HOW CNC WORKS

Computer
Numerical control is a computer-assisted process to control

general purpose Machines from instructions generated by processor and stored in a memory system or storage media for present as well as future use. Numerical Control means - Control by Numbers. Controlling Machines by numerical command has brought about a revolution in manufacturing .CNC can be adapted to any kind of machine or process that requires direction by human intelligence. This text deals with CNC milling centers, Turning centers, Boring Machines & Grinding Machines.

CNC is a specific form of control system where position is the principal

control variables numerical values, representing desired position of tools & symbolic information corresponding to tools & secondary function, are recorded in some form where the information can be stored and revised indefinitely. Hard drives tape readers & other converters transform this information into signals that ultimately operate servomechanism on each axis of machine whose motions are to be controlled. Today 32 & 64 -bit-bus Microprocessors directly coupled with production machines control systems are expanding both the Applications and the basic definition of numerical control.

OBJECTIVES OF CNC
Basic Objectives of CNC machines was to reduce cost for production of machined parts. This objective has been achieved by CNC reducing programming time, including operational capability of the NC systems in place, & making the entire machining process more users friendly. CNC also achieved this objective by reducing machining time, fixturing cost & tooling storage, including cutter life & lowering the skills required to automatically produce precision-machined components. CNC has enabled accurate estimation of production process .CNC permitted more efficient shop scheduling, exact cost prediction higher facilities utilization, & more rapid return on equipment investment compared with less sophisticated machine control techniques or manual operations.

TYPES OF CNC SYSTEMS

CNC systems range from very simple to complex systems. Some of them are: 1. Point to Point Control systems 2. Open loop control systems 3.Continous Path control systems 4.Closed Loop control systems

TYPES OF MONITORING CONTROL SYSTEMS

1.C-Numeric 2.Fanuc

CNC MACHINE MANUFACTURING COMPANIES

1.LAKSHMI MORI SEIKI 2.KIRLOSKAR WARNER SWASEY 3.H.M.T

MOVEMENTS & MEASUREMENTS OF CNC AXIS SYSTEM

A system of rectangular coordinates also the CARTESIAN COORDINATE SYSTEM" is the basis for measuring CNC machine axis movement. All point position are described in terms of distance ROM a common point called as ORIGIN.(X0.000,0.000,Z0.000)& measured along certain mutually perpendicular dimension line called AXIS. It is only necessary when describing geometry of part to locate every point of part within a frame work of 3 such MAJOR AXIS called X , Y , Z axis.

PROGRAMMING OF CNC
CODED LANGUAGES:
CNC has clearly moved ahead to conversational programming formats that have advanced entire programming process to instruction of machine in everyday language, many part programs are stored in conventional program system formats such as G & M codes. These are: N BLOCK Numbers (00-999)

PREPATORY FUNCTIONS

G00 RAPID TRANSVERSE G01 LINEAR INTERPOLATION G02 CIRCULAR INTERPOLATION CLOCKWISE G03 CIRCULAR INTERPOLATION ANTICLOCKWISE G04 DWELL PROGRAMABLE G10 OFFSET SETTING BY PROGRAM G20 INCH DATA INPUT G21 MM DATA INPUT G25 SUBROUTINE CALL UP G27 JUMP INSTRUCTIONS

 G28 REFRENCE POINT RETURN G40 TOOL NOSE RADIUS COMPENSATION CANCEL G41 TOOL NOSE RADIUS COMPENSATION LEFT G42 TOOLNOSE RADIUS COMPENSATION RIGHT G50 WORK CO-ORDINATE CHANGE G64 FEED MOTORS G65 DISC ACTIVATION G70 FINISHING CYCLE G71 MULTIPLE TURNING CYCLE G72 MULTIPLE FACING CYCLE G73 HIGH SPEED DRILLING CYCLE G78 THREADING CYCLE G81 DRILLING CYCLE G82 DRILLING CYCLE WITH DWELL G84 ROUGHING CYCLE LONGITUDNAL G85 REAMING CYCLE G88 ROUGHING CYCLE,FACING G90 ABSOLUTE VALUE PROGRAMMING G92 OFF SET OF REFERANCE POINT G94 FEEDING PER MIN. G95 FEED PER REVOLUTION G50 MAXIMUM SPINDLE SPEED

