Automatically Generate Tool Paths With Tab Cutting In SOLIDWORKS CAM

You have the model, now it’s time to make it a reality. To go from design to the physical part you’ll need to machine the components. An easy way to do this is to leverage the power of SOLIDWORKS CAM, the integrated Computer-Aided Machining tool for SOLIDWORKS. Because it’s integrated with SOLIDWORKS, it’s easy to go from model to machining and any changes to the model are instantly reflected in the CAM process.

Now some things are more complicated than just a small hole or straight-line cut. For the more complicated components, we’ll need to turn to the advanced tools of SOLIDWORKS CAM. In this week’s Video Tech Tip we showcase the tab cutting tool.

The tab cutting feature, included with SOLIDWORKS CAM 2020 and above, is a tool that can be used for large cut-outs like circular holes shown above. Manufacturing operations need to have larger pieces of scrap remain attached to the finished product. Tab Cutting in SOLIDWORKS CAM 2020 includes these operations, saving time in your toolpath setup and generation versus manually adding these operations after post-processing.

To see this feature in action, watch the tech tip video as we walk you through, step by step, how to use this feature to automatically create these critical tool paths, and learn how SOLIDWORKS CAM helps you go from model to machining.