestartpointof thescan.TheCutPlaneisusedtoenableascantobecreatedwithall pointsbeingatthesamelevelrelativetotheCutPlaneVector. CutPlaneVector:Thecutplanevectoristhecrossproductoftheinitialtouch vectorandthelinebetweenthestartandendboundarypointsonscans.If thereisnoendpoint,thenthelinebetweenthestartanddirectionpointis used. CutVec(CutVector):SeeCutPlaneVector.

D
DataPage:DataPage(tm)isastatisticalprocessingsoftwarepackagewhichlinks seamlesslywithPCDMIS. Datum:Adatumisan"imaginary"and"perfect"userdefinedfeatureusedasa referencepointfromwhichtomeasureotherfeaturesonapart. DatumReferenceFrame:Adatumreferenceframeisanalignmentcreated fromthecurrentsetofdatums.ItisdefinedbytheorderofyourA,B,C, etc.datums. DCC:DirectComputerControl.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Glossary 1747

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

DCCMode:ThismodeputstheCoordinateMeasuringMachineintoDirect ComputerControl(orDCC).Withthismodeturnedon,thecomputerisin controlofmanyCMMfunctions. DD:DiameterofDatum. Delimiter:Theverb,todelimit,simplymeanstoseparatepiecesofinformation. Adelimiterthenisasymbolthatseparatesdistinctpiecesofinformation. InwrittenEnglishforexample,theperiod,questionmark,andexclamation markaredelimitersthatdelimit(orseparate)thesentences. Delta:Usedtoindicateanoptionwherechangeoranamountofchangeis expectedtooccur. Dependentcurve:ADependentcurveisdependentonthefeaturesetitwas createdfrom.Thismeansifthefeaturesetischangedlateron,thenthe constructedcurvemayalsochange. Dependentsurface:ADependentsurfaceisdependentonthefeaturesetitwas createdfrom.Thismeansifthefeaturesetischangedlateron,thenthe constructedsurfacemayalsochange. Depth:Thisdefinesthedistancebelowthesurfaceofapartwherethe measurementwillbetaken. DES:IfimportingaDESfiletype,thisstandsfor"DataExchangeStandard".If workingwithstatisticaldatabases,DESstandsfor"DataEvaluation System". DF:DiameterofFeature. Diameter:Themaximumchordlengthofacircle,cylinder,orsphere.Inthecase ofPCDMIS,thechordlengthwillbeappliedtoabestfitfeatureunless specifiedotherwise.Imaginearoundfeaturewithalinepassingthrough thecenterofit.Thelengthofthissegmentisreferredtoasthediameter.It issometimesreferredtoasthethicknessorwidthofthefeature. DIMS:DimensionalInspectionMeasurementSystemfileformat.Thisisthe formatofthePCDMISpartprogramfiles. DirectionPoint:TheDirectionPointofascansetsthedirectionofthescan.The scanwillcontinuefromtheStartPointheadinginthedirectionofthe DirectionPointuntilitreachestheEndPoint. DiskTip:Tipshapedasasmalldisk. DRO:DigitalReadOut. DXF:DrawingInterchangeFile.

E
Element:Anelementissimplyanothernameforafeature. ELM1:ThisabbreviationstandsforElement1.

1748 Glossary

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ELM2:ThisabbreviationstandsforElement2. ELOGO.DAT:ThisdatafileisusedtoformattheEditReport'sfooter.Itisonly usedontheverylastpageoftheEditReport. Endofram:ThistermreferstotheXYZcoordinatesattheendofthearm(or ram)only,notfiguringintheXYZcoordinatesoftheprobetip. EndAng:EndingAngle. Endeffector:Anartifactthatisplacedagainsttheparttoholditstationaryinat leastoneaxis.Typicallythisisaspherewithadefineddiameter.Spheres areusedbecausetheywillonlycontactthepartatasinglelocation.Other typesofendeffectorscanbepins(formatingholes),cylindersforlocating edges,andspecialtypiecesspecificallytailoredtothepartbeingfixtured. EndPoint:ThisistheEndingPointofascan.Whenthescanexecutionreaches thispointitstops. EndTouchVector:Thecompensationvectorforthelastpointofascan. EndVec(EndVector):SeeEndTouchVector. ErrorMap:AllCMMsareconstructedwithinherentinaccuracies.After construction,mostCMMmanufacturerslaserverifytheirmachinesto recordtheseinaccuracies.Theseerrorsarethenstoredelectronicallyina computerfile(calledabcomp.dat)whichcanbeaccessedbyPCDMISto enhancetheaccuracyoftheCMM.Inessence,thecomputerfileisan ErrorMapoftheCMM.SeeVolumetricCompensation. Export:TheprocessofconvertingthedrawinginformationcontainedinaPC DMISpartprogramtoaCADstandardoutputfilesuchasIGES. Expression:AnexpressionisauserdefinedconditionusedwithPCDMIS'S flowcontrolcommands.Iftheconditionismetornot,youcandetermine whatactionPCDMIStakes. Extrude:Whenaprobeismovedfromonelocationtoanother,geometric volumeiscreatedthroughthemove.Theterm"extrude"isusedtodefine thevolumeofspacethataprobewillbeinasitmovesfromonepointto thenext.Thevolumeisthencheckedforcollisionwiththepartortable.

F
FaroArm:ThisreferstothearticulatingarmCMMproducedbyFaro Technologies,Inc. FeatureHeight:Thedistancefromthebasetothetop(center)ofthefeature. FeatureLength:Themeasuredvaluealongitsgreatestdimension. FeaturePointer:AFeaturePointerisavariabletypethatworksdirectlywithan existingfeature,providingdirectaccesstothatfeature.Forexample,the statementASSIGN/V1=CIR1wouldcreateafeaturepointertothe
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual Glossary 1749

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

featureCIR1andassignittovariableV1.V1couldthenbeusedtoaccess CIR1.CIR1.Xwouldaccessthemeasuredxcomponentofthecentroidof CIR1. FeatureSet:AFeatureSetisacollectionofpreviouslymeasuredorcreated elementsintooneconstructedelement.TheitemsmakinguptheFeature Setdonotnecessarilyhavetobeofthesamefeaturetype. FeatureWidth:Themeasurementofafeaturefromsidetoside.Themeasured valuealongafeature'sshortestdimension. FILEI/O:ThismenuoptionstandsforFileInput/Output.DatacanbeInput (written)toorOutput(read)fromthesefiles. FindNoms:FindNominalValues.Whenthisoptionisselectedfromthe Nominalsoptionofascandialog,PCDMISwillpiercetheclosestselected CADsurfaceinanattempttogatherthetheoreticalCADdataforeach scanneddatapoint.Thisinformationwillthenbeusedtocalculatethe deviationofeachpoint. FixedDelta:Anoptionformanualscanningwithahardprobewheredatapoints willonlybegatheredatspecific,or'fixed,'incrementsbetweeneachother. Fixedprobe:Afixedprobeissynonymouswitha"hardprobe".Itisaprobethat doesn'tuseatouchtrigger. Flatfeaturetype:Flatfeaturetypesareplanarfeatures.SeeFlatfeatures. Flatfeatures:Flatfeaturesaredefinedaspoints,planes,andlines.SeeFlat featuretype. FlatGuess:Thisisamodeofoperationutilizedwhenusingahardprobetoset orderofprecedenceforthesoftwaretoguessthetypeoffeaturebeing measured.FlatGuesswillattempttosolveforaplanebeforeacircle, cylinder,cone,orsphere.SeealsoRoundGuessandGuessMode. Floatingtoolbar:Afloatingtoolbarisatoolbarthatisabletobemovedoutofits setpositionandallowedto"float"atadesiredlocationonthescreen. FlowControl:Thisreferstooptionswithinthesoftwarethatallowyoutocontrol thedirectionofthepartprogram. FlyMode:ThisisanoptionreferringtohowPCDMISwillmovetheprobe aroundthepartduringthemeasurementprocess.Tobeutilized,theCMM musthaveaDCCcontrollercapableofFlyModeoperation. FOV:FieldofVision.Thisreferstowhatyoucanseethroughtheeyeofa camera,anintegralportionofvideoprobes.

G
Gap&Flush:GAP=Distance(inthesameplane)betweentwomatingsheet metalparts.FLUSH=Heightdifferencebetweentwomatingsheetmetal parts.Forexample,ifyou'relookingatatopviewofanautomobile,the

1750 Glossary

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

distancebetweenacar'sfenderandhoodisthegap(distancebetween thetwopartsinoneplane).Ifyoulookatasideviewofthecartheflush forthefenderandthehoodwouldbetheheightdifference. GaussianFilter:See95%Confidencefactor. GD&T:GeometricDimensioningandTolerancing.Thisisastandardized, internationallanguagethatusesarecognizedsymbologytocommunicate apart'sdesignspecifications. Geometries:Geometriesarefeaturesorgeometricalshapessuchaslines, circles,etc. Gripper:Thisdevice,usedwithflexiblefixturing,isplacedontheendoftheram. It"grips"(orholds)columnsinordertoeitherremovethemfromtheirrack andpositionthemontheworktable,orremovethemfromtheworktable andplacethembackintheirrack.Thegripperalsousesairinjectors (muchlikeairhockey)toliftthecolumnoffoftheworktable. GuessMode: Whenafixedprobeisused,PCDMIScan'tdeterminethetypeof featurethatisbeingmeasured.Guessmodeallowsyoutoindicate whetherthefeatureisflatorroundreducingthepossibilityofanincorrect guess.

H
Hardprobe:Ahardprobeisaprobewithoutatouchtriggerorremovablestylus. HEADER.DAT:Thisdatafileisusedtoprovideformattinginformationforthe EditReport'sheaders.Thisincludesallthepagesafterthefirstpage. HighPointFeature:AHighPointFeatureisthetypeoffeaturecreatedwhen usingtheHighPointoptionofAutoFeatures.(Fromthemainmenu AccesstheAutoFeaturesdialogboxandthenselecttheHighPointtab) TheHighPointisthepointalongaspecificvectorthroughasurfacewhich hasnootherpointatahigherdistancealongthatvectorwhencompared tothecentroidofthesurface. Hit:Contactingthestylustipwiththepart.Alsoknownasprobing. HitBuffer:Thehitbufferstoresprobehitsbeforeyoucreateafeaturefrom thosehits.ThestoredhitscanbedeletedbypressingtheALTand'' (minus)keycombination. HitRetract:Thisnumberisauserspecifieddistancewhichtellstheprobeat whatpointtospeedupagain,afterretractingfromaprobehitonapart. Homeposition:ThisXYZpositionisthe0,0,0machinelocationthattheprobe movestoeachtimethemachineispoweredonoroff.

I
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual Glossary 1751

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

I/Ochannels:Anumbereddeviceinthecontrollerthatallowsyoutosetthe stateto1or0.Compatibledevicescanthenbeconnectedtoeach channel.Onecommonexampleistoconnectonechanneltoanairsupply foranexternaldevice.Settingthechannelto1turnsontheairandsetting itto0turnsitoff. ID:IdentificationorIdentity.AlsoLabelorFeatureName. IGES:InternationalGraphicsExchangeSpecificationfileformat. Import:TheprocessofretrievingaCADfilefromadatabaseandprocessingit intothePCDMISpartprogram. Indent:Avaluesetinfromtheedgeofthefeature(tothepointlocation). Independentcurve:AnIndependentcurvenolongerdependsonthefeatureset thatwasusedtocreateit.Ifthefeaturesetchanges,theindependent curvewillnotchange. Independentsurface:AnIndependentsurfacenolongerdependsonthe featuresetthatwasusedtocreateit.Ifthefeaturesetchanges,the independentsurfacewillnotchange. Indexable:Theabilityoftheprobewristtobepositionedatcertainpredefined (indexed)angles.Thesepositionsaremechanicallysetatregular incrementsonindexingprobeheads.Theseindexescanvaryfrom15to lessthe0.1.Whenawristisindexableitmeansthatithasthecapabilityof beingmovedtodifferentpositionswithintheincrementsavailableonthat specificwrist. Indirection:Thevalueofthevariablepointedtobythegivenvariable. InitSampleHits:Theinitialsamplehitsaretakenwhenlearningaparticular feature.Samplehitsareusedtodeterminethesurfacevectorintowhich themeasuredfeatureprojects. InitialTouchVector:Thecompensationvectorforthestartpointofascan. InitVec(InitialVector):SeeInitialTouchVector. INTOF:Intersectionofthegivenfeature. IterativeAlignment:Thisalignmenttakesanumberofpointswhich approximatestheideal(ornominal).Fromthepoints,amathematical computationrepeatedlyadjustsortriestoapproximatethealignmentto thenominal.Inasense,itdoesa"bestfit"computationwiththepoints.

K
KinematicMount:Akinematicmountreferstoasetofusually3precision toolingballs,receiversfortheballs,andafasteningdevicewhichisused toprovideahighlyrepeatableconnectionpointforstyli,probes,orprobe heads.Kinematicmountsarefrequentlyfoundondeviceswhichmay employanautomaticchangerandwillprecludetheneedforrequalification.

1752 Glossary

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Knot:Aknotisapartofthemathematicaldefinitionofaspline.Theyare associatedwiththecontrolpointsofasplineandhelptodefinetheshape ofthespline.

L
LearnMode:ThistermisusedtodescribethestateofPCDMISwhencreating orappendingtoapartprogram'sinstructionsintheEditwindow. Learning:Thistermisoftenusedtodescribetheprocessofcreatinginstructions whichappearinthePCDMISEditwindow.Thiscanbedonethrough typingintheactualentries,selectingmenucommandfromthemenubars, orbytouchingmeasurementpointsonaphysicalpartwiththeCMMand pressingthejogbox'sDONEbuttonorthekeyboard'sENDkey. LEVEL3+:Thismeansthatthreeormorefeaturesareneededtoperformthe Levelcommandforaniterativealignment. LEVELset:ThisisthesetoffeaturesneededtoperformtheLevelcommandfor aniterativealignment.SeeLEVEL3+. LineDistance:Thelengthofalinesegmentbetweentwofeatures. Literals:Operandswhosesymbolsliterallydescribetheirvalue."3"isaliteralof typeinteger."3"meansthenumberthree.Itnevermeans"4"or"2".A variable,suchas"V1"doesnotliterallydenoteitsvalue,ratheritisalabel orholdingplaceforavalue."V1"couldholdavalueof"2","3",or"4"or anyothernumberofobjecttype.Literalsoftenhaveveryspecificfunctions andmeaningsandattimescanbeusedinplaceofarguments.Seealso "StringLiterals". LKsystems:LKsystemsareCMMsorCMMcontrollersproducedbyLK,as opposedtoSHARPEmodels. LMC:LeastMaterialCondition. Logo.dat:Thisdatafilecontainsinformationthatformatsadocumentheaderfor thefirstpageoftheEditReport.Itmaycontaininformationsuchasdate, time,etc. Looping:Theactofrepeatinganyportionofthepartprogramapredetermined numberoftimes.

M
MachineCapability:Thisisthesameastheprocesscapability(seeCapability Threshold),exceptstandarddeviationiscalculatedinadifferentway.It thiscasestandarddeviationiscalculatedbasedontheindividualdata,not subgroupdata.Thisisessentiallytheonlydifference.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Glossary 1753

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MachineCoordinates:Theposition,expressedasX,Y,andZvalues,ofa featureorobjectwithinthemeasurementvolumeofaCMMwithrespectto themachine'szeroreferenceposition. ManualProbingPoint:Thisreferstothefactthattheoperatormanuallymoves themachinewhentakingthehitratherthanthemachinemovingitselfin DCCmode. MarkSet:Thishighlightsagroupoffeaturesthatwillbemeasuredwhenthepart programisexecuted. MarkUsed:TheMarkUsedfunction(selectedfromtheProbeUtilitiesdialogbox) willscanaPCDMISpartprogramandmarkorhighlighttheprobeangles thatareusedorreferencedbythepartprogram.Thiswillthenallowan operatortoeasilydeterminewhichprobeanglesortipsneedtobe qualified. MasterArmMode:Thismodeallowsonearm,designatedbytheuserasthe "Master",onamultiarmCMM,totakeprecedenceoveranotherarm, designatedas"Slave",inordertoavoidcollisionofthearms.Thisisalso knownasMaster/Slavemode. MaterialThickness:MaterialThicknessisapropertywhichcanbeassociatedto CADfiles.Manytimes,especiallyonpartsconstructedofsheetmetal,a CADfilewillrepresentonlyonesideofthematerial.Therefore,inorderto accuratelymeasureanddimensionontheoppositesideofthepart,a correctionthicknessmustbeapplied. MDI:MultiDocumentInterface.Thisisaprogramoruserinterfacethatallows morethanonefileopenatatime(PCDMISforexampleallowsyouto havemorethanonepartprogramopenatatime,makingitanMDI application). MeasurementVolume:Themeasurementvolumeistheareainthemachine thatcanactuallybeusedformeasurement.Althoughthemachine dimensionsmaybelarge,theactualspacethatisavailabletousefor measurementcanbemuchsmaller.Themeasurementvolumecan increaseordecreasedependingontheprobeconfiguration(typeofwrist, probebody&stylus)beingused. MetaCharacter:Ametacharacterisacharacterthatactsasawildcardfor anotheralphanumericcharacterorcharacters.Therearetwometa charactersavailableinPCDMIS:theAsterisk(*)metacharacterandthe Questionmark(?)metacharacter. Microns:Amicronisaunitofmeasurement,onemillionthofameter. MinusLowertolerances:GivesaplustoleranceintheMinusTolerancefield. (i.e.1.000+.003/+.001). MMC:MaximumMaterialCondition. MMIV:ThisstandsfortheMicroMeasureIV(tm)measurementsoftwarepackage.

1754 Glossary

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Modelspace:Thisisthe3Dcoordinatespacetowhichsurfaceandcurve geometryismapped. Modes:ModesaredifferentprogramstatesavailabletoPCDMIS.Eachmode offersspecificfunctions.ThemodesavailabletoPCDMISinclude: ProgramMode,TranslateMode,DCCMode,ManualMode,andTextBox Mode. Mountpoint:AdefinedXYZlocationusedduringcertainfixtureandprobe changeroperations. MovementRange:Theactualspace(volumeorarea)thatcanbeusedona machineformeasurement.ItisalsoknownasMeasurementVolume. MovingAverage:Thisistheaveragevalueofasetofdatapointsthatmoves overtime.Example:Givenasubgroupsizeof3(thenumberofdatapoints usedincalculatingamovingaverage)andthefollowingsetofdata: [1,2,3,4,3,4,5,4,3,2,3]thefirstmovingaverageiscalculatedfromthefirst threepoints:[1,2,3].Itsvalueis2.Thesecondmovingaverageis calculatedbymovingoveronesteptotherightwithinthedata,givingthe followingdata:[2,3,4].Itsvalueis3.Thenext3pointsare:[3,4,3].Its averageis3.33.Thenext3are:[4,3,4].Thisisdoneuptotheendofthe data.

N
Nestedsubroutines:Thesearesubroutineswhicharecalledfrom(ornested within)anothersubroutine. Newtons:A"newton"isaunitofforce.Onenewtonistheforceneededto accelerateamassof1kilogramtoaspeedof1meterpersecondper second. NormalTo:Thephrase"normalto"acertainfeatureorgeometricalelement, simplymeans"perpendicularto"orata90angletosomeotherfeature. Notch:Afeaturetypewhichissimilartoonehalfofasquareendedslot. NumHits:See#Hits. NumRows:See#Rows.

O
ODBC:OpenDatabaseConnectivity OffsetFeature:PCDMISallowsthreetypesofOffsetFeatures,OffsetPoints, OffsetLinesandOffsetPlanes.AnOffsetFeatureisonconstructedoneor moreotherfeatures.EachfeaturecomprisingtheOffsetFeaturemaythen haveanoffsetorcorrectionvalueassociatedwithit.Thereby,each featurecontainedintheoffsetfeaturemayormaynotactuallycoincide withthenewconstructedfeature.
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual Glossary 1755

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

OLE:ThisstandsforObjectLinkingandEmbedding. OnError:OnErrorisafunctionofsomeCMMcontrollerswhereifanelectronic probecontactsordoesn'tcontactapartunexpectedly,thePCDMISpart programwillbranchtoaseparatesetofinstructionstobeexecuted.This functionmaybecalledfromthemainmenubyselectingtheOnError menuitem. OpenGL:OpenGraphicsLibrary.Thisreferstoalibraryofgraphicroutines usedtoaidinthedisplayofgraphicalinformation. Operand:Thepartofanequationthatisbeingoperatedonbyanoperator.In theequation"2+3",thenumbers2and3areoperandsandtheplussign (+)istheoperator. OpticalProbe:AnOpticalprobeisaprobethatusesopticstodetermineits location.Forexample,alaserprobewouldbeconsideredanOptical Probe. ORIGINset:ThisisthesetoffeaturesneededtoperformtheSetOrigin commandforaniterativealignment.SeeSETORIGIN1. Outliers:Outliersare"wildpoints"andusuallyresultfromglitchesinthe measuringprocessratherthanrepresentingactualmaterial.Youmayfind itusefultoidentifyandignoresuchpoints.

