Banno: Hi, Mr.Kyujitsu Kacho, welcome to the world of CNC. Here, please have a look at this.
Kyujitsu Kacho: Oh, a mold for a smartphone?
Banno: Got it in one!
Kyujitsu Kacho: It’s so elaborate. And was this made using CNC?
Kyujitsu Kacho: So you’re saying you attach them to machine tools?
Banno: Sure, but to be more precise, a CNC system is made up of three components, including the type you see on display here. These are called machine control units (MCUs), otherwise known as the "brain" of a CNC system. MCUs are responsible for processing programmed instructions and translating them into machine tool movements.
Next, there’s the drive unit. Based on the instructions received from the MCU, a drive unit supplies the power needed to operate the motor accordingly. It also adjusts the power supply while monitoring the motor’s real-time behavior to ensure accurate operation.
The third and final component is the motor, where power received from the drive unit propels the rotation necessary to drive tool movement to machine a workpiece and produce parts. Think of it like this: one motor rotates a machine’s blade, another moves the blade up, down, left, and right, and a third controls the position of the workpiece. In this scenario, the motors are synchronized and controlled to cut intricate machine parts.
The precise coordination of multiple motors allows for the creation of elaborately shaped parts—stuff we couldn’t possibly make by hand.
Kyujitsu Kacho: Wow, that rose is awesome! But are there any parts that need that type of precision?
Banno: Sharp observation. The precision of CNC systems is one of the topics were going to be covering today. Let’s dig a little deeper into the numbers and look into the specifics of the world of CNCs.
Kyujitsu Kacho: One nano…sorry, I can’t really picture something that small.
Banno: It’s not a figure you come across every day, to be fair. 1 nanometer (nm) is one-millionth of a millimeter (mm). That is one ten-thousandth the width of a human hair and one hundredth the size of an influenza virus. I’m bringing this up because the latest Mitsubishi Electric’s latest CNC system can control machine tools within a nanometer of precision.
Kyujitsu Kacho: That’s amazing. It’s like there’s a whole world of super detailed precision that I didn’t know about…
Banno: It’s important for applications involving cutting-edge electronic devices, like smartphones.
Kyujitsu Kacho: I guess that makes sense, considering how small smartphones have gotten these days.
MstudioImages/Getty ImagesBanno: Products are constantly being updated to offer more functionality with a smaller footprint, which means there’s a push to shrink the size of every component contained inside. This is why the metal processing unit also needs to get smaller. But the smartphone example I shared earlier was just to highlight the need for precision machining. The actual demand for nano-level precision is limited to a specific application: optical equipment.
That said, smartphones are equipped with high-performance camera lenses. Since surface distortions on these lenses directly impact clarity and resolution, polishing them requires nano-level precision.
Kyujitsu Kacho: I’m really amazed. In all my life I’ve never come into contact with this world of microscopic detail. Getting it down to 1 nm, that’s impressive.
Banno: We managed to get here with the help of leading machine tool manufacturers in ultra-precision machining. I should mention, though, that not all components need nano-level precision, since machining at higher levels of precision is both more costly and more time-consuming.
Kyujitsu Kacho: It sounds like the current technology is a bit ahead of market needs. I wonder what other fields would need this kind of precision…maybe medical equipment?
Kkolosov/Getty ImagesBanno: Spot on. I mentioned earlier that nano-level control technology plays a crucial role in the field of optics. When optical equipment advances, it benefits the overall advancement of science and technology, including the medical field. It’s like how improvements in microscope performance are tied directly to the development of medical technology, ultimately serving as the launch pad for new discoveries in both basic research and the medical world.
It’s really fulfilling for me to see nano-level control technology making an impact in fields that can help make our society better. Now, let’s take a look at our second number!
Kyujitsu Kacho: Units? Are we looking at production volume now? Hmmm,,, I don’t know.
Banno: The answer is: global automobile production.
Kyujitsu Kacho: Cars! A hundred million cars each year is quite a pace.
Banno: You know, a car is essentially a collection of metal parts, made up of as many as 20,000 metal pieces.
dreamnikon/Getty ImagesKyujitsu Kacho: That’s new to me. CNC is used to manufacture all those parts?
Kyujitsu Kacho: If CNC can be used to make any part, shouldn’t it just use CNC for all the different parts?
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Banno: Carving out a piece of metal from scratch is time-consuming. The most efficient method is chosen based on the required precision, material, and shape. Even when CNC machine tools are used, the process typically involves first compressing the metal material to create a shape close to the desired form, then finishing it with CNC machining.
Kyujitsu Kacho: That makes sense. To think that CNC is involved in producing the parts for nearly 100 million cars every year—that’s a huge contribution.
RainerPlendl/Getty ImagesKyujitsu Kacho: So basically, it’s a technology that enables mass production?
Banno: The true essence of CNC machine tools lies in their ability to produce parts with speed, precision, and unwavering consistency. Harnessing these capabilities makes the efficient production of countless components a reality.
Kyujitsu Kacho: But CNC contributes to just a part of automobile manufacture, right?
Kyujitsu Kacho: Wow, that’s a big advantage.
Kyujitsu Kacho: I know this one—this refers to the number of countries using Mitsubishi Electric CNCs!
