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Classification of NC
Classification of NC
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 workpieces of rectangular configurations. With this type of NC system it
is not possible to
combine movements in more than a single axis direction. Therefore, angular cuts on
the workpiece would
not be possible. An example of a straight cut operation is shown in Figure 2. An NC
machine capable of
straight cut movements is also capable of PTP movements.
Contouring NC:
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 NC 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
workpiece. For this reason, contouring systems are also called continuous-path NC
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 3 illustrates the
versatility of continuous path
NC Milling and turning operations are common examples of the use of contouring
control.
The closed-loop control measures the actual position and velocity of the axis and
compares them with
the desired references. The difference between the actual and the desired values is
the error. The control
is designed in such a way as to eliminate, or reduce, to a minimum, the error,
namely the system is of a
negative-feedback type.
In NC systems both the input to the control loop and the feedback signals may be a
sequence of pulses,
each pulse representing a BLU unit, e.g., 0.01 mm. The digital comparator
correlates the two sequences
and gives, by means of a digital-to-analog converter (DAC), a signal representing
the position error of the
system, which is used to drive the dc servomotor. The feedback device, which is an
incremental encoder
in Fig. 4, is mounted on the other end of the leadscrew and supplies a pulsating
output. The incremental
encoder consists of a rotating disk divided into segments, which are alternately
opaque and transparent.
A photocell and a lamp are placed on both sides of the disk. When the disk rotates,
each change in light
intensity falling on the photocell provides an output pulse. The rate of pulses per
minute provided by the
encoder is proportional to the revolutions per minute of the leadscrew.
One of the major properties of a stepping motor is that its maximum velocity
depends upon the load
torque. The higher the torque, the smaller, the maximum allowable frequency to the
motor. Stepping
motors cannot be applied to machines with variable load torques, since an
unpredictably large load
causes the motor to lose steps and a subsequent position error occurs. In
contouring systems for
machine tools, the cutting forces load the motors with torques depending on the
cutting conditions, and
therefore stepping motors are not recommended as drives for these contouring
systems. They can he
applied to laser-beam contour-cutting systems (in which only a mirror is moved) and
to PTP drilling
machines, where the loading torque on the motors is almost constant. Industrial
robots and contouring
systems such as lathes or milling machines require closed-loop control systems.
Extreme care must be taken during the design of a closed-loop control system. By
increasing the
magnitude of the feedback signals (more pulses per one revolution of the leadscrew)
the loop is made
more sensitive. That is known as increasing the open-loop gain. Increasing the
open-loop gain
excessively may cause the closed-loop system to become unstable, which obviously
should be avoided.
The design of the control system and the choice of the types of loop employed to
meet performance and
cost specifications, require knowledge of the nature of the controlled machine and
adding torques. The
allowable positioning error, accuracy, repeatability, and response time also have
to be taken into
consideration where an optimum performance is required.
Advantages of the absolute system over the incremental system
The most significant advantage of the absolute system over the incremental one is
in cases of
interruptions that force the operator to stop the machine. Interruptions occur
mainly from cutting tool
breakage, but the machine might be stopped also for unprogrammed checking, etc. In
the case of an
interruption, the machine table is manually moved, and the cause of the
interruption is removed. For
example, in the case of a tool breakage, the operator manually moves the tool
holder, exchanges the tool,
and has to return the table to the beginning of the segment in which the
interruption occurred. With the
absolute system, the cutting tool is automatically returned to this position, since
it always moves to the
absolute coordinate called for, and the machining proceeds from the same block
where it was interrupted.
With an incremental system, it is impossible to bring the tool manually, precisely
to the beginning of the
segment in which the interruption occurred. Therefore, with an incremental system,
each time the work is
interrupted the operator must restart the part program and repeat the entire
operation prior to the
interruption point.
In absolute system there is possibility of easily changing the dimensional data in
the part program
whenever required. Since distances are taken from one reference point, a
modification or addition of a
position instruction does not affect the rest of the part program. In the case of
the incremental system, the
pan must be reprogrammed from the point at which the original program has been
modified.
Advantages of the incremental system over the absolute system
1. If manual programming is used, with incremental system the inspection of
the part program,
before punching the tape, is easy. Since the endpoint, when machining a part, is
identical to the starting
point, the sum of the position commands (for each axis separately) must be zero. A
nonzero sum
indicates that an error exists. Such an inspection is impossible in an absolute
programming system.
