Templates are more than shortcuts. When you build them right, they capture tribal knowledge, eliminate repetitive clicks, and unlock the first real layer of automation inside your CAM workflow. In this episode of Chips & Tips, Justin Gray sits down with Garrett Wade to unpack the strategies, big and small, that turn a blank Autodesk Fusion file into a repeatable, revenue‑generating asset.
A solid template is the CNC world’s version of compounding interest. Justin opens the conversation by defining a template as “any file that takes information and stores it so you can reuse it later,” then asks Garrett why shops hesitate to invest upfront. They agree that even a single saved setup, stock orientation, work coordinate system, or preloaded toolpaths, pays back the moment the next similar part hits the queue.
Mid‑show, Garrett walks through his soft‑jaw workflow template. By packing in probing routines, pre‑built jaws, and verification stock, he turns a 45‑minute programming task into a five‑minute tweak. The real win, he says, is mental bandwidth; with the fundamentals baked in, he can focus on tolerance‑critical features and cycle‑time optimizations instead of re‑creating stock models or reposting the same adaptive clears.
“Think of a template file like a safety net—you offload the worry of all those variables and focus on the cut.” - Garrett Wade
The duo then switch to standardizing tool libraries. Garrett’s shop keeps holders, stick‑outs, and speeds locked inside the template so any machinist can drop in the next part and press go. That consistency prevents crashes, tightens quoting accuracy, and builds a track record of predictable performance, a prerequisite for lights‑out automation.
In the final stretch, they zoom out to the bigger vision. Justin explains how Toolpath’s AI aims to elevate the humble template into an intelligent assistant that chooses the right tools, generates strategies, and even flags collisions before simulation. The message is clear: the template you save today is the launch pad for tomorrow’s fully automated shop.