CNC Machine Data Interface for Cross-Protocol Sensor Exchange
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Solution Overview
Problem
Numerically controlled machine tools generate large amounts of unfiltered sensor data, making it difficult to evaluate and display machine status independently of the machine tool and control system, and existing communication protocols from different manufacturers are not uniformly compatible, complicating data transmission between machine tools and external processing devices.
Innovation Solution
A data interface device that supports multiple communication protocols, allowing for flexible and reliable data transmission between machine tools and external data processing devices, regardless of the machine tool or control system type, by using a unified data processing and storage system that can decode and encode various protocols and aggregate sensor data for uniform data formats.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If data loggers store all available sensor signals with the same sampling frequency, then complete machine status data is captured, but data volume becomes large and difficult to evaluate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and transmits only specific, relevant sensor signals from the machine tool to the external data processing device, rather than transmitting all sensor data. The control device selectively identifies and transmits only those sensor signals that are necessary for monitoring machine status, thereby reducing data volume while maintaining monitoring effectiveness
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the data transmission process by dividing sensor signals into different transmission categories: time-triggered signals, event-triggered signals, and demand-triggered signals. This segmentation allows different types of data to be transmitted through optimized pathways, reducing overall data volume while ensuring critical information is captured
2Adaptability or versatility
If different communication protocols from different manufacturers are used, then each control device can communicate with its native system, but compatibility between different machine tools is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an external data processing device as an intermediary that receives data from multiple machine tools through their respective native protocols and converts them into a unified data format. This intermediary performs protocol translation and data normalization, enabling compatible communication across different manufacturer protocols while maintaining each device's native protocol support
Solution Approach 2:
The external data processing device is designed with universal functionality to support multiple communication protocols simultaneously. It can receive data in various proprietary formats from different manufacturers and process them uniformly, making the system adaptable to diverse machine tools while ensuring consistent data transmission compatibility
3Ease of manufacture
If proprietary communication protocols are used by different manufacturers, then each manufacturer can optimize for their specific control system, but uniform data transmission across different manufacturers becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent adds a new dimension to the communication architecture by introducing an external processing layer that operates above the manufacturer-specific protocol level. This external device handles protocol conversion and data standardization, allowing each manufacturer to optimize their control systems independently while achieving cross-manufacturer compatibility through the added dimensional layer
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention relates to a data interface device (300) for data transmission between a numerically controlled machine tool (100) and an external data processing device (400 and 500), comprising: a control interface unit (310) for data transmission with a control device (200) of the machine tool (100) and a communications unit (340) for data transmission with the external data processing device. Stored configuration data (361) specifies a communication protocol used by the control device (200) from a first group of communication protocols and a communication protocol used by the external data processing device from a second group of communication protocols. The control interface unit (310) can use any protocol from a first group of communication protocols for data transmission and select the communication protocol used by the control device (200) for data transmission with the control device. The communications unit (340) can use any protocol from a second group of communication protocols for data transmission and select the communication protocol used by the external data processing device (400 or 500) for data transmission with the data processing device.