From medical to agricultural and everything in between, all manufacturers are now looking for revolutionary machines that increase the manufacturing process, and CNC Machining is the most productive among all. Due to the need for complex aircrafts parts and advanced machinery, CNC was introduced shortly after World War II, but now, CNC Machining is dominating the manufacturing process, enabling faster production around the world. From simplified programming language, improved engine communications, and customization, the industry has seen advancement at its best, which is why CNC manufacturing is the future revolution for industrial manufacturing.
What is CNC Machining?
CNC refers to (Computer Numerical Control), where industrial machines are connected to a computer and controlled by programmed software, allowing the user to create a design and control the machine to design the product. Traditionally, it was made with punch batches, but now, the options are unlimited.
CNC machines combine a complete list of functions such as drilling, milling, routing, and cutting, making them remarkably versatile.
As CNC machining does not need to be manually controlled while they work, this allows repeated work without any hassles. A huge advantage of the process is that CNC machines can be left to work with minimal human involvement, providing a much higher level of productivity and performance.
Major Advantages of CNC Machines
Operational Flexibility
Whether you are a new user or an experienced one, in the CNC Manufacturing industry, you are just required to change the program, and your job is done in the shortest period of time. It allows unlimited capabilities as the setup is easy to operate, and CNC machines run on a single program multiple times.
Now, there are CNC machines that do not even require an operator as they are equipped with CNC tools that automatically work, and if there is an emergency such as breakage, low level of oil etc. then the tools are programmed to call the operator, wherever they are.
Rapid growth
There was a time when CNC machines were used in large industrial manufacturing and factories. But now, the small business and general industries are also using powerful CNC machines to produce their product, which has created a potential market of CNC machine parts.
Mobile CNC machines
Past CNC machining used to be large and computer operated, but the newest game-changing Mobile CNC machines include CNC software technology with the features of portable machining through mobile devices. There are so many small devices being developed, which can easily create larger projects with thousands of tasks over and over again.
Mobile CNC machines are indeed the future of manufacturing around the world.
Manufacturing Developments
CNC machining is an essential part of the manufacturing industry, and it is important that they are also set to continue their exceptional contribution to large manufacturing organizations and industries worldwide. Talking about manufacturing, complex surfaces with high precision are impossible to work on and require a tremendous amount of labor. CNC has made it easier to manufacture complex surface with less effort, which is the most important advantage of CNC machining.
History & Evolution of CNC Machines
CNC machines revolutionized the manufacturing industry first, with the use of punch tape application that used to be programmed with manufacturing instructions. But the faster and efficient CNC machining belongs to John T. Parsons, who created NC machines in the late 1940s.
Types & Applications of CNC Machines:
- 5-axis & 6-Axis – CNC machining is done perpendicular and rotary axes.
- Drilling – Spinning and moving the drills into contact with the material.
- Lathes – Lathes make contact with the material by moving a cutting tool until it touches the spinning material.
- Routers – Used for cutting complex shapes and models from metal layers.
- Milling – most commonly used CNC machines that involve rotary cutting tools to remove material.
- Plasma Cutters – Used for cutting 2D shapes and need less power than routers
- Laser Cutters – Almost similar to plasma cutters, but done with plasma cutters.
Advancements in the CNC Machine Working
Regardless of its usage, several new techniques and programs have emerged in the last few years. Here are some of the latest developments in CNC Machining-
Connectivity & Monitoring
With more software are being developed for big data insertion, companies are adding automation, control and monitoring features to their machine working. This has made communication between machines and between user and machines better and advanced.
Now, companies are able to improve the capability of their manufacturing and get overall insights of machining process that was not possible a decade ago.
The 5-axis technology
5-Axis CNC machines have been offering uncountable possibilities for manufacturing and cutting materials. The coordinative motions allow the machine to work on complex shapes with higher cutting speed and efficiency. While using 5-axis machines, the device and the part in motion support the cutting tool to remain tangent to the cutting surface.
4th generation control has been offering high speed and quality machining. Plus, the new adjustment offers more precision with the same machining times or the same precision with shorter machining times. The innovative turning centers are able to use servomotors instead of spindle motors for rotary tools. Using each of the servo-axes implementing multi-hybrid drives as rotary tool adds to the resizing of machine tools, with advantages in terms of costs.
In the next few years, we will be able to see intelligent, more connected machines. These CNC machines will determine on their own, gradually requiring less interaction with, and dependency on, their supervisors.