MISCELLANEOUS FUNCTIONS

* M00 PROGRAMME STOP * M01 OPTIONAL STOP * M02 END OF PROGRAMME * M03 SPINDLE ANTICLOCKWISE * M04 SPINDLE CLOCKWISE * M05 SPINDLE STOP * M08 COOLENT OFF * M09 COOLING ON * M10 CHUCK CLOSE * M11 CHUCK OPEN * M12 LOW CHUCKING PR. * M13 REGULAR CHUCKING PR. * M18 TAILSTOCK IN * M19 TAILSTOCK OUT * M20 QUILL LEFT * M21 QUILL RIGHT * M22 REVERSE INDEX * M23 FORWARD INDEX * M28 PARTS CATCHER OPEN * M29 PARTS CATCHER CLOSE * M30 PROGRAM REWIND

* M36 CANCEL M37 * M37 IGNORE UPTO SPEED FEED * M40 DRY RUN WITHOUT SPINDLE * M41 DRY RUN WITH SPINDLE * M42 NORMAL MODE * M48 CANCEL M39 * M49 FEED RATE & SPINDLE SPEED * M90 IN POSITION CHECK ON * M91 IN POSITION OFF * M92 SOFT JAW BORING * M97 DISABLED * M98 SUB PROG. CALL * M99 SUB PROG. END

INTRODUCTION
A computer numerical control has a microprocessor based computer in the system to store and process the data for the numerical control of motions of the machine tools. The NC system is the heart and brain of the CNC machine which enable the operation of the various machine members such as slides, spindles etc & also optimizes the matching with proper parameters involved in a matching operation.

CNC systems are constructed with an NC unit integrated with a PLC.The NC controls the spindle movement and the machine such as solenoids, relay coils etc.working together the NC & PLC enable the machine tool to operate automatically.

BACKGROUND

Development of CNC machines is an outstanding contribution to manufacturing industries. This has made possible to automate the machining process with flexibility to handle small to medium batch quantities in part production. CNC technology was applied on basic metal cutting machines. Later CNC machines capable of performing multiple operations were developed. Further, the concept of multi operations on the same machine was extended for cylindrical component machining and led to the development of turning centers and grinding centers.

ADVANTAGES OF CNC MACHINES

HIGHER FLEXIBILITY INCREASE IN PRODUCTIVITY CONSISTENCY IN QUALITY REDUCTION IN SCRAP RATE RELIABILITY IN OPERATION REDUCTION IN MANPOWER REDUCTION IN NON-PRODUCTIVE TIME SHORTER CYCLE TIME HIGHER ACCURACY REDUCE LEAD TIME LESSER FLOOR SPACE OPERATIONAL SAFETY MACHINING OF ADVANCED MATERIALS REDUCTION IN MATERIAL HANDLING

CONFIGURATION OF CNC SYSTEM

A CNC system basically consists of the following: CPU SERVO CONTROL OPERATOR CONTROL PANEL MACHINE CONTROL PANEL OTHER PERIPHERAL DEVICES PLC

CNC SYSTEM CONSISTS OF FOLLOWING PCBS

POWER SUPPLY NC CPU MEMORY CARD COMMAND CARD FEEDBACK CARD OPERATOR PANEL NC COUPLING CARD PC COUPLING CARD INPUT/OUTPUT CARD

 PC CPU

CENTRAL PROCESSING UNIT

This is the heart and brain of a CNC system. This translates the part program to position control signals. It also oversees the movement of control axis of spindle and the program signals corrective action is taken. It also checks whether all the required conditions are within the control of the CPU if not then action of shutting down the machine is taken.

A. POWER SUPPLY
It is switching mode power supply it supplies all received dc voltage(12v,15v,5v) to other PCBs.

B. NC CPU
The whole CNC circuit is divided into two portions: NC PART PC PART NC (numerical controller part) -all numerical process/calculation take place.

