The paper explores how novices in school-based vocational training make sense of computerized numerical control (CNC) machines. Based on two ethnographic studies in Swedish schools, one from the early 1980s and one from 2006, it analyses change and continuity in the cognitive, social, and emotional processes of learning how to become a machine…

Wages of entry-level carpenters have been driven down along with those of many other non-professional occupations in recent years. If carpenters stay in the field, they typically advance slowly over the years until they reach the level of master craftsman, perhaps by the time they reach the age of 40. However, technology is having a major impact…

To develop an in-process quality control system, a sensor technique and a decision-making algorithm need to be applied during machining operations. Several sensor techniques have been used in the in-process prediction of quality characteristics in machining operations. For example, an accelerometer sensor can be used to monitor the vibration of…

Analysis of data from "Industry Wage Surveys of Machinery Manufacturers" on the skill levels of 57 machining jobs found that introduction of numerically controlled machine tools has resulted in a very small reduction in skill levels or no significant change, supporting neither the deskilling argument nor argument that skill levels…

Last fall, when Mastercam, the leading manufacturer of computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) software, announced the winners of its Innovators of the Future (IOF) contest, first, second and third prizes went to students in the advanced manufacturing program of Vincennes University's (VU's) Machine Trades Technology Department. The contest called for…

The Technology Department at Appalachian State University runs a metals lab to introduce students to basic metalworking processes. Many of the students have never worked with metal before. The class objectives call for teaching students metal properties, processing, and design problem solving. The average student is a 20-year-old junior whom…

Evidence gathered through interviews with members of trade associations, unions, professional societies, business, and industry as well as data obtained from the Department of Labor, congressional testimony, and publications of the commerical and trade press reveals that the shortage of skilled workers in America is reaching crisis proportions.…

A survey examined workers' perspectives on skills usage and the effects of technological change in the workplace, specifically in three trades: metalworking machining, automotive repair, and graphic arts/printing. Responses to interview questions asked during site visits to shops in Hampden and Hampshire Counties (Massachusetts) were incorporated…

This manual is intended (1) to provide an information resource to supplement the formal training program for boilermaker apprentices; (2) to assist the journeyworker to build on present knowledge to increase expertise and qualify for formal accreditation in the boilermaking trade; and (3) to serve as an on-the-job reference with sound, up-to-date…