You may not understand what a cnc is, or  what makes it all work and perform? What acually goes behind programming a cnc to make it machine parts? Well a cnc stands for Computer Numerical Control. Which in english terms it is a computer driven lathe or mill, that is inputed with numbers or sequences to build a part or even thousands of parts in some cases. There is a few different ways to program a cnc to build a specific part, the most common now days is to use a cad/cam (computer aided design/computer aided manufacturing) system to draw/draft the parts on a cpu to specifications or import files from customers, that have already drawn up a print of what they want built. Like a screw or a shaft would be an idea, then basically all that needs to be done by the programer is to pick which cutting tool they want to make the cuts with and tell cad system where to begin cutting and where to stop cutting. From there the programmer sends it to the cnc it was programmed for. Another way to program a cnc is to manually program it with g-code or a conversational program. G code is a bunch of codes that specify which direction you want the machine to move, some examples would be G90,G91,G17,G18 and so many more that cant be put into words!! A conversational program is written with lines and arcs,drills etc in a much longer format but easy to understand processes for the beginner or maybe even a little bit for the intermediate crowd.There is also numerous paremeters and tool datas,tool files,tpc settings,jaw datas and lots of other things that need to be set before you can start actually cutting. Explaining could take hours for you to read and even more for me to write:-)And iam just trying to give a basic idea of what cnc programmer is.

In a high output shop that is doing alot of cnc production, it usally takes three steps to get a cnc machine up and running to make alot of parts.  Step 1.PROGRAM  Step 2.SETUP Step 3. OPERATOR. First the programer recieves the print on cpu via email or on a piece of drafting paper, which is suppost to have as minimal mistakes as possible, edit free is usually the term used by the engineer or programer. From there the programmer picks which cutting tool or tools to use to cut the part. Then he tells the cad system to make the cuts, and checks for any interference with the tool not touching anything besides the part he needs to cut. When thats done the programmer converts the drawing to a formated program that the cnc he is programming it for will read, finally some minor details like turn coolant on and also set machine for any tool changes that may occur, if there was more than one tool programmed to cut.From there he will send the program to the right machine, in which it was wrote for and then the other sequences like setup the machine aswell as  an operator for the machine that just stands next to the machine and runs parts. Aswell as check the occasional part to make sure that it is still within tolerances given buy the engineer/programmer that day.

The next step is to setup the cnc to hold the part for machining using jigs,vises,3 jaw chuck,4 jaw chuck etc, or anything to make the job work, make sure it is as sturdy and tightly clamped as you can get it. Your only as good as your setup is a good saying to remember, Also the setup guy is responsible for teaching in all neccesary cutting tools into tool data Z,X,C,Y,B, or the neccecary axises, Also he needs to tell the machine what kind of tooling is to be used IE Drill bit,Od tool,Id tool an Endmill or something of the sort.Before begining the machine process he modifys program to corrospond with the tool data tooling, Be sure of no mistakes in processes, and then he is able to start the machining process. Maybe just some little adjustments that ned to be done to hit sizes and all specifications given by the engineer/programmer to meet the standards of the customer.

After the machine process has been approved by setup guy/girl. The operator is verbally told and written on how to run the parts programmed, also he is shown how to gauge and check the parts thuroughly for any defaults or sizes changing out of the given tolerance by the programmer. This includes using calipers or mics or maybe some more complex measuring system to measure the part .He must aswell take care of any dull tooling in the machine that may have gotten dull due to hard metals or ware on the tool during the machine process, and he must replace with new inserts and begin cutting processes again.Operator may run 2 or even three machines at a time once they are running parts.

Cncs are built for repeditive production of the same parts, not meaning 2. There is no production out of a cnc with just one or two parts. Even if they have been programmed ahead of time, you still have setup every part which takes alot of time out of machining.The more time you spend cutting the more production. Trying to setup 5 totally different parts in an 10 or 12 hour day is just not going to get any parts done!!!So dont be fooled, that if you buy a cnc that your going have production on the jobs you do have, unless you have multiple parts as in 5 or more if they are fairly complex, but more torwards of 20 or 100 if they are parts you can do on the cnc than do it!!! There is alot of new machines out this year, very complex physics involved in the new production of these new cncs should check out the link below for more detail.