STREAMLINE SUCCESS STORIES
FROG3D™ DELIVERS CUSTOM-MADE GROWTH TO DRAGONXTREME - PDF version.
Overview
Country – USA
Industry – Architectural
Customer Profile
DRAGONXTREME
Boynton Beach, Florida, USA
www.dragonxtreme.com
DragonXtreme provides models, molds, prototypes and finished detail work to the architectural design market. Supporting architects, designers and those in the cast stone industry, DragonXtreme's focus is on providing striking custom projects for its clients, without the lengthy turnaround typically associated with custom work.
When an architectural industry veteran went looking for a way to efficiently deliver custom architectural projects, he found the solution in FROG3D™. The result is DragonXtreme - a growing company that uses the power of the FROG3D™ system to produce stunning architectural work and to make custom the norm.
THE CHALLENGE
BREAKING BOTTLENECKS
When it comes to architectural design and fabrication, it's fair to say that Joe McPeek has been around. With over 20 years of experience, his portfolio includes work on the US Capital and the Smithsonian, so he's no stranger to the world of architectural creativity. McPeek is also well versed in the challenges of running a successful architectural business. Whether it's meeting customer demands, producing creative projects or maintaining productivity and efficiency, he knows the pitfalls and limitations of conventional processes.
One of the most common challenges McPeek faced was turning out quality custom work with speed and efficiency. "Regardless of the size of the company, the interjection of a custom design has always slowed the internal process due to its deviation from the everyday operation," explains McPeek. "I saw it time and time again. The grunt work tied to the artistic side of custom design work always seemed to be a large bottleneck in getting custom designs efficiently through manufacturing." McPeek recognized this as a problem, but also as a significant opportunity. He realized that he could fill a considerable gap in the market if he could find a way to deliver custom projects efficiently, but without losing the creativity, detail and intricacy that the market demanded.
THE SOLUTION
WHERE ART AND AUTOMATION MEET
McPeek's search for a solution to automate and improve his processes led him directly to Streamline Automation. "The name that kept coming to the forefront in terms of architectural and artistic machining was FROG3D™," explains McPeek. "After reviewing CNC equipment manufacturers, from garage-based design tables with limited resources to the high end aerospace equipment with a minimum of 4 axes, it wasn't hard to make the decision to go with the FROG3D™ system. There isn't anything in the market that is designed to meet the artistic and architectural scope that we wanted. When you add in the rigidity of the mill and its size parameters, it really topples the scale to what others were offering. Even when placing systems of similar abilities to the FROG3D™ package, we would have to look at the used market to even come close to the pricing values of Streamline's FROG3D™."
For McPeek, the primary appeal of
FROG3D™ 
is that it has been specifically
designed for artistic and architectural
applications, unlike many of the
industrial-based machines that he
researched. "Virtually every CNC
manufacturer out there looks at the
industry with a mechanical 2D view, so
their machines' ability to create organic
designs and architectural features is very
limited," McPeek explains. "Streamline
saw this and has developed their system
around such creations. Their insight
towards the artistic design has put them
in the forefront of the technology and
their support for expanding it is
unprecedented in the market."
With FROG3D™ at the foundation of the business, DragonXtreme has found a powerful tool for delivering the kind of custom work that couldn't be efficiently produced with conventional processes. Whether it's for mold making, architectural reproduction or innovative architectural design, the combination of 3D laser scanning, advanced 3D modeling and editing, CNC milling and various creative finishing capabilities has taken them beyond traditional limitations.
THE BENEFITS
BRINGING CUSTOM TO CUSTOMERS
In McPeek's words, "FROG3D™ gives
DragonXtreme the technology to make
custom the norm and to speed the
process from design to manufacturing.
Complex designs are no longer weeks or
months away from manufacturing. The
process of modeling, approval and milling
can all happen at an extremely fast pace.
Modifications are easily made and re-
milled with little effect to the timeline of
the project. It has made moving from
design to reality efficient."
For McPeek, the benefits go beyond the gains in productivity and efficiency. DragonXtreme's products also benefit. "With FROG3D™, the quality and detail of our products are unmatched," he says. "We can create designs in any size, and the detail is the same as when we had to rescale by hand. Details that were overlooked due to time constraints are now interpreted and placed in the design." He doesn't see it stopping there. While architecture has been his bread and butter, FROG3D™ promises even more for DragonXtreme. "Honestly, every day there is something that you can find that the system can do faster and better than was ever possible before," says McPeek. "We look at new markets every week and as word spreads on what we can provide here the interest level grows in how we can help support other industries and markets. The door is open to new ideas and we have the flexibility here to grow those ideas."
SUPPORT IN ALL THE RIGHT PLACES
In the end, although DragonXtreme has found the means to improve their products and processes, McPeek says he's been most impressed with the level of support that Streamline has provided. "Streamline tailored their training to our background and focused on what we needed to succeed. Their support has been A+ and every request has been handled with the utmost importance and speed. It may be cliché but when we purchased the equipment we really gained them as a partner that is concerned with our success and that actively pursues making our company better and more competitive. They have great people, great equipment and a belief that anything is possible."
With Streamline and FROG3D™ in their corner, DragonXtreme is showing that anything is possible, as they have been able to take the lead in delivering creative architectural work and can now tackle the kind of custom projects that used to cause concern.
