CNC MACHINES

Contents
Introduction to CNC System
Fundamental aspects of machine control
Types of CNC machines
Constructional Features of CNC Machines
 Introduction

CNC machines are the most standardized form of manufacturing the parts
required to produce a product .
Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machine is one in which the functions
and motions of a machine tool are controlled by means mini or
microcomputer.
All the cutting processes that are to be carried out and all the final
dimensions are fed into the computer via the program. The computer thus
knows what exactly is to be done and carries out all the cutting processes.
CNC machine works like the Robot, which has to be fed with the program
and it follows all your instructions.
The computer translated the program into the appropriate electrical signals
for input to motors that run the machine
 History
1955 - John Parsons and US Air Force define a need to develop a machine
tool capable of machining complex and close tolerance aircraft parts with
the same quality time after time (repeatability). MIT is the subcontractor
and builds the machine for the project.
1959 - MIT announces Automatic Programmed Tools (APT) programming
language
1960 - Direct Numerical Control (DNC). This eliminates paper tape punch
programs and allows programmers to send files directly to machine tools
1968 - Kearney & Trecker machine tool builders market first machining
center
1970s - CNC machine tools & Distributed Numerical Control
1980s - Graphics based CAM systems introduced. Unix and PC based
systems available
1990s - Price drop in CNC technology
1997 - PC- Windows/NT based Open Modular Architecture Control
(OMAC) systems introduced to replace firmware controllers.
 When is it appropriate to use NC?
1. Parts from similar raw material, in variety of sizes, and/or
complex geometries.
2. Low -to-medium part quantity production.
3. Similar processing operations & sequences among work
pieces.
4. Frequent changeover of machine for different part
numbers.
5. Meet tight tolerance requirements (compared to similar
conventional machine tools)
 Some of common type of CNC machines

CNC Lathe Machine

CNC Milling Machine
CNC Drilling Machine
CNC Grinding Machine
CNC Laser Cutter
3D Printer

Example of CNC Milling Machine

Examples of CNC Machines:

CNC Milling Machine HAAS CNC Turning Machine HAAS

 Examples of CNC Machines:
Machining Centers, equipped with automatic tool changers, are
capable of changing 90 or more tools. Can perform milling, drilling,
tapping, boring on many faces.

Ken Youssefi Mechanical Engineering Department 8

 Examples of CNC Machines:
Turning Centers are capable of executing many different types of lathe
cutting operations simultaneously on a rotating part.

Ken Youssefi Mechanical Engineering Department 9

 Machining Centers

A machining center can be defined as a machine

tool capable of:
Multiple operation and processes in a single set-up
utilizing multiple axis
Typically has an automatic mechanism to change tools
Machine motion is programmable
Servo motors drive feed mechanisms for tool axiss
Positioning feedback is provided by resolvers to the
control system
 Machining Centers
Example - A turning center capable of OD turning, external treading, cross-
hole drilling, engraving, and milling. All in machining is accomplished in
one set-up. Machine may have multiple spindles.
Working principles of a CNC
Machines

Block Diagram
 Three basic components of an NC system

1. Input medium:
- Part program or instructions needed to drive the machine tool components
- Instructions are prepared manually or by use of computer
- Instructions include machining parameters (feed rate, cutting speed); sequence of actions
(e.g., positioning & machine functions)
- Instructions are stored in the form of tape (paper, magnetic); floppy diskettes; DNC
download to CNC RAM

2. Machine control unit (MCU):

- Electronics & control hardware
- Interpret instruction set
- Execute instructions
- Monitor results & correct where appropriate
3. Machine tool:
- Mechanical structure that performs the machining, including the components that drive
each axis of motion (e.g., AC or DC motor; hydraulic actuator; stepper motor
choice affects speed of respons e, accuracy and power capacity)
Types of CNC machines

Based on Motion Type:

Point-to-Point or Continuous path

Based on Control Loops:

Open loop or Closed loop

Based on Power Supply:

Electric or Hydraulic or Pneumatic

Based on Positioning System

Incremental or Absolute
 Fundamental aspects of machine
control
The NC controller is the brain of the NC system, it controls all functions of the
machine.
Auxiliary control deals with spindle rpm, tool change, fixture clamping
and coolant.
Motion control deals with the tool position, orientation and speed

Many different types of controllers are available in the market (GE,

Fanuc, Allen-Bradley, Okuma, Bendix, ).

