The order by which you take these CNC classes depends upon your current
experiences in manufacturing. We've put together a set of scenarios that should
help you decide how to proceed.
I have no previous machine shop experience and I'm not currently working
for a CNC-using company
Note that even our basic CNC courses assume you have some machine shop
experience. Frankly speaking, you should seek out a
technical school in your area to
gain the prerequisites you need to begin working with CNC machine tools. If you
are simply interested in determining whether you'd enjoy working with CNC - or
if you're just wanting to gain a general understanding of what CNC is all
about, we'd recommend taking one of the basic programming courses:
Machining Center Programming or
Turning Center Programming.
I have very little (or no) previous machine shop experience, but I've
been hired by a CNC-using company to run CNC machines
It's amazing how many companies will hire inexperienced people to run CNC
machine tools. With little or no training, these companies expect their new
people to run CNC machine tools. If you find yourself in this position, we
recommend that you begin by taking the Machining Center
Setup And Operation or Turning Center Setup And
Operation class - whichever class matches the machine type you're currently
running. Once you're comfortable with the material in this class, we recommend
taking the Machining Center Programming or
Turning Center Programming class (again, the one that
matches the machine type you are running). You should also seek out a
technical school in your area to
gain an understanding of basic machining practice principles.
I am a manual machinist but have not worked with CNC machine tools
In this case, we recommend starting with the Machining
Center Programming or Turning Center Programming
class, whichever you are more interested in. These classes present many of the
features and concepts related to CNC - and since you have previous shop
experience, you'll easily understand all of the presentations in these classes.
When you're finished, we recommend taking the Machining
Center Setup And Operation or Turning Center Setup And
Operation class (again, for whichever machine you're interested in).
I have operated CNC machines but never setup or programmed them
I have setup and operated CNC machines but never programmed them
In this case, we recommend starting with the Machining
Center Programming or Turning Center Programming
class, whichever you are more interested in. These classes present many of the
features and concepts related to CNC - and since you have previous shop
experience, you'll easily understand all of the presentations in these classes.
I have worked with one type of CNC machine but not the other
Maybe you've worked with CNC machining centers but never with CNC turning
centers - or vise-versa. In this case, we'd recommend beginning with the
Machining Center Programming or
Turning Center Programming class - the one related to the
machine type you are not familiar with. Next, take the Machining Center Setup And Operation or
Turning Center Setup And Operation class (again, for
whichever machine you haven't worked with). This, of course, also applies to
having completed the classes we offer for one machine type. You'll likely be
interested in learning about the other.
I work in manufacturing but I don't work with CNC
Lots of manufacturing people should have a working knowledge of CNC. These
people include manufacturing engineers, process engineers, quality control
people, and production control people. Truly, just about everyone in
manufacturing should have an understanding of CNC. If you're in this position,
we recommend taking the Machining Center Programming or
Turning Center Programming class (or both), depending
upon what kinds of CNC machine tools your company owns. This will provide you
with a good understanding of CNC - and give you an appreciation for what CNC
people must do. You'll also be able to communicate more intelligently with the
people in the CNC environment.
I've mastered the basics, but I want to know more
If you are currently programming CNC machines (and possibly setting up and
operating them), you're ready for our more advanced courses. We'd recommend
starting with Advanced CNC Techniques With Basic
Features. This class provides many techniques not commonly shown in basic
courses (including ours).
I've mastered the basics and I want to know more about parametric
programming
Our Parametric Programming class will expose you to
the applications for parametric programming and will show how to use it.
