Numerical Control

System
By
Doc Nam
Lecture 6
Numerical Control (NC) Defined
Programmable automation in which the mechanical actions of a ‘machine tool’
are controlled by a program containing coded alphanumeric data that
represents relative positions between a work head (e.g., cutting tool) and a
work part

Program Machine
Instructions Control Unit

Transformation
Process
Power
Components of NC system
An N/C machine is a system composed of two major components
together with various auxiliary equipment. The two major components
are
• (1) a machine tool such as a milling machine, drilling machine,
engine or turret lathe, flame cutting machine, laser cloth cutter,
or almost any other kind of machine that has a moveable cutter
of some sort; and
• (2) a controller to direct the motion of the cutter. Auxiliary equipment
may include programming hardware, such as a data-entry terminal,
line printer, and tape punch.
• Other programming equipment might include a computer for
computer-assisted N/C programming and an X-Y plotter for verifying
the accuracy of the program before trying it on the N/C machine.
Differences between N/C and Manual Control

The machine tool portion of an N/C machine varies from

its manually-operated counterpart in two very important
respects.
• First, the N/C machine tool is usually more rigid, since
deflection must be minimized;
 Ball screw and nut
• and second, the axes are usually actuated by means
of ball screws--a hardened-and-ground leadscrew with a
recirculating ball bearing nut shown below.
The thread groove on the leadscrew is ground to
exactly fit the balls with zero clearance. This
eliminates the backlash that results from the clearance
between the screw and nut found with ordinary acme
thread leadscrews used on most manual machine tools.
Ball screw and nut
machining
centres
Large N/C milling machines are
called machining centers. They have
automatic tool changers with magazines
that may hold up to a hundred or more
different tools. They often have a
horizontal spindle. Some have a fourth and
even a fifth axis. The fourth axis is a
tiltable table built into the main table. The
fifth axis is a rotary table mounted on the
tiltable table. This permits a workpiece to
be tilted and rotated for milling compound
angle surfaces and machining holes at an
angle to the sides.
Turning centers Turning center

Large N/C lathes are

called turning centers. They have
automatic tool changing and multi-
station turret tool holders.
They can perform contour turning,
threading, drilling, boring, etc.
operations.

Automatic tool changers Multi turret head

 POWER DRIVES
• In machine tools, power is generally required for driving
the main spindle, saddles and carriages and to some
auxiliary units.
• The motors used for CNC system are of two kinds
Electrical – AC , DC or Stepper motors
 Fluid - Hydraulic or Pneumatic
• In CNC, usually stepper and servo electrical drives are
used
• They exhibit favorable torque-speed characteristics and
are relatively inexpensive.
 STEPPER MOTOR
• A stepper motor is a pulse-driven motor that changes the angular
position of the rotor in steps.
• Due to this nature of a stepper motor, it is widely used in low
cost, open loop position control systems.
• Types of stepper motors:
Permanent Magnet
 Employ permanent magnet
 Low speed, relatively high torque
Variable Reluctance
 Does not have permanent magnet
Low torque
 Feedback: Open vs. Closed Loops

The controller needs to know the progress of the cutter in its journey to its
destination in order to control the cutter's path and velocity. Two methods are
utilized to achieve this.
Open Loop Systems
The first method is called an open-loop system. It uses a special kind of motor called
a stepper motor to drive each axis. A stepping motor has no brushes, commutator,
or slip rings. It has a stator into which internal grooves have been cut. The stator is
wound with several coils of wire through which a direct current is fed. By
controlling the magnitude and direction of the current in each of the various coils, the
location of the stator's magnetic field poles can be manipulated and controlled. The
rotor consists of a very strong permanent magnet into which grooves have been cut,
each groove creating a magnetic pole. There are a few more grooves in the permanent
magnet rotor than there are in the electromagnetic stator. This sets up a vernier
relationship between the stator poles and the rotor poles, permitting rotation in
discrete increments (or steps) of 1/200 of a revolution, which a DC servo motor
cannot do.
Stator Grooves
 Closed-Loop Systems

A closed-loop system uses conventional variable-

speed DC motors, called servos, to drive the axes. A
DC motor is the highest torque electric motor
available. It is instantly reversible. However, it
cannot be made to turn an exact fraction of a
revolution like the stepping motor. It can only be
turned on and off, speeded up or slowed down, run
forward or run reverse. In order to keep track of
axis position, a servo must be fitted with a position-
sensing device called a resolver.
 Cartesian Coordinate System
Almost everything that can be produced on a conventional
machine tool can be produced on a computer numerical
control machine tool, with its many advantages. The
machine tool movements used in producing a product are
of two basic types:
1. point-to-point motion control(straight-line movements)
and
2. continuous path motion control (contouring
movements).
 Which Axis is Which?