There are two basic types of control systems:

point-to-point and continuous path.

 Point-to-Point Tool Movements
Point-to-point control systems cause the tool to move to a point on the
part and execute an operation at that point only. The tool is not in
continuous contact with the part while it is moving.
Drilling, reaming, punching, boring and tapping are examples of point-to-
point operations.
 Continuous-Path Tool Movements
Continuous-path controllers cause the tool to maintain continuous contact
with the part as the tool cuts a contour shape. These operations include milling
along any lines at any angle, milling arcs and lathe turning.
 Loop Systems for Controlling Tool Movement
Open Loop System
Uses stepping motor to create movement. Motors rotate a fixed
amount for each pulse received from the MCU. The motor sends a
signal back indicating that the movement is completed. No feedback
to check how close the actual machine movement comes to the exact
movement programmed.
 Loop Systems for Controlling Tool Movement
Closed Loop System
AC, DC, and hydraulic servo-motors are used. The speed of these
motors are variable and controlled by the amount of current or fluid.
The motors are connect to the spindle and the table. A position
sensor continuously monitors the movement and sends back a single
to Comparator to make adjustments.
 Constructional Features of CNC
Machines

Structure,
Drive Mechanism, gearbox, Main drive, feed drive, Spindle
Motors, Axes motors. Timing belts and pulleys, Spindle
bearing,
Slide ways,
Re-circulating ball screws Backlash measurement and
compensation,
linear motion guide ways,
Tool magazines, ATC, APC, Chip conveyors.
 CNC differs greatly from conventional machine
tools
They employ various mechatronic elements
The quality of cnc machine tools greately
depends upon machine elements and
subsystems
Aspects of CNC machines to be considered in their designing

