CNC Machine Tool

Background

CNC or "computer numerical controlled" machines are sophisticated

metalworking tools that can create complicated parts required by modern technology. Growing
rapidly with the advances in computers, CNCs can be found performing work as lathes, milling
machines, laser cutters, abrasive jet cutters, punch presses, press brakes, and other industrial
tools. The CNC term refers to a large group of these machines that utilize computer logic to
control movements and perform the metalworking. This article will discuss the most common
types: CNC lathes CNC milling CNC Hoobing machines.

{Machining & CNC Manufacturing: A brief history

The machining or cutting of metals portion of manufacturing became important around the time
of the industrial revolution. In 1775, John Wilkinson invents a cannon-boring machine (lathe) in
England. He immediately adapted this machine for boring the cylinders for Boulton & Watt's
steam engines. This boring process was the only one of it's kind to produce the smooth, tightly
toleranced bores required of the cylinder of a steam engine.

A bit later in the year 1818 Eli Whitney (inventor of the cotton gin) invents a milling machine in
New Haven Conecticuit. Prior to the milling machine, a machinist's tools were primarily files
and required a highly skilled operator. The milling machine allowed a less skilled operator to
make the same quality of parts as the skilled operator with the file. This milling machine found
use making rifles for the government.

The spindle of Eli Whitney's milling machine was moved from being horizontal to being vertical.
This is commonly seen in the Bridgeport style knee-mill. The knee-mill is a vertical spindle
milling machine that can move the workpiece in the x, y, and z directions by increments of
0.001" by turning the appropriate hand crank.

The year 1952 brough Mr. John Parsons NC (Numeric Control) milling machine. Parsons
worked to attach servomotors to the x and y axis controlling them with a computer that reads
punch cards to give it positioning instructions. The reason for devising such a system was to
machine complex shapes like arcs that can be made into airfoils for airplanes. This was not a
trivial task to attempt with a manual milling machine, so the NC milling machine was born.

Todays modern machinery are CNC (Computer Numeric Control) milling machines and lathes.
A microprocesser in each machine reads the G-Code program that the user creates and performs
the programmed operations. Personal Computers are used to design the parts and are also used to
write programs by either manual typing of G-Code or using CAM (Computer Aided
Manufacturing) software that outputs G-Code from the users input of cutters and toolpath.}
History

Although wood-working lathes have been in use since Biblical times, the first practical
metalworking lathe was invented in 1800 by Henry Maudslay. It was simply a machine tool that
held the piece of material being worked, or workpiece, in a clamp, or spindle, and rotated it so a
cutting tool could machine the surface to the desired contour. The cutting tool was manipulated
by the operator through the use of cranks and handwheels. Dimensional accuracy was controlled
by the operator who observed the graduated dials on the handwheels and moved the cutting tool
the appropriate amount. Each part that was produced required the operator to repeat the
movements in the same sequence and to the same dimensions.

The first milling machine was operated in much the same manner, except the cutting tool was
placed in the rotating spindle. The workpiece was mounted to the machine bed or worktable and
was moved about under the cutting tool, again through the use of handwheels, to machine the
workpiece contour. This early milling machine was invented by Eli Whitney in 1818.

The motions that are used in machine tools are called "axis," and are referred
to as "X" (usually left to right), "Y" (usually front to back),
and "Z" (up and down). The work-table may also be rotated in the horizontal
or vertical plane, creating a fourth axis of motion. Some machines have a fifth axis, which allows
the spindle to pivot at an angle.

One of the problems with these early machines was that they required the operator to manipulate
the handwheels to make each part. Besides being monotonous and physically exhausting work,
the ability of the operator to make identical parts was limited. Slight differences in operation
resulted in variation of the axis dimensions, which, in turn, created poorly fitting or unusable
parts. Scrap levels for the operations were high, wasting raw materials and labor time. As
production quantities increased, the number of usable parts produced per operator per day were
no longer economical. What was needed was a means to operate the motions of the machine
automatically. Early attempts to "automate" these operations used a series of
cams that moved the tools or worktable through linkages. As the cam rotated, a link followed the
surface of the cam face, moving the cutting tool or the workpiece through a series of motions.
The cam face was shaped to control the amount of linkage movement, and the rate at which the
cam turned controlled the feedrate of the tool. These early machines were difficult to set
correctly, but once set, they offered excellent repeatability for their day. Some have survived to
this day and are called "Swiss" machines, a name synonymous with precision
machining.

Early Design to Present Day Operation

The modern CNC machine design grew out of the work of John T. Parsons during the late 1940s
and early 1950s. After World War II, Parsons was involved in the manufacture of helicopter
rotor blades, which required precise machining of complex shapes. Parsons soon found that by
using an early IBM computer, he was able to make much more accurate contour guides than
were possible using manual calculations and layouts. Based on this experience, he won an Air
Force contract to develop an "automatic contour cutting machine" to produce
large wing section pieces for aircraft. Utilizing a computer card reader and precise servomotor
controls, the resulting machine was huge, complicated, and expensive. It worked automatically,
though, and produced pieces with the high degree of accuracy required by the aircraft industry.

By the 1960s, the price and complexity of automated machines had been reduced to the point
where they found applications in other industries. These machines used direct current electric
drive motors to manipulate the handwheels and operate the tools. The motors took electrical
instructions from a tape reader, which read a paper tape approximately 1 in (2.5 cm) in width that
was punched with a select series of holes. The position and sequence of the holes allowed the
reader to produce the necessary electrical impulses to turn the motors at just the precise time and
rate, which in effect operated the machine just like the human operator. The impulses were
managed by a simple computer that had no "memory" capability at the time.
These were often called "NC," or Numerical Controlled machines. A
programmer produced the tape on a typewriter-like machine, much like the old "punch
cards" used in early computers, which served as the "program." The
size of the program was determined by the feet of tape needed to be read to produce a specific
part.
CNC LATHE
CNC Milling