Wood: automatic machining of wooden, plastic and composite parts

Preparation and automatic machining of parts for routing of wood and non-metallic materials

Wood is a CAM module that works with the Almacam Routing software. It is dedicated to routing and milling of soft non-metallic materials, in particular wood, plastics and composites.

Wood is completely independent from CAD. It can automatically machine any part, according to the possibilities and available tools of the CNC routing machines, and can therefore manage a large variety of CNC machines.

This module is ideal for producing small or medium batches of extremely varied parts, e.g. for interior design work in yachts or recreational vehicles.

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Main advantages and benefits

A universal module making it possible to handle parts designed using different CAD software products.

Considerable time savings when preparing parts thanks to geometric recognition of 3D CAD parts and automatic assignment of machining operations.

Automation reduces the risk of error when preparing a part to zero.

This tool can be used for any manufacturing process (nested parts, single parts, “top side” and “down side” machining, edge machining).

Easy configuration and customization capacities making it possible to apply different machining strategies depending on customer know-how and specificities.

This tool supports you in your industrialization process and facilitates launching of new product ranges or prototypes, since there is no limit to the variety of parts that can be machined.

Product overview

The Wood module makes any 3D CAD-designed part machinable, no matter which software is used. To do this, it uses functions that enable geometric recognition and automatic assignment of machining operations and tools.

Wood recognizes any type of machining: routing, grooving, countersinking, pocketing, chamfering, counterboring, surface finishing, drilling, etc. The software takes account of the technical capacities of the machines and tools available when assigning the machining operations.

Wood can be used to prepare parts whether they are going to be nested and then routed, or machined singly.

This module is also used to manage different manufacturing processes:

  • routing of nested parts followed if necessary by additional machining of individual parts (edge machining);
  • “down side” or “top side” routing of nested parts, followed by additional machining on individual parts.

Benoit Mériau
Industrial IT Director, Beneteau Group

“The Beneteau Group chose Alma as early as 1990 to optimize the cutting of the wood parts used for the partitions and inside arrangements of boats. In order to homogenize our production means, today we use act/cut to program the routing machines of 4 production sites in France and the United-States. The software manages a great diversity of machines and processes: one-sided or double-sided routing of nested parts, edge machining and specific operations on single parts, routing one panel after the other or routing of stacked panels, machining on both sides of the panel… In 2009 the introduction of the module that enables us to directly and automatically assign machining to 3D CAD parts has significantly simplified the preparation and assignment of the parts to the machines.”

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