Competitive machining

[Alan Richter]

Machine shops compete every day for business, but I had a chance to see young machinists compete for medals and their honor at the WorldSkills Calgary 2009 competition, which took place the first week of September at Stampede Park in Calgary, Canada. The event involved more than 900 participants from some 50 countries or regions competing in 45 skills, including CNC turning, CNC milling, the manufacturing team challenge and moldmaking. (Find our more by visiting www.worldskills2009.com.) This type of competition seems quite valuable in helping to prepare young people for the challenges they face after their formal education by motivating them to learn to use the tools and technologies to enable them to excel in a trade. It’s kind of like automakers engineering components and cars for the severe demands of racing to improve vehicles for everyday driving. It was compelling to watch the milling and turning competitors program a previously unseen part and then set up a machine and produce the part, all within a 4-hour timeframe. However, and I’m hesitant to admit it, I found the cabinetmaking competition the most visually fascinating because they didn’t rely on computers and had to manually shape wood with chisels and other hand tools. Bricklaying was also neat to watch. Mori Seiki, a sponsor of the competition and the company that brought me and other trade press editors to the event, provided machine tools, and a short video about the machine tool builder’s involvement can be seen at http://wsc2009.worldskills.tv/Video/312/Mori-Seiki/. Skills training is essential to creating creative and rewarding careers and watching the competitors in Calgary gives me more confidence in the prospects for those entering the trades.