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.

Other measuring methods that do not scan surface points cannot perform this kind of measurement.

Bend Profile Measure Control

Bend Profile Slice Regions

VTube uses slice regions to report the highs and the lows of the torus section.

Each slice is labeled as "Bend Number - Slice Number".

The default slice region width is 10 degrees. This value is controlled in the Other tab of Measure Setup.

When you scan points around the bend, VTube automatically calculates the real radius from the scanned data, then puts the scanned points in these regions.

Bend Profile Slice Regions

In the image on the right, you can see slices 1 through 10. Compare the Oor% with the slice regions in the actual tube. You can see the rise and fall of out-of-roundness in the bend. Slices 7 and 8 have the greatest Oor% values. You can see the greatest deformation in this bend in those two slices.

In slices 9 and 10, you can visually verify that the tube starts to recover from the maximum Oor% in the previous slices. You can see that the tube is much more round in slice 10 than in the previous slices.

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 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.