Real NC Control Unit and Virtual Machine to Improve Operator Training

This paper describes a coupling between a real NC control unit and a virtual machine and its application potentials for vocational training. First the Hardware-in-the-Loop coupling, including the setup of the machine model, the connection itself and the realized material removal process, is described. Based on that, possible application scenarios for vocational training are discussed. In addition expert opinions about the usability of the NC-VR setup and possible obstacles are presented.