CNC machining?
Asked by angrycelt
On average how long would it take a proficient conventional machinist with excellent math skills to become a good CNC machinist? Do the present day trade schools with a CNC curriculum teach someone enough to score a good paying job out of school? Thanks!

Best Answer:
if you are already a machinist that is a gigantic help, i went to school for machining and ended up as a cnc machinist and had a little trouble sometimes, the background of conventional machining would help a ton, you would mainly learn the programming part of it and the machinging part would be pretty easy for you, and in interviews you can say you have alot of experience in machining, and are just wanting to move into cnc machines

You should do pretty well in a fairly short time. Your traditional machining skills should be a plus for you because you know what does and does not work when machining. I have a brother that went from traditional machining to CNC with no problem, and has never had any formal training in CNC...he just knows what works and what doesn't. He has done better than most machinist who have had formal training where he work. Most trained CNC operators do not have the experience to go beyond a set of setup specifications to know if a setup will really work or not; it is a skill most traditional machinist seem to possess.
Answered by shaula359