RFQ Scope for a Coordinate Measuring Machine: Travel, Resolution and Mass
A buyer's guide to scoping a CMM RFQ around measuring travel, resolution and maximum workpiece mass, with questions for quotations, demonstrations and acceptance tests.
Start the RFQ by deciding whether the quoted measuring travel of 500 × 700 × 400 mm must cover every workpiece you plan to inspect, or whether some parts will be excluded from scope. A machine sized exactly to today's largest part leaves no room for future work or for fixturing, so state clearly which workpieces define the envelope and which fall outside it.
Ask suppliers to confirm how the stated resolution of 0.0001 mm is achieved and reported, and whether it applies across the full travel. Request a demonstration using a representative industrial workpiece, and specify an acceptance test that checks repeatable results at defined positions within the envelope.
Treat the maximum workpiece mass of 180 kg as a reference value from the catalog, not a guarantee for a supplied model. Ask how fixturing mass counts toward that limit and what happens if a part approaches it. Decide whether probing, software, fixtures, installation and training are included or excluded, and list each exclusion explicitly so quotations can be compared on the same scope.
Before requesting a quote, confirm with the supplier which options and exclusions apply to your workpieces, how travel, resolution and mass limits are verified at acceptance, and what documentation will be provided.