Quick Start

CADasCAM is a program for drawing 2D contours and creating CNC programs. The core concept is the seamless connection between design (CAD) and CNC program (CAM).

When you start CADasCAM, you will be greeted by this window. The main window will open - it will look similar to the one shown here, although the toolbar and color scheme may differ depending on your settings.

At the top, we see the toolbar, where settings can be made and all functions offered by CADasCAM can be accessed. Below that are three columns: the object tree (left), the drawing plane (center), and the G-code preview (right). The G-code preview is normally closed when the program starts and is only displayed when a G-code has been generated or updated (more on this later).

Object Tree

The object tree is a hierarchical representation of all objects in the current model. Here you can select objects, sort them using drag and drop, show and hide them, rename them, and edit them.

Object Types

	Point	Points defined by X and Y coordinates within a drawing plane.
	Auxiliary Geometry	Lines and circles used to align geometries. The auxiliary geometry is automatically stored in a separate folder.
	Contour	The basic drawing elements. Lines, circles, arcs, splines, polylines, and many more.
	Path	Paths are sequences of contours. They can be created manually and also broken down into their contours again.
	Outline	Outlines are closed paths.
	Area	Areas consist of several outlines (outer and inner contours). By ungrouping, you can break them down into individual outlines again.
	Text	Texts can provide information about a drawing or be used as a design element. Various line/engraving fonts are available in CADasCAM, but you can also use fonts that are installed on your computer.
	Formobject	Formobjects are special areas whose geometry is described by certain parameters and can be changed at any time. Examples include trapezoids, slotted holes, spokes, and multi-round shapes.
	Operator	Operators are at the heart of parametric editing. They can be used to combine or modify shape objects, areas, and text. Possible operations include union, subtract, intersect, thicken, multiple copy, and create path. The “operands” remain in their original form (before the operation) after an operation and can still be modified afterwards.
	Groupe/Folder	Various objects are grouped together in a group. This allows them to be selected, shown or hidden, moved, or edited together. Objects in a group can also be edited individually.
	Fixed Group	Fixed groups prevent sub-objects from being selected, shown or hidden, moved, or edited individually. A fixed group can only ever be selected as a whole.
	Bearbeitung	An operation basically functions like a group. In addition, it contains all parameters relevant to the operation, such as path information, machine or tool parameters.
	Zeichnung	CADasCAM offers the option of inserting dimensions and drawing symbols for the creation of technical drawings/documentation.

Drawing Area

The main work area for interactive geometry creation. The functions in the toolbar can be used to interactively create geometries and CNC machining operations.

Navigation in 3D with the Mouse

Automatic Design aids

Smart Snap ensures that the mouse automatically snaps to geometrically relevant points in the model. These points can be:

• Start and end points of contours

• Centers of lines, arcs, and ellipses

• Vertex points and circular arcs of ellipses

• Intersections of contour elements

• Tangent points from the last clicked point on a contour

• Lot points from the last clicked point on a contour

Smart Drag also enables the creation of dynamic tangents and perpendiculars:
By clicking on a (start) contour and dragging briefly in an (approximately) tangential or perpendicular direction before releasing the mouse button, a dynamic tangent or perpendicular to the contour is created. Thanks to Smart Snap, the end point can also be set tangentially or perpendicularly to the target contour. This allows you to create tangents between circles, ellipses, or splines, or even combinations of, for example, a tangential start and a perpendicular end. Circles tangential to one to three contours are also possible.

Clever Guide generates dynamic guides when you set a point.
When you set a point on a contour, tangential and perpendicular guides are displayed.
When you position a point freely, vertical and horizontal guides are displayed.

G-Code Generation

Once the desired geometry has been created, it is time to start machining. Here we show milling machining, but CADasCAM can also be used to create machining operations for laser, plasma, water jet, or drag knife cutting.

The editing function in the toolbar can be used to create an edit. To do this, select the function and click on the contour to be edited.

The machining operation is created in the object tree, and all objects to be machined are assigned to it. As with folders, objects can be added to or removed from the tree using drag and drop. When creating the milling operation, the following dialog box opens.

Approach/Exit Strategy

First, the approach and exit strategy is selected, i.e., it is determined whether the tool should be immersed into the material vertically, via a ramp, in a zigzag pattern, or, in the case of pocket machining, via a helix.

Material

By default, CADasCAM already contains a number of materials that can be used for the automatic calculation of cutting parameters during path generation.

Machining strategy/path type

Then you decide whether to rough, finish, or even do some edge machining.

Depending on what you pick, tabs will pop up for you to set the machining and path parameters. If you pick a tool from the tool library, the material-specific parameters stored there will be pre-set (speed, feed, etc.), but you can change them manually.

The path parameters are entered on the right-hand side. The most important value here is probably the machining depth, which creates a 3D component from the 2D drawing. If several passes are made, the infeeds in the milling plane and in the depth direction must be defined.

When the dialog is closed with [OK], the parameters are checked again and any errors are displayed.

G-Code Preview

Once the machining process has been created and you click on “Update G-Code” in the toolbar, the G-Code preview window that we mentioned at the beginning will open. The tool paths are now displayed in the drawing area. The G-Code is displayed in the window on the left, where the milling process can also be simulated, similar to a video player. Here you can also save the generated G-code or open it directly in the CNC control of your choice and start machining on the machine.