A History of Machine Tools

Machine tools have existed prior to the industrial revolution that brought modern tools to
the masses. Forerunners of the tools included things like potters wheels and bow drills,
which had been available in Ancient Egypt before 2500 BC, with lathes being available
across various regions of Europe since before 1000 to 500 BC.
It wasn't until the later Middles Ages that the modern concept of a machine tool actually
began to evolve into a major concept. These tools would make metal parts, including
machine-guided tool paths.
Clockmakers through the Middle Ages and Renaissance would help expand the human
technological concept of preconditions for industrial machine tools. Even Leonardo da
Vinci would give a helping hand to the evolution of tools.
Throughout the 18th, 19th and even the 20th centuries, those who would building
machine tools would often be the same people who would produce the manufactured
goods. However, these evolved into an industry for machine tools, where builders would
specialise in producing machine tools in order to sell them to other businesses and
individuals.

Historians of machine tools often concentrate on a number of industries that had a major
hand in spurring on the development of machine tools. In order of historical emergence,

there have been:

Firearms

Clocks

Textile Machinery

Steam Engines (stationary, marine, rail etc)

Sewing Machines

Bicycles

Automobiles

Aircraft

Many others could have an involvement with this list, yet they all seem to hold links to
the root causes already listed in the list above. For example, rolling-element bearings are
an industry on its own, yet the industry's main development drive were the vehicles
listed.
Machine tools existed prior to the revolution
The machine tool filled a much needed gap that was created by textile machinery during
the English Industrial Revolution through the middle to late 1700s. Until this time, the
machinery was mostly made from wood, which often included gearing and shafts. The
increase in mechanization often required more metallic parts, which were commonly
made of cast or wrought iron. Cast iron could be used to cast molds for larger parts
needed, such as engine cyclinders and gears, though it was difficult to work a file and as
a result could not be hammered. Room temperature wrought iron would be worked with a
file and chisel, which allowed it to be made into gears and other incredibly complex parts.
Henry Maudslay is often pinpointed as the reason behind the advancement in accuracies
of machine tools, being refined by Joseph Whitworth. Maudslay established himself as a
manufacturer and used a small shop in London around 1809. The traditional method of
producing surface gages was to use an abrasive powder that would be rubbed between
the plates, yet it was Whitworths contribution that allowed for the refinement of
replacing the grinding.
The US production of machine tools was a major factor behind the Allied victory at the

end of World War II. The production of machine tools tripled in the US throughout the war.
Its been written that that war was won just as much by machine shops as it was machine
guns.
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What is a Surface Grinder?

The Surface Grinding Applications
In your average grinding machine shop, the
most common piece of equipment youll find
is a surface grinder. Being similar to a multitoothed milling cutter, the surface grinder is a
highly important piece of equipment for all
builders, although it has a grinding wheel as
its cutting tool unlike the milling cutter. The wheel is responsible for removing smaller metal
chips, as the tiny chips occur due to the grinding wheels composition of thousands of cutting
edges.

The grinding wheel uses two different types of materials: silicon oxide and aluminium oxide.
Both play a vital role in the machine, yet aluminium is used when youre machining materials
with a high ductility and naturally silicon is used for materials that have a low ductility. The
grinding wheel has abrasive grains that produce a smooth end product and it doesnt matter
about the material thats being worked on. These particles are commonly coated with a
dressing of diamond, so materials like steel, glass and aluminium (amongst others) can be
ground. The surface grinder is used as a finishing operation more often than not.
A surface grinder has two basic types that both grind flat surfaces. A planer grinder keeps the
grinding wheel in a stationary position whilst moving the worktable, with the back-and-forth
motion having the ability to be controlled manually or mechanically (this can also be done
through hydraulic mechanisms on occasion). The grinder has a spindle thats used to rotate
the wheel and this can be placed vertically or horizontally, depending on the job. A rotary
grinder, the second of the basic type, has a revolving, circular worktable. The spindle-assisted
rotation can also be either horizontal or vertical as the grinding wheel rotates.

You should use a surface grinder for several reasons. Naturally, the most obvious one is to
remove excess material, yet a surface grinder is a machine capable of machining very hard
materials like steel and diamond. It produces a high quality finish on the surface of the
products.
Although its been around for quite a while, surface grinders have naturally evolved with time.
Portability issues have created a market for the user-friendly machine, with ergonomic
concerns also coming into play for market development. Grinders such as CNCs (Computer
Numerically Controlled) are available to all as the PC-based control system simplifies the
process, making the user interface easy to use.