Machine Shop Class Ideas and Instructors

DMS General
#1

The machine shop committee asked me to work to improve and expand our training efforts in the machine shop. There are several of us who teach classes in the machine shop, but there are many knowledgeable and talented machinists at the makerspace who have good information to share. We want to expand both the number of teachers and subjects of classes. If you have knowledge or experience in the machine shop, and would like to share that skill with others, please reach out to me via PM and let me know what you would like to teach. We can make it happen.’

We have classes on the Bridgeport, the Colchester, the Sherline manual machines and the Shapeoko3 plastics CNC machine, but we want to expand to more topics. We are working on more CNC classes and expect that these will begin this summer. If there are specific topics, tools or skills that you would like to see in a machine shop class, post it here and we will try to get it set up and on the calendar.

Thanks!

Kevin

4 Likes
#2

I’ve taught:

Bridgeport
Shark
Colchester
Both Sherline classes
HAAS Class
HAAS Machine Side (won’t do again)

And I’d be happy to helped however we need. I’ve been privately playing with MasterCAM in the hopes of getting the new HAAS curriculum sorted but I’ve been procrastinating due to the HAAS being down and my life being hectic currently.

2 Likes
#3

Both Nick Silva and Dave Kessinger talked about having classes on fixturing. How to get angled cuts wen all your movements are orthogonal. 3d exercises for the mind.

#4

I’d love some classes on that. My current method is very experimental and requires me to find someone who looks like they know what they’re doing and ask them does this look safe? before I turn the machine on. It’s a bit of overhead and sometimes head ducking lol

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#5

So does how you fixture affect how you CAD/CAM? Other way around? Work design from both ends?

#6

Absolutely . You do have to take fixturing into account to plan the tool heights and approaches for rapid movements . I have broken more end mills running in to clamps and fixtures than from any other cause .

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#7

Yes, all that and something probably not often considered - will what ever holds your tooling clear the clamps, etc? Kinda important when using short drills and end mills. There’s a set of Kant-Twist clamps out there with rounded edges…