Resources
Media Guide
The Media Guide sets out what to capture around a CNC job so workshop images are useful to production, sales, and client updates. It focuses on router setups, cutting action, and finished components rather than staged marketing shots. Use it when your team needs clear visual records of the work on the machine and the part off the bed.
How Media Guide supports a production week
Use the Media Guide when you need usable material from the workshop, not polished ad shots. It covers CNC job photos, machine footage, and finished parts so your team can show the cut, the setup, and the result clearly.
Begin with the sheet or stock in view, then show the cutter and machine screen if settings matter to the story. MDF dust, aluminium chips, acrylic glare, and unstable power all change what must be photographed on site in South Africa. Teams in Johannesburg, Durban, Cape Town, and smaller industrial areas usually get better coverage from a quick phone set than from a polished document with no machine evidence.
Include the first setup image and one photo from the test cut before the full run starts. A short caption next to the job card helps staff match the media to the correct board, tool, and nesting file. Later, if a part is rejected or recut, the workshop can check what changed between setup and output.
Workshop media pack contents
Give your team a usable shot list, a simple naming method, and a record that matches the cutter or coating shown on the job. Keep captions factual and tied to the machine, material, and operation. One organised set of workshop images is more useful than a large folder with no sequence or labels.
Link the Media Guide to any notes on tooling condition, chip build-up, or edge quality before extra filming is requested. Check the tool, hold-down, and file name one last time before material leaves the shop. Bit orders depend on the shank size, the material and the router you run them on.
- Shot list built around active CNC jobs
- Test cut recorded before full production
- Machine photos sent with factual notes
South African shop conditions to show
Media from Gauteng workshops often needs to show dispatch timing, pallet staging, or collections moving through OR Tambo. In coastal regions, corrosion marks on tooling and storage conditions may need to be visible in the image set. Where production is continuous, separate urgent cutter issues from routine weekly machine coverage so the right people read the right material.
Humidity near the coast can affect collets, holders, and packaged bits, so storage photos may matter. Inland dust and board fibre build-up can hide labels or obscure cut edges unless the operator wipes the area first. During power interruptions, capture the machine state and part position before restart so the record stays accurate.
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What to capture on the day
Send the Media Guide with photos of the machine, the production window, and any issues already seen on the cut. Keep the subject line factual.
Photograph the sample piece while feed, spindle speed, and cutter details are still visible to the operator. Add the Media Guide to the job paperwork when a buyer, supervisor, or installer needs proof of the setup and finish achieved. This works especially well for rainbow-coated tooling, where colour, wear, and edge condition should be shown clearly.