Watched an old timer set up a 5-axis job at a shop tour in Toledo

Stopped by a small aerospace shop near Toledo last week and saw this guy program a 5-axis part by hand on the machine - no CAM software, just G-code and a notepad. He had the toolpath dialed in within 10 minutes with zero collisions. Has anyone else run into operators who still do it old school like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

troy_adams24d ago

Yeah those old dudes are on another level. They've been running those machines since before CAM was a thing so they just see the moves in their head like a chess player. Probly got a stack of notepads in their drawer from the last 20 years with every toolpath they've ever coded.

tyler_hall924d ago

Man that's wild! I've seen a few guys like that over the years, mostly old school mold guys who can just visualize the whole toolpath in their head. It's usually a combination of knowing the machine's quirks inside out and having run the same types of parts for decades. They don't need CAM because they've already crashed and fixed every possible mistake in their head before the spindle even turns.