TOOL SPECIFYING METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR AN NC AUTOMATIC PROGRAMMING SYSTEM

摘要

In an NC automatic programming system for defining the process and equipment for machining a workpiece, a method and apparatus for automatically selecting a tool out of a plurality of available tools for machining the workpiece. The data defining the tools and data defining the criteria for selecting the most appropriate tool on the basis of machining mode are entered and stored. On the basis of the entered data, the available tools are arranged automatically according to preference for the desired machining. The recommended tool may be accepted or another of the recommended tools may be selected at operator discretion and based on operator experience.