Best CAM software
 

As we are looking in to adding CNC capabilities next year (probably a CNC router), we are going to need CAM software. So, what do people think the best CAM software is? Preferably it would integrate with SolidWorks, which is what we do all our CAD in. Also, how do teams structure CNC programming? Does the design team do all the CAM or do they hand it off to the fabrication team, or something else? Thanks in advance.

Re: Best CAM software
 

HSMWorks

Re: Best CAM software
 

For my internship this summer we will be using Solidworks and MasterCAM, which seems like a pretty industry-standard CAD/CAM pair that works really well. However, I am not familiar with the cost or if you could get sponsored software from MasterCAM. I have also had experience using Creo (I took a college-level class in it), and their CAM package (it's actually built into the Creo CAD software), from my experience, is decent and fairly intuitive, plus I'm pretty sure Creo is free to teams. I'm sure there are many other worthy options as well, I wish I could be more helpful.

Re: Best CAM software
 

HSMexpress/HSMworks FTW. It's free, it's easy, It works with solidworks and it doesn't suck.

If your fabrication team knows a bit of solidworks then I'd have them do the CAM. If your CAD team knows a bit of machining then they can do the CAM. I'n my experience these groups usually overlap.

Re: Best CAM software
 

Seconded, HSMxpress is the free version. I also HIGHLY suggest Vectric Cut2D Pro, I describe it as the MS Paint of CAM software, simple to learn, simple to use, but no high ceiling on ability. It's a great start to lead into HSM easily.

EDIT: I use both for work.

Re: Best CAM software
 

Hsmworks. Free for all students! Best thing ever. Allows for intuitive operations and efficient machining.

Re: Best CAM software
 

If you're willing to switch to Inventor, you can get Inventor HSM Professional for free if you're a school, student, or educator. Long story short, it does just about everything. Also, since Autodesk owns HSM now, you'll probably get updates sooner in Inventor than you will in SolidWorks.

HSMWorks, HSM Express, Fusion 360, etc all use the same CAM kernel and roughly the same user interface. It's a harmony we call Autodesk CAM.

Re: Best CAM software
 

He can get HSMWorks for Solidworks for free too. But it definitely has fewer features.

We found this to be true... We found out that the solidworks version of hsmworks does not have autotab feature yet. Made some work holding a bit different when we were making gussets. Though I have been told this feature is in fusion 360. We were thinking of switching to mastercam provided the cost is not prohibitive.

Re: Best CAM software
 

MasterCAM is expensive, but they may give a pretty good educational discount. It is significantly harder to use than HSMWorks. I don't think the learning curve for MasterCAM is worth it for just the tabs. You'll lose the nice integration between CAD and CAM and you'll have to redo all your CAM if you make a tiny change to your part most of the time.

It's quite easy to add your own tabs in HSMWorks. I usually make a configuration of the part that contains the stock/tabs/fixtures to make sure everything fits. It's better to spend the extra 20 minutes to draw up the part in the machine with the tools/tool holders than to spend hours designing something only to find that the tool/machine can't reach.

Re: Best CAM software
 

HSMWorks is what we use.

The MOE mechanical c design/CAD team last season was also our CNC and 3D printing team since I was the only mentor that knew how to work everything. Since this was the first year we really used CNC, I hope that we can expand the capability next year and have mechanical fabrication team involved as well. Do what works for you.

Re: Best CAM software
 

I'll second Inventor HSM, we used it for a variety of parts this year on our new X-Carve CNC Router. Fairly easy to pick up if you're already familiar with inventor, and no issues with it so far (though it takes a little trial and error to get used to how some of the settings work). :)

Re: Best CAM software
 

I second HSMWorks if you're integrating into solidworks. This year the team used creo for CAD, and whenever we needed to route a part I imported it into fusion 360. No need to convert file types either, it works with a plethora of file types. Autodesk's CAM package is excellent and easy to learn. I would have a posted file within minutes and be off to the machine. The CAM can be as simple as inputing tool data, clicking contours, and setting heights. The toolpaths it generates can be focused around keeping a constant width of cut on a tool, or it can be just conventional slotting. Autodesk's support is amazing as well, and they'll gladly edit any post to your liking. Fusion's CAM is just a standalone extension of HSMWorks with a revamped UI. After getting a student license for Solid Works and a free copy of HSMWorks, I've been warming up to the integrated experience.

As for integrating CAM into the build process, whenever a part needed to be made the CAD file was handed off to someone who could use the software. They'd create the toolpaths then make the part, while whoever is designing continues working.

Re: Best CAM software
 

I've been using Fusion 360 to generate gcode for our Shapeoko. I like it, but I also haven't used anything else.

I'm not sure if this is unique or not, but it also has a wonderful simulation for the toolpaths that includes showing you exactly what material is being removed (it starts with a solid block).

It also has CAM for waterjet, plasma, and turning.
Of course, its free for education use.

Re: Best CAM software
 

We use HSMpro with inventor, and we could not be able to go without it. It is intuitive, but still has a lot of details, and is also very easy to master. Honestly just playing around with it for a day with a few tutorials can give you a good understanding of the software. At least that was my experience.