PC-DMIS Vision Manual

For Version 2023.1

Generated February 07, 2023

Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence
 Table of Contents
Copyright and Licensing .................................................................................................. 1

PC-DMIS Vision .............................................................................................................. 3

PC-DMIS Vision: Introduction ...................................................................................... 3

Factors for Measuring with PC-DMIS Vision ................................................................ 4

Lighting .................................................................................................................... 4

Magnification ............................................................................................................ 5

Edge Quality ............................................................................................................ 5

Understanding Targets in PC-DMIS Vision.................................................................. 5

Supported Sensors on Vision Systems........................................................................ 6

Chromatic White Light Sensor (CWS) ...................................................................... 7

Triangulation Sensor (OPTIV LTS) ........................................................................ 23

Surface Topography Sensor .................................................................................. 24

Scan Measurement ................................................................................................ 33

Point Measurement ................................................................................................ 35

Defining a Surface Point by Clicking on a Pointcloud ............................................. 36

Getting Started .......................................................................................................... 39

Step 1: Install and Launch PC-DMIS Vision ........................................................... 39

Step 2: Home your System .................................................................................... 40

Step 3: Create a Vision Probe File ......................................................................... 41

Step 4: Edit the Vision Tip ...................................................................................... 42

Step 5: Perform Calibrations .................................................................................. 46

Step 6: Modify Machine Options ............................................................................ 46

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 Table of Contents

Frame Grabber....................................................................................................... 46

Calibrating Vision Probes .......................................................................................... 47

Calibrate Optical Center ......................................................................................... 50

Calibrate Optics...................................................................................................... 52

Calibrate Illumination.............................................................................................. 62

Calibrate Probe Offset ............................................................................................ 65

A Note on Probe Definitions ................................................................................... 75

Considerations for Vision Probes ........................................................................... 76

Using Optical Calibration Standard Certification Data ............................................ 76

Parcentricity Calibration Modes.............................................................................. 78

Ring Light Migration ................................................................................................... 78

Ring Light Migration Method .................................................................................. 79

Ring Light Migration Workflow ............................................................................... 79

Migrate Magnification Variables ................................................................................. 82

Setting Machine Options ............................................................................................ 83

Machine Options: General Tab .............................................................................. 85

Machine Options: Motion Tab ................................................................................ 87

Machine Options: Illumination Tab ......................................................................... 90

Machine Options: Wrist Tab ................................................................................... 91

Machine Options: Motion Controller Communication Tab ...................................... 92

Machine Options: Illumination Communication Tab ............................................... 93

Machine Options: Debug Tab................................................................................. 94

Available Vision Setup Options .................................................................................. 95

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PC-DMIS Vision: Introduction

Vision QuickMeasure Toolbar .................................................................................... 96

Using the Graphic Display Window in PC-DMIS Vision ............................................. 96

CAD View ............................................................................................................... 97

Live View ................................................................................................................ 99

Laser View ........................................................................................................... 120

Using the Probe Toolbox in PC-DMIS Vision ........................................................... 121

Probe Toolbox: Position Probe Tab ..................................................................... 123

Probe Toolbox: Hit Targets Tab ........................................................................... 127

Probe Toolbox: Feature Locator Tab ................................................................... 152

Probe Toolbox: Magnification Tab........................................................................ 153

Probe Toolbox: Illumination Tab........................................................................... 155

Probe Toolbox: Focus Tab ................................................................................... 160

Probe Toolbox: Gage Tab .................................................................................... 164

Probe Toolbox: Vision Diagnostics Tab ............................................................... 169

Using Vision Gages ................................................................................................. 170

Using the Probe Readout with Gages .................................................................. 171

Cross Hair Gage .................................................................................................. 173

Circle Gage .......................................................................................................... 174

Rectangle Gage ................................................................................................... 176

Protractor Gage.................................................................................................... 177

Radius Chart Gage .............................................................................................. 179

Grid Chart Gage ................................................................................................... 180

Creating Alignments ................................................................................................ 181

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 Table of Contents

Live View Alignments ........................................................................................... 182

CAD View Alignments .......................................................................................... 189

Live View Alignment with CAD ............................................................................. 199

Measuring Auto Features with a Vision Probe ......................................................... 200

Implementing QuickFeatures in PC-DMIS Vision CAD View ............................... 201

Implementing QuickFeatures in PC-DMIS Vision Live View ................................ 203

Vision Measuring Methods ................................................................................... 208

The Auto Feature Dialog Box in PC-DMIS Vision ................................................ 216

Creating Auto Features ........................................................................................ 228

A Note on Executing a Vision Measurement Routine........................................... 257

Modifying a Programmed Feature Using the Auto Feature Dialog Box ................ 258

Large Feature Measurement Mode ...................................................................... 259

Using AutoTune Execution ...................................................................................... 264

How AutoTune Execution Works.......................................................................... 265

Using On Error Commands ..................................................................................... 266

Using the Image Capture Command ....................................................................... 267

Using a Single uEye Camera to Create Multiple "Virtual" Cameras......................... 268

Appendix A: Troubleshooting PC-DMIS Vision ........................................................ 269

Appendix B: Adding a Ring Tool .............................................................................. 270

Glossary ...................................................................................................................... 273

Index ........................................................................................................................... 275

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Copyright and Licensing
This documentation is copyrighted. For more information, see the "Copyrights,
Trademarks, and Legal Information.pdf" in the same folder as this documentation.

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PC-DMIS Vision
PC-DMIS Vision: Introduction
This PC-DMIS Vision documentation documents how to use PC-DMIS Vision with your
optical measuring system to measure features on a part. Vision probes provide a way to
collect many measured points for a single feature. You can also use this non-contact
probing method to measure certain types of "flat" features. For example, a circuit board
could have an overlay of a different color to the main circuit board. A contact probe
running over the part won’t detect the feature. However, you could use a vision probe to
"capture" the feature.

You can use PC-DMIS Vision to prepare a measurement routine in either Offline or
Online mode. The CAD Camera functionality gives you the versatility to run this
measurement routine in either mode. In addition, many other machine types can be
supported by using a generic Metronics interface. Installation may require some
personal computer hardware upgrades.

The main topics in this PC-DMIS Vision documentation include:

• Factors for Measuring with PC-DMIS Vision

• Understanding Targets in PC-DMIS Vision
• Supported Lasers on Vision Systems
• Getting Started
• Calibrating Vision Probes
• Ring Light Migration
• Migrate Magnification Variables
• Setting Machine Options
• Available Vision Setup Options
• Vision QuickMeasure Toolbar
• Using the Graphic Display Window in PC-DMIS Vision
• Using the Probe Toolbox in PC-DMIS Vision
• Using Vision Gages
• Creating Alignments
• Measuring Auto Features with a Vision Probe

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 PC-DMIS Vision

• Using AutoTune Execution

• Using On Error Commands
• Using the Image Capture Command
• Using a Single uEye Camera to Create Multiple "Virtual" Cameras

These appendices are also available:

• Appendix A: Troubleshooting PC-DMIS Vision

• Appendix B: Adding a Ring Tool

Use this PC-DMIS Vision documentation in conjunction with the main PC-DMIS
documentation if you come across something in the software that isn't covered here.

Factors for Measuring with PC-DMIS

Vision
There are three basic elements that should be considered while measuring with PC-
DMIS Vision. These factors will dramatically affect the measurement accuracy or
repeatability that you can achieve.

• Lighting
• Magnification
• Edge quality

Lighting
If you can't see the product, you can't measure it. Lighting is perhaps the most
fundamental factor when measuring with vision probes. It is also the FIRST parameter
to enable when measuring an edge.

The type of lighting, the intensity and the mixture of lighting sources can have significant
effect on the accuracy of your vision system. Where possible, use only sub-stage
lighting, as it will reduce the amount of texture on the surface and improve edge
detection performance.

You can "Calibrate Illumination" and make needed adjustments via the "Probe Toolbox:
Illumination tab" to ensure proper lighting for measurement.

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Understanding Targets in PC-DMIS Vision

Magnification
Changing the Pixel Size value directly affects the accuracy of your results. In some
cases, you can use the same Pixel Size value for the entire measurement process.
However, it is quite common to change the Pixel Size value depending on the feature
type, feature size, and accuracy requirements. Internally, PC-DMIS Vision makes the
necessary adjustments to accommodate changes to the Pixel Size value.

Focus accuracy is particularly affected by the Pixel Size value. The smaller the Pixel
Size value, the higher the focus accuracy. Measurements in Z are almost always done
at the smallest Pixel Size value.

Magnification is calibrated through "Field of View Calibration" and adjusted for optimal
measurement of your feature via the "Probe Toolbox: Magnification tab".

Edge Quality
The quality of the edge has a direct effect on the quality of the measured result. By
adjusting the edge quality tools, PC-DMIS Vision may be able to improve any
imperfections that might exist for the viewed edge of the feature you are measuring.

Some things that are done to improve image quality include:

• Ensuring that targets are sized to contain ideally just the target edge you’re trying
to measure.
• Using ring lights (if available) to ensure the edge is lit up as sharp and in high
contrast as possible.
• Clever filtration and sample measurements can allow you to achieve a desired
result.

Using the "Probe Toolbox: Hit Targets tab", you can limit the data that is included for the
measured feature.

Understanding Targets in PC-DMIS

Vision
In PC-DMIS Vision, you position targets on a feature to acquire measured points. The
type of target used is automatically chosen based on the feature being measured.

In the example below:

• Measuring a line feature uses a rectangular shaped target.

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 PC-DMIS Vision

• Measuring a circle feature uses a doughnut shaped target.

Line and circle target examples

Features can be measured by one or more targets. In the example below, the line is
measured with 3 targets where the middle target is not being used to collect data.

Example of line being measured using three targets

The size of the feature to measure determines the span of the target. For example, a
small circle that fits inside of the FOV can be measured with a single target, where a
larger circle that exceeds the FOV would require multiple targets to span its
circumference. After selecting the Auto feature to be measured, the targets are created
by:

1. Selecting a feature from the CAD model.

2. Manually entering the nominal values.
3. Creating Target anchor points.
More information is available in the "Measuring Auto Features with a Vision Probe"
topic.

Supported Sensors on Vision Systems

PC-DMIS Vision systems support these sensors:

• CWS - Chromatic White Light Sensor

• OPTIV LTS - Triangulation Sensor
• Surface Topography Sensor
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Supported Sensors on Vision Systems

Offline Support

To fully support the use of the various sensors in Offline mode, the
OfflineLaserMode entry needs to specify the offline controller and sensor
configuration. For details, see "OfflineLaserMode" in the "VisionParameters" section of
the PC-DMIS Settings Editor documentation.

For details on the setting options for the Topography sensor, see the "Topography"
section of the PC-DMIS Settings Editor documentation.

Chromatic White Light Sensor (CWS)

If the Chromatic White Light Sensor (CWS) is the active probe in the
measurement routine, the Laser tab is visible.

When you use a CWS, be aware that important information is displayed on the available
control box indicators.

The CWS control box typically has the following indicators:

Intensity Bar

The Intensity Bar displays the intensity of the measurement signal in a logarithmic
scale. The intensity value is commonly shown in another display near the Intensity Bar.
The display shows the relative units as a numeric value between 0 and 999. This is
important information because if you are measuring a poorly reflecting surface, the
intensity of the reflected light can be low. In this case, you need to reduce the
measurement rate. Conversely, over-modulation of the sensor (intensity reading: 999,
blinking) can cause measurement errors.

Distance Bar

The Distance Bar displays the current measurement value in a linear scale.

The measured distance appears in another display as a number in μm near the

Distance Bar. This allows you to see where in the range the sensor is currently placed.

CWS Dark Reference PassThrough Command

The "PassthruToController" command and dialog box are designed to send commands
to the NC controller. It is used only by Hexagon Engineering.

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 PC-DMIS Vision

For Hexagon Application Engineers and Technical Support, you can find
detailed information on the PassthruToController command and dialog box on the
SalesForce site here.

You can use the prefix "CWS", which represents the Precitec controller (CWS), and the
token "#" to send commands to the Precitec controller.

For example, to take a dark reference, in the Edit window, type the command
CWS#$DRK.

CWS# - Sends the command to the Precitec controller.

$DRK - Starts taking the dark reference.

All Precitec controller commands need to start with $.

If there is no prefix (CWS#), the PassthruToController command is sent to the NC

controller.

The solution works for:

• FDC-SLC
• FDC-VisionBox

The solution DOES NOT work with Embedded controllers.

Typical CWS System

An example of a typical CWS system is shown below:

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Supported Sensors on Vision Systems

1 - Light Source

2 - Fiber Optic Cables

3 - Measuring Head

4 - Surface of feature being scanned

5 - Measuring Range

6 - Intensity

CWS Spectrum

The spectrum chart from the CWS sensor is in many ways very similar to the focus
graph from the camera.

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 PC-DMIS Vision

Example of the CWS spectrum chart

Similar to the focus graph, the spectrum allows you to quickly see the quality of the
measurement. It also helps you choose the correct settings for the material being
sampled.

CWS Parameters

Probe Toolbox - CWS Parameter tab

The CWS Parameter tab in the Probe Toolbox (View | Other Windows | Probe
Toolbox) is available once the system has been appropriately configured:

• The CWS has to be configured as the active laser system. Usually, this is done
locally by the factory during the startup procedure or by a Service Engineer.

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Supported Sensors on Vision Systems

• Once the system is configured, you must define a probe with the correct
properties. You construct the probe through the Probe Utilities dialog box. You
should use the OPTIV_FIXED selection and a lens that includes CWS. Typically,
this is defined locally by the factory in the USRPROBE.DAT file when you
configure your system.

The CWS Parameter tab can include the following information:

Frequency (Measurement Rate)

The measurement rate sets the number of measured values the CWS records per unit
time. For example, when the measurement rate is set at 2000 Hz, 2000 measurement
values are taken per second. The intensity indicator on the display can help you select
the correct setting. In the case of surfaces with very low reflectivity, it may be necessary
to reduce the measurement rate. This has the effect of illuminating the optical sensor‘s
CCD-line longer and thus making it possible to measure even if the reflected intensity is
very low.

Editing in the Edit window

If you enter a frequency that is not within the range of valid frequency values, PC-
DMIS displays a message to correct the entry and informs you with the closest
valid frequency value:

PC-DMIS

Invalid Frequency: 3Hz

Please use a valid frequency. The closest valid frequency is 32Hz.

If you enter an invalid frequency, but it is within the range of valid frequency
values (for example, it is not included in the list of valid frequencies), PC-DMIS
displays a message to correct the entry. The message also informs you with the
next valid frequency values above and below the entered value:

PC-DMIS

Invalid Frequency: 300Hz

Please use a valid frequency. The closest valid frequencies are 100Hz and
320Hz.

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 PC-DMIS Vision

The software also checks for an invalid CWS frequency at execution. If you did not
correct an invalid value after a software request to do so, PC-DMIS displays a
message in the Execution window with the invalid frequency value:

Execution

Invalid Frequency: 300Hz

PC-DMIS will not allow you to continue with the execution of the measurement
routine. The only option at this point is to stop the execution and enter a valid
frequency value.

The same thing happens when a variable is assigned to the CWS frequency. If the
variable contains an invalid value, PC-DMIS issues an appropriate message as
described above.

When you press F9 on features with variable inputs or numeric values, PC-DMIS
opens the Probe Toolbox. From there you can select a supported frequency from
the list. If the value is stored in a variable that is assigned to the CWS frequency,
when you select a valid value from the list, PC-DMIS updates the variable with the
new value.

Exposure Time and Auto Intensity

Under Intensity, you can select the relative pulse duration of the LED, and with it the
effective brightness of the light source. The Auto Intensity option is useful when the
measurement surface changes in reflectiveness. If, for example, you are measuring a
highly reflective surface, on which the highest measurement rate still results in over-
modulation, then it makes sense to set Auto Intensity to No and then manually set the
Lamp Intensity option.

Another option is to leave Auto Intensity set to Yes and reduce the exposure time. To
measure a poorly reflecting surface with a high measurement rate, use a longer pulse
duration or a longer exposure time.

Dark reference is absolutely necessary after every change to the exposure time.
Please refer to the appropriate section of your CWS Unit Operators Manual.

Offset

Depending on the reflectiveness of the surface and the measurement rate (frequency),
optimal intensity values may occur in different areas of the sensor’s range.

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Supported Sensors on Vision Systems

The Offset setting moves to the best scan area for the sensor. The input for this offset
is a + or – value in mm.

1 - Distance (sensor range for a 3mm sensor)

2 - Offset = 0.000

3 - Offset = 0.500

Graph showing effects of changing the offset value

Offset support for the HP-OW (CWS) sensor requires that you have version 51.03.000
or later of the DC firmware installed.

For example, suppose you want to run a measurement routine with a feature to be
measured using an HP-OW or CWS sensor. If the offset parameter does not equal 0
and the current DC firmware version does not support HP-OW offset parameter, PC-
DMIS displays this error message:

PC-DMIS MESSAGE:

Laser parameter "Offset" not supported by machine controller.

Linear scan example before and after offset applied

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 PC-DMIS Vision

A = Scan path

Top - Without an appropriate offset, the lower surface falls into the measurement
range which affects the linear scan of the top targeted surface.

Bottom - With the appropriate offset (+0.3) applied, only the targeted top face of
the feature is in the measurement range and the linear scan measurement is
successful.

Thickness scan example before and after offset applied

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Supported Sensors on Vision Systems

A = Scan path

Top - Without an appropriate offset, the lower surface does not fall into the
measurement range and the thickness scan fails.

Bottom - With the appropriate offset (-0.6) applied, both of the feature faces are
within the measurement range to successfully measure the thickness.

Intensity Filter

This value defines the threshold between noise and the measurement signal. Peaks
that fall beneath this threshold are recognized as invalid and show on the display as the
measurement value "0".

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 PC-DMIS Vision

There is no linear relationship between Filter (Sensor Intensity) and

"Intensity". For example, if you set Filter (Sensor Intensity) = 50, it doesn't necessarily
mean that all values below an intensity of 50 are filtered out.

For a measurement rate under 1 KHz, a Filter (Sensor Intensity) minimum of 40 is

recommended. This prevents measurement values that are too low in intensity and rise
only slightly above the noise to falsify the measurement. At a measurement rate of 1
KHz and higher, a minimum of 15 is sufficient to fully exploit the device’s dynamics.

Focus

The Auto Focus button reads the current XYZ machine position and the distance
value from the CWS sensor. These values calculate the focus position as well as the
signal quality value and displays them in the four Focus boxes.

Note on Filter Modes

The Speed and Frequency parameters define the point density of the sensor. In the
case of scans, PC-DMIS then performs secondary filtering as defined from the Nullfilter
and Point Density settings.

Chromatic White Light Sensor (HP-OW) Probe Readouts Window

If the Chromatic White Light Sensor (CWS) is the active sensor, the Probe Readouts
window displays the X, Y, and Z readouts, plus the following:

Intensity - The value for this readout is a percentage that appears in a circular
graphic. An intensity value above 99% indicates a measurement error; for
example, the sensor may be out of detection range. If a measurement error
occurs, the non-gray part of the graphic turns red.

Distance - The value for this readout is in the current unit of measurement (inches
or millimeters). The value appears in a circular graphic. If the distance value is
within 10% of the upper or lower limit of the sensor range, the non-gray part of the
graphic turns red.

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Supported Sensors on Vision Systems

Probe Readouts window showing overmodulation

For these readouts to appear, do not select the CWS Laser tab. Once you
select it, the readouts are no longer sent to the Probe Readouts window.

For more details on the CWS Parameters tab on the Probe Toolbox, see "Laser Probe
Toolbox: CWS Parameter tab" in the PC-DMIS Laser documentation.

Dark Reference Display

You must have an HP-OW sensor as the active sensor to show the Dark
Reference value in the Probe Readouts window.

To show the Dark Reference value in the Probe Readouts window, follow these steps:

1. Insert the HP-OW sensor into your measurement routine.

2. Open the Probe Readouts Setup dialog box (Edit | Preferences | Probe
Readouts Setup).
3. Select the Show Dark Reference check box. By default, the check box is not
selected.

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 PC-DMIS Vision

Probe Readouts Setup dialog box with the Show Dark Reference check box
selected

4. Click the OK button.

5. Open the Probe Readouts window (View | Other Windows | Probe Readouts or
press Ctrl + W). PC-DMIS now shows the Dark Reference value in the Probe
Readouts window.

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Supported Sensors on Vision Systems

Probe Readouts window showing Dark Reference value within limits (left) and
exceeds limit (right)

If you don't see a dark reference value, it either means that you have not
taken a dark reference measurement or the last automatic Dark Reference request
failed.

You can request a Dark Reference automatically in one of these ways:

• When you start PC-DMIS in Online mode and you confirm that a sensor of
type HP-OW is the currently active sensor.
• When you perform a probe change to a probe of type HP-OW.

You can also request a Dark Reference with the PassThrough command. For details,
see "CWS Dark Reference PassThrough Command" section of the "Chromatic White
Light Sensor (CWS)" topic.

Thickness Scan
The CWS can operate in different exclusive modes:

• Distance mode (default)

• Thickness mode

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 PC-DMIS Vision

You can enable Thickness mode when you open the Thickness scan dialog box, or
when you execute the command. The software disables Thickness mode when you
close the dialog box, or when the execution of the command is complete.

In Thickness mode, the software reports two pairs of values from the sensor's controller
unit:

• Distance1 and Intensity1

• Distance2 and Intensity2

PC-DMIS displays these values in the Probe Readouts window when the Thickness
scan dialog box is open or during execution.

To create a Thickness scan:

1. Ensure you are in DCC mode and that CWS is the active sensor.
2. Import your CAD model to define the sensor trajectory.
3. Open the Thickness scan dialog box (Insert | Scan | Thickness).

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Supported Sensors on Vision Systems

Thickness scan dialog box

4. Select the axis from the Cross Section Axis list. The options are X, Y, or Z.
5. Enter the Start, Direction, and End options, or click on the CAD model in the
Graphic Display window to fill these values in automatically.

The Start and End check boxes allow the Start and End point mouse
clicks to snap to the CAD edge. PC-DMIS generates a polyline from the selected
Cross Section Axis and the first mouse click. You can then edit the Cross
Section Axis from the Start field. The software automatically updates the
generated polyline from the new user-defined coordinate.

6. From the Trajectory area, click the Generate button. The software generates the
scan trajectory for the sensor, displays the number of generated points and
updates the display in the CAD View.

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 PC-DMIS Vision

Example of a generated Thickness scan

Click the Clear button to remove the scan trajectory and values in the Start,
Direction, and End fields.

The primary curve nominal data must be smooth relative to the thickness. If it is
not a smooth curve and you click the Generate button, the software displays an
error message and does not generate points.

7. Edit the Refractive Index value if necessary. Click the Edit button to open the
Select Material dialog box. You can then review or update the current values.

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Supported Sensors on Vision Systems

Select Material dialog box for Thickness scan

8. Select the Pointcloud check box if you want to include the scanned points into
an existing Pointcloud (COP) command. Once you select this check box, enter
the ID for the COP command or select it from the list. If a COP command doesn't
exist, PC-DMIS prompts if you want to generate a new one. For details on
Pointcloud operators, see "Pointcloud Operators" in the PC-DMIS Laser
documentation.

Triangulation Sensor (OPTIV LTS)

The OPTIV LTS Sensor uses the principle of optical triangulation, that is, it projects a
visible, modulated point of light onto the target surface. The system then displays the
diffuse part of the reflection of this point of light. The quality of this reflection is
dependent on the distance to the position-resolving element (CMOS) by a receiver
optic. The receiver is arranged to the optical axis of the laser beam in a defined angle.

A signal processor in the sensor calculates the distance of the point of light on the
measuring object to the sensor. This is done through the output signal of the CMOS
elements.

OPTIV LTS Parameters

Sensor Frequency

The sensor frequency indicates the number of measurements per second. At a

maximum frequency of 7.5 kHz, the system exposes the CMOS element to 7500
measurements per second.

To improve the measurement results:

• The lower the frequency, the longer the maximum exposure time.

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 PC-DMIS Vision

• Use a high frequency rate for bright and matte measurement objects.
• Use a low frequency rate for dark or shiny measurement objects (e.g. black
painted surfaces).

Auto Lamp and Exposure Time

In Automatic Lamp mode, the sensor determines the optimal exposure time it takes to
achieve the highest possible signal intensity for different measurement surfaces. In
Manual mode, you can determine the exposure time when the software displays the
video signal. Vary the exposure time to achieve a signal quality up to a maximum of
95%. The exposure time does not change the user-defined frequency.

OPTIV LTS Probe Readouts Window

If the OPTIV LTS is the active sensor, the Probe Readouts window displays the X, Y,
and Z readouts, plus the following:

Intensity - The value for this readout is a percentage that appears in a circular
graphic. If the value is higher than 95%, then the non-gray part of the graphic
turns red.

Distance - The value appears in a circular graphic. If the distance value is within
10% of the upper or lower limit of the sensor range, the non-gray part of the
graphic turns red.

Surface Topography Sensor

You can use the Surface Topography sensor to quickly acquire point data from a
specific region of interest on smooth and rough surfaces. PC-DMIS automatically adds
points to your pointcloud for analysis.

With an integrated half-transparent small mirror, topography lenses split the coaxial
toplight into two light beams:

• A constant reference beam

• A scanning beam that is reflected from the surface in focus

Both beams then come together onto the camera sensor where they produce an
interferometric signal depending on the distance to the surface.

When the signal moves through the focus of the surface, it varies according to the
distance which can be evaluated by each single pixel independently.

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Supported Sensors on Vision Systems

Licensing

You must have the ROY-TOPOGRAPHY license enabled to use the Surface
Topography sensor.

Without the license option enabled, PC-DMIS does not load the Surface Scan module
on start up. When you run a measurement routine that contains a Surface Scan
command, PC-DMIS displays this message:

PC-DMIS Message

The "None" command is not supported by the currently active "Surface Topography"
probe.

Without the license option, PC-DMIS displays this message for the probe command:

PC-DMIS Message

Your license does not authorize you to use this probe type - Surface Topography.

Supported Lenses

The supported lenses for the Surface Topography sensor are:

• HA-OTW-S10
• HA-OTW-S2.5
• HA-OTW-S20
• HA-OTW-S5
• HA-OTW-S50

Related Topics:

See the "Surface Topography Sensor" section of the PC-DMIS MIIM documentation.

See the "Topography" section of the PC-DMIS Settings Editor documentation.

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 PC-DMIS Vision

Surface Topography Illumination Settings and Measurement

Strategy
Illumination Settings

You can define the illumination settings from the Probe Toolbox or the Live View
Overlay. To do this, use the slider on the Illumination tab or the Live View Overlay as
needed.

Illumination tab of the Probe Toolbox for the Surface Topography sensor

You can also adjust the Illumination settings from the Live View toolbar. For details on
the Live View controls, which include descriptions of the toolbar options, see "Live View
Controls".

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Supported Sensors on Vision Systems

Illumination Overlay in Vision Live View for the Surface Topography sensor

Define the Topography Sensor

To define the Topography sensor in PC-DMIS:

1. Open the Probe Utilities dialog box (Insert | Hardware | Probe) and select your
Topography sensor from the Probe file list. For details on how to define your
sensor, see the "Defining Probes" section in the PC-DMIS Core documentation.

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 PC-DMIS Vision

Probe Utilities dialog box - Topography sensor probe file selected

2. After you select the Topography sensor file or build it from the Probe
description area, click the Edit button.

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Supported Sensors on Vision Systems

Edit Probe Data dialog box for the Topography sensor

3. Review the settings to make sure they are correct. For details on this dialog box,
see the "Edit Probe Data" section of the PC-DMIS Core documentation. Click OK
to exit and save your changes or click Cancel to close the dialog box without
saving.

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 PC-DMIS Vision

Measurement Strategy

Measurement Strategy tab of the Probe Toolbox for the Surface Topography sensor

To setup the measurement strategy for the Surface Topography sensor:

1. Select the Measurement Strategy tab on the Probe Toolbox.

2. Adjust the Drive Position slider (1) to position the Micro Drive.
3. Click the Upper Bound button (2) to lock and unlock the upper bound position of
the Micro Drive.
4. Click the Center Scan Position button (3) to adjust the center position of the
scan range.
5. Click the Lower Bound button (4) to lock and unlock the lower bound position of
the Micro Drive.
6. From the Drive Scan Resolution list (5), select the appropriate Micro Drive scan
resolution option.
7. Adjust the Quality Threshold slider or enter the value directly into the box (6) to
determine the points PC-DMIS filters from the scan. The software only filters out
points which have a quality tag below this value.
8. Select a Roughness Setting from the options (7). Use the Default option for
roughness measurements with an unknown Ra.

Creating a Surface Scan with the Surface Topography Sensor

To create a surface scan using the Surface Topography sensor:

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Supported Sensors on Vision Systems

1. Enter a feature ID.

2. Define the XYZ position for the surface scan. You can do this in one of these
ways:

• Click on the CAD model in the Graphic Display window. The X, Y, and Z
boxes dynamically update based on the selected location on the CAD
model.
• Click on the image in the Live View tab.
• Type in the entries directly into the appropriate boxes.

3. Click the Read button to read in a position from the machine.

4. Click the button to lock and unlock the target position. PC-DMIS sets this option
to lock by default when you are in Edit mode.

When you set the Lock Target to locked, you cannot move the target around the
part. When you edit an existing scan, this is the default state.

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 PC-DMIS Vision

Example showing the Target with the Lock Target button set to "locked" in Live
View

Example showing the FOV and Target with the Lock Target button set to "locked"
in CAD View

When you set the Lock Target button to unlocked, you can move the target
around the part as needed. PC-DMIS dynamically updates the position of the
surface scan as you move the target.

5. The Width and Height values are read-only and show the target's width and
height.
6. Select a pointcloud from the list or create a new pointcloud. For details on how to
create a pointcloud, see the "Using Pointclouds" topic in the PC-DMIS Laser
documentation.

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Supported Sensors on Vision Systems

7. Select an Avoidance move option from the list. The available options are:

• None
• Both
• Before
• After

8. Type the Avoidance move distance in this box.

9. Click the Clearance Plane button to enable or disable this function.
10. Click the Move To button to move the machine to the XYZ coordinates of the
surface scan. DCC is required for this step.
11. Click the Test button to perform a test run of the surface scan with the current
settings. DCC is required for this step.
12. When you are satisfied with the setup, click the Create button to create the
Surface Scan command in the Edit window.
13. Click the Cancel button to close the Surface Scan Command dialog box.

Notes on Surface Scans Using the Surface Topography Sensor

• When you click the Test button on the Surface Scan Command dialog box, PC-
DMIS stores the measured data in a temporary pointcloud.
• When you edit an existing surface scan, the software transfers the data from the
pointcloud to an internal pointcloud. If PC-DMIS detects changes to any
parameter related to the measurement, it purges the existing pointcloud data.
• PC-DMIS displays the measured data in the pointcloud in the Graphic Display
window.
• When you click the Create button, PC-DMIS transfers the data to the pointcloud
referenced in the Surface Scan Command dialog box.
• Multiple surface scans commands can reference the same pointcloud ID.

Scan Measurement
After positioning the sensor with the optimal settings, you can either select from the
CAD in the Graphic Display window, or click the Take a Hit icon on the Probe Tool Box
dialog box to select points and populate the 1, D, and 2 points.

Once the coordinates have been updated, you can test or create the feature.

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 PC-DMIS Vision

Note on Execution Modes:

Defined - First time execution behaves the same as Relearn. Subsequent

executions perform a defined path scan.

Relearn - (FDC) First time and subsequent executions track the surface within the
range of the sensor.

Relearn - (Non FDC) First time and subsequent executions perform a straight-line
scan derived from start, direction, and end points. No Tracking is performed.

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Supported Sensors on Vision Systems

Mycrona - Tracking can be switched On/Off in the separate Heartbeat

application.

Point Measurement
Once the position of the sensor with the optimal settings is made, select the Read
Position icon in the dialog box to update the coordinates. You can then test or create
the feature.

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 PC-DMIS Vision

Defining a Surface Point by Clicking on a Pointcloud

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Supported Sensors on Vision Systems

Pointcloud

You can extract Auto features from previously-scanned pointcloud data.

The Pointcloud parameter defines the COP command from which the Auto feature is
extracted.

To select feature extraction via pointcloud selection, select a previously-scanned

pointcloud from the list. To enable PC-DMIS to use the defined CWS scan parameters
and measure the Auto feature directly, select Disabled.

Feature Based Clipping

PC-DMIS can clip vision data in both the horizontal and vertical directions when you
type a distance in the Horizontal and Vertical boxes. This distance clips all of the laser
data outside of the defined distance and excludes that data when extracting the feature.

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 PC-DMIS Vision

Filters

Remove outliers - If you select this check box, PC-DMIS excludes outliers from the
feature based on the value for the Standard deviation multiple option.

The feature extractor evaluates the feature internally two or more times on the first
attempt to get the standard deviation based on all points.

In successive attempts, the filter re-evaluates the feature using only the points that are
in the range of the outlier multiplied by the Σ. The sigma is the range, in the Gaussian
distribution of the deviations, where the 68.2% of the best points used for fitting the
feature lie.

Standard deviation multiple - The value for this option defines the selectivity of
the filter. It can be a generic real number that is greater than 0. If m is the selected
value, it means that all the scan points which deviate from the extracted cone that
are greater than m x Actual standard deviation (that is, the standard deviation of
the measured points with respect to the calculated feature) are cut off from the
calculation. Therefore, the lower the value of m, the more selective the filter.

The readouts are not available during execution.

Often, users define a Surface Point by clicking on the CAD. In the case where no CAD
exists, you can perform a scan of the part, and then click on the individual pointcloud
points to define your surface feature. You can also box-select the feature from the
pointcloud.

To define a Surface Point from pointcloud points:

1. Scan the surface of the part where the Surface Point exists.
2. Select Auto Surface Point from the Auto Feature toolbar or select Insert |
Feature | Auto | Surface Point. This opens the Auto Feature dialog box.
3. Do one of the following:

• Select points from the pointcloud that best define the feature's nominal
position.
• With your mouse, left-click and drag a box directly on the pointcloud. PC-
DMIS extracts the feature from the points within this area.

