CNC operator?

[Honda#4]

I was looking through my brother's college catalog and I came across a class for CNC operators. Is anyone on here do something like that or close to it and does it pay good, cus It sounds interesting to me and that might be something I want to look into. Please give me your feedback ,Please and thanks.

[wishmasstir]

i'm a drafter in the nuclear business but i have a certificate as a cnc operator and it is a blast running the machines. it was easy for me to grasp how to program a cnc so it was easy whenever i got into mastercam. the pay is decent too, it all depends on your area though.

[sly400ex]

My friends a CNC operator at a private company, he makes 25+ an hr. He also gets as much overtime he wants. So he's making a decent living.

[Honda#4]

So is it worth going to school for or will I just waste my time with it cus im afraid that if I go for something like that and theirs nothing around my area that consists of that i think i'll just waste my time.

[hardkoratvmxr]

get into the career. it is awesome. I am 17 and am in Precision Machine Technology and have been working with Mills, CNC Mills, Lathes and a lot of other stuff since august. It is a really good job. I personally have been working on a CNC for about 4 months now and have it down pretty well and for only being 17 I already have a couple job offers for when i turn 18

[trx400exxracer]

can you take CNC programing classes at a Technical college?!?

[Honda#4]

Do any of you guys have pics or anything that you made while you were at work. Does'nt matter what it is, just want to see if anything can spark my mind into doing that stuff.

[trx400exxracer]

Originally posted by Honda#4
Do any of you guys have pics or anything that you made while you were at work. Does'nt matter what it is, just want to see if anything can spark my mind into doing that stuff.

I know somebody that races with us made a quiet core for his pipe with something engraved in it and it looked pretty awsome!!!

[Honda#4]

could you get a pic of it, if you can.

[trx400exxracer]

Originally posted by Honda#4
could you get a pic of it, if you can.

i dont have one and i think he sold the pipe and i dont know if he has the quiet core anymore!

[fatkid400]

I'm a cnc machinist/tool maker. It is a good trade to be in.Pays good if you get in the right type of shop and know your *****.Get into a "job shop " type setting Like a die shop or custom shop.Production shops are boring and usually don't pay very well.Learn as many machines a you can.Manual and cnc. I've got somany machines under my belt I can "almost name my price".I've ran everything from a manual lathe to a shopfloor programable 5 axis mill( And trust me....they're alot of fun!!!) Get a journeyman's card if you can get in a shop with a program. And always remember...No matter how good you are on a cnc....You WILL CRASH.....Dont let it bother or scare ya it comes with the job.just dont do it very often;) If you have any ?'s feel free to look me up.I'll answer any ?'s you got.Oh yeah....you can goto to a tech college or trade school to get your feet wet.

[wishmasstir]

theres always shops that need a cnc operator around my area but that all changes with location. it is a good field to get into though because you could get into any machine shop with mill/lathe knowledge, the shop might only have manual stuff but at least you'd understand how to run it all.

[fatkid400]

Originally posted by Honda#4
Do any of you guys have pics or anything that you made while you were at work. Does'nt matter what it is, just want to see if anything can spark my mind into doing that stuff.


I've got pics and vids if sombody can tell me how to get them off my cell and onto my computer.

[Honda#4]

fatkid400 what do you mean by you will Crash, explain that more to me please.

[fatkid400]

A crash is just that. you or a programer screws up the program or you load a tool wrong or measure it wrong and the machine piles up or "crashes" or your holding method isnt strong enough to handle the force your appling and the part flies out.It happens like I said nothing to worry about really just dont do it very often. The 5 axis I run every now and then is a high dollar machine its a hermle(look them up on moderenmacineshop.com) I think my company paid like $350,000 for the mill.Anyway...It rapids at 35,000 mm/min(milimeters per minute). Well one night i was trying to get a job off the machine in a hurry and f'ed up and forgot to measure a reamer.Well that machine reamed that hole at 35000 mm/min. And slammed Z axis into the top of the chuck.Most machines it really wouldnt hurt but the hermy(as its lovling known as) has cermic bearings in the spindle:mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: And its $25000 to replace/rebuild the spindle.:mad: :mad: LIke I said dont do it often:D

[Rip_Tear]

When he says crash he means that you make mistakes and possibly mess parts up, break tools, run the tool into the vise or something and break it, stuff like that.

