Signature Assignment: Instructional Plan and

Presentation,
CNC Lathe Programming
Dan OBrien
CUR 516
August 15, 2016
Professor Joan Beckner

Needs Analysis
In the trade of machining and manufacturing new programmers and
operators of Computer Numerically Controlled, CNC, equipment are needed
for the growth and sustainability of manufacturing companies.
There is a skills shortage here in the United States due to the combination of
an older retiring workforce and an insufficient supply of new workers with the
skills required to replace these positions.
Traditional machining skills programs take many months and sometimes
years to complete. Accelerated and intensive course work is necessary to
retrain unemployed adult workers, veterans and younger low skilled workers
who are looking for lucrative careers in advanced manufacturing areas.

Learner Analysis, Fullerton College

Community college students seeking certificates and
training in CNC machining, consisting of recent high
school graduates, full time and part time employed
persons of manufacturing companies, unemployed
workers seeking new job skills, veterans recently entering
civilian life and those unemployed. Typical machine
technology department course age ranges from eighteen
to sixty years old. Demographics of Fullerton College are
50% Hispanic, 24% White, 18% Asian, 5% Black 3%
other. The college overall is 48% male and 52% female,
machine tool technical courses are usually 95% male.

CNC Lathe Programming Course Format

A combination approach to
learning will be utilized to
include an online
instructional element, on
site lecture, on site
demonstrations and hands
on laboratory activities.

CNC Lathe Programming Course Format

Students will attend onsite class lectures

and demonstrations. Online content
consisting of lecture concepts and
demonstrations will be utilized to
reinforce learning activities and assist
students completing laboratory
assignments. Online content is not meant
to replace the lecture and demonstration
portion of the course as attendance and
participation will still be required .

CNC Lathe Programming Course Format

This class is to be offered in an eight week accelerated format with

two, four hour class meetings per week. The first class meeting of
the week will contain lecture and demonstrations, the second class
will consist of laboratory activities. Online video content and
reference files will be made available to assist students
understanding of the material and help with memorization, recall
and emersion of learning activities. This course will include thirtytwo hours of lecture and demonstrations and thirty-two hours of

CNC Lathe Programming Course Format

Adults unemployed or those seeking a career change prefer courses

offered in accelerated formats. The level of attention to detail that is
required along with previous knowledge of machining practices
makes this course an intermediate course of study in the field of
machine technology. This course is intended to be taken after the
completion of a basic skill course in the subject matter of machine

Task Analysis
Knowledge of fundamental
understandings of key concepts
and understandings will be
required of CNC lathe operation,
set-up and programming
characteristics.
Perform a variety of
mathematical calculations that
are common in the machining
and machine tool programming
field.
Utilize the Cartesian coordinate
system and axis to relate and
apply to machine tools.

Task Analysis

Plan manufacturing sequence of

operations for optimal part and
program processing.
Select industry standard insert
cutting tools for machining
operations.
Determine appropriate speed, feed,
depth of cut and machining
parameters for machining operations.
Write CNC programs for lathe
applications.
Input and save CNC programs on
flash drives utilizing PC computers.
Download program files into CNC
lathe controls.

Task Analysis
Debug and edit program syntax errors.
Use graphical interface displays and other
methods to verify CNC programs prior to
machine operation.
Debug and edit programming errors
discovered on the CNC machine control.
Dry run, utilizing safe methods for program
verification.
Inspect machined parts and compare to
drawing specifications.
Troubleshoot non conforming specifications
by making adjustments to machine set up
parameters and or CNC program commands.

Course Goal
The goal of this CNC lathe
programming course is at the
successful completion of the
course students will be
employable at manufacturing
companies with CNC lathes.
Students should be able to
write basic CNC programs to
perform a variety of rough
and finish turning operations
consisting of; facing, turning,
grooving, part-off and

Course Objective #1
Given part drawing specifications and a calculator the
CNC lathe programming student should be able to
calculate toolpath locations for CNC lathe programs that
will produce parts to drawing specifications.

Course Objective #2

The CNC lathe programming student should be able to

follow accepted industry standards for safe programming
practices on CNC lathes that will ensure safe machine
functioning.

Course Objective #3
Given a media
storage device,
computer, software
and CNC machine
tool the CNC lathe
programming student
should be able to
download a CNC
program into the
control in three
attempts or less.

Course Objective #4
The CNC lathe student should be able to troubleshoot common
programming problems on CNC lathe controls within a ten
minute period of time.

Implementation Schedule

A task analysis and course goals and objectives should be reviewed

and approved by the machine technology department vocational
advisory committee.
Required course curriculum proposal for the CNC lathe programming
course will first need to be prepared and submitted for approval. The
course can be offered as soon as allowed per college approvals and
curriculum procedures.
Instructional staff can utilize current fulltime or part time faculty who
already qualify for the pre-requisite requirements of this course.

Implementation Schedule
Current facilities consisting of classrooms and laboratories are
more than adequate for such a course.
Equipment to support instruction is already in place and
operational in the college machine technology laboratory.
Addition funding to support the CNC lathe course project
materials can be derived with a slight increase in the department
material budget or be included as a small material fee paid upon
course registration.

Formative Course Assessment

Formative course assessment shall be implemented to insure
learner acceptance of course delivery and material and also to
monitor the effectiveness of instruction. Changes can be
implemented per recommendations. The Dick, Carey and Carey
three stage method is appropriate for this course.
Stage one, three learners in one on one interviews are to be utilized to gain
reactions to instructional material, likes and dislikes and time the delivery of
materials. A pre-test shall be given at this time.
Stage two, verify any changes as a result of phase one recommendations.
Determine if learners can utilize course materials to continue without
assistance of the instructor. Learner reactions to new materials, determine if
instruction as intended, observe learners without involvement unless they get
stuck, administer a post-test, attitude questionnaire and debrief the learners.
Stage three, field trials and evaluation to determine effectiveness of
changes made.

Summative Course Assessment

Summative course assessment shall be conducted at the completion of
each course. The purpose of the summative evaluation is to gather
information to determine the effectiveness of the course. The Smith and
Ragan eight step process address the needs of the organization and
stakeholders for this course to be supported.
Step one Determine the goals of the evaluation from clients and stakeholder
input.
Step two Select the indicators of success, where the data is to be gathered from.
Step three Select the orientation of evaluation, objective or subjective.
Step four Select the design of the evaluation.
Step five Design and select the evaluation measures.
Step six Collect the data.
Step seven Analyze the data.
Step eight Report the analysis, summary, background and recommendations.

References
Brown A., Green T. D., (2011). The Essentials of Instructional Design, Connecting Fundamental
Principles with Process and Practice. Pearson (2nd ed ).
Hodell, C (2016). ISD From the ground up; A no nonsense approach to instructional design. Virginia:
American society for training and development.
Wlodkowski R.J., & Ginsberg M.B. (2010). Teaching Intensive and Accelerated Courses, Instruction
that motivates learning. San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass.