The words CAD CAM are tossed around quite a bit in manufacturing circles, but what is it really? When we say CAD/CAM, do we really know what we are talking about? In my experience many of us do not. A simple definition is a good place to start. Computer-Aided-Design, and Computer-Aided-Manufacturing.

Look around you, whether you are at home, or in the office. Almost everything you see around you was probably designed on a computer. With the exception of buildings that were made before the 1970’s and any antique furniture you may have around you at home, a very high percentage of the things we use everyday were designed using CAD.

Automotive and Aerospace Design were responsible for the development of early CAD systems in the 1960’s and 1970’s. They were very expensive systems that cost over $ 100,000.00 per station. With the development of the PC, all that has changed, and CAD systems can be procured roughly anywhere from $ 500.00 to $ 5,000.00.

Even with costly additional options, it is rare for a single CAD seat to cost more than $ 20,000.00, unless it is being used for some very high-end specialized function. The development of CAD CAM software has paralleled the rise of personal computers, which made this type software affordable for the average manufacturer.

So what about CAM ? I guess you could say that there really is no CAM without CAD. Without an electronic design, no CAM system can function. Sometimes design is done within a CAM system, but without electronic information, CAM is limited. I know many machinists say they program CNC machine tools at the control without a CAD system, but chances are that the blueprint they work from was made using a CAD system.

There are probably 100 people who know what CAD is for every 2 who know what CAM is. In the same way there really is no CAM without CAD, there is also no CAM without CNC machinery. A CNC machine is simply a computerized machine that depends on a series of commands or programmed instructions that include position information to accomplish a particular task. This is usually, but not always, some kind of cutting motion, using a particular type of cutting tool.

Technically, this program code format is designated as RS-474, but most people refer to it as G and M Code. Since FANUC is the most popular type of CNC control, often CNC code is referred to as “FANUC compatible”, which means standard G and M code.

CNC machines are not limited to the typical CNC Milling and CNC Turning machines that have been used for nearly 50 years in machine shops across the country, they come in all shapes and sizes. Grinders, turret punches, lasers, plasmas, water jets, wire edms, shears, brakes, coordinate measuring machines, embroidery machines, welders, routers, jig bores, and robots used for most any job imaginable, are just a few of the hundreds of types of CNC machines used in manufacturing today.

I am reminded of a quote from Gotfried von Leibniz, a 17th century mathematician, who once said: “It is unworthy of excellent men to lose hours like slaves in the labor of calculation, which could be safely relegated to anyone else if machines were used. He also strongly advocated the use of a binary system of numbers which is the foundation of modern computer numerical calculation.

CNC manufacturing technology is the inevitable result of the application of computer technology to manufacturing. It has allowed manufacturing to progress beyond the dependence on “excellent men” to produce parts manually.

CAD CAM and CNC technology has produced manufactured parts and assembled products at speeds and accuracies that could only be dreamed of a generation ago. The complexity of modern manufactured parts was simply impossible to achieve in previous generations. Although the same level of skill is required in these industries, as in earlier days, the limitations and inherent inefficiencies of manual methods have largely been overcome.