Instructions

and understanding the EMC2 interface and Part 2, which provides workbook examples to
walk you through the basics of using g-code.
Part 1
A different way of learning
Long ago I became aware of the success rate of people who, when left alone with their
video recorder and an instruction manual, failed to pass the test and had to stay up late to
turn on their recorder to record a show they wanted to save. From their own statistics you
would think manufacturers would have attempted to teach in a different manner, but they
don’t. The products get more complex, making the instructions more complex, and the
poor consumers of these products are at a loss. I don’t teach using these methods because
they obviously don’t work. With my instruction you won’t be sure if you’re reading a
novel or an instruction manual, but I’m sure you’ll be able to program and make a part
when you get to the end.
The first instructions I completely wrote for my tools (I had written instructions about
radio control equipment and rules for RC events in the past) were how to cut a screw
thread using a rather crude device I designed (but which works well) for a Sherline lathe.
I was surprised how few calls on how to use it came in after I sold my first 200, because
it is a bit of a complicated thing to do. I then started to wonder if anyone was using it, and
you’ll never know how relieved I was when a customer came in with a bunch of parts
that he made with threads on them.
I knew I was on to something and have always written in this style ever since because it
works. It had to work because at that time I was the only one at my company who could
answer questions of this type, and I didn’t have the time. The fact that I’m a self taught
person probably has something to do with it. I even went on to write a couple of books in
this style that were well received.
A new challenge
I remember getting a call from Sears about my folksy style of writing that didn’t follow
Sears’ instruction guidelines about the screw cutting attachment. I asked him how many
calls they had received about how to cut threads using it. He answered, “None.” I asked
him who there could answer a technical question of this type. He answered, “Nobody.” I
said, “With this being the case, don’t you think you should leave well enough alone?” I
never heard from him again. Right now, I’m looking at these instructions as one of the
biggest challenges I’ve ever taken on as an author, and I don’t plan to fail. The average
instruction manual written on this subject is two to three hundred pages of very technical
reading. You’ll never crack a smile reading one of these manuals. I’ll do it in less than
fifty.
The only students I hired who learned CNC had good teachers, not good training
manuals. In fact, I can’t think of any employee in the last 30 years that I’ve ever hired
who learned CNC programming and how to run these complex machines on his own.
You will! I had to learn on my own because I was so broke after I bought my first NC I
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