Summary
The history of the development of numerical control (NC) machinery is reviewed to demonstrate how it was developed to meet the needs of the high-technology military users and how the technical barriers (as well as the cost barriers) created by this straightjacket are now being overcome. The expansion of its use in the USA, Germany and the UK is examined in detail. Key characteristics that can be used to identify potential users are discussed and the different organizational attitudes to its use in Germany and the UK are demonstrated. The results of a detailed survey of the use made of NC by companies in the north east of England are presented. Examples are given of companies experiencing problems arising from their adoption of NC and the lack of integration of the ‘NC philosophy’ into companies’ objectives in many cases is highlighted.
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© 1986 Springer Science+Business Media New York
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Beaumont, G., Chiles, V., Stafford, K.N. (1986). Impact of NC Machinery on Manufacturing Industry. In: McGoldrick, P.F. (eds) Advances in Manufacturing Technology. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-1355-8_60
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-1355-8_60
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4757-1357-2
Online ISBN: 978-1-4757-1355-8
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