The acronym CNC stands for Computer(ized) Numerical(ly) Control(led), and refers specifically to the computer control of machine tools for the purpose of (repeatedly) manufacturing complex parts in metal as well as other materials, using a program written in a notation called G-code. CNC was developed in the late 1940s and early 1950s by the MIT Servomechanisms Laboratory.
Tools with CNC variants
Description
The introduction of CNC machines radically changed the manufacturing industry. Curves were as easy to cut as straight lines, complex 3-D structures were relatively easy to produce, and the number of machining steps that required human action went way down.
In a production environment, all of these machines may be combined into one station to allow the continuous creation of a part involving several operations. CNC machines are nowadays driven directly from files created by CAD software packages, so that an assembly or part can go from design to production without any intermediate paper drawing work being required. In one sense, CNC machines may be said to represent special industrial robot systems, as they are programmable to perform any kind of machining operation (within certain physical limits, like other robotic systems).
CNC machines were relatively briefly preceded by the less advanced NC, or Numerical(ly) Control(led), machines.
External link
- Computers advance stoneworking technology – By Jill Critchley (Stone World; www.stoneworld.com), 10 Oct 2001
- GE Fanuc Automation Europe S.A.