PC-DMIS defines the Surface Point based on your selection.

Defining a Feature by Selecting Points

To define a Surface Point's location, select one point in the location of interest within the
measured surface area.

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Getting Started

Defining a Feature by Box-Selecting

In Learn mode, you can drag a box around the desired feature on the pointcloud to
extract a Surface Point using the selected data points. This functionality has these
limitations:

• PC-DMIS only calculates the surface vector. You may need to define the angle
vector manually, such as for a polygon feature.
• If your box selection includes points at multiple depths in the Z axis, it may result
in a poor feature extraction. You can avoid this by either clipping the acquisition
or use the COP/OPER,SELECT command to exclude those points prior to the box
selection. For details on the SELECT command, see the "SELECT" topic in the
PC-DMIS Laser documentation.

Getting Started
There are a few basic steps that you should take to verify that your system has been
properly prepared before using PC-DMIS Vision with your vision machine.

The best measurements result when:

• Your optical measuring system is setup in a dimly lit room.

• The room doesn't have a lot of uncovered windows or bright lights.
• The room has little temperature variation.

Follows these steps to get started with PC-DMIS Vision:

Step 2: Home your System

Step 1: Install and Launch PC-DMIS Vision

Before you work with your optical measuring system, ensure that PC-DMIS Vision has
been properly installed on your computer system.

To install PC-DMIS Vision:

1. Ensure your LMS license or portlock is programmed with the Vision option. You
must also have the correct Vision probe type from the Vision Type list
programmed into your license. Your license must have the correct configuration

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 PC-DMIS Vision

before you install PC-DMIS. This ensures the correct vision components get
installed. If you need assistance with your license configuration, please contact
your PC-DMIS software distributor.
2. Install PC-DMIS. To do this, see the release notes in the Readme.pdf file.
3. Verify that specific calibration tests have been completed for your vision
machine. A trained technician should already have completed these tests. You
can verify that your machine is ready by confirming that the following files reside
on your computer system. These files are in the root directory where you
installed PC-DMIS:

• *.ilc - Files that have an .ilc extension are created during the calibration
process of your machine's lamps. They store the illumination calibration
data for each lamp and optics lens combination.
• *.fvc, *.mcf, *.ocf and *.odc - These files are created during the calibration
of your machine’s optics. They store the calibration data needed to map
pixel size to real-world units and provide corrections for optical parcentrality
and parfocality errors.
• Comp.dat - This file is created during the calibration of your machine’s
stage; it stores the calibrations for position on the X, Y, and Z axis.

These calibration files may or may not exist and are not necessary to run PC-
DMIS Vision. If this is a new install, then the files are not there. These files are
created as you execute calibrations inside of PC-DMIS.

Do not, under any circumstances, alter these files. A trained service

technician must make any calibration adjustments to these areas of the system.

4. Start PC-DMIS in Online mode by selecting Start | Programs | <Version> |

<Version> Online, where <Version> represents your version of PC-DMIS.
5. Open an existing measurement routine or create a new one. If you create a new
measurement routine, the Probe Utilities dialog box appears.

Step 2: Home your System

Once you have started PC-DMIS Vision you are ready to home your system.

You need to home your system before proceeding in order to find the encoder’s zero
position of the machine’s scales. Methods for homing may vary from system to system,
although most DCC vision systems will automatically home on startup. If you need

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Getting Started

additional information on homing your specific system, consult the documentation that
came with your vision machine.

Step 3: Create a Vision Probe File

If your probe (camera) type has not yet been defined, use the Probe Utilities dialog box
to create a probe file.

To create a new probe file for your vision probe, follow these steps:

1. Select the Insert | Hardware Definition | Probe menu option. The Probe
Utilities dialog box appears. (This dialog box automatically appears whenever
you create a new measurement routine.)

Probe Utilities dialog box

2. Type a Probe File name that best describes your vision probe.
3. Highlight the No probe defined option in the Probe description area of the
Probe Utilities dialog box.

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 PC-DMIS Vision

4. Select the appropriate probe from the Probe description list.

5. For each "empty connections", select the remaining components in the same
manner until you complete the probe definition. The defined tip displays in the
Active Tip List when completed.

Notice that PC-DMIS does not show the image of the probe. This is
usually desirable so that it does not obstruct the view of the part as you perform
measurements. However, you can double-click the probe component in the Probe
description area of the Probe Utilities dialog box to open the Edit Probe
Component dialog box and then select the Draw this component check box.

For additional information on how to define probes, see the "Defining Hardware" chapter
in the PC-DMIS Core documentation.

Step 4: Edit the Vision Tip

Once you have created a vision tip, select Edit from the Probe Utilities dialog box to
edit the probe data for the selected tip. Default values are provided according to the
defined probe. This opens the Edit Probe Data dialog box.

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Getting Started

Edit Probe Data dialog box for vision tips

You can edit or view the following values for your vision tip as needed according to the
defined vision probe:

Tip ID - This field displays the Tip ID for the selected probe.

DMIS Label - This box displays the DMIS label. When importing DMIS files, PC-DMIS
uses this value to identify any SNSDEF statement inside the imported DMIS file.

XYZ Center - This box displays the center of the focal point of the camera. This is
updated by the "Calibrate Probe Offset", so that the camera and touch probe are in the
same reference system.

Shank IJK - These three values provide the optical vector for the direction that the
optical lens is pointing.

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 PC-DMIS Vision

Lens Mag - This box displays the magnification of the defined probe lens.

Camera ID - This box allows you to provide an ID for your camera.

• For single camera configurations, the ID is 0.

• For multiple camera support, the ID indicates the camera associated with this tip,
which is usually 0 or 1.
• For virtual multiple camera configurations where there are multiple camera
configurations for a single physical camera, the ID also controls the camera
parameter processing mode. If you add 1000 to the camera ID (for example,
1000 or 1001), PC-DMIS processes a minimal subset of the parameters instead
of the complete parameters file. This allows the software to switch between
cameras much faster.

CMOS Pixel Size - This box displays the pixel size PC-DMIS uses to evaluate the
image data. Smaller values indicate a higher resolution for image capturing.

You can also set the default value for the pixel size in the Settings Editor
application. If the camera hardware supports reporting the sensor pixel size, then PC-
DMIS automatically updates the pixel size for the camera ID. For details, see the
"VisionParameters\Optics" section of the PC-DMIS Settings Editor documentation.

Min FOV - This value allows you to adjust the minimum allowable field of view size.

Max FOV - This value allows you to adjust the maximum allowable field of view size.

Min NA - This value allows you to provide the minimum allowable numerical aperture.

Max NA - This value allows you to provide the maximum allowable numerical aperture.

The NA is commonly printed on microscope objective lenses. The software

uses this to estimate the appropriate focus ranges. The undefined value is -1.

CMOS Width - This value provides the width of the video frame of your optical device.

CMOS Height - This value provides the height of the video frame of your optical device.

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Getting Started

CMOS Center X - This value provides the optical center along the X axis for the video
frame.

CMOS Center Y - This value provides the optical center along the Y axis for the video
frame.

PC-DMIS uses and updates the CCD Width, Height, and Center XY values
when it calibrates the optical center of your vision probe. See "Calibrate Optical Center".

CMOS Gutter (TBLR) - These values provide the number of top (T) and bottom (B)
rows and the left (L) and right (R) columns (in pixels) around the edge of the camera
image that should be avoided during calibration and measurement. Some cameras
show "dead pixels" in this area.

Calibration Date - This box displays the calibration date of your vision tip.

Calibration Time - This box displays the calibration time of your vision tip.

Focus Area

Up Delay - This box displays the approximate time delay in seconds for focus motion to
start and stabilize when focus motion is positive or up.

Latency - This box displays the average time in seconds between when PC-DMIS
records the stage position and the video frame data.

Down Delay - This box displays the approximate time delay in seconds for focus motion
to start and stabilize when focus motion is negative or down.

Frames/Second - This box displays the measured frames per second during focus.

Depth - This is a table of the field of view X dimension size and the corresponding
depth of field factor.

Nickname - This box displays the user-defined name given to the tip.

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 PC-DMIS Vision

Step 5: Perform Calibrations

Before you begin measuring with your vision probe, in most cases it is necessary to
perform the various calibration procedures on your machine. These include the
following:

• Optical Center
• Optics
• Illumination
• Probe Offset

For information on how to calibrate your vision probe, see the "Calibrating Vision
Probes" topic.

For stage calibration and certification, contact Hexagon Technical Support.

Step 6: Modify Machine Options

Now that you have created your vision probe file and edited the tip data for that probe
you are ready to modify the machine options. The machine options control the various
aspects of working with a vision Machine.

To edit vision machine options, follow these steps:

1. Select the Edit | Preferences | Machine Interface Setup menu option to open
the Machine Interface Setup dialog box.
2. Adjust the values as described in the "Setting Machine Options" chapter.

Frame Grabber
A Frame Grabber is a PC board that converts an analog video signal to a digital signal.
This creates individual pictures or frames that the software can then retrieve and
analyze. PC-DMIS Vision supports multiple Frame Grabbers as the video data input.
The Frame Grabber delivers the live image from your analog camera to the Live View in
PC-DMIS.

Digital cameras act as a combined camera and frame grabber since they already
provide the video image data in digital form.

You need to install and configure the vendor-specific software for your camera or frame
grabber before PC-DMIS Vision can process the camera's images. Digital cameras use
configuration files provided by the factory to match the camera behavior with the
machine and the PC.

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Calibrating Vision Probes

For details on how to setup and configure a vision Frame Grabber and camera in PC-
DMIS, see the "PC-DMIS Vision Frame Grabber and Camera Setup" section of the
MIIM documentation.

The MIIM is typically used only by Hexagon service engineers.

You can access the MIIM help file in the folder where you installed the PC-DMIS Help.

Calibrating Vision Probes

You can calibrate your vision probe with the Probe Utilities dialog box. In most cases,
you need to complete each of the calibrations before you can measure with your vision
probe.

To access this dialog box, select a probe that has already been added from the Edit
Window. Then click F9 or select the Insert | Hardware Definition | Probe menu item.

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 PC-DMIS Vision

Probe Utilities dialog box - vision probe specified

Define the vision probe with the needed components. Then select the tip from the
Active Tip List, and click Measure to access the Calibrate Probe dialog box.

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Calibrating Vision Probes

Calibrate Probe dialog box

The Calibrate Probe dialog box allows you to select and perform the following
calibrations. You need to calibrate in the listed order:

• Calibrate Optical Center

• Calibrate Optics
• Calibrate Illumination
• Calibrate Probe Offset

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 PC-DMIS Vision

For Probe Offset and Illumination calibrations, you must calibrate the pixel
size first. If not, PC-DMIS disables the Calibrate button and displays a warning
message in the dialog box. For information, see the "Pixel Size" description under the
"Calibrate Optics" topic.

Calibrate Optical Center

This procedure calibrates the optical center position of a zoom cell. The optical center is
the point in the camera field of view where a feature does not move laterally as the cell
zooms. This location information keeps the image view stable as the magnification is
changed. This minimizes measurement error between features at different
magnifications. The optics hardware should be assembled so as to keep this location
near the center of the field of view to allow maximum field of view utilization. The optical
center calibration fine tunes the position location in the software. Note that it is desirable
to measure related features at the same magnification.

• A zoom cell that changes magnification without a lateral shift in the image is said
to be parcentric.
• A zoom cell that changes magnification without a change in focus is said to be
parfocal.

No physical change takes place in the video camera or stage in any way. Any changes
you make appear only in the Vision tab of the Graphic Display window.

Before you begin to calibrate the Optical Center, open the Probe Toolbox
dialog box, select the Gage tab, and then select the Cross Hair gage. This displays the
Cross Hair gage in the Vision tab.

To calibrate the optical center:

1. On the Calibrate Probe dialog box, from the drop-down list, select Calibrate
Optics.
2. Click Calibrate to open the Calibrate Optical Center dialog box.

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Calibrating Vision Probes

Calibrate Optical Center dialog box

3. Specify the Calibrated Center. PC-DMIS Vision supports any size video frame,
though the most common is 1280 X 1024 pixels. Edit the values in the X Pixel
and Y Pixel boxes to adjust the position of the optical center of the video frame.

Your service technician has set the initial displayed values. If you make
any physical changes to the optics or camera relative to the optics, the optical
center values will need to be re-evaluated.

4. Click the button to go to the highest magnification level. With the lens
completely zoomed in, you may need to adjust the lighting to see clearly.
5. Identify a small dust particle, and manually move the stage so the center of the
cross hair coincides with the dust particle.
6. Click the button to go to the lowest magnification level. With the lens
completely zoomed out, you may need to adjust the lighting to see clearly.
7. If the center of the cross hair does not coincide with the "dust", click the arrows in
the Manually Moved Center area to align the cross hair with the "dust". After the
"dust" is aligned, repeat steps 4 through 7.
8. When there is no perceivable shift or the shift is less than one pixel when going
from high magnification to low magnification, click Calibrate to update the
Calibrated Center values with the manually adjusted values.
9. Click Close when parcentricity has been established.

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 PC-DMIS Vision

Calibrate Optics
This option calibrates the optics on the system. PC-DMIS supports five separate
calibrations (depending on hardware and the available calibration artifact):

• Pixel Size - This calibration method calibrates the size of the field of view (FOV)
throughout the zoom cell's magnification (mag) range or with a given optic’s
configuration. Follow the manufacturer’s guidelines on optical calibration
intervals. You need to recalibrate the optical magnification any time the zoom cell
or microscope is altered (such as when it is sent in for repair).
• 2D lens distortion - This calibration method calibrates the non-linear errors in
the FOV throughout the zoom cell's magnification range or for a given optics
configuration. This can significantly improve measurement accuracy away from
the center of the FOV, especially on lower magnification optics.
• Camera Rotation - This calibration method calibrates the rotation of the camera
to the stage and removes any rotation. This is particularly evident on CMM-V
systems or systems with the HP-C-x family of sensors.
• Parcentrality/Parfocality - This calibration method ensures that the center of the
lens and the center of the FOV are aligned. This option is only available if the
following are true:

• You are using a zoom lens.

• The selected lamp was previously calibrated. See "Calibrate Illumination".
• You selected the Pixel Size calibration.

• Focus - This is the Focus Depth and Latency calibration method which are
calibrated through a series of focus adjustments at various magnification levels
(Pixel Size).

If your zoom cell automatically calibrates, then you won't need to perform a
specific magnification calibration. Instead, PC-DMIS displays a message when it
completes the calibration process.

To calibrate the optics, follow these steps:

1. From the list on the Calibrate Probe dialog box, select Calibrate Optics.
2. Click Calibrate to open the Calibrate Optics dialog box.

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Calibrating Vision Probes

Calibrate Optics dialog box

When the calibration procedure starts, DO NOT move the calibration

standard.

3. From the Calibrate area, select the needed options.

• Pixel Size - This option calibrates the pixel size at a different magnification
to determine the size of a measured feature.
• 2D lens distortion - This option calibrates for any 2D distortion in the
camera image.
• Camera Rotation - This option allows PC-DMIS Vision to determine if
there is any rotation in the camera relative to the stage. PC-DMIS then
makes the necessary adjustments. The software automatically enables this
option if you enable the 2D lens distortion calibration option.

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 PC-DMIS Vision

• Parcentrality/Parfocality - When you select this option, PC-DMIS

performs the parcentrality/parfocality calibration using the Pixel size
calibration. This process replaces the need to do an Optical Center
calibration. This option is only available when you use the HexagonMI
Slide (Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence) and when your machine uses a
zoom lens. Also, see the "Parcentricity Calibration Modes" topic.

Accuracy - There are two methods for calibrating parcentrality/parfocality:

o Normal - This method does the calibration on the same rectangles

that were used for the FOV (pixel size) calibration. This method
results in a faster calibration process.
o High - This method does the calibration on the concentric circles on
the calibration standard. This method gives better quality results, but
it takes longer to perform.

• Focus - This option performs focus calibration for depth and latency.

4. From the Settings area, select the calibration settings:

• Illumination - Select the Illumination source. Calibration is usually best

done with bottom or sub-stage lighting as the edge contrast is sharper.
Select <Current> to use the current illumination settings and not change
the illumination during calibration. CMM-V or the HP-C-x sensors can now
use its ring light, and they will default to that light source.
• Focus - Lens N.A. - Specify the numeric aperture (N.A.) of the current lens
if known; otherwise, leave this box blank. This value allows the calibration
program to optimize the focus used during the calibration.
• Focus - Range - Specify the focus range if no numeric aperture is given.
This provides the range over which the focus is done.
• Auto Range - Select this check box to auto calculate the best focus range
to use. (This option may not be available on all systems.)

5. Click the Calibrate button. The software displays a message box stating that
your calibration standard must be clean and aligned with the X axis. You must
also ensure that the standard is face up.

PC-DMIS

The calibration standard must be clean and aligned with the X axis.

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Calibrating Vision Probes

Ensure that the standard is face up by verifying that the logo and target sizes are
readable.

Although the calibration processing employs noise and dirt rejection

techniques, a dirty calibration standard may trigger calibration failures or yield less
accurate measurement values. Be sure to clean any dust, dirt, fingerprints, or
other material from the calibration standard's glass portion. Use a mild non-
depositing cleaning solution, such as rubbing alcohol, and a soft, lint-free cloth. Be
sure to also clean the stage glass where the calibration standard is positioned. For
proper cleaning techniques, refer to your hardware documentation. If the stage
carrying the glass standard might move during the calibration sequence, hold the
standard to the stage with clay or putty.

6. Place the calibration artifact on the stage so the length of the standard runs along
the X axis of the machine. Verify the alignment with the X axis by watching the
horizontal line on the standard while traversing the stage X axis. The line should
remain in the field of view and ideally very near center.
7. Click the OK button. Additional messages appear, requesting that you center the
target.
8. Place a target so that it completely fits within the camera's view. This target
should be roughly centered within the FOV and focused. The focus does not
need to be optimal, just a good starting place for the software focus process.
9. Click the OK button. If you have a DCC machine, it automatically focuses on the
target. If you have a manual machine, the software displays a prompt for you to
focus on the target.
10. Use the manual controls to move the optical measuring system and roughly
center the rectangle or square calibration standard in the FOV. PC-DMIS
determines the target size based on your optics.

Do not change the Z position or the focus during the rest of the calibration
procedure.

11. Click OK after you have centered the target. The calibration routine automatically
proceeds based on the calibration options you selected:

• If the machine supports DCC illumination control, and an illumination lamp

has been selected in the Illumination field, PC-DMIS Vision performs a

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 PC-DMIS Vision

lighting grayscale adjustment where it measures the target (or series of

targets) across the range of magnifications.
• If the system has Manual Illumination control, you are prompted to increase
or decrease the illumination level as required.
• If you select Pixel Size, PC-DMIS measures the series of calibration
targets automatically.

Pixel Size calibration

• If you select 2D lens distortion, at each magnification in the Pixel Size

calibration, PC-DMIS Vision measures one or more solid circle targets in a
rectangular pattern that covers most of the FOV. If the software doesn't
automatically locate the first circle, PC-DMIS Vision prompts you to move
the specified circle to the center of the FOV.

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Calibrating Vision Probes

2D lens distortion

• If under Parcentrality / Parfocality, under the Accuracy drop-down list,

you chose Normal, PC-DMIS Vision performs Parcentrality/Parfocality
calibration on the same rectangles that it used for the Pixel Size
calibration.
• If you chose Focus, the system moves in and out of focus at various levels
of magnification. PC-DMIS does focus calibrations to determine focus
depth and focus latency.

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 PC-DMIS Vision

Focus calibration

• If you chose Camera Rotation, PC-DMIS Vision measures the line at the
bottom of the slide at different positions multiple times to identify the
camera-to-stage rotation. If the rotation angle that PC-DMIS calculates is
greater than five degrees, a warning indicates that the hardware should be
physically adjusted to make the angle smaller. You can still apply the
calibration to compensate, but it is recommended that you get the physical
wrist/camera adjusted to the stage.

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Calibrating Vision Probes

Camera Rotation calibration

• If under Parcentrality / Parfocality, under the Accuracy drop-down list,

you chose High, PC-DMIS Vision prompts you to "Align the HexagonMI
Standard Concentric Circle in Target". Align the circle as depicted in the
image below and click OK.

Target centered on concentric circles of HexagonMI Standard

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 PC-DMIS Vision

The Calibration Process continues. It focuses and takes a series of

measurements at different magnification levels. This process establishes
that the optical center and focal depth coincide through the focal range. This
means if you focus and measure a circle at one magnification, it gives the
same XYZ position at another magnification.

12. Near the end of calibration, PC-DMIS generates and runs a series of dynamic
measurement routines in the background. It does this to perform a basic
verification that measures a subset of the calibration data. As the software
measures each target in these measurement routines, the Status area on the
Calibrate Optics dialog box updates its message to show the step number.

Status message showing pixel size and error

13. There is a pixel size verification which is turned off by default and is controlled by
the ProbeQualVisionOpticsCalPixelSizeVerifyEnabled entry in the PC-DMIS
Settings Editor. If this entry is enabled, then at the end of calibration, PC-DMIS
performs a basic verification that measures a subset of the calibration data. As
the software measures each target in these measurement routines, the Status
area on the Calibrate Optics dialog box updates its message to show the step
number.

Pixel Size Verification dialog box

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If the Pixel Size Verification dialog box appears, you can click Run Again to re-
run the verification. This helps determine if any errors were simply anomalies in
the verification. If the verification fails multiple times, try and re-run the entire pixel
size calibration. If both the calibration and the verification fail repeatedly, contact
Hexagon Technical Support.

Click Continue to accept the results of the verification.

The ProbeCal section of the PC-DMIS Settings Editor contains entries

that affect the pixel size calibration.

14. Click the Close button to close the Calibrate Optics dialog box. The software
also writes the calibration results to the Calibration Results dialog box so that
you can view the results of the calibration later. To view the results, click the
Results button on the Probe Utilities dialog box:

Calibration Results dialog box

You have now calibrated the field of view. Repeat this process for each lens that you
wish to use on the machine.

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On a CMM-V camera or systems using the HP-C-x family of sensors, you only
need to calibrate the FOV for the A0B0 wrist angle. You may wish to place some
reflective white paper on the CMM table under the "Calibration Artifact Holder" (Part
Num. CALB-0001). The "Calibration Artifact Holder" includes a glass slide (CALB-0002)
and a ring gage (CALB-0003). The artifact holder is used for calibration of the CMM-V
camera or the HP-C-x family of sensors.

Calibrate Illumination
This calibration procedure allows you to calibrate the lamps for your machine. Lamp
calibration ensures that the illumination range is linear, and that changing magnification
(Pixel Size) on zoom cells will not significantly change the illumination on the part within
the capability of the hardware.

You should calibrate your optical system's lighting at these times:

• Whenever you change or replace a lamp, you should recalibrate that lamp.
• Whenever you have a significant change to the lighting within the room.
• Periodically throughout the life of the lamp.
• When you change the brightness or gain setting on the camera.
• When the optics are replaced.
• When the zoom cell is repaired.
• When the camera is replaced.
• Prior to calibrating Parcentrality/Parfocality when you "Calibrate Optics" since this
is required for this calibration.

To calibrate lamps, follow these steps:

1. On the Calibrate Probe dialog box, from the drop-down list, select Calibrate
Illumination.
2. Click Calibrate to show the Calibrate Illumination dialog box with the calibration
date for each lamp in parenthesis. If you haven't calibrated a lamp the text in
parenthesis says "Uncalibrated".

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Calibrate Illumination dialog box

3. Select the check box next to the lamp that needs to be calibrated.
4. Prepare for calibration as directed according to the lamp type:
• Sub-stage (bottom/profile) lamps require the stage to be cleared during
calibration, with the image focused on the stage.
• Top (surface/ring) lamps require an artifact or piece of paper to be in the
Field of View, with the image focused on the surface.
5. Mark the Adaptive Mode check box to apply the adaptive calibration mode to the
calibration process if required.

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Calibrate Illumination dialog box with Adaptive Mode check box marked

The Adaptive Calibration mode may cause issues with existing

measurement routines. Without the Adaptive Calibration mode, the levels across
some hardware configurations were inconsistent. The actual illumination seen in
the camera did not match the commanded value. After the Adaptive Calibration
mode illumination calibration, the machine illumination seen in the camera will
match the commanded value.

6. Click Calibrate. The calibration process begins. The process takes several
minutes.

• During calibration on systems with a zoom cell, PC-DMIS Vision selects

different magnifications for illumination measurement as indicated by the
Magnification Step value. This value displays the current magnification
and corresponds to the value displayed in the Magnification tab of the
Probe Toolbox.
• The calibration also sets the illumination intensity corresponding to the
different commanded illumination values at different magnifications. The

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Lighting Grayscale indicates the intensity of this illumination. The values

range from 0 (black) to 100 (white).

Calibration Illumination - in progress

• Once the calibration finishes, the Calibrate Illumination dialog box

displays the new date for the calibrated lamp.

7. After PC-DMIS completes the calibration process, click the Close button or
repeat steps 3 through 6 to calibrate another lamp.

The Abort button is only available during a calibration. This button stops the
calibration, aborts any data collected during the process, and reinstates any pre-
existing calibration files for the current lamp.

Calibrate Probe Offset

This calibration procedure allows you to determine the probe offset for your vision
probe. PC-DMIS Vision also allows you to calibrate multi-sensor configurations with
different probe tip types. For example, a vision probe and Contact probe are measured
against the same tool or tools to establish a common offset frame of reference. The
calibrated offset values for each tip are cross-referenced in relation to a common tool,

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such as a ring gage or sphere. See the "Relationship of Tips and Tools" topic for more
information.

Calibrating tip types (be they all contact or a mix of contact, vision, and laser) against a
common tool or standard allows measurements taken with one tip to be used with
measurements taken by a different tip.

When Probe Offset Calibration is Used

Probe calibration is used at these times:

• When you have multiple probes on your measuring system

• When you have a video probe with different magnifications (such as 1X and 2X
lenses or dual virtual cameras)

It does not matter which probe type you calibrate first. However, on a CMM, you would
usually calibrate the Touch Probe first and on a vision Multi Sensor machine, you would
calibrate the Optical Probe first. During calibration of the second probe, you must
answer No to the question, "Has the qualification tool been moved or has the Machine
Zero point changed?".

Once the tool position on stage is known and the probe tip offset has been calibrated
once from the Probe Utilities dialog box, an AutoCalibrate Active Probe step can be
added in the measurement routine to calibrate the probe offset as part of a
measurement routine. As with a contact probe, the AutoCalibrate execution for a vision
probe is based on the specified parameter set.

For more information on vision probes, see the "A Note on Probe Definitions" and
"Considerations for vision probes" topics.

Probe tip offset calibration has been expanded to support calibrating the
contact probe and vision probe offset using a sphere or ring tool. The usage follows the
general rules for tip offset and diameter calibration.

Before you begin vision probe calibration, be sure to calibrate the optical center (if a
zoom cell), field of view, and illumination for your vision probe. In this example, a ring
tool is used for measurement.

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Calibrating the Vision Probe Offset

CWS sensors do not have a tab option on the Setup Options dialog box. For
details on calibrating probe offsets for CWS sensors, see "Step 4: Calibrate the Laser
Probe" in the PC-DMIS Laser documentation.

1. Identify a Z measurement point of the face of the ring. The position of this point is
defined in machine coordinates and is relative to the top center of the ring gage
bore. This can be done using the "Probe Toolbox: Gage tab". These values are
used when adding a ring tool.
2. On the Calibrate Probe dialog box, from the drop-down list, select Calibrate
Probe Offset.
3. Select the needed tool from the List of Available Tools or click Add to define a
new tool.

In this example, you can specify a 20 mm ring tool with the following
values:

• Tool ID: 20mm Ring

• Tool Type: RING
• Diameter: 20
• Z Point Offset X: 15
• Z Point Offset Y: 0
• Z Point Offset Z: 0
• Datum Depth Start: 1 (to accommodate the chamfer on the ring bore)
• Datum Depth End: 14
• Focus Offset: -0.5 (provides distance in Z from the top surface to the bore
circle focus height)

See "Appendix B: Adding a Ring Tool".

4. Click Calibrate to open the Calibrate Probe Offset dialog box.

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Calibrate Probe Offset dialog box

5. Set the following parameters as needed:

Operation Mode - Default Mode uses the default values. User Defined lets you
alter the values.

Motion - Man+DCC mode requires that three manual points be taken at the start
of the sequence whether or not you indicate that the tool position has changed.
The remaining points will be taken automatically. DCC mode takes all points
automatically unless you indicate that the tool has moved.

Start Angle - Angle in degrees in a Cartesian coordinate system as seen when

looking down or –Z. A start angle of zero would be aligned to the +X. A start angle
of 90 would be aligned to the +Y axis. The default value is 0.

End Angle - Angle in degrees in a Cartesian coordinate system as seen when

looking down or –Z. An end angle of zero would be aligned to the +X. An end
angle of 90 would be aligned to the +Y axis. The default value is 359.

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The start angle and end angle specified here are different than the angle
used for the contact probe and a sphere tool, which relates to the angle from the
sphere equator to the pole.

Magnification - This option allows you to set the magnification to the "Maximum"
setting or use the <Current> magnification. To ensure the highest accuracy, you
should use the "Maximum" magnification to calibrate the vision probe offset.
"Maximum" is the default setting.

Coverage - This percentage defines what portion of the zone is included for
measurement. The default is 10%.

The start angle, end angle, and coverage percentage together define the
location and size of the vision measurement targets around the circle. For larger
circle sizes and higher optical magnifications, significant speed improvement can
be achieved by reducing the coverage percentage. See the "Sample vision Circle
Targets for Calibrate Probe Offset Parameters" topic.

Z Samples - This value is the number of Z samples that are taken to compute the
Z position. The default is 5.

Illumination XY - This value indicates which illumination source to use for the XY
measurements. Normally, bottom or sub-stage illumination is used for ring gage
bore edge. This value can also be set to <Current> to use the current illumination
settings.

Illumination Z - This value indicates which illumination source to use for the Z
measurements. Normally, top or ring illumination is used for ring gage surface.
This value can also be set to <Current> to use the current illumination settings.

Using <Current> for either of the illumination settings includes whether

bulbs are on or off for Ring lamps.

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If you find illumination settings that work well for calibration, create an
illumination Quick Set so that these settings can be quickly recalled.

Parameter Sets - This area allows you to create, save, and use saved sets for
your vision probe. This information is saved as part of the probe file and includes
the settings for your vision probe. This parameter set can be retrieved for later
calibrations, including the auto-calibration measurement routine feature.

To create your own named parameter sets:

a. On the Calibrate Probe Offset dialog box, modify any parameters.

b. From the Parameter Sets area, type a name for the new parameter set in
the Name box, and click Save. PC-DMIS displays a message informing you
that it created the new parameter set. To delete a saved parameter set,
select it, and click Delete.

6. Click Calibrate. A message asks if the qualification tool has been moved or the
machine zero point changed:

• If PC-DMIS has not measured the actual tool location on the stage, select
Yes.
• If the tool has already been measured with a different probe type, select
No.

7. Click OK on the reminder that the tip must be calibrated.

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8. If the tool has moved or Man+DCC motion is selected, take the three manual
crosshair points evenly around the top of the datum bore circle. Adjust the stage
position, including focus, as needed. The remainder of the calibration sequence
executes automatically. It focuses on the bore top edge, measures the bore
circle, moves to the Z focus offset relative to the bore, and does the Z position
focus measurements. The probe tip offset data is updated with the measured
offset based on the ring tool measurement. If you confirmed that the tools was
moved, this measurement determines the XYZ location of the tool on the stage.

Sample Vision Circle Targets for Calibrate Probe Offset

Parameters
In the following examples, the filled or cross hatched areas in the circle target indicate
where PC-DMIS will not take edge measurements.

Example 1

This example is more suitable for larger ring diameters and higher magnification optics
where you want to keep the execution time low.

Target pattern start angle of 0, end angle of 358, and 5% coverage

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Example 2

This example is more suitable for larger ring diameters and higher magnification optics
where longer execution time is acceptable for a more repeatable measurement.

Target pattern start angle of 0, end angle of 358, and 10% coverage

Example 3

This example is more suitable for smaller ring diameters and medium to lower
magnification optics.

Target pattern start angle of 0, end angle of 358, and 50% coverage

Contact Probe Offset

When you calibrate the contact probe offset with the same tool that you used to
calibrate your vision probe, the calibration establishes a common offset frame of
reference.

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To calibrate the contact probe offset, follow these steps:

1. Select the Insert | Hardware Definition | Probe menu item.

2. In the Probe Utilities dialog box, define the contact probe and tip.
3. Select Measure to open the Measure Probe dialog box.
4. Specify the following values in the Measure Probe dialog box:

• Motion: Man+DCC
• Type of Operation: Calibrate Tips
• Calibration Mode: User Defined
• Start Angle: 0
• End Angle: 359
• List of Available Tools: 20mm Ring (Select the same tool that you used to
determine the vision probe offset.)

5. Select Measure when asked if the tool has moved, click No this time. This tells
PC-DMIS that it does know the actual tool location on the stage.
6. Click OK on the tip reminder message box.
7. A message box prompts you to take one hit on the tool face below or in the –Y
direction from the bore center. Click OK and then take the contact point. The
calibration routine then does a coarse bore measurement, a face plane
measurement, a more precise bore measurement, and then the Z offset point
measurements.

Now both probes have measured the tool and have offset values based on the same
tool position data.

CMM-V and HP-C-x Probe Offset

To calibrate a CMM-V and HP-C-x probe offset, follow these steps:

1. Create a touch probe with all the angles that you'll use to take measurements
with your CMM-V or HP-C-x vision sensor.

Your touch probe must be a star probe with at least 3 tips.

2. Calibrate all specified touch probe angles on a sphere.

3. Measure the A0B0 touch probe angle on a ring gage.
4. Measure the A0B0 video probe on the same ring gage, click No when the
software asks if the tool has moved.

