Autodesk, NIMS Partner to Develop CAM Standards
The effort is intended to promote the education and credentialization of CAM programmers, designers and engineers in coming years.
Autodesk Inc. (San Rafael, California) and the National Institute for Metalworking Skills (NIMS; Fairfax, Virginia) are partnering to develop what they say would be the first industry-recognized CAM standards and credentials. These standards and credentials will enhance education and training programs to meet demands for skilled CAM programmers, designers and engineers.
“Companies in technologically-advanced industries are becoming much more reliant on the use of information technology and automation through CAM software to develop high-value added products and materials,” explains NIMS Executive Director James Wall, adding that the demand for such skills is projected to span nearly a million jobs.
This partnership will support the advancement of CAM training programs by developing industry standards for educating and training CAM programmers. To develop these standards, Autodesk and NIMS recruited industry leaders to participate in a Technical Work Group, which held its first meeting in June 2015. Some of the companies involved included Google, NASA, DMG MORI, Haas Automation and Delcam, among others.
After development of the skills standards, NIMS will conduct a rigorous national validation process, holding regional reviews of the standards by industrial professionals, before releasing the standards to the public.
