Completely new iterations of CNC systems do not come around very often, which makes a visit to the FANUC stand (C54, Hall 9) at EMO Hannover essential this year. On 18-23 September, the company will present a tantalising glimpse into the future of CNC technology, as represented by its in-development FS500i-A series.
Optimised for performance, the new FS500i-A will offer a number of important innovations. For instance, operators are set to benefit from FANUC’s new iHMI2 CNC interface, which maintains the appealing look and feel of FANUC’s iHMI but combines it with the familiar operability of legacy systems. For every task, all interactions can be handled on one screen so that there is no need to jump between several of them.
The FS500i-A will also provide the potential to program PMC (programmable machine control) systems using ISO-defined Structured Text language, while a further new function is the simplification of processes that require programming in five axes. Specifically, using a special tool, the future FS500i-A offers the ability to accommodate any arbitrary machine kinematics.
On display at EMO in stand-alone and LCD-mounted format, the FS500i-A series remains in development. And yet there is good news for those anxious to access some of its capabilities now as FANUC is constantly innovating to improve the capabilities of its products and therefore offers enhanced versions of the company’s current generation advanced FS30i/31i/32i-B Plus and standard FS0i-F Plus CNC solutions.
Several of the latest improvements for these series will also feature in the FS500i-A, such as functions for energy saving and digital twin technology, providing direct end-user benefits. The new CPU, combined with newly introduced features and capabilities, improves basic performance and drives cycle time reductions.
FANUC αi-D series SERVO is the company’s new servo system increasing high speed and high precision performance. And it offers not only integrated power regeneration capability but also a 10% reduction in power loss across the servo control system. As a result, users can expect the same performance with less electricity consumption, delivering energy savings and reduced carbon footprint. FANUC αi-D series SERVO will be available with FANUC’s enhanced current-generation CNC systems, as well as the future FS500i-A series.
The same is true of CNC Reflection Studio, where end users can take advantage of a feature-rich digital twin environment to simulate all machine processes, even high-speed ones, in a safe and reliable way. The analysis of G-codes and interpolation processes is equivalent to using the actual control system thanks to co-operation with FANUC CNC GUIDE 2 software. Pre-checking machining programs has never been more convenient or reliable.