CNC control unit with learning ability for machining centers

• US 20030187624A1
• Filed: 08/12/2002
• Published: 10/02/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 03/27/2002
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Joze Balic
• Original Assignee: Joze Balic
• Inventors: Balic, Joze
• Application Number:
  US10/217,043
• Publication Number:
  US 20030187624A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 703/1
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/4099 Surface or curve machining, making 3D objects, e.g. desktop manufacturing
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/33034 Online learning, training
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/45145 Milling
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/02 Total factory control, e.g. smart factories, flexible manufacturing systems [FMS] or integrated manufacturing systems [IMS]

Abstract

A CNC control unit 1 with learning ability solves the problem of automatic and intelligent generating of NC programs for CNC machining centers for milling, drilling and similar operations. The key module of the CNC control unit 1 is a neural network (NN) device 7, that learns to generate the NC control programs through an NN teaching module 4. Upon completion of learning process the NN device 7 can generate automatically, without any intervention of the operator, merely on the basis of the CAD 2D, 2,5D or 3D part models, taken from a conventional CAD/CAM system 29, various new NC control programs for different parts, which have not been in the machining process before. The CNC control unit 1 with learning ability is suitable especially for machining centers intended for milling, including face milling (rough), contour milling (rough), final milling following the contour and in Z-plane, final contour 3D milling, contour final milling, milling in Z-plane, final contour milling on the equidistant, and milling of pockets; drilling, including normal drilling, deep drilling, and center drilling; and reaming, sinking and threading.

Claims

1. A CNC control unit 1 for machining centers for milling, drilling and similar operations with learning ability and the ability of automatic intelligent generation of NC control programs 28, comprising a neural network (NN) device 7, a modified microcomputer 2, a comparison unit 15, a position measuring unit 16 and an amplifier 17, the improvement comprising the NN device 7 that takes instructions from the NN teaching module 4, which is not a constituent part of the CNC control unit 1 and operates independently taking as a basis for its operation the data package received from a conventional CAD&

CAM system, in order to operate as intelligent programming module after the teaching process is completed and to automatically generate adequate NC control program 28 for a given part to be processed in the machining center;

the said NC control program 28 being fed to the modified micro computer 2 including an internal interface 9 with its first output connected to the position memory 11 and its second output connected to the function memory 12, which accepts also the manual input commands 6 fed through the manual input module 8 and the decoding unit 10;

the modified microcomputer 2 further includes a function program module 14, with its input connected to the function memory 12 and its output connected to the adaptable interface system 18, and an interpolation program module 13 with its input connected to the position memory 11 and its output connected to the comparison unit 15 which has its other input connected to the output of the position measuring module 16, to which the position data 22 are fed from a position meter 20, while the output of the comparison unit 15 is connected to an amplifier 17 which feds the geometric data 24 to the step motor 19.

2. The CNC control unit 1 for machining centers defined in claim 1, wherein in the mode of intelligent and automated processing of a CAD part model 5 into a specific NC control program 28 the data package of the CAD part model 5 is fed to the N7N device 7, which first identifies and classifies the individual geometric and technological features 25 of the CAD part model 5 and then builds a new CAD part model 26, which is transmitted to the NN milling module 27, supplying on its output the NC control program 28 for the processed part, the said NC control program 28 being fed to the internal interface 9, which splits the data in the NC control program 28 into a position package saved in the position memory 11 and into function data saved in the function memory 12, wherein the NC function program 14, containing the technological data, is transmitted through adaptable interface 18 to the NC machine 3, while the NC position program, generated in the interpolation program module 13, is sent over the comparison unit 15 and the amplifier unit 17 to the step motors 19 of the NC machine 3 resulting in a suitable movement either of the parts support 32 or of the tools 31 in accordance with geometric data 24, wherein the position meter 20 perceives the movement and sends a regulated size 22 into the position measuring module 16, which transmits the data to comparison unit 15, where the difference between the actual and the programmed position is calculated, while the geometric data are obtained from the NC control program for each part and are treated in the position regulation circle 23.

3. The CNC control unit 1 defined in claim 1, that can automatically generate the NC control programs by means of the instructed neural network contained in the NN module 4 using the engineering drawings 35 of parts, wherein in the learning phase the NN device 7 is connected to the teaching module 4 which takes the teaching NC programs 36 for different parts defined in engineering drawings module 35 from the conventional CAD/CAM system 29, and wherein the decision on the success of teaching is taken in the decision module 38, subsequent to the testing module 37, so that in case the decision is NO, the path 39 is active and the repetition of the teaching process takes place, while on the other hand the NN device 7 has learned enough, the path 40 is active and the generated neural network is sent to the NN device 7.

4. The NN device 7 defined in claims 1, 2, and 3, wherein the said NN device 7 is realized in a microprocessor technique and contains an identification module 25 that recognizes the geometrical and technological features of different CAD part models 5, a generating module 26 that produces new feature based CAD models of parts, an NN milling module 27, and an automatically generated NC control program 28 for a given part.

5. The CNC control unit 1 defined in claim 1 wherein the NN milling module 27 enables intelligent, automatic generating of NC control programs that enable the following machining operations to be executed on prismatic parts:

milling, including face milling (rough), contour milling (rough), final milling following the contour and in Z-plane, final contour 3D milling, contour final milling, milling in Z-plane, final contour milling on the equidistant, and milling of pockets;

drilling, including normal drilling, deep drilling, and center drilling; and

reaming, sinking and threading.

6. The procedure of teaching in the CNC control unit 1 defined in claims 1, 2, 3 and 5, the improvement comprising a process of generation of NC control programs in a conventional CAD/CAM system 29 based on engineering drawings of parts, the said NC control programs serving as teaching NC programs 36 in the NN module 4 that instructs the NN device 7, wherein the decision on the success of teaching is taken in the decision module 38, subsequent to the testing module 37, so that in case the decision is NO, the path 39 is active and the repetition of the teaching process takes place, while in case that the NN device 7 has learned enough, the path 40 is active and the generated neural network is sent to the NN device 7