Although the idea had been around for some time, the first Numerical Control concept wasn’t developed until 1949. John T. Parsons, an early computing pioneer, developed it as part of an Air Force research project carried out at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). An experimental milling machine was built at the institute’s Servomechanisms Laboratory, with the goal of using motorized axes to produce helicopter blades and stiffer skins for aircraft.
Parsons Corporation in Traverse City, Michigan, got to work on the first system even before the MIT collaboration. Parsons was able to use an IBM 602A multiplier to calculate airfoil coordinates. The data points were fed into a swiss jig borer by feeding punched cards into the system. Preprogrammed information could be used to produce parts for helicopters; this was the precursor to CNC machine programming.
John T. Parsons
The idea was further developed and, in 1952, Richard Kegg (in collaboration with MIT) introduced the Cincinnati Hydro-Tel, a 28-inch vertical-spindle contour milling machine. Its commercial introduction came with a patent for a “Motor Controlled Apparatus with Positioning Machine Tool.” The initial prototype, although it was operated using eight-column paper tape, a tape reader, and a vacuum-tube electronic control system, became a focus for future developments.
Early CNC machines in the 1940s and 1950s used punched tape, which was then commonly used in telecommunications and data storage. This technology was replaced by analog computing technologies. From the 1960s into the 1970s, digital technologies emerged, making the production process automated and more efficient.
Parsons was awarded for his early work. In 1968, he received the first Joseph Marie Jacquard Memorial Award from the Numerical Control Society. The Society of Manufacturing Engineers awarded him an honorary plaque in 1975, which named Parsons “The Father of the Second Industrial Revolution.”Re