The transmitters are used to triangulate the positions of hand-held probes and sensors, like the i5is to enable part inspection and tracking anywhere within the volume. The i5is uses the newest generation of iGPS receiver technology which delivers a significant leap forward in both performance and mea- surement reliability. The i5is integrates three previously sepa- rate components into one device while improving data quality, extending measurement range, and improving accuracy. At the heart of the integrated sensor is a new linear ampli- fier and 16-bit analog to digital converter with advanced digital signal processing. The i5is is virtually unaffected by optical and environmental noise caused by lighting conditions and EMI sources for reliable and robust pulse detection. The result is a greater than 50% reduction in systematic biases, which drive down the uncertainty of iGPS measurements and improve effective transmitter to sensor range. The volumetric accuracy of the i5is within an iGPS system is comparable with that of any large-volume metrology devices. The i5is achieves a 3-D point uncertainty of <150 µm and a length measurement uncertainty of <115 µm throughout the entire measurement volume. The i5is can track an object’s native coordinate system in six degrees of freedom or provide rela- tive positional feedback of multiple ob- jects. Benefits to manufacturers include ability to perform simultaneous measure- ment of multiple objects within a single coordinate system; perform dynamic measurements designed to integrate with automated positioner systems; provide continuous dynamic feedback without single instrument line of sight constraints, and provide live six DOF position feed- back for tooling adjustments. ME For more information on Nikon Me- trology Inc., go to www.nikonmetrology, or phone 810-494-5616.
Robot and Machine Controlled on a Single Screen
T
raditional robots are one-armed preci- sion devices installed, programmed,
and maintained by engineers and technologists with industrial- strength capacity for precision operations. An important trend is the ability to control the robot from the machine’s CNC. At IMTS, Siemens demonstrated how a Kuka robot was articulating parts simulating the operation on a CNC machine tool. Key to the development is the machine builder’s ability to integrate mxAutomation from Kuka directly though the Siemens Sinumerik CNC platform, allowing the operator of the machine to run both the machine tool and robot from a single control panel. The motion sequence of the robot is engineered entirely within the Sinumerik 840D sl CNC, then transferred by the 840D sl’s PLC function to the mxAutomation interpreter on the KR C4. All program changes to the six-axis robot can easily be input on a second channel of the CNC and fully oper- ated. This provides the ability to not only run a machine tool’s automation sequence more efficiently, but also make more changes on-the-fly to minimize machine downtime, with no special knowledge of robot programming language needed.