Research on the intelligent CNC system based on STEP-NC

This paper proposed a novel framework based on multi-agent for implementing an intelligent STEP-NC controller. The architecture derived from the analysis of process routine and the specific requirements for the intelligent STEP-NC controller. The architecture consists of twelve functional agents, such as interpreter agent, process planning agent, monitoring agent, decisionmaking agent, etc. These agents can cooperate closely to carry out various functions of the intelligent STEP-NC controller in a well manner. Furthermore, implementation for some key modules including the interpreter agent and the process planning agent was discussed in detail. A prototype system based on the architecture presented had been developed by authors on the integrated development platform of VC++ and ST-Developer. This investigation provides a feasible method to implement the intelligent CNC system based on STEP-NC.