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5. When you have the CMM-V or HP-C-x sensor selected, click Add Angles.
Instead of showing the standard Add Angles dialog box, PC-DMIS Vision
prompts you with a list of touch probes.
6. Select the touch probe that you have calibrated on the sphere and press OK.
PC-DMIS Vision automatically adds those angles and calibrations to your CMM-
V or HP-C-x sensor.

Star probe with 3 orthogonally arranged Styli

It is recommended that the touch probe with the Star configuration include a Weighted
Calibration Extension suitable for the camera type you are using. For example, the HP-
C-VE camera uses the weighted extension shown below.

Weighted calibration extension for a touch probe with a star configuration

Relationship of Tips and Tools

The probe tip offset calibration is based on the position of the tool on the stage. When a
tip is calibrated and the tool is said to have moved, the tool position on the stage is
determined based on the tip offset. If the tip has not yet been calibrated, then the
nominal tip offset from the probe.dat data is used.

It may be important to maintain a common frame of reference for the tip offset
calibrations. When multiple tips are calibrated using a common tool, the tips have the
same offset frame of reference. This frame of reference can be extended to a second
tool by saying the second tool moved and doing a tip offset calibration with a tip
calibrated on the first tool. Feature locations measured with tips in the same frame of
reference should yield the same answer (within the equipment measurement capability).
If you calibrate a tip on a tool that is not in the same frame of reference and do not say
the tool moved, the tip calibration frame of reference is changed to the tool. Features
measured with tips calibrated in different frames of reference may yield dramatically
different answers.

Consider a new system where no probes or tools have been calibrated where a sphere
and a ring tool are used for tip calibration. Calibrate the contact probe using the sphere
tool and say the tool moved. Then calibrate the same contact probe on the ring gage
and say the tool moved. The two calibrations for the contact probe tip establish the
reference between the tools and the contact probe tip. Now, calibrate the vision probe
tip on the ring gage. The contact probe tip and vision probe tip will now have the same
offset calibration frame of reference. The offset calibrations of the two probes with the

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two tools are linked because the probe that had its offset calibrated on the sphere tool
was calibrated on the ring tool when the ring tool was said to have moved. Because the
ring tool was said to have moved (or its position is unknown), when the contact probe tip
was calibrated using the ring tool, the position of the ring tool on the stage was
determined based on the contact probe tip’s measured offset. The contact probe tip's
offset was used to determine the stage position of both tools and then the vision probe
offset was based on the stage position of one of these tools.

The two probe tips would not be cross referenced if the contact probe tip had been
calibrated on the sphere tool and then the vision probe tip had been calibrated on the
ring. If the contact probe tip were calibrated on the sphere tool, the vision probe tip
calibrated on the ring tool, and then the contact probe calibrated on the ring tool, the two
probe tips would be in the same frame of reference, but this would be a different frame
of reference than the sphere tool or any probe tips previously calibrated on the sphere
tool. This is because the vision probe tip was used to determine the ring tool’s position
when it was said to have moved, but the vision probe tip had not been calibrated on the
sphere tool. The contact tips frame of reference was changed to match the ring tool. To
maintain the linkage of tips across tools, whenever a tool is said to have moved (which
also means a tool whose position is unknown), the calibration tip used on the just
moved tool must be in the frame of reference of the first tool.

You can only calibrate the bottom tip of a star tip contact probe on the ring gage. A
sphere tool or a sphere tool in combination with a ring gage can be used to provide
cross referencing between the probe star tips and the vision probe. Normally this cross
referencing would be done by calibrating all contact probe star tips on the sphere tool.
Then calibrate the bottom tip on the ring tool saying that the tool had moved. Then
calibrate the vision probe(s) on the ring tool. You can then calibrate contact tips on the
sphere tool and vision probes on the ring tool.

A Note on Probe Definitions

When PC-DMIS calibrates the vision probe in DCC mode, it uses existing measurement
data or, if that is not available, the nominal values from the probe definition. PC-DMIS
stores standard probe definitions in the probe.dat file, whereas machine specific probe
definitions can be created in the usrprobe.dat file. Probe.dat files may be deleted or
replaced during a PC-DMIS uninstall or version upgrade installation, but the
usrprobe.dat file will not be deleted or replaced.

Since the positioning tolerances to have the tool in the field of view and in focus for high
magnification systems can be very small, creating data in the usrprobe.dat provides a
means for fine tuning the default probe attributes. Machine specific default tip offset
values may be necessary to provide the more accurate nominal offset information.

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Considerations for Vision Probes

Contact probe hardware tends to be an assembly of well-defined mechanical
components (probe mount point, probe body, probe module, probe tip) with predictable
mount point and nominal tip offsets where position variances can be handled by the
probing motion. However, vision probes are normally less predictable, as they often
have non-standard mounting hardware, variances in the working distances, hardware
adjustment or calibration, and so on. Because of this, it may be more difficult to find the
desired target with probing motion. The vision probe does not scan the way contact
probes to, so the variances are more noticeable.

Some machines may also have adjustable probe mounts that make the probe position
unpredictable in the default probe.dat definitions. Because of such tight tolerances from
higher magnifications or machine variances, you may need to do a manual+DCC
execution the first time the probe offset is calibrated on a new probe tip, even if the tool
position is known. This provides high quality measured offset data for subsequent tip
offset calibration sequences, as the measured tip offset is used instead of the nominal.

Unlike most CMMs, most vision multi-sensor machines do not have a single standard
end of arm probe mount. Instead they have a Z column that provides a proprietary
mount for the optics and a standard mount for the touch probe. In order to define the
nominal probe offset values with accurate relative offsets, an adaptor component is
often used in the probe.dat or usrprobe.dat definition. This adaptor defines the offset
between the machine probe reference point (such as end of ARM) and the probe. For
example, if you were to select the zoom cell lens face as your reference point, you
would need an adaptor component that defined the offset distance from the zoom cell
lens face to the touch probe mount point. Then, to define a touch probe, you would
select the adaptor, then the probe (such as a TP200), then the stylus. When finished,
the nominal probe offset between the vision probe and the contact probe would
approximate the hardware.

Using Optical Calibration Standard Certification Data

During the optics calibration of a vision probe, if a certification data file (fovcert.dat)
exists in the probe directory, PC-DMIS reads the file and uses it to adjust the calibration
data from the nominal. A fovcert.dat file supports data for these feature parameters:

• The X and Y size of the concentric rectangles

• The X and Y center positions of the concentric circles

Information about the fovcert.dat File

• The first line must be the file schema number.

• A semicolon at the start of a line denotes that the line is a comment.
• Comment lines may not start with a space character.

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• The [PATTERN] value is a hex bitmask that denotes the rectangle edges to be
measured in X and Y. The position of the edges is from left to right and from top
to bottom. For example, a value of 0xAA hex is 1010 1010 binary. This translates
to use the first and third edges in the X direction and the first and third edges in
the Y direction for rectangle measurement.
• All values are in mm.

This example contains a sample nominal fovcert.dat file:

[PATTERN]

0xAA

[RECTANGLES]

;X size Y size

17.2 13.2

10.75 8.25

6.45 4.95

4.3 3.3

2.15 1.65

1.29 0.99

0.86 0.66

0.5375 0.4125

0.3225 0.2475

0.215 0.165

0.1075 0.0825

0.043 0.033

[CIRCLES]

; nom diam centerx centery

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30 0.0 0.0

20 0.0 0.0

10 0.0 0.0

5 0.0 0.0

2.5 0.0 0.0

1.25 0.0 0.0

0.625 0.0 0.0

0.25 0.0 0.0

Parcentricity Calibration Modes

There are three modes for parcentricity calibration:

• Mode 1: This mode uses concentricity data from the fovcert.dat file. If a
fovcert.dat file exists and it contains concentricity certification data, PC-DMIS
uses this calibration mode.
• Mode 2: This mode measures the series of circles, and it links together the
circles in order to automatically correct for any concentricity error in the standard.
If there is no concentricity data in the fovcert.dat file, and the
ProbeQualVisionParCalibrationUseBridging entry (located in the
USER_ProbeCal section of the Settings Editor) remains at its default setting of
TRUE then this mode is used.
• Mode 3: This mode measures the standard concentric circles and assumes they
are perfectly concentric. If the fovcert.dat file doesn't contain concentricity data,
and the ProbeQualVisionParCalibrationUseBridging entry is set to
FALSE then PC-DMIS uses this calibration mode.

A related entry, ProbeQualVisionParCalibrationXYSamples, located in the

same section of the Settings Editor, defaults to 3. This defines the number of times a
given circle is measured at a given magnification during the parcentric high calibration.

Ring Light Migration

PC-DMIS Vision provides a feature called Ring Light Migration. The purpose of this
feature is to improve the migration of ring light settings between machines that use

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different ring light configurations. This feature also allows you to select specific Ring
Light settings offline.

Anyone who generates their measurement routines offline, or needs to run their
measurement routines on different machines with different ring light configurations
should use this functionality.

The reason for this feature is that PC-DMIS currently has the option of transferring
programs from one machine to another machine of the same type since it has Adaptive
Illumination Calibration. However, if you want to transfer programs between machines
that have different ring light configurations, no migration occurred. This required you to
reset the ring light intensities.

With this new functionality, PC-DMIS migrates the ring light intensities whenever it
detects a different ring light configuration. This reduces the amount of editing required
when migrating between machines.

Ring Light Migration Method

The goals of the Ring Light Migration method are:

• Maintain contrast of the image.

• Maintain overall lighting strength.

Migration method steps:

1. Determine if the physical size of the ring lights between the source and
destination are different. PC-DMIS stretches or reduces the size of the ring light
to match the size of the source. This is done by making both the inner-most and
outer-most ring light diameters the same. All other diameters are resized
proportionally.
2. PC-DMIS recalculate the light intensity based on these rules, from source ring
light to destination ring light.

Ring Light Migration Workflow

Offline Migration

PC-DMIS Offline can define a specific ring light in the following ways:

• Create a measurement routine with the ring light which matches the ring light on
the target machine.

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• From an existing measurement routine with a single ring light, you can migrate to
a different ring light without loading the measurement routine onto an actual
machine.

To do this:

1. Start up PC-DMIS in Offline mode but DO NOT load a measurement routine.

2. Open the Machine Options dialog box (Edit | Machine Interface Setup).
3. From the Illumination tab, select the specific ring light configuration for the
measurement routine.

Machine Options dialog box - Illumination tab for ring light migration

You cannot change the ring light if a measurement routine is loaded.

If you wish to migrate a measurement routine written with a specific ring light to a
different ring light, PC-DMIS allows you to select the new ring light in the Machine

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Options dialog box. You can then open the measurement routine and it will use the
new ring light.

Online Migration

With PC-DMIS online, if you run a measurement routine from one machine on another
machine with a different ring light configuration, the software detects this and prompts if
you would like the ring light settings migrated to match the new settings.

If there is more than one ring light in the measurement routine, PC-DMIS
reverts to the legacy method which requires you to select a ring light to migrate from.

If you select No in the above message, no migration takes place, and the measurement
routine opens as in previous versions of PC-DMIS.

If you select Yes, PC-DMIS attempts to migrate the ring light values.

Legacy Measurement Routines

For measurement routines that were created prior to PC-DMIS version 2019 R2, the
ring light migration process requires an additional step due to the lack of information.

When you open a legacy measurement routine with a ring light, PC-DMIS displays the
Ring Light Migration dialog box and prompts you with instructions in the Status bar to
select the ring light the measurement routine was created with.

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Ring Light Migration dialog box

Once you select the ring light, click OK, and then save the measurement routine in 2019
R2 or later format. You can then follow the Offline or Online migration procedure to
complete the process.

To avoid this additional step, always save your measurement routines created
prior to 2019 R2 in the latest PC-DMIS version format with the Save As menu option
(File | Save As).

Migrate Magnification Variables

Opening a Measurement Routine

When you open a measurement routine that was created in a version earlier than
2022.1 and you are running it on a vision machine or in Offline mode, PC-DMIS reviews

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all vision features to see if they use variables to specify the magnification. If PC-DMIS
finds any, it shows the Migration Report dialog box.

The dialog box has a section that shows all the variables used for magnification and the
estimated pixel size.

The dialog box also has a section that shows all the features that use each variable.

Migration Report dialog box

Saving a Measurement Routine

When you save a measurement routine to a version prior to PC-DMIS version 2022.1,
PC-DMIS reviews the measurement routine for any instances of pixel size variables. If
any are found, PC-DMIS shows a message similar to this:

PC-DMIS

Pixel size is not supported in version 2021.1. Please ensure all variables used to control
pixel size are updated for optical magnification.

Setting Machine Options

Select the Edit | Preferences | Machine Interface Setup menu option to open the
Machine Options dialog box. The tabs in this dialog box may vary depending on the
type of optical machine you have and whether you’re running in Online or Offline mode.
A typical optical machine would allow you to:

• Specify the active hardware components you will use with your optical measuring
system. This potentially allows you to still use some components of your optical

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machine if certain hardware components are broken. See "Machine Options:

General Tab".
• Change your machine's speed and travel limits. See "Machine Options: Motion
Tab".
• Specify the available lamps on your machine. See "Machine Options: Illumination
Tab". This feature is available in Online and Offline modes.
• Specify the settings for your wrist device. See "Machine Options: Wrist Tab".
• Specify the communications port and settings used to connect your computer to
your optical measuring device. See "Machine Options: Motion Controller
Communication Tab" and "Machine Options: Illumination Communication Tab".
• Store any communications between PC-DMIS Vision and your optical machine
for debug purposes. See "Machine Options: Debug Tab".

If you are running PC-DMIS Vision with the CMM-V or HP-C-x sensor on a
CMM, then not all of the above pages are available. To access the standard CMM
controller setup, select the Setup button on the CMMI section of the General tab.

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Many of the functions are on the Probe Utilities dialog box as part of the
centralized calibration processes. Calibration is probe specific.

Machine Options: General Tab

Machine Options dialog box – General tab

The General tab allows you to enable or disable controllers for use with PC-DMIS. If
you change any of the options on this tab, you must restart PC-DMIS. These three main
areas exist on this tab:

• Active Controllers
• Controller Information
• Timer Interval

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Active Controllers
The Active Controllers section defines which machine interface PC-DMIS uses to
control each hardware component during PC-DMIS online operation. You can select
three options: MSI, CMMI, or None.

• MSI: (Multi Sensor Interface). Select this option to have the MSI handle the
controller section. For dedicated vision machines (such as TESA and
MYCRONA), this makes all active controllers that are present on the machine go
through the MSI. On a CMM, only the vision-specific controllers (Illumination,
Optics, and Framegrabber) are set to MSI. The others (Motion, Pendant,
Toolchanger, Wrist, Touch Probe, and Laser Probe) use the standard CMM
interface (CMMI).
• CMMI: Select this option for a vision probe on a CMM (such as the CMM-V
camera or the HP-C-x family of sensors), where the original controller (such as
LEITZ) is used to control the Motion, Touch Probe, Wrist, Laser Probe, and Tool
Changer elements of machine operation.
• None: Select this option if the hardware component does not exist or is broken. If
the component is broken and you select this option, the software allows you to
continue to use functional parts of your optical machine.

MSI and CMMI selections are not mutually exclusive. You can mix an MSI
with a CMMI controller during the selection.

Controller Information
The Controller Information area displays the controller discovered by PC-DMIS during
execution in Online mode. This section shows four display boxes with this information:

• Controller drop-down list: Select your machine model for interfaces that support
multiple machine models. For example, the Metronics interface would have
TESA VISIO 300 Manual, TESA VISIO 300 DCC, and Custom types. This
option MUST be set in order to configure machine configuration settings correctly
for the target machine. For interfaces that only support one type of machine, the
option is automatically selected for you.
• PC-DMIS connectivity: Displays the supported version of the Hardware
Abstraction Layer (HAL) interface for this version of PC-DMIS supports. The HAL
version should be the same for PC-DMIS, MSI, and HSI. A warning is given if
differences are encountered.

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• MSI (Multi Sensor Interface) connectivity: Displays the supported version of the
HAL interface for this MSI.
• HSI (Hardware Specific Interface): Displays the HSI used during execution. This
component controls the specific hardware device.
• CMMI (Coordinate Measuring Machine Interface): Displays the name of the
CMMI interface to be used. Click Setup to open the Machine Interface Setup
options for the CMMI controller (e.g. Brown and Sharpe LEITZ).

You should provide this information to Hexagon Technical Support when you report
problems.

Timer Interval
The Timer Interval box indicates the maximum time that PC-DMIS Vision waits before
asking the hardware for current motion, illumination and optics settings.

Unless directed by a trained technician, do not alter this value.

Machine Options: Motion Tab

Machine Options dialog box - Motion tab

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The Motion tab allows you to define the movement parameters of your machine. Your
service technician has already set your motion options during the installation of this
system.

This tab is not available for CMM-V or HP-C-x sensors.

Homing Enabled Check Box

You need to perform the homing operation if you want to use the stage with a fixture.
Homing is also needed for systems using any segmented linear or nonlinear error
correction. A specific stage position must be identified in order to correlate the stage
position with the error correction data. This operation establishes the machine’s zero
location.

With this check box selected, PC-DMIS homes the machine when it starts. Some
hardware may retain its homed state until you switch it off. If the hardware does not
need homing, or if it isn’t configured for homing, selecting this check box will not have
an effect.

Travel Limits and Volumetric Compensation Areas

These areas specify the travel limits and volume compensation of your machine.

The service technician has already determined the best travel limits and volume
compensation values for your system.

Only a trained service technician should run the stage calibration utility. The dialog box
displays the date and time when the last stage calibration was performed.

Limits Enabled check box: This check box allows you to turn off the checking of the
limits. The only time you would normally turn this check off is on certain systems when
you are performing a stage calibration, and you need to work right to the limit of the
stage travel. We do not recommend disabling this check box at any other time because
it can help protect the hardware from being damaged when the hardware is moved
outside its limits.

Calibrate: This button begins the stage calibration procedure. For stage calibration and
certification, contact Hexagon Technical Support.

Unless directed by a trained technician, DO NOT alter these values.

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The Calibration date field is the date when the Calibrate button was last used to
generate a new or updated calibration file.

The Grid field shows the current data format version being used for the grid data
in the hybrid volcomp. If you are using any lenses other than the lens used to
collect the grid data used for the hybrid volcomp, the Grid field must indicate a
comp grid version of 2 or higher. If it does not, contact Hexagon Technical
Support.

Max Speed Box

The Maximum Speed edit box indicates the speed of DCC moves. If you find that you
need to modify the move speed percentages, it is better to make any changes from the
Motion tab of the Parameter Settings dialog box.

Unless directed by a trained technician, do not alter this value.

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Machine Options: Illumination Tab

Machine Options dialog box – Illumination tab

The Illumination tab allows you to select the lamps that are installed on your machine
from those available from the machine vendor.

From the Available Lamps list, select the check box next to the lamps that are
physically installed on your machine.

Selecting Restore last lamp state at startup turns the lamps on to the last state when
PC-DMIS is started.

Selecting Turn lamps off at end of execution turns the lamps off when the
measurement routine is completed. This feature is not used for single feature execution
(Ctrl + E, or Measure Now, or Test), only for execution such as Full, Execute Block, or
Execute from Cursor. By default, this option is OFF.

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Illumination Calibration is done from the Probe Utilities dialog box. See the
"Calibrate Illumination" topic

Machine Options: Wrist Tab

Machine Options dialog box - Wrist tab

The Wrist tab allows you to specify the communications port and settings that are used
to connect your computer to your optical measuring device’s wrist controller. This is for
dedicated vision machines that have a PH9 type wrist fitted and the Wrist LMS license
or portlock option selected (such as Mycrona).

On a CMM-V or HP-C-x sensor, this tab is not available, because the wrist
control is done through the existing CMMI interface.

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Machine Options: Motion Controller Communication

Tab

Machine Options dialog box - Motion Controller Communication tab

The Motion Controller Communication tab allows you to specify the communications
port and settings used to connect your computer to your optical measuring device’s
motion controller.

For TESA Visio1 machines, there is a single Machine Controller tab for
Motion and Illumination.

For Metronics (such as TESA VISIO 300) and Mycrona interface systems, there are no
Machine Controller tabs.

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Machine Options: Illumination Communication Tab

Machine Options dialog box - Illumination Communication tab

The Illumination Communication tab allows you to specify the communications port
and settings used to connect your computer to the Illumination instruments used by your
optical measuring device.

For TESA Visio1 machines, there is a single Machine Controller tab for
Motion and Illumination.

For Metronics (such as TESA VISIO 300) and Mycrona interface systems, there are no
Machine Controller tabs.

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Machine Options: Debug Tab

Machine Options dialog box - Debug tab when connected to a vision machine

PC-DMIS Vision has the ability to generate a file that records any communication
between the software and the hardware during the execution of your measurement
routine. This "debug" file is useful in determining the cause of any problems that you
might have with your optical measuring system.

When connected to a vision machine, the Focus mode option is available:

Focus list: To log debug information related to focus on vision systems, select:

o None - No focus logging

o On error - Log focus data only when a focus error occurs
o Always - Log all focus data

The focus log file name is debug_focus.txt.

By default, PC-DMIS sends the debug file to the ProgramData directory.

This is typically "C:\ProgramData\Hexagon\PC-DMIS\<version>", where <version>
is the version of PC-DMIS you're running.

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For more information on how to generate a debug file, see "Generating a Debug File" in
the "Setting Your Preferences" chapter in the PC-DMIS Core documentation.

For more information on the default locations for PC-DMIS files, see "Understanding
File Locations" in the "Setting Your Preferences" chapter in the PC-DMIS Core
documentation.

When you use a CMM-V or HP-C-x sensor, you can access the Debug tab
from the CMMI Setup dialog box. Vision and standard CMM debug information are both
written to the same debug.txt file.

Available Vision Setup Options

In addition to setting your machine options, there are some vision-specific software
options that you can set using the Setup Options dialog box (Edit | Preferences |
Setup). The following check boxes that are used with vision machines appear in the
General tab:

Suppress Vision Load Probe Dialogs

This setting affects vision multi-sensor machines. It helps to minimize load probe
messages for the vision probe by suppressing the Probe Utilities dialog box when you
create a measurement routine and insert the last active vision probe. It only does this if
all these conditions are met:

• The vision option is enabled on your portlock or LMS license.

• The type of vision system you use is something other than a CMM-V or the HP-
C-x family of sensors.
• The last loaded probe is a vision probe.

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PC-DMIS stores the last-used vision probe name in the

LastProbeFileMultisensor entry located in the Option section of the PC-DMIS
Settings Editor.

Focus Along Camera Vector

The default mode for feature-based focus operations uses the camera vector and not
the feature normal vector. If you want to use the feature normal vector, you need to
clear this check box. This setting is valid for the current measurement routine.

Auto Edge Strength

This determines whether or not PC-DMIS updates the edge strength based on teaching
results. The default behavior automatically checks the edge strength at teach time and
update it accordingly. If you clear this check box, then the edge strength remains
unchanged before and after teaching takes place.

Vision QuickMeasure Toolbar

The vision QuickMeasure toolbar models the typical flow of operation on a vision
system. You can access it from the View | Toolbars menu depending on your system's
configuration. This is identical to the QuickMeasure toolbar in the PC-DMIS CMM
documentation. For information on the QuickMeasure toolbar, see the "CMM
QuickMeasure Toolbar" topic in the "PC-DMIS CMM" documentation.

Using the Graphic Display Window in

PC-DMIS Vision
PC-DMIS Vision lets you switch between two view modes in the Graphic Display
window: CAD view and Live view.

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If the Chromatic White Light Sensor (CWS) is the active probe in the measurement
routine, the Laser view is also visible.

CAD View

Sample CAD View showing the vision probe's field of view

The CAD tab (also called the "CAD View" throughout this PC-DMIS Vision
documentation) is the standard view of the part. It works the same way as in the
standard PC-DMIS software. For in-depth information on the CAD tab, see the "The
Graphic Display Window" topic in the "Navigating the Interface" chapter in the PC-DMIS
Core documentation.

The green rectangular region is the "field of view" (FOV). The FOV represents the view
through the video camera. The center of the field of view has a crosshair. On a machine
supporting DCC motion, you can click and drag this crosshair to move the FOV to a new
location on the part:

Moving the FOV

On a machine supporting DCC optics changing, you can also resize (magnify or shrink)
the FOV by dragging the corners of the green box. This changes the current
magnification:

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Sizing the FOV

Importing a Vision Demo Part

You can import CAD models in various formats and use them to create measurement
routines.

Examples in this PC-DMIS Vision documentation that use CAD data, use a
version of the vision training demo part. Hexagon offers a more comprehensive Vision
training demo part (SKU #H00025491) that you can purchase from the Hexagon store.
For details on this or any other available demo part, see the HMI Store - Training Parts.

To import a demo part:

1. Select the File | Import menu option and then select the correct demo part file
type.
2. From the Open dialog box, locate and select the Vision demo part file, and click
Import. If this file came with the PC-DMIS installation, it is normally located in the
PC-DMIS install directory.

You can find downloaded purchased demo block files in your Downloads
folder.

3. When the import process finishes, select the CAD View tab in the Graphic
Display window to view the imported CAD demo part.

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Live View

Sample Live View of the Graphic Display window

If the software is in Online mode, the Vision tab shows the actual "real time" view from
the video camera.

If the software is in Offline mode, the Vision tab displays a "simulated" view of what a
video camera would see, based on the imported CAD drawing. It simulates the
geometry and also the illumination. This process is called CAD Camera.

Simulated Live View (CAD Camera)

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You can right-click on the image and drag your pointer. This essentially drags
the image underneath the camera so that you can position the FOV to a new location on
the part. This functionality only works on a DCC machine or when offline.

Display Features in Live View

You can display features in measurement routines in Live View.

Example of features displayed in Live View

All features must have approximately the same vector and Z position as the camera
image.

To display features in Live View, select the Show features check box option in the Live
View Setup dialog box (Edit | Graphic Display window | Live View Setup).

Under certain conditions, features in the measurement routine are not drawn in the Live
View. This is done to prevent the drawing of out-of-context information or from cluttering
the Live View with too much information.

These conditions are:

• During the execution of the measurement routine.

• When a gage is active on the Live View. You can then move the gage to a
feature and use it without the overlay getting in the way.
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• During the focusing process.

• When the Illumination Overlay is active.
• When measured or filtered points are shown while editing a feature. This gives
you the possibility of looking at the measured point without the overlay getting in
the way.
• During 2D Profile tracing.

Live View Screen Elements

This topic discusses the various screen elements available to you within the Vision tab.

PC-DMIS Vision - Live View showing tracker and targets

You can alter the elements in the Vision tab by clicking and dragging the handles
(green or yellow dots) to the desired location. Handles can control the size, orientation,
and start and end angles for the targets.

Tracker: This is the visual user interface to features. In the Circle feature
illustrated above, the tracker shows the size of the circle (1a - green dotted circle
between the lines of the bright yellow donut), and allows the Start angle (1b), end

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angle (1c), and orientation (1d - altered by dragging the green dot handle on the
end of a line) to be changed.

Target: This is an addressable user interface to point detection. For each region,
you can control each Target parameter by clicking in the target, or by dragging the
handles. Target parameters are changed in the Hit Targets tab of the Probe
Toolbox. In the Circle feature above, the circle has three targets (2a, 2b, and 2c).
Each target has slightly different point detection parameters. 2a - configured with a
smaller scan width. 2b - configured to detect NO points.

PC-DMIS Vision - Live View showing ROI and FOV coordinates

ROI (regions of interest): During run time, PC-DMIS Vision may need to divide a
target into pieces so that each piece may fit into the Field Of View (FOV). ROIs
are different from Targets in that the target may be bigger than the FOV. There is
no user interaction with ROIs except for some visual indicators (3a in the image
above. The AutoShutter halo for the upper-left piece outlines the ROI; the target
piece that can safely fit into the FOV at this magnification).

FOV Coordinates: At the top and bottom of the screen, the overlay numbers list
the X and Y positions for the top left and bottom right corners of the FOV (4a in
the image above). When right-clicking and dragging in the Live View, other
numbers appear in brackets which show the distance the camera will move.

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Additional information is given, depending on currently selected Probe Toolbox

tab, but in the example above, you can see the feature and target names.

AutoShutter & Auto Compass: According to the Live View Settings, any manual
features that you measure with Automatic Targets make use of a technology
called "AutoShutter" and "AutoCompass". For more information on AutoShutter
and AutoCompass settings found in the Live View Setup dialog box, see "Setting
up the Live View"

Auto Compass: This guides the operator to move the stage to get the next
feature into the Field Of View. It does this by showing an arrow and a distance to
move.

PC-DMIS Vision - Live View showing Auto Compass

You need to move the stage so the entire dashed rectangle box is comfortably
within the FOV.

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PC-DMIS Vision - Live View showing the colored light countdown

Auto Shutter: Once the target is within the FOV, a colored light countdown is
shown on the Live View (see the above image). It checks for stage stability, before
automatically performing the edge detection on all targets that are within the
current Live View.

If a stage movement is detected during AutoShutter, it discards the

points and automatically restarts the countdown to measure again.

Focus Graph: When you execute a Surface Point, Probe Toolbox focus, or
SensiFocus, the software draws a graph of the focus data. The software draws it
to the right or left of the target as space permits. If there is insufficient room to the
side of the target, the software draws the graph in the upper right corner. When
you resize the target, move the stage, or press the Shift key, the graph is not
drawn.

Live View Controls

This topic discusses the controls located at the bottom of the Vision tab.

Live View Freeze - This button "pauses" the update of the Live View display. This is
useful if you want to keep something on the screen to analyze or take a screen capture,
but you want the measurement to continue in the background. To restart the Live View
update, release this button.

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Move to Previous Hit Target - This button moves the Field of View (FOV) to the
previous target in a list of targets.

Skip Backwards on Hit Target - This button moves the FOV part way backward along
a target towards the previous target. This helps you see how an entire feature might be
measured even though the entire feature does not fit inside the FOV.

Skip Forwards on Hit Target - This button moves the FOV part way forward along a
target towards the next target. This helps you see how an entire feature might be
measured even though the entire feature does not fit inside the FOV.

Move to Next Hit Target - This button moves the FOV to the next target in a list of
targets.

Snap Mouse Clicks to Edge - This button causes selected points for feature creation
to snap to the closest point along the nearest edge. If this button is not selected, points
remain where they are clicked. For more information on this feature, see "Setting Up the
Live View".

Snap Mouse Clicks to Edge is also used at execution time for Manual Targets. If this
option is on, and you drag and drop a manual target, PC-DMIS will do an edge
detection to snap the crosshair to the edge.

AutoShutter - This button enables AutoShutter capability to measure features. For

more information on this feature, see "Setting up the Live View".

Feature Compass - This button causes the AutoCompass to display an arrow and the
distance to move for the next target. For more information on this feature, see "Setting
up the Live View".

Show Hit Targets - This button toggles the display of targets in the Graphic Display
window or the Live View. This is the same functionality as the show target button on the
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Auto Feature dialog box. This is particularly useful when you are using the Quick Start
window and the Auto Feature dialog box is not open.

Lock Target To Part - When you select this button, the software locks the display of
targets in the Graphic Display window or the Live View. If this is locked, you cannot click
and drag the target to a new location on the Vision tab.

Show Gray Scale - When you select this button, the software shows a gray-scale
depiction of the Vision tab. This button only appears when a color camera is used. For
black-and-white or monochrome cameras, this button does not appear.

Overlay Transparency - When you select this button, the software displays a slider
underneath it. You can drag the slider to set the transparency of the overlays displayed
within the Live View. The transparency dynamically updates as you drag the slider. This
is the only place that you can change the overlay transparency. The default value is
50%. 0% = fully transparent. 100% = solid.

Magnification - When you select this button, the software displays a slider underneath
it. You can drag the slider to set the magnification of the Live View without having to use
Magnification tab on the Probe Toolbox. The magnification dynamically updates as you
drag the slider. For more information on magnification, see "Probe Toolbox:
Magnification tab".

Display Gage - When you select this button, the software toggles the display of the
currently selected gage overlay. Select the black down arrow to display the Gage
Selector toolbar underneath the button, enabling you to select a different gage type to
be displayed. For more information on gages, see "Probe Toolbox: Gages tab".

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AutoVoid - When you select this button, the software performs a void detection for the
currently edited feature. It automatically adds targets with zero point density at the
detected void areas.

SensiFocus - This button executes an automatic "sensible focus" on the center of the
Vision tab.

• On a DCC machine, it automatically moves the stage and then returns it to the
focus position. The parameters used for this focus do not come from Focus tab
of the Probe Toolbox. Instead, they are based on available data such as pixel
size, depth of focus, frame rate, and so on. The focus target size is fixed and
located in the center of the Vision tab.
• On a manual machine, this button is disabled.

SensiLight - This button performs an on-the-spot automatic "sensible lighting"

adjustment in an attempt to achieve optimal results. The Illumination tab will quickly be
selected as this automatic adjustment is made. For additional information on how
SensiLight is used as a parameter for edge features, see the SensiLight description
under "Automatic Hit Target - Edge Parameter Set".

Illumination Adjustment - This button toggles the display of the Illumintation Overlay
on the Vision tab so you can make adjustments to the illumination. For more
information on illumination, see "Probe Toolbox: Illumination tab".

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Laser On/Off - This button toggles the laser on and off. This is available for systems
with a laser probe or laser pointer fitted (such as TESA VISIO 300 and 500).

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Setting Up the Live View

Live View Setup dialog box - manual mode

To open the Live View Setup dialog box, select Edit | Graphic Display window | Live
View Setup from the menu, or right-click within the Vision tab and select Setup from
the resulting shortcut menu.

The Live View Setup option is only available if the Vision option is enabled on
your LMS license or portlock.

The Live Image Setup dialog box allows you to configure how the image appears in the
Vision tab of the Graphic Display window. It contains these controls:

Scale to Fit - This check box determines whether PC-DMIS scales the display of the
part to fit within the limits of the Graphic Display window. This check box is only
available on some optical machines.

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Auto freeze frame

When you select the Enabled check box, you can press the Live View Freeze button to
toggle it on and off at measurement routine execution time. This action freezes the
measured points on the screen until the next points are available for display.

This is also useful for machines where "image tear" occurs during stage movements.

AutoShutter

AutoShutter detects when a target (which may consist of multiple ROIs) is ready to
measure points. The three criteria for readiness are:

• The ROI is entirely within the FOV.

