Universal Sander/Grinder?
 

I have just now noticed (and taken note) that swarf doesn't destroy
machineways, and grit does.

Doh. :)

If a universal roughing machine could dado a bookshelf, mill a ratchet
pawl, bore a drill jig, turn an M6x1x25 SHCS, route the edges of a
table top, saw the fretboard of a guitar, slot a lock keyway, copy a
door key, drill and tap its own spindle, and reproduce coarsely any of
its own parts, what operations might a universal grinding/sanding
machine carry out?

I'd think of belt sanding a wing spar, centerless grinding a 5/16 x 2
inch dowel pin, polishing a door knob, and much much more, all without
destroying itself.

You all know I am obsessed with the Holy Trinity of workpiece
production, workpiece reproduction (reverse engineering), and machine
tool self-reproduction (made possible by reverse engineering).

I think the Holy Trinity (hold your hand out in RH or LH 3D coordinate
system) of self-reproducing machine tool configuration would be the
coordinate measuring machine (and CAD or drafting board), the
lathe/mill/saw/planer/etc, and this universal sander/grinder, with the
CMM to the left (say), the more conventional machine tool in the
middle, and the grit generator off to the right, to separate the work
environments. Maybe in separate rooms....

What do you think? Do the chips, so to speak, fall this way?

Doug Goncz
Replikon Research
Falls Church, VA 22044-0394

Universal Sander/Grinder?
 

This impulse to separate grinder from rougher could end up as a request
to Smithy to add an accessory to the Super Shop. They already have a
belt sander for the far end of the headstock that separates that
function.

Doug