The CNC Operator – A Typical Day In This Manufacturing Career

Describing the many tasks that a CNC operator would perform during the workday can give the prospective machinist a good idea of how varied and important the job is. The type and combination of job duties and responsibilities can vary depending on the products being manufactured and the product focus of the company where CNC operator works. Regardless of the uniqueness of some tasks, there are commonalities across many operator and machinist jobs.

Commonalties In The CNC Operator Job Specification

The US Small Business Administration defines most manufacturing companies with 500 or less employees as a small business¹. There are approximately 607,000 manufacturing companies in the United States, and about 603,000 of them, or 98.6%, are considered small businesses by the SBA; out of these companies, about three quarters of them have less than 20 employees². This would support the assumption that the typical CNC operator is usually part of a small team or may even be the lone machinist at the company.

CNC Operators Need Soft Skills

In any company, quality working relationships and cooperation are a must. In a small manufacturing company, the CNC operator might need to discuss production numbers with management, work with the parts or inventory department, and coordinate maintenance with the machinery maintenance team. This makes soft skills an important part of a CNC Operator's overall skillset.

A Typical Day For A CNC Operator

Owing to the Small Business nature of manufacturing, it would make sense that a CNC operator would have a variety of tasks to perform each day. This could include tasks that are technical and operational, as well as managerial and maintenance management³.

Managerial Procedures

Meeting with management to discuss customer feedback and expectations, scheduling and priorities for the workday are most likely a daily task for some CNC operators, while some days the operator might find themselves discussing technical matters with an engineer or a product designer.

CNC Operator Technical Duties

Daily tasks revolve around the operation of many types of CNC machinery. Some machines are sophisticated 5-axis vertical milling centers while others are smaller tool-room style lathes. Operating some of these machines can even incorporate the use of robotic assistance to machine or process parts, tools, or other work pieces. Computer Numerical Controlled (CNC) Operators set up these machines to the proper configuration for the intended job, load raw stock and run the program designed to process the material into finished product.

Detailed Breakdown of CNC Operator Duties

We can look further into the details of a CNC Operators technical duties and find that the process is composed of many additional highly detailed responsibilities⁴:

• Prepare and execute test runs of equipment, programs and robotics to ensure proper precision and order of operations.
• Reading and interpreting blueprints, sketches, and computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) files.
• Preparing the machine for use by mounting tools, fixtures, and workpieces. This includes the machine loading process.
• Operating & Monitoring: Running the machine to produce parts, and monitoring its progress go hand-in-hand.
• Inspect and measure finished products to ensure they meet specifications using on-machine tolerance tools. Then unload the finished work piece after on-machine quality assurance, and measure by hand if needed.
• Quality assurance: Using precision measuring instruments to ensure the finished product meets specifications. This process may also include random selection of finished inventory for additional quality control inspections.

Operational & Maintenance Procedures

Beyond managerial duties and the multitude of responsibilities actually operating CNC machines comes maintenance and safety.

Maintenance Procedures include the regular cleaning and light maintenance on the machinery, then recording and keeping detailed records of equipment maintenance, testing and QA procedures.

In the manufacturing environment, safety is everyone's responsibility. Safety is part of every process that occurs at a manufacturing facility. All manufacturing facilities in the United States must comply will all worker safety guidelines specified by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, better known as OSHA. A competent CNC Operator follows company safety guidelines and keeps current in their knowledge and practice of manufacturing safety.

References:

¹ SBA Basic Requirements, from https://www.sba.gov/federal-contracting/contracting-guide/basic-requirements#id-meet-size-standards Least updated on June 27, 2024. Retrieved on October 14, 2024.

² "How Small Manufacturing Businesses Drive the U.S. Economy", from https://www.score.org/resource/blog-post/how-small-manufacturing-businesses-drive-us-economy#:~:text=Manufacturing%20Company%20Sizes Published on June 13, 2024. Retrieved on October 14, 2024.

³ National Center for O*NET Development. 51-9161.00 - Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Operators. O*NET OnLine. Retrieved November 25, 2024, from https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/51-9161.00

⁴ "Career Opportunities - CNC Operator" from https://www.nwmicareers.org/career.asp?ait=av&aid=14&#:~:text=Typical%20Day Retrieved on October 14, 2024.

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