Toward Intelligent Machine Tool

TLDR

Modern AI technology provides new opportunities for developing intelligent machine tools, which evolve through stages from manually operated to numerical control, smart, and finally intelligent machine tools. This paper defines the concept, characteristics, and structure of the IMT, emphasizing its knowledge acquisition through learning and presenting key enabling technologies. The IMT is built on four autonomous control principles—sensing, learning, optimization, and execution—supported by analytical, hybrid modeling, and double-code control technologies, and implemented in an intelligent numerical control system and industrial prototypes. Three intelligent practices demonstrate that integrating AI with advanced manufacturing is feasible and convenient for advancing machine tools toward the IMT.

Abstract

With the development of modern information technology—and particularly of the new generation of artificial intelligence (AI) technology—new opportunities are available for the development of the intelligent machine tool (IMT). Based on the three classical paradigms of intelligent manufacturing as defined by the Chinese Academy of Engineering, the concept, characteristics, and systemic structure of the IMT are presented in this paper. Three stages of machine tool evolution—from the manually operated machine tool (MOMT) to the IMT—are discussed, including the numerical control machine tool (NCMT), the smart machine tool (SMT), and the IMT. Furthermore, the four intelligent control principles of the IMT—namely, autonomous sensing and connection, autonomous learning and modeling, autonomous optimization and decision-making, and autonomous control and execution—are presented in detail. This paper then points out that the essential characteristic of the IMT is to acquire and accumulate knowledge through learning, and presents original key enabling technologies, including the instruction-domain-based analytical approach, theoretical and big-data-based hybrid modeling technology, and the double-code control method. Based on this research, an intelligent numerical control (INC) system and industrial prototypes of IMTs are developed. Three intelligent practices are conducted, demonstrating that the integration of the new generation of AI technology with advanced manufacturing technology is a feasible and convenient way to advance machine tools toward the IMT.