A world of skills: Turning Performance

Courtesy of Mori Seiki

More than 900 competitors from 51 member countries and regions participated in 45 skill categories at the 40th WorldSkills competition, which was held Sept. 1-7, 2009, at Stampede Park in Calgary, Alberta.

Youth skills training for machinists takes place in schools with metalworking programs and in connection with competitions, such as WorldSkills.

World-class competition brings out the best in individuals and teams. Without the Olympics, athletes likely would have never accomplished some of their greatest sports achievements. The same can be said for the WorldSkills competitions in relation to the trades’ arena.

That was the case at the 40th WorldSkills competition, which took place Sept. 1-7 at Stampede Park in Calgary, Alberta. More than 900 qualifying participants from 51 member countries and regions competed in the 45 skill categories, ranging from auto body repair to bricklaying to offset printing to fashion technology to CNC milling and turning.

Competition Preparation

Training for the machining skills events—and for a career as a metalcutting professional—requires a concerted effort. Frank McSherry, a machining instructor at the Dehryl A. Dennis Technical Education Center, Boise, Idaho, and CNC Milling competition expert, noted that his former student Fernando De La Garza, who represented the U.S. in milling, prepared for the state and national SkillsUSA competitions that preceded the international event based on three main considerations: a thorough knowledge of the competition requirements, an accurate assessment of the competitors’ strengths and weaknesses and the projected costs of achieving the training plan.

“Competition information would identify the tasks that will be judged, the level of difficulty of those tasks, the time limits for completion, the equipment that will be used and the equipment that must be brought to the competition,” McSherry said. “Next, the competition information would be matched to the competitor’s abilities and a preparation plan developed. At that time, we would determine who would be involved in the actual preparation and where that preparation will take place. This information would then be used for a cost analysis to determine feasibility of the total competition training plan.”

De La Garza, who won the SkillsUSA national CNC milling competition in 2007, noted that much of the preparation for the WorldSkills competition was done at home, learning how to use Mastercam CAD/CAM software. Previously, he programmed with G and M codes. To test the programs the software produced, De La Garza used the open-source Enhanced Machine Control and later a machine tool. “I used EMC to control a small retrofitted bench mill I have at home and it proved handy in getting a feel for what Mastercam was doing without having to actually go to a machine; I just ran it in simulation mode in my computer when I wanted to see what the output was, looked at the 3-D graphics of the toolpath generated and related them to G codes,” he said. “When I was ready to start cutting, I used the Haas Mini Mill at school, starting with wax and then moving to 6061 aluminum and mild steel.”

When it was time for the WorldSkills 2009 milling competition, it was vital that a competitor be able to machine steel and aluminum at metal-removal rates approaching those seen at trade shows while maintaining accuracy, according to McSherry. He added that most competitors did have experience machining at high mrr based on the sounds at the machine during the competition and inspection of the completed parts. In conversations with experts from other countries, McSherry learned that some participants started training 2 years prior to the competition. “The least amount of training seemed to be 6 months,” he said, with one exception. “Our CNC Milling competitor was notified 5 months before the competition while attending college, and he had to complete his semester before starting his preparation.”

In addition, although Mori Seiki provided access to machines at various locations, McSherry noted that De La Garza did not have an opportunity to work with a Mori Seiki machining center. (The machine tool builder provided 26 CNC machines at WorldSkills 2009, including DuraVertical5100 vertical machining centers and DuraTurn2050 lathes.) And, with the exception of a few hours of online training, he had to learn the machine’s control unit during the competition. Likely as a result, De La Garza was at a serious competitive disadvantage during the WorldSkills 2009 event.

“The competition was definitely very challenging and a great experience,” De La Garza said. “It opened my eyes into what can be done with more training.” He added that he needed to prepare more to become comfortable with metric speeds and feeds and taking heavy cuts using cutters larger than ¾ ” in diameter.

“It also appeared that the more successful competitors were heavily financed by large companies and/or government subsidies,” McSherry said. “It was clear to me that we were going to compete, but the realistic expectations were to gain the experience and to provide a comprehensive report for the competitors in 2011.”

The 41st WorldSkills competition takes place in the United Kingdom.

In connection with the competition, Dr. Masahiko Mori, president of Mori Seiki Co. Ltd., Nagoya City, Japan, said: “It is a great honor to be selected twice consecutively as an official supplier and sponsor for the WorldSkills competition. Workforce development is a challenge for manufacturing industries, even as the need for such knowledge grows. The WorldSkills competition both promotes and recognizes the capabilities of talented young people around the globe.”

Competition in School

In addition to going head to head in international contests, young people are also motivated to enhance their technical skills when facing opponents closer to home. “There is a lot of competition between schools and the students start to get into it as well, especially if it’s a school right across the street,” said Anthony Genovese, industry and technology instructor at Addison (Ill.) Trail High School. “I tell them McHenry East is machining this part and you want to beat them. You turn it almost into a sporting event.”

Courtesy of A. Richter

U.S. competitor Fernando De La Garza from the Dehryl A. Dennis Technical Education Center, Boise, Idaho, machines a part during the CNC Milling competition at WorldSkills Calgary 2009.

Genovese noted that the school hired him to rebuild the machine tool program after a hiatus. The school is involved in the SkillsUSA skilled trades’ development program, but his machining class was preparing for competitions conducted by the Tooling & Manufacturing Association, where students receive a part print and receive awards based on how close they machine it to the specified tolerances.

The school has a small CNC machine and is seeking a grant to purchase a full-size one, but Genovese starts his students on manual machines.

“You have to learn the basics before you even touch a CNC,” he said. “I want the kids to be able to feel what too heavy a cut is and to feel what a good feed is.”