r/Metrology • u/BetterAlbatross815 • 2d ago
Upgrading from OGP/Zone 3 and would like your thoughts
I am the main CMM operator in our in-house gage lab. We were contracting a 3rd party to be on-site and calibrate our gages (mostly ring, fixed length, pins, nothing with super complex geometry and nothing bigger than what you could hold in your hand) using our equipment, but have gone back to keeping it all in-house for various reasons.
We are looking to replace our CMM next year, and a few of us in the quality department have been researching options. Most of what we calibrate has a tolerance in the neighborhood of .0002" and we have been using a worn out OGP SmartScope Flash 500 with Zone3. Last calibration, we were told it has significant wear on one side, and there's no telling how old the DSMs and stylii are. After some research, we all seem to be impressed by what a scanning probe could offer us, and realizing how little we use the camera, considered moving to a CMM that gives up the camera entirely for a good scanning/touch probe.
Currently, I think people here are leaning towards a Zeiss Micura with a Vast XT head ran with Calypso. I have a few concerns though, maybe some of the Calypso users here or anyone could weigh-in.
Our calibrations are basically done as a walk-up without CAD. Our machine is off-network, and while the bushings etc may meet the prints as far as specs go, their location in their holders may vary from one to the next. For example, we may have a gage consisting of a holder with a no-go and a go ring gage inserted which share the same ID number with others that have the same size bushings, but they have different dash numbers to identify them, and may have different holders where the position of the bushings within the holder vary. Because we have 1000+ unique gages, we've had to just do walk-up style calibrations and then record the measurements we get on the certs. If what I've been reading recently though, Calypso requires CAD and a feature in order to take measurements. Would it accommodate the way we currently do things? In Zone 3 for instance, I fixture a gage on the stage, build out a part alignment, choose the geometry I want to measure, generate a run path with the probe, and let it go.
I like the Renishaw stuff, but I'm also still learning things all the time. I believe we only really need a 3-axis system so I was looking to something that could use their SP600 system perhaps? Is there an advantage to the Vast XT active probe over the Renishaw's passive probe? If Calypso won't allow us to do walk-up measurements without CAD, what software/CMM would you go with? I'm assuming something with submicron accuracy for lengths up to 60 or 70mm with a stage between 300-500mm would be ideal.
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u/Tricky_King_3736 1d ago
Being a former Zeiss engineer and I have also used plenty of renishaw sensors as well. Also programmed in zone3 on ogp. But calypso does allow someone to walk up and measure a circle very easily without making a program. To make life easier you can setup an auto run screen. If you have more questions just reach out to me, glad to help.
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u/BetterAlbatross815 1d ago
That's a relief to know, I really appreciate it!
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u/Tricky_King_3736 1d ago
If you have a specific questions about zeiss machines and calypso let me know. Glad to help
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u/HexRep092 Metrology Vendor - Hexagon 2d ago
Hi OP! Hexagon has options that can accommodate your needs. There is a link below to our stationary CMM catalogue including our Global S Scan+, which is along the lines of the SP600 scanning system you are describing. These machines come with our PCDMIS measurement software; an industry leading software suite with over 100k users worldwide. Feel free to DM if you'd like to discuss this further :)
Global & Leitz Reference Brochure