International Conference on E-Portfolio Process in Vocational Education- EPVET 2007 REVISITING CNC TRAINING – A “VIRTUAL TRAINING CENTRE FOR CNC” Mehmet Şahin* 1 , Nikolaos Bilalis 2 , Süleyman Yaldız 1 , Aristomenis Antoniadis 3 , Faruk Ünsaçar 1 , Emmanuel Maravelakis 3 (1) Mechanical Department, Technical Science College, Selcuk University, 42031, Konya, Turkey (2) Dept of Production Engineering and management, Technical University of Crete, Chania, Greece (3) Dept of Department of Natural Resources & Environment, Technological Educational Institute of Crete, Chania, Greece Abstract CNC Training has been a scope of interest for vocational training centres for a very long time. Training on CNC should follow similar developments in the CNC machines and in particular in their programming capabilities, automation they offer and their technical capabilities. In addition CNC programming is becoming more and more automated through the use of CAD/CAM systems. This requires from the programmers to acquire CAD operation capabilities, on top of their CNC operation and programming knowledge. Therefore, CNC training is not only restricted to vocational training centres but also it is being taught within most of the technical universities. This paper presents the development of a Virtual Training Centre (VTC) to promote and reinforce Vocational Training in Computer Numerical Control (CNC) Machines. Introduction In the last 3 decades, a large number of vocational training centres and technical universities are giving priority to CNC Training. New developments on CNC machines are providing a continuous need for updated CNC training curriculum. Training on CNC should follow similar developments and in particular in their programming capabilities, automation they offer and their technical capabilities. In addition, CNC programming is becoming more and more automated through the use of CAD/CAM systems [1]. This requires from the programmers to acquire CAD operation capabilities, on top of their CNC operation and programming knowledge. * Corresponding author. Tel.: +90-332-223 2353; Fax: +90-332-2410185; GSM: +90 536 371 61 67 E-mail address: mesahin@selcuk.edu.tr (M. Şahin) 1