Gearing Up For U.S. Introduction by IMTS
Makino is introducing its newest, technologically advanced Professional 5 (Pro 5) High Performance Control, which provides a highly integrated, embedded control system capable of fast execution of commands for high reliability, flexibility, integration capability and ease of operation. The Pro 5 architecture provides the perfect blend of a Windows® CE® graphical user interface (GUI), the network and storage capability of a data center and the proven stability of Fanuc hardware.
This state-of-the-art control technology will be launched during the year in preparation for a formal introduction at the 2004 International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS) at McCormick Place in Chicago, Illinois, September 8 through 15. Visit the main Makino Booth #8400 in Hall A of the South Building, or the EDM Pavilion Booth #4110 in Hall D.
"The Pro 5 control is truly an advance in Makino technology, and in the ability of machine tools and computers to better work together to provide maximum efficiency and quality of performance," according to Mark Rentschler, marketing manager for Makino. "The level of Makino control technology configuration and reliability in the Pro 5 is superior to any other standard control in the marketplace. A sophisticated user interface and robotic interface, as well as an advanced network connectivity and data-management capability, are included to ensure maintenance-free utilization while ensuring ease of use through an intuitive touchscreen format."
Pro 5 Features
This new upgrade of the popular and efficient Makino Pro 3 control maintains all the capability of the previous version, plus it has numerous additional features. The Pro 5 has superior graphical user interface capabilities and comes standard with a 12-inch color display that is readily configurable to specific customer needs or preferences. The touch sensitive, on-screen selection provides instant access to information—literally at your fingertips.
The control screens are intuitive, and great care has been taken by Makino to insure that Pro 3 users easily recognize the newer screens. This is done in order to minimize confusion and eliminate retraining when making the transition to Pro 5 machinery.
In addition, the Makino "floating" function provides on-screen display and quick access to key information. Utilities commonly found on PC computers—such as "cut and paste", "copy", "find", "folders", and "file tree view" functions, to name a few—have been incorporated into the control data management and editing capabilities. In addition, the Pro 5 includes background edit, run hour and part quantity functions as standard features.
Network Connectivity
The Professional 5 control can be incorporated into a machinery network the same as any PC computer can, by using the native 100-megabit Ethernet port. This capability provides for complete management of NC program data within the data center feature of the control.
Makino Pro 5 actually provides a three-way management capability: within control memory (standard configuration provides 160 megabytes with various options for increased capacity using an internal Flash card); from a removable, external Flash memory card (currently up to 1 gigabyte); and, from an external network. This data center feature completely replaces the previous data server option, and interprets M198 commands from the NC program to deliver the program data from any of these three methods.
The Pro 5 control also includes the PMC ladder section of the Fanuc control. This ladder section is able to be modified by the user for the addition of interlock switches, hydraulic part clamp control and parallel robot interfaces.