Numerical control unit with the option of modifying the sub-program

A computer program embodied in a non-transitory computer readable medium, wherein the computer program is fixed in a machine-readable code and configured for execution by a numerical control unit to modify a sub-program configured to be executed by the numerical control unit to control a production machine, said numerical control unit having an operator interface having a display unit, the computer program comprising:

• machine-readable code that selects at least one program instruction of a sequence of program instructions in the sub-program in response to a command entered into the numerical control unit using the operator interface,
• machine-readable code that provides an item of information identifying the at least one selected program instruction in the sequence of program instructions directly or indirectly from the numerical control unit to the CAM system that generated the sub-program using a computer to computer connection;
• machine-readable code receiving a parameterized description of the sequence of program instructions containing the at least one selected program instruction from the computer-computer connection between the CAM system and the numerical control unit, and displaying an image of a workpiece provided by executing the sub-program together with the sequence of program instructions corresponding to the parameterized description transmitted from the CAM system on the display unit and storing the result in a memory accessible to the display unit, said image corresponding to the parameterized description of the sequence of program instructions transmitted from the CAM system;
• machine-readable code entering a change in said parameterized description into the numerical control unit received from the operator interface;
• machine-readable code transmitting the modified parameterized description from the numerical control unit to the CAM system;
• and
• machine-readable code entering a modified sub-program from the CAM system that provides processing of a workpiece by the production machine in accordance with the modified parameterized description transmitted to the CAM system, into memory accessible to the numerical control unit.

A numerical control unit configured to control a production machine by executing a machine-readable sub-program having instructions configured by a CAM system, said numerical control unit comprising:

• an operator interface having a display unit;
• a computer processor configured to execute a computer program loaded into memory accessible to the numerical control unit, the computer program including a sub-program executable by the numerical control unit to control the production machine, said sub-program including:
• machine-readable code that selects at least one program instruction of a sequence of program instructions in the sub-program in response to a selection entered into the numerical control unit using the operator interface,
• machine-readable code that provides an item of information identifying the at least one selected program instruction directly or indirectly from the numerical control unit to a CAM system that generated the sub-program using a computer-computer connection;
• machine-readable code receiving a parameterized description of the sequence of program instructions containing the at least one selected program instruction from the computer-computer connection between the CAM system and the numerical control unit and displaying an image of a workpiece provided by executing the sub-program together with the sequence of program instructions corresponding to the parameterized description transmitted from the CAM system on the display unit and storing the result in a memory accessible to the display unit, said image corresponding to the parameterized description of the sequence of program instructions transmitted from the CAM system;
• machine-readable code entering a change in said parameterized description that the numerical control unit received from the operator interface;
• machine-readable code transmitting the modified parameterized description identifying the sequence of program instructions from the numerical control unit to the CAM system;
• and
• machine-readable code receiving a modified sub-program from the CAM system that provides processing of the workpiece by the production machine in accordance with the modified parameterized description transmitted to the CAM system into memory accessible to the numerical control unit.