Even as long ago as twenty to thirty years ago, it was often the case that metal shops stayed the course, by using conventional machine tools. It took the advent of CNC machinery, as well as the new technology finally becoming more affordable and cost-effective, even for smaller shops, for this to change. The high degree of productivity that can be achieved with CNC automation was certainly an appetite-whetting inducement for metal shops. However, lower volume shops needed swaying. To make the investment attractive to this market was a puzzle that required strategy. Success came with the creation of CNC tools with easier programming. Conversational controls made the transition for smaller businesses easier, likewise features like canned cycles. With these features smaller shops could transition with less time, stress, income outlay and education to consider. Today, graphic CAM software is also far easier to attain and afford even with the budget of much smaller shops. The migration away from cutting tools that were in use from the sixties and well into the start of the nineties created a technological overhaul within the cutting industry and did much to level the playing field for machine shops of all sizes, all the while greatly aiding production for all shops.

Key Takeaways:

• Before advanced and graphics-based CAM packages became machine shop staples, it was usual for programmers to write code by hand.
• Programmers had to edit existing programs by hand to fit the shop’s needs. The other choice was to make use of complex and text-based Cam software.
• Up to the early nineties, cutting tool use did not advance much past where it was in the sixties. Today, however, modern CAM use allows shops to create complex geometries with off the shelf tools.

“Advances in CNC programing also included affordable graphical CAM software that is now common at all types of machine shops.”

Read more: https://www.ctemag.com/news/articles/technology-alters-cutting-world