• The stage has stopped moving.
• The user-defined delays have elapsed.

When these criteria are satisfied, PC-DMIS automatically takes the points and proceeds
to the next ROI.

PC-DMIS uses the options in this area when you select AutoShutter from the
bottom of the Vision tab (see "Live View Controls").

AutoShutter does not fire for DCC mode features with Manual Pre-Position
enabled.

Active - This option determines when the software uses the AutoShutter capability to
measure features. The options are: Always, After Partial Alignment, or After Full
Alignment.

Movement settle time (seconds) - This box specifies a settle time (in seconds) before
point detection takes place. This settle time begins once the current ROI that was not
entirely in the FOV has entirely entered the FOV. You can use this field to slightly delay
the automatic point detection to review and improve ROI placement within the FOV.

Measure settle time (seconds) - This box specifies a settle time (in seconds) before
point detection for the FIRST ROI of a feature, even if this ROI is already entirely in the
FOV. You can use this field to slightly delay the automatic detection to review and
improve ROI placement within the FOV. This value is only applied to the first ROI of a
feature.

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The Movement Detected settle is the dominate value if it conflicts with the
Measure Feature settle value.

Feature Compass

The Feature Compass features are only available in Manual mode.

The Feature Compass guides you to move the stage to get the next feature into the
Field Of View by showing an arrow and a distance to move.

Active - Determines when the software uses the Feature Compass capability to
measure features. The options are: Always, After Partial Alignment, or After Full
Alignment.

PC-DMIS applies the Active option when you select the Feature Compass from
the bottom of the Vision tab (see "Live View Controls").

MultiCapture

To speed up the execution, the MultiCapture functionality causes the software to look at
features ahead in the measurement routine and create groups that PC-DMIS can
execute within a single camera picture (Live View). The software bundles them together
and executes them simultaneously. Mark the Enabled check box to use this
functionality.

PC-DMIS marks this check box by default to speed up measurement. Clear this check
box when you want more visual data on each feature as it is measured.

The MultiCapture area of the dialog box is only active in DCC mode or in
Manual mode when the AutoShutter conditions have been met.

There are several levels of conditions that your measurement routine must meet in
order to execute features in MultiCapture.

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• Primary Feature: This is the first feature MultiCapture finds.

• Other Features: You must include any additional features in the
measurement routine in the same MultiCapture.

MultiCapture requirements for the primary (or other) feature:

• It can be executed in a single FOV.

• It is not a relative feature.
• It has no Sensilight.
• It has no Focus.
• It has no Template Match.
• It has Automatic Target type.
• All targets inside of a feature have the same illumination.
• The number of ROI's do not exceed the limit. The current limit is 150.

Additional requirement for other features:

• The features do not use expression in their Theo or Targ values.

• The features have not been executed.
• There are no break points set on any of the features.
• The features have the approximate magnification, surface vector, Z value,
and RGB factor as the primary feature.
• The features have the same relative scope level (in the same loop level or
the same subroutine) as the primary feature.
• The features have the same Illumination setting as the primary feature.
• The combined area can fit in a single FOV.

Additional condition required for 2D Profile feature:

• You must first run the 2D Profile feature in Master mode.

The MultiCapture feature collection process stops when it encounters any of these
commands:

• Any type of Alignment command

• Move Rotary Table
• Move Point
• Load Fixture
• Load Machine
• Load Probe Data
• Load Probe Changer Data
• Probe Compensation

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• Set Active Tip

• Comment
• Manual Mode

For example, suppose you have five edge point features that all fit within a single Live
View and you have MultiCapture enabled. Instead of the machine measuring the five
edge point features separately during execution, PC-DMIS displays a MultiCapture
overlay for the entire feature set. This overlay provides information about what features
are in the group and how many. PC-DMIS then executes them simultaneously as if they
were a single feature.

The sample MultiCapture overlay here shows five edge points combined into a single
grouping. The overlay provides the following information:

A. The MultiCapture message lets you know that you are in MultiCapture
mode. It displays the total number of features to be measured in the current
grouping, and the primary feature in that grouping.
B. This displays all the features within the MultiCapture region to be
measured.
C. The dotted rectangular box is the MultiCapture region. It bounds all the
features for the current grouping.
D. The numbers provide the XYZ coordinates for the top-left and bottom-right
corners of the MultiCapture region.

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One-click manual target

Select the Enabled check box in this section to enable the Manual Targets Single
Click Execution feature. When enabled at execution time, PC-DMIS displays a larger
black and white crosshair cursor on the Live Image View display. Instead of
dragging and dropping a manual target to a desired location on a feature, position the
crosshair to the targeted location, and click the left mouse button. If you enable Snap
Mouse Click to Edge, PC-DMIS automatically performs edge detection to snap the
crosshair to the edge.

Snap Mouse Click to Edge

When you mark the Enabled check box and you are programming features in the
Vision tab, PC-DMIS Vision detects the nearest edge and snaps the target anchor
points to that edge. The value in the Range (pixels) box indicates the distance the
software searches for this edge. If you have a blurred edge that you cannot bring into
focus, you may find it necessary to not use snap to edge to reliably specify anchor
points when programming a feature. This also applies at execution time for Manual
Targets.

The Snap Mouse Click to Edge found at the bottom of the Vision tab also
enables or disables this functionality (see "Live View Controls").

Overlay properties

This area lets you set the properties for various overlay elements that can appear in the
Vision tab.

Show textual information - This check box show or hides any live image informational
overlays that appear inside the Vision tab.

Show coordinates - This check box determines whether or not PC-DMIS displays
coordinates inside the Vision tab.

Absolute coordinates - When you select this check box, the software
displays the overlay coordinates as absolute values. For absolute values,
the top-left and bottom-right coordinates show the actual position of those
corner points in the current machine coordinates. If you do not select this
option, the software displays relative values. For relative values, the top-left
corner is shown as 0,0, and the bottom-right corner shows the length and
width of the FOV in the current units.

Use part coordinates - This check box determines whether PC-DMIS displays
coordinates in part coordinates.

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Font size - This slider changes the font size of any textual overlays.

Show scale marker - This check box displays a scale marker in the bottom-left side of
the Vision tab.

Show features - When you select this check box, PC-DMIS shows the features which
are partially or completely in the Live Image View display area. The features must have
approximately the same vector and Z position as the camera image.

Crosshair - This list contains three options: None, Small, and Large.

• If you choose None, PC-DMIS does not display a crosshair.

• If you choose Small, PC-DMIS displays the crosshair as a small plus sign in the
middle of the Live View.
• If you choose Large, PC-DMIS extends the crosshair to all sides of the Vision
tab.

Large Crosshair Small Crosshair

Overlay - This list allows you to select the color used for most of the overlay graphics
and text on the Vision tab. This affects probe hits, targets, gages, and textual
information for FOV coordinates, magnification, and focus. The default color is red.

Nominal line - This list allows you to select the color to use for the nominal line in the
targets.

Highlight saturated pixels - When you select this check box, PC-DMIS highlights
saturated pixels on the Live Image View. This makes those pixels more visible. The
highlighted pixels are those where the illumination intensity is above the defined
threshold.

Flash - This check box determines whether the highlighted saturated pixels flash.

Highlight - This list allows you to select the color to use to highlight the saturated
pixels.

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Threshold (%) - This slider changes the illumination intensity value. PC-DMIS
considers pixels above this value to be saturated.

Point properties

When PC-DMIS executes a vision feature, it draws the detected edge points in the
Vision tab. While these points are shown only for an instant during execution, they are
not quickly erased when editing and testing features. This area lets you control the size
and shape of the point overlays drawn in the Vision tab.

Symbol - This list determines how PC-DMIS displays point symbols. The options
include Square dot, Round dot, and None (to not draw points at all).

Diameter (pixels) - This list determines the size of the displayed square or round-
dot point symbol.

Using the Live View Illumination Overlay

The Vision tab also supports the ability to display an overlay image of the machine's
lamp configuration. To enable this image overlay, click the Illumination Overlay icon
from the Vision tab.

This overlay corresponds to the lamp configuration image displayed in the Illumination
tab of the Probe Toolbox. Clicking on different areas of this image overlay allows you
perform some functions that are also available on the Illumination tab.

The graphical illumination overlay looks something like what appears in the example
image below. Your overlay may look different depending on the type of illumination your
machine supports:

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Example Graphical Overlay of the ring lamp in the Vision tab

The overlay represents the different bulbs and the light intensity for each of those bulbs.
You can select which bulbs you wish to control by clicking on them. Click and drag the
mouse cursor over the bulbs to select multiple bulbs or hold the Ctrl key and click them
individually.

Toggle the On or Off state of the selected bulbs with a right click.

To adjust the intensity of the selected bulbs, use the mouse scroll wheel. Hold the Ctrl
key down while you scroll to adjust the intensity by larger steps. Alternatively, click and
drag the slider handle to the right of each lamp in the overlay; or hover over the slider
and use the mouse wheel to adjust the intensity.

Using Shortcut Menus

Two shortcut menus are available to access commonly used commands and options:

Live View Menu

To access the Live View shortcut menu, access the Vision tab, and then right click
anywhere in the Vision tab, but not on a target.

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Move To Point: When you select this option, the view moves to center the Live View
image to the location where you right-clicked.

Move To Feature: Selecting one of the nearest ten features from this submenu moves
the center of the Live View image to the center of the selected feature.

Edit Feature: Selecting one of the nearest ten features from this submenu will open the
Auto Feature dialog box so that you can edit the properties for the selected feature.
See "The Auto Feature Dialog Box in PC-DMIS Vision".

The features listed under the Move To Feature and Edit Feature
submenus are listed in increasing order of distance.

SensiFocus: This performs an automatic SensiFocus at the Live View position you
right-clicked to access the shortcut menu. See the "SensiFocus" button discussed in the
"Live View Controls" topic.

Magnification: This submenu gives another way to affect the magnification of the
camera's view of the part. This submenu contains menu options that function just like
the shortcut keys discussed in "Changing the Magnification of the Part Image".

Screen Capture To: This submenu lets you save a screen capture of the Vision tab to
a file, the Clipboard, or to a PC-DMIS report. The currently selected view (CAD tab or
Vision tab) is captured.

Setup: This menu option accesses the Live Image Setup dialog box. See "Setting Up
the Live View".

Live View Target Menu

To access the Live View Target menu, right-click on a target in the Vision tab.

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Target Type: Right-click on a target and change the target type from one of the
following: Automatic Target, Manual Target, Gage Target, and Optical Comparator.
For detailed information on each target type, see "Probe Toolbox: Hit Targets tab".

Insert Nominal Segment: To add a segment, right-click at the needed location and
select the Insert Nominal Segment menu option. This will add a handle to the target
that you can drag to match the geometry of the target. For example, there may be a V
notch on a straight edge that you need to add to the target.

Delete Nominal Segment: To delete a segment, right-click on the handle and select
the Delete Nominal Segment menu option. This will remove the selected handle. This
simplifies the nominal form of a target by removing detail.

Inserting and deleting nominal segments is only used for Profile 2D

Features. These options allow you to add or remove segments to a Profile 2D
shape in order to match the feature more accurately.

Insert Hit Target: To insert a new Hit Target, right-click at the needed location and
select the Insert Hit Target menu option. This is unlike the Insert Hit Target button
from the Probe Toolbox that randomly inserts a new Hit Target.

Delete Hit Target: To delete a Hit Target, right-click the needed target and select the
Delete Hit Target menu option.

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Feature Coverage: This menu item allows you to quickly change the coverage for a
feature. New targets will be created or removed based on the selected percentage of
coverage. For information, see "Hit Target Controls".

Feature Coverage Active Targets: This menu item determines the number of targets
to use to display the selected coverage percentage in the Target Feature Coverage
list. For information, see "Hit Target Controls".

Reset: To reset the target areas of a feature, right-click on a target of the needed
feature and select the Reset menu option. This will delete the entire previously added
target, leaving the single default target.

Focus: This on/off toggle allows for focus prior to target measurement. Each target
section has the ability to do a focus prior to doing the edge detection. This is the same
as the option found in the "Probe Toolbox: Focus tab".

Edge Selection: Right-click on a target and change the target edge selection method
from one of the following: Automatic Target, Manual Target, Gage Target, and
Optical Comparator. For detailed information, see "Probe Toolbox: Hit Targets tab".

Point Density: To change the target Point Density right-click on a target and select the
needed menu option from the Point Density submenu. For more information on the
available Point Density options, see "Edge Parameter Set".

Test: To test a feature, right-click on a feature and select the Test menu option. For
more information on testing features, see the "Vision Controls - Command Buttons"
topic.

Laser View
If the Chromatic White Light Sensor (CWS) is the active probe in the measurement
routine, PC-DMIS Vision adds a Laser tab with a spectrum plot. When the software is
not executing the measurement routine, the spectrum plot shows the structure ("noise")
of the CWS signal. This helps you select the optimal settings for parameters, such as
illumination and frequency.

Note the following:

• PC-DMIS does not update the spectrum plot during measurement routine
execution.
• When the Laser tab is selected and updating, the CWS Intensity and Distance
readouts do not appear in the Probe Readouts window.

The minimum requirements to use the spectrum plot are:

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• A CHRocodile S, CHRocodile SE, or a CHRocodile 2SHS white light sensor

• CHRocodile firmware version starting with 5.97
• A CHRocodile sensor that is connected to the personal computer with a USB
cable or Ethernet

X axis - The X-axis of the spectral diagram represents the total range of the calibrated
distance of the sensor. As the Z axis moves in the positive direction, the plot's peak
moves from left to right.

Y axis - The spectrum plot's Y axis shows the signal strength. For best results for
distance measurement, there should be a single and sharp dominant peak similar to the
one shown in this example:

Example of spectrum plot in Laser tab

Using the Probe Toolbox in PC-DMIS

Vision
The Probe Toolbox is not specific to PC-DMIS Vision but is part of the standard PC-
DMIS software. This toolbox presents tabs and information relative to the type of probe
currently being used. When a vision probe is active, the Probe Toolbox contains
various vision probe parameters used to acquire the data points needed by
measurement routines.

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Your LMS license or portlock must be programmed with the Vision option and a
valid vision Probe Type selected. Also, you must be working with a supported vision
probe in order to access the various PC-DMIS Vision related tabs.

The Probe Toolbox works in conjunction with the Auto Feature dialog box to define
the parameters PC-DMIS uses to measure Auto features. Functionality, you can
perform probe movements, magnification, illumination, focus, and gage measurements
independently from Auto feature creation.

The View | Other Windows | Probe Toolbox menu option displays the Probe
Toolbox.

The Probe Toolbox contains the optical parameters within these tabs:

A. Position Probe
B. Hit Targets
C. Feature Locator
D. Magnification
E. Illumination
F. Focus
G. Gage
H. Vision Diagnostics

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Probe Toolbox: Position Probe Tab

Probe Toolbox - Position Probe tab

You can use the Position Probe tab to act like a "Virtual Joystick" to position the probe
or camera so that it is over the feature that you want to measure.

To position your vision probe, follow these steps:

1. Adjust the Increment Value in the Increment edit box to specify the
amount that the value in the Current Position edit box increases or decreases.
2. Click the Up and Down arrows to change the value in the Current Position edit
box. This causes your Vision Probe to move in real-time by the specified value.
Alternately, you can type the value and press Enter to cause your Vision Probe
to move.

For machines with multiple axis (such as two rotary tables), it also selects the currently
active rotary table.

If you don't see any information in the Probes and Probe Tips lists of the Probe
Toolbox, you need to first define a probe. For information on how to define a probe, see
the "Defining Probes" chapter in the PC-DMIS Core documentation.

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Since you can use this tab with all probe types (contact, laser, or optical), this
PC-DMIS Vision documentation covers only PC-DMIS Vision related items. For
information about the toolbox as it relates to probes in general, see "Using the Probe
Toolbox" in the PC-DMIS Core documentation.

Position Probe Tab Buttons

Click the Take a Hit button to measure an edge point at the center of the Field
of View. The edge point must be within a 60-pixel range of the center of the
Field of View to be measured.

Click the Remove a Hit button to remove the anchor point hit you just took
using the left mouse. This button remains disabled until you enter an anchor
point hit.

Click the Probe Readouts button to display the Probe Readouts window. You
can re-size or relocate this window. See the "Using the Probe Readouts
Window with Optical Probes" topic.

The Laser On/Off button is available for systems with a laser probe or laser
pointer fitted (for example, TESA VISIO 300 and 500). This button toggles the
laser on and off.

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Using the Probe Readouts Window with Optical Probes

Probe Readout window

Most of the information in the Probe Readouts window is the same for all probe types
and is already discussed in the "Using the Probe Readouts Window" topic of the "Using
Other Windows, Editors, and Tools" chapter in the PC-DMIS Core documentation.
However, if you use a vision probe, the following additional readouts appear in the
window.

VX / VY / VZ: If you are using a vision probe, the X, Y, and Z values indicate the
coordinates of the crosshair at the center of the field of view (FOV). The VX, VY, and VZ
values indicate the feature Target or Gage location with respect to the current
alignment.

DX / DY / DZ: The DX, DY, and DZ values indicate the difference between the camera
and feature position. You must have the Distance to Target option selected in the
Probe Readouts Setup dialog box for these values to appear. For more information,
see "Setting Up the Probe Readouts Window" in the "Setting your Preferences" chapter
in the PC-DMIS Core documentation.

Mag: This value shows the current camera magnification setting. Any changes you
make in the Magnification tab are reflected on this line of the Probe Readouts window.
See "Probe Toolbox: Magnification tab".

W: Displays the current rotary table axis for a single rotary table.

V: When you use a stacked rotary table, the Probe Readouts window also shows a "V"
value for a second rotary axis.

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Vision Laser Sensors

If a vision laser sensor is the active sensor, the Probe Readouts window displays the X,
Y, and Z readouts, plus the laser parameters such as Intensity and Distance. For
details, see the appropriate laser sensor section in this document.

An example appears below:

A Note on Optical Tips

The concept of a vision probe parallels a contact probe to a certain point. Obviously, a
vision probe doesn't come in physical contact with the part, but both contact probes and
optical probes use the term "probe tip" to specify various positions of an articulating
probe head. (Some other interchangeable terms for "probe tip" are AB angles, AB
positions, Tip, Tip Angles, and so on.) The actual tip on a vision probe contains the
optical device (the camera).

If you select a probe from the Probes list or a probe tip from the Probe Tips list, PC-
DMIS Vision inserts a LOADPROBE/ command or a TIP/ command into the Edit window.

When PC-DMIS Vision executes these commands, it performs its associated probe
definition.

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Probe Toolbox: Hit Targets Tab

Probe Toolbox - Hit Targets tab

This tab only appears when you define and use a supported vision probe.

The Hit Targets tab shows the edge detection and focus parameters that will be used
to measure a feature.

When using a vision probe, you will want to adjust and test your targets. This option
also allows you to split the default target into sub-targets, each with its own set of
parameters. For example, you can measure a circle with the default single target, or you
can split the circle into individual arcs, each with its own set of target parameters. These
target parameters include edge detection method, illumination, point density, and so on.

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An example arc showing seven targets, with four active (Normal) target regions.

Notice that each target in the targets list has its own set of target parameters.

PC-DMIS displays feature targets and their associated parameters as a row in the tab's
target list. You can define more than one target. If you select one or more targets from
this list, you can see them in bold formatting in the Vision tab of the Graphic Display
window.

Double click on the items in the list to change the parameters for a target. You can
change multiple targets at the same time by selecting multiple target rows in the Probe
Toolbox and then right clicking.

PC-DMIS displays targets in both the Vision tab and the CAD tab. While it’s possible to
size the targets in either view, the targets are two dimensional so it's easier to do this on
the Vision tab which also uses a two-dimensional display of the part.

Available Parameter Sets

Using the Parameter Sets list on the tab's toolbar, you can change the parameter set to
change which type of target parameters you are currently viewing.

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Depending on the feature type that you are targeting, the Parameter Set list in the top
toolbar displays one or more of the available options: Edge, Filter, Focus, and RGB
Mixing.

Edge: This parameter set defines the target edge parameters used for acquiring the
edge points on the feature.

Filter: This parameter set defines any filters to be used on the acquired edge points
and their associated parameters. Filters can be used to remove any outliers from the set
of edge points, and can also clean the image prior to measurement.

Focus: This parameter set defines whether the target should perform a focus prior to
acquiring the edge points, and if so, what the focus parameters are.

Icon Feature Type Available Parameter Sets

Surface Point Focus

Edge Point Edge, Focus

Line Edge, Focus, Filter

Circle Edge, Focus, Filter

Round Slot Edge, Focus, Filter

Square Slot Edge, Focus, Filter

Profile 2D Edge, Focus, Filter

RGB Mixing: This parameter set provides Red (R), Green (G), and Blue (B) color
mixing controls to override the default color in the image processing and the Live View.

If all of the values are set to -1, then PC-DMIS uses the internal default value. The
values define a ratio. Therefore, values of 0.7, 0.2, and 0.1 would appear as 70% red,
20% green, and 10% blue when used to compute the grayscale.

If you're using a color camera, the image data is converted to a grayscale before the
edge processing is done, so the grayscale brightness is computed based on the
individual red, green, and blue brightness values. When set to grayscale mode, the Live
View also shows the color-weighted image.

For an explanation of the specific parameters and their usage, see the examples below.

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Measuring Features Using a Vision Probe

You can specify the measurement method to use by selecting it from the Target Type
list in the Hit Targets tab. Depending on your feature type, there are up to four methods
of taking a feature measurement using a vision probe:

The following examples use a circle feature.

Method 1 - Gage Hit Target - Requires you to graphically size (or adjust) the feature (in
this case a circle) and position it to match the feature on the Vision tab of the Graphic
Display window. You can also view the image is within the tolerance bands. For a circle,
this gives an XY position and the diameter. Parameters for this mode are discussed in
the "Gage Hit Target Feature Parameters" topic.

Method 2 - Manual Hit Target - Requires you to position a specified number of points
around the feature (in this case a circle). PC-DMIS Vision then uses these points to
calculate the feature. Any number of targets can be used to aid in measuring the
feature. Parameters for this mode are discussed in the "Manual Hit Target Feature
Parameters" topic.

Method 3 - Automatic Hit Target - Uses image processing to automatically detect a

feature (in this case a circle). It then calculates the circle based on the defined targets.
Parameters for this mode are discussed in the "Automatic Hit Target Feature
Parameters" topic.

Method 4 - Optical Comparator Hit Target - Uses an upper and lower tolerance band
for target measurement. During feature execution, you visually inspect that the feature
lies within this tolerance band. From the Execution dialog box, you can then click
Continue (PASS) or Skip (FAIL) to accept or reject the feature. Parameters for this
mode are discussed in the "Optical Comparator Hit Target - Edge Parameter Set" topic.

Gage Hit Target Feature Parameters

The following parameters appear in the column headings of the target list in the Hit
Targets tab when measuring features using the Gage measuring method (for available
measuring methods, see "Measuring Features Using a vision probe"):

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Edge Parameter Set

To change a value, right click on the current value for the desired target. If a value says
N/A, then that parameter is "not applicable" to the current set.

ID: This displays a unique identifier for the item in the target list. This same ID is used
on the tooltip for the target in the Vision tab of the Graphic Display window.

Illumination: This shows the illumination values to be used for this target. To change
the illumination for a specific target, select the target in the Hit Targets tab, or on the
Vision tab of the Graphic Display window, and change the illumination on the
Illumination tab. For information on how to change the illumination, see "Probe
Toolbox: Illumination tab".

Focus Parameter Set

For information, see the "Hit Target Focus Parameter Set" target.

Manual Hit Target Feature Parameters

The following parameters appear in the column headings of the target list in the Hit
Targets tab when measuring features using the Manual Target measuring method (for
available measuring methods, see "Measuring Features Using a vision probe"):

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Edge Parameter Set

To change a value, double click on the current value for the desired target. If a value
says N/A, then that parameter is "not applicable" to the current set. To change a
parameter for multiple targets at once, select the targets, and then right click on one of
them and change the value. It will be updated for all.

ID: This displays a unique identifier for the item in the target list. This same ID is used
on the tooltip for the target in the Vision tab of the Graphic Display window.

Illumination: This shows the illumination values to be used for this target. To change
the illumination for a specific target, select the target in the Hit Targets tab, or on the
Vision tab of the Graphic Display window, and change the illumination on the
Illumination tab. For information on how to do this, see "Probe Toolbox: Illumination
tab".

Focus Parameter Set

For information, see the "Hit Target Focus Parameter Set" target.

Automatic Hit Target Feature Parameters

The following parameters appear in the column headings of the target list in the Hit
Targets tab when measuring features using the Automatic Target measuring method
(for available measuring methods, see "Measuring Features Using a vision probe"):

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Automatic Hit Target - Edge Parameter Set

To change a value, right click on the current value for the desired target. If a value says
N/A, then that parameter is "not applicable" to the current set.

ID: This column displays a unique identifier for the item in the target list. This same ID is
used on the tooltip for the target in the Vision tab of the Graphic Display window.

Min/Max Type: For edge point, when either the Min, Max, or Mean option is selected,
the target is actually a rectangular region. It has scan directions, and the size of the
rectangular area can be changed. Multiple edge scans are created parallel to the
target's scan direction for edge detection within the defined rectangle region. One point
is detected for each edge scan, and the result is calculated based on the selected
option.

The available options are:

• None: Returns a normal edge point with a single line target going through the
edge. Only a single point is detected.
• Min: Returns the point that is the minimum distance from the scan point along
the scan direction.
• Max: Returns the point that is the maximum distance from the scan point along
the scan direction.
• Mean: Returns the average of all the detected points along the scan direction.

Density: This column shows the hit density type for the current target. Available density
types include:

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The Density option is not available for Edge Point or Surface Point
scans.

• None: Does not return points. Use this type when excluding a region on the
target. Excluded regions are indicated with a crosshatch pattern on top of the
feature.

A target with an excluded region shown by the crosshatch pattern

• Low: Returns a minimal number of points (one point for every 10 pixels). Use
this density type if your feature form doesn’t change much in this area, or if it isn’t
a critical area of your part.
• Normal: Returns the default number of points (one point for every 4 pixels) for
that feature type.
• High: Returns the maximum number of points (one point per pixel). Use this
density type if your feature form changes drastically in this area, or if it is
considered a critical area of your part.

Under Scan: This defines (in current units) the under-scan distance applied to non-
blending areas within a target (for example, a corner made from two edges). PC-DMIS
Vision doesn't return any points from under-scan areas on a target, and the display
indicates the ignored area. PC-DMIS Vision attempts to default the Under Scan value
to an appropriate setting.

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The Under Scan option is not available for Edge Point or Surface Point scans.

Edge Selection: PC-DMIS Vision attempts to find and use the most appropriate means
of detecting an edge. It supports these methods:

• Dominant Edge: Often, when using the bottom lamp to illuminate the part, you
can get best results by returning the dominant (or strongest) edge.
• Nearest Nominal: This method detects the qualified edge closest to the nominal
edge. This gives you an easy way to select a non-dominant edge for
measurement.
• Matching Edge: This method detects the edge whose size and location best
matches that of the required feature. This is the default edge detection
method. For steps that can be taken to speed up this Edge Selection type, see
the "Troubleshooting PC-DMIS Vision" topic.
• Specified Edge: This method goes in the currently defined scan direction and
picks a specified edge from the detected edges whose strength value exceeds
that of the edge strength threshold. The Graphic Display window shows the scan
direction using a blue arrow in the target. You can reverse this direction to select
edges in a preferred order.

Strength: This shows the edge strength threshold to use during the feature
measurement. When looking for an edge, the software ignores edges with an assigned
'strength' below this threshold. You can change the predefined value to a new value
with a range of 0-255. The larger the number, the stronger the edge. If PC-DMIS Vision
does not return sufficient points on an edge, try reducing this value. If vision returns a
number of false edges detected, try increasing this value.

Edge Polarity: This value determines if the edge that is viewed and discovered goes
from black to white, white to black, or either. This value can be specified for the
following edge types: Dominant Edge, Nearest Nominal, Matching Edge, and
Specified Edge.

Setting the Edge Polarity allows edges of a specific polarity to be excluded from the
algorithms, providing speed improvement. For example, setting polarity to [|]>[] throws
away any edges that are not black to white, as it would for dominant edge.

Hit Target Direction: This value determines the direction that the algorithm uses when
determining polarity. For example, if you run across a target in one direction, and edge
would be white to black ([ ]>[|]), but in the other direction, the same edge would be black
to white ([|]>[ ]). This value is always available for the Specified Edge type. If the

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polarity is set to something other than any to any [?]>[?], then it also becomes available
for Dominant Edge, Nearest Nominal, and Matching Edge.

Specified Edge #: This value shows what edge to use for the Specified Edge
detection method recently discussed. You can specify a value of 1-10.

Adaptive Threshold: Set this to YES to deal with variations in illumination. This setting
is by default set to YES as it is appropriate in most situations. Having this on is
necessary, for example, when your machine has non-uniform illumination, and the
feature's learned location may differ from its location within the FOV when executed.

With fixed threshold, it is possible that different edge points are detected, causing
measurement error or instability. However, if the part area included in the target band
changes due to texture or other noises, those changes could cause the result of the
adaptive threshold to be higher than the intended edge’s threshold. The result is that the
intended edge is not detected. In this situation, it may be best to set Adaptive
Threshold to NO.

SensiLight: This determines whether or not the machine should perform an auto-light
adjustment prior to measurement, in an attempt to achieve optimal results. If set to NO,
PC-DMIS sets the lighting according to the learned percentage, and the brightness is
not adjusted automatically. SensiLight is short for Sensible Lighting.

At execution time, if SensiLight is on, a quick check is made to ensure the illumination
is not too dark or too light. If it is, then it auto adjusts the illumination to make it sensible.
It then gives the operator the option of saving this new illumination setting so that the
next time the feature is measured it uses the new improved settings.

Illumination: This shows the illumination values to use for this target. To change the
illumination for a specific target, select the target in the Hit Targets tab, or on the
Vision tab of the Graphic Display window, and change the illumination on the
Illumination tab. For information on how to do this, see "Probe Toolbox: Illumination
tab".

Automatic Hit Target - Template Match

Template Match allows you to define a master image of an area of interest. You could
then use it to search the Field of View before you perform any edge detection during a
feature measurement. This should improve measurement repeatability since this
removes location errors and part variability from the measurement process.

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Template Match is available for all vision features except Blob and Surface
Point.

Enable Template Match from the Parameter Set list.

When you enable Template Match, the software inserts two new overlays:

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• Template Area - This is a unique rectangular area that defines a unique pattern.
The pattern is what PC-DMIS locates during the execution of the measurement
routine.
• Search Area - This is a rectangular area that PC-DMIS searches in to locate the
pattern defined by the Template Area.

Template Correlation

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Template Correlation - This defines the minimum matching percentage. While PC-
DMIS is performing a template match, the software searches for the position in the
Search Area to locate the best match based on the defined template. The Template
Correlation value defines the best possible match. For example, if there is an exact
template image within the Search Area, then the correlation value is very close to
100%. It will probably never be 100% due to slight image variations and calculation
rounding errors. If the correlation value of the best match is greater than the Template
Correlation value you defined, then the template match is successful; otherwise, the
template match fails. If the template match fails, PC-DMIS displays a message to
indicate it in the Execution dialog box.

If you encounter a failed execution with Template Match enabled, click Continue to
execute the rest of the measurement routine. The execution continues as if the feature
doesn't have template matching enabled.

Requirements

Template Match requirements:

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• Template Match works for features with a single target.

• Template Match works for features that you can execute in a single Field of
View (FOV).
• Template Match needs to be smaller than the Search Area.
• Template Match is normally within the Search Area.
• The Template Area and Search Area should be within the FOV when you save
the template image.

For ease of use, PC-DMIS does not check these requirements during the
process of modifying the target, Template Area and Search Area. The software checks
all requirements as soon as you click the Create or Test button on the Auto Feature
dialog box. If any of the requirements are not met, the software displays a warning
message to make corrections.

Template Match is a calculation intensive process, so use it when necessary.

When using Template Match, the size of Template Area and Search Area directly
impact the speed of calculation, so that you want to set them as small as possible yet
still reliable.

Automatic Hit Target - Filter Parameter Set

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To change a value, right click the current value for the desired target. If the value is N/A,
then that parameter is "Not Applicable" to the current set.

ID - This column displays a unique identifier for the item in the target list. This
same ID is used on the tooltip for the target in the Vision tab of the Graphic
Display window.

Clean Filter - This column determines whether or not to remove dust and small
noise particles from the image prior to edge detection.

Strength (Clean Filter) - Specifies the size (in pixels) of an object, below which is
considered to be dirt or noise.

Outlier Filter - This column determines whether or not outlier filtering is required
for this target.

When you select YES for Outlier Filter, there are different Filter Parameters available
for different feature types.

Filter parameters for all vision feature types except non-legacy Profile 2D

For all but non-legacy Profile 2D feature types, when you select YES from the Outlier
Filter list, these options become available:

Distance Threshold (Outlier Filter) - This specifies the distance in pixels that a
point can be away from nominal before discarding it.

Std Dev. Threshold (Outlier Filter) - This sets the standard deviation that a point
needs to be away from the nominal CAD to determine if it's an outlier.

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Filter parameters for the non-legacy Profile 2D vision feature type

For non-legacy vision Profile 2D features, the Outlier Filter has two Filter Type
options, YES and NO.

If you select YES, two outlier Filter Type options are available: Nominal Form and
Neighbor.

Each option has its own parameters:

Nominal Form - This outlier filter is based on form fitting and is only available for
non-legacy versions of vision Profile 2D features programmed from the CAD. This
filter fits the measured data to the nominal CAD curve. After fitting, the deviations
of each measured point to the nominal CAD are computed. The deviations are
used to determine which points, if any, are outliers.

When you select the Nominal Form filter type, the Std Dev. Threshold (Outlier
Filter) option is available:

Std Dev. Threshold (Outlier Filter) - This sets the standard deviation that a
point needs to be away from the nominal CAD to determine if it's an outlier.

Neighbor - The outlier filter is based on distance and is available only for the non-
legacy version of the vision Profile 2D feature.

