Techniques

CNC Preparation Meets Manufacturing Opportunity

Innovative programs at Cape Fear Community College target CNC training to meet diverse industry needs

A little over a year ago, the Machining Technology program at Cape Fear Community College (CFCC) of Wilmington, NC was struggling to survive with just five students in two sections. What a difference a year can make! The College has added a third section to accommodate the 55 students currently enrolled and is looking forward to more growth during the 2006-07 academic year.

The school’s decision to shift instructional emphasis from traditional machine operating skills to CNC (computer numerical control) programming and machining is what saved this program. When the outlook for manufacturing turned upwards in 2004, the local manufacturing community and students discovered that CFCC had exactly what they were looking for.

Teaching Mostly CNC

Randy Johnson, an instructor in the program, noted that machine tool sales were getting back to pre-9/11 levels and that is a positive indicator for technical job seekers nationwide. Locally, he noticed that one company in particular, the GE Energy Division (headquartered in Wilmington), was actively hiring experienced machinists. This has created a competitive skilled labor market.

Instead of one Machining Technology instructor losing his job at CFCC, all three are now in an overload situation, teaching extra courses and answering requests for training from local manufacturers. “Everyone wants qualified CNC people,” said Johnson.

CFCC students are well-prepared because several years ago, the college did an analysis of where its students were being placed and what skills were needed. As a result, the department shifted the emphasis of its program from manual machining to CNC. Students are still given a solid foundation in manual machining including metal cutting band saws, drill presses, lathes, milling machines, and surface grinders. However, 60% of the work centers are on CNC machining. “For students who take a second year, it’s all CNC,” Johnson said.

In their second 16-week semester, students take an entry-level CNC programming class to learn about different types of CNC machines, their controllers, and how to program using G-code. “By the third semester,” said Johnson, “they have a very good understanding of what computer-controlled machining is all about. That’s when we introduce them to off-line computer automated programming with 160 hours of training in Level I and Level II of Mastercam, a popular CAD/CAM program. This is when all of the students experience total immersion in the world of CNC machining.”

Finished Product Focus

The practical focus of Mastercam training is to program and produce a finished product using one or more CNC machine tools. Johnson said, “We go over the basics of geometry construction and modification, contour milling, drilling, and the like. Then they take the CAM programs they have written and manufacture the part. We inspect it for close tolerances and good quality surface finish, just like they would in the industry. If they can’t hold their tolerances on machining, we back up, regroup, and have them manufacture the part again.”

The students of the certificate program are not finished until they pass the NOCTI (National Occupational Competency Testing Institute) exam, which determines the level of their machining skill. This is a course requirement. The students also have to sit for the 6-hour Mastercam Certification exam that includes writing a program for manufacturing a three-dimensional, six-sided object. The goal of the Certification program is not only to produce skilled programmers, but also to give Certification holders the ability to adapt their talents to the ever-changing technologies in the manufacturing world.

Both Johnson and his teaching colleague Ben Bowie have met the stringent academic and hands-on requirements to be certified Mastercam instructors and administer the national Mastercam exam to their students. While passing the national Mastercam exam is not a Machining Technology Certificate requirement, it is a bonus, since certified Mastercam programmers are frequently offered high paying jobs right out of school.

“I’m thankful that Mastercam has this Certification program,” Johnson said. “This training sets our students apart from the average CAD/CAM user. And passing the exam documents that difference. An employer can look up on Mastercam’s Web site to see what goals the student has achieved to become Mastercam certified.

In 2005, two students graduated with Mastercam Certification and both landed excellent jobs immediately. Johnson said one received the job of second shift supervisor at a company in Montana where CNC skills are in short supply. The second student impressed his company so much with his capabilities that they bought a Mastercam seat to make him even more productive in programming their CNC milling machine.

Training To Go

The Machining Technology program offers a one-year certificate or a two-year Associates degree. Students in CFCC’s two-year Associate’s Degree Program in Mechanical Engineering also take some of the Machining Technology courses, including the Mastercam training. In addition, the department is heavily involved in providing customized training for industrial clients, coordinated through the Business Industry and Government Center of Cape Fear Community College.

Recently, the College announced a contract with the GE Energy Division and its technical manpower subcontractor Penpower to provide technical training to students who will eventually go on to become nuclear power technicians. After completing the classes on-campus, students will travel to San Jose, California for hands-on training at a mock nuclear reactor and work with trained technicians at utility companies around the country. The whole program will take two years for students to complete. Currently there are 20 students from this program enrolled in Machining Technology classes. In the future, there could be as many as 100 at any given time.

Corning is another internationally recognized fiberoptics company that is using Cape Fear Community College to design and conduct customized CNC training. The college will provide Mastercam training to five Corning employees as part of a state-sponsored apprenticeship program. The first phase of the project is an assessment that will allow the college to tailor the training to the exact needs of the company.

The first five candidates for training are in their fifties and CFCC graduates from another era. Johnson said they are all very excited about this opportunity and have been calling to find out when they will be starting. “These guys are all seasoned toolmakers who are also CNC programmers, so they need quick exposure, perhaps 20 to 25 hours to get them up and running as quickly as possible. We don’t have to teach them all the background stuff that traditional students get. With traditional students, we spend a whole class teaching them about speeds and feeds and how Mastercam calculates them. In a customized training program like this, all we do is show them a speed and feed calculator and they can take it from there.”

At the other end of the training spectrum, Cape Fear is involved in providing CNC training to high school students. This effort is part of the state-sponsored Huskins Bill program that allows students to take advanced courses for which they receive college credits. The Grant allowed the High School to purchase a tooling mill and 15 Mastercam seats. The focal point of the class is programming at the Mastercam workstations. Johnson said that today’s student is so computer savvy that this high-tech application is a real drawing card for them. Is this a quote?? They are fascinated to see first-hand how the computer interacts with the machining center to produce physical parts. The attraction is not just a passing fancy either. Some of their students have already decided to take their credits on to college and enroll in CCFC’s Machining Technology or in engineering programs at 4-year colleges.

Sustainable Energy

The Community College has encouraged its students to test their creative and technical skills by entering national competitions over the last several years. For example, ROVs (Remote Operated Vehicles) designed and manufactured by students in the Machining Technology and Engineering programs placed first, second, and fourth in three successive years against increasingly stiffer competition.

Today, the spirit of competition is still intact but the bar has been raised in terms of the importance and visibility of the goal. Under the guidance of Joel Spencer, Chairman of the Engineering Technologies Department, Machining Technology students are engaged in a project to design and build a self-sustaining, energy efficient house that could become a model for the future. The 1200 sq. ft. house, ultimately designed and built by students, will incorporate innovative systems allowing it to be completely independent of the energy grid.

Johnson said that CFCC is in the early stages of development and all sorts of technologies are being considered including solar panels, wind power, and hydrogen fuel cells to name a few. CFCC Machining Technology students will use their CNC skills to program and manufacture the designs ultimately chosen. The college realizes the need to reduce the nation’s dependence on fossil fuels will result in a tremendous growth industry in the near future. Its goal is to become a resource center for alternative energy manufacturing and to provide this new industry with workers who not only have appropriate knowledge and skill sets, but also hands-on experience.

Overall, Johnson feels hopeful about the sustainable career outlook for CFCCs Machining Technology students. He recently did a simple search on Monster.com using the words ‘CNC programmers Mastercam’. He got 300 hits. Next year, CFCC will graduate 15 to 20 second-year students who will be qualified to compete for those jobs.