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Educational Suite

Our CAD/CAM software solutions are bundled and priced at deep discounts for schools to incorporate the world’s leading CAM software into their curricula—with all the functionality of the industrial versions of these products included in the Mastercam Educational Suite.

Teachers appreciate the flexibility to teach everything from introductory lessons all the way to advanced CAM applications. Whether you want to briefly expose students to computer-aided design and manufacturing, enhance STEM education programs, or prepare students for careers in manufacturing with hands-on instruction, you can do it all with this software.

Mastercam Educational Suite includes:

Mastercam skills prepare students for rewarding careers as makers and innovators Shaping the Future of Manufacturing™.

Mastercam is the most widely used CAM software in the world.* This makes our educational solutions a valuable addition to the curriculum of any technical education program. If you want to prepare your students for successful careers in manufacturing, get them started with Mastercam in the classroom.

  • #1 installed seats in education
  • #1 installed seats in industry
  • Largest network of support
  • Curriculum for all levels

*CIMdata 2019

Features

Dynamic Motion™

Extend tool life with proprietary toolpath strategies that maximize material removal rate and reduce cycle times.

Accelerated Finish™

Take advantage of innovative profile tools and processes aimed at greater efficiency and higher machining productivity.

Advanced Toolpaths

Reduce costs and cut programming time with advanced toolpaths like Deburr and Equal Scallop.

Powerful CAD

Open any CAD file in Mastercam to access modeling and prep tools for CAM programmers to get parts on and off machines quickly.

Machine Simulation

Detect collisions between your stock, tool, and machine components before sending code to your machine tool. Machine Simulation is a safe way to prove out 3-axis, 4-axis, or 5-axis Mill (or Router) toolpaths to make clean, efficient, and accurate programs.


System Requirements

See the table below for minimum and recommended system configurations for Mastercam. These recommendations are based on systems we have in use at CNC Software for testing and evaluation purposes. Our recommendation is to get as much power (processor, video card, and memory) for your systems as you can afford.

MinimumRecommended
OSWindows 10 or Windows 11 64-bit ProfessionalWindows 10 (version 20H2 or later) 64-bit Professional
ProcessorIntel® or AMD 64-bit processor, 2.4 GHz or fasterIntel i7 or Xeon® E3, Kaby Lake or later, 3.2GHz or faster
Memory8 GB32 GB
VideoOpenGL 3.2 and OpenCL 1.2 support with 1 GB memory. No onboard graphics.NVIDIA Quadro® or AMD FirePro™ / Radeon Pro card with 4 GB (or higher) dedicated memory.
Monitor1920 * 1080 resolution1920 * 1080 resolution, dual monitors
StorageSolid State Drive (SSD) with at least 20 GB free and a USB 2.0 reader (for installation media)NVMe Drive with at least 20GB free
3D Mouse3Dconnexion 3D mouse

Operating Systems

CNC Software continues to review the operating system (OS) requirements for Mastercam with a goal of providing the best possible user experience for our customers.

We recommend using Windows 10 (version 20H2 or later) or later 64-bit Professional editions. While Mastercam may run on other Windows editions (such as Home Edition) or virtual environments (such as Parallels for Mac), it has not been tested on these configurations and is therefore not supported.

Mastercam 2021 was the last release to officially support Windows 7 as Microsoft ended extended support for the OS in January 2020. Mastercam 2022 will install on Windows 7 systems but will not be supported. Future versions of Mastercam will not install on Windows 7.

Processor

The processor speed will impact how fast the software will calculate and complete tasks. With each release, more and more aspects of Mastercam are becoming multi-core processor aware. Toolpath calculation and Simulation will generally run faster with a multi-core processor. We typically see a 50% reduction in toolpath calculation time with the latest Intel i7 or Xeon processors.

Memory

When Mastercam uses all available RAM, it switches to using virtual memory space, which is stored on the hard drive and will dramatically slow the system down. We recommend a minimum of 8 GB of memory. For large toolpath generation and simulation, we recommend 32GB of RAM.

Video

When purchasing a new computer for Mastercam, one of the most important component is the video card.

We recommend an NVIDIA Quadro® or AMD FirePro™ / Radeon Pro card with 4GB or more of memory. Other graphics cards can be used, but they must offer full OpenGL 3.2 and OpenCL 1.2 support. OpenCL is required for Mastercam to be able to hand off certain computation tasks to the graphics card to increase system performance.
We do not recommend or support the use of onboard graphics found with some PC configurations. These do not generally have the capability to drive graphics intensive applications such as Mastercam and can lead to system instability.

Make sure you are using up-to-date drivers from your card manufacturer. We often see issues that are resolved with updated video drivers. The driver version can have a great impact on how the card performs.

