CNC MACHINE TOOLS

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
DR VARUN SHEKHAR
The Realities of Modern
Manufacturing
 Globalization - Once underdeveloped
countries (e.g., China, India, Mexico)
are becoming major players in
manufacturing
 International outsourcing - Parts and
products once made locally are now
being made offshore in China or India
or near-shore (in Eastern Europe)
 Local outsourcing - Use of suppliers
locally to provide parts and services
The Realities of Modern
Manufacturing
 Contract manufacturing - Companies that
specialize in manufacturing entire products,
not just parts, under contract to other
companies
 Trend toward the service sector
 Quality expectations - Customers, both
consumer and corporate, demand products of
the highest quality
 Need for operational efficiency -
manufacturers must be efficient in in their
operations to overcome the labor cost
advantage of international competitors
Automated System
Periodic Automated
Worker System

Examples:
Transformation
 Automated machine tools Process
 Transfer lines
 Automated assembly systems
 Industrial robots
 Automated material handling and storage
systems
 Automatic inspection systems for quality control
 Flexible Automation

System is capable of changing over from one job

to the next with little lost time between jobs

Typical features:
 High investment for custom-engineered system
 Continuous production of variable mixes of
products
 Medium production rates
 Flexibility to deal with soft product variety
 Reasons for Automating

1. To increase labor productivity

2. To reduce labor cost
3. To mitigate the effects of labor shortages
4. To reduce or remove routine manual and
clerical tasks
5. To improve worker safety
6. To improve product quality
7. To reduce manufacturing lead time
8. To accomplish what cannot be done manually
9. To avoid the high cost of not automating
 Automation Principle

1. Understand the existing process

 Input/output analysis
 Value chain analysis
 Charting techniques and mathematical
modeling
2. Simplify the process
 Reduce unnecessary steps and moves
3. Automate the process
 Ten strategies for automation and production
systems
 Automation migration strategy
 Automation Strategies
1. Specialization of operations
2. Combined operations
3. Simultaneous operations
4. Integration of operations
5. Increased flexibility
6. Improved material handling and storage
7. On-line inspection
8. Process control and optimization
9. Plant operations control
10.Computer-integrated manufacturing
Automation
Migration
Strategy
FUNCTIONS OF A MACHINE TOOL

a. Able to hold the work piece and cutting

tool securely.
b. Endowed the sufficient power to enable
the tool to cut the work piece material at
economical rates.
c. Capable of displacing the tool and work
piece relative to one another to produce
the required work piece shape. The
displacements must be controlled with a
degree of precision which will ensure the
desired accuracy of surface finish and size.
Advantages of CNC machine
tools
1. Reduced lead time:
Lead time includes the time needed for planning, design
and manufacture of jigs, etc. This time may amount to
several months. Since the need for special jigs
And fixtures is often entirely eliminated, the whole time
needed for their design and manufacture is saved.
2. Elimination of operator errors:
The machine is controlled by instructions registered on
the
tape provided the tape is correct and machine and tool
operate correctly, no errors will occur in the
job.
 Fatigue, boredom, or inattention by operator will
not affect the quality or duration of the
machining. Responsibility is transferred from the
operator to the tape, machine settings are
achieved without the operator reading the dial.
3. Operator activity:
The operator is relieved of tasks performed by
the machine and is free to attend to matters for
which his skills and ability are essential.
Presetting of tools, setting of components and
preparation and planning of future jobs fall into
this category. It is possible for two work stations
to be prepared on a single machine table, even
with small batches. Two setting positions are
used, and the operator can be setting one station
while machining takes place at the other.
4. Lower labor cost
More time is actually spent on cutting the
metal. Machine manipulation time ex.:.
Gear changing and often setting time are
less with NC machines and help reduce
the labor cost per job considerably.
5. Longer tool life
Tools can be used at optimum speeds
and feeds because these functions are
controlled by the program
6. Smaller batches
By the use of preset tooling and presetting techniques
downtime between batches is kept at a minimum. Large
storage facilities for work in progress are not required.
Machining centers eliminate some of the setups needed
for a
succession of operation on one job; time spent in waiting
until each of a succession of machine is
free is also cut.
The components circulate round the machine shop in a
shorter period, inter department costs are saved and
‘program chasing’ is reduced.
7. Elimination of special jigs and fixtures
Because standard locating fixtures are often
sufficient of work on machines. the cost of
special jigs and fixture is frequently eliminated.
The capital cost of storage
facilities is greatly reduced. The storage of a
tape in a simple matter, it may be kept for many
years and manufacturing of spare parts, repeat
orders or replacements is made much more
convenient.
8. Flexibility in changes of component design
The modification of component design can be
readily accommodated by reprogramming and
altering the tape. Savings are affected in time
9. Reduced inspection.
The time spent on inspection and in waiting for
inspection to begin is greatly reduced. Normally
it is necessary to inspect the first component
only once the tape is proved; the repetitive
accuracy of the machine maintains a consistent
product. 10. Reduced scrap
Operator error is eliminated and a proven tape
results in accurate component.
10. Accurate costing and scheduling
The time taken in machining is predictable,
consistent and results in a greater accuracy in
estimating and more consistency in costing.
The general configuration of CNC.
MACHINE CONTROL UNIT - MCU

