Setup and Operation Courses (machining center course and turning center
course)
Fully mastering the use of a CNC machine tool requires an understanding of
three distinctly different disciplines. First, a CNC program must be developed.
This, of course, is the responsibility of a CNC programmer. Second, the machine
must be made ready to run workpieces. This is the responsibility of a CNC setup
person. And finally, the machine must run the workpieces in the production run.
While some companies utilize the same person that sets up the machine, many
companies utilize a different person to complete production runs - the CNC
operator.
These two courses address two of the three disciplines - setup and
completing production runs. (Another two courses are available to help you
learn CNC programming.) You'll learn the tasks required to make setups and
complete production runs. We use a task-oriented approach. That is, we go
through the various tasks related to setup and completing production runs in
the approximate order that jobs are run on the CNC machine tool. This will
provide you with a logical, step-by-step method of learning the related topics.
The need for hands-on experience - Right up front we want to
acknowledge the need for actual hands-on practice (practice that is not
provided in this course) to fully master the tasks shown in this course. The
only way you'll get this practice is to work for a CNC-using company. But
equally important is the need to understand the concepts related to
setup and operation. Indeed, the need to understand these usage concepts may be
even more important. Compare this to becoming an airplane pilot. Before an
aspiring pilot will spend any real time in the cockpit of an airplane, they
must understand the fundamentals of aerodynamics and flight. They receive this
training in ground school. Think of this class as like your ground
school for CNC. You'll learn what it takes to setup and run CNC machine
tools (again, there's one class for machining center setup and operation and
another for turning center setup and operation). Just as person will little
hope of becoming a pilot without attending ground school, neither will a person
have any hope of becoming a successful setup person or operator without first
understanding the concepts presented in these classes.
Course outline (Machining Center Setup and Operation):
Tasks related to setup and operation
Operator responsibilities
Setup tasks versus production maintaining tasks
Tasks related to setup
Tasks related to maintaining production
Machine configurations
Machine components
Directions of motion
Controllable functions
Buttons and switches
Work holding setup
The machine's table
The workholding device
Aligning the workholding device
Program zero assignment
Measuring program zero assignment values
Assigning program zero with fixture offsets
Cutting tools
Understanding cutting tool components
Locating and gathering components
Assembling cutting tools
Loading cutting tools into the machine
Measuring tool length compensation values
Measuring cutter radius compensation values
Entering values into tool offsets
Introduction to sizing and trial machining
Running the first workpiece
Loading the program
Verifying the correctness of the program
Considering what each tool will do
Applying trial machining techniques
Re-running tools
Final notes about setup
Completing a production run
Is optimizing necessary?
Tasks related to completing a production run
Running one workpiece
Monitoring the CNC cycle
Sizing adjustments needed due to tool wear
Dull tool replacement
Other tasks an operator is expected to perform
Course outline (Turning Center Setup and Operation):
Tasks related to setup and operation
Operator responsibilities
Setup tasks versus production maintaining tasks
Tasks related to setup
Tasks related to maintaining production
Machine configurations
Machine components
Directions of motion
Controllable functions
Buttons and switches
Work holding setup
The spindle nose
Workholding devices
Working with three jaw chucks
Hard jaws and soft jaws
Jaw placement
Machining soft jaws
Cutting tools
Understanding cutting tool components
Locating and gathering components
Assembling cutting tools
Loading cutting tools into the machine
Understanding turret configurations
Assigning program zero for each tool (geometry offsets)
Determining and entering tool nose radius compensation values
Running the first workpiece
Loading the program
Verifying the correctness of the program
Considering what each tool will do
Applying trial machining techniques
A sample scenario for sizing approaching each tool in the program
Re-running tools
Final notes about setup
Completing a production run
Is optimizing necessary?
Tasks related to completing a production run
Running one workpiece
Monitoring the CNC cycle
Sizing adjustments needed due to tool wear
Dull tool replacement
Other tasks an operator is expected to perform
Prerequisites
While we've tried to design these classes in such a way that a person with
no previous shop experience could benefit from attending, there's no getting
around the fact that CNC operators - and especially CNC setup people - must
possess some basic machining practice skills. These skills include the ability
to:
read a blueprint
interpret tolerances
use hand tools (wrenches, screw drivers, mallets, etc.)
interpret gauging devices (scales, calipers, and micrometers, for example)
perform arithmetic calculations (addition and subtraction)
The more you no about basic machining practices, the easier it will be to
begin working with CNC machine tools. Again, we've targeted this class to
people that have little or no previous shop experience - minimizing the need
for basic machining practice skills. A person with no previous shop experience
should be able to understand the presentations made in this class.
