Most shops have a variety of brands of CNC machinery which use a variety of computer controls. While the operating principles are the same between lathes, many operators find it difficult to move between machines because of the differences in the computer controls. Even operators with experience on one brand, such as Fanuc, often find that the significant differences between models within that brand make it difficult to be effective without additional training.
What's Covered: This course, like its companion course Mastering CNC Machining Centers, provides instruction on all of the operating and set up tasks common to all CNC lathes. More importantly, the trainee learns how it is performed on the specific brand and model of CNC control you select for them to learn. These can include any of the common Fanuc, Haas, Okuma or Mazak controls. It is estimated that 90% of the lathes in shops today use one of the controls covered by this course. This broad exposure to the way control manufacturers handle each task also gives trainees the ability to handle other brands of controls not specifically covered by the course.
Focused Instruction and Testing: The instruction for each lesson is on DVD. The opening DVD menu allows the selection of the CNC control to be learned. To focus the testing, specific control models are selected for each trainee when they are initially registered in the computer-based management system. This allows a person to be tested more thoroughly on the controls they will be using, or permits an individual to be quickly cross trained to another control when needed. Best of all, your trainees will perform job tasks in realistic SIMULATION during the CD-ROM tests. They will see the CNC controls screen displays, soft key menus, control panel buttons and be required to complete ever step in the procedure correctly. That means learning can occur without tying up your machines or making costly mistakes that can damage equipment and cause the loss of valuable production time.
Improve Existing Workers: While the courseware is extremely effective in training new personnel, significant reductions in operating costs are achieved by retraining the existing workforce. Either the CD-ROM tests or the Student Guide work sheets can be used as pretests to determine where individuals need help. Each person can work individually in a self-paced setting to reduce any embarrassment.
Flexible Design: Mastering CNC Lathes is divided into 5 courses. Each course has between 4 and 6 lessons. The course manager can control what skills a person learns by activating or deactivating individual lessons within a course. The normal sequence of learning builds the skills starting with machinery operator, then setup operator, and finally setup/programmer.
Course 1: The Basic CNC Lathe
Course 2: Understanding Part Programs
Course 3: Lathe Operator Skills
Course 4: Basic Setup Skills
Course 5: Advanced Setup Skills
The Learning Sequence: Each course includes a number of lessons. For example, Course 1 has four lessons. The instruction for each lesson is found on a professionally produced color DVD or videocassette. The DVD chapter menu allows the trainee to select the CNC control type to learn. After viewing a lesson, the trainee can turn to the work sheet for that lesson found in the Student Guide for that course. Answers to the Student Guide work sheet questions are found in the Instructor's Guide. After completing a Student Guide test, a trainee can begin the CD-ROM test. The CNC control, or controls, selected by the course manager when registering the trainee in the course determines which questions will be presented to the trainee.
The course material is organized in a logical sequence to enable the trainee to become productive as soon as possible. This allows the trainee to begin to apply what is learned immediately so long term retention is improved while providing a rapid return-on-investment for the company. Courses one to five provide a natural progression allowing trainees to acquire the skills of a machinery operator, then progress to become set up person, and if needed, a set up programmer.
Competency-based or Norm-Referenced Instruction: You may select how the course is delivered to your trainees. Norm-referenced instruction is the common classroom approach with which we are all familiar. The instructor presents the course material and requires students to complete a lesson to the best of their ability within a prescribed time. This fixed-time approach results in students exiting the course with variable levels of competency. That is, some students will do well, others will do less well within the time allotted. However, even two students that achieved "90" on the final exam are likely to have missed a different 10% of the content, some of which may lead to costly inefficiency.
MasterTask's competency-based approach requires that a student achieve a predetermined level of performance before they can progress to the next lesson. This technique, therefore, produces a fixed level of competency while allowing a variable amount of time to reach that goal. This form of training has proven particularly effect when it comes to training machinery operators. Since the system requires 100% on each test, in fairness to the trainee the course can not ask questions about the history of CNC or other irrelevant topics.
MasterTask has set the standard in competency-based instruction for industrial training over the last 35 years. Because the operation and adjustment of a machine tool requires a high degree of accuracy, we would recommend you consider using the MasterTask competency-based approach. A complete explanation of the implementation options are found in the Instructor's Manual.
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