| Skill | What it means | Level needed |
|---|
| Safety | Understands machine shop safety rules, uses appropriate PPE consistently, follows lockout/tagout procedures, and identifies hazards in the machining environment. | |
| Measurement | Uses precision measuring instruments (micrometers, calipers, height gauges, gauge blocks) to verify dimensions to specified tolerances. | |
| Shop Math | Applies math concepts (fractions, decimals, geometry, trigonometry) to calculate dimensions, speeds, feeds, and tolerances for machining operations. | |
| Process Planning | Reads job orders and selects appropriate machining sequences, tooling, speeds, and feeds for a given part to meet specifications efficiently. | |
| Quality Assurance & Quality Control | Inspects finished parts against drawings and tolerances, identifies defects, and documents results using standard inspection methods and tools. | |
| Understanding Materials | Identifies common materials (steels, aluminum, plastics, cast iron) by type and grade and understands their machinability, tooling requirements, and applications. | |
| Heat Treatment | Understands basic heat treatment processes (annealing, hardening, tempering, case hardening) and their effects on material properties and machinability. | |
| Maintenance | Performs routine machine maintenance (lubrication, chip removal, coolant checks, way wiping) and identifies abnormal machine conditions requiring service. | |
| Blue Print Reading | Reads and interprets engineering drawings including orthographic views, dimensions, tolerances, surface finish callouts, and basic GD&T symbols. | |
| Layout | Transfers dimensions from engineering drawings to workpieces using scribers, surface plates, V-blocks, and layout tools to establish reference lines and points. | |
| Hand Tools | Selects and uses common hand tools (files, taps, dies, countersinks, deburring tools) correctly and safely in support of machining operations. | |
| Saws & Cutoff Equip | Operates horizontal and vertical bandsaws and cutoff saws to rough-cut material to approximate size safely and accurately. | |
| Offhand Grinding | Uses bench and pedestal grinders safely to dress tools, deburr parts, and sharpen HSS cutting tools to correct geometry. | |
| Drilling Operation | Sets up and operates drill presses and related equipment to drill, ream, countersink, and tap holes to specification in various materials. | |
| Manual Lathe Operation | Operates a manual engine lathe to perform turning, facing, threading (internal and external), boring, parting, and knurling operations to print. | |
| Manual Milling Operation | Operates a manual knee mill or bed mill to perform facing, slotting, drilling, boring, and contouring operations to specified dimensions. | |
| Surface & Cylindrical Grinding | Operates surface and/or cylindrical grinders to achieve fine surface finishes and tight dimensional tolerances on flat and round workpieces. | |
| CNC Turning: Operation | Safely loads programs, mounts workholding, installs and indexes tooling, and monitors production runs on CNC turning centers. | |
| CNC Turning: Setup | Establishes work offsets, tool length offsets, and datum references on CNC turning centers; makes first-article adjustments to achieve print specifications. | |
| CNC Turning: Programming | Writes and edits CNC turning programs using G/M codes and/or CAM-generated code to produce parts to specification. | |
| CNC Milling: Operation | Safely loads programs, mounts workholding, installs tooling, and monitors production runs on CNC vertical or horizontal machining centers. | |
| CNC Milling: Setup | Establishes work coordinate offsets, tool length offsets, and datum references on CNC machining centers; makes first-article adjustments. | |
| CNC Milling: Programming | Writes and edits CNC milling programs using G/M codes and/or CAM-generated code, including 2.5D and 3D toolpath strategies. | |
| CAD | Creates and interprets 2D drawings and 3D models of machined parts using computer-aided design software, applying proper drawing standards. | |
| CAM | Generates and edits CNC toolpaths using computer-aided manufacturing software, selects tooling and strategies, and post-processes programs for machine output. | |
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