Toolpath
• 49 min
#2 Chips and Tips - What's The Chatter About Chatter?
Chips and Tips Podcast
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Big news: Toolpath and Chatter are now one team, one mission. In this episode of Chips and Tips, we dive into the "why now" behind this decision, and more importantly, what it unlocks for the future of CNC machining.
What's The Chatter About Chatter? episode summary
Pete Oxenham, founder of Chatter and now Head of Product at Toolpath, shares the journey from building a shop-floor IOT tool to joining forces with Toolpath to close a critical communication loop in manufacturing. For him, it was always about more than just collecting data. It was about using that data to drive action. Not in a spreadsheet. On the shop floor. In real time.
Al Whatmough, CEO of Toolpath, explains that at the heart of it all is a belief: the speed of innovation in a shop is only as fast as the speed of communication. And today, the biggest break in that loop? The handoff between quoting, programming, and cutting. Each stage speaks a different language, and that’s where things slow down or break down.
Together, Pete and Al paint a clear picture: imagine an end-to-end workflow where estimates aren't dead ends but living documents that inform CAM decisions. Where a machine’s feedback doesn't just vanish, it trains the system to get smarter for your shop. This isn’t one-way automation. It's a real conversation between people, software, and machines.
For shops, this means:
- Better estimates based on actual production experience
- CAM that adapts to your tools and machines
- A feedback loop that gets sharper over time
This episode sets the tone for what’s next: a living, breathing CAM ecosystem powered by your shop's reality. Not a black box. Not a buzzword. Just smart software doing the heavy lifting — so your team can focus on the hard stuff only humans can do.
