Building Character

Garner Holt Productions (www.garnerholt.com) has been producing animatronic figures for amusement parks, casinos and retail customers for more than 30 years. During most of its history, the company used a team of sculptors to meticulously craft each and every character. The process, needless to say, was very time-consuming and filled with fits and starts. Today, the company is utilizing software tools developed by Delcam (www.delcam.com), including PowerSHAPE and CopyCAD, to take the tedium out of the process. They’re taking computer-generated files as well as maquettes, or scale models, then using the Delcam tools to generate the programs used by a 7-axis Kuka robot (http://www.kuka-robotics.com/usa/en/) to improve sculpting accuracy and reduce production timing.

According to Garner Holt, president of the company that carries his name, they’re able to sculpt a 6-in. dinosaur, and then scale it, via the software, to be a 40-ft. dino: “You can make it as large as you want,” he says. Delcam’s PowerMILL software is used to develop toolpaths that will maximize efficiency, while reducing potential errors that commonly develop when creating complex shapes and features. The software can immediately identify and eliminate any potential problems that could result in damage to the sculpture during robot operation. The combination of Delcam software and Kuka robotics have played a key role in Garner Holt’s ability to cut development time from months to weeks, even days, while reducing manpower: “If the Kuka didn’t exist or Delcam didn’t exist, you would have five, six or eight sculptors that would work for months putting together a 40-ft. dinosaur, instead of having one operator and a robot completing the task in days or weeks,” Holt says.