There are many terms to know and understand in the machining industry. If you are just getting started in the industry, we have designed this list to better prepare you for the job.
Machining.Blog® is a weekly blog focused on manufacturing career development. It features blog articles on the fundamentals of manufacturing for aspiring machinists. Our goal is to create an interest in manufacturing in the USA. Our writer Matthew Schowalter has worked in manufacturing for 24 years, and he covers the topics that matter to someone starting their career in manufacturing.
“The soft skills the machinist uses are the unseen tools in their box and can directly impact the success or failure of a dreamed after machining career.”
There are many terms to know and understand in the machining industry. If you are just getting started in the industry, we have designed this list to better prepare you for the job.
Over the last 5 years, I have been observing the manufacturing industry worker shortage. The drastic change that I have seen over my 24-year career is alarming. While most industries change over time, I believe the changes that are happening to manufacturing are more than that. We are in a worker shortage crisis.
So, you have finished your education, either in high school or post-secondary trade school or both, and you are ready to find that machine shop meant for you. Many people do not take compatibility into consideration when completing their job search, but they should.
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.
During my time operating the Machining Blog business, I have visited a few schools. I noticed one thing that was the same about their programs, and that was their 3D printers were just used to produce trinkets and not mechanical parts. I decided to create a project that could create many learning opportunities from it, and that project was to design and build a mechanical clock. The clock that I designed was based on a mechanical watch design, but I scaled the part size up by six times their actual size. I started the project by reading books on watch design and by taking apart watch movements. I learned along the way and then started designing watch movement parts in Solidworks CAD software. I then purchased a small 3D printer and started printing the parts. Once the gears started to mesh properly, I built a few prototypes along the way. With all my time that I invested in the project, it probably amounted to a couple thousand hours. The result was a clock that is pretty accurate for being printed, not machined.
There are fifteen parameters to be considered when analyzing a new part to be made in a CNC lathe. While this may seem like a lot of considerations, if you examine a part properly you will be successful in its implementation. Here are the parameters to consider and the questions to ask:
Communication and collaboration are important in the manufacturing industry. If we want to grow the industry, we need to keep up on the communication and collaboration. We must Communicate, Collaborate, and Connect and do it on a Consistent basis.
When you ask what machining means to me, I could go on for hours with stories about how I made complex parts on machines that are even more complicated than the parts themselves. Machining is by far more interesting than what most people know. From the challenges of implementing new complex equipment in the shop, to CNC programming, or even making complex parts in one setup. It is a career choice that most do not know how advanced it can be, especially the machining of today. Now, we can make parts in one setup that were once made in many setups on multiple pieces of equipment over a long-time frame. My career is a success story in manufacturing technology as I have embraced the technology of today and here is how I made it happen with six simple steps in career success.
Companies constantly seek ways to optimize production processes, improve efficiency, and maximize equipment investments. Dassault Systèmes, a 3D software pioneer, transforms this through DELMIA’s Factory Automation tools.
When planning a CNC machining process there are many considerations and options to choose. From cutting tool selection to cutting parameters, the choices have a major effect on the end results. Here is what it might take to define a CNC toolpath:
The use of 3D printing for making robotic end-of-arm tooling (EOAT) is a significant advancement in manufacturing. These components are crucial for industrial automation as they help robots boost factory production.
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.
When people hear the term "paperless," they typically associate the elimination of this office resource as an act that helps the environment. And while this is true, adopting a paperless manufacturing solution can do so much more. In addition to promoting a more sustainable business, going paperless can decrease operating costs, enhance productivity and help a shop floor work smarter (and not necessarily harder).
THE STEPS TO CAREER SUCCESS IN MACHINING
Get a Technical Degree – A solid educational foundation is a critical building block, you will make a lot more money in your career if you follow through with a Technical College education.
Serve a State Sponsored Apprenticeship – This is an excellent way to learn the skills of the trade and climb the pay scale also. It also will ensure that you are viewed as a professional in your career. By finishing an apprenticeship and becoming a journeyman, you will be put in a position to make a good wage for the rest of your career.
Never Stop Learning – Enroll in at least two specialized classes per year. It is an excellent way to build a great resume also, as it shows future employers that you are a dedicated career professional.
Become Proficient in Working with Others – This is the most important factor of the six steps. You will have more opportunities presented to you if you have the ability to work with everyone effectively.
Gain the Ability to Turn Manufacturing Issues into Career Opportunities - Some may look away from the major issues that hinder the shop. These are the challenges that build a great resume, so ask your boss how you can help fix the major issues they encounter throughout the shop.
The code to program a G3 counter-clockwise arc on a lathe is: G3X______ Z_______ R_______