DNC Systems in the Electrical Industry-Examples of Applications at Siemens AG

Summary

In the electrical industry DNC systems are mainly applied to special NC manufacturing facilities, such as printed circuit (PC) drilling machines, wiring and testing machines. Several reasons for the introduction of DNC systems for these special machines are described. These reasons are dependent on the great variety of products and manufacturing technologies. The present state of the art is shown by some applications at Siemens AG.

The structure and functions of a DNC system for special NC machines are pointed out. A typical example, is the system for wiring of plug-in boards for the Siemens telecommunications CROSSPOINT system. In addition to typical DNC functions—storing of part programs, data management and distributing to NC machines—certain machine data are collected and a statistic evaluation is performed. The significance of planning for the successful introduction of DNC systems is presented, and the essential technical and economical decision criteria are explained.