I went to college for CNC Technician, I enjoyed learning it all, and operating the machines, but production is the worst thing ever unless you really like monotonise (repedative) work. I found when making the same part a bunch of times was killing me slowly. The best part is programming a part that you like and making it. I wanted to just be a programmer in the end if I wasn't going to be making different parts all the time. So basicly if you are just an operator it can be a very boring job.

I would suggest looking around your area (or where you want to live) to find out what kind of CNC jobs are available. In my instance I want to live where I am now, but there was only 1 shop and it went under after I worked there for 7 months, now I work in construction. So if you don't mind moving to somewhere then you are pretty well set, but most jobs are in the bigger cities and in my experience in Canada is that those custom jobs are far and few between.

I would also suggest if you find a place that you possibly ask about a tour and possibly like a job shadow for a day so you can find out if you like it. Shops can be very noisy, dirty and inpersonal.

[Honda#4]

That was very well explained thanks. The more I think about it I really would'nt want to be responsible for crashing something like that, that would make me quit right there and then.

[Honda#4]

Fatkid400 I looked at that website you gave about that one machine. That thing is huge and confusing, I could'nt run that machine even if I went to college for 100 years. Maybe this is the wrong thing to do with my life.

[fatkid400]

NO man dont sell your self short you can do anything you want.Dont let me scare ya.Im just sayin stuff happens.Just pay attention to what you do and you'll be fine.the hermles arent that big.The 1 I run is the C800.You can get a quad engine on it, maybe a little bigger.Look into the trade alittle see whats out there.Its really a interesting trade and the technology is growing so fast its hard to keep up with some of the cool things hitting the market.Theres some reaaly cool stuff out there to play with.Like the new high speed facemill(cutter) wer started using earlier this year,The feed rate(how fast it cuts across the part) is 1/2 mile an hour! Now thats COOL AS HECK....Lots O chips:devil: Go back to that site I gave ya and look around at some of the macines out there,read some of the articles,do some research. You dont have to run the biggest badest or fastest thing on the market.I ran a 5 axis mill that you could park a car on the table and cut it in half,but it moved so slow if it crashed you was asleep for 20 minutes and thats why you didnt stop it.Please man dont let me scare you out of somthing you can really enjoy and make a very good living doing.Trust me,its a very interesting and fulfilling job.Do me a favor...dont give up just yet look into it somemore 1st.

[Honda#4]

It wasn't you that scared me fatkid400 it's the machine's that did. I really could'nt trust myself doing something on one of them things. I'm not really a confidient person when it comes to doing stuff like that, it really burns my grill when I screw something up really bad that's why I'm trying to turn myself into putting aftermarket parts on my bike, I like doing that and I can't screw it up either. So for now i'm gonna try to force my mom into letting me buy parts for my bike.

Thanks for your info and your help fatkid400.

[stocktires]

Don't be scared, grow some balls, half of the controls on a CNC are kinda basic actually. I have very little actual machine shop experience, but I've been in the buisness all my life.
My family owns a pretty decent cutting tool distribution company. Its an awesome line of work.

You know how a cylinder is bored?
You know how pistons are made?
You know how axles are made?
You know how 99% of the internals of a motor are made?

Mills and Lathes

That's what you would be doing.

It's a trade that will never slow down. Whether it be the oilfield, aircraft, etc. etc. In this industry, knowledge IS power.

[Honda#4]

When I do stuff I tend to get bored really quick.

[1fst400]

im a seinor in high school and was looking into this career.

I had looked into being a electrician, but after one summer of that I decided that they are a bunch of lazy bums. Residential work anyways.

My dad has a bridge port mill and lathe. I play around on them from time to time.

I would like to get into it, but im not the best at math and they say if you arent good at math then this wont be a good carier.

[Samdogmx]

its a great industry to get into.

like the others have said the pay depends on your area & the type of shop your in. Around here a basic operator doesnt make that much maybe $7-15/hr But learn how to program & setup & do masstercam/ other cad/cam softwares & you can make some pretty good money (like me)


oh not to mention you can make all sorts of cool one of a kind parts for your quad, truck, car, girlfriend, whatever!

