Controls and CAD/CAM

Manufacturing Engineering, Aug 2004

Latest controls, CAM software push productivity gains

Machine tool controls and CAD/CAM software represent the fastest, easiest, and most cost-effective ways to outfit current and older equipment with the latest software-based capabilities for cutting metal the most efficient way possible and improving manufacturing productivity.

In CAD/CAM, the latest systems offer newer multi-tasking machine support, more extensive solid-model machining, more advanced feature-based capabilities, and easier CAD/CAM interoperability to make manufacturers' work easier. Likewise, open-architecture controls and improved factory-floor communications and networking help in optimizing manufacturing processes.

With CAD/CAM software, technology trends typically are driven by marketplace needs, notes Mark Summers, president of Mastercam developer CNC Software Inc. (Tolland, CT). "Quite often, the need is to support new machine tool types that become available," says Summers of the latest multitasking-style machines hitting the market. "It's not just four and five-axis milling machines anymore, but combination machines that perform milling and turning-these machines are becoming commonplace and affordable, and CAD/CAM support for these types of machines is on the rise."

CAD/CAM data interoperability has posed a dilemma for many users of manufacturing software. "Another trend is to create more synergy between CAD systems and CAM systems," Summers says. "Curiously, most CAD/CAM systems on the market today focus heavily on either the CAD side or the CAM side. Many users end up purchasing CAD software separately from their CAM software and from different companies, rather than purchasing a CAD/CAM package from one company.

"This buying trend creates a need for two totally separate software products to interact and communicate with each other as if they were one package. Many CAM packages have a very tight link to CAD packages, understand when CAD modeling changes have been made, and know when to update toolpaths based on these changes. Users can minimize the amount of time spent translating files back and forth and concentrate more on getting their job done."

In conjunction with better CAD and CAM interaction, CAM packages need to understand the many different shapes a CAD model may have and make educated guesses about what type of toolpath a CNC programmer may want to apply to a certain shape or feature, Summers notes. "The industry term is 'feature recognition,' and the idea allows many shapes, such as holes, threaded holes, simple pockets, and bosses, to be programmed with minimal effort."

Visitors to IMTS will see CNC Software demonstrating an entirely new Mastercam, called Mastercam X, which will feature a brand-new interface with a different view than the current system in place for about 17 years, Summers notes. "Along with a new interface comes more efficient processes, including more functionality available at the top level resulting in fewer mouse clicks and menu selections," Summers says.

Global competition has raised the bar for most manufacturers, and those most likely to succeed have embraced the latest manufacturing technologies as a competitive edge.

"CNC manufacturing is an increasingly competitive market for American companies," says Bill Gibbs, president of Gibbs and Associates (Moorpark, CA), developer of GibbsCAM. "Economic issues, currency exchange rates, offshore manufacturing, the list goes on. Historically, American companies have turned to technology to give them an edge over cheap labor. In the CAD/CAM/CNC arena, the biggest opportunity for technological advance lies with interoperability and increased integration between CAD, CAM, and CNC.

"Today a CAD design passes little more than nominal geometry on to a CAM system," Gibbs states. "That CAM system, in turn, passes little more than nominal toolpath on to a CNC control. The CAM system could do a more efficient job and produce a faster-running part program if it knew more of the designer's part-related desires in regard to the classic form, fit, and function-largely in the areas of tolerance and surface finish.

"The same communication problem exists between the CAM and the CNC," Gibbs adds. "A CNC control can do a smarter job of machining, if it knew more about what it was machining, not simply running a list of G-code moves. The reverse is also true. A CAM system can produce a faster running CNC program if it better understands what a specific CNC control needs and is capable of."

Gibbs is involved with a number of government funded projects focused on these issues, including STEP NC, Open Modular Architecture Controls (OMAC), and the Smart Machine Platform Initiative (SMPI). "While these projects are years away from producing next-generation commercial products, we are also working on how to address these issues with today's CAD/CAM/CNC systems," Gibbs says. "We plan to showcase this work at IMTS, demonstrating not only faster programming times, but more importantly, faster run times."