CONSTRUCTIONAL DETAILS OF C.N.

C MACHINES

IN GENERAL, A CNC MACHINE TOOL CONSISTS OF THE FOLLOWING UNITS:

(i) COMPUTERS

(ii) CONTROL SYSTEM

(iii) DRIVE MOTORS

(iv) TOOL CHANGERS

ACCORDING TO THE CONSTRUCTION OF CNC MACHINE TOOLS, IT WORKS IN THE FOLLOWING (SIMPLIFIED)

MANNER:-

1. THE CNC MACHINE CONTROLLED BY THE COMPUTER READS THE PROGRAM AND TRANSLATES IT INTO MACHINE

LANGUAGE, WHICH IS A PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE OF BINARY NOTATION USED ON COMPUTERS, NOT ON CNC

MACHINES.

2. WHEN THE OPERATOR STARTS THE EXECUTION CYCLE, THE COMPUTER TRANSLATES THE BINARY CODES INTO

ELECTRONIC PULSES WHICH ARE AUTOMATICALLY SENT TO THE MACHINE’S POWER UNITS. THE CONTROL

UNIT COMPARES THE NUMBER OF PULSES SENT AND RECEIVED.

3. WHEN THE MOTOR RECEIVES EACH PULSE, THEY AUTOMATICALLY TRANSFORM THE PULSES INTO ROTATIONS

THAT DRIVE THE SPINDLE AND LEAD SCREW, CAUSING THE SPINDLE TO ROTATE AND SLIDE OR MOVE THE

TABLE. THE PART ON THE MILLING MACHINE TABLE OR THE TOOL IN THE LATHE TURRET IS DRIVEN TO A

POSITION SPECIFIED BY THE PROGRAM.

COMPUTERS:-
CNC MACHINES INTRODUCED IN THE LATE 1970S WERE LESS DEPENDENT ON HARDWARE AND MORE

DEPENDENT ON SOFTWARE. THESE MACHINES STORE A PROGRAM INTO MEMORY WHEN IT IS FIRST READ IN.

THIS FACILITATES FASTER OPERATION WHEN PRODUCING NUMBER OF IDENTICAL PARTS, SINCE THE PROGRAM

CAN BE RECALLED FROM MEMORY REPEATEDLY WITHOUT HAVING TO READ IT AGAIN. CNC MACHINES USE AN

ON-BOARD COMPUTER THAT ALLOWS THE OPERATOR TO READ, ANALYZE AND EDIT PROGRAMMED

INSTRUCTION, WHILE NC MACHINES REQUIRE OPERATORS TO MAKE A NEW TAPE TO ALTER A PROGRAM. IN

ESSENCE, THE COMPUTER DISTINGUISHES CNC FROM NC.AS WITH ALL COMPUTERS, THE CNC MACHINES

COMPUTER ALSO WORKS ON A BINARY PRINCIPLE USING ONLY TWO CHARACTERS, 1 AND 0 (MACHINE

LANGUAGE) FOR INFORMATION PROCESSING. WHEN CREATING THE PROGRAM, THE PROGRAMMER DOES NOT

CARE ABOUT THE MACHINE LANGUAGE, INSTEAD HE OR SHE SIMPLY USES A LIST OF CODES I.E. G&M CODES

AND KEYS IN MEANINGFUL INFORMATION. SPECIAL BUILT-IN SOFTWARE COMPILES THE PROGRAM INTO

MACHINE LANGUAGE AND THE MACHINE MOVES THE TOOLS BY SERVOMOTORS. HOWEVER, THE ABILITY TO

PROGRAM THE MACHINE IS DEPENDENT ON WHETHER THERE IS A COMPUTER IN THE MACHINE CONTROL.

MODERN CNC MACHINES USE 32-BIT PROCESSORS IN THEIR COMPUTERS TO ALLOW FAST AND ACCURATE

PROCESSING OF INFORMATION. THIS RESULTS IN CONSIDERABLE SAVING OF MACHINING TIME.

CONTROL SYSTEM:-

THERE ARE TWO TYPES OF CONTROL SYSTEMS ON NC/CNC MACHINES. THE OVERALL ACCURACY OF THE

MACHINE IS DETERMINED BY THE TYPE OF CONTROL LOOP USED.