When you select the Neighbor filter type, these options become available:

Outlier Filter - Provides a drop-down box with two options: YES turns the
filter on, NO turns the filter off.

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Neighbors - Defines the minimum number of neighbors required to be

considered a valid point. If a point has less than the minimum number of
neighbors within the distance (defined partially by the next parameter), then
the point is an outlier. The default value for this parameter is 2.

Distance Multiplier - This parameter is used to calculate the distance

mentioned above. The default value for this parameter is 2.0.

The distance is calculated by multiplying the median distance

between neighboring points and the Distance Multiplier. The median
distance between neighboring points is calculated from all detected points
within a target.

The following are examples using different values for Neighbors and Distance
Multiplier.

Example 1: With Neighbors = 2 and Distance Multiplier = 2.0:

Example 2: Same as Example 1 except Neighbors = 3 which causes more

outliers (points displayed in red) to be identified:

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Example 3: When Neighbors = 1 and Distance Multiplier = 3.0, there are fewer
outliers (points displayed in red):

Optical Comparator Hit Target Parameters

The following parameters appear in the column headings of the target list in the Hit
Targets tab when measuring features using the Optical Comparator measuring
method (For available measuring methods, see "Measuring Features Using a vision
probe"):

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Edge Parameter Set

To change a value, right-click on the current value for the desired target. If a value says
N/A, then that parameter is "not applicable" to the current set.

ID: This displays a unique identifier for the item in the target list. This same ID is used
on the tooltip for the target in the Vision tab of the Graphic Display window.

Plus Tolerance: Provides the plus tolerance against which a target is visually
compared during execution.

Minus Tolerance: Provides the minus tolerance against which a target is visually
compared during execution.

Example of optical comparator with plus and minus tolerance bands

Illumination: This shows the illumination values to use for this target. To change the
illumination for a specific target, select the target in the Hit Targets tab, or on the
Vision tab of the Graphic Display window, and change the illumination on the
Illumination tab. For information on how to change the illumination, see "Probe
Toolbox: Illumination tab".

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Focus Parameter Set

For information, see the "Hit Target Focus Parameter Set" target.

Hit Target Focus Parameter Set

To change a value, right click on the current value for the desired target. If a value says
N/A then that parameter is "not applicable" to the current set. You can make
adjustments to the focus parameter set for Automatic, Manual, Gage, and Optical
Comparator Hit targets.

ID: This displays a unique identifier for the item in the target list. This same ID is used
on the tooltip for the target in the Vision tab of the Graphic Display window.

Focus: This determines whether or not the target requires a pre-edge detection focus.

When using the CAD++ configuration, an AUTO option in addition to the

standard YES/NO only does a focus if the image appears to require one.

Control (Focus): Choose either AUTO or FULL. AUTO mode uses the calibrated focus
information to automatically set the range and duration parameters. FULL mode allows
the user to set the range and duration manually.

Range (Focus): This displays the range from the camera to the part. It specifies the
distance (in the current units) over which to perform the focus. Using this value the
machine searches in the Z direction for the best focal position.

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Duration (Focus): This displays the number of seconds to spend searching for the best
focal position.

If your Range and Duration combination results are too fast when you do
a focus, a warning message appears and is overlaid on the Vision tab.

Find Surface (Focus): This displays a YES or NO. Setting this option to YES causes
PC-DMIS to perform a second and slightly slower pass-to attempt to improve the
accuracy of the focal position. The second pass is optimized based on the image data
of the first pass and the Numeric Aperture of the current lens. This is useful when
measuring a surface that varies in height, which requires a large range over which to
focus.

Surface Variance (Focus): With the Find Surface option set to YES, this value
determines the distance that is initially scanned at a fast speed to find where the part is,
and then the normal focus is done around this area. Once the focal position is found,
PC-DMIS does a quick focus scan in that region. This is useful for parts where
variability means the focus position can vary a lot.

Assist (Focus): This option is used with systems with a laser or Projected Grid device.
These devices can be switched on to assist with the focus on certain surfaces by
improving the contrast. Set this option to GRID to enable this functionality.

Illumination-Adjust: This option determines whether or not the machine should

perform an auto-light adjust prior to focus in an attempt to achieve optimal focus result.
If it is set to NO, PC-DMIS sets the lighting according to the learned percentage, and
the brightness is not adjusted automatically.

Measure At Centre: If selected, the measurement occurs at the center of the Field Of
View for improved accuracy.

Using the Shortcut Menu

From the Vision tab, if you right click on the target, a shortcut menu appears. This
menu allows you to insert and delete segments or targets; reset hit targets; change the
point density; test the edge detection of the currently selected target or targets; and
change hit target types.

Similarly, clicking on the Vision tab, but not on a target provides a menu to adjust
magnification, capture the screen, or open the Live Image Setup dialog box.

For more information, see the "Using Shortcut Menus" topic under the "Using the
Graphic Display window in PC-DMIS Vision" topic.

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Hit Targets Controls

The controls shown in the Hit Targets tab in the Probe Toolbox let you edit, test, and
modify the targets and parameters used to measure the feature.

This is the toolbar at the top of the tab:

The following table describes what these controls do:

Define Target Button Description

The Target Type list lets you choose the target type to
create new targets. The available target types include:

• Optical Comparator Hit Target

• Gage Hit Target
• Manual Hit Target
• Automatic Hit Target

The Parameter Set list lets you change between these

parameter sets:

• Edge
• Filter
• Focus
• RGB Mixing

These are discussed in "Available Parameter Sets".

The Target Feature Coverage list allows you to quickly

create target sections to measure a subset of a feature.
Limiting coverage can decrease feature execution time. For
example, if you measure a large feature at high a
magnification value, it may require a lot of camera positions
to get all the edge points. Selecting "10%" coverage would

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only measure edge points at certain locations around the

feature - amounting to 10% of its form.

Notice in the example below that the same feature covered

at 100 percent is altered to have many targets that provide
a coverage of 50 percent.

Profile 2D - 100% Coverage Profile 2D - 50% Coverage

The Set Target Feature Coverage Active Targets list

determines the number of targets to use to display the
selected coverage percentage in the Target Feature
Coverage list. The default value is 4.

For example, a 50% coverage on an arc, with a value of 7

active targets set from this list, would result in target
sections that looked like this:

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Example Active Targets

The Hit Target Color list specifies the color to apply to the
feature hit targets. This allows you to differentiate between
features, or to ensure visibility on different surface types.

The Nominal Color list specifies the color to apply to the

feature nominal line. This allows you to differentiate
between features, or to ensure visibility on different surface
types.

This is the toolbar at the bottom of the tab:

The following table describes what these controls do:

Define
Target Description
Button
The Lock Hit Targets to Part button secures the
size, position or rotation of the target.

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The Center Hit Target button centers the target or

Field of View (FOV). What actually moves depends
on the status of the Lock Hit Targets to Part
button.

If you first select the Lock Hit Targets to Part

button, and then select the Center Hit Targets
button, PC-DMIS Vision moves the current FOV to
the target. This is only available on DCC Motion
machines.

If you deselect the Lock Hit Targets to Part button,

and select the Center Hit Targets button, the target
moves to the current FOV.

The Insert New Hit Target button inserts a new

target area. You can then set up different
parameters for this specific area of the feature.

The Delete Hit Target button lets you delete a

previously inserted target from the feature.

The Reset Hit Target(s) button deletes all of the

previously inserted target areas from the feature,
leaving the single default target.

The Hit Target Test button tests the automatic

Target Edge detection for the currently selected
target or targets. PC-DMIS Vision displays any
detected points in the Vision tab of the Graphic
Display window.

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Probe Toolbox: Feature Locator Tab

Probe Toolbox - Feature Locator tab

The Feature Locator tab allows you give instructions to the operator for the current
feature. You can provide one or more of the following prompts during feature execution:

• A screen capture bitmap, showing the feature's location.

• An audio prompt, providing audible instructions via a prerecorded .wav file.
• A text prompt, providing written instructions.

To provide Feature Locator information:

1. Click the button next to the (speaker) button to browse to the .wav file to
associate with this Auto feature. The speaker button must be selected for the
audio file to play.
2. Click the Feature Locator BMP File toggle button to toggle the display of the
associated bitmap.
3. Click the button next to the Capture Feature Locator BMP button to
browse to the .bmp file to associate the image with this Auto feature. You must
select the bitmap button in order to display the bitmap image on the Feature
Locator tab.
4. Rather than browsing for a bitmap image, you can click the Capture Feature
Locator BMP button to capture an image from the current CAD View or Live
View (whichever is active). This file is indexed and saved in the PC-DMIS install

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directory. For example, a measurement routine named Vision.prg would yield

bitmap images named Vision0.bmp, Vision1.bmp, Vision2.bmp, and so on.
5. Type a message to be displayed as a caption in the text box. For example,
"Measure Circle 1" is displayed on this tab with subsequent feature execution.

Probe Toolbox: Magnification Tab

Probe Toolbox - Magnification tab

The Magnification tab lets you change the current Field of View (FOV) camera
magnification. It also provides a way for you to simultaneously view both the CAD and
Vision tabs of the Graphic Display window. For information on using these tabs in the
Graphic Display window, see "Using the Graphic Display window in PC-DMIS Vision".

Two values for magnification are displayed - Pixel Size and Optical.

Pixel Size - This is the pixel size of the image in the Live View.

Optical - This is the magnification size on the CCD array of the camera. This does not
change when the Live View display is re-sized.

When the Magnification tab of the Probe Toolbox is open, the Vision tab displays the
following:

FOV= - This overlay value displays the size of the FOV in the measurement routine's
unit of measurement. This only appears on the screen when you select the
Magnification tab from the Probe Toolbox.

[0]= - This overlay number reflects your current level of magnification (Pixel Size). As
you zoom in closer to the part, this number decreases in size. The closer the number
approaches zero, the closer your machine approaches its maximum magnification. This

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only appears on the screen when you select the Magnification tab from the Probe
Toolbox.

Simultaneously Viewing the CAD View and the Live View

• If you select Cad View, the Magnification tab of the Probe Toolbox contains a
mini version of the Vision tab.

• If you select Vision tab, the Magnification tab of Probe Toolbox contains a mini
version of the CAD tab.

Changing the Magnification of the Part Image

On a machine with a DCC Zoom, these are the several ways you can alter the
magnification of the part image:

Use the Magnification tab: You can do this by either moving the slider bar up or down,
or by typing a value in the box next to the slider. By default, the software uses the
lowest magnification to get the largest Filed of View (FOV).

Drag the Green Handles of the FOV: Use the FOV handles in the CAD tab to re-size
the rectangle. Grab any corner of the green box and drag the outline to its desired
location. On a DCC stage, the green boxes on the edges (not the corners) allow you to
move the location of the FOV, not change its size.

Zoom in Live View: In the Vision tab, hold down the right and left mouse buttons
simultaneously. Drag the cursor across the view, creating an outline of a box. When you
release the mouse buttons, the field of view magnifies in the requested location.

Use the Magnification menu: Select menu items from the Operation | Magnification
sub-menu or use the Magnification shortcut menu in the Live View. You can right-click
within the Vision tab to access the shortcut menu. Be sure that your cursor isn’t over
the target when you right-click to access the shortcut menu.

Use Shortcut Keys: Use these shortcut keys to alter the magnification in either the
Cad or Vision tabs:

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Magnify Action Shortcut Keys

Increase Fine ALT + *

Increase Coarse CTRL + *

Increase Maximum CTRL + ALT + *

Decrease Fine ALT + /

Decrease Coarse CTRL + /

Decrease Minimum CTRL + ALT + /

The numbers displayed next to the top left and bottom right corners of the image in the
Field of View box of the Probe Toolbox, indicate the X and Y coordinate values for the
FOV. It also displays the current magnification size in pixels.

Probe Toolbox: Illumination Tab

Probe Toolbox - Illumination tab

The Illumination tab allows you to select which lamps are turned on or off. It also
indicates the lamp's current light intensity by changing illumination values. The type and
number of lamps displayed depends on the machine.

A Top Light is an axis lamp that is directed through the optical path. It can provide
better edge and feature visibility on some parts than other light sources that illuminate
from above because the light source isn't as diffused. Since it shines parallel to the
optics, it's also easier to see into holes.

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A Bottom Light is a lamp that shines from under the stage. It creates a silhouette of the
part to be viewed.

A Ring Light is a multi-bulb lamp that illuminates from above. This lamp is normally
composed of an array of LED lights arranged in concentric rings or circles. You can
usually program the ring light to illuminate a segment or 'pie wedge' of bulbs from one
direction. You can control the direction and angle of illumination by illuminating just one
of the rings of LEDs, a segment of one of the rings, or individual bulbs.

This tab also allows you to create and store these illumination values in sets termed
Quick Sets. Once you create a Quick Set, you can quickly and easily recall it to set the
lamps on a machine to a specific state (such as bottom light only, top light only, or
another state). Quick Sets can be recalled at any time by selecting the set name from
the Quick Set list.

Click the Save button to save your own Quick Sets or click the Delete button to delete
them.

For lamps to show up on the Illumination tab, make sure you have the lamps
selected and properly set up on the Illumination tab of the Machine Interface Setup
dialog box. For information on this dialog box, see "Machine Options: Illumination tab".

You can perform the following procedures using the Illumination tab:

• Selecting a Pre-Defined Illumination Quick Set

• Saving an Illumination Quick Set
• Deleting an Illumination Quick Set
• Changing Illumination Values
• Illumination Calibration Override

A Note on Lamps and Contact Probes

By default, if you switch from a vision probe to a contact probe, the lamps remain turned
on. Use the IlluminationOffForContactProbe entry in the VisionParameters
section of the PC-DMIS Settings Editor to control the default behavior. Setting this entry
to TRUE turns off the lamps whenever the measurement routine switches from a vision
probe to a contact probe. PC-DMIS restores the illumination when you switch back to a
vision probe.

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Selecting a Pre-Defined Illumination Quick Set:

To choose a pre-defined illumination quick set, select the set from the Quick Set list.

• If you run PC-DMIS in Online mode, your system's lamps change to reflect the
selected quick set.
• If the illumination changes since you selected the quick set, the Quick Set list
shows an ‘*’ next to the quick set's name.

Saving an Illumination Quick Set

To create a new illumination quick set:

1. Click the Save Illumination Quick Set button . The software displays a Save
Illumination Quick Set input box:

Save Illumination Quick Set input box

2. Type a name for the illumination quick set. The entire name must fit in the box.
3. Click the OK button to create the new set and automatically select it in the
Illumination page.

Deleting an Illumination Quick Set

To delete an illumination quick set:

1. Click the Delete Illumination Quick Set button . The software displays a
message asking if you want to delete the illumination set.
2. Click Yes. The software deletes the illumination quick set permanently from your
system.

Changing Illumination Values

At any one time, only one of the lamps can have its settings changed. This is referred to
as the "active" lamp, and is the lamp that is not drawn in a "Dimmed" state.

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Illumination tab showing active lamp (bottom light)

In the above example, the bottom light (lower left) is active, and the top light and ring
light are "OFF".

Changing the Active Lamp's Values:

1. Click on the toolbox near or on the required lamp.

2. Move the slider bar or type a percentage value in the % box. Only the active
lamp is affected.
3. Adjust the Lamp Angle to physically alter the angle of lamps that support
this capability.
4. Change the Lamp Color by selecting the LED color of lamps that support
multiple color LEDs.

For new users, there may be a tendency to "over light" or give too much
lighting. Excessive lighting can cause refraction errors when locating the true edge. It is
usually safer to error on the side of "less light".

Ring Light Illumination Values

The process for editing the Ring Light Illumination values is more involved than a Top or
Bottom light. Additional controls are provided for Ring lights.

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Changing the Ring Light Intensity – Select the required bulbs to change the intensity
of any lamp. Move the slider bar or type a percentage value in the % box to change the
intensity of the active segments.

Absolute and Relative Controls – For Ring lamps, it is also possible to choose
whether an increase or decrease of the bulb's intensity should keep their relative
differences (RELATIVE) or you should set them all to the same value (ABSOLUTE).

• If you select the Absolute Intensity button , all of the active LEDs get the
same specified intensity.
• If you select the Relative Intensity button , all of the active LEDs keep their
relative differences, but all increase or decrease by a specified amount. For
example, if the outer ring has its intensity set to 30%, the middle ring is set to
40%, and the inner ring is set to 50%, then if you move the slider up by 10%, the
intensity values for each ring moves to 40%, 50%, and 60% respectively.

Switching a Lamp or Bulb On or Off – Right-click on the selected bulb or bulbs to

toggle their on or off state. When you switch a bulb off, there is no intensity value
displayed inside that bulb. When a bulb is switched on, PC-DMIS displays it's current
intensity and applies a shade to it to represent the current intensity value.

Click the Apply button to save the updated illumination values.

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Illumination Calibration Override

The Illumination Calibration Override button is used to temporarily switch off the
Illumination Calibration. This can be used for features where it is difficult to get enough
intensity, and you want to force the machine intensity to the maximum.

When the Illumination tab is active, the Vision tab shows the intensity value (between
0 and 255) for the pixel you're currently pointing at with the pointer.

Probe Toolbox: Focus Tab

Probe Toolbox showing the Focus tab with bad focus graph results.

A good focus graph would show a rounded curve, like an inverted U.

The Focus tab allows you to perform an immediate focus on the part within the
rectangular region defined in the Graphic Display window. The software doesn't
generate any measurement routine commands when you use this option.

To perform the focus, use the Vision tab in the window to move or resize the
rectangular target over the desired portion of the part, and select one of the Focus
buttons. The machine focuses on the specified area of the target, displays the optimum
focus position as an overlay on the Vision tab, and displays the focus curve in a graph.

If you select Dual Pass, the initial pass is not shown in the graph, only the second pass
is shown.

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To get the best focus accuracy and repeatability, focus should be performed at
the highest magnification available.

You can set specific feature focus parameters within the Hit Targets tab, and
then select the Focus Parameter set. See "Probe Toolbox: Hit Targets tab".

Warnings and errors appear on the Vision tab to indicate the focus success and to
provide feedback.

• If a warning prefix is given, the focus value was calculated, but the accuracy
could be improved by taking the warning text into account. It warns if the speed is
too fast, if the focus rectangle is too small, or if the magnification is not high
enough.
• If an error prefix is given, the focus calculation failed. PC-DMIS Vision restores
the focus calculation values to the previous focal position.

Focus Parameters
For a machine supporting DCC Motion, the following parameters appear in the column
headings of the Focus tab when focusing a part:

Control (Focus): AUTO control performs a focus operation based upon the previously
determined values collected during the focus calibration of the "Optics Calibration"
procedure. PC-DMIS will automatically set the range and speed to be optimal for your
vision machine. FULL control allows you to manually set the range and duration values.

Motion (Focus): On systems with a configured rotary, the motion used to execute a
focus operation can be a linear move utilizing the XYZ axes or a rotary move. If a rotary
motion type is selected, the range and surface variance values is for rotary focus and is
in decimal degrees. The default range and surface variance values for linear and rotary
focus are saved separately.

Range (Focus): This indicates a focal range (in the current units) within which to
perform the auto focus. The search for the best focal position within that range takes
place (usually in the Z-axis). The available range values vary based on each system’s
specific parameters. You can edit this parameter by double clicking and entering a
different value.

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Duration (Focus): This displays the number of seconds to spend searching for the best
focal position for auto and manual focus. You can edit this parameter by double clicking
and entering a different value.

As a general rule of thumb, you should aim to make your duration at least
twice as large as the range.

Find Surface (Focus): This displays a YES or NO. Setting this option to YES causes
PC-DMIS to perform a second, slightly slower, pass-to attempt to improve the accuracy
of the focal position. The second pass is optimized based on the image data of the first
pass and the Numeric Aperture of the current lens. This is useful when measuring a
surface that varies in height, requiring a large range to over which to focus.

Surface Variance (Focus): With the Find Surface option set to YES, this value is used
to determine the distance that is initially scanned at a fast speed to locate the part, and
then the normal focus is done around this area. Once the focal position is found, PC-
DMIS does a quick focus scan in that region. This is useful for parts where variability
means the focus position can vary a lot.

Assist (Focus): This is used with systems with a laser or Projected Grid device. These
devices can be switched to "ON" to assist with the focus as on certain surfaces by
improving the contrast. Set this option to "GRID" to enable this functionality.

SensiLight (Focus): This determines whether or not the machine should perform an
auto-light adjust prior to focus, in an attempt to achieve optimal focus result. If set to
NO, PC-DMIS sets lighting according to the learned percentage, and the brightness is
not adjusted automatically. SensiLight is short for "sensible lighting".

Focus Graph

Auto focus graphs the results of the focus by showing the focus score (Y) against time
(X). A sharper focus will have a higher focus score.

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Auto focus should result in a rounded curve (an inverted "U"). Use the Manual Focus
option when you have no DCC to automatically drive the Z axis. If the graph shows a
sharp increase in focus score, try reducing the speed of movement. Also, you need to
ensure that your range of travel is sufficient, so that you see the base of the curve on
both sides.

If the graph is not smooth, ensure the illumination is sufficient so that surface texture is
evident.

Auto Focus on a Manual Machine:

1. Roughly find the in-focus position, and then move out of focus.
2. Click the Auto Focus button to start the graph and record the focus score.
3. Move through the focus position by moving a single axis (usually Z).
4. Continue moving the Z axis until you have moved through the focus position, and
the graph is a well-proportioned, gradual, inverted U shape.
5. When the specified duration has been reached, the detected focus position is
displayed in the live image view.
6. A message is displayed to accept the focus or retry the focus.
7. If there is a problem, click the Reset Focus Graph button to clear the graph data
and start this process over.

With focus on a manual machine, you need to move the Z stage at a slow and
steady speed. You will be warned if you move too fast, or the distance moved was too
long or too short.

On some machines, you may find you get a better focus result by specifying a longer
duration, and then moving forward and backward through the focus position three or
four times to get a series of U shapes on the graph.

Focus Buttons
PC-DMIS Vision provides a number of tools to help you focus your optical hardware:

Focus
Description
Icon
The Lock Focus to Part button secures the position or rotation of the
target to the part. You can still change the size of the focus target.

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The Center Focus button centers the target or Field of View (FOV). What
actually moves depends on the status of the Lock Target to Part button.

• If you click Center Focus with the Lock Target to Part button
already selected, PC-DMIS Vision moves the current FOV to the
target. This is only available on DCC Motion machines.
• If you click Center Focus with the Lock Target to Part button
deselected, the target moves to the current FOV.

The Reset Focus Graph button clears all data in the Focus Graph.

The Auto Focus button actually executes the focus. It uses the set
parameters, moves the DCC stage, and then returns to the focus position.
On a manual machine, you manually move the machine for the specified
duration. When the duration is met, you have the option of accepting the
focus result or retrying.

Probe Toolbox: Gage Tab

Probe Toolbox - Gage tab

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The Gage tab only appears if you access the Probe Toolbox by itself. If you
use the Auto Feature box, the Gage tab won't appear.

The Gage tab provides you with a variety of tools called "gages" that allow you to make
quick optical comparisons over features that you are measuring. You don't have to
create a measurement routine. You can use Gages where edges are indiscriminate, or
difficult to ascertain automatically.

For step-by-step examples of working with each gage type, see "Using Vision Gages".

The gage provides nominal information that you can type into dialog boxes to create the
desired nominal feature. You can also capture the information to the Clipboard as a
BMP file to paste into a report.

Sometimes called "hand gages", these tools are geometric shapes that appear on your
screen. You can manipulate these shapes by rotating, sizing, and positioning them on
your part with your mouse to find out nominal information about a particular feature,
such as position, diameter, angle, and so forth.

Available gages

There is no automatic image processing associated with these gages, they are simply
tools that you visually adjust to fit a feature on the image.

Rotating, Sizing, or Moving Gages

You can rotate, size, or move the gage on the graphical representation of the part. Once
you correctly position the gage over a feature and size it to fit the shape of the feature,
the software dynamically updates information on the gage in the Probe Toolbox as well
as the overlay in your Vision tab. You can then use this information as the nominal
values of the feature.

Rotate a Gage: If there's a green dot on the gage, position the pointer over the green
dot. The pointer changes to a rounded arrow. Click and drag to perform a 2D rotation of
the part in either the left or right direction.

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Sample rectangular gage being rotated

Laterally Sizing Gages: If there's a red dot on the gage, position the pointer over a red
dot until the pointer changes to a two-way arrow. Click and drag the gage to laterally
size the gage either larger or smaller.

Sample circular gage being sized

The Radius Chart gage and the Grid Chart gage don't have a red dot. To
size these gages, select a part of the gage and drag it.

Moving Gages: Position the pointer over the red crosshair at the middle of the gage
until the pointer changes to a four-way arrow. Click and drag the pointer to move the
gage to a new location. You can also click anywhere on the part and PC-DMIS Vision
moves the gage to where you clicked.

Sample circular gage being moved

Supported Gage Types and Gage Parameters

PC-DMIS Vision supports a variety of gage types. Select a gage type from the Gage
Type list. PC-DMIS Vision places parameters for the gage inside the Probe Toolbox.
Double click these fields to edit them if you need a gage with specific dimensions.

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When you select and edit gages, it is a strictly visual process. The software
doesn't insert any commands into the measurement routine.

The following table describes each gage type and then lists the parameters used by that
gage:

Icon Description Available Parameters

Angle: The angle by which you
rotate the gage.

Display Type: Is the cross hair

drawn in solid, dashed, or dotted
lines.
Cross Hair Gage. Use this to find a
point.
Gun Sight: Draws a circle around
the cross hair to help locating.

Tolerance: Allows tolerance lines

to be drawn on the cross hair at a
specified distance.

Circle Gage. Use this to find a circle's Diameter: Diameter of the circle
diameter and center. gage

Angle: The angle by which you

rotate the gage.

Rectangle Gage. Use this to find a Width: Determines the width of

rectangle's height, width, and center. the Rectangle Gage.

Height: Determines the height of

the Rectangle Gage.

Included Angle: Determines the

Protractor Gage. Use this for finding
angle between the two lines
angles.
making up this gage.

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Radius Chart Gage. Use this to find the Spacer: Defines the relative
relative change in diameter between change in diameter between
concentric circles and the center. circles.

Grid Chart Gage. Use this to find the Grid: Defines the relative change
relative distance between horizontal and in distance from one grid position
vertical lines. to another.

All gage types use the XYZ values to determine the gage's center relative to
the Field of View center.

Gage buttons
The following Gage buttons are available while using gages to do optical comparisons.

Gage
Description
Button
The Lock Gage to Part button secures the position of the gage onto the
graphical representation of the part. Until you click this button again, you
can't move or edit the gage. You can still modify the size and rotation
however.

The Center Gage button centers the target or Field of View (FOV). What
actually moves depends on the status of the Lock Gage to Part button.

• If you click Center Gage with the Lock Gage to Part button
already selected, PC-DMIS Vision moves the current FOV to the
target. This is only available on DCC Motion machines.
• If you click Center Gage with the Lock Gage to Part button
deselected, the target moves to the current FOV.

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The Zero Readouts DXYZ button resets the Probe Readout window's
DXYZ value to the position of the current gage. This allows you to
measure distances using gages. To do this:

1. Position the gage on one feature.

2. Click to zero the readouts.

3. Move the gage to another feature and examine the DXYZ values
on the Probe Readout window. This is the distance between the
two features. See the "Using the Probe Readouts window with
Optical Probes".

Probe Toolbox: Vision Diagnostics Tab

Probe Toolbox - Diagnostics tab

The Vision Diagnostics tab provides a method for you to diagnose problems when
edge detection fails. The diagnostics collects bitmap images and the current feature
parameters. You can then export them from PC-DMIS and send them to Hexagon
Technical Support.

To use the Diagnostics tab, follow these steps:

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1. Click the Diagnostics button so the button is depressed to allow for the
collection of bitmap images during edge detection execution for the associated
feature.
2. Click Test to execute the feature, or during normal execution of the
measurement routine. The software collects bitmap images of the Live View for
each feature target.
3. If the feature has multiple targets, click the up and down arrows

to review the captured images.

4. To include the overlay information with each of the bitmap images, click the
Show Target Overlay button. Once you select this option, PC-DMIS creates
the images with overlay information.
5. To create bitmap images and a descriptive text file in the root of the PC-DMIS
install directory, click the Export Feature Diagnostics button. The software
exports both the bitmap images and diagnostic text with these formats:

Bitmap Image Export Format

Bitmap image file names use this convention:

<measurement routine name>_<feature ID>_<image number>_of _<total number

of feature images>_<O or no O>.bmp

For example: Vision1_CIR5_1_of_3_O.BMP

Files with an "O" at the end the file name include overlay information.

Text File Export Format

PC-DMIS exports text files as:

<measurement routine name>_<feature ID>.txt.

For example: Vision1_CIR5_F.TXT

Using Vision Gages

The gage functionality of PC-DMIS Vision provides a simple method to compare actual
part geometry to a gage. For example, overlay a gage (whose diameter is set to exactly
1.0 mm) to an actual part hole to compare its size.

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Considerable functionality is available with gages. This chapter gives an example of the
usage of each type of gage. For detailed information in the available buttons and
options, see "Probe Toolbox: Gage tab".

The six gages are:

Cross Hair Gage

Circle Gage
Rectangle Gage
Protractor Gage

Radius Chart Gage

Grid Chart Gage

The selected gage can be centered within the Field of View (FOV) at any time by
pressing Center Gage from the Gage tab of the Probe Toolbox.

For each gage example the HexagonDemoPart.igs demo part is used. See "Importing
the Vision Demo Part".

Using the Probe Readout with Gages

Understanding the basic functionality of the Probe Readout is essential for use with
gages, because measurement results are displayed in the Probe Readout.

You can open the Probe Readout by doing one of the following:

• Press Ctrl + W.
• From the PositionProbe tab of the Probe Toolbox dialog box, select Probe
Readouts .
• Select the View | Other Windows | Probe Readouts menu item.

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Understanding the Probe Readout Window

Probe Readout window

• XYZ is the location of the FOV center in relation to the current alignment origin.
• VX, VY, and VZ are the locations of the gage to the current alignment origin. If
the gage is centered within the Field of View (FOV), then the XYZ and VX, VY,
and VZ values will be the same. Use the left mouse button to independently drag
the gage to the needed position.
• DX, DY, and DZ are used with gages to display relative distances. These
values are independent from the currently alignment origin and can be
independently zeroed using the Zero Readouts DXYZ button ( ) in the Probe
Toolbox. If the Probe Toolbox is closed, you can right-click in the window and
click Zero Readouts DXYZ from the pop-up menu.

For the gage examples given in this chapter, modify the Probe Readout as follows:

1. Right-click in the Probe Readout window and click Setup from the pop-up menu.
2. Check the following options:

Probe position

Show current probe position on screen

Distance to target

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To independently zero the DX, DY, and DZ values when a gage is active, select
the Zero Readouts DXYZ option.

3. Press OK to save and exit.

Cross Hair Gage

The Cross Hair gage can be used to determine X and Y location as well
as the Angle of the crosshair as read form the Gage tab of the Probe
Toolbox or the corner of the Vision tab.

For information on controlling the Cross Hair gage, see the "Rotating, Sizing, or Moving
Gages" topic.

Cross Hair Gage Example

To measure the width of a part:

1. Ensure that the part is physically square on the inspection machine. See
"Creating an Alignment".
2. Open the Probe Readout window (Ctrl + W).
3. From the Probe Toolbox adjust the magnification and lighting as needed. See
"Probe Toolbox: Magnification tab" and "Probe Toolbox: Illumination tab".
4. From the Gage tab of the Probe Toolbox, select the Cross Hair option from the
drop-down list.
5. Move the machine over the left edge of the part. When the machine is close, you
can optionally drag the crosshair to the exact edge using the mouse.

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6. On the Gage tab, click the Zero Readouts DXYZ button to zero the DX, DT,
and DZ values.
7. Move the machine over the right edge of the part. Again, drag the crosshair to
the exact edge using the mouse.

8. Read the X value from the Probe Readout DX value.

Circle Gage

The Circle gage can be used to determine the Circle Center (X and Y)
as well as Diameter as read from the Gage tab of the Probe Toolbox
or the corner of the Vision tab.

For information on controlling the Circle gage, see the "Rotating, Sizing, or Moving
Gages" topic.

Circle Gage Examples

To measure the location of a 2mm hole from another 2mm hole:

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1. Ensure that the part is physically square on the inspection machine. See
"Creating an Alignment".
2. Open the Probe Readout window (Ctrl + W).
3. From the Probe Toolbox, adjust the magnification and lighting as needed. See
"Probe Toolbox: Magnification tab" and "Probe Toolbox: Illumination tab".
4. From the Gage tab of the Probe Toolbox, select the Circle Gage option from
the drop-down list.
5. From the Gage tab, double-click the Diameter box, and type the nominal
diameter of 2.000.
6. Move the machine so the first hole is within the Field of View (FOV). When the
machine is close, you can optionally drag the Circle gage to the exact center
using the mouse.
7. Click the Zero Readouts DXYZ button on the Gage tab. This zeroes the DX,
DT, and DZ values.
8. Move the machine so the second hole is within the FOV. Again, drag the Circle
gage to the exact center using the mouse.
9. Read the X and Y values from the Probe Readout DX and DY values.

To measure the diameter of a hole:

1. Adjust the magnification so the circle is as large as possible within the FOV. See
"Changing the Magnification of the Part Image". Notice that the gage size
changes with the magnification.
2. Move and adjust the size of the Circle gage to exactly overlay the actual circle in
the Live View.
3. Read the Diameter value as displayed in the corner of the Live View. This value
is also found in the Gage tab of the Probe Toolbox.

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Rectangle Gage
The Rectangle gage can be used to determine the Rectangle Center
(X & Y) as well as the Height, Width, and Angle of the rectangle as
read form the Gage tab of the Probe Toolbox or the corner of the
Vision tab.

For information on controlling the Cross hair gage, see the "Rotating, Sizing, or Moving
Gages" topic.

