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Case study

Francis Tuttle Technology Center A LEAP into the future

Teaming up with Siemens and Fryer Machine Systems, Francis Tuttle Technology Center helps educate the next generation of precision machinists.

Dean Baker has a simple philosophy he follows in life: If you’re not moving forward, you’re

standing still. That quote or variations of it have been spoken by the likes of Presidents

Franklin D. Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson, Walt Disney, and Isaac Newton. For Baker, an

instructor of Manufacturing Technology Machining at the Francis Tuttle Technology Center’s

Portland Campus in Oklahoma City, that means exposing students to the latest machining

skills and equipment, making sure his curriculum is evolving, and ensuring the national

SkillsUSA organization—he’s secretary of its board—is showcasing the most cutting-edge

technologies. The Siemens Lifelong Educational Advantage Program (LEAP) fuels Baker’s

efforts in each of his missions.

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Progress and proficiency

“We are a true progress-based environment. The key marker always is progress and then also mastery. That is a vital component of a progress-based environment.”

Siemens Case Study | Francis Tuttle Technology Center

Advancement opportunities

Baker, who has been with Francis Tuttle for 20 years, has witnessed the digital evolution

in the manufacturing industry in recent years, but he’s committed to giving students

a solid foundation in computer numerical control (CNC) machining first and then moving

them into the latest, more challenging, career-advancing areas. LEAP, which features

a basic-to-advanced training program, fits perfectly with Baker’s style of teaching.

In his classes, students—who are both high schoolers and returning adult students—receive

hands-on experience on a Fryer Machine Systems CM-15 milling machine with a Siemens

828D control. Baker likes how that combination of machine and control gives students

experience with the latest equipment and processes such as 5-axis machining.

“It shows the evolving technology,” says Baker, who began his career in machining in 1979.

“My students need to see that.”

The 828D offers another layer of experience in CNC machining, and even he has not fully

explored its depth of high-tech capabilities.

“It’s just an awesome, awesome control,” he says. “I’ve barely scratched the surface with

it—I’m real excited to get in there and get my hands on it and make some stuff.”

The LEAP program goes hand-in-hand with Baker’s classroom instruction. Both place an

emphasis on progress and proficiency. The LEAP program is divided into three levels that

provide a pre-requisite approach to basic-to-advanced learning, including 5-axis. Similarly,

Baker says his students using the Siemens 828D control must show complete understanding

of skills before tackling the more advanced curriculum. The learning is on an individual level,

as well, something Baker calls a “self-paced” format.

“We are a true progress-based environment,” Baker explains. “The key marker always is progress

and then also mastery. It’s not just, ‘Oh, here’s a terrible-looking part, I’m going to move on.’

No, you have to master this. That is a vital component of a progress-based environment.”

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Francis Tuttle Technology Center | Siemens Case Study

Taking the LEAP

The Siemens LEAP curriculum features basic-to-advanced CNC machining, including

5-axis training, that puts students on a path to a career, not just a job. The curriculum

uses the Siemens SinuTrain training system, which is PC-based emulator software

replicating the SINUMERIK Operate interface of 828D and 840D controls. In fact, the

numeric control kernel that drives SinuTrain is the same one featured in 828D and

840D controls. Siemens also provides participating schools with software and

installation assistance as well as free instructor training, certification, and support.

Larry Fryer, president at Fryer Machine Systems, says the Siemens SinuTrain system

is “way ahead of the curve” in the machining-education industry.

“The fact that Siemens simulators include graphics, include conversational

programming, and include the actual machine keyboard is a step or two above what

the other brands have done to date,” says Fryer, whose company worked with

Siemens to provide Francis Tuttle with its Fryer CM-15 equipped with the Siemens

828D control.

The CM-15/828D combination is well-suited for educational purposes, Fryer says,

because it is offered at a reasonable cost and is compact and intuitive, offering a

graphical, visual human-machine interface (HMI) with the same screen size as larger

models. The machine also is enclosed in Lexan glass that allows many students to

gather around the equipment and watch what is happening.

Fryer is particularly impressed with SinuTrain’s training software that turns any PC

screen into an exact representation of the SINUMERIK Operate interface, enabling

instructors to oversee and train many students at the same time. He likes how

students can create a part on their PC, program it, then copy it onto a memory stick

and actually run the program on a CNC machine. Fryer says that is a unique option

because most other educational programs rely on large, hardware-based simulators.

