third axis. For example (2,5,8) means you travel 2 spaces on the X axis,5 spaces on the Y axis, and 8 spaces up from the X-Y plane on the Z
axis. CNC uses this X-Y-Z premise when defining tool paths. The programmer tells the spinning cutting tool to travel to a point, such as
(3,5,6).
Before the invention of CNC machining, metalworking fabrication was performed by NC (numerical controlled) machines. These machines were designed and developed in the late 1940s and early 1950s by John T. Parsons, who worked in collaboration with MIT. The work being conducted by Parsons and MIT was commissioned by the U.S. Air Force as a means to develop a more cost-effective way to manufacture aircraft parts featuring complex curved geometries. Over the course of the decade, NC machining became the industry standard.
In 1967, the concept of computer-controlled machining began to circulate. In 1972, major developments in the evolution of CNC machining
began to take place, with the implementation of CAD (Computer Aided Design) and CAM (Computer Aided Machining). In 1976, the first 3D
CAD/CAM systems were introduced and by 1989, the CNC machines became recognized as the industry standard.
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