Patent ID: 9317029
Filing Date: 2016-04-19
CPC Classification: G05B,Y02P

Claim Text:
1. A control and virtual display system for use while machining is in progress in a machine tool comprising: a holder for a tool; a carrier for a workpiece having features to be machined by the tool; a plurality of actuator devices associated to and controllable by a drive to bring about relative displacements between the tool and the workpiece along respective axes; a numerical controller configured to connect to the drive and is suitable for implementing a machining program that is predetermined according to the features of the workpiece to be produced and the features of the tool, the numerical controller being suitable for calculating, on the basis of the machining program, target coordinates defining positions of the tool along the axes, which positions are to be reached by the activation of the plurality of associated actuator devices; an image display; and a processing system configured to interface to the numerical controller to receive the calculated target coordinate values, which is arranged to generate, while machining is in progress and on the basis of the target coordinates and of stored mathematical models of the machine tool, of the workpiece, and of the tool, image data suitable for producing on the image display a virtual, two-dimensional representation of a plurality of positions which will be adopted by the workpiece and by the machine tool in a pre-set predictive time window, wherein the processing system is arranged to calculate at least one of: a total amount of material to be removed from the workpiece in the pre-set predictive window, and a total remaining amount of material still to be removed from the workpiece up to the completion of the machining within the pre-set predictive window.