“Most schools can only have a couple of simulators,” Fryer says. “Whereas a

software-based approach allows us to have a much larger classroom.”

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Siemens Case Study | Francis Tuttle Technology Center

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LEAP training for instructors consists of three days each on Level 1 (conversational

programming, ShopTurn and ShopMill), Level 2 (more complex machining, including

4-axis), and Level 3 (5-axis milling). Upon completion of training, instructors are certified,

and they in turn can certify students. Successful completion of each level of training and

subsequent testing can provide students with up to five certificates to help them begin

their careers in CNC machining.

“Up until recently, schools were locked into more or less one brand, and while that was

good for maybe them and some of the students, it wasn’t good for the industry that uses

a variety of machines and seeks employees with advanced skills. It wasn’t necessarily the

best course of action for the employers schools were servicing,” Fryer explains. “Having

someone like Siemens as part of this program opens up a whole other world and a lot

more brands of machines that can do a lot more complicated and diverse tasks.”

Virtual to actual machining

The SinuTrain training system prepares students to work on the Fryer machines in Dean Baker’s class. The SinuTrain emulator control matches that of the Fryer machine.

Francis Tuttle Technology Center | Siemens Case Study

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Starting the conversation(al)

Baker, a self-proclaimed “G-code” guy who started writing code for machining controls

in 1979, has embraced the conversational interface of the 828D, calling it “pretty cool.”

He and Fryer both say the benefits of the visualization offered through conversational

programming are numerous—for students and instructors alike.

“I still teach G-code programming,” Baker says. “But with conversational, that enables

students to see. Instead of just, ‘OK, I’m pushing this, and this is going to happen,’

conversational teaches what’s happening behind the scenes. I know what the machine’s

doing. I tell them, ‘You’re learning a foreign language. You’re learning a machine

language.’ In the icon-driven conversational, it is just awesome.

“I’ve had students understand [G-code], but they’re just not as good with it. Then they’ll

get on a conversational control and—bam—it seems to fit their personality or their skill

set, and they do great on it.”

Fryer sees a top-down advantage of using conversational programming in the classroom.

“This shorter learning curve based on the Siemens approach of conversational and

graphics has made it a lot easier for the instructors to understand the control and get

proficient on it,” he says.

Like the LEAP conversational approach, Fryer points to the SinuTrain animations as

another unique and user-friendly feature. On-screen animations show users what their

program will do at the control level before being performed on the actual machine.

“We select the screen, and we wait 5 seconds, the graphics kick in and animate the

actions that that screen is going to perform,” Fryer says. “Whether it’s a pocket cycle or

a drilling cycle, you’ll actually see that drill come down and start performing that cycle

in an animated mode for you without touching any buttons—it just starts happening.

It’s giving you a visual representation of what’s going to be happening.”

Siemens Case Study | Francis Tuttle Technology Center

Showcasing students’ skills

Baker sees conversational programming as such an essential skill for today’s machining

students that he would like SkillsUSA to feature a conversational competition in future

SkillsUSA Championships that showcase the nation’s best career and technical

education students. Since the competitions are designed to reward students for

excellence, to involve industry in directly evaluating student performance, and to keep

training relevant to employers’ needs, Baker sees a conversational awards program

supported by the Siemens SINUMERIK CNC platform as the right move.

“SkillsUSA is a very progressive organization. We always want our students to learn

and our instructors and teachers to deliver the latest technology. To me, the 828D

represents the latest in CNC machining technology,” Baker says.

SkillsUSA is a partnership of students, teachers and industry representatives working

together to ensure America has a skilled workforce to help students excel.

“You always have to be forward-looking,” he says. “Our SkillsUSA competitions drive

behavior immediately, adapting new technologies out there, getting them more and

more common. At competitions, students introduce these new technologies at the

national level. From a board directive, we want to make sure that the greatest number

of students possible are able to participate.”

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Machining comes to life

Before they ever work on a machine, students are able to see how their programs will work via the visualization featured on the SinuTrain software.

Francis Tuttle Technology Center | Siemens Case Study

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