Mills CNC has introduced the 360 Training Academy in recognition of the need for precision manufacturers to change existing manufacturing methods and business practices. Jeff Hart, 360 Training Academy manager, said the academy was established and precision manufacturers looking to improve performance should consider CNC programmer training as a strategic and cost-effective way forward. 'Through investing in high-quality training, manufacturers can get the most from their CNC machine tools by sharpening up the knowledge and skills of CNC machine tool programmers and operators, allowing commercial and bottom line benefits to be realised,' he added.Hart said that these benefits include: job set-up completed more quickly and more efficiently; time and resources spent checking and re-checking work is reduced, and the likelihood of having to re-work or scrap jobs is eliminated; machine tool utilisation is improved and production bottlenecks are avoided by being able to exploit the full functionality of machine tools; and higher-value contracts can be won more easily as manufacturers can demonstrate that they have the right people, with the right skills, to deliver on time and on budget.
The 360 Training Academy is part of Mills CNC, a UK machine tool supplier and exclusive distributor of Doosan CNC machine tools in the UK and Ireland. All CNC programmer training courses have been designed and are delivered by industry experts. The courses are practical and hands on - the emphasis being on 'learning by doing'.
Courses take place at Mills CNC's facility in Leamington, which allows course attendees direct access to the very latest Doosan CNC machine tools and the ability to try out their newly learned skills in real time and in a real manufacturing environment. Fanuc programmer courses cover everything from two-axis lathes right through to multi-axis turning centres - and milling machines through to mill-turn centres - with specialist and advanced Custom Macro A and Macro B courses also available. Heidenhain programmer courses cover all aspects of three-, four- and five-axis milling.
All 360 Training Academy CNC programmer courses are supported by course manuals (supplied to course attendees) and, following successful completion, all attendees receive a 360 Training Certificate that details the course they have attended and the skills they have acquired. 'Although the 360 Training Academy is located at Mills CNC - you don't have to be a Doosan machine tool user or existing Mills customer to attend these courses,' said Hart. 'Since the academy was launched in September 2009, more than 40 per cent of course attendees have been users of other CNC machine tools,' he added.
