Bushing versus Tooling Ball?

[Peter Warcholyk]

Hello Folks,

In the past, I've always had fixtures with tooling balls. I would do an iterative alignment, pull in my cad data, and start measuring.

I have a couple of fixtures that have arrived, without tooling balls.
Instead they have 3 "bushings". At each of these "busings, there is also what appers to be a "Z" target area, about 1" in diameter.
Next to each of the "bushings" there are x, y & z coordinates stamped on the fixture.

How do I align the fixture with the "bushings"?

Do the x, and y coordinates pertain to the bushings, and the z coordinate to the datum target area??

Thanks for your help.

Regards,
ZydecoPete

[tking]

Use 'em the same way, I think you answered your own questions.

TK

[Jan d.]

Yep. You guessed it right. Use them with the numbers as stamped on the fixture.


Jan.

[gsepan]

Tooling Balls vs. Bushings

I prefer the bushing to tooling balls as I've noticed in the past that if the gage shops do not seat the tooling balls correctly, they can move over time. We have some real winners out on the shop floor when it comes to using "kid gloves" when handling checking fixtures. From all the beating and banging we have noticed that the tooling balls will move up or down between certifications. We ask that the fixture shops do not use them and build the gage in "car-body" or use bushings when "car-body" is not feasable. Just my 2 cents + tax...

[kbotta]

We just don't use the things all together.

[kbotta]

But to answer your question, yes - you can make a 3-d point out of each plane\bushing intersection and do a normal TB alignment...
kb

[Underspec]

I've never used tooling balls or bushings on fixtures. Someone explain how this works

Do these serve as an origin for alignments or what?

[ag162]

Tooling spheres,,,,,balls,,,,,bushings,,,are identified by body location for alignment repeatability. However, this only works if the measurements are correct and always check the datums for accuracy.

A.Gore