Making Millions Machining Parts… But You SUCK!!! 

I would show this to my supervisor, but I'd get fired on the spot

I did the same for my previous company, they only used hss endmills/drills, I showed the comparison between carbide and it turned a 2 hour job into a 10 minute job just by changing to carbide and adjusting sfm and feed

1 Modern Machines 2 Modern CAD&CAM Software 3 Modern Cutting Tools 4 Repeatable Work Holding 5 Employees That Are Knowlegeable and Have A Proven Track Record of Success with All of These Modern Methods

Barry, you forgot the two big ones: “We can’t afford to do maintenance” and “We don’t have the time to do maintenance.” The head pressman at the first shop I worked at told me about the first shop he worked for. They had purchased the first Komori printing press ever sold in the Americas, and about three months after it hit the floor they couldn’t get salable work out of it. They called Komori America and these six guys from Tokyo showed up in the building two days later. The first thing they did was to hand the owner a card that said “none of us speaks English.” Well, the mechanics stood there for a week beating on this $7 million machine trying to get it to work. Then another guy from Komori showed up and the seven of them had a long conversation. At the end of it the English-speaking man went to the press foreman and told him, “Press is okay. Operator no good.” What had happened was after the manufacturer signed off on the install the idiot shop owner decided to pay off the press in six months and ran it 24/7 with no downtime for maintenance. Offset ink looks like colored axle grease, and the mechanics had to remove 50 pounds of dried ink from the press with wood chisels. Maintenance went from “never” to “start of shift and after every job.” At a shop I worked at, we were running solvent-ink printers. The production manager said he “couldn’t afford” to buy the right solvent to clean the heads, so he had us using isopropyl alcohol. There are two problems with this: it doesn’t work because the ink is alcohol resistant, and it destroys the rubber parts in the printer. A year later he’d managed to destroy all six heads in the printer, plus about $5000 worth of other parts. The right solvent is $50 a quart, but a quart will last you six months so it’s not that bad. We didn’t let him order stuff after that.

The "we will make it work" attitude is one of the most destructive mindsets ever. My shop has lucked into a couple of huge and profitable contracts and we are now tooling up for them. New cutters, gages, and 2 new 5 axis mills with more on the way and several twin spindle mill turns coming soon. Problem is, we have a small crew and only 2 of us, myself and the owner, who can program parts and setup jobs. What is going to possibly cause us to crash is the shop pay rate. Current salaries in our shop are less than the local fast food restaurants. We are adding all this new equipment but we are going to get nothing more than "warm bodies" to run it unless management will pay what talented machinists are worth, and I don't see that changing. How do I show my superiors this needs to change?

you are right on every point! But sometimes it is more economical for single part manufacturers like us to use an HSS drill, for example if you have to buy a 20xD drill for one part.

I've been doing this for 30+ years I love these guys and their videos, I don't always agree 100% with them but I realize times and the trade changes constantly even from when I was first learning to use a file to square a block of steel to using modern plastics in multi axis machines these days. Things like using hss/cobalt, coated/uncoated tools in my opinion depends on what you're making and your constraints (money/time/customer's quote/etc..). Having worked with a multitude of different machines manual and CNC, I firmly believe they all have their place and usage case. and I will always believe that all machinists, operators, engineers, and programmers should have knowledge and experience on all of the machines they are working on / programing for / or designing parts to be run on. That way they can know what they are capable of and what they won't do. To add to that all shop programmers/supervisors/owners should also understand that 10/+ year old programming software probably won't be able to handle newer applications (personal experience with this), but I digress...again love you guys keep up the damn good work and thanks again.

Barry, great video. From a small one person setup to a massive shop that advice holds.

company i work for uses a cam software that doesnt even support loading in 3d models, quite literally gotta draw every rectangle, circel and line ourselves (we still get stuff done with it but it easily can take some time sometimes to just draw up the plane we wanna machine (3 axis machines), and that didnt even include inserting all the paths and such) they do have a license of actual cadcam software but only 1 person knows how to use it and they refused to teach me when i asked about it because it would too much time

Thanks for letting me know what to look out for, while looking for my first position.

