In our shop we are looking for a new CAM (for milling) integrated in Solidworks.
We don't make large series.
The parts can be very complex.
We have 3 3-axis and 5 5-axis milling machines of various sizes.
The different CAM-solutions we are looking at are:
- CAMWorks
- Delcam for Solidworks
- HSMWorks
- Hypermill for Solidworks
- Mastercam for Solidworks
- SolidCAM

I have a few questions:
  • Is there a CAM that is able to use the tolerance from the sketch? (for example 200 +0/+0.5) Will this be milled as 200 or 200.25?
  • Is the Post-processor open to modification?
  • Are the calculations performed in the background?
  • What CAM-programs have good feature recognition?
  • Is there a CAM capable of using a 90° angle head (on a 5-axis machine)?
  • Ease of use?
  • Simulation with machine model?
  • 5-axis linking movement between operations? (versus retract to safety)