Machine Tool Assignment Realized by Automated NC Program Generation and Machining Time Prediction

The present study proposed a method to automatically generate a numerical control (NC) program by referring to machining case data for each machine tool with only 3D-CAD models of a product and workpiece as the input data, and to select machine tools for machining the target removal region among several machine tools with different characteristics. The special features of the proposed method are described as follows. The removal volume can be automatically obtained from the total removal volume (TRV), which is extracted from the workpiece and product using a Boolean operation by dividing it on the XY plane. The removal region changed according to the determined machining sequence. The conditions for machining the removal region is automatically determined according to the machining case data, which is stored by linking the geometric properties of the removal region with the machining conditions determined by experienced operators. Furthermore, an NC program is automatically generated based on the machining conditions. The machine tools for machining the target region are selected according to the predicted machining time of each machine tool connected by a network. A case study was conducted to validate the effectiveness of the proposed system. The results confirm that machining can be conducted using only 3D-CAD models as input data. It was suggested that the makespan would be shortened by changing the machining sequence from the optimized machining sequence when machining a plurality of products.