Training for tomorrow

I have written articles for Cutting Tool Engineering for a decade. If you have read any of those stories, you may have recognized that I possess an affinity for old-school machining and engineering. I like machines with handles, cranks and scraped ways. I prefer indicators to controls and enjoy the smell of cutting oil.

Although the art of conventional machining and toolmaking is my preference, my living has been made creating modern machining processes and programming the most advanced machine tools available. Modern technology is the only path to the productivity gains needed to further our economy, so I appreciate the benefits derived from up-to-date machining techniques and machine tools.

My love for the old ways came from working on machine tools from the 1940s and ’50s when I learned the craft. The experiences gained on those old machines allowed me to solve problems encountered on modern machines. A unique symbiotic relationship exists between old-school machining and modern manufacturing that makes me consider how the new and the old will interact in the future.

I see a gap in the way we are educating the next generation of machinists and engineers. Much of our vocational education focuses on CAD, CNC programming and similar technologies. Our foundations seem to be shifting away from conventional machining methods, especially at the university level.

I believe that manufacturers are pushing the educational system toward high-tech manufacturing because of the tremendous shortage of people in the labor market. Manufacturers need employees in front of machining centers. It is difficult to argue that this is the wrong method if you have tried to hire a machinist anytime in the past decade. However, I have seen young machinists and toolmakers struggle significantly at machine shops when managers have thought that any young person with a certificate from a local trade school could walk through the doorway and be effective.

The only way to train the senses to recognize successes and failures is to stand at a machine and make chips.

A conventional machinist or toolmaker does more than operate a machine. Machining is a science practiced by artisans. Making chips on a conventional lathe or knee mill trains the senses because machinists use most of their senses when making chips. Sight, sound, smell and touch provide a continuous stream of feedback used to assess the chip-making process. With these sensory inputs, machinists adjust, caress, cajole and manipulate machine tools to deliver the desired results.