First of all, “push button” means that with only a few clicks a CAM user can produce one or more machining operations.

The number of clicks required to produce the NC code depends on the level of automation a company decides to build into the system. A certain amount of user interaction is still required to direct the CAM system in what task to perform. Typically, users will start by automating one or two simple tasks and then add more automation as they become more comfortable with the technology.

For each click, the system takes only a few seconds to perform a task that usually takes several minutes for a person to do. But the system does not define the task on its own. The owner of the CAM software provides the system with a set of instructions that tell the application what to do.