Need Good / Inexpensive CMM Fixturing/Work Holder Kit

I finally got my Faro P4 up and running, mounted to a Vere optical table that has 1/4-20 holes on 2" centers.



Now I need a decent fixturing kit to hold the parts I want to inspect. They will be mostly smaller, like less than 12"x12"x12". Some metal, some plastic.

I was looking online and see a company called Te-Co seems to make some kits :

Item # 1214, English Coordinate Measuring Machine Clamp Kits On TE-CO

This is $331 and looks basic but includes at lease some serrated blocks and the nuts/threaded rods in 1/4-20 to mount some basic parts to table


They also sell more elaborate kits :

Comprehensive Fixturing Kit On TE-CO

Which cost far more.


What do I really need and what is a good place to find this stuff on the cheap ? Do you have any keywords or brand names I can be searching for on ebay and such ?


Thanks for all help as usual !




Paul

Depending on what the holes in the surface of your table are, you may need the base plate. That's where the greatest expense is in CMM fixturing kits.

If you can get by without one, then Renishaw are actually pretty reasonable with the actual clamp components on their web store.

Fixtures

Reasonable as in cheaper than anyone else that I've found...

Thorlabs makes very nice stuff for use on optical tables, quite a bit cheaper than the other optical type vendors. They have a huge selection (paper catalog is ~4 inches thick!). Thorlabs also sends snack packs with each order.

Edmund Scientific also comes to mind- sometimes good prices

thanks I will check our thorlabs.

using this faro arm is tricky because it requires some dexterity to move the heavy arm around, hold it against part, then press the button to grab the point. This makes fixturing super important because the part gets "hit" by the probe if Im sloppy with the movement.

Verdict is still out if the faro was best thing for me just due to its overall heft. for measuring small, plastic parts that are very light, i can see how one could really botch up the touch point cloud... i will play with it more and decide if i want to keep it or search for some other small cmm.

If it's for small flimsy parts, I suspect you'd be better off with a different scan method. Or, could there be excessive tightness in the joints? They can't be loose, but if they're sticking there may be fixes for that.

Having been around optical tables a lot in the last 30 years, you can do a lot with a selection of 1/4-20 SHCS and washers, both standard diameters and fender washer sizes. Depends on how obsessive-compulsive you need to be with holding the parts and how it "looks".

I have a bunch extra if u need some.


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D Nelson said:

I have a bunch extra if u need some.


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Click to expand...

erik thanks for that, can you PM me ? maybe I can buy some direct from you ? I was also trying to use some serrated step blocks.

regarding faro, it moves perfectly, the joints are not stiff. Its just a heavy arm and kind of hard to move around. It would be awesome for measuring flatness of a cast iron brake rotor, but trying to measure a tiny plastic part with it is bit awkward. Laser scanning would be great but I got this faro on the cheap from a company that didnt know how to use it.