The first milling control from Burgess Hill-based Heidenhain (GB) Ltd (www.heidenhaingb.com) to be made available with a touch-screen was the TNC 620 mid-range CNC system, launched in the UK in mid-2017.

This control will be on show for the first time at MACH, along with a similar next-generation version of the top-end TNC 640 control, hitherto unannounced (Hall 18 Stand 545).

On the latter control, multi-touch-screen operation is made possible through the use of its main computer and colour flat-panel display.

Using ‘touch gestures’ on the screen, similar to those used on smartphones and tablets, the operator can navigate through long lists, programs and tables by ‘kinetic scrolling’.

A short slow swipe scrolls the screen over a few lines, while a long fast swipe scrolls it over many lines.

Moreover, the user can stop dynamic scrolling at any time with a short tap, making it easy to find — for example — an NC block or a tool in a long program or tool table.

The user moves and rotates 3-D graphics and zooms in or out by touch gestures. Soft keys are now operated directly on the screen, without the need for hardware keys.

Heidenhain’s TNC 640 is the company’s latest milling control; it offers the option of turning functions on a machining centre.

Functionality for mill-turn centres includes: simple program-controlled switchover between milling and turning; canned turning cycles for frequently repeated operations such as roughing, finishing, recessing and thread cutting; constant surface speed; and tool-tip radius compensation.

Universal and high-speed milling cycles are also included, such as fast block processing, short control loop cycles and rapid data transfer.

Moreover, the system’s selectable split-screen mode shows part-program blocks in one half and graphics or status display in the other.