Re: Re: Re: Coordinate Measuring Machine

>Message: 21
> Date: Thu, 4 Oct 2001 05:53:54 EDT
> From: ptengin@...
>Subject: Re: Re: Coordinate Measuring Machine
>
>In a message dated 10/3/01 9:47:39 PM Hawaiian Standard Time,
>cdoughty@... writes:
>
><< I thinking of building a small table ( 2'x 2'x 6") something to
> manually trace around a product, collecting XYZ data of the
> perimeter. <snip>
> I think a resolution of .010" would be OK.
>

The Benchtop Shopbot has a 32 x 24 x 6 envelope, and they sell a probe very similar to the one that is available for the MaxNC. They just came out with a new variation of their software that is specialized for automatically collecting edge data around a perimeter. They previously had the 3D contact capability. I think they collect the edge data by tracing concentric circles. The machine is about $5000, mostly assembled. moves at 3 inches per second in X & Y.

If you used a similar assembly technique(skate wheel and track), and just used the rack and pinions to drive a quadrature encoder, you could probably build a simple digitizer for under $1000, and the resolution could be in the neighborhood of .002. It's almost tempting to go into the hardware business. ;-) What's a Microscribe cost? About $3500?

An old flat bed plotter would be a great starting place for a manual digitizer. Just add a Z axis.

Best Regards, Fred Smith- IMService