Machining Training Solutions (MTS) provides in-depth, hands-on training for students, machinists and production personnel to become proficient in manufacturing processes, procedures and equipment.
MTS has its own affiliated machine shop where they use SOLIDWORKS and CAMWorks software to machine high-quality close tolerance parts for the electronics, military, telecommunications and medical industries.
Machining Training Solutions (MTS) is a software provider of online training for students, machinists and production personnel at CNC manufacturing companies and educational institutions worldwide. Florida-based MTS has transformed the training of thousands of machinists across numerous organizations-including Fortune 500 corporations, small companies, community colleges, high schools and technical schools-by providing a range of effective online training products, software, resources and services.
According to MTS President and CEO Al Stimac, "Today's manufacturers compete by leveraging knowledge, so they are continuously challenged to increase that knowledge by quickly, effectively and affordably training manufacturing personnel, and especially machinists, on how to use today's powerful CNC milling, machining and cutting tools. While MTS has adapted its online training software, simulator, post-processor, associated books and resources to provide effective training regardless of the CAM system that trainees utilize, the company prefers HCL CAMWorks."
CAMWorks is used extensively at the company's own affiliated machine shop, and they recommend that organizations receiving training transition to CAMWorks solutions to increase productivity and maintain competitiveness.
"While many training companies do not have a preferred solution, we are all in on CAMWorks for a few very important reasons," Stimac explained. "First, CAMWorks is completely integrated with the widely used SOLIDWORKS CAD software and uses SOLIDWORKS as its geometry front end. This integration allows CAMWorks to leverage the automatic feature recognition capabilities in SOLIDWORKS for machining, which makes G-code programming easier, and also supports bi-directional associativity between the CAD and CAM model, which means when a change needs to be made in the machining model, the change is also made to the design geometry and is not lost. In fact, users make the change in SOLIDWORKS software and the G-code automatically updates in CAMWorks."
Stimac added: "In addition to the productivity gains associated with using an integrated CAD/CAM solution, for every five mouse-clicks in other CAM packages, there is just one mouse-click in CAMWorks. When you combine that type of streamlined ease of use with the CAD/CAM integration-as well as the ability to build machining knowledge and save it in the CAMWorks technical knowledge database-you simply have CAM software that not only is more capable, but also provides the shortest learning curve for new users, enabling them to get to effective CAM programming as quickly as possible."
One of MTS's recent assignments was to provide machinist CAM training at community colleges and technical schools located in manufacturing hubs across the state of Ohio as part of a U.S. Department of Labor economic development grant administered by Jobs Ohio, which is Ohio's private, nonprofit economic development corporation. Training took place over the 2020-2021 school year despite the COVID-19 pandemic and included replacing the existing CAM package being taught at each school with HCL CAMWorks software.
Northwest State Community College Revamps Machine Shop, Curriculum
Northwest State Community College, located just west of Toledo, is one of the schools that took advantage of its $350,000 share of the Jobs Ohio grant to revamp its machine shop and Skilled Trades curriculum, adding two Haas mini-mills, a Haas ST10 lathe, a Haas NextGen Control and a ProtoTRAK RLX 1240 lathe, as well as 40 CAMWorks licenses.
According to Instructor Steve Raymond, who teaches Jig and Fixture Design and Machine Shop Fundamentals, as well as serving as the part-time Machine Shop Coordinator at the college, upgrading the machine shop and moving to CAMWorks is helping the college more strategically develop the machining workforce of the future.
While we are supposed to be CAM agnostic and focus on the needs of manufacturers in our region, the move to HCL CAMWorks is paying dividends for the college, our students and local manufacturers," Raymond explained. "We have been teaching SOLIDWORKS CAD software here since the late 1990s and would need to export a file out of SOLIDWORKS to work with it in a CAM package. With CAMWorks, students use SOLIDWORKS, which they already know, with the CAMWorks CAM package integrated inside it. This integration saves time and helps students get up to speed more quickly. I know that Al Stimac and other machining experts envision integrated CAD/CAM as the future of manufacturing, and I agree 100%."
Training Despite COVID Pandemic via eLearning
While the COVID-19 pandemic and associated lockdowns forced many colleges and universities to cancel classes and instruction-particularly in an enclosed, highly tactile environment like a machine shop-Northwest State was able to continue its machining curriculum and facility upgrades by continuing with MTS training via eLearning for instructors and students. "The timing of the Jobs Ohio grant was just awesome because we got everything in place before the pandemic hit," Raymond said.
Raymond continued: "Al Stimac would VPN into our network and would conduct a course on CAMWorks online using the MTS technology. The MTS training was just amazing, and students were able to practice programming on-screen. The content that MTS has built with CAMWorks was extremely effective for learning about G-code programming, toolpaths, simulators and post-processors. In short, it was very easy for instructors and students alike to quickly learn how to program and machine parts using CAMWorks."
Better Preparing Future Machinists and Manufacturers
MTS training with CAMWorks is especially effective because it is hands-on and leverages materials developed over the past two decades at MTS. Originally developed to train machining apprentices for German manufacturers, the MTS technology and training content is helping Stimac pursue his vision of training the next-generation of machinists and helping manufacturers prepare for the future.
"I decided to stand behind CAMWorks and its integration with SOLIDWORKS because it is roughly 70% faster to get up to speed and make a part in CAMWorks than in other CAM packages," Stimac said. "Manufacturers need machinists who not only know everything required to program, machine and make parts, they also need to be able to do it as quickly as possible, and CAMWorks will help them do that."
Instructor Raymond is a CAMWorks user, not only for training machinists but also for running his own unaffiliated machine shop called Raymond's Tool & Gauge. "After working on revamping the college's Skilled Trades Curriculum and Machine Shop, I decided to acquire CAMWorks for use at my machine shop, which is not associated with the college," Raymond said. "As a business owner with more than 100 customers who all use different CAD packages, I have come to rely on SOLIDWORKS CAD software because it can open any other file format. When you combine that with integrated CAMWorks capabilities, you have a powerful package that saves time and increases capabilities. I have seen some of the parts that Al Stimac machines at his shop, and they are just incredible. With CAMWorks, we are well positioned to continue to serve clients and grow in the years ahead."
For more information contact:
HCL Americas
15974 N 77th Street #103
Scottsdale, AZ 85260
480-367-0132
inquiries@camworks.com
www.camworks.com
Machining Training Solutions
910 Waterway Place
Longwood, FL 32750
407-478-6606
info@machiningsolutions.com
www.machiningsolutions.com