Fanuc Corporation

Takumi Oohashi

Hideaki Maeda

Kazuo Sato

A numerical controller performs control for changing a tool mounted on a spindle to another tool stored in a tool magazine based on a machining program. The numerical controller analyzes a command by a block of the machining program, predicts a time required for machining by the analyzed command, and selects a tool changeable before a tool change command, during tool selection, based on the predicted time.

Numerical controller

A numerical controller determines a consumption factor representing the degree to which a tool included in a machine tool consumes the life in association with machining conditions, and calculates a tool life (accumulated consumption life) consumed before each block based on the determined consumption factor and a tool usage for each block. If a command of a block read from a machining program is a tool change command, a tool having a tool life not ending before the next tool change command is selected among tools based on the accumulated consumption life.

Parameter-based controller for managing tool life considering change in machining conditions

A numerical controller estimates a machining continuable time before a currently controlled motor overheats if an output of the motor exceeds a continuous rated output and predicts respective execution times of command blocks and the machining continuable time for each command block, for a currently running block and its subsequent command blocks. Based on these predicted data, the numerical controller identifies a command block (alarm generation block) in which the motor overheats and a command block (stop block) in which driving control can be safely stopped, within the range of command blocks from the currently running command block to the alarm generation block.

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Yamanashi, Japan

Takumi Oohashi