Probing software takes intelligence from CAD

Software package allows the development of powerful probing routines via a CAD interface.

Renishaw is offering a free 90-day trial of its latest version of Productivity+ Active Editor Pro, a software package that allows the development of powerful probing routines via a CAD interface.

Productivity+ Active Editor Pro is part of Renishaw's new generation of easy-to-use probing and process control software, which targets the entire spectrum of machine tool probe users.

It can be used to develop powerful probing routines for both contact and noncontact laser probes, including tool setting, tool breakage detection, part setup, part inspection and probe qualification.

The software is an all-in-one, independent solution for producing probing cycles remotely from the machine tool, via a CAD interface that allows features to be identified with a single click, and a drag-and-drop interface that uses the measured data to update machine parameters.

It removes the need for specialist knowledge of probing macro commands, which vary by machine controller, a time-consuming way to produce probe routines.

The full range of standard prismatic features are supported using the same intuitive GUI and programming structure as the other editor products in the Productivity+ range.

Using Productivity+ Active Editor Pro, existing machine programs for cutting cycles can be read and probing routines added at the correct point in the program, removing the need for cutting and pasting into text editors or on machine editing.

Features can also be selected directly from an imported CAD model, making the generation of probing cycles even easier.

For users without an existing CAD system, Productivity+ Active Editor Pro allows the design of probing cycles using dialogue-based feature selection.

The software provides feedback throughout, to ensure that the program is right first time.

Once the programs are complete they may be fully simulated to identify errors and detect potential crashes, and then post processed for a wide variety of control systems.

Users can now program and prove-out even complex probing operations, eliminating costly accidents that can arise with macro programming.

Productivity+ Active Editor Pro operates with the popular Parasolid format.

Postprocessors are available for Fanuc-type, Heidenhain, and Siemens controllers.

The result of using Productivity+ Active Editor Pro is a fully integrated metal cutting and probing program, which allows logical decisions to be taken by a machine tool based on data collected, giving full confidence to lights-out unattended operation.

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