CAM Logic wants to celebrate its 10th anniversary this year by getting to know its business neighbors.
‘I think people should be aware of who we are and what we do,? said owner Jim Carlisle, of Oxford.
That’s why the downtown Oxford company ? specializing in Computer-Aided Design (CAD), Computer-Aided Manufacturing (CAM) and Computer-Aided Engineering (CAE) solutions for manufacturers and machine shops ? is hosting an open house on Friday, Aug. 11 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
A free barbecue lunch will be served from 12 to 1 p.m. Those attending will be entered in a drawing for a free 18-hole round of golf at Boulder Pointe.
Free demonstrations of the software CAM Logic sells (such as Solid Edge and GibbsCAM) along with a free one-hour training session will help people better understand what the company’s all about.
Software that helps companies go ‘from art to part? is how Carlisle described what CAM Logic sells. It does everything from designing parts on the computer by creating virtual 3-D concepts and prototypes to actually manufacturing them on the shop floor.
One of CAM Logic’s clients is Morbark, a company which manufactures wood chippers.
Using CAM Logic’s software, Carlisle said Morbark designs, builds and tests all their machines on the computer, then ships the designs to the shop floor where the software is used again to program machines to actually produce the parts.
Selling design software is the mainstay of CAM Logic’s business.
‘Our real specialty is taking people out of doing their designs in a 2-D environment to doing their designs in a virtual 3-D environment,? Carlisle said. ?3-D is the way of the future for design.?
He estimated that ‘probably 55 percent of manufacturers are still doing their designs in 2-D.?
As a special free offer during the Open House, local businesses can bring in their information concerning a part or product and CAM Logic will model, detail, analyze or rapid prototype it.
This will enable local manufacturers, sheet metal companies, tool and die makers, etc. to see firsthand what CAM Logic can do for them.
‘We’ve just never really focused on getting to know the manufacturing community right around us,? said Carlisle. ‘There’s a considerable amount of manufacturing going on right around us.?
But CAM Logic doesn’t just sell software, it trains engineers and designers on how to use it.
With a classroom that can hold up to nine students, CAM Logic typically conducts two classes a month.
‘We keep the class size down because because it’s pretty intense training,? Carlisle said. ‘We like to focus on giving individual attention because everybody kind of goes at their own pace. Some people learn faster than others.?
The small classroom environment means CAM Logic’s instructors are ‘able to give them the personal guidance that each student needs.?
‘If we made the classroom bigger, we couldn’t do that,? Carlisle said.
In addition to training, CAM Logic also goes on site and guides companies through implementing the software they purchase.
‘We make sure they’re successful and support them through their ownership of the product,? Carlisle explained. ‘We end up being kind of a business partner with all of our customers. We’ve got over 400 customers.?
CAM Logic moved to Oxford from Rochester Hills about six years ago. Carlisle recalled the lease was up and he was looking for a location with a different look and feel.
‘We were in one of those cookie-cutter, industrial park, strip mall kind of things before,? he said. ‘All those businesses there just seemed so transient.?
After shopping around, Carlisle found what he was looking for right in his own backyard. The second floor of downtown’s historic Meriam Building (10 N. Washington St.), constructed in 1895, fit the bill.
‘I thought it was kind of unique for our kind of business to be in this old building with creeky wood floors and brick walls,? he said.
For more information about CAM Logic’s open house call (248) 969-9201.