SolidCAM is fast.
“SolidCAM allows me to quickly take a design and create effective G-code for our CNC-machines,” says James Thompson, vice-president of operations at Alpha Engineering and Design (AED). Since AED implemented SolidCAM software a year ago, the time-consuming tasks of programming CNC machine code have been drastically reduced. Thompson estimates that “SolidCAM makes the entire process from design to cut four times faster.”
Alpha Engineering & Design performs high-tech jobs for custom machinery, focusing on the industries of thin film coating and space simulation vacuum chambers. The designers work in SolidWorks while the machinists work with the full spectrum of CNC-coded tooling, including lathes, milling machines, and the second-largest CNC mill in the state of Colorado.
The company has tried several CAM packages in the past. SolidCAM was the only product that made the step between a SolidWorks 3D model and CNC language practically seamless, according to Thompson. “SolidCAM is completely integrated in SolidWorks, so you don’t have any problems with translation. Hit ‘run’ and it does it.”
James Thompson estimates that, with SolidCAM the time eliminated to program, test and edit G-code, is more than six hours for each new component part, making the entire process from order to production four times faster. “Now, with SolidCAM, AED can produce CAM programs at a phenomenal pace,” says Greg Jackson, CEO Alpha Engineering.
