CNC Plate Fabricator and the components
"These pages provide a quick overview of how the CNC Plate
Fabricator was suppose to function"
Its usage was represented to punch, piece mark,
scribe, and plasma cut shapes from steel plate.
The steel material parameters were represented to be
3/16" thickness (minimum) by 4" wide flat bar (minimum), up to and
including 1-1/2" thickness (maximum) by 74-7/8" wide (maximum) with
lengths of up to 40'-0". NOT SO, as we found the hard way!
On Board Computer
The machine had a Gateway PC computer. It was represented
to contain the software program that Franklin wrote to perform
machine set up, diagnose the status of variables and contacts,
record production run time, and adjustment of machine parameters, as
well as trouble shooting issues. NOT SO, as we found the hard way!
This program was to allow manual movement of the individual units on
the machine e.g. punch up/down, pinch rolls forward/backward, etc...
This computer was represented to process the CNC code
described as the "Nesting Software."
The machine had a Program Industrial Controller (PIC). The PIC is a
32 bit multi-axis integrated discrete logic and motion control
commonly found in today's industrial automation applications. It
controls individual processes, for example, motion acceleration and
deceleration (ramping), uses serial communication, full hand shake
with the serial port, and off/on sequence of what responds and when,
etc. It is also suppose to command the plasma torch.
Plasma cutting creates "electrical noise." Standard computer
equipment used in conjunction with plasma operation is specially
constructed to shield this electrical noise. The FMI computer
equipment does not have this necessary shielding. When we inquired
about the shielding, we were told this machine didn't need it. We
could never get an answer to the question "why does the rest of the
industry use it but you don’t need it?"