dimension - this 0.1000 inches - is the key to understand memory capacity of a control system, identified in feet or meters.
Keep in mind that this standard has been used around the world, although the base unit was an inch - after all, numerical control technology originated in the United States, where imperial measurements have been predominant (although that is now changing as well). Also keep in mind that most current controls are of either Japanese or German origin, two countries where metric system has been standard for centuries.
The following two tables provide conversions of several common memory capacities, as installed in the control system - the first one converts meters to feet:
The second table converts feet to meters:
As you may expect, it is impossible to list all possible options, but a simple calculation or two will provide the answers required.
First, some conversions of various units, in case they are necessary for additional calculations:
| 1 inch | = | 25.4 mm |
| = | 0.0254 m | |
| 1 foot | = | (25.4 × 12 inches) / 1000 |
| = | 0.3048 m | |
| 1 mm | = | 1 inch / 25.4 |
| = | 0.039370 inches | |
| 1 m | = | 1000 mm / 25.4 |
| = | 39.370079 inches | |
| 1 foot | = | 12 inches / 39.370079 |
| = | 0.3048 m | |
| 1 meter | = | 1000 mm / 25.4 / 12 |
| = | 3.28084 feet |
Conversion of METERS to FEET:
Meters are the units of input to be converted into equivalent number of feet:
| Feet | = | Meters / 0.3048 |
Conversion of FEET to METERS:
Feet are the units of input to be converted into equivalent number of meters:
| Meters | = | Feet × 0.3048 |
Conversion of METERS to CHARACTERS:
Meters are the units of input to be converted into equivalent number of characters:
| Characters | = | (Meters × 1000) / 2.54 |
... or ...
| Characters | = | Meters / 0.00254 |
Conversion of FEET to CHARACTERS:
Feet are the units of input to be converted into equivalent number of characters:
| Characters | = | Feet × 120 |
Conversion of CHARACTERS to METERS:
Characters are the units of input to be converted into equivalent number of meters:
| Meters | = | Characters × 0.00254 |
... or ...
| Meters | = | (Characters × 2.54) / 1000 |
Conversion of CHARACTERS to FEET:
Characters are the units of input to be converted into equivalent number of feet:
| Feet | = | Characters /120 |
Program files are always stored as pure text files on computers, in standard ASCII format - that means no formatting is involved - no underlines, no italics, no bold characters, etc. ASCII is an acronym that means American Standard Code for Information Interchange.
When a pure text file is stored, the computer operating system such as Windows™, indicates the number of bytes the file occupies on the hard drive (or disk). Although not exact, this file size can be used as a guide -typically, the number of bytes exceeds the number of characters. For example, a text file that shows 3500 bytes may have only 3000 characters, spaces included. Fanuc controls do not consider spaces as characters -spaces are ignored.
DNC Alternative
Although CNC memory capacity can be expanded by adding more memory chips or boards, an inexpensive alternative is the use a of remote computer that serves as a DNC source unit.
DNC stands for Direct Numerical Control or Distributed Numerical Control. Although there is a certain overlap in using these two terms, direct usually means one Personal Computer to one CNC, whereby distributed usually means one Personal Computer to several CNCs. In both cases, suitable software and cabling is required.
