Control : CAD/CAM

Computer Assisted Manufacturing (CAM) is the use of computers to manufacture products. Computers are able to make products like bolts, panels and cogs by directly controlling machinery such as :

• Lathes, that can be used to shape and bore parts.
• Milling machines, that can be used for cutting and drilling.
• Grinders, that can be used to polish and sharpen.

Computers pass instructions to the machines that they are controlling using a standard system called Computer Numerical Control, or CNC for short. The designs of the products made by a CAM system are often developed using a Computer Aided Design (CAD) package. These designs can then be transferred electronically to the CAM system. A system in which the design of an item is produced in a CAD package and then the item is automatically made by CAM machinery is known as CAD/CAM.

Computers can also be used in a more sophisticated way to control an entire manufacturing process such as making a car. In addition to making the component parts a computerised system can assemble, move, paint and test them. Robots are often used to do this.

GCSE ICT Companion 04 - (C) P Meakin 2004