CNC Creations and Their Use of BobCAD CAM Software to Make High-End Golf Products

Troutman, North Carolina is where Josh Bumgarner makes high-quality parts for the golf industry. His shop, CNC Creations, has been in business for a little over 3 years and they primarily focus on making customized putters and ball markets for golf. Josh tells me, “I started out with one Hardinge GX-710 doing custom golf putters. From that, we started a machine shop and branched out to the local area, met some contacts and started doing some job shop work for tool manufacturers (wood & metal cutting). Racing is huge in this area, so, we got into creating parts for race teams. Since we started growing, we acquired 2 more machines. Since our affiliations changed, we got back into the golf stuff.”
 
Last year, CNC Creations did some high-end golf ball markers that had some really cool engravings on them using the BobCAD software & a little bit of pocketing. Josh says, “You have to get creative with the software. The software can do (what you want), you have to know how to manipulate it; know where the buttons and functions are to get the best out of the software. From that, we are getting back into manufacturing putters again. The job shop is still growing and the economy is great right now so everybody is doing really well. This is an exciting time to be in the machining industry and to have a shop.”
 
Recently they partnered with MyGolfSpy and made some Major makers for them. With every Major Golf Championship last year, they came out with a marker and that was a big success. Josh explains, “The passion is golf and the passion has always been putters. My end goal is to have that golf shop where we make everything in-house. That separates us from a lot of the guys out there. There’s not a lot of people doing in-house. There are people that have a brand and buy products from machine shops & sell them. It’s different when you control every aspect of the product. We want to bring people in on what we do and how we do it, changing the product on-the-fly without a problem.”
 
 
 
 
Josh is a longtime BobCAD customer and has been using BobCAD’s CAM software since Version 21. Currently, he is using the V30 software. “The software is cool. I have used it so long, I know the ins and outs of it. I know what I can do and what I can’t do. It’s like anything, if you can trick the software to do what you want it to do, then you’re ahead. I’ve talked with Al (DePoalo) a lot and he has helped me do some really tough 3 Axis parts for some of the race teams here,” says Josh.
 

How do you feel about our Support team?

The support with you guys has always been superb, especially with Al, he’s a whiz, man. That’s the thing with this industry is there’s always someone that knows more and is better than you at what you do. It’s great to bounce ideas of those guys, especially when you have your own shop… it’s just you and your guys. That network (of support) is necessary. You guys post a lot on YouTube and I do a lot of learning at night watching them. It’s free and you learn something. This industry is constantly changing too, and you’re trying to keep up with what everyone is doing.
 
Josh tells me that they use BobCAD for everything in their shop. They have a 5 Axis Lathe and do a lot of grooving with it. From 3 Axis contouring to just simply drilling holes, BobCAD does exactly what they need. He said, “The 3 Axis stuff helps a lot. Especially simulation, it’s nice to be able to see if there will be an issue or not. Some challenges of programming are not being able to see the part run until it’s on the machine; simulation is pretty much a spitting image as long as your tools are set right.”
 

Would you recommend BobCAD to other shops?

Yeah, for sure I would recommend BobCAD to other shops. The tech support is great and there’s nothing you can’t do with the software. The only limitation is yourself. If I have an issue, I just call support because I know there’s a way it can be done. Educating yourself is huge like I mentioned before with your YouTube channel. Anybody that uses the software that doesn’t check that stuff out is just hurting themselves, you have got to take advantage of those resources.
 

 
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