What is a CNC Machine? CNC : Computerised Numerical ...

1 WhatisaCNCM achine?CNC:ComputerisedNumericalControl( Computer+NumericalControl) Numericalcontrolisaprogrammableautomatio ninwhichprocessiscontrolledbyNumbers,Let ters,andsymbols. CNCM achiningisaprocessusedinthemanufacturing sectorthatinvolvestheuseofcomputerstocon trolmachinetoolslikelathes, Tomanufacturecomplexcurvedgeometriesin2 Dor3 Dwasextremelyexpensivebymechanicalmeans( whichusuallywouldrequirecomplexjigstocon trolthecuttermotions) MachiningcomponentswithhighRepeatability andPrecision Unmannedmachiningoperations Toimproveproductionplanningandtoincrease productivity However,sincethegrooveintheballscrewishe lical,itssteelballsrollalongthehelicalgr oove,and,then,theymaygooutoftheballnutun lesstheyarearrestedatacertainspot.

2 Itconsistsofascrewspindle,anut,ballsandi ntegratedballreturnmechanismashowninFigu re. , configuration3 Thus,itisnecessarytochangetheirpathafter theyhavereachedacertainspotbyguidingthem ,oneafteranother,backtotheir startingpoint (formationofarecirculationpath).Therecir culationpartsplaythatrole. Whenthescrewshaftisrotating,asshowninFig ure,asteelballatpoint(A)travels3turnsofs crewgroove,rollingalongthegroovesofthesc rewshaftandtheballnut,andeventuallyreach espoint(B). Then,theballisforcedtochangeitspathwayat thetipofthetube,passingbackthroughthetub e,untilitfinallyreturnstopoint(A).

3 Wheneverthenutstrokesonthescrewshaft, Whendebrisorforeignmatterentertheinsideo fthenut,itcouldaffectsmoothnessinoperati onorcauseprematurewearing,eitherofwhichc ouldadverselyaffecttheballscrew'sfunctio ns. Topreventsuchthingsfromoccurring, HighmechanicalefficiencyInballscrews,abo ut90% ,theamountofforceusedtorotatethescrewsha ftisaslowasonethirdofthatneededfortheacm ethreadleadscrew. LowinwearBecauseofrollingcontact, , forms (a) Gothic arc (b) Circular arc ThreadFormThethreadformusedinthesescrews caneitherbegothicarctype( )orcirculararctype( ).

4 PreloadingInordertoobtainbidirectionalmo tionofthecarriagewithoutanypositionalerr or, (tensionorcompression) (spacer) (deflections) nut preloading Zerobacklash:Iteliminatesaxialplaybetwee nascrewshaftandaballnut. Itminimizeselasticdeformationcausedbyext ernalforce,thustherigidityenhances. Incasemountingerrors,misalignmentbetween thescrewshaftandthenutmayoccurthisfurthe rgeneratesdistortionforces. Thiscouldleadtotheproblemssuchas,Shorten edservicelifeAdverseeffectonsmoothoperat ionReducedpositioningaccuracyGenerationo fnoiseorvibrationBreakageofscrewshaft9 Advantagesofballscrews Highlyefficientandreliable.

5 Lessstartingtorque. Lowercoefficientoffrictioncomparedtoslid ingtypescrewsandrunatcoolertemperatures Powertransmissionefficiencyisveryhighand isoftheorderof95%. Couldbeeasilypreloadedtoeliminatebacklas h. Thefrictionforceisvirtuallyindependentof thetravelvelocityandthefrictionatrestisv erysmall;consequently,thestick-slippheno menonispracticallyabsent,ensuringuniform ityofmotion. Haslongerthreadlifehenceneedtobereplaced lessfrequently. Ballscrewsarewell-suitedtohighthroughout put,highspeedapplicationsorthosewithcont inuousorlongcycletimes.

6 Tendtovibrate. Requireperiodicoverhaulingtomaintainthei refficiency. Inclusionofdirtorforeignparticlesreduces thelifeofthescrews. Notasstiffasotherpowerscrews,thusdeflect ionandcriticalspeedcancausedifficulties. Theyarenotself-lockingscrewshencecannotb eusedinholdingdevicessuchasvices. Ballscrewsareemployedincuttingmachines,s uchasmachiningcenterandNClathewhereaccur atepositioningofthetableisdesired Usedintheequipment'ssuchaslithographiceq uipmentorinspectionapparatuswhereprecise positioningisvital Highprecisionballscrewsareusedinsteppers forsemiconductormanufacturingindustriesf orprecisionassemblyofmicroparts.

7 Usedinroboticsapplicationwhereprecisionp ositioningisneeded. Usedinmedicalexaminationequipment' Constructionaldetails: Basicallyconventionalmachinehave2axes,kn ownasX&Yaxis. ThereisalsoaZaxislongwhichonlythebedmove svertically. , CNCmachineshavemorerigidconstructionwhen comparedtotheconventionalmachine. Theslideways, Recirculatingballleadscrewsandantifricti onslideways Theslidewaysonaconventionalmachineoperat eundertheconditionsofslidingfriction. TheleadscrewsareusuallyoftheAcmethreadfo rm, , Rollingfrictioncanbeusedinsteadofsliding friction,wherere-circulatingrollerbearin gsarepositionedundertheslideways.

8 Arecirculatingballleadscrew, ,lessfrictionalresistance,lowertorquereq uired,moreprecisepositioningofslides, Use of Stepping Motors in Slide Movement Adigitalsignalissentfromthecontrollertot hemotorintheformofpulses,whichwillcauset hemotortorotatethroughaspecifiedangle, :Iffivedigitalpulsesaresenttothestepperm otorthenitwillrotatebyfivesteps, ,thereisnoneedforpositionalorvelocityfee dback18 MAJORCOMPONENTSRELATEDTOCNCMACHINETOOLSA nyCNCmachinetoolessentiallyconsistsofthe followingparts: Partprogram: Aseriesofcodedinstructionsrequiredtoprod uceapart.

9 Controlsthemovementofthemachinetoolandon /offcontrolofauxiliaryfunctionssuchasspi ndlerotationandcoolant. Thecodedinstructionsarecomposedofletters , Programinputdevice Theprograminputdeviceisthemeansforpartpr ogramtobeenteredintotheCNCcontrol. Threecommonlyusedprograminputdevicesarep unchtapereader,magnetictapereader, machine Control UnitThe machine control unit (MCU) is the heart of a CNC system. It is used to perform the following functions: To read the coded instructions. To decode the coded instructions. To implement interpolations (linear, circular, and helical) to generate axis motion commands.

10 To feed the axis motion commands to the amplifier circuits for driving the axis mechanisms. To receive the feedback signals of position and speed for each drive axis. To implement auxiliary control functions such as coolant or spindle on/off and tool MachineTool CNCcontrolsareusedtocontrolvarioustypeso fmachinetools. Regardlessofwhichtypeofmachinetooliscont rolled,italwayshasaslidetableandaspindle tocontrolpositionandspeed. ThemachinetableiscontrolledintheXandYaxe s, FeedBackSystem Thefeedbacksystemisalsoreferredtoastheme asuringsystem.