An Open STEP-NC Controller via LabVIEW Platform

Journal of the Brazilian Society of Mechanical Sciences, 2002

The evolution of digital circuit technology, leadind to higher speeds and more reliability allowed the development of machine controllers adapted to new production systems (e.g., Flexible Manufacturing Systems -FMS). Most of the controllers are developed in agreement with the CNC technology of the correspondent machine tool manufacturer. Any alterations or adaptation of their components are not easy to be implemented. The machine designers face up hardware and software restrictions such as lack of interaction among system's elements and impossibility of adding new function. This is due to hardware incompatibility and to software not allowing alterations in the source program.

2015

CNC technology is the key technology of the machine tools, which are the base of industrial unit computerization. CNC machines are operated by controllers, each of which has a software module inside known as interpreter. The function of interpreter is to extract data from CAM system generated code and convert to controller motion commands. However, with the development of numerical control technology existing CNC systems are limited with the interpreter lacking in expansibility, modularity and openness. In order to overcome these problems open architecture control was introduced. In this paper, a conceptual module of new software system is presented. The developed system is able to interpret ISO 14649 and 6983 code and translate as per internal structure required by the CNC machine. It interprets position, feed rate, tool, spindle etc data and translates to CNC machine. At the mean time it is also able to generate output in text and XML files as per user defined file structure.

Robotics and Computer-Integrated Manufacturing, 2009

Modern manufacturing industries demand computer numeric controllers, having higher level input languages than outdated G-code, and less proprietary vendor dependencies. IEC 61499 is a new standard for distributed measurement and control systems, that enables portability and interoperability of embedded controllers, along with the ease of their mapping to arbitrary distributed networking hardware configurations. This paper demonstrates that the IEC 61499 reference architecture can be successfully used to create a computer numeric controller, offering interoperability, portability, configurability, and distribution characteristics. The layered CNC-FB architecture is proposed, which simplifies the design of a CNC machine controller with the architecture layers responsible for data processing, data storage and execution. In combination with the object-oriented Model-View-Control design pattern, the CNC-FB architecture supports the design framework, in which simulation of the machining becomes natural and inherent part of the design process, with seamless transition from simulation to actual machining. The implemented controller was tested in both the model and on an actual milling machine.

Open control is a well known term in the field of machine control. This paper presents a framework of STandard for the Exchange of Product Data-compliant Numerical Control (STEP-NC) based open control system for Computer Numeric Control (CNC) milling machine. Real time control, high efficiency and low cost have been the main focus of proposed open control system. A method that develops open control system is composed of hardware and software platforms. Proposed open control system helps in to improves the quality of machining, increase productivity, saves times, avoid machine accidents, increase tool life and enables monitoring/inspection/control system for various machining processes and parameters online/offline.

JOP (Japan Open System Promotion Group) has been conducted the CNC API standardization for three years to provide the environment to implement custom HMI and communication tools with upper controllers. The specification of the API set: PAPI (Principal Application Program Interface) has defined and becomes new Japanese standard. This API has developed for open CNC systems that involve three types of open controllers including proprietary NC systems. PAPI consists of two group API sets such as Basic API and Extended API. This paper describes its development concept, specification and example results that could simultaneously control two different manufacturers controller by the same HMI. This development could accelerate the spread of open NC systems in real manufacturing field.

This paper presents a utilization of a Linux based open architecture control system (OAC) as a CNC solution for the mini milling testbed platform. The characteristics of the chosen OAC solution, testbed structure, and implementation details are briefly depicted. Finally, main conclusions and future research work are summarized.

The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, 2008

In this paper, a new CNC core design method, the function-separated design (FSD) method, is proposed to increase the modularity and reconfigurability of CNC systems, simplify the CNC development process, as well as gain a secondary development ability to allow customers or third parties to add or modify NC functions at the shop floor level. With the FSD method, a new CNC core structure is built. In this structure, the CNC core is composed of three main components: engine machine interface, event processor (EP), and system description data (SDD). The engine machine interface provides an interface to machine tools through the parameter settings via a human machine interface (HMI). The EP and SDD are the most important parts. The SDD stores the control rules and modularized NC functions. It is designed as the relatively separated part inside the CNC core. It can also be modified according to the specification changes to access the functions of the CNC core at the shop floor level. To ease the modification of the SDD on the shop floor, the Statechart modeling tool is used to generate a CNC function model; meanwhile, an SDD generator is developed to convert this model into the SDD. The EP is driven by events from the event generator and processes these events by referring to the SDD. The EP always remains the same. With such a structure, the control rules and NC functions of a CNC core can be redesigned or upgraded easily. A case study for implementing a non-circular piston-turning system verifies the feasibility of the proposed design method at the shop floor level.

This paper presents a utilization of software KCAM4(Computer Aided Manufacture) based open architecture control system (OAC) as a computer numerical control (CNC) solution for the plotter suggested. The characteristics of the chosen OAC solution, and implementation details are briefly depicted. This work give us an ability to implementation of home CNC machine robust efficient and inexpensive (about 250 $) with multipurpose utilization output tools. The implemented machine is rugged and reliably work in all environment , the cost is very cheap comparing with that found in market, except that it has the ability of changing the output tools to make others skills like drilling and figuration.

2008

Modern manufacturing industries have put on increasing demands on computer numerical controllers (CNC) for it to be able to work with and process higher level input data described using languages such as STEP-NC, rather than the outdated G-codes. The research work described in this paper is about the development of a soft CNC controller that can process STEP-NC (ISO 14649) data. Function blocks (IEC 61499) are also used as the interface between the STEP-NC data model and the controller. The layered STEP-NC/FB architecture is proposed, which simplifies the design of the controller with layers responsible for data processing, data storage and execution. With the object-oriented, Model-View-Control design pattern, the STEP-NC/FB architecture supports the design framework, in which simulation of the machining becomes a natural and inherent part of the design process, with seamless transition from simulation to actual machining.

International Journal of Research in Engineering and Technology

This report presents one of the application performed by Arduino Uno when sandwiched with Grbl shield which is a high performance open source CNC controller written in optimized C-language. Here in this paper a file with extension .jpeg or .png, or .pdf is imported in an open source Aspire software which converts it into .txt or .prt file. Vectors of the imported file is traced accordingly, followed by modelling and manufacturing procedures. Once the simulation of the manufacturing file is visualized in Aspire software then G-code file is generated using post processing operation, this G-code file is saved with .txt extension. The Gcode file is then browsed in Universal G-code sender software coupled to Grbl shield v0.9j and Arduino board through a laptop serial port, G-code visualizer option is available on Universal G-code sender software to visualize the manufacturing steps along with the simulation. In this way proprietory control of a controller is eliminated, and CNC machine is made user friendly.