P
PA:ThisabbreviationstandsforPolarAngle.AlsoseenasPANG.ThePolar AngleisusedincylindricalcoordinatesandisusedwithPolarRadius.See PR. Pang:ThisabbreviationstandsforPolarAngle.AlsoseenasPA.ThePolar AngleisusedincylindricalcoordinatesandisusedwithPolarRadius.See Prad. Parameterspace:Thisisthe2Dcoordinatespaceofasurface'sparametric domain.Forexample,onecornerofasurfaceisdefinedatparameter position(0,0)andtheoppositecornerisat(1,1).Varyingthisparameter betweenthesetwopositionsdefinestheentiresurface.Giventhe geometricdefinitionofsurface,aparameterspacepositioncanbe mappedtoamodelspacepoint. Parent:A'parent'isacommand(orinformationfromacommand)usedin anothercommand. PartCoordinates:Theposition,expressedasX,Y,andZvalues,ofafeature onaphysicalpartwithrespecttoanoriginlocation. PartProgram:Thepartprogramisthetextualdescriptionofhowtomeasureor inspectanobject.Eachpartprogramhasauniquenamewitha.prg extension.ThepartprogramiscreatedbytheCMMoperator.Thepart programcanbe,butisnotalways,associatedwithaCADmodel.Ifitis

1756 Glossary

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

associatedwithaCADmodel,theCADfilewillhavethesamefilename asthepartprogramwitha.CADextension. Perm:Abbreviationforpermanent.SeePermSampleHits. PermSampleHits:Thenumberofsamplehitswhichwillbeusedinmeasuring aparticularfeatureduringexecutionofapartprogram. PH9:ThisisthemodelnumberofaparticularRenishawprobehead.The abbreviationstandsforProbeHead9.Thistermisalsousedtorefer genericallytoarticulatingmotorizedwristtypeprobeheads. PiercePoint:AnintersectionpointfoundonaCADsurfaceusingthemeasured hitcoordinatesandapproachvector.Itisequivalenttoaraythatusesthe approachvectorandstartsfromthehit'sXYZlocationandthen,usingthe approachvector,piercesthesurfaceatanappropriatepoint. Pins:Pinsareremovablefeaturesthatstickoutofapart(asopposedtoholes whichgointothepart).Pinsaresimilarto"studs". Pitch:Pitchisthedistancemovedalongtheaxisofthefeatureinonerevolution. PlaneVec(PlaneVector):SeeBoundaryPlaneVector. PNTTOL:ThisabbreviationforvectorpointtoleranceisusedintheEditwindow (asPNTTOL=n)tospecifythevectorpointtoleranceformanualtouches inaniterativealignment. PointtoPointDigitizing:PointtoPointDigitizingisaprocessofgatheringthe dataaboutthesurfaceofapartforreverseengineeringpurposes.Datais gatheredbyscanningthepartwithamachineandsoftwarecapableof generatingdiscretemeasurementpoints.Onceasufficientnumberof pointsaregathered,theyaretakenasagroupandprocessedtogenerate theelectronicsurfacesofapartwhichcanbeusedbyCADsoftwareto completeadesign. POLAR:ReferstoaPolar(alsoseenintheEditwindowasPOLR)coordinate systemcontainingUandVcoordinates.Urepresentsthepolarradiusand Vrepresentsthepolarangleorvector. POLR:AnabbreviationforPolar. Polyline:Incomputergraphics,apolylineisacontinuouslinemadeupofoneor morelinesegments.Apolylineissometimestreatedasasingleobject,or itmaybedividedintoitscomponentsegments. Potentiometers:Theseareinstrumentsthatmeasureelectromotiveforces. PPAP:PPAP(ProductionPartApprovalProcess)definesrequirementsfor productionpartapproval. PR:StandsforPolarRadius.AlsoseenasPrad.ThePolarRadiusisusedin cylindricalcoordinateswithPolarAngle.SeePA. Prad:StandsforPolarRadius.AlsoseenasPR.ThePolarRadiusisusedin cylindricalcoordinateswithPolarAngle.SeePA.
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual Glossary 1757

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

PreHit:Thisisnumberwhichdeterminesatwhatdistanceaprobewillreduce speedswhileapproachingaparttotakeahit. Precedence:Precedenceinalgebraicexpressionsorassignmentoperations referstotheorderinwhichoperationsoccur.Forexample,multiplication hasahigherprecedencethanadditiontherefore,theexpression"2+3X 6"evaluatesto20since2isaddedtotheresultof3X6.Notfollowing precedencemightresultintheerrantresultof30. Probe:ThesensingunitthatisattachedeithertotheRamoftheCMMorthe indexablewrist.Theproberequiresastylusbemountedtoitinorderto gathermeasurementdata(exceptinthecaseofahardprobe). ProbeChanger:ArackplacedinthemeasurementvolumeoftheCMM.The probechangersecuresmultipleprobetypesforuseinasinglepart program.TheCMMcanswitchbetweenprobetypeswithouttheneedfor operatorassistance. ProbeDepth:TheProbeDepthisthelocationoftheprobealongtheZaxis, normaltotheCMM'stable. ProbeExtension:AProbeextensionisacylindricalpiecethatisinserted betweentheprobeheadandtheprobeitself. ProbeShanking:Thisistheaccidentalcontactoftheprobe'sshankwiththe partorafeatureonthepart. ProbingCycle:Thisisthecycleofoperationananalogprobe/controllergoes throughtotakeapoint. PROE:ProEngineerCADfileformat. Profile:"Aprofileistheoutlineofanobjectinagivenplane(twodimensional figure).Profilesareformedbyprojectingathreedimensionalfigureontoa planeorbytakingcrosssectionsthroughthefigure."ASMEY14.5M1994 DimensioningandTolerancing.OftenonCADdrawings,whenyoulookat asurfaceindifferentviews,itwon'tlooklikeasurface,butacurve,line,or acollectionofindividualpoints.Thesearetheresultofthisprojectionofa threedimensionalfigureontoaplaneorbytakingcrosssectionsthrough thefigure. ProfileError:Thisisthedeviationoftheactualormeasuredprofilefromthe theoreticalornominalprofile Programmode:ThismodeallowsyoutocreateyourpartprogramintheEdit window.ItalsoshowstheimageoftheprobeintheGraphicalDisplay window. Pt:AbbreviationforPoint.

Q
QualificationTools:SeeCalibrationTool.

1758 Glossary

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Qualify:Toqualifyalsomeanstocalibrate,ordeterminetheposition(ofaprobe tip,forexample). QuestionMark(?)MetaCharacter:Thequestionmarkmetacharacter(?)acts inthesamewayastheasterisk(*),exceptthatthequestionmarkmeta characterwillmatchonly1alphanumericcharacter.

R
Ram:Thisreferstotheendofthearmtowhichtheprobeisattached.Ona horizontalmachine,theRamisthehorizontalbeamonthemachineand usuallymovesintheXorYaxisofthemachine.Onaverticalmachine (commonlycalleda"bridge"machine)theramismountedverticallyand movesintheZaxisofthemachine. ReadPOS:ReadPosition.ThisfunctionwillgetthecurrentXYZcoordinates fromtheCMMcontroller. RECT:Rectangular.Usedwherethereferencedcoordinatedsystemshouldbe expressedinrectangular(XY)orCartesian(XYZ)form. References:Anexpressionsyntaxthatreferstothevalueofdata.Allofthe syntaxusedtoaccessdifferentdataelementsofthepartprogram. "CIR1.X"isareferencetothemeasuredxvalueofthecentroidofthe featurecalledCIR1."LINE.LENGTH"isareferencetothelengthofLINE. "C1.INPUT"isareferencetotheinputofthecommentnamedC1. RelearnMode:Thisisascanoptionforexecutionofascan.IftheExecute optionisselectedtoRELEARN,theneverytimeascanisreexecutedthe compensationvectorsforeachscanpointarerecalculated. RFS:RegardlessofFeatureSize. RLE:RLEstandsforRunLengthEncodingandisawayofcompressingbitmap files. Rmeas:RelativeMeasurement.Canbeusedtocreateanewautofeatureat coordinateswhicharederivedfromtheactualmeasuredcoordinatesofa previouslymeasuredfeature. ROI:ThisisacomputerizedboxdisplayedonthecomputerscreenfortheNC 100videoprobe.Measurementofthefeaturemustbewithinthebox. ROTATE2+:Thismeansthattwoormorefeaturesareneededtoperformthe Rotatecommandforaniterativealignment. ROTATEset:ThisisthesetoffeaturesneededtoperformtheRotatecommand inaniterativealignment.SeeROTATE2+. Roundfeaturetype:Aroundfeaturetypeisacircularorcurvedfeature.See Roundfeatures. Roundfeatures:Roundfeaturesaredefinedascircles,spheres,cones,and cylinders.SeeRoundfeaturetype.
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual Glossary 1759

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

RoundGuess:Thisisamodeofoperationutilizedwhenusingahardprobeto setorderofprecedenceforthesoftwaretoguessthetypeoffeaturebeing measured.RoundGuesswillattempttoSolveforacircle,cylinder,cone, orspherebeforeaplane.SeealsoGuessMode. RTF:RichTextFile.

S
ScanPointDensity:TheScanPointdensitydeterminesthenumberofhitsthat theCMMreturnsforeachmillimeter. Scripting:SeeBasicScripting. Sectionlines:SectionLinesareCADentitiesthatcanbesuperimposedona CADdrawing.Thoughtheycontainnodimensionalordrawinginformation, theycanbereferencedbyaSectionscantoprovidealinearscanacross oneparticularsectionofapart.Thesearereferencelinesusedby engineerswhenspecifyinglocationsofpartfeatures. SETORIGIN1:ThismeansthatonefeatureisneededtoperformtheSet Origincommandforaniterativealignment. Shank:Thisistheshaftportionofthestylusthatextendsfromthemeasuringtip tothestylusmountingjoint.Inthecaseofashanktip,thereisno precisiontip(seeshanktip).Theshaftwhichsupportsthequalificationtool isalsoreferredtoasashank. ShankQual:ShankQualificationisutilizedwithsheetmetalstylitoprovidethe axisdirectionoftheshankaswellasthecenterpointofthesphericaltip end. ShankTip:Tipshapedlikeastraightshaft. Shanking:Atermusedwhentheprobeistriggeredbycontactingthepartwith theshankofthestylusasopposedtothetipofthestylus.Whenthis occurs,erroneousdataisgathered. SheetBodies:ThisisUnigraphic'smodelingengine'sterminologyforsurfaces. SheetmetalStylus:Asheetmetalstylusisdesignedformeasuringverythinpart. Thesheetmetalstyluswillhavesemisphericalballonitsendwithashort sectionofshankwhichiscoaxialandconcentrictothecenteroftheball. SheetmetalThickness:SeeMaterialThickness. SHSP:StylusHolderSettingPiece Sigma:TheGreekletteroftenusedtorepresentstandarddeviation. SNSDEF:ThisstatementisaDMISmajorwordusedtodefinedsensorsinthe DMISlanguage. SoftProbing:SoftProbing(orSFT)isLeitzterminologyforafrequentlyused probingmodeusedtomeasuresoftmaterials.

1760 Glossary

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

SolidBodies:ThisUnigraphic'smodelingengine'sterminologyforsolids. Spacer:Auserdefinedvalueindicatingtheoffsetdistancebetweentheedgeof afeatureandasamplepoint. SPC:ThisstandsforStatisticalProcessControl.InPCDMISSPCchartscanbe createdandupdatedfromadefineddatabase. Spline:Asplineisaspecifictypeofcurveorsurface.Splinesareusedin modelingbecauseoftheirmathematicalpropertieswhichmakethem easiertouseinawidevarietyofways.Splinescanbeusedinbothcurves andsurfaces. Squareup:"Squareup"meanstoalign(orrotate)thepartintheGraphical Displaywindowuntilthatpartlinesupandisparalleltoanedgeofthe screen. StandardDeviation:Thisistherootmeansquareofthedeviationfromthe mean.Inequationformitis:sqrt((sum((xim)^2))/n1)where:m =the th meanvaluen=thenumberofdatapointsxi=thei datapoint. StartAng:StartingAngle. Startpoint:TheStartPointinascanisthebeginningpointofthescan's execution. StateMode:ThefourstatesofoperationareTranslateMode,2DRotateMode, 3DRotateMode,andProgramMode.Thesefouroptionscanbe individuallyselectedfromPCDMIS'Stoolbaricons. StatisticalOutputFile:Thisfilecontainsprintablestatsforapartprogram. Informationissavedinthefilenamed"xtats11.tmp"usuallyinthe PCDMISdirectoryorthelocationthatyouchosetoinstallPCDMIS. STEPAP203&AP214:STEPstandsforStandardfortheExchangeofProduct ModelData.STEPwasforwardedtotheinternationalcommunityin1988. Itisastandardforthecomputerinterpretablerepresentationand exchangeofproductdata.TheobjectiveofSTEPistoprovideaneutral mediumcapableofdescribingaproductthroughoutitslifecycle. StepMode:StepModeisavariationinexecutionofapartprograminwhichthe CMMwillexecuteonlyoneblockofcommandsatatime.User interventionisrequiredfortheprogramtocontinue.Ineffect,thisis 'stepping'throughthepartprogram. StitchTypeScan:ThisisthetypeofscanningperformedonDCCCMMswhich haveTouchTriggerProbes.Duringthescan,theCMMwillcontactthe part,moveawaytheretractdistance,movetothenextprehitpoint,then moveinandcontactthepart.Thisprocesscontinuestorepeatuntilthe scaniscomplete.ThetermStitchTypecomesfromthisprocesswhichis similartothefunctioningofasewingmachine.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Glossary 1761

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

STL:Stereolithographyformat.AnASCIIorbinaryfileusedinmanufacturing, providesalistofthetriangularfacetsthatdescribeacomputergenerated solidmodel. Studs:Studsarenonremovablefeaturesthatstickoutofapart(asopposedto holeswhichgointothepart).Pinsaresimilarto"studs". Stylus:Alsoreferredtoas"ProbeStylus"isacylindricalshaft(shank)witha highprecisiontip.Thestylusscrewsintotheprobebodyandisusually interchangeablewithotherStyli(pluralforstylus). StylusChanger:Thestyluschangerisarackthatisplacedinthemeasurement volumeoftheCMM.Itholdsmultiplestylitoallowfortheuseofmultiple styliinasinglePartProgram.TheCMMisabletoautomaticallyswitch betweenstyliwithouttheneedforoperatorintervention. StylusExtension:AStylusextensionisacylindricalpiecethatattachestothe probebodyandtothestylus.Itisusedtoextendthelengthofthe measuringtip.Multipleextensionscanbeusedatonetime. Subroutine:Asubroutineisasubprogramwithinthepartprogram.Thesesub programscontaincommandsfromthecurrentfileoranexternalfileand thatareabletobeusedrepeatedly. SurfaceofRevolution:Thisisasurfacewhichmaybegeneratedbyrotatinga curveplaneaboutanaxisinitsplane. SystemCalibration:ThisistheprocessofcheckingtheaccuracyofaCMMand makingadjustmentsmechanicallytotheCMMorelectronicallytothe VolCompfiletoreducetheinaccuracy.

T
TAPERTIP:Tipthathasbeentaperedtoaconicalshapewhichgetssmaller towardtheend. TARG:Thisstandsfortarget.Itisthesizeorlocationinformationatwhichthe CMMwilltrytomeasure. Tessellation:Theactofbreakingupasurfaceintoagroupofpolygonsinorder toshadeagraphicalimage. THEO:Thisstandsfortheoretical.Itisthenominalsizeorlocationinformation. Thread:Theportionofthetipthatisscrewedintoanotherpartisreferencedby thesizeofthread.Thetreadisthecorkscrewedbandthatholdstheparts together. TimeDelta:Thisuserspecifiedvalueisusedtoweedouthitstakenwithmanual scansusingahardprobethatcomeinfasterthanthespecifiedtime increment.Theincrementsareinseconds.

1762 Glossary

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Tip:Thisistheportionofthestylusthatcomesintocontactwiththepartbeing inspected/measured.Stylimayhaveseveraltypesoftips.Thetipcanbea ball,disc,orapointer. TOG:TOGisa"toggle"fieldintheEditwindow.Totogglethroughtheavailable optionswithintheEditwindow,placethecursorovertogglefieldand pressF7. ToolChanger:SeeProbeChanger. TouchTriggerProbe:Thistypeofprobeautomaticallytriggersahitwhenit touchesthepart. TP:TruePosition. TraceField:ThisisatwofieldcommandintheEditwindow.Thefirstfield representsthename,ortitleofthetracefield.Thesecondfieldwilldisplay thecurrentvalueofthetracefield(i.e.,Temperature:75,orShift: afternoon).TraceFieldsareusedintheXSTATS11.TMPfilefordatabase programssuchasDataPage. Translatemode:ThisplacesPCDMISintoaprogramstatewhichallowsyouto movethepartonthescreenaswellaschangethepart'sdisplaysizein theGraphicalDisplaywindow,etc. Trihedron:Agraphicalrepresentationoftheplanesmeetingandformingapoint. Alsotermedatrihedral. TTP:SeeTouchTriggerProbe.

U
UG:UniGraphicsCADfiletype. UPR:ThisstandsforUndulationsPerRevolution.

V
Variable:Anobjectusedtoholdavalue.Avariablehasanameandavalue. Thenameisusedtoaccessthevalueofthevariable.Thenameis constant,thevaluecanbechanged.Forexample,thestatement ASSIGN/V1=2createsavariablewithanameofV1andavalueof2. ASSIGN/V2=V1+2accessesthevalueofV1.IfV1stillhadavalueof2 whenthisassignstatementwasexecuted,V2wouldthenhaveavalueof 4.Avariableisavaluethatreferstointeger,real,stringorpointoperands. VariableDelta:VariableDeltaisatypeofscanthatcanbeaccomplishedonly withahardprobe.DuringaVariableDeltascan,datapointsarereadonly whentherequirementsofaspecificminimumtimeincrementanda minimumdistanceincrementareachieved. VDAF:VDAFstandsforVDASurfaceDataInterfaceformat.VDAFSwas publishedasaGermannationalstandardin1986.Itisusedbythe
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual Glossary 1763

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

GermanMotorManufacturersAssociation(VDA)toexchange3DCAD modeldata. VDAFS:SeeVDAF. ViewID:ViewIDisauserdefinednameforaviewthattheuserhassavedin memory. VolCompFile:The"comp.dat"file.ForaCMMtomeasureaccurately,thisfile mustbelocatedinthePCDMISoperatingdirectoryofthecomputerused tooperateCMM'swhichareVolumetricallyCompensated.SeeVolumetric Compensation(VolComp). VolumetricCompensation(VolComp):VolumetricCompensationisthe processofaccessingaCMM'sErrorMapandapplyingtheerrorasa correctionfactortomeasurementsinordertoenhancetheaccuracyofthe CMM.ThisisaccomplishedautomaticallybyPCDMISonceaCMMhas beenproperlyinitialized.(SeealsoErrorMap.)

W
Weight:Avaluecalculatedfromatoleranceusedwhencalculatingabestfit. Thesmallerthetolerancethelessroomthereisforerror.Asmaller tolerance,then,carriesagreater"weight"orimportanceinabestfit calculation. WildCards: WildCardsaremadeupoftwometacharacters,theasterisk(*) andthequestionmark(?).Theasteriskmetacharacter(*)willmatch,or taketheplace,ofanycharacterorcharactersinasearch.Thequestion markmetacharacter(?)actsinthesamewayastheasterisk(*),except thatthequestionmarkmetacharacterwillmatchonly1alphanumeric character. WireBodies:ThisisUnigraphic'smodelingengine'sterminologyforwireframe features(wire,lines,curves,etc). WorkingPlane:TheActiveandPassThroughPlanesdefinetheworkingplane. PCDMISwillallowyoutoindicatethespecificplaneintowhichafeature isprojectedwhenitismeasured.Theterm'working'isthesameas 'current'or'active'whenreferringtotheworkingplane. WristMap:SeeErrorMapandVolumetricCompensation. WristWarningDelta:ThisoptioncanbefoundonthePart/Cmmtabofthe SetUpOptionsdialogbox.IfaCADselectedfeaturetobemeasureddoes nothaveavectorwhichagreeswiththeactiveprobeanglewithinthe WristWarningDeltalimit,awarningisgenerated.

X
X,Y,andZCenter:Thesevaluesshowthelocationofthecenteroftheballtip.

1764 Glossary

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

XBarR:XBarisawayofwritingoutthestatisticalsymbolXwhichisthemeanor average.ThustheXBarchartisameanoraverageofaprocess.Thisis usuallycalculatedovertimeandthechartissetupsuchthattheXaxisof thechartistimeandtheYaxisofthechartisthemeanvalue.XBarRisan abbreviationfor"XBarandR".ThisisessentiallyanXBarchartwith additionalinformation.The"R"representstherangeofdatainanygiven sample.Asampleisdefinedasapredeterminednumberof measurements.Therangeofasampleiscalculatedbysubtractingthe MinfromtheMaxofthesample.Thisisthenplottedatthesametime positiononthechartasthemeanofthesamplegivingtwodatapointsfor thesampleatthattime. XBarS:XBarisawayofwritingoutthestatisticalsymbolXwhichisthemeanor average.ThustheXBarchartisameanoraverageofaprocess.Thisis usuallycalculatedovertimeandthechartissetupsuchthattheXaxisof thechartistimeandtheYaxisofthechartisthemeanvalue.XBarSisan abbreviationfor"XBarandS".".ThisisessentiallyanXBarchartwith additionalinformation.The"S"representstheStandardDeviationofthe sample.Thereisamathematicalequationtodeterminethestandard deviationofasample.

Z
Zrail:TheZrailistheverticalarmoftheCMM.

