CNC or manual machining? (1 Viewer)

[PAToyota]

Big take away for anyone looking to get into the machining industry: you are going to need to learn as much as you can on your own time. There is so much good training and information available online now, its easier than ever to get a good foundation of training. (just don't expect to get a programming job day one)

That's true of many things. I see people coming out of college with a degree in this or that and figuring that they know it all and that they're at the pinnacle and should be treated as such. No, you just made it up the first couple rungs of the ladder. You have a lot to learn. You'll learn some of it while you're working, but if you expect to go anywhere you're going to have to put in the effort.

As Gene Winfield says, "Every day is a school day."

 

[ntsqd]

Much like how Engineering classes don't really teach you how to be an Engineer. They teach what you need to know to learn how to be an Engineer. Same is true of Law School, and just about any other real career that I've crossed paths with.

 

[PIP]

What I like about machining is how you can never know it all. There's always new things to learn. And there's no limits to how you can apply what you learn.

 

[Smithtec]

In your garage, having a manual mill and lathe is going to be a lot more useful and practical than having a CNC machine. If you're designing parts, planning to run production quantities, machining for a living, then you'll need a CNC. And a computer with software, and you'll need to learn how to use all that. So it really depends on what you're trying to do. And I wouldn't listen to anybody who tries to tell you CNC is faster for a one-off simple part.

 

[ntsqd]

snip......
And I wouldn't listen to anybody who tries to tell you CNC is faster for a one-off simple part.

I'd say that 90%+ of the time this is correct. However there is always an exception to the rule and I happen to know a guy who is that exception. He keeps his Millicron-10 tooled up with the common, likely to be needed cutting tools and can whip out a mildly complex one-off part much faster than I can machine it on a manual mill. If the part is stupid simple, then no, but if it has a hole pattern or any other mildly complex feature, then yes.

BUT you don't fit a Millicron-10, with 5 position pallet changer, in the average garage......

 

[PAToyota]

And I wouldn't listen to anybody who tries to tell you CNC is faster for a one-off simple part.

As I've said in this discussion, it all depends on your version of a "simple" part - not to mention that CNC can make a bunch of features "simple." Things like labels, profiles, etc.

 

[Smithtec]

On sort of a hybrid question, one issue I've been wondering about is how easy it is to do manual machining with a typical CNC machine. As in, without any software programming. IOW, can you move the tool forward so many thous with a knob or a joystick on the main console, kinda like you would by spinning a crank handle on a Bridgeport to move the table? Could a proficient "manual" machinist use a CNC machine without knowing anything about the programming side, just by using the hand controls -if any-? Is that realistic?

I worked at one shop that had a big old horizontal mill that nobody knew how to program. (Weird controller and no interface to load standard G code). We would load big weldments on it and then drive it around with the hand wheel, exactly as you're asking. I would face pads and drill holes. It was incredibly tedious, also easy to make a mistake if you forgot to change your jog increment or axis. I finally figured out how to program some simple things, and it was a lot easier than standing there cranking that jog wheel. So to answer your question: yes, you can drive a CNC machine around with the hand controls, but it's not very practical or efficient. And there's no tactile feedback like others mentioned. That's true of any CNC operation, of course. We mostly go by sound and how the cut looks, along with the spindle load meter if you're really getting after it.