Check Out This Amazing Ice Carving

Case Study: Revolutionising Ice Sculpting

See how Carveco has transformed the workflow at ICE Sculpture INC. For over 20 years, Jim Duggan has been creating breathtaking ice sculptures, but the adoption of Carveco software has taken his business to the next level. With Carveco's powerful features, ICE Sculpture INC. now completes projects faster and more efficiently than ever before. Tasks that once required 2 hours can now be finished in just 15 minutes, making Carveco a true game-changer for the ice sculpture industry. Watch to learn more about this revolutionary upgrade!

Transcript

Jim: So, ICE Sculpture INC. I formed about 20 years ago.

Leighton: Okay.

Jim: And for the last 12 to 14, we've used a CNC. We do all sorts of events. So, we will do anywhere from TV commercials, movies, we do a lot for bridal, we do a lot for corporate, we do most of the sports teams here in town, so a lot of stuff at the stadiums.

Leighton: Okay. So you were telling me earlier about how the CNC helps you with your jobs, especially, say, for doing text. How did you use to do text before the CNC?

Jim: So logos.

Leighton: Yeah.

Jim: They were a nightmare. So, you would take a template, a piece of paper, and freeze it to the surface of the ice, and then you would basically take an end mill, like a 1/4 inch or a 3/16, and you would basically cut out on the inside of the vector and you would just cut the image through the paper into the ice, just like you would with a CNC if you were just doing a profile cut on the inside of a vector. So yeah, the CNC, it's just, what we can do with it now and how quickly. Two hours versus fifteen minutes.

Leighton: Okay.

Jim: And just pumping jobs through, it just has sped up production and that.

Leighton: You used to use ArtCAM?

Jim: Yep, so used it for years and years.

Leighton: Okay. What was probably good for you was the fact that you've probably got thousands of files, haven't you? Built up over the years.

Jim: I have a decade worth of files.

Leighton: Okay.

Jim: It's a lot. And that is all my artwork.

Leighton: Yeah.

Jim: Like, I've been doing artwork digitally for years and years now. I don't use pen and paper as much as I used to. Right? So, when we got it, the first thing I did was put it on my laptop and I imported all those files into Carveco. When I saw them all come over, I was like, "Yes!", I have all my files, and I see it being our next step in software for our CNC. So the first thing I started working with is the three-dimensional carving. I have seen somebody in ArtCAM try and do 3D programming. In Carveco, I was able to do it within 24 hours. Watching a few tutorials, and just following along, and then saying, okay, I can apply this. And it is so much easier to use. It's such a better software and just the platform and how easy it is to use. I think that the portraits, that's something we're going to be using right away. Like we're going to be selling that to customers.

Leighton: So there's lots of medals and awards hanging up.

Jim: So, in 2010, I put a team together here from Atlanta to go compete in the World Championships. It's where you carve, instead of 300-pound blocks of ice, you're carving 5000-pound blocks of ice. First year I won a gold medal up there was in 2014. So that was pretty cool. Did a few more competitions up there, and then I got invited by a gentleman named Junichi Nakamura to go to Japan where there is the World International Ice Carving Competition. It's their big one. And we did a piece called 'Lucky Bird' and we got the gold medal on that. So I'm one of the few Americans who have had the pleasure of winning that over there. So it's been a fun ride. I did the competition circuit for about 10 years.

Leighton: Well, thanks for having us anyway, Jim. It's been an absolute honour coming here.

Jim: Well, it's been my pleasure too, to host you guys. Hope you guys come back next time you're in town.

Leighton: Definitely.

Jim: See how I've progressed.

Leighton: We definitely will be back.

Jim: Absolutely.