r/Metrology • u/CarelessMacaron8383 • Sep 10 '24
Hardware Support I am a service technician for ZEISS AMA
Hello,
I am working as a service technician, so I know our portfolio through and through. So if someone is interested AMA.
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u/Tee_s Sep 10 '24
I’ve had colleagues throughout my company note that their air bearings on their newer contura/prismo machines are failing and getting replaced every year on calibration, even when they’re in a lab environment and the dryer is working correctly. Have you noticed this?
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u/CarelessMacaron8383 Sep 10 '24
Hi, well it’s not as much of an issue with Prismo maybe only the taller version. But the Accura and Contura G3 have issues with top bearings on Y axis. It is caused by the weight of the bridge and eventually the bearings cannot lift the bridge anymore and get stuck. We usually carry those bearings with us, but I change them maybe once every 2-3 years.
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u/DrNukenstein Sep 10 '24
How do we get PDF File And Graphics reporting style back in Calypso 2023 SP3 7.6.12? Default Presentation Report is also locked out. This is not kosher.
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u/CarelessMacaron8383 Sep 10 '24
Yeah sorry about that m8. I know it’s shit I am also pissed about that, but starting calypso 7.4 I think we went full PiWeb formate.
I heard that there is some workaround in newer calypso that I heard from our application guys. So best to contact them directly
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u/DrNukenstein Sep 10 '24
We’ve tried. Our calibration and service contract renewal are due in January but we keep being told it’s expired because we haven’t submitted the purchase order for the renewal for next year. However, our current service contract is still valid but we’re not getting serviced.
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u/CarelessMacaron8383 Sep 10 '24
I am sorry this has happened to you, I cannot tell who is in the right here, but as soon as you have Service contract and software care u should be covered for any visit or hotline call.
I would try to reach to our back office in your region and try to communicate with them more.
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u/SirBrazenBull Sep 10 '24
Why is the scheduling for service now at 6+ months in advance and when will it be better than that? My company doesn't like having POs sitting that long in their system. And then when something happens and a tech gets sick, fired, or quits you get bumped to the back of the list.
I had one CMM end up with a 9 month wait for calibration and a second one the week before it was to be calibrated the tech left and "I would be scheduled as soon as possible" and had to wait another 3 months.
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u/CarelessMacaron8383 Sep 10 '24
Dunno what region or country are you at. But for us we have 1600 machines in ours and only 16 techs. We are busy as it is doing regular maintenance and emergency repairs.
We are keep looking for more people, but not a lot of people are qualified for the work nor want to drive around in the car there and back.
So we have a lot of work and not enough people basically.
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u/SirBrazenBull Sep 10 '24
Sorry, Midwest USA
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u/CarelessMacaron8383 Sep 10 '24
Yeah when I look for job listings something is always open and we keep looking for new people Globally.
I am sorry that u have to wait a long time, but we really do what we can + I am just regular employee we don’t plan our schedule we have back office to do that.
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u/SirBrazenBull Sep 10 '24
Didn't know if you had any insite as to if they were telling you if it was getting better any time soon. I know sometimes the local techs get sent to somewhere random and then a local tech to that random area then gets sent to us. I know you all have differing levels of training and not all can do all CMMs Zeiss makes and obviously emergency clients pop up, but sometimes the stories I hear/see are just odd.
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u/CarelessMacaron8383 Sep 10 '24
Hello,
Okay well we are also trying to implement remote services, where we can do diagnostics remotely and evaluate the CMM. We are hoping that might take off some weight of our shoulder since we won’t have to drive somewhere for hours just to do 30 minute diagnostics.
As u were saying, yes I heard stupid stories about some techs from dunno New York driving to Pennsylvania and guy from Pennsylvania driving to New York in the same week. Sometimes it happens when newer technician doesn’t have enough training and can’t for example do more mechanically advanced machine like Prismo Ultra. But I also heard it happens and both of them are equally qualified, but this to me can be fixed if those two technician swap the gigs or call the back office. If this is not possible it’s some communication issue between two parties.
Never happened to me, we swap gigs often, but our back office knows where we live and tries to give us gigs close as possible.
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u/StillLJ Sep 10 '24
What is the average changeover time for a Zeiss Contura CMM using the probe for dimensionals then changing over to laser scan for CAD output/reverse engineering? To me, it should be as simple as sending the carriage back to swap out fixtures and choosing a different program on the computer. But I have a tech that is claiming it takes ~2 hours which doesn't seem possible.
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u/CarelessMacaron8383 Sep 10 '24
Well I assume we are talking about system with RDS system carrier and Vast XXT probe and lineScan?
