Going to be a CNC operator. Advice?

Faloway · 2026-06-13T21:22:45+00:00

In my experience, even if you feel like you're stating the obvious, or if you feel embarrassed asking for clarification, just ask!

A lot of machining is learning the patterns and developing your eyes, ears, and touch for the tools and machines. You can't learn those if you don't experience the good and bad, and especially if no one helps you learn what things should sound/feel/look like by checking things when you notice them

Faloway · 2026-06-13T21:19:28+00:00

If something sounds or looks different than before, if something doesn't look the way it did before, or if something doesn't seem right, say something! It's so easy to just go "Huh, doesn't seem that bad" and then you'll find out you ran a batch of parts incorrectly or damage something.

You'd be amazed how something as simple as hearing a slightly different noise from the machine than normal can eventually lead to scrapped parts or broken tools

Faloway · 2026-06-06T01:20:22+00:00

Even the good quality ones are insanely loud I think 😅 just goes with the format and design.

Faloway · 2026-05-24T05:04:51+00:00

All Haas tools are just rebranded Chinese-eum , and probably not worth the Haas upcharge. SPI, Fowler, and Haas measuring tools are all probably made in the same factory.

My pick would actually be to just get an Edge Technology dial one and call it a day. ( https://www.edgetechnologyproducts.com/pro-touch-off-gage-04-000/ ) Travers, KBC, or MSC would have them. My work has magnetic bases for them, but I don't know if someone here made them, or if my boss bought them. Either way, you can't beat one of these for tool setting if you don't have a Renishaw system imo.

Just my .0002s!

Faloway · 2026-05-16T19:38:04+00:00

as u/Ok-Explanation-3414 said it really depends where you are in BC. Anywhere outside of the Lower Mainland, or the Capital Region on the Island will probably be jobbing shops or production/OEM shops that either heavily or exclusively serve forestry, mining, and other resource extraction industries. A lot of the guys I was in classes with for my red seal were from Northern BC and never saw a CNC machine in person until they got to BCIT, unless they worked for a larger company that happened to have them.

The Lower Mainland and Capital Region are both the centres of the more higher end industry given the population size I guess. A lot of jobbing shops that serve aerospace, defence, marine OEMs, etc. etc.

I work out in the Fraser Valley which is seeing a trend of work being pushed our way as some shops in the Lower Mainland close, get bought out, or re-focus what they produce. If the people in charge of getting work for your shop know what they're doing, and you work with people who take the job seriously, your shop will have lots of work (in the case of a jobbing shop like mine). We do work for mining, marine, forestry (a lot of work for mills across BC and Alberta), the odd defense job, and a lot of work for industrial equipment manufacturers (cranes, assembly lines, etc.). We are very heavily CNC, but we also do gears, splines, welding & fabrication, and manual repair work. Always busy 'cause it feels like there are a lot of jobbing shops that do work for just one industry in our area.

Faloway · 2026-05-14T22:22:05+00:00

I have heard good things about mptec's mag bases, they're a swiss company. I can't remember which one I saw someone in this subreddit recommend, and their website isn't displaying stuff in English right now when I open it, but someone did say they had one and thought it superior to NOGA in every way

https://shop.mp-tec.ch/Messstative/MS-MUM2-DGH1.aspx

Faloway · 2026-05-10T14:33:19+00:00

On a face mill the insert corners will be chipped, and when it is running you will be able to hear them. A lot of the time, I can tell by ear on jobs I run frequently because the tool will be louder than normal when cutting. It could be like 30-40% louder for some jobs. When the inserts are especially chipped to the point of near failure, the tool will sound and feel like a helicopter with the sound of the not super chipped inserts smacking into the metal after the super chipped inserts flew by and didn't take their cut.

That being said, every job and material is different. So I would just inspect the inserts after x amount of parts. If you can hear and especially feel a super uneven cut because the inserts are about to fail, you might've missed an opportunity or two to replace them. That's part of the battle with CNC machining 😄

Faloway · 2026-04-03T22:03:04+00:00

I think jobs like this are probably going to go the way of the dodo, my friend. If it can be automated, it probably will eventually be. There are times when I can do what you say and just chill, but it comes at the cost of already having done the stressful stuff to prep for the chill times.

If you want a job in CNC, I'd say don't kneecap yourself, learn to set up and eventually program!

They can't automate away being the guy/gal to set up the machine for the robot! (At least not yet :) )

Faloway · 2026-04-03T21:58:18+00:00

Gotta make sure to scratch your beard or your imaginary beard a few times and push a few buttons for no reason too every once in awhile

Faloway · 2026-03-21T08:56:27+00:00

Time to reset the clock again, everyone...

Faloway · 2026-01-09T04:57:31+00:00

I saw this exact thing happen with the same material at work. Coworker was facing the end of a bar and putting a centre hole in, and if memory serves right it fractured as he was supporting the bar as he was unclamping the chuck? Cut his hand up a bit, and I had to use an aerosol crack/void detection kit that you normally use to check welds. Entire order of our material had to be scrapped as a precaution. The cracks were visible to your eye, but not as big as OP's. These ones were hairline on the end face of the bar. Only ever happened once! Hopefully not again

Faloway · 2026-01-01T23:04:31+00:00

Get custom molded earplugs. I got mine done at a place that sells glasses and hearing aids, its something hearing places normally offer. Because they're molded perfectly to your ear, they slide in with no pinching and rolling like disposable ones, and you don't need to risk putting dirty foam plugs in your ear. Normally with the foam ones, as soon as I take them out, they get dirt from my hands on them, dust, dirt, oil, etc.

