A Study on an Open Architecture CNC System with a NURBS Interpolator for WEDM

This paper deals with the design and implementation of an open architecture CNC system for wire electrical discharge machining (WEDM) with a consideration of the differences between WEDM and NC cutting machines. Work using open architecture controllers (OACs) has focused mainly on metal cutting machines. WEDM has many aspects similar to milling machines. However, there are differences in the machining processes and control strategies. To close the gap between previous general work on OAC and the WEDM specific needs, an open architecture NC model for WEDM comprised of a synchronisation kernel and an NC functional module is proposed. The proposed CNC system is applied to an existing commercial WEDM system by a retrofitting method. A precise NURBS interpolation function is implemented and sample runs are conducted with a NURBS interpolator that is added to the proposed system.