VIDEO: MiCAT Planner: How to Create a Measurement Program

In this video we will show you how you can quickly create a measurement program for a Mitutoyo CMM using MiCAT Planner. The first step is to import the CAD model of a part into MiCAT Planner. Next, add a collision avoidance zone to prevent interference during   measurements. Now, select the appropriate Mitutoyo CMM. For this example we are using a MiSTAR 555 that is equipped with a  TP200. The next step is to roughly  position the part inside the measuring volume. Now that the design model loaded and positioned, it's time to add features and characteristics that you want to measure on the part. For this example, we will start with this top plane. It will give you a set of  measurement points. This is the primary datum so we will set this as datum A. Next, we will evaluate the flatness of this plane. Our tolerance for this example is plus or minus a tenth of a millimeter. Next, we will evaluate the central bore. Add a cylinder and this will be our secondary datum. The diameter of this cylinder for this example will be plus or minus 50 microns. We will add a front face as a  plane then we'll set this as our tertiary datum and add a perpendicularly tolerance to datum A which is 150 microns. Now that we have our three datums, we will use these to create a CNC alignment on the example part. Once you have the actual part, relate the virtual model to the physical one. You can now add all other features you would like to that can evaluate and align the part. We will set our part relative to a  GEOPAK coordinate system that we just created and confirmed that all the features are still accessible. Now we will create a measurement program that will optimize the tool path and it will appear on the right. From here we can simulate what the program will look like. Now, post the measurement program to the Mitutoyo CMM and you're ready to start measuring.