Success Story: Mitsubishi Develops Integrated PC-based CNC with Advantech AWS-842 Workstation

Introduction

As the leading Japanese manufacturer of CNCs, Mitsubishi has cooperated with a Taiwanese OEM factory to develop a new generation of PC-based CNCs called "PC-NCs". The PC-NC adopts Advantech's AWS-842, the rugged workstation with a 10.4" LCD display. It accommodates the Mitsubishi CNC control card as an open-framed HMI to form a high-precision control unit.

With the PC-NC's flexible design resulting in more economical system ownership, Mitsubishi Electric Taiwan has already offered more than 200,000 sets throughout the Taiwan region. Further cooperation between Mitsubishi and the Taiwanese OEM factory is still on-going.

Application

The feature that sets the Mitsubishi PC-NC apart from conventional PC-based CNCs is the innovative system which integrates two core technologies. The high-precision control and stable operation of "CNC architecture", using Mitsubishi's CNC control card (MELDAS MAGIC 50/64), was combined with an "open-framed industrial PC" which offers high capacity and expandability for the system.

As a result, any manufacturer is able to develop reliable software and hardware according to its own specific needs in the tooling manufacturing industry. Manufacturers need no longer be burdened by the restrictions of closed-framed CNC architecture. This ground-breaking design will profoundly change the CNC industry.

System Architecture

The "PC-NC" system includes the following main components:

1. Mitsubishi high-speed, high-precision CNC control card
2. Open-frame mass-capacity PC-based industrial workstation, the AWS-842
3. User-friendly HMI software
4. Mitsubishi AC servo and AC spindle system

System Block Diagram

Benefits

The benefits of the AWS-842 provided in the PC-NC system include:

• Flexibility for expansion and maintenance; CPU card is easy to exchange and upgrade
• Provides ISA bus (10 ~ 100 MBps) for Ethernet control, instead of RS-232 (19,200 Bps) found in conventional CNCs
• High-brightness 10.4" color TFT LCD display
• Specially designed front panel resists water, dust and other industrial wear and tear
• Highly reliable power supply (MTBF 100,000 hrs)