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Glossary 1765

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Index
# #ReturnData ...............................................188 . ...button ...................................................1506 .DATFiles ...................................................284 2 2DimensionalAngle ....................................945 2DimensionalOption...................................941 2sidedlighting.............................................307 2D Angle.......................................................945 BestFitCommandLine ...........................877 Distance...................................................941 RotateMode ............................................297 2Dor3DBestFitAlignments.......................878 3 3DimensionalAngle ....................................946 321Alignment Step1 MeasuretheAlignmentFeatures..........875 Step2 Level,Rotate,andTranslatetothe Features ..........................................875
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Step3 CompletingtheAlignment .................. 875 321Alignment .......................................... 874 3D AlignmentCenterofRotation.................. 880 Angle ...................................................... 946 BestFitCommandLine........................... 878 ConnexionControlPanel........................... 12 Distance .................................................. 941 Grid ........................................................ 291 GridColor............................................... 304 RotateMode............................................ 299 3DGrid,Adding.......................................... 291 3DxWare ....................................................... 12 5 5WayCustomizableStarProbe ................... 582 A AbsoluteSpeed ............................................ 155 Acceleration ................................................ 189 Accelerationtab........................................... 185 Active AlignmentList ........................................ 869

IndexIndex 1767

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ArmsToolbar...........................................531 Plane .......................................................176 Probe .......................................................178 ProbeChanger .........................................209 ProbeFile ................................................211 RotaryTableToolbar ...............................531 Tip...........................................................178 TipList....................................................537 ActualMeasurement.....................................973 ActualThickness ............................................34 Add Angleoption ............................................566 Angles .....................................................561 Arg........................................................1134 Button....................................................1453 DirectorytoList.....................................1148 FeaturestoExistingMarkedSets..............389 RotabAngles ...........................................206 Tool.........................................................554 AddorRemoveSlotsfromtheDialogBox ...217 Adjustbutton................................................157 AdjustPartSetup..........................................157 AdvancedButton Scanning.......................1006 AdvancedFileOptions ...................................81 AdvancedScans .........................................1005

AfterChoosingtheBestNominalPoint ........ 385 AIMS Exportingto ............................................ 112 AlignmentDependentGenericFeature ......... 862 AlignmentIndependentGenericFeature....... 862 AlignmentInsideLoops ............................... 898 AlignmentOption ........................................ 414 AlignmentTrihedron.................................... 867 Alignments 2DAlignment ......................................... 878 2Dor3DBestFitAlignments.................. 878 321Alignment...................................... 874 3DCenterofRotation.............................. 880 AlignmentDialogBox............................. 868 AlignmentID .......................................... 868 AlignmentName ..................................... 897 AlignmentUtilitiesDialogBox ............... 867 AlignmentsList....................................... 511 BestFit Alignment........................................... 876 AlignmentDialogBox ........................ 882 Button ................................................ 873 MathType .......................................... 745 PointFitting........................................ 880 Types................................................. 879

1768 Index

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

BestFit ....................................................876 ChangingNominalValues........................906 CommandFormat ....................................865 Constraintsfor3DBestFitAlignments ....879 Conventions.............................................867 Cylinder,LineandaPoint........................456 DependentGenericFeature ......................862 EquateAlignmentDialogBox..................900 FeatureWeights.......................................879 FineTuning .............................................145 FixtureTolerance.....................................892 ForcePartAlignmentinCarBody............152 IndependentGenericFeature....................862 Iterative ...................................................873 IterativeAlignment ..................................886 IterativeAlignmentDialogBox................890 Level .......................................................890 Level3 ....................................................890 NewAlignmentMode..............................388 Origin ......................................................890 PlaneandTwoCircles..............................456 PlaneandTwoLines................................456 PlaneLinePoint ......................................456 Recall ......................................................897 Recalling .................................................897

RotateandTranslate................................ 879 RotateOnly............................................. 879 Save ........................................................ 894 SaveAlignmentDialogBox .................... 896 Saving..................................................... 894 TranslateOnly......................................... 879 Alignments .................................................. 865 AlignmentsList ........................................... 511 AllowfinetuningofAlignment.................... 145 AlwaysSaveStatstoFile............................. 161 AlwaysTrackFOVCenter........................... 204 AlwaysUpdateDatabase.............................. 161 AmbientLighting......................................... 335 Analysis Multiplier.............................................. 1378 Options ................................................. 1383 Settings ................................................... 920 SizeOptions.......................................... 1386 Analysis..................................................... 1378 AnalysisArea .............................................. 659 AnalysisObject.......................................... 1178 AnalysisWindow....................................... 1377 Analysis,Graphical.................................... 1377 Analysis,Textual ....................................... 1377 Angle

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Index 1769

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

BetweenNominal ....................................945 Degrees....................................................165 GD&T .....................................................453 Grid.........................................................564 Offset ......................................................372 Relationships ...........................................453 Type ........................................................945

E CalibratingLessCommonProbes..... 1559 F WorkinginOperatorMode ............... 1577 G MeasuringAutoFeatureswiththeNC100 VideoProbe ................................. 1583 J

Angle ...........................................................863 ANGLEDimension ......................................944 AnglesListbox ............................................562 AnglestoCalibrate .......................................206 AngularDefinitionFormat............................746 Angularity....................................................968 AngularityErrorbyUsingtheANGULARITY Option AnimateProbeduringProgramMode ...........146 Delete ................................................... 1134 AnimatedProbeChanger ..............................608 DeletefromaCALLSUBcommand ...... 1138 AnimatingthePath .......................................353 DeletefromSubroutine.......................... 1134 AnyOrderExecution............................ 128,134 Description............................................ 1136 Appendix EditDialogBox .................................... 1135 A Name .................................................... 1135 WorkinginOfflineMode .................1537 Value .................................................... 1135 B ArgumentsListBox................................... 1134 TranslatingaPartProgramintoPCDMIS .....................................................1547 D UsingaWristDevice.........................1551 ArmCMMs(Gage2000A,Faro,Romer) ... 1089 ArrangingOpenWindows.......................... 1535 ArrayFunctions ......................................... 1488 UsingShortcutKeysandShortcutMenus .................................................... 1607 ApplyButton ................................................. 48 ApplyingorRemovingaReportTemplate.. 1277 ArchiveTab................................................. 334 ARCSEGMENTENDINDEXfunction ....... 1488 ARCSEGMENTSTARTINDEXfunction... 1488 Argument

1770 Index

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ArrayIndicesObject...................................1467 Assemblies ...................................................311 AssembliesofParts ......................................311 AssignTo...................................................1454 AssigningaNewCommandtoAnArm ......1529 AssigningExistingCommandstoaNewArm ..............................................................1531 Assignment ................................................1454

AutoNotchSlot ...................................... 714 AutoPlane .............................................. 707 AutoPolygon .......................................... 731 AutoRoundSlot...................................... 719 AutoSphere ............................................ 729 AutoSquareSlot ..................................... 721 AutoSurfacePoint .................................. 683 AutoVectorPoint.................................... 680

Asterisk(*)MetaCharacter ..........................343 BestFitMathType.................................. 745 AutoAlign ...................................................873 BoxSelectingforIDs .............................. 612 AutoCircleHits ...........................................134 BoxSelectingSheetMetalFeaturesIDs... 346 AutoContinueExecutionifFindHoleFails...145 AutoCreateDimensions...............................160 AutoDimensionSetup..................................160 AutoFeatures Angle.......................................................863 AutoAlign...............................................873 AutoAnglePoint .....................................689 AutoCone ...............................................727 AutoCornerPoint....................................691 AutoCylinder ..........................................724 AutoEdgePoint.......................................686 AutoEllipse.............................................712 AutoHighPoint.......................................694 AutoLine ................................................702 AutoLineFieldDefinitions......................702 BoxSelectingtoCreateMultipleAuto Features.............................................. 612 Calculationlist ........................................ 655 Diameterbox........................................... 642 Guessing ................................................. 520 GuessingbyFeatureType ....................... 521 HighPointSearches ................................ 700 IDbox..................................................... 624 Incrementbox ......................................... 635 Lengthbox .............................................. 636 Measuring AnglePoint......................................... 689 CharacteristicPoint........................... 1593 Circle ................................................. 710 Cone................................................... 727

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Index 1771

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

CornerPoint........................................692 Cylinder ..............................................724 EdgePoint...........................................686 Ellipse.................................................712 HighPoint...........................................694 Line ....................................................703 Notch ..................................................714 Plane...................................................707 RoundSlot ..........................................720 Sphere.................................................730 SquareSlot..........................................722 SurfacePoint.......................................683 VectorPoint ........................................680 QuickCreation.........................................612 Typelist...................................................624 AutoFeatures ...............................................611 AutoFeaturesToolbar ..................................520 AutoLineHits..............................................134 AutoPosition................................................158 AutoTriggerarea .........................................190 AutoZoom ...................................................203 AutoCalibrateProbe .....................................579 AutomaticCalibration ................................1525 AutomaticFileSave .....................................139 AutomaticLabelPositioning.........................146

AutomaticMeasurements........................... 1543 AutomaticallyAdjustProbeHeadWrist ....... 140 AutomaticallyCalibrateaSingleTip............ 579 AutomaticallyScaletoFit ............................ 144 AutomatingPCDMIS ................................... 13 AutoTrigger................................................. 190 Avail/MMIVtoWindows .......................... 1547 AvailableDimensions .................................. 413 AvailableInputParameters .......................... 273 AvailableTools............................................ 558 AverageValuesfromaSet........................... 849 AvoidanceMove.......................................... 497 Axes ............................................................ 937 AxesandAngleOffset ............................... 1124 AxesDropDownlist.................................... 929 AxesforLocationDimensions ..................... 926 Axis........................................................... 1017 AxisBasicScan ......................................... 1076 AxisSelection................................................ 85 B BackFaceCulling........................................ 307 BackgroundColor........................................ 303 BackgroundColors,Changing...................... 200 Ball.............................................................. 568 BasicButton Scanning............................. 1006

1772 Index

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

BasicFileOptions ..........................................61 BasicHelp....................................................439 BasicHit ......................................................414 BasicHitsbyProbing,Editing ......................749 BasicMeasurementFormat foraCircle...............................................740 foraCone................................................741 foraCylinder...........................................741 foraLine.................................................739 foraPlane................................................739 foraPoint................................................738 foraRoundSlot.......................................742 foraSphere .............................................740 BasicScanDialogBox ...............................1064 BasicScans ................................................1063 BasicScript asaCommand .......................................1508 asaMenuorToolbarItem .....................1508 EditMenu................................................437 Editor ......................................................434 EditorToolbar..........................................434 Inserting ................................................1508 BasicSyntaxHelp ........................................439 BestFit Alignment................................................876

AlignmentDialogBox............................. 882 ConstructedCircle................................... 773 ConstructedCylinder............................... 823 MathType............................................... 745 OptionsforLineProfileDimensions........ 967 OptionsforSurfaceProfileDimensions ... 966 BestFit ........................................................ 873 BestFitAlignment....................................... 881 BestNominalPoint...................................... 385 BlankLines,Delete...................................... 415 BlockofTextfromaFile Reading................................................. 1426 Writing ................................................. 1434 BodyAxis Direction1ofPatchScan ...................... 1012 Direction2ofPatchScan ...................... 1012 LinearOpen .......................................... 1012 ManualScan ......................................... 1095 Rotary................................................... 1012 Technique ............................................. 1012 BodyAxis.................................................. 1083 Bookmark ClearAll ................................................. 394 ClearAllIcon.......................................... 516 Insert....................................................... 516

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Index 1773

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Next.........................................................394 NextIcon.................................................516 Toggle .....................................................394 Bookmark ....................................................394 BothOption(forTruePositionandLocation)923 Boundary....................................................1085 BoundaryPlaneVector...............................1017 BoundaryPoints AddingandDeleting ..............................1010 BoundaryPoints.....................................1007 Editing...................................................1010 UsingtheCADDataMethod..................1009 UsingtheKeyinMethod ........................1009 UsingtheMeasuredPointMethod..........1009 BoundaryPoints .........................................1010 BoxSelecting AutoFeaturesIDs ....................................612 ID(s)........................................................345 MultipleAutoFeatures.............................612 SheetMetalFeaturesIDs..........................346 BoxSelectShortcutMenu ..........................1617 BracketsforFeatureArrays ..........................168 BranchingbyUsingFlowControl...............1113 BranchingonaCMMError ........................1129 BranchingwithSubroutines........................1131

Breakpoint,Toggle ...................................... 392 Breakpoints InsertBreakpoint..................................... 516 InsertDefaults......................................... 392 RemoveAll............................................. 392 RemoveAllIcon ..................................... 516 RemoveBreakpoint................................. 516 RemoveDefaults..................................... 392 Breakpoints.................................................. 391 BridgeCMMsRules .................................. 1088 BrightnessofHighlight ................................ 335 BrowseButton ............................................. 279 BuildingtheStarProbe 5WayCustomizableStarProbe .............. 582 PreDefinedStarProbe ............................ 583 BuildingtheStarProbe ................................ 581 C CAD Assembly ................................................ 311 Delete ..................................................... 357 Deleting .................................................. 356 Editing .................................................... 325 Elements ................................................. 325 EqualsPart.............................................. 414 EqualsPartButton................................... 874

1774 Index

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Info..........................................................315 Information..............................................320 Links ...........................................................9 NominalPlaces= ......................................164 Rotating...................................................157 SelectDialogBox ....................................618 Tol.........................................................1015 Transform................................................360 X+Axis=.................................................156 Y+Axis=.................................................156 Z+Axis= .................................................156 CADCoordinateSystem...............................364 CADDisplay,Editing...................................289 CADmodelupdates,checkingfor.................365 CADVerify..................................................320 CalculateBoundary ....................................1016 CalculateErrorMap ...................................1554 CalculatingNominalsExample.....................812

DualArms............................................. 1525 IndexableRotaryTable............................ 206 InfiniteRotaryTable ............................... 207 Laser Method1 .......................................... 1559 Method2 .......................................... 1559 LessCommonProbes ............................ 1559 Mode ...................................................... 549 Order ...................................................... 539 OTM3SeriesLaserProbes .................... 1559 ProbeChanger......................................... 212 RotaryTable ........................................... 205 ToAutomaticallyCalibrateaSingleTip .. 579 Calibrate ProbeChanger ............................ 211 CalibrateTouchTriggerProbeforNC100 Step1 DefinetheTouchTriggerProbeandTwo TipPositions ................................ 1560 Step2

CalculatingOffsetsExample.........................813 Calculationlist .............................................655 Calibrate CalibrateaProbe......................................543 CalibratetheUnit...................................1554 CalibrateTips ........................................1580 DateandTime .........................................538 CalibratetheProbeTipPositionsona Sphere.......................................... 1561 Step3 CreatethePolyhedralCalibrationTool .................................................... 1562 Step4 FillouttheMeasureProbeDialogBox .................................................... 1562 Step5
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual Index 1775

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

EstablishingtheOrientationofthe Polyhedral ....................................1563 Step6

CenterBasicScan ...................................... 1079 CenterofRotation........................................ 880 CenterPointandRadius............................. 1020

CalibratingAllNeededProbeTip Positionsonthe.............................1564 Step7 CalibratingtheNC100Artifact.........1564 CalibratingNC100VideoProbes CalibrateNC100VideoProbe ................1566 CalibratetheTouchTriggerProbe CalibratingNC100VideoProbes...............1559 CalibrationMode,Default ............................549 CallSub .....................................................1136 CallSubroutineDialogBox AddNewArguments..............................1137 EditArguments......................................1138 CallSubroutineDialogBox ........................1138 CallingaSubroutine ...................................1136 CALLSUBStatementsinMultipleArmMode ..............................................................1138 Cancel ............................................................48 Capturebutton............................................1583 CarBodyAlignment.....................................152 CartesianandPolarCoordinatesforTextual..921 Case/EndCase..........................................1122 Case/EndDefaultCase,Default ................1122 CausinganArmtoWaittoPreventCollision ..............................................................1532

CenterScanExample ................................. 1080 Change Color....................................................... 327 Name ...................................................... 327 SizeofViews .......................................... 290 View ..................................................... 1380 ChangingtheLanguage.................................. 68 Channel ....................................................... 197 CharacterfromaFile Reading................................................. 1421 Writing ................................................. 1430 CharacterSets.............................................. 375 CharacteristicPoint FieldDefinitions ................................... 1592 TypeDefinition ..................................... 1592 CharacteristicPoint.................................... 1593 CharacteristicPoints .................................. 1591 CheckBoxes.................................................. 51 CheckDistance............................................ 181 CheckPercent.............................................. 181 CheckingforaFile'sExistence................... 1445 ChildMode.................................................. 388

1776 Index

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Circle BasicScan .............................................1069 CADDataMethod .................................1072 ChangingtheDirection ............................777 FieldDefinitionswithNC100 ...............1596 Options....................................................943 TypeDefinitionwithNC100.................1596 Circle,Pin,orBaricenterwithNC100........1595 Circular FeatureType............................................746 Features .................................................1543 Circularity....................................................949 ClampingValue............................................182 ClearAll ......................................................387 ClearAllBookmarks ....................................394 ClearAllBookmarksIcon ............................516 ClearButton ...................................................50 ClearList .....................................................359 ClearMarked................................................515 Clearance Plane Active......................................................176 Inserting ................................................1105 ClearancePlane..............................................26 ClearancePlanes ..........................................177 ClearingBoundaryPoints ...........................1011

ClearPlanetab.............................................. 175 ClipPlanesTab............................................ 339 ClippingPlane Adjusting ................................................ 341 ClippingPlane ............................................. 341 Close ............................................................. 50 CloseFile .................................................. 1578 CloseFileafterReadingorWriting ............ 1420 CMM Acceleration............................................ 185 Error ..................................................... 1129 Position................................................... 215 Coaxiality.................................................... 948 COAXIALITYDimension........................... 948 CoaxialityGD&T ........................................ 948 CollisionDetection ...................................... 354 CollisionDetectionOptions ......................... 355 CollisionTolerance...................................... 568 CollisionTolerances .................................... 569 Color ChangeFeatureColor.......................349,351 Depth ...................................................... 282 DimensionColors.............................346,503 Edit ......................................................... 326 ColorSchemeExport ................................... 200

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Index 1777

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Comm ProbeChanger ................................210 CommandButtons..........................................48 CommandLineFormat 2DBestFit ..............................................877 3DBestFit ..............................................878 Alignment................................................865 CharacteristicPoint................................1591 CheckDistance ........................................416 CircleMeasurement .................................740 CommandFormat ....................................737 ConeMeasurement ..................................741 CylinderMeasurement .............................741 DimensionCommand...............................914 DIMINFO..............................................1394 Extension...............................................1452 GeneralCommandFormat .......................754 GenericFeature........................................859 IterativeAlignment ..................................887 IterativeAlignmentRules.........................888 Line.........................................................702 LineBasicScan .....................................1085 LineMeasurement ...................................739 PlaneMeasurement..................................739

PRINT/REPORTCommand.................. 1409 ReadPoint............................................... 417 RecallAlignment .................................... 898 RoundSlotMeasurement......................... 742 SphereMeasurement ............................... 740 CommandLines,Adding ............................. 866 CommandMode DisplayOptions....................................... 201 KeyboardFunctions ................................ 425 CommandMode .......................................... 517 CommandSetproperty .............................. 1263 CommandShortcutMenu .......................... 1625 Commands Adding.................................................... 408 Copying,CuttingandPasting .................. 409 EditingDataItems................................... 410 Inserting.................................................. 402 MarkingforExecution............................. 386 Removing ............................................... 409 Selecting ................................................. 402 SummaryMode....................................... 407 CommandsRelatedtotheAnalysisWindow, Inserting................................................ 1377 CommentDialogbox ..................................... 26

PointMeasurement ..................................738 Comments POINTINFO..........................................1399 CommentText ...................................... 1408

1778 Index

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

EnableReport ........................................1408 Input......................................................1405 Operator ................................................1403 Readout .................................................1407 Report....................................................1404 ShowinReport ......................................1408 Comments ....................................................418 CommonProperties ....................................1245 ComparisonofOffLineandOnLineVersions ..................................................................15 CompensatingforTemperature.....................272

ApplyTensionFactor .............................. 847 ArcfromPartofaScan ........................... 780 AutoCircle ............................................. 772 AutoCone............................................... 818 AutoCylinder ......................................... 824 AutoEllipse ............................................ 792 AutoLine................................................ 801 AutoPlane .............................................. 837 AutoPoint............................................... 766 AutoSphere ............................................ 797 BestFit

CompensationMethod..................................275 Circle ................................................. 772 Compileicon ................................................435 Cone................................................... 816 CompositeBoundary ..................................1016 Cylinder ............................................. 821 ComputerName ...........................................171 Ellipse ................................................ 790 ConcentricCircles ......................................1096 Line.................................................... 803 Concentricity................................................946 Plane .................................................. 829 CONCENTRICITYDimension ....................947 Slot..................................................... 838 ConcentricityGD&T ....................................946 Sphere ................................................ 795 Cone BestFitType........................................... 773 ChangingtheDirection ............................818 Cast ConfigurationsofPCDMIS ...........................13 Circle ................................................. 775 Constraintsfor3DBestFitAlignments.........879 Cone................................................... 817 ConstructGenericFeatureDialogBox ..........861 Cylinder ............................................. 823 ConstructedFeatures Ellipse ................................................ 791 AlignmentLine........................................803

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Index 1779

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Line ....................................................805 Plane...................................................830 Point ...................................................760 Sphere.................................................796 ChangingNominalsDirectlytoCalculate Offsets ................................................834 ChangingOffsetsDirectlytoCalculate Nominals.............................................812 Circle.......................................................768 CircleataScan'sMinimumPoint.............781 CircleDirection .......................................777 CirclefromaCone...................................786 Cone........................................................814 ConeDirection.........................................818 ConstructedFeaturesToolbar...................519 ControlPointList.....................................844 CornerPoint ............................................761 Create ........................................................50 CreateAnalysisViewCommand............1382 CreateCorners .........................................848 Curve.......................................................841 CutoffFrequencybox..............................855 CutoffWavelengthbox ............................854 Cylinder...................................................819 CylinderDirection ...................................824 Cylindrical...............................................854 DataUsedtoConstructtheArc ................781

DataUsedtoConstructtheLine .............. 810 DecimalPlacementConventions.............. 755 Dependent/IndependentCurve ............... 842 Dependent/IndependentSurface............... 845 DialogBoxDescription ............................. 44 DropPoint............................................... 761 Ellipse..................................................... 788 EllipseDirection...................................... 792 ExampleofCalculatingNominals............ 812 ExampleofCalculating Offsets ............... 813 FilterSet ................................................. 850 GenericFeatureDialogBox.................... 861 HighPointPlane ..................................... 831 Intersect Circle ................................................. 774 Line.................................................... 806 Point................................................... 762 LineDirection ......................................... 809 LineFeature ............................................ 798 LinefromPartofaScan.......................... 809 Linearoption........................................... 851 MidLine ................................................. 806 MidPlane................................................ 831 MidPoint ................................................ 763 Offset

1780 Index

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Line ....................................................811 Plane...................................................832 Point ...................................................764 ParallelLine ............................................807 ParallelPlane...........................................835 PerpendicularLine...................................808 PerpendicularPlane..................................836 PiercePoint..............................................765 Plane .......................................................825 PlaneDirection ........................................837 PlanefromanAlignment..........................828 Point........................................................758 PointattheOrigin....................................764 Projected Circle ..................................................776 Cone ...................................................818 Cylinder ..............................................823 Ellipse.................................................792 Line ....................................................808 Point ...................................................766 Sphere.................................................797 SetofFeatures .........................................848 Slot..........................................................838 Sphere .....................................................793 SphereDirection ......................................797