 Central processing unit

 Memory
 Input output interface
 Control s for machine tool spindle and axes.
 Sequence control for other machine tool units.
AXIS MANAGMENT

 INTERPOLATION
 SERVO CONTROL
 DRIVE OF THE MOTION AXIS
COMPONENTS OF CNC
Spindle

 Large power with infinite variation in

speed
 DC motors were very popular with
speed control using voltage variation
 Nowadays AC motors are used with
speed control using frequency
variation
Feed Drives
Electric motors are by far the most common
component to
supply mechanical input to a linear motion
system.
Stepper motors and servo motors are the
popular choices in
linear motion machinery due to their accuracy
and
controllability.
They exhibit favorable torque-speed
characteristics and are
relatively inexpensive.
CPU

(1) control section : retrieves commands and data from memory

and generates signals to activate other components in the MCU.
It sequences, coordinates, and regulates all the activities of
the MCU computer.
(2) arithmetic-logic unit : consists of the circuitry to perform
various calculations (addition, subtraction, multiplication),
counting, and logical functions required by software residing in
memory.
(3) immediate access memory : provides a temporary
storage of data being processed by the CPU. It is connected
to main memory of the system data bus.
•
MEMORY

Storing the memory needed for various

programmes and operating system.
 Main memory –Primary memory -ROM – read only
memory – stores Operating system software and machine
interface programs .
 Secondary memory- RAM – Random axis memory-
Numerical control part programs are stored in RAMdevices.
Current programs in RAM can be erased and replaced by
new programs as jobs are changed. Hard disks are high-
capacity storage devices that are permanently installed in
the CNC machine control unit. CNC secondary memory is
used to store part programs, macros, and other software
Input/Output Interface : The I/O interface
provides communication software between
the various components of the CNC system,
other computer systems, and the machine
operator.
The I/O interface transmits and receives data and
signals to and from external devices.
Configuration of CNC machine control unit
Controls for Machine Tool Axes and
Spindle Speed

These are hardware components that control the position

and velocity (feed rate) of each machine axis as well as
the rotational speed of the machine tool spindle.
The control signals generated by MCU must
be converted to a form and power level suited to the
particular position control systems used to drive the
machine axes.
Positioning systems can be classified as open loop or
closed loop, and different hardware components are
required in each case.
Sequence Controls for Other Machine
Tool Functions
 Control of table position, feed rate, and
spindle speed and several additional functions
are accomplished under part program control.
auxiliary functions are generally on/off
(binary) actuations, interlocks, and discrete
numerical data.
Types of CNC systems

Point to point system Contouring System

Contouring System
BASICS OF AND PRINCIPLES

All computer controlled machines are able to

accurately and repeatedly control motion in various
directions.
Each of these directions of motion is called an axis.
Depending on the machine type there are commonly
two to five axes.
Additionally, a CNC axis may be either a linear axis in
which movement is in a straight line, or a rotary axis
with motion following a circular path.
Motion control - the heart
of CNC
The most basic function of any CNC machine is automatic,
precise, and consistent motion control.
•Rather than applying completely mechanical devices to
Cause motion as is required on most conventional machine
tools, CNC machines allow motion control in a revolutionary
manner.
•All forms of CNC equipment have two or more directions of
motion, called axes. These axes can be precisely and
automatically positioned along their lengths of travel.
•The two most common axis types are linear (driven along a
straight path) and rotary (driven along a circular path).
Work Positioning

