Cnc Cad/cam Programmer

All Engineers Share your knowledge on CNC CAD/CAM is there any CNC industry in Nigeria???, i work in a $30million USD CNC industry as a CNC CAD/CAM programmer in the USA hoping i can save enough money transfer the technology down to Nigeria.

I was hoping the engineers in the house would find this topic very interesting CNC stands for Computer Numerical Control programmers, it is the essential programming of robots to perform a specific task to precision. It is used in the industralized nations in production of autos, computers and all other industries that deals with production. etc. The demand for CNC programmers is very high all over the world and the money is highly rewarding ranging from $35 an hour as an entry level with working experience in robotics. Think about any machine it can be programmed to perform a task on its own, using a computer. Lets take for example ATM machines, they require CNC to allow the ATM perform tasks even when no one is at the bank. it is programmed and loaded during working hrs. I have the concept of CNC and i m planing on building one to test runing in Nigeria industries. Even a sewing machine can be programmed to sew with out supervision using the concept of CNC. A car can be programmed to run wit out supervision using the concept of CNC.

True, i agree with you, but we can change that, and we have to start thinking the other way, that is why India is ahead of us. Those manual machines can be converted into CNC programming machines by the application of a computer that can turn the machines into robots, that is the initiative i m working work on. It will help turn us into an industrial nation and we can dominate Africa with it. But if the technology comes into Nigeria we still need the manpower. Let take for example oil firms, all oil firms presently in Nigeria use CNC driven machines to drill for oil, because Nigerians are far from the programming abilities of CNC, a foreigner is imported to do the job and paid thousands of dollars. There are firms all over the world looking for experienced CNC programmers Nigeria youths who have studied engineering in poly or uni can take advantage of the new job order. Indians students are rushing into CNC sectors, in order for them to be marketable worldwide. Its the easiest way to travel comfortably for those seeking a better life overseas. The unfortunate thing is i doubt if there is any school in Nigeria that presently offers CNC programming the number one location for CNC study is in Denmark, that is where most firms send their staff for training. My idea is that with CNC programming abilities our engineers can be marketable worldwide which will inturn boost our economy just like what the indians are doing exporting their engineers to the gulf.

Things you should know to be a CNC programmer :
1. Engineering field ( either computer, mechanical, petroleum,mining, electrical or chemical)
2. An expert in Computer
3. You need to understand CAD
4. You should know CAM
5. Ability to read a technical drawing because the drawings is all u have to work with by converting it into CAD.
6. You need to understand measurements in ' and '' (ft and inches)
7. Ability to convert technical drawing into G-code(which is the computerized language machines understands).
8. Understand the concept of physics e.g RPM(revolution per min), velocity, speed,projection etc
9. You have to be good in calculating algebra, fractions and decimal points (because' CNC programming makes use of fractions and decimal point in order to get a precision result.

nigeria's manufacturing industry is dead in the water - thanks to PHCN

i'm an electrical engineer  - i use autoCAD, Dialux, and google sketchup for engineering designs( not quite the same thing - i know)

as to programming, nope i can't program, but i do put a lot of time into tweaking lisp files i download from sites and forums.

i have an almost unquantifiable interest on everything that has got to do with robotics and automation, will love to hear from you.
my mail addy is: bobkude@yahoo.com