New Software Writes Part-Measurement Programs in Minutes

Programs for precise measurements of parts don’t have to be written manually anymore. MiCAT Planner software will write it instead—and write it much faster. It uses the same information that a programmer uses to write a measurement program. Available from Mitutoyo America, MiCAT goes directly from a CAD model containing product and manufacturing information to acquire tolerance data and locations for measurements. A function controlled by the user receives measurement rules, specifies locations to measure, and chooses a sampling method that will be used in the final program.

The user then specifies structural information of the Coordinate Measuring Machine (CMM) chosen for measuring the part. The program creates a virtual CMM to generate measurements from the CAD model and user specs.  Finally, MiCAT uses an optimization function to determine the minimum number of probe-repositions and tool-changes, in order to write a program that will act as fast and as accurately as possible.

Mitutoyo America Corp., 965 Corporate Blvd., Aurora, Illinois 60502, 1-888-648-8869