The shop that bought the machine also got a copy of the software and basic instructions on how to attach it to the network and capture all kinds of valuable monitoring and diagnostic information. Then the company took the next brilliant step of making all this software available to the end user. Developers also thought that the end-user should be allowed to “interrogate” the CNC machine to find out what was happening at all levels in real time and report this information back to the appropriate engineering office. This Ethernet port would allow the owner to simply plug the CNC machine into a network jack and then send or receive part programs at network speeds.īut the company didn’t stop there. Several years ago, the company brought forth the idea that the CNC machine should be attached to the network (and therefore available to the Internet as well) by use of an on-board Ethernet port. You don’t need extra software on your laptop in the Newark airport in order to view the information you want from the factory in Nevada (but you do need to develop and maintain the Web-based system).Ī really good example of the technical issues that CNC-to-Internet connections entail is provided by Hitachi Seiki, USA, Inc. With a good Web-based system, you could view data with a standard Web browser from anywhere that you have access to the Internet. At home, on the golf course and even on the beaches of Hawaii, you can log on and get information that is available on the Web. The Internet is available just about everywhere. Although the control units are gaining more power and capabilities, their weakness lies in connectivity to the outside world. Contrast this situation with that of CNC machine tools. Operating systems that come out of Microsoft on a semi-regular basis are constantly adding more power to the laptop or desktop PC. Look at your desktop PC or laptop and you will find that all kinds of gadgets and gizmos are available to make it faster, simpler to use or more powerful. The current state of technology for linking CNC machine tools to the Internet is not very state-of-the-art. Some pioneering CNC builders have developed such "flight recorder" technology. The main obstacle to this capability lies in the structure of existing CNC systems.
One of the major payoffs of an Ethernet connection to a CNC should be access to the internal workings of a machine tool so that information about part counts, idle time, diagnostics, machine alarms and other data can be shared across a network.
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