How do I perform a RPS Alignment to align my test and reference models?

RPS Alignment, located under the Alignment tab, is the alignment of a Test (scan) and Reference (CAD) object by declaring a set of corresponding points on each, and by constraining each pair of points in a single direction.

The kinds of points that can be paired are:

• Reference Points that lie at the center of any Feature, such as the center point of a Hole, Slot, Rectangle, or Rounded Rectangle

  
  

• Feature Points

  
  

• Feature Point Targets

  
  

• Contact Points from Feature Line Targets

  
  

Once the features have been copied onto the TEST object from the REF object, follow the below steps to get a proper alignment.

1) Click on the RPS icon to enter the command dialog.

2) The user needs to pair the names of the features on the REF object (i.e. Point Target 1 (REF) to Point Target 1 (TEST), etc.). If the names are the same between the TEST and REF objects, click Auto to automatically create the pairs under Feature Pairs. Otherwise, manually select corresponding pairs and click Create Pair for each pair of features.

3) Once the features are paired, start the iterative alignment process by clicking on Align at the bottom of the RPS Alignment dialog. During this calculation, the corresponding pairs are aligned and then iteratively adjusted according to the specified constraints. This simulates the real-world phenomenon of wiggle or play in a physical fixture.

4) When complete, the Statistics group of the dialog will report the deviations between the feature pairs.

5) Click OK to exit the dialog.

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RPS is the alignment of a Test (scan) and Reference (CAD) object by declaring a set of corresponding points on each, and by constraining each pair of points in a single direction.

The kinds of points that can be paired are:

• The Reference Point that lies at the center of any Feature, such as the center point of a Hole, Slot, Rectangle, or Rounded Rectangle

  
  

• A Datum/Feature Point

  
  

• A Datum/Feature Point Target

  
  

• The Contact Point on a Datum Line Target

  
  

Point targets define a point on a model with a radius, or zone, around it. The target area can be chosen by entering a set of nominal coordinated (XYZ values) or manually selecting the target area.

1) Select the Reference (REF) object in the Model Manager.

2) To create point targets, go to Tools>Feature>Create Features or Tools>Datums>Create Datums .

3) Select Point Target under Type.

4a) If Features: Under Method, select Parameters.

4b) If Datums: Under Point Target Method, select One Point

5) In the Radius field, enter the desired value. The definition of the radius field is the size of the contact area when performing an alignment. Press Enter after changing the radius for it to take effect.

6) Click on the REF model to place the point target. When satisfied with its position, click Apply. Click Next in order to create more Point Targets.

7) After all of the point targets have been created on the REF object, use Tools>Auto Create Datums/Features. This automatically copies the datums/features from the REF object to the TEST object. Click Apply, then OK to exit the command.

8) Now the user is ready for RPS Alignment. To enter the command, go to Tools>Alignment>RPS Alignment.

9) The user needs to pair the names of the datums/features on the REF object (i.e. Point Target 1 (REF) to Point Target 1 (TEST), etc.). If the names are the same between both objects, click Auto to automatically create the pairs under Datum/Feature Pairs.

10) Click Align to align the REF and TEST objects using the created pairs of datums/features. The aligned objects will be displayed in the Aligned section of the screen.

11) If satisfied with the alignment, click OK. If the alignment was unsuccessful, there may not have been enough datums/features to completely constrain the alignment. If that is the case, cancel the RPS alignment and re-enter Create Datums and/or Create Features to add more datums/features. Then, repeat the subsequent steps.