The shop I work for still manually programs gcode on their doosan dnm500 using hss and cobalt tools. We do mostly low volume parts for ourselves and it's basic operations like drilling and simple milling but they just refuse to change anything. And because I'm new and young they don't want to listen to anything I have to say that would improve their process 10fold. I told them carbide can run significantly faster than their tools and they just laughed and said "it'll break the machine if I try that." We do a ton of 304ss parts as well and we burn through an insane amount of hss drills. Most recently I had to a bunch of 4+ inch holes through 4140 with a cobalt spade drill and the tsc pump was removed by the previous owner and never replaced, so I had to use the through-air blast to clear chips out. Which worked, but the insert wasn't terribly happy about it. I told them we should just buy a new tsc pump but "that's a waste of time.

I remember when I first got to my shop in the Army. My job was to be a welder and machinist, but the first thing I was told was that I was not allowed to the touch the CNC machines. Nevermind that I spent a lot of time rewriting my notes in AIT and doing my best to understand the procedures. That shop was toxic af and even though we had all of the equipment I ended up doing nothing but details. Thankfully the unit no longer exists but I will never recover mentally from being dubbed "worthless" early on in my career.

I subscribed to this channel to watch how CNC machines do their magic, but I did not expect to hear great motivational speech. Wow, amazing story !!!

Man, I've seen a lot of this stuff at basically every shop I've been to. Back when I first started High Efficiency Milling was not as well known as it is now. I had to figure it out by reading stuff online and experimenting at work. But the ongoing excuse when I'd bring up new cam, better tool utilization, higher spindle loads, more training for machinists, proper fixturing, etc was "we've always done it this way..." Hell I've even reprogrammed stuff at the correct feeds and speeds according to the tool manufacturer, decreasing cycle times, sometimes by 300%, only to have the lead man in the shop come back and reprogram it back to the slower speed, lol.

im in a CAD only workplace. despite using 3D CAD software for more then 10 years now, with less demand for actual 2D-drawings from our customers, every workplace is still equipped with a digitizer tablet... the ones that stopped being produced around 1990. We moved away from AutoCAD because they stopped supporting the non-ribbon UI with the windows10 compatible versions. feels kinda similar to what you are describing there.

Man, i know the old 3-ax machines being given 5-ax stuff I was born in the late 90s, the machine i was told to make advanced connecting/locating nodes on was made in the early 80s and had an "updated" controller from 2002 The nodes were 6-18 sided polyhedrons with indexing slots/holes/steps and threaded holes on each or most sides.

My workplace is shifting from the "we've always done it like that" mentality, it feels pretty good coming from somewhere more lean and 6 sigma oriented and showing them we can get so much more from the machines

I enjoy your talks Barry. You seem to have a good head on your shoulders. Not just a hat rack. I know all about no AC. Being next door in Louisiana, we have to watch and make sure our guys are not melting in front of their machines. I still say I would take the heat over the cold any day.

At my shop we recently had a test to see our knowledge, and to the boss's surprise "the old heads" who they were swearing were the backbone of the place, most of them failed the test miserably....like not even being able to point which are the X, Y and Z axis let alone the A and B , problems identifying basic tool types and so on, mind you some of them have been working at this particular shop for over 20 years now....

[06/25/22] In training/education right now, when I graduate I hope that I can find work in a progressive, forward thinking shop where I can build up my experience the RIGHT way!!

I wish I could talk to you all more in depth. We run a small fabrication and welding shop and do everything manual now but I feel like the addition of a cnc mill and lathe needs to be done in the near future as our machinist is an older gentleman. Love the attitude of going hard all the time and maximizing the machine. We don’t do production runs (as we don’t have those capabilities to even pursue that work) so initial uses would be limited to the needs of a job shop.

The difference between understanding something... and really understanding it deeply.

I’m glad I work for a company that leads the way.. If I was a very smart kid,I’d study the field of AI and robotics..

