CAD/CAM

Turn/Mill 15 Sep 2003

B-Axis Turn/Mills Have Their Place

The additional rotary milling axis on these machines allows them to complete many types of complex parts in a single setup, but these machines have gained a reputation for being difficult to program. Today’s CAM software, however, eases the programming challenge significantly.

CAD/CAM 15 Apr 2003

Process Versus Geometry

Most CAM software can be classified as either fundamentally process-based or fundamentally geometry-based. Understanding this often-overlooked distinction can help you find the CAM system that is best for your needs.

CAD/CAM 15 Apr 2003

Automation's Extended Reach

The experience of a Windsor mold shop offers an object lesson in machine shop automation. In an interconnected process, automating one aspect of the process offered benefits beyond what the initial planning had led the shop to expect.

CAD/CAM 15 Dec 2002

The Software Around The Machine

Walk into Mori Seiki's Digital Technology Laboratory (DTL) in Sacramento, California, and you might think you've instead wandered into a West Coast extension of the United Nations. The facility is dedicated to software development and engineering for the machine tool builder worldwide, and the makeup of the staff certainly speaks to diverse needs of a global market.

CAD/CAM 15 Nov 2002

Getting To Know Knowledge-Based Machining

The term refers to different levels of automation that CAM software developers are building into their NC programming software.

CAD/CAM 15 Sep 2002

Moving Toward Complete, Automated CAD/CAM Solutions

Best known for its machining software, UK-based Delcam is adding more software products for design and engineering. The company's explicit goal is to be 'a provider of complete, automated CAD/CAM solutions, taking complex shapes from concept to reality.

Workforce Development 15 Sep 2002

Skilled Labor Shortage Solved With Technology

The problem facing this casting shop is that the artisans who create patterns used to model and create cast-iron parts aren't available in the numbers that they once were, and as skilled workers retire, there aren't enough replacements to staff the industry. Foundries across the country face this problem as the skilled labor pool diminishes through attrition. The remaining patternmakers are working longer hours trying to keep up, causing longer lead times.