1. Machine Structure

2. Guideways

3. Feed drives

4. Spindle and spindle bearings

5. Measuring systems

6. Controls, software and operator interface

7. Gauging

8. Tool monitoring
Machine Structure
Main structure is load carrying and
supporting member of machine tool
All motors, drive mechanisms and other
functional assemblies are aligned to each
other and fixed rigidly to structure.
All components must remain in correct
relative positions to maintain geometric
accuracy.
Basic design considerations involved are:
Static Load
- include weights of slides, work pieces
- forces due to cutting
to keep the deformation within limits, the
structure should have
- adequate stiffness
- proper structural configuration
to meet these demands there are two basic
configurations
Commonly used configuration of machine tools
 Dynamic Load
- These are constantly changing forces
- These cause the whole machine to vibrate
- origin of such vibrations
- unbalanced rotating parts
- improper meshing of gears
- bearing irregularities
- interrupted cuts while machining
- The effect of these vibrations on m/c performance can be
reduced by:
- reducing the mass of the structure
- increasing the stiffness of the structure
- improving the damping properties
 Thermal Load
Heat sources which setup the thermal gradient include:
a. Electric motor
b. Friction in mechanical drives and gears
c. Friction in bearing and guideways
d. Temperature of surrounding objects
What these heat sources cause?
i. localized deformation
ii. Considerable inaccuracy in m/c performance
 Steps to reduce thermal deformation
1. External mounting of drives and gear boxes
2. lubricating bearings and guideways
3. Efficient coolant and swarf removal for dissipation of
heat generated
4. Thermo-symmetric designing of the structure
 Guideways
- control the direction of the carriage/
table on which the tool / workpiece held
- to absorb all the static and dynamic
forces
The shape of the workpiece depends on the
accuracy of movement and kinematic accuracy
of guideways
The geometric relationship of slide and the
guideway to the machine base determines the
geometric accuracy of the machine.
 Kinematic accuracy depends the straightness,
flatness, and parallelism errors in guideway.
These errors further result in variety of tracking
errors like pitch, yaw and roll that are difficult to
measure and correct.
Over a period of usage any kind of wear in the
guideway reduces the accuracy of guide motion
This results in movement and positioning errors.
When machining feed rate can vary from 20 mm/rev
to 50 mm/rev
 Points to be considered while designing guideways
- rigidity
- damping capability
- geometric and kinematic accuracy
- velocity of slide
- friction characteristics
- wear resistance
- provision for adjustment of play
- position in relation to work area
- protection against swarf and damage
The positioning of drive mechanism relative to guiding surface
of the slide way is also important.
Drive mechanism should be placed in such a way that the
reaction and hence frictional forces are uniform in the guiding
system.
This ensures uniform wear on guideways.
Types of guideways
i) Friction guideways
ii) Antifriction linear motion (LM) guideway
Friction guideways:
Widely used in conventional machine tools
Have good damping properties
Low manufacturing cost
Operate under conditions of sliding friction and do
not have constant coefficient of friction.
Coefficient of friction varies with sliding velocity
 Coefficient of friction is high when movement commences
and as speed increases, it rapidly falls and beyond certain
velocity it remains almost constant
Therefore to start the movement high force is required.
This results in elastic deformation of drive mechanism ( such
as screw)
The energy stored in screw together with applied force causes
carriage to slip and move at a faster rate.
As the speed increases the friction decreases and a greater
amount of movement than intended for the slide takes place.
There is a possibility of repetition of this cycle of events and
results in positioning errors.
Results in jerky motion.
This phenomenon is known as stick-slip phenomenon
 To reduce the possibility of stick-slip there
should be minimum but constant friction
This is achieved by using strips of poly tetra
fluoro ethylene (PTFE) or turcite lining at the
guideway interface
Turcite is a special type of plastic with
particles of graphite embedded on its surface
These materials have low coefficient of
friction. (of the order of 0.1)
 The strips can be replaced when worn and the
accuracy can be restored.
Coating can be carried out on flat, dovetail
and vee guideways.
Coated guideways
Antifriction Guideways:
 These guideways use rolling elements in the form of balls or
rollers in between the moving and stationary parts of the
machine
Advantages of Antifriction guideways
- Easy controlling of slick-slip motion of slides
- Low kinetic frictional resistance
- High durability
- High accuracy of movement
- High load carrying capacity
- High traverse speed
- Ease of assembly
- Operation without external hydrodynamic lubrication
Disadvantages
Low damping capacity
Quite expensive.
Combined rolling & sliding guideways
Use of balls and rollers requires a highly finished and
hardened guiding surface.
As the contact is on a curved line or point, the
waviness of the surface impairs the accuracy of the
motion.
To combine the advantages of both the sliding (as
regards to the accuracy of guided motion) and roller
guides (as regards to minimization of motion)
combined rolling and sliding guideways are designed
for various machine tools.
 There are several types of antifriction
guideways that can be employed in machine
tools.
They are
Recirculating ball bushings
Linear Bearings with ball and rollers
Recirculating roller bearings
Recirculating cross roller bearings
Recirculating ball bushings
 Figure illustrates the inner construction of
recirculating ball bush
Various kinds of ball bush like open type,
closed type are shown in figure
They are available with or without seals
 Different methods of mounting the shafts and ball bushes
Linear bearings with balls and rollers
These are very effective in providing smooth
and easy movement
Require an accurate form to be machined in
the casting.
The surface in contact with the rollers have to
be hardened and should have a smooth
structure.
 Hardened steel rails with special guide forms
may be fastened to the castings of the
machine to reduce machining.
Special blocks, a pair along each guide rail,
with recirculating balls can move along the
rails.
The balls provide the rolling motion and the
contact is line type, the coefficient of friction
is reduced.
There is no stick-slip phenomenon in this
arrangement.
 Linear bearing with balls
 Various forms of linear guideways
 Feed Drives:
The function of a feed drive is to impart motion to
the slide carrying the tool for removal of material
from the job or workpiece.
In the case of CNC machines the degree of precision
and accuracy of motion of the slide are high and
hence the feed drive should have efficiency and
response.
The feed drive generally adopted in conventional
machine tools is rack and pinion.
But the feed drives in the case of CNC machines are,
Servo motor
Mechanical transmission system of very precise
type.
Servo motor:
Direct current (dc) servomotors and alternating
current (ac) servomotors are the cornmonly
employed feed drive motors in CNC machines.
Earlier d.c servomotors and drives were employed in
CNC machines, because they provided excellent
speed regulation, high torque and high efficiency and
therefore ideally suited for precise motion
applications.
AC servo motors quite cost effective, torque over the
entire speed range, less maintenance due to
brushless operation, have better response and
dynamic stiffness and higher reliability compared to
dc servomotors.
Mechanical Transmission system:
The mechanical transmission system of a feed drive
consists of all necessary elements required for
transmission of force and motion from prime mover
(motor) to the slide.
They are,
Elements to convert rotary motion to linear motion.
Elements for transmission of torque.
In the design of mechanical transmission system, the
main criteria is to keep the transmission error to a
minimum.
In achieving this, the essential requirements are,
Natural frequency should be high.
High stiffness.
Sufficient damping.
Very low friction.
Backlash free motion.