Central processing unit of NC part is called NC-CNC.

C. MEMORY CARD
It is having three portion/area in one area. It store job machining program and stored on ram module.m/c operator requires to change it. In second portion it store m/c parameter. This portion also contains ram. In third portion it contain CNC system program and it is EPROM which is non-volatile.

D. COMMAND CARD
This card executes axis command voltage (analog) and spindle command voltage (analog) to axis drive & spindle drive respectively.

E. FEEDBACK CARD
This card receive feedback signal (digital) from feedback device for positional or rotational(rpm) calculation.

F. OPERATOR PANEL

It connects CNC system to monitor (display unit) for displaying messages.

G. NC COUPLING CARD
It interfaces NC part & PC part while compile data to assembling language.

H. PC COUPLING CARD
It connects peripheral units (tape reader, printer, floppy drive etc.) with CNC system. For downloading & uploading of m/c data, program.

I. INPUT/OUTPUT CARD
It interface I/P devices (limit switch, proximity switches, overload etc.) & O/P devices (solenoids, counter, relay etc) of m/c side CNC system.

J. PC CPU
It contain central processor unit of programmable control processor. Program of m/c logic is stored in EPROM module on this card.

MODES OF OPERATION
CNC system can be operated in the following modes: MANUAL MODE MANUAL DATA INPUT(MDI) MADE AUTOMATIC MODE SET UP MODE INPUT/OUTPUT MODE

MANUAL MODE
Here, movement of the machine slide can be done manually by pressing particular buttons. Selection of slide is done through an axis selector switch feedrate of slide movement is prefixed.

MANUAL DATA INPUT MODE

Following operations can be performed: 1. Editing of the part program stored in system memory. 2. Building a new part program. 3. Entering tool offsets in the system memory.

AUTOMATIC MODE
System allows execution of part program continuously. Part program is executed block by block while one block is read by the system, analyzed & kept ready for execution. Execution of the block can be continuos or system will execute a block, stop execution of next block till it is initiated to do so. Selection of part program block by block (auto) or one at a time (single) is done through machine control panel. Block retrace is allowed when cycle stop state is established. Part program execution can be resumed and its execution begins with the retraced block. This is important for tool inspection.

SET UP MODE
The m/c can be referenced to its home position so that all the compensation can be applied. Part programs are generally prepared in absolute mode with respect to the m/c zero.

I/O MODE
The part program, m/c setup data, tool offsets etc can be loaded into memory of the system from external sources like programming units or floppy drives.

COMPENSATION FOR M/C ACCURACIES

Machine accuracy is the accuracy of the movement of the carriages and tables and is influenced by: 1.The geometric accuracy of the alignment of the sideways. 2. The deflection of the bed due to load 3.Any temperature gradients existing through the machines. 4. The accuracy of the screw thread of any drive screws and the amount of backlash. 5. The amount of twist of the shaft, which will influence the measurements of rotary transducers.

TOOL MOVEMENT MODES

In a CNC/NC machines, usually the tool moves with respect to the workpiece which remains at the same place. In some cases ex. In a milling machine, the workpiece moves with respect to the tool. However, from programmer point of view this aspect hardly makes any difference as only relative motion between the tool and workpiece is important. While writing programs it is always assumed that tool moves with respect to the workpiece. For the second type of the machine, the workpiece automatically moves in the opposite direction so as to produce the desired relative motion. Three types of motion control are used in a CNC machine: Point to point placement Axial cut Contour cutting

POINT TO POINT PLACEMENT

Such a control simply places the tool over desired location in desired sequence. There is no control over the speed of tool movement between the selected points which always a fast traverse. This type of control can be used

in drilling, punching or similar operations where the location of tool at the timing of operation is important.

AXIAL CUT
This control allows the tool to move along any major axes with desired speed. Therefore cutting along x,y,z axes is possible. Limitation being simultaneous motion along two axes is not possible so it cant make angular cut.

CONTOUR CUTTING
This is the most flexible but the most expensive type of control .It permits simultaneous control of more than one axes movement of the tool.

