Copyright (C) 1986-2009 by Daniel H. Hudgins, All Rights Reserved.

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This Web site is dedicated to the thousands of "users" of my programs, those who have helped test my programs over the last 23 or so years, and especially those who shared their experiences with me.

You must read this notice: This is a licensed Web site (HTML document and associated files). You must read and agree to be legally bound in contract by the Terms of Use and conditions given in the End User License Agreement ("EULA"), Legal Notices, Instructions, Warnings, Disclaimers, and all other text in "SECTION: 0" of "This Web Site" (HTML document and associated files) before reading or using any of the information, software programs, and or files, contained in, linked to, and or associated with, "This Web Site" (HTML document and associated files). Any use or "Beta Testing" of "This Web Site" constitutes your acknowledgment of your full agreement with the current End User License Agreement ("EULA") and your decision to have this current license supersede all prior and contemporaneous agreements and understandings. Information and files in "This Web Site" (HTML document and associated files) have been placed here so that long time users of "The Author's" programs DANCAD3D.COM (tm) , DANCAD87.EXE (tm), DANCINEL.EXE (tm), DANCINES.EXE (tm) , DANCAM.EXE (tm) , or DANPLOT.EXE (tm) could help proofread the text of the documentation files or screens displayed, and also help test data files, example files, and or any software programs that might be made available from time to time, to aid "The Author" in finding mistakes, bugs, and other errors, omissions, defects, mistakes, and faults. Everything in "This Web Site" (HTML document and associated files) is "Beta Test", "Beta Code", Experimental, Preliminary, requires proofreading, or is being evaluated for possible revision, and is NOT warranted to be free of defect. To help "The Author" report any bugs, foul-ups, defects, or mistakes that you find, see "SECTION: 8" for instructions. "This Web Site" (HTML document and associated files) and all other files and programs by Daniel H. Hudgins are made available "AS IS" without warranty of any kind express, expressed, or implied. All offers and specifications are subject to change or discontinuation without notice of any kind. Please look over "SECTION: 8" of "This Web Site" before contacting "The Author."

SECTION: 7.10 is for some "general" information about CAM, CNC, or NC type automated machine tools, see also the program files in the current distribution of my programs, the other parts of this HTML documentation, and the current On- Line version of this Web site for information more specifically about my programs. Any comparisons of my programs or methods to some others is only given as a vague generality of my opinion and is not intended as a recommendation or reference to any particular products, always make your own evaluations and comparisons before taking any action.

A CAM, i.e. Computer Aided Manufacturing, machine is a machine tool of some kind that is automatically operated by a computer rather than by a person, and so makes things automatically. In some cases the operation of the machine tool is shared between the computer and a person, i.e. the machine operator, so the operation of the machine would then be semiautomatic.

Automated tools use motors or other motion producing devices connected to an electronic driver and control circuit, that is generally operated by a computer, to automatically move a cutting or other tool to manufacture or finish some item from metal, wood, plastic, or other materials that can be held motionless while being worked on. The motion of the tool is planned out before the part is manufactured, in general the machine does not modify its motions for each copy of the part made, therefore the file containing the tool path must not contain errors since severe damage could be done to the part being made, or the machine and its parts, if the plan of the tool motion was wrong. Machinable wax is sometimes used to check the tool path by making a "trial" piece in wax before trying to make the actual part.

The sections in the index below go into what makes up an automated machine tool, and some of the matters you will need to think about while designing your own CAM equipment. My automation programs may operate somewhat differently from CAM systems based on historical CNC technology, but can be simple and flexible for the individual hobbyist on a tight budget who just wants something cheep that he can use to make his own parts.

SECTION: 7.10.10.0 What is a CAM machine?

SECTION: 7.10.20.0 G & M codes and other ways of programming tool paths.

SECTION: 7.10.30.0 CAM software types for Computer Aided Manufacturing.

SECTION: 7.10.40.0 CAM electronics for driving "Motion Control" type motors.

SECTION: 7.10.50.0 CAM machine mechanical components and construction.