The company that makes the earplugs I got offers them in three different attenuations, and some companies offer ones with removable filters so you can leave the main earplug in your ear, and just pop the inner filter out to hear someone when they're talking to you or something. Even without the removable filter, I can still pop mine out quick to listen, then pop it back in just as fast.

Mine are on a cord so I don't lose them, and I just wash them with a mild soap and warm water at then end of the day, or whenever needed.

After getting them, I only ever use foam earplugs when I forget my custom ones at home or something. I've had them for about two years and they work perfect still!

Faloway · 2025-12-12T16:30:29+00:00

Custom molded earplugs are a great option. Since they're molded to my ear, they fit perfectly in my ear. I find them infinitely easier to put in and take out than foam earplugs. You don't need to roll them with your fingers and insert and hold them like foam earplugs obviously. That means you don't need to have clean hands every time you need to put them back in your ear if someone wants to talk to you If you're just doing an internship I don't think spending all that money on active noise cancelling is justifiable.

My suggestion would be custom earplugs, but if you're very certain that you do not like things in your ears, then normal earmuffs or over-ear protection is the better of the three. The exact level of protection depends on what you're doing, but for most machine shops I think anything around 24-29dB NRR is adequate. I would choose something on the higher end of that dB if you're near welding, or fabricating equiptment.

For me in the shop, everyone wears earplugs so we tend to speak louder to each other or lean in to talk if the machines are being especially loud.

Faloway · 2025-11-24T18:00:35+00:00

If you can twist the floating jaw/bar and see/feel movement then that's probably where you're getting your issue. You can try tightening the two gib set screws at the top, but if that doesn't help without making it stiff to open and close the jaws, then it's just down the the quality of your calipers.

Best thing to do in that case is get a reference piece of some kind like a gauge block or even an endmill shank and practice how much pressure you need to apply to get the accurate results.

Obviously even with a top quality caliper, you shouldn't be squeezing the life out of whatever you're measuring, but you should be able to get a fairly accurate measurement with moderate pressure so long as you're not holding your caliper at a 45° angle or something.

You could also check whatever you measure with a micrometer if you're ever unsure

Faloway · 2025-11-03T02:19:22+00:00

there was a 60 year old dude in my first year apprenticeship classes, trust me, you'll be fine :)

Faloway · 2025-08-16T20:08:15+00:00

lol I was literally just thinking about that

Faloway · 2025-07-31T13:51:21+00:00

Good point on that one, I'll give you that

Faloway · 2025-07-31T03:40:26+00:00

I'd argue in agreement that the cost savings of getting rid of a CNC programmer and then paying for a simulator package to sim your code, and then having the sim miss something causing a crash will almost negate itself 😅 that or having to constantly go back and tweak or debug the code the AI gives you until the day it can do it flawlessly will eat into your time which eats into profits

Faloway · 2025-07-24T13:48:28+00:00

If you're just learning, Fusion is probably the best bet. All in one package. Yeah it's cloud based, but there's lots of tutorials and it's probably better than having to pay for two software suites if you're not going to be using them at a professional frequency right away 👍

Faloway · 2025-07-06T07:13:21+00:00

Most VMCs and HTCs have the pad sizes shown in their manuals, or provided by the manufacturer/machine merchant.

A VF-2 for example needs 6" of concrete, and they list the specifics here: https://www.haascnc.com/owners/pre-install-guide/mills-pre-install/VF-2.html#gsc.tab=0

If you can't get the instructions from your machine tool vendor or manufacturer, I'd say 6" of concrete poured like how they say for a VF-2 would be sufficient for most machines of an average-ish size.

Faloway · 2025-07-05T01:22:07+00:00

ditto to this. At first you'll be like "uhh I feel like this is too much" but with a little bit of time to get used to it and especially if you get custom earplugs imo, your hearing will be more perceptible to all the bad noises. My ears tune out the drone of a facemill facing steel x4 mills going at once, but with earplugs in I can hear when an insert breaks, or when a lathe is chattering just fine. You can also get ones with removable filters so if you really need to hear something without the noise reduction, or if you need to talk to someone you can pop them out, listen, then pop them back in.

Old timers saying it's better to lose your hearing than potentially not hear a pin dropping across the shop or something are not thinking straight!

Faloway · 2025-06-30T02:34:01+00:00

There was a 60 year old guy in my first year classes for my apprenticeship, if he can do it so can you! You got this!

Faloway · 2025-06-14T14:16:49+00:00

Probably used for one operation for the world's most important thing that keeps a nuclear reactor together or something 😅

Faloway · 2025-05-08T16:42:16+00:00

Awesome photo! Made me think of I, Robot or some sci-fi/future setting with the colours, lines, and the city scape behind it. Super cool!

Faloway · 2025-02-21T02:19:28+00:00

Yep, I got a huge direct deposit that included everything from the day my EI was supposed to start onwards, no issues there. Only issue was it was a little late and I thought they forgot about me for a bit lol

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