CloudNC | Cam assist

CAM Assist has a comprehensive understanding of machining rules and physics, and it can generate trillions of possible manufacturing methods for a component, considering your specific part, fixture, tooling, and machine combination. 

It quickly simulates these possibilities, refining them into practical operations that will produce the part within tolerance. These operations are then directly inputted into your CAM package, just as you would. This provides you with a CAM program ready for simulation and editing. 

While CAM Assist may not provide a perfect strategy on the first try, it typically gets you 80% of the way there, allowing you to decide how best to use that saved time. 

While feature-based machining can identify specific features on a part and allow you to create macros for those features, CAM Assist is an AI designed to handle the entire component. 

Instead of merely recognizing features and relying on a template library you’ve built, CAM Assist determines the best toolpaths and strategies based on all the elements of the component. It understands the part holistically. 

CAM Assist is an AI that comprehends the physics and rules of CNC machining, operates effectively right out of the box, and receives monthly updates with new capabilities, enabling it to program more components with faster cycle times and greater process robustness. 

In contrast, Feature-Based Machining is not AI and lacks an understanding of CNC machining. Building an effective macro database can take over a year, and most factories using Feature-Based Machining employ full-time technicians to continually expand this database. 

Feature-Based Machining can be, at times, inflexible and difficult to set up. It excels in major manufacturing operations producing large families of similar components but is rarely used in subcontract machining. 

CAM Assist requires no setup and minimal training, integrating directly into your existing CAM package. It also offers powerful additional features, including instant cycle time estimation, instant fixture generation, and instant feed and speed optimization. 

CAM Assist is compatible with almost every CNC milling machine. 

It automatically retrieves your machine parameters from your CAM package. If your machines are not already defined, you will need to provide the minimum and maximum spindle speed (RPM), maximum spindle torque (Nm), maximum spindle power (kW), and maximum table feed rate (mm/min) for each machine. 

Currently, CAM Assist does not support other types of CNC machines, such as lathes and mill-turns, though this functionality is in development. 

No – CAM Assist will work with your current post processor. 

The short answer is yes! Fill out the form below and your rep will contact you with details on how to get started.