The latest drivers for NVIDIA and AMD can be found at the online links. We recommend using the automatic detect feature to detect which video card is installed. More information on configuring the graphics card can be found at this Mastercam knowledge base article.

Monitor

Most of our internal systems utilize dual monitors and we find this to be a more productive setup. Mastercam displays on the primary monitor while applications such as Mastercam Simulator, Code Expert, or Tool Manager display on the secondary monitor.

The minimum recommended resolution for the primary display is 1920 * 1080 resolution typical of widescreen monitors available today. Mastercam will run on lower resolution screens but beware of potential sizing issues with larger dialog boxes and panels which may be awkward to work with. Lower resolution monitors may work fine as a second monitor in a dual screen setup.

Mastercam will run on large format displays, including 4K monitors and high-DPI devices however, we do experience some display issues with these configurations.

Storage

We have found that one of the best computer upgrades is to invest in a NVMe drive. These drives are now priced at a point which makes them a good investment. Many of our test systems employ a smaller primary NVMe drive for the OS and installed applications with a second large capacity conventional drive for data.

3D Mouse

A 3D mouse improves the way you interact with your 3D application. It is designed to be used by your non-dominant hand in tandem with a standard mouse for a balanced and cooperative work style. You gently manipulate the 3D mouse’s controller cap to simultaneously pan, zoom and rotate 3D content while your standard mouse is free to select menu items or parts of the model. Additional technical and purchase information can be found on the 3Dconnexion website.

Anti-Virus Software

Most computers today have some kind of anti-virus software to protect from unwanted malware. In some cases, these have been found to interfere with applications such as Mastercam which are running on the computer. CNC Software does not recommend specific anti-virus products, but if you see unexpected issues, it may be a conflict with anti-virus software. Try temporarily disabling the anti-virus software or setting an exception for Mastercam.

 

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Case Studies

asnuntuck machine setup demo Education

Asnuntuck Community College

Founded twenty years ago, Asnuntuck Community College’s Advanced Manufacturing Program in Enfield, Connecticut, has become a major source of employees for the state’s many manufacturing companies. With the employer-employee relationship becoming a two-way street for the students, involved manufacturers have been supplying the school with both curriculum basics and shop equipment to ensure a steady flow of skilled people into the workforce.
ATC machining technologies students Mill

ATC Machining Technologies

Known in the Coconut Creek, Florida, community as ATC, the combined facilities of Atlantic Technical College and Technical High School are using the teaching of Computer-Assisted Design (CAD) and Computer-Assisted Manufacturing (CAM) to propel interested students toward rewarding careers in today’s world of factory automation. Kevin Finan, Instructor in the Machining Technologies Program, has worked in automated manufacturing plants both in Europe and America and brings a host of practical experience to the school.

Mastercam Community

When you choose the world’s most widely used CAM, you gain benefits beyond the technology driving our software. Our global community of Mastercam users, experts, educators, and enthusiasts helps you get the most from your investment.


FAQs

If you want to learn CAD for free, you may find training opportunities through local community programs and various online platforms. Mastercam University is a great place to get started, but you should eventually seek hands-on training using CNC equipment. This may be accomplished through on-the-job training or at an educational institution, such as a technical or community college.

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Mastercam Educational Suite is not free, but it is a cost-effective option for educational institutions to teach students to use the CAD/CAM software they are most likely to encounter when they enter the workforce. Mastercam Demo/HLE is a free download available to anyone interested in learning the software, and courses on Mastercam University are also available to help students get started. The Learning Edition enables practice using Mastercam for free, so you can design parts and apply cutting strategies, but it will not produce G-code.

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Mastercam Demo/HLE is a free download available to anyone interested in learning the software, and courses on Mastercam University are also available to help students get started. The Learning Edition enables practice using Mastercam for free, so you can design parts and apply cutting strategies, but it will not produce G-code.

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Yes, you can learn CAD/CAM online. Mastercam University is one option—but at some point, you will want to have hands-on training using CNC equipment to produce parts. You may also find online and in-person training opportunities hosted by your local Mastercam Reseller. Other options to learn CAD/CAM include online and in-person training from providers like Streamingteacher, camInstructor, and numerous technical and community colleges

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The best online CAD/CAM course is going to vary based on your individual goals and needs. If you want to learn CAD/CAM for a specific job, choose a course that teaches the software that the potential employer uses. If you want to learn CAD/CAM for more universal employability, Mastercam is the most widely used CAM software in industry, so it may be best to choose an online CAD/CAM course that teaches Mastercam.

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Try Mastercam for free

Get your free copy of Mastercam Learning Edition today!