I've been in this industry for three years, selling Hyperthern products from the US at Kunshan Qiankun. I also have some understanding of other domestic systems. With the rapid development of the CNC cutting machine market in recent years, and the influence of Shanghai Hyperthern in China, competition in the CNC cutting machine market has become fierce. On the one hand, for CNC cutting machine manufacturers, carefully selecting a CNC cutting control system is a decisive factor in the future development of their business. On the other hand, for CNC cutting machine users, carefully selecting a CNC cutting control system is a decisive factor in the effectiveness of their equipment. Therefore, it is essential to have a thorough understanding of the development of CNC cutting control systems both domestically and internationally. When we talk about general-purpose CNC systems, we usually think of two major foreign companies: Siemens (Germany) and FUNAC (Japan). They are global leaders in general-purpose CNC systems in the cold working machinery industry. However, in the thermal cutting industry, due to the special nature of thermal cutting processes, these general-purpose CNC systems have mostly been replaced by more specialized cutting-specific CNC systems. Currently, the most representative cutting-specific CNC systems globally are the EDGE series controllers produced by Hypertherm Automation (USA) and the BURNY series controllers produced by CMC (USA), but they are relatively expensive. Domestic CNC systems from companies like Startech, Jiutian, and Shanghai Jiaotong University are cheaper, but their stability and functionality are somewhat inferior. SAMRTEDGE, developed by Kunshan Qiankun based on customer requirements for cutting machines, differs from the aforementioned domestic CNC systems in that their hardware platform is based on a PC. Simply put, it's like installing a motion control card (axis card) on your home computer and then installing a set of dedicated cutting control software to create a so-called cutting-specific CNC system. Therefore, we can clearly see that a cutting-specific CNC system consists of three parts: (1) a computer (including a monitor and keyboard), such as the Qiankun SMART EDGE system; (2) a motion control card, also known as an axis card (usually plugged into a computer bus, such as a PCI bus, which completes the control of servo and I/O); (3) a set of cutting control software (including operating systems such as WINDOWS XP, DOS, etc.). So, understanding any cutting-specific CNC system is to understand it from the above three aspects! Usually, users are most concerned about four aspects of the cutting-specific CNC system they purchase: (1) the reliability and stability of the CNC system; Kunshan Qiankun SMART EDGE has undergone long-term testing through domestic plasma, and has a good shielding effect against plasma interference; (2) the control accuracy of the CNC system; the analog voltage used is Gree output, ±10V voltage; (3) the advanced nature of the CNC system functions; (4) the convenience of CNC system maintenance and the price of maintenance; For any CNC system manufactured by a company, system reliability and stability are the most critical indicators. How can users judge the reliability and stability of a CNC system? As our explanation clearly shows, only when all three components of the system are reliable and stable can the entire system guarantee reliability and stability. The computer is the brain of the entire system. Currently, most domestic systems use industrial-grade computers, but there are many manufacturers of industrial-grade computers in China, and the product quality varies greatly. Users should choose products from well-known brands. Motion control cards and cutting control software are two other very important aspects of system reliability and stability. For cutting-specific CNC systems developed domestically and internationally, most currently follow two paths: (First) Developing their own motion control cards; (Second) Choosing general-purpose products developed by professional motion card companies on the market. Similarly, the choice of cutting control software platform mostly follows two paths: (First) WINDOWS platform; (Second) DOS platform. It's important to note that choosing a software platform is not simply a matter of choosing an operating system. On one hand, it's related to the overall technical difficulty of system software development (of course, the technical difficulty of Windows is far greater than that of DOS). On the other hand, it's also closely related to the hardware architecture of the entire CNC system. Currently, various dedicated CNC systems developed based on PC (PC-based) hardware platforms and Windows operating system software platforms can be mainly divided into two types from a hardware architecture perspective. One type integrates system software and control software, emphasizing the powerful functions of the software. Physically, this is manifested by a single CPU, with most functions implemented by software. Another crucial point to note is that the Windows operating system itself is not a