Design and implementation of a standalone CNC controller

Abstract

This bachelor thesis has been developed by Daan Ver Eecke and Elias Verstappe. We are two students at the ‘Hogeschool Vives’ in Bruges (Belgium) and both participate in the Erasmus program. The thesis has been worked out at the University of Valladolid in Spain. The general purpose of a bachelor’s thesis is to solve a specific problem (in our case with regard to the field of study electronics). This thesis describes how we control an old machine with the help of modern electronics. In a world where technological development is happening faster than ever, it is important that the possibility remains to control old devices. Due to the enormous growth, older machines are no longer supported by new operating systems. Two lecturers from the University of Valladolid, Dr. Jesús M. Hernández Mangas and Dr. Jesús Arias Álvarez, have confronted us with the following challenge: an old CNC machine is currently controlled with the help of an old computer. The program that controls the machine runs on the MS-DOS operating system. Our assignment is to design a custom controller that takes over the task of the old computer. An additional requirement is to also be able to control the (CNC) machine via a website. A fully custom printed circuit board is designed to solve this problem. The firmware that is responsible for all control is also developed by us. Briefly summarized, the requirements are the following: With the help of an SD card, a certain PCB design can be read in the machine. The machine can be controlled in two ways: on the one hand everything can be operated using the touchscreen, and on the other hand the machine must be able to be fully controlled via a website. Now that the project is finished, we can conclude that thanks to the enormous development of technology in recent years, nowadays you can easily and cheaply design a control unit for old devices. We can simulate the operation of a computer that is 25 years old with a small and simple printed circuit board that costs 45 euros (development costs not included). This result shows that you could create a ‘man in the middle’ with new hardware for many old machines. This way of working can certainly be applied to other machines. You could even apply this way of working for development of new machines. We were instructed to control a machine with a certain interface. In principle you can compare it with the development of a controller for a machine. In that case, it does not really matter what or how old the machine is.