Product FAQ’s

A: Policies around customer access to settings are managed by our network of system providers. Please contact the OEM or distributor who sold you your Mx100 for assistance with the supervisor password.

A: This connector is not a “standard” RS232 connector.  If you have connected a “standard” RS232 cable to this port it is likely interfering with the keypresses on your readout. Please refer to the Mx100/Mx200 Setup guide for wiring information on this connector, or contact you machine representative for more information on the proper cabling.

A: First confirm that a valid printer exists on the current network, and that your tablet wifi is enabled, and network access has been granted. Go to the Android settings page and under the System heading select Printing. Ensure that you have enabled the printing service you intend to use. Retry your printout.

A: The pdf file should be saved to your Android Downloads folder. Navigate to the Android menu using the Apps button on the main android desktop. You should see a link to the “Downloads” folder. The pdf file exported should be in this folder with the filename m1_printout.pdf.

A: More than one cause can be attributed to incorrect feature results:

• Confirm that the unit type you intend to observe results for is the currently selected unit type in the M1 software. Check the unit selector button located on your top toolbar.
• In the case of an Optical Edge enabled system, reteach the optical edge probe using the edge teach button found in the optical edge probe menu. Ensure that good dark and light illumination regions are used for the teach routine.
• The encoder resolution for your system may be incorrect. Please align a crosshair on your comparator or microscope viewfinder at the edge of a known length standard. Zero the X axis DRO and travel the standard length. Observe the results and make adjustments to the Encoder resolution or direction in the Axes Setup screen of your M1 settings menu.

A: In the Mx100 setup menu select the menu item called “Display formats”. From within this screen you can set the display resolution for inch or metric linear units, DMS(Degrees Minutes Seconds or DD(Decimal Degrees) for angular results, as well as Cartesian vs Polar coordinate mode.

A: Policies around customer access to settings are managed by our network of system providers. Please contact the OEM or distributor who sold you your M1 for assistance with the supervisor password.

A: This typically indicates that your Bluetooth enabled M1 interface box is either not powered on, or that the Bluetooth address settings have not been properly configured in the M1 Factory Options and Axis Setup screens.

In the Factory options setup page, the item called “Connection” should be set to Bluetooth. If it is not, select Bluetooth from the connection list. NOTE: A supervisor password must be entered in order to see the Factory options setup menu item.

Next…In the Axis setup screen the Bluetooth address matching your M1 interface box(Bluetooth address should be listed on the interface box product label) should be displayed in the Bluetooth connection address field. If it is not select the Available bluetooth connections item and choose the address that matches your M1 from the list.

If you do not see your Bluetooth address listed please confirm that the device address is being detected in the Android Bluetooth settings screen. Access android settings, then Bluetooth settings, and perform a search, when your device is displayed, and if required pair with it using the Pairing Code 1234. Once this is complete return to the (2) steps above this one to setup the M1 software.

A: Please first confirm that the M1 tablet readout is connected to AC power via the micro USB or general power connector. If the tablet is connected to power, press and hold the tablet power button for 15 seconds and then release it. If you do not see the tablet power on screens, press and hold the power button again for 15 seconds. If the tablet still will not power on, it may be that the battery has become completely discharged. In this case check for a charging LED indicator and wait 10 minutes and try again to press and hold the power button for 15 seconds. If it still will not turn on please contact your Metlogix representative.

A: First confirm that a valid printer exists on the current network, and that your tablet wifi is enabled, and network access has been granted. Go to the Android settings page and under the System heading select Printing. Ensure that you have enabled the printing service you intend to use. Retry your printout.

A: The pdf file should be saved to your Android Downloads folder. Navigate to the Android menu using the Apps button on the main android desktop. You should see a link to the “Downloads” folder. The pdf file exported should be in this folder with the filename m1_printout.pdf.

A: More than one cause can be attributed to incorrect feature results:

• Confirm that the unit type you intend to observe results for is the currently selected unit type in the M1 software. Check the unit selector button located on your top toolbar.
• In the case of an Optical Edge enabled system, reteach the optical edge probe using the edge teach button found in the optical edge probe menu. Ensure that good dark and light illumination regions are used for the teach routine.
• The encoder resolution for your system may be incorrect. Please align a crosshair on your comparator or microscope viewfinder at the edge of a known length standard. Zero the X axis DRO and travel the standard length. Observe the results and make adjustments to the Encoder resolution or direction in the Axes Setup screen of your M1 settings menu.

