hello again bob
under the umbrella of things related to shorter setup time, there is also the one related to using probes / 3d tasters that have tir; for example, when finding tir of 0.1(or higher), using a test indicator, many will try to adjust it; in reality, is possible to use a probe/taster, with accuracy level of 0.01, even with tir of 0.5mm
classical method involves lowering tir, then using a gauge ring to calibrate
alternative way, is to leave tir as it is, then calibrate inside the ring, but taking those huge errors into account; for example, if calibration was done for a tir of 0.5, then that calibration is still valid, until the tir is no longer 0.5
for this to work, is required to use the probe/taster in a stationary spindle; there are machines that can not handle a probe without rpm, and for those there is really needed to have low tir; as for those that can gauge with stationary spindle, then any tir variation can be handled without tir adjustment
so voila, just another small trick, to shave time from setup operations
as long as erorrs are taken into consideration, there is no longer needed to minimize them, thus palpator tir alignment operation is no longer needed
other thing that i often do, is using the 3d taster not dialing the needle to 0, but only moving it a bit; difference is that at 0 the taster behaves absolute, while at <>0 it behaves relatve; going towards 0 requiers more time from the moment when contact between palpator and fixture/material occured, while going towards <>0, requires more/less time, like more if you go beyond 0, and less if you go before 0; i use to go before 0, like only for the needle to move a few divisions on the dial; doesn't matter how many, only what matters is to always move the dial for the same amount of divisions
there are setups, where origin can be found by using the taster in absolute, or in relative; diference is not big, yet it can be more accurate to use the relative mode, as springs inside the taster won't be compressed too much; to really know those differencies, a calibration process should occur at 0, and another at <>0;
thus even if there are errors, take them into account with a precision that is high enough to deliver actual setups, without really going the extra step for eliminating those errors
for example, that random machine/instalation is accurate at plus/minus 0.005, but it always shows values shifted with 5mm; you may decide to fix it, or to use it as it is, by always substracting 5mm from whatever value it shows; as for probes and tasters, such erorrs can be handled automatically by a macro : just imagine how much time you gain / kindly