CAMWorks for SolidWorks automates the entire CNC programming process by embedding advanced machining intelligence directly into your familiar design environment. By eliminating the need to export files or manage separate software interfaces, this integrated solution drastically reduces programming time and error risk for manufacturing engineers and machinists. Its seamless connection to the SolidWorks ecosystem ensures that every design change automatically updates your toolpaths, keeping production data synchronized and accurate.
Key Features
- Machine Aware Programming: Enhances safety by displaying machine components like clamps and tables directly in the simulation, enabling collision detection with material removal visualization to prevent costly equipment damage.
- Automatic Feature Recognition (AFR) for Turn: Streamlines programming with a new checklist control that lets users precisely define which turn features (like OD or face) to recognize, avoiding the creation of unwanted operations.
- Advanced Turn & Mill-Turn Support: Includes specific options for bar break chamfering to eliminate burrs and supports defining collets as workholding devices directly from the Technology Database (TechDB).
- Bottom-to-Top Contour Milling: Offers a new toolpath strategy for 2.5-axis operations that machines from the bottom up, ideal for improving surface finish on tapered walls and complex geometries.
- Expanded Sync Manager: Provides a clearer view of synchronized operations by organizing them via turret or spindle, which is critical for optimizing cycle times on multi-tasking machines.
- 3DEXPERIENCE Integration: Functions as a connected add-in that facilitates cloud-based data management and collaboration, ensuring your team accesses the most current manufacturing files from anywhere.
Use Cases
This software is essential for CNC programmers and machine shop managers who need to transition complex SolidWorks designs into physical parts without manual G-code writing. It excels in scenarios requiring high-precision turning and mill-turn operations, such as creating aerospace components or custom automotive parts where design revisions are frequent.
CAMWorks for SolidWorks stands out as a premier choice for manufacturers using Windows 10 or Windows 11, delivering a smart, integrated workflow that standard standalone CAM packages simply cannot match.
Version 2026 SP0 — November 2025
- Swiss Machining Environment: Introduced comprehensive support for Swiss-style sliding headstock machines, featuring a new Segmentation Manager that automatically divides long toolpaths into manageable segments to optimize stability and precision.
- Machine Kinematics in Simulation: Enhanced the Toolpath Simulation to render full machine axis motion for Milling and Turning modules, enabling visual collision detection for machine components directly within the programming interface.
- Advanced Tree Organization: Added the ability to create, rename, and manage custom folders within the Operation and Feature trees, allowing for better grouping and drag-and-drop organization of complex CAM data.
- TechDB Data Transfer: Implemented new import/export capabilities for the Technology Database, allowing users to easily migrate specific machine definitions and settings between different TechDB instances to synchronize workstations.
- Turning Enhancements: Added "Bar Break" functionality to automatically generate chamfer or radius moves that remove burrs during cutoff operations, protecting guide bushings and improving part quality.
- Stock-Aware Cutting Parameters: Enabled the definition of cutting speeds and feeds for turning inserts based specifically on the stock material assignment, streamlining the selection of optimal machining data.
