b'ASK FOR MULTITASKMultitask machines are practical and appealing.By Christopher Tate Young toolmakers and machinistsinnovative machines, early mod-frequently do not have the oppor- els usually were found only at large M anyofthemachinetunity to specialize as was done incompanies, such as Department of shopswhereIhavethe past. Additionally, I think its fairDefense contractors and medical worked relied on ma- to say students today are not fonddevice makers. Just the largest ma-chinists and toolmak- of handles and cranks after growingchine tool builders produced multi-ers who had specific skills. It wasup on video game controllers andtask machines, and small shops were common to hear people referred tosmartphones. And I think its fair tostrictly a fringe market. In the past as lathe hands or grind hands.say I would be the same way if I haddecade, the machines have prolifer-As the terms imply, these peoplegrown up with that technology. ated. Now it is normal to see a small were specialized, often running onlyThe impact of these conditionsshop with two or three multitask ma-one type of machine after honinghas altered the machining land- chines and none of the more tradi-their skills over many years. While allscape and machine tool design. tional turning and milling machines.of them were capable of handlingBecause fewer people are enter- So what is a multitask machine? other machines, they had founding the trade, there is tremendousThe answer depends on the person a niche that fit and had managedpressure on everyone in the trade towho is asked. In general, it is a single to master a particular type of ma- become more productive and flex- machine capable of performing mul-chine.This is what many of us thinkible. Multifunctional machine toolstiple types of machining operations of as old-school machining. are one of the innovations that ma- like milling and turning. The ma-Also common is the fact that thosechine tool builders have presentedchines are computer-controlled and specialists are retired or will be soon,to the market to address changeshold a plethora of cutting tools. It is causing a shift in the metalworkingin our workforce and our need foralso common to see the machines industry. Fewer people are enteringmore productive technologies. fitted with bar feeders or other au-the machining trade, and appren- Multitask machines have beentomatic loading devices. The goal is ticeships have all but disappeared.around for a few decades. Like allto load a piece of stock and remove 42SEPTEMBER 2023Multitask.indd 42 8/16/23 5:27 PM'