Flexible routing machine

More flexible PC-based CNC machine: Specialist woodwork supplier Jali Ltd is building a new generation of routing machine, capable of fabricating complex woodwork products with much greater efficiency. Jali sees conventional CNC routing machines as too limited to serve this market well, and has added a powerful PC front end and materials handling system to a traditional CNC router machine to create a more flexible solution. The result is an friendly design-to-production system that can create shaped products for Jali's customers in the architectural and shop-fitting market, as well as custom sets and props for the film industry - such as the decorative 'ironwork' it produced for 101 Dalmatians, or the 'spaceship' being made for a forthcoming Hollywood blockbuster.

According to Jali MD Nick Showan, PC technology is key to creating a more flexible machine which links easily with the CAD environment and is easy to control and operate. This liberates Jali from the proprietary control system architectures that CNC manufacturers tend to provide.

Jali's work is being done in two stages: first is a 3-axis materials handling system and PC front-end, retrofitted to a second-hand CNC router bought from the aerospace industry. Entering production now, this system is easy to program and use, capable of running much larger programs than the average CNC machine, and offers a very large working area for fibreboard of 1.6x11m. The next stage is to build a 16-axis version, which will allow Jali's process to run continuously rather than in batches.

The motion architecture is based on the ISA version of Baldor UK's NextMove controller, with eight axes of servo control. "We chose this module largely because of Baldor's high-level Mint programming language and its local technical support. Clearly, this is critical during the current development-intensive phase, while we're proving our PC motion control ideas", adds Showan.

Jali has also taken advantage of Baldor's ability to supply the complete package, including drives, motors and cabling, to simplify purchasing and speed the integration of the final system. Baldor's uniquely-wide range extends to very high power levels, so this package, which Showan hopes will cut weeks from the system integration cycle, even included the vector drive for the machine spindle.

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