A Short Overview Of The Electronics - Proxxon FF 500 CNC Commissioning Manual

2.2. A short overview of the electronics:

The electrical control of the feeds of the three tool axes by computer
comprehensively expands the options of a conventional, i.e. manually controlled
processing machine:
The geometrical data of the desired work piece shape is constructed or programmed
by the NCCAD 7.5 software especially developed for this machine and can then be
reproduced automatically and any number of times on the FF 500 CNC.
How does this work in detail?
For a conventional tool machine, the carriage or the cross table would have to be
"cranked back and forth" manually using the handwheels in order to create the
desired contour from the blank with the miller or cutting chisel.
The feed movements of CNC machines are principally generated by electric motors
(so-called stepping motors with high resolution for the best processing accuracy and
reliability) and high-precision recirculating ball screws, which "translate" the rotation
of the motor shaft to a back-and-forth movement of the respective carriage.
However, someone must tell the motors how far they must traverse the tool and/or
carriage at what time and in which direction, so that the desired work piece shape
emerges.
This communication is assumed by the connected computer together with the
control. This control converts the "path information" given by the computer into
performance data for the motors.
The final work piece must be "constructed" in the computer first. Special computer
programs are available for this. After the part was created in the computer, the
programs can even calculate which motor on the machine must turn for how long and
how quickly so that the movement of the work piece holder corresponds exactly to
the one that would have had to been "cranked through" manually.
That is why the computer, the controller and the motors are constantly
communicating with each other: Meticulous adjustment of the components amongst
each other is thus decisive to achieve the optimum performance and offers the basis
for trouble-free operation.
To keep this state, certain knowledge of how the machine and the software are set
up is required on the one hand and the interaction of these components on the other.
That is precisely what this manual should convey at first: Not primarily the instruction
into the many "secrets" of the CNC program, but rather a solid knowledge base on
the commissioning of the machine.
Naturally, it is also necessary to generally occupy oneself with the possibilities of the
program and its structure, simply to be able to use the many possibilities, be more
efficient and to prevent dangerous situations from occurring.
We have integrated an "electronic manual" within the program just for that purpose. It
contains all the necessary information in a clearly structured and comprehensively
illustrated form and goes into exhaustive detail of the possibilities offered by the
program.
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