Bill, I discussed something similar to this in the late 80's with O.S. Kelly as a possible method of making an accurate plate pattern. For the casting pattern we would not have required steel, but could use any of a number of composite materials that would be somewhat easier to machine. I still think it was/is a good idea. Who knows, in another 10 years it might actually be economically feasible. Regards, Del Delwin D Fandrich Piano Designer & Builder Hoquiam, Washington USA E.mail: pianobuilders@olynet.com Web Site: http://pianobuilders.olynet.com/ ---------------------------------------------------------------- ----- Original Message ----- From: <BSimon999@AOL.COM> To: <pianotech@ptg.org> Sent: Thursday, August 19, 1999 1:19 AM Subject: Piano Plates by HS CNC milling. > A440A@AOL.COM writes: > > << Hmmm, OK, I see. Del is going to start out with a 3,000 lb. chunk of > steel > and a really good CNC milling machine, and cut that sucker out of a solid > billet! (?) >> > > Not so strange! > > I keep an eye on advances in high speed machining. It is depressing because > the trend is from a design on the computer screen to the CNC machine which > dumps out the final product. The romance of machining is going, fast. > > In the latest issue of "Modern Machine Shop" (see www.mmsonline.com ), in > an article titled "Boeing's One Part Harmony," pictures are shown of the > speed brakes for F-15 fighters. Formerly, the 11 foot long, three foot wide, > 1 foot deep part was made of 500 individual parts in three months. Now the > part is now made by HS CNC machining out of a single block of solid aluminum > in 30 hours at 40,000 rpm tool speed. It has numerous thin wall sections, > .040," and the entire part is made to about a thousandth of an inch > precision. The part is, of course, better and cheaper than the old. > > They also make a "porkchop" ( a landing gear bulkhead for a C-17 cargo plane) > - that looks remarkably like a piano plate, which is about 6 feet by 8 feet, > several inches thick, out of a solid block in 12 hours, a part that used to > take months to manufacture. > > This type of technology does tend to filter down to other industries, albeit > slowly because nothing else is a pricey as airplane parts. > > It is possible, though economically unlikely for the foreseeable future, to > build a piano, every part of which is made to a thousandth of an inch, > including the rim, soundboard and plate. You could slip a perfectly regulated > action out on one piano and into another and it would need no touch-up > regulation. > > The whole piano to a thousandth of an inch, never. Just the plate, its > supports and the bridges in relation to the plate, - why not? > > (Of course you must realize that the tuning of this piano will be done > perfectly in 4 minutes by a multi-armed robot with a positronic SAT brain, > and we will just buy one and chauffeur it around.) > > Bill Simon > Phoenix > >
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