LESSON 1.4: CAM (Computer Aided Manufacturing)
INTRODUCTION TO THE LESSON
The CAM, acronym for Computer-Aided Manufacturing, refers to a category of software products that allow you to generate the instructions needed for a Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machine tool to follow a toolpath and create a certain part starting from a CAD project.
Once the design phase of a product has been completed, to go ahead with its construction, it is necessary to extract the idealized forms from raw material. To do this you can use manual machines controlled by skilled labor, or machines equipped with CAM software.
The main objective of the CAM lesson is to obtain the instructions needed for a CNC machine tool to follow a toolpath and create a certain part starting from a CAD project.
WHAT YOU WILL LEARN IN THIS LESSON
At the end of the training, students will be able:
- the link between software systems for design (CAD) and manufacturing (CAM)
- the main operations of a software CAM
- to generate the instructions for the machine tool (ISO language code)
- to set the process and auxiliary parameters: surface finishing, dimensional tolerance, tool size, material removal rate, etc.
- to calculate and simulate toolpaths in SolidWorks CAM for turning and milling
- to transmit file into CNC machine (computer numerical control machine
OPEN IN MOODLE
SUMMARY
Thanks to this lesson you have enforced
- the knowledge of the fundamental elements to be able, starting from a CAD model, to choose the correct machine, mill or turn, and define the type of processing that will be performed in SolidWorks CAM.
- the knowledge of how to generate the instructions for a CNC machine tool to follow a 3D toolpath and obtain the final model
- the knowledge of how to take into account the dimensions of the tool insert and the tool holder, and the raw material previously worked to avoid collisions and vacuum passes.