CAD/CAM drives NC software.

Several trends are driving software development for NC machining of parts. Machining of sculpted surfaces, once the exclusive domain of the moldmaker, today is required for more streamlined and complex part designs, explains Alan Diehl, vice president, Surfware Inc, San Fernando, CA. For both OEMs, and their suppliers, particularly in the auto industry, NC (numerical control) machining methods and CAM-generated machining paths may offer a route to retaining their competitive edge.

"CAD/CAM is evolving," MIT professor David Gossard told a conference sponsored by Cambridge, MA-based Daratech Inc, a market research company. "My own sense of where software development is going is toward top down assembly modeling with attention to function, and that means embedding the physics of the component in the geometric model itself to optimize the total design and manufacturing enterprise."

THE TOP 40
NC Software and Related Services Revenues

($ Millions)

Rank       Company                               1993

1          Computervision                        46
2          EDS Unigraphics                       36.1
3          Dassault                              26
4          Hitachi Zosen                         25
5          Cisigraph                             18.5
6          Matra Datavision                      18
7          Delcam                                16
8          PTC                                   16
9          Point Control                         10
10         Pathtrace                              9.5
11         CAMAX                                  8.5
12         Applicon                               8
13         Rand                                   8
14         Control Data                           7.6
15         CNC                                    7.5
16         Autodesk                               7
17         SDRC                                   6
18         Intergraph                             5.3
19         DP Technology                          5
20         IBM, Other                             5
21         ICAM Technologies                      4
22         MCS                                    4
23         Auto. Intelligence                     3.8
24         Cimplex                                3.5
25         Adra                                   3
26         Bridgeport                             3
27         Gerber                                 3
28         Gibbs                                  3
29         NCCS                                   3
30         Surfware                               3
31         Sescoi                                 2.5
32         Camcentre                              2
33         Cimlinc                                2
34         Cutting Edge                           2
35         Fujitsu                                2
36         Toolchest                              2
37         Weber                                  2
38         NC Microproducts                       1.8
39         Datacut                                1.5
40         Spring                                 1.2
           Others(*)                             33.7
           Total                                 375

* Others include companies such as Aura Systems, Autotrol, BOBCAD-CAM, CRLF,
Graftek, ItalCAD, Missler, NCM Systems, Pam-X, Silma, Solutionware, Tebis,
Techsoft, Rapid Output, CG Tech, Progressive Software and Sailor First.

Source: Copyright [C] 1994 by CIMdata Inc.

The availability of low-cost, effective CAD software products is making NC machining, formerly reserved to the largest manufacturers, an everyday reality for even the smallest companies. At the same time, in the larger companies (typically employing more than 1000) engineering and manufacturing processes, which have historically been performed in a sequential manner, are increasingly being performed in an overlapping or simultaneous mode, i.e. through concurrent engineering, says Alan Christman, vice president of CIMdata Inc, Ann Arbor, MI.

Yet, penetration of NC into the installed base of US machine tools is widely believed to be something less than 15% with sizable penetration only in categories like laser and thermal a chines (about half) and machining centers, which are by definition CNC (100%).

The consequence, according to CIMdata, is that on a worldwide basis, there is a considerable amount of on-machine and manual programming that is currently done within large manufacturing companies. In addition to off-line CAM programming, almost half of manufacturing companies do on-machine programming, and about a third of these continue to do manual programming, using APT (Automatic Programming of Tools), the grandaddy NC programming technique developed in the 1950s at MIT and commercialized in the aerospace industry.

"There is a continuing opportunity for NC software vendors to expand their business as manufacturing companies add a greater percentage of NC tools, and concurrently increase their CAM programming, at the expense of on-machine or manual programming," says Mr Christman.

Because NC usually functions as a component of a full CAD/CAM environment and system, it is imperative to keep development in the whole CAD/CAM software field in view. There is a bigger picture. The worldwide CAD/CAM/CAE software market reached almost $4 billion in 1993, up 6.4% from 1992, according to Daratech. In that same period, the worldwide NC software and services market grew by 10% to $375 million, says CIMdata.

This reflects a faster growth rate than in either of the prior two years. Reasons are not hard to find: the resurgence in manufacturing; the need for higher quality products produced in the shortest possible time at minimum cost; and the role of concurrent engineering in mainstreaming manufacturing, says Mr Christman.

There's an essential split in the NC software market, he says. One group contains the companies that provide NC as part of a full-function CAD/CAM solution. Companies in this category are Computervision, EDS Unigraphics, Dassault Systems, Matra Datavision, SDRC, and Intergraph. The second category contains those that are primarily focused on NC. They may or may not have their own geometric modeling capability. Companies that fit this category are Point Control, CAMAX, Surfware, and DP Technology.

"Manufacturing has become equal with design in importance," says Mr Christman, adding: "To meet these increasingly demanding requirements, manufacturers require the best possible tools, and as a result, are purchasing NC programming systems at a more rapid rate."

Before you begin to look for CAM software to generate toolpaths for sculpted surfaces or four- or five-axis machining, however, a number of questions must be answered, says Surfware's Mr Diehi:

* How will part geometry be created?

* What CAD system will your customer use to create the part file?

* Will the customer-supplied model of part(s) have to be digitized and then converted to surfaces?

* Will you have to generate surfaces from a blueprint?

* How well versed are you in machining techniques including roughing and finishing of a complex sculptured surface, gouge avoidance, and undercuts?

CIMdata publishes the NC Software Buyer's Guide, an 800-page guide with information on 44 NC software products, price: $795; NC Software and Related Services Market Data Report, price: $2395.

Daratech Inc's CAD/CAM, CAE: Survey, Review and Buyers' Guide with information on more than 100 systems and vendors is available for $972 for a one-year subscription.

An article by Alan Diehl titled Scratching the Surface on machining complex surfaces appeared in the AIAG's Actionline magazine. For more information from Surfware Inc.