What is Feature-Based CAM and Why is It Important?

In manual machining, we tend to approach the manufacture of a part as our order of operations. These operations generally minimize the number of tool changes and the time required to machine in each setup.

It makes sense, then, in CNC machining to follow a similar procedure. Something along the lines of, “In this setup, I want to rough out here and then follow with a contouring pass to improve the surface finish.” As programmers, we have released drawings against which we can inspect our parts and program our machines operation by operation, tool change by tool change. In many environments, this approach makes a lot of sense.

The Feature-Based Approach

This operation-by-operation method, however, meets challenges when it approaches modern design systems. Design iterations move more quickly than ever, and nobody likes waiting on a part, nor do programmers like re-programming the exact same part but with a slightly different-sized bore.

SOLIDWORKS CAM and CAMWorks turn the dynamic of “Roughing here, contouring there” on its head. Instead, the actual geometry of your parts holds primacy, and the strategies used to machine those features follow from there. Let’s consider a simple part: a block with a pocket inside.

In traditional operations-based CAM software, the following workflow would be expected:

1. Select Roughing Operation
2. Select Geometry
3. Set Parameters (e.g., feeds and speeds, approach, retract, etc.)
4. Select Contouring (Finishing) Operation
5. Select Geometry (again)
6. Set Parameters

In feature-based CAM software, we would choose the geometry (the feature) first, and then the operations follow. In this case, we will do the following:

1. Select Geometry
2. Select Strategy (series of operations)
3. Set Parameters (if creating or tweaking strategies)

For this part, we have identified a rectangular pocket feature:

And, in that very same dialog, selected the Rough-Finish Strategy.

After these few clicks, notice that the feature is identified in the CAM Feature Tree with the strategy in brackets afterwards.

We then generate the operation plan, which takes our Rough-Finish strategy and produces a roughing operation and a finishing operation.

The rest of the procedure will be familiar to any machinist – double-check your tools, edit feeds and speeds, and so on.

The CAMWorks Advantage

In this simple part, we have saved a handful of clicks. However, the more features on the part and the more operations per feature, the greater that advantage grows.

If we instead wanted to do a roughing pass, semifinish, finish, and edgebreak for our pocket, it takes no additional clicks. Simply, select the appropriate strategy. As machinists, when we dial in the perfect strategies for particular features in particular materials on particular machines, we can save all of that information for automatic reuse in the CAMWorks Technology Database.

As our parts grow increasingly complex, we can use our saved know-how in the TechDB to get first articles programmed and machined faster. This part, for instance, would have taken most of an afternoon in my old CAM software.

This part has a lot of geometry, but it has even more operations. Each pocket is tapered and takes a roughing pass, rest machining pass, and a contour pass. This entire setup was programmed in just a handful of minutes using parameters I know are good.

Creating a new strategy is as simple as customizing existing strategies or creating them from scratch. Saving that information back to the TechDB for future use automates so much of the programming workflow and eliminates the tedious task of re-entering the same feeds and speeds over and over again on every part.

When our CAD data inevitably changes, our CAM data will update automatically. If you need to go back to an old revision, the CAM data lives with that file – no hunting around for USB drives or taking up machine memory with old posts.

Conclusion

Feature-based machining has great technical and operational benefits. Aligning our CAM methodology to our CAD workflows ensures that the part geometry is our source of truth, rather than G-Code on the machine. Since our geometry drives our operations both in the software and on the shop floor, we can ensure that our parts come out right the first time.

CAMWorks and SOLIDWORKS CAM, in addition to being feature-based CAM software, come with a suite of automation features. Automatic Feature Recognition picks up most features and automatically assigns strategies according to the programmer’s criteria. And the TechDB doesn’t just save our hard-earned machining knowledge for our own future usage; that knowledge can be shared with other programmers or even manufacturing sites. This enhanced automation and control enable us to program faster and keep machines running at maximum capacity.

Questions?

If you have questions or would like to learn more about SOLIDWORKS CAM or CAMWorks, please contact us.

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