CNC Controllers and Programming Techniques

Abstract

The development of machine tool hardware since the introduction of numerical control in the late 1940s and early 1950s, has been progressively evolving and continues to do so, as we saw in chapter 1. Even more dramatic than this development are the rapid advances in software engineering and electronic integration during this time and the speed of change has not abated. In fact with the advent of CNC in the 1970s, controller sophistication has considerably increased. The advantages gained from utilising CNC technology over conventional manual skills were argued in chapter 1. The maturity of the latest controllers, in terms of their programming ability and reliability, makes them even more necessary for fast “turn-around” of parts coupled with improved productivity and flexibility in accommodating design modifications on components with the minimum of disruption to production.