CNC export regulations

What Is Restricted? There are three machine control features, or capabilities as referenced in the export regulations, that will cause a control to be restricted. All deal with path control and therefore target the more capable CNCs. Functions restricted are:
* More than four axis of simultaneously coordinated axes of motion.
* Real-time processing of CAD data in the CNC for tool path generation.
* Adaptive control with more than one machine condition monitored and fed back to the control for modifying the machining process.

The above restrictions existed under COCOM (Coordinating Committee for Multilateral Export Control) and were retained when the export regulations were restructured under the Wassenaar Arrangement effective November 1, 1996. The name Wassenaar comes from the city in Holland where the final agreement was signed. In the transition from COCOM to Wassenaar, the changes took emphasis off the control hardware and redirected it to the software. The result however is still the same, any CNC having one or more of the restricted capabilities is controlled and as such is subject to export licensing depending on the receiving country.
Why Are There Restrictions? The Wassenaar Arrangement was created by a multination group to replace the procedures that existed under COCOM. COCOM, which expired March 31, 1995, was also a multinational agreement formed in 1949 primarily to prevent U.S.S.R. and its satellite nations from obtaining sophisticated products that could be used to enhance its weapons capability. In its 46 years of existence COCOM had become grossly out-of-date as the landscape of our allies and enemies changed.
Under the Wassenaar Arrangement, Russia has become a member country and the targeted countries, which are not explicitly defined, are essentially pariah countries or "countries of concern." Each Wassenaar participating country is permitted to create its own actions based on "National Discretion." Presently the U.S. pariah countries are: Iran, Iraq, Libya, and North Korea.
What Technology Are We Protecting? Obtaining a U.S. export license for a CNC or a CNC controlled machine that has one or more of the restricted capabilities is a time consuming process that often causes delayed shipments and unhappy customers. In some cases, foreign customers have even stopped soliciting quotations from U.S. machine tool companies for the higher tech machines because of previous bad experiences consisting of delays and licenses turn downs. Instead they have gone to foreign manufacturers where the export rules are interpreted more liberally.

Why is it that the U.S. government risks the loss of export business by applying stricter interpretations to export regulations? It appears that the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) is the motivating agency in this matter. DOD maintains that all three CNC restrictions are valuable capabilities when it comes to making small, very accurate parts associated with manufacturing nuclear weapons. DOD has been very consistent in their position that the machines with one or more of the three restricted capabilities would be of significant value to non-friendly countries for manufacturing weapon systems that are a threat to our national security.
It is up to the industries affected by export regulations to keep the pressure on government. One of the organizations involved in providing advice to government is the Department of Commerce's Materials Processing Equipment Technical Advisory Committee (MPETAC) which has been working for the past few years to educate government regulators about the changes and the availability of CNC controls. This committee referred to as a TAC committee is sponsored by the Department of Commerce and is chaired by Charles Carter, Vice President of Technology for The Association of Manufacturing Technology (AMT). The industry representatives serving on the TAC continue to work toward achieving a more realistic set of export regulations that will level the playing field with our allies when it comes to international trade.

CNC data interfaces

It is not surprising that CNC Data interfacing is a source of confusion in many plants. The many names by which CNC data interfaces are specified have been a contributing factor. Some of the more common terms are: data port, serial port, communications interface, behind-the-tape-reader interface (BTRI), DNC interface, and parallel port, to name a few. These terms are often combined with vague definitions and written into equipment specifications. For example, the following definitions are taken from actual specifications: * "A serial data port is required for future connection into a DNC or FMS system." * "A serial or parallel data port is required. A BTRI is acceptable." * "The control must have MAP communications compatibility." * "An RS-232 interface is required." * "A DNC interface is required."
The ambiguity of the above statements allows the CNC vendor to comply without defining what capability will be provided. For example, an RS-232 interface can include a very sophisticated protocol that provides error checking and status reporting capability, or it may not have any of these capabilities.
One way to minimize confusion is to use the International Standards Organization (ISO) seven-layer network architecture for local area networks (LANs). Even though this architecture is a model for open systems interconnection (OSI) for LANs, it can also provide a common base of understanding for serial interfaces as well. The seven layers consist of: (1) physical, (2) data link, (3) network, (4) transport, (5) session, (6) presentation and (7) application.

