Newbie, in wolverhampton, hurco VMX42t

[leon.]

Hello, im leon and im not a cnc machinist. yet.

Just a quick intro to me, im 19 and currently on a apprenticeship witha local drop forging company. I applied and took the job on the basis that they were gettin a brand new machine, which i would be taught on. (Hurco VMX42t, with winmax & power mill pro) Weve had the machine since september now and as much as the operator/ programmer says he dont mind teaching me, i dont seem to get a lot out of him.

So one of my main reasons for signing up is to see if i can get my hands on any sort of manuals, dvds, tutorials of anything and everything from clocking up to setting tools etc etc.

One final thing, if anyone knows of any trainiee/ apprenticeships around wolverhampton/west midlands with a good cnc company which will actually stand me in good sted, id be very grateful if you could let me know.

thanks, leon

[GEOFFREY]

Hi Leon, wellcome to the site. Good luck with your training, although it does sound like you must have a little patience. Rome wasn't built in a day.

Regards, Geoff.

[oscar]

Welcome mate. We have a few hurcos where I work, I'm sure I can find a manual for you. Somewhere! :))
Are you programming at the machine (conversational) or are you just setting the machine up to run NC programmes?

[oscar]

Here's a link to a manual for the ultimax control, it's similar to winmax so a lot of it is still relevant.
http://www.coe.montana.edu/met/faculty/amende/documents/VMX30/Ultimax%20Start%20r0111-101.pdf

[leon.]

Hi, thanks for the replys, yeahhh, i know what you mean about being patient, just would like to be able to learn abit more abit quicker :)

Hes doing the programming through powermill 2012

Thanks for the manual, shall have a read, maybe knowing abit little bit more might get something more out ouf him! Appreticiate it!

Leon

[martin54]

If it's a proper apprenticeship you are doing then I doubt you will learn as quickly as you would like, be patient as has been said it takes time & can be frustrating but is worth it in the long run, no one likes to be on the bottom rung of the ladder but we all have to start there, won't be any different if you give this up & go & start somewhere else.
Having the manuals will help but don't try & be to clever because that will just p*** the operater off (no one likes a smarty pants).
Good luck with it, worth sticking it out if you can as apprenticeships are hard to come by these days.

[leon.]

Yeah i understand what your saying, just through school/sixth form im used to having deadline to learn to etc. But this is what i want to do so will definatly be sticking it out unless i get a outstanding offer.
I dont want the manual to be a clever cloggs with, just so i could maybe ask more advanced questions to maybe draw more out of him, disgruntling him is the last thing i want to do!

Thanks for the response

[oscar]

I had a similar time with the guy that was supposed to be teaching me. I ended up teaching myself how to run the machines. I'm sure you'll be fine. The hurco winmax controls are really very simple to use once you get your head around the basics. I'm not a great teacher but if you need a hand with the hurco ill do my best. Good luck mate.

[leon.]

Ive got a feeling thats how im going to have to learn, just dont want to be limited to what i can do when i come to apply for a 'proper' job. I had noticed hurco's seem to be a fairly simple set of controls, again, just dont wanted to be stuck not knowing alot and getting to an age where companys dont want to invest time/ money on training me futher.

Out of intrest do/ would a company take people on in a trainee capacity, i.e limited knowledge and give on the job training?

[GEOFFREY]

Ive got a feeling thats how im going to have to learn, just dont want to be limited to what i can do when i come to apply for a 'proper' job. I had noticed hurco's seem to be a fairly simple set of controls, again, just dont wanted to be stuck not knowing alot and getting to an age where companys dont want to invest time/ money on training me futher.

Out of intrest do/ would a company take people on in a trainee capacity, i.e limited knowledge and give on the job training?

Leon, its great to see someone keen to learn and get on. The early working/learning days are always the hardest, as it sometimes seems that you are under employed or just given mundane tasks, but that will soon pass.

If you have a proper apprenticeship I think you will find in later life that it will stand you in good stead, we have too few well trained engineers and skilled staff will always be valued.

Yes there are people who take on trainees, and give on the job training, but if you have a real apprenticeship, you will get a much better all round grounding.

Whatever you decide I wish you the very best of luck. Stay enthusiastic. Regards, G.

[martin54]

Leon, having read through the post I get the impression that it's not really an apprenticeship you are doing but more on job training which will lead to you being able to operate the machine.
What are you actually getting out of this as far as a recognised qualification goes?? If you are doing a proper apprenticeship then you would probably have to be attending college once or twice a week where you would be learning all the theoretical stuff you need to know, very very few companies have the ability to do this sort of thing inhouse these days which is why you would need to go to college.

[leon.]

Leon, its great to see someone keen to learn and get on. The early working/learning days are always the hardest, as it sometimes seems that you are under employed or just given mundane tasks, but that will soon pass.

If you have a proper apprenticeship I think you will find in later life that it will stand you in good stead, we have too few well trained engineers and skilled staff will always be valued.

Yes there are people who take on trainees, and give on the job training, but if you have a real apprenticeship, you will get a much better all round grounding.

Whatever you decide I wish you the very best of luck. Stay enthusiastic. Regards, G.

Yeah i get where your coming from, i do sometimes feel that im there as a spare part, but as everyones said, its just part and parcel.
Id consider it a 'proper' apprenticeship as it is a recognised scheme and i do go to college everyweek, to do both the practical and theory side of manual milling, turning and CAD. Im 100% going to stick it out atleast untill im Levell 2 qualified and then maybe try and move on. Dont think ill get a much better grounding than where im at. (Sh*ithole, broken machines etc)

thanks for the luck, dare say ill need it, trying to make the best of being enthusiastic while i still am haha

[leon.]

Leon, having read through the post I get the impression that it's not really an apprenticeship you are doing but more on job training which will lead to you being able to operate the machine.
What are you actually getting out of this as far as a recognised qualification goes?? If you are doing a proper apprenticeship then you would probably have to be attending college once or twice a week where you would be learning all the theoretical stuff you need to know, very very few companies have the ability to do this sort of thing inhouse these days which is why you would need to go to college.

HI, as ive just mentioned, i do go college once aweek aswell as on the job training. The qualification im doing at the moment is Level 2 in milling turning and CAD (cant think of the awarding body). With an option of going on to do level 3 but im unsure if this would benifit me in the long run, rather than going to get more expeirence running a machine of my own/ better on the job training (traniee job rather than apprenticeship).

thanks for you reply, appreticate it all! :)