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Datum & Orientation Probing Guide

Datum & Orientation Probing Guide

Owned by Jack Holmes
Last updated: Mar 31, 2025 by Geoffrey Brennan
3 min read

  • Under the Advanced tab there is the option to enable Probing. This will activate the Probing section, from which Orientation probing and Datum probing can be enabled.

  • These will produce probing cycles which measure the orientation and position of your billet material in relation to the WCS set on the machine.

  • You can specify tolerances for these measurements, and actions on the control following them.

  • You must have a probe tool in your selected tool library in order for these options to be accessible.

 

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Step-by-step Guide:

  1. Before creating probing cycles with CAM Assist, the first step is to ensure that there is a probe tool in your library. This can be created the same way as any other tool type through the Fusion Tool Library:

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2. With this ready, in the CAM Assist Advanced tab you will see an option for Probing. Activating this will enable a new area below, containing Orientation probing and Datum probing:

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3. Orientation probing will produce probing cycles which check that the orientation of your starting stock material is within a given tolerance, in relation to the Work Coordinate System defined on your CNC machine. With this option active you can define the values for the Flatness and Angle tolerances, along with the actions when the stock is measured to be out of position:

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Flatness will measure the flatness of the top face of your stock. Angle will measure the orientation of the side walls of your stock.

4. When CAM Assist is then run, you will see a Datums and alignment folder created at the start of the generated operations, containing probing cycles to measure the Z Flatness and Rotation Alignment:

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5. Datum probing will produce probing cycles to measure that the true position of your stock material is within a given tolerance, in relation to the Work Coordinate System defined on your CNC machine, and that the size of the stock material is within tolerance. With the Datum probing option active you can define Position and Size tolerance values, along with the actions when the stock is measured to be out of tolerance:

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6. When CAM Assist is run, in the Datums and alignment folder you will see probing cycles created for WCS check only:

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7. Also under the Probing options, and applied to both Orientation and Datum probing, are settings for the Approach and Overtravel distances:

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Approach is the distance before the expected probe point that the probe tool will move towards this point. Overtravel is the distance after the expected probe point that the probe tool will continue to move, before stopping the cycle if the probe has not triggered.

 

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