The bad thing about blogging is that you could do it 24 hours a day. Pardon my absence for the past week, but darnit, I've been busy.
Anyhow, a gentleman named Richard Thomas called me to tell me about his new book The History of Numerical Control for Machine Tools, 1944-88. The author, a 40-year veteran of General Electric, tells me the project is a "unfunded" effort is a labor of love at the request of the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. It seemed like an effort worth plugging.
It seems he is seeking a publisher. He explained it to me in e-mail this way. Below that is a partial table of contents.
E-mail: Now, if you know of a publisher who could provide this 360 page tome in soft cover for around $35, what volume would it take? As I may have mentioned, this is an unfunded, volunteered effort on my part for the benefit of future researchers, and the merely curious. Therefore, it has to be paid for by in-hand subscriptions before we can do anything. I wish it were otherwise, but we don't have the foggiest idea what the response will be, and the risk is too great for me to fund it. With no other options, we will have to have a local copy-house print them up in lots of 25 so we can get them out ASAP.
TABLE OF CONTENTS, Cont.
Subject Page
Record-Playback Era (magnetic tape), 1947 - 1960 42
A Photoelectric Forerunner to N/C, 1952 - 1953 44
The Mark Series Era, 1953 - 1966 45
Lee Foley, Medium Induction Motor Department 1953 - 1954 46
Bill Fisher, Sundstrand, 1955 International Machine Tool Show 48
General Electric development activity for the Mark Series 50
The Mark Century 100 Series, 1960 - 1974 51
102, 103, 1960 - 1974
100S, 120P 1964 - 1973
The Mark Century 7500 Series, 1968 - 1977 53
7500, 7543/4, 1968 - 1975
7542, 1970 - 1977
The Mark Century 8500 Series, 1973 - 1978 54
CommanDir, 1969 - 1974 54
The Mark Century 550 Series, 1972 - 1981 54
MC 1050XLO, 1974 - 1978 55
The Mark Century 1050 Series, 1976 - 1985 55
The Mark Century 2000 Series, 1982 - 1986 57
The Factory With a Future 1982 58
The Mark Century ONE Series, 1985 58
GE and Fanuc Announce Joint Venture 1986 59
Chapter 10
Patent Position 61
Chapter 11
Numerical Control Product Life Cycles 63
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