Product category:
Software, off-line programming, CAM, for metal cutting machine tools
News Release from: Okuma (USA) | Subject: THINC, or THe Intelligent Numerical Control
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 28 March 2008
Intelligent numeical control
communicates openly
'Intelligent numerical control' communicates through its open architecture with other equipment allowing seamless integration with virtually limitless applications or third-party software.
When Okuma America Corporation began development of its 'next generation' CNC more than 10 years ago at, it was the customers and end-users that provided the functional specifications of what the control should be As a result, THINC, or THe Intelligent Numerical Control, was developed to create more autonomy for the customer
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 15 Oct 2001 at 8.00am (UK)
Related stories
Emag Group - a 1990s growth story
From manufacturer of simple turning machines Emag has developed into a supplier of tailor-made solutions to manufacturing problems based on vertical pick-up spindle turn-machining centres.
Machining 'exotics' - research cuts time cycles
Dedicated to push out the boundaries of all aspects of machining difficult and exotic materials, A UK university is already showing how machining times can be reduced.
Senior director of controls for Okuma America Corporation, Bob Tain is the original developer of the THINC control.
He said: "Every control that has every been put on a machine tool, from the very beginning of control technology, was obsolete and frozen in time the day it was delivered to the factory floor, and we found this to be unacceptable." He explained: "We wanted to have a control platform that could grow with technology - one that could ride the coattails of the Intel's and the Microsoft's of the world and give our customers the opportunity to grow with that technology".
* Open architecture - one of the main attributes of THINC is the ability to communicate to other equipment through the open architecture of the control.
Further reading
Revolutionary blade grinding halves cycle times
Revolution in grinding technology streamlines the manufacture of jet engine compressor blades and has improved consistency and halved product cycle times, reports Paul Hannah.
Productivity - it is about cutting and idle times
High-speed-cutting is a proven method to achieve with high cutting speeds a surface finish of excellent quality combined with high accuracies - described here by Dr Fritz Heydt.
Probing releases machine tools' potential
Probing can improve Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) in many different ways throughout the machining cycle, and many users still fail to realise the full potential, says Renishaw.
This allows for the seamless integration of the product with virtually limitless applications or third party software.
Using Microsoft Windows XP Pro means it is user-friendly and compatible with a wide-range of PC software right off the shelf or designed by the customer's in-house programming team.
Tain said: "What we've actually built is a sand box for other people to bring their ideas, implement them on the machine tool, independent of Okuma - without coming to us [Okuma] unless they need to".
He said that it is a perpetually expanding, evolving, and fully customisable platform that allows the control hardware and software platform to grow inexpensively as new technology is introduced.
Tain said: "Machine tool controls must incorporate a robust and user friendly set of Application Programming Interfaces (API) to allow the end user or a third party to develop software to influence machine tool operation which in turn allows a more productive environment and thus higher profitability".
THINC is a single processor solution.
Extremely robust, a single PC motherboard runs the entire machine from the real-time portion of the machine - motion control to the onboard Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) and Microsoft Windows OS, Windows-based applications, and the human interfaces.
Having just one microprocessor is a major technological advantage, said Okuma.
Basically two boards make up the entire control, one intelligent and one that is passive.
The same two boards are used on every machine Okuma builds, meaning, it doesn't matter if it's a lathe or a machining center, it is still the same two boards.
The advantage is what Tain calls 'the fluid platform', said Okuma to manufacturingtalk, where the motherboard can be swapped as more powerful versions become available from Intel.
A more powerful motherboard allows the control to run more applications which will, in turn, make more decisions for the customer - improving the customer's bottom line and increasing productivity.
* Interface variety - another way to improve productivity is through a variety of new interfaces that continue to be developed by 30 partners in THINC collaborators that work seamlessly with the THINC-OSP control.
Having an interface through the THINC control can a range of advantages: from cutting labor costs at installation to true machine tool peripheral 'plug and play' on the factory floor.
Robots, bar feeders, and even interfaces to MRP or ERP can be managed through plug and play via Ethernet or a USB port, said Okuma.
Located in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA, the partners in THINC facility provide a 'one-stop shop' for the end-user.
A showroom with the latest technologies from world-renown companies ranging from ABB to Zeiss.
Customers can come to see their own parts being cut in real time, finding the best solutions for their specific manufacturing needs.
"Incorporating leading industry Partners with the control has been a driving force since the initial concept of THINC," said Tain.
"We want our partners to have a technical vision and technical capability that matches the THINC control and where the technology is going to go in the future.
The responses from our customers who apply Partners in THINC technologies to their THINC controls, and use the Partners in THINC facility to their advantage, have been excellent.
Basically, our customers are extremely excited with the idea of autonomy".
As the Okuma machine tool continues to become more intelligent and is able to make more decisions independent of the operator, the less intervention is needed from Okuma to implement new ideas and technology.
The future of THINC is of continual growth as a result of the fluid platform.
As more powerful processor and new software developed by Okuma and by Partners in THINC, third-party software, software from universities, large and small companies, the control will continue to expand capabilities.
"We know we can not do all of this ourselves," said Tain.
"Our vision is that in 25-30 years from now, this machine will be completely autonomous, it will think for itself and thus the name 'THINC' evolved.".
• Okuma (USA): contact details and other news
• Email this article to a colleague
• Register for the free Manufacturingtalk email newsletter
• Manufacturingtalk Home Page
Search the Pro-Talk network of sites
