Computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) also known as Computer-aided Modeling or Computer-aided Machining is the use of software to control machine tools and related ones in the manufacturing of work pieces. This is not the only definition for CAM, but it is the most common; CAM may also refer to the use of a computer to assist in all operations of a manufacturing plant, including planning, management, transportation and storage. Its primary purpose is to create a faster production process and components and tooling with more precise dimensions and material consistency, which in some cases, uses only the required amount of raw material, while simultaneously reducing energy consumption. CAM is now a system used in schools and lower educational purposes. CAM is a subsequent computer-aided process after computer-aided design (CAD) and sometimes computer-aided engineering (CAE), as the model generated in CAD and verified in CAE can be input into CAM software, which then controls the machine tool. CAM is used in many schools alongside Computer-Aided Design (CAD) to create objects.
Mastercam is a suite of Computer-Aided Manufacturing (CAM) and CAD/CAM software applications. Founded in MA in 1983, CNC Software, Inc. is one of the oldest developers of PC-based computer-aided design / computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) software. They are one of the first to introduce CAD/CAM software designed for both machinists and engineers. Mastercam, CNC Software’s main product, started as a 2D CAM system with CAD tools that let machinists design virtual parts on a computer screen and also guided computer numerical controlled (CNC) machine tools in the manufacture of parts. Since then, Mastercam has grown into the most widely used CAD/CAM package in the world. CNC Software, Inc. is now located in Tolland, Connecticut.
Numerical control is the automated control of machining tools and 3D printers by means of a computer. A CNC machine processes a piece of material to meet specifications by following a coded programmed instruction and without a manual operator directly controlling the machining operation.
G-code is the most widely used computer numerical control (CNC) programming language. It is used mainly in computer-aided manufacturing to control automated machine tools, and has many variants.
FANUC is a Japanese group of companies that provide automation products and services such as robotics and computer numerical control wireless systems. These companies are principally FANUC Corporation of Japan, Fanuc America Corporation of Rochester Hills, Michigan, USA, and FANUC Europe Corporation S.A. of Luxembourg.
Tebis is a CAD/CAM program supplied by Tebis Technische Informationssysteme AG headquartered in Martinsried near Munich/Germany.
Direct numerical control (DNC), also known as distributed numerical control, is a common manufacturing term for networking CNC machine tools. On some CNC machine controllers, the available memory is too small to contain the machining program, so in this case the program is stored in a separate computer and sent directly to the machine, one block at a time. If the computer is connected to a number of machines it can distribute programs to different machines as required. Usually, the manufacturer of the control provides suitable DNC software. However, if this provision is not possible, some software companies provide DNC applications that fulfill the purpose. DNC networking or DNC communication is always required when CAM programs are to run on some CNC machine control.
APT is a high-level computer programming language most commonly used to generate instructions for numerically controlled machine tools. Douglas T. Ross is considered by many to be the father of APT: as head of the newly created Computer Applications Group of the Servomechanisms Laboratory at MIT in 1956, he led its technical effort. APT is a language and system that alleviates the tedious mathematics of writing toolpaths for numerically controlled equipment. This early language was used widely through the 1970s and is still a standard internationally. Derivatives of APT were later developed.
A cutter location (CLData) refers to the position which a CNC milling machine has been instructed to hold a milling cutter by the instructions in the program.
Vero Software is a company based in Cheltenham, England, that specialises in CAD CAM.
Surfware, Inc. is a Camarillo, CA-based company involved in the development of CAD/CAM software.
STEP-NC is a machine tool control language that extends the ISO 10303 STEP standards with the machining model in ISO 14649, adding geometric dimension and tolerance data for inspection, and the STEP PDM model for integration into the wider enterprise. The combined result has been standardized as ISO 10303-238.
A computer numerical control (CNC) router is a computer-controlled cutting machine which typically mounts a hand-held router as a spindle which is used for cutting various materials, such as wood, composites, aluminium, steel, plastics, glass, and foams. CNC routers can perform the tasks of many carpentry shop machines such as the panel saw, the spindle moulder, and the boring machine. They can also cut joinery such as mortises and tenons.
Multiaxis machining is a manufacturing process that involves tools that move in 4 or more directions and are used to manufacture parts out of metal or other materials by milling away excess material, by water jet cutting or by laser cutting. This type of machining was originally performed mechanically on large complex machines. These machines operated on 4, 5, 6, and even 12 axes which were controlled individually via levers that rested on cam plates. The cam plates offered the ability to control the tooling device, the table in which the part is secured, as well as rotating the tooling or part within the machine. Due to the machines size and complexity it took extensive amounts of time to set them up for production. Once computer numerically controlled machining was introduced it provided a faster, more efficient method for machining complex parts.
MazaCAM is a CNC programming system for the Mazak CNC machine-tools, sold and supported by SolutionWare Corporation.
WorkNC is a Computer aided manufacturing (CAM) software developed by Sescoi for multi-axis machining.
SprutCAM is a mid-level CAM program that runs on Microsoft Windows and was developed by SPRUT Technology, LTD. SprutCAM provide off-line CNC programming for cutting, wire EDM, 2, 3 and multi axial machining with support Multi-tasking Turn-Milling centers with live tooling and robots (OLP).
SmartCAM is a suite of Computer-Aided Manufacturing (CAM) and CAD/CAM software applications that uses toolpath modeling to assist CNC machinists in creating computer-numerically controlled (CNC) programs that direct CNC machine tools.
Tool management is needed in metalworking so that the information regarding the tools on hand can be uniformly organized and integrated. The information is stored in a database and is registered and applied using tool management. Tool data management consists of specific data fields, graphics and parameters that are essential in production, as opposed to managing general production equipment.
NCSIMUL is a software program developed by the company SPRING Technologies, that is used for simulating, verifying, and optimizing CNC machining in a 3-step process. It reads the post-processed G-code to identify the tool path, and replicates the material removal process of the machine by cutting volumes. It then identifies all syntax errors in the code, crashes in the machining environment, and deviations from the modeled CAD part.
