Of course other CAD vendors offer integrated CAD and CAM solutions. Siemens PLM Software, for example, also offers CAMWorks as an embedded solution within its Solid Edge CAD program.

NX CAM, also from Siemens PLM Software, is integrated with other NX solutions, which allows NC programmers and manufacturing engineers to associatively access design, assembly and drafting tools in a one part-manufacturing environment, according to that software maker. That could make CAM easier and more straightforward to the software’s users.Īnd CAM features are integrated into the Fusion 360 design tool from Autodesk.īut rather than taking on two separate software solutions, CAD and CAM can act as one system within SolidWorks CAM, Joshi says. The solution is fully integrated with SolidWorks so users need not leave the familiar SolidWorks environment, says Mike Buchli, senior SolidWorks product and portfolio manager. It supports feature recognition and can generate machining operations directly from native SolidWorks files or from imported data. Toolpaths are automatically updated based on changes to the model. If SolidWorks 2018 engineers and designers feel they’re working within one integrated system–rather than two separate but connected software systems-they might begin to automatically use CAM and to consistently consider manufacturability as they design the product, he adds. The vendor’s tool opens the way toward making CAM ubiquitous on engineers’ desktops, much as 3D CAD is now more-or-less used across an industry that once relied on 2D drawings, he said.

The part process from CAD to machining will never be a “one-click process,” Joshi says.

Camworks vs solidworks cam