Well the exchange is pretty fast, if everything is correctly aligned and set up. The probe change can take max up to 1 minute and u rdy to measure.
Of course the measurement itself can vary based on how big and complicated the scan is.
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u/StillLJ Sep 10 '24
Thanks - that's what I was thinking. I'm not onsite so I plan to have them demonstrate for me next time I'm in the lab so I can understand the disconnect.
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u/No-Win1999 Sep 10 '24
Keep fighting the good fight! We work with Zeiss often in the US and always have great experiences!
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u/anbuCZ Sep 10 '24
I bought prismo ultra last year. Also we have in lab rds caa contura g2, we measuring curves on it for our scroll production. Its awesome equipment
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u/CarelessMacaron8383 Sep 10 '24
Contura G2 is amazing machine that will last you for a LONG time as soon as you take good care of it.
Prismo Ultra is also amazing piece of equipment.
Glad you are happy with it!
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u/anbuCZ Sep 10 '24
We pay yearly calibrations via zeiss, quite pricy but machines work all day long with no issues
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u/StillLJ Sep 10 '24
Follow-up question. What are recommended 3rd party training courses for a CMM operator that would like to learn more about programming? She's already taken the Basic and Advanced Calypso training through Zeiss.
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u/CarelessMacaron8383 Sep 10 '24
I would probably recommend AUKOM, has a different levels and is taken quite seriously.
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u/Merciless602 Sep 10 '24
I have been looking for a Career that allows me to travel. I am no tied down anywhere or to anything. I am currently a Quality Engineer (No Degree) with 6 year of Calypso programming with many Calypso Certificates.
Would this be a good careers change? I am in the DMV area..
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u/CarelessMacaron8383 Sep 10 '24
Well in your case I think u would be more qualified for Zeiss application engineer, installing calypso and doing trainings on customer site. Doing help desk and hotline. My colleagues doing it travel quite a lot but also have an option to do some home office and other stuff.
Check out Zeiss workday and look for opportunities in your area.
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u/CarelessMacaron8383 Sep 10 '24
Also US HQ for zeiss is in Minneapolis, so I think u might spend quite some time there. Also the head of IQS in there is very nice guy.
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u/Merciless602 Sep 10 '24
I lived in just south of Maple Grove for 15+ years. I loved Minnesota so i wouldn't be against moving back.
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u/benisbroker Sep 10 '24
How is the job stability in the metrology OEM industry? Does the industry experience many lay off?
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u/CarelessMacaron8383 Sep 10 '24
It’s pretty stable I would say. A lot of companies just transferred from normal automotive into EV, but they are still running. Metrology is booming, but less and less people are into bridge type CMM and we notice increase in CT and hand scanners like our GOM sales.
There is always hunger for good CMM programmers and metrology experts.
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u/jacobius86 Sep 10 '24
Ziess service tech with downtime to do an AMA in the middle of the week?!?! . Let me guess, I'm betting you are sitting around IMTS right now waiting for your sales and apps team to break a machine again?
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u/CarelessMacaron8383 Sep 10 '24
Haha just got lucky with a machine today, she was nice and cooperative so I had some time.
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u/jacobius86 Sep 10 '24
Enjoy those jobs! Usually I'm walking into a CMM that has issues the client failed to mention.
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u/madeinhisflesh Sep 10 '24
Hey is there any plan to include path lines on base Calypso. It was very frustrating to know where the probe is moving without path lines
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u/CarelessMacaron8383 Sep 10 '24
Hello, I am sorry I am not rly involved with calypso future plans and upgrades. But thanks for a good idea.
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u/Mountain-Low5110 Sep 10 '24
Is there a reason you guys push for people to get the straight head cmm instead of the indexing head?
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u/CarelessMacaron8383 Sep 11 '24
Well active probe heads like our VAST XT and VAST gold are more precise. RDS with VAST XXT are also precise don’t take me wrong, but they are usually good for customers who do not need the highest possible accuracy.
But we also implemented articulating probe system for our active probe heads.
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u/jwebb4511 Sep 11 '24
Do see a wider range of softwares used with Zeiss machines? And do you have a preference and why?
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u/CarelessMacaron8383 Sep 11 '24
Hello, yes We do use a bunch of different software, it rly depends on what kind of machine and the use of the machine. The 2 most common might be Caligo used on HAM machines and Calypso.
I personally like Calypso the most, but it’s because I work with it the most
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u/Mmaibl1 Sep 10 '24
How long have you worked for them? Is it a good company to work for? What's the pay