November 12, 2019 (Tolland, Conn.) – Mastercam, CAD/CAM software developed by CNC Software, Inc., was proud to be on display as a sponsorship partner of Team Witch Doctor in season 9 of Discovery’s BattleBots series. Team Witch Doctor, led by Andrea Gellatly, competes in the BattleBots competition on the Discovery Channel. The collaboration was a great benefit to company culture and provided a strong platform from which to promote the benefits of STEM education.
Gellatly leads a team including her husband Mike Gellatly, Paul Grata, Christian Chiriboga, Steven Sharp, Katheryn Sharp, Jennifer Villa, and Rick Pease. They actively promote robotics and educational efforts to get youth more involved in STEM. They also started a nonprofit makerspace in Miami, Florida, for new robot builders and makers of all kinds called MakeMIA Makerspace.
According to Peter Mancini, Education Product Manager for Mastercam, “Our partnership with Team Witch Doctor has given us extra visibility to promote the benefits of STEM education and careers in manufacturing to students. BattleBots is a very popular show, and Witch Doctor was so successful. They’re a crowd favorite, for sure. Fans can see how robotics was a great launch pad for Andrea and her teammates, so when young people see this they are inspired.”
Throughout the season, Witch Doctor provided a spectacle with an undefeated streak going into the finals, where the robot ultimately finished in second place after a harrowing match with Bite Force. During battles in the competition, robots are often damaged extensively, and Witch Doctor had the ability to repair rapidly in part due to the availability of replacement parts from the Mastercam Manufacturing Lab®.
Several members of Team Witch Doctor visited CNC Software headquarters in Tolland, Connecticut, to speak at a company meeting and take time to interact with CNC Software employees. Employees enjoyed a demonstration of the robot’s speed and dexterity. During the visit, Team Witch Doctor shared their appreciation for everyone’s support and took time with applications engineers in the Mastercam Manufacturing Lab to talk shop and thank the group for help with the design and manufacture of part of the fuel system.
President and CEO of Mastercam, Meghan West shared, “It has been so exciting for our company to come together and root for Team Witch Doctor. We organized viewing sessions and live chats with the team, and we are very proud of their accomplishments this season.”
West added, “We really couldn’t ask for a group better aligned with Mastercam’s efforts to attract young energetic minds to our industry. The fact that it’s a woman-led team adds icing to the cake. Women are underrepresented in these fields, and Team Witch Doctor is a fantastic example of what is possible for anyone with an interest in STEM and manufacturing.”
For more information about Witch Doctor and BattleBots, visit https://battlebots.com/robot/25345/.For more information about Mastercam, visit www.mastercam.com.For more information about MakeMIA Makerspace, visit www.makemia.com/.
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