Hello…I have read in the past about the problems with some 3D digitizers and Rhino, specifically with the Faro Gage arm which I recently purchased second hand as well as a Metris MCA I arm. The Faro Gage arm was manufactured in 2005 and the Metris arm in 2008. The Metris MCA I is similiar to a Romer arm and have been told Microscribe made a MicroscribeX arm but didn’t release it for sale. They MCA I and MicroscribeX look like twins. I use MCA Utilities to connect the arm to my Win10 laptop and was wandering if I might be able to use the Microscribe plug in to use it in Rhino. Haven’t tried the Faro Gage yet. Any ideas…thoughts…recommendations…theories…personal stories to share on this topic. Thanks!!
PS. I am able to connect to CMM-Manager2022 via MCA Utilities but would rather use Rhino.
Hi Sky…I’m hoping to do reverse engineering, mostly hole locations of various sizes on .375" thick steel plate as well as the outside diameter/shape with either the Faro Gage arm or the Metris MCA I arm, kind of like what RevWorks or Point2CAD do. I have a number of personally fabricated auto parts I’d also like to make digital twins of in a CAD program. I have Rhino7 but I did download Rhino5 last night to see if it will work with the MCA arm using the MicroscribeX plug in. Will try it tonight. I’ve heard that Faro locked out 3rd party access for the Gage arm until around 2009-ish. I have an older Creaform 3D scanner as well but figuring out exact hole locations can be difficult via 3D scans, at least with the low buck software I have access to now.
I’ve used both Creaform units and FARO arms, and I’d rather find holes via the Creaform unit any day of the week and twice on Sundays. You should be able to get very nice definition even with the standard Creaform software. What unit do you have?
ETA - if they are small holes, you may be better off using a ball tip - one that’s significantly larger (~2x) than the hole diameters, but short of that…go Creaform
I had the Creaform badged version of that unit back in the day - it’s a little slow but definitely gets the job done. How big are the holes you’re scanning?
Holes range from .3125", .375", .500" , 3" and 4" diameters. The scanner gets me close after some low buck reverse engineering but I think the arm(s) will be quicker. I have used the MCA I in CMM-Manager2022 with limited success so far. I’ve only used CMM-Manager 3 or 4 times. I can get the bolt holes on the same plane but some are not the correct diameter or location. The MCA only came with a 6mm ruby ball. I need to get a 3mm. The Faro has a 3mm and a 6mm ruby ball.
I feel capturing the 3D data in Rhino5, 6 or 7 will be better in the long run.
Are your expectations realistic? From a practical point of view the part doesn’t look like something that requires that kind of precision. I’m assuming the small holes are fastener holes? Are you using precision ground bolts? BTW: If the holes around the outer edge are fastener holes they appear to have really skimpy edge distance. Just some thoughts from a sidewalk superintendent.
The holes circled in purple need to be located within .001" - .002" as they center and locate the plate and what is bolted up to the outer holes. The outer holes edge margin look narrow because picture was not taken perpendicular to the plate, more like 45°.
If the plate were metal perhaps the the holes might have been drilled accurately to 0.001".
This however appears to be a gasket in a flexible material like neoprene, rubber, or some type of fabric. I doubt very much that the holes were drilled or die cut with that accuracy due to the variation in the material. Even if the Gage arm is accurate to ±0.001" or better, I suspect the holes are actually oversize a bit to accommodate some dimensional variation.
The topic has come up before and there is no support for Faro in Rhino.
I believe Faro has their own app called CAM2 Measure, you might find a legacy version here: Legacy-Software.
