With the rapid development of network technology, it's only a matter of time before the Internet becomes an integral part of the workshop. This shift marks a significant milestone in the evolution of digital manufacturing.
From another perspective, if an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system is limited to upper-level business management—such as human resources, finance, materials, production, supply, and sales—it falls short of fully integrating the manufacturing process. For instance, CNC machines that are not connected to a network or capable of exchanging information will become a bottleneck in the flow of manufacturing data. Therefore, for modern manufacturing plants, increasing the numerical control rate of machine tools is not enough. It’s essential to equip these machines with bidirectional, high-speed network communication capabilities, ensuring seamless information flow between the shop floor and higher-level systems.
Take Mazak Corporation from Japan as an example. They introduced a new generation of machining centers that go beyond automation in machining and tool exchange. These machines are equipped with an e-Tower, which includes computers, mobile phones, and both in-camera and out-of-camera cameras. This allows for voice, graphics, video, and text communication. The machine is linked to the production planning dispatcher, providing real-time updates on its operational status and progress. Operators must verify their fingerprint authorization and monitor the process, fault alarms, and online troubleshooting directly on the screen. This makes each machine an independent, self-managed manufacturing cell.
The company’s production planning and scheduling system organizes a week’s worth of tasks and sends them to the e-Tower. The tower then guides the operator and displays the machine’s real-time status on the screen. The operator follows the on-screen instructions. If any issues arise, they can access the operating manual via the computer. In most cases, the machine operates automatically, allowing the operator and the machine to be physically separated. Both managers and operators are equipped with mobile phones, enabling them to check production conditions, track expected completion times, report delays, and receive fault alerts remotely.
When a machine malfunctions, the screen displays the troubleshooting steps. At the same time, Mazak’s repair center can see the issue and provide timely remote assistance, minimizing downtime and improving overall efficiency.
In terms of technology, the latest product from Germany’s Andron is a new generation of open CNC systems built on the Windows platform. It uses two Intel processors communicating through a PCI-PCI bridge. One processor handles numerical control (NC), while the other serves as the human-machine interface. The NC computer is equipped with an NC CPU card and an NC machine card, which connects to the numerical drive and communicates with the human-machine interface via two bus cards with PCI bridges. The human-machine interface computer controls the touch LCD display, peripherals, and network communications.
Traditional CNC systems convert digital signals from the programming system into analog voltage signals to control motor speed, essentially still using analog control. However, the latest CNC systems feature serial real-time communication interfaces like SERCOS and picometer-level interpolation technology. These systems integrate position control, speed control, precision interpolation, and servo motor control into a single circuit. Digital servo drives connect the CNC system and the servo controller via optical fiber through the SERCOS interface, significantly boosting transmission speed and response time, reaching nanosecond levels.
Interpolation accuracy plays a crucial role in the performance of CNC systems and the machining precision and efficiency of the machine tools. With the adoption of SERCOS interface technology, Andron developed a picometer-level interpolation technique, increasing interpolation accuracy from 1×10â»â· m to 0.6×10â»Â¹Â² m. The higher the interpolation accuracy, the better the dimensional precision of the machined parts, the smoother the machine movement, and the less tool wear, ultimately reducing processing costs.
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