Development of a Smart Computer Numerical Control System
Traditional Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machines use ISO6983 (G/M code) for part programming. G/M code has a number of drawbacks and one of them is lack of interoperability. The Standard for the Exchange of Product for NC (STEP-NC) as a potential replacement for G/M code aims to provide a unified and interoperable data model for CNC. In a modern CNC machine tool, more and more motors, actuators and sensors are implemented and connected to the NC system, which leads to large quantity of data being transmitted. The real-time Ethernet field-bus is faster and more deterministic and can fulfill the requirement of data transmission in the high-speed and high-precision machining scenarios. It can provide more determinism on communication, openness, interoperability and reliability than a traditional field-bus. With a traditional CNC system using G/M code, when the machining is interrupted by incidents, restarting the machining process is time-consuming and highly experience-dependent. The proposed CNC controller can generate just-in-time tool paths for feature-based machining from a STEP-NC file. When machining stoppage occurs, the system can recover from stoppage incidents with minimum human intervention. This is done by generating new tool paths for the remaining machining process with or without the availability of the original cutting tool. The system uses a real-time Ethernet field-bus as the connection between the controller and the motors.