Chapter 1: Introduction to the Machining Industry
OVERVIEW
The Book
This book was written by authors who have worked in the machining industry and who are now educators in Washington State. The authors’ experiences are varied due to each individual’s specific education and work history. Together, they provide a varied perspective of the machining industry that will benefit the student.
This chapter will provide a general overview of the machining industry, including how varied it can be. By the end of the chapter, you may have enough knowledge to decide if becoming a machinist is for you.
The Job
Finding a job and discovering a career are two very different experiences. Finding a job can feed you for a day, but finding a career can feed you for a lifetime. That may be a bit poetic, but the sentiment places value on finding a career that can sustain you through a lifetime, providing for today’s needs as well as those of the future.
There was a time when machining was a large industry in this country. However, a shift in the economy drove skilled trade jobs overseas, and machining was one of them (Adamson, 1994). Generations would pass before we would see the machining industry come back to our shores in volume.
Off-shoring created considerable problems, one of them being a shortage of well-trained and skilled machinists able to perform the technical tasks of manufacturing (Manufacturing Extension Partnership, 2022). Fortunately, there are community and technical colleges that offer training in current machining processes, which can prepare you for a career in this growing industry.
This chapter will equip you with a general understanding of the machining industry and the people who make it possible.
Objectives
- Describe what machinists do.
- Identify potential industry jobs for machinists in your location.
- Review the specific skills listed in a machinist job description.
Key Terms
- Stock
- Industry sector
- Subtractive machining
- Additive manufacturing
