Lesson 1: Device Setup

00:10

Welcome to the introductory class for PowerInspect.

00:13

In this first lesson, we are going to be following our basic workflow in order to program a simple part.

00:20

The part we're going to be working from can be downloaded from the course page.

00:24

So, make sure you do this before continuing with this lesson.

00:28

Our first step is to connect to our device.

00:32

This process will be slightly different for each device, but the same basic principles apply to each.

00:39

First, you need to make sure that your device is connected to your PC, either wirelessly or via USB cable.

00:46

To connect to a device in PowerInspect, we can navigate to the Tools tab in the ribbon bar.

00:51

In the ribbon, we can find all of PowerInspect's commands, organized by topic to enable quick access.

00:59

Each measuring device has its own protocol, which enables PowerInspect to communicate with third-party software.

01:06

Depending on the device you're using, you should select the appropriate protocol from the dropdown list in the Configure menu.

01:13

To successfully connect, you also need to ensure that the driver software specific to your device has been correctly installed.

01:21

This should have been done when your device was initially setup.

01:25

With the correct protocol selected, press "Connect" to connect to your machine.

01:30

You should see the status bar in the bottom right hand corner change from red to green, and from "Not Connected" to "Machine OK".

01:39

With our device connected, we now need to calibrate.

01:43

Calibrating your machine ensures that subsequent measurements will be valid and accurate.

01:48

Again, this process will vary depending on your machine and should be done in the third-party software, which your device came with.

01:56

Pressing the "Probes" button will automatically bring you into the probe calibration software for your device, which should walk you through the calibration process.

02:05

If you have any issues with this process, you should contact your device manufacturer.

02:10

Once your device has passed the calibration test, the device setup section of the workflow is complete and we're ready to move on to the next stage of our workflow, open and import.