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Next leve in an interview - CNC machinist input welcomed

B

Big_Daddy

Nov 24, 2010
379
13
Central Alberta
#1
I graduated from high school last year, so I'm a young lad. I've worked at Canadian Tire (retail, yay) for close to two years, and it's time get a real job. In the longterm, I've got my sights on law enforcement/military, but my eyes are too poor. So I've got to wait until I'm 21 before I can get corrective eye surgery, so in the meantime, work and make money.

I applied at Alberta Oil Tool the other day, and within three hours they phoned me back. I guess they've got two positions open for CNC guys (though I'd rather work in shipping and receiving), and there's three of us. They say that experience isn't necessary, math skills and the ability to read blueprints aren't essential going in because they'll train you from the ground up their way. By the by, my math skills are poor. But wouldn't they want you to use a calculator, and not leave calculations to human error?

I've been called in for the drug test today. Now, two questions:

How serious are they considering you if they take you in for a drug test? You know, considering they have to pay money for it and all.

And second, for the CNC machinist in the forum, what's the job like? Is the learning curve steep? Is it an easy job? Difficult?

Well, I guess that's six questions...
 
#3
My wife does HR. The drug test is a positive sign, but doesn't mean you have the job. It does indicate serious interest though.

We do a fair amount of CNC stuff here. The programming is the math intensive part. It's not necessary for you to know programming right off the bat though. I have a friend at another shop that doesn't run the machines at all. He strictly writes code.

I wouldn't call operating a CNC machine difficult per say... The machine was invented to take the difficulty out of the machining process. You do have to feed it part blanks, and change tooling here and there, but once you know what you're doing, it's not bad at all.
 
#4
I've been in CNC machine shops since '86. Started off in shipping and receiving deburring, washing and packing parts. They noticed that I was a good and attentive worker and moved me out to learn NC machines. Went to CNC and since 2003 I've been in QC.

If you get the job I would stress the most important thing you can do is to pay attention to every little detail. Take a notebook with you and take notes. When I first went on NC and CNC machines I took notes on everything and it really helped in the long run. The reason it helped me so much is because I'm a visual learner, so it was "show me what you're doing and let me write it down." My notes also kept me from bothering them. You know...."I know you told me how to do this...but I forgot how." So my notes helped ease my learning curve a lot.

Pay close attention to the parts you machined. Even though it's true what Phalex said about how the machine was invented to take the difficulty out of the process, the finished parts are only good if the operator pays attention to detail. Too many operators don't take the time to check thier tooling for wear which can cause problems. Trust me, tolerances can be easily held to within .0005 only if the operator cares about what he's doing.

Take your time, pay attention, show them you care and are willing to learn and you'll do great.

Good luck to you.
 
#5
Big_Daddy said:
I graduated from high school last year, so I'm a young lad. I've worked at Canadian Tire (retail, yay) for close to two years, and it's time get a real job. In the longterm, I've got my sights on law enforcement/military, but my eyes are too poor. So I've got to wait until I'm 21 before I can get corrective eye surgery, so in the meantime, work and make money.

I applied at Alberta Oil Tool the other day, and within three hours they phoned me back. I guess they've got two positions open for CNC guys (though I'd rather work in shipping and receiving), and there's three of us. They say that experience isn't necessary, math skills and the ability to read blueprints aren't essential going in because they'll train you from the ground up their way. By the by, my math skills are poor. But wouldn't they want you to use a calculator, and not leave calculations to human error?

I've been called in for the drug test today. Now, two questions:

How serious are they considering you if they take you in for a drug test? You know, considering they have to pay money for it and all.

And second, for the CNC machinist in the forum, what's the job like? Is the learning curve steep? Is it an easy job? Difficult?

Well, I guess that's six questions...
Click to expand...
alberta needs people with your skills.....i'd worry more about finding a place to live when you get there
 
#7
Taking the skill out of machining is only one reason for CNC. The other is the ability to machine complex shapes and materials that can't be done manually.

A CNC machine shop may call for a range of skills. A large production shop might have work for somebody who is just loading raw material into the machine, and stacking up the finished parts.