Elements to convert rotary motion to linear motion:

Many types of actuating mechanisms are used in CNC machines
to convert rotary motion into linear motion.
The accuracy of the job produced is influenced by the efficiency
and responsiveness of the actuating mechanism employed.
The two actuating mechanisms used in CNC machines are,
Screw and Nut.
Rack and pinion.
Screw and Nut:
Screw and Nut system is one of the most common
and oldest method adopted for conversion of rotary
motion into linear motion.
The simplest example being vice, screw jack, tail
stock etc. This combination is effective for medium
traverses, because for longer traverses the screw
sags under its own weight.
The traverse speed is low for longer screws due to
reduction in critical speed.
 Conventional thread forms like V, square, trapezoidal are not
suitable for CNC machines, because of high friction and sliding
action of the contacting surfaces of the threads on screw and nut,
resulting in fast wear.
The efficiency of these threads is 40 per cent.
To achieve smooth and uniform motion of slides on guideways,
recirculation ball and roller bearings are used to avoid surface to
surface contact.
Similarly, recirculation ball screws and roller screws are employed
as screw and Nut system in CNC machines.
These recirculating ball and roller screw and nut system provides
low wear, smooth and uniform motion, reduced friction accuracy
over a very long period, higher efficiency, better reliability, higher
traverse speed, little temperature range and without stick-slip
effect
 Recirculating ball screws
Recirculating balls are extensively used in CNC
machines because of the many advantages.
Gothic arc and Circular arc are the two forms
of threads employed on the screws and nut of
the recirculating ball screws.
Fig. below illustrates the two forms of threads
used on screws of the recirculating ball
screws.
Forms of threads used on screws
 Recirculation of ball through external &
internal path
 The balls after rotating between nut and the
screw comeback to the starting point of the
thread in the nut hence called recirculating
ball screw
The figure illustrates the two arrangements
external path and internal path
Preloading of Nuts
There should be not be any back lash and if any should be
minimum amount between the screw and the nut so that the
slide can travel on either direction without significant error in
positioning.
One method of achieving bear minimum backlash is by using
two nuts, which are forced apart (tensional load) or
alternatively squeezed (Compression load).
This is called preloading.
By doing so the balls in one nut contact one side of the
threads in the nut and the balls in the other nut the opposite
sides of the threads in the nut as shown in fig below.
Efficiency as high as 90% can be achieved by this method.
 Preloading of nuts
Roller Screws
In case of ball screw the intermediate element
making physical contact with the threads of the nut
and the screw are balls where as in the case of roller
screw, it is the grooved roller elements which make
physical contact with the threads on the nut and
screw.
The balls in the case of ball screw have highly
polished spherical shape, where as in the case roller
screw, the rollers have circumferential grooves which
may have threads matching with the threads on the
screw and nut
They are two types of roller screws generally in use.
They are,
Planetary and
Recirculating
Advantages of Roller screws:
Roller screw provide backlash free movement unlike
ball screw where preloading is necessary for avoiding
or reducing backlash
More accurate position control is possible with a less
complex electronic circuit because the pitch of the
screw is smaller than the minimum pitch of the roller
screw.
 Differences between ball and roller screws:

Ball screw Roller Screw

Balls in the intermediate element Rollers with circumferential

which make physical contact with grooves make physical contact
the threads on the screw and the with the threads on the screw and
nut the nut
Back lash exists and is reduced by Backlash free
preloading using two nuts
Accurate position control is difficult Accurate position control is
possible
Contact between screws and the Contact between the roller and the
ball is point contact screw is surface contact
Comparatively less expensive Expensive

