The Breton FabCenter is a multipurpose machine for manufacturing countertops. It is outfitted with a cutting head and contouring tools designed to cut and shape the slab as well as performing edge roughing and polishing operations on the cut piece. The entire process is pre-programmed.

Thanks to the new software, Breton FabCam, the operator can design the various components of the kitchen counter (or import DXF files), which can be "dragged and dropped" on top of a photo of the slabs selected for the job -- paying special attention to veining detail and defects in the material.

The results are then displayed at the PC monitor in high resolution as a three-dimensional dynamic rendering, including edge detail of the finished pieces where related adjacent pieces are recomposed as a unit. This image is can be enlarged or rotated for verification and exported to potential customers for approval before cutting. The rendering also considers the material removed by the tools during the process, thus becoming a true preview of the project.

The layout configuration of the slab intends to optimize slab surface and reduce the number of cuts. Once the pieces have been cut, the operator shifts the pieces away from one another to allow for clearance of the contouring tool so that the remaining shaping and edging operations can be performed. An innovative vacuum-action suction cup system is utilized for this process.

Piece shifting and repositioning is facilitated and "guided" by the Breton SpaceLaser, which traces out the positions for the cut pieces on the worktable. The SpaceLaser is a new "hardware-software" system designed to trace the position of the suction cups and the slab perimeter, repositioning the cut pieces to contour and profile the finished pieces.

A three-dimensional simulator simulates machining operations to verify the overall dimensions of the machine/piece/suctions cups/tools and identifies any possible points of collision and impact.