Mastercam Spotlights Masters of CAM

“CNC Software introduced Mastercam CAD/CAM software 35 years ago, and today we have more than a quarter of a million seats in the industry, so we are celebrating success—the success of our customers, that is,” says Mastercam President Meghan West. So, the company is honoring all the stories submitted to its “Masters of CAM” website in its booth by featuring their video entries throughout each day.

Each video shows what the customer’s shop is doing and how Mastercam software has been a part of their adventure. A few “Masters” selected to win a trip to IMTS are being celebrated on Thursday in the booth and at an event that evening at the Museum of Broadcast Communications.

West explains that focusing on customer victories is appropriate, because she attributes the company’s milestone anniversary to its persistent focus on user needs and wants. “What energizes us the most as CAD/CAM developers is seeing the outstanding things our customers are doing with our product. Of course, mastery of CAM software is only one element of what makes a machining company thrive, so we want our winners to represent overall capability and achievement,” she says.

Highlighting customer success also provides a natural context for displaying the latest release of Mastercam 2019, which was developed to streamline the manufacturing process from job setup to job completion, West says. New or enhanced CNC programming features of this release (available now) include a series of automated 2D through five-axis toolpath improvements. Reengineered chamfering and holemaking strategies and new multi-axis deburring help to automate and simplify CAM projects. New milling strategies, such as the high-speed Equal Scallop toolpath option, offer both machining performance and surface finish improvements, West adds. “There’s a lot more to it, and we invite all to our 2019 presentations given every 30 minutes in our booth.”

Continuing the celebration of Masters of CAM, and another hallmark of CNC Software Inc., is the company’s focus on and dedication to manufacturing technology education. West notes that Mastercam is the most widely-taught CAM program in middle and high schools, colleges and universities. West has a personal passion for building interest and skills in manufacturing to young people and adults who may be reentering the workforce or changing careers. As such, she sees the Student Summit as an important aspect of CNC Software’s IMTS activity.

“In booth 215210, there are Learning Labs each day surrounding the Create A Skate skateboard kit project at 11:00 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 12:00 p.m., and 12:30 p.m.,” West says. “The founder of Create A Skate, Paul Schmitt, is a Master of CAM himself! We will be giving a kit to each participating school in the audience.” To support CTE (Career Technical Education) teachers, the company is also presenting information on Mastercam’s Certification program in adjacent booth 215212.