Axes of NC machines
Most of the NC machines' builders follow the international standard ISO/R841 to
designate the axes of
their machines. The following paragraphs explain the principles followed in this
standard.
The guiding coordinate system followed for designating the axes is the familiar
right hand coordinate
system. A few possible dispositions of these coordinates are shown in fig. 1. One
could use his right hand
(as shown in fig 2.) to arrive at these alternate variable positions of the same
right hand coordinate
system.
It is convenient though not necessary, in the context of the standard, to classify
the NC machines in the
following groups.
Group I: machine tools with rotating tools (i.e. Spindles with cutting power).
Group I machine tools may have horizontal spindle or vertical spindle
Machine tools with vertical spindles are grouped under I(a), e.g. Vertical knee
mill, drilling machines,
profiling and contour mill, vertical boring mill, tapping machines etc.
The machines grouped in I(a) could be single column (I(a-i)) (fig3) or gantry type
(I(a-ii)) (fig4 )
Machine tools with horizontal spindles are grouped under I(b). Some horizontal
spindle machines are the
horizontal boring machine (fig5) and the horizontal spindle machining centers.
Group II: machine tools with rotating work pieces (i.e. The spindle generates a
surface of revolution) e.g.
Lathes (fig6), and grinding machines.
Group III: machine tools with non-rotating work pieces and non-rotating work pieces
and non rotating
tools (i.e. No spindle) e.g. Shaper (fig7) and planer
Group IV: Machines other than machine tools e.g. NC drafting machine
Designating motions
First of all, the z-motion is designated. This is followed by the x and y motions
respectively.
Z-Axis and Motion:
1. Location:
2. For groups I and II machines. the z-axis motion is either along the spindle
axis or parallel to the
spindle axis
3. For group III and IV machines, it is recognized as the one perpendicular to
the work-holding
surface which mayor may not be passing through the controlled point (i.e.
the cutting tool tip or
drafting machine pen tip).
2. Direction: the principle for the machines of groups I and II where drilling type
motion can be performed
is that for moving a drill into the work piece, the cutting tool should move in the
negative (-) Z direction.
For other machines the positive (+) Z motion increases the clearance between the
work surface and the
tool-holder (or a pen-holder in the case of the drafting machine). The designation
of Z-axis is
demonstrated in figs3 to 7. In these figures, the column under Z shows the
designation of Z-axis for
various machines.
3. When there are several spindles and slide ways: in such cases, spindles,
preferably the one
perpendicular to the work-holding surface may be chosen as the principal spindle.
The primary Z motion
is then near to primary spindle. The tool motions of other spindle quills or other
slides which are termed
as secondary and tertiary motions, may be designated as U,V,W and P,Q,R
respectively. Two such cases
are shown in figs 4 and 6
X - Motion
The x motion is the principal motion in the positioning plane of the cutting tool
or the workpiece.
1. Location: it is perpendicular to Z- axis and should be horizontal and parallel
to the work- holding
surface wherever possible.
2. Direction: for group I(a-i) machines, when looking from the principal spindle to
the column the positive
(+) X is to the right (fig 3.). For group I(a-ii), when looking from the principal
spindle to the left hand gantry
support the positive x is to the right (fig 4.). For group I (b), when looking from
the principal spindle
towards the work piece the positive right (fig. 5). For group II, it is radial and
parallel to the cross slide X is
positive when the tool recedes from the axis of rotation of the Work piece. Figure
6 shows two
possibilities of slide and turret placements thereby the positive direction of X-
and U-axes.
For groups III and IV, the X-axis is parallel to and positive along the principle
direction of movement of the
cutting or the guided point (fig 7).
Y- Motion
Its designation is derived from the already recognized Z and X-axes. It is
perpendicular to both x- and z-
axes and + Y is in the direction which completes with the + X and + Z motions a
right hand Cartesian
coordinate system. In figs 3-7, this has been demonstrated in the columns under the
coordinate system
and y. The first two columns under Z and X-axes shown the designations of Z and X-
axes as per the
principles mentioned earlier. The column under the coordinate system shows the
relevant right hand
coordinate system (refer fig 1). From the third column, the y-axis designation is
derived and is mentioned
in the column under Y.
Rotary Motions
A, B, and C define the primary rotary motions
1. Location: These motions are located about the axis parallel to X, Y and Z
respectively. If, in
addition to the above-mentioned primary rotary motions, there exist
secondary rotary motions,
those should be designated as D or E regardless of whether they are
parallel or not to A, Band C.