A: In the M1 setup menu select the menu item called “Display formats”. From within this screen you can set the display resolution for inch or metric linear units, DMS(Degrees Minutes Seconds or DD(Decimal Degrees) for angular results, as well as Cartesian vs Polar coordinate mode.

A: In the M1 Setup menu, access the item called “Measure”. Set the Annotation mode to Forward, and then specify the number of points for each feature type that that you would like to probe before the system will automatically finish the measurement.

A: Confirm first that you have the Auto Edge probe selected; check the probe menu for the currently selected probe. Select a feature measure button, and cross an edge again. See below if no points are entered.

Attempt to re-teach your optical edge probe. Select the teach edge button found in the probe menu and follow the edge teach on-screen instruction. Check edge detection again.

If you receive an error message when attempting to teach your probe, perform the teach again taking special care to confirm the dark and light points with the onscreen instruction, if it still fails contact your service representative.

A: Select any feature in the feature list. You will see a Red X button appear in the bottom right toolbar. Long press this button to delete all features, and to remove all previously performed part alignments.

NOTE: You can also reset the skew and zero without deleting the features by long pressing on the datum indicator found in the top right toolbar(Right Angle icon with the number 1 or 2 in it).

A: Yes. Data can be exported as a CSV file directly to cloud storage, or as an email attachment. The data will be in the CSV format. Data can also be printed to an available wireless printer in our standard M1 report format. Both Export and Printing of data can be performed for all measured features, by having no features selected in the feature list. You can also print or export only selected features from the list.

Enable printing by setting the “Display print button” item in the Desktop setup screen to either Bottom Toolbar or to Extra Pop Up. This will display a print button in either the bottom toolbar or in a separate popup menu.

Enable CSV export by setting the “Display export button” item in the Desktop setup screen to either Bottom Toolbar or to Extra Pop Up. This will display an Export button in either the bottom toolbar or in a separate popup menu.

A: The M1 software manages all of its software settings files from within the Downloads folder in the Android root file structure. Simply make a backup of the entire Downloads folder and place in a safe location, preferably on a different computer.

Backup and Restore of the settings can also be executed using the Export and Import buttons, found in the Locks setup screen of the M1 settings menu. This M1 settings backup file will be written to, or read from the Downloads folder in the Android file system. NOTE: The supervisor password must be entered into the system for these Export and Import buttons to appear.

WARNING: The operations above can have significant impact on the functionality of your M1 system. Please consult your Metlogix Representative prior to manipulating these files.

A: The black and white image displayed is a Metlogix sample bitmap image that we utilize as a place holder in the event that no video signal is detected for the current M3 configuration.

More than one cause can be attributed to the video signal not being detected:

1. A valid camera signal, and licensed Metlogix Hardware, must both be detected by the Windows Operating System in order for an image to appear in the M3 software.
2. First, access the M3 settings screen and confirm that you Image Source has been specified in the “Video” Setup screen. Restart the software. If you still have no image, continue below.
3. Exit the M3 software. Power off the PC. Confirm that USB cables and Power are connected from both your Metlogix source(Encoder Box) and your camera source, from you measuring machine. Restart the PC and your M3 software. If you still have no video image, continue below.
4. Confirm that the Metlogix Encoder Hardware has been successfully installed in Windows:
5. Access the Devices and Printers screen in Windows Settings. If the device displays with a yellow alert icon or red X icon, the driver is either not installed or has failed. If the device display screen shows the “Metlogix USB 3 Axis Card ADK” device with no errors indicated, then the hardware driver is installed correctly and you can proceed.
6. If you still do not have a video image, please consult your Service Representative for assistance.

A: The M3 software manages all of its software settings files from within the Metlogix\Settings folder in the Windows Public Documents folder. Settings files for general operation settings, error correction, and camera settings will all be contained in this folder. Simply make a backup of the entire Settings folder and place in a safe location, preferably on a different computer.

Backups of the settings can also be restored from the Metlogix\Backups folder. The core settings files are updated to this folder at some regular interval, and date stamped for identification. These files can be copied, renamed, and placed into the Metlogix\Settings folder to restore these system settings to the time when they were originally generated.

