Machine Shop class ideas

Machine Shop
#1

I’m aware that we have more learners than teachers around the Makerspace, but in an effort to spur some discussion at the least, i’d like to suggest some classes and see if there would be any interest in someone to teach them. A couple ideas would be…

Machine Shop 101 - What’s possible (and not) in the DMS Machine shop. It could go over basics of what tooling we have available and have some basic safety info. It’d probably cover the use and operation of the drill press, band saw, arbor press, etc.

Machine Shop 201 - Further dive into tooling and something like maintenance and adjustments for the band saw, drill press and any other larger machines that require optimization of settings for best results.

Bridgeport 201 - For those who have taken what I refer to as 101 & 102 Bridgeport (Classroom and Practical) but would cover some additional topics such as fixturing of materials, fly cutters and the rotary table. This could even be broken into a whole series of classes as I’m sure that theres LOTS to learn on many rabbit holes on this machine.

Colchester 101, 102 & 201. Much the same as the Bridgeport, I’d love to see some basic and advanced operational classes on this machine. I know that Walter offered one last year, but I don’t think it covered the 102 level operation of the machine, let alone anything mid-level.

Note that none of these would really even mention the HAAS, other than maybe discussing it’s potential in the MS101 course. I know that @wandrson has offered a number of courses in the past, and @Photomancer has done a couple of Bridgeport classes, but there are certainly a lot more people at the space that use these machines on a regular basis that should be able to teach some of these classes.

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#2

I think self paced video classes would be a great help to reach many
students with very few teachers and time schedules, then maybe demonstrate
some level of competence to a class instructor in order to gain access to
the machines. That’s basically how I learnt everything I know about making
stuff.

Also, there is so much info given during some of the classes, it would be
nice to have a video to refer to again and again even after the class is
over.

Just my .02 cents

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#3

The MIT videos, already available from the wiki page, do provide exactly what you suggest. We would be hard pressed to produce something better.

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#4

Yeap, those are great videos, wish we had some for other machines at DMS.

On further review, I went to the wiki and the first few that I clicked on took me to broken links. https://dallasmakerspace.org/wiki/Tools

“Full Spectrum Laser Cutter - Current Training Presentation: http://tinyurl.com/DMS-LayZr” (broken Link)
“Vinyl Cutter - GRC-76S Ultra - You have followed a link to a page that does not exist yet.”
“3D printers (QTY: 4) - Polyprinter 229 - You have followed a link to a page that does not exist yet.”
“MultiCam CNC Router - no video offered”

#5

The videos I referenced are linked on the machine shop wiki

https://dallasmakerspace.org/wiki/Machine_Shop_Committee#External_Sites

https://dallasmakerspace.org/wiki/Machine_Shop_Committee#Instructional_Information

#6

I’m not saying that videos aren’t a great idea, but there are a couple of issues with just watching videos. First off, there are different ways to learn. Some people need a book, others do good with videos, and some need to learn by making mistakes (yikes!). DMS offers classes on a lot of stuff, especially on machines that can maim or kill, of which many in the metal shop are well and truly capable of doing. Furthermore, when you have a class, it starts to form bonds of people who can help each other out, and eventually create more trainers, involve more people and provide funding for the Machine Shop as well. Brian @bgangwere has done a good job in acquiring tools for us to use, but I’ll bet that the board would like to see more active participation from us members in teaching classes to provide funding to MS. I know that I tend to learn best when I can ask questions of someone (many times stupid ones) because to some people it’s obvious, but not always to everyone.

#7

@Adam_Oas

I love the idea of classes; however, I have not seen the participants in the machine shop come to the table to help yet.

I created the Bridgeport and Lathe basic training classes and would love to see us require such training prior to using our machines. Particularly considering how frequently we have members misusing them. But that requires a lot of trainers. The wonderful Woodshop model has them offering three classes a week and they still have a huge backlog.

Creating curriculum and teaching classes is a lot of work (I know I taught over 12 classes last year), and without a fairly large group of volunteer instructors these classes aren’t really likely to happen.

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#8

This is a little off topic, but somewhat germane to the larger picture of training etc. Mostly just a response to the “watch a video and you’re good to go” aspects of training and classes.

I forget where I saw it (probably pointed out by @Robert_Davidson), but there are other maker/hacker spaces who categorize all their equipment into three classifications: Red, Yellow, Green.

