Floor Mill 1
This knee mill was retrofitted for use with our G Code Controller by Mark Woodbury of International Tool and Mold and Fred Eady, intrepid engineer and writer for the Computer Applications Journal. Mark uses his machine to make parts under contract with the government for the space program, such as turbine blades and odd shaped components, like the key cap shown in one of the pictures. As a Beta site tester for the G Code Controller, Mark found a bug in the software while making a turbine blade using our look-ahead contouring to pre-calculate and smoothly cut in excess of 30,000 interpolations (a small file for Mark). We promptly fixed the bug, but needless to say, whenever Mark calls we tense up. Mark uses MasterCAM to generate the part program for complex surface models, then imports the NC code into our G Code Controller. Fred designed a printed circuit board to simplify translator wiring, and to implement spindle speed control electronics that he designed to work in conjunction with our controls. Every company should have guys like these pulling for them! Thanks for the rigorous workout, helpful insights, and for the photographs.