OPEN LOOP:-THE OPEN LOOP CONTROL SYSTEM DOES NOT PROVIDE POSITIONING FEEDBACK TO THE

CONTROL UNIT. THE MOVEMENT PULSES ARE SENT OUT BY THE CONTROL UNIT AND ARE RECEIVED BY A

SPECIAL TYPE OF SERVOMOTOR CALLED A STEPPER MOTOR. THE STEPPER MOTOR THEN PROCEEDS WITH THE

NEXT MOVEMENT COMMAND. SINCE THIS CONTROL SYSTEM ONLY COUNTS PULSES AND CANNOT IDENTIFY

DISCREPANCIES IN POSITIONING, THE CONTROL HAS NO WAY OF KNOWING WHETHER THE TOOL HAS REACHED

THE PROPER LOCATION OR NOT. THE MACHINE WILL CONTINUE THIS INACCURACY UNTIL SOME BODY FINDS

THE ERROR.THE OPEN LOOP CONTROL CAN BE USED IN APPLICATIONS IN WHICH THERE IS NO CHANGE IN

LOAD CONDITIONS, SUCH AS THE CNC DRILLING MACHINE. THE ADVANTAGE OF THE OPEN LOOP CONTROL

SYSTEM IS THAT IT IS LESS EXPENSIVE, SINCE IT DOES NOT REQUIRE THE ADDITIONAL HARDWARE AND
ELECTRONICS NEEDED FOR POSITIONING FEEDBACK. THE DISADVANTAGE IS THE DIFFICULTY OF DETECTING

POSITIONING ERROR.

CLOSED LOOP:-IN THE CLOSED LOOP CONTROL SYSTEM, THE ELECTRONIC MOVEMENT PULSES ARE SENT FROM

THE CONTROL TO THE SERVOMOTOR, ENABLING THE MOTOR TO ROTATE WITH EACH PULSE. THE PULSES ARE

DETECTED AND COUNTED BY A FEEDBACK DEVICE CALLED A TRANSDUCER. WITH EACH STEP OF MOVEMENT, A

TRANSDUCER SENDS A SIGNAL BACK TO THE CONTROL, WHICH COMPARES THE CURRENT POSITION OF THE

DRIVEN AXIS WITH THE PROGRAMMED POSITION. WHEN THE NUMBER OF PULSES SENT AND RECEIVED

MATCH, THE CONTROL STARTS SENDING OUT PULSES FOR THE NEXT MOVEMENT. CLOSED LOOP SYSTEMS ARE

VERY ACCURATE. MOST HAVE AN AUTOMATIC COMPENSATION FOR ERROR, SINCE THE FEEDBACK DEVICE

INDICATES THE ERROR AND THE CONTROL MAKES THE NECESSARY ADJUSTMENTS TO BRING THE SLIDE BACK

TO ITS POSITION. THEY USE AC, DC OR HYDRAULIC SERVOMOTORS.

DRIVE MOTORS:-THE DRIVE MOTORS CONTROL THE MACHINE SLIDE MOVEMENT ON CNC EQUIPMENT. THEY

ARE CLASSIFIED INTO FOUR BASIC TYPES AS FOLLOWS:-

STEPPER MOTOR:-THESE CONVERT A DIGITAL PULSE, GENERATED BY THE MICROCOMPUTER UNIT (MCU I.E.

MACHINE CONTROL UNIT) INTO SMALL STEP ROTATION. STEPPER MOTORS HAVE A CERTAIN NUMBER OF STEPS

THAT THEY CAN TRAVEL. THE NUMBER OF PULSES THAT THE MCU SENDS TO THE STEPPER MOTOR CONTROLS

THE AMOUNT OF ROTATION OF THE MOTOR. STEPPER MOTORS ARE MOSTLY USED IN APPLICATIONS WHERE

LOW TORQUE IS REQUIRED. STEPPER MOTORS ARE USED IN OPEN LOOP CONTROL SYSTEM, WHILE AC, DC OR

HYDRAULIC SERVOMOTORS ARE USED IN CLOSED LOOP CONTROL SYSTEMS.

