Machining.Blog® is a weekly blog focused on manufacturing career development. It features blog articles on the fundamentals of manufacturing for aspiring machinists. Our goal is to create an interest in manufacturing in the USA. Our writer Matthew Schowalter has worked in manufacturing for 24 years, and he covers the topics that matter to someone starting their career in manufacturing.
“The soft skills the machinist uses are the unseen tools in their box and can directly impact the success or failure of a dreamed after machining career.”
Over the past 10 years, productivity in the manufacturing industry has increased 1.2% compared to 2.6% in the previous 7 years. Emerging technology trends are disrupting the manufacturing industry, creating a need for increased innovation to remain competitive.
Gage blocks (also known as gauge blocks) are inspection tools that are used in the machining industry. They typically come in an 81-piece set and the sizes in the set are as follows:
How we are taught how to pronounce a measurement in mathematics class is different from how we pronounce a measurement in machine shop class. In the following chart, I will break down the decimal place pronunciation of 0.123456.
Machining could be a stressful job, but it is as stressful as you make it out to be. For example, there are many things to consider when machining parts, like quality issues, time deadlines, and machining conditions. These items may be stressful when you look at everything at once, but if you form a plan with many individual goals to meet it will add up to the end goal of making a quality part and on time.
So, you have finished your education, either in high school or post-secondary trade school or both, and you are ready to find that machine shop meant for you. Many people do not take compatibility into consideration when completing their job search, but they should.
The use of 3D printing for making robotic end-of-arm tooling (EOAT) is a significant advancement in manufacturing. These components are crucial for industrial automation as they help robots boost factory production.
Machining is by far more interesting than what most people know. From the challenges of implementing new complex equipment in the shop, to CNC programming, or even making complex parts in one setup. It is definitely a career choice that most don’t know how advanced it can be, especially the machining of today. Now, we can make parts in one setup that were once made in many setups on multiple pieces of equipment over a long time frame. My career is a success story in manufacturing technology as I have embraced the technology of today.
The machinist’s role is to setup advanced CNC machines and monitor the cutting conditions as the machine makes parts. As the machinist makes the parts, they inspect the parts with inspection tools and adjust the CNC parameters to achieve a conforming part that is within specifications.
In the realm of manufacturing, the production process often relies on various aids such as jigs, fixtures, and specialized tools to ensure efficiency, accuracy, and quality. Traditionally, manufacturers would outsource the production of these components, which could be costly, time-consuming, and limit flexibility. However, with the emergence of 3D printing technology, manufacturers now have the ability to reduce their reliance on outsourced manufacturing aid components.
I don’t know a single CNC machine shop that has an easy time hiring machinists, and would say they have enough well-qualified candidates. The fact is that there is more demand than supply, with not enough young people coming into the industry to fill the positions that are needed by machine shops today. On one hand, it's great news in general, that the demand for machinists is strong. Onshoring seems to be a longer-term trend now and the demand for machined parts in North America is strong, which is fantastic. The shadow side is that it’s tough to find machinists and most shops feel that pain, which inhibits their ability to grow at the pace they could theoretically if hiring was not a problem.
Companies constantly seek ways to optimize production processes, improve efficiency, and maximize equipment investments. Dassault Systèmes, a 3D software pioneer, transforms this through DELMIA’s Factory Automation tools.
Over the years, SOLIDWORKS has evolved with the help of customer feedback, making it easier and faster to use. Each SOLIDWORKS release aims to fulfill customer requests and improve automation, making it easier to work smarter, faster, and together. SOLIDWORKS 2023 3D CAD is no exception.
This mechanical clock in the video was made with over two dozen 3d printed parts. It has brass bushings and steel shafts. It was inspired by a mechanical watch design, but the parts are laid out in-line and scaled up six times larger than a mechanical watch.
I have designed and built a 3D printed clock that has over two dozen printed parts in it. My aspirations for doing this started when I bought mechanical watch movements and disassembled them to see how they work. The clock that I printed was inspired by a mechanical watch movement, but it is scaled up in size by six times.
During my time operating the Machining Blog business, I have visited a few schools. I noticed one thing that was the same about their programs, and that was their 3D printers were just used to produce trinkets and not mechanical parts. I decided to create a project that could create many learning opportunities from it, and that project was to design and build a mechanical clock. The clock that I designed was based on a mechanical watch design, but I scaled the part size up by six times their actual size. I started the project by reading books on watch design and by taking apart watch movements. I learned along the way and then started designing watch movement parts in Solidworks CAD software. I then purchased a small 3D printer and started printing the parts. Once the gears started to mesh properly, I built a few prototypes along the way. With all my time that I invested in the project, it probably amounted to a couple thousand hours. The result was a clock that is pretty accurate for being printed, not machined.
