Author : Ajay Konapala and Ramji Koona

Rapid developments in Information Technology (IT) are throwing new opportunities for industries & individuals. Internet of Things (IoT), Social manufacturing becoming popular day by day and are allowing individuals to develop custom components & tools. Contemporarily, individuals no more need to be confined with proprietary applications and conditions over simple needs. Also knowledge on standards & standard file formats allows these individuals to share tools and information via web. STEP-NC (ISO 14649) is an enhancement to STEP (ISO 10303) for operating NC machines and helps in following a common platform of file formats, throughout CAD/CAM/CAPP/NC manufacturing chain rather than depending on multiple disconnected file formats from proprietary applications. In this regard, an attempt is made to develop a Web based Tool Path Generator (W-TPG) based on open platform. Various milling operations namely face milling, drilling and pocket finishing, identified from the example1 of ISO14649 part11 are considered for developing the modules. Key parameters that influence the tool path are identified from the STEP-NC file and can be entered at the GUI for regenerating and simulate the tool path. Developed algorithms helps for building a complete web based STEP-NC manufacturing as future scope.

Keywords: STEP-NC, ISO14649, Open Source, web applications, Simulation

Article published in International Journal of Current Engineering and Technology, Vol.6, No.5 (Oct-2016)