How MSP Is Clearing Bottlenecks Where They Start: Programming
At MSP, lead time isn’t just about machines. It’s about everything before the first chip falls — quoting, reviewing prints, setting up programs, planning how to run the part.
For years, that upstream work has been one of the biggest slowdowns. So we started asking: where are the actual delays happening? And how can we clear them without compromising quality?
One of the answers: CAM Assist, an AI-powered programming tool we started using last year.
What does it actually look like to bring AI into a real machine shop?
Programming time drops by 75%
Before making any long-term decisions, we ran a side-by-side test.
“One of our experienced programmers took close to two hours to program a part. CAM Assist did it in 15 minutes. With another 15 to clean it up, the total time dropped by more than 75%.”
— Johnny Goode, President
That wasn’t a one-time win. We’ve seen similar results on a wide range of build-to-print parts. That consistency is why we signed a five-year agreement with CloudNC.
What it means for our customers
By reducing programming hours — especially on simpler geometries — we’ve been able to:
Quote jobs faster and more confidently
Keep lead times stable even as order volumes fluctuate
Free up senior programmers for tight-tolerance or multi-op parts
Turn around small-volume work without heavy setup overhead
If you want to see everything MSP offers beyond programming, check out our full capabilities here.
A tool for our team, not a replacement
CAM Assist didn’t come in to make decisions for us. It came in to give our team options, especially when we’re juggling multiple jobs or revisiting legacy parts.
“We’ll run our strategy, then check CAM Assist to see how it might approach the part differently. Sometimes we tweak it, sometimes we don’t. But it’s another set of eyes.”
— Johnny Goode
Our programmers stay in control, and that’s how we want it. The tool supports their work; it doesn’t override their judgment.
A trip to Essex
While Goode was in London for the DSEI conference, he was able to head out to Essex to visit our partners at CloudNC.
This visit gave us the chance to sit down in person, talk shop, and map out what’s next. They even filmed an interview with Goode about how MSP uses CAM Assist in real-world production—something they plan to use in BBC media pitches. Goode even got a sneak peek at CAM Assist 2.0 and was asked to provide some feedback.
The visit helped us lock in another 5-year license extension on CAM Assist, securing early access to upcoming releases and stable pricing—both critical as we scale. It’s a win-win, built on mutual trust and shared goals.
And it turns out the professional connection has a personal side, too. Goode and Dan French, CloudNC’s co-founder, discovered a few coincidences that made the partnership feel even more natural. Both men are into fitness, both proposed to their fiancées in the Dominican Republic, and they’re close enough in age to share a similar outlook on work and life. As Goode put it:
“[Dan’s] my English brother from another mother. They even feature us in their decks. That tells you a lot about how we work together.”
MSP is always working towards faster and better
Tools like CAM Assist are helping us improve our behind-the-scenes processes with fewer bottlenecks. We’re not chasing automation for the sake of it. We are investing in systems that ensure our accuracy and sustainability for both our employees and the people who trust us with their parts.
If you’ve been dealing with long lead times or quoting delays, we’d be glad to show you how our approach cuts through that noise.
