The digital-featured Hawk TC-300 CNC turning center has a through-hole barstock capacity of 3.5″ (90 mm), maximum turning swing of 26.8″ (680 mm), turning diameter of 16.6″ (421 mm) and turning length of 39.9″ (1,016 mm).

The machine is equipped with a hydraulically actuated 12″ (300mm) chuck powered by a single-range, gearless spindle drive. The standard, high torque, 3,000 rpm spindle drive motor delivers a full 60 MTDR hp (45 kW).

According to the company, this turning center’s duty-rated spindle permits sustained productivity in hard metals and with high cutting loads.

The turning center’s 45-degree, cast iron slant-bed is said to provide rigidity, vibration damping and chip removal efficiency.

Standard maintenance-free linear guideways are said to enable faster processing by reducing sliding friction to 1/50th of that of conventional guideways. Advanced digital scale feedback-standard on the X axis delivers day-to-day part consistency with repeatability of [+ or -]0.00004″ ([+ or -]1 micron).

The GE Fanuc 21i-TA CNC is standard. This control is compatible with prior and current generation Fanuc technologies. It features machine-to-machine and machine-to-PC communications. Service and support are provided.

Every so often, I like to present a few Web sites I’ve come across that are of special interest to CNC users. While some of the Web sites I mention have products to sell, they also have free information about CNC.

It’s getting easier and easier to find CNC-related Web sites. A search in Google (or any other search engine) for “CNC,”, “CNC training,” “CNC Programming,” “Parametric programming” or just about any CNC-related topic will render countless results. Here are a few of my favorites.

The Virtual Machine Shop (gatecity.ampcenter.org): Funded by the U.S. Department Of Labor, this learning site has great animated articles about many facets of manufacturing, including CNC. You’ll need a fast connection (DSL or faster) to view the animated articles. Current major categories include milling machines, engine lathes, other machines and manufacturing processes, CNC/CAM, measurement, and machine shop processes. There are currently about 40 active articles, but according to the site, this will eventually grow to more than 180.

* techspex online (www.techspex.com): This comprehensive machine tool database (the Web site claims more than 7,000 models provides specifications for machine tools built by hundreds of machine tool manufacturers. Nicely categorized by machine type, this database should be one of the first places a new machine buyer goes to compare key features and specifications. In addition to machine tools, other main categories include tooling and accessories, software, controls, inspection, and machinery dealers. While you must register to get in, this service is free to CNC users.

The Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of XXIX Olympiad selected China Mobile Communications Group Corporation and China Network Communications Group Corporation (CNC) as its mobile communications service partner and fixed telecommunications partner.

According to the agreement, China Mobile will provide a sophisticated mobile communications networks and services to the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games, BOCOG, the Chinese Olympic Committee as well as the Chinese delegations to the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Turin, Italy and 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. - (World IT Report.com)

The company has introduced the 104/D, a digital control with higher CPU speed and a Windows 2000 Professional-based operating system.

The control is backwards compatible to the company’s older VMCs, so existing part programs can be run on the new control. The only edits a user needs to make for decreasing part run times are matched increases in feed rate and spindle rpm to ensure proper chip load, the company says. The control will also be upgradeable.

According to the company, the control has demonstrated an increase of up to 10 times the cutting feed rate without deviating from part tolerances. These increases are said to complement the control’s ability to run DNC 100 times faster through an integrated 10-base T/100 Ethernet. The control’s data storage capacity is 4 GB, eliminating the need to purchase expanded memory. Additional software ligatures are said to include Gibbs CAM, Quick Code, part rotation, scaling and limitless variable, and user-defined macros.

With a Windows 2000 Professional operating system, the digital control is said to enable the use of third party software, including CAM and communications programs. The control features a larger and brighter 15″ LCD display, 101 PC keyboard and mouse. A new mounting system allows more freedom in positioning the pendant and provides enhanced operator ergonomics, the company says.

James R. Fall has over 20 years of operations management and marketing experience in manufacturing and high technology companies. He has continued to offer MDSI’s innovative software motion technology and OpenCNC software CNC to manufacturing companies worldwide. Fall engineered MDSI’s move to globalization with the company’s acquisition by Tecumseh Products Company in April, 2002

Manufacturing Engineering: What is open CNC software?

Fall: It’s an unbundled software computer numerical control (CNC) that is independent of any hardware and includes all of the following in software as an integral part of the control: HMI, interpolation, servo algorithms, RS-274D parser, PID and PID tuning tools, soft PLC, a defined and well-structured API, and a data server that can push data across a network. It runs on standard office-grade or industrial PCs.

