Today we rely heavily on CNC or “computer numerical controlled” machines to create a vast array of the parts and products we rely on each day. CNC machine shops produce precise parts that go on to be used in everything from airplanes, to cars, to firearms, to children’s toys. CNCs create complicated parts quickly and flawlessly, able to reproduce them exactly each time owing to their use of a digital “blueprint” that tells the machine precisely what to do.
CNC Machines: A Historical Timeline
A modern CNC Machine shop typically contains lathes, milling machines, laser cutters, abrasive jet cutters, punch presses, press brakes, and a variety of other production tools, all of which utilise computer systems to control their movements. Lathes and milling machines are by far the two most widespread CNC machines; their history is discussed below:
Biblical era: Wood-working lathes are used for a variety of tasks, but no way to work metal through similar processes yet exists.- 1800: The first practical metalworking lathe is invented by Henry Maudslay. While this early machine was by no means complex—being just a machine tool meant to hold a piece of metal being worked—it allowed the metal to be rotated so that a cutting tool could machine the surface to a certain contour and shape, laying the foundations for all later lathes. The machine also included graduated dials on its handwheels so that the operator could accurately control the process.
- 1818: The first milling machine is invented by Eli Whitney. It was operated much like the first lathe machine described above, through the use of handwheels, save for the fact that the cutting tool was placed in the rotating spindle.
- 1940s-1950s: The first true CNC machines are developed out of the work of John T. Parsons. Following World War II, Parsons took up work producing helicopter rotor blades, which required the very precise machining of complex shapes—something incredibly difficult to carry off by hand. In a flash of inspiration, Parsons thought to use a very early IBM computer to help control the process, resulting in much more accurate contour guides. Parsons soon won a contract with the Air Force, who asked him to develop an “automatic contour cutting machine” to aid in aircraft production. These early CNC machines were massive and very expensive, so didn’t make it out of the aerospace industry until some years later.
- 1960s: The price and size of CNC machines decreased during the 1960s to a point where they could be used in a wider array of industries, spawning the first CNC machine shops. These machines were still more primitive than the ones we use today, relying on the use of tapes and a simple computer that had no “memory” capability.
- 1980s: With the advent of desktop computers, CNC machines are revolutionised, taking off to become the sophisticated means of production we know today. By the late 1980s, many small businesses have desktop computers and CNC machine tools, owing to their small size and increased affordability. Not long after, hobbyists join in on the trend, and begin obtaining CNC mills and lathes to use in their own workshops.
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