The method of accurate work positioning in relation to the

cutting tool
is called the “rectangular coordinate system.” On the
vertical mill, the
Horizontal base line is designated the “X” axis, while the
vertical base
line is designated the “Y” axis.
The “Z” axis is at a right angle, perpendicular to both the
“X” and “Y”
axes.
•Increments for all base lines are specified in linear
measurements, for most machines the smallest
increment is one ten-thousandth of an inch (.0001). If
the machine is graduated in metric the smallest
 All computer controlled machines are
able to accurately and repeatedly control
motion in various directions. Each of
these directions of motion is called an
axis. Depending on the machine type
there are commonly two to five
axes.Additionally, a CNC axis may be
either a linear axis in which movement is
in a straight line, or a rotary axis with
motion following a circular path.
 The most basic function of any CNC machine is
automatic, precise, and consistent motion control.
 Rather than applying completely mechanical devices to
cause motion as is required on most conventional
machine tools, CNC machines allow motion control in a
revolutionary manner.
 All forms of CNC equipment have two or more directions
of motion, called axes. These axes can be precisely and
automatically positioned along their lengths of travel.
 The two most common axis types are linear (driven
along a straight path) and rotary (driven along a
circular path).
OPERATIONAL FEATURES of CNC MACHINES
Open loop systems

 Programmed instructions are fed into

the controller through an input device.
 These instructions are then converted
to electrical pulses (signals) by the
controller and sent to the servo
amplifier to energize the servo motors.
 Drawback-
Nofeedbacksystemtocheckwhetherthep
rogrampositionandvelocityhasbeenachi
eved.
 If the system performance is affected
by
load,temperature,humidity,orlubricat
ionthentheactualoutputcoulddeviatef
romthedesiredoutput.
 Generally used in point-to-point
systems where the accuracy
requirements are not critical. Very
few continuous-path Systems utilize
open-loop control
Closed loop system

 Feed back subsystem to monitor the actual

output and correct any discrepancy from
the programmed input.
 Use position and velocity feedback.
 The feedback system could be either
analog or digital. The analog systems
measure the variation of physical variables
such as position and velocity in terms of
voltage levels. Digital systems monitor
output variations by means of electrical
pulses.
Stator and rotor of a stpper
motor
Rotation aligned with coil 1 Rotation aligned with coil
2
Half step operation
Stepper Motors
 Rotates in steps (fixed angular increments)
 200 steps per revolution i.e1.80per pulse
 Permanent magnet rotor
 Micro step motors –25000 steps/rev.
Advantages

 Low cost
 2.Compact
 3.Simple in construction
 4.High reliability
5.No maintenance (no brushes)
6.Excellent torgue at high speeds
7.Stepper motors can easily accelerate a load.
8.There is usually no need for clutches and
brakes (unless a large external load is acting,
such as gravity).
9. Stepper motors are inherently digital. The
number of pulses determines position while
the pulse frequency determines velocity.
10.Easily and accurately controlled.
11.They offer excellent heat dissipation
Disadvantages
1.The motor can lose position if the load
torque exceeds the motor's available torque.
2.Open loop stepper motor systems should not
be used for high-performance or high-load
applications.
3.Damping may be required when load inertia
is very high to prevent motor shaft
oscillation at resonance points.
4.Stepper motors may perform poorly in high-
speed applications.
Closed loop system
 To control the dynamic behavior and the final
position of the machine slides ,a variety of
position transducers are employed.
 Majority of CNC systems operate on
servomechanism ,a closed loop principle.If a
discrepancy is revealed between where the
machine element should be and where it
actually is, the sensing device signals the
driving unit to make an adjustment ,bringing the
movable component to the required location.
 Closed-loop systems are very powerful and
accurate
 POINT TO POINT – ONLY PROVIDE FINAL
POSITION COORDINATES TO THE CONTROL
 CONTOURING- INTERPOLATOR TO CYCLICALLY
CONTROL MOTION SET POINTS.
 Once the set points are generated, these are provided to
the servo control loops that compute the control inputs,
based on the set points and the motion feedbacks (for
closed
loop systems) and provide such control inputs to the
motor drive system. Basic approaches for control are
described next to the interpolation
Contour Generation by Interpolation

 Machining path is constructed from a

combination of linear and circular
segments.
 Specify the coordinates of the initial
and final
points of each segment, and the feed
rate.
The operation of producing the
required shape based on this
information is termed interpolation
Servo Control

Servo control consists of all the activities, which

allow several axes to effectively maintain the
trajectory calculated by the interpolator.
In CNC systems the position and velocity of the
machine tool axes must be controlled closely and in a
coordinated manner.
Each axis is separately driven and follows the
command
signal produced by the interpolator. The control
system can be either open-loop (as in PTP systems) or
closed-loop (as in contouring systems).
DC SERVO MOTOR
Linear Motors

Series of magnets attached to machine

base and
a set of electrical coils around a steel
laminate
attached to moving slide
No mechanical parts in contact
No wear or periodic maintenance
required
Not limited in travel like ball screws
Can produce parts with higher