Inquiry About Daily Responsibilities as a CMM Programmer

[[Ra...]]

Hello,

I hope you're doing well. Today,

 I wanted to ask you about your experience working as a CMM programmer. Specifically, I’m interested in understanding what a typical day looks like and what responsibilities are expected under the role of a Zeiss programmer.

 I’ve been working at my company for 15 years. About three years ago, we acquired a Zeiss CMM machine, and since then, I’ve been operating it. However, I’ve also continued to handle my previous tasks, which means my workload has increased significantly.

 Although I’ve been programming and running the CMM machine, I’ve never officially held the title or position of a CMM programmer. That’s why I’m curious—what duties are normally associated with this role?

 Additionally, there are times when we receive batches of 10 to 15 parts at once, which can put me in a challenging situation.

 From your experience:

• How many parts do you usually program in a day?
• How many parts do you typically inspect daily with the cmm?
• When you’re creating a new program, do you pause to inspect other parts, or do you usually complete the program from start to finish without interruption?
•  

I appreciate any insight you can share. Thank you in advance for your time.

Best regards,

[[DW...]]

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 Ahh, the classic 'we need someone to program this shiny new piece of equipment, but we do not want to pay a programmer' scenario. It is way too common. I am going to keep this short, you are most likely being financially screwed by your employer. If you have never had official training, get the employer to pay to have you trained, and then leave for a better company. They are using your 15 years of loyalty to pile on a whole other job, while most likely not compensating you at all. Run.

 

[[Ri...]]

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1. This depends on complexity.

2. Whatever comes into the room. It can be one complex part that has upwards of three or more programs and takes hours per program to basic 30 minutes from setup to results.

3. Learn to multitask.

3a. When I start a project, I start a notebook that I track what I am doing (Each book is for a specific part or part family), where I left off, what I plan on doing, etc. Along with the notes, I have a Ghant Chart that tracks all of my programming (Projects) from cradle to grave.

3b. I have complex projects that have had a total of 52 days to complete for a single part (This was my initial estimate for completion if I worked on that project without interruption). I would say I get broke off of any given project multiple times a week or per day.

(My largest project was for Cummins RMEP, I spent 6+ months in North Carolina to rewrite the CMM programs for nearly every Diesel head design they have from LK's to Calypso, this as usual, was a cradle to grave job).

4. Most projects I handle include Project Planning, Part Fixturing, Fixture Design, Part programming, MSA/GRR, program life management, experimental inspection methods on the CMM, and much more.

The majority of what I have learned over the past 25 years has been from Seminars, you will learn more from seminars than you will from any OEM CMM software class.

(Back in the day, I used voice recorders to record entire seminars, video cameras were just too big 🤣).

Edited 16 hours ago