Surface.................................................... 844 TangentCircle......................................... 777 ConstructedFeatures.................................... 412 ConstructedFeaturesToolbar....................... 519 Constructiondialogbox ............................... 754 Continue...................................................... 130 ControlPairs.............................................. 1113 ControlPoint Edit ......................................................... 843 List ......................................................... 844 ControlPoints................................... 1033,1034 ControlPointsTypes.................................. 1033 ControllerCompensatesAxesOnly.............. 275 ControllerCompsAxesandPart .................. 275 ControllerSupport ....................................... 277 Controlsarea.............................................. 1028 CoordinateSystem ....................................... 746 Copy............................................................ 370 CopyaPartProgram...................................... 67 Copy I/OCommand................................... 1440 CopyIcon .................................................... 435 CopytoActuals ........................................... 746 Create Corners ................................................... 848 fromFile ............................................... 1513

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Index 1781

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Levels......................................................314 New.......................................................1512 Create.............................................................50 CreatingCustomReports............................1301 CreatingCustomTemplates........................1268 CreatingMultipleArmMachines..................587 CurrentLabels............................................1128 CurrentProbeTip,Changing ........................480 CurrentProbe,Changing ..............................479 CurrentTempboxes .....................................273 CurveandSurfaceModes .............................295 CustomFixtures Adding.....................................................589 CustomFixtures ...........................................589 CustomReportEditor .................................1266 Cut ...............................................................370 CutIcon .......................................................435 CutPlaneVector(CutVec) .........................1017 CutoffFrequencybox ...................................855 CutoffWavelengthbox.................................854 Cylinder BasicScan .............................................1073 ChangingtheDirection ............................824 Cylindrical ...................................................854 Cylindricity ..................................................951

D DataCollected AssignFrom.......................................... 1454 AssignTo.............................................. 1454 DataCollected ............................................. 188 DataFields,Editing ..................................... 378 DataItemShortcutMenu ........................... 1625 DataItems ................................................... 408 DataSource ............................................... 1151 DataType .................................................... 861 Datatypes.................................................. 1337 DataUsedtoConstructtheArc .................... 781 DataUsedtoConstructtheLine................... 810 Database Directories ............................................ 1148 Edit ....................................................... 1152 Options ................................................. 1147 DataPageOption........................................ 1147 DataPageVariableName ........................... 1149 DateandTimeofCalibration ....................... 560 Datums ........................................................ 933 DatumswhenRepeatingDimensions............ 934 DCC EnterDCCMode....................................... 24 Mode ........................................................ 24

1782 Index

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

DebugFile StartingaFreshDebugFile ......................227 DebugFile....................................................226 DebuggingPartProgramsOffLine.............1545 DecimalPlacementConventions...................755 DefaultButton................................................49 DefaultButtonforDimensiontab .................165 DefaultDimensionInfo,Edit ........................918 DefaultSettings............................................169 DefaultTolerances 05Places ................................................164 SetDefaults .............................................164 DefaultUserInterface,Restore .......................52 DefiningDatums ..........................................980 DefiningHardware .......................................535 DefiningMachines .......................................585 DefiningProbes............................................535 DefiningStarProbes.....................................581 DelayBeforeReadingPart............................277 Delete Button........................................................48 Commands...............................................403 DeletingaFile .......................................1443 DeletingCAD..........................................356 DirectoryfromList ................................1149

FeatureMenuOption............................... 359 FeaturesDialogBox ................................ 358 Infos..................................................... 1399 PartFiles................................................... 68 Delete .......................................................... 370 Depth editingformeasuredfeatures ................... 748 forBASICScans.......................... 1072,1075 forDCCScans ............................. 1027,1031 forGapandFlush.................................. 1601 forProbes.............................................. 1540 DESInput.................................................. 1539 DESOption ............................................... 1150 DescriptionArea........................................ 1453 Deselect....................................................... 328 DeselectAll ............................................... 1031 DesktopSettings .......................................... 280 DetectingCollisions..................................... 354 Deviation ArrowMultiplier ..................................... 134 PerpendiculartoCenterline...............935,996 Symbols .................................................. 174 Deviation..................................................... 935 DeviationsOnly........................................... 163 DialogBoxTabs............................................ 51

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Index 1783

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

DialogBoxes,Accessing ..............................403 DialogEditor................................................439 Diameter/Length.........................................556 DiameterandThickness................................538 Diameterbox................................................642 Diameteroftheballtip .................................559 Diffuse .........................................................335 Dimension CommandFormat ....................................914 Conventions.............................................915 Delete ......................................................360 DialogBox ..............................................915 DialogBoxOptions .................................917 EditColors.............................................1382 Format .....................................................413 Headings..................................................174 Listbox .................................................1399 Options..................................................1383

DimensionInfoBoxes,ShowingorHiding... 510 Dimensiontab.............................................. 172 DimensioningFeatures 2DDistance ............................................ 941 3DDistance ............................................ 941 Angle ...................................................... 943 AngleDegrees......................................... 165 AngleOffset............................................ 372 AngleType ............................................. 945 Angularity............................................... 968 Axes....................................................... 937 AxesforLocationDimensions................. 926 AxesforTruePositionDimensions.......... 934 AxialFeatures ......................................... 936 BestFitOptionsforLineProfile .............. 967 BestFitOptionsforSurfaceProfile ......... 966 BothOption(forTruePositionandLocation) ........................................................... 923 CircleOptions ......................................... 943

OutputFormat..........................................172 CircularRunout....................................... 958 QuickStartToolbar..................................456 Circularity............................................... 949 Text .........................................................173 ClearList ................................................ 360 Toolbar....................................................518 Coaxiality ............................................... 948 DimensionColors,ColorBar........................503 CommandFormat.................................... 914 DimensionColors,Editing............................346 Concentricity........................................... 946 DimensionInfoBoxes,Inserting.................1387 ControlOptionsforLineProfile .............. 966

1784 Index

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ControlOptionsforSurfaceProfile ..........965 Cylindricity..............................................951 Deviation ...............................................1397 DimensioningaVariableExample ...........974

Profile ..................................................... 961 Roundness............................................... 949 Rulesfor2Dand3DDistanceDimensions ........................................................... 940 Runout .................................................... 958

Distance...................................................938 Straightness............................................. 952 EditDimensionColors...........................1382 Symmetry ............................................... 970 Flatness ...................................................953 TextBoxMode ....................................... 300 FormandLocation...................................965 ThroughKeyboardInput ......................... 972 FormOnly ...............................................965 TotalRunout ........................................... 958 FormOption(forTruePositionandLocation) ...........................................................923 GapOnlyforLocationDimensions ..........928 ID=[Feature]..............................................46 InfoCreationRules ................................1388 InfoFormat............................................1390 ISOLimitsandFits..................................930 LineDefinitionFormat.............................746 ListArea................................................1399 Listbox .....................................................47 Location ..................................................924 LocationAxes........................................1392 LocationOptions......................................927 MaterialConditions..................................917 Options....................................................173 Parallelism...............................................955 Perpendicularity.......................................954 TruePosition........................................... 931 Variables................................................. 973 DimensioningFeatures................................. 913 Dimensions AutomaticallyCreateintheEditWindow 916 UsingtheKEYINOption Dimensions.................................................. 412 DIMINFOCommand................................. 1394 Direction1Technique LinearCloseScan.................................. 1012 LinearOpenScan.................................. 1012 PatchScan............................................. 1012 RotaryScan........................................... 1012 SectionScan.......................................... 1012 Direction2Technique PatchScan............................................. 1012

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Index 1785

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

DirectionTechniqueareas ..........................1012 Directories....................................................896 DiscreteMeasurements...............................1544 DiskProbe....................................................568 DiskStylusCalibrationNotesandProcedure 576 Display AbsoluteSpeed ........................................155 AngleDegrees .........................................165 asIcon ...................................................1513 AsRadius ................................................935 BracketsforFeatureArrays......................168 Controlsarea..........................................1028 DimensionInfo ........................................918 ErrorofLastMeasuredFeature ................203 hitsformeasuredfeatures.........................747 Metafile ........................................... 324,420 option ....................................................1506 Options..................................................1388 OutlineofPlane .......................................149 Display.......................................................1144 DisplaySpecificFeatureNames....................328 DisplayingaFileDialogBox......................1446 Distance BetweenHits ......................1012,1013,1091 DimensionsOrientation............................942

Nominal .................................................. 940 Relationships........................................... 938 toTarget ................................................. 203 Distance....................................................... 938 DISTANCEDimension................................ 938 DMIS Label....................................................... 559 Mode ...................................................... 517 OutputFile................................................ 76 DMISImport Advancedtab .......................................... 104 ErrorLogtab........................................... 103 Generaltab.............................................. 102 Modulestab ............................................ 103 Do/Until CodeSample......................................... 1119 Do/Until .................................................. 1118 DoControlCalculations............................. 1149 DockingSpeed............................................. 210 Document .................................................... 419 DOStoWindows ....................................... 1547 DoubleBuffering......................................... 282 DoubleCoercion........................................ 1499 DoubleReference ...................................... 1456 DraftMode .................................................... 77

1786 Index

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

DrawPoints..................................................309 DrawingSurfaces .........................................295 Drives ..........................................................896 DropDownAxes..........................................870 DropDownListBox ......................................48 DropPointColumn.......................................382 DualArmCalibrationProcedure.................1522 DualArmProgramExecution.....................1531 DualArms..................................................1517 DXFInput..................................................1539 E Edge Point FieldDefinitionwithNC100.................1590 EdgePointOnlyMode .................................140 Edit Box............................................................46 Window...................................................397 Edit ................................................................41 EditBoxesfortheGeneraltab ......................134 EditWindow ChangeColors .........................................199 Colors......................................................399 CoreConcepts..........................................398 DefaultColors..........................................399 DefiningColors .......................................198

FeatureCreation...................................... 754 FontsandColors ..................................... 394 Layout..................................................... 201 Navigation .............................................. 398 OutputandPrinterOptions ........................ 72 Printing ..................................................... 70 Scrolling ................................................... 52 Setup....................................................... 197 Toolbar ................................................... 515 EditWindow................................................ 397 Ellipse ChangingtheDirection............................ 792 Else/EndElse CodeSample......................................... 1116 Else/EndElse........................................... 1116 ElseIf/EndElseIf CodeSample......................................... 1115 ElseIf/EndElseIf.................................... 1114 EmbeddingHyperViewReports ................. 1409 Emission...................................................... 335 EndAlignmentCommand............................ 866 EndLoop................................................... 1126 EndNumber .............................................. 1124 EndofaFileortheEndofaLine,Checkingfor ............................................................. 1447 EndTouchVector(EndVec) ...................... 1017

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Index 1787

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Enhancements ..................................................1 EnteringMultipleArmMode......................1521 EquallySpacedAnglesData .........................563 EquateAlignment.........................................414 EquateAlignmentDialogBox ......................900 EquateOriginalAlignment ...........................900 EquatinganAlignment .................................899 EquatingCADtoMeasuredPartData...........901 EraseHit ................................................ 33,131 ErasingHits....................................................33 ErrorLabel ...................................................893 ErrorofLastMeasuredFeature.....................203 ErrorType..................................................1130 ErrorsCodes...............................................1633 ExclusionZone Step1TurnonExclusiveMove..............1111 Step2EnterCornerPointValues ...........1111 Step3ClickOK.....................................1111 ExclusionZone...........................................1110 ExclusionZoneCommand,Inserting ..........1109 Executableflag cad++ ........................................................13 debug.........................................................13 offline........................................................13 online ........................................................13

operator..................................................... 13 pro ............................................................ 13 reverseaxes............................................... 13 userprivilege............................................. 13 Execute Block ...................................................... 128 Feature.................................................... 127 From ....................................................... 128 FromCursor............................................ 128 FromStartPoints..................................... 128 MarkedSets ............................................ 390 Mode .................................................... 1022 PartPrograms........................................ 1545 Program .................................................. 515 Tab ....................................................... 1067 Execute...................................................30,127 Execution ExecutingPartPrograms ......................... 126 FindNomsTolerance ............................... 134 Mode ...................................................... 132 OutofOrder............................................ 128 ExecutionModeOptionsDialogBox Resizing.................................................. 132 ExecutionModeOptionsDialogBox ........... 129 Exit.............................................................. 436

1788 Index

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ExittoFileManager ...................................1580 ExitingPCDMIS...........................................80 Export ........................................................1579 Exporting aColorScheme........................................200 AvailableOutputOptions.........................124 CADDataorProgramData......................111 CADorProgramData..............................111 DESFile..................................................113 DWG.......................................................115 DXF ........................................................115 IGESFile.................................................118 IGESWriteSetup ....................................124 STEPFile ................................................118 toaBASICFile .......................................113 toaDMISFile .........................................114 toAIMS...................................................112 toanIDEASDCIModelFile..................116 VDAFSFile.............................................119 Exporting/DWG ...........................................111 Exporting/DXF...............................................87 ExpressionBuilder ExpressionElementType.......................1452 ID 1452 ExpressionBuilder .....................................1451

Expressions AccessingaReport'sObjectProperties .. 1502 AddButton ........................................... 1453 CheckingforCorrectness....................... 1451 CheckingtheExpressionforCorrectness 1451 Components .......................................... 1454 DescriptionArea ................................... 1453 DoubleCoercion ................................... 1499 Editbox ................................................ 1453 Expression ............................................ 1128 ExpressionBuilder ................................ 1451 FeatureArrays....................................... 1466 Functions .............................................. 1474 FunctionsAsMembersofanArrayExample ......................................................... 1496 FunctionsCreatingOtherFunctionsExample ......................................................... 1496 FunctionsDefinedRecursivelyExample1497 FunctionsPassedasVariablesExample . 1495 GenericFunctionExample .................... 1494 IDExpressionCombinations ................. 1502 IDExpressions ...................................... 1500 IDWildCards....................................... 1501 IDsforfeatureswithinSubroutines,Basic Scripts,orExternalPrograms............ 1501 inaPart Program................................... 1449 IntegerCoercion.................................... 1498

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Index 1789

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

KeepingExpressionValuesOnly ...........1449 Literals ..................................................1455 Operators...............................................1472 OutputtoaFileUsingExpressions.............73 TypingExpressions................................1450 Values ...................................................1449 withBranching ......................................1450 withFileInput/Output..........................1450 Expressions ..................................................420 Expressionsand TracefieldstoCustomize HeadersandFooters.................................405 ExpressionsandVariables

ExternalObjects Editing .................................................... 395 Inserting................................................ 1409 ExternalPartProgram................................ 1510 F Faro CalibrationProcedure.............................. 573 ProbeCalibrationUtilities ....................... 571 Feature measuring ................................................. 21 FeatureAppearance GraphicOptions ...................................... 352

ArrayFunctions .....................................1488 FeatureControlFrames Arrays....................................................1466 Command ............................................... 990 AssignFrom ..........................................1454 Creating .................................................. 979 AssignTo ..............................................1454 Datums ................................................... 980 AssigningValuestoVariables................1454 Defined ................................................... 978 ExpressionsandVariables ..........................1449 GD&Tdialogbox.................................... 981 ExtendedSheetMetalOptions ......................650 Introduction............................................. 977 ExternalCommand ReportingTables ................................... 1001 asaMenuItemorToolbarItem..............1506 ReportingTruePositionsFCFs ................ 996 Example ................................................1507 ShowingorHiding .................................. 510 Inserting ................................................1505 SimultaneousEvaluation ......................... 994 ExternalCommand.....................................1505 SymmetryFCFDimension ...................... 996 ExternalDirectoriestoSearch.......................278 Trihedron ................................................ 994 ExternalElements.......................................1505

1790 Index

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

UsingFlatnessPerUnitArea....................989 FeatureID DisplayON/OFF......................................351 Editing............................................. 346,349 FeatureListbox..........................................1399 FeatureLocatorArea ....................................658 FeaturePointers..........................................1465 FeatureSetsasBestFitAlignmentInputs .....880 FeatureTypelist.........................................1584 Features ArrayID ................................................1501 Arrays....................................................1466 Color ............................................... 349,351 ConstructedfromtheEditWindow ..........754 Delete ......................................................359 Display ....................................................349 Editing.....................................................349 Ending.......................................................34 FeatureName...........................................862 FeatureType............................................861 Guessing....................................................32 Hiding .....................................................349 HidingandShowing.................................349 ID 349 IDsinStatisticalDatabases ....................1125

ListArea ............................................... 1399 Listbox..................................................... 47 Measuring ................................................. 31 SelectingOnLine ................................... 346 ShortcutMenu....................................... 1612 Theoreticals............................................. 747 Weights................................................... 879 FeaturesUseDimensionColors.................... 162 File Copy ..................................................... 1440 DisplayinginaDifferentWay ............... 1516 Format .................................................... 567 Menu .................................................... 1380 MenuforBasicScript.............................. 436 Name ...................................................... 896 Open ..................................................... 1419 OpenOptions ........................................ 1577 Operations................................................. 66 OperationsToolbar.................................. 524 File................................................................ 41 FileBoxinCallSubroutine........................ 1139 FileExists.................................................. 1445 FileInput/Output DialogBox............................................ 1418 SampleCode

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Index 1791

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

EOFandEOL ...................................1447 FileClose..........................................1421 FileCopy ..........................................1440 FileDelete.........................................1444 FileDialog ........................................1446 FileExists .........................................1445 FileMove..........................................1442 FileOpen ..........................................1420 ReadBlock........................................1426 ReadCharacter..................................1422 ReadLine..........................................1424 ReadUpTo.......................................1429 RecallFilePosition ...........................1439 RewindtoStart..................................1436 SaveFilePosition..............................1437 WriteBlock.......................................1434 WriteCharacter .................................1431 WriteLine.........................................1433 FileInput/Output ......................................1417 Filemenu .........................................................7 FilePointer attheBeginningofaFile .......................1435 RecallingPosition ..................................1438 SavingCurrentPosition..........................1437 Filter

DeviationAbove ................................... 1402 HitInterval............................................ 1401 NoneUsed ............................................ 1401 OutofTolerance ................................... 1402 Tab ....................................................... 1065 Typelist.................................................. 852 Widthbox ............................................... 854 Worst .................................................... 1401 Filters ........................................................ 1401 Find Icon......................................................... 435 Find............................................................. 373 FindHole..................................................... 498 FindNext Button ..................................................... 377 FindNext..................................................... 438 FindNominals DuringExecution .................................... 145 Tolerance ................................................ 134 FindNominals ............................................. 139 FindNoms Overriding............................................... 381 FindNomsOverride DialogBox.............................................. 382 fromtheEditwindow.............................. 386

1792 Index

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

inExecuteMode ......................................385 inLearnmode..........................................383 FindVector(s)button....................................627 FindWhat ....................................................377 FindingandReplacingText ..........................373 FindingNominalPoints AllCADSurfaces ....................................384 ChoosingaNominalPointLater...............384 PreviousSurface ......................................383 PrioritySurfaces ......................................383 FineProbing.................................................189 FixedDialogPositions..................................144 FixedDistanceManualScan.......................1091 FixedRadius ................................................773 FixedTime/DistanceManualScan............1092 FixedTimeManualScan ............................1094 FIXED_RAD ...............................................773 FixtureTolerance .........................................892 Fixtures ........................................................589 FlatFeatures...................................................36 Flatness ........................................................953 FLATNESSDimension ................................953 FlipXYZ......................................................372 FlowControl CallingaSubroutine...............................1136

Case/EndCase..................................... 1122 CodeSample Do/Until ......................................... 1119 Else/EndElse.................................. 1116 ElseIf/EndElseIf........................... 1115 If/EndIf.......................................... 1114 Select/EndSelect ............................ 1120 Subroutine ........................................ 1139 While/EndWhile ............................ 1118 DefaultCase/EndDefaultCase............ 1122 DeleteArgumentfromSubroutine ......... 1134 Do/Until.............................................. 1118 Else/EndElse ...................................... 1116 ElseIf/EndElseIf ............................... 1114 EndingaPartProgram........................... 1141 EndingaSubroutine .............................. 1136 EndingGenericLoops ........................... 1126 GenericLoops ....................................... 1123 If/EndIf .............................................. 1113 JumpingtoaLabel ................................ 1127 Labels ................................................... 1126 NewSubroutine..................................... 1132 Subroutine............................................. 1136 While/EndWhile................................. 1117 FlowControl.............................................. 1113

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Index 1793

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

FlushforLinearOpen..................................1027 FlyMode......................................................154 FontsandColors...........................................394 Fonts,Custom ................................................53 Footer FormattingKeywords...............................405 Footer...........................................................404 Footers UsingExpressionsandTracefieldsto Customize ...........................................405 Footers .........................................................403

FullReportMode....................................... 1160 Functions FunctionExamples................................ 1494 FunctionsList ....................................... 1474 Functions................................................... 1474 FunctionsandOperators G Gain ............................................................ 194 GapOnlyforLocationDimensions .............. 928 GaussFilter/CutoffFrequency.................... 774 GaussFilter/CutoffWavelength ................. 805

ForcePartAlignmentinCarBody ................152 Gaussian...................................................... 852 ForcetheInsertionofaCertainMeasured FeatureType............................................744 ForcingaGivenFeatureType.......................523 FormandLocation .......................................965 FormEditor................................................1267 FormFeedCommand,Inserting..................1412 FormOnly....................................................965 FormOption(forTruePositionandLocation) ................................................................923 FormatCommand.........................................413 Forms.........................................................1318 FormsinReports ........................................1318 Forms,UsingtoGiveOperatorInstructions1217 FreeformAdvancedScan............................1057 FullCalibration ............................................212 GD&Tdialogbox AdvancedTab ......................................... 986 FeatureControlFrameTab...................... 982 GD&Tdialogbox ........................................ 981 GeneralCommandFormat ........................... 754 GeneralTab............................................... 1069 GeneralTabCheckBoxes ............................ 139 GenerateScan................................... 1035,1036 GeneratingaDebugFile .............................. 226 GenericFeature CommandFormat.................................... 859 GenericFeature............................................ 860 GenericFeatures .......................................... 859