ME: Why should a company use open CNC software?

Fall: The great advantage of an unbundled all-software CNC is that it gets you on a different technology curve, a software technology curve. What this means is that you can continuously improve the productivity of your machines by installing new versions of the software-a matter of simply loading a new CD-without being forced to do complete and expensive control retrofits and hardware– swapping that is the hallmark of traditional proprietary CNCs. Another reason for moving to an unbundled software CNC is to reduce the life-cycle costs of machine tools. With a renewable software control, users avoid the steep increases in costs that occur in traditional hardware systems when hardware becomes obsolete, or when improvements can only be made by throwing out the old and starting over. An unbundled software CNC can change and grow along with your manufacturing assets and processes. Also, the performance of off-theshelf PCs continues to improve while the price drops, and unbundled software CNCs allow you to take advantage of this-once again, without incurring significant hardware costs. Finally, an unbundled software CNC benefits the user because it provides realtime data that manufacturers can use to continuously monitor and improve their processes.

ME: Can one program fit every type of machine tool?

Fall: The dream of every manufacturer is to have a common control across a broad range of machine tools. An unbundled all-software CNC can provide this capability. We designed reconfigurability into the OpenCNC product from the beginning. This capacity to reconfigure the existing control across a broad range of machine tools, axes, and job streams was recognized by the US Patent Office awarding MDSI a patent. When one program can fit every type of machine tool, manufacturers can move operators freely from one machine to another and training costs are decreased.

ME: Does it completely eliminate the control software that came with the machine tool’s controller?

Fall: Yes it does. The machine tool becomes a device on a network, just like a printer is now in your office network. Device drivers pertinent to each machine tool come with the software, not with the hardware on the machine.

ME: What kind of computer equipment is needed?

Fall: Unbundled software CNCs run on standard PCs and use standard communications cards to talk to the servos and I/O.

ME: How difficult is it to run these types of programs?

Fall: With the advent of graphical user interfaces, unbundled software CNCs are more intuitive and easier to learn than traditional hardware-based CNCs and user interfaces. Furthermore, upgrades to the unbundled software CNC don’t require retraining in the dramatic way control retrofits of hardware controls do. Historically, with proprietary hardware CNCs, multiple generations of different kinds of hardware controls across multiple kinds of machine tools have maximized costs, isolated each element, and hamstrung an enterprise’s ability to change and adapt to new technology. Unbundled software CNCs that include HMI, interpolation, servo algorithms, RS-274D parser, PID and PID tuning tools, soft PLC, a defined and wellstructured API, and a data server that can push data across a network offer the first true way out of the Balkanization of the traditional factory.

Updated controls gear adds more-powerful, cost-effective solutions

With the latest machine controls, manufacturers are pushing the envelope on productivity gains as faster, more-productive CNCs and related software help machine-tool users boost machining efficiencies.

Machine-control builders recently have added more cost-effective and network-centric CNC solutions to the mix, along with enhanced software capabilities that aid users performing complex five-axis and high-speed machining tasks, and new safety gear for the factory floor.

Production machining and handling systems can take advantage of the new cost-effective IndraMotion MTX compact CNC platform introduced at IMTS 2006 by Bosch Rexroth Corp. (Hoffman Estates, IL). A space-saving, rackmounted version of the IndraMotion MTX platform, the MTX compact system extends Bosch Rexroth’s CNC offerings with a lower-cost model aimed at production milling and grinding tasks on smaller CNC systems, multistation transfer machines, and handling modules.

The MTX compact, a controller-based CNC, handles up to eight axes in two NC channels including a fast IndraLogic PLC, according to Bosch Rexroth, and the unit processes as many as 200 NC blocks per sec. “We have two different scaleable MTX controls, but with the MTX compact, it’s an actual controller that you can plug into a Windows CE device,” says Kami Al-Ashqar, product manager, Bosch Rexroth Corp., Electric Drives and Controls. “You can plug in a handheld HMI; it also offers remote I/O, and the communications are SERCOS, just like the regular CNC system.

“It’s a more cost-effective MTX that is able to control up to eight NC axes and two spindles, and the number of interpolating axes per channel is four,” Al-Ashqar adds. “Part of the reason we have this scaleable hardware architecture is to give the customer better options. If he wants to spend less money, we have lower-performance systems; if he wants to spend more money, then we have better-performance systems.”

