A machinist is a person who fabricates machines and machine parts out of metal using tools like drills, lathes, and mills. Although some machinists acquire all their skills through on-the-job training, others go through an educational apprenticeship program that includes classroom hours in addition to supervised practice. Usually offered at a technical school, classes for machinists typically include geometry, trigonometry, and drafting. Once employed, a Machinist in Pensacola Florida will be able to do the following things.
First of all, a machinist reads a blueprint or design specifications for the part to be made. Also known as a manufacturing drawing, the blueprint gives detailed information, including the type of material to be used, the desired finish, the dimensions, information about the company, and a variety of other specifications. Based on the blueprint, the machinist will then select the material and tools required to manufacture the part and determine in what order the cuts will be made.
Once the job is laid out, the machinist will begin shaping the metal with a cutting tool. A machinist may use a plasma torch or water jet cutter, for example. A good deal of metalwork these days is done with computer numerical control (CNC) cutting tools like a laser cutter or plasma cutting table, a lathe, or a mill. Either the machinist or a programmer will write basic programs to control the machines, but it is the machinist who decides the speed, the cutting path, and the feed rate.
Machinists also monitor equipment and perform preventive or predictive maintenance. This may include using special tools to detect vibration or testing the cutting edges. Maintenance can include replacing worn parts by manufacturing new ones. Machinists may also monitor after-hours manufacturing, where programmed machines operate on their own.
A machinist must be able to measure a machine part to determine whether it is within the limits of a given size tolerance. A good machinist is able to accurately fabricate a part within one half of one thousandth of an inch of the required measurement. Click Here to learn more about all the work that a Machinist in Pensacola Florida is qualified to do.