1794 Index

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

GenericFunctionExample..........................1494 GenericLoops Ending...................................................1126 GenericLoops ............................................1123 GetCurrentTemps .......................................277 GetNominals .............................................1036 GettingStartedwithaSimpleTutorial ............18 GivingOpenWindowstheProgramFocus..1536 GlobalCommands........................................420 GlobalUsed .................................................567 GOTO........................................................1127 GotoLabel .................................................1127 Graph EachAxis ..............................................1389 Options..................................................1389 WorstAxis.............................................1389 GraphicDisplayOptions...............................281 GraphicItemstoolbar ...................................510 GraphicOptions ...........................................352 GraphicViewtoolbar ...................................509 Graphical......................................................921 GraphicalAnalysis .....................................1378 GraphicalRepresentationofVectors ...........1019 GraphicsDisplayWindow 2sidedlighting ........................................307

2DRotateMode ...................................... 297 3DGridColor ......................................... 304 3DGridSetup ......................................... 291 3DRotateMode ...................................... 299 ApplyingTexturestoSelectedCADObjects ........................................................... 338 ApplyingTexturestotheEntireCADModel ........................................................... 337 ArchiveTab ............................................ 334 Backfaceculling..................................... 307 BackgroundColor ................................... 303 ChangeColor .......................................... 327 ChangeName.......................................... 327 ClipPlanesTab ....................................... 339 ClippingPlane......................................... 341 CreateLevels .......................................... 314 DeletingtheLOADMACHINECommand588 DeletingtheMachine .............................. 588 DesktopSettings ..................................... 280 DetectingCollisions ................................ 354 DisableMaterials,Textures,and Transparencies.................................... 308 DisplaytheProbeChanger ...................... 609 DisplayingExistingMachines ................. 587 DoubleBuffering .................................... 282 Draw asDefined...................................... 309 DrawasWireframe ................................. 309

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Index 1795

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

DrawPoints .............................................309 DrawingSurfaces.....................................295 EditColor ................................................326 EditingCAD............................................325 EditingDimensionColors ........................346 EditingtheCADDisplay..........................289 EnlargingaPortionofthePartImage .......297 EnlargingthePartImage..........................297 EquatingCADtoMeasuredPartData ......901 FeatureAppearance GraphicOptions ..................................352 FeatureColor ...........................................349 FeatureDisplay........................................349 FeatureTypes ..........................................326 Graphicviewtoolbar................................509 GraphicsModesToolbar ..........................507 Highlight .................................................304 HighlightingSurfacesandCurveswiththe Mouse .................................................295 Ignoretheseobjects..................................308 H LayoutandViews ....................................290

NameboxforCADElements .................. 329 OpenGLOptions .................................... 281 Options ................................................... 281 OutputandPrinterOptions ........................ 69 RotationOptions ..................................... 307 ScreenColors.......................................... 302 ShowingandHidingGraphics ................. 310 ShrinkingthePartImage ......................... 296 SizeofViews .......................................... 290 GraphicsDisplayWindow ............................. 43 GraphicsModesToolbar .............................. 507 GraphicsWindowPrintPreview .................... 70 GridAdvancedScan .................................. 1061 GroupingCommands ................................... 427 Groups..................................................407,427 Guessing AutoFeatureType................................... 520 FeatureType ........................................... 523 MeasuredFeatureType ........................... 743

HardProbes Levels......................................................293 Defining.................................................. 580 LightingandMaterials .............................330 Using ........................................................ 35 LightingTab............................................332 Hardware MaterialTab ............................................335 Defining.................................................. 535 MotionOptions........................................307

1796 Index

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Hardware......................................................535 Header FormattingKeywords...............................405

Highlight ..................................................... 304 HighlightingSurfacesandCurveswiththe Mouse ..................................................... 295 Hit

Header..........................................................404 AddingHitLines..................................... 415 Headers Arrays ................................................... 1468 ModifyingReportHeaders .....................1170 List ....................................................... 1398 UsingExpressionsandTracefieldsto Customize ...........................................405 Headers ........................................................403 HelpFile BoldfaceText ..............................................7 BulletedText ...............................................9 Conventions.................................................6 HelpButton ...............................................50 HelpMenu.................................................42 ItalicizedText..............................................8 UnderlinedText ...........................................9 UppercaseText ............................................8 Hide Features .................................................1617 IDs ........................................................1617 SpecificFeatureNames............................328 HighPoint Searches ..................................................700 Tutorial....................................................696 HighThresholdboxes...................................274 ListBox ................................................ 1398 Targets.................................................... 747 withaHardProbe...................................... 36 HitType .................................................... 1027 Hits Deleting .................................................... 33 DeletingfromtheHitBuffer.................... 481 EditingTargetList .................................. 480 EraseHit ................................................. 131 ErasingorDeletingHits ............................ 33 inU......................................................... 134 inV......................................................... 134 Number................................................... 903 onaFeature........................................... 1545 onaSurface .......................................... 1544 TakingHits ............................................... 33 Hits.............................................................. 414 HomePosition ............................................. 586 HometheUnit ........................................... 1555

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Index 1797

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

HorizontalCMMsRules .............................1088 HyperViewReportEditor ...........................1155 HyperViewReport,Migrating ....................1158 I I/OChannelstab...........................................196 I/OConcepts ..............................................1417 IconthatrunsPCDMISinReverseAxesmode ID Automaticallypositioning ........................146 Box..........................................................624 ExpressionCombinations.......................1502 Expressions............................................1500 Manage....................................................294 Setuptab..................................................166 ShowingorHiding........................... 300,510 WildCards.............................................1501 ID 1007 ID=[Feature] ..................................................46 If/EndIf CodeSample..........................................1114 If/EndIf ...................................................1113 IGES Compatibility.........................................1538 DataDialogBox ........................................88 EntitiesSupported..................................1538

ImageDisplay ......................................... 119 Make3D ................................................... 89 Setup....................................................... 120 IgnoreCADtoPart ...................................... 141 IgnoreMotionError..................................... 140 Ignoretheseobjects...................................... 308 IJKVector GenericFeatureVector............................ 862 Line Vector ............................................. 631 RotaryScanVector ............................... 1020 Surface1Vector...................................... 630 Surface2Vector...................................... 630 Surface3Vector...................................... 631 Import.............................................................. 9 ImportOptions......................................125,283 Importing aDataFileintoaPartProgram .................. 82 AvailFiles............................................. 1548 AvailableOptions.................................... 120 AxisSelection ........................................... 85 CADFile .................................................. 83 CATIAFile............................................... 84 CATIA5File............................................. 86 ChorusNTProgram Step1

1798 Index

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ConfigurePCDMIS .........................97 Step2 CreateandCalibratetheProbeFile insidePCDMIS...........................97 Step3

MultipleCADFiles................................... 82 ParasolidsFile........................................... 92 PartProgram ......................................... 1547 ProEFile................................................... 90 STEPFile.................................................. 91

CreatethePCDMISProgramFileand ImporttheDMISfile....................97 Step4 EndofautomaticImportPhase..........98 Step5 ManualVerificationofthePCDMIS Program .......................................98 ThingstoWatchforandSomeHelpful TipsandSuggestions ........................98 ChorusNTProgram....................................96 ColorScheme ..........................................201 DESFile....................................................86 DirectCADFile.......................................111 DMISFiles ..............................................101 DOSFiles ..............................................1548 DXFFile ...................................................87 GDXFile...................................................87 IGES(Alternate)File .................................89 IGESFile...................................................88 IGESSetup..............................................120 Merge/Replace...........................................82 MMIVFiles...........................................1548 MMIVProgram .......................................106
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

STLFile.................................................... 91 TutorProgram......................................... 108 UnigraphicsFile........................................ 92 VDAFSFile .............................................. 93 XYZIJKFile ............................................. 94 Importing....................................................... 81 Incrementbox.............................................. 635 Indentboxes forscans................................................ 1027 IndexableRotaryTable ................................ 206 IndividualAngleData.................................. 562 InfiniteRotaryTable.................................... 207 InfinitelyIndexableWrist .......................... 1554 InitialDirectionVector(DirVec)................ 1017 InitialHitsforScans .................................. 1027 InitialVectorsforScans............................. 1017 InnerBound............................................... 1022 Input............................................................ 419 InsertBookmark .......................................... 516 InsertBreakpoint ......................................... 516

Index 1799

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

InsertButton...............................................1454 InsertDefaults ..............................................392 InsertForm.................................................1413 InsertMenu ....................................................41 InspectionReport .........................................440 InstallPCDMISonAllComputers.............1517 IntegerCoercion.........................................1498 Interfaces Axila .......................................................231 BacktalkInterface1 ..................................232 BrightInterface........................................233 BSEmbedInterface ..................................243 DeaInterface ...........................................240 ElmInterface ...........................................243 FaroInterface...........................................244 FederalInterface ......................................245 GOMInterface.........................................246 JohanssonInterface ..................................246 LeitzInterface..........................................247 LKDriverInterface...................................250 LKRS232Interface ..................................252 ManmitiInterface ....................................254 ManmoraInterface...................................254 MetrocomInterface..................................255 MetrologInterface ...................................257

MitutoyoInterface................................... 257 MoraInterface......................................... 259 MZeizzInterface ..................................... 259 NumerexInterface................................... 260 OmnitechInterface .................................. 262 ReflexInterface....................................... 262 RenishawInterface .................................. 263 RomerInterface....................................... 263 SharpeInterface ...................................... 264 SheffieldInterface ................................... 266 Tech80Interface...................................... 268 TheodoleInterface................................... 269 WenzelInterface ..................................... 270 ZeissInterface......................................... 270 ZssGPIBInterface ................................... 271 Interfaces..................................................... 224 ISOLimitsandFits...................................... 930 ItalicizedText.................................................. 8 Iterative ....................................................... 873 IterativeAlignment CommandFormat.................................... 887 DialogBox.............................................. 890 Rules....................................................... 888 IterativeAlignment ...................................... 886

1800 Index

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

J Jump ............................................................131 Jumptoandfrom..........................................379 JumpingtoaLabel .....................................1127 JumpingtoSpecifiedLineNumbers..............379 K KeepExistingDimension'sAxes ..................152 KeepingExpressionValuesOnly................1449 KeyinMethod AxisScan ..............................................1077 CenterScan............................................1080 CircleScan ............................................1070 CylinderScan ........................................1073 KeyboardVariation JoiningorMergingKeys ..........................472 KeyedinData AnglePoint..............................................690 AutoCircle ..............................................710 AutoPlane...............................................708 CharacteristicPoint................................1593 Cone........................................................728 CornerPoint ............................................692 Cylinder...................................................725 EdgePoint ...............................................687 Ellipse .....................................................713

HighPoint............................................... 701 Line ........................................................ 704 Notch ...................................................... 715 RoundSlot .............................................. 720 Sphere..................................................... 730 SquareSlot.............................................. 722 SurfacePoint........................................... 684 VectorPoint ............................................ 681 KeyinginProbeDepth............................... 1542 L Label CustomTemplates................................. 1279 Display ................................................... 351 Length..................................................... 168 Manage ................................................... 294 Ordering................................................ 1287 TemplateEditor..................................... 1264 Templates ............................................. 1279 Label ......................................................... 1128 LabelingMethod.......................................... 167 Labels AutomaticLabelPositioning.................... 146 BackgroundColor ................................... 349 EditingAppearance ................................. 349 LineColor............................................... 349

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Index 1801

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Shadows ..................................................349 ShowingorHiding........................... 300,510 LabelsinReports........................................1287 Language........................................................68 Last ................................................................49 LastExecutionReportMode.......................1160 LastHit ........................................................203 LastTwo ........................................................49 LayoutandViews Changing .................................................290 LayoutandViews.........................................290 Leapfrog Accept .....................................................905 Operation.................................................901 LeapfrogMeasurementOptions ....................902 LeastSquares ...............................................773 LEAST_SQR ...............................................773 LegacyApplications.......................................79 LeitzClampingValue...................................182 Lengthbox ...................................................636 Level Alignment................................................870 Create ......................................................317 Deselect ...................................................317 Displaying,Creating,andManipulating....292

Manipulations ......................................... 319 New ........................................................ 316 Position................................................... 317 Reposition............................................... 317 Select ...................................................... 316 ToCreateaNewLevel ............................ 316 Level ........................................................27,32 LevelD2HBLevel13 ...................................... 22 Levels Creating .................................................. 293 Deleting .................................................. 294 Modifying ............................................... 294 LightingandMaterials ................................. 330 LightingTab................................................ 332 Line BasicScan............................................. 1082 Changing theDirection............................ 809 DefinitionFormat.................................... 746 FieldDefinitions ..................................... 702 Profile ..................................................... 961 LinefromaFile Reading................................................. 1423 Writing ................................................. 1432 LineMethod Direction1ofPatchScan ...................... 1012

1802 Index

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Direction2ofPatchScan .......................1012 LinearCloseScan ...................................1012 LinearOpenScan....................................1012 ROTARY ..............................................1012 SectionScan ..........................................1012 LinePROFILEDimension............................963 LineTechnique...........................................1012 LinearClosedAdvancedScan ....................1043 LinearFeatures...........................................1544 LinearOpenAdvancedScan.......................1041 Linearoption................................................851 Lines Deleting...................................................915 Editing.....................................................915 Linesoversurfaces .......................................292 LINESEGMENTENDINDEXfunction.......1488 LINESEGMENTSTARTINDEXfunction...1488 Link ...........................................................1513 ListBox .........................................................46 ListFilesofType .........................................896 ListofAvailableTools .................................558 Literals.......................................................1455 LoadProbe ...................................................417 LoadingtheActiveProbe .............................224 LOADMACHINECommand,Deleting.........588

Location ...................................................... 924 LocationAxes............................................ 1392 LOCATIONDimension............................... 924 LocationDimensionLines,Adding .............. 914 LocationOptions ......................................... 927 LockingyourMachine'sAxes ...................... 482 LoopIds .................................................... 1125 Looping..................................................... 1123 LoopingOffsetsandAlignments ................ 1125 LowForce ................................................... 187 LowLevelMatrixCalibration ...................... 576 LowThresholdboxes................................... 274 M Machines Axes....................................................... 586 AxesLocking.......................................... 482 Commands.............................................. 130 CoordinateSystem .................................. 203 Defining.................................................. 585 Deleting .................................................. 588 DisplayintheGraphicsDisplayWindow. 587 Errors...................................................... 130 HomePosition......................................... 586 Interface.................................................. 224 SwitchingBetweenProfiles ..................... 133

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Index 1803

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Macro Play .........................................................525 Play/RecordToolbar ................................524 Record.....................................................525 Make3D ........................................................89 MakeCAD3D .............................................313 Make VariablesGloballyVisible ..................150 ManagingOnScreenElements.....................294 Manual Compensation ..........................................275 FineProbing ............................................189 HitRetract ...............................................155 Mode .......................................................132 PointTriggerTolerance............................192 ScanOptions..........................................1087 Scans .....................................................1086 ScanswithaHardProbe ........................1091 ScanswithaTouchTriggerProbe ..........1090 ManualorDCCMode ....................................37 Mark ............................................................386 MarkAll ......................................................387 MarkAllIcon...............................................515 MarkCurrentFeature ...................................515 MarkUsed....................................................566 MarkedSets

Delete ..................................................... 391 Execute ................................................... 390 Icons ....................................................... 390 Lock....................................................... 390 RemoveFeatures..................................... 389 Reposition............................................... 390 Sample.................................................... 388 Window .................................................. 466 WindowinOperatorMode .................... 1580 MarkedSets................................................. 388 MarkingCommandsforExecution............... 386 MarkingExternalObjectsforExecution..... 1514 Markings ChildMode ............................................. 388 ClearAll ................................................. 387 ClearMarked .......................................... 515 ParentMode............................................ 387 MasterNominal ......................................... 1025 MasterProbeFileCalibration..................... 1527 Matchcase................................................... 377 Matchwholewordonly................................ 377 MaterialCoefficientboxes ........................... 273 MaterialConditions ..................................... 917 MaterialTab ................................................ 335 Materials,Disable ........................................ 308

1804 Index

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Max Angle.....................................................1014 Force .......................................................187 Increment...............................................1014 Iterations..................................................893 Max/Minboxes........................................1014 MAX_INSC .................................................773 MaximumAcceleration ................................185 MaximumInscribed......................................773 MaximumNumberofpagesproperty..........1263 MCS ............................................................203 MeasAllAlways ..........................................891 MeasAllOnce..............................................891 Measure .......................................................543 Measure3.....................................................901 MeasureaCircle.............................................22 MeasureaLine...............................................21 MeasureaPlane .............................................21 MeasureOrderlist ........................................634 MeasuretheAlignmentFeatures...................875 MeasuredFeature AngularDefinitionFormat .......................746 BasicHit..................................................414 Circle.......................................................448 CircleCommand......................................740

CircularFeatureType.............................. 746 Cone ....................................................... 449 ConeCommand....................................... 741 CoordinateSystem .................................. 746 CopytoActuals....................................... 746 Cylinder .................................................. 449 CylinderCommand ................................. 741 DialogBox.............................................. 745 Editing .................................................... 744 ForceType .............................................. 744 ForcingaGivenFeatureType.................. 523 GuessingaFeatureType.......................... 523 HitTargets .............................................. 747 Inserting.................................................. 743 Line ........................................................ 447 LineCommand........................................ 739 OverrideGuess........................................ 749 Plane....................................................... 448 PlaneCommand ...................................... 739 Point ....................................................... 447 PointCommand....................................... 738 RoundSlot .............................................. 450 RoundSlotCommand ............................. 742 Sphere..................................................... 450 SphereCommand.................................... 740

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Index 1805

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

SquareSlot ..............................................451 MeasuredFeature .........................................737 MeasuredFeatures........................................414 MeasuredFeaturesToolbar...........................523 MeasuredHitsDialogBox............................748 MeasuredPointMethod AxisBasicScan .....................................1078 CenterBasicScan ..................................1081 CircleBasicScan ...................................1070 CylinderBasicScan ...............................1074 MeasurementPropertiesarea ........................634 MeasurementResults,Reporting.................1155 Measurement,Ending.................................1545 MeasuringFeatures ........................................31 MeasuringFeaturesOffline .......................1543 MemoryPages............................................1150 MenuItem Editing.......................................................55 Moving......................................................54 Remove .....................................................54

MIN_SEP .................................................... 773 MinimumCircumscribed ............................. 773 MinimumSeparation.................................... 773 Minus Tolerance ................................................ 940 Tolerances............................................... 930 TolsShowNegative ................................ 162 Minus .......................................................... 938 Minus()key................................................. 33 MinutestoSave ........................................... 134 Mirror............................................................ 66 MirrorCAD................................................. 360 MiscellaneousFunctions ............................ 1488 MLBErrorInformation.............................. 1633 MLB001................................................... 1634 MLB003Communicationserror................ 1635 MLB004Numericerror ............................ 1635 MLB005Communicationserror................ 1635 MLB006Outputmasklogicaltranslationerror ............................................................. 1636 MLB007Outputunavailable..................... 1636

Menus,Customizing.......................................53 MLB010UnidentifiedFCS....................... 1636 Merge/Replace ...............................................82 MLB011Firstrecordinskipfileisinvalid 1637 MinAngle..................................................1014 MLB012Invalidrecordinskipfile ........... 1637 MinIncrement............................................1014 MLB013Skipfileaccesserror.................. 1637 MIN_CIRCSC..............................................773 MLB014Nestedcodeblocks .................... 1637

1806 Index

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MLB015Missingbeginblock ...................1638 MLB016Nestedskipsequence..................1638 MLB017Invalidendskipblockfunction ...1638 MLB018Impropertolerancingmode.........1639 MLB019Improperparameter ....................1639 MLB020Noparameterpermitted ..............1639 MLB021Firstparameterinvalid................1639 MLB022Secondparameterinvalid............1640 MLB023Thirdparameterinvalid ..............1640 MLB024Fourthparameterinvalid.............1640 MLB025Invalidparameterspecified .........1640 MLB026Invalidtipspecified ....................1641 MLB027Excessiveangulardeviation........1641 MLB028Insufficientnumberofparameters ..............................................................1641 MLB029Dimensionalarrayvaluesoutofrange ..............................................................1642 MLB030Featurestackdoesnotcontain requiredfeatures ....................................1642 MLB031Firstparameterspecifiesinvalidtype ..............................................................1642 MLB032Secondparameterspecifiesinvalid type .......................................................1643 MLB033Planeisinvalidtype....................1643

MLB037Invalidfeaturetype .................... 1644 MLB038Cannotintersectlineparallelwith cylinderaxis.......................................... 1644 MLB040Summationarraydoesnotcontain enoughfeatures ..................................... 1645 MLB041Pointsdonotdefinethefeature .. 1645 MLB042Summationsinvalid ................... 1645 MLB043Segmentationinprogress ........... 1646 MLB044Segmentationnotinitialized ....... 1646 MLB045Commandcannotbeskipped...... 1646 MLB050RCUnotavailable...................... 1647 MLB060Rotarytablenotavailable........... 1647 MLB061Rotarytablecounternotavailable ............................................................. 1647 MLB062Notallowedonrotarytablewith counter.................................................. 1647 MLB063Notallowedonerrorcorrectedrotary table...................................................... 1648 MLB064NotallowedonaHirthcouplingtable ............................................................. 1648 MLB070Referencenotsaved ................... 1648 MLB071Featurestorageoverflow............ 1648 MLB072Featurenotfound....................... 1649 MLB080Improperprobeinstalled ............ 1649 MLB088RCUDrivebuttonusedwithQU1649

MLB034Cannotintersectconcentriccircles ..............................................................1643 MLB035Lineperpendiculartoworkingplane ..............................................................1644 MLB036Invalid(null)featureaddressed...1644

MLB089RCUReturntoscreenbuttonused withQU ................................................ 1649 MLB090DCCnotavailable...................... 1649 MLB091Contactnotmadewithpart ........ 1650

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Index 1807

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MLB092Insufficientclearance..................1650 MLB093Remoteautonotconfigured........1650 MLB094Remoteautointerlocknotengaged ..............................................................1651 MLB095Servopowerfailedtoengage......1651

MLB153APC/MPcommunicationerror ... 1657 MLB154APCracktimeoutorlockfailure1657 MLB155APCrackovertravel................... 1657 MLB156Safe positionnotdefined............ 1658 MLB157Noextensionsloaded ................. 1658

