Achieving a STEP-NC-Enabled Advanced NC Programming Environment

Modern manufacturing requires a flexible numerical chain of industrial products, in particular the relationships between CAD/CAM solutions and CNC. On longer can CNC controllers restrain their tasks at the execution of inflexible orders and choices made at earlier stages of the numerical chain. Thus, in a STEP-compliant environment, the CNC controller possesses a broad decision-making power to optimize the NC programming according to the machining equipment properties. The NC programming environment has then to face new challenges. In the first part of the chapter, an implementation method leading to STEP-NC advanced manufacturing is proposed. This approach is divided into three successive sceneries of STEP-NC deployment for progressive improvements. Industrial concerns can also use STEPcompliant applications with their current machining equipment. In the second part of the chapter, the STEP-NC Platform for Advanced and Intelligent Programming (SPAIM) developed at IRCCyN is presented. This platform controls current industrial machine tools directly from STEP-NC files, which benefits from this new data model. It also includes new tool-paths programming methods, such as pattern strategies for trochoidal milling and plunging tool-paths. The platform demonstrates the benefits of STEP-NC for industry and also forms a basis for future STEP-NC related research and validation.