CNC Instructor's Curriculum:

The need for higher level CNC training

You’ve probably taught many basic CNC courses. Since your students are at entry level, you’ve likely been a little frustrated at times. Just about the time your students are beginning to catch on to one topic, it’s time to move on to another. While you’d like to take your presentations to the next level, there just isn’t time – and doing so may confuse students more than help them. When students complete your basic course, they’re ready to begin working with CNC machine tools – but it’s unlikely that they have them mastered.

While your past students may not have been experts coming out of your course, at least they did receive formal training. There are many people working with CNC machines that did not. Maybe they’re self-taught. Maybe they learned what they know from others on the job. Maybe they attended the quickie sessions held by machine tool builders. In any event, they too are not taking full advantage of all their CNC machines can do.

While the sheer productivity of CNC machines often masks inappropriate methods, companies are becoming more and more concerned with their CNC machine tools. Changes in manufacturing including lowered lot sizes, shorter lead times, and improved quality requirements (among other things) have most CNC-using companies struggling to maintain profit margins. They’ll need to improve their methods if they are to remain in business.

The most basic objective of this course curriculum is to help instructors relate concepts, techniques, and ideas that will help students make they’re CNC machining centers and turning centers more productive. Since it’s aimed at CNC people who already have some CNC experience (we recommend at least six months) you’ll be drawing from an entirely new potential student base. And you’ll finally be able to take your presentations to the next level!

Module 1: Basic premises

This short but important module lays the groundwork for what is to come. Included are presentations that acquaint students with important needs of CNC using companies. We discuss application versus utilization and machine utilization versus personnel utilization to help them understand the reasoning behind improving CNC machine utilization. We also introduce the four CNC-using company types and discuss factors making up a company’s corporate identity. Finally, we discuss the importance of value added principles in the CNC environment.

Module 2: Review of CNC basics

Since you won’t have control of how much previous experience your students have (aside from setting some pretty broad prerequisites), you’ll want to make sure that they have a good grasp of basic CNC principles before digging in to more advanced topics. Again, many students coming to this course will be (for the most part) self-taught. It’s likely that they’ve missed out on some important basic concepts and techniques. In the advance courses I’ve taught myself, I’m always surprised at how often a so-called expert is unfamiliar with a very basic CNC feature or function. This module allows you to review the basics using our proven key concepts approach. (This is the same approach used in our basic CNC course curriculums.) There are ten key concepts. We begin each key concept by introducing the reasoning behind the key concept. Then we address how the key concept applies to machining centers and then to turning centers. Again, this is a review. Students should be quite familiar with the presentation –and if they are – you’ll be able to buzz through quite quickly. But, if they’re questioning each step along the way, it should be taken as a signal that more basic training is needed.

Module 3: Advanced implications of basic CNC features

Many CNC features have multiple uses. But most basic CNC courses introduce only the most important use. Additionally, most basic courses don’t show all implications related to how a given feature can be best used to meet the company’s specific applications. If it’s a basic function, and if it’s not commonly addressed in a basic CNC course, it’s fair game in this module. Included in this lengthy module (the longest of the course) are presentations on parameters, N words, G codes, M codes, and other CNC words. We go over each code, one by one, and in numerical order. We also discuss advanced applications for tool offsets, fixture offsets, and wear offsets. Since we show so many alternative methods of handling basic CNC functions, there’s plenty of audio guidance during the slide show to help you prepare to teach this module.

Module 4: Advanced CNC features, functions, and concepts

There are many CNC features that are not addressed in basic courses. Admittedly, many of these features will not be of interest to a given CNC user. However, this module gives you the presentation material you need to discuss features like advanced interpolation types (helical, cylindrical, polar coordinate, and nurbs), scaling, mirror image, coordinate rotation, and three dimensional coordinate conversion. We also include presentations on certain machine accessories like bar feeders, index chucks, U axis, and part catchers. Finally, we provide materials for teaching some important CNC concepts like tool life management, qualifying CNC programs, and appropriate documentation.

Module 5: Parametric programming

We’ve often said that parametric programming is CNC’s best kept secret. There are still many in the industry that don’t know what it is, let alone how to take full advantage of it. These materials allow you to dive into parametric programming as deep as you want to go. We stress Fanuc’s version of parametric programming – custom macro B (the most popular version). If you just want to present a cursory view of what it is, you’ll just be acquainting students with it’s applications and basic features. This can be done quite quickly. But if you want to present a full course, these materials still allow you to do so. With limited time for practice (practice exercises with answers are also provided), this full course can be completed in about 16 hours.

Module 6: Setup time reduction

All CNC using companies are concerned with how long their machines are down between production runs. This module lets you first present the principles of setup time reduction (that can be applied to any form of production equipment). We then offer specific CNC-related techniques to improving setup time in the same order setups are made (tear down, work holding setup, cutting tools, program zero assignment, program loading, program verification, and first workpiece inspection).

