Maker bay
A Centurion workshop needed a reliable set-up for rapid prototyping, blending CNC milling and waterjet cutting to keep their projects on track and staff productive.
In a light industrial park near Centurion’s busy business routes, a fabrication team was battling with slow prototype turnarounds. They had basic manual tools and sent out most cutting work, so waiting for outside jobs regularly stalled both their deadlines and their floor staff. With new clients in Pretoria and the Highveld asking for quick samples, they needed a way to bring more control in-house and reduce those long gaps between design and finished part.
Their space was tight, and the floor had to double as both a test bay and a small-run production area. The goal was not to chase every high-spec prototype, but to handle routine metal and composite jobs for fittings, small enclosures and test plates, all with short notice.
We recommended a Feature Mill 3-Axis paired with a Feature Waterjet Bay, both compact enough to run side by side. The mill gave them the flexibility to machine fixtures, tapped holes and fittings in aluminium and plastics. The waterjet let them cut cold samples in plate, glass and composite material, handy for tender samples and one-off test blanks, especially because there’s no heat-affected zone to distort thin material.
To make the most of the space, we put the machines back-to-back with clear walkways for safe operator movement. Ms Boitumelo Biyela worked with their team to plan extraction, tool storage and power points, and we fitted a Feature Tool Crib and Dust Cell for neatness and cleaner air. The main thing was to keep each work stage visible and separated so no job gets mixed up or lost in the flow.
After two weeks, operators reported a big drop in waiting time and fewer errors from lost labels or sample mix-ups. They found that keeping tool inserts organised in the Feature Tool Crib actually saved more time than they expected, as it cut down on the search for small bits during quick jobs.
One issue they ran into was with workshop noise. Both the waterjet and mill create enough background noise that, by regulation, the area needs to be a marked noise zone, and hearing protection must be worn. They also realised its best to check the abrasive hopper on the waterjet before the day starts to avoid a mid-job refill.
For workshops around Centurion, Pretoria and the Highveld, this project shows that a compact CNC bay can transform how teams approach prototyping. By keeping milling and waterjetting together, small batches and urgent samples move through without third-party delays.
Even with power cuts still affecting parts of Gauteng at times, a simple UPS on the controller let them finish work safely. The biggest takeaway is that workflow planning, tool storage, clear job handoff, and operator training, matters just as much as the machines you install.
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