FUNDAMENTALS OF

NUMERICAL CONTROL
HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT
• 15th century - machining metal.
• 18th century - industrialization, production-type machine tools.
• 20th century - F.W. Taylor - tool metal - HSS
Automated production equipment -
Screw machines
Transfer lines
Assembly lines
...
using cams and preset stops
Programmable automation -
NC
PLC
Robots
A 3-AXIS MACHINING CENTER
HEXAPOD 6-AXIS MACHINES

A Giddings & Lewis Hexapod

machine
Another hexapod configuration
HEXAPOD 6-AXIS MACHINES
 NEW NCS

high speed spindle (> 20,000 rpm)

high feed rate drive ( > 600 ipm)

high precision ( < 0.0001" accuracy)

 NC MACHINES
• Computer control
MCU - Machine control
• Servo axis control unit

• Tool changers
CLU - Control-loops unit
• Pallet changers
• On-machine programming DPU - Data processing
unit
• Data communication
• Graphical interface
Machine
MCU Tool

CLU
DPU
 NC MOTION-CONTROL
N C Pr o g r a m

Ex e c u t io n
Sy s t e m

D im e n s io n s Co m m a n d s

In t e r p o la t o r & T r an slat o r
Se r v o - c o n t r o l
M e c h a n is m

Co n t r o l L o g ic Po w e r Re la y

L in e a r M o t io n So le n o id
NC MACHINE CLASSIFICATIONS
1. Motion control: point to point (PTP)
and continuous (contouring) path
2. Control loops: open loop and closed loop
3. Power drives: hydraulic, electric,
or pneumatic
4. Positioning systems: incremental and
absolute positioning
5. Hardwired NC and softwired Computer
Numerical Control (CNC)
 POINT TO POINT
• Moving at maximum rate from point to point.

• Accuracy of the destination is important but not the path.

• Drilling is a good application.

 CONTINUOUS PATH
• Controls both the displacement and the
velocity.
• Machining profiles.

• Precise control.

• Use linear and circular interpolators.

BALL-BEARING-NUT LEADSCREW
Preloaded ball-
bearing nut

Precision ground screw

 MACHINE BED

Linear
ways
Bearing

Leadscrew
 TOOL CHANGE

Spindle Tool
with a tool

Tool change
arm
5-AXIS MACHINE

Tool

Workpiece
 NC MACHINE RATING

Accuracy
Repeatability
Spindle and axis motor horsepower
Number of controlled axes
Dimension of workspace
Features of the machine and the controller.
NC ACCURACY AND REPEATABILITY

• Accuracy = control instrumentation resolution and

hardware accuracy.

• Control resolution: the minimum length

distinguishable by the control unit (BLU).

• Hardware inaccuracies are caused by physical

machine errors.
 EXAMPLE
Turn a 1.8° step angle motor 2000 steps at 360 rpm,
what is the number of pulses and pulse rate
to be sent to the motor?

The number of pulses should be the same as the

desired steps. It, therefore, is 2000 pulses.

360 rpm = 360 (rotation/min) / 60 (second/min)

= 6 rotation/second

Number of steps per rotation, N:

N = 360°/1.8° = 200 steps/rotation

Pulse rate = 6 (rotation/second) x 200 (steps/revolution)

= 1,200 pulses/second
STEPPING MOTORS (continue)
Advantages:
Digital input.
Accurate positioning with non- cumulative errors.
simple and rugged construction.
Bi-directional rotation and control with no additional
control complexity.

Disadvantages:
Loss of synchronization at certain operating range.
 SERVO MOTORS
Motor controlled using a feedback mechanism. A
transducer feedback and a speed control forms a
servo loop.
Carbon
+
brushe

DC & AC servos. Roto Commutatio

bars

_
DC: speed controlled by voltage
A DC permanent magnet motor
AC: speed controlled by frequency

Velocity Differential amplifier

+

Feedback
Shaft
Tacho- DC
meter Motor

A DC servo motor system

 DC MOTORS
• DC brush motor and DC brushless motor.
• DC brush motor is most popular and easy to control.
• Three coil windings on the rotor and two permanent magnets
on the stator.
• Coil c1 is energized. The magnetic field pull it toward the
permanent magnet pole.
• Immediate after it lined up with the permanent magnet, the
power is disconnected and coil c2 is energized.
• Continue these steps, the rotor will keep turning.
• The connection of power to the coil at the right time is called
“commutation”.
• Commutation is achieved by commutation bars and two carbon
brushes.

Rotor
S
 COMMUTATORS
Six
commutator
bars for three
sets of coils.

Brush
Coils
 BUILD YOUR OWN MOTOR
Following is a motor with one coil winding (Figure 1). It needs a gentle
push to start the rotation.
Use coated transformer wire to loop around a AA battery about 10 times.
Leave 2” leads on either end. Use scotch tape to keep the loop together.
It is important that the leads come out of the center of the loop (see
figure 2), so the rotor will be balanced.
The coil is turned on for half of the rotation (see figure 3)
Remove
coating Sand away
completely only the
Permanent top half of
AA battery magnet on this end
of the lead. the
coating.
Rotor coil

Figure 2

Connector Commutation is done half the

(paper clip) rotation when the exposed
Rotor coil wire has contact with the
Figure 1 connector.
Figure 3
Rujukan: Dr. T. C. Chang
School of Industrial Engineering
Purdue University

M.K Herliansyah