Systems & Software

CAM for Production Machining

OVERVIEW: CAM software for production is focused on programming machining centers, lathes and turn/mill machines to execute a variety of typically simple machining operations in the most efficient sequence possible. Milling, pocketing, slotting, drilling and OD and ID turning are all examples of operations that might apply to the machining cycle for a particular production part. CAM software for production also often features tools for software automation, or knowledge-based machining. Many of the decisions necessary to machine a production part are repetitive, involving assigning particular tools and parameters for particular varieties of drilled holes or milled features. CAM software with some knowledge-based functionality can allow the programmer to input his “knowledge” about tool, process and parameter preferences for certain fundamental types of machined features, so that the software can recognize those features in the future and program them automatically, saving the programmer time.

Manufacturing Videos

Video: Manual Jog Mode within CAM

Video: Milling with Full Flute Length

Featured Zone Content

June 2011

Video: Milling with Full Flute Length

By:
A shop captured this footage of the way a software feature permits deep cutting in steel. ...MORE

November 2010

CAM Software Considerations for Bar-Fed Mills

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Time will tell, but increasingly, there is evidence that points to the fact that bar-fed mills could well represent the future of complex, small parts manufacturing....MORE

June 2010

New Opportunities with CAM

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A shop’s first steps into programming with CAM can be intimidating. But this company found success in fearless flexibility and the right software to fit its applications....MORE

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January 2012

Cutting Teeth in the Medical Device Business

By: Edited by: Lori Beckman
A lot of people talk about “cutting their teeth” in a certain business as a way of referring to how they have learned a skill or trade from the ground up.For Marc Stipo, president of High Point Precision Products Inc. in Sussex, N.J., this expression has a slightly more literal meaning. ...MORE

January 2012