Developing a Universal Numeric Control Based-on Linux Real-Time Software.

Abstract

Currently, there is a strong interest in the process of technological upgrading of conventional machine tools to CNC machine tools, because of the advantages that this process o ers. The process of conversion to computerized numerical controls involves a huge e ort in conceptualizing and control of the key components of each machine tool, including the high cost of the hardware used. This paper presents the design of a software setup wizard, to develop a Universal Numeric Control based-on Linux real-time, using universal numerical controllers in open source. The developed software allows the generation of numerical controls based on low-cost software for each machine tool converted, ensuring its universality. Describes the system architecture, the core and all associated tools. The selection of components, the G code preprocessor, di erent interpolation algorithms and various types of hardware options allow the user to build speci c numerical controllers for each machine tool. We present two case studies. The rst case concerns the generation of a numerical control for a conventional machine tool. The second case study concerns the development of a numerical control for a reconfigurable micro machine tool. Both cases showed the feasibility of using this numerical control generator based-on low cost software.