Case Study: Commonwealth War Graves Commission ensures accurate, unique headstone engraving with Hexagon Alphacam

ALPHACAM macro ensures unique fonts on war grave headstones

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission required a method to produce uniform headstone inscriptions for over 1.7 million war dead, using two unique, architect-designed fonts with precise character spacing. The manual process was time-consuming and prone to error. They partnered with Hexagon, utilizing a custom macro developed for their Alphacam computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) software to automate and standardize the engraving.

Hexagon's bespoke Alphacam macro automated the generation of CNC toolpaths, ensuring 100% accuracy in the specialized fonts and correct spacing for over 4,000 character combinations. This solution drastically reduced programming time, enabling the creation of code for ten headstones in approximately five minutes. The macro guaranteed the Commission's values of uniformity and reverence were upheld, while making the entire process faster and less susceptible to human error.

Commonwealth War Graves Commission

Chris McLean

Commission's Surveyor