A control device moves a cutting tool relative to a workpiece to bring the workpiece and the cutting tool into contact with each other, and acquires a coordinate value of a reference point when the workpiece and the cutting tool come into contact with each other. The control device derives an error between the coordinate value thus acquired and a design coordinate value of the reference point at a position where the workpiece and the cutting tool come into contact with each other, and outputs information on the error.

A tool drive with spindle shaft for a chip-forming machining includes at least one electromagnetic axial actuator and a control and/or regulation apparatus for the operation of the axial actuator for changing the position of the spindle shaft along the longitudinal axis, wherein the control and/or regulation apparatus is designed to drive the axial actuator for the generation of microvibration movement of the spindle shaft, independently of and superimposable on a feed movement, in order to affect the chip size and chip shape of the removed material, wherein at least one axial magnetic bearing and/or one linear motor is provided as at least part of the axial actuator, wherein the regulation and/or control apparatus includes a memory unit and/or a function generation unit, and is configured to specify setpoint values of the oscillation curve of the microvibration movement depending on geometrical and or physical data of the workpiece and/or process variables that are measured or determined indirectly and/or control inputs, so that the control and/or regulation apparatus is configured to adjust an axial microvibration movement of the spindle shaft, independently of and superimposed on a feed movement, in such a way as to affect the chip size and chip shape of the removed material created when drilling.

The present invention sets a single machining point on a plurality of tool path rows, selects a machining point in a prescribed range with the point to be machined as the center, calculates the tool orientation at the point to be machined by way of averaging the tool orientation of the selected machining point of interest, corrects data pertaining to the tool orientation of the point to be machined by way of the calculated average tool orientation, acquires the shape data of a workpiece to be machined and the shape data of a ball end mill to be used, performs an interference check for the workpiece and the ball end mill on the basis of the corrected tool orientation data, and generates a new tool path on the basis of data pertaining to the corrected tool orientation when no interference between the workpiece and the ball end mill occurs.

Provided is a control device for a machine tool that exchanges a tool and machines a work piece on the basis of a machining program, said control device being provided with a machining program analysis unit that analyzes a machining program and extracts, from the machining program, measurement-related information relating to a dimensional measurement of a tool, and with a measurement program generation unit that, on the basis of the measurement-related information and basic tool information input in advance, generates a measurement program for measuring the dimensions of the tool.

A method for controlling a power tool includes ascertaining a workpiece characteristic of the workpiece to be processed from previously acquired measured values, determining the workpiece material from the workpiece characteristic of the workpiece to be processed, specifying initial values, which are suitable for processing the workpiece made of the determined workpiece material using the power tool, for machine parameters such as feed, speed, and torque, storing the initial values for putting the power tool into operation with machine parameters set to the initial values and/or putting the power tool into operation with machine parameters set to the initial values. A cooling constant is ascertained according to the Newtonian cooling law as the workpiece characteristic of the workpiece to be processed. To ascertain the cooling constant, the ambient temperature is measured, the workpiece is heated, and the actual temperature of the workpiece is measured, whereupon the cooling constant is computed.

A system and method for wirelessly controlling a shape memory alloy (SMA) actuator using magnetic resonant coupling (MRC). The SMA actuator is part of a receiver circuit including an actuator coil, where the SMA actuator is configured into a certain shape. The system includes a transmitter circuit having a transmitter coil and a controller, where the transmitter coil receives an AC current that causes the transmitter coil to generate an oscillating magnetic field in resonance with the actuator coil in the receiver circuit and be magnetically coupled thereto. The current induced in the actuator coil creates heat that reconfigures the SMA actuator to provide the actuation.

A machining condition determining apparatus (1) includes a first setter (2a) setting a cutting speed of a cutting tool, a storage (3) storing a maximum output value of a drive motor rotating a spindle holding the cutting tool and a number of revolutions of the drive motor corresponding to the maximum output value, a number-of-revolutions determiner (4) obtaining a steady-state value of the maximum output value of the drive motor stored in the storage (3) and determining a number of revolutions of the drive motor corresponding to the obtained steady-state value of the maximum output value, and a tool-diameter determiner (5) calculating a tool diameter of the cutting tool based on the cutting speed set by the first setter (2a) and the number of revolutions of the drive motor determined by the number-of-revolutions determiner (4).

This machine tool is provided with an arm for exchanging a tool between a main shaft in a machining chamber and a secondary tool standby position in a tool holding chamber, a shutter which is provided in an opening defined in a wall which partitions between the machining chamber and the tool holding chamber, a first motor for opening and closing the shutter, a shutter position detector which can detect the position of the shutter in the entire range between the fully open position and the fully closed position, a storage device which stores a prescribed position of the shutter associated with a prescribed operation of the arm and a control device which is configured to perform a prescribed operation of the arm on the basis of the position of the shutter detected by the shutter position detector and the prescribed position of the shutter stored in the storage device.

A multiple die container load port may include a housing with an opening, and an elevator to accommodate a plurality of different sized die containers. The multiple die container load port may include a stage supported by the housing and moveable within the opening of the housing by the elevator. The stage may include one or more positioning mechanisms to facilitate positioning of the plurality of different sized die containers on the stage, and may include different portions movable by the elevator to accommodate the plurality of different sized die containers. The multiple die container load port may include a position sensor to identify one of the plurality of different sized die containers positioned on the stage.

A machining apparatus machines a surface of a workpiece by feeding, relative to the workpiece, a cutting tool having a plurality of cutting edges A to D with tips of the cutting edges A to D arranged at equal intervals. The machining apparatus performs a cutting process of cutting the surface of the workpiece with the plurality of cutting edges A to D and a feeding process of feeding the cutting tool relative to the workpiece by a predetermined feed amount to form a plurality of grooves on the surface of the workpiece. The predetermined feed amount is set to a length that is not an integral multiple of the interval between the tips of cutting edges.