Fanuc FA Awarded Patent for CNC Adaptive Control System

Fanuc Factory Automation America (FANUC FA America) and Jerry Scherer, engineer with Fanuc FA America, 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 iAdapt S adaptive control solution.

Fanuc FA America's 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 workpiece 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.

This innovative and now patented CNC adaptive control system is the base technology in Fanuc FA America's iAdapt S solution that improves material removal and minimizes cycle time by automatically optimizing the cutting feedrate based on the actual spindle load. Additionally, integration of the iAdapt S 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 setup and operate. iAdapt S 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.