MLB096UnabletoselectAutomode ........1651 MLB158Toomanyextensionsloaded ...... 1658 MLB100Probeheaddatumerror...............1652 MLB160Firmwareentitynotfound.......... 1659 MLB101Probeheadobstructerror ............1652 MLB161APCrackcouldnotbelowered .. 1659 MLB110Tip0notcalibrated.....................1652 MLB162APCrackcouldnotberaised ..... 1659 MLB111Sphericalcalibrationfixturerequired ..............................................................1653 MLB112Temperaturechangeinvalidatedtip0 calibration..............................................1653 MLB113Negativeprobediameterinvalidated calibration..............................................1653 MLB114Excessiveprobeoffsetsinvalidated calibration..............................................1654 MLB115Fileerroronfeatureorprobestorage operation................................................1654 MLB116Notoncircleatbeginningofcircular move .....................................................1654 MLB120Partimproperlyalignedorscaled 1655 MLB130Operatorabort ............................1655 MLB131Electroniclevelnotavailable ......1655 MLB132Electroniclevelinterfacetimeout 1655 MLB140Pointnotavailable......................1656 MLB150APCracknotconnected .............1656 MLB151APCfirmwareorinterfacenotpresent ..............................................................1656 MLB152APCracknotcalibrated..............1657 MLB164Insufficientanalogprobedeflection ............................................................. 1659 MLB166Notacircle ................................ 1660 MLB168Unexpectedtouch ...................... 1660 MLB169Unexpectedendoftravel ........... 1661 MLB170Touchprobewillnotrearm ........ 1661 MLB173PH9probeoverload ................... 1661 MLB190Toomuchprobedeflection......... 1662 MLB191Cameoffsurface........................ 1662 MLB505UserKeyUnknown ................... 1662 Mode cad++........................................................ 13 debug ........................................................ 13 offline ....................................................... 13 online........................................................ 13 operator..................................................... 13 pro ............................................................ 13

1808 Index

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

reverseaxes ...............................................13 userprivilege .............................................13 Mode=MAN/DCC......................................415 ModelSection ................................................85 ModifytheDimensionPriortoPrinting ........916 Modifying NominalValues .......................................380 TargetValues...........................................380 Modifying ....................................................380 ModifyingRegistryEntries.........................1741 Monitors.......................................................280 Motion Commands...............................................415 Options....................................................307 Parameters ...............................................171 Tab..........................................................180 MountPoint ProbeChanger........................214 Mouse trackballstyle............................................10 MouseorMotionController ...........................10 MouseTerminology .........................................7 MoveAllCommand,Inserting....................1108 Moveby anOffset ........................................872 MoveCircularCommand,Inserting ............1106 MoveClearPlaneCommand,Inserting.......1106

MoveCommands Inserting................................................ 1101 MoveCommands......................................... 416 MoveCursorTo......................................... 1004 MoveExclusiveCommand ........................ 1533 MoveFeaturetoReferencePlane ................. 143 MoveIncrementCommand,Inserting......... 1104 MovePointCommand,Inserting................ 1101 MoveRotaryTableCommand,Inserting .... 1109 MoveSpeed................................................. 415 MoveSpeed%............................................. 182 MoveSweepCommand,Inserting.............. 1107 MoveSyncCommand Inserting................................................ 1107 MoveSyncCommand................................ 1532 MovetoaFeature ........................................ 872 MOVE/PH9_OFFSETCommand............... 1548 MovingaFile ............................................ 1442 MovingCAD............................................... 157 MovingDialogBoxes .................................... 51 MPErrorInformation ................................ 1663 MP001Badcommandmessagesyntaxerror ............................................................. 1665 MP002DestinationnotpresentorMPruntime systemerror .......................................... 1666 MP003Resourceshortage......................... 1666 MP004Numericerror............................... 1667

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Index 1809

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MP007CPUEPROMchecksumerror .......1667 MP008CPUEPROMchecksumerror .......1667 MP013MPtoHostbufferoverflow ..........1667 MP015MPforegroundtobackgroundbuffer overflow ................................................1668 MP018MPinternalcountererror ..............1668 MP019MPandDCCfirmwareincompatibility ..............................................................1668 MP021AtlasY2counterfault ...................1668 MP022AtlasY3counterfault ...................1669 MP023AtlasY2beamblockerror.............1669 MP024AtlasY3beamblockerror.............1669 MP025AuxiliaryXaxisA/Dconversionerror ..............................................................1670 MP026AuxiliaryYaxisA/Dconversionerror ..............................................................1670 MP027Auxiliary ZaxisA/Dconversionerror ..............................................................1670 MP028SP600+12voltfuseblown............1670 MP029SP600 12voltfuseblown.............1671 MP030SP600+5voltfuseblown..............1671 MP031Probeovertravelfault ....................1671 MP032Counterhardware/configuration mismatch ...............................................1671 MP033Waxiscounterfault ......................1672 MP034Xaxiscounterfault.......................1672 MP035Yaxiscounterfault.......................1673 MP036Zaxiscounterfault .......................1674

MP042TemperatureCompensationhardware absent.................................................... 1674 MP043TemperatureCompensationhardware failure ................................................... 1675 MP045ExcessiveMPhardwaretemperatures ............................................................. 1675 MP046TemperatureCompensationorDigital I/Oboardfailure.................................... 1675 MP047TemperatureCompensationD/Afailure ............................................................. 1675 MP048TempComporLasersystem configurationerror................................. 1676 MP055SP600interfacecardA/Dconversion failure ................................................... 1676 MP059Renishawemergencystoperror .... 1676 MP060DCCtoMPacknowledgetimeout . 1677 MP064APLchecksumerror..................... 1677 MP077Waxisbeamblockerror............... 1677 MP078Xaxisbeamblockerror................ 1678 MP079Yaxisbeamblockerror................ 1678 MP080Zaxisbeamblockerror ................ 1678 MP081Laseroffortotalbeamblockerror 1678 MP082Laserlockerror ............................ 1679 MP083Lasernotstableafterwarmuptime limit ...................................................... 1679 MP090APCUARTinputerror................. 1679 MP091APCdatainputbufferoverflow .... 1679 MP092APCGOmessagetimeout ............ 1680 MP093APClockerror ............................. 1680 MP094APClidtimeouterror ................... 1680

1810 Index

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MP095APCexcessiveentryspeed ............1680 MP105HosttoMPcommunicationinterrupted ..............................................................1681 MP108MPtoRCUcommunicationserror.1681

MP159Xaxisboundup ........................... 1689 MP160DCCboardinoperative ................. 1690 MP161RCUinoperative........................... 1690 MP162Yaxisexcessivebias.................... 1690

MP109RCUtoMPcommunicationserror.1682 MP163Yaxisboundup ........................... 1691 MP111HosttoMPcommunicationerror...1682 MP164Waxisoverspeed ......................... 1691 MP117Waxisservoamplifieroverheat ....1682 MP165Xaxisoverspeed .......................... 1692 MP118Xaxisservoamplifieroverheat .....1683 MP166Yaxisoverspeed .......................... 1692 MP119Yaxisservoamplifieroverheat .....1683 MP167Zaxisoverspeed.......................... 1693 MP120Zaxisservoamplifieroverheat .....1683 MP168Unexpectedtouch ......................... 1693 MP121Waxisservoamplifierfault ..........1683 MP169Unexpectedendoftravel.............. 1694 MP122Xaxisservoamplifierfault ...........1684 MP170Touchprobewillnotrearm........... 1694 MP123Yaxisservoamplifierfault ...........1684 MP124Zaxisservoamplifierfault............1685 MP127Piezotoucherror ...........................1685 MP129WaxisHirthcouplinglockfailure.1686 MP173PH9probeoverload...................... 1695 MP130Operatorabort...............................1686 MP174PH9/PH10toMPbufferoverflow. 1695 MP131WaxisHirthcouplingunlockfailure ..............................................................1686 MP142Waxisbound................................1686 MP143Servochassispowersupplyfault ...1687 MP146Waxisrunaway ............................1687 MP147Xaxisrunaway.............................1687 MP179Probechecksumerror ................... 1697 MP148Yaxisrunaway.............................1688 MP149Zaxisrunaway .............................1688 MP151D/Aupdateswerelateormissing...1689 MP158Xaxisexcessivebias....................1689
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

MP171MPtoPH9/PH10communicationerror ............................................................. 1694 MP172PH9/PH10toMPcommunicationerror ............................................................. 1695

MP175Zaxisexcessivebias .................... 1695 MP176Zaxisboundup............................ 1696 MP177MPfrontpanelkeyboarderror ...... 1696 MP178MPconfigurationdatachecksumerror ............................................................. 1696

MP180MicroprocessorEnhancedAccuracy (MEA)checksumerror.......................... 1697 MP181InvalidMEAdata ......................... 1697 MP182Optionalinterfaceerror................. 1697


Index 1811

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MP183Probechangerrackdisconnected ...1698 MP184Probechangerovertravelerror.......1698 MP186InvalidWaxisMEAdata..............1698 MP310Invalidfrontpanelkeystroke combination ...........................................1699 MP320Invalidfunctionselected................1699 MP330Keystrokebufferoverflow.............1699

MP522D/Aboardconversionfailure........ 1704 MP523RS232hostinterfacefailure......... 1704 MP524RS232PH9/PH10interfacefailure1704 MP525RS232Probechangerinterfacefailure ............................................................. 1705 MP526RS232electroniclevelinterfacefailure ............................................................. 1705 MP527SMP400 FLASHmemoryerror ... 1705

MP340Offsetangleerror ..........................1699 MP528SMP400FLASHmemoryerror ... 1706 MP501MPCPUBoardRAMfailure.........1700 MP529SMP400FLASHmemoryerror ... 1706 MP502CPUInterruptchipfailure .............1700 MP530SMP400FLASHmemoryerror ... 1706 MP503NonexistentI/OdeviceorRAMfailure ..............................................................1700 MP504Realtimeclockfailure ..................1701 MP505Twomillisecondclockinterruptfailure ..............................................................1701 MP506Controlboardread/writefailure.....1701 MP535NoDCCboardpresent.................. 1707 MP507ControlboardRCUinterfaceUART failure ....................................................1701 MP508ControlboardRCUinterfaceUART interruptfailure ......................................1701 MP510Interruptsnotoperating .................1702 MP511ControlboardRCUinterfaceinterrupt fail.........................................................1702 MP512Interruptpriorityfail......................1702 MP515IEEE488initializationfailure .......1702 MP516Frontpaneldecodefail ..................1703 MP517MPpanelswitchstuck...................1703 MP519EPROMchecksumerror................1703 MP521EPROMdirectoryerror .................1704 MP536DCCboardfailure ........................ 1708 MP537DCCboardfailure ........................ 1708 MP538DCCboardfailure ........................ 1708 MP539DCCboardfailure ........................ 1709 MP540NoTempCompboardpresent ....... 1709 MP541TempCompboardfailure.............. 1709 MP542TempCompboardfailure.............. 1709 MP543TempCompboardfailure.............. 1710 MP544TempCompboardfailure.............. 1710 MP545TempCompboardfailure.............. 1710 MP546TempCompboardfailure.............. 1710 MP531SMP400RAMmemoryerror ...... 1706 MP532SMP400RAMmemoryerror ...... 1707 MP533Noamp/check/divideboardpresent1707 MP534Amp/check/divideboardfailure .... 1707

1812 Index

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MP547Processorboardfailure..................1711 MP548Processorboardfailure..................1711 MP550InsufficientRAM ..........................1711 MP551Toomanysoftrategroups .............1711 MP560Processorboardfailure..................1712 MP561UARTinterruptfailure..................1712

DeterminetheMasterSystem............ 1518 Step3 MatchtheCMMAxesforEachArm. 1518 Step4 ConfigureProbeHeadMountOrientation .................................................... 1518 Step5

MP562UARTinterruptfailure..................1712 SetuptheMasterandSlave ............... 1519 MP563UARTinterruptfailure..................1713 Step6 MP564UARTinterruptfailure..................1713 ConnecttheComputers..................... 1520 MP565UARTinterruptfailure..................1713 Step7 MP566UARTinterruptfailure..................1713 EnterMultipleArmMode................. 1521 MP601DCCRAMfailure.........................1714 Step8 MP619DCCEPROMchecksumerror.......1714 CalibratetheMultipleArmSystem ... 1521 MP621DCCEPROMdirectoryerror ........1714 Step9 MP650InsufficientDCCRAM .................1714 MP651ToomanyDCCsoftwarerategroups present ...................................................1715 MP697Servooffpushbuttonstuck ............1715 MultipleArmMachines MP698Estopcircuitopen ........................1715 MultipleArmCalibrationProcedure ...........1522 MultipleArmCMM Step1 InstallPCDMISonAllComputers ...1517 Step10 SettheMultipleArmOrigin ..............1528 Step2 CausinganArmtoWaittoPreventCollision ......................................................... 1532 CreatingaPartProgramUsingMultipleArm Mode ................................................ 1529 FlushforLinearClose ............................ 1027 TemperatureCompensation ................... 1533 Thiscomputer(master)drivesallarms .. 1520 Thiscomputer(slave)relayscommandsfrom themaincomputer ............................ 1520 CalibratetheMultipleArmProbeFiles .................................................... 1527 MultipleArmCMM................................... 1517

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Index 1813

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Thiscomputerisnotusedinamultiplearm setting ...............................................1520 MultipleArmMachines................................587

CharacteristicPointTypeDefinition ...... 1592 CharacteristicPoints.............................. 1591 Circle .................................................... 1595

MultipleArmMode CircleFieldDefinitions ......................... 1596 UsingCALLSUBStatements .................1138 CircleTypeDefinition........................... 1596 MultipleArmMode....................................1517 ComputerName ...................................... 171 MultipleArmProgramExecution ...............1531 DepthforaGap&Flush........................ 1601 MultipleArms ..............................................204 EdgePoint............................................. 1588 MultipleUserSettings EdgePointFieldDefinition ................... 1590 LongSegment..........................................195 EdgePointTypeDefinition ................... 1589 MultipleUserSettings ..................................133 MultipleWindows ......................................1535 Multiplier .....................................................923 MultisectionManualScan ..........................1096 N NameBoxforCADElements.......................329 NameBoxinCallSubroutine .....................1139 NavigatingtheUserInterface Introduction ...............................................39 NC100Parameterstab.................................194 NC100Setuptab .........................................170 NC100VideoProbe AutoFeatureDialogBox........................1583 AutomaticFeatures ................................1583 Baricenter ..............................................1595 CharacteristicPointFieldDefinitions .....1592 FeatureTypeforaSquare SlotandGap& FlushMeasurements ......................... 1602 FlushforaGap&Flush ........................ 1602 ForCharacteristicPoints........................ 1584 ForEdgePoints..................................... 1584 Gain........................................................ 194 GapforaGap&Flush .......................... 1601 KeyedinData Circle ............................................... 1597 EdgePoint ........................................ 1590 RoundSlot........................................ 1604 SquareSlot ....................................... 1601 VectorPoint ..................................... 1587 LongSegment ......................................... 195 MeasuringaCircle ................................ 1597 MeasuringaRoundSlot ........................ 1604

1814 Index

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

MeasuringaSquareSlot.........................1600 MeasuringaVectorPoint.......................1587 MeasuringanEdgePoint........................1590 MeasuringAutoFeatures .......................1583 OffsetValue ............................................194 Pin.........................................................1595 RoundSlot.............................................1603 RoundSlotFieldDefinition....................1604 SquareSlotandGap&FlushFieldDefinition .........................................................1600 SquareSlotandGap&FlushTypeDefinition .........................................................1599 SquareSlot/Gap&Flush........................1598 SurfaceDataMethod Circle ................................................1597 EdgePoint.........................................1591 RoundSlot ........................................1604 SquareSlot........................................1601 VectorPoint ......................................1587 TCPIPAddress ........................................170 Type=RIGHT/LEFTforaGap&Flush 1602 VectorPoint...........................................1586 VectorPointFieldDefinitions................1587 VideoSetup .............................................196 VideoSetupbutton ................................1584 WireFrameMethod Circle ................................................1598
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

EdgePoint ........................................ 1591 RoundSlot........................................ 1605 SquareSlot ....................................... 1601 VectorPoint ..................................... 1587 NC100VideoProbe ................................... 1566 New AlignmentMode ..................................... 388 AnglesListbox ....................................... 562 CoordinateSystem .................................. 414 Icon......................................................... 434 Level....................................................... 316 MachineforDisplay................................ 585 MarkedSets ............................................ 389 MenuItem................................................. 55 PartPrograms............................................ 61 Probe ...................................................... 535 ProbeFile.............................................. 1552 Row ...................................................... 1087 Script ...................................................... 436 Subroutine............................................. 1132 NewPartProgramDialogbox........................ 18 Newton........................................................ 187 NextBookmark............................................ 394 NextBookmarkIcon.................................... 516 Nickname .................................................... 560

Index 1815

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

NoDisplay Option ...................................................1506 NoDisplay .................................................1144 NoGraph ...................................................1389 NoMachineItem..........................................587 NoProbeDefaultItem..................................217 Nominal forAngleBetween ...................................945 forDistance .............................................940 Point........................................................384 Size .........................................................930 Nominal .......................................................973 NominalValues Modifying................................................380 Nominal Values............................................380 Nominals Methodarea...........................................1025 ModeTab ..............................................1068 NominalsDirectlytoCalculateOffsets, Changing .................................................834 NoncalibratedTip.........................................539

Hits ......................................................... 545 ProbeChangers ....................................... 209 Sectionstoscan..................................... 1096 SelectedFeatures..................................... 357 ShankHits............................................... 553 TimestoOffset........................................ 372 NumberforReturnData............................... 188 NumberedLists................................................ 9 O Object ActiveX................................................ 1176 Analysis ................................................ 1178 Arc........................................................ 1178 Bitmap .................................................. 1181 Border................................................... 1180 Button ................................................... 1182 CadReportObject................................... 1184 Checkbutton.......................................... 1192 ComboBox............................................ 1193 CommandTextObject............................ 1191 DimensionColorKey............................ 1194

NullfilterScanTechnique ...........................1013 EditBox................................................. 1195 NumShankHits ...........................................553 EditDblBox ........................................... 1196 Number EditLongBox......................................... 1196 DecimalPlaces ........................................162 Ellipse................................................... 1197 DeletedFeatures ......................................357

1816 Index

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Frame ....................................................1198 Gauge ....................................................1198 Graph ....................................................1202 GridControlObject .................................1206 Histogram..............................................1205 Label .....................................................1211 LeaderLine............................................1213 Line.......................................................1214 ListBox..................................................1215 MultiEditBox.........................................1216 OLE.......................................................1216 Page.......................................................1250 Pointer ...................................................1222 Polyline .................................................1223 Radiobutton ...........................................1224 Section...................................................1250 SectionCutObject ...................................1226 Select.....................................................1225 Slider.....................................................1231 Spinner ..................................................1233 Text .......................................................1236

ObjectTypeList ........................................ 1514 Off............................................................. 1130 OffLine MeasuringFeatures ............................... 1543 Mode .................................................... 1537 PartProgramming ..................................... 15 Prerequisites.......................................... 1538 Probe ........................................................ 35 Probes ................................................... 1539 OffLine ........................................................ 15 OffLine ........................................................ 37 OffLinevs.OnLine ..................................... 15 Offset +/....................................................... 1016 Force....................................................... 189 Value ...................................................... 194 XYZ ....................................................... 556 Offset ........................................................ 1016 OffsetDefiningElementarea ....................... 319 OffsetsDirectlytoCalculateNominals, Changing................................................. 812 OKButton ..................................................... 48

TextReportObject...................................1234 OKtoMove...................................... 1104,1105 TextVar .................................................1236 ONERRORSupportedInterfaces .............. 1130 TheFrame/TheView .............................1249 OnHitError ................................................ 498 ObjectProperties,WithExpressionLanguage ..............................................................1502 OneCADfileforMultiplePartPrograms....... 83

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Index 1817

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Online PartProgramming......................................15 Probe .........................................................35 Online...........................................................15 OnlySelected .............................................1025 Open ..........................................................1578 OpenBasic...................................................436 OpenGL ChangingOptions ....................................281 Mode .......................................................354 Options....................................................281 OpenIcon.....................................................434 OpeningaFileforReadingorWriting ........1419 OpeningExistingPartPrograms .....................62 OperandCoercion.......................................1498 OperandCoercionandMixedTypeExpressions ..............................................................1500 OperandTypes ...........................................1455

OperatorsforExpressions .......................... 1472 Optical......................................................... 568 OptimizeSurface ......................................... 847 Option1 .................................................... 1556 Option2 .................................................... 1556 Option3 .................................................... 1557 Option4 .................................................... 1557 OptionButtons............................................... 51 OptionalProbetab ....................................... 186 Options forScanning....................... 1006,1064,1087 forTraceFields ..................................... 1144 Menu .................................................... 1381 Password................................................. 138 Options........................................................ 281 Orderinglabels .......................................... 1287 Orientationarea ........................................... 318 OrientationforDistanceDimensions............ 942

Operation .......................................................42 Origin Operator Boxes...................................................... 274 Comments .............................................1403 Button ..................................................... 872 Instructionsfor.......................................1217 OffsetDistance........................................ 872 OperatorMode Origin.......................................................... 890 CalibrateTips ........................................1580 OriginDefiningElement(s)area................... 318 OperatorMode ...........................................1577 OutofOrderExecution ................................ 128 OperatorModeMenuOptions ....................1578

1818 Index

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

OutlineofPlane............................................149 Output asaDMISOutputFile ...............................76 OptionsfortheEditWindow......................72 OptionsfortheGraphicsDisplayWindow..69 toaFile .....................................................74 toaFileUsingExpressions ........................73 tothePrinter ..............................................77 OutputTo.....................................................923 Overridebutton ............................................383 OverrideGuess.............................................749 OverridingaGuessedMeasuredFeature .......749 OverridingFoundNominals..........................381 OverridingGuessedFeatures ........................381 P ParallelGD&T .............................................955 ParallelPlanes ............................................1096 ParallelTo....................................................942 Parallelism ...................................................955 PARALLELISMDimension.........................956 PARAMStatements ...................................1413 ParameterSetsarea.......................................553 ParameterSettings Accelerationtab.......................................185 ClearPlanetab..........................................175

