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How Subtract Manufacturing Boosted Efficiency Toolpath’s CAM Automation

Ben Engle Toolpath Audacity Micro

Industry

Manufacturing

Challenge

When AJ Huff launched Subtract Manufacturing, he wanted to unite a network of small machine shops and make them more competitive through shared systems. But quoting jobs across multiple shops quickly became unmanageable. Each estimate required hours of manual review and guesswork, time AJ couldn’t spare while also running his own precision shop, Audacity Micro.

Results

After adopting Toolpath’s CAM and quoting automation, everything changed. Quoting that once took hours now takes just a few minutes. Toolpath catches features that might be missed on a first look, giving AJ and his partner shops more accurate, repeatable results. Today, Subtract Manufacturing handles quoting for eight shops through one streamlined workflow, proof that automation can multiply what one machinist can achieve in a day.

Key Product

Toolpath Estimating, Toolpath CAM

subtractmanufacturing.com/

Minutes

Quote Time

8

Shops Connected

Zero

Guesswork

“Automating CAM has been a huge time multiplier for me, and it’s a lot cheaper than a robot.”

AJ Huff

Founder, Subtract Manufacturing & Audacity Micro

“Using Toolpath to automate CAM has multiplied what one machinist can do in a day.”

AJ Huff

Founder, Subtract Manufacturing & Audacity Micro

Case Study.00_00_39_15.Still008

Subtract Manufacturing and AJ Huff

Based in Muncie, Indiana, AJ Huff founded Subtract Manufacturing to unite small, independent machine shops under one collaborative network. Alongside his precision job shop, Audacity Micro, AJ focuses on producing small, high-detail parts while developing systems that help other shops operate more efficiently. With Toolpath’s CAM automation and quoting tools, Subtract Manufacturing now quotes for eight shops in minutes instead of hours.

The Challenge

Quoting across multiple shops had become a major bottleneck for AJ Huff. Each estimate required hours of manual work, often relying on experience and guesswork to stay competitive. To scale Subtract Manufacturing’s network, AJ needed a faster and more reliable way to quote and program jobs without sacrificing accuracy.

The Solution

After hearing about Toolpath on the Within Tolerance podcast, AJ joined the early access program and quickly integrated it into his workflow. As a longtime Autodesk Fusion user, he found Toolpath’s CAM automation intuitive, with a simple process to send setups out and bring them back in. What stood out most was how naturally the software fit into his process and how clearly it reflected a machinist’s perspective.

Toolpath’s quoting system eliminated repetitive steps and reduced the need for guesswork, while its CAM automation made programming faster and more consistent across all eight shops. For AJ, the benefits went beyond speed. Toolpath created a foundation of repeatable systems that made his small operation scalable, efficient, and sustainable.

“It catches any feature a human might miss when first looking at the part,” he said. For AJ, automation isn’t about replacing machinists, it’s about giving one person the ability to do the work of many.

The Results

With Toolpath, Subtract Manufacturing cut quoting time from hours to just a few minutes. The software consistently catches details a human might miss, giving AJ confidence that every quote is both accurate and repeatable.

“Automating CAM has been a huge time multiplier for me and it’s a lot cheaper than a robot,” AJ said. What once felt like a bottleneck has become one of his biggest strengths, allowing a single machinist to support eight shops with precision and consistency.

“Toolpath isn’t trying to shove software onto machinists—they’re part of the machinist community. They’re building tools that multiply the capabilities of a machinist, not replace them."