Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.
Largest Manufacturing Technology Community on the Web
Stay Connected:
CMM- DCC vs CNC ?
- Thread starter Milacron
- Start date
- Replies 8
- Views 16,825
Joe788
Titanium
- Joined
- Apr 22, 2006
- Location
- Westside of America.
I believe it has something to do with the feedback and the "language" used to control the actual motion.
Mitutoyo considers their CMMs as "CNC", while others are DCC. A Mitutoyo salesman explained the difference to me during his sales shpeal back when I was CMM shopping, but I can't remember exact specifics. He did mention that a CNC CMM could react much faster to a crash than a DCC CMM.
Mitutoyo considers their CMMs as "CNC", while others are DCC. A Mitutoyo salesman explained the difference to me during his sales shpeal back when I was CMM shopping, but I can't remember exact specifics. He did mention that a CNC CMM could react much faster to a crash than a DCC CMM.
CarbideBob
Diamond
- Joined
- Jan 14, 2007
- Location
- Flushing/Flint, Michigan
DCC (direct computer control) was a phrase I first saw back when CMMs were run by DEC PDP-11 mini-computers before the days of microprocessors.
The difference being that they programed in there own language and did not understand G-codes. G-code can't handle all the math calcs that a CMM needs to do.
Bob
The difference being that they programed in there own language and did not understand G-codes. G-code can't handle all the math calcs that a CMM needs to do.
Sounds like sales and marketing BS to me.
Bob
Well yeah, but it's still all driven by programming "numbers" via ones and zeros such that in the final analysis it is literally "computer numerical control" moving that CMM gantry around. The use of G code doesn't define what is CNC or not.
Interesting that the DCC term goes that far back...such that perhaps the inspiration for conjuring up the term was to emphasize the "computer" aspect.. back when most machine automation was "NC" rather than "CNC" ?
Holescreek
Titanium
- Joined
- Aug 27, 2004
- Location
- Centerville,OH
Yep, we have 10 Mitutoyo CMMs here and they definately react quickly when they crash!
bryan_machine
Diamond
- Joined
- Jun 16, 2006
- Location
- Near Seattle
The difference in terms is probably just history. For things like mat cutters, you can search for "CNC" all day and find nothing - they are "computer controlled". Might even be a controller that reads G-code.
The difference in what language is used to direct the controller matters, especially since some flavors of G-code don't appear to be computationally complete. However, in the real world G-code gets extended all the time, and G666 - CallToNativeAssembler would make quick work of any math problem on any controller that wasn't cobbled up out of parts found at radio shack.
The difference in what language is used to direct the controller matters, especially since some flavors of G-code don't appear to be computationally complete. However, in the real world G-code gets extended all the time, and G666 - CallToNativeAssembler would make quick work of any math problem on any controller that wasn't cobbled up out of parts found at radio shack.
Not a good analogy as CMM's and machine tools are intimately connected and always have been, whereas matt cutters are a whole different field.
bryan_machine
Diamond
- Joined
- Jun 16, 2006
- Location
- Near Seattle
Not an analogy - an observation that things get named via random history.
Computer driven CMMs are rather newer than NC machine tools, aren't they? So maybe they ended up with a more "modern" name because they weren't bound to the old one.
Sometimes it comes down to marketing - somebody (Sheffield? Zeiss?) sold one they called DCC or whatever, and others used that name for marketing reasons.
Computer driven CMMs are rather newer than NC machine tools, aren't they? So maybe they ended up with a more "modern" name because they weren't bound to the old one.
Sometimes it comes down to marketing - somebody (Sheffield? Zeiss?) sold one they called DCC or whatever, and others used that name for marketing reasons.
mboucher
Plastic
- Joined
- Sep 10, 2008
- Location
- Charlotte, NC
The difference between DCC and CNC is the CNC is closed loop system. If you tell the CMM to run to 5.115 the CNC CMM reads the scale and reports back to the controller and keeps checking until it reaches the exact postion. On the DCC CMM it will run to somewhere close to that postion. On DCC you'll notice over travel on long travels. What CNC provides is better 'tunneling accuracy' meaning that when the CMM travels in XYZ at the same time the positioning accuracy is better.
Mark
Mark