CNC is the acronym for Computer Numerical Control. It is an outgrowth of the older term "NC", which stands for just "Numerical Control". It refers to the idea of controlling machine tools programmatically via computer. With the older "NC" term, a computer need not be involved. The machine might be controlled using, for example, punched tape.
NC, and later CNC, allowed for tremendous increases in productivity for machine tools because the machines could be run automatically without requiring constant attention from their operator. Before the advent of such automation, there was a lesser automation opportunity in the form of hydraulic tracer systems. Such systems used hydraulics to cause the cutting tools of a lathe or mill to follow a template. The taper attachments available for many manual lathes are not unlike the hydraulic tracer capability, it's just that the tracer is capable of more elaborate templates than simple tapers.
But the advent of first NC and then later CNC radically increased the amount of automation that was possible.
What is CNC?
2016 03/28