The CAD/CAM suppliers see this market continuing to grow more integrated and sophisticated as molds get increasingly complex. As technology evolves, CAD/CAM software will show continued advancement in intelligence and automation,

Integration/Automation
Integration and automation are key concepts to the markets future per Genc of Clear Cut Solutions. I am already seeing this today, Companies are tired of trying to force their different technologies to ‘play nice with each other.’ I think that we will see a large push towards integration because of the ability to create powerful automation this way.

I would also not be surprised to see CAD/CAM products become even more intelligent over the next 10 years. I believe that with the improvement of hardware, software will be created that will do some very amazing things. For example, I have seen a mold design software that can automatically create the entire 3-D mold design for simple parts without any actions. This software even includes the 2- assembly drawings, details with full bill of materials.

I think that in the future we will see applications like this be able to handle more and more complicated parts—to the point where the only thing the designer is doing is managing the process. I would also not be surprised to see software products become even more intelligent with regards to manufacturing. For example, as a designer is designing, the software is validating the design for manufacturing based on what your company is capable of manufacturing.

We forecast the continuing acceleration of CAD/CAM solutions in the market,Key points include integrated CAD/CAM solutions, more automation through feature recognition and stored macro procedures, greater utilization of 5-axis technology (for fewer set-ups, fewer processes, and higher quality).

Data exchange will still be an issue—and as a result—open-shape modeling will remain critical and useful for the mold manufacturer. We’ll also see a greater requirement from customers for more automation in designing mold assemblies, and for the tight CAD/CAM integration already found at our company to continue with perhaps an even more seamless transition and more CAM automation with a focus on intelligent machining.

Market Stability
the tooling market show much greater stability, although at a lower level than 10 years ago.The simpler tooling is now made outside North America, and the larger, more complex tooling that is needed urgently will not be moved overseas,

There may even be some reversal of the off-shoring trend as more automation and higher delivery costs, plus increasing wages in the cheap labor countries, reduce the cost advantages of manufacturing overseas. The general trend in CAD/CAM will continue with faster calculation times as computers become more powerful and more automated methods for the design and assembly of molds.

The introduction of faster and more sophisticated machine tools is certain to continue and CAM developers will need to ensure that their software keeps up with these improvements.
improved CAD/CAM systems that generate tool paths based on engagement control will increase the efficiency of machining, lower the cost of making molds, reduce leadtimes and achieve a quick return on machining software investment.

As a result, much of the mold work that U.S. companies outsource to other parts of the world will return to the United States,High global fuel demand will raise prices to a level that will further draw manufacturers away from the economy of outsourcing towards distributed, local production sites. Quality control, security issues and demand for customization will further reverse vertically centralized manufacturing and will increase demand for trained, high-wage workers.

work will come back from what were the lower cost outsources in Asia. The cost to ship, lead times and guarantee of quality will no longer make offshore outsourcing viable,The danger is that in the meantime the resource pool of qualified tool and die makers is diminishing. It will require ‘re-tooling’ of the U.S. manufacturing education programs to keep that pool filled.

Ease of Use
CAD/CAM software will become even more intuitive to learn and easier to use, This is especially important because the industry is losing those old-time journeyman machinists who know by the sound how well the cutting is going,Sadly, in time there may be no one left with 30 years of hands-on experience and a satisfying gut-knowledge of metal cutting. That critical know-how may eventually be transferred entirely to computer code.

The industry will continue to be challenged from different directions,The trend toward mass customization will continue driving manufacturing toward shorter production runs, which in turn will put more pressure on moldmakers to reduce costs and increase the flexibility of the tools they make to support multiple part designs and frequent engineering changes.

Efficiency gains in individual tasks are reaching the point of diminishing return. Productivity improvements in the next 10 years are more likely to come from process improvements: reducing setups (for example, using 5-axis technology), reducing idle time between steps (with 100 percent concurrent engineering being the ultimate goal), no file or format translations, minimizing the cost and time of engineering changes, and greater reusability of components in both design and manufacturing.

Up and Coming
 U.S. moldmakers will continue to be challenged to be competitive in the face of low-cost offshore labor and must continually investigate, invest in, and use the latest and best available technologies in order to continue in business. Possibly in the future, the use of 5-axis machine tools will be required to be competitive, at least for creating molds of a certain complexity and sophistication,Automation requires software. Which software is used, and how it is applied will be the significant differentiator for successful moldmaking companies. Those who economize on software will pay the price later in their processes.