The Lathe to CNC

The Lathe to CNC

Spin the work; hold the tool still. That is a lathe.

Egypt, c. 1300 BC. A bow lathe: one worker spins the wood with a strap, another cuts.

The pole lathe. A foot treadle and a springy pole; wood turners used it for centuries.

c. 1800. Henry Maudslay's all-metal screw-cutting lathe in London: a lead screw moves the tool at an exact rate. Identical threads, identical parts.

Belts and motors. The machine shop: overhead line shafts, then an electric motor in every machine.

1952. At MIT, a milling machine is driven by numbers on punched tape: numerical control.

Today. CNC lathes and mills run from CAD models and G-code; a machinist sets up, proves and inspects.

See it. The CNC mill under glass. It is cutting a part from the drawing on the screen beside it.

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