3.1 Uploading Inspection data from a CMM – 1factory, Inc.

1factory supports CMM data upload in various formats and file types. For a complete list of supported CMMs with example files, CLICK HERE.

To upload a CMM file, please follow these steps:

Navigate to the "matrix view" i.e. the "spreadsheet view" of data entry
Select a row (e.g. if you are entering data for the 15th part, select row 15), then click on "CMM" on the left-hand menu
In the slide-out that appears, click on the paper-clip icon to upload the file.
The data from the file will be matched and entered in the cells in row 15 under the appropriate spec.

In other words, you have to tell the system which part you are uploading data for (e.g. part 1, part 2 etc). To do that you must select a row, and 1factory will import the CMM data into the row you selected.

Setting up your CMM spreadsheet:

1factory matches CMM data to the plan by comparing the balloon number in the CMM data with the balloon number in the QC Plan.
Balloon numbers must be identified with a preceding "#" symbol, and may be followed by either a space " ", or an underscore "_" symbol ***. E.g. #1_, #8.2_, #9.1, #3 etc.
1factory accepts decimal balloon numbers. E.g. #2.1_
Multiple places (e.g. Diameter 3x) can be handled in two ways:
1. Each place can be identified with an alphabet following the feature number. E.g. #12.1A_, #12.1B_, #12.1C_ represent the three places of balloon 12.1 (A refers to place 1, B refers to place 2 and so on)
2. Or if you choose to leave out the alphabet - in this case ease place will have the same balloon number e.g.#12.1_ - and 1factory will import the data in the sequence it is received.
For True Position, each basic dimension must have its own balloon number, and the true position dimension must have its own balloon number.

Ensuring Data Precision:

1factory references the "number" format of the field to determine how many places after the decimal point are imported and displayed.

To ensure that your data is displayed exactly as captured, you must set the Decimal Places in the excel sheet to the correct value. Start by selecting the data column(s)**, then:

Select "Format"
Select "Format Cells"
Select "Number" under "Category"
Set "Decimal Places" to the desired value (e.g. 4 or 5 or 6)

Depending on the Make and Model of the Inspection Equipment you use, you may be able to save this number format in the template. Here are the instructions for formatting the Zeiss Template.

IMPORTANT:

*Serial Numbers: 1factory reads the part Serial Number from within the CMM file. See sample files below for examples.

**. 1factory reads the "actual" value from the "Measurement" or "Actual" column where available. In some cases, the CMM output spreadsheet will display the "actual"" value for a GD&T spec in the "Deviation" column. In this case, we will read the actual GD&T measurement from the "Deviation" column instead of the "Measurement" column.In addition, for Zeiss CMMs, we read the bonus tolerance from the upper tolerance columns. It is therefore important to set data precision for all data columns.

***. The "#" before the balloon number, is required for us to clearly identify the balloon number. The "_" is optional.

Sample Files:

Zeiss (Calypso): We accept Zeiss data in xls format. The serial number is read from the "Part No." field in the header. And the balloon number is read from the "Characteristic" field.

CMM Manager: We accept CMM Manager data in xlsx format. The serial number is read from the S/N field in the header. The balloon number is read from the "Note" field.

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PC-DMIS: We accept PC-DMIS data in csv or xlsx format. The serial number is read from the Serial Number field in the header. The balloon number is read from the Dimension Column as shown below.

Mitutoyo: We accept Mitutoyo data in csv format. The balloon number is read from the "Feature Label" column as shown below. See this video for help configuring Mitutoyo output files: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vf3v5utjxVU

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MicroVu: We accept MicroVu data in xlsx format. The balloon number is read from the Feature column.

Oasis: We accept Oasis data in two formats: .rpt and .xls. Both formats have measurements for many parts in the same file.
- In the Oasis rpt format, data for each part is grouped within a START and END call-out.
- In the Oasis xls format, each feature is a column, and parts are in rows. The balloon numbers are in the Dim row.

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OGP: We accept OGP files in .sta format. The balloon number is added to the feature name e.g. 5_ . Note: there is no #sign before the balloon number. Instead we use the | (pipe) character as the delimiter.

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Starrett: We accept Starrett data in csv files. The balloon number is in the first column. The report may be imported with or without a header as long as the columns are in the sequence shown below.

Keyence: We accept Keyence data is csv format. The balloon number may be in the first column under Measurement results or in the second column under measurement item. We look for the # symbol in column A. If not, we assume it’s in column B . The serial number is imported from the Serial Counter field.