STEP-NC Enabled On-line Inspection in Support of Closed-loop Machining

Abstract

The object-oriented STEP-NC data model provides a seamless and integrated programming interface for on-machine (or also known as on-line or in-line) inspections as well as interoperable manufacturing. This paper proposes a STEP-NC data model for on-line inspections. A framework of STEP-NC enabled closed-loop machining is also presented. The aim is to achieve a fully closed computer-aided design, process planning, machining and inspection chain. A new version of STEP-NC Interpreter has been developed to implement the proposed framework. A case study is included to demonstrate the implementation.