The advent of CNC (Computer Numerical Control) cutting machines has revolutionised many fabrication industries over the last couple of decades. Almost all fabrication shops now use cad drawing tools to design their components, and automated cutting processes are a natural extension to this. Initially, the job of translating the drawing dimensions into machine code fell to highly trained (and often highly paid) CNC programmers. In recent times however, powerful software tools have been developed to make the job of cutting these components much easier. No longer do you need to write and edit cryptic G-code files (CNC machine instructions). CAM (Computer Aided Manufacturing) software is the link between CAD drawings and the machines controller. This CAM software reads the CAD drawings and allows the operator to specify machining parameters such as which tool is to be used, which direction to cut, how fast etc.
This white paper explores on how Tool Pathing has become a vital step in producing good quality components on a CNC machine.
Automatic Tool Path and Nesting for Large Format CNC machines