  • Red - Mostly considered dangerous to the user (our table saw for instance)
  • Yellow - Mostly considered dangerous to the equipment (Shapeoko for instance)
  • Green - Free for all (hand sander for instance)

(I don’t want to debate specifics of the examples I used and I assume we all understand that even while Yellow/Green can be dangerous to the user, the likely hood of “serious” injury is “low”. Also this is not a comment on how anything at the space is CURRENTLY handled etc.)

I think “Red” tools should require hands on training/certification. “Yellow” expensive tools should probably require it at well (if we assume the Haas was Yellow for instance, I’d still argue it should require training due to how easy it is to make a $4k mistake). For both of these situations (Red and expensive yellow), I don’t think saying “watch a video” should suffice. At least demonstrating some proficiency to someone certified to check you out should be required.

All this said, if the demand exists for training even on Green tools or cheap Yellow tools, fill that gap when possible. I realize this is always easier said than done.

#9

Personally, I think a basic intro class for: Wood, Metal, and Machine that cover the overall gambit of tools is a good idea. Of course, that will also require at least twice monthly classes. Then training on the specific tools.

I like the idea of the RED - YELLOW - GREEN (commonly called Visual Workshop marking in industry). We’ve got items in CA that would fall into Yellow - Training required and a unified marking system would be great. I think this could be covered in either a new member Intro Class or Handbook for new members.

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#10

I’ve watched the MIT videos, but until you lay hands on the machine, some of the info transferred by the videos just doesn’t gel. The current Bridgeport classes do a good job getting you there, and I wouldn’t be afraid now to go at it on the bridgeport. But still no monkey-see-monkey-do training on the Lathe, and that’s a huge hole. If I needed to make 20 of the same part, or just wanted to play with CNC, I’d be all about the Haas training, but for most things, I’m going to want to use either the Bridgeport, the Colchester, or both - and I suspect most others are the same.

#11

I’m working on becoming and instructor for lathe - just need to become familiar with this particular machine and it’s quirks. I plan on having classes at least monthly and maybe several during forst couple of months.

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#12

Save me a seat in your first class!

#13

@Kentamanos

I consider ever power tool in the machine shop to be both red and yellow on your chart.

I don’t think anyone believes that videos are sufficient, but training requires trainers. I have been focusing on two aspects, basic safety and how to avoid damaging our equipment.

One problem with hands on training is the need to keep class sizes small, which means lots of classes.

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#14

Okay folks, I may not be 100% (almost certainly will not be), but we can at least get the ball rolling.

I have scheduled my Intro to the Colchester 101 class for Sunday afternoon on the 28th of this month and I have scheduled a training the trainers for the Colchester on Monday evening. If you want to help train people on the Colchester I request that you attend both (the class room will cover the basics), while the monday session will give you hands on time. I only want people to come to the monday session who are serious about helping to train others.

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#15

It would also help if we had a lathe w/ safety features and manufacturer support. Unfortunately, the committee cannot afford to purchase one.

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#16

Well considering the board dropped about fifteen grand on a new laser cutter last night, perhaps we could convince them to let us acquire a replacement for the colchester?

#17

ditto on the class…

#18

I’ll commit to teaching, but the real challenge for me is that I’m 100% newbie on anything to do with machining. Even with a train-the-trainer class I can practically guarantee that the only things I’ll be able to do is regurgitate information, hence my original comment about the people who I see on these machines all the time. It’s not necessarily their responsibility, but a little peer pressure never hurt. Please note that I only mentioned you and David as a way to say thank you for the efforts that you have put in!

#19

Well given your preference for non-chinese, and if you are correct that Jet is Taiwanese, it looks like we need about $10,000 for a replacement with the same capacity as the Colchester.

http://www.travers.com/engine-lathe/p/87-116-752/

BTW, I don’t think we would want anything larger then a 13" swing like the current Colchester.

#20

I missed the meeting last night, but last time around, Laser was going to put in a good chunk of the cash for the machine, and I’ll bet that a good chunk of that cash came from teaching classes. At $50 per class earned for the committee (Say we run 2x of the MS 101 per month and one of each of the others for a total of 9 classes a month) that’s $5400 per year, which is not a bad chunk of change toward a new lathe. If we charged a nominal $20 fee for the 102 & 201 courses (the 5 hands on ones) that’d add an additional $1200 which I’m guessing we’d need to deal with the extra wear and tear on the machines honestly. The board seems to like doing “matching funds” purchases, so in a year, we can (maybe) get Walter’s recommended lathe :sparkling_heart: