We decided to transform our organisation to address the challenges we perceived to be facing our profession. We were widely recognised for the superior performance of our apparatus, manufactured of composite materials, but our business vision had identified revolutionary changes we considered necessary to the entire delivery process, from the precise measurements made of the patient through the rapid production of molds and apparatus.

It would take twice as long to program the robot that we use for production without it. When getting programs ready for production or programming a prototype part I can use it upwards of 4 hours a day, or the same amount of time that I'm using Mastercam. After establishing the CAD/CAM geometry, Featherstone uses Robotmaster to configure and examine robot cutting paths, for which he says simulation is a key benefit. The most useful feature is the simulation. Once you have your simulator setup correctly, you can save hours of time getting a program ready for the machine.

The robotic routing system has really streamlined the process. In every instance, it has exceeded our expectations.

The pain point is when you have to stop production of work cells, using four employees to re-program four robots, or one employee to juggle four robots. This is high production capital equipment that should be up and running, making money for the company.

This factory is our showcase, and it is a competitive weapon. We will put it to good use for our customers, for our employees, for our community and for our shareholders.

One of my main objectives is to improve the workplace for our employees, traditionally stone masons have worked industry, hazardous conditions and when using pneumatic chisels can suffer from vibration injuries; the new robotic system removes these dangers completely.

The user interface is unique. It’s impressive how easily you can get the toolpaths into Robotmaster and easily generate the code, simulate the process, and resolve any kinematics challenges, With other software, you have to do a lot of trial and error. With Robotmaster, you resolve toolpaths easily and much faster. You don’t have to sit in front of a computer for hours tweaking points.

Before, programming meant crawling around the workcell on all fours to guide and observe the robot motion. Now the trajectory is controlled exactly the way I planned it, working on the computer screen. Only the final tune-up of tool positioning for optimum finishing quality is done on the floor.