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crb06

Aluminum
Joined
Mar 20, 2017
Hello everyone! I have been working at a local Machine Shop and have been back and forth running our Haas VF 2 mill, and the Haas SL 30 (I believe is our lathe) I have taken a CNC Programming class but only know how to do basic stuff like initials, drill cycle, etc. I wanna ask some questions about our programs we are running (How he has it to run our parts, different G codes or M codes, etc.)

I dont wanna sound dumb but I wanna learn! Does anyone have any "Particularly" good questions that will be a good starting point to learn more than just tightening the vice, close the doors, cycle start, and so on?
 
Just keep doing what they ask of you, you'll learn a little everyday. Learning the everyday production stuff is the most important thing right now. I know that you didn't ask for this next piece of advise, but DO NOT do things that you haven't been shown how to do. Even you you want to impress your boss. It could be disastrous. Time is you friend. Put in your time and you will learn at right pace.
 
When I started as an operator, if I had cycle time and the boss didn't have me doing something else, I'd read whatever I could get my hands on. I don't know how many times I've read the Machinist Handbook.

Especially the manuals that came with the machines. The Haas manuals are pretty good too, they're written by someone who actually speaks english.

It has good programming examples and might point you in the right direction for questions to ask.
 
i was in charge with technical details inside the classical sector

when the 1st cnc lathe arrived, i was told to start the cnc :)

all i can say is that i stood more than a year, 10-12 hours / day, sometimes in weekends and so on, just to get the experience :)

now i have a loooong 2do list :)
 
DO NOT do things that you haven't been shown how to do.

Excellent advice! We have a newbie fresh out of school (you know, the one where they teach you to draw pretty pictures on the screen) that was coming in 1/2 hour before everyone else got here so he could "try" stuff without any kind of approval or supervision. The master collet on one of our lathes looks like someone tried to start a fire by rubbing two pieces of metal together.
 
Get a list of the M and G Codes then watch the code as it is running - as best you can - it will help to figure out what is actually going on in the machine. Drawing pictures and conversation programming is nice but you really need to understand the "code". Check on line their is a lot of information out on the internet
Good luck in your learning, this is an interesting filed we work in.
Tom
 
Not suggesting you apply what you learn in these videos, but it should help give you some context and to learn around the subject

NYC CNC
- YouTube


Seeing as you have HAAS kit...

Haas Automation, Inc.
- YouTube


JohnGrimsmo
- YouTube


There are a few to get you started - nothing formal, but all pretty watchable and may be of use.

Though all are more hobbyist focused.

You can learn lots online - application of what you learn is where you need formal training or someone watching over you.
 
Ask if you can get printed copies of working programs. Read through them and see if you can figure out what's going on. And hang in there. It takes time. But in the end, you'll learn. AND you'll be worth more money.
 
Ask if you can get printed copies of working programs. Read through them and see if you can figure out what's going on. And hang in there. It takes time. But in the end, you'll learn. AND you'll be worth more money.
They will probably get weird about that... a lot of places would.
 
Don't do what I did when starting out.

This was back in 1983 and I was 17 and working at my friends dad's shop. I was running a retrofitted Bridgeport with an Anilam CNC control with manual tool change. It was a five month long job with an 11 minute cycle time.

The programmer went on vacation so I thought I would read the programming manual while the machine was running and learn how to program it. The program was very poorly written and had a ton of air cutting. Peck drilled holes were feeding back down from the top after each peck and things like that.

I decided to remove the air cutting and clean up the program. I got it down to about 7 minutes from 11 minutes.

When the programmer got back he saw what I had done and I was promptly called in the office for a bit of a chewing out. They wondered how did I know how to change the programming. I said I just read the book and watched what it did. The owner sent me to programming school the next week. The programmer hated me after that as you can imagine, I had just saved them 6 weeks of time on these parts.

Another time I also was running a plastic injecting molding machine on parts that they had run manually for years because the parts would often stick in the mold and were difficult to hold size. I started making some changes in temperature, pressure and cycle times and the parts would drop every time. After a day of 100 correct part ejection success I ran full auto. I had also cut the cycle time and the parts were holding size better than ever. Needless to say I got in trouble followed by a big thank you.

This job didn't work out so well for me and I was shown the door. IN hindsight I would probably fire a 17 year old kid that did this stuff too.

I started my own business a few months later and grew it into 5 million + in the next decade so it worked out well.

Don't be like me.

Dan
 
Does anyone have any good websites to get a Machinist Handbook cheap? Ebay? Is it ok to get an older edition that is say from the 80's although I am sure that A LOT HAS CHANGED since then, would it still be worth getting? Or just save money to get the newest thing?
 
Best money you can spend is on a good note book and some pencils. When your boss say do A,B,C and D, write it down so you don't forget and do B, D, then screw up C and totally forget to do A. No way you can possible remember all the new stuff that is coming your way, but it shows your committed to what your doing.
 
Best money you can spend is on a good note book and some pencils. When your boss say do A,B,C and D, write it down so you don't forget and do B, D, then screw up C and totally forget to do A. No way you can possible remember all the new stuff that is coming your way, but it shows your committed to what your doing.

include in your notes things that worked and things that you need. i made a section in a notebook for individual parts and their individual nuances. lots of times there are specific numbers that are targets within the tolerance to watch that are more important than others. this is especially true on turning centers as single tools can do multiple features on a single offset and those features can have varying tolerances. production work is a totally different animal from short run or prototyping...lots of variables and attention to tool wear.
 
One of the best books on the market is the CNC Programming handbook by Peter Smid. Check on Amazon for a used hardback edition. Best $30 bucks you can spend;)
 
Thank you everyone! I am still looking around for a good CNC Programming book and a Machinery's Handbook, as well as watching cycles run!
 
Best $30 bucks you can spend ;)

hoil Captain :) this remind me a few years ago, when i was with a friend, tring to buy a hat :) a normal hat, not that cowboy style

and i could not decide : i don't like that one, the other one is too expensive, etc :)

and my friend told me that that hat worth same money as 2-3 beers, so it is not expensive :)

we bought laugh, because back than we were drinking much more beers / night

actually we were never hard drunk, but in a continuous state of funky :)

... so please, think again about those " best 30 bucks " :)

if i may, what were your best 30/some bucks spent ? kindly !
 
Hello everyone! I have been working at a local Machine Shop and have been back and forth running our Haas VF 2 mill, and the Haas SL 30 (I believe is our lathe) I have taken a CNC Programming class but only know how to do basic stuff like initials, drill cycle, etc. I wanna ask some questions about our programs we are running (How he has it to run our parts, different G codes or M codes, etc.)

I dont wanna sound dumb but I wanna learn! Does anyone have any "Particularly" good questions that will be a good starting point to learn more than just tightening the vice, close the doors, cycle start, and so on?
You can download all Operation Manual of HAAS at: Haas CNC Lathe Manual Free Download - Helman CNC.
 








 
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