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.”
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.
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.
I recently had an opportunity to visit the technical education department at the Eleva-Strum high school. While I was in the shop, there was an eighth-grade class working on manual milling projects, sheet metal projects, welding projects, and brazing projects. These projects that they were making teach the students the fundamental principles of manufacturing. With this class, the students spend six days in each subject area, then they switch to another project. They learn the basics like how to read a tape measure, and how to use a dial caliper.
This book is an insight into how to start a student-run business in your school district. It offers a look inside Cardinal Manufacturing in the Eleva-Strum School District. It defines what a student-run business is and lists the benefits of a program like this. Check it out!
The workflow varies from shop to shop, but we will breakdown what it might take to process a CNC lathe part.
Spartan Manufacturing in the School District of Superior Wisconsin is on a mission to expose students to industry and the trades in their area, and to better represent all the post high school options available to students at Superior High School. They want to remove the stigma of a two-year technical degree or an apprenticeship program.
Adapting to the worker shortage in manufacturing is difficult. Some shops may choose to search more aggressively for employees, while others might invest in technology that helps streamline the manufacturing processes. Then there are other manufacturing facilities that may buy another machine shop to gain capabilities. Those are all ways to overcome the worker shortage, but this article will focus on how to introduce manufacturing to the younger generation to help fix the worker shortage.
The machinist’s role is to setup advanced CNC machines and monitor the cutting conditions as the machine makes parts. As the machinist makes the parts, they inspect the parts with inspection tools and adjust the CNC parameters to achieve a conforming part that is within specifications.
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.
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 code to program a G3 counter-clockwise arc on a lathe is: G3X______ Z_______ R_______
Cardinal Manufacturing is a student-run business in the Eleva-Strum High School. In a student-run business the students are responsible for all aspects of the business. It is a custom job shop that makes manufactures parts for community members and people throughout the country.
They are having an open house event on May 8th, 2024, from 4pm to 9pm. Come checkout what makes this program so great!
