Open SolidCraft above to model the part, then use this page to get it to your machine. People search "SolidCraft CAM" for two different things: CAM as in toolpaths and G-code for a CNC machine, and cams as in the mechanical part that pushes a follower. SolidCraft's answer is different for each, so this page covers both.
Everything here comes from SolidCraft's own documentation and roadmap, linked at the bottom. New to the app? Start with the SolidCraft tutorial.
Short answer: no toolpaths yet
SolidCraft is a CAD program. It does not create toolpaths, simulate cutting or post-process G-code.
The project says so plainly. The documentation's introduction lists what works today (sketching, solid modelling, parameters, components with joints, sheet metal and a small plastic-enclosure subset) and then says surfaces, drawings, CAM and simulation are deferred. The roadmap goes further and lists Manufacture/CAM under "Deferred until further notice", next to mesh, T-splines, rendering, animation, simulation and drawings.
There is no date for it. If you need CAM today, plan on a second program.
How to send a SolidCraft part to CNC
Design in SolidCraft, export, then program the toolpaths in the CAM tool you already use, for example FreeCAD's CAM workbench or a commercial CAM package. Pick the export by the kind of machine:
| Machine | Export | Why |
|---|---|---|
| CNC mill or lathe | STEP (AP242) | Exact solid geometry. SolidCraft writes AP242 with names, colours and the component tree, so each part arrives as itself. |
| Laser, plasma, waterjet | DXF | Sketches and sheet metal flat patterns export as DXF, the usual input for 2D cutting. |
| Mesh-based tools | STL or 3MF | Fine for printing and some mesh CAM, but a mesh loses exact arcs and faces, so prefer STEP for machining. |
A few habits make the hand-off smoother:
- Know what the file carries. A STEP export keeps the component tree, so the CAM program sees every part of an assembly by name. Set up stock and fixtures around the part you are cutting.
- Flat patterns for bent parts. For sheet metal, unfold the part and export the flat pattern as DXF; the flat pattern follows your sheet metal rules (thickness, K-factor, bend radius). See SolidCraft sheet metal.
- Check units. SolidCraft's tools and commands work in millimetres, and STEP carries its units. Still confirm the CAM program reads the size you expect before you set stock and tools.
More on formats, including STEP import from other CAD tools, is on SolidCraft STEP files. For printed parts rather than machined ones, see SolidCraft 3D printing.
The other kind of cam: cam joints
SolidCraft does model cam mechanisms. Cam (joint.cam) is on the ASSEMBLE panel and makes a follower ride a cam as it turns.
How it is set up, per the components and joints guide:
- The cam turns on a revolute joint.
- The follower is either a slider (a translating follower such as a valve tappet) or a revolute joint (an oscillating follower such as a rocker arm).
- The profile is the cam's outline in a plane square to its axis: a closed profile from a sketch in the cam's component, or the cam's own edges, where one click on an edge takes the whole closed loop.
- The follower tip is a knife edge (a point on the cam), a roller of a given radius (typed, or read from the roller's round face), or a flat face square to a slider's line, such as a bucket tappet.
SolidCraft works out the follower's travel over one turn of the cam from the profile and keeps it with the link. Change the cam's sketch, a parameter or the roller size, and the motion is worked out again. Model the follower touching the cam first: creating the link leaves it where it is.
Once the link exists, the cam behaves like any other motion link:
- it drives in Drive Joints and plays in motion studies;
- it works in closed loops, so a tappet can be the piston of a slider-crank;
- it stops at contact sets when parts would pass through each other;
joint.listreports the cam's lift: the follower's lowest and highest values and its rise.
When a cam joint is refused
The guide lists what SolidCraft rejects: a profile that is not closed, a follower line or arm that misses the cam somewhere, a follower that would jump off the profile, and axes that are not square or parallel. If the follower rides the wrong flank, run the cam again with Other side (flip: true in a script).
Scripts and AI agents
Every action in SolidCraft is a command with JSON parameters, so the same cam setup works from scripts, the command line and AI assistants. A cam link looks like joint.cam {"a": camJoint, "b": follower, "profile": {"sketch": "CamSketch"}}, with follower set to knife, roller (plus radius) or flat. The SolidCraft CLI and SolidCraft MCP server run these commands, and motion.export_animation can write the cam's motion as an animated GIF.
What to use when
- Designing a part to machine: SolidCraft for the model, then STEP or DXF into your CAM program.
- Designing a cam mechanism: SolidCraft on its own, with the cam joint and a motion study to check lift and collisions.
- Needing drawings, CAM and simulation in one app: not SolidCraft yet. See how it compares in SolidCraft vs Fusion 360 and SolidCraft vs FreeCAD.
Ready to start? Go back to SolidCraft online and open the app.