TOOL CHANGING DEVICES

A number of tools may be required for making a complex part. In CNC machine, tools are changed through program instructions. Tools are fitted in tool magazine or drum. When a tool needs to be changed the drum rotates to an empty position, approaches the old tool and pulls it , then it again rotates to position the new tool, fits it and then retracts . This is typical tool changing sequence of an automatic tool changer. Tool changing time is of the order of a few seconds this saves time and thus increases productivity.

WORK HANDLING DEVICES

Some of the machining centers provide more than one separate pallets which can be of linear or rotary types. These pallets simply move or rotate or interchanging there positions on the machining table.While machining is being done on job kept on one pallet, the other pallets are accessible to the operator for clamping /unclamping raw material/ finished products. This saves a lot of material handling and set up time, resulting in higher productivity.

SPINDLE SPEED AND FEEDRATE SELECTION

Let V = Cutting speed = Angular velocity of spindle N = RPM D = Diameter in mm Then cutting speed V = D/2 = DN/60 in mm/sec.

A very high cutting speed reduces tool life due heat generation, whereas very low speed waste machining time and may break the tool due to large cutting forces. So spindle speed should be properly chosen. Feed also should have proper value .a high value may break the tool due to large cutting forces, and surface finish also will be poor, where low wastes machining time. Usually for heavier cuts, slow RPM is recommended. The largest depth of cut with highest feedrate safely possible is selected. This reduces cycle time and has a negligible effect on the tool life. In any

case costwise reducing the machining time is usually more important than increasing the tool life.

PROGRAMMING PROCEDURE

The basic steps involved in an NC/CNC programming are: (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) Process planning. Part programming. Program entry. Program verification. Production.

PROCESS PLANNING
The design /development department of manufacturing industry design a path and prepare its detailed drawing. For a simple part, three or even two orthographic views are sufficient to describe it fully. After the drawing is finalized the programmer carries out the task of process planning. Process planning is the procedure of deciding what operations are

to be done on the component, in what order and with what tooling and work holding facilities.

PART PROGRAMMING
The next step after finalizing the machining scheme is part programming the first step in part programming is to define a component zero point at a convenient location on the part this become the origin of the co-ordinate system for programming. The axis remains parallel to the machine axis. In the program, all the co-ordinates in the part drawing are specified with respect to this co-ordinate system. The program must follow the standard being used by the MCU (called simply controller also). FANUC controller has now become industry standard. Program written for a specific controller cant be used on a different controller. Where some of the commands (G and M codes) may have the different meanings. This text follows FANUC standard. So the given program can only be used on a FANUC machine.

PROGRAM ENTRY

After the program is ready it needs to be transmitted to the MCU. The most common input medium has been one-inch wide tape over the past 40 years. Even today it is being used in some machines, though they have now being more or less completely replaced by the other media such as floppy disk. Most of the CNC machines provide both on line and offline software for program coding and simulation. Since programming takes substantial amount of time, one cant afford to engage a production machine for this purpose. Hence offline software are invariably used for programming using a standalone computer. These software provide necessary editing features to make correction in the typed program Once the program is ready and verified, it may be transferred to the machine through floppy disk.

PROGRAM VERIFICATION
Once the part program is entered on the machine and execution command is given for producing the part, the operator has no control over machine movements except minor modifications such as over riding spindle RPM and feed. In case of any undesired movement of tool, the machine can only be stopped through the emergency stop switch or the reset button .Any carelessness may result in serious damage to the machine so the program must be thoroughly verified before executing it on the machine for production.

PRODUCTION
Production is the simplest part of a CNC procedure. The person responsible for this need not be a skilled worker. In fact one semi skilled worker may handle several CNC machines on the shop floor. CNC operator has to first check the tool position on the tool turret.If there is any discrepancy from the part program , he may either change tool positions on the turret or modify the program to correct the tool index no. The next thing to be done by the operator is tool offsetting. Infact as already mentioned the details of tool offset can be stored on a floppy disk, which can be reloaded in case of power failure or for a subsequent use on the machine Finally the operator has to check coolant level, air pressure extra.If every thing is okay he give the execution command for production.