Heinz R. Putz
Stainless
- Joined
- Mar 16, 2006
- Location
- Columbus, Ohio
Everybody I ever met has a different story about how and why they started in CNC.
I and I am sure a lot of other shop guys would be very interested in how other people got started.
I am looking forward to hearing a lot of interesting stories.
My own story starts in Germany, I was an apprentice at 15 working for the German railroad in a Locomotive Repair Works.
In the 2 years I worked there, we never actually used a machine, we learned to do everything by hand, an open fire, big hammers and muscle is all we had.
When we immigrated to Chicago, I found a job in about less than a week at Admiral Tool & Die on Chicagos northside, I basically started another apprenticeship for about 3 years.
I had a lot of jobs in Chicago after that, I kind of tried to copy the Journeymen in Europe, you were expected to be exposed to many different ways of manufacturing, machining and methods before you could call yourself totally qualified in your trade.
CNC: I took classes prior to CNC, one was called "NC Engineering' at a local Community College and when SMT( Swedish Machine Tool) opened a sales branch in Chicago, I got the job based on that class, where I frankly learned nothing I ever used.
We, that is, SMT, had a quite advanced control, we had canned Cycles, noseradius comp well before Fanuc.
My job was to go with our CNC lathes and teach customers to make parts, we did great for a long time and sold and installed a lot of machines.
My own training was great, I went to Sweden a number of times for extended training programs at our factory. Coming back here I met the early Fanuc people and saw the prices and also the quality of the early Japanese machines, Mori Seiki in particular.
Our prices were almost double that of a comparable Japanese machine and I saw the handwriting on the wall and it said: Learn to be really good with Fanuc controls if you want to stay in this line of work. I did and I have been totally selfemployd teaching shops to use CNC lathes and mills ever since.
So how about you, where and how did you get started and what would tell someone that wants to get into our trade, how should they do it?
I look forward to hearing your stories.
Heinz.
www.doccnc.com
I and I am sure a lot of other shop guys would be very interested in how other people got started.
I am looking forward to hearing a lot of interesting stories.
My own story starts in Germany, I was an apprentice at 15 working for the German railroad in a Locomotive Repair Works.
In the 2 years I worked there, we never actually used a machine, we learned to do everything by hand, an open fire, big hammers and muscle is all we had.
When we immigrated to Chicago, I found a job in about less than a week at Admiral Tool & Die on Chicagos northside, I basically started another apprenticeship for about 3 years.
I had a lot of jobs in Chicago after that, I kind of tried to copy the Journeymen in Europe, you were expected to be exposed to many different ways of manufacturing, machining and methods before you could call yourself totally qualified in your trade.
CNC: I took classes prior to CNC, one was called "NC Engineering' at a local Community College and when SMT( Swedish Machine Tool) opened a sales branch in Chicago, I got the job based on that class, where I frankly learned nothing I ever used.
We, that is, SMT, had a quite advanced control, we had canned Cycles, noseradius comp well before Fanuc.
My job was to go with our CNC lathes and teach customers to make parts, we did great for a long time and sold and installed a lot of machines.
My own training was great, I went to Sweden a number of times for extended training programs at our factory. Coming back here I met the early Fanuc people and saw the prices and also the quality of the early Japanese machines, Mori Seiki in particular.
Our prices were almost double that of a comparable Japanese machine and I saw the handwriting on the wall and it said: Learn to be really good with Fanuc controls if you want to stay in this line of work. I did and I have been totally selfemployd teaching shops to use CNC lathes and mills ever since.
So how about you, where and how did you get started and what would tell someone that wants to get into our trade, how should they do it?
I look forward to hearing your stories.
Heinz.
www.doccnc.com