Additional points: Don't be penny wise and pound foolish. As jmowreader says below, saving $50 on solvent, but then needing expensive maintenance or repairs fits this. Also, buying hugely expensive machines and then failing to pay for good employees, services, consultants, materials, tooling, and fixtures. Treat people like you would want to be treated. This would include scheduling, pay, time off, training, and treating others as "professionals."

As a person about to go to school to get my CNC certificate and entry the workforce. How do I know which shops are the good ones? I’m switching careers so I want to make sure I’m setting myself up for success at a shop that is gonna help me be the best I can.

Fantastic video, I'm in HTX any machine shops that you recommend?

We do not own a single HSS mill anymore. We only use carbide for all milling and turning, even on the manual lathe (which is more a toy than a serious machine). Just a selection of HSS drills for the manual drill press or low volume jobs where carbide drills tend to break seem to be necessary.

Ots like did you make them 90 % as effecient as they coukd be, utilizing all these things, and then they fored you out of spite, jkg. You the man.

Great video Barry.

In My Company is it happening the same. What or how could i do to help? I am a mechanical engineer for the CAD and design, so not much expirence on Machining, but I feel my operator and programmer and not motivated and don't want to change the "I always done like that". I kinda been feeling frustrated and thinking to leave, but feel bad for the owner that is a great person.

Im from Malaysia and im your new subscriber , now im learning a basic of edm sinking machine , any tips ?

thats exact the 5 things what i heard a lot of from my managers and bosses :D. so sad they dont wanna change anything of it.

You forgot to mention one of the most important things... You need to have proper inspection equipment ! Eyecrometer's don't count

I don't really like the mindless booms presented on this channel , but the things that the guy said are 102% true . Sadly in the region i work there are very very very few places that tick all the boxes . There are soso technologically advanced places , but they never look for programmers , or should i state : the WON'T let you in . So the more serious places usually only look for an operator , and are paying shit money , literally most supermarkets are maching the rate ! The small shops usually look for universal soldiers , but provide old machines , no cam , no nothing , shit conditions , even shit prints . Old , used and worn stuff overall . They are afraid to invest like 1000$ in a new tool . They usually pay more , but there's a huge spread , one could get minimum wage , an other could get 4x the minimum wage , larger shops have a more "standardised" salary scheme . To be honest i understand small shops to an extent , even most customers are full of shit , never willing to pay for a decent part , and in the end we have to cut all the corners , waste days to deliver a 200$ part for 100$ , thus baerly floating on the surface . This is not a localised issue !

I sure hope you make 60$ an hour or more. Your skills are amazing.

All machine shops where I've worked have at least 2 of those thinks, most of them have like 4 or 5

I work at my current workplace for a little over four years now and I'm amazed that there people working there for 20+ years and still don't know even the basics of cnc machines, like which X Y anf Z let alone understand tool offsets , just last week one those old guys put a 140mm length tool instead of the 107 just because they had the same shape , needles to say he broke the tool,cut the workpieces in half and the machine caught on fire 😂😂 And if you try to tell them they're wrong they'll be like "kid, you know for hiw many years I've been working this job ? I don't neexyou telling how to do it" so I just let them mess up and then if they ask for help I'll help them and the "this 20+ year old machines (that break in a daily basis) are good enough we don't need new ones" gets me all the time because they know they have guys like me here and there who will try to make them work another week ot so before something else breaks on them , they're sitting more in maintenance than doing actual parts but they say they're still good.....

We are stuck with 20+ year old technology with a few new machines. Ug. I like the new stuff, everyone else likes the old stuff.

You mean not every machine shop is clean with modern equipment, has air conditioning, and a fair wage? Suck it up butter cup. I would of love to have that kind of opportunity. Not only to show off some of my skills, but to learn something new! Stuff that they won’t teach you in school. That’s what my employ tells me when I complain about the working conditions or pay. ‘You should be thankful’ Can you post a video on what to do if you feel burnt out at work or trade?”

