VTube-LASER v2.5

Revision 2.5 Back to VTube-LASER Back to VTube Software Updates (for LASER Mode) See also VTube-STEP See also VTube-STEP Revisions See VTube-LASER Customer Support Page to download the latest version.

MAJOR NEW FEATURE: BEND PROFILE MEASURE

VTube-LASER can now measure bend profile regions in order to calculate the measured radius and Out-of-round percentage in the bend.

Bend Profile Measure Control

The Bend Profile measure control can be used in the middle of the Uniscan or Multiscan measure. During a tube measurement, you choose if you want to measure a bend's profile region for each bend. To save time, VTube-LASER allows you to skip measuring the profile of non-critical bends.

About the Bend Profile Slices

"Slice" is used to visualize the regions like slices of cake in the bend sections. VTube uses these slice regions to find a group of points that cuts through the cross section in the middle of each slice. It then reports the out-of-round values in each slice region.

Bend Profile Out-of-round Grid

The Out-of-round% grid data is calculated whenever a bend profile is scanned. Span 1: The diameter in the bend plane in a slice. Span 2: The diameter perpendicular to the bend plane in a slice. OOR: The difference between Span 1 and Span 2 OOR%: The Out-of-round % calculated OOR% tolerances, and other diagnostic information are included.

VTube-LASER OOR Report

VTube-LASER can also build color-coded reports for printing the OOR data.

ENHANCED - HIGH DENSITY SCAN POINTS REDRAW 5X FASTER

Since this version of VTube-LASER is now handling tens of thousands of more scan points than previous versions, we optimized the scan point redraw to be much FASTER than in previous versions.

NEW: Bend Profile Radius Calculation

The Bend Profile measure feature also automatically calculates the centerline arc from the cloud data scanned around the bend. Because huge amounts of data can easily be collected during Bend Profile scans with the scanner using VTube-LASER, the calculated radius value is repeatable. The calculated measured radii values are inserted in the measure data if VTube finds that you measured the bend profile for that bend. This is useful especially for reverse engineering tube shapes. If you don't know the radius value in the tube shape, this feature will determine the actual average radius at the center of the bend.

NEW: BEFORE and AFTER TRIM Lengths Grid - Before The Actual Trim

VTube now shows both the UNTRIMMED and the projected TRIM lengths to simulate the end length results if the end deviations were removed - but BEFORE the actual trim occurs. This allows you to know if this part will pass inspection after the excess material has been cut off. The image on the right shows the pink tube as the measured-aligned. The ends have excess length for trimming (compared to the white part). The trimmed values show the expected deviations after trim. The before and after Axis Span values are also calculated. These values show the maximum distance each part requires in a volume in the current orientation both before and after trim. This is how to interpret the cells in the Span grid: XM = X Master Span XA = X Aligned Span XD = X Span Deviation

NEW: Communications with AIM Wire Benders

VTube-LASER and AIM wire benders can now communicate using the Supravision Network protocol. We added a specialized Supravision Network protocol called "AIM SVNet" just for this bender to handle the negative bend angles that arrive in Supravision data from the bender. (Wire benders can bend in two directions - left or right. They indicate a switch in direction by making the bend angle negative or positive.)

IMPROVED: Best Fit - Automatic End Weight Version 2 - Tighter and Faster Alignments

We're always happy to give you a feature that does more - and does more FASTER than before. This is one of those features. Version 2 of the Best Fit engine aligns tube shapes faster and tighter than the original. For example, a 25 second alignment is now made in 20 seconds, and a 0.013" average deviation might drop to an average of 0.009". Version 1 was very good at tight alignments as the measured tube shape started to conform more to the master tube shape. However, version 2 creates a tighter fit faster - and handles shapes that are further from the master shape much better than version 1. The alignments shown on the right are the results of the two different kinds of alignments now available in version 2.5. We used the same master/measured data. When qualifications are on the edge of the tolerance, then the new version 2 of Best Fit has a better chance of qualifying a tube. Note: We understand that some customers are very careful when approving new part alignment algorithms - so we were careful to leave the original version Best Fit option in the VTube Inspection Results menu to give you time to learn to trust and use Best Fit version 2.

IMPROVED: The MEASUREMENT COMPLETE Window is Redesigned for Simplicity

The Measurement Complete window is the window that displays when you finish measurements. It has been redesigned to make it even easier to use. We've removed all the extra alignment buttons and now there is only one. There is a new dropdown box that allows you to chose the alignment - and make it the instant default in the current project. (This means that all other interface objects in other windows that show these settings change instantly when you change the alignment type here.) Here's another enhancement: We caught a user accidentally pressing "Do Nothing and Close" after a measure. This basically deletes the current measure. So now VTube will always ask for confirmation before accepting that as your choice.

FIX: Floating Point Numbers with Commas

Previous versions of VTube had difficulty handling number systems that uses commas as a decimal symbol. For example, Inspection Grids would not display colored cells like they should. This has been fixed.

