Mastercam Software is Driven with PMPA Member Needs in Mind

Mastercam, developed by CNC Software Inc., is the most widely used CAD/CAM software in the world. Founded in 1983, CNC Software is one of the oldest companies in the PC-based CAD/CAM industry and operates with the main goal of providing its customers with superior software products that solve simple to complex design and machining problems.

Although the Mastercam product line offers a variety of software options for many applications, the Swiss-type machine market became a primary focus for Mastercam in 2010, when the company acquired software specific to the market.

“We’ve spent the last couple of years tweaking and tuning that software to bring it back to the market,” says Gary Hargreaves, vice president of business development, Mastercam/CNC Software. “Another aspect we’ve been focusing on is continuing to build our library of machine environments to support both newer and older machine tools.”

Mastercam’s primary product for Swiss-type machining is Mastercam Swiss Expert, specialized CAD/CAM software for precision programming. It is specifically designed for controlling Swiss-style CNC machines, reducing startup time, and is ideal for optimizing cycle times while supporting many tooling types.

“One of the main differentiating factors for Swiss Expert from other software is that it’s highly visual,” explains Bill Martel, technical services specialist, Mastercam/CNC Software. “The programs incorporate 3D graphics and Gantt charts for process organization and synchronizing as well as process planning. Swiss Expert also provides full simulation of projects on the user’s fully tooled virtual machine, showing the code running in sync with the simulation.”

Mastercam prides itself on the breadth of its line and the strong support staff for the programs.

“The direction that Mastercam is going with our precision machining products is driven with PMPA members and their needs in mind,” adds Ben Mund, marketing manager, Mastercam/CNC Software. Attendees at the Precision Machining Technology Show in April can see Mastercam in action in Booth 437.

In order to provide the best solutions to PMPA members, Mastercam has a machine shop onsite with a variety of machine tools for testing the software.

“We’ve had five different Swiss-type machines on our floor in the past 2 years, allowing us to develop machine posts in house. For the research and development of Mastercam products, we use the shop to test our software the practical way,” Mr. Martel explains. “We cut a lot of parts in our shop.”

For Mastercam’s team, PMPA membership provides them with education about the markets they serve.

“One of my most positive experiences through PMPA was actually going to a conference in Switzerland. I was able to learn about what the companies in the precision machining industry in Europe do and how they do it,” Mr. Hargreaves says. “It was a great educational experience.”

“PMPA really focuses on education of not only their current members, but of the future members. It’s exciting to be a part of that,” Mr. Martel adds. “Beyond that, I’m very impressed with how PMPA is organized internally as well as how they organize their events.”

Mr. Martel also explained that the information shared on all levels ranging from the technical conference to the Management Update and even local chapter meetings provides an exceptional value to Mastercam as well as to the individual staff members.

“One of our original reasons for joining PMPA was for networking, which has been incredibly important for gaining face time with the customers that we serve. We also got involved for the many PMPA resources that are available to us,” Mr. Martel continues. “As a company, there are many more opportunities we can take advantage of, and there is even more that we can learn about the organization.”