Subtractive machining work center

A method for subtractive machining, comprising:

• a) providing a subtractive machining work center, comprising:
• 1) machine tool components adapted to subtractively machine a desired article using material and/or parts provided by the material and parts handling components;
• 2) material and parts handling components adapted to provide material and parts to the machine tool components, and to remove a machined article away from the machine tool components;
• 3) control center components adapted to control robotics, scanners/viewers, and fixturing used by one or more of the machine tool components and/or the material and parts handling components, and to instruct an interactive process plan automation center to plan and process commands to one or more of the machine tool components and/or the material and parts handling components;
• and
• 4) external communications center;
• wherein the machine tool components comprises:
• a) machine tool base;
• b) fixturing table;
• c) CNC;
• d) spindle head column;
• and
• e) spindle head;
• wherein the material and parts handling components comprises:
• a) material handling robotics;
• b) machined part robotics;
• c) material scanning/viewing system;
• d) machined part scanning/viewing system;
• e) stock material rack;
• f) tool magazine;
• and
• g) part output rack;
• wherein the control center components comprises:
• a) an interactive process plan automation center (IPPAC) control center
• b) robotics controller, which may include raw material handling robotics control and/or machined part handling robotics control;
• c) scanner/viewer controller, which may include raw material handling scanner/viewer and/or machined part handling scanner/viewer;
• d) fixturing control;
• and
• e) IPPAC control, wherein the IPPAC Control comprises:
• i) SCADA hardware and software including a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium encoded with a data structure adapted to provide supervisory control and data instructions to one or more of the machine tool components and/or the material and parts handling components;
• ii) SCADA supervisory control;
• iii) SCADA data acquisition;
• iv) process planning/editing hardware and software including a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium encoded with a data structure adapted to plan and edit instructions to one or more of the machine tool components and/or the material and parts handling components;
• v) process control hardware and software including a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium encoded with a data structure adapted to plan and edit instructions to one or more of the machine tool components and/or the material and parts handling components;
• vi) CAM hardware and software including a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium encoded with a data structure adapted to instruct one or more of the machine tool components and/or the material and parts handling components;
• vii) device command interpreter;
• viii) internal communications hardware and software including a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium encoded with a data structure adapted to facilitate communications between one or more of the machine tool components and/or the material and parts handling components;
• and
• ix) database hardware and software including a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium encoded with a data structure adapted to store data to be used by one or more of the machine tool components and/or the material and parts handling components;
• b) entering a part design criteria into a CAD system to obtain a first CAD geometry file;
• c) providing said first CAD geometry file to said interactive process plan automation center;
• d) developing a first process plan;
• e) communicating with said work center to implement said first process plan to machine a part.