Part 3 of our What Every Shop Should Know About Choosing a CAD/CAM System goes over the process of hardware selection. Having a computer that expertly runs hand in hand with your software is an essential step to guaranteeing the success of your software’s integration. Hopefully the questions below will help you arrive at the perfect decision for you and your business.
Section 3 – Hardware Selection and Guidelines
Choosing PC Hardware
- Your choice of PC hardware makes a vital difference to the productivity of your CAD/CAM system, and before choosing a computer you will need to ask about the minimum and recommended configurations for the software you are buying.
- The minimum requirements, while still able to run your software, will likely become less usable as the software requirements increase with advancement and release.
- Recommended requirements will generally be more expensive initially, but may prove worth while as the computer ages and the software increases in complexity.
- Ask for the minimum and recommended requirements for:
- Processor Type
- Processor Speed
- Amount of random access memory (RAM)
- Type of graphics card
- Hard disk size
- Minimum required screen resolution
- Operating system and version
- Additional hardware such as HDMI port
- Additional ports such as USB or others for security devices
Choosing a Brand of PC
- Your safest choice is to buy a reputable, name-brand product with a good warranty.
- Buying from an online retailer will generally allow easy access to replacement parts, while buying from a local supplier will afford the knowledge or configuration issues.
- There are ceratin vendors available that produce computers with configurations specific to CAD/CAM and the manufacturing industry. These are well tested solutions to recommended systems requirements and will likely save a lot of time and effort into building a computer from scratch.
All of these questions, as well as their answers, will help you determine which overall computer system is right for your business. Mastercam, the leading CAD/CAM solution worldwide, offers all of its system recommendations online at www.mastercam.com/en-us/Support/System-Requirements. When choosing QTE Manufacturing Solutions you have access to our team of Application Engineers who will gladly help you determine the best solutions for you. Please feel free to contact us and find out if we are a good fit for you!
Stay tuned for the next Section in What Every Shop Should Know About Choosing a CAD/CAM System!
