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Whether computer-aided drafting, robotics, machining, or design, technology students benefit from understanding and utilizing procedural and conceptual mathematics to solve problems.
In modern CAD and CAM manufacturing companies, engineers design parts for machines and consumable goods. Many of these parts are cut on CNC machines. Whether using a CNC lathe, milling machine, or router, the ideas and designs of engineers must be translated into a machinereadable form called G & M Code that can be used to cut parts to precise dimensions and tolerances. Machine operators and engineers must be able to read the G & M Code that forms the basis of communicating with CNC machines. If there is a problem in manufacturing a part, the ability to read and write G & M Code is crucial to getting production back on line quickly. In this article, the context and skills of using mathematics in a technology laboratory are developed around a G & M Code activity.
G & M Code in STEM Classrooms
An activity described in this article will teach students how to write G & M Code for several parts. The activity helps students develop both a conceptual and procedural understanding of mathematics. Teachers will be able to address some of the technology, engineering, and mathematical content of STEM. In addition, this project may be considered an example of authentic integration of mathematics and technology education based on modeling, not drill and practice (Daugherty, Reese Sc Merrill, 2010).
The teaching of G & M Code has a clear match with both Standards for Technological Literacy: Content for the Study of Technology (STL) (ITEA/ITEEA, 2000, 2002, 2007) and Principles and Standards for School Mathematics (NCTM, 2011). The five standard benchmarks in Table 1 identify outcomes that graduating students should understand and be able to do to demonstrate their technological and mathematical literacy. By tying these abstract concepts to real manufacturing applications, the teaching of Cartesian coordinates and G & M Code can help students develop mathematical and visualization skills that might not otherwise be possible.
Cartesian Coordinates and G & M Code
The first use of numerical control of industrial machinery occurred in the 1950s. In the 1960s, standardization of machine code was developed by the Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA). A...