Rectangle Gage Example

To measure the size and location of a rectangle from the center of a circular hole
pattern:

1. Ensure that the part is physically square on the inspection machine. See
"Creating an Alignment".
2. Open the Probe Readout window (CTRL + W).
3. From the Probe Toolbox adjust the magnification and lighting as needed. See
"Probe Toolbox: Magnification tab" and "Probe Toolbox: Illumination tab".
4. From the Gage tab of the Probe Toolbox, select the Circle Gage option from
the drop-down list.
5. From the Gage tab, double-click the Diameter field and type the nominal
diameter of 8.000.
6. Move the machine so the 8mm center hole is within the FOV. When the machine
is close, you can optionally drag the Circle gage to the exact center using the
mouse.
7. Click the Zero Readouts DXYZ button on the Gage tab. This zeroes the DX,
DT, and DZ values.
8. Change the gage type to Rectangle Gage.

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9. Move the machine (with the Rectangle gage visible) over the rectangular
opening. Again, drag the rectangle to the exact center and size the rectangle as
needed.

10. Read the X and Y values from the Probe Readout (DX and DY) values.
11. Read the Height and Width values as displayed in the corner of the Live View.
This value is also found in the Gage tab of the Probe Toolbox.

Protractor Gage

You can use the Protractor gage to determine the (X & Y) location of
the Gage Apex as well as the Included Angle as read from the
Gage tab of the Probe Toolbox or the corner of the Vision tab.

For information on controlling the Cross Hair gage, see the "Rotating, Sizing, or Moving
Gages" topic.

Protractor Gage Example

To measure the included angle:

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1. Open the Probe Readout window (Ctrl + W).

2. From the Probe Toolbox, adjust the magnification and lighting as needed. See
"Probe Toolbox: Magnification tab" and "Probe Toolbox: Illumination tab".
3. From the Gage tab of the Probe Toolbox, select the Protractor Gage option
from the drop-down list.
4. Move the machine so the angle is within the FOV. When the machine is close,
you can optionally drag the protractor gage, so the apex lies on top of the
feature's apex.

The 2 apexes should coincide

5. Use the center dots on the two legs to rotate them coincident with the sides of
the feature.

6. Read the Included Angle value as displayed in the corner of the Live View. This
value is also found in the Gage tab of the Probe Toolbox.

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Radius Chart Gage

The Radius Chart gage can be used to determine the Center

Location (X and Y) as well as the Spacing between concentric
circles as read form the Gage tab of the Probe Toolbox or the corner
of the Vision tab.

For information on controlling the Circle gage, see the "Rotating, Sizing, or Moving
Gages" topic.

Radius Chart Example

To check to see if circular hole pattern is concentric to a center hole:

1. Open the Probe Readout window (CTRL + W).

2. From the Probe Toolbox, adjust the magnification and lighting as needed. See
"Probe Toolbox: Magnification tab" and "Probe Toolbox: Illumination tab".
3. From the Gage tab of the Probe Toolbox, select the Circle Gage option from
the drop-down list.
4. From the Gage tab, double-click the Diameter box, and type the nominal
diameter of 8.000.
5. Move the machine so the center hole is within the FOV. When the machine is
close, you can optionally drag the Circle gage to the exact center using the
mouse.
6. Click the Zero Readouts DXYZ button on the Gage tab. This zeroes the DX,
DT, and DZ values.
7. Change the gage type to Radius Chart Gage.
8. From the Gage tab, double-click the Spacer box, and type the nominal value of
1.000.
9. Drag the Radius gage such that is concentric to the pattern.

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10. Read the X and Y values from the Probe Readout DX and DY values.

Grid Chart Gage

The Grid Chart gage can be used to determine the Center Location (X
and Y) of the grid pattern as well as the Spacing between grid lines as
read form the Gage tab of the Probe Toolbox or the corner of the
Vision tab.

For information on controlling the Circle gage, see the "Rotating, Sizing, or Moving
Gages" topic.

Grid Chart Example

To check features in relation to grid lines:

1. From the Probe Toolbox, adjust the magnification and lighting as needed. See
"Probe Toolbox: Magnification tab" and "Probe Toolbox: Illumination tab".
2. Move the machine so that the features requiring comparison are within the Field
of View (FOV).

3. Change the gage type to Grid Chart Gage.

4. From the Gage tab, double-click the Grid box, and type the nominal value of
0.500.
5. Drag any one grid intersect to the bottom of the "V".

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(A) - Drag 1 grid point to the "V"

6. All other geometry can be visually compared to the grid lines.

Creating Alignments
Alignments are required whether you are using the "CAD Selection Method" (CAD
View) or the "Target Selection Method" (Live View) for measuring your part. The
alignment defines the Part Coordinate System. You must perform an alignment if you
wish to do any of the following:

• Change the location or orientation of the part on the stage.

• Move the measurement routine from one machine to another.
• Program the measurement routine offline and then run it online.
• Use vision measurement hardware that does not have homing capability.
• Use the AutoShutter facility on manual machines.

You should create an alignment each time you create a measurement routine
to run in DCC Mode.

There are numerous methods for creating vision alignments; the examples provided in
this chapter are intended to give a basic outline for creating alignments. For more
information on alignments, see the "Creating and Using Alignments" chapter in the PC-
DMIS Core documentation.

There are two types of scenarios in which you can create vision alignments:

• Live View Alignments

• CAD View Alignments

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Live View Alignments

This section describes the process of creating alignments using the Vision tab in PC-
DMIS Vision. This is commonly used when you are measuring online but have not
imported CAD. Creating both Manual (rough) and DCC (refined) alignments as outlined
below will help ensure the accuracy of your alignment. This two-step alignment process
is not required but is recommended.

If you are working on a manual machine, you can take advantage of this two-
step alignment approach by using the AutoShutter feature to assist you. For information
on the AutoShutter feature, see "Setting up the Live View".

Complete the following steps to create an alignment using the Live View:

• Step 1: Manually Measure Datum Features

• Step 2: Create a Manual Alignment
• Step 3: Re-Measure the Datum Features
• Step 4: Create a DCC Alignment

This example uses the 3 2 1 Alignment Wizard to show how to implement this tool.
The "CAD View Alignments" example uses the classic Alignment Utilities dialog box.

Step 1: Manually Measure Datum Features

The manual alignment in this example consists of an Arc and a Line. You can more
accurately re-measure these datum features in "Step 3: Re-measure the Datum
Features". Before you begin, mount the part so it is reasonably square to the axes of the
measuring machine.

To measure the datum features, do the following:

1. Select the Magnification tab , and adjust the magnification until you decrease
it to the minimum setting (zoomed out).

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With a manual (approximate) alignment, leaving the magnification at the

minimum is acceptable and usually desirable, because it is easier to run the
measurement routine. The DCC (refined) alignment will later improve the quality of
these datum features.

2. Select the Illumination tab , and set the Top Light to 0% (Off) and the
Bottom Light to 35%.
3. From the Auto Feature toolbar, click Circle to open the Auto Feature (circle)
dialog box.
4. Select the Vision tab.
5. Move the machine so the Arc (Datum B) is within the Field of View (FOV).
6. Click three points spaced along the edge of the arc. The software overlays a
radial target on the arc as shown below:

7. Click Create to add this circle to the measurement routine.

8. From the drop-down list box of the Auto Feature dialog box, select Line .
9. Move the machine so the Edge (Datum C), adjacent to the previously measured
arc, is within the FOV.
10. Click two points - One on the left end and one on the right end. The software
overlays a line target on the edge as shown below:

11. Click Create to add this line to the measurement routine.

12. Click Close to exit the Auto Feature dialog box.

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Step 2: Create a Manual Alignment

The manual alignment is used to quickly define the part location based on the measured
Arc and Line Datum features.

To create a manual alignment:

1. From the Wizards toolbar (View | Toolbars | Wizards), select the

321Alignment button to show the Alignment Type dialog box.

2. Select the Line-Point 2D alignment and click Next >> to open the 2D-LinePoint
dialog box.

3. Select LIN1 from the List of Available Lines and associate it with XPLUS axis
from the Associate with axis drop-down list.
4. Click Next >> to open the 2D-LinePointAlignment - Origin dialog box.

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5. From the list of Available Points, select CIR1, and click Next >> to show the
Line-Point dialog box.
6. Click Finish to insert the alignment command into the measurement routine. The
manual alignment is complete.

Click the +/- (expand/collapse) next to the new alignment in the Edit Window.
Notice the alignment steps that were created under the alignment command by the 3 2
1 Alignment Wizard.

Step 3: Re-Measure the Datum Features

Since the approximate location of the part is known, you can re-measure the Datum
Features under computer control with different vision parameters to more accurately
define them.

If you are using a DCC machine, select DCC Mode from the Probe Mode toolbar.
Otherwise, you can use AutoShutter to measure using a manual machine.

To re-measure the arc datum feature, follow these steps:

1. From the Auto Feature toolbar, click Circle to open the Auto Feature
(circle) dialog box.
2. Select the Vision tab.
3. Select the Magnification tab , and adjust the magnification until you decrease
it to the minimum setting (zoomed out).
4. Move the machine so the lower edge of the Arc (Datum B) is within the Field of
View (FOV).
5. Adjust the magnification to 75% of the maximum zoomed in value.
6. Select the Illumination tab and set the Top Light to 0% (Off) and the Bottom
Light to 35%.
7. Focus Z if necessary.
8. Use the mouse pointer to pick the first anchor point on the arc's edge.

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9. Move the machine so the middle of the Arc (Datum B) is within the FOV.

10. Move the machine so the upper edge of the Arc (Datum B) is within the FOV.
The software displays the target.

11. Change the Start Angle to 5 and the End angle to 85.
12. Edit the location parameters to exact values: X=0, Y=0, D=16
13. From the Hit Targets tab , under Density, double-click Normal, and select
High from the drop-down list to change the density. Collecting a high density of
points on this arc improves its accuracy.
14. Double-click on Strength box and type a value of 6.

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15. Edit the Focus parameter set to automatically re-focus prior to measuring the
circle feature. First, select the Focus from the drop-down list as shown below.

16. Change the Focus parameter set as follows: Focus = Yes, Range = 5, Duration
=4
17. From the Auto Feature dialog box, rename the default Circle Auto feature to
DATUM B.
18. Click Test to test the feature measurement.
19. Click Create and then Close.

To re-measure the line datum feature, follow these steps:

1. From the Auto Feature toolbar, click Line to open the Auto Feature (line)
dialog box.
2. Move the machine so that the left end of the Front Edge (Datum C) is within the
FOV.
3. If necessary, adjust the Z axis to regain focus.
4. Use your mouse pointer to pick the first anchor point on the left front edge.

5. Move the machine so that the right end (just before the "V") of the Front Edge
(Datum C) is within the FOV. Pick the second anchor point using your mouse
pointer. The software displays the target.

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6. From the Auto Feature dialog box, rename the default Line Auto feature to
DATUM C.
7. Click Test to test the feature measurement.
8. Click Create and then Close.

Step 4: Create a DCC Alignment

DCC alignment is inherently more accurate due to the fact that features (measured in
step 3) used were measured under computer control at higher magnification, with higher
density of points and refocusing. The front edge (Datum C) and the center point of the
arc (Datum B) are used in this example.

To create a DCC alignment:

1. From the Wizards toolbar (View | Toolbars | Wizards), select the

321Alignment button to open the Alignment Type dialog box.

2. Select the Line-Point 2D alignment and click Next >> to open the 2D-LinePoint
dialog box appears.

3. From the List of Available Lines, select DATUM C, and associate it with the
XPLUS axis from the Associate with axis drop-down list.
4. Click Next >> to open the 2D-LinePoint Alignment - Origin dialog box.

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5. From the list of Available Points, select DATUM B.

6. Click Next >> to show the Line-Point dialog box.
7. Click Finish to insert the alignment command into the measurement routine. The
DCC (or refined manual) alignment is complete.

Click the +/- (expand/collapse) next to the new alignment in the Edit Window.
Notice the alignment steps that were created under the alignment command by the 3 2
1 Alignment Wizard.

CAD View Alignments

This section describes the process of creating alignments using the CAD tab in PC-
DMIS Vision. This is commonly used when you are measuring online and have imported
CAD. Creating both Manual (rough) and DCC (refined) alignments as outlined below
will help ensure the accuracy of your alignment. This two-step alignment process is not
required but is recommended.

If you are working on a manual machine, you can take advantage of this two-
step alignment approach by using the AutoShutter feature to assist you. For information
on the AutoShutter feature, see "Setting up the Live View".

For this alignment example the HexagonDemoPart.igs demo part must be imported
prior to beginning. See "Importing the Vision Demo Part".

Complete the following steps to create an alignment using the Live View:

• Step 1: Manually Measure an Edge Point

• Step 2: Create a Manual Alignment

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• Step 3: Measure Features for Datum A

• Step 4: Construct Datum A
• Step 5: Measure Datums B and C
• Step 6: Create a DCC Alignment
• Step 7: Update Display in CAD View

In this example the "Classic" Alignment Utilities dialog box will be used to show how
this dialog box can be used, where the "Live View Alignments" example will use the 3 2
1 Alignment Wizard.

Step 1: Manually Measure an Edge Point

The manual alignment in this example consists of a single Edge Point to approximately
locate the part. In later steps, PC-DMIS measures additional datums (under DCC if
applicable) to create a final alignment. Before you begin, mount the part so it is
reasonably square to the axes of the measuring machine.

To measure the datum feature, do the following:

1. Select the Magnification tab and adjust the magnification until you decrease
it to the minimum setting (zoomed out).
2. Select the Illumination tab and set the Top Light to 0% (Off) and the Bottom
Light to 35%.
3. Select the CAD tab.
4. From the Graphic Modes toolbar (View | Toolbars | Graphic Modes), select

the Curve Mode button .

5. Move the machine so the front-left corner is within the FOV as shown below:

6. From the Auto Feature toolbar, click Edge Point to open the Auto Feature
(edge point) dialog box.
7. Click a point on the front edge, VERY CLOSE to the left corner.
8. Select the Hit Targets tab .
9. Change Automatic Target to Manual Hit Target.

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Since this is actually a "Manual Target" edge point, the actual point used
is where you have physically placed the crosshair.

10. Click Create to add this edge point to the measurement routine.
11. Click Close to exit the Auto Feature dialog box.

Step 2: Create a Manual Alignment

For this alignment, only one point was taken (previous step) so no rotational datum was
measured. In this example, it is assumed that the part is reasonably square to the
machine axis. The single point will be used to establish the XYZ origin.

To create a manual alignment:

1. Select the Insert | Alignment | New menu option. The Alignment Utilities
dialog box appears.
2. From the feature list, select PNT1.
3. Next to X, Y, and Z, select the check boxes.
4. Click the Origin button.
5. Click OK to save and exit. The X, Y, and Z zero points all move to the edge point.

Executing the measurement routine that you just created moves the origin to this point
on the actual part. To do this:

1. Select the Vision tab.

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2. From the Edit Window toolbar (View | Toolbars | Edit Window), select Mark

All ( ).
3. When asked if it's okay to mark manual alignment features, click Yes.

4. From the QuickMeasure toolbar, select Execute ( ).

5. When prompted, measure point PNT1 by aligning the target (cross hair) to the
corner and clicking Continue. Alternatively, you can drag and drop the cross
hair. It snaps to the edge.
6. When the measurement routine execution finishes, select the CAD tab.
7. From the Graphic Modes toolbar (View | Toolbars | Graphic Modes), select

Scale-To-Fit ( ).

Step 3: Measure Features for Datum A

PC-DMIS uses the top plane (Datum A) for the primary alignment datum. A reference
plane is commonly not required in 2D vision measurements. However, in this example,
the datum plane is measured to accommodate dimensioning flatness. This is useful in
situations where you might have feature control frames that reference a datum plane.

Since the approximate location of the part is known, PC-DMIS can operate in DCC
mode.

If you are using a DCC machine, from the Probe Mode toolbar, select DCC Mode (
). Otherwise, you can use AutoShutter to measure using a manual machine.

To measure a plane features for Datum A:

1. Select the Magnification tab and adjust the magnification until you increase it
to the maximum setting (zoomed in).
2. Select the Live View tab.
3. Position the camera over the part.
4. From the Illumination tab , adjust the Top Light to a value that makes the
surface visible but not too bright. Move Z to focus as necessary.
5. Select the CAD tab.
6. From the Graphic Modes toolbar (View | Toolbars | Graphic Modes), select

Scale-To-Fit ( ).

7. From the Graphics Modes toolbar, select the Surface Mode button ( ).

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8. From the Auto Feature toolbar (View | Toolbars | Auto Features), click

Surface Point ( ) to open the Auto Feature dialog box for Surface Point.
9. Click a point on the top surface.
10. Select the Hit Targets tab , and change the following parameters: Target
Type = Automatic Hit Target, Range = 5.0, Duration = 5, and Find Surface
Option = YES.

11. For each Automatic Hit Target, double-click the option below each property, and
type the specified value.
12. Click Create to add this edge point to the measurement routine.
13. Click another point on the top surface, then click Create.
14. Repeat the step above (click a point, then Create) until a total of 8 points have
been created (PNT2 - PNT9).
15. Click Close to exit the Auto Feature dialog box.

Step 4: Construct Datum A

Once you have measured the eight surface points in "Step 3: Measure Features for
Datum A", you can construct DATUM A from those points.

To construct DATUM A:

1. Execute the measurement routine up to this point to measure the eight surface
points. To do this:

a. From the Edit Window toolbar (View | Toolbars | Edit Window), select

Clear Marked . This is done so that the manual alignment point

(PNT1) is not included when you select Mark All.

b. Select Mark All .

c. When the "Ok to mark manual alignment features?" message appears,
click NO.

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d. Select Execute . PC-DMIS measures the eight surface points.

2. From within the Edit Window, ensure that the LAST line in the measurement
routine is highlighted.
3. Select the Insert | Feature |Constructed | Plane menu item or the Constructed
Plane button from the Constructed Features toolbar (View | Toolbars |
Constructed Features). The Construct Plane dialog box appears.

4. Select the Best Fit option.

5. From the feature list, highlight the eight surface points measured in "Step 3:
Measure Features for Datum A". In this example, the points are PNT2 through
PNT9.
6. Type DATUM A in the ID box.
7. Click Create, and then click Close to add the plane feature to the measurement
routine.

Step 5: Measure Datums B and C

In this step, the software measures the front line and left line for Datums B and C.
Based on the intersection of the two lines, a point is also constructed to establish the XY
origin.

To measure Datum B:

1. Select the Magnification tab , and adjust the magnification to about 25% of
maximum. The actual magnification value varies based on your lens.

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2. Select the Illumination tab , and set the Top Light to 0% (Off). Set the
Bottom Light to 35%.
3. Select the CAD tab.

4. From the Graphic Modes toolbar, if it's needed, select Scale-To-Fit ( ).

5. From the Graphic Modes toolbar, select the Curve Mode button ( ).
6. From the Auto Feature toolbar, click the Line button ( ) to open the Auto
Feature (line) dialog box.
7. Click a point for the left anchor point of the line and on the front edge towards the
left end.

8. Click a point for the right anchor point of the line and just to the left of the slot (to
the right of the upside-down "V" as show in the image below). The software
displays the target.

Since the line stretches across a void (the upside-down "V"), this region
must be excluded so no points are taken in that segment.

9. Right-click inside the rectangular target. From the popup menu, select Insert Hit
Target. This divides the single rectangular target into two targets.
10. Repeat the above step to insert a third target.
11. Drag the two target dividers so that one is on each side of the upside-down "V".

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12. Select the Vision tab.

13. Position the camera over the part.
14. From the Illumination tab , adjust the Top Light to a value that makes the
surface visible but not too bright. Move Z to focus as necessary.
15. Select the Hit Targets tab . Notice three targets are shown: EA1, EA2, and
EA3. You should not use the second target (EA2) that crosses the void. Double-
click on Normal in the EA2 density field and select None.

Notice that the EA2 target segment shows hash lines to indicate the area where
no data will be taken.

16. From the Auto Feature dialog box, rename the default Line Auto feature name to
DATUM B.
17. Click Create and then Close.

To measure Datum C:

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1. From the Auto Feature toolbar, select the Line button ( ) to open the Auto
Feature (line) dialog box.

If you want to reset the number of targets to 1, close and then reopen the
Auto Feature dialog box.

2. Click two points on the left edge (one in the front and one in the rear).
3. Change the default name to DATUM C.
4. Click Create to add this line to the measurement routine.
5. Click Close to exit the Auto Feature dialog box.

To construct a point from the intersection of the lines:

1. Select the Insert | Feature | Constructed | Point menu item or Constructed

Point ( ) from the Constructed Features toolbar (View | Toolbars |
Constructed Features). The Construct Point dialog box appears.
2. Select the Intersection option.
3. From the feature list, select DATUM B and DATUM C.
4. Change the ID to FRNT LEFT CORNER, click Create, and then click Close.

The datum features are now created.

Step 6: Create a DCC Alignment

Since the features that will comprise the DCC alignments were measured under
computer control and the exact corner will be used, this alignment will inherently be
more accurate.

To create a DCC alignment:

1. Select the Insert | Alignment | New menu option. The Alignment Utilities
dialog box appears.

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2. From the feature list, select DATUM A.

3. To level the plane to the ZPLUS plane, from the Level drop-down box, select
ZPLUS.
4. Click the Level button. This levels the plane to the ZPLUS axis.
5. Select DATUM B from the feature list to rotate to the XPLUS axis about the
ZPLUS axis.
6. From the Rotate To drop-down box, select XPLUS.
7. From the About drop-down box, select ZPLUS.
8. Click the Rotate button.
9. Select FRNT LEFT CORNER from the feature list to establish the XYZ origin.
10. Select the check boxes next to X and Y.
11. Click the Origin button.
12. Select DATUM A.
13. Select the check box next to Z.
14. Click the Origin button again.
15. Type ABC in the ID box for the alignment name.
16. Click OK to exit.

Step 7: Update Display in CAD View

At this point, the CAD View displays all measured features. You may want to disable the
display of the point IDs in the CAD View.

To disable points IDs:

1. Select the Edit | Graphic Display Window | Feature Appearance menu item.
The Edit Feature Appearance dialog box appears.

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2. Highlight the point features (PNT-PNT9) to select them.

3. Set the Label Display option to Off.
4. Click Apply and then OK.

The CAD View should be similar to the one shown below. Notice that the coordinate
system origin is in the lower-left corner. X+ is to the right, and Y+ is to the rear.

When you execute the measurement routine up to this point, it establishes the
needed alignment for measuring additional features for evaluation.

Live View Alignment with CAD

You can use this method when you have a fixture, but the fiducials are not found in the
CAD drawing. In this case, although you have the CAD drawing for the part, you will not
be able to establish a proper alignment from the CAD file. You will need to establish the
alignment in the Vision tab. Once you do this, you can then use the CAD tab to
measure additional features.

To establish an alignment that matches the CAD coordinate system, follow these steps:

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1. Use the method described in the "Live View Alignments" topic to create the
alignment features from the Vision tab. Establish an alignment as follows:

• You should generally use three surface point features to construct a plane
to level to, a line feature to rotate to, and then a point feature for the origin.
• For simple 2D parts, however, you should generally use two circle features
for leveling, rotating, and setting the origin.

2. Translate, rotate, and level this alignment to match the CAD coordinates.
3. Snap the two coordinate systems together in PC-DMIS.
4. Use the method described in the "CAD View Alignments" topic to create the
alignment features (same features as above) from the CAD tab.
5. Transform the alignment so that it matches the CAD coordinate system. To do
this, click the CAD=Part button on the Alignment Utilities dialog box to tell PC-
DMIS that the alignment you just created should match up with the CAD
coordinate system.

Measuring Auto Features with a Vision

Probe
PC-DMIS Vision currently supports the creation of features using the Auto feature
creation functionality. This chapter only discusses Auto features as they are used with
PC-DMIS Vision operation.

For detailed information on Auto features, see the "Creating Auto Features"
chapter in the PC-DMIS Core documentation.

The PC-DMIS Quick Start window supports the creation of vision Auto features using
the measured feature buttons. Rather than creating measured features, vision Auto
features are created when working with vision machines. Not all the available vision
Auto features can be created from the Quick Start window, since the available
measured feature buttons do not represent all the vision Auto features. The Quick Start
window also allows you to "Auto Guess" features by taking hits.

For details on how to use the Auto Feature Guess mode, see the "Auto Feature Guess
Mode" topic in this PC-DMIS Vision documentation.

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For detailed information on how to use the Quick Start window, see the "Using
the Quick Start Interface" chapter in the PC-DMIS Core documentation.

Implementing QuickFeatures in PC-DMIS Vision CAD

View
You can use the following rules and parameters to implement vision QuickFeatures in
the CAD View:

• Illumination - Vision QuickFeatures use the current illumination setting.

• Magnification - Vision QuickFeatures use the current magnification setting.
• Vision QuickFeatures do not use IPD files.
• Default parameters are used for vision QuickFeatures.
• Edited parameters are carried forward for vision QuickFeature creation.
• Vision QuickFeatures only use edited values when you edit them in the Auto
Feature dialog box. When done via the Edit window, any change is not carried
forward. This is true for contact and vision.

Supported Vision QuickFeatures in the CAD View:

Feature Method

Surface Press and hold the Shift key on your keyboard and then hover over the
Point Planar Surface.

Edge
Point
Round
Slot
Square For details on the methods used to create QuickFeatures, see the
Slot
"Creating QuickFeatures" topic in the "Quick Ways to Create Auto
Notch Features" chapter in the PC-DMIS Core documentation.
Slot
Polygon
Line
Circle

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Ellipse

Non-supported Vision QuickFeatures:

• 2D Profile
• Blob

Supported parameters for Vision QuickFeatures:

Parameters Comment
Target Type Feature dependent.
Hit Target Color -
Nominal Color -
Edge Parameters
Point Density -
Edge Selection -
Strength -
Edge Polarity -
Hit Target Direction -
Specified Edge # -
SensiLight -
Filter Parameters
Clean Filter -
Strength -
Outlier Filter -
Distance -
Std Dev -
Focus Parameters
Focus -

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Control -
Range -
Duration -
Find Surface -
Surface Variance -
RGB Mixing Parameters
RGB -

Implementing QuickFeatures in PC-DMIS Vision Live

View

QuickFeatures in the Live View are not supported when you run PC-DMIS in
Offline/CAD Camera mode.

Also, QuickFeatures in the Live View are designed to work well on parts that lead to an
image with high contrast edges, even illumination, and no significant high-frequency
spectral components. An example is thin back-lit parts or surface illuminated parts with
no significant surface texture.

The rules and parameters for creating vision QuickFeatures in the Live View are
identical to those in the CAD View:

• The rules and parameters match QuickFeature functionality of the CAD View.
• With the Shift key pressed, move your mouse pointer over features in the Live
View to highlight them.
• Click on the highlighted feature to create it in the Live View.
• Depending on the highlighted feature in the Live View, if you press the Ctrl + Shift
keys, an Edge Point or Surface Point feature is created (see below for the rules
and parameters that are specific to the Live View).
• As with CAD View parameters, Illumination and Magnification use their current
settings. All other feature parameters use their previous settings.

The following rules and parameters apply only when you use vision QuickFeatures in
the Live View:

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• To highlight detected features, hold down the Shift key or the Ctrl + Shift keys,
and move your mouse pointer in the Live View. This depends on enabling the
Snap Mouse Click to Edge option and the value entered for the Range (pixels)
property in the Live View Setup dialog box. For details on the Live View settings,
see the "Setting Up the Live View" topic.
• When a Circle or Line feature is detected and highlighted, if you press the Ctrl +
Shift keys, the feature changes to an Edge point.

Example of a Line feature detected in the Live View:

Example of a Circle feature detected in the Live View :

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• When no Circle or Line feature is detected, but the cursor is near an edge, if you
press the Ctrl + Shift keys, an Edge Point is detected. If no edge is detected, then
a Surface point is highlighted.

Example of a Surface Point feature in the Live View:

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• Once a feature is highlighted, and you click it to select it, the corresponding
feature is added to the measurement routine.
• When detecting and highlighting an Edge Point, its vector is defined from the
edge in the Live View image towards the cursor. If an Edge Point feature is
created, its highlighted vector controls the feature's edge vector.

Examples of Edge Point features with possible vector orientations in the Live
View:

Example 1 - When in Live View, this image shows a detected Edge Point feature
with its vector pointing away from the part:

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Example 2 - When in Live View, this image shows a detected Edge Point feature
with its vector pointing into the part:

Supported Vision QuickFeatures in the Live View:

Feature Method
Circle

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Edge
Point
For details on the methods used to create QuickFeatures, see the
Line "Creating QuickFeatures" topic in the "Quick Ways to Create Auto
Features" chapter in the PC-DMIS Core documentation.
Surface
Point

Vision Measuring Methods

PC-DMIS Vision offers three ways to measure parts in DCC Mode:

• CAD Selection Method - If you have a CAD drawing, you can program the
entire measurement routine offline based on the CAD drawing. You can then
execute this measurement routine on a live machine. For more information on
this procedure, see "CAD Selection Method".
• Target Selection Method - This method does not require a CAD drawing and is
done entirely online using a live machine. For more information on this
procedure, see "Target Selection Method".
• Auto Feature Guess Mode - Using the Quick Start window, you can begin
taking hits and PC-DMIS automatically guesses the feature type. For more
information on this procedure, see "Auto Feature Guess Mode".

CAD Selection Method

The CAD Selection method is used to add a feature to your measurement routine. Click
the desired CAD element (such as a circle, an edge, a surface and so on) inside the
CAD tab of the Graphic Display window. If you want to insert an open Profile 2D, select
the series of CAD elements that form the Profile 2D you wish to measure.

The following steps show how to add a circle feature to your measurement routine using
the CAD selection method:

1. Access the Auto Feature toolbar by clicking View | Toolbars | Auto Features
from the main menu or right-click in the toolbars area and select it from the list.

2. Click the Circle button. The Auto Feature dialog box for a circle appears.

3. Keep the Auto Feature dialog box open and select the CAD tab of the Graphic
Display window. Then click once on the edge of the desired circle. Other

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features may require additional or fewer clicks. See "Required Clicks for
Supported Features".

Selecting a circle from the CAD View

Click as close as possible to the CAD element to ensure PC-DMIS does

not choose an incorrect element.

4. PC-DMIS Vision automatically places the nominal data for the feature into the
Auto Feature dialog box.
5. The hit targets are automatically displayed for all features. The resulting CAD
window view should look something like the following:

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Circle feature with target

Notice that the software selects the desired circle feature and draws a target
showing the scanning region band.

6. Click Create on the Auto Feature dialog box to add the feature to the
measurement routine.

Target Selection Method

To use the Target Selection method to add a feature to your measurement routine, use
the Vision tab in the Graphic Display window to place target points. The following steps
show how to add a circle feature to your measurement routine using this method:

1. Access the Auto Features toolbar.

2. Click the Circle button. The Auto Feature dialog box appears for the circle
feature.

3. Keep the Auto Feature dialog box open and select the Vision tab of the Graphic
Display window.
4. Click three points along the edge of the desired circle. With each click, a red
target anchor point appears on your image. You can also double-click on the

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edge for auto detection. Other features may require more or fewer clicks. See
"Required Clicks for Supported Features".

Selecting a circle from the Vision tab

5. The Target for the feature appears in the Vision tab once you have placed the
required number of anchor points for that feature (or double clicked to detect the
edge). See "Required Clicks for Supported Features".

Target shown for circle feature

6. PC-DMIS Vision automatically places the nominal data for the feature into the
Auto Feature dialog box.
7. Adjust the lighting and magnification to the desired level using the pendant knob
control or the Probe Toolbox.
8. Adjust the nominal information in the dialog box to match the theoretical values of
the feature.
9. Click Create on the Auto Feature dialog box to add the feature to the
measurement routine.

Required Clicks for Supported Features

The following table shows the number of clicks required for each feature type and its
associated method of selection:

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Required Clicks per Feature

Feature CAD Select Method
Target Point Method (Live View)
Type (CAD View)
Click once on a
surface (Surface
Surface Click once to automatically add a point at the
Mode) or three times
Point clicked spot on the surface.
on a wireframe
(Curve Mode)

Edge Click once near an Click once to automatically add a point on the
Point edge nearest edge.

Click once on one

Click to locate the start and end points of the
end of a line and
Line line, or double click to automatically add two
again at the other
points at the extent of the current edge.
end.

Click to add three points around the circle, or

Click once near the double click to automatically add three points
Circle
edge of the circle. equally spaced around the circumference of
the visible circle.

Click to add five points around the ellipse, or

Click once near the
Ellipse double click to automatically add five points
edge of the ellipse.
equally spaced around the visible ellipse.

Click two points on one of the two longer side

Click once near the edges, then click one point on one of the two
Square
edge of the square end edges, then once on the other longer
Slot
slot. side edge, then finally once on the other end
edge.

Click once near the

Round Click three points on the first arc, and then
edge of the round
Slot three more points on the opposite ended arc.
slot.

Click once near the Click five points as follows: Two points (1 and
Notch
edge, opposite the 2) on the edge opposite the opening; two
Slot
notch opening. points (3 and 4) on each of the parallel sides

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of the notch; one point (5) on the edge just

outside the notch.

Click two points on the first side, and then

Click once near the one click on all the other sides. You must set
Polygon
edge of the polygon. the Number of sides parameter in the Auto
Feature dialog box before clicking.

Curve Mode: Click

on a series of one or
more connected
Click sufficient points to define the shape of
edges or arcs using
the profile, with each pair of points being
wireframe curve data
joined by an arc or line. You can insert more
(Curve Mode).
points later by right clicking on the Target and
Profile
2D Surface Mode: Click selecting Insert Nominal Segment.
on a cad entity near
Or, double click in the Live View image to
the edge and it will
edge trace. See the "Using 2D Profile Edge
build the feature from
Tracer" topic.
that and all
interconnecting cad
elements.

Click once on a
Blob Click once to locate the blob center.
surface.

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Auto Feature Guess Mode

PC-DMIS Vision automatically determines what type of feature to add to your
measurement routine. Based on the hits taken, auto features are guessed when the
Quick Start window is open. The example below shows the process of guessing a
vision Auto Circle feature but would be similar for any of the supported features (Edge
Point, Line, Circle, Round Slot, Square Slot, or Notch Slot).

