Inno under 25: Josh Cooper's company CN-Seamless takes CNC machining on-the-go

Triad Business Journal today launches our 2024 Inno Under 25 series, featuring five Triad entrepreneurs under 25 years old whose business are off to a strong start.

Later this week, we'll introduce our Startups to Watch for 2024.

JOSH COOPER

Age: 23

Title: Co-founder and president, CN-Seamless

Location: Winston-Salem

What it does: Portable CNC machine

Founded: August 2021

No. of employees: Three

Website: https://www.cn-seamless.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cn-seamless-inc/

Josh Cooper sees more than just one application for his company’s product.

Right now, CN-Seamless’ portable CNC machine uses an oxy-acetylene torch (more commonly known as a gas torch) to cut steel.

Because the torch is an attachment to the machine’s base, Cooper says 2024 will be the year that the company will begin to develop attachments for other torches, like plasma, to be used for hardfacing, welding, beveling and more.

Even with just the gas torch, Cooper said the company is seeing a lot of interest. CN-Seamless has sold its patent-pending CN-Seamless Mach 1 to customers like Greensboro’s D.H. Griffin Cos. and Raleigh’s Southern Industrial Constructors and is taking pre-orders, he added, although he did not say how many.

The Winston-Salem startup grew out of an entrepreneurial engineering class that Cooper – along with co-founders Sam Marcom and Dario Muller – took at N.C. State University, where they saw a need for a precision manufacturing fabrication that could be taken out into the field, rather than having to bring large plates or beams of steel into a facility.

At under 35 pounds and packed away in a hard case less than two feet long, the CN-Seamless Mach 1 does not take up a lot of space and is easy to carry.

CN-Seamless is in demonstration mode, with Cooper saying that the feedback has been “overwhelmingly positive.” Currently, CN-Seamless offers its machine at an “early adopters” rate of $7,000.

Here’s how it works: The machine’s electromagnetic base allows a user to mount it anywhere on a steel plate or beam. An oxy-acetylene manifold valve is attached to provide gas to the torch arm.

The machine has its own Wi-Fi, which comes in handy as CN-Seamless provides users with a ruggedized tablet that hosts its proprietary user interface application. On the app, users can design what they need or upload and modify their own 2D computer-aided design (CAD) file.

Users then orient the machine to where they’d like the design to begin, select the parameters, turn on the gas and light the torch. Overall, the CN-Seamless Mach 1 and its app takes under 30 minutes to learn.

“People are usually amazed at how it operates and how easy it is to set up and learn how to use,” Cooper said.

Not only is the machine easy to use, Cooper argues it’s safer, too. Cooper explained that the current portable option, a hand torch, requires users to be inches away from a dangerous flame. Users do not need to be that close to the CN-Seamless Mach 1, which also comes with a dual emergency stop for greater control.

The company was recently accepted into Winston Starts’ accelerator and is also conducting a family and friends fundraising round, having been bootstrapped so far.

Cooper took the jump to go full-time with CN-Seamless in September, having worked at Collins Aerospace. His co-founders will be transitioning to be full-time with the company soon, he said.

“The goal is to grow this business to a point where we can develop as many unique, innovative ideas to help our customers get field fabrication done in a more efficient, safe manner,” he said.

Inno Under 25