Less numbers of components Relatively more number of

easy assembly components, making assembly
Planetary Roller Screw
This consists of roller with threads cut on it.
At the end of the rollers are provided gear teeth which
meshes with the annular provided in the nut,
These screws are equally spaced circumferentially and held in
their position with the help of spigot, provided at its end
which is held in a ring.
Because of the meshing of the gear teeth with the annular
provided in the nut, the roller are kept rolling and there is no
axial movement of the rollers relative to the nut,
These types of roller screws are capable of transmitting high
loads at high speeds. Fig below shows the cross sectional view
of the assembled planetary roller screw and cross sectional
view of the components used in it.
 Planetary roller screw
 Elements of planetary roller screw
 Elements of recirculating roller screw
Recirculating Roller screw
In this case, the rollers have circular grooves in the
form of thread shape of the screw or nut and do not
have threads on it.
Components of a recirculating roller screw, such as
rollers are equally spaced around the screw and held
in that position by a cage.
There is axial relative motion between the nut and
roller.
A small axial gap is provided in the nut.
At the end of one rotation of the screw, one of the
roller gets into the gap provided in the nut, thereby
disengaging itself both from screw and nut (fig
next slide)
 Recirculating roller screw
 A cam provided on a ring inside the nut
pushes the screw back into its starting point,
there by recirculating the roller.
When one of the roller is in the recess (i.e.,
not being engaged) the remaining rollers will
provide the necessary driving power.
This type of roller screws are slower in
operation than planetary type but are capable
of transmitting more loads with greater
accuracy.
Spindle and spindle bearing
The speed attained by the spindle is of the order of 600 to
1800 m/min
It is subjected to radial and torsional deflections
They are also subjected to thrust forces depending upon the
nature of machining operation
Desired characteristics of spindles are
Stiffness
Minimum deflection under varying loads
Running accuracy
Axial load carrying capacity
Thermal stability
High speed of operation
Long service life
 These characteristics can be achieved by proper bearing
selection
The different types of bearings used are
Hydrostatic bearing
Hydrodynamic bearing
Antifriction bearing

Hydrostatic bearing
Spindle is separated from the hydrostatic pockets by an oil film of high
pressure
Oil is supplied to the bearing through a throttling system to the controlled
pressure and volume
The spindle is supported by a relatively thick film of oil.
Leakage of oil is prevented by using oil seals.
The load carrying capacity is independent of the rotational speed of the
spindle
The bearing oil temp is maintained low using heat exchangers
 Hydrostatic & Hydrodynamic bearings
 These type of bearing have good damping properties
High running accuracy
High wear resistance
But very expensive
Used in grinding and boring machines

Hydrodynamic bearings
Spindle is supported on a thick film of oil called hydrostatic pockets
The oil in the pockets is stationary
The temperature is maintained using heat exchangers
There is constant flow of oil round the spindle maintaining thick film of oil
Pressure in the oil is created by the rotation of the spindle
Oil is forced into the wedge shaped cavities due to the centrifugal action
Clearance should be maintained between spindle and casing of bearing for oil film
(50 to 200 microns)
Suitable for low load carrying capacity
Have good accuracy and damping characteristics and are simple
 Factors influencing the selection of spindle bearings
Type of load (i.e axial, radial or combination)
Intensity of load
Speed of rotation
Thermal stability
Spindle stiffness
Accuracy of spindle depends on
Radial run out and
Axial run out
For ideal conditions both should be zero
For speed ranges of 10000 to 20000 rpm ceramic balls and rollers are
used.
They have low coefficient of friction, greater thermal stability, high wear
resistance and high hardness
 Tension preload
Required amount of preload is exerted by providing
spacer of specified width between nuts
Each nut exerts pressure on its respective ball, thus
forcing the balls away from each other

Compressive preload
Preload is achieved by insertion of spacer between two
nuts
Pressure is applied to the nuts in opposite direction
Thickness of the spacer corresponds to the amount of
preload
 Preloading methods
 Oversize ball preload
This is accomplished by using balls which are just slightly larger
than the space provided between the nut and the screw shaft
Best suited for comparatively light preload ( to the extent of
eliminating axial clearance)
In this case balls have 4-point contact, thereby increasing the
operational efficiency
Integral preload
Appearance same as single nut oversize ball or non preloaded ball
screws
However there is dimensional allowance in the nut internal
rotating element which provides proper amount of preload
Best suited for light and moderate preloads
Other preload methods
Coil or belleville spring may be inserted between two nuts to
provide a constant pressure preload
 Integral and other preload methods