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.