To measure vision Auto Circle using Guess mode, follow these steps:

1. Select the View | Other Windows | Quick Start menu option to open the Quick
Start window.

Quick Start window

2. Take your first hit on the edge of the circle feature with your machine's jog box.
You can also click the feature's edge in the Vision tab. The Quick Start window
updates and shows one hit (1/1) in the buffer and the guessed POINT feature.
3. Take a second hit in the same way as the first hit but in another location along
the edge of the same circle. The Quick Start window updates and shows two
hits (2/2) in the buffer and the guessed LINE feature.
4. Take a third hit in the same way but in another location along the edge of the
same circle. The Quick Start window updates and shows three hits (3/3) in the
buffer and the guessed CIRCLE feature.

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Guessed measured circle hits

5. Click the Erase Hit button if you are not satisfied with the location of any
of your hits. The hit is removed from the buffer. Repeat steps 2 through 4 to re-
measure the circle.
6. Once the desired feature has been guessed, click Finish. The software adds the
feature to your measurement routine.
7. To display the feature target, on the Vision tab of the Graphic Display window,

click the Show Target button (see "Live View"). Right-click the target to
perform common target-parameter changes from the pop-up menu (such as point
density, edge selection type, insert target). For information, see "Using Shortcut
Menus".

Circle target in the Live View

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8. To edit the parameters for the feature, in the Edit window, press F9 on the new
Auto feature command.

The Auto Feature Dialog Box in PC-DMIS Vision

Auto Feature dialog box

The Auto Feature dialog box helps you determine what to measure. Regardless of your
selection, PC-DMIS shows the Auto Feature dialog box with the appropriate feature
type selected from the list in the Measurement Properties area.

You can use a vision probe to program features in a manner similar to contact probe.
The three available methods are:

• Selecting CAD data in the CAD tab

• Placing target anchor points with mouse clicks in the Vision tab
• Entering values into the Theoretical edit boxes found in the Auto Feature dialog
box

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The Auto Feature dialog box controls specific to PC-DMIS Vision are discussed below.
For information that is not covered in this section, see "The Auto Feature Dialog Box" in
the "Creating Auto Features" chapter in the PC-DMIS Core documentation.

Probe Toolbox settings are included at the bottom of the Auto Feature dialog box. The
settings are specific to the current Auto feature being edited. For information about
using the probe toolbox with PC-DMIS Vision, see "Using the Probe Toolbox in PC-
DMIS Vision".

A Note on the Terminology of Hits

The process of using a contact probe to measure a feature is termed "taking a hit". In
PC-DMIS Vision’s case, the hit refers to the actual position of the point in the
measurement process. It is inaccurate to use this same terminology for vision
measurements. In PC-DMIS Vision, you click on the image in the Vision tab to relay
"hits" to the machine.

The term "Target Anchor Point" better defines the process as it occurs inside PC-DMIS
Vision. The points derived from these clicks are used as a reference to calculate the
nominal form of the feature.

Feature Properties Area

Based on your current feature type, this area's content changes to include any of these
items:

Point: This property specifies the XYZ values for Surface or Edge Point features.

Start: This property specifies the XYZ values for the start point of a Line feature.

End: This property specifies the XYZ values for the end point of a Line feature. This is
only available when you set the Bounded property of the "Measurement Properties
Area" to Yes.

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Center: This property specifies the XYZ values for the center of a Circle, Round Slot,
Square Slot, or Profile 2D feature.

Surface: This property specifies the IJK values for the surface vector of any vision Auto
feature.

Edge: This property specifies the IJK values for the edge vector for an Edge or Line
feature. The Edge Point vector points away from the edge.

Angle: This property specifies the IJK values for the angle vector for a Round or Square
Slot feature. The angle vector defines the feature's centerline. The feature centerline
and normal vector must be perpendicular to each other. This value also specifies the
reference vector for start and end angles for Circles (Arcs).

Thickness Type: This property defines how PC-DMIS applies a thickness to Surface or
Edge values of a feature. The options are:

Theo - PC-DMIS applies the thickness as a theoretical value.

Actl - PC-DMIS applies the thickness as an actual value.

None - PC-DMIS does not apply a thickness.

T: This property specifies the thickness distance to apply to the Surface or Edge value
of a feature, depending on the thickness type. This value is not available if you select
None for the Thickness Type.

Length: This property specifies the length for Lines, Notch Slots, Round Slots, or
Square Slots.

Bounded: When you select Yes, this property specifies the End property is available in
the "Feature Properties Area" to define the end point of a Line feature.

Inner/Outer: This property specifies whether Circle, Square Slot, Round Slot, Notch
Slot, Ellipse, and Polygon features are inner or outer features.

Diameter: This property specifies the diameter of a Circle or Polygon feature. The
diameter for a polygon defines an inscribed circle within the polygon.

Major Diam: This property specifies the diameter of the long axis of an Ellipse feature.

Minor Diam: This property specifies the diameter of the short axis of an Ellipse feature.

Width: This property defines the width for Round Slots, Square Slots, or Notch Slots.

Num Sides: This property specifies the number of sides for a Polygon feature (3-12).

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Feature Properties - Control Buttons

Vision Buttons Description
Polar /
This button switches between Polar and Cartesian coordinate
Cartesian
system.
button

When you select an axis (X,Y, or Z) from one of the Point or

Start boxes and click this button, PC-DMIS finds the closest
CAD element in the Graphic Display window to that axis.
Find
Nearest CAD
Element button
This option is only available for Surface Point, Edge
Point, and Line features.

This button reads the probe tip's position (stage position) and
inserts it into the X, Y, and Z boxes.

Read Point
from Machine
button If you are on the Gage toolbox page and you press this
button, PC-DMIS uses the Gage center point instead of the
stage position.

This button snaps a supported auto point feature to the 3D grid

Snap to display in the Graphic Display window. For details, see "Snap to
Grid button Grid" in the "Creating Auto Features" chapter in the PC-DMIS
Core documentation.

Measure This button measures the selected feature when you click
Now button Create.

This button determines whether or not PC-DMIS automatically

re-measures the feature a second time once the feature has
Re-Measure
been measured. It uses the measured values from the first
button
measurement as the target locations for the second
measurement.

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This button pierces all surfaces along the XYZ point and IJK
vector, looking for the closest point. The software displays the
surface normal vector as the IJK NOM VEC, but the XYZ values
do not change.
Find Vector
button

This option is only available for Surface Point.

Flip Vector
This button reverses the direction of the I, J, K vector.
button

Read Vector
This button reads and applies vector values based on your vision
From Machine
machine's vectors.
button

Swap This button causes the current edge vector and surface vector to
Vectors button switch vectors with each other.

Measurement Properties Area

Based on your current feature type, this area's contents change to include a portion of
these items:

Snap: When you select Yes, measured values "snap to" the theoretical vector for
Surface Points. All deviations are along the vector of the point. This is useful for
focusing on a deviation along one particular vector.

Start Angle: This option specifies the Start angle of a Circle or Ellipse feature.

End Angle: This option specifies the End angle of a Circle or Ellipse feature.

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Closed: When you set this value to Yes, the 2D Profile Edge Tracer determines that the
first nominal segment is joined to the last nominal segment. Basically, it determines if
the feature is Open or Closed.

Measurement Properties - Control Buttons

Vision Buttons Description
If you select this button when running in DCC mode, PC-
Manual Pre-
DMIS has the operator confirm the target position before
Position button
measurement takes place.

Toggle this button to show and hide the Target data on the
Show Hit
Live View and CAD View that were acquired and used to
Targets button
measure the feature.

View Normal This button orients the CAD so that you look down on the
button feature.

View
This button orients the CAD so that you look at the side of
Perpendicular
the feature.
button

This button shows and hides the image processing data

Show Measured
points on the Live View and CAD View that were acquired
Points button
and used to measure the feature.

This button shows and hides the image processing data

Show Filtered
points on the Live View and CAD View that were acquired
Points button
and discarded by the current filter settings.

Advanced Measurement Options Area

Nominal Mode

FIND NOMS: PC-DMIS Vision pierces the CAD model to find the closest location on a
CAD edge (or surface) to the measured point. It sets the nominals to that location on the
CAD element.

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MASTER: If you create a feature with the Mode list set to MASTER, then the next time
you measure the part, PC-DMIS Vision sets the nominal data equal to the measured
data. PC-DMIS then resets the Mode list to NOMINALS.

NOMINALS: This option requires you to have nominal data before the measurement
process begins. PC-DMIS compares the measured feature with the theoretical data in
the dialog box and uses the measured feature for any necessary calculations.

Best Fit Math Type

A vision Circle Auto feature also allows you to define the Best Fit Math Type. For
details, see the "Best Fit Type for Circle" topic in the "Constructing New Features from
Existing Features" chapter of the PC-DMIS Core documentation.

Relative to

This option allows you to keep the relative position and orientation between a given
feature (or features) and the Auto feature. Click the button to open the Relative
Feature dialog box to select the feature or features to which the Auto feature is relative
to. You can define multiple features for each axis (XYZ) relative to your Auto feature.

Analysis area

The Analysis area allows you to determine how to display each measured hit/point.

Pt. Size: This value determines how big PC-DMIS draws the measured points in the
CAD View. It specifies the diameter in the current measurement routine units (mm or
inch).

Graphic Analysis button : If you click this button on, PC-DMIS does a tolerance
check on each point (how far from the theoretical position it is), and draws them in the
appropriate color based on the currently-defined dimension color range.

+ Tol: This option provides the positive tolerance from the nominal in the current
measurement routine units. Points that are greater than this value from the nominal are
colored based on the standard PC-DMIS positive-tolerance color.

- Tol: This option provides the negative tolerance from the nominal in the current
measurement routine units. Points that are less than this value from the nominal are
colored based on the standard PC-DMIS negative-tolerance color.

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For information on how to edit dimension colors for the positive and negative tolerances,
see the "Editing Dimension Colors" topic in the "Editing the CAD Display" chapter in the
PC-DMIS Core documentation.

Command Buttons

Command
Description
Buttons
This button moves the field of view in the Graphic Display
window and centers it on the current feature's XYZ location. If a
feature is composed of more than one point (such as a line),
Move To button then clicking this button switches between the points making up
the feature.

This button allows you to test a feature's creation and preview its
dimensional data before it's actually created.

This button performs a measurement using the current

parameters.

Test button You can change parameters and click Test repeatedly until you
have an acceptable measurement. Then when you click Create,
the software converts the temporary feature into a normal
feature in the measurement routine.

This button inserts the defined Auto feature into the Edit Window
at the current position.
Create button

This button exits the Auto Feature dialog box.

Close button

The Basic button displays just the basic Auto feature options in
Basic and the Auto Feature dialog box.
Advanced
The Advanced button expands the Auto Feature dialog box to
buttons
show the advanced Auto feature options.

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Vision Field Definitions

The Edit window command line for a sample vision circle reads:

feature_name=FEAT/VISION/TOG1,TOG2,TOG3,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
TARG/ <x_cord,y_cord,z_cord>,<i_vec,j_vec,k_vec>
SHOW FEATURE PARAMETERS=TOG5
SURFACE=TOG6,n,EDGE/TOG6,n
MEASURE MODE=TOG7
RMEAS=CIR1,CIR1,CIR1
GRAPHICAL ANALYSIS=TOG8,n1,n2,n3
DIAGNOSTICS=TOG9
FEATURE LOCATOR=TOG10,n1,TOG11,n2,n3
SHOW VISION PARAMETERS=TOG12
TYPE=TOG13
COVERAGE=TOG14
COVERAGE ACTIVE TARGETS=TOG15
PIXEL SIZE=TOG16
MAGNIFICATION=0.843
HIT TARGET COLOR=TOG17,NOMINAL COLOR=TOG17
HIT TARGET/EA1,0.202,TOG18
FILTER=TOG19,n1,TOG20,n2,n3
EDGE=TOG21,n1,n2,n3,n4
FOCUS/TOG22,n1,n2,TOG23,TOG24

THEO, ACTL, and TARG values vary depending on the feature type.

• THEO: This value defines the theoretical values for measuring the vision Auto
feature.
• ACTL: This value defines the actual measured values of the measured vision
Auto feature.
• TARG: This value defines the target position for the measurement.

Use these values when the THEO positions don't match the part. You should
leave the THEO values to match the CAD positions. The software dimensions the

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results to these values but changes the TARG values so that the software
measures the feature in a slightly different location.

Toggle Values

TOG1 = FEATURE TYPE

SURFACE POINT / EDGE POINT / LINE / CIRCLE / ELLIPSE / SQUARE SLOT /
ROUND SLOT / NOTCH SLOT / POLYGON / PROFILE 2D are the available PC-DMIS
Vision feature types.

TOG2 = CARTESIAN or POLAR for POINT, CIRCLE, EDGEPOINT, and LINE; OPEN
or CLOSED for PROFILE 2D;

TOG3 =IN or OUT for CIRCLE; POLR or RECT for PROFILE 2D and SLOT (not used
for POINT, LINE)

TOG4 = ALGORITHM
LEAST_SQR, MIN_SEP, MAX_INSC, MIN_CIRSC (Only used for CIRCLE)

TOG5 = SHOW FEATURE PARAMETERS

YES / NO - This toggle field determines whether the software displays the feature
parameters. These values included TOG6 - TOG11.

TOG6 = THICKNESS
This toggle field determines if Actual Thickness (ACTL_THICKNESS), Theoretical
Thickness (THEO_THICKNESS) or thickness is off (THICKNESS_OFF). You can
specify edge thickness for lines and edge points.

n = Thickness value in current units.

TOG7 = MEASURE MODE

NOMINALS / VECTOR / FIND NOMS / MASTER

TOG8 = GRAPHICAL ANALYSIS

YES / NO - This toggle field determines if the software applies graphical analysis. When
this value is set to YES, the software applies the next three values or Point Size, Plus,
and Minus Tolerances for graphical analysis.

n1 = Point Size

n2 = Plus Tolerance

n3 = Minus Tolerance

TOG9 = DIAGNOSTICS
YES / NO - This toggle field determines whether the software collects diagnostic

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information for diagnosing problems where edge detection fails. The diagnostics
contains bitmap images and the current feature parameters that you can export from
PC-DMIS and send to Hexagon Technical Support.

TOG10 = FEATURE LOCATOR (Bitmap)

Use the feature locator option to specify a bitmap image file that you want to show in the
Feature Locator tab of the Probe Toolbox when you execute this feature. This option
can help you locate the feature. If this option isn’t needed, switch it to NO.

n1 = Path and name of the bitmap.

TOG11 = FEATURE LOCATOR (Audio File)

Use the feature locator option to specify a .wav file that the software plays when you
execute this feature. If this option isn’t needed, switch it to NO.

n2 = Path and name of the .wav file.

n3 = Caption string for the Feature Locator tab.

TOG12 = SHOW VISION PARAMETERS

YES / NO - This toggle field determines whether the software displays vision
parameters for the feature below. These values included TOG13 - 22.

TOG13 = TYPE
AUTOMATIC HIT TARGET / MANUAL HIT TARGET / GAGE HIT TARGET / OPTICAL
COMPARATOR HIT TARGET - This toggle field determines the type of Hit Target.

• GAGE HIT TARGET is only available for LINE, CIRCLE, and ELLIPSE.
• OPTICAL COMPARATOR HIT TARGET is only available for LINE, CIRCLE,
ELLIPSE, SQUARE SLOT, ROUND SLOT, and NOTCH SLOT.
• Only the AUTOMATIC HIT TARGET is available for Polygon features.
• Only the OPTICAL COMPARATOR HIT TARGET is available for Polygon
features.

TOG14 = COVERAGE
This option allows you to change the coverage for a feature. The software creates or
removes new targets based on the percentage of coverage you select.

TOG15 = COVERAGE ACTIVE TARGETS

This value defines the number of targets referred to in the COVERAGE (TOG15)
parameter.

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TOG16 = PIXEL SIZE

This is the size of the camera image pixel in display units (micro meters or micro inches)
based on the measurement routine's units.

TOG17 = COLOR
You can select from 16 basic colors to denote the HIT TARGET COLOR and the
NOMINAL COLOR.

TOG18 = DENSITY
This option toggles between LOW | HIGH | NORMAL | NONE. It indicates the density of
points that the software returns for this target. For more information, see "Probe
Toolbox: Define Targets tab".

TOG19 = CLEAN FILTER

YES / NO - This toggle field applies the clean filter to remove dust and small noise
particles from the image prior to edge detection. The software does not use this value
for a SURFACE POINT.

n1 = Strength - Specifies the size (in pixels) of an object, below which is

considered to be dirt or noise.

TOG20 = OUTLIER FILTER

YES / NO - This toggle field determines whether the software applies the outlier filter for
this target. The software does not use this value for a SURFACE POINT.

n2 = Distance Threshold - This specifies the distance in pixels that a point can be
away from nominal before the software discards it.

n3 = The standard deviation of a point needs to be away from the other points for
the software to considered it an outlier.

TOG21 = EDGE TYPE

This toggle field switches between the available types of edge detections. They are:
DOMINANT EDGE, SPECIFIED EDGE, NEAREST NOMINAL, or MATCHING EDGE.
See "Probe Toolbox: Hit Targets tab" for more information. The software does not use
this value for a SURFACE POINT.

n1 = Edge strength threshold the software uses during the teach process. PC-
DMIS ignores edges which have a ‘strength’ below this threshold when it looks for
an edge. Values should fall between the range of 0 and 255.

n2 = Hit target direction (--> or <--).

n3 = Specified Edge - This parameter defines the Nth edge the software uses for
the specified edge detection method. Currently you can enter a number between
1-10.

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n4 = This value determines if the edge that PC-DMIS found and is being viewed
goes from black to white "[|] ->[ ]", white to black "[ ] ->[|]", or either "[?] ->[?].

TOG22 = FOCUS
YES / NO - This determines whether the target requires a pre-edge detection focus.

n1 = This value displays the range from the camera to the part. It specifies the
distance (in the current units) over which to perform the focus.

n2 = This value provides the number of seconds to spend searching for the best
focal position.

TOG23 = Find Surface

YES / NO - This toggle field determines whether the machine should perform a second,
slightly slower, pass-to attempt to improve the accuracy of the focal position.

TOG24 = SensiLight
YES/NO - This toggle field determines whether the machine should perform an auto-
light adjust prior to focus, in an attempt to achieve optimal focus result. If set to NO, PC-
DMIS sets the lighting according to the learned percentage and does not automatically
adjust the brightness.

Creating Auto Features

The following procedures describe how to measure part features using PC-DMIS Vision.
The following features are available in PC-DMIS Vision:

• Vision Surface Point

• Vision Edge Point
• Vision Line
• Vision Circle
• Vision Ellipse
• Vision Round Slot
• Vision Square Slot
• Vision Notch Slot
• Vision Polygon
• Vision Profile 2D
• Vision Blob

You can also box-select the part image to quickly create supported Auto features at
once. See "Box-Selecting to Create Auto Features".
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Before measuring, you must first properly set up the various machine options,
calibrate your vision probe, and understand how to use the Probe Toolbox, CAD, and
Vision tabs. You should also create alignments as needed.

See these topics for more information:

"Setting Machine Options"

"Calibrating the Vision Probe"
"Using the Graphic Display Window in PC-DMIS Vision"
"Using the Probe Toolbox in PC-DMIS Vision"
"Creating an Alignment"

Vision Surface Point

To create a vision Surface Point, follow these steps:

1. For machines supporting DCC motion, select DCC Mode if you want to
create and measure surface points in DCC mode.
2. Select Auto Surface Point from the Auto Feature toolbar. You can also
select the Insert | Feature | Auto | Point | Surface Point menu option. This
opens the Auto Feature (surface point) dialog box.

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Vision Surface Point Auto Feature dialog box

3. With the Auto Feature dialog box open, select a surface point in one of two
ways:

• CAD Selection Method - From the CAD tab, click once on the CAD
surface (surface mode) or three times on the wireframe (curve mode) to
establish the point's location.
• Target Selection Method - From the Vision tab, click once on the surface
to establish the point's location. Adjust the lighting and magnification from
the Probe Toolbox as needed.

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Click as close as possible to the CAD element to ensure PC-DMIS does

not choose an incorrect element.

4. PC-DMIS Vision automatically places the nominal data for the point into the Auto
Feature dialog box. The hit targets will automatically be displayed for the surface
point.

5. Adjust the nominal information in the Auto Feature dialog box to match the
theoretical values of the point. Also, adjust the values of the Probe Toolbox as
needed.
6. Click Test to test point measurement.
7. Click Create on the Auto Feature dialog box to add the surface point to the
measurement routine.
8. Save the measurement routine for future execution. See "A Note on Executing a
Vision Measurement Routine".

Vision Edge Point

To create a vision Edge Point, follow these steps:

1. For machines supporting DCC motion, select DCC Mode if you want to
create and measure edge points in DCC mode.
2. Select Auto Edge Point from the Auto Feature toolbar. You can also select
the Insert | Feature | Auto | Point | Edge Point menu option. This opens the
Auto Feature (edge point) dialog box.

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Vision Edge Point Auto Feature dialog box

3. With the Auto Feature dialog box open, select an edge point in one of two ways:

• CAD Selection Method - From the CAD tab, click once near the edge on
the CAD surface to establish the point's location.
• Target Selection Method - From the Vision tab, click once near the edge
of the surface to establish the point's location. Adjust the lighting and
magnification from the Probe Toolbox as needed.

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Click as close as possible to the CAD element to ensure PC-DMIS does

not choose an incorrect element.

4. PC-DMIS Vision automatically places the nominal data for the point into the Auto
Feature dialog box. The hit targets are automatically displayed for the edge
point.
5. Adjust the nominal information in the Auto Feature dialog box to match the
theoretical values of the point. Also, adjust the values of the Probe Toolbox as
needed. Double-click items under the column headings to make changes as
needed.

For example, if you double-click the None item under the Min/Max Type column,
you can select None, Min, Max, or Mean.

For details on the options available in the Probe Toolbox, see the topic "Using
the Probe Toolbox in PC-DMIS Vision".

6. Click Test to test point measurement.

7. Click Create on the Auto Feature dialog box to add the edge point to the
measurement routine.
8. Save the measurement routine for future execution. See "A Note on Executing a
Vision Measurement Routine".

Vision Line
To create a vision Line, follow these steps:

1. For machines supporting DCC motion, select DCC Mode if you want to
create and measure lines in DCC mode.
2. Select Auto Line from the Auto Feature toolbar. You can also select the
Insert | Feature | Auto | Line menu option. This opens the Auto Feature (line)
dialog box.

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Vision Line Auto Feature dialog box

3. With the Auto Feature dialog box open, select a line in one of two ways:

• CAD Selection Method - From the CAD tab, click once on one end of the
line and again at the other end on the CAD surface to establish the line's
location.
• Target Selection Method - From the Vision tab, click to locate the start
and end points of the line, or double-click to automatically add two points
at the extents of the selected edge. This establishes the line's location.
Adjust the lighting and magnification as needed.

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Click as close as possible to the CAD element to ensure PC-DMIS does

not choose an incorrect element.

4. PC-DMIS Vision automatically places the nominal data for the line into the Auto
Feature dialog box. The hit targets are automatically displayed for the line.

5. Adjust the nominal information in the Auto Feature dialog box to match the
theoretical values of the line. Also, adjust the values of the Probe Toolbox as
needed.
6. Click Test to test line measurement.
7. Click Create on the Auto Feature dialog box to add the line to the measurement
routine.
8. Save the measurement routine for future execution. See "A Note on Executing a
Vision Measurement Routine".

Vision Circle
To create a vision Circle, follow these steps:

1. For machines supporting DCC motion, select DCC Mode if you want to
create and measure circles in DCC mode.
2. Select Auto Circle from the Auto Feature toolbar. You can also select the
Insert | Feature | Auto | Circle menu option. This opens the Auto Feature
(circle) dialog box.

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Vision Circle Auto Feature dialog box

3. With the Auto Feature dialog box open, select a circle in one of two ways:

• CAD Selection Method - From the CAD tab, click once near the edge of
the circle on the CAD surface to establish the circle's location.
• Target Selection Method - From the Vision tab, click to add three points
around the circle; or double click to automatically add three points equally
spaced around the circumference of the visible circle. This establishes the
circle's location. Adjust the lighting and magnification as needed.

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Click as close as possible to the CAD element to ensure PC-DMIS does

not choose an incorrect element.

4. PC-DMIS Vision automatically places the nominal data for the circle into the
Auto Feature dialog box. The hit targets will automatically be displayed for the
circle.

5. Adjust the nominal information in the Auto Feature dialog box to match the
theoretical values of the circle. Also, adjust the values of the Probe Toolbox as
needed.
6. Click Test to test circle measurement.
7. Click Create on the Auto Feature dialog box to add the circle to the
measurement routine.
8. Save the measurement routine for future execution. See "A Note on Executing a
Vision Measurement Routine".

Vision Ellipse
To create a vision Ellipse, follow these steps:

1. For machines that support DCC motion, select DCC Mode if you want to
create and measure ellipses in DCC mode.
2. Select Auto Ellipse from the Auto Feature toolbar. You can also select the
Insert | Feature | Auto | Ellipse menu option. This opens the Auto Feature
(ellipse) dialog box.

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Vision Ellipse Auto Feature dialog box

3. With the Auto Feature dialog box open, select an ellipse in one of two ways:

• CAD Selection Method - From the CAD tab, click once near the edge of
the ellipse on the CAD surface to establish the ellipse's location.
• Target Selection Method - From the Vision tab, click to add five points
around the ellipse, or double-click to automatically add five points equally
spaced around the visible ellipse. This establishes the ellipse's location.
Adjust the lighting and magnification as needed.

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Click as close as possible to the CAD element to ensure PC-DMIS does

not choose an incorrect element.

4. PC-DMIS Vision automatically places the nominal data for the ellipse into the
Auto Feature dialog box. The hit targets are automatically displayed for the
ellipse.

5. Adjust the nominal information in the Auto Feature dialog box to match the
theoretical values of the ellipse. Also, adjust the values of the Probe Toolbox as
needed.
6. Click Test to test ellipse measurement.
7. Click Create on the Auto Feature dialog box to add the ellipse to the
measurement routine.
8. Save the measurement routine for future execution. See "A Note on Executing a
Vision Measurement Routine".

Vision Round Slot

To create a vision Round Slot, follow these steps:

1. For machines supporting DCC motion, select DCC Mode if you want to
create and measure round slots in DCC mode.
2. Select Auto Round Slot from the Auto Feature toolbar. You can also select
the Insert | Feature | Auto | Round Slot menu option. This opens the Auto
Feature (round slot) dialog box.

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Vision Round Slot Auto Feature dialog box

3. With the Auto Feature dialog box open, select a round slot in one of two ways:

• CAD Selection Method - From the CAD tab, click once near the edge of
the round slot on the CAD surface to establish the round slot's location.
• Target Selection Method - From the Vision tab, click three points on the
first arc, and then three more points on the opposite ended arc. This
establishes the round slot's location. Adjust the lighting and magnification
as needed.

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Click as close as possible to the CAD element to ensure PC-DMIS does

not choose an incorrect element.

4. PC-DMIS Vision automatically places the nominal data for the round slot into the
Auto Feature dialog box. The hit targets are automatically displayed for the
round slot.

5. Adjust the nominal information in the Auto Feature dialog box to match the
theoretical values of the round slot. Also, adjust the values of the Probe Toolbox
as needed.
6. Click Test to test round slot measurement.
7. Click Create on the Auto Feature dialog box to add the round slot to the
measurement routine.
8. Save the measurement routine for future execution. See "A Note on Executing a
Vision Measurement Routine".

Vision Square Slot

To create a vision Square Slot, follow these steps:

1. For machines supporting DCC motion, select DCC Mode if you want to
create and measure square slots in DCC mode.
2. Select Auto Square Slot from the Auto Feature toolbar. You can also select
the Insert | Feature | Auto | Square Slot menu option. This opens the Auto
Feature (square slot) dialog box.

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Vision Square Slot Auto Feature dialog box

3. With the Auto Feature dialog box open, select a square slot in one of two ways:

• CAD Selection Method - From the CAD tab, click once near the edge of
the square slot on the CAD surface to establish the square slot's location.
• Target Selection Method - From the Vision tab, click two points on one of
the two longer side edges, then click one point on one of the two end
edges, then once on the other longer side edge, then finally once on the
other end edge. This establishes the square slot's location. Adjust the
lighting and magnification as needed.

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Click as close as possible to the CAD element to ensure PC-DMIS does

not choose an incorrect element.

4. PC-DMIS Vision automatically places the nominal data for the square slot into
the Auto Feature dialog box. The hit targets are automatically displayed for the
square slot.

5. Adjust the nominal information in the Auto Feature dialog box to match the
theoretical values of the square slot. Also, adjust the values of the Probe Toolbox
as needed.
6. Click Test to test square slot measurement.
7. Click Create on the Auto Feature dialog box to add the square slot to the
measurement routine.
8. Save the measurement routine for future execution. See "A Note on Executing a
Vision Measurement Routine".

Vision Notch Slot

To create a vision Notch Slot, follow these steps:

1. For machines supporting DCC motion, select DCC Mode if you want to
create and measure notch slots in DCC mode.
2. Select Auto Notch Slot from the Auto Feature toolbar. You can also select
the Insert | Feature | Auto | Notch Slot menu option. This opens the Auto
Feature (notch slot) dialog box.

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Vision Notch Slot Auto Feature dialog box

3. With the Auto Feature dialog box open, select a notch slot in one of two ways:

• CAD Selection Method - From the CAD tab, click once near the edge of the
notch slot on the CAD surface to establish the notch slot's location.
• Target Selection Method - From the Vision tab, click five points as follows:
Two points (1 and 2) on the edge opposite the opening; two points (3 and
4) on each of the parallel sides of the notch; one point (5) on the edge just
outside the notch. This establishes the notch slot's location. Adjust the
lighting and magnification as needed.

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Click as close as possible to the CAD element to ensure PC-DMIS does

not choose an incorrect element.

4. PC-DMIS Vision automatically places the nominal data for the notch slot into the
Auto Feature dialog box. The hit targets are automatically displayed for the
notch slot.

5. Adjust the nominal information in the Auto Feature dialog box to match the
theoretical values of the notch slot. Also, adjust the values of the Probe Toolbox
as needed.
6. Click Test to test notch slot measurement.
7. Click Create on the Auto Feature dialog box to add the notch slot to the
measurement routine.
8. Save the measurement routine for future execution. See "A Note on Executing a
Vision Measurement Routine".

Vision Polygon
To create a Polygon:

1. Select DCC Mode if you want to create and measure polygons in DCC
mode and your machine supports DCC motion.
2. Select Auto Polygon from the Auto Feature toolbar (Insert | Feature | Auto
| Polygon). This opens the Auto Feature dialog box for the Polygon Auto
feature.

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Vision Polygon Auto Feature dialog box

3. From the Auto Feature dialog box, select a polygon in one of two ways:

• CAD Selection Method - From the CAD tab, click once near the edge of the
polygon on the CAD surface to establish the polygon's location.
• Target Selection Method - To use this method to select a polygon, follow
these steps:

a. In the Feature Properties area of the dialog box, type or use the up
and down arrows to set the value in the Num Sides box.
b. From the Graphic Display area, select the Vision tab to display the
Live View window.
c. Click two points on the first edge, and then click once on all the other
sides to define the feature. The total number of sides should

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correspond with the value in the Num Sides box you set in the first
step.
d. Adjust the lighting and magnification as needed.

Click as close as possible to the CAD element to ensure PC-DMIS does

not choose an incorrect element.

4. PC-DMIS Vision automatically places the nominal data for the polygon into the
Auto Feature dialog box. The hit targets are automatically displayed for the
polygon.

5. Adjust the nominal information in the Auto Feature dialog box to match the
theoretical values of the polygon. Also, adjust the values of the Probe Toolbox as
needed.
6. Click Test to test the polygon measurement.
7. Click Create on the Auto Feature dialog box to add the polygon to the
measurement routine.
8. Save the measurement routine for future execution. See "A Note on Executing a
Vision Measurement Routine".

Vision Profile 2D

PC-DMIS has an option to switch between the Legacy Profile 2D and the latest
version of Profile 2D. For details, see the "Use Legacy Profile 2D" topic in the
"Dimensioning Features" chapter in the PC-DMIS Core documentation.

Legacy Profile 2D

To create a Legacy Profile 2D, follow these steps:

1. For machines that support DCC motion, select the DCC Mode icon if you
want to create and measure Profile 2D features in DCC mode.
2. To open the Auto Feature (Profile 2D) dialog box, select the Auto Profile 2D
icon from the Auto Feature toolbar. You can also select the Insert | Feature |
Auto | Profile 2D menu option.

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Vision Profile 2D Auto Feature dialog box

3. From the Auto Feature dialog box, select a profile 2D in one of two ways:

• CAD Selection method - From the CAD tab, click once (in Surface mode)
near the edge of the Profile 2D on the CAD surface to establish the Profile
2D's location. In Curve mode, you must select each CAD entity that makes
up the feature's form.
• Target Selection method - From the Vision tab, click a sufficient number of
points to define the shape of the profile, with each pair of points being
joined by an arc or a line. You can insert more points later by right-clicking
on the target and selecting Insert Nominal Segment. Or, you may also
double-click in the Vision tab to edge trace. See the "Using 2D Profile
Edge Tracer" topic. This establishes the Profile 2D's location. Adjust the
lighting and magnification as needed.

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Click as close as possible to the CAD element to ensure PC-DMIS does

not choose an incorrect element.

4. PC-DMIS Vision automatically places the nominal data for the Profile 2D into the
Auto Feature dialog box. The hit targets are automatically displayed for the
Profile 2D.

For all features (except for Profile 2D), the hit targets are automatically
displayed for the feature. For a Profile 2D feature, you need to click on the Show
Hit Targets button on the Auto Feature dialog box when you’ve defined the
profile’s nominal position. See "Required Clicks for Supported Features".

5. Adjust the nominal information in the Auto Feature dialog box to match the
theoretical values of the Profile 2D. Also, adjust the values of the Probe Toolbox
as needed.
6. Click Test to test the Profile 2D measurement.
7. Click Create on the Auto Feature dialog box to add the Profile 2D to the
measurement routine.
8. Save the measurement routine for future execution. See "A Note on Executing a
Vision Measurement Routine".

