Described in the thesis is the overall steps for developing a special purpose CAM S/W system dedicated to a specific application by "renovating" an exiting general purpose CAM system. Such a "dedicated" CAM system has some definite advantages over general purpose CAM systems when NC codes are to be generated for the machining of a specific product type : It is easier to use, namely, NC codes can be generated by unskilled part programmers; it is less error-prone; it is more productive, meaning that it takes much less time to generate NC codes; it may produce higher quality NC codes, meaning that "optimal" process plans and cutting conditions could be imbedded in the dedicated CAM system.
The overall procedure for building a dedicated CAM S/W based on an existing general purpose CAM system is as follows: 1) analysis of the geometric shapes and machining requirements of the "target" product; 2) analysis of the "target" CAM system in terms of its commands, GUI, kernel functions, etc.; 3) identification of user requirements spec.; 4) design of the dedicated CAM system from a user's point of view; 5) design of the internal structure of the dedicated CAM system. A prototype CAM system for a family of speaker forming dies has been implemented on a PC/486 by renovating a commercial CAM system, OMEGA.
