[cey223]

Hello,

I am in training to become a cnc operator. I would like to advance into programming and I am looking for online training. My instructor has suggested cncci.com or Tooling U. I think Tooling U seems to be a little more comprehensive, but I would like to get some other input. Where can I get the best training? Which schools are accepted in the industry?

Thank You,

Chuck Yarosh
Cleveland, Ohio

[fixtureman1]

Hello,

I am in training to become a cnc operator. I would like to advance into programming and I am looking for online training. My instructor has suggested cncci.com or Tooling U. I think Tooling U seems to be a little more comprehensive, but I would like to get some other input. Where can I get the best training? Which schools are accepted in the industry?

Thank You,

Chuck Yarosh
Cleveland, Ohio

What kind of CNC training are you after Wood Metal laser or router

[poolrod2]

Hi Chuck, I went through Tooling U, it was a great course for learning, but companies only cared about job shop training and hands on skills. I also took Mastercam basic and advanced training courses and igetit Catia on line training. Nobody cared. So learn what you need to know, get the confidence, and get a programming job. I run 3 4 and 5 axis mills, program every job, at The Boeing Company. All they asked was if I knew how to square up a block, and can you program. I said yes.

[RFB]

cey223,

I was slow in school with exception of vocational machine shop. That was prior to the first NC machines. I worked in various tool and die shops running conventional machines. The first automated machine that I saw had a peg board in which you placed pegs to control the machines positioning. Soon after came the first NC machine. As I moved from one shop to another I began to notice a consistent pattern. They put the dumbest people in the shop on the NC machines and made the more capable machinist crank the handles. It was very confusing because when I would walk by one of NC machines there would be all kinds of complicated looking code on the CRT and yet there was a certified dumb ass running the machine. Eventually I ended up on a Kearney & Trecker die mill and spent several years running them. Die mills require a lot of Geometry and Trigonometry in order to chart the arc centers, start point and end point along with establishing the angles. I was working at Boeing Aircraft and their NC programming department could not deliver workable programs in a timely manor so they bought 9 CNC Hurco milling machines and put them in the conventional mill shop. They came to me and told me that the 9 machines were my responsibility. So there I was with 9 of those machines with all of the complicated looking codes on the CRT. I was frightened to say the least, but I had a job to do. The programming format was conversational so that eased the entry somewhat. On the die mills we use a sheet of scrap paper, a pencil, a scale, a compass and a Texas Instrument TI35 pocket calculator to constructed the Geometrical shape that we were going to machine. So I sat down with 9 conventional milling machine operators and proceeded to teach them how to operate the machines that I did not know how to operate. The first several lessons were teaching them Geometry and Trigonometry and showing them how to chart the coordinates. While they worked on their lesson I was reading the machine programming manual. It took three days before the light went on in my head. It was actually no different than the KT die mill, other than it was much simpler.

It was not long after when I left Boeing Aircraft. I bought my own CNC milling machine and that's when things really got crazy. I wanted to buy a copy of Hurcos operating software, so I thought. The machine dealer kept trying to tell me that I did not need it. Well I told you I was slow. The machine dealer was going out to call on one of his customers so he decided to take me along with hopes that he could get through my thick head. As you probably already know my machine came with the operating system installed. When the shop owner showed me that he used a CAD/CAM program to develop tool paths I said to myself; well he you go again, you've bit off more than you can chew. The shop owner was running Mastercam v5 which was current at that time. So now I comprehended what the dealer was trying to tell me. He had never mentioned anything about the price so that was the next punch to hit me between the eyes. I purchased Mastercam v5 @ $14,000.00 and it came with 20 hours of tutoring. The dealer still owes me 20 hours of tutoring. Three days after purchasing Mastercam I was cutting my first multi-surface tool path. Had I have known what I was doing then I would have purchased a CNC machine with conversational format. God really does watch out over fools. With conversational format I would still be writing the first CNC program.

So the purpose for this editorial is to suggest that you first become proficient with Geometry and Trigonometry along with learning to operate CNC machinery. Once you have mastered operating CNC machinery then learning to program will come much easier for you and it will make you a better programmer than a person that does not have machine experience. Although I have purchased several Mastercam upgrades I still have the Mastercam 5 package. I asked CNC Software Inc. about the possibility of allowing v5 to be distributed with a 'crack file' for the purpose of using it as an entry level educational program. In their glowing ignorance they said absolutely not. They're so worried about protecting v5 which will only run in 1st version of Windows yet they released versions clear up to and including vX that at one time could be easily obtained online with a crack file.

All else aside I found Mastercam v5, v7, v8 and v9 to be very intuitive. In my case the program pulled me right through the learning process so that says a lot about it. I have seen the vX and up interface and I don't care for them at all, but I'm old and us old people don't like change.

Ron

[lasadave]

My suggestion is to visit the shops in your area, talk to the managers and ask them. If you find a place you'd like to work
or see an opportunity, learn that type of m/c controller (fanuc, mazak, haas or whatever).

I would also are what shop owners or supervisors are looking for in a programmer or operator.

In Australia I would suggest you go to TAFE and learn, I'm not sure if the US has something similar.