Your guide in the world of CAD/CAM and digital manufacturing

While everyone discusses the future of smart manufacturing, most companies are still grappling with a fundamental question: How do you actually choose the right software to get there? In this latest industry study by Sandvik Manufacturing Solutions and EY-Parthenon teams, 350 component manufacturers across aerospace, automotive, medical, and other critical sectors were surveyed to uncover the real priorities driving software adoption in 2025. What they discovered challenges conventional wisdom about how manufacturers approach technology investments—and reveals game-changing trends that forward-thinking companies are already acting on.

As the manufacturing sector hurtles further into digital transformation, the cybersecurity challenges will continue to evolve. Future factories will likely be even more connected – envision fully “lights-out” facilities where AI systems coordinate robotics and machines with minimal human intervention, or widespread use of 5G wireless networks on the shop floor to link hundreds of devices in real time. This increased connectivity and automation could introduce new vulnerabilities.

How software vendors are redefining their business models by prioritizing high-value, complex machining strategies - from advanced multi-axis operations to digital twin integration - and how this strategic pivot is reshaping the economics, technology, and human roles at the heart of digital manufacturing worldwide.

Explore the fascinating evolution of Computer-Aided Manufacturing (CAM) in machining - from its origins in 1950s military projects to today’s cloud-powered platforms. This deep-dive article traces the rise and fall of pioneering countries, companies, and technologies that shaped the global CAM landscape. Discover how innovations in NC, 3D modeling, and multi-axis machining redefined industry, and why many of today’s CAM systems still bear the legacy of a few visionary engineers.

The global market for computer-aided design and manufacturing (CAD/CAM) software continued its steady expansion in 2024, driven by surging digitalization in product development and production. CAD/CAM tools have become indispensable across industries – from drafting factory layouts to programming precision machining - fueling consistent demand growth. This editorial analysis examines the market’s current size and growth trajectory, regional dynamics, leading vendors, key industry adopters, notable developments in 2024, forecasts through 2030, and the technological trends reshaping the CAD/CAM landscape.

Every CNC-machined part begins its life in the digital world - as a 3D model in CAD, shaped and refined through CAM strategies. Toolpaths are simulated, feeds and speeds optimized, collisions avoided. But none of this reaches the machine directly. There’s a crucial, often overlooked step in the process: post-processing.

CAM systems are among the most enduring tools in an engineer’s workflow. While the manufacturing software ecosystem is evolving rapidly - with AI, cloud collaboration, and generative automation - most users remain deeply loyal to their first CAM platform. This consistency isn't born of marketing or inertia alone. It runs deeper.

SolidCAM — the largest independent CAM vendor still on the market — is at a turning point. In this exclusive sit-down, MISTER CAM talks with Dr. Emil Somekh, SolidCAM’s founder & CEO, about what comes next and uncovers key insights, including: Has anyone tried to buy SolidCAM — and would Emil sell for $1 billion? What exactly is SolidShop, and how might it reshape CAM workflows? Could AI replace CNC programmers and traditional CAM systems? Why did SolidCAM choose to partner with TITANS OF CNC? No fluff, just a clear, fact-driven conversation that every CAD/CAM professional will want to watch.

In this debut episode, we spotlight the biggest updates from June to August 2025: Hexagon ESPRIT EDGE 2025 simplifying Swiss machining, Cimatron DieQuote transforming cost estimation, EDGECAM 2025.1 with smarter automation, Mastercam 2026 with AI Copilot, SolidCAM’s partnership with TITANS of CNC, CIMCO’s new sub-spindle simulation, Universal Robots’ free UR Studio, hyperMILL’s integration with MachiningCloud, and the global launch of ENCY 2.0 and the ENCY X ecosystem at EMO Hannover.

In this episode, we’re diving into the story of DP TECHNOLOGY and the creation of one of the most well-known CAM systems in the industry — ESPRIT. I’ve had the privilege of knowing Paul Ricard and his co-founder Dan Frayssinet for over 14 years, both professionally and personally. But even with that long-standing connection, this conversation uncovered a ton of insights I had never heard before.