TERM PROJECT: “GO DAWGS” Numerical Control (NC) is the basis for many manufacturing processes in today’s industry. NC is the operation of machine tools and other processing machines by a series of coded instructions. CNC or computer numerical control systems include a built-in computer to support the machine and process. The main objective of this project was to simulate how a CNC machine is used in industry to facilitate a process and fabricate a designed part. In this course the importance, uses, and limitations of CNC machines when applied to the industrial world have all been learned. This assignment offered the opportunity to experience and evaluate the effects of a CNC machine on a process and vice versa. This is most important in the fast paced, changing world of industry we now live in. The goals of this project were to design a part, write a code for the Fadal CNC machine, learn how to enter the code and operate the machine, and effectively fabricate the object from a block of wax. A University of Georgia “G” was to be the designed (Figure 1). The most difficult aspect of this project was determining how to make the CNC draw an ellipse. Because of this problem, the team wasn’t sure if they would be able to draw the appropriate design. There was discussion of making changes, in order to simplify the program. The adversity was met head on, however, and the original design was ultimately kept. Experiment/MethodThe first step after determining what was to be cut by the CNC was to design the part using a CAD program. Due to the familiarity of the team with AutoCAD, this was the program of choice to draw the “G”. It became immediately apparent upon drawing the object, that this could be a very challenging design due to the inclusion of ellipses. The CNC codes supplied as reference material included how to draw arcs, but there was no information on drawing an ellipse. ...
