Outlook on Automated CNC Intelligent Equipment

Under the background of Automation Equipment Industry 4.0 and "Internet plus", the future development and competition of CNC system has undergone a new reform. More competitions in China will focus on how to use the advantages of the Internet to expand the accounting capability of CNC system indefinitely, and through the understanding of emerging business models such as sharing economy, it will become an important trend in the future to reasonably create functions that are suitable for it.

1. Intelligent requirements for CNC system

From the perspective of production technology itself, the intelligence of CNC systems can be achieved in four aspects: intelligent operation, non-standard machining automation, intelligent protection, and intelligent handling. During the machining process, the machine tool utilizes various sensors and real-time monitoring and compensation technology to further improve its performance. Japanese companies such as Mazak and Okuma have provided many advanced technologies in terms of intelligence, such as spindle vibration suppression and intelligent anti-collision functions.

2. CNC system based on cloud channels

On the basis of cloud accounting, the University of Stuttgart in Germany proposed a "global localization" cloud based CNC system. The traditional CNC system's human-machine interface, CNC core, and PLC are all moved to the cloud, and only the servo drive and safety control of the machine tool are saved locally. Communication modules, middleware, and Ethernet interfaces are added to the cloud, and communication with the local CNC system is achieved through routers. In this way, there is a "digital twin" of each machine tool in the cloud, and machine configuration, optimization, and protection can be carried out in the cloud, greatly facilitating the use of machine tools.

Digital twin refers to a digital mirror of a specific physical target, which includes design specifications and engineering models that depict its components, materials, and behaviors, as well as production and operational data unique to the entity it represents, becoming an inseparable "companion". It is the latest and accurate real-time mirror of the attributes and conditions of physical targets, including shape, position, condition, and motion. The digital twin of machine tools can exist together in multiple information domains, with multiple "incarnations" that undertake the effects of plan demonstration, structural and functional verification, and performance parameter optimization in the product design stage; Participate in the completion of layout planning, system optimization simulation, and other work during the planning phase of building the factory; Distinguishing and predicting processing conditions during the operation phase, achieving intelligent control and preventive protection of the machine tool, until the end of product scrapping, and even after that.

3. Internet CNC system and its ecosystem

Under the condition of the Internet, the CNC system must become a smart terminal capable of generating data, so that the production process and its full life cycle can be "data informed". Through the intelligent terminal's "clarity", the production process is completed in a clear manner, which not only facilitates the processing of parts, but also provides real-time data for service processing, finance, production, and sales. It integrates resources and information interconnection in a series of production and processing links, including equipment, production planning, design, production, supply chain, human resources, finance, sales, inventory, etc.

　　The development of intelligence is a gradual process, and currently there are different understandings of intelligence, and there is no universally applicable solution plan. The innovation and real implementation of the business model of CNC machine tools must rely on the intelligence and networking of the CNC system. The future CNC system will more and more infiltrate the influence of the Internet into the production link. Through the accumulation, transmission and exploration of data, more and more intelligent production capabilities will be born, and the transparency and sharing will bring earth shaking innovation to the production industry.