CAD frenzy vs. CAM phobia

From my perspective at a company that deals in both CAD and CAM software and related services, I have noted a disparity in the way many companies greet the latest releases. CAD users are almost euphoric when a new software release arrives. They are chomping at the bit to try out the latest bells and whistles. Many CAM users, on the other hand, are apprehensive about new releases, with some bordering on phobic.

That’s because CAD users are primarily design and manufacturing engineers who have been using CAD systems since they were in college. Users who have been working for 10 or 20 years have seen their favorite products go through many revolutionary changes, being enhanced to the point where CAD has become the predominant manufacturing software.

CAD is now in the evolutionary phase, with most changes focused on, for example, spreading its accessibility throughout the company and integrating the software with higher-order technologies, such as product data management and product life cycle management. It’s a comfortable shoe and users enjoy trying on the latest styles.

CAM users are often in the trenches. If they were lucky, they had some formal schooling that included CAM. Just as often, they’ve learned by watching others. The primary tool for these users is not an old familiar friend but a tool that is rapidly growing in power and complexity.

Like CAD, for the previous 2 decades most CAM releases have contained new algorithms for implementing revolutionary manufacturing concepts. They also contain loads of new features that, in the right circumstances, allow users to improve programming productivity, ensure greater toolpath integrity and leverage the highly touted capabilities of new high-speed and multiple-axis CNC machines. Therefore, a new CAM release has so much that is different that end users are frequently apprehensive—like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming train.

Additionally, CAM users face the apprehension and uncertainty of feeding their CNC new and unfamiliar G-code programs. They ask, “What will happen if my machine doesn’t understand the new commands?” But when examined from a different angle, great things can happen when feeding a machine a smarter, more efficient program.

Although their ranks are fewer than in the past, some users don’t even buy CAM software upgrades, and some who do don’t install them. And some who install them don’t use many of the new features.

Then there are manufacturers who have a plan for working through and embracing upgrades. They methodically determine which capabilities might be beneficial, test them and integrate those capabilities into their manufacturing toolbox.

Those who stick with their old CAM systems are missing out on capabilities that would allow them to capture previously inaccessible business or turn losing jobs into winners. For example, many aerospace and medical parts call for advanced 4- and 5-axis methods that can only be orchestrated from within advanced CAM programming environments. Analytical tools within these systems provide information that allow users to respond with tight but realistic quotes. They can compete for projects aggressively knowing they will still be profitable. Similarly, existing but marginally profitable work can be restored to profitability using advanced tooling-friendly toolpaths to slash machining time and costs related to tool wear.

However, everyone must find better ways to identify these improvements and put them to work. No one is off the hook.

It starts with management. Companies typically invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in new CNC equipment, fixturing and tools. However, fear of damaging the new equipment makes it scary to run them at the blinding speeds and feeds that maximize their return on investment. Most managers need to provide time for more training and insist that engineers and programmers dig into the new CAM software capabilities so parts, for example, can be roughed two to five times faster and produced with surface finishes that don’t require secondary operations.

Dealers can also do a better job. Beyond the free new release seminars and phone and online assistance, dealers must stay in closer touch with what customers are doing to help them understand and apply the most promising productivity-enhancing capabilities. They can also speak up when customers want to delay or eliminate training or consulting assistance that would serve them well in the long haul.

Although I have a great appreciation for how many subjects manufacturing educators must know and teach, particularly at the junior college level, CAM is so important that some educators need to make a more concerted effort to get better training. They must be more than just a page ahead of their students. Many CAM software developers and dealers offer training to educators at a fraction of their normal rates.

If you saw what is on the “to do” list of CAM software developers, you would shudder. Nonetheless, developers need to do a better job of providing everyone with a clearer and better understanding of what is included in a new release and which improvements will benefit which users. Too often, valuable features for specific users are buried deep in the software and go unnoticed and unused. Additionally, powerful new capabilities can be unfamiliar to users simply because they are not part of their configuration but available as add-ons.

Ten to 20 years from now, I fully expect CAM software will be so intelligent that it will scan a CAD file and immediately flash the manufacturing strategies and toolpaths that make the most sense, given the machine and tools available. But CAM is barely out of its infancy. It’s time to give CAM, the technology that will determine the success or failure of manufacturing operations for many years to come, the well-deserved mindshare CAD has enjoyed for the past 2 decades. CTE

About the Author: Rob Hassold is president of CIMQuest, Bedminster, N.J., a software reseller of SolidWorks CAD software from Dassault Systèmes, 3-D printers and production systems from Stratasys and Mastercam CAM software from CNC Software Inc. For more information, visit www.cimquest-inc.com, call (866) 277-8778 or enter #310 on the I.S. Form on page 3.