CNC verses Manual Machines

I remember one of my first jobs I did on a manual engine lathe. The part was called a test bar. The rough stock was cast iron. Basically all it was is a part that was 8 inches in length and had threads on either end. To the best of my recollection the thread size was 1 inch 8 threads per inch. In the middle of the part the diameter was around 3/4 of an inch. This diameter had to be polished and free of toolmarks. All they really did with this part was to screw it into some type of part to test the strength of it. When the test bar broke they would record how much pressure it took to break that bar. Anyhow back to the point I'm trying to make,the test bar itself took nearly 2 1/2 hours to make from rough stock to finish. It also had some fancy radius designed on it. To achieve making that radius on the part you had to take a tool and hand grind the tool to the shape you wanted to achieve. You could spend an hour just making the tool itself to achieve what they were asking for on the blueprint. In today's world the CNC machines, by the way CNC stands for Computer Numerical Control,could take that same part that took 2 1/2 hours to make manually and virtually produce a more accurate part in 5 minutes. CNC technology has advanced the world of machining tremendously. In the next post I will share some insight on some of the history of the CNC machines that I have witnessed throughout my career in machining.

Employers

Back in the old days of machining a machinist had to take years to become a master at this trade. They were well thought of by an employer and treated with respect for all their knowledge and wisdom. In today's world a machinist is thought of with little or no respect from the employers. Granted I haven't worked in every machine shop in the country,so for those employers out there that do treat their employees with respect you have my admiration. I contribute the downturn in respect for the machinist primarily on the advancements that the CNC machines have brought to this trade. With the CNC machines you can basically take a person who has no knowledge of machining and in a short time after some training you can place this person on the job and he or she can immediately start making profits for his company. That is what I see happening today. You can take an inexperienced person and pay him little or no money and immediately start generating profits with them. That in turn drives down the wages of the people who have been in this trade for awhile. Either by very small wage increases or deductions in benefits. More on this rant later . Write into this blog and feel free to express your opinions. I would like to hear from you. More on the topic of CNC machining on the next post.

Old Timers

I started in this trade when I was still in high school. I remember when I got my first job in a machine shop. The first thing I noticed was a lot of the old guys that were machinists had fingers missing from there hands. Back in the 1970's before the CNCmachines were established in the factories,all of the machines at that time were manual machines. Some of the machines in this shop had tags on them dating back pre WW2. Unfortunately these older machines did not have the protective covers on them as we see today on the newer equipment. Therefore you would have pulleys and belts exposed in the open and sooner or later someone would get to close to the moving parts and lose a body part. I've personally witnessed quite a few major accidents in this trade. OSHA Regulations have helped a lot over the years to improve the safety of some of these dangerous machines. In future posts I'll bring up several topics discussing the new CNC machines and the old manual machines. Tooling is another example that has evolved over the years right along with the machines. So if your just starting out and want to become a machinist or if are a machinist and get stuck on certain things I'm here to try to help.

I have created this blog for the purpose of helping anyone out there in the machining industry. In my current job I oversee the operations of 2ND shift in a general machine shop. There are about a dozen employees on this shift. I've been employed with this company for about seven years. Previous to this I was employed in the tool and die industry .I have around 30 years of experience in the tool and die trade. If you are interested in becoming a machinist or if you are just starting out in the machine shop trade I'm here to help. I will try to post often and more than willing to answer any questions that you may have.