Difference between revisions of "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.

This feature is unique to FARO systems using VTube-LASER.

VTube-LASER can now measure bend profile regions in order to calculate the out-of-round percentage in multiple slice regions of any bend.

This feature is only possible because the FARO ScanArm uses a surface scanner to collect surface points. (Other measuring methods that do not scan surface points cannot perform this kind of measurement.)

Bend Profile Measure Control

About the Bend Profile "Slice" Metaphor

The metaphor "slice" is used to visualize the regions like slices of cake in the bend sections.

VTube uses these slice regions to group all surface points inside each of these regions. It then reports the one high and the one low value of the torus surface points in that slice region, and then uses those two values to calculate the out-of-round% values per slice region.

Bend Profile Out-of-round Grid

SLICE COLUMN
In the Out-of-round grid (in Inspection Results), each slice is labeled as "Bend Number - Slice Number".

ANGLE COLUMN
Then next is shown the slice region angles in degrees. The default slice region width is 10 degrees. This value is controlled in the Other tab of Measure Setup.

LOW and HIGH COLUMNS
The Low and the High values are surface point distances from the centerline arc minus the radius of the nominal OD in each slice. (Each slice can have a unique nominal OD.)

OOR COLUMN
The Oor value is the difference between the high to low. This is the technical meaning of "Out-of-round".

OOR% COLUMN
The Oor% value is calculated from the high and the low differences. (The Oor% formula does not use the nominal diameter - so you can change the nominal OD to any value with effect on the Oor%.)

Example High OOR% = 10.5

In the image on the right, you can see slices 5 through 10 in our mandrel bent Horn Demo tube.

Slices 7 and 8 have the greatest Out-of-round percentage at over 10.

Look closely at the center of the top of the bend, and you will see a ridge on the top of the tube is at a high point. This is where material flowed toward the top and the bottom of the bend during bending.

You may also detect the slightly reduced width from outside to the inside of the bend. All of this material flow is the reason for the OOR% at its highest in this region of the bend.

In slice 10 (OOR% of 8.4), the ridge on the top of the bend has faded, and the bend width from outside to inside is less flattened. The bend is recovering from the being out-of-round in this slice region.

VTube-LASER Demo Tube 3 OOR% = 17 to 20

This is a closeup image of the bend in demo tube 3 that the FARO account managers carry with them.

This tube was not bent with a mandrel - which allows the material in the bend region to flow more than mandrel bent tubes.

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 FARO ScanArm, 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.

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

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.)

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.

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.

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.

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.

These new hotkeys are a simple thing- but they'll make your life much easier if you're a hotkey user.

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

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).

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.

VTube can now output Tangent Point reports.

Tangent points are the point locations where the straights meet the bends on the tube centerlines.

VTube can now import Huntington Ingalls data for shipbuilding applications.