Numerical Control (English name: Numerical Control abbreviation: NC) technology refers to the technology of using digital instructions composed of numbers, words and symbols to realize the action control of one or more mechanical equipment. CNC is generally the use of general or special computers to achieve digital program control, so CNC is also known as computer numerical control (Computerized Numerical Control), referred to as CNC, foreign countries are generally called CNC, rarely use the concept of NC anymore. It usually controls mechanical quantities such as position, angle, velocity, etc., as well as switching quantities related to the direction of mechanical energy flow. The generation of numerical control depends on the emergence of data carriers and binary form data operations. In 1908, the perforated metal sheet interchangeable data carrier was introduced, at the end of the 19th century, the control system with paper as the data carrier and auxiliary functions was invented, and in 1938, Shannon carried out the rapid data operation and transmission at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States, laying the foundation of modern computers, including computer numerical control systems. CNC technology is developed in close combination with machine tool control. In 1952, the first CNC machine tool came out, which became an epoch-making event in the history of the world's machinery industry and promoted the development of automation.
Numerical control technology, also known as computer numerical control (CNC, Computerized Numerical Control), is a technology that uses computers to achieve digital program control. This technology uses a computer to perform the operation sequence logic control function of the movement trajectory of the equipment and peripherals according to the pre-stored control program. Because the computer is used to replace the numerical control device composed of the original hardware logic circuit, the realization of various control functions such as storage, processing, operation and logic judgment of input operation instructions can be completed by computer software, and the microscopic instructions generated by processing are transmitted to the servo drive device to drive the motor or the hydraulic actuator to drive the equipment to run.
Traditional machining is carried out by manual operation of ordinary machine tools, and the metal is cut by hand-cranked mechanical tools during processing, and the accuracy of the product is measured by eyes with tools such as calipers. Modern industry has long used computer digital control machine tools for operation, CNC machine tools can be directly processed for any products and parts according to the procedures programmed by technicians in advance. That's what we call CNC machining. CNC machining is widely used in any field of all machining, and it is the development trend of mold processing and an important and necessary technical means.
CNC lathe, also known as CNC lathe, that is, computer numerical control lathe, is the largest and most widely used CNC machine tool in China, accounting for about 25% of the total number of CNC machine tools. CNC machine tool is a mechatronics product integrating mechanical, electrical, hydraulic, pneumatic, microelectronics and information technologies. It is a machine tool with the advantages of high precision, high efficiency, high automation and high flexibility in machinery manufacturing equipment. The technical level of CNC machine tools and the percentage of their output and total ownership of metal cutting machine tools is one of the important indicators to measure the overall level of a country's national economic development and industrial manufacturing. CNC lathe is one of the main varieties of CNC machine tools, it occupies a very important position in CNC machine tools, and has been widely valued by countries around the world for decades and has been rapidly developed.
Since the advent of CNC lathes in the fifties, due to the use of CNC lathes to process complex shapes of parts in single-piece production and small batch production, it has not only improved labor productivity and processing quality, but also shortened the production preparation cycle and reduced the requirements for workers' technical proficiency. Therefore, it has become an important development direction for technological innovation and technological revolution in single-piece and small-batch production. Countries around the world are also vigorously developing this new technology.
We know that for high-volume production of parts, the use of automated and semi-automated lathes has been able to automate the production process. However, automating parts produced in single-piece, low-volume production has always been a challenge. For quite some time in the past, it has not been possible to solve it satisfactorily. In particular, the machining of parts with complex shapes and high machining accuracy has been at a standstill on the road of automation. Although some applications of profiling devices solve part of the problem, practice has proved that profiling lathes still cannot completely solve this problem.
The emergence of CNC lathes (machine tools) has opened up a broad road to fundamentally solve this problem, so it has become an important development direction in machining.