WARNING: The operations above can have significant impact on the functionality of your M3 system. Please consult your Metlogix Representative prior to manipulating these files.

A: This typically indicates that your USB scale interface box is not detected by the windows system. This can be as a result of that it not being powered on, the USB is disconnected from the PC, or because the drivers have not been successfully loaded, or have failed.

Please confirm that the Metlogix Encoder Hardware has been successfully installed in Windows:

1. Access the Devices and Printers screen from within Windows 10/11 Settings.
2. If the device displays with a yellow alert icon or red X icon, the driver is either not installed or has failed. If the device is listed as the “Metlogix USB 3 Axis Card ADK” device, with no errors indicated, you have successfully completed the Metlogix Interface hardware installation.

For assistance with obtaining drivers for your Manual or CNC M2 system, please contact your measurement system provider for assistance.

A: More than one cause can be attributed to incorrect feature results:

1. Check that the currently selected magnification level on your measuring machine, matches the magnification selector it the M3 software.
2. Confirm that the unit type you intend to observe results for is the currently selected unit type in the M3 software. Check the unit selector button located on your top toolbar.
3. Confirm that the Magnification that you are using has been calibrated in the Video Setup screen, found in the M3 settings menu. If you do not have access please consult your supervisor. See the M3 Setup guide for more information on teaching pixel size in the M3 software.
4. The encoder resolution for your system may be incorrect. Please select the simple crosshair tool. Position it at the edge of a known length standard. Zero the X axis DRO and travel the standard length. Observe the results and make adjustments to the Encoder resolution or direction in the Axes Setup screen of your M3 settings menu.

A: After the first launch of the M3 software a folder, named “Metlogix”, will be created at the following path:

C:\Users\Public\Public Documents\

The Metlogix file output folder will contain the following sub-folders:

• Backups: Will contain settings, and error correction backup files. Backups are generated every 7 days by default however this backup interval can be configured within a Metlogix configuration file. Please contact your Metlogix representative for assistance with making this change.
• Exports: This folder will contain measurement data export files. Files containing measurement data will be exported from the M3 software’s data view to this folder location in either .txt or .csv format.
• Images: This folder will contain images saved from the Image Archive feature of the M3 software.
• Parts: This folder will contain saved part program files from the M3 series software. Files saved to this directory will have the extension “.mlxpart”.
• Settings: This folder will contain the core settings files of your M3 software installation. The setup file “SettingsM3.xml” will be stored in this folder. This file contains all major file settings parameters for your M series software installation. This folder may also contain additional configuration files(metlogix.ini), camera settings files(LastDeviceDetected.xml), or error correction files(NLECnew.txt).

**The Backup, Export, Images, and Parts folders can be assigned to custom output locations or folders using the “File Locations” settings screen, located within in the main settings screen.

A: More than one cause can be attributed to inconsistent part playback performance:

1. Confirm that features chosen to serve as playback registration features represent significant positional and orientation information to the target part coordinate system. For some parts this is difficult, however remember that these registration features do not need to have any other value for the inspection routine, and can even be deleted from the feature list, so they are not included in the routine results.
2. Increase the Search Zone setting, found in the program edit properties. This search zone setting controls how many pixels the M3 software will search in playback, for a given edge, and from a recorded nominal point position. This value represents the entire search zone in pixels, including both directions away from a nominal point location.
   

Procedure:

1. 1. Open the part program that you would like to open the playback search zone for.
   2. Press play to initiate playback.
   3. Press the “Edit” button at the top of the feature list.
   4. Increase the current search zone value. Perhaps start by increasing by a factor of .25, and increment up until the value is doubled, checking playback at each change.
   5. Save the part program when the desired value is determined.

1. Decrease the minimum number of points required for a successful measurement in program playback. This setting is found in the Program setting screen, found in the main M3 settings menu. The value should be entered as a percentage of the total points to constitute a successful measurement.
2. Confirm that the lighting is sufficient and that there are no other significant changes for the video image, as it appears. This can be confirmed by identifying problematic feature measurements, and attempting to measure them in non-playback, or interactive mode.

A: The “gage circle” is constructed from (2) probed line features, and (1) created circle feature of a desired gage diameter.

