Testimonials
Testimonials & References from Varco Reporting customers:
Our shop has been looking at the future and changing our culture company wide. One of the things we identified as an issue was the information going out to the floor. We have used the standard Mastercam setup sheets with some tweaks done internally to fit our desired output, but never really had it 100%. A huge frustration we ran into was getting the setup sheets to provide all the information needed in a standard format. The lathes were very cumbersome to work with, we tried multiple times to get both mill and lathe formatting to line up with no luck. We knew we didn’t want to use excel sheets anymore, and there were very limited options.
We decided to try out the Varco setup sheets as we were familiar with that format. What a game changer for us. All of the information we wanted to have was available in a simple GUI. Changing the format is simple, and just about everything you could ever want to customize is at your fingertips. I spent 1 day with the software making adjustments, and the product I was able to generate was just what we were looking for. Jim has always made himself available to us when we hit a snag or weren’t sure where to get the information and how to populate it. Our Engineering dept. has been using Varco now for several months, and as Jim once said to me, “It has provided the missing link between the floor and programming”. Across the board it has helped us convey the correct information to the floor, while keeping a clean and consistent format with minimal input from the programmer. I would highly recommend Varco to any shop looking to fill the void between the floor and programming.
John Halliwell
Manufacturing Engineer
Genuine Machine Products, Gilbert Az.
When I started my contract programming and consulting company, the first purchase I made was my Mastercam license. The second purchase was Varco Reports. There is no better way to look professional and organized than by delivering a complete programming package that includes a beautiful and functional setup sheet and tool list. Almost every customer of mine has asked how I generated these reports, and I am happy to recommend Varco Reports to them every time.
Aaron Eberhard
Vector Manufacturing LLC
Varco Reports is a huge help in our shop. Standard ActiveReports through Mastercam is not user friendly at all. So much so, we used Excel and Word to make our setup sheets over ActiveReports. This was a very manual and time consuming process for every program we made. Varco Reports takes care of this entirely. The ability to create setup sheets that contain data directly linked to the program saves us hours daily, prevents mistakes, and gives a better finished product than we could make ourselves. Customer support has been outstanding. Any issues we've had have been promptly taken care of.
Thanks for making some great software!
Chett Winkler
Manufacturing Engineer
UNISIG division of
Entrust Manufacturing Technologies Inc.
I love the interactive report. Easy to use when you just want to tweak the generic reports. I can see the results as I make changes without having to fuss with the ActveReports Designer. This is a real time saver for Tech Support. It will save us a lot of time modifying reports for customers – they can now do it themselves!
Ruth Delisle
Technical Services
CNC Software
I was looking for a solution to create a program history report to attach to the MasterCam report generator on the forums. I wasn't having any luck but proceeded to spend the next several weeks working with XML in MasterCam to customize a report we could implement throughout our shop. Each step of the way was a little painful and still couldn't complete our goals of saving programmers time in making reports without recreating all the information and screen shots. Jim reached out to me through a forum and offered a chance for a solution that he had started creating. After some review and testing our company agreed to buy into the plan and purchase 6 HASP licenses and work with Jim to create these needed reports. I have been working with Jim for about a month and with my 27 years of experience in manufacturing and lean manufacturing he was able put some great tools in place. He has simplified the process down to a couple clicks for the programmers to create new or append a current report with minimal effort and time. He is still evolving but in the last month I can't believe the expedient changes to improve. Thank you Jim for the amazing efforts and look forward to the continuing improvements.
Dale Dahlman
MfgE-Orion Aerospace
Customizing “Active Reports” included in Mastercam is painful and trying to justify the time to accomplish this is a hard sell to management.
We had been using the “free” setup sheet options out there but were limited on what and how we could customize them.
Started looking into Varco Reports after seeing it at a Seminar, Downloaded the trial version and we were instantly impressed.
Very easily customized to exactly what we needed, the programmers can easily create/update detailed documents and output as .PDF, then print as needed. We now have a consistent Setup Sheet/Tool list that has all the information needed for Pre-setting Tools in the Tool Crib and for detailed Setup notes/pictures for the Machinist on the shop floor.
(The error checking mode is a very helpful tool for the programmers, instantly see tooling errors before they hit the shop floor.)
