Over the past five decades the industrial process of sheet metal fabrication has undergone many transformations and improvements. One of the most iconic names in this field of technology is John T. Parsons who developed one of the most important cnc machine tools in the industry. This tool could shape as well as cut metal and made the process of manufacturing much easier. The capabilities of such a device at the time would literally reshape the industry.
John’s idea however would not be born into the world easily and he had no financing available for his sheet metal fabrication cnc machine tools. Developing a tool that was fully automated such as his would require massive amounts of funding and official backing. Both of which he had none of yet still he filed a patent. Despite his determination to develop his dream MIT was developing something much similar and his work was regrettably cut short.
A team from MIT seized the opportunity to further develop Parson’s NC idea around 1950 and was able to patent the lsquo;Numerical Control Servo-System’ on August 14, 1952. Differing from Parson’s original punch card design, the design developed by the MIT group used three tracks to control the separate exes of the machine. Four more tracks encoded control information. Bendix, IBM, Fujitsu and General Electric have since purchased sub-licenses to build their own systems. You could say the rest is history.
The results of these early endeavors into automated cnc machine tools had overwhelming long term repercussions. Not only has efficiency, productivity, and quality gone up but prices for nearly every part of the process have been slashed due to these devices. Sheet metal fabrication alone has seen a tremendous decline in the need of manpower to operate facilities. Add to the fact that these machines can make any shape or form repeatedly without incident or errors and the industry is moving forward very quickly.
South Africa has been producing metals in one form or another since the first third of the nineteenth century. During the middle of the nineteenth century they began to enter into vehicle component construction both locally and abroad. Near the end of the nineteenth century South Africans showed their worth, determination, and ability by making 300,000 plus vehicles that spanned many commercial, industrial, and personal categories.
In this industry there are various tools that use systems much similar to current CNC machine tools. The tools that are essential to this industry include wood routers, turret punches, drills, and many other important tools. Currently new tools are made as needed and South Africa also produces many top CNC interpreters for various industrial fields. Sheet metal fabrication alone has seen many boosts to both efficiency and productivity.
South Africa also has some of the most heavy-duty construction and industrial equipment in the world due to the mining projects and structural steel production that makes up twenty-five percent of their manufacturing output. Upgrading to the latest in CAD/CAM systems is top on their priority list in order to keep ahead of other worldwide manufacturers and they have a great head start.
Luis Torres is Owner of CML Machine Tools, a South African based company specializing in CNC Sheet Metal Machinery. To get more information, visit CNC Sheet Metal Machinery Don’t reprint this exact article. Instead, reprint a free unique content version of this same article.