Ain-Shams University, Faculty of Engineering

Mechanical Power Engineering Department

The Future of CNC Machining

Submitted by: Amr Sayed Mohamed Section 3

 The Future of Production Manufacturing

Technology is changing at a rapid pace around us all time. The same is true when it
comes to cnc production manufacturing. It has been over 70 years since the first
servomechanisms machines shaped the world of production manufacturing.

The birth of CNC Production manufacturing

The first NC machines were built in the 1940s and 1950s, based on existing tools that
were modified with motors that moved the controls to follow points fed into the system
on punch tape. These early servomechanisms were rapidly augmented with analog and
digital computers, creating the modern computer numerical control (CNC) machine
tools that have revolutionized the machining processes and cnc production
manufacturing.

CNC Production Manufacturing as we know it.

Many improvements and new technologies have been implemented since then paving
the way for cnc production manufacturing as we know it today. The advancements
in cnc production manufacturing technology coupled with state of the art CAD/CAM
software have taken cnc production manufacturing to a whole new level. Multi axis cnc
machining, live tooling cnc lathes, automated loading andlights out cnc production
manufacturing just to name a few.
Production Manufacturing in the future.

3D Printing or additive manufacturing has been around since the early 2000s. There
has been a large growth in sales of these machines driving down the price substantially.
Architecture, engineering and construction (AEC), automotive, aerospace, dental and
medical industries, education, geographic information systems, civil engineering, and
many others have found these machines to be quite useful. Rapid prototyping and
intricate details are the big selling points of these machines. What about the world of
cnc production manufacturing? Will cnc machines become obsolete in the near future?
Will cnc production manufacturing become a thing of the past? Its hard to say if cnc
production manufacturing will succumb to this technology. Below youll see a video that
might make you really think about where production manufacturing is headed and what
the future holds for cnc production manufacturing.

Direct Metal Laser Sintering, also known as Selective Laser Melting, is a powder-based,
additive manufacturing process. Like SLS & SLA, the process builds in layers; however
the build layer thickness in DMLS is built at either 20 or 40 microns. Also, unlike SLS,
support structure is required to build DMLS parts since the weight of the parts in its
sintered state is heavy. An absence of support structure in the appropriate areas will
cause parts to severely warp.

In the process, a laser traces (essentially welds) the geometry in the X and Y axes from
the data in an .stl file. The build tray platform then descends vertically, allowing the Z
axis to be built. Before any of the part geometry is sintered, support structure is built to
the tray and then the bottom of the part before building the part from the bottom up.
Once a layer is completely built, a roller then evenly adds a new 20-micron thin layer of
powder over the top of the previously cured part. The process is then repeated until the
part is complete. This could very well be the future of production manufacturing
sometime in the near future. Cnc production manufacturing seems to have the stronger
foot hold in the world of production manufacturing, for now anyways.
Examine technological advancements in any industry and youll find some unavoidable
themes. Technology makes products shrink. It makes them more affordable and it
makes them faster and more versatile. Weve seen it in computers, which were once
refrigerator-sized, multimillion-dollar machines but now fit in one hand and sell for a few
hundred dollars. Weve seen it in publishing, where huge printing presses once churned
out millions of copies of books that now are beamed individually to Kindles or tablets
with the click of a button. Smartphones are the epitome of this trendcombining the
functions of a camera, computer, GPS, music player and phone into a package the size
of a deck of cards.

We are seeing the same trend transform manufacturing. Just as early advancements in
computing led to the personal computer, CNC technology is creating a new breed of
more personal manufacturing. The manufacturing of the future will not be a large,
lumbering industry that deals with massive inventory, international plants and huge
orders shipped halfway around the globe. It will be a more nimble, on-demand, flexible
industry that puts manufacturing technology into the hands of small and mid-size
businesses.

Technology is leading these changes. As CNC equipment becomes more versatile,

affordable, precise and easily operated, the cost curve of manufacturing in the U.S.
bends downward. Couple cost-saving technology with increased shipping costs, as
petroleum prices rise, and the cost of maintaining and estimating large inventories, and
you can see the beginnings of large-scale changes being led by manufacturing
technology.

According to the Wall Street Journal, U.S. manufacturing jobs fell by 35 percent
between 1998 and 2010, but since then have risen by 489,000, or 4.3 percent.
According to IHS Global Insight, an economic research firm quoted in the Wall Street
Journal, U.S. manufacturing jobs are forecast to climb 3.2 percent in 2012. The same
article reported that an MIT-sponsored survey found 39 percent of U.S. companies were
considering moving some manufacturing back to the U.S.

But this reshoring is not the only effect of manufacturing technology growth.
Manufacturing was once thought of as the bluest of blue-collar jobs. That, too, is being
changed by technology. Manufacturing now attracts a younger, tech-savvy workforce
and consumer base that understands the potential arising from the intersection of
computer technology and mechanical machinery. This is a dramatic departure from the
days when the industry was dominated by huge, expensive, single-purpose machines.
Todays CNC machinery can cut, mill, weld, route, drill, bevel and grind with precision at
a fraction of the price of the old single-function equipment.
Just as the increased affordability, advanced functionality and smaller size of computers
set off a wave of innovation throughout the economy, transforming everything from
music to publishing, advancements in CNC technology will transform a wide range of
traditionally blue-collar work. CNC machines are used in many industries and
applications and their effects are spreading across the broader economy.

CNC machinery can create metal art, build automobile components, manufacture
aircraft, produce heavy equipment and construct buildings. It can do the heavy lifting of
heavy industryfabricate pipelines and offshore oil rigsor it can be used in interior
design accents, fence building and sign making.

The diversity of CNC applications is leading to small businesses with increased

flexibility and versatility. Small contractors equipped with CNC technology can build
truck racks and automotive components, repair tractors or design and build signs.

In many ways, CNC technology is turning metal into the equivalent of wood. For years,
wood has been the preferred material for many applications like fencing and home
interiors, not because it is a superior material but because it is easy to work with. Now,
that also can be said of metal. With a CNC machine and a little bit of computer know-
how, anyone can build almost anything they dream up.

Thanks to rapidly evolving manufacturing technology, we are looking at a bright future

for a much more nimble and versatile manufacturing sector. Just like computer
advancements did the unthinkableput high-powered computer technology into an
affordable, wallet-sized packageCNC technology is changing the face of
manufacturing for a new generation.

PS: the last paragraph of the report is inspired by an article written by Mr. John Schohn