DC SERVOMOTOR:- THESE ARE VARIABLE SPEED MOTORS THAT ROTATE IN RESPONSE TO THE APPLIED

VOLTAGE. THEY ARE USED TO DRIVE A LEAD SCREW AND GEAR MECHANISM. DC SERVOS PROVIDE HIGH

TORQUE OUTPUT THAN STEPPER MOTORS.

AC SERVOMOTOR:-THESE ARE CONTROLLED BY VARYING THE VOLTAGE FREQUENCY TO CONTROL THE SPEED.

THEY CAN DEVELOP MORE POWER THAN A DC SERVO. THEY ARE ALSO USED TO DRIVE A LEAD SCREW AND

GEAR MECHANISM.

FLUID SERVOMOTOR:-IT IS ALSO A VARIABLE SPEED MOTOR. THEY ARE ABLE TO PRODUCE MORE POWER OR

MORE SPEED IN THE CASE OF PNEUMATIC MOTORS THAN ELECTRIC SERVOMOTORS. THE HYDRAULIC PUMP

PROVIDES ENERGY TO VALVES WHICH ARE CONTROLLED BY THE MCU.

TOOL CHANGERS:-MOST OF THE TIME, DIFFERENT CUTTING TOOLS ARE USED TO PRODUCE ONE PART OF A

MACHINE. THE TOOLS HAVE TO BE REPLACED QUICKLY FOR THE NEXT MACHINING OPERATION. OWING TO THIS

REASON, THE MAJORITY OF CNC MACHINE TOOLS ARE EQUIPPED WITH AUTOMATIC TOOL CHANGERS, SUCH AS

MAGAZINES ON MACHINING CENTERS AND TURRETS ON TURNING CENTERS FIG. THEY ALLOW TOOL CHANGING

WITHOUT THE INTERVENTION OF THE OPERATOR. TYPICALLY AN AUTOMATIC TOOL CHANGER GRIPS THE TOOL

IN THE SPINDLE, PULLS IT OUT, AND REPLACES IT WITH ANOTHER TOOL. ON MOST MACHINES WITH

AUTOMATIC TOOL CHANGERS, THE TURRET OR MAGAZINE CAN ROTATE IN EITHER FORWARD OR REVERSE

DIRECTION. TOOL CHANGERS MAY BE EQUIPPED FOR EITHER RANDOM OR SEQUENTIAL TOOL SELECTION. IN

RANDOM TOOL SELECTION, THERE IS NO SPECIFIC PATTERN OF TOOL SELECTION ON THE MACHINING CENTRE,

WHEN THE PROGRAM CALLS FOR THE TOOL, IT IS AUTOMATICALLY INDEXED INTO WAITING POSITION, WHERE

IT CAN BE RETRIEVED BY THE TOOL HANDLING DEVICE. ON THE TURNING CENTRE, THE TURRET

AUTOMATICALLY ROTATES, BRINGING TOOLS INTO POSITION.

IN SEQUENTIAL TOOL SELECTION, THE TOOLS MUST BE LOADED IN THE EXACT ORDER IN

WHICH THEY ARE CALLED FOR IN THE PROGRAM (FIG.). EVEN IF THE TOOLS ARE NOT IN THE CORRECT ORDER,

THE NEXT TOOL IS AUTOMATICALLY SELECTED, WHETHER IT IS SUITABLE OR NOT FOR THE NEXT MACHINING

OPERATION. WHEN IT IS NECESSARY TO USE A TOOL TWICE, THE OPERATOR MUST LOAD ANOTHER TOOL WITH

THE SAME PURPOSE. THE ADVANTAGE OF SEQUENTIAL TOOL SELECTION IS THAT LESS TIME IS NEEDED FOR

INDEXING THE TOOL INTO THE WAITING POSITION. THE DISADVANTAGE IS THAT MORE TIME IS NEEDED FOR

SETUP WHEN SWITCHING TO A JOB WITH A DIFFERENT ORDER OF TOOLS. THIS MEANS THAT ALTHOUGH THE

SAME TOOLS ARE TO BE USED, THEY HAVE TO BE PRELOADED (REARRANGED) BECAUSE OF A DIFFERENT
ORDER IN THE PROGRAM. THIS ELIMINATES THE TIME ADVANTAGE OF SEQUENTIAL TOOL SELECTION, MAKING

RANDOM TOOL SELECTION A STANDARD FEATURE ON TODAY’S CNC MACHINE TOOLS.

