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Controls for complex woodworking.


Computer features such as five-axis transformation, "look ahead," ART, CAD/CAM CAD/CAM
 in full computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing.

Integration of design and manufacturing into a system under direct control of digital computers.
 and data handling will help woodworking equipment keep up with future demands.

In the past, woodworking machines A Woodworking machine is a machine that is intended to process wood. These machines are usually powered by electric motors and are used extensively in woodworking. Sometimes grinding machines (for grinding woodworking tools) are also considered a part of woodworking machinery.  have been less complex than machine tools (or metalworking machines). This is due to the difference in CNC (Computerized Numerical Control) See numerical control.

CNC - Collaborative Networked Communication
 control technology between these industries. However, the woodworking industry is beginning to catch up by looking toward the future. With the geometry of work pieces now differing during each process, optimum tool paths are requiring the controls of woodworking machines to be more complex. As already experienced in many industries, such as the automotive industry The automotive industry is the industry involved in the design, development, manufacture, marketing, and sale of motor vehicles. In 2006, more than 69 million motor vehicles, including cars and commercial vehicles were produced worldwide. , machine tools and woodworking machines will be required to be increasingly more flexible in the future. Work pieces will have more sophisticated shapes, the quality requirements will increase dramatically, and the setup times will need to be reduced. Data programming and data handling will be key factors in the modern manufacturing process. Woodworking factories want to be more flexible and have the option of running jobs with fewer problems, in less time.

Due to all of these needs, the request for high-performance CNC controls in woodworking will continue to increase in the future. The control will need to perform five-axis transformation, look ahead, ART, CAD-CAM, and have increased ability to handle data.

Five-axis transformation

In principle, the linear axis of a five-axis machine must compensate for the movement of its rotary axis. This is required in order to keep the tool tip on a specific angle with respect to the tool path. The automatic compensation movement of the linear axis is Axis I Psychiatry A classification dimension used with DSM-IV, which includes clinical disorders and syndromes and/or other areas of concern. See DSM-IV, Multiaxial system.  called transformation. Today, only a few controls have the ability required for this transformation to occur in real time. This is because the design of most controls does not allow the axis to do this in an economical way.

"Look ahead"

When a job requires a machine to cut corners or perform unconventional block transitions, it is necessary for the machine tool to reduce or to accelerate the path speed. In order to get a continuous stream of data and to maintain a continuing path speed, the function "look ahead" is necessary. "Look ahead" functions by looking over typically between 25 and 100 NC blocks ahead of where the machine is functioning and recognizing all accelerations and decelerations that will be necessary. This information gives the machine tool a continuing stream of data so that the machine tool can run at the highest possible speed. The "look ahead" function is especially important with very short NC blocks (which are usually created by a CAD/CAM system).

ART

ART is a powerful software controller which can improve the path accuracy of machine tools by a factor of three to five times without any mechanical changes, especially in the dynamic area. Using complex reprocessing Reprocessing may refer to:
  • Nuclear reprocessing
  • Recycling
 with different types of interpolation interpolation

In mathematics, estimation of a value between two known data points. A simple example is calculating the mean (see mean, median, and mode) of two population counts made 10 years apart to estimate the population in the fifth year.
 such as circular, linear or spline In computer graphics, a smooth curve that runs through a series of given points. The term is often used to refer to any curve, because long before computers, a spline was a flat, pliable strip of wood or metal that was bent into a desired shape for drawing curves on paper. See Bezier and B-spline.  (even with acceleration or deceleration deceleration /de·cel·er·a·tion/ (de-sel?er-a´shun) decrease in rate or speed.

early deceleration
) this software regulator allows all of the machine's axis to generate a zero lag. This function is only available from very advanced CNC controllers such as the IBM (International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY, www.ibm.com) The world's largest computer company. IBM's product lines include the S/390 mainframes (zSeries), AS/400 midrange business systems (iSeries), RS/6000 workstations and servers (pSeries), Intel-based servers (xSeries)  macro series. The ART function is a self-learning function which improves the KV factor adaptive so that the machine can compensate for problems such as temperature fluctuations. Harmonic harmonic.

1 Physical term describing the vibration in segments of a sound-producing body (see sound). A string vibrates simultaneously in its whole length and in segments of halves, thirds, fourths, etc.
 spline can provide improvement, especially for complex surfaces. In addition, real time spline reduces processing time.

CAD/CAM

Existing three-dimensional CAD/CAM geometric systems generate many NC blocks, a big problem for programmers. Too many NC blocks are the death of most of the existing CNC controls Future controls will need to be both extremely fast and provide additional features to reduce the number of blocks generated. However, programs to just reduce the number of NC blocks are not enough; the CNC needs a well-adjusted package of real time transformation, "look ahead" and real time spline.

Data handling

In the future, more and more programming will be done with CAD/CAM systems. CAD/CAM generates very long NC programs which in turn cause problems for the average CNC control. These problems occur not only in performance but also in terms of data handling. Program memory and storage are very often too limited for proper functioning of a control. Future controls will need to provide the whole infrastructure for data handling. The IBM control can process programs directly from a hard disk, serial port or from a network. This provides virtually unlimited NC program memory. Most of the future CNC controls will be based on standard PC hardware and will use standard PC operating systems Operating systems can be categorized by technology, ownership, licensing, working state, usage, and by many other characteristics. In practice, many of these groupings may overlap.  for their main machine interface. This approach provides easy connections to programming and manufacturing organizations.

Some of the cornerstones for the future of the woodworking industry have already been developed and established. ART, "look ahead" and five-axis transformation are envelopes just now being opened for woodworkers to explore.

These new developments will help to create the type of environment necessary to reduce cost, increase production and sharpen sharp·en  
tr. & intr.v. sharp·ened, sharp·en·ing, sharp·ens
To make or become sharp or sharper.



sharp
 the quality controls necessary to compete in tomorrow's competitive markets.

Juergen Schmidtt is an independent contractor A person who contracts to do work for another person according to his or her own processes and methods; the contractor is not subject to another's control except for what is specified in a mutually binding agreement for a specific job.  for C.M.S. SpA, Italy.
COPYRIGHT 1994 Vance Publishing Corp.
No portion of this article can be reproduced without the express written permission from the copyright holder.
Copyright 1994, Gale Group. All rights reserved. Gale Group is a Thomson Corporation Company.

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Author:Schmidtt, Juergen
Publication:Wood & Wood Products
Date:Nov 1, 1994
Words:839
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