History of development of metal-cutting equipment
Today it is impossible to imagine life without metalworking machines. Whether it's a car or an ordinary screw, it would be impossible to create all this without having machines. No one knows exactly who first created metalworking machines. It is known that the first mention of metal-cutting lathes was somewhere in the first half of the 18th century, but since there were no mass orders for products yet, these machines did not become widespread. The history of the development of metalworking machines can be divided into several stages:
1. The beginning of the era of metal-cutting machines.
In 1718, the Russian scientist and mechanic Andrei Konstantinovich Nartov was sent by Peter I to the countries of Europe to study turning. After analyzing and studying the methods of metalworking, Nartov decides to improve the machines used in his workshop and creates the world's first screw-turning machine (Figure 1) in the world, which had a mechanized caliper and a set of interchangeable gears [1].
Figure 1 - Nartov screw-cutting machine.
However, the fate of this invention (as well as many Russian inventions) was very sad. It was forgotten after the death of the scientist and in 1800 was reinvented by Henry Maudsley (Figure 2) [2].
Figure 2 - Maudsley screw-cutting machine.
A little later, the inventor Eli Whitney created the world's first milling machine (Figure 3), thanks to which he managed to fulfill the order of the US government for the production of 15,000 guns in record time (2 years) [3].
Figure 3 - Whitney milling machine.
Thanks to these inventions, it became possible to create more complex mechanisms, steam engines (including the first steam locomotives).
2. The emergence of mass production.
Thanks to steam engines by the middle of the 19th century, groups of lathes and milling machines were driven by steam traction (Figure 4), which marked the beginning of large-scale production [4].
Figure 4 – Workshop with milling equipment.
At first, the industry satisfied only military needs (firearms, artillery, steam engines for warships, etc.). However, by the end of the 19th century and by the beginning of the 20th century, the automotive industry was actively developing and electrification was carried out everywhere. In order to make the car mass-produced and affordable, all parts and assemblies began to be manufactured on production lines with metalworking machines, which allowed Henry Ford to produce 15 million Ford T cars at one time [5].
After the First World War, a new round of development began in the manufacturing industry. Enterprises are beginning to massively use revolver machines (Figure 5).
Figure 5 – Turret lathe.
On such machines, parts were made with a pre-configured tool, which saved time on changing the tool. Which gave the prerequisite for the creation of the first machines with numerical control (CNC).
3. The era of production automation. CNC machines.
In the 50s of the 20th century, the performance of universal machines hit a practical ceiling. Humanity is faced with the question of automation of production. In addition, such complex aggregates as a jet engine began to appear, aircraft construction is actively developing, in which parts of complex aerodynamic shape are used. To solve these problems, a CNC milling machine (Figure 6), created by Bendix Corp., appears for the first time in the USA [6].
Figure 6 – Bendix Corp. machine tool
The introduction of these machines was very rough. Entrepreneurs were distrustful of the new technology. All control programs were entered into the machine and stored using punched tapes (Figure 7).
Figure 7 – Punched tape.
The first CNC machines were incompatible with each other and transferring the program from one machine to another was very problematic. To solve this problem, the Electronic Industries Alliance company developed a universal programming language G-code in the early 1960s [7]. After 1965, due to the rapid wear of outdated tools, new materials were developed for the cutting tool, which increased its operating time.
In the USSR, CNC machines became widespread in the 1980s with the development of control units "Electronics NC-31" (for lathes) (Figure 8) and 2P22 (for milling machines).
Figure 8 – 16k20f3c32 with rack "Electronics NC-31"
In the 1990s, due to the rapid development of electronics and the mass introduction of replaceable multi-faceted cutting plates, machine tools receive a new development. The modern machine does not have a gear box. Everything is controlled by electronics (Figure 9).
Figure 9 – Modern milling machine DMC 1150 V.
At the moment, the process of development of metal-cutting equipment does not stop and continues to develop in the direction of automation, increasingly replacing universal machines and manual labor.
List of sources used:
1. Internet resource – "https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nartov,_andre_
Konstantinovich".
2. Internet resource – "https://stimul.online/articles/science-and-technology/stanok-dlya-promyshlennoy-revolyutsii/."
3. Internet resource – "https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitney, _Eli."
4. Internet resource – "https://autohis.ru/par18.php."
5. Internet resource – "https://www.sports.ru/tribuna/blogs/f1v3ttel/2544718.html."
6. Internet resource – "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bendix_Corporation."
7. Internet resource – "https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/G-code."