Numerical Control I

NC - Numerical Control - Software control of manufacturing processes.

Based on a code of letters, numbers & special characters called a prog ra m.
CNC - Computerized Numerical Control – NC machine with the addition of an on-board
computer referred to as a machine control unit or MCU

NC His tory
 1725-Knitting machine controlled by sheets of punched cardboard
 1863-Player piano introduced
 1947-John Parsons of Parsons Corp. in Traverse City, Michigan coupled a computer
to a jig borer
 1952-MIT coins phrase “Numerical Control” & demonstrates vertical mill with
special control unit
 1955-National Machine Tool Show, commercially available NC machines were
displayed

Im prov em ent s in elec troni cs & so li d-s tate d ev ices red uced si ze of
co nt rol uni ts a nd increased cap ab il ities
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Ap pli cat ion s of NC
Chip producing machines: Drills, Mills, Lathes, Bores, Saws, Etc.
Chipless machining: Flame Cutting, Punches, Wire EDM, Welding,
Non machining: Paint Spraying, Tube Bending, Assembly, Etc.

NC used to
1) Position cutter (move table)
2) Change tooling
3) Adjust coolant flow (flood/mist-on/off)
4) Adjust spindle speeds
5) Perform operations at a point (plunge, tap, bore, etc.)
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ST EPS INVOL VED ON G EN ERAL PU RPOSE MAC HINE:
Op era ti on Of f Mach in e On
Mach in e
Pla n ope ra tion sequ en ce X
Sele ct tools X
Set and change tools X
Sele ct fee ds and spee ds X
Set feeds and sp ee ds X*
Pos it ion wor k X
Start and stop mach in e ope ra tion s X*
Con tr ol pa th bet ween wor k & tool X
du rin g cu tt in g
Ra pid pos iti on tool for next cu t or X
pa rt unloadin g

* Performed via Numerical Control software

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Ci rcum sta nce s b es t suited to NC

 Mass pr oduct ion qu antit ies

 Com pl ex geom et ri es
 Tigh t tole ra nce s
 Rep la cem ent part s
 Parts subjec t to modif ica tion
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Ad vanta ges of Numeri cal Con trol

 Gr ea te r ope ra tor ef fic ien cy

 Gr ea te r ope ra tor safet y
 Red uct ion of scra p
 Red uce d le ad tim e for pr odu ct ion
 Fe wer chances for huma n error
 Maxim al acc uracy and in te rc hangea bil it y of pa rt s
 Lowe r tooli ng cos ts
 Increa sed pr odu cti vi ty
 Min im al sp are pa rts inven tor y
 Gr ea te r machin e too l safety
 Fe wer man hou rs for inspe ct ion
 Gr ea te r machin e uti li za tion
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Rol e of the Op erato r

Ex ec ute Mach in e Con tr ol Un it (M CU) or Con sole Set ups

Start and Stop Mach ines
Load and Un loa d Work pie ces
Maintain High - Lev el Mach in e Too l Per form ance Standards
Ch ange NC Inpu ts as Nec es sary (Per En gi neeri ng)
“Feed ba ck” Infor ma ti on to Progra mm er/E ngi nee r
Numerical Control I

Pro gr ammi ng me tho ds for N C

 MAN UA L (#4)
 CO MPUT ER ASSISTED
 Language (#5A)
 Graphic (#5B)
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Tw o ways inform ati on is fed in to an NC ma ch in e.

 Au xiliary O perati ons :

Tool change, spi ndl e rev ers al, tool on /of f, cool ant
on /of f,
spi ndl e spe eds (R PM), spi ndl e feeds (I PM)

 Geome tri cal Machi ne Mov eme nts :

a) Translation – X , Y , Z
b) Rota tion – abou t X , Y , Z axis
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Any movement under control of NC input is called an axis . (ie)

 2 axis machine: X,Y control (usually lathe)

 3 axis machine: X,Y,Z control
 4 axis machine: X,Y,Z, one rotational control
 5 axis machine: X,Y,Z, two rotational control
*often called machining centers and include tool changes…
Toshiba – 9 axis mill for sub propellers
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To specify coordinate points to a machine tool, there are two

positioning point reference systems. (#7)

Ab sol ute:
all measurements are taken from a fixed origin (X=0,Y=0,Z=0)
*helpful to have part prints with baseline dimensioning*

Incr emental :
all measurements for the next position are made from the last
or previous position