Process monitoring and adaptive control of a machine tool

Abstract

A control system includes a programmable logic control section controlling operation of a machine and a numerical control section controlling relative motion between a tool of the machine and a work piece. A method, performed in the control system, includes: evaluating an input signal, received by the programmable logic control section, in relation to a first condition, wherein the input signal includes information about a state of the tool or of a subtractive process performed via interaction of the tool and the work piece; and in response to the input signal satisfying the first condition, providing the information to the numerical control section. The state may for example be tool breakage, tool wear or wrong cutting data. An operator of the machine may for example specify via programs in the numerical control section how the machine is to respond to such states.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.