Using probe in Endmill to make point cloud for reverse engineering?

Sendit · Mar 11, 2016

Using probe in bridgeport to make point cloud for reverse engineering?

In a way using a probe in a milling machine (bridgeport) to act almost like a CMM. I have a part I want to make a model of in inventor, however there are some angles I can't measure due to lack of equipment and such a small area.

Idea is to use probe to make point cloud and then use those points to get my angles and complex shapes.

bryan_machine · Mar 11, 2016

This is routinely done, in fact centroid sells a kind of package for their controllers to just that. (With a probe not an endmil, however. What does an endmill have to do with this?)

Winterfalke · Mar 11, 2016

I hope he means end mill holder, or collet and, is not in fact trying to shove a probe through an end mill.

edwin dirnbeck · Mar 11, 2016

bryan_machine said:
This is routinely done, in fact centroid sells a kind of package for their controllers to just that. (With a probe not an endmil, however. What does an endmill have to do with this?)

Some people call a Bridgport type machine an end mill.Edwin Dirnbeck

CarbideBob · Mar 11, 2016

What kind of probe.?
Painful but you can take X.Y, Z raw numbers and enter them by hand into the Cad side.
On a ball probe you then enter the circles of the probe dia. and plot tangent to them. Your X/Y will normally be centerline, your Z may be shifted to the tip.so you may have to subtract from your numbers.
Fiddle on a known part first. It will make it easier to figure out.
Bob

Sendit · Mar 11, 2016

Meant milling machine IE Bridgeport.

Something that could communicate DRO measurements and the probe input would be a "touch and go" operation.

Basically using the DRO to save a coordinate system when the probe signals to enter the data point.

triumph406 · Mar 12, 2016

I regularly do what your looking to do.

I have (had) a Mititoyo indicator mounted in a fixture that can be mounted either in a BP or a CNC. It uses a sharp pointed tip to indicate the surface. The fixture has the end adjustable so when I mount the indicator/fixture I indicate the tip to make sure it's concentric with the spindle. The end of the fixture is adjustable in X and Y.

So I can record X,Y and Z. It can be tedious if taking a lot of points.

tdmidget · Mar 12, 2016

Sendit said:
Meant milling machine IE Bridgeport.

Something that could communicate DRO measurements and the probe input would be a "touch and go" operation.

Basically using the DRO to save a coordinate system when the probe signals to enter the data point.

You do realize that calling a Bridgeport (or other turret mill) an "end mill" is the equivalent of calling an engine lathe a CNMG insert or a boring bar, don't you?

edwin dirnbeck · Mar 12, 2016

Vertical milling machine,if you must be correct

tdmidget said:
You do realize that calling a Bridgeport (or other turret mill) an "end mill" is the equivalent of calling an engine lathe a CNMG insert or a boring bar, don't you?

There are many vertical milling machines that are NOT TURRET MILLS.I am 74 years old and have heard machinists say ''lets take it over to the end mill and mill this slot''. This was especially thrue long ago when most milling was done on a horizontal mill.Language and machining changes with the times . Today many well equipped shops don't even have a traditional horizontal milling machine.Edwin Dirnbeck

tdmidget · Mar 12, 2016

edwin dirnbeck said:
There are many vertical milling machines that are NOT TURRET MILLS.I am 74 years old and have heard machinists say ''lets take it over to the end mill and mill this slot''. This was especially thrue long ago when most milling was done on a horizontal mill.Language and machining changes with the times . Today many well equipped shops don't even have a traditional horizontal milling machine.Edwin Dirnbeck

There are indeed vertical mills that are not turret mills but they are not Bridgeports with a turret, allowing the mounting and use of a vertical shaper.

JRIowa · Mar 12, 2016

edwin dirnbeck said:
I am 74 years old and have heard machinists say ''lets take it over to the end mill and mill this slot''.

You got me by 11 years. Usually, the guys that I hear using terms like that come from an "in house" shop. Where I used to work, we had guys using "digital verniers". They called stuff that, because that's what everybody else called them. Doesn't make it right, but it sure makes it tough when you don't have a clue what they're talking about some times.
JR

EPAIII · Mar 12, 2016

A Bridgeport style machine is a Vertical Milling Machine or a Vertical Mill-Drill, as opposed to a Horizontal Milling machine.

edwin dirnbeck said:
Some people call a Bridgport type machine an end mill.Edwin Dirnbeck

Sendit · Mar 13, 2016

think this thread went down the drain..lol

Want to use brigdeport milling with a probe to make a point cloud...has anyone done this? If so how did you go about it?

Fitznoodle · Mar 13, 2016

Post #7 has the answer. All you are doing is recording XYZ, regardless of the method used (assuming it's 3 axis, duh).

alonzo83 · Mar 13, 2016

I have done this on a 3d setup for a surveying class.

It took about 2 hours of time to record all the points needed to make a 3d model of the main entrance at K-States engineering building and another four hours entering in all the grid points and elevation to get a model drawn up.

It is doable but if you have a small part and want nice resolution job it out to a company that has the tool probe. They will set it up and the machine draws the part for you. Much less time invested you can be doing more productive things and have a better drawing to work from.

Sendit · Mar 13, 2016

Fitznoodle said:
Post #7 has the answer. All you are doing is recording XYZ, regardless of the method used (assuming it's 3 axis, duh).

Yes but how they went about recording it. Hoping someone had or knew of a software that would record all three axis with a push of a button.

dsergison · Mar 14, 2016

Sendit said:
Yes but how they went about recording it. Hoping someone had or knew of a software that would record all three axis with a push of a button.

it's not just a software problem... it's a hardware problem too. Do you have an interface from your DRO to a computer? I doubt it. If you did, you would not be asking. If you had that, you could integrate it into your control.. and use a real probe... but then your would have a modern machine with part probing and you again would not be asking...

there is no free lunch for you. you either need to just manually enter it on a spreadsheet, or you need to buy or build the hardware interfaces and software.

there is a new Tablet based DRO that uses a variety of scales and probably could save a series of points quite cheap. TouchDRO Project
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Yuriy's Toys

JRIowa · Mar 14, 2016

Depending on how close you need the part, you can just have it laser scanned. Great for all external surfaces. Depending on equipment, tolerances from 0.005" down to 0.0001".

Faro 3D Laser Scanner - Jay Leno's Garage - YouTube
We had a set-up just like this for checking castings
JR

Using probe in Endmill to make point cloud for reverse engineering?

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