NC Program Generation Integrating Process Expertise
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing NC program generation methods fail to effectively incorporate processing expertise specific to processing facilities, leading to the need for cumbersome revisions in generated NC programs due to the separation of product designing and process procedure designing.
Innovation Solution
An NC program generating device that extracts shaping sites from three-dimensional geometrical data and sets process attribute information based on processing machine capabilities, including tool positions, rotation axes, and workpiece placement, to generate an NC program tailored to the processing machine's operations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If product designing and process procedure designing are performed separately, then product design flexibility is improved, but processing expertise cannot be reflected in the product designing
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges product designing and process procedure designing into an integrated system where both activities occur within the same software environment. This allows processing expertise to be captured in the form of process templates and rules that are directly applicable to product design, eliminating the information loss that occurs when these functions are separated.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary component - a knowledge base containing processing expertise, process templates, and rules - that acts as a bridge between product design requirements and manufacturing capabilities. This intermediary enables the transfer of processing expertise information to the product designing phase without constraining design flexibility.
2Productivity
If NC program is automatically generated based on three-dimensional geometrical data, then program generation speed is improved, but the generated NC program often needs to be revised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-defining process templates, operation sequences, and processing rules in the knowledge base before NC program generation. These pre-configured elements ensure that automatically generated programs adhere to established manufacturing best practices and machine-specific requirements, reducing the need for revisions while maintaining high generation speed.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements feedback mechanisms where the system evaluates generated NC programs against processing rules and constraints, automatically detecting and correcting errors. This feedback loop ensures that rapidly generated programs meet quality standards without requiring extensive manual revision.
3Extent of automation
If processing sites and units of NC program are automatically brought into correspondence, then automation level is improved, but revision of NC program becomes troublesome
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the NC program into modular units that correspond to specific processing sites, with each unit independently managed and tracked. This segmentation allows automatic correspondence between processing sites and program units while enabling easy location and revision of specific segments without affecting the entire program, thus maintaining both automation and ease of operation.
Data Source
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AI summary
In an NC program generating device that extracts shaping sites that are process areas of a workpiece based on the three-dimensional geometrical data of the unprocessed workpiece and the three-dimensional geometrical data of the processed workpiece and generates an NC program in accordance with the extracted shaping sites, the process attribute information setting unit sets up workpiece attribute information, based on related information of process operations feasible on the processing machine for the workpiece and the features, position, and direction of a shaping site of the three-dimensional shape of the processed workpiece that is configurable in the process attribute information.