Tuesday, August 30, 2016

Best Example of MTConnect and StepNC Working Together


This is the best example of MTConnect and StepNC working together.

Just as a reminder (from wikipedia):

MTConnect is a manufacturing industry standard to facilitate the organized retrieval of process information from numerically controlled machine tools.

STEP-NC is a machine tool control language that extends the ISO 10303 STEP standards with the machining model in ISO 14649,[1] adding geometric dimension and tolerance data for inspection, and the STEP PDM model for integration into the wider enterprise. The combined result has been standardized as ISO 10303-238[2] (also known as AP238).

STEP-NC was designed to replace ISO 6983/RS274D G-codes with a modern, associative communications protocol that connects computer numerical controlled (CNC) process data to a product description of the part being machined.

Below are the first two paragraphs to give you a preview of this great work.

"Inspiration

When working with StepNC data our team realized that our project could be adapted to use real machining data. MTConnect allows our simultation to be used in much more powerful ways. We envision our project being used in various commercial applications to provide real time monitoring of several machines from one location. Through the use of this software, the efficiency of the manufacturing industry could also be improved by up to or exceeding 15%. The MTConnect data correlates well with STEP-NC data which is our team's main inspiration.

What it does

NC.js is an open source application designed to interpret StepNC data and create a simulation of the described workplan. NC.js has two options that allow the user to either drive the simulation from a StepNC file or instantiate a live viewing instance using a machine that streams MT-Connect data. NC.js utilizes MTConnect data from a live machine to drive a simulation of the machining tool. Then, through associative kinematics, a machine or fixture can be added to the simulation with correct movement in relation to the tools. Real time machining information can be easily compared to the expected result, allowing machining mistakes to be caught in process and corrected, with the eventual goal of mistakes being caught before they happen. The current application is also mobile friendly so that live machining simulations can even be viewed from anywhere by the people who need it most."