At Cerritos College
Friday, February 24, 2023
9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Attention high school woodworking teachers!
…This training event is for you!
Join us in the beautiful Cerritos College Wood Manufacturing Technology facility for a full day of CNC-focused training, including a take home project that you can make with your students.
TWO seminar tracks will be offered:
Introductory CNC: Advanced CNC:
101: CNC Basics 201: Using Vectric’s Inlay Toolpath
102: Making a Sign in VCarve 202: Making an Inlay Mallet
103: Making the Sign on the CNC Machine 203: Advanced CNC for Students
Session presenters: TJ Imholte, Chris Thomas, Kenneth Thomas, and Mike Trejo from Inland Woodworkers Association, Jordan Clarke from Palomar College (see bios below)
PLUS…
Location:
Cerritos College, WD Building, Room 14
11110 Alondra Boulevard
Norwalk, CA 90650
Suggested donation: $20 – pay on Eventbrite when you register, or cash (exact change) will be accepted at the door
Parking: $5, park in Lot 10, scan the QR code on posted signs in lot to pay.
Welcome message, tour facility, review agenda for the day Location: WD-14
Break/visit with exhibitors
This one-hour session will examine the different categories of CNC machines to highlight the benefits, capabilities, differences, and disadvantages of each of the machines, and how best to leverage these features to benefit you and your students. Location: WD-14; Presenters: Mike Trejo and Chris Thomas
During this session we will use Vectric’s Inlay Toolpath while making a wooden mallet customized with initials. The session will also utilize some more advanced features such as variables, layers, and calculations. Location: WD-1 Computer Lab; Presenters: Kenneth Thomas and Jordan Clarke
Lunch, special announcements, visit exhibitors, network, see project gallery
This demonstration will cover the basic use of Vectric’s Aspire software including the initial setup; the design phase; and the preparation of the output file for carving. By programming their own V-Carve sign, attendees will gain a fundamental understanding of the user interface that will allow them build-on and develop more sophisticated projects. Location: WD-1 Computer Lab; Presenters: Mike Trejo and Chris Thomas
MUST ALSO ATTEND 201! This session continues from session 201. Attendees will use the Shopbot machine to make a wooden mallet customized with initials. Session will discuss work holding methods, bit selection and multiple machine homes. Location: CNC machinery area (shop); Presenters: Kenneth Thomas and Jordan Clarke
Break/visit with exhibitors
MUST ALSO ATTEND 102! Attendees will have hands on experience carving the signs they programmed in the previous session. Operation of the CNC machine will cover best safe practices, set-up, G-Code file transfer and loading as well as the carving of their projects. Attendees will come away with a basic understanding of the operation of a Shop-Bot CNC machine. Location: CNC machinery area (shop); Presenters: Mike Trejo and Chris Thomas
In this session we will cover more advanced topics such as multi-pass milling, 3D objects and toolpaths, specialty tooling, nested joinery and custom workholding / fixturing. We will also have a roundtable discussion & CNC wood project exchange for teachers. Please bring your CNC projects to share with others and bring an empty thumb drive to take some with you as well! Location: WD-14 Classroom; Presenters: Kenneth Thomas and Jordan Clarke
Jordan Clarke is a wood manufacturing educator and professional cabinet maker with 19 years experience in industry, having run his own successful cabinet business for more than 10 years. Jordan has taught at the high school and community college levels in Southern California since 2015, specializing in CAD/CAM/CNC wood manufacturing.
TJ Imholte is a third-generation woodworker starting with his grandfather, a finish carpenter by trade. His father, also an avid woodworker, pushed him into engineering where he earned a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering. Throughout his professional career he continued to build his woodworking skills and built his shop from a closet to a balcony to an 18-foot box truck to half of a garage to his current 37” x 18’ downstairs small hobby shop. In one of his professional positions as VP of Engineering for a major restaurant furniture manufacturing company he became fascinated in CNCs. Since then, he now looks at every project he starts by saying, what part of this can I do on my CNC? With his passion for CNC woodworking, TJ has become a CNC coach teaching others to use CNCs. He spent over 2 years working for Rockler giving demonstrations and building a personal clientele to share his love for CNC woodworking. Kenneth and TJ have been teaching together for a little over 5 years and jointly run a monthly CNC Club through the Inland Wood Workers at the Ontario Rockler store.
Chris Thomas, Inland Woodworkers Association
Kenneth Thomas has been a woodworking hobbyist for over 40 years, building everything from cabinets to toys and more. His career in Information Technology sparked an interest in CAD and CAM technologies as they relate to woodworking which felt like a natural progression. For the past 10 years, he has been working with CNCs and lasers; using them, building them and teaching people how to use them.
Mike Trejo, President, Inland Woodworkers Association
Cerritos College and CSAW – hosted this event
Royal Plywood – donated all material
Paton Group – provided the flash drives
FastCap – provided adhesives
Stiles – provided safety glasses
Blum – provided tape measures
ShopBot CNC Startup – (Reuben Foat, Cerritos College)
Session 201-202 Handout (Mallet Project) – (TJ Imholte, Inland Woodworkers)
CNC Glossary of Terms – (Mike Trejo, Inland Woodworkers)
CNC and Education Standards – (David Sorenson, Royal High School)
Setting up the CNC_WCA Standards – (Mark Smith, Reed-Custer High School)
