In many cases, an NC polishing machine will not completely replace a polisher. For example, if you have thin, deep ribs in your workpiece, you may not be able to fashion a stone or other media into the holder to give you satisfactory results.

This is not to say that many other areas on the same workpiece could not be done with the NC polishing machine. It just may not be able to do the workpiece completely. The polisher is still required to apply his/her knowledge to program the machine with the right media and technique to attain the desired results. This is no different than having your CNC operators programming their own machines and applying their knowledge to a specific job.

There are some jobs that will be completely automated and can be done 100 percent in the machine. For example, some companies are polishing silicon wafers, medical components and aerospace parts without operator intervention other than programming and set-up. The type of work you do will dictate how much polishing automation can be achieved.

Polishers will still be needed to do some of the more intricate details. Keep in mind that an NC polishing machine is a robot that mimics the movement of a manual polisher. Its capabilities will, in part, be determined by how good you become in programming the motion you want it to repeat. What the polishing machine will do is work concurrently with the polisher(s). This will decrease the amount of time that the polishers will be exposed to the vibrations and frequencies inherent with the normal tools of their trade.