Cimquest Training Frequently Asked Questions

Cimquest has a variety of training options to suit your needs. Our open enrollment classes are our most popular option. These classes are offered on a rotational basis in each of our 6 training locations – Butler, PA, Mt. Joy, PA, Hanover, VA, Branchburg, NJ, Sterling, MA, and Windsor Locks, CT. Alternatively, our open enrollment classes are also available to be taken remotely. As another option, we also offer dedicated classes taught exclusively to students from your company. This can be done in our facility, your facility, or remotely. These dedicated classes can also be customized and tailored specifically to your needs. We are happy to discuss any of these options to find the best fit for your company.

Mill Essentials is our foundational class. We recommend everyone start there. You will get a refresher in interface and icon function as well as exposure to updates in a learner-friendly environment. If you haven’t been to a formal class in the past 4 years or longer you will pick up at least one time-saving tip from this class. One student commented, “While I did come into the course with some prior knowledge of Mastercam, retaking this course has reminded me of a lot of little shortcuts and tools to use to help speed up my CAM time as well as shorten machining time. Overall I learned quite a bit more than I expected.”

We have been holding classes remotely since 2014. Remote training is carried out in much the same way as in-person training but from the comfort of your home/office. Through an online portal, students are able to virtually sit in a classroom with one of our highly experienced instructors. Students have the same ability to see the instructor’s screen and ask any questions that may arise throughout the training as if they were there in person. Remote classes are a great option if location or time away from the office poses problems. During these unprecedented times, remote training has become a vital part of ensuring our customers’ safety and continued development. For more information on the Remote Training option please visit: https://cimquest-inc.com/training/remote-training/

The technical requirements for taking a remote class are as follows:

  • Internet connection of 30mb/s download and 10mb/s upload speed
  • Headset with microphone
  • Dual monitors (strongly recommended)
  • Current version of the class software

All remote student systems must be qualified by an application engineer prior to the start of class. If any of the particular requirements fall outside of our desired parameters, we will do our best to work with you. However, we may recommend a reschedule for a later date to resolve any issues. Alternatively, students may use our systems at our Butler, Branchburg, or Sterling locations to attend a remote class. (subject to availability)

While self-learning is convenient, flexible, and pace-driven, our highly-experienced instructors and working with your peers will boost your learning and understanding of content knowledge. Our instructors show best practices and tips to improve run time and productivity. We always recommend leveraging our instructors’ knowledge by attending a class  rather than learning by trial and error. We’ve determined the logical and direct steps to creating  toolpaths and navigating the software to save you clicks.  We also include specific techniques and features of Mastercam that allow for more control and effective cutting. In short, our classes give students the depth of knowledge as would be used in industry and are designed to get your shop up and running in the most efficient way possible.

“I learned a lot. The material presented will definitely be immediately applicable to my shop and should help reduce the amount of programming time we have seen while trying to learn internally.” – from a recent training student

Our instructors teach in the current version and we highly recommend updating. While you can still take the class, please be advised that our instructors will only address questions related to the current version.

Yes. We have options to help such as home learning editions and trial versions.

Yes, we do have a 2D Router class. This is a foundational class in 2D router toolpaths that includes the topics of nesting, block drilling, patterns, tabbing, and aggregate heads. Our Mill 3D and 5-Axis classes are directly applicable if you have a Router with those capabilities. 

Mastercam University classes are self-paced, online classes. Students have 12 weeks to complete the course and will learn basic Mastercam navigation and toolpaths. These classes can be a great precursor to Cimquest classes. Cimquest instructors have come from the industry where they live and breathe the software every day, and they hone their skills by supporting our many customers. We teach workflow through direct applications with multiple student exercises on the core concepts that increase a student’s ability. Our training will get your programmers to a higher and more efficient level in a shorter time frame. We hear repeatedly from our students that our classes are worth the time and investment, the manuals are a great reference, and our instructors are extremely knowledgeable in machining and Mastercam.  Our instructors show how industry programs parts – by using specific features of Mastercam to create code quickly, efficiently and effectively.  Other learning forums don’t go into the depth of these features because of the time and complexity to teach them and the need to update training materials yearly.

Students with basic PC skills and general CNC mill setup and operational knowledge before taking Mill Essentials, at a minimum are able to program 2 ½ axis milling parts using contour, pocketing and drilling toolpaths.

Two reasons, first, the vast majority of customers need to program milling machines so they take Mill Essentials which covers the basics of navigation and core principles of operating Mastercam in depth.  Second, most CNC Lathes today are purchased with Live tooling which uses milling tool paths. So by learning the milling toolpath before Lathe it is easier for the student to apply them to a lathe application. If the student is programming a 2-axis lathe, then they can take just the Lathe. However, we need them to work through a free tutorial of Mastercam Basics before coming to class in order to get them familiar with Mastercam. This will greatly help them accelerate through the class and not feel they are behind the rest of the students.

It comes down to 3 things:

Depth, our classes teach the specific techniques and features of Mastercam to program as you would in industry.

Technique, our instructors use a proven teaching method of “show, tell, do, check” which is one of the most highly effective teaching methods for most adult learners.

Experience, our instructors are machinists that live and breathe Mastercam on a daily basis and we use that knowledge to create our own manuals and provide tech support 5 days a week.