When specifying a serial data interface there are three functions to be considered: (1) the connection, (2) the data-handling protocol and (3) the capability to be provided. The ISO seven-layer structure is used in the following description to explain these three functions:
Connection--This is the most basic part of the specification. It is the way the data is to be transmitted. Examples of the connections for serial interfaces are RS-232, RS-422 and RS-423. The speed or baud rate should also be stated at this level. Keep in mind however that even though each of the above standards provides a choice of baud rates, the distance which the data is to be transmitted becomes a limiting factor on achievable rates. Also, if error-checking protocol is to be employed, speed is usually sacrificed.
Protocol--Is a set of rules governing the exchange of messages between two communicating processes. For LANS like Manufacturing Automation Protocol (MAP) there is a protocol assigned for each of the seven ISO layers. For serial interfaces, the protocol normally only deals with starting and stopping the data flow, performing error checking if required and initiating the retransmission of a segment of data when there is an interruption. Example of protocols for serial interfaces are RS-491, RS-484, KERMIT, DDCMP and SNA. These may be isolated to ISO layer 2 functions or spread across multiple layers.
Capability--This layer is one that is most often ignored in users specifications. At this level the user should state what capability he expects the interface to have. Examples are: upload/download part programs, upload/download tool data, upload/download probe data, upload machine status, handle cycle start/stop over the data line, upload specified machine fault messages, and upload specific CNC fault messages.
In order to create an adequate interface specification it is necessary to define your requirements accurately. Include only the capability that is required since "standard" interfaces can add as much as $20,000 to the basic price of the control. Custom-designed interfaces can cost $100,000 or higher. This fact-of-life is the reason to stay with existing standard interfaces.
The above discussion was intended to address only the most significant points of serial data interfaces in CNCs. It is worth noting that all of the capability expected at the CNC data interface must also be implemented in the host computer if there is to be meaningful communications. It therefore becomes of utmost importance for the user to coordinate the communications requirements at both ends of the data line so that the proper interface tools exist when the time comes to use them.

CNC data interfaces

It is not surprising that CNC Data interfacing is a source of confusion in many plants. The many names by which CNC data interfaces are specified have been a contributing factor. Some of the more common terms are: data port, serial port, communications interface, behind-the-tape-reader interface (BTRI), DNC interface, and parallel port, to name a few. These terms are often combined with vague definitions and written into equipment specifications. For example, the following definitions are taken from actual specifications: * "A serial data port is required for future connection into a DNC or FMS system." * "A serial or parallel data port is required. A BTRI is acceptable." * "The control must have MAP communications compatibility." * "An RS-232 interface is required." * "A DNC interface is required."
The ambiguity of the above statements allows the CNC vendor to comply without defining what capability will be provided. For example, an RS-232 interface can include a very sophisticated protocol that provides error checking and status reporting capability, or it may not have any of these capabilities.
One way to minimize confusion is to use the International Standards Organization (ISO) seven-layer network architecture for local area networks (LANs). Even though this architecture is a model for open systems interconnection (OSI) for LANs, it can also provide a common base of understanding for serial interfaces as well. The seven layers consist of: (1) physical, (2) data link, (3) network, (4) transport, (5) session, (6) presentation and (7) application.

Floods leaves over 2.5 million people homeless

Heavy rains and floods over the past week have wreaked havoc in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and left 2.5 million people homeless. The flooding, described by officials as the worst in many decades in south India, has killed some 280 people.
Over 50 villages in Andhra Pradesh on either side of river Krishna were inundated as a record 11 lakh cusecs of water reached Prakasam Barrage today even as week-long rains showed signs of abating in north Karnataka but the death toll mounted to 194.
At least five million people are crammed in temporary government shelters. Flood waters swamped millions of acres of cropland, including sugarcane plantations, prompting worries of a fall in sugar output in Karnataka, the country's third-biggest producer.
Rescue workers also moved more than 200,000 people living close to the river. An alert had been sounded in about 100 villages situated along the Krishna. Despite a lull in rains over the last 24 hours, the situation in flood-hit north Karnataka remains grim.
Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa has asked the Centre to declare the unprecedented rainfall and flood situation as a national calamity and has demanded the Centre to release 10,000 crore rupees for relief activities.
The situation has improved in Karnataka. State Chief Minister B.Y.Yeddyurappa announced that his government would construct over 2,00,000 houses for flood affected people.
In Andhra Pradesh, though the flood situation is improving in Kurnool and Mahaboobnagar districts, but hundreds of villages in Krishna, Guntur and Nalgonda are still inundated.
The state Government has announced an exgratia of Rs one lakh to the families of victims and immediate assistance in cash and kind to the families who lost their homes. (With inputs from Agencies)