With more than 30 years in the industry—and 20 years of Mastercam experience—Jeremy Fritchy knows more than a thing or two about manufacturing. We sat down with him and asked him to share some insights.
To find out how FK Instruments uses Mastercam to produce complex, multiaxis parts for the aerospace and defense industries, click here.
Why did you choose manufacturing?
At first, I didn’t plan on working in manufacturing, but I realized that it would be a good career to fall back on because it will always be around. I earned my associate degree in engineering science from Northern Essex Community College (Haverhill, MA) while working for a small, family-owned machine shop.
A majority of my training was hands-on from the floor. I started out on the saw and in the deburring room and, throughout the years, I learned the basics of machining on a Bridgeport—how to qualify parts, how to square off parts, and the basics on how to approach a part. And then it just grew from there. I fell in love with having the ability and knowledge of turning raw materials into functional components.
I was there 10 years or so. I worked in a couple of other shops after that. I got married and moved to Florida, so most of my work experience has been in Florida working in the marine, DOD, and aerospace fields.
What advice do you have for someone wanting to pursue a career in manufacturing?
Get as much education as you can. Never stop learning. Take all the vocational classes that you can, watch YouTube, learn as much as possible. For example, for machining strategies and work holding, YouTube is a huge venue for ideas. You can work at a company and continue to do things a certain way because that’s the way they’ve always been done, and then you watch YouTube and see other ways of doing things and it opens doors.
Also, I use the Mastercam online forums. I love that side of Mastercam. That is what I think sets Mastercam apart from a lot of the other CAM software systems. There’s so much information and so many people that are willing to help on the forums.
If you could spend a day in the life of someone else, who’s would it be??
I would say somebody in top secret R&D. That’s always been a dream that I would be working in some remote off site doing R&D work, testing, and designing advanced new technology.
When you were a kid, what career did you dream of having?
At some point in my life, I thought I was going to be a professional baseball player. I was a pitcher and first baseman. As soon as I got a license and a car, I realized that baseball wasn’t going to put gas in my car.
My father suggested I consider getting into a trade. I was fortunate to have a family friend looking for entry level help in his machine shop.
Who or what was your biggest teacher?
The guys that were willing to train me. I was fortunate to work with so many great people with decades of experience. They really instilled the basics of machining and what it means to take pride and ownership in the work you do.
That’s really a big part of it. They taught me that it’s more than just a job. Over the years they would teach me programming at the machine and the fundamentals of programming. That’s what led me to become a programmer.
What are you most proud of professionally?
My work ethic. I am extremely dependable and dedicated.
I’m also very appreciative of the opportunities I’ve had that created a foundation for me to excel in my field. I have never come across a part or challenge that made me question my career path.
I embrace every challenge and utilize critical thinking to manage each situation.
So, my knowledge of Mastercam and machining, work ethic—everything combined—is what I’m most proud of.