Non-Legacy (Latest) Profile 2D

The latest version of the Profile 2D has the following capabilities:

Live View Selection

You can program a Profile 2D feature by double-clicking near the edge of the feature in
the Live View. PC-DMIS Vision automatically traces around the edge of the feature and
moves the machine stage on a DCC machine if necessary.

Rules for Clicks to Start Edge Tracer

• When you double-click an edge, PC-DMIS Vision traces around the selected
edge and attempts to return to the start position.
• If you first single-click a point before double-clicking, the first clicked point is your
start point, and the double-clicked point is your targeted end point.

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• If you click two points before double-clicking, the first click is the start point, and
the second click dictates the direction in which the trace will proceed. The
double-click position will be the end point.
• At first-time execution, as there is no Nominal data and if Master mode is not
selected, a dialog box is displayed stating that Master mode execution is
required. You are then prompted to switch to Master mode. All subsequent
executions will be compared against this data.

If you wish to re-define the Master data, you can switch Measure Mode to MASTER in
the Edit window (or press F9 on the feature) and select MASTER from the dialog box to
display a dialog box that asks if you want to replace the existing nominal data.

CAD View Selection

Set the Closed option in the Measurement properties section of the feature dialog box
to Yes to program a Profile 2D feature.

• Closed - Setting this Measurement properties option to Yes allows a single

click on the CAD. Multiple clicks are no longer required.
• Open - Setting the Measurement properties to No allows you to click the first
point. The second point defines the direction, and the third point defines the end
point.

If a Profile 2D feature is created from CAD, it will always use CAD as nominal.

PC-DMIS will use the CAD objects as the nominal regardless of the Nominal, Master, or
Find Noms Mode choice in the Advanced Measurement options section of the Auto
Feature dialog box. Even if the mode choice is changed, the feature still uses the CAD
object as nominal.

Targets can be edited after creating the new 2D profile in the CAD View or Live
View by right-clicking within the target to display a menu. Select or de-select the Edit
Nominal Segments option to turn on or off nominal segment editing. This feature
allows you to adjust or delete existing targets or insert additional targets.

Reporting Material Condition properly when creating a vision Profile 2D on

a CAD wireframe model

To ensure the correct material condition is represented when creating a vision Profile
2D on a wireframe CAD model:

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• Outer Profile - The First, Direction and End Points should be taken in a
clockwise direction
• Inner Profile - The First, Direction and End Points should be taken in a
counterclockwise direction

A Closed Contour on a wireframe CAD model should be considered an Open

Contour adhering to the clockwise or counterclockwise convention. Once programmed
with the correct direction, select the Contour option in the dialog box to close it.

To create a vision Profile 2D on a surface CAD model, create the Outer or Inner Profile
in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction; the material condition is guaranteed to be
correct.

Using 2D Profile Edge Tracer

You can program a Profile 2D feature by double-clicking near the edge of the feature in
the Vision tab. PC-DMIS Vision automatically traces around the edge of the feature and
moves the machine stage on a DCC machine if necessary.

Rules for Clicks to Start Edge Tracer

• If you just double-click, PC-DMIS Vision travels around the edge in a

counterclockwise direction to try and return to the start position.
• If you single click a point before double-clicking, that first-clicked point is your
start point, and the double-click point is your targeted end point.
• If you click two points before double-clicking, the first click is the start point, and
the second click dictates the direction in which the trace proceeds. The double-
click position is also the end point.

Once the edge trace is completed, you can adjust the nominal segments as necessary.

Vision Blob
Overview

To access the Blob Auto Feature dialog box, do one of the following:

• Click Insert | Feature | Auto | Blob from the main menu.

• Click the Blob button on the Auto Features toolbar.

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To use the Blob Auto feature, the required feature must fit within the Field of View. The
Blob feature is designed to work well on parts that lead to an image with high contrast
edges, even illumination, and no significant high-frequency spectral components. For
example, it works well on thin, back-lit parts, or on surface-illuminated parts with no
significant surface texture.

When you open the Blob dialog box, click the Vision tab to create the target.

Example of creating the Blob | Auto Feature target in the Live View

Once you create the target, you can re-size it in the same way as other Auto features.
PC-DMIS highlights the pixels included in the blob calculation in the Live View.

Creating a Vision Blob feature

1. For machines that support DCC motion, select DCC Mode if you want to
create and measure the Blob | Auto Feature in DCC mode.
2. Select Auto Blob from the Auto Feature toolbar. You can also select the Insert
| Feature | Auto | Blob menu option. This opens the Auto Feature (Blob) dialog
box.

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Vision Blob Auto Feature dialog box

3. With the Auto Feature dialog box open, use the Target Selection method. To do
this, from the Vision tab, click once on the surface to establish the point's
location. Adjust the lighting and magnification from the Probe Toolbox as needed.

Click as close as possible to the CAD element to ensure PC-DMIS does

not choose an incorrect element.

PC-DMIS Vision automatically places the nominal data for the Blob into the Auto
Feature dialog box. The software automatically displays the hit targets for the
Blob.

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4. Adjust the nominal information in the Auto Feature dialog box to match the
theoretical values of the Blob. Also, adjust the values in the Probe Toolbox as
needed.

This image and the description below it highlight the important elements when you
define the Blob | Auto Feature:

A. The Theoreticals area allows you to manually enter the nominal Area
value in the current measurement routine units.
B. The Actuals area updates automatically when you execute the
measurement routine.
C. You can set the Blob Auto feature parameters such as Minimum Area,
Threshold, Polarity, and Clean Filter in the Hit Targets section of the
measurement routine as well as with the respective sliders in the Hit
Targets tab of the Blob | Auto Features dialog box (shown below).

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Hits Target tab of the Blob | Auto Feature dialog box

Minimum Area slider - Use the Minimum Area slider to adjust the filter
value. The target size determines the scale of the slider as the maximum is
set as half the calculated area within the target.

Threshold slider and Polarity buttons - Use these options to determine

which pixels the software includes in the feature calculation. If you select the
Dark polarity button, the software uses any pixels within the target area
below the threshold. If you select the Light polarity button, the software uses
any pixels within the target area above the threshold. Use the Threshold
slider to set the target area pixel range for the selected polarity button.

Clean Filter slider - Use this option to apply filtering as needed to remove
noise such as dust or small dirt. The strength determines the size of the
noise to remove. The options are Off, Weak, Medium, and Strong.

When the Hit Targets tab is active in the Probe Toolbox, the software highlights
the pixels that form the blob within the live image view. The highlighted pixels
automatically update when you change any relevant parameters.

5. Click Create on the Auto Feature dialog box to add the blob to the measurement
routine.

PC-DMIS currently does not support the Blob Auto feature functionality
with MultiCapture (for details, see the MultiCapture section in the "Setting up the
Live View" vision help topic).

6. Save the measurement routine for future execution. See "A Note on Executing a
Vision Measurement Routine".

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Returning the Blob's Area with Expressions

If you need to return the theoretical or measured value for a Blob feature, you can use
the .AREA or .TAREA extensions with the Blob's ID. These return the measured area
and theoretical area values of the Blob feature respectively. For more information, see
the "References of Type Double" topic in the "Using Expressions" chapter in the PC-
DMIS Core documentation.

Access to the individual blobs found within the Blob Auto feature is illustrated in the
following command examples:

Assign / V1 = blb1.Numhits
Assign / V2 = blb1.hit[C].XYZ
Assign / V3 = blb1.hit[C].AREA

Returning the Blob's Area with the Location Dimension

From the Feature Location dialog box (Insert | Dimension | Location), in the Axes
area, you can mark the Area check box to have your report calculate and display a Blob
feature's area. It appears as AR in the report and in the Edit window's Command mode.
For more information, see the "Dimensioning Location" topic in the "Using Legacy
Dimensions" chapter in the PC-DMIS Core documentation.

Box-Selecting to Create Auto Features

You can create multiple Auto features for these supported feature types by box-
selecting the desired features in the image within the Vision tab:

• Auto Line
• Auto Circle

To do this, follow these steps:

1. Click the desired feature (Circle or Line) from the Auto Features toolbar (View |
Toolbars | Auto Features) to access the corresponding Auto Feature dialog
box. You can also select the Insert | Feature | Auto | Line or Circle menu
option.
2. Click and drag a box around the desired features in the part image.

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Example of box-selected circle features

3. When you release the button, PC-DMIS automatically detects and generates any
features for the selected Auto feature type within the drawn box.

A Note on Executing a Vision Measurement Routine

When you execute your measurement routine, there are steps that you can take that
may cause a feature to be in tolerance (PASS) or out of tolerance (FAIL). This is done
by clicking Continue in the Execution Mode Option dialog box to PASS the feature or
by clicking Skip to FAIL the feature.

• If you PASS a feature, the MEAS values for the CENTROID are set to the THEO
values.
• If you FAIL a feature, the MEAS values for the CENTROID are set to the THEO
values + 100mm in the probe vector direction (usually Z). The feature is shown in
the Graphic Display window as floating above the part. However, if looking
straight down in the Graphic Display window, the feature appears to be drawn
correctly.

So, if you have a dimension on the position of the feature, it is in tolerance or out of
tolerance depending on whether you clicked Continue or Skip.

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Modifying a Programmed Feature Using the Auto

Feature Dialog Box
To modify a feature command in your measurement routine, follow these steps:

1. Place your cursor on the feature that you want to edit in the Edit window, and
press F9 to access its Auto Feature dialog box.

2. If you have a DCC machine and have already established and ran your "first
alignment" with a real part, you can click the Move To button in the Auto
Feature dialog box to move the Field of View (FOV) to the center of the feature.
This button works only on DCC-enabled machines.

If you have not established the "first alignment" for your measurement
routine, do not click the Move To button. Doing so may cause the stage to run off
or damage the part you are measuring. Remember that PC-DMIS first needs to
know the location of the part on the stage (its orientation and level) to calculate the
target feature location. See "Creating an Alignment".

3. Switch to the Vision tab in the Graphic Display window.

4. Ensure that the lamps are properly illuminating the edges of the feature. If you
need to make changes, switch to the Illumination tab on the Probe Toolbox
and make the necessary adjustments.
5. Click the Test button in the Auto Feature dialog box. PC-DMIS Vision inserts a
temporary test feature into the Edit window and executes the feature.
6. Examine the detected points in the Vision tab. These points indicate the raw hits
PC-DMIS uses to fit the geometry. If there are outliers that you want to reject,
use the Hit Targets tab on the Probe Toolbox, and make changes to the Filter
Parameter Set. If the detected points are not at the location you expect, continue
to the next step.
7. Access the Preview window (View | Other Windows | Preview) to ensure that
the feature was properly measured in this test.
8. If the test data appears to be incorrect, these suggestions may help to fix the
problem:

• If most of the feature appears to be correct but one region is returning

incorrect points, insert a new target in that region. Set different parameters

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(such as illumination, edge detection, and filters) until that region of the
feature also measures correctly.
• Click the Hit Targets tab of the Probe Toolbox and insert a new target in
the target region. See "Probe Toolbox: Hit Targets tab".
• Click the Hit Targets tab of the Probe Toolbox and adjust the target
parameters. See "Probe Toolbox: Hit Targets tab".
• Click the Illumination tab of the Probe Toolbox and adjust any
illumination settings. See "Machine Options: Illumination tab". The
software applies the changed illumination settings to any targets currently
selected in the Hit Targets tab. You may also use the attached pendant to
set the luminosity if the machine supports it.

9. Once you have made the suggested changes, test the results of the target by
clicking the Test button again. When you are satisfied with the target results,
continue with the next step.
10. Make adjustments to the options on the dialog box as needed.
11. Click the OK button on the Auto Feature dialog box to update the feature with
the new settings.

The Auto Feature dialog box shown above is the expanded version of this
dialog box. Click the << button to see the reduced version of the dialog box.

Modifying a feature command in an offline measurement routine is very similar

to modifying an online measurement routine. The only difference is that in Offline mode,
you don’t have an external pendant. Dragging with the right mouse button in the CAD
tab simulates the stage motion.

Large Feature Measurement Mode

You can target and measure large features in the CAD View and Live View. The
measurement strategy allows "Measure-as-you-go" functionality when programming via
the Live View.

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Using Large Feature Target Mode

Target mode for large features is available for the CAD View and Live View with the
following caveats:

• It is currently only available for Line features

• It is available for Teach Mode only

To use Target mode for large features:

1. Click the Large Feature Mode icon located along the bottom of the Hit
Target tab in the Probe Toolbox in the Auto Feature dialog box for the Line
feature.

The Large Feature Mode option is only available with the Automatic Hit Target
type.

When you close PC-DMIS, the state of the button is saved. The next time you
start PC-DMIS, the button is in the same state ("On" or "Off") it was in when you
last closed PC-DMIS.

2. Click the button to toggle it between the "On" and "Off" states. Each time you
toggle the button, a Warning dialog box displays.

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You can reset warning messages through the General tab in the Setup
Options dialog box. For details, see the "Warnings" topic in the "Setup Options:
General tab" chapter in the PC-DMIS Core documentation.

3. Once the Large Feature Mode button is toggled "On", and the feature definition
has begun:
• The Insert New Hit Target icon and the right-click menu option are
disabled
• The Delete Hit Target icon and the right-click menu are disabled
• The Hit Target Test icon and the right-click menu are disabled
• The Target Feature Coverage icon and the right-click menu are disabled
• The Set Target Feature Coverage Active Targets icon and the right-
click menu are disabled

Using Large Feature Mode in the Live View

Once the new measurement strategy is active, you can generate alternate active and
void targets with multiple mouse clicks. Alternating active and void targets allows you to
focus only on those areas of interest.

For Large Feature mode, you cannot convert between active and void, or
between void and active, targets.

Hits may be deleted with the Alt key combination.

The following example shows the results in the Live View of four hits taken defining a
Line feature that extends over a void area.

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Example of alternate active and void target hits in the Live View

The resulting targets are defined in the Probe Toolbox of the Auto Feature dialog box
for your Line feature.

Results of hits in the Probe Toolbox

In the image above:

1 - Target is defined from clicks 1 and 2

2 - Target is defined from clicks 2 and 3
3 - Target is defined from clicks 3 and 4

As each active target is generated, automatic execution is performed.

Example showing the results of automatic execution

If the second click that defines the active target is outside the current Field Of View
(FOV), a warning message appears and alerts you about machine movement.

Once an active target has been executed, parameters such as Target Width, Edge
Type, Edge Polarity, Focus, and Filter can be edited. If changes are made to any of
these parameters, a re-execution of the last active target is triggered.

1. Right-click in the Vision tab to display the pop-up menu.

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2. Click Focus, Edge Selection, or Point Density, and select the appropriate
menu option to edit it as needed. Click Reset to remove all the hits and clear all
targets.
3. Click and drag any of the handles on the target area boundary box to re-size the
target area as necessary.

4. Click in each of the Edge Polarity fields to change the settings as necessary.

Changes made to the last Active Target causes the automatic execution to restart.

In the event of an execution error, parameters can be edited to ensure successful

measurement. Once the execution error has been cleared, feature and target
definitions can continue.

Target and feature generation through double-clicking or box-selecting

functionality is still available while in Large Feature mode. If either of these actions
are performed, however, a warning message appears.

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Using Large Feature Mode in the CAD View

Once the new strategy active, you can generate alternate active and void targets with
multiple mouse clicks in the CAD View.

The procedure is the same as the Live View procedure with the following differences:

• Automatic execution is not performed on target generation.

• Because there is no automatic execution, no warning is displayed if generated
target is outside the Field Of View (FOV).

The following example shows the results in the CAD View window of four hits taken
defining a Line feature that extends over a void area.

Example of alternate active and void target hits in the CAD View

A mix of Live View and CAD View clicks is not allowed.

Using AutoTune Execution

You can turn the AutoTune functionality on or off through the

AutoTuneDisable entry. For details, see the "AutoTuneDisable" topic in the PC-DMIS
Settings Editor documentation.

The button places your computer into AutoTune execution mode.

To enter AutoTune execution, from the Edit Window toolbar or from the File menu,

select AutoTune .

AutoTune execution mode allows you to conveniently teach illumination, magnification,

and image processing parameters of your measurement routine commands for the
target optical machine.

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You should use this mode when you move your measurement routine from one
computer to another or when you are ready to execute an offline-prepared
measurement routine in an online environment.

If you are running an offline measurement routine in Online mode for the first time, PC-
DMIS Vision automatically enters AutoTune execution. It needs to do this because
during offline preparation, PC-DMIS uses simulated lighting that may not match the
actual lighting behavior on the target machine.

In summary, you may want to execute your measurement routine using AutoTune
execution when you have any of the following conditions:

• You move a measurement routine from one machine to another.

• You need to run a measurement routine in Online mode that was prepared in
Offline mode.
• You change hardware components that affect the lighting, such as lamps.
• Lighting conditions of the room where you have your optical machine change.
• You want to change the magnification setting for a number of features in one
operation rather than individually (feature by feature).

You will find that there are slight differences between different hardware systems and,
over time, even within the same hardware system. AutoTune execution addresses
these issues.

How AutoTune Execution Works

To enter AutoTune execution, from the Edit Window toolbar or from the File menu,

select AutoTune .

You can elect to have the AutoTune functionality turned on or off through the
AutoTuneDisable entry. For details, see the "AutoTuneDisable" topic in the PC-DMIS
Settings Editor documentation.

When you execute your measurement routine in AutoTune execution mode, PC-DMIS
Vision steps you through the measurement routine feature by feature.

It performs a test measurement on each feature and then displays the AutoTune dialog
box for that feature. The dialog box indicates what has been changed.

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You have the option to apply one or more of those changes to one or more subsequent
features in the measurement routine.

Once you are satisfied with the feature and click Continue, PC-DMIS Vision then tests
the next feature. It continues doing this until the entire measurement routine has been
executed in AutoTune execution. You can also use the Apply and Finish button at any
time to apply changes to the selected features and end the AutoTune execution
sequence.

Once you finish executing the measurement routine in AutoTune execution, you can
return to the PC-DMIS regular execution mode.

Using On Error Commands

On Error commands allow you to specify the actions taken for focus or edge detection
errors. When errors are detected during measurement routine execution, the specified
action is performed.

You must have the Vision option enabled on your portlock or LMS license for
these error types to appear in the dialog box.

To use On Error commands:

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1. Open or create a measurement routine.

2. Insert a Manual/DCC mode command and set it to DCC.
3. Select the Insert | Flow Control Command | On Error menu item to insert an
On Error command.

On Error dialog box

4. In the Error Type list, select either Edge not detected or Focus not detected.
5. In the Error Mode area, choose the action to perform:
• Off - Do nothing.
• GoTo Label - Change the program flow to a defined label.
• Set Variable - Set a variable's value to one.
• Skip Command - Skip over the current command and move to the next
marked command in the measurement routine.

For more information about the On Error functionality, see "Branching on an

Error" in the "Branching by Using Flow Control" chapter in the PC-DMIS Core
documentation.

Using the Image Capture Command

The Vision | Image Capture menu item inserts an IMAGECAPTURE command into the
Edit window. During execution, PC-DMIS moves the vision probe to the specified
position. It then uses the past magnification and illumination values and captures an
image of the camera's Vision tab. It saves this image as a bitmap file to the specified
location.

The command in the Edit window has the following syntax:

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IMAGECAPTURE/<TheoX, TheoY, TheoZ>,n1

ILLUMINATION/Top Lamp [ON:60%] : Bottom Lamp [ON:69%] : Ring
Lamp [ON:59%{1110}]
FILENAME=s1

TheoX, TheoY, TheoZ are the X, Y, and Z coordinates to which the machine moves to
take the image capture.

n1 is a number value that indicates the desired optical magnification.

The ILLUMINATION line of the command block contains read-only illumination

information of the lamps at the time the command was inserted. Currently, you cannot
modify any of that information directly in the Edit window. You must predefine the
Illumination settings in the Probe Toolbox or use manual controls (if available) before
you can insert the command.

Specifically, the ILLUMINATION line shows whether a lamp is on or off and what the
light intensity is for each lamp. Since the ring lamp is made up of four separate lights,
the four numbers in parentheses indicate the ON/OFF state for each of those lights. If
they have differing levels of intensity, the command only shows the highest value.

s1 is a string value providing the file pathway and name for the captured bitmap image.

A finished command might look something like this:

IMAGECAPTURE/<10.825,0.714,-95.008>,1.863
ILLUMINATION/Top Lamp [ON:60%] : Bottom Lamp [ON:69%] : Ring
Lamp [ON:59%{1110}]
FILENAME=D:\Images\ImageCapture_4.bmp

Currently, this command does not have a dialog box associated with it. You make
parameter changes in the Edit window or you can create a new command.

Using a Single uEye Camera to Create

Multiple "Virtual" Cameras
PC-DMIS Vision supports IDS uEye cameras. With this type of camera, you can define
multiple camera configurations which PC-DMIS then treats as virtual cameras. One
possible application of this capability is to create a full field of view (FOV) and a
zoomed-in view. This would then emulate a dual camera/dual optics hardware
configuration using a single camera and optics hardware structure.

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You can specify and use up to nine uEye INI files to create the desired configuration of
virtual cameras.

The presence of an underscore followed by a number at the end of the frame grabber
configuration file name indicates the use of multiple camera configurations. The number
specifies the number of camera configurations, and thus the camera configuration files
to use. For example, if you have an INI file name of c:\IDS_2.ini, it causes PC-DMIS to
use c:\IDS_1.ini and c:\IDS_2.ini configuration files to create two virtual cameras.

When you define probe tips in PC-DMIS, you can specify which virtual camera to use
just like you would specify multiple physical cameras. To do this, select the Edit button
for the specified tip in the Probe Utilities dialog box.

Appendix A: Troubleshooting PC-DMIS

Vision
Use this troubleshooting guide to find solutions to your PC-DMIS Vision problems.

Problem: No image in Live View

• Ensure the Frame Grabber drivers have been installed.

Problem: DCC machine does not move

• Check the Max Speed setting in the Motion tab of the Machine Interface Setup
dialog box.

Problem: Point Detection takes a long time

When using Matching Edge selection type for an Automatic Hit Target, image detection
can sometimes take a long time. Try the following to speed up the detection:

• Reduce scan tolerance (width of the target band). With a narrower band, PC-
DMIS Vision has fewer "edges" it has to evaluate to find the correct one.
• Change the illumination. You may have a lot of surface texture, which can give
the Matching Edge algorithm more to do. Make the feature a backlight
measured one (as you'd normally do on holes). Switch off the top light, and
switch on the back light.
• Use the Clean Filter from the Filter Parameter Set to remove small dirt and weak
edges from the image.
• If the previous steps don’t help, use one of the other edge detection methods.
Matching Edge is the most reliable for finding the correct edge, but it is the most

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processor intensive. On this particular edge, try Specified Edge, with the
direction going from inner to outer.

Problem: Point Detection finds false edge points on parts with strong
surface texture

• Use the Clean Filter from the Filter Parameter Set to remove small dirt and weak
edges from the image.
• Where possible, use bottom light sources with no top light.

Problem: Point Detection finds false edge points on parts with gentle
gradient/shadow

• Switch off the Clean Filter from the Filter Parameter Set.

Problem: Poor Focus accuracy

• Focus operations (manual and automatic) should always be done at the highest
possible magnification.
• Use AUTO control mode where possible. If using FULL control, a slower speed
allows for more data collection, which improves the accuracy.
• Set the illumination to provide as much contrast as possible on the surface/edge.

Problem: Poor Manual Focus repeatability

• When moving the stage, aim for a slow and steady speed.
• You can move forwards and backwards over the focus point (to get multiple
peaks on your graph) if the focus time allows it. See the "Focus Graph" topic.

Appendix B: Adding a Ring Tool

PC-DMIS Vision supports the use of a ring tool for Probe Offset calibration. The ring tool
is used for vision and Multi-sensor machines. For information, see the "Calibrate Probe
Offset" topic.

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Appendix B: Adding a Ring Tool

Add Tool dialog box - Ring tool

Specify the following ring tool values:

• Tool ID: Provide a descriptive name for the ring tool.

• Tool Type: Ring is selected.
• Shank Vector IJK: Specifies the vector of the center axis of the ring tool.
• Search Override IJK: These boxes allow you to specify a vector used by PC-
DMIS to determine the most efficient order to measure all the tips when you
select the User Defined Calibration Order check box in the Probe Utilities
dialog box.
• Diameter: Provides the diameter of the ring gage hole or bore.
• Z Point Offset X: Specifies the X offset of the Z value measurement point from
the top center of the bore.

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 PC-DMIS Vision

• Z Point Offset Y: Specifies the Y offset of the Z value measurement point from
the top center of the bore.
• Z Point Offset Z: Specifies the Z offset of the Z value measurement point from
the top center of the bore.
• Datum Depth Start: Specifies the minimum depth into the bore where the bore
cylinder is the datum.
• Datum Depth End: Specifies the maximum depth into the bore where the bore
cylinder is the datum.
• Focus Offset: Provides distance in Z from the top surface to the bore circle
focus height.

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Glossary
C
CCD: Charge Coupled Device - This device is one of the two main types of image
sensors used in digital cameras.
CMMI: Standard CMM Interface, such as a LEITZ.DLL
CWS: Chromatic White Light Sensor

F
Fiducials: A point of reference. For example, in the case of a CAD file of a circuit
board, these fiducials reference the location of soldering. These references may
not exist in the CAD file.
Field of View: The FOV represents the view through the video camera. In the Live
View, the FOV is everything you see. In the CAD View, PC-DMIS Vision
represents the FOV by a green rectangle that appears on top of the graphical
image.
FLS: Focus Laser Sensor
FOV: Field of View

H
HSI: Hardware Specific Interface

I
Image Tear: This is where "breaks" in the image occur due to the refresh rate not
keeping up with the speed of movement.
Intensity Circle: The circle that is located in the middle of the Top light, Bottom light, or
segment of a ring light that shows the current intensity value for that light.

M
MSI: Multi Sensor Interface

N
NA: Numerical Aperture (NA) is a measure the light-gathering ability of a vision device.
NA is a measure of the number of highly diffracted image-forming light rays
captured by the objective. Higher values of numerical aperture allow increasingly

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 Glossary

oblique rays to enter the objective front lens, producing a more highly resolved
image.

O
OPTIV LTS: Triangulation Laser Sensor

P
Parcentricity: This is when the Focal XY Center of the optics is aligned with the Video
Frame center through the zoom range.
Parfocality: When the focal clarity is consistent through the zoom range.

Q
Quality Tag: A value assigned to each point from the Vision controller.

R
Ra: This is one of the most effective surface roughness measures commonly adopted in
general engineering practice. It gives a good general description of the height
variations in the surface. The units of Ra are micrometers or microinches.
ROI: Region of Interest - Targets are divided into multiple regions based upon the Field
of View. Point detection will be determined for each ROI

T
Target: Individual regions that are used for point detection for the specified feature.
Tracker: The visual user interface to features that controls the size of the circle, start
angle, end angle, and orientation.

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Index
A Vision Surface Point 229

Active Controller Settings 85 Auto Feature dialog box 216, 258

Advanced Measurement Options Area 221 Advanced Measurement Options Area 221

Alignments 181 Command Buttons 223

CAD View 189 Feature Properties Area 217

Creating 181 Field Definitions 224

DCC 188, 197 Measurement Properties Area 220

Live View 182 Modifying a Programmed Feature 258

Live View with CAD 199 Auto Feature Guess Mode 214

Manual 184, 191 Auto Features 201, 203

Appendix A 269 Creating 228

Appendix B 270 Vision Round Slot 239

Auto Edge Strength 95 Automatic Hit Target 136

Auto Feature 201, 203, 251 Template Match 136

Blob 251 Automatic Hit Target Feature Parameters 132,

136
Vision Circle 235
Edge Parameter Set 133
Vision Edge Point 231
Filter Parameter Set 140
Vision Ellipse 237
Focus Parameter Set 146
Vision Line 233
AutoShutter 109
Vision Notch Slot 243
AutoTune 264, 265
Vision Polygon 245
Available Parameter Sets 128
Vision Profile 2D 247
B
Vision Square Slot 241
Blob 251

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Box-Select Features 256 Cross Probe Calibration 65, 72

C Contact Probe Offset 72

CAD View 97, 259, 264 Relationship of Tips and Tools 74

Large Feature Measurement Mode 259 CWS 6, 7, 8, 10, 19, 33, 35

Large Feature Mode 259, 264 Defining a surface point by clicking on a

pointcloud 36
Update Display 198
Parameters 10
Using Large Feature Mode in 264
Point Measurement using a 35
Calibrate 46
Scan Measurement with 33
Field of View 52
Thickness 19
Illumination 62
Typical system 8
Optical Center 50
D
Probe Offset 65
Datum Features 182, 185
Capture Image 267
Automatically Measuring Features 192
Chromatic White Light Sensor 7, 8, 10, 19, 33,
35 Manually Measuring Features 182

Defining a surface point by clicking on a Measuring 194

pointcloud 36
Re-Measuring Features 185
Parameters 10
Debug tab 93
Point Measurement using a 35
E
Scan Measurement with 33
Edge Quality 5
Thickness 19
F
Typical system 8
Feature Locator tab 151
CMM-V Probe Offset 73
Feature Measurement 200
Compass 109
Feature Mode 259, 264
Considerations for Vision probes 76
Large 259, 264
Construct a Datum 193
Feature Properties Area 217
Contact Probe Offset 72

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Appendix B: Adding a Ring Tool

Focus Along Camera Vector 95 HP-C-T Probe Offset 73

Focus tab 160 HP-C-TS Probe Offset 73

Frame Grabber 46 HP-C-Ve Probe Offset 73

G HP-C-VET Probe Offset 73

Gage Hit Target Feature Parameters HP-C-x Probe Offset 73

Focus Parameter Set 146 I

Gage tab 164 Illumination Calibration Override 160

Icons 168 Illumination Communication tab 92

Gages 170 Illumination Quick Set

Circle 174 Saving 157

Cross Hair 173 Selecting 157

Grid Chart 180 Illumination tab 89

Protractor 177 Illumination Values 157

Radius Chart 179 Calibration Override 160

Rectangle 176 Changing 157

Using the Probe Readout Window 171 Ring Light 158

General tab 85 Image Capture 267

Getting Started 39 Introduction 3

Supported Lasers 23 Supported Lasers 23

Guess Mode 214 L

H Large Feature Mode 259, 261

Hexagon Demo Part 98 Target Mode 260

Hit Targets 127, 136 Using in Live View Window 261

Hit Targets tab 127, 136 Lighting 4

Hits Terminology 217 Live View 99, 109, 259

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 Controls 104 Manually Measuring Features 190

Illumination Overlay 116 Measure Features 200

Large Feature Measurement Mode 259 Measurement Properties Area 220

Large Feature Mode 259, 261 Measurement Routine Execution 257

Screen Elements 101 Measuring Methods 208

Setup 109 Migrating Magnification Variables 82

Shortcut Menus 117 Motion Controller Communication tab 91

Using Large Feature Mode in 261 Motion tab 87

M MultiCapture 109

Machine Interface Setup 83 O

Machine Options 83 Optical Comparator Hit Target 144

Debug tab 93 Optical Tips 126

General tab 85 OPTIV LTS 6, 23, 24

Illumination Communication tab 92 Parameters 23

Illumination tab 89 Point Measurement using a 35

Motion Controller Communication tab 91 Probe Readouts Window 24

Motion tab 87 Scan Measurement with 33

Wrist Tab 91 Overlay Properties 109

Magnification 5, 82 P

Migrating Variables 82 Parameter Sets 128

Magnification tab 153 Parameters

Magnification Variables 82 OPTIV LTS 23

Migrate 82 Triangulation Sensor 23

Manual Hit Target Feature Parameters PC-DMIS Vision 201, 203

Focus Parameter Set 146 Supported Lasers 23

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Appendix B: Adding a Ring Tool

Point Measurement using a CWS Sensor 35 Live View Overlay 116

Point Measurement using a OPTIV LTS Sensor Migration 78, 79

35
Migration Method 79
Position Probe tab 123
Migration Workflow 79
Probe Definitions 75
Ring Light Migration 79
Probe File 41
Workflow 79
Probe Readouts window 24, 124
Ring Light Migration Method 79
OPTIV LTS 24
Ring Light Migration Workflow 79
Probe Toolbox 121
Ring Tool 270
Diagnostics Tab 169
Adding 270
Feature Locator tab 151
Rules of Measurement 4
Focus tab 160
S
Gage tab 164
Sample Vision Circle Targets 71
Hit Targets tab 127, 136
Scan
Illumination tab 155
Measurement 33
Magnification tab 153
Thickness 19
Position Probe tab 123
Sensors 6
Profile 2D 251
CWS 6
Profile 2D Outlier Filter 140
OPTIV LTS 6
Programming Properties 109
Surface Topography 6
Q
Spectrum plot 120
QuickFeature 201, 203
Spectrum Plot tab 120
QuickMeasure 96
Supported Hardware Configurations 3
R
Lasers 23
Relationship of Tips and Tools 74
Supported Lasers 23
Ring Light 78, 79, 158

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Supported Sensors 6 Scan Measurement with 33

CWS 6 Troubleshooting PC-DMIS Vision 269

OPTIV LTS 6 U

Surface Topography 6 UEye 268

Suppress Vision Load Probe Dialogs 95 Using Large Feature Mode in CAD View
Window 264
Surface Topography 6
Using On Error Commands 266
T
V
Target Mode 260
Vision Gages 170
Targets 5
Vision Measuring Methods 201, 203, 208
Understanding 5
Supported Lasers 23
Template Match 136
Vision Probe Calibration 47
Template Matching 136
Field of View 52
Terminology of Hits 217
Illumination 62
Thickness Scan 19
Optical Center 50
Timer Interval 87
Probe Offset 65
Toolbar 96
Vision Probe File 41
QuickMeasure 96
Vision QuickFeature 201, 203
Triangulation Sensor 23, 24, 33, 35
Vision Tip 42, 126
Parameters 23
Editing 42
Point Measurement using a 35
W
Probe Readouts Window 24
Wrist Tab 91

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