CAMWorks - Integrated into SolidWorks

CAMWorks™ with Machining Intelligence for Automation™ is the most advanced CAM programming software available for getting products to market faster, more efficiently and within budget. Introduced in 1997, CAMWorks is a new generation Windows-based CNC programming solution for producing molded parts from solid models.

CAMWorks is a SolidWorks^® Certified Gold Product for Manufacturing/CAM Software that provides state-of-the-art machining capabilities seamlessly integrated into the award winning SolidWorks™ design software. As the first CAM solution to offer true knowledge-based machining capabilities, CAMWorks leads the way in advancements in Automatic Feature Recognition (AFR) and Interactive Feature Recognition (IFR). CAMWorks offers true associative machining automatically accommodating changes to the part model, which eliminates time consuming CAM system rework due to design updates.

The integration of CAMWorks into SolidWorks means:

• When you are using SolidWorks, the CAMWorks machining tree and commands are available with the click of a button. You never have to leave SolidWorks to generate toolpaths.
• CAMWorks uses the same SolidWorks geometry to generate toolpaths to ensure the part you machine is the same part you have modeled.
• Time-consuming file transfers using standard file formats such as IGES and SAT are eliminated.

Ease of Use

CAMWorks uses the familiar SolidWorks interface, so it is easy to learn and easy to use. The CAMWorks trees are similar to the SolidWorks FeatureManager design tree. Items in the tree can be suppressed, expanded, renamed and moved using the same procedures as SolidWorks. Online help, an Installation and Quick Start Guide and tutorials help you generate toolpaths and code quickly. The tutorials are provided electronically in Adobe PDF files.

Automatic and Interactive Feature Recognition

CAMWorks is a feature-based machining CAM system that provides the ability to automatically recognize many prismatic features including tapers. Automatic Feature Recognition (AFR) analyzes the part shape and attempts to define the most common machinable features for mill such as pockets, bosses, holes and slots for mill. AFR also defines Turn features such as the outside diameter and inside diameter of the part, front face and grooves. AFR recognizes features on native SolidWorks part models or on solid parts imported via IGES, SAT, etc.

CAMWorks also includes Interactive Feature Recognition (IFR) for defining features that are not recognized automatically or features that need to be defined for your particular machining requirements. IFR wizards, similar to SolidWorks feature wizards, provide a simple and quick method for defining machineable features.

Machining Operations

After machinable features have been defined, the user can take advantage of the machining automation in CAMWorks to generate operations. Machining operations include roughing, finishing, drilling, etc. Operations are associated to machinable features.

Knowledge-Based Machining

CAMWorks' proprietary TechDB, a Microsoft Access database, is the intelligence behind the machining automation in CAMWorks. Using Knowledge-Based Machining technology, the TechDB associates operation parameters to the machineable features. When you generate operations, CAMWorks applies these settings automatically. To further enhance the automation process, the knowledge-based rules in the TechDB are fully customizable to represent your current machining environment.