Z-Axis Which axis is which depends on the orientation of the

spindle. The axis of motion that is parallel to the spindle axis is
always the Z-axis. If the spindle is vertical (Figure 2.1), the Z-axis
is vertical. Either the quill or the knee of a vertical spindle mill
will move when a Z-axis command is executed. If the spindle is
horizontal, the saddle or quill on a mill (Figure 2.2) or the
carriage or turret on a lathe (Figure 2.3) will move parallel to the
spindle axis when a Z-axis command is executed.

X-Axis The mill axis that moves right and left (as the operator is
facing the front of the mill) is the X-axis for both vertical and
horizontal spindle mills. For lathes, the X-axis is the cross slide
(or turret) motion at a right angle to the spindle axis.

Y-Axis The Y-axis on mills is either the in-and-out motion--

toward and away from the operator (vertical spindle) or up-and-
down motion (horizontal spindle). Simple CNC lathes are two-axis
machines and have no Y-axis.

It should be noted that complex, multi-spindle lathe-type

machining centers or Swiss screw machines with multiple,
automatic chucks equipped with so-called "live tooling" may have
one of two Y-axes.
Which Axis is Which?
 Machines Using CNC
Early machine tools were designed so that the operator
was standing in front of the machine while operating
the controls. This design is no longer necessary, since
in CNC the operator no longer controls the machine
tool movements. On conventional machine tools, only
about 20 percent of the time was spent removing
material. With the addition of electronic controls,
actual time spent removing metal has increased to 80
percent and even higher. It has also reduced the
amount of time required to bring the cutting tool into
each machining position.
Machine Types
Lathe
The engine lathe, one of the most
productive machine tools, has always been
an efficient means of producing round
parts (Fig. 4). Most lathes are programmed
on two axes.
• The X axis controls the cross motion of
the cutting tool. Negative X (X-) moves the
tool towards the spindle centerline;
positive X moves the tool away from the
spindle centerline.
• The Z axis controls the carriage travel
toward or away from the headstock.
Milling Machine
• The milling machine has always been one of the most
versatile machine tools used in industry. Operations
such as milling, contouring, gear cutting, drilling,
boring, and reaming are only a few of the many
operations which can be performed on a milling
machine. The milling machine can be programmed on
three axes:
• The X axis controls the table movement left or right.
• The Y axis controls the table movement toward or
away from the column.
• The Z axis controls the vertical (up or down)
movement of the knee or spindle.
Vertical machine center
 Programming Systems
Two types of programming modes, the incremental system and the
absolute system, are used for CNC. Both systems have applications in
CNC programming, and no system is either right or wrong all the time.
Most controls on machine tools today are capable of handling either
incremental or absolute programming.
Absolute vs. Incremental Positioning

Some N/C controllers can accept only absolute positioning

commands, while others can accept only incremental
positioning commands. Newer CNC machine controllers
can accept both absolute and incremental positioning
commands. All the programmer has to do is tell the
controller (by means of a code) whether the positioning
commands are absolute or incremental. Thus the
programmer can change back and forth from absolute to
incremental positioning as often as desired by changing
the code.
 Absolute Positioning

Absolute positioning always

tells the controller where to
send the cutter relative to
the origin (rather than the
current cutting tool point
location). The controller
always knows where the
cutter currently is located, so
it can calculate the distance
and direction it must send the
cutter to arrive at the desired
destination.
Incremental Positioning

Incremental positioning always tells the controller where to send the

cutter relative to the cutter's current location.
 Open Loop Positioning Systems
An open loop positioning system typically uses a stepping motor to
rotate the leadscrew. A stepping motor is driven by a series of
electrical pulses, which are generated by the MCU in an NC system.
Each pulse causes the motor to rotate a fraction of one revolution. called
the step angle. The possible step angles must be consistent with the
following relationship:

Where = step angle (degrees), and , = the number of step angles for
the motor, which must be an integer.
 Open Loop Positioning Systems…
motor shaft rotation
The angle through which the motor shaft
rotates is given by

where = angle through which the motor rotates (degrees), np = number

of pulses received by the motor. And = step angle (degrees/pulse).
The motor shaft is generally connected to the leadscrew through a
gear box, which reduces the angular rotation of the leadscrew.
 Open Loop Positioning Systems…
leadscrew rotation
Since the motor shaft is generally connected to the leadscrew through a gearbox,
the angle of the leadscrew rotation must take the gear ratio into account as
follows’

where A == angle of leadscrew rotation (degrees), and rg = gear ratio, defined as the
number of turns of the motor for each single turn of the leadscrew. That is,

