Smart Scope Fixturing

Hi,

I am currently looking for some solutions that maybe this community could help me find, or point me in the right direction. We currently are using a Smart Scope Flash 200 and a Helmel micro CMM. We process 1 part at a time for each machine, but we are looking for the ability to utilize the entire working area and have an array of the same part for the totality of the inspection surface. Are there any off the shelf solutions, techniques for finding the next part, etc. that you may be aware of?

What kind of parts are you inspecting? We have several Flash 200s and are measuring pin contacts mostly. These are very small, usually .5 to 1 mm in diameter and 5mm long. Our machine shop has custom made us some fixtures. We also work with some other suppliers for fixture engineering. If you are anywhere near the Philadelphia area, I can point you to some people.

mhannon said:

What kind of parts are you inspecting? We have several Flash 200s and are measuring pin contacts mostly. These are very small, usually .5 to 1 mm in diameter and 5mm long. Our machine shop has custom made us some fixtures. We also work with some other suppliers for fixture engineering. If you are anywhere near the Philadelphia area, I can point you to some people.

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We inspect a myriad of very small parts for our stages, housings, carriages, motor bodies, pins, springs, bushings, etc. We're anywhere between .5 to 1.5 mm diameter for our smallest pins. We're a little further north, on the outskirts of Rochester, NY.

What sort of design are you using for fixturing to pair well with the Smart Scope? We've tried a few different materials and haven't had the success we'd like for measuring multiple parts at a time.

Since our contacts are round and prone to rolling all over the glass top, we have various very simple "V" fixtures to hold them in place. Usually 10 parallel V grooves in a plate of polycarbonate, steel, or aluminum. The Smart scope has a really good ring light from above, so it is not necessary to have a transparent polycarbonate fixture to allow the bottom light through. Although, it does help a little.
We found that having the parts all facing the same way as they are in the program is critical. You cannot have one part pointing left and one pointing right.
We were initially looking for a solution where an inspector could take an AQL of 20 parts and "Yahtzee roll" them onto the stage and get pass/fail measurements for all, but we found that was just not possible with the smart scope. Fixturing and good programing is necessary.

Other than our internal machine shop, our Philly regional distributor is one of the places we get our fixturing. It looks like RG Loewenguth Co. is your regional OGP distributor. I would ask them if they offer any fixture engineering services if you don't have capability in house. Also, OGP's HQ is right there in Rochester, so you may have access to some really good help.

It is almost impossible to have an all in one fixture when you are dealing with many different kinds of parts like you are. You will likely need several fixtures that are unique to a specific part.

When it comes to measuring multiple parts in one run, the programing is key. Again, your regional rep should be available to you for programing assistance. We rely heavily on ours, and they are always willing to help tweak programs. Not sure if they are all like this, but when you are buying 60K+ machines from them, they better help you out when you need it.