Home | Business News | Browse by Publication | M | Manufacturing Automation

FROM THE EDITOR: CAM SOFTWARE MARKET POISED FOR A REBOUND.

Article Excerpt
After several years of declining growth, the market for CAM (computer-aided manufacturing), or NC (numerical control), software edged forward in 2003, reflecting the beginnings of a turn-around in the U.S. and global economy, and increased industrial production in key regions (e.g., the U.S. and Asia, including Japan, China, India). Manufacturing Automation sees clear opportunities for a return to growth in the CAM software market, as key national economies expand; the mold, tool, and die industry experiences more positive business conditions; and the manufacturing sector remains a viable, vital industry and indeed strengthens over the near-term. Furthermore, opportunities for CAM software are being driven by the fundamental, ongoing need to implement innovative manufacturing technologies (such as lean manufacturing) and to consistently achieve greater production efficiency in order to survive and expand amidst increasing global competition and ever-compressed product life cycles.

Increased investment in capital goods is a vital factor in determining whether a manufacturing plant will survive and continue to be viable and prosper.

Although the CAM software industry is mature, it is a vital sector. CAM software allows manufacturers to more efficiently make quality, complex molds, parts and products, boosting their ability to compete and to satisfy customer demands. CAM software helps manufacturers achieve a digital manufacturing enterprise geared toward attaining reduced lead times, enhanced collaboration with customers and supply chain partners, market segment-focused products, lower manufacturing costs, yet improved product quality.

Opportunities for CAM software are affected by such key factors as: the health and growth of the manufacturing industry; the condition of the European, North American, and Asia-Pacific economies; demand for machine tools (particularly CNC machine tools); and the state of the mold, tool, and die industry and the automotive sector, as well as such industries as aerospace, machinery, and consumer products.

The fragmented and competitive CAM software market is expected to experience greater consolidation and mergers and acquisitions going forward. A logical strategy for achieving success in the CAM software market is to target specific, selected markets, and to take steps to ensure that one's CAM software easily interfaces and integrates with the user's overall digital manufacturing solution.

There is a prevailing trend, which is likely continue, toward moving manufacturing of lower-value, mass-produced goods to countries, such as China, that have cheap and abundant labor. On the other hand, manufacturing in highly industrialized countries (e.g., the...

View this article FREE - Now for a Limited Time, try Goliath Business News
Free for 3 Days!