Holco Blog

Recently, Holco Inc. has begun operations in a new service company: Holco Metrology Solutions.  Holco Inc will now handle all new machine sales, and Holco Metrology will handle everything service-oriented, like installation, calibration, training, programming, etc.

We have also launched our new website, www.holcoservice.com where you can find answers to questions relating to use and programming of smartscopes.  We invite you to create an account, which will allow you to post questions if you need help with anything.  The site is designed so that you can also answer other people’s questions.  The more answers you give, the higher your ranking will be.  We plan to reward the highest ranking customer each month (think giveaways, free training, that kind of thing).  Hopefully, in time it can be a wonderful resource for sharing information and tips. 

As a result of the new company and website, this blog will be retiring.  We’ve hired on a new technician, which should help me add content more often.

We appreciate everyone’s support and look forward to an exciting new year!

If you are running Measure-X ver 4, go to Help -> About and check the version #.  Email me your version # and serial number of your machine to:  johnl@holcosales.com.  You probably will be able to receive a free update!

Any Flash, Zip or Zip Lite running Measure-X 4 should be running version 4.02.21+.

Sitting in Holco’s office right now is a View Benchmark 250 from View Engineering, one of the sister companies of OGP, part of the QVI family.

We will be getting technical training from the guys from View this week, and on Thursday and Friday there are openings for customer demos.

Click this link to learn more about View and the applications for this ultra-high precision ultra-high speed system.

If you want to come in to our office and see a demo or have questions about the system, please call us at 215-283-0156 or email at:  service@holcosales.com.

The demos will be held at:

Holco Inc.
329 Francis Ave
Ambler, PA  19002

The machine will only be here this week!  Don’t let this unique opportunity pass you by!

Have an older SmartScope with an old version of MeasureMind?

Want to know what you’re missing out on?

Click here for a list of enhancements of each version of MeasureMind, starting with version 10.

If you need any further information about any of these enhancements, please let me know and I’ll post the details.

See anything you can’t live without - contact us for a quote for upgrading!

When you measure short arc segments (that span a small number of degrees), getting repeatable accurate radii dimension is problematic.

This paper explains why, including the mathematical formula for all you math geeks out there.

If your print has a radius dimension, but the arc is really small (imagine one slice of a 16-cut pizza), there is a way to measure the radius:

1. Measure the lines that are tangent to the arc - one on each side.
2. Construct a gage ball the size of the nominal radius tangent to these lines.  This will construct the theoretical center point of the arc.
3. Measure a point in the middle of the arc with the strong edge finder or Min or Max Weak Edge tool.
4. Construct the Straight-Line-Distance between the measured point and the gage ball.
5. Construct a Math step that calculates the difference between the nominal radius and the SRL distance.   This is the deviation of the radius from nominal.
6. If you need the actual, add this deviation to the nominal.  The reason for this is:  if the SRL distance is too big, it means the radius is too small.  So, the SRL distance in Step 4 is NOT the actual radius dimension.

Well, it’s almost here!  We’ve been working hard making plans for our GD&T Seminar coming up in a couple months.

Here are the important details to remember:

October 22-23, 2009

Hilton Garden Inn Ft. Washington
530 Pennsylvania Avenue
Fort Washington, PA  19034

Cost:  $655 / person

You can register online by clicking here:  http://www.ogpnet.com/gdt/holco

Or, you can register by calling Holco Inc. at 215-283-0156.

The official flyer with more details is available by clicking here.

HURRY! If you register before September 18, you will be automatically entered to win a FREE GARMIN GPS.

Click below to see instructions on getting data from MeasureMind v10 to a text file, then on into Excel.

View Instructions

Note:  Using the above instructions will create a Tab-Delimited text file.  If you want a CSV, just replace all the ^I’s with commas in the templates.  Then, change the extension from TXT to CSV.

Here are a few template files you can download and use.

Right-click on each link and choose “Save Link As…”
Then put them in C:\OGPMM\CONFIG

Excel.cfg

CSV.cfg

Excel_2Col.cfg

Excel_3Col.cfg

To use these templates, go to System -> Configuration -> Stats Output.  Then click “Load”

These templates should work in later versions of MeasureMind as well!

Many people ask what they can do to maintain their SmartScope.  The best thing is to have a regular preventative maintenace visit (twice a year) by a qualified service engineer.  They will thoroughly clean the machine inside and out and make sure the system is lubricated with proper oils and grease.

Other than that, the best thing a SmartScope operator can do is keep the machine dusted and the filters clean.

If you have a SmartScope Flash, you should check the air filters on at least a monthly basis.  We clean the filters every six months, but more often than not, here’s what we find:

This machine is in a relatively clean office environment and was cleaned six months earlier, yet the filter is completely clogged with dirt.

Here’s what the filter looks like when held up to the light:

If light can’t get through, how much cool air do you think is blowing through the filter?

A clogged filter can lead to all kinds of problems - the internal circuitboards and power supplies generate a lot of heat - and can fail prematurely if not properly cooled.  It could cost thousands to replace damaged boards - it costs nothing to keep the filters clean.

Here’s how:

Pop off the plastic cover and remove the filter.   Rinse out the filter in the nearest sink (the filter is made from a wet/dry material).  You could choose to blow it out instead, but rinsing is a lot less messy!   I like to hold the filter dirty side down, and let the water push the dirt out of the filter.

When clean, wring the excess water out and let air dry.  Look at the difference:

Some companies have PM systems where the filter can be put on a list to remind you to check the filter regularly.  If not, you could certainly write a note on your desktop calender the first of every month to remind you to check the filter.

If you have a SmartScope Zip, MVP or FOV with a white or blue filter material - these are not washable.  However, if your’s is completely clogged, you can contact us and we will send you a replacement.  Be sure to ask the calibration technician for a spare filter that you can use between service visits.

If you have all LED illumination on your SmartScope (no tungsten halogen lamp house) you can change the parameter LIGHT_SETTLE_TIME in hardware.cfg to a value of 4.

This parameter specifies the amount of time to wait when changing light sources during a run. The default value is 30, so changing it to 4 will decrease runtimes.

I recently had a programming challenge and I thought I would share the solution I came up with:

The challenge was: I needed to construct a line at a calculated Y value.  Of course, one can construct a line at a reference value using construct points, but what if the reference value can only be calculated and changes for every part?

The solution involved using the Send Command and File Input.  (NOTE:  The Send Command is only available in MeasureMind (sorry MX users)

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