CNC COORDINATE SYSTEMS

1. FOR MILLING:-

IN ORDER FOR THE PART PROGRAMMER TO PLAN THE SEQUENCE OF POSITIONS AND MOVEMENTS OF THE

CUTTING TOOL RELATIVE TO THE WORK PIECE, IT IS NECESSARY TO ESTABLISH A STANDARD AXIS SYSTEM BY

WHICH THE RELATIVE POSITIONS CAN BE SPECIFIED. HOWEVER, TO MAKE THINGS EASIER FOR THE

PROGRAMMER, WE ADOPT THE VIEW POINT THAT THE WORK PIECE IS STATIONARY WHILE THE DRILL BIT IS

MOVED RELATIVE TO TABLE. ACCORDINGLY, THE COORDINATE SYSTEM OF AXES IS ESTABLISHED WITH

RESPECT TO THE MACHINE TABLE. TWO AXES, X AND Y, ARE DEFINED IN THE PLANE OF THE TABLE, AS SHOWN

IN FIGURE. THE Z AXIS IS PERPENDICULAR TO THIS PLANE AND MOVEMENT IN THE Z DIRECTION IS

CONTROLLED BY THE VERTICAL MOTION OF THE SPINDLE. THE POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE DIRECTIONS OF

MOTION OF TOOL RELATIVE TO TABLE ALONG THESE AXES ARE AS SHOWN IN FIGURE. CNC DRILL PRESSES ARE

CLASSIFIED AS EITHER TWO- AXES OR THREE- AXES MACHINES, DEPENDING ON WHETHER OR NOT THEY HAVE

THE CAPABILITY TO CONTROL THE Z AXIS.

A NUMERICAL CONTROL MILLING MACHINE AND SIMILAR MACHINE TOOLS (BORING MILL,

FOR EXAMPLE) USE AN AXIS SYSTEM SIMILAR TO THAT OF THE DRILL PRESS. HOWEVER, IN ADDITION TO THE

THREE LINEAR AXES, THESE MACHINES MAY POSSESS THE CAPACITY TO CONTROL ONE OR MORE ROTATIONAL

AXES. THREE ROTATIONAL AXIS AXES ARE DEFINED IN CNC: THE, B, AND C AXIS. THESE AXES SPECIFY ANGLE

ABOUT THE X, Y, AND Z AXES, RESPECTIVELY. TO DISTINGUISH POSITIVE FROM NEGATIVE ANGULAR MOTIONS,

THE “RIGHT-HAND RULE” CAN BE USED. USING THE RIGHT HAND WITH THE THUMB POINTING IN THE POSITIVE
LINEAR AXIS DIRECTION (X, Y, OR Z), THE FINGERS OF THE HAND IS CURLED TO POINT IN THE POSITIVE

ROTATIONAL DIRECTION.

2. FOR TURNING:-

FOR TURNING OPERATIONS, TWO AXES ARE NORMALLY ALL THAT ARE REQUIRED TO COMMAND THE

MOVEMENT OF THE TOOL RELATIVE TO THE ROTATING WORK PIECE. THE Z AXIS IS THE AXIS OF ROTATION OF

THE WORK PART, AND X AXIS DEFINES THE RADIAL LOCATION OF THE CUTTING TOOL. THIS ARRANGEMENT IS

ILLUSTRATED IN FIGURE.THE PURPOSE OF THE COORDINATE SYSTEM IS TO PROVIDE A MEANS OF LOCATING

THE TOOL IN RELATION TO THE WORK PIECE. DEPENDING ON THE CNC MACHINE, THE PART PROGRAMMER

MAY HAVE SEVERAL DIFFERENT OPTIONS AVAILABLE FOR SPECIFYING THIS LOCATION.

