Software Pages 13 to 18 Three CAD/CAM Automation Advances By Alan Zielinski In a manufacturing world hungry for a tech-nologically advanced workforce, CAD/CAM automation can feed less-experienced pro-grammers a healthy diet of pre-deined, best-practice programming standards developed by more seasoned engi-neers. This beneit vastly increases the size and scope of available CAD/ CAM engineers, dramat-ically reduces the return on the investment of Attribute-based automation allows the selection and programming of geometry based on specifi c attributes that are hiring someone with an applied to said geometry. unknown skill level and rapidly allows in-house comprise the jaws of your vise and tag them with a user-programmers to become productive by immediately following deinable name. Toolpaths will automatically avoid those corporate programming standards. vise surfaces, ensuring safe, collision-free machining. Adding Depending on the depth of the automation, complete proj-or changing geometric attributes allows the sorting and ect programming is possible using one of three automation selection of geometry and the population of toolpath cycles. styles: feature-based, attribute-based or script-based. . Script-based automation is the best of feature-and . Feature-based automation is programming individual attribute-based automation but on steroids. Using the full features of a model. Modern CAM system’s feature-based capabilities of a high-end, dedicated CAD system, script-based programming should only be limited by the programmer’s automation recognizes features, changes the attributes of sur-imagination. For example, you can organize surfaces, curves, faces, preps the model for manufacturing and so much more. boundaries and even machining vectors into a customized fea-A good script-based automation system uses a CAD/ ture that can then populate multiple toolpath cycles, using one CAM system’s CAD capability much more than feature-or group of surfaces as machining geometry and a different set of attribute-based automation. It should be capable of patch-surfaces as stop, or check surfaces. One or two toolpaths down ing over holes, coloring planes and radii, creating curves the job list, the usage of those surface groups might flip-flop. and boundaries and creating layers to populate the created In theory, it should be possible to turn the entire detail being geometry. Script-based automation can import vises and machined into a customized feature. Also, the toolpath cycles ixtures, ind best-it coordinate systems and create multi-should be fully populated by the geometry via their attributes, axis machining vectors. Programmers can apply macros whether a simple roughing operation or dozens of toolpaths to consisting of the full manufacturing process and populate all rough, semi and even inish the detail. . Attribute-based automation allows the selection and pro-toolpaths by the geometry the script-based automation gen-erated or manipulated. gramming of geometry based on speciic attributes applied to said geometry. For example, make the male illets on a model FOR MORE INFORMATION a particular color of blue (or any pre-determined color) and they are automatically machined; put a closed contour on a OPEN MIND Technologies / 888-516-1232 / openmind-tech.com level named “Boundary” and it is automatically selected in a Alan Zielinski, Senior Application Engineer semi-inishing D Proile toolpath, or select the surfaces that 18 8 Mo MoldMaking g Technology T — — JULY JU 2022 Image courtesy of OPEN MIND Technologies.