'No-compromise' control for up to 200-plus axes

Flexium, a modular CNC platform from NUM, has unprecedented scalability that can be applied economically on a machine with a just few axes, or as many as 200 plus. This is combined with open programmability that gives users complete freedom to customise the man-machine interface (MMI). At the heart of the new platform is an advanced new CNC kernel at least four times more powerful than the fastest version of NUM's existing Axium controller. Two versions of the kernel are available to provide economic solutions for different sizes of machine. The Flexium 6 is a compact solution that is cost-optimised for standalone machines with up to five axes of motion. The more powerful Flexium 68 will handle up to 32 interpolated axes, divided into as many as eight co-ordinated groups. If more axes are required to support very large equipment projects, such as a multi-cell production line, then Flexium 68s may be interconnected using a real-time Ethernet link. CANopen interfaces provide additional system expansion capability, including positioning drives, I/O and handwheels, and operator panels. This allows the Flexium 68 system to be expanded to control over 200 interpolated axes, as well as further positioning axes and I/O.