July 2009 eNews

Virtual Gets Visceral

Metal chips a-poppin’ on Web site as jaws are droppin’

By Nick Bloom

When I was 16, my father managed his family-owned company that manufactured cloth-cutting machines used in the garment industry. I hated the four-day a week, 100-mile commute to New York City. But I sure loved running that Bridgeport mill in the machine shop. Even today, “cycle start” gets my adrenaline flowing as the cutter dives teeth-first into steel and chips go flyin’ poppity-pop, pop, ping. Up to now, there have been Web videos, but there’s been no online metalworking application to break through to the visceral level — in the way I first connected with metal cutting.

Video yes, adrenaline no. But if John Madden and the Xbox can recreate the thrill of victory and agony of defeat in the popular video game “NFL 09,” can “Metal Chips a-Poppin’” be far behind? Mike Parker, director of marketing and product development at Seco Tools, e-mailed me a link to check out and a note that simply read, “Interactive online application where user runs the machine.”Parker was right — I could virtually run a machining center online, from cycle start to poppity-pop, pop, ping. The purpose of the application is to educate and demonstrate a new Seco cutter system called Square 6. The Web site applet is the first of its kind that I’ve seen and the first time I’ve actually felt an adrenaline surge at a metalworking Web site. The program took me about three minutes to download (with Microsoft Internet Explorer) using a medium-fast DSL connection, but it was worth the wait. This interactive resource made it both interesting and fun to learn. I felt I had a thorough grasp of a new cutting tool concept. This was learning on a visceral level, like the feeling of running a milling machine for the first time. The control panel steps you through an interactive presentation on the cutter body, insert, applications, performance, and economic comparisons. Click the “Simulation” link and the real fun begins. I clicked the link and a Mori Seiki NV6000 vertical machining center rolled onto my monitor from stage right. A “start” button zoomed me in to the machine control panel. As if I was standing at the machine on the shop floor,

I turned dials to select operations (facing, slotting, plunging) and materials (cast iron, steel, or stainless) then hit the green start button. This virtual machining experience reminded me that there’s just something about the feel, sound, and smell of making chips. Well, I almost thought I could smell the chips, but I’ll bet they’re already working on the olfactory plug-in.

Online training better than in class

More and more metalworking companies are beginning to recognize the advantages of producing high quality, interactive, online information andeducational resources. “Mori Seiki University (MSU) has taken online training to the virtual level where learning is clearer, self- and better-paced, easier, and actually much more effective than traditional classroom training,” said Roderick Jones, chief learning officer. When asked why it’s more effective, Jones exclaimed, “Engagement! Most screens are interactive and require participation, which fosters comprehension and retention.”

In addition to over 200 hours of operator training courses on nine series of Mori Seiki turning and machining centers, MSU offers 85 hours covering 35 manufacturing skills courses ranging from lean manufacturing to principles of metrology. Jones said each of the entry-level courses was designed to train off-the-street people without manufacturing knowledge so that when they’re done, they’ve mastered the course. He said the successful completion of a recommended “Education On Demand (EOD) manufacturing technology” syllabus program is comparable to that of an associate degree. Other accreditation possibilities are being sought as well.

To illustrate an example of the savings realized by EOD, Jones cited a case of a machine operator having been trained so that when a new Mori Seiki hits the floor, he is ready to roll. National Coupling in Stafford, TX, uses the MSU online training. Ken Oberholz, vice president of operations, said the company employs three of the machine operation courses as well as several of the manufacturing skills courses. “Every shop person gets two hours of training every other week on our time,” he said.

He found the MSU EOD online so effective because it hits as many senses as possible in the training process for the greatest impact. “When trained on EOD, we can count on all employees mastering the same core skills, and that’s important,” Oberholz said.

Nick Bloom is president of Techspex. Contact him at nbloom@Techspex.com

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Mori Seiki University
Seco Tools

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