Ever since working as an apprentice for a highly skilled machinist, I've wanted to open up my own shop. However, as ridiculous as it sounds, I don't have any of the experience for making a part, setting it up or even writing g-code. What's the best way to learn the skills necessary for machining? Best regards.

HSS is better at certain times than carbide explain why

Im drunk and I'm terrified at the fact that i feel like im at the peak of the Dunning Kruger arc when i should definitely be somewhere in the through. Edit: how would it make you feel if i told you the world's greatest military would answer with a resounding "yes I've heard that" to all of your questions?

I’m new here. Is this more like a production company of more like prototypes/non production?

Hss or carbide?

Hey guys at Titans. So I run large machines vbms and hbms. CNC and manual. I know most so called job shops don't specialize in large manufacturing. It be great to see some huge machines ripping huge chips and making huge parts. Any way dudes. This beers for u

I am just started in as a Cnc oprator I am working for a year now how can I improve my skills I just need to get my skills up please help.....

We are also making cnc machining ,custom parts machining .

What was your regular rate ? We all NEED to know lol

I guess the only trouble is that when you're starting out like I am (2years ish), making these steps up the ladder can be prohibitively expensive, as much as you're aware of your own shortcomings! Checking off the list 1. I have good software, that can cope with 4 and 5axis work. 2. I can model and program it 3. I run carbide exclusively, and tey and always use shrink or hydraulic tool holders for all work, not just finishing. 4. I do run a 26year old machine with 4th axis capability BUT 5. I don't have the work to keep the spindle running for 8 hours every day, let alone two shifts. Problem identified is a bit chicken and egg. I need to find more work, but I know I'll reach a bottle neck at some point with the old machine. Answer:(I hope you agree!)Finding the confidence to finance a sub 10 year old machine is probably my biggest problem.

I'd like to have an in-depth conversation. Who do I connect with?

It shouldn't be only shop, it should be everything.. trust me.

damn I would like to know the name of the shop u worked for in Houston I would like to program my own parts

To avoid failure, never "GI-GO!!!

Come on carbide tools are nowadays common in hobby shops in a garage... Seriously are there professional CNC shops that use HSS?

People still use HSS in CNC??? Wow

sounds like a lot of places I have worked for....!!!!!

Hi Barry

finally leaving the trade after a year into it. just dosent pay in my area. A forklift driver pays more

The world has apparently got used to believing people are not skilled or multi-skilled...

Good work!!! We also have rich experience in sheet metal fab, we are a strong manufacturer in China, with high quality and competitive price.

You left "Because, that's the way we've always done it.", off your list.

Who is talking on this video?

I sucked for decades. Just an old piece of crap that finally got flushed. 😀

Japan has us out leveled This is kids play to them

I mean I understand you want knowledgeable guys, but what about new guys who are willing to learn? Aren’t those good to pick up also?

Dont buy a new machine unless every spindle you have is at 80% utilization over two shifts......yeah !!!!!!

This Guy comes across as a know it all. He may be. That's fine. He belongs working for a fortune 500 company.

The comment about not being able to afford carbide is just ridiculous. I mean even cheap Ebay or Amazon carbide tooling is better then HSS. That would at least help break the cycle.

if parts cost millions clien save buying own machines and do parts "free"

It’s tooo fast tooo aggressive…..

Well, it all depends on the kind of work your are machining. A lot things are simply not necessary and cost only money w/o any benefit to the company, when you are focussed on a special product (like me: Hydraulic Blocks)

Respectfully, companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin are raking in truckloads of dollars and paying machine shops so little for their parts that the people making them can't even afford to fix their cars and have to hitch rides to work. Turnover is horrendous right now, and the people who control this industry are taking selfies in orbit or buying huge chunks of the internet and bragging about it on social media. If this gets any worse I might start a company making all-season tires for rollaway toolboxes. If you're raising up machinists to accept this degree of exploitation in their careers, then you do suck! But that attitude runs entirely counter to the kind of career advice I've heard you give on this channel, so I'm pretty sure that's not what's going on.

👍👍👍👍

Hi titans am yasin from uganda can u donate to me a cnc machine

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