At the other end of the spectrum are shops that specialize in prototyping and small volume production. Often, those shops are dealing with customers who don't know exactly what they want, so the machinist ends up doubling as an engineer, plus doing the CNC programming, and possibly using conventional machines for fixturing, material preparation, and secondary operations.

I'm one of those customers. I bring a hand-drawn sketch to the machine shop, and the machinists advise me on choice of materials and other details. This is usually for rapid prototyping work in R&D.

I think that no matter what level you start out at, if you show some curiosity and initiative, you can learn a huge amount from the senior workers. At some point you might decide that you've learned enough, and have saved enough money, that a few years of college are in the cards for you.
 
#8
Big_Daddy said:
I graduated from high school last year, so I'm a young lad. I've worked at Canadian Tire (retail, yay) for close to two years, and it's time get a real job. In the longterm, I've got my sights on law enforcement/military, but my eyes are too poor. So I've got to wait until I'm 21 before I can get corrective eye surgery, so in the meantime, work and make money.

I applied at Alberta Oil Tool the other day, and within three hours they phoned me back. I guess they've got two positions open for CNC guys (though I'd rather work in shipping and receiving), and there's three of us. They say that experience isn't necessary, math skills and the ability to read blueprints aren't essential going in because they'll train you from the ground up their way. By the by, my math skills are poor. But wouldn't they want you to use a calculator, and not leave calculations to human error?

I've been called in for the drug test today. Now, two questions:

How serious are they considering you if they take you in for a drug test? You know, considering they have to pay money for it and all.

And second, for the CNC machinist in the forum, what's the job like? Is the learning curve steep? Is it an easy job? Difficult?

Well, I guess that's six questions...
Click to expand...

I've worked as a Machine Operator for around 3 or 4 years now at various places, and I'm going to tell you now that it seems fishy to me that they wouldn't want you to have any previous experience. CNC Machinists around here generally have to have a degree in mechanics and be certified or something. It's not really my deal, but I've certainly never seem any ads that say you wouldn't have to have experience in that field. I HAVE, however seen similar ads and had people call me back for an "interview" only to find out that it was all a scam and they're trying to get my money. So BE CAREFUL.

If it is real, I wish you the best of luck. I hope you enjoy working with your hands, paying attention to detail, and are good at problem solving. Anything in the industrial field generally requires heavy lifting and the more "trained" you are, the more they generally expect you to do.

That said, I love working in a factory and I love what I do. Maybe look for some other ads that are for CNC Machinists and see what their qualifications are and it'll probably give you a better idea of what you're going to be doing.

BEST OF LUCK!!
 
#9
Will you be operating the machines, programming the toolpaths, or both? The skills are different but interconnected.

I've done a little shop-floor CNC and quite a bit of hobby and small production CNC. The learning curve is a little steep at first and never ends. You're always learning new and better ways of getting the job done. Although you're applying for a CNC job it's a good idea to get as much manual machine tool experience as you can to get a feel for how tools and materials behave.

It's also a very satisfying activity.
 
#10
You'll most likely just be hired as a CNC operator, cross training is really hard to come by, companies have their belts tightened and can't afford to have downtime for teaching. It's repetitive but really fun and you end up "learning as you go" with a lot of things and it can open up a lot of doors to the future.

Put piece in.
press start.
make sure nothing breaks.
take part out.
Repeat and check measurements of last piece while the next piece is working.

Eventually you'll know your way around the coding a little bit and can make offsets to compensate for tool wear when your measurements are getting out of step. I fell in love with it. After that point you might be able to convince your employer to lay you off so you can go to school and get your red seal for machinist (2 years) in return for an employment contract after you graduate. I think it's only like 3 months in the classroom each year and the rest on on the job training, which can be done anywhere as long as someone else has a red seal that you work with that can apprentice you.
 
#13
I've been doing some CAD drafting in a shop where they're upgrading a CNC milling machine adding a lathe component. Seems like a thorough knowledge of software and control systems are skills essential to real success in the CNC world. I'm certainly am no CNC guy myself but listening to these guys all day for the last several days this is my impression.
 

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