real-time operating system. For operations requiring high real-time performance, Windows inherently exhibits limitations. The other type integrates system software and control software... The software runs on two CPUs. The system software and control software connect via communication. This system overcomes the limitation of the Windows operating system, which is not a real-time operating system, while effectively utilizing the powerful visual and internet capabilities of the Windows interface. It represents the mainstream direction for future dedicated CNC systems developed based on PC (PC-based) hardware and Windows operating system software platforms. Currently, many developers of dedicated CNC cutting systems in China use general-purpose products developed by professional motion control card companies. However, products from professional motion control card companies vary significantly in technical level, product quality, and price. Kunshan Qiankun SmartEDGE's motion control cards offer a significant advantage; choosing different grades of motion control cards determines the grade of CNC system that can be developed! The control precision of a CNC cutting machine is guaranteed by the motion control card and the corresponding control software. Due to the characteristics of thermal cutting itself, the control precision requirements of the CNC system are very low, because the width of the kerf cannot be guaranteed to be consistent for either flame cutting or plasma arc cutting. In addition, I have also noticed that most domestic CNC systems adopt pulse output mode. There are three reasons for this: (1) to resist plasma arc interference; (2) At present, most of the developers of CNC systems for cutting in China use general products developed by professional motion card companies. In analog output products, they do not consider anti-plasma arc interference measures in circuit design; (3) due to the characteristics of thermal cutting itself, the control precision requirements of the CNC system are very low; Here, it is also necessary to clarify a fact that many users believe that CNC systems using pulse output mode are open-loop systems, which is a wrong view. Whether the whole system is an open-loop system depends on the driver used. If a servo driver is used, then the position loop is closed to the servo driver; if a stepper driver is used, then it is an open-loop system. There are many advanced features in CNC systems, but I will only discuss one crucial point. Currently, there is little difference between various domestic CNC systems for cutting in flame cutting, but there is a qualitative difference in plasma arc cutting, a point many users are unaware of. We know that the control of the contour speed of the cut parts and the requirements of the cutting process are always contradictory for CNC systems for cutting: the cutting process generally requires a consistent contour speed for the parts being cut, but at the same time, to ensure smooth cutting, deceleration and acceleration are necessary at various corners, leading to a decrease in cutting quality at these corners. For flame cutting, because the cutting speed is very slow, the impact on the cutting quality at corners is minimal. However, for plasma arc cutting, the higher the cutting speed, the worse the cutting quality at corners becomes, especially in thin plate cutting. Therefore, higher demands are placed on CNC systems, and SMART EDGE... The system excels in corner speed control, featuring detailed corner speed settings. This means that before cutting, the system pre-processes the corner speed, calculating the appropriate reduction speed based on the intersection angle of the corner segments, the system parameter "centrifugal acceleration," and the currently set cutting speed, thus maintaining the cutting speed as much as possible. This is similar to driving a car, where different speeds are used at turns of varying sizes. Most domestic systems lack corner speed pre-processing, allowing users to easily judge the system's quality based on corner speed variations. Regarding the ease and cost of CNC system maintenance, domestic cutting-specific CNC systems offer significant advantages in price and service compared to imported brands. Therefore, both imported and domestic CNC systems have substantial advantages in hardware and maintenance. The lower manufacturing cost and selling price of domestic CNC systems not only reduce the cost of manufacturing CNC cutting machines but also lower future maintenance and upgrade costs for businesses and users. We can clearly recognize the advantages of smart CNC systems. The EDGE CNC system is comparable to the cutting-specific CNC system imported from Hibtech in terms of software functionality and stability. However, its price is about half that of Hibtech. Compared to some domestic systems, its powerful functions are its biggest advantage. Furthermore, it is hoped that users will gain a better understanding of CNC systems. The above are just my personal thoughts; please feel free to correct any errors. Kunshan Qiankun Electromechanical Sales Department, ANDY-SHEN, 13451753350. www.qiankun.cc