Pros and Cons of the Probe Rack

[afenner]

Does anyone have and use a probe rack? The new CMM I'm getting is coming with a 6 station probe rack and I've never used one before.

Are they good, bad, helpful, a pain to use, etc?

Any opinions are welcome, I'm just looking for a general consensus of their usefulness, advantages, and disadvantages.

Thanks!!!

[AuRules]

They are very helpful and easy to use especially if you need more than 1 tool setup, small tips for snap rings and small holes and large longer tips for depths of cylinders and etc. Just post your questions when you get it and someone will help you along the way......

[Gregl]

I think the only disavantage I can think of is that you lose some of your table space, Other wise it is great.

[bw_bob]

I loved it till both of my TP-200 quit working. Moneys tight so cannot get fixed @ this point. I enjoyed having the rack.






Memories light the corners of my mind.
Misty water color memories of the way we were.
Scattered pictures of the smiles we left behind.
Smiles we gave to one another for the way we were.

Can it be that it was all so simple then,
Or has time rewritten every line?
If we had the chance to do it all again,
tell me, Would we? Could we?

Memories may be beautiful, and yet,Whats too painful to remember
We simply choose to forget.

So its the laughter we will remember,
When ever we remember the way we were,
The way we were.

[dwade]

I've got a rack on our CMMs and would be lost without them. There are 4 probes we use as default and there are numerous "special" probes I can use just for unique parts I can put in the rack when the time arises when those bays are normally empty.

[cmmguy]

Does anyone have and use a probe rack? The new CMM I'm getting is coming with a 6 station probe rack and I've never used one before.

Are they good, bad, helpful, a pain to use, etc?

Any opinions are welcome, I'm just looking for a general consensus of their usefulness, advantages, and disadvantages.

Thanks!!!

Probe rack or Stylus changer? Stylus changer is easy to use, probe rack can be a real pain if alignment is not perfect...

[Underspec]

Advantages I've seen:

- You don't have to re-calibrate due to having to re-build each probe. Assign a probe tip to a module.
- Eliminates the tampering of probe modules by operators.
- Programs that require multi-type probes run automatically.
- If you have one, use it! These are pretty expensive!


You might have some issues setting it up depending on what type you have. I have two TP20 6-slot racks and had to edit my slot coordinates for it to pick up properly. But you'll have to post your issues here for help.

[T Miller]

They work great we have 4 machines with them on and like said before keeps the operators hands off them. I wish I had one on this machine

[B. Jacobs]

We got a MCR20 about 6 months ago and I don't know how I lived without it. I have 4 modules that I use with it and it works great.
I have had to move it a couple of times do to the size of parts I was checking, but I haven't had any problem recalibrating it.

[Mike N.]

Probe rack or Stylus changer? Stylus changer is easy to use, probe rack can be a real pain if alignment is not perfect...

cmmguy...

the alignment can be adjusted in the settings editor if its not working properly after calibration

[cmmguy]

cmmguy...

the alignment can be adjusted in the settings editor if its not working properly after calibration

Understood, was referring to the physical alignment of a Probe changer not a stylus changer. Also the new ACR3 racks are a pain to get physically aligned also.

I still want to know why you can't put an MCR20 changer at a 45 degree angle on the table(or any other angle for that matter). It sure would save alot of space on the CMM if you could... Anyone running a Discovery knows what I mean.