Stonnington Group extend their possibilities in designs
5-Axis Machining with ALPHACAM
Featuring Stonnington Group in Victoria.
ALPHACAM has been implemented to extend the possibilities of their designs in furniture and unique pieces utilising their 5-Axis HOLZER CNC Router. Hear from their Director, Enzo Campus, on how they have started their 5-Axis journey and how ALPHACAM has increased their ability to produce high quality products
Victorian based Stonnington Group are leaders in high-end architecture and residential construction. The growth of the company saw them expand and establish a manufacturing arm to the business which sees them manufacturing cabinety and joinery items for their design homes, alongside launching a bespoke furniture business, Campus & Co.
Enzo Campus, the Managing Director of the Stonnington Group explains that the manufacturing arm is involved in solid surface fabrication, general internal cabinetry for their designer homes as well as producing a range of custom high-end furniture for the Campus & Co business.
Before integrating ALPHACAM, a lot of Stonnington Group’s work was done by hand. This included a lot of hand routing on the bench and hand finishing each piece. Because it was all done by hand, they were getting slight variations in their pieces, and many projects became time-consuming. Research and Development, or protyping work, is quiet common for Stonnington when creating one-off pieces and components. Therefore, the manufacturfacting process needs to be as simple and steamlined as possible, whilst mainting a very high level of perfection.
This lead Stonnington Group to purchase their own machinery to take more control. Researching a 5-Axis machine seemed like they were “jumping into the deepend”, however their end goal was always having a machine that they could push the boundaries of their design and manufacturing capabilities.
Software was the other limiting factor in achieving their goal. Through research and trialing, it saw Stonnington try a variety of software packages and in Enzo’s words, “a very expensive process, ultimately disappointing and, frankly, also a bit defeating.”
When they discovered ALPHACAM, Enzo shared “very early on, it made sense. We find the software user-friendly, whilst very intuitive at the same time.” Purchasing ALPHACAM’s Ultimate 5-Axis solution meant that again, they had the tools needed to ensure they could achieve the high level of craftmanship they expected.
Explaining their process, Enzo shares, “everything starts with the design process. Everything we do, we model up in a specific 3D CAD software. We then import the model into ALPHACAM and apply the machining. The integration of ALPHACAM with their HOLZ-HER 5-Axis CNC was seamless”.
Blake McCrossen, National Brand Manager for AC Australia, explains that “for Stonnington, the power of ALPHACAM comes with the ability to take their 3D models, and easily apply the machining and generate the 5-Axis g-code for the HOLZ-HER”.
From Blake’s perspective, the other element of ALPHACAM that benefits Stonnington’s processes, is the simulating of the part and how it will be machined. Enzo backs this up by mentioning “I think as we are now with 5-axis machinery, it’s a very important part of the process. With ALPHACAM, we are able to do a very clear simulation so we know exactly how the part’s going to be produced, avoid any potential collisions or any tragic circumstances that can occur with 5-axis machines.”
Blake commends the effort Enzo and his team put into learning ALPHACAM. “After the onsite training, Enzo has been able to do many projects on his own. It’s been great to come back and see the different type of machining Enzo is performing on his HOLZ-HER machine from ALPHACAM.”
Reflecting on their journey, Enzo remarks, “There’s really not much that we feel that we can’t produce with a combination of Alphacam and the Holz-Her 5-Axis. And in saying that, though, we feel as though we’ve probably really only just scratched the surface. The integration of ALPHACAM and the machine work hand in hand very well. ALPHACAM has opened up a whole new world of possibilities for us in terms of true organic freeform modelling.”