Jim has done an outstanding job creating all of the bell and whistles needed to make customizing Varco Reports extremely easy compared to the stock Active Reports at a very reasonable cost per seat.
Kevin Clark
Mad Scientist (CNC Programmer)
Shields Manufacturing
Tualatin, Oregon
I have been a lead programmer for 5 years and have experienced the difficulty of putting together good set up sheets with MasterCam .set and ActiveReports.
I recently purchased Varco reports and am extremely impressed with its customizable format.
We are currently using it very successfully on mill, lathe, and mill-turn set-up reports.
Tech support is outstanding and the product is well worth the investment.
I am very pleased with this product and recommend it to anyone needing customizable set-up sheets.
Ian Arendell
Lead Programmer
Turk MFG
Being a Surfcam programmer for 24 years and then switching to Mastercam can be a little overwhelming. When I printed my first setup sheet and it was 98 pages long, I knew that was not going to work. When I called support for Mastercam, they referred me to a 6-hour instructional video on how to customize the setup sheets. Who has 6 hours to waste in a machine shop? After fumbling through the Mastercam setup sheet for an hour I decided to try Varco Reports. With minimal instruction I could create two custom setup sheets that work seamlessly within Mastercam and are tied to the machine that I am using. I can have a different setup sheet for my vertical machines and a different setup sheet for my horizontal machines. In all I spent about 2 weeks working on these off and on. About 15 hours in total, including 2 different setup sheets and tool list. Licensing and installation was painless. I could email support with any question and I would get a quick response. Jim Varco has a great product and does a great job supporting it.
My new setup sheets were well received by all the programmers, our QA manager, COO and CEO. I am proud to show these setup sheets in any audit. Varco Reports is well worth the minimal cost and has had a positive impact in our shop.
Steve Heredia
Director of Programming and Engineering
South Bay Solutions
Varco Reporting is the solution to creating and customizing professional setup sheets for the CNC world.
Jim has personally stepped us through the process of setting up Varco Reports to generate productive documents from the first attempt. His customizable reports cover the essential options for relaying information from the programmer to the machinist or operator in the format that fits the needs of both.
Each setup sheet can be customized for each make and type of machine used in posting programs in Mastercam; allowing me to further create documents specialized to that process, machine and individual environment.
Allowing programmers to control font style, size and color are magnificent tools that highlight the importance of information that needs to be observed. This alone I believe is a return on the cost of the package by the errors that will not be made, and the time saved by the programmer and end user.
I look forward to the updated Varco Packages in the future as this tool can only get better with the team it has supporting it.
Michael Woods
Zippo MFG Co
Bradford, Pennsylvania
When Precision Aircraft made the decision to go with Varco Reports it was not something we did lightly. We spent multiple months deciding on the kind of setup instructions we wanted to implement. The potential damage a poor setup instruction can do is substantial. With Varco reports we have amazing support. We find ourselves constantly using the ability to request and receive new features through E-mail, and the Forum. We currently use Varco Reports to create setup instructions for all of our jobs. We use multiple styles including a simple version, an advanced version, and a version designed strictly for the setup of fixturing and rotaries. These improvements take out all the “Guesswork” of the daily production. This in turn allows us to produce more parts in a consistent and timely matter.
Kyle Adams
Programmer
Precision Materials and Logistics, LLC
I remember how excited I was to see the initial unveiling of your Varco Reports template for MasterCam Setup Sheets on July 28, 2015. After proving it by using it successfully on the shop floor I am very pleased, especially since it is accessed from within MasterCam. The ability to have a myriad of choices as to what information and pictures are presented in the Setup Sheet in addition to having three main sub formats appeals to a variety of MasterCam users. Being able to quickly switch from one company logo to another is perfect for a corporate user or a contract programming house. Having an on/off switchable footer at the bottom of each page completely satisfies the need for form and revision control for the various certification requirements in the industry. The special instructions feature is especially attractive for shops that wish to include additional multiple pages of charts or information into their Setup Sheet. Being able to quickly check for properly numbered tool length offsets, work offsets, and cooling status within the program proofing sub format by reading the red warning notes is superb.
I am really impressed with the professional presentation it offers and of the ease of use. This is a must have enhancement for every MasterCam user.
Bob Wissenbach
NC Programmer
Orchid Orthopedic Solutions Oregon