It must be 100% reliable, as it is a corner stone for building the important connection needed between the shop floor and the top floor.
The main purpose of DNC software in today’s smart manufacturing environment is to create a software interface and base system for accountability and control of data (including NC files) to and from the shop floor. DNC systems provide a central repository on a computer or application server to both store the approved NC files for download to the shop floor and act as a gatekeeper for revision control regarding this G-code. Most CNC machines on the shop floor have sufficient memory or hard drive space to store a NC file locally at the machine and execute the file to make a part.
While the CAM software is used to create the the NC file (also called G-code) for a particular CNC (Computer Numerical Control) machine, the DNC software is used to get the code from programming to the shop floor. In its most simplistic form DNC software and systems take over where CAM (Computer Aided Manufacturing) leaves off. DNC refers to Direct or Distributed Numerical Control and is a vital building block for true Industry 4.0 and IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things) integration for machine shops.