Machine safety advances using built-in safeguards are being touted as an effective way to boost overall manufacturing productivity with improved safety and machine uptime (see the Viewpoints column, “Software Can Enhance Machine Safety,” in the September 2006 issue of Manufacturing Engineering.) With Bosch Rexroth’s Safety On Board softwareenabled motion-control solution, safeguards for machine operation are built into machine tool drives for optimal performance. According to Bosch Rexroth, the Safety On Board features built into Rexroth IndraDrives can eliminate the reasons operators try to defeat or bypass safety.

Safety standards related to safe motion in Europe are now beginning to gain momentum in the North America, according to Al-Ashqar. Instead of using mechanical switches to power-off machines, the Safety On Board system uses safe-motionequipped drives to perform a safe stop with factory equipment. With Bosch Rexroth’s safety system, machines can shut down in just 2 msec, Al-Ashqar notes, compared with competing solutions which range from 50-60 msec or even longer.

“The main thing is to have two redundant processors designed by two different organizations, so that way they can act differently but at the same time, they’re safe circuits,” Al-Ashqar states. “We’re adding the second processor into the mix, and the second processor allows the drive to perform the safety functionality. It’s certified by European [Norm] 954, and there are more standards coming next year where it will be recognized eventually by OSHA and other organizations.

TwinCAT Remote Synchronization provides function block software library with which users can synchronize several multi-axis machines featuring TwinCAT control systems. With centralized control architecture suitable for handling applications with 60 or more axes of motion, library allows for general time synchronization of information. It also includes techniques for synchronizing NC axes and electronic gearing of axes on separate controllers.

MINNEAPOLIS, December 5, 2006 - In order to help streamline controls design for the most dynamic machine control applications, Beckhoff Automation has announced TwinCAT Remote Synchronization. With this new software library of function blocks, users can more easily synchronize several multi-axis machines that have TwinCAT control systems. This solution is ideal for synchronizing systems that control dozens of axes or only a few. TwinCAT software for PLC and Motion Control is fully functional with any open industrial PC and all Beckhoff Embedded PCs.

While a “centralized control” architecture using one industrial PC and TwinCAT software is suitable for applications with 60 axes of motion or more, there are cases where more than one PC controller is required for multiple machines in a line. The TwinCAT Remote Synchronization Library allows for general time synchronization of information for distributed control to coordinate multiple machines by calculating offsets to compensate for differences in execution time and CPU clock frequencies. In addition, the library includes special techniques for synchronizing NC axes (”distributed axes”) and electronic gearing of axes on separate controllers.

Time is money. And any steps that can be eliminated from downtime are converted to profits. That is what MazaCAM brings to the table with the one click “File Commander.”

Training new employees and making the experienced programmer’s job easier and faster was the top priority for the development team. Now G-code and Mazatrol programmers are finding it even easier to program in the comfort of their own office because MazaCAM with Geopath is an off-line programming tool that eliminates the hassle of having to stand at the control. Programming time is reported to take a third or a quarter of the time it would take to program at the machine.

With the File Commander integrated in MazaCAM, the company has eliminated several programming steps and combined them all with a single mouse click. In one convenient screen, the File Commander lists the available files. Then, simply by clicking on a file, the commander shows the content of the file and executes the entire scquence of operations.

This latest version gives programmers a master console for G-code, Mazak file management, Mazatrol editing and Mazatrol communications. The “File Commander” will activate different automatic functions once the programmer selects a file. These functions help the programmer complete various tasks; whether it is to edit the selected file in the MazaCAM Editor, convert that file from one control type to another or even to send the selected file to a Mazak or G-Code CNC.

OpenCNC[R] v6.5 enables manufacturers to integrate off-the-shelf hardware and software technologies. Set of lathe macros helps saves programming time, while hand-wheel feed feature lets user hand feed job stream up to programmed cutting and traverse speeds. Software also provides compiled HTML help menus, lead screw compensation for rotary axes, and Sercos SoftSERCANS support. With winPlot, users are provided with clear, 2D plot of machine moves.

OpenCNC software, the first production-proven, unbundled, software CNC built on an open control architecture, enables manufacturers to save cost and keep up with rapidly advancing technology by integrating off-the-shelf hardware and software technologies. It was introduced to the market in 1990 and is installed on thousands of machines across a range of industries.

