Dear US Members,
I just completed a CNC Machining course sponsored by the Department of Defense. This one was at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, but identical bootcamps are being offered all over the country. Best of all, it’s free!
The intent of the bootcamp is to address America’s hundreds of thousands of unfilled machining and machine tool jobs. I’m told this program was started by the Air Force in 2021 because machining firms couldn’t find enough skilled people to fill turbine blade orders. The program has snowballed from there. There are separate bootcamps for high schoolers and adults like me looking to build skillset and perhaps make a career change.
The mood was very positive and supportive. It was cool to see three generations of people all working together without any issues, even though some folks were old enough to be grandparents of some of the 18-22 year olds. No “generation gap” here. Likewise, guys and gals got along famously without any issues. Everyone took the work seriously but sought to master it in fun ways.
The course involved both design and manufacturing, starting with bandsawed blocks of aluminum and steel, as well as a piece made on a 3D printer. Through classroom work and hands-on tutorials, we designed toolpaths (where, how fast and how deep various mills and other tools would go), using a software tool called Autodesk Fusion 360. When the toolpaths were defined for each piece, the resulting program was transferred to a CNC machine for manufacturing.
The Fusion software has a simulate capability, which we used to test for things like collisions between a mill and a vise, as well as simply ending up with a piece that’s shaped like you wanted it to be. Much better than clamping a block, turning on the machine, and hoping for the best!
The engine itself was designed as a demonstration piece – it was an oscillator with the biggest valve block you’ve ever seen and a relatively small flywheel. But aesthetics and balance were not the priorities. Exposure to an assortment of tools, materials and techniques was the primary objective.
They called the design an “air engine” since it’s run on shop air, but I’m going to convert mine to run on steam. More on that project when I get around to it.
Coursework assumed someone with no experience so we started with topics like chip formation and advanced into issues like finish quality, spindle speed, vibration and machine dynamics. It was amazing how much ground they covered in nine 3.5 hour sessions.
The machine I primarily used was a Haas with a rotating magazine holding 18 separate tools. This is what you’ll see in the pictures and video. St. Thomas had two larger machines. I used the medium-sized one for a few processes. In the videos they are running the machines at 10-25% of maximum speed so we can see what’s going on. Between the flood coolant and running at top speed, everything’s a blur.
While my class was 5-8:30 pm on week nights, there are other classes at other schools that run during 9-5 working hours. There’s probably other evening or weekend sessions somewhere but I did not research that detail.
The bootcamp is explained in more detail here:
https://www.americascuttingedge.org/The particular bootcamp I attended is hosted at the University of St. Thomas School of Engineering. Read more about it here:
https://engineering.stthomas.edu/centers/advanced-manufacturing/ace-cnc-training/All in all it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get hands on with machines that us hobbyists could never afford. Along the way I made friends with some of the in-house experts and acquired some useful tips for use in manual milling and lathe work. I felt it was a good use of my time.
Home
Search
Today's Posts
Login
Register