The milling machine was originally a horizontal milling machine created by American E. Whitney in 1818. In order to mill the spiral grooves of twist drills, American J.R. Brown created the first universal milling machine in 1862, which was the prototype of a lifting table milling machine. Around 1884, gantry milling machines appeared. In the 1920s, a semi-automatic milling machine appeared, and the worktable used a stop to complete the automatic conversion of "feed-fast" or "rapid-feed".
After 1950, milling machines developed rapidly in terms of control systems, and the application of digital control greatly improved the degree of automation of milling machines. Especially after the 1970s, the digital control system and automatic tool change system of the microprocessor were applied on the milling machine, which expanded the processing range of the milling machine and improved the processing accuracy and efficiency.
As the mechanization process continues to intensify, CNC programming has begun to be widely used in machine tool operations, greatly freeing up labor. CNC programming milling machines will gradually replace manual operations. The requirements for employees will also be higher and higher, and of course the efficiency brought about will be higher and higher.
