I gave a classroom presentation in two engineering classes within the technical education department at a local middle school. The students were engaged in the mechanical clock presentation and asked me great questions.

Production machining means making a lot of the same parts with great accuracy. Factories use machines like CNC (Computer Numerical Control) machines, Swiss machines, and multi-axis turning machines to do this.

Machining could be a stressful job, but it is as stressful as you make it out to be. For example, there are many things to consider when machining parts, like quality issues, time deadlines, and machining conditions. These items may be stressful when you look at everything at once, but if you form a plan with many individual goals to meet it will add up to the end goal of making a quality part and on time.

Nestled in Eleva-Strum High School, Cardinal Manufacturing is revolutionizing technical education through its student-run business model. As a beacon of excellence, Cardinal Manufacturing in Strum, Wisconsin empowers students to gain hands-on experience in manufacturing while running a real business. This innovative approach not only equips students with invaluable skills but also positions the program as a leader in the technical education world.

A machine tool is a mechanical device that is used to machine metal components. The machine tool is essential in manufacturing processes and is used to cut, drill, and grind parts. A machine tool could be a lathe, mill, or a grinding machine. Machine tools are essential to making precision parts for production machining operations.

Precision machining is the process of removing material from the workpiece and holding a tight tolerance and finish on the part. The process of removing material from the workpiece is usually done with computer numerical controlled (CNC) machines.

Within the manufacturing industry there are many sectors and a lot of terms to know and understand. Here we will define what some terms are and how they relate to manufacturing.

• Manufacturing Automation: Is the use of technology and advanced machines to control the manufacturing of products. It may include the use of robotics or other equipment to aid in manufacturing.

• Manufacturing Business: An organization that uses raw materials, parts, or other components to make products. To make the products they use automated systems and advanced equipment.

The community support of the technical education program at Eleva Strum High School is impressively large and there are several reasons why. The technical education program operates as a student-run business that fabricates and machines parts for customers. The business is called Cardinal Manufacturing. The money made by the business is used to buy raw materials, upgrade equipment, marketing, cover the operating costs, and to pay the student employees.

The CNC Machining industry has many specialized terms for tooling, machines, and other technology. Here is our list of things to know about machining with CNC equipment.     

• Blueprint Reading - The term blueprint reading means that someone interprets ideas that are on a drawing or print.

• CAD/CAM Software – CAD is the acronym for Computer Aided Design. CAM is the acronym for Computer Aided Manufacturing. They are computer software that are used in the manufacturing industry.

• Caliper – A measuring tool that is used to measure internal and/ or external dimensions on machined parts.

CNC is an acronym for Computer Numerical Controlled. CNC is a type of machining practice. Besides CNC the other type of machining is manual machining. In CNC machining the workpiece is held in the machine and the CNC Programmer writes code so that the CNC machine can machine the workpiece. The CNC Machinist sets up and operates the CNC machine and oversees the machining process.