WCS probing

[Anonymous]

I'm having some issues with WCS probing, every time I select more than one surface on the model it won't give me a probing cycle, I can't see anywhere where it says you can't probe a face with other features on it, but that might be the case?

It's not a particularly complicated part, I can probe single surfaces but not both outside faces, both inside faces or between the radii in the cavity at the bottom of the part. The WCS probing looks quite limited in what it can do and where you can pick to probe?

[seth.madore]

Probing struggles with faces that aren't rectangular, is basically what it comes down to. There are hacks you can do to get it to work, such as "Split Face" or creating patch surfaces to probe off of. Not an attractive solution, I admit.

The development team tasked with this issue is working on solutions. But, it does take time...

[Philip_Hewitt]

Hi @Anonymous.  I am the Product Manager dealing with probing.  As @seth.madore says, we are looking at the selection of geometry and we have started making some improvements which are not released yet.  Our latest internal version deals with more cases than previously, but it is sensitive to the exact geometry.  I hope it will fix the exact problem you have reported but I can't confirm unless we test it.  Could you please supply the .f3d file or CAD file so that we can try with your exact geometry?

[Anonymous]

Hi Philip,

Thanks for the reply - it's good to know it's being worked on and it's not something I'm doing wrong. I've attached the file for you. I also couldn't get it to work measuring across the radii both inside and outside in the X axis. Measuring single surfaces works perfectly though.

Thanks,

Daniel

[Philip_Hewitt]

@Anonymous Thank you very much for the file.  It is much better for us to be able to test with real world customer models.  If I've understood correctly you were trying to measure across the 'width' of the parallel faces. 

The current release doesn't handle this for your geometry as you've discovered and as @seth.madore confirmed and explained. 

The latest development versions- which we are testing at the moment- do a better job with this kind of geometry.  The short video attachment shows WCS probing (and probe geometry) probing the parallel faces in a development version of the software. 

Please confirm that this is what you wanted to do- if so, you should see improvements in the near future.

[Anonymous]

Hi Philip,

Yup, basically either between the two inside faces or outside faces in Y, and then preferably between the two radii in the middle, or if that doesn't work then between the radii on the outside of the part in X. What your example shows is great, will the "use selection point" button still work?

[Philip_Hewitt · Accepted solution]

@Anonymous 

Sorry for the delay in replying- I was out and had a hectic couple of days.

It does not yet handle the 'Use Selection Point' but we understand it is important.  This will need some additional work.

Even as it stands it should be a useful improvement.

[DeanPrecision]

Is there a roadmap timeline for when we can probe rectangular or non standard shapes?

This is very useful for setup verification process. Quality can be improved greatly by doing a re-probe of the WCS between parts for the best outcome.

Thanks

[DeanPrecision]

The problem as defined by OP is Fusion won't probe WCS for an interior feature that isn't a hole or rectangle.

The solution below is one I've used successfully and outlined below.

Assumptions:

1) The feature can be probed with Renishaw software directly on the machine. (verified on Haas NGC).

2) The use of probing WCS is to check or update an existing work offset already established on the machine.

Process:

1) Perform the work offset in the machine as you normally would (G54 is used for this example).

2) Output the Renishaw Program from MDI to its own program to memory.

3) Write GO0/G01 program to move probe point in relation to G54 X0Y0Z0 (Noting this WCS check was for XY confirmation/update)

      Example:

T1 M6; (assuming this is tool probe)

G54;

G00 X0. Y0.;

G43 Z1.0 H1;

G01 Z-0.2 F10.;

4) Write G53 program to move probe away from workpiece (ex. G53 Z0.0)

5) Combine above steps together in order of operation (step 3, step 2, step 4)

6) After successful testing and confirmation add the program to the beginning of the post made from Fusion 360.

While this doesn't solve the issue of probing non circular/rectangle pockets in Fusion 360, this can be used to accomplish the task until such time as the feature is added to F360.