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-----Metal Finishing Blueprints
Q. I am really hoping you guys can help me...
Recently, the metal finishing company I work with has re-assigned me to the quoting/coatings department where I have had to learn on the fly how to price parts based off of blueprints alone (no physical parts present). Originally, I was NOT hired for this task, but it has fallen to me for the time being due to internal circumstances.
For the past few months I have been soaking up ALL that this website has to offer and searching the web for info (GD&T, webinars, youtube, etc.), but am still struggling to identify our customers masking needs. ***Basically, I cannot determine which surfaces need to be coated and left bare. Parts that need lube/Anodized all over are a non issue.***
If anyone can assist, I am all ears. Links would be appreciated and any input welcomed! In case your wondering, my company is not open to sending me to formal training, so I am on my own to educate myself. In time I hope to get a seasoned anodizer brought back on (manager retired), but for now its my problem.
Thanks in advance for any and all help!
- San Diego, California, USA
April 23, 2017
Ed. note: This RFQ is outdated, but technical replies are welcome, and readers are encouraged to post their own RFQs. But no public commercial suggestions please ( huh? why?).
A. Hi Bill. It probably starts with a basic understanding of blueprint reading. If someone teaches you how, and assuming you don't have some serious weakness in spatial recognition & visualization, it's not hard to get it -- millions of machinists, welders, and carpenters learned basic blueprint reading without formal training.
But if no one is there to explain it and answer questions as they come up, you can go to the library and borrow a copy of French's Mechanical Drawing ... it's training and reference for draftsmen (drawing blueprints), so it has more than you need, but it's understandable and a great reference.
I can identify! I went to college for mechanical engineering after Catholic high school which had offered zero exposure to any sort of vocational training, whereas almost all of my classmates had already had drafting and machining courses in high school. I was so far behind from day one that first semester was hell 🙂
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
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April 2017
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