Colours make machining errors obvious

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team May 7, 2008

Colour error maps make it possible to analyse problems in seconds that might take hours to understand when looking at point cloud co-ordinates in a spreadsheet.

CCE's EnSuite Version 2 multiCAD viewing, translation and productivity software supports point cloud files.

EnSuite Version 2 can be used to import point cloud files in the .xyz and .csv files that are typically produced on a co-ordinate measuring machine (CMM), laser scanner or other inspection equipment.

Point clouds imported into EnSuite can be graphically compared against a CAD model.

EnSuite produces a colour error map of the point cloud versus the CAD model by displaying the differences between the two in a range of colours.

Colour coding greatly reduces the time required to identify and understand differences and evaluate their seriousness.

For example, if a boss is too long or too short, the top of the boss will be highlighted in red.

Colour error maps make it possible to analyse problems in seconds that might take hours to understand when looking at point cloud co-ordinates in a spreadsheet.

The point cloud feature of EnSuite is particularly useful to quality assurance engineers in manufacturing and CAD quality assurance (QA).

In manufacturing QA, the objective is to check for conformance of a physical part to the CAD design.

The manufactured part is inspected to generate a point cloud and the point cloud is imported into EnSuite.

This manufactured part point cloud is then compared to the CAD model and any error in the manufactured part is visualised in a colour map.

The colour error map clearly indicates whether or not the part conforms to the design and also helps diagnose problems in the manufacturing process.

In CAD QA, the objective is to check conformance of CAD model to the actual physical part, as in a reverse engineering process.

The physical part is scanned to generate a point cloud and a CAD model generated using the point clouds.

The point cloud is imported into EnSuite and compared to the CAD model that has been created as part of the reverse engineering process and any error in the CAD model is visualised in a colour error map.

The colour error map provides a clear indication of the quality of the CAD model and identifies any areas where improvement is needed.

The latest EnSuite update will be available to all active subscription license customers as well as to new customers.

EnSuite provides a range of productivity tools for accessing critical engineering information.

EnSuite prevents users from saving changes to the master CAD model to protect the integrity of the master model.

Licenses are automatically administered and the product updated over the internet.

EnSuite is designed for companies that work in a multiCAD environment, such as those used by customers, vendors and partners.

EnSuite provides seamless interoperability with Catia V4, Catia V5, Pro/Engineer, Unigraphics and SolidWorks CAD systems as well as Parasolid, IGES and STEP files.

Files can be translated to and from any of these formats without the native CAD software.