Q & A with Chris Poirier of Westerbeke Engines & Generators

Today’s customer success story comes to us from the wonderful people over at Westerbeke Engines & Generators, located in Taunton, Massachusetts. Per their website, they are a manufacturer and supplier of world-class marine generators, industrial generators, marine engines and marine products for many of the world’s leading yacht builders; and for seasoned boaters who demand performance and reliability from their marine engine or marine generator. Here’s a little bit about how they use their BobCAD-CAM CNC software.

Can you tell us a little about your shop?
Westerbeke is a manufacturer of marine generators. They are led by Chris Poirier, Sr. Mechanical Engineer and Justin Lema, Lead Programmer. “We machine castings on a daily basis, including intakes and exhaust manifolds.”

Have you used other CAD-CAM systems?
In the past, we have done all our programming at the hand box and or have used outside services to program our machines with manual edits.

What challenges do you face when part programming that BobCAD helps with?
We have seen better quality toolpaths with more accurate positioning as opposed to hand programming and or programming done from outside sources.

Are there any recent projects you’ve worked on that you were really happy with the results?
Yes, we just finished our first horizontal machining program for a generator base plate. See the video below. You can talk about your generator needs from generatorsage.com.

Would you recommend BobCAD to other shops? If so, why?
Yes, the cost is economical and the capability of the software was sufficient to get the type of work we do accomplished.

What feature do you use in the software the most?
We mostly utilize the 4 axis indexing and 2D prismatic Milling.

Is there anything else you would like to add?
The Post Department at BobCAD and Justin Lema’s assistance during post validation was the secret to our success on this project. BobCAD is going to open a whole new world to what we can do in-house and I see outsourcing programming to be a thing of the past. Programming offline with BobCAD will greatly reduce interruptions to production and make us a better manufacturer without a doubt.

Want to see you & your shop in the next customer success story? Email me at [email protected].

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BobCAD-CAM has provided CAD-CAM CNC Software products to the global manufacturing industry for over 30 years. BobCAD-CAM software can be found to increase CNC productivity for many applications in aerospace, automotive, production manufacturing, mold making, general machining, woodworking as well as the medical manufacturing industry, consumer products, musical instruments, custom fabrication, defense industry and many others due to the products ability to automatically generate NC programming code for such a wide variety of CNC controllers. BobCAD-CAM software is also found in educational institutions throughout the world as well as independent hobby home use. Products include machining technology for 2, 3, 4 & 5 Axis CNC Milling, Routing, Waterjet, Plasma and Laser machines as well as 2 Axis CNC Lathe. BobCAD-CAM is modular allowing shops to start off at a reduced technology level and add technology as it is needed including an add-on, BobART, for artistic machining. Unique technology includes adaptive high-speed machining multiaxis milling and routing which is a first in the world of CAD-CAM software. BobCAD-CAM also provides a variety of quality training products that include regional and online training classes or private sessions tailored to specific applications. Professional certification and multi-tiered support solutions are available. Contact BobCAD-CAM directly for more information at 877-262-2231 or 727-442-3554.

Check Out Our Friends over at Westerbeke Engines & Generators