OpenCNC Version 6.5 enhances the productivity of the software through several new features:

o New set of lathe macros, including profile definition, finishing, grooving, roughing, and tool definition saves programming time, delivering the maximum machine motion for minimum programming time.

o The new Hand-Wheel Feed feature allows the user to hand feed a job stream up to the programmed cutting and traverse speeds. Handy for debugging programs, this feature allows the user to control machine motion and watch the machine tool follow a programmed path and avoid potential collisions or misfeeds in the program.

o Help menus are now compiled HTML allowing for easier searching and navigation.

o Improved lead screw compensation for rotary axes reduces complexity in set up, saving programming time and contributing to machining accuracy due to improved positioning.

o A low-cost assist for analog servos, a new driver for Sensoray526 card also will be included in the new OpenCNC release. The Sensoray526 card is an economical reader of an encoder input used to run a servo.

o Broadened Sercos SoftSERCANS support with the addition of drivers that will run more variations of Sercos drivers in use on machines today, making OpenCNC even more widely applicable to more different machine tools.

SERCOS (SErial Real-time COmmunications System) is an open, fiber-optics-based, CNC-to-digital drive interface standard. Interfacing a completely open, all-software CNC with an open digital communications standard allows the power and tuning of a servo drive to be managed entirely in software from a single PC, with just one fiber optic cable and a passive communication card between the PC and the drive.

The benefit of the OpenCNC SERCOS interface for machine tool builders and end-user manufacturers is enhanced servo performance, improved part finish, and the cost savings associated with using standard digital interfaces and non-hardware-based open solutions for communications to the machine tool versus using proprietary digital or analog drives.

Other new features include:

o The new winPlot feature allows users to display the machine coordinates during operation for diagnostic and prove-out purposes. The feature provides a clear, two-dimensional plot of machine moves.

o The winSevView feature makes it easy to search and view specific patented Significant Events / files. Significant Events are time-stamped events stored in the control in order of occurrence. With this new tool users can quickly review significant events from any time in the machine’s operating history.

Unlike proprietary CNC controls, OpenCNC requires no proprietary hardware or motion control cards. Combining a soft CNC and soft PLC in a single application, OpenCNC is well suited for new equipment as well as machine control replacements and allows the easy and regular installation of software updates. OpenCNC also provides essential software tools and diagnostic features for customizing servo, spindle, ATC and other hardware interface options.

“In an industry dominated by proprietary hardware CNC solutions, MDSI has proven that high-end, multi-axis CNC machine tools can be controlled entirely from software-without any motion control cards, proprietary hardware, or embedded firmware,” said an MDSI spokesperson.

OpenCNC provides a common control technology across a full range of machine tools: single- and dual-turret lathes, single- and multi-spindle precision drills, routers, mills, grinders, gear hobs, dial index machines, and gantry machines-all from a single operating system, running from a single processor.

MDSI’s OpenCNC[R] and WinMotion[R] open architecture machine control solutions improve machine tool productivity, and permit users to easily upgrade hardware, software, and peripheral components without having to reengineer existing machine logic. MDSI is a subsidiary of Tecumseh Products Company, a $2 billion global manufacturer of compressor, gasoline engines, and pumps. MDSI supplies open architecture factory automation solutions that increase flexibility and enable agile manufacturing for the CNC and general motion control markets. MDSI software has logged millions of hours of successful metalcutting production in the aerospace, construction, agricultural and machine tool industries.

ByVision Control incorporates 15 in. touch-screen that facilitates user-navigation of screen selections for setup and operation. Operating with Windows XP[R], it guides operator through programming and manufacturing process; program data transmissions are transferred between ByVision control interface and CNC utilizing network communications. For complete process integration, Bysoft v6.6 offers synchronization of press brake, laser, and waterjet processes.

(Hauppauge, NY) Bystronic’s revolutionary programming interface, ByVision Control, sets a new standard for easy-to-use CNC operating platforms. With a full 15-inch touch screen, users are able to quickly maneuver through screen selections for easy setup and operation. The operator is seamlessly guided through the programming and manufacturing process. The ByVision user interface operates within a modern Windows XP[R] for the highest level of speed and network compatibility. Program data transmissions are transferred between the ByVision control interface and the CNC at high speed utilizing network communications.

For complete process integration, Bysoft 6.6 software offers users advanced synchronization of press brake, laser and waterjet processes. Bybend, an integrated Bysoft software module, provides automatic bend deductions, bend reliefs, bending sequences and back gauge placements for press brake users. With a 3D-simulation feature, visualization of the bending sequences as well as automatic collision detection is performed before the part is sent to the operator for processing, reducing set-up time and the need for test bending.

Bystronic Inc. has provided its customers with quality laser cutting, waterjet cutting and press brake systems, training and customer support for over 25 years. The company’s North American headquarters, with manufacturing, service, parts inventory, customer training, sales and administration, is located in Hauppauge, NY. Facilities are located in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Mexico. Please call 800-247-3332 or visit www.bystronic.com for more information or please visit us at FABTECH booth #14072.