An Integrated Approach to Process Planning and NC Machining of Rotational Components

Abstract

Due to the weak integration of the CAD/CAPP/CAM/CNC process chain in practice, NC manufacture of mechanical components is often a time-consuming and error-provoking process. This paper proposes an integrated system that is capable of CAD information extraction, automatic process planning, real-time machining and in-process measurement for NC turning operations. The proposed system consists of a PC-based decision-making system (DS) and a DSP-based execution system. The DS and ES, which communicate via data bus, work in close collaboration to perform process planning, machine control and workpiece inspection tasks. In order to support dynamic decision-making, a basic approach to on-machine inspection is designed and implemented using laser sensors. Both the hardware and software structures are also discussed and a prototype for manufacturing simple rotational components is demonstrated.