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