Banno: You got it! And to be more precise, it’s the number of countries Mitsubishi Electric offers CNC services in.
Kyujitsu Kacho: What do you mean by services?
Banno: I mean the support we provide to our customers after delivery. When customers start using CNC machine tools, they may sometimes encounter issues where the CNC unit can’t operate according to the instructions programmed or face minor glitches.
Kyujitsu Kacho: Offering maintenance support in 100 countries… it’s really impressive that there is such a high demand for these products in so many countries in the first place. I was under the impression that CNCs weren’t replaced too frequently, and guessed they probably weren’t too profitable (laughs).
Banno: Sure, but CNCs generally see more demand when manufacturers scale up the production of certain products, or when they invest in equipment to develop new products. That being said, there’s global demand for tens of thousands of CNCs every year, although that doesn’t mean our company is exporting units to that list of over 100 countries.
Kyujitsu Kacho: In that case, how do that many CNC units make their way overseas?
Kyujitsu Kacho: So that’s how Mitsubishi keeps tabs on all those products scattered around the globe and provides after-sales service. It must be hard meeting all those specific market needs, since every country has its own culture and laws.
Kyujitsu Kacho: A lot of variation, huh.
Banno: CNC manufacturers are also competing with one another in terms of global service capabilities. That’s why local service centers are becoming increasingly important, so our position as a diversified electronics manufacturer gives us a competitive advantage.
We got a head start overseas with home appliances, like air-conditioners, so we’ve already laid the groundwork for business in overseas markets before CNC-related demand truly emerged. This advantage helps us to establish services with fairly low risks, building on our familiarity with the local laws, culture, and business practices.
The display and keyboard have been redesigned. Measuring only 9.5mm thick (excluding protrusions), the possibilities of machine tool design have been expanded. In addition, their gray-scale colors can be easily harmonized with machines in different colors. The surfaces of display and keyboard are flush, providing beauty and usability as well as increased operability. 10.4-type and larger displays have touchscreen made of beautiful, long-life glass, which allows you easy day-to-day maintenance. Vertical mount and horizontal mount keyboards are included in the product line.
Incorporating the CNC-dedicated CPU in the new series not only results in phenomenal processing speed, but also reduces the number of required parts, leading to fewer possibilities of failure and increasing product quality. Equipped with Mitsubishi Electric’s first-ever CNC-dedicated CPU, the long-awaited M800/M80 Series is the fruit of an original development process and the sum of our latest technologies. With the utmost confidence, we are proud to introduce the M800/M80 Series and invite customers to experience performance of the future today.
The panel-in type CNC with integrated that cover the entire system including CNC, drive, I/O, sensors and communication. display has the SD card interface on the back of the display. By installing an SD memory card, large-capacity machining programs can be stored.
M800/M80 Series offers SSS 4th-generation (SSS-4G) control, enabling high-speed, high-accuracy, high-quality machining. SSS-4G control provides features that are effective in reducing tact time, including optimal acceleration/deceleration suited to each axis’ characteristics. In addition, SSS-4G is capable of reducing machine vibration during high-speed cutting. SSS-4G control allows for greater cutting accuracy in the same length of time, or shorter cutting time with the same degree of accuracy when compared to our previous models.
High-speed high-accuracy control features accumulated originally for machining centers are now available in lathe system. Fine milling can be implemented at high speeds on a lathe. This CNC enables a servo motor, instead of a spindle, to act as a tool spindle. Any of the servo control axes driven by multi-hybrid drive can be used as a tool spindle. This contributes to the downsizing of machine tools.
CNC-dedicated CPU is incorporated in the M800/M80 Series, providing significantly improved short segment processing capability. The benefits are not limited to improvements in basic performance alone. The Tolerance Control function enables operators to achieve high-quality surfaces simply by specifying the desired dimensional accuracy. This feature takes machining to a whole new level.
M800/M80 Series provides new features that can maximize the full potential of machine tools, including: Variable-acceleration pre-interpolation acceleration/deceleration provides optimized acceleration, with each axis’ characteristics fully exercised. For example, allowing a linear axis to accelerate irrespective of rotary axis responsiveness. “OMR-FF control” allows for optimal position loop gain adjustment suited to each axis, leading to smoother and more accurate cutting. Other than the above, this CNC has new functionality effective for higher productivity, including “Rapid traverse block override function” that helps reduce non-cutting time by overlapping feed blocks.
M800/M80 Series provides “Spindle superimposition control, “a feature that enables simultaneous execution of turni ng and center tapping, although they need to be executed individually. These features are effective in eliminating idle time, resulting in a significant reduction in tact time. This CNC also offers features that maintain synchronization between part systems, which is required for automatic lathes, in particular. These enable operators to implement even more complex machining safely and securely.
This function estimates the work inertia and changes the speed control gain or time constant automatically according to the estimation results to suppress mechanical vibration.
Operators can set machining cycles easily in an interactive manner while monitoring the finished work shape. In addition to the input of normal shape data, you can also extract drawing elements from CAD data in DXF format, and set them as shape data, which makes programming easier. Programmed shape can be checked in 3D graphic check before machining to check for any program error.
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