Machining center NC operating panel

A machining center NC operation panel with an numerical control (NC) function to be connected to a machine tool main body and to perform numerical control, the machining center NC operation panel comprising:

• a control unit which drives, following a predetermined program, a machining unit included in the machine tool main body;
• and a storage unit to store NC programs and tool information, the operation panel being provided, on the front thereof, with a display part and an input unit including many keys of various types,
• wherein an imaging device for capturing an operator's face image is mounted on the front of the operation panel or on a manual pulse generator for at-hand operation connected to the operation panel,
• wherein the storage unit stores an operator list allocated with work information prepared for each of the pre-registered operators, the work information including operations which the operators are respectively allowed to perform at the machine tool main body and restricted operations which the operators are not respectively allowed to perform, and a face image file holding a group of face image data on the operators registered in the operator list, and
• wherein the control unit includes
• a face authentication processing unit to search for and identify an operator by checking operator face image data obtained from the imaging device against the group of face image data held in the face image file and
• a work information processing unit to obtain, from the operator list, work information that has been pre-allocated with the operator identified by the face authentication processing unit and the work information processing unit has a function of displaying work items the identified operator is allowed to perform in the display part based on the obtained work information,
• the control unit thereby allowing only operations selected from the work items displayed in the display part to be performed,
• each of the work items is displayed on the menu screen as an icon representing the corresponding work item, and
• the work information processing unit has a function, for each operator, to display only the icons representing work items allowed in advance for the identified operator on the menu screen which appears in the display part, and not display the icons representing work items that are not allowed to the identified operator on the menu screen.