CNC Technology Brings Out Hidden Talents in Disabled Children.

This article relates how computerized numerical control (CNC) technology helped the disabled students in the Hialeah Middle School in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The CNC equipment makes it possible for students to define their ideas on the computer, using special interface equipment, and then watch their designs be built before their eyes. The fact that they can use the machine's capabilities to build beautiful and functional objects without help from another person enhances both their enthusiasm and their self-esteem. The special education classes at Hialeah Middle School include students who are mentally handicapped, deaf, autistic, blind, and physically impaired. The school selected Techno's DaVinci, a unique tabletop machine, suitable for a wide range of applications, including model making, wood-working, plastic fabrication, and sign making. The DaVinci is slightly different from the more common gantry style machine because it moves the workpiece as well as the cutting spindle. Along with the DaVinci machine, the school got the IMS CO2 system, which allows students to quickly, easily, and inexpensively design and produce finely machined CO2 metric 500 racing cars that meet the specifications for Technology Student Association competition.