[wishmasstir]

Originally posted by Honda#4
When I do stuff I tend to get bored really quick.

you should be a police officer or something ... everyday is different and you have no idea what will come up

[Honda#4]

I'm not good at math at all. I barely even did math in school. I mostly got C's D's and F's in school, you guys tell me how i'm suppose to make it through school with them type of grades.

[LTR450_#67]

Dude you could do it! I sucked at school just like you and can do it. I sucked at math too!!! Most of it is basic math. I do production work at a shop and I think I might die of boredom, but I do it cuz I work 2nd shift, work 4 nights a week and get paid pretty decent($13.50/hr). I can do set-up and I'm starting to write small simple programs. Once you start understanding and can read the program well, it all just kinda clicks in your head. I learned all my knowledge with ambition and hands on experience. I have ran many different machines: Toyoda, OKK, Mitsubishi, Kuraki, Nigata, Okuma, Daewoo, DTM ,Hamai and a Bridge center. Most of them use FANUC controls, but the older Mitsubishi's used there own Mitsu controls. A lot of programming is repetitous too!

later
Aaron

[Honda#4]

I would need a arm full of tutors to help me through college.

[user101]

I am currently attending coolege to do this. I am almost finished with my 1st semester with 3 more to go. I wont get into the cnc until next semester. This first semester I have been building little projects on a lathe mostly and a mill. The course I am taking is called Tool and Die Technician.

[fatkid400]

Honda#4,I wasnt that good in math either in school but the thing is once I started using it more and more and actually playing with it alittle I got really good at it.Now trig is like 2nd nature to me,And I thought I would never pic up trig.But now people come to me to help with theyre problems.And another cool thing is Most of the machines in our toolroom are mazak(possibly the best machines in the whole world) we shop floor 99% of the tooling for the dies we build, Mazaks are pretty easy to program,theyre what is called a conversational style system.You basicly answer ?'s and then tell it were you want the work done.Its pretty basic and simple.And the best thing is you can have mazatrol "auto figure" some of the points on a profile so you dont have to trig everything all the time. The hermle is a different story. Its a croos between convesational and G code its tricky but cool.Man I wish you were sitting here so I could show you all this.Its hard tellin ya over a computer how cool my job is.And dont ask how many "goverment jobs" I done for my wheelers.:D

[Honda#4]

I wish I was there too. I need a different direction in my life badly this farming thing i'm in now is getting on my nerves very bad. I want a family badly but I can't have one untill I find a really good job that offers alot and pays well that's why I asked about this. I want to find a job that fits me well and I somewhat understand how to do it.

[fatkid400]

Dude slow down your still young, You'll figure it out soon enough.You sound like ya got a good head on your shoulders.Just slow down on the family thing enjoy your youth while you still have it. Its hard to make a living farming,unless you have a crap load of land its hard to make it.But look at it this way.Its fun on a quad;)

[Honda#4]

Yea but I can't even do that, I can barely spend my money without my mom knowing about it. I want to spend my money on my bike but no one in my family can understand that or support me in doing it. If it was'nt for my quad I would have moved out somewhere. All I want to do in life is spend money on my quad.

[Xater]

seting up a cnc isnt that hard of you take the time to do it right.
if i had to do machine tech. i would be a designer to create parts for the cnc. i go to a vocational school so i will have a good job right out of highschool.

[Honda#4]

I would like to design atv parts like A-arms and swinger but I don't know what kind of class that is.

[Xater]

you get paid alot for design too! that CAD teacher at my school is loaded.

[DEAL]

I'm taking a machining course in college, already have a job working at a production shop.
I'm not big on programming, I prefer manual work hands down.
Operating the machine isn't bad .. but like someone already said... in a production shop it gets boring ...
Running a couple hundred or thousand parts (depends on the shop) .. putting them in the machine .. hit start, taking them out .. measuring them .. making minor adjustments... it gets boring haha.

[Warnerade]

hope you like working a lot of overtime.