POSITIONING OF MACHINE ORIGIN

FIXED ZERO:- THE PROGRAMMER MUST DETERMINE THE POSITION OF THE TOOL RELATIVE TO THE ORIGIN

(ZERO POINT) OF THE COORDINATE SYSTEM. CNC MACHINES HAVE EITHER OF TWO METHODS FOR SPECIFYING

THE ZERO POINT. THE FIRST POSSIBILITY IS FOR THE MACHINE TO HAVE A FIXED ZERO. IN THIS CASE, THE

ORIGIN IS ALWAYS LOCATED AT THE SOME POSITION ON THE MACHINE TABLE. USUALLY, THAT POSITION IS THE

SOUTHWEST CORNER (LOWER LEFT-HAND CORNER) OF THE TABLE AND ALL TOOL LOCATIONS WILL BE

DEFINED BY POSITIVE X AND Y COORDINATES.

FLOATING ZERO:-THE SECOND AND MORE COMMON FEATURE ON MODERN CNC

MACHINES ALLOWS THE MACHINE OPERATOR TO SET THE ZERO POINT AT ANY

POSITION ON THE MACHINE TABLE. THIS FEATURE IS CALLED FLOATING ZERO. THE

PART PROGRAMMER IS THE ONE WHO DECIDES WHERE THE ZERO POINT SHOULD BE

LOCATED. THE DECISION IS BASED ON PART PROGRAMMING CONVENIENCE. FOR

EXAMPLE, THE WORK PART MAY BE SYMMETRICAL AND THE ZERO POINT SHOULD BE

ESTABLISHED AT THE CENTER OF SYMMETRY. THE LOCATION OF THE ZERO POINT IS COMMUNICATED TO THE

MACHINE OPERATOR. AT THE BEGINNING OF THE JOB, THE OPERATOR MOVES THE TOOL UNDER MANUAL

CONTROL TO SOME “TARGET POINT” ON THE TABLE. THE TARGET POINT IS SOME CONVENIENT PLACE ON THE

WORK PIECE OR TABLE FOR THE OPERATOR TO POSITION THE TOOL. FOR EXAMPLE, IT MIGHT BE A

PREDRILLED HOLE IN THE WORK PIECE. THE TARGET POINT HAS BEEN REFERENCED TO THE ZERO POINT BY

THE PART PROGRAMMER. IN FACT, THE PROGRAMMER MAY HAVE SELECTED THE TARGET POINT AS THE ZERO

POINT FOR TOOL POSITIONING. WHEN THE TOOL HAS BEEN POSITIONED AT THE TARGET POINT, THE MACHINE

OPERATOR PRESSES A “ZERO” BUTTON ON THE MACHINE TOOL CONSOLE, WHICH TELLS THE MACHINE WHERE

THE ORIGIN IS LOCATED FOR SUBSEQUENT TOOL MOVEMENTS.

MODE OF POSITIONING

ABSOLUTE POSITIONING:-
ANOTHER OPTION SOMETIMES AVAILABLE TO THE PART PROGRAMMER IS TO USE EITHER AN ABSOLUTE

SYSTEM OF TOOL POSITIONING OR AN INCREMENTAL SYSTEM. ABSOLUTE POSITIONING MEANS THAT THE TOOL

LOCATIONS ARE ALWAYS DEFINED IN RELATION TO THE ZERO POINT. IF A HOLE IS TO BE DRILLED AT A SPOT

THAT IS 8 IN. ABOVE THE X AXIS AND 6 IN. TO THE RIGHT OF THE Y AXIS, THE COORDINATE LOCATION OF THE

HOLE WOULD BE SPECIFIED AS X=+6.000 AND Y=.+8.000.

INCREMENTAL POSITIONING :-

POSITIONING MEANS THAT THE NEXT TOOL LOCATION MUST BE DEFINED WITH REFERENCE TO THE PREVIOUS

TOOL LOCATION MUST BE DEFINED WITH REFERENCE TO THE PREVIOUS TOOL LOCATION. IF IN OUR DRILLING

EXAMPLE, SUPPOSE THAT THE PREVIOUS HOLE HAD BEEN DRILLED AT AN ABSOLUTE POSITION OF X=+4.000
AND Y=+5.000. ACCORDINGLY, THE INCREMENTAL POSITION INSTRUCTIONS WOULD BE SPECIFIED AS X=+2.000

AND Y=+3.000 IN ORDER TO MOVE THE DRILL TO THE DESIRED SPOT. FIGURE ILLUSTRATES THE DIFFERENCE

BETWEEN ABSOLUTE AND INCREMENTAL POSITIONING.

