CNC Control Setup for Milling and Turning:. Peter Smid
Conversion of METERS to FEET:
Meters are the units of input to be converted into equivalent number of feet:
| Feet | = | Meters / 0.3048 |
Conversion of FEET to METERS:
Feet are the units of input to be converted into equivalent number of meters:
| Meters | = | Feet × 0.3048 |
Conversion of METERS to CHARACTERS:
Meters are the units of input to be converted into equivalent number of characters:
| Characters | = | (Meters × 1000) / 2.54 |
... or ...
| Characters | = | Meters / 0.00254 |
Conversion of FEET to CHARACTERS:
Feet are the units of input to be converted into equivalent number of characters:
| Characters | = | Feet × 120 |
Conversion of CHARACTERS to METERS:
Characters are the units of input to be converted into equivalent number of meters:
| Meters | = | Characters × 0.00254 |
... or ...
| Meters | = | (Characters × 2.54) / 1000 |
Conversion of CHARACTERS to FEET:
Characters are the units of input to be converted into equivalent number of feet:
| Feet | = | Characters /120 |
Program files are always stored as pure text files on computers, in standard ASCII format - that means no formatting is involved - no underlines, no italics, no bold characters, etc. ASCII is an acronym that means American Standard Code for Information Interchange.
When a pure text file is stored, the computer operating system such as Windows™, indicates the number of bytes the file occupies on the hard drive (or disk). Although not exact, this file size can be used as a guide -typically, the number of bytes exceeds the number of characters. For example, a text file that shows 3500 bytes may have only 3000 characters, spaces included. Fanuc controls do not consider spaces as characters -spaces are ignored.
DNC Alternative
Although CNC memory capacity can be expanded by adding more memory chips or boards, an inexpensive alternative is the use a of remote computer that serves as a DNC source unit.
DNC stands for Direct Numerical Control or Distributed Numerical Control. Although there is a certain overlap in using these two terms, direct usually means one Personal Computer to one CNC, whereby distributed usually means one Personal Computer to several CNCs. In both cases, suitable software and cabling is required.
The illustration below shows a typical control panel for a CNC machining center. Turning center control panel will be almost identical. The letter -M in the model identification stands for Milling - a CNC turning center (lathe) will have the letter -T instead (for Turning).
Although the control panel layout and its features will vary from one manufacturer to another and even from one control model to another for the same manufacturer, there are enough similarities to group them and examine each group.
The control system has its own independent power source, therefore it has its own ON-OFF buttons. Even if the CNC machine itself is turned on, it does not mean its control system is under power as well. However, the machine power has to be turned on before the control system can be turned on via Control Panel. The main reason is to separate mechanical, pneumatic and hydraulic elements from the electronic elements.
The OFF button of the Control Panel is usually the first one to use when the machine is powered down. Usually, the Power-Off order is the opposite of the Power-On order. As the exact procedures will vary from machine to machine, always consult the manufacturer’s recommendations and procedures.
The largest area of the Control Panel is the display screen - the monitor of the whole control system.
There are three main elements:
▪Display area
▪Arrow soft keys
▪Selection soft keys
When the power is supplied to the control panel, the display shows its default screen. In order to navigate between many screen pages, the control system offers several soft keys, located just below the display screen (five keys shown in the illustration + two for navigation).
In order to avoid hundreds of buttons and a very large control panel, modern control systems only display features directly related to some main selection group. For example, if you choose the POS selection key, the screen will show only those features that are related to various positions - such as absolute, relative, machine, distance-to-go, etc.
Soft keys always work in conjunction with Selection