HANDHELD DEVICE IMPROVES CMM PROGRAMMING AND OPERATION
The Universal Jogbox from Hexagon Metrology incorporates a touch screen interface with an ergonomic design and soft-touch materials that withstand the rigors of industrial use with improved resistance to drops and similar shocks.
Posted: May 25, 2010
Hexagon Metrology, Inc. (North Kingstown, RI ) offers the Universal Jogbox, a new handheld input device for Brown & Sharpe and Sheffield brand Coordinate Measurement Machines (CMMs). Incorporating a modern touch screen interface with an ergonomic design and soft-touch materials, the Universal Jogbox was designed first and foremost to be extremely tough, designed to withstand the rigors of industrial use with improved resistance to drops and similar shocks.
"Not only does the Universal Jogbox offer improved reliability and robustness, but we've also included many new features that will streamline the programming and operation of our Brown & Sharpe and Sheffield branded CMMs," remarked Hexagon Metrology product manager Eric Bennett. "From the layout of the touch screen interface to the new interaction features with our PC-DMIS measurement software, we've taken into consideration how our customers use the CMM and designed a handheld device that optimizes the workflow."
The Universal Jogbox uses a combination of traditional mechanical "hard" buttons, dials, and a joystick along with an industrial color touch screen for "soft", contextual input and output. Traditional mechanical inputs are ideal for speed control and machine movement ? these controls are by necessity always available to the user. The touch screen on the other hand is highly configurable. For instance, CMM operators may wear gloves to avoid transferring heat and oil from their hands onto the parts being measured. A special screen was developed to accommodate gloved-hand operation with widely spaced buttons. Furthermore, the new touch screen controls employ universal symbology for enhanced usability across many languages. For users that prefer the button layout of the existing Brown & Sharpe or Sheffield joysticks, a touch screen layout is available that duplicates the old-style button types and labels.
An upgrade version of the Universal Jogbox is offered with features to interact directly with PC-DMIS software, avoiding the need to move back and forth between the CMM and computer screen and keyboard. For instance, many PC-DMIS operator prompts can be viewed and answered directly from the Universal Jogbox. In addition, for CMMs that include an automatic indexing probe head, the probe heads index angles can be modified directly from the hand held device.
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