Fanuc FA America awarded new patent

Increasing machine tool productivity is critical for moldmakers in their bid to be globally competitive. To assist with that goal, FANUC Factory Automation America (FANUC FA America) and Jerry Scherer, engineer with FANUC FA America (www.fanucfa.com), have recently been awarded a patent (US 8, 135,491 B2) for the development of their CNC Adaptive Control System for on-demand integrated adaptive control of machining operations. This system was developed to increase machine tool productivity with FANUC FA America’s iAdaptS adaptive control solution.   

The newly patented CNC Adaptive Control System measures the present value of the spindle load and then compares this value to a present value of a target spindle load. The adaptive controller is configured to control the feed rate of the machine tool relative to the work piece to maintain the present value of the spindle load approximately equal to the present value of the target spindle load using one or more calculations of the first feed rate value, the first feed rate dither adjustment value and the second feed rate dither adjustment value.
   
As the base technology in FANUC FA America’s iAdaptS solution, it improves material removal and minimizes cycle time by automatically optimizing the cutting federate based on the actual spindle load. Additionally, integration of the iAdaptS software solution within the CNC now eliminates the need for mounting hardware, simplifying installation while improving the capabilities of the original iAdapt product.
   
The original iAdapt product introduced the concept of roughing cycle productivity to CNC customers. The ”On Demand” control feature simplified the use of the adaptive control by making it easy to set up and operate. iAdaptS extends tool life by keeping roughing tools fully loaded, putting the heat into the chips rather than the part. As a result there are fewer minor stoppages which further increases productivity and reduces labor costs.
  
FANUC FA America headquarters is located in Hoffman Estates, IL, and supports 37 offices and service centers throughout the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Brazil, and Argentina.