CAM a long way

摘要

About 15-20 years ago, CNC users were locked into using the CAM offerings of their CAD vendors - this meant the market was dominated by IBM/Dassault (with CATIA) and McDonnell Douglas (with Unigraphics); PTC was a relatively new entrant at that time. The portability of CAD modelling has changed all this, with many users adopting a 'horses for courses' approach and using multiple CAM systems. There have also been changes in technology: solids- and feature-based machining systems and tools such as verifiers and simulators have caught on with a vengeance. Generally, buying decisions are more clear-cut than in the CAD market and are not adversely affected by trendy new companies entering the market and offering a new brand of snake oil to change the way everyone does business.