Transforming Design Intent into Inspection Routines 
Paperless inspection is a powerful concept. It means you can finally eliminate the endless flow of paper between design and quality departments which eliminates a major source of errors and bottlenecks. It also holds the promise of ending many of the problems associated with version control.
In a typical application, design engineers convey their intent by marking up 2D drawings which then find their way to the inspectors in a number of ways. At best, the process is inefficient. At worst, it doesn’t work since information can be lost or misdirected.
Instead of marking up a hard copy drawing, the designer electronically marks up the CAD model. This information, called an inspection plan, becomes an integral part of the model. When PC-DMIS accesses that file it recognizes that it includes a plan and uses it as the basis for building a part program. Design intent automatically flows from the designer to the quality department with no paper changing hands.
This greatly reduces the potential for data entry errors and misinterpretation in part inspections. Design intent moves from the CAD system to the inspection system in digital format so the problems associated with entering the wrong information or with misreading a designer’s notes no longer exist. Additionally, since requirements are part of the CAD file inspection equipment no longer sits idle while programmers try to figure out what to inspect and how different features relate to each other.
Change control has been the holy grail of Metrology Systems. The question constantly asked is, “How can I be sure my CMM programs are measuring my parts according to the latest specification?” Until now, the answer has not been very encouraging. Inspection Planner changes that. It maintains links between the CAD model, the inspection plan and the measurement program(s). So, if a designer revises a model, the inspection plan changes. Since the inspection plan is the basis of the part program, the user can tell PC-DMIS to update the program based on the revised plan. This automatic process ensures you no longer have to worry about rejecting good parts or accepting bad parts.
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