Boring can be done on any type of machine that is equipped to hold a boring tool and a workpiece and that is also equipped to rotate either the tool or the workpiece in the proper relationship. Special boring machines of various designs are used for boring workpieces that are too large to be mounted on a lathe, drill press, or milling machine. Boring and turning operations are also performed on large vertical turret lathes or on larger boring mills. Standard boring machines are able to bore or turn work of up to 12 feet (3.6 metres) in diameter.
Automatic control
To be truly automatic, a machine tool must be capable of producing parts repetitively without operator assistance in loading parts, starting the machine, and unloading parts. In this sense, some bar-turning machines are automatic. In practice, however, some machine tools designated as automatic are actually semi-automatic, since they require an operator to load the workpiece into the machine, press the start button, and unload the part when the operation is completed.
The tooling for automatic machines is more complex than for hand-controlled machines and usually requires a skilled worker to make the setup. After the setup, however, a less skilled operator can operate one or more machines simultaneously. Tracer lathes and numerically controlled machine tools are examples of machines that use varying degrees of automatic and semi-automatic control.
Tracer techniques
The tool slide on a tracer lathe is guided by a sensitive, hydraulically actuated stylus that follows an accurate template. The template may be an accurate profile on a thin plate or a finish-turned part. Although tracing mechanisms generally are accessory units attached to engine lathes, some lathes are especially designed as automatic tracing lathes. Optional accessories for use on tracing lathes include automatic-indexing toolheads and one or more cross slides for operations such as facing, grooving, and chamfering.
Tracing lathes can machine all common cylindrical shapes, straight and tapered shoulders, and irregular curves. Accessory tools permit facing, grooving, and chamfering operations. An unlimited combination of cutting speeds, feeds, and types of cuts may be used, including roughing cuts and finishing cuts. On machines equipped for automatic operation, changes in speed, feed, and cutting tools are automatic.
Numerical control (NC)
Many types of machine tools and other industrial processes are equipped for numerical control, commonly called NC. The earliest forms of NC were developed in the 1950s when the movements of the axes of machine tools were assigned numerical values to facilitate the replacement of handwheels and dials by control logic. NC requires accurate product design values; early systems were limited by the lack of detailed analyses for the geometrical drawings of the components to be manufactured. Later in the decade, this problem was overcome when computers were developed that could describe geometric tool movements as functions of a part-programming language. One of the best known of these early languages of tool instructions was APT (Automatically Programmed Tools).
A significant development of the early 1960s was a system known as Sketchpad, which enabled engineers to draw designs on a cathode-ray tube by using a light pen and a keyboard. When this system was connected to a computer, it enabled designers to study drawings interactively and facilitated the modification of their designs.
An NC system or device is one that controls the actions of a machine or process by the direct insertion of numerical data at some point; the system also must automatically interpret at least some portion of the data. Various kinds of numerical control systems use data coded in the form of numbers, letters, symbols, words, or a combination of these forms.
The instructions necessary for machining a part by NC are derived from the part drawing and are written in coded form on a program manuscript. The following kinds of data may be included on the manuscript: (1) sequence of operations, (2) kind of operation, (3) depth of cut, (4) coordinate dimensions for the centre of the cutting tool, (5) feed rate, (6) spindle speed, (7) tool number, and (8) other miscellaneous operations.
The coded information is punched into a ribbon of one-inch-wide machine-control tape with a tape-punching machine similar to a typewriter. The tape, usually made of paper or plastic, is inserted into the NC system, which is connected to the machine tool. The NC system interprets the information on the tape, thus activating relays and electrical circuits that cause the machine’s servomechanisms and other controls to perform a sequence of operations automatically. On some NC systems, the coded information is inserted into the machines on punched cards or magnetic tape instead of punched tape. The tape can be stored for future use on the same machine or on others like it at any location. NC machines can produce parts accurately to tolerances of 0.001 or 0.0001 inch (0.025 or 0.0025 millimetre) depending on the design of the machine, the NC system, and other factors, such as environmental temperature.
NC systems on machine tools can be classified into two basic types: (1) point-to-point and (2) continuous-path. Point-to-point systems, commonly used on machines that perform hole-machining and straight-line milling operations, are relatively simple to program and do not require the aid of a computer.
Continuous-path NC systems are commonly used on machines that perform contouring operations, such as milling machines, lathes, flame-cutting machines, and drafting machines. Program preparation for continuous-path machines is more complex and usually requires the aid of a computer.
Computer-aided machining
Computer numerical control (CNC)
Altering the operating procedures of early NC systems required changing the hardware of the machine tool itself. In the 1970s CNC systems, controlled by dedicated mini- or microcomputers, were developed to enable machine tools to be readily adapted to different jobs by altering the control program, or software. Consequently, CNC machine tools are easier to operate and more versatile than their NC counterparts, and their programming is simpler and can be rapidly tested. Since they have less control hardware, they are cheaper to maintain and are generally more accurate. CNC systems can be used with a wide range of machine tools such as milling machines and lathes. Many are equipped with graphic displays that plot the shapes of the components being machined. Some simulate tool movements, while others produce three-dimensional views of components.
When several CNC machine tools receive instructions for machining from a large central computer that stores and processes operational procedures, they are said to be under direct numerical control (DNC).