= =
Where
Nm: Rotational speed of motor (rpm)
N: Rotational speed of leadscrew (rpm)
 Open Loop Positioning Systems…linear movement
of worktable
Linear movement of a worktable is given as
•
where x == xaxis position relative to the starting position (mm, inch), p = pitch of the
leadscrew (nun/rev, in/rev).and A/360 = number of Leadscrew revolutions.
The number of pulses required to achieve a specified x-position increment in a point-to-
point system can be found by combining the two preceding equations as follows:

= ==
 Open Loop Positioning Systems…
control pulses generated
Control pulses are transmitted from the pulse generator at
a certain frequency, which drives the worktable at a
corresponding velocity or feed rate in the direction of the
leadscrew axis. The rotational speed of the leadscrew
depends on the frequency of the pulse train as follows:
 EXAMPLE
• The worktable of a positioning system is driven by a leadscrew whose
pitch == 6.0 mm.
• The leadscrew is connected to the output shaft of a stepping motor
through a gearbox whose ratio is 5:1 (5 turns of the motor to one
turn of the leadscrew).
• The stepping motor has 48 step angles.
• The table must move a distance of 250 mm from its present position
at a linear velocity = 500 mm/min
• Determine (a) how many pulses are required to move the table the
specified distance and
• (b) the required motor speed and pulse rate to achieve the desired
table velocity,
 solution
• To find the Leadscrew rotation angle A corresponding to a distance x = 250 mm,
 Closed Loop Positioning Systems
A closed-loop NC system uses servomotors and feedback
measurements to ensure that the worktable is moved to the desired
position. A common feedback sensor used for NC (and also for
industrial robots) is the optical encoder, shown in Figure 6.28. An
optical encoder consists of a light source and a photodetector on either
side of a disk. The disk contains slots uniformly spaced around the
outside of its face. These slots allow the light source to shine through
and energize the photodetector. The disk is connected, either directly or
through a gear box, to a rotating shaft whose angular position and
velocity are to be measured. As the shaft rotates, the slots cause the
light source to be seen by the photocell as a series of flashes. The
flashes are converted into an equal number of electrical pulses. By
counting the pulses and computing the frequency of the pulse train,
worktable position and velocity can be determined.
 Closed Loop Positioning Systems:
Equations
The equations that define the
operation of a closed loop NC
positioning system are similar to
those for an open loop system.
In the basic optical encoder, the angle
between slots in the disk must satisfy
the following requirement to the
right.
Where angle between slots
(degrees/slot)
the number of slots in the
disk(slot/rev)
The pulse count can he used to determine the linear x-axis position of
the worktable by factoring in the leadscrew pitch and the gear reduction
between the encoder shaft and the leadscrew. Thus,

where np and n, are defined above, p = leadscrew pitch (mm/rev, in/rev), and rge = gear reduction between the
encoder and the Leadscrew, defined as the number of turns of the encoder shaft for each single turn of the
The pulse train generated by the encoder is compared with
the coordinate position and feed rate specified in the part
program, and the difference is used by the MCV to drive a
servomotor, which in tum drives the worktable. A digital to
analog converter converts the digital signals used by
the MeV into a continuous analog current that powers the
drive motor. Closed loop NC systems of the type described
here are appropriate when a reactionary force resists the
movement of the table. Metal cutting machine tools that
perform continuous path cutting operations, such as
milling and turning, fall into this category.
EXAMPLE

• An NC worktable operates by closed loop positioning. The system consists of a

servomotor, leadscrew, and optical encoder. The leadscrew has a pitch = 6.0 rom

• and is coupled to the motor shaft with a gear ratio of 5: I (5 turns of the drive
motor for each turn of the leadscrew). The optical encoder generates 48
pulses/rev of its output shaft. The encoder output shaft is coupled to the
Leadscrew with a 4: 1 reduction (4 turns of the encoder shaft for each turn of
the leadscrew). The table has been programmed to move a distance of 250 mm
at a feed rate = 500 mm/min. Determine (a] how many pulses should be
received by the control system to verify that the table has moved exactly 250
mm, (b) the pulse rate of the encoder, and (c) the drive motor speed that
correspond to the specified feed rate.
Solution