Integrating a coordinate measuring machine (CMM) into a robotic production line requires the various machines along the line to communicate with each other. A part has to be identified, the correct part program must be called up and run, and a decision must be made as to the whether or not the part meets tolerances. A simple job, perhaps, if a company makes one part and runs one measurement routine. But many manufacturers have hundreds, if not thousands, of measurement routines.
CMM vendors have developed techniques to address this challenge, often by using the CMM as a dedicated gaging tool that requires human intervention each time a different part is to be measured. But as noted by Jay Elepano, a systems analyst with Mitutoyo America Corp. (Aurora, IL), "Using a CMM in this way doesn't allow you to implement a lot of the tools that make a CMM special, especially the software features."