Procedure:

1. Measure the (2) line features that will contain the constructed gage circle.
2. Create a circle feature, with a specified diameter. This diameter will define the diameter of the gage circle construction. The positional location of the created circle is irrelevant.
3. Select the “Measure Circle” button.
4. Select the (2) probed line features and the (1) created circle feature from the feature list or part view.
5. Press “Done” to complete the gage circle construction.
6. Both the created circle and the constructed gage circle will remain in the part view and feature list. These (2) circles will be the same diameter and at the same positional location. The created circle can then be deleted, if desired.

A: This can be caused by a poor edge contrast within the Field of View. The manual edge teach routine can be performed to improve edge detection capability for a specific edge profile.

Procedure:

1. Select the Measure Logic video probe from the probe menu.
2. Press or click and hold on the edge that you would like to measure.
3. Position the magnification box so that the small target circle settles on the zoomed portion of the edge you are measuring.
4. Release your finger and wait for the teach points disappear.
5. Repeat the measurement with the Eye Measure Probe.
6. Making adjustments to your machines lighting may also improve the edge point detection of the various M3 video probes.

A: Any feature can be measured in a way where a “Done” button press is required to complete the measurement. Simply request the measurement explicitly, that is, press the measure feature button for the feature you are measuring. Once the desired number of points is reached, press “Done” to complete the measurement.

A: When viewing the detail view for a feature, the currently applied tolerance types can be viewed, added, and removed from the “Tolerance Entry” feature detail screen. Pressing a tolerance button from the bottom toolbar will add or remove that given tolerance for the selected feature. Newly removed tolerances for a feature will appear with a “Red Colored” slash through the entry field. This tolerance will be removed from the feature and the screen the next time the tolerance detail view is accessed.

A: Reference features can be specified for Parallelism, Perpendicularity, Angularity, Concentricity, and Runt out tolerance types.

When one of the tolerance types above is applied to a given feature, the reference feature dropdown list will be displayed in the Tolerance feature detail screen, directly to the right of the tolerance value field, as seen below:

IMPORTANT: Only features measured previous to the feature being tolerance can be specified as a reference feature.

A: Feature re-naming can be performed from either the Feature Detail view, or from the Report view.

Feature Detail View:

In the “large” Feature Detail view select the feature whose name you want to change. Select the Feature Name field in the top left corner. The name field will turn green indicating a new name can be entered. Press the “Done” button in the bottom right toolbar to accept the new feature name.

Report View:

In the Report View select and highlight the report line for the feature that you would like to change the name of. Press the “Edit Cell” button from the bottom toolbar, some feature lines will turn pail green, indicating they can be edited. Select the Feature Name field, the name field will turn darker green. Type in the new feature name and press the “Done” button to accept.

A: Column selection can be used for printing and exporting report data. When you select a report column by pressing, or clicking, in the column header, the selected column should become highlighted. Only highlighted columns will be included in exports or printouts.

A: The simple crosshair can be translated and rotated within the field of view. To re-center and re-align the crosshair click or press and hold on the pan/rotate tool button, found in the top left corner of the video window. The crosshair will re-center and the rotation angle will be “zeroed”.

A: Press and hold on the Q Axis DRO button. A Q Rotation entry field will be displayed. Entered the desired angular rotation and press “Done” to rotate the crosshair.

A: M3 VED systems all support Image Archive capability. To archive an image:

Procedure:

1. Position the system so that the desired image in in your field of view.
2. Press the “Markup Menu” button(pencil icon) in the bottom toolbar.
3. Press the “Archive Image” button from the markup sub-menu.
4. An image file will be saved to your default images export folder.
5. NOTE: Long pressing the “Archive Image” button will generate a full frame bitmap of your current FOV.

A: Most feature constructions have additional feature result “sub-types”. As an example, if you construct a distance between some features, you may be looking to calculate the farthest, nearest, or center distance between those two features. If you are measuring a line between to circles, you may need to change the line to the alternate tangent. For any case, feature subtypes are accessed by selecting the desired feature from the feature list or partview, and pressing the change feature button, found in the bottom toolbar(button icon appears as triangle design incased in a circle). The currently selected sub-type for a given feature will be reflected in the partview and indicated in the feature detail view(s).