[jimmyjames1981]

For my job we have required classes we need to take and they base our pay on what classes you have completed. The first class in intro to precision machine. The shop at the college has zero machines with cnc control and also have zero machines with a DRO. One entire class is dedicated to filing a round bar into a square bar by hand, im not sure what the point of that is but ok.... another class is dedicated to hand filing an 1/8" thick disk into a sprocket..... all machine shop classes are in the same shop, from beginners mill/lathe/grinding , intermediate mill/lathe/grinding machine and the advanced. so i ask myself a question, what is so advaced about zero machines with zero cnc control, i would think an advanced class would involve stuff like 5+ axis programming and machining.... You know i can see starting out on all manual machines and learning all of the basics, but.... what good does this training program do when 99% of the machines at my job are all haas mills and lathes, there is 1 tool room lathe with a dro at my work but..... also the shop at the college has no cad for drawing parts, and the instructor has no experience in it either... so if one has no training on any type of cnc, no cad/cam or any type of g-code training... what good does any of this do???? There are a few people at my work going through all of these classes thinking they will know it all when they are done and will be a shoe-in in the tool and die department, but they will not have any type of drawing, programming or cnc skills.... I forgot to mention that the in-class project for the class is turning a piece of hex bar stock into a center punch.... really???

[txcncman]

Yes. The educational system is broken. This is not new news. The employer system is broken. This might be new news to a few. I tried, beginning in 2004, to get a decent machinist training program going in the DFW metropolitan area. In 2012, I gave up. The main problem with all of the training programs I have surveyed is not enough hours in the classroom or the lab (shop). The secondary problem is little or no support from the industry in the way of higher wages for formally trained people and supporting the training programs with scholarships for students, cash donations and donated machines and tooling - and - donated time from experienced employees to teach these courses. Most employers will not pay for training of their own employees. They certainly will not pay to train a person that may go work for their competition. Because of all these reasons, the machining and manufacturing industries continue to suffer with a lack of well trained personnel. The answer is blowing in the wind.

[B-RAD]

Blowing in the wind huh? My job is entirely based on wind... Weird...

[txcncman]

LOL. When you find the answer, post it here.

[awerby]

The schools are paralyzed with fear about students hurting themselves with machinery and suing them. So they give them files and a piece of metal, and figure they'll stay busy for the allotted number of hours without doing themselves too much damage. And if they ever do get to use a machine to remove metal, they'll be in a better position to appreciate what it does...

Andrew Werby
www.computersculpture.com

[B-RAD]

Which reminds me of that kid vs lathe video!