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Data Acquisition from Gages

Data collection from gages. In this example we will use a drop gage from Mitutoyo to show how to hook up sigma SPC with a gage. The procedure would be similar using any gage.

Steps:

  1. Connect the gage to the computer by following the instructions in the gage manual.
  2. Start AT-Sigma SPC.
  3. We will now create a simple spc file that takes penny measurements and plots it in a control chart. If you don’t want to go through the steps of creating this SPC file, skip to step 4.
  1. Start the Setup wizard from the File menu.
  2. Select directory samples/gage. Click Next >.
  3. Table name: Mypenny
  4. Add numeric field: Diameter
  5. Add numeric field: Thickness
  6. Click Next >
  7. Set sample size to 2 and click Finish.
  1. Open penny.spc, located in sigwin\samples\gage\
    Now, we need to     set up the gage. Since all gages are slightly different, the details will differ when you set up your gage. Please refer to the gage manual for details.
  2. Select Data Entry|Gages and then Setup|Port Setup and Enable from the main menu.
  3. Click in the check box for the port your gage is connected to.
  4. Click in any other check boxes to remove any check marks.
    Make sure there is no check mark in MONITOR MODE.
  5. Click on the Setup... button to configure the port and gage options.
  6. In the COM ports tab, enter Mygage as the Communication Port Title.
  7. The following configuration is for a Mitutoyo gage. Please refer to your gage manual for the settings you need to use to receive gage data from your gage.
  1. Choose communication settings to use Even parity, 7 data bits, 1 stop bit, 9600 baud.
  2. Click on the STANDARD tab.
  3. Click on the CHARACTER TERMINATED radio button and enter #13 in the adjacent edit field.
  4. Click on the FILTER tab. This section lets you filter the incomming data so it will be usable in a data base. Checkmark Strip Leading Spaces, Strip Trailing Spaces and Filter Characters. Make sure Characters To Keep reads: 0123456789.+-e.
  5. Click on the ADVANCED tab. The advanced section allows you to make a script that will be executed when you want to retrieve data from the gage. Not all gages need this procedure.
  6. Enter the following in lines 1 through 5.
  7. Send Wait For   Loop To… Delay
    B B#013      
    r r#013      
    B B#013      
    g g01#013      
    B B#013      
  8. Check the Enable box and enter 5 in as number of strings.
  9. Click on the MONITOR tab and checkmark "Set to Sigma SPC" at the very bottom.
  10. Press the OK button and then the OK button again in Setup Port Action.
  1. Now we need to configure Data Entry. Select Data Entry Setup from the Data Entry menu.
  2. Select Diameter. Enter the following limit values:
    USL: 0.76
    Target: 0.75
    LSL: 0.74
  3. Click on properties.
  4. Check the Data Pipe checkbox.
  5. Click on Select gage name and select MyGage.
  6. Select Thickness. Enter the following limit values:
    USL: 0.06
    Target: 0.055
    LSL: 0.05
  7. Go through steps 13 – 15 again for the Thickness variable.
  8. Now that all setup is done, it’s time to collect data from the gage. Select Data Entry from the Data Entry menu.
  9. Click on the gage button () to collect data from the gage. For more information on how to use the Data Entry module, click here.
  10. If you have the control charts open, you will see how they update when you press save.
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