Overheard a new guy say fixture offsets are "just a suggestion"

I was setting up a job on the Haas VF-2 last Tuesday and this kid running the next machine over says fixture offsets are just a suggestion. Said he eyeballs parts into position if they're off by a few thou. I didn't even know what to say to that. How do you guys handle training newer operators who don't take setups seriously?

3 comments

3 Comments

felix_williams7129d ago

... I've seen this exact thing before, a guy at a shop I worked at thought he could "feel" when a part was close enough. You gotta grab that kid by the arm and walk him through a test part with a dial indicator, make him prove his eyeball method is off by like ten thou every time. Just tell him flat out, fixture offsets are there so you don't scrap a $500 block of aluminum on the first cut, and that's not a suggestion it's the line between making chips and making scrap.

carter.gavin29d ago

There's something to be said for knowing your machine's feel, even if the numbers are final.

lucasw8228d ago

That VF-2 will eat that kid alive on a tight tolerance job. Last year a guy at our place tried the eyeball method on a 5/8" endmill and put a 0.020" step right through a finished bore. @carter.gavin, I get what you're saying about feel, but the machine doesn't have feelings. It has coordinates. That kid needs to walk through a part with an indicator and see for himself how far off his gut is. Nothing humbles a guy like watching a dial swing 0.015" when he swore it was dead nuts.