Module 7: Cycle time reduction

how long it takes to complete their production runs. As with setup time reduction, this module lets you first present the principles of cycle time reduction. We then offer specific techniques to reducing cycle time in four areas, workpiece load/unload, program execution time, tool maintenance, and preventive maintenance.

Module 8: Spindle probe programming

Actually, the student manual includes discussions on several types of probes (spindle probes, tool touch-off probes, and tool length measuring probes). However, the slide presentation is limited to spindle probes. Admittedly, most spindle probe uses depend solely on the probing programs supplied by the probe manufacturer. Only a small percentage of probe-using companies develop their own probing programs. For this reason, most students may not be very interested in learning how probes are programmed. You may elect to simply introduce the basics. But if you do need to teach a full course on spindle probe programming, these materials let you do so. Presentations include introduction to probe programming, applications for probing, how the probe works, calibration techniques, and writing spindle probe programs.

Instructor materials

Microsoft PowerPoint slide presentations - PowerPoint is fast becoming the presentation software of choice by most presenters. These presentations total over 3,000 slides to provide your visuals for the entire course. Note that they’re developed in PowerPoint 97 (which is part of Microsoft Office 2000). These presentations are included on a cd and most include audio narrations. There are ten slide presentations included on the cd-rom. Each is locally named from INTRODUCTION.PPT through MODULE 8_SPINDLE PROBES.PPT. These slide presentations can be accessed right from the cd-rom drive or if your hard drive has the room, you can copy them to your computer’s hard drive (there’s over 300 megs of data). Each slide includes a visual (in the form of a book icon) that lets students know the page number in the student manual that is currently being discussed.

Guidance during slide shows - Most slide shows includes audio narrations (we call guidance) to help you understand how to make your presentations. Note that these narrations are not intended for your students. Each is directed at an instructor getting ready to teach the course (they help with preparation). A special icon on selected slides can be activated to play the related narration.

Microsoft PowerPoint Viewer - Though we highly recommend that you have the actual PowerPoint software, we do include the PowerPoint Viewer. It does allow you to display the slide shows, but you’ll have no way to modify them. Additionally, the slide shows are quite long (most over 300 slides). PowerPoint Viewer does not allow you to move around in the slide show nearly as easily as the actual PowerPoint software does.

Instructor’s outline - The outline serves three purposes. First, it lets you know exactly what is presented in each module. You’ll be able to quickly see what’s there. Second, it shows the slide number for each topic, making it easy to find slides as you move around in each slide show. For most topics, it also includes student manual page numbers so you can reference what the student will see as you give your presentation. Note that this will help you read up on topics you are unfamiliar with.

Workbook and answer book for Parametric Programming module - Since this portion of the course requires practice to master, we provide you with a way of printing exercises and programming activities for students to do during this module. It can be used as homework or done during class. We also provide you with the ability to print the answer book.

Ability to print slide show hard copy - PowerPoint allows you to print a hard copy of each slide show (Microsoft calls this printing handouts). This may help you prepare if you don’t always have a computer available. You can include 4, 6, or 8 slides per page. Even so, there are over 3,000 slides. Be ready for a lot of printing!

Promotional materials - We’ve even included a brochure that you can use to help you promote this course. It’s in the “promotions” folder of the cd rom. It’s in PowerPoint format, so you can easily modify anything you want! Note that there is space to include your school’s registration information (logo, phone number, fax number, etc.).

Free phone assistance - Again, there’s a lot of information in this curriculum. If you have questions about any topic while your preparing to teach the course, we welcome your phone calls (847-639-8847). Or email us at lynch@cncci.com.

A note about the students you'll attract

Remember that your attendees will have (possibly extensive) CNC experience. I’ve found that most catch right on to the presentations being made, even for those topics that they’ve never been exposed to. Frankly speaking, most aren’t interested in a grade at all - they’re interested in learning things that can be applied immediately in their shops. When they latch on to an idea that will help them, they’ll stick with it until they figure it out! For this reason, we minimize the amount of practice assigned in this course. With the exception of the parametric programming module, it’s mostly lecture. Be sure to take advantage of your students’ strong points. As you present the course, solicit ideas and comments each step along the way. We encourage student participation quite often during the slide presentations. The more you can get people to contribute during the class, the better the class will be. And you’ll be able to collect ideas for future classes!

FREE with initial textbook order!

Not only will you be teaching with the best state-of-the-art CNC curriculums in the industry, you’ll be doing so free of charge! All we ask is that your school bookstore buys the student manuals from us! With an initial order of just 20 manuals, we’ll ship the instructor’s materials free of charge! All instructor materials (slide shows, PowerPoint Viewer, instructors manual, and Adobe Acrobat Reader to view/print the manual) come on one cd-rom disk. Our net price to your school (or bookstore) for manuals is $95.00 each. Suggested retail price is $120.00 each. Future orders can be in any quantity. This cost will be recovered, of course, as students enroll in your classes and buy the manuals. In essence, your first 20 students will be paying for the curriculum!

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