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Just read in an old trade journal that a 3-axis mill from 1995 could hold a tolerance of +/- 0.001 with proper care, which honestly blew my mind.
Found it while cleaning out our shop's back office and it makes me appreciate the machines we run now, so what's the oldest piece of equipment you guys have seen still making good parts?
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corah753mo ago
The old Bridgeport manual knee mill at my first shop used to make me nervous, I thought anything pre-2000 was basically scrap. But then I saw a 1985 Mazak turning center in a job shop that still held tenths on a shaft job, and that really changed my mind. The guy had it leveled right and greased the ways every morning without fail. It wasn't fast, but it was dead consistent, which is more than I can say for some newer machines I've seen. Makes you wonder how much of our accuracy comes from the machine versus how much comes from the person running it.
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williamw755mo ago
Saw a Bridgeport from the late 80s still running at a buddy's shop. Thing was clapped out but the old timer running it could still hit numbers on simple brackets. Some of that old iron just refuses to die.
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