Retrofitting of Conventional Lathe Machine to Computer Numerically Controlled (CNC) Machine With Bluetooth and Mobile Application Capabilities

Computer Numerically Controlled (CNC) machines play an integral and irreplaceable role in manufacturing industries. It not only realizes rapid industrial production but also saves manpower and material resources. Conventional machining tools, such as the manually operated lathe machine, are inefficient. They are quite challenging for commercial purposes due to low production capability, hence the need for CNC machines to enhance industrial automation productivity. Currently, many conventional lathe machines are used in industries in the country. The need to migrate the manual operations of these machines to full or semi-automation status is of utmost importance. It is required to convert these machines to semi-automatic lathes by retrofitting to grow the country's development in the machining industry. Converting the manual lathe into a semi-automatic lathe requires three significant modifications: electronics, mechanics, and hydraulic components. In this paper, we propose a computer numerically controlled automation system for converting the conventional lathe machine, by developing mobile and web applications to perform automation tasks. The conversion process was carried out on a mini center lathe machine at the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission at Kwabenya in Accra. Firstly, unnecessary components such as the gearbox and handwheels were removed and mounts for the various motors for the automation tasks were added to the machine as part of the mechanical system component modification. The electronic component modification involved installing stepper motors for the lathe machine's X, Y, and Z axes. The Arduino microcontroller controlled the motors via the motor drive systems. At the end of the conversion, the newly retrofitted machine could machine a designed part successfully when the machining instruction in G-code format was sent to the microcontroller. Instructions were decoded and executed successfully.