History of Machining

Milling is the act of removing metal or other solid material from a chunk of metal or material in order to produce a given shape. The recorded first milling machine was in the early 1800’s. It was a machine that would rotary file, and was produced by placing a circular cutter with fine teeth in a lathe. Rotary filing and milling were developed to the reduce time and physical effort required to file by hand. It is possible that the history of milling could date back as far as Jacques de Vaucanson work about 1760.

Between 1814 and 1818 Joseph W Roe produced the first true milling machine. Yet a great many different inventors had a part in developing the milling machine as it is known today. People like Robert Johnson, Simeon North, Thomas Blanchard, and even Eli Whitney. The true origins of milling may never be known. From 1840 to 1860, the milling machine grew in ability. The Lincoln miller was developed as the standard of its time. There was one flaw in the process. They were unable to perform vertical positioning.

In 1862, Joseph R Brown at the request of Frederick W Howe designed and made the fist universal milling machine. It was considered universal because it was ready to do almost any milling operation. It was the first machine that allowed for milling spirals such as the flutes of twist drills.