Sacrificing   quality   to   stay   competitive   isn’t   an   option   for   Jack  Kellerman,   a   long-­‐time   kitchen   and   bath   professional   whose  reputation  is  built  on  delivering  the  best.      Partnered   with   his   brother,   Kurt,   Kellerman   opened   Kellerman  Kitchen  &  Bath  in  1995  after  noticing  a  significant  absence  in  high-­‐quality   kitchen   and   bath   showrooms   in   Baton   Rouge   and   its  surrounding  areas.    “I  was  doing  a  kitchen  remodel   for  myself  and  saw  the  void   in  the  Baton   Rouge   market   from   a   professional   design   aspect,”   says  Kellerman,  who  holds  a  five-­‐year  degree  in  landscape  architecture.  “No  one  had  a  showroom.”    In  addition  to  offering  clientele  a  kitchen  and  bath  showroom  that  aids   in   the   visualization   of   the   final   product,   the   Kellerman  company’s   website   serves   as   a   step-­‐by-­‐step   guide   for   everything  from   budgeting   to   appliance   selection   and   “living   through   a  remodel.”    “People   want   to   see   more   than   pretty   pictures,”   Kellerman   says.  “They’re  looking  for  information  that’s  going  to  help  them.”    The   company   acquired   the   Cabnetware   design-­‐to-­‐manufacturing  solution   by   Vero   Software   before   serving   its   first   client,   and  continues  to  use  the  solution  for  cabinet  production.      In   2000,   Kellerman  Kitchen  &  Bath  purchased   its   first   CNC   router,  along   with   a   CAM   package   to   program   the   new   equipment.  Kellerman   implemented   the  new  router,  but   found  over   time   that  the   new   CAM   package   wasn’t   able   to   serve   all   of   the   company’s  needs.   Kellerman's   imaginative   designs   required   a   more   dynamic  and   flexible   manufacturing   tool   that   would   truly   unlock   the  capabilities  of  his  CNC.      In   2014,   Kellerman   was   given   a   demonstration   of   the   Alphacam  computer-­‐aided-­‐manufacturing   (CAM)   solution   for   woodworking,  metal,   and   stone  cutting.  Alphacam,  also  by  Vero  Software,  offers  tooling   and   machining   techniques   unique   to   the   woodworking  industry.    

Simplifying  the  Complex  Kellerman  Kitchen  &  Bath  increases  efficiency,  quality  and  capabilities  with  Alphacam  

     About  The  Company:    Name:  Kellerman  Kitchen  &  Bath    Business:    Custom  kitchen  and  bath  production      Website:  kellermankitchenandbath.com    Benefits  Achieved:      • Time  saved  and  accuracy  gained  with  

nesting  capabilities      

• Ability  to  import  images  into  Alphacam  to  create  geometry  

 • Optimum  engraving  quality  with  

Alphacam’s  engraving  functions    Comments:    “I  absolutely  love  Alphacam.  To  be  able  to  make  money  at  creating  custom  parts,  you  have  to  be  able  to  program  them  quickly  and  efficiently.  Alphacam  has  made  it  so  easy  and  so  fast  to  program  these  things,  and  that’s  the  real  advantage.”    Jack  Kellerman  Co-­‐owner  

 

“The  CAM  software  that  we  purchased  with  our  CNC  machine  was  cumbersome  and   inefficient,”   he   says.   “If   it   took  me   four  hours   in  the  old  software,  I  can  now  do  it  in  an  hour.  It  was  taking  too  long  to  do  the  same  things.  With  its  limitations,  it  was  not  as  powerful  as  the  Alphacam  software.”    In   addition   to   Alphacam,   the   workforce   at   the   company   includes  five   staff   members,   a   Komo   3-­‐axis   CNC   router   with   an   eight-­‐tool  carousel,  additional  routers,  and  common  woodworking  tools.    “We  got   Alphacam,   plugged   it   in   and   used   it,”   Kellerman   says.   “In  the   demonstration,   I   quickly   said,   ‘We’re   buying   this.’   It’s  unbelievable  what  it  can  do  compared  to  what  we’d  been  using.”    To  hear  Kellerman  describe  it,  using  Alphacam  is  simply  a  matter  of  connecting  the  dots  and  hitting  the  ‘Go’  button.  He  received  online  training  and  soon  after  began  using  the  software  to  make  parts.  “I  draw   the   part,   apply   toolpaths,   simulate   the  machining,   generate  code,   and   cut,”   he   says.   “Once   you   look   at   it   and   it   looks   good,  creating   G-­‐code   is   as   simple   as   hitting   a   button.   It’s   the   simplest  process  there  is.”    As   parts   couldn’t   be   designed   in   the   company’s   former   CAM  software,  Kellerman  used  a  computer-­‐aided-­‐design  (CAD)  system  to  perform   step   one,   the   drawing   process.   However,   the   switch   to  Alphacam  eliminated  the  need  for  a  separate  CAD  system.    “Alphacam   can   design   and   generate   code,”   Kellerman   says,   “so   if  you’re  new  to  CAM,  you  don’t  have  to  learn  a  CAD  system  too.  It’s  an  advantage  of  Alphacam   that  you  have  CAD   features  within   the  system  to  draw  even  complex  geometry.”    Kellerman  utilizes  Alphacam  for  his  more  unique,  complex  projects  in   demand   at   Kellerman   Kitchen   &   Bath,   as   well   as   for   a   second  business   that   entails   the   manufacturing   of   complex   profiles   and  multiple-­‐part  assemblies.      “I’ve   got   a   proprietary   product   that   I   sell   on   the   Internet,”   he  explains.   “It’s   got   seven   individual   components   that   make   up   the  whole  product.”    Kellerman   takes   advantage   of   Alphacam’s   advanced   nesting  capabilities   to  efficiently   cut  multiple  parts  of   varying  dimensions.  One   recent   project   entailed   programming   and   cutting   85   parts   in  seven  different  shapes,  for  a  total  of  595  pieces.        

