Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Re: re: rE: RE:hand jive

ballendo@... wrote:

> The point I'm making which seems lost is that if you use the "jog"
> function (keys or wheel), YOU ARE MANUAL MACHINING! You're
> just "turning" a different "wheel"(by pushing a button)!

I understand what you're saying here, but it's still different than real
manual. Not everything I do is done to numbers. Sometimes it's just
eyeball work, or whittle to fit. Full manual works best here.
Also, for really shakey setups, I'd vastly rather be able to feel what's
going on. (even though I'd really rather watch from across the
room...<G>)

> I would LOVE to be able to experience the production of the wartime
> (WWII) factories. Not saying I'd love the environment, but every time
> I'm at an airshow and see the insides of those old birds, and realise
> EVERY PART was made without CNC.

Other aspects of WWII mfg are equally impressive, one of my Lindsay
reprints mentions the method of machining the huge gears used to rotate
the 16" gun turrets on the old battleships. Cumulative error around the
circumference of that 20+' dia gear was only a couple thou. That would
be impressive with today's equipment, it's astonishing for the era.

Back to the manual debate, I have to fess up to a personal bias here.
Much as I love high tech and lust after state of the art machinery, I
have a real facination with anything that requires manual manipulation
and real -skill-. Thus, my strong interests in blacksmithing, scraping,
metal spinning, welding, and yes, manual (real manual) machining.
Despite my tech facination, I sort of rebel against automation by
learning to do it the hard way first.

If someone only has one CNC machine and has the option of handwheels,
I've vote for handwheels as long as they are the safety type.
I used to run a machine with all the jog features you could want. Ever
go to jog a set amount and after the noise abates, realize you'd left
the jog increment set a decimal place too course or maybe forgot to
switch from the Z axis to the X axis? If course one should always check
first, which insures it's something that'll get forgotten sooner or
later. Same thing? Hmm, in my book, not exactly. Jog functions on a CNC
to me are more like ultra-Cadillac power feed functions.
Besides, I'm too lazy to stand there and hold a jog button to flycut a
part, I'll use MDI mode for that sort of stuff.

Jon