CAM
Software that enables computer-controlled machinery to automate a manufacturing process.
Uses
Computer Aided Manufacturing, also known as CAM is the use of software and computer-controlled machinery to automate a manufacturing process. CAM systems need three elements to function:
- software that instructs a machine on how to make a product by generating toolpaths
- machinery that can turn raw material into a finished product
- post processing converts toolpaths into a language machines can understand
This software have been developed and refined for years and have revolutionized production and manufacturing. Not only in terms of time taken to manufacture products, but also in terms of precision.
CAM and are interconnected in the sense that one wouldn't be as efficient without the other. Every design process usually starts in CAD to create the product or design that needs to be manufactured. After the plans and drawings are complete. When the design is complete it can be loaded into a CAM software that would make the necessary files for a computer numerical control (CNC) machine to use. These CNC machines could be either a lathe, milling machine, 3D printer, drilling machine, plasma cutter or grinders.