Building a Proprietary CNC Controller Without the Hardware Headache

When a long-time supplier discontinued critical motion control components, the engineering team at Autometrix faced a pivotal decision: source another "black box" control system or build their own proprietary solution from the ground up.

Autometrix is an OEM manufacturer of precision cutting solutions for the industrial fabrics and composites industries. Their machines automate pattern drafting and cutting, requiring sophisticated multi-axis contouring and extreme reliability. While the team wanted to bring the CNC control stack in-house to ensure long-term availability, designing industrial-grade hardware from scratch would have required significant time and development resources.

"We decided that we didn't want to figure out the hardware interface all at once," says Tyler Green, Electrical Engineer at Autometrix.

To bridge the gap between their custom software requirements and the physical machine, Autometrix utilized Teknic’s ClearCore, a programmable industrial I/O and motion controller with step and direction outputs. By building their proprietary CNC functionality on top of ClearCore’s open-source (MIT-license) Motion and I/O Library, the team could write code in C++ without the burden of designing custom FPGAs.

"There's a whole bunch of aspects of that [hardware interface] that we didn't have to figure out... that you guys have spent way more time and effort perfecting than we ever could," says Tyler.

Leveraging the ClearCore hardware platform allowed the Autometrix software team to focus entirely on the complex logic required for their application: motion-code interpretation, trajectory planning, and interpolation. They successfully implemented a proprietary CNC control stack that handles coordinated multi-axis motion, utilizing the ClearCore to drive Teknic’s ClearPath-SD integrated servos.

The ClearPath-SD series combines a brushless servo motor, encoder, and drive into a single compact package that accepts step and direction signals, offering the performance of a closed-loop servo, with the simplicity of a stepper.

"Almost all the work was down to programmatically defining every contour path we wanted to follow so that we could then execute it in real time," Tyler explains. "Because the ClearCore is doing the step handling for us, it made things a fairly simple process."

Beyond simply replacing the previous controller, the new architecture allowed Autometrix to simplify their machine wiring significantly. The previous system relied on complex RS485 transceivers to send signals over long distances, which introduced reliability challenges. The new design utilizes direct communication between the ClearCore and the integrated servo systems.

"We are now working on integrating ClearCore into more and more of our motion interfaces," says Tyler. "There is a ready-made solution for us."

This move to a modular, Teknic-based system supports Autometrix’s commitment to extreme longevity. The company supports machines for a 15-year minimum lifespan, meaning they often service equipment that is over two decades old. To fulfill this promise, Autometrix required a partner committed to long-term availability. They found that security in Teknic’s business model, which prioritizes continuous manufacturing improvements over forced obsolescence, and in their demonstrated ability to ensure product availability for decades. This gave Autometrix the confidence that ClearCore and ClearPath components will remain available for the long haul.

"We guarantee a 15-year supported life of a machine, and generally support it much longer," says Tyler. "As long as we can get the parts, even after that 15-year window, we will support a machine. Teknic is very compatible with that approach, and ClearCore was an easy choice."

By integrating Teknic’s off-the-shelf motion control components, Autometrix successfully deployed a proprietary CNC controller that offers the flexibility of custom software with the reliability of hardened industrial hardware.