How Does the Manufacturing Industry Benefit from CAD and CAM?
28 June 2022Before, the manufacturing industry must do everything manually just to get things done. From designing the parts to their actual manufacturing processes, the industry can only carry out these activities with the help of professionals in the field.
But as years pass by, the industry saw huge improvements and advancements in technology. And as automation finds its way into the industry, many manufacturing plants start to embrace modern approaches toward design and production. Two elements that are being maximised by the manufacturing industry today are computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM).
Understanding CAD and CAM Principles
CAD is the use of computer-based software in generating, modifying, analysing, and optimising a design. The software used for CAD is expected to boost the productivity of the design, improve its quality, generate the needed documents, and create a database. The same software can also help protect products that will be utilised in patent applications. Electronic files for machining, printing, and other manufacturing processes are generated through CAD software.
The files produced by CAD software are then utilised by CAM software. CAM utilises another software to control the tools used by manufacturing plants. The software loads the CAD files and converts them into a language that can provide direction to tools such as routers, plasma and laser cutters, milling machines, and lathes. Generally, CAM helps the manufacturing industry boost efficiency and reduce wastage by managing the involved processes and tooling effectively.
The Connection Between CAD and CAM
A manufacturing process can only start through CAD. Designers and engineers are tasked to generate a two-dimensional or three-dimensional drawing of a part. This drawing, which is also known as a model, is set to outline the physical properties that will be interpreted by a CAM system.
Upon checking and finalising the design in CAD, professionals can now export the generated files and import them into CAM software. Some software, however, allows the co-existence of CAD and CAM, which eliminates the need to import or export these files. As the CAD model is loaded into CAM, the software will now prepare the model for further processing.
The preparation of the model involves checking for any geometry errors, creating a toolpath, setting the machine parameters, and configuring nesting. All this information is then sent to the tools and machines, allowing them to produce the needed parts from raw materials.
Automating Manufacturing Procedures
Through CAD and CAM, all the involved processes and procedures in the manufacturing industry can be carried out without consuming a lot of time. Additionally, they can help in improving the output of the tools and machines, especially since the integrated software can fine-tune every detail of the model. The software can even send precise instructions to the tools and machines, ensuring that they can produce final parts without any errors and material waste.
For quality manufacturing processes, you can contact us at Aero Spec Engineering. Our manufacturing facility possesses the latest CAD & CAM software to drive quality brand multi-axis 3,4, & 5 simultaneous axis CNC machining centres and CNC multi-axis lathes with live driven tooling and bar feeding.
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