 

 

 

“I  just  select  the  thickness  of  the  material  and  hit  ‘nest,’”  he  says.  “It  saves   a   lot   of   time.   “All   the   time   is   in   the   programming,   and   it’s  really   cool   that   I   can   take   a   project   and   do   nearly   all   of   the  manufacturing  on  the  computer.”    For   some   of   his   custom   jobs,   Kellerman   uses   a   combination   of  Alphacam  and  Aspire,   an  Alphacam  add-­‐in   that  allows   the  user   to  import   an   image,   such   as   a   photograph,   to   create   geometry   in  Alphacam.   The   geometry   for   one   of   Kellerman’s   recent   custom  jobs,  which  included  a  complex  profile,  was  created  in  Alphacam  in  just  a  few  minutes  using  a  .JPG  file  e-­‐mailed  by  a  customer.      “Creating   the  geometry   for   that  part  would  have   taken   four   to   six  hours  by  hand,”  Kellerman  says.    “I  absolutely  love  Alphacam.  To  be  able  to  make  money  at  creating  custom  parts,  you  have  to  be  able  to  program  them  quickly  and  efficiently.  Alphacam  has  made   it   so  easy   and   so   fast   to   program   these   things,   and   that’s   the   real  advantage.”    To   save   even  more   time,   Kellerman   has   added   automation   to   his  programming  by  saving  specific  machining  parameters  that  he  can  easily   reapply   to  new  parts.   “Once   it’s   set  up,   I   can   just   select   the  parameters  for  the  cut  and  save  them.”    Kellerman  also  uses  Alphacam’s  tool-­‐creation  function  to  draw  the  geometry   of   his   tools,   “which   really   helps   when   you   do   solid  simulation.”   Among   the   tools   created   by   Kellerman   are   about   a  dozen  unique  router  bits  that  can  be  simulated  for  greater  accuracy  in  collision  detection  and  overall  machining.        The  superior  quality   in  accuracy  and  detail   inherent  to  Alphacam’s  simulation   capabilities   far   outpaces   that   of   Kellerman’s   former  system,  he  says.    “The  solid  simulation  feature  in  Alphacam  is  amazing.  Not  only  does  it   save   on   materials,   which   is   great,   but   it   saves   so   much   time,”  Kellerman   explains.   “Our   old   software   didn’t   simulate   it   well  enough  to  see  any  mistakes,  so  we  used  to  have  to  cut  a  part  to  see  the  mistakes.  We  might  cut  on  a  part  three,  four,  or  even  five  times  to  get  it  right.”    Alphacam   has   since   revolutionized   the   programming   process   at  Kellerman  Kitchen  &  Bath.    “With   Alphacam,   we   very   rarely   have   a   part   that   isn’t   dead   on  accurate,”   Kellerman   says,   “and  when   there   are   problems  we   are  

 

 

 

able   to   see   them   right   away,   before   we   cut   the   part.   Once   it  simulates  the  whole  thing,  you’ve  got  a  cut  part  that  you  can   look  at  in  three  dimensions.  You  can  see  every  little  nit-­‐picky  detail.”    Kellerman   also   credits   Alphacam’s   engraving   capabilities   for  delivering   a   top-­‐notch,   realistic-­‐looking   result.   With   Alphacam’s  powerful  3D  engraving  functionality,  artwork  and  text  can  easily  be  machined.   The   engraving   command   contours   geometries   with   a  form  tool  and,  upon  meeting  a  sharp  corner,  automatically  retracts  the  tool  to  produce  a  sharp  corner.    “It   truly   looks   like   it   was   engraved,”   Kellerman   says.   “It   looks   like  someone  took  a  chisel  and  engraved  it.”    Since   the   implementation   of   Alphacam,   Kellerman   has   seen   a  significant   increase   in  both  programming  and  cutting  efficiency,  as  well   an   increase   in   his   ability   to   perform   complex,   custom   jobs  more  quickly  and  easily  than  ever  before.      “We   don’t   sacrifice   anything   on   materials   or   processes,”   he   says.  “We  do  it  the  best  way  it  can  be  done.  I  feel  like  what  we’re  doing  with  Alphacam  is  cutting-­‐edge  technology.”