Pristine Edge Quality on High-Performance CNC Routers

In the world of precision CNC routing, cut quality is the ultimate performance metric. Based in Dallas, Texas, MultiCam designs heavy-duty systems for diverse industries ranging from sign making and woodworking to metal fabrication. For their Apex3R Evo, achieving a pristine finish required more than just raw power; it demanded a motion control system capable of handling complex vector changes without transmitting vibration to the material.

Amit Patel, MultiCam’s Engineering Project Manager, identified that some third-party servo packages lacked the algorithmic sophistication necessary to meet this requirement. This proved critical given the machine's physical dynamics: a heavy-duty, dual-driven gantry moving at high acceleration rates and top speeds. When accelerating this mass through aggressive vector changes, the intractable laws of physics can introduce vibration that affects edge finish—unless the servo system possess advanced motion conditioning to compensate.

To solve this, MultiCam integrated Teknic’s ClearPath-SD servo systems. The decisive factor was Teknic’s Regressive AutoSpline™ (RAS) capability. Going beyond traditional smoothing algorithms (such as S-curving or cosine smoothing), RAS works by converting motion commands on the fly into profiles that limit both jerk and the derivative of jerk.

The settings can be adjusted to effectively reduce the mechanical vibration that shows up as poor edge finish while, unlike other algorithms, causing no perceptible effect on the shape of the cut part. This allows the Apex3R Evo to maintain high throughput without the resonance issues that mar cut quality.

"The RAS has been a game changer for us. [Other suppliers] don’t have this capability," says Amit.

Beyond the immediate improvements to the machine line, Teknic’s products streamlined MultiCam’s internal development processes. With a lean engineering team, efficiency is critical. Previous solutions required navigating complex, multi-window interfaces that made servo tuning a time-consuming chore. Teknic’s MSP software provided a step-by-step, non-iterative, hands-off approach to tuning that allowed the team to dial in performance quickly.

"I find that the Teknic software package, in terms of tuning, is so much easier," Amit notes. "It's not so convoluted and there's not so many windows that it’s overwhelming."

The collaboration between MultiCam and Teknic spans 25 years, a testament to the reliability of both the products and the team behind them. For high-performance machine builders, having direct access to responsive application engineers is vital. Amit highlights that Teknic’s support differs from competitors because of the depth of expertise available, whether through remote sessions or on-site visits for critical integration phases.

This availability applies to the entire engineering team, ensuring that technical questions are answered by experts who understand the specific mechanics of the machine. "From every servo company that I've dealt with so far, you guys are the best in terms of support," Amit states.