Dimensiontab ......................................... 172 I/OChannelstab...................................... 196 Motiontab............................................... 180 NC100Parameterstab............................ 194 OptionalProbetab................................... 186 ProbeTriggerOptionstab........................ 190 Probingtab.............................................. 178 RotateTabletab ...................................... 183 ParentMode ................................................ 387 PartImage EnlargingaPortionwithintheGraphics DisplayWindow................................. 297 EnlargingwithintheGraphicsDisplay window............................................... 297 PartPrograminMultipleArmMode .......... 1529 PartPrograms Closing ..................................................... 79 CreateaNewPartProgram........................ 18 Editing .................................................... 369 EditingfromSummaryMode .................. 408 Ending .................................................. 1141 ExecutingandDebuggingOffLine ....... 1545 Saving....................................................... 65 PartPrograms ................................................ 61 Part/Machinetab.......................................... 153 PartialCalibration........................................ 212 Part'sPositionandOrientation...................... 899

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Index 1819

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

PassBackSettingsfromSubroutine..............151 PassThroughPlane ......................................175 Passing FeatureNamesintoaSubroutine ............1132 NumericCharactersintoaSubroutine ....1131 TextStringsintoaSubroutine ................1132 VariablesintoaSubroutine ....................1131 VariablesToandFromBASICScripts ...1509 Password......................................................138 Paste Icon .........................................................435 withPattern..............................................372 withPatternIcon......................................518 Paste ............................................................370 PatchAdvancedScan .................................1046 PatchScansMaintainLastIncrement............147 PathDefinitionTab ....................................1035 PathLines ShowingandAnimatingPathLines..........353 ViewingPathLines..................................505 PathLines ..................................................1545 PathProperties,forAutoFeatures.................482 PathRegeneration.........................................354 PathSimulation ............................................353 Pattern..........................................................371

Patternmatching .......................................... 377 PatternsofFeatures,Editing......................... 371 PCDMIS Gear.......................................................... 16 Laser......................................................... 15 MenuBar .................................................. 41 NC ............................................................ 15 RegistryEntries,Editing........................ 1741 SetupOptions.......................................... 134 Vision ....................................................... 15 PDFReport.................................................... 74 Percentageofremainingobjectstodraw....... 309 PerimeterAdvancedScan .......................... 1049 PermboxforScans .................................... 1027 PerpenTo .................................................... 942 PerpendicularTo.......................................... 942 Perpendicularity........................................... 954 PERPENDICULARITYDimension ............. 954 PierceCADon3DRotate ............................ 146 PiercePointColumn .................................... 382 Plane ChangingtheDirection............................ 837 PlaneLinePointAlignment......................... 456 PlayaPreRecordedMacro.......................... 525 Plusbox....................................................... 938

1820 Index

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

PlusTolerance AngularityDimensions ............................969 CoaxialityDimensions .............................949 Flatness ...................................................954 ParallelismDimensions............................956 PerpendicularityDimensions....................955 RoundnessDimensions ............................950 RunoutDimensions..................................961 StraightnessDimensions ..........................953 Symmetry ................................................972 Point #(number).............................................1036 Coercion ................................................1499 Density ....................................................189 Functions...............................................1485 InfoFormat............................................1397 Reference...............................................1460 Point ..........................................................1397

PointertoReferenceData........................... 1511 Pointers ..................................................... 1465 POINTINFOCommand ............................. 1399 PointsforLineScan................................... 1084 Points,Start,DirectionandEnd.................. 1084 Polar Option..................................................... 852 VectorCompensation .............................. 179 Polarand CartesianCoordinatesforTextual . 921 Polar/Rect.................................................... 862 Polygon ....................................................... 731 Polyhedral ................................................... 554 PortNumber ................................................ 171 Portable ConvertingHitstoPoints....................... 1569 MouseMode ......................................... 1568 PortableArmCMMs(Gage2000A,Faro, Romer) ............................................. 1089 PulledHits ............................................ 1570

PointInfoBoxes,Inserting .........................1396 ScanningforSampleHits ...................... 1569 PointInfoBoxes,ShowingorHiding............510 UserInterface........................................ 1567 PointNominalDeviation ..............................365 WorkingwithPortableDevices............. 1567 PointOnlyMode ..........................................139 PortableToolbar .......................................... 529 PointTargetRadius ......................................892 Positionbutton............................................. 318 PointTriggerTolerance ................................192 PositionGD&T............................................ 931 PointerFunctions........................................1486 PositioningAccuracy ................................... 188

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Index 1821

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

PositioningOnScreenElements...................294 PositiveReporting ........................................163 PrbRdv.........................................................560 Precedence .................................................1474 PredefinedCharacterSets .............................375 Preferences...................................................133 PreHit/Retract ...........................................545 PrehitDistance .............................................180 PressEndKey ..............................................139 PrevTempboxes ..........................................273 Previewwindow Options....................................................464 Sizing ......................................................466 Previewwindow...........................................464 Print FullReport.............................................1580 Icon .........................................................434 List ..........................................................571 Preview ...................................................435 Print .............................................................436 PrintCommand,Inserting...........................1409 PrintJobPreview............................................70 PRINT/REPORTCommand Editing...................................................1412 PRINT/REPORTCommand .......................1409

Printer EditWindowOptions ................................ 72 GraphicsDisplayWindowOptions............ 69 PrinterOutput ........................................... 77 Printing DimensionstotheInspectionReport........ 916 fromtheEditWindow ............................... 70 theGraphicsDisplayWindow ................... 69 theInspectionReport................................. 72 theReportWindow ............................... 1160 PrintingReports............................................. 72 PrintoutExampleofActiveTips .................. 571 PrioritySurfaceColumn............................... 382 Probe ChangerType.......................................... 209 Comp ...................................................... 417 ConfigurationforEachSlot ..................... 216 ConfigurationPreview............................. 542 Description.............................................. 568 File ....................................................... 1552 FileName ............................................... 536 File,convertingtolatestformat ................. 62 MapFiles ................................................ 110 Options ..................................................... 34 Position................................................... 203

1822 Index

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Setup .......................................................569 Probe............................................................417 ProbeCalibration DefiningProbes .......................................535 UtilitiesOptions.......................................572 ProbeChanger AddorRemoveSlotsfromtheDialogBox ...........................................................217 Calibrate ..................................................211

Approximate ......................................... 1540 Keyin................................................... 1542 onaCone.............................................. 1542 onaFeature........................................... 1540 onaSphere ........................................... 1541 ProbeDepth............................................... 1540 ProbeHead Orientation .............................................. 153 WristAngle............................................. 215

Comm......................................................210 ProbeinSlot# ............................................. 179 DefinetheProbeConfigurationforEachSlot ...........................................................216 DefiningaProbeChanger ........................591 DropoffaProbewithoutPickingupaNew Probe...................................................217 MountPoint.............................................214 Options....................................................208 ShowinganAnimatedProbeChanger ......608 SinglePortCalibration .............................212 Slots ........................................................215 Type ........................................................209 UsingaProbeChanger.............................591 ProbeCompensation Active......................................................179 Limitations ............................................1087 ProbeComponents,Edit ...............................541 ProbeDepth ProbeModeToolbar .................................... 513 ProbeReadoutsWindow AutoZoom.............................................. 203 DistancetoTarget ................................... 203 Edit ....................................................... 1579 Setup..................................................... 1579 ProbeReadoutsWindow.............................. 481 ProbeTipDiameter...................................... 538 ProbeTipsList ............................................ 512 ProbetothenoprobeDefault .................... 217 ProbeToolbox PlacingandSizing................................... 479 ProbeToolbox ............................................. 478 ProbeTriggerOptionstab ............................ 190 Probes

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Index 1823

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Defining ..................................................535 List ..........................................................512 Probes ..........................................................535 ProbingAccuracy.........................................188 ProbingMode...............................................188 ProbingTab..................................................178 ProcessingOptions .........................................85 ProfileContourPlots,Displaying..................962 ProfileGD&T DimensioningLineProfile .......................961 DimensioningSurfaceProfile...................961 ProgramMode..............................................300 ProgrammerComments,Inserting...............1402 ProjectedDistance AngularityDimensions ............................970 Coaxiality ................................................949 ParallelismDimensions............................957 PerpendicularityDimensions....................955 PromptHistory.............................................204 PropertiesofObjects..................................1243 PulledHits..................................................1570 Q QualSphere..................................................554 Qualification Check ....................................................1555

Sphere..................................................... 554 Tools....................................................... 554 QualToolDataFunction.............................. 1488 QuestionMark(?)MetaCharacter ............... 344 QuickFixtures intheGraphicsDisplayWindow ............. 589 Inserting.................................................. 588 Installing................................................. 590 Mode ...................................................... 589 ShortcutMenu....................................... 1619 UsingExisting......................................... 590 QuickStart AlignToolbar.......................................... 456 Calibrate/EditToolbar ........................... 457 ConstructToolbar.................................... 451 ConstructedFeatures ............................... 452 DialogBox.............................................. 443 DimensionToolbar.................................. 453 MainToolbar .......................................... 441 MeasureToolbar ..................................... 446 MeasuredFeatures................................... 447 QuickWaystoCreateAutoFeatures............ 612 Quit ........................................................... 1579 QuittingPartPrograms................................... 79

1824 Index

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

R RadialDeviation...........................................560 RadialPlanes..............................................1096 Radius/Diameter.........................................863 RangeofHits ...............................................849 RCUErrorInformation...............................1717 RCU003Resourceshortage.......................1718 RCU700RCURAMfailure.......................1718 RCU701RCU6802RAMaddressfailure..1718 RCU702RCU2114RAMfailure ..............1719 RCU703RCU2114RAMaddressfailure..1719 RCU704RCUEPROMchecksumorversion# error.......................................................1719 RCU705Stuckkeyerror ...........................1719

Readout ....................................................... 420 ReadoutWindow ......................................... 202 Recall ............................................................ 49 RecallAlignmentCommandLineFormat .... 898 RecallanAlignment .................................... 897 RecallingaSavedFilePointer'sPosition .... 1438 RecallingaSavedViewSet........................ 1413 RecallinganExistingAlignment .................. 897 RecordMacro.............................................. 525 RecoverafterAccidentallyMovingaPart .... 900 Rectangle..................................................... 862 Redo............................................................ 370 RedoIcon .................................................... 518 RefTempboxes........................................... 274

RCU706RCUEPROMAchecksumerror.1720 ReferenceAngle .......................................... 969 RCU707RCUEPROMBchecksumerror .1720 ReferenceType............................................ 745 RCU708RCUEPROMCchecksumerror .1720 References ................................................. 1455 ReadCMM ..................................................215 ReadLock ..................................................1149 ReadPoint....................................................863 ReadPosition ...............................................498 ReadTemperaturefromController................275 ReadingaBlockofTextfromaFile ...........1426 ReadingaCharacterfromaFile..................1421 ReadingaLinefromaFile..........................1423 ReadingTextuptoaDelimiter ...................1428 ReferencingOneCADfileforMultiplePart Programs................................................... 83 RegenerateHitTargets................................. 745 RegeneratingthePath .................................. 354 Relationship betweentheMachineandthePart............ 587 forAngleBetweenDimensions ............... 946 forDistanceDimensions.......................... 941 RelativeMeasure ......................................... 733

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Index 1825

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

RemoveAMenuItem ....................................54 RemoveBreakpoint ......................................516 RemoveOutliers/StandardDeviationMultiple ................................................................774 RemoveOutlierscheckbox ..........................855

ReportMode..................................... 1155,1159 ReportTemplate,Custom........................... 1269 Reporting Changes ................................................ 1155 CreatingaReportTemplate ................... 1269

RemovingCommands ..................................409 CurrentLabels....................................... 1128 RemovingTexturesfromSelectedCAD Objects ................................................................338 RemovingtheAnimatedMachinefromthe GraphicsDisplayWindow........................587 Rename ..........................................................68 RepaintingtheScreen ...................................296 Replace ........................................................375 ReplaceAllbutton........................................378 Replacebutton..............................................377 Replacewith.................................................377 Report Forms ....................................................1318 GenerationFlowChart ...........................1158 Parameters ...............................................171 TemplateEditor .....................................1261 Templates .................................... 1168,1268 Window.................................................1159 Report ..........................................................418 ReportandLabelTemplates .......................1268 ReportCommands,Inserting.......................1377 ReportExpressionLanguage .. 1327,1328,1336, 1371 CustomLabelTemplates ....................... 1279 CustomReportEditor............................ 1266 FormEditor........................................... 1267 Forms.................................................... 1318 FormsinReports................................... 1318 LabelTemplateEditor ........................... 1264 Labels ................................................... 1279 LabelsinReports................................... 1287 ModifyingReportHeaders .................... 1170 ModifyingStandardTemplates.............. 1170 RemovingaReportTemplate ................ 1277 ReportTemplateEditor ......................... 1261 ReportWindow ..................................... 1159 SharingReportTemplates...................... 1279 StandardReports CADONLY ...................................... 1168 CADONLY_LANDSCAPE .............. 1168 PPAP................................................ 1168 TEXTANDCAD............................... 1168

1826 Index

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

TEXTONLY .....................................1168 StandardReports....................................1168 Templates .................................... 1168,1268 Toolbar..................................................1160 TruePositionFCFs ..................................996 Reporting ...................................................1155 ReportingObjects AboutProperties ....................................1243 CommonProperties................................1245 ReportingToolbar ......................................1160 Reports CreatingCustomTemplates ...................1268 Reports/CreatingCustom............................1301 RepositioningCommands.............................403 RepositioningthePartImagewithinthe GraphicsDisplaywindow ........................297 Reset ............................................................905

ReverseAxesmode ROIBottom ................................................. 195 ROITop ...................................................... 195 ROIWidth................................................... 195 RotaryAdvancedScan............................... 1055 RotaryTable Angle ...................................................... 184 Calibrating .............................................. 609 Ignoring .................................................. 609 RotatingtoActiveAngle ......................... 609 Tab ......................................................... 183 Workingwith .......................................... 609 RotaryTable................................................ 204 Rotate.......................................................... 870 Rotate 2..................................................... 890 Rotate2D byaFactor .............................................. 298

Resetglobalsettingswhenbranching............142 byDragging ............................................ 298 ResetIDs....................................................1617 toanElement .......................................... 298 ResettoDefaults ..........................................277 Rotate3D RestoretheDefaultUserInterface...................52 byDragging ............................................ 299 Results .........................................................566 toanElement .......................................... 300 Resultsbox...................................................905 usingRotateDialogBox.......................... 300 RetractDistance ...........................................181 RotatebyanOffset ...................................... 871 RetrolinearOnlyforLocationDimensions ....927 RotatetheTable........................................... 184 ReturnSpeed................................................188

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Index 1827

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

RotatetoaLinebetweenTwoCircles ...........871 RotatingtheDrawing....................................306 RotationandOtherMotionOptions,Changing ................................................................307 RotationDirection ........................................184

EOFandEOL ....................................... 1447 FileClose.............................................. 1421 FileCopy .............................................. 1440 FileDelete............................................. 1444 FileDialog ............................................ 1446

RotationOptions ..........................................307 FileExists ............................................. 1445 RoundFeatures...............................................36 FileMove.............................................. 1442 Roundness....................................................949 FileOpen .............................................. 1420 ROUNDNESSDimension ............................950 ReadBlock........................................... 1426 RTFandPDFFiles,DisplayingDimensions .917 ReadCharacter...................................... 1422 RTFOldStyleReport.....................................74 ReadLine.............................................. 1424 RTFReport ....................................................74 ReadUpTo........................................... 1429 RuleTreeEditor .........................................1290 RecallFilePosition ............................... 1439 Rulers,Displaying ........................................292 RewindtoStart ..................................... 1436 RunMenu ....................................................439 SaveFilePosition.................................. 1437 RunningaMasterPartProgramontheSlave Arm .......................................................1533 Runout CircularorTotal ......................................960 HowitisMeasured ..................................959 Runout .........................................................958 RUNOUTDimension ...................................960 RunoutGD&T..............................................958 RunouttoCheckaCylinderEnd...................960 S SafeLocation ...............................................215 SampleCode WriteBlock........................................... 1434 WriteCharacter ..................................... 1431 WriteLine............................................. 1433 SampleHitsProperties,forAutoFeatures .... 486 SamplePlaneAutoTriggerarea ................... 191 Save GraphicstoReport ................................ 1382 Icon......................................................... 434 Save ............................................................ 436 SaveAlignmentDialogBox......................... 896

1828 Index

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

SaveAs ..........................................................65 SavePartProgramonExecute ......................147 Save/AlignmentCommand,Editing ..............895 SavingaFilePointer'sCurrentPosition.......1437 SavinganAlignment ....................................894 SavingPartPrograms .....................................65 Scalebox......................................................319 ScaleFactor..................................................134 ScaletoFit .................................................1380 ScalingtheDrawing .....................................305 ScalingtheModelbyaFactor.......................305 ScanConstructionforPerimeterScan .........1015 ScanDone..................................................1087 ScanSpeed%...............................................182 ScanType ..................................................1006 Scanning Acceleration.............................................189 AdvancedScan ......................................1005 AdvancedScanDialogBox.......... 1006,1087 Axis.......................................................1017 Basic/Advancedbuttons .......................1006 BasicScan .............................................1063 BasicScanDialogBox...........................1064 BodyAxis LinearOpen .......................................1012

Rotary .............................................. 1012 Technique......................................... 1012 BodyAxis ............................................. 1083 BoundaryforLineScan......................... 1085 BoundaryPlaneVector.......................... 1017 BoundaryPoints UsingtheCADDataMethod ............ 1009 UsingtheKeyinMethod ................... 1009 UsingtheMeasuredPointMethod..... 1009 BoundaryPoints.................................... 1010 BoundaryTab........................................ 1066 CADDataMethod Circle ............................................... 1072 Cylinder ........................................... 1075 CADTol ............................................... 1015 CalculateBoundary ............................... 1016 CenterPointandRadius ........................ 1020 ClearPlane............................................ 1022 ClearingBoundaryPoints...................... 1011 ControlPointTypes............................... 1033 ControlPoints .............................. 1033,1034 CutPlaneVector(CutVec) .................... 1017 Depth ........................ 1027,1031,1072, 1075 Direction1Tech forLinearCloseScan......................... 1012

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Index 1829

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

forLinearOpenScan..........................1012 forPatchScan ...................................1012 forRotaryScan .................................1012 forSectionScan ................................1012 Direction2Tech ofPatchScan.....................................1012 DirectionTechniqueareas......................1012 Distance.................................................1082 EditingBoundaryPoints ........................1010 EndTouchVector(EndVec) ..................1017 ExampleCenterScan .............................1080 FilterTab...............................................1065 FilterWidthbox.......................................854 FlushforLinearClose.............................1027 FlushforLinearOpen .............................1027 Gaussian ..................................................852 GraphicsTab .........................................1031 HitType ................................................1027 HitTypeTab..........................................1066 IncrementBox MultisectionScan..............................1096 PatchScan.........................................1015 PerimeterScan ..................................1015 SectionScan......................................1017 Indentboxes..........................................1027

InitialDirectionVector(DirVec) ........... 1017 InitialHits............................................. 1027 InitialVectors........................................ 1017 InnerBound .......................................... 1022 KeyinMethod AxisScan ......................................... 1077 CenterScan ...................................... 1080 CircleScan ....................................... 1070 CylinderScan ................................... 1073 LineTechnique ..................................... 1012 LinearMethod Direction1ofPatchScan.................. 1012 Direction2ofPatchScan.................. 1012 LinearCloseScan.............................. 1012 LinearOpen....................................... 1012 RotaryScan ...................................... 1012 SectionScan ..................................... 1012 Linearoption........................................... 851 LocatingPoints ..................................... 1004 ManualScans CompensationLimitations ................ 1087 Rulesfor........................................... 1087 ManualScans........................................ 1086 NullfilterTechnique .............................. 1013 Offset.................................................... 1016

1830 Index

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Options...............................1006,1064,1087 ProfileContourPlots................................962 SectionLocationforSectionScan ..........1016 Sections .................................................1096 SelectingandDeselectingSurfaces.........1003 SplinePatharea .....................................1038 SurfaceFeatures.....................................1544 ThinningParameterU ..............................847 ThinningParameterV ..............................847 ThinningParameters ........................ 843,846 TimeDelayBetweenReads.......... 1092,1094 TopSurfaceVector(SurfVec) ................1017 TrimPreference .........................................85 UVScanSettings...................................1021 ValueLimit............................................1144 VariableTechnique................................1013 Vectors ..................................................1085 ScanningafterAddingControlPoints .........1035 ScanningyourPart Introduction ...........................................1003 ScansasBestFitAlignmentInputs ...............880 Screen Appearance................................................39 Color .......................................................302 Colors......................................................302

Modes ..................................................... 296 View ....................................................... 289 ScreenCaptures Editing .................................................... 324 oftheGraphicsDisplayWindow ............. 324 SendtoaFile .......................................... 324 SendtotheClipboard .............................. 324 SendtotheReport ................................. 1415 ScreenCaptures ........................................... 420 Screensize................................................... 280 Script..................................................434,1508 ScrollingtheEditWindow ............................. 52 Search CurrentDirectory .................................... 279 CurrentDirectoryFirst ............................ 279 foraspecificwordorphrase.................... 375 ID 46 OverrideIJK ........................................... 556 SpecifiedDirectory.................................. 279 SearchFor ................................................... 278 SecondExtension SelectCenter ......................................... 1020 SecondExtension....................................... 1452 SectionAdvancedScan.............................. 1052 SectionCutProfile..................................... 1226

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Index 1831

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

SectionLocationforSectionScan...............1016 SectionScanType ......................................1041 Select ...........................................................890 Select/EndSelect CodeSample..........................................1120 Select/EndSelect ......................................1120 SelectAll .......................................................49

SetVariable ............................................... 1130 Settings SettingPreferences.................................. 133 SettingsTabforScans ........................... 1040 SettingsEditor NotesforRenishawPHSwithLeitzInterface ......................................................... 1551 ProfileErrorfromaSet ........................... 849

