The invention relates in general to coordinate measurement machines (CMMs) and in particular to method and system for providing an executable program to a controller for use in coordinate measuring system.
The manufacturing/industrial marketplace took on a new face during the 1980""s with the introduction of computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM). While CAD allowed engineers to produce 3-D images in the front end of the design process, which shortened the production cycle and led to tremendous gains in productivity, CAM software and equipment increased the efficiency and quality of machined single parts. In essence, these new technologies revolutionized the marketplace by increasing productivity, improving quality and reducing costs.
Despite these technological advances in design and manufacturing, something important was missing from the production cycle: a highly accurate, efficient, and convenient measurement methodology for ensuring that the products and componentsxe2x80x94both on and off the production linexe2x80x94met the original CAD specifications. The design process, with the help of CAD, had become innovative and sophisticated; so too, had the machining process through CAM. Yet measuring the assemblies made of these parts against the CAD model, for the most part, has continued to remain unwieldy, expensive and unreliable. Traditionally, the measurement and quality inspection function in the manufacturing process has been time-consuming and limited in size, scope, and effectiveness for a number of reasons. Manual measurement tools, such as calipers and scales may be slow, imprecise, and always one-dimensional. Analog test fixtures are costly and inflexible. Standard, non-portable coordinate measurement machines (CMM), while providing a high degree of precision, are generally located in quality control labs or inspection departments at a distance from the manufacturing floor. Parts must be removed one at a time and transported to the lab for inspection. As a result, these CMMs measure only small, readily-moved subassemblies and componentsxe2x80x94which often translates into significant xe2x80x9cdown timexe2x80x9d for the production line. In essence, traditional measurement techniquesxe2x80x94also known as metrologyxe2x80x94have lagged far behind in the technological advance of the production process.
The CAD/CAM and metrology markets, as well as a worldwide emphasis on quality in all aspects of the manufacturing process, are driving the need for an extension of the CAD/CAM techniques which is referred to as computer-aided manufacturing measurement. Computer-aided manufacturing measurement is CAD-based total quality assurance technology. This last phase of the CAD revolution has remained incomplete because of the significant technical demands for adaptive measurement hardware and usable CAD-based measurement software for the difficult manufacturing environment. Computer-aided manufacturing measurement takes conventional metrology from a single-parts-only, high-level precision testing methodologyxe2x80x94behind the door of the quality control labxe2x80x94to a whole products, intermediate-level precision measurement system at every step of the manufacturing processxe2x80x94at any location on the factory floor. Measurements of part dimensions and/or characteristics may be made on the production floor to determine compliance with specifications and ensure quality.
FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic view of a conventional, portable CMM 10 comprised of a manually operated multi-jointed arm 12 and a support base or post 14, a serial box 16 and a host computer 18. It will be appreciated that arm 12 electronically communicates with serial box 16 which, in turn, electronically communicates with host computer 18. Additional detail of the conventional three-dimensional measuring system can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,402,582, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
An improvement to the three dimensional coordinate measuring system of FIG. 1 is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,978,748, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. This patent discloses a system in which a controller is mounted to the arm and runs an executable program which directs the user through a process such as an inspection procedure. In such a system, a host computer may be used to generate the executable program. The controller mounted to the arm is used to run the executable program but cannot be used to create executable programs or modify executable programs. By way of analogy to video gaming systems, the host computer serves as the platform for writing or modifying a video game and the arm mounted controller serves as the platform for playing a video game. The controller (e.g., player) cannot modify the executable program. As described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,978,748, this results in a lower cost three dimensional coordinate measurement system by eliminating the need for a host computer for each articulated arm. There is a need, however, for a method and system for delivering executable programs to users of coordinate measurement systems. Such a method and system would render the coordinate measurement system more versatile and readily adaptable to computer-aided manufacturing measurement.
An exemplary embodiment of the invention is a method of providing an executable program from an executable program provider to a customer for use in a controller of a three dimensional coordinate measurement system. The method includes receiving a request to create an executable program from a customer and obtaining information related to the executable program. The executable program is developed which guides an operator through a number of measurement steps to be performed with the three dimensional coordinate measuring system. The executable program is delivered to the customer.
The above-discussed and other features and advantages of the present invention will be appreciated and understood by those skilled in the art from the following detailed description and drawings.