Heard a guy say "CNC is dying" at a trade show last week - thoughts?

I was at a small conference in Cleveland and overheard this older machinist telling a younger guy that CNC is a dead end because 3D printing and AI will replace most of it in 10 years. He said shops are already cutting labor and letting programmers go. On the other hand, I see my own shop struggling to find anyone who can actually set up a 5-axis machine properly, and we're backed up 6 weeks on orders. So which is it right now - is the trade shrinking or are we just dealing with a skills gap? Has anyone else heard this argument and what do you think?

2 comments

2 Comments

valw3628d ago

Lol yeah that guy sounds like he's been huffing too much coolant. CNC dying? Tell that to the shops I know that are literally turning down work because they can't find operators who know which end of the endmill goes in the spindle. 3D printing is great for prototypes and weird one-off parts but good luck trying to crank out 500 aluminum brackets in a day with that. AI ain't gonna walk over and change out a vise or debur a part either. That skills gap is real and it's getting worse, not like the trade is shrinking. Sounds like the dude was just salty he got laid off or something.

hayden70928d ago

Honestly, the "CNC is dying" take is just people who never spent time on a shop floor talking. Real machining isn't going anywhere when you need parts that hold tolerances down to a thou. 3D printing is cool for a lot of stuff but it's not replacing production runs of metal parts anytime soon. And yeah, the operator shortage is brutal, shops near me are offering sign-on bonuses just to get people who show up on time. That guy probably got let go for showing up late one too many times and blamed the whole industry.