SelectCenter ..............................................1020 SettingsEditor ........................................... 1741 SelectLast#...................................................46 SettingsforMultipleUsers........................... 133 SelectSubroutine........................................1136 SettingsToolbar........................................... 511 Selecting SettingsWindow FeaturesUsingMetaCharacterMatching.343 Options ................................................... 463 FeaturesUsingtheGraphicsDisplayWindow ...........................................................342 FeaturesusingtheID(s) ...........................342 OptionsfromtheMenuBarwiththe Keyboard ..............................................43 OptionsfromtheMenuBarwiththeMouse42 IDSetuptab ............................................ 166 theLastID(s)...........................................345 NC100Setuptab.................................... 170 SendingCurrentStatstoaFile....................1144 Part/Machinetab ..................................... 153 SensorNumbersboxes..................................273 Shank SeparatorsintheVirtualKeyboardforVisual Appeal .....................................................474 SetandResetOptions...................................197 SetasPriority...............................................328 SetDefaults..................................................164 SetofSurfaces..............................................328 Offset...................................................... 553 Qualification ........................................... 553 Shank/OpticalVectorIJK ...................... 559 Thickness................................................ 538 VectorIJK............................................... 556 SettingsWindow.......................................... 458 SetupOptions Dimensiontab ......................................... 159 Generaltab.............................................. 134

1832 Index

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Shank...........................................................568 SheetMetal

ShortcutMenusinStandardWindowsDialog Boxes ............................................... 1610 ShortcutMenusintheEditWindow ...... 1622

AdvancedOptions....................................655 Axes ........................................................927 BoxSelecting...........................................346 ExtendedOptions.....................................650 FeatureProperties ....................................624 Features .....................................................34 Hits..........................................................414 MeasurementProperties ...........................634 Measurements..........................................417 ShortcutKeys AddtoaCommand ....................................60 Customizing...............................................59 RemovefromaCommand..........................60 ShortcutKeysandMenus BoxSelectMenu ...................................1617 CommandMenu ....................................1625 DataItemMenu .....................................1625 KeysReference......................................1607 MenusReference ...................................1609 QuickFixtureShortcutMenu .................1619 ReportModeMenu................................1625 ShortCutMenusintheReportWindow .1629 ShortcutMenusforAutoFeaturePathLines .........................................................1621 ShortcutMenusintheGraphicsDisplay Window............................................ 1612 ShortcutMenusontheToolbar .............. 1610 SummaryModeKeyboardFunctions....... 410 SummaryModeMenu........................... 1622 ShortcutKeysandMenus........................... 1607 Show AllArrows ............................................ 1379 AllScanParameters .............................. 1028 Comments............................................... 418 CurrentProbePositiononScreen............. 203 DeviationsTolerance............................... 134 ExtendedSheetMetalOptions................. 143 Graph.................................................... 1398 Headings............................................... 1398 Histogram ............................................. 1381 HitDeviations ......................................... 144 HorizontalLines.................................... 1398 Icon....................................................... 1397 IconinTextBoxes .................................. 146 ID 1398 IDs........................................................ 1617 Max/MinDeviations.............................. 1381 Menu .................................................... 1381
PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual Index 1833

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Name.......................................................328 Scanhits ................................................1028 StartupDialog..........................................146 Statistics ................................................1381 TemperaturesinCelsius ...........................274 Type ......................................................1398 VerticalLines ........................................1398 ShowingandHidingGraphics ......................310 ShrinkingthePartImagewithintheGraphics Displaywindow .......................................296 SinglePointMode ......................................1022

SpaceBallorSpaceMouseModes................... 12 SpaceMouse .................................................. 12 SpaceMouseFunctions................................... 10 SpacerforScans ........................................ 1027 SPCDatabaseOption................................. 1151 Specular....................................................... 335 Sphere ChangingtheDirection............................ 797 SphericalTool andBallTip ............................................ 558 andBarrel/ShankTip............................... 558

SinglePortCalibration..................................212 andDiskTip ........................................... 558 Skip..............................................................131 andOpticalTip........................................ 558 SkipNumber ..............................................1124 andTaperTip.......................................... 558 SlaveProbeFileCalibration .......................1528 SplineFilter ................................................. 853 SlotData,ManuallyEditing..........................216 SplinePatharea ......................................... 1038 SlotsProbeChanger ...................................215 StandardDeviation SmoothBadData..........................................848 Multiplebox............................................ 855 SmoothingParameterbox.............................855 StandardDeviation ...................................... 174 SP600 StandardEditCommands............................. 369 CalibrationInformation............................574 StandardReports........................................ 1168 CalibrationProcedures .............................576 StarProbe .................................................... 582 LowerMatrix...........................................574 StarProbes UpperLevelMatrix..................................574 Defining.................................................. 581 SpaceBall .......................................................12 StarProbes.................................................. 581 SpaceBallFunctions .......................................10

1834 Index

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Start .............................................................436 StartAlignmentCommand ...........................866 StartLabel....................................................893 StartNumber ..............................................1124 StartPoints forMultipleArms ..................................1531 forMultisectionScan .............................1096 SetStartPointicon...................................516 StartingaFreshDebugFile...........................227 StartingLetters.............................................168 StartingNumber ...........................................168 Statistics AlwaysSaveStatstoFile.........................161 AlwaysUpdateDatabase..........................161 DataSource ...........................................1151 Database ................................................1151 DatabaseDirectories ..............................1148 DatabaseOptions ...................................1147 DataPageOption....................................1147 DataPageVariableName .......................1149 Delete CurrentStatsFile ........................1149 DeleteDirectoryfromList .....................1149 DESOption ...........................................1150 Display ..................................................1144 DoControlCalculations.........................1149

EditDatabase ........................................ 1152 FeatureIDsinStatisticalDatabases ....... 1125 LoopIds................................................ 1125 MemoryPages...................................... 1150 NoDisplay............................................ 1144 OutputTo................................................ 923 SendingCurrentStatstoaFile............... 1144 SPCDatabaseOption ............................ 1151 StatisticalData ........................................ 413 StatisticsOptionsDialogBox ................ 1145 StatsOff................................................ 1145 StatsOn ................................................ 1145 StatsOptions......................................... 1145 TraceFieldOptions............................... 1144 TraceFields ............................................ 420 Tracking................................................ 1143 Transfer ................................................ 1147 Update .................................................. 1147 UpdateDatabaseNow ........................... 1152 ValueLimit........................................... 1144 StatsFile,DeleteCurrent ........................... 1149 StatusBar ...................................................... 44 StatusWindow............................................. 477 StepNext .................................................... 131 Stop............................................................. 130

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Index 1835

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

StoponCollision..........................................355 StoreMove....................................... 1104,1105 STPFiles......................................................272 Straightness..................................................952 STRAIGHTNESSDimension.......................952 String Coercion ................................................1499 Functions...............................................1475 Reference...............................................1461 StructuralTemperatureCompensation ..........272 StructureRules ...........................................1464 Structures ...................................................1463 StructureswithVariablesofTypePoint ......1464 Subroutine CodeSample..........................................1139 CreationDialogBox ..............................1133 Editing...................................................1135 Ending...................................................1136 Name.....................................................1133 Subroutine..................................................1136 Subroutines ................................................1131 SummaryMode DataItems ...............................................408 Groups.....................................................407 Icon .........................................................517

Layout..................................................... 406 SummaryMode ........................................... 406 SummaryModeCommandShortcutMenu. 1622 SurfaceandCurveModes ............................ 295 SurfaceDataMethod foraCharacteristicPoint ....................... 1593 foraCone ............................................... 728 foraCornerPoint.................................... 692 foraCylinder .......................................... 725 foraHighPoint....................................... 701 foraLine ................................................ 705 foraNotch .............................................. 716 foraRoundSlot ...................................... 720 foraSphere............................................. 730 foraSquareSlot...................................... 723 foraSurfacePoint................................... 684 foraVectorPoint .................................... 681 foranAnglePoint ................................... 690 foranAutoCircle.................................... 710 foranEdgePoint..................................... 687 foranEllipse........................................... 713 forAxis/LineScans............................... 1078 forCenteringScans ............................... 1081 forCircleScans..................................... 1071 forCylinderScans................................. 1074

1836 Index

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

SurfaceDatawithCMMMethod foraCone................................................728 foraCornerPoint ....................................692 foraCylinder...........................................725 foraHighPoint .......................................701 foraNotch...............................................716 foraRoundSlot.......................................720 foraSphere .............................................730 foraSquareSlot ......................................723 foraSurfacePoint ...................................684 foraVectorPoint.....................................681 foranAnglePoint....................................690 foranAutoCircle ....................................710 foranEdgePoint .....................................687 foranEllipse............................................713 SurfaceFeatures .........................................1544 SurfaceGridDensity ....................................847 SurfaceProfile..............................................961 SurfaceProfileDimension ............................961 SurfaceSelectionandDeselection...............1003 SwitchingBetweenMachineProfiles ............133 SwitchingBetweenOpenPartPrograms .....1535 SYMMETRYDimension ..................... 970,996 SyntaxHelp..................................................439 SyntaxHelpFile...........................................440

SystemMode ............................................... 546 T T2PFile........................................................ 110 TableAvoidance.......................................... 158 TaggedFeaturesinaFeatureSetorScan...... 880 TakingaHitwithaHardProbe ...................... 36 TakingHits.................................................... 33 TargetValues Modifying ............................................... 380 TargetValues .............................................. 380 TCPIPAddress ............................................ 170 TempComp200TempCompnotavailable . 1721 TempComp201Absolutetemperaturelimit exceeded ............................................... 1721 TempComp202Gradienttemperaturelimit exceeded ............................................... 1722 TempComp203Transienttemperaturelimit exceeded ............................................... 1722 TempComp204Lasercompensationisinactive ............................................................. 1723 TempComp205Probecalibrationdatamaybe invalid................................................... 1723 TempComp206Rotarytablecalibrationmaybe invalid................................................... 1723 TemperatureCompensation ControllerSupport................................... 277 Enabled................................................... 275 ErrorInformation .................................. 1721 GetCurrentTemps .................................. 277

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Index 1837

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

HighThresholdboxes ..............................274 InputParameters ......................................273 Linear ......................................................272 LocalSettings ..........................................278 LowThresholdboxes ...............................274 MaterialCoefficientboxes .......................273 Structural .................................................272 TEMPCOMPCommandintheEditWindow ...........................................................277 TimeRemaining ......................................276

ScanPath .............................................. 1036 Thickness.................................................. 34 VectorforScans.................................... 1036 TheoreticalValues Modifying ............................................... 380 TheoreticalValues ....................................... 380 Thickness forPointOnlyModePoints ..................... 145 ofSheetMetalFeatures ............................. 34 oftheballtip........................................... 559

UsingSTPFiles .......................................272 Thickness .................................................... 134 withMultipleArmCalibration ...............1533 ThinningParameterU.................................. 847 TemperatureCompensation ..........................272 ThinningParameterV.................................. 847 TensionFactor..............................................847 ThinningParameters .............................843,846 TessellatingaPartwithoutaCADLicense....111 Thiscomputer(master)drivesallarms ....... 1520 Tessellation ..................................................282 TextBoxMode ............................................300 TextColor....................................................199 Textual.........................................................921 TimeDelayBetweenReads .............. 1092,1094 TextualAnalysis.........................................1378 TimeRemaining .......................................... 276 TextureMapping ..........................................335 Tip Textures Calibration ............................................ 1552 Disable ....................................................308 DeleteActive .......................................... 560 Textures .......................................................338 ID 559 Theoretical ID# ......................................................... 538 PathArea...............................................1036 Rotation .................................................. 538 Thiscomputer(slave)relayscommandsfromthe maincomputer ...................................... 1520 Thiscomputerisnotusedinamultiplearm setting ................................................... 1520

1838 Index

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Type ........................................................538 Tip ...............................................................418 TipData,Edit...............................................558 TipEdit........................................................558 TipListDescription......................................537 ToFeature....................................................946 ToPoints....................................................1036 ToXAxis ....................................................946 ToYAxis ....................................................946 ToZAxis.....................................................946 ToggleBookmark.........................................394 ToggleBreakpoint........................................392 Toggleicons/AutoWristToggle ...................644 Toggleicons/CircularMovesToggle ............645 Toggleicons/ClearPlaneToggle ..................644 Toggleicons/ManualPrePositionToggle.....645 Toggleicons/MeasureNowToggle...............644 Toggleicons/Polar CartesianToggle...........626 Toggleicons/ProbeToolboxToggle .............649 Toggleicons/ReMeasureToggle..................644 Toggleicons/ShowFilteredPointsToggle ....650 Toggleicons/ShowMeasuredPointsToggle .649 Toggleicons/VoidDetectionToggle.............648 ToggleMultipleArmMarkings ..................1531 Tolerance

BClass..................................................... 930 Box ......................................................... 383 forAngleDimensions.............................. 945 forConcentricityDimensions .................. 947 forDistanceDimensions.......................... 939 forKeyboardCreatedDimensions ........... 973 forLineProfileDimensions..................... 965 forLocationDimensions ......................... 928 forNominals ......................................... 1025 forSurfaceProfileDimensions ................ 964 forTruePositionDimensions .................. 937 Radius..................................................... 192 Tool Delete ..................................................... 557 Edit ......................................................... 557 ID 555 MountedonRotaryTable ........................ 554 Type ....................................................... 555 ToolbarArea.................................................. 43 Toolbar/Portable .......................................... 529 Toolbars ActiveArms............................................ 531 ActiveRotaryTable ................................ 531 AutoFeatures.......................................... 520 BasicScriptEditor .................................. 434

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Index 1839

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

ConstructedFeatures................................519 Custom ......................................................59 Customizing...............................................56 Delete ........................................................59 Dimension ...............................................518 EditWindow............................................515 FileOperations ........................................524 GraphicItems ..........................................510 GraphicView...........................................509 GraphicsModes .......................................507 MacroPlay/Record ..................................524 MeasuredFeatures ...................................523 Modify.......................................................57

TouchScreenModeToolbar ........................ 527 TouchSpeed................................................ 415 TouchSpeed%............................................ 182 TouchTriggerProbeandTwoTipPositions1560 TraceFields................................................. 420 TransformCAD........................................... 360 TranslateaPartProgramFile ..................... 1547 TranslateMode ............................................ 296 TranslatingaPartProgramintoPCDMIS.. 1547 Transparencies............................................. 332 Transparencies,Disable ............................... 308 TreatTheoValuesAsifStoredinPart Coordinates............................................. 150 TriangleFilter.............................................. 854

Portable ...................................................529 TriggerForce............................................... 188 ProbeMode .............................................513 TrigonometryFunctions............................. 1484 QuickStartToolbar..................................441 TrihedronforAlignments............................. 867 Reporting...............................................1160 TrihedronforFCF........................................ 994 Settings....................................................511 TrimPreference ............................................. 85 ToCreateaCustomToolbar.......................59 TruePosition ........................................931,996 TouchScreenMode .................................527 TruePositionAxes..................................... 1393 VirtualKeyboard .....................................526 TRUEPOSITIONDimension ...................... 932 WindowLayouts......................................531 Wizards ...................................................527 Toolbars.......................................................507 TopSpeed(mm/sec).....................................155 TruePositiononaGroupofCirclesorCylinders ............................................................... 933 TruePositionReporting ............................... 996 TutortoPCDMISProbeMapFiles ............. 110 TutorElementFunction .............................. 1488

1840 Index

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Tutorial Step1 CreateaNewPartProgram....................18 Step10 ConstructNewFeaturesfromExisting Features ............................................27 Step11

Step7 SetyourPreferences ............................. 24 Step8 AddComments..................................... 26 Step9 MeasureAdditionalFeatures................. 27 Tutorial.......................................................... 17

CalculateDimensions............................29 TutorPCDMISTranslatorOptions................ 110 Step12 Type ProbeChanger .................................. 209 MarktheItemstoExecute .....................30 TypeofOperationarea................................. 547 Step13 U SettheReportOutput ............................30 Undo Step14 Button ....................................................... 50 ExecutetheFinishedProgram................30 DeletedCAD........................................... 357 Step15 DeletedDimensions ................................ 360 PrinttheReport .....................................31 DeletedFeatures...................................... 359 Step2 forBasic ................................................. 437 DefineaProbe.......................................19 Undo ........................................................... 369 Step3 Unicode ....................................................... 437 SettheView..........................................20 Uniform....................................................... 853 Step4 Units............................................................ 897 MeasuretheFeatures.............................21 Unmarkspecificlineswithinafeature.......... 387 Step5 UnmarkingCommandsforExecution........... 409 ScaletheImage .....................................22 Update....................................................... 1147 Step6 UpdateDatabaseNow................................ 1152 CreateanAlignment..............................22

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Index 1841

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

UpperForce .................................................187 UpperLevelMatrixCalibration ....................578 Use AutomotiveDeviationLetters ..................147 BestFit ..................................................1025 CADProvidedID'sforFeatures ...............145 CircularMovesonRoundFeatures...........144

Restore...................................................... 52 UserInterface ................................................ 39 UserLayouts,Deleting................................. 532 UserDefinedGroups ................................... 427 UsingtheFunctionLinetoPassVariables.. 1509 UsingtheGetVariableValueand SetVariableValue .................................. 1509 UsingToolbars ............................................ 507

Datums ....................................................917 UVAdvancedScan.................................... 1059 DMISButtoninEditWindow ..................147 UVScanSettings....................................... 1021 FindNominalsOverrideforScans............149 V NC100VideoProbe................................170 ValuesBox ................................................ 1134 ONLYPrioritySurfacesfortheFind NominalsDuringScans .......................149 PolarCoordinates.....................................204 PreviousSurface ......................................383 TriggerTolerance ....................................192 UnitCalibrationData ...............................567 WristMapIfAvailable ............................537 UseDMISPolarConvention.........................151 UseProgramLayoutforExecution ...............151 UserAssignedProperties............................1252 UserDefinedCalibrationMode ....................549 UserDefinedCalibrationOrder ....................536 UserInterface Customizing...............................................52 Navigating .................................................39 Values,Editing ............................................ 402 VariableArrays.......................................... 1471 VariableID................................................ 1126 VariableTechnique.................................... 1013 Variables ..................................................... 973 VariableswithExpressions Variables............................................... 1461 VariableswithExpressions ........................ 1453 Variations .................................................... 801 Vector1CheckBox.................................... 1031 Vector1Row.............................................. 1017 Vector2CheckBox.................................... 1031 Vector2Row.............................................. 1017 Vectors

1842 Index

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

Editing...................................................1019 Vectors.......................................................1085 VerifyCAD..................................................320 VersionEnhancements .....................................1 View ..............................................................41 ViewMenu ................................................1579 ViewtobeinOpenGLMode .......................354 ViewWindow ............................................1379 ViewingPartProgramFiles ............................62 ViewsList ....................................................511

While/EndWhile CodeSample......................................... 1118 While/EndWhile ..................................... 1117 Widescreenmonitors................................... 280 Widthbox.................................................... 636 Wildcards .................................................... 373 Window......................................................... 42 WindowLayoutsToolbar............................. 531 WindowsExplorer,ViewingPartPrograms Within....................................................... 62 Windows,Editors,andTools........................ 433

Viewset WireFrameDataMethod DefiningandSaving...............................1413 foraCenterScan................................... 1081 Recalling .................................................897 foraCharacteristicPoint ....................... 1594 Viewset ......................................................1413 foraCircularScan................................. 1071 VirtualKeyboard..........................................466 foraCone ............................................... 728 VirtualKeyboardToolbar.............................526 foraCornerPoint.................................... 693 VirtualKeyboardVariation foraCylinder .......................................... 726 Accessing ................................................467 foraCylindricalScan............................ 1075 Creating...................................................468 foraLine ................................................ 705 Deleting...................................................471 foraNotch .............................................. 717 Modifying................................................470 foraRoundSlot ...................................... 721 Separators................................................474 foraSphere............................................. 731 W foraSquareSlot...................................... 723 WaitandNoWaitoptions...........................1506 foraSurfacePoint................................... 685 Warnings......................................................137 foraVectorPoint .................................... 682

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Index 1843

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

foranAnglePoint....................................690 foranAutoCircle ....................................711 foranAutoPlane .....................................708 foranAxis/LineScan.............................1078 foranEdgePoint .....................................688 WireFrameDatawithCMMMethod foraCornerPoint ....................................693 foraLine.................................................704 foraNotch...............................................717 foraRoundSlot.......................................721 foraSquareSlot ......................................723 foraSurfacePoint ...................................685 foraVectorPoint.....................................682 foranAnglePoint....................................690 foranAutoPlane .....................................708 foranEdgePoint .....................................688 WithAlignment............................................900 WithoutCADDataMethod foraCone................................................729 foraCornerPoint ....................................693 foraCylinder...........................................726 foraHighPoint .......................................701 foraLine.................................................707 foraNotch...............................................718 foraRoundSlot.......................................721

foraSquareSlot...................................... 724 foraSurfacePoint................................... 685 foraVectorPoint .................................... 682 foranAnglePoint ................................... 691 foranAutoCircle.................................... 711 foranAutoPlane .................................... 709 foranEdgePoint..................................... 688 foranEllipse........................................... 713 WizardSourceCodeAvailable..................... 529 WizardsToolbar .......................................... 527 WorkingPlaneList ...................................... 512 WristAngle,Delete ..................................... 561 WristCalibration ....................................... 1554 WristCalibrationarea .................................. 551 WristDevice CalculateErrorMap .............................. 1554 CalibratetheUnit .................................. 1552 HometheUnit....................................... 1555 WristDevice.............................................. 1551 WristinaPartProgram.............................. 1556 WristInstallation ....................................... 1551 WristWarningDelta .................................... 155 WriteLock................................................ 1150 WritingaBlockofTexttoaFile ................ 1434 WritingaCharactertoaFile ...................... 1430

1844 Index

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

WilcoxAssociates,Inc.

WritingaLinetoaFile...............................1432 X XOffset .......................................................156 XSegment....................................................195 XYZ ASCIIFile .............................................1539 Boxes......................................................862 Center......................................................559 CenterBoxes ...........................................633 Move ........................................... 1103,1105 Nominal...................................................538 Offset ......................................................371

Pointboxes............................................. 625 XYZIJKFiles ................................................ 95 Y YEnd.......................................................... 195 YOffset....................................................... 157 YOrigin ...................................................... 195 YSegment................................................... 196 Yes/No .................................................... 1406 Z ZOffset ....................................................... 157 ZBufferDepth ............................................ 282 ZMouse ......................................................... 10

PCDMIS4.2ReferenceManual

Index 1845

You might also like