NEW: Project File Save Notification Proves the Project Was Saved

Previous versions of VTube were quiet when you saved a project file. That made some of our customers understandably nervous. So now VTube always shows a quick notification at the top of the screen when you save a project file. The window displays for a few seconds then disappears automatically. But you can even keep working when this window is open because you can click on other parts of VTube even while this notification is on the screen.

NEW: HOT Keys Control-L (Load) and Control-S (Save) for VTube Project Files

These new hotkeys are a simple thing- but they'll make your life much easier if you're a hotkey user. Try it. Press CTRL-L to load a project file, then CTRL-S to quickly save it again. It's about as easy as it gets. (The new project save notification window described above will display every time you press CTRL-S.)

NEW: CALCULATE TUBE ELONGATION PERCENTAGE FEATURE

Now VTube-LASER can calculate Tube Elongation Percentage by subtracting the current CUT LENGTH from the MEASURED LENGTH - then calculate the percentage by comparing that change to the total ARC LENGTHS in the measured tube. The formula used is (Measured Length - Cut Length) / (Arc Length Sum for Whole Tube) X 100

ENHANCEMENT and FIX: The PROBE RADIUS COMPENSATION Feature

If you measure the ends of tubes with the ball probe, and the probe radius compensation directions at either end are ever different, then this update is critical for you. CHANGED CAPTIONS IN SETUP The captions in these boxes used to read "Offset End A" and "Offset End B". This was too vague, so we changed the English to "Probe Radius Compensation - End A" or "...End B". IMPORTANT FIX FOR TACTILE END MEASURES Also, we discovered and fixed a bug where VTube always used the probe compensation setting End A for End B too. This would have created an incorrect compensation direction if the settings for either end were different. For example: They would be different if you were tactile measuring the end wall of the tube on End A, then tactile measured where a flange meets the tube diameter on End B (on the tube side of the flange).

FIX: Transfluid XYZ Output (BKT File) Repairs

This feature allows you to output new XYZ data to the bender from inside VTube-STEP (which is part of VTube-LASER). The output engine for Transfluid XYZ data was updated and repaired from errors we found that would stop the export. Also, the linear units are now converted to whatever the current linear unit is in the VTube user interface. This was added because the internal Transfluid data can be either inches or millimeters.

NEW: Tangent Point Reports

VTube can now output Tangent Point reports. Tangent points are the point locations where the straights meet the bends on the tube centerlines.

NEW: Newport News Shipbuilding Data Import

VTube can now import Newport News Shipbuilding data for shipbuilding applications.

NEW: Hover Fractions

VTube can now show the fractional version of any distance in the main grids in a hint box.

The feature is switched on in the User Interface tab inside the System Options menu. The maximum denominator can be set to 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/16, 1/32, or 1/64. The default value is 1/16.

Click on any length field and hover to show the fractional hint.

NEW: Bender Data Adjustment Values in Tube Data Storage

You can now view multiple part measures of the LRA adjustment and error data. This allows you to spot trends in data correction The values from multiple measures can be sent to Excel or Word.

NEW: Communications with AMOB Tube Benders

VTube-LASER can now send new parts and corrected data to AMOB tube benders. The new feature works in both VTube-STEP Export and VTube-LASER Bender Setup menus. The protocol works in one direction - from VTube-LASER to the AMOB.

VTube-STEP: AMOB Data Export Window

The Export window is displayed when exporting data to the AMOB from VTube-STEP.

VTube-LASER Bender Setup: AMOB Bender Protocol

The Bender Setup screen can now also send corrected data to the AMOB control in the VTL file format.

NEW: FILE SAVE SUGGESTED NAME with PART NUMBER and REVISION TOGETHER

VTube-LASER now automatically adds the REVISION to the suggested new filename for VTube.

NEW: CONFIGURE BENDERLINK PROTOCOL SETUP from BENDER SETUP Window

VTube-LASER now allows you to change the Benderlink protocol setup (for connection to benders) from the BENDER SETUP window.

OTHER CHANGES

• When decreasing the point count in VTube-LASER without clearing the project, the reports would continue to show the previous expanded point count for the Tangent Points and Midpoints list. This has been fixed.
  
  
• The Overbend Calculator incorrectly swapped the Proportional and Fixed values in the springback formula for the springback grid inside the calculator. This has been fixed.
  
  
• The Springback compensation, when enabled, was not calculated correctly in outgoing Supravision files. This has been fixed.
  
  
• The End B Length Adjustment feature would not draw the tube diameter correctly when set to more than or less than 0. This has been fixed.
  
  
• The default straight tolerance value is now used to automatically fill in tolerance fields in the grids with tolerances. (Previous versions would always use 0.039" or 1 mm for the tolerances in inspection grids.)
  
  

Other Pages

• Back to VTube-STEP
• Back to VTube Software Updates (for LASER Mode)
• Back to VTube-LASER
• See VTube Language Editor