CNC MOTION CONTROL SYSTEMS

IN ORDER TO ACCOMPLISH THE MACHINING PROCESS, THE CUTTING TOOL AND WORK PIECE MUST BE MOVED

RELATIVE TO EACH OTHER. IN CNC, THERE ARE THREE BASIS TYPES OF MOTION CONTROL SYSTEMS:-

1. POINT- TO- POINT CNC:-POINT-TO-POINT (PTP) IS ALSO SOMETIMES CALLED A POSITIONING SYSTEM. IN PTP,

THE OBJECTIVE OF THE MACHINE TOOL CONTROL SYSTEM IS TO MOVE THE CUTTING TOOL TO A PREDEFINED

LOCATION. THE SPEED OR PATH BY WHICH THIS MOVEMENT IS ACCOMPLISHED IS NOT IMPORTANT IN POINT-

TO-POINT CNC.

ONCE THE TOOL REACHES THE DESIRED LOCATION, THE MACHINING OPERATION IS PERFORMED AT THAT

POSITION. CNC DRILL PRESSES ARE A GOOD EXAMPLE OF PTP SYSTEMS. THE SPINDLE MUST FIRST BE

POSITIONED AT A PARTICULAR LOCATION ON THE WORK PIECE. THIS IS DONE UNDER PTP CONTROL. THEN THE

DRILLING OF THE HOLE IS PERFORMED AT THE LOCATION, AND SO FORTH. SINCE NO CUTTING IS PERFORMED

BETWEEN HOLES, THERE IS NO NEED FOR CONTROLLING THE RELATIVE MOTION OF THE TOOL AND WORK

PIECE BETWEEN WHOLE LOCATIONS. FIGURE ILLUSTRATES THE POINT-TO-POINT TYPE OF CONTROL.

2. STRAIGHT-CUT CNC:-STRAIGHT-CUT CONTROL SYSTEMS ARE CAPABLE OF MOVING THE CUTTING TOOL

PARALLEL TO ONE OF THE MAJOR AXES AT A CONTROLLED RATE SUITABLE FOR MACHINING. IT IS THEREFORE

APPROPRIATE FOR PERFORMING MILLING OPERATIONS TO FABRICATE WORK PIECES OF RECTANGULAR

CONFIGURATIONS. WITH THIS TYPE OF CNC SYSTEM IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO COMBINE MOVEMENTS IN MORE

THAN A SINGLE AXIS DIRECTION. THEREFORE, ANGULAR CUTS ON THE WORK PIECE WOULD NOT BE POSSIBLE.

AN EXAMPLE OF A STRAIGHT-CUT OPERATION IS SHOWN IN FIGURE. A CNC MACHINE CAPABLE OF STRAIGHT

CUT MOVEMENTS IS ALSO CAPABLE OF PTP MOVEMENTS.

3. CONTOURING CNC:-CONTOURING IS THE MOST COMPLEX, THE MOST FLEXIBLE, AND THE MOST EXPENSIVE

TYPE OF MACHINE TOOL CONTROL. IT IS CAPABLE OF PERFORMING BOTH PTP AND STRAIGHT-CUT

OPERATIONS. IN ADDITION, THE DISTINGUISHING FEATURE OF CONTOURING CNC SYSTEMS IS THEIR CAPACITY
FOR SIMULTANEOUS CONTROL OF MORE THAN ONE AXIS MOVEMENT OF THE MACHINE TOOL. THE PATH OF

THE CUTTER IS CONTINUOUSLY CONTROLLED TO GENERATE THE DESIRED GEOMETRY OF THE WORK PIECE.

FOR THIS REASON, CONTOURING SYSTEMS ARE ALSO CALLED CONTINUOUS-PATH CNC SYSTEMS. STRAIGHT OR

PLANE SURFACES AT ANY ORIENTATION, CIRCULAR PATHS, CONICAL SHAPES, OR MOST ANY OTHER

MATHEMATICALLY DEFINABLE FORM ARE POSSIBLE UNDER CONTOURING CONTROL. FIGURE ILLUSTRATES THE

VERSATILITY OF CONTINUOUS PATH CNC. MILLING AND TURNING OPERATIONS ARE COMMON EXAMPLES OF

THE USE OF CONTOURING CONTROL