PREREQUISITES
This article assumes you already have an existing spec plan in QC-Gage so it skips the steps to create a new plan and focuses on just the factor entry.
INTRODUCTION
This article discusses the steps needed to send factor data to QC-CALC from a QC-Gage Spec Plan. Factors can be either numeric or text and can either be typed or chosen from a pre-defined list of items.
GETTING TO THE FACTOR EDITOR
- Open your spec plan by choosing File > Open and selecting your spec plan from the directory where it is stored. It will have a .spl extension. Once chosen, you should see the file name and path in the title bar of the main QC-Gage window.
- Choose Edit > Spec Plan Connections to start the Spec Plan Wizard.
- Click Next 4 times to get to the Factor editing screen.
NORMAL FACTORS
- Type the Label of the Text or Numeric factor in the first column of the factor grid. This will be the name of the factor/trace field you wish to send to QC-CALC.
NOTE: If you want to use a Numeric factor that will be treated as a numeric value in QC-CALC, scroll down past the Text Factors (15 at the time of this writing) to the numeric list.
- Add as many factor labels as you need.
LIST FACTORS
- Type the Label of the Text or Numeric factor in the first column of the factor grid. This will be the name of the factor/trace field you wish to send to QC-CALC.
NOTE: If you want to use a Numeric factor that will be treated as a numeric value in QC-CALC, scroll down past the Text Factors (15 at the time of this writing) to the numeric list.
- Click the adjacent cell in the List column and click the elipses button (...). The Factor List window will appear.
- If you already have an existing list to use, choose it from the listbox on the left side and click OK.
If you need to create a new list, choose Add > List at the top of the window.
- Type the name of the list.
- To add values, choose Add > Value at the top of the window.
- Type the name of the value. Repeat these steps for each value in your list. To edit existing values, simply click on them and type a new value.
- To remove existing lists or values, click the list or value to remove and then choose the appropriate removal option from the Remove menu.
- Once you have chosen your list and clicked OK, you'll be back in the Factor Editor. If you wish to set a default value for your list, choose it from the Default column just to the right of the list column. The default value will be preselected when you begin measuring your parts.
FACTOR OPTIONS
There are 4 checkboxes that change the behavior of the factors when measurements are being taken. The following table describes each.
Checkbox | Definition |
Use the same Factor values for all spec plans | This option allows you to use the same factor values across multiple spec plans. If checked, it will use a global list of factors rather than those values from the current spec plan. |
Clear Factor values after sending data | This option allows you to keep the factor values the same or clear them each time data is sent to QC-CALC. This can be useful if the operator is the same for 8 hours and you don't want the operator to have to re-enter his name each time. To keep the values after sending, leave this option unchecked. |
Allow separate Factor values for each record | This allows different factor values to be saved for each measured part in the batch. By default, if you measure 5 parts in a session, all 5 will have the same values for the factors. If you check this option, you can enter different factor values for each measured part regardless of how many you measure in each batch. |
Allow empty Factor values | This option allows you to specify whether or not factor values are required in order to send the data to QC-CALC. If you check this option, the factors are NOT required. If the option is unchecked, QC-Gage will show a message to the user if he tries to send data to QC-CALC without filling in the factor values. |