Mastercam Art

Combining an Artist’s Eye With a Computer’s Ease

Mastercam, the world leader in CAM software* brings its power and experience to artistic relief design and cutting with Mastercam Art. Now you can quickly bring your 2D sketches, clip art, photos, and CAD files to life by crafting them on screen and cutting them with easy, specialized toolpaths. Creating basic 2D art to sophisticated 3D sculpture in minutes, Mastercam Art is the ultimate tool for anyone trying to add that extra sculpted flair to their work.

More Tools for Your Canvas

Sculpt Organic Surface
Art users can now create more sophisticated surfaces and have more control over those surfaces. An organic surface drives through two open contours, with the ability to have a dynamically adjusted cross section (Bezier curve) stretched or scaled between the drive curves. 

B-Spline Dynamic Cross Sections
B-Spline has been added to the dynamic cross section library, allowing you to create a new category of complex cross sections. Many simple and complex shapes can be created with this new cross section.

Move Art Surface Operations in the Art Manager
Use the Up/Down arrows in the Art Manager’s third toolbar to move Art Surface Operations (ASOs) up and down the list. Select the ASO to highlight it, then select the Up arrow to move it up the list or the Down arrow to move it down the list. Regenerate the list when you have your ASOs in the correct position. This will help you in keeping large projects organized.
 
Using Colors and Bold Text
When entering an Art Surface Operation name, you can also select a color or bold the name in the Art Manager. For example, you can name the first operation in a group using blue, bold text, and the rest in that group will be blue. The next group would be assigned a new color. This will make it much easier to manage complex Art projects with many ASOs.
 
Art Shading and Material Mapping Improvements
You can now map materials to Art surfaces, allowing you to show the Art model in the material specified by the customer. You can also simultaneously blend, show material, add reflection, adjust color and opacity, and see them all applied to the model in real time. 

Vertex Buffers
If you have an OpenGL graphics card, selecting the Vertex buffer check box on the Surface Display Options Dialog increases your speed when working on large Art files.

The Process

Mastercam lets you go from "art to part" with a single software package. A simple process takes you from your flat art to a bea

utifully sculpted piece that comes off the machine with exactly the look you want.

Import Art

Bring in clip art, a CAD file, or a scanned sketch or photograph. Mastercam Art converts the artwork into flat, machinable geometry, giving you a basic palette from which to craft your finished model.

If you need ideas to start your project, Mastercam's Classic Art Library gives you 5,000 artistic elements to easily place in your model.

Build a 3D Model

Quickly create a full 3D sculpture from your 2D artwork by picking elements of your flat art. Mastercam "puffs up" the art using a cross-section you control. You can add or remove one section from another, and easily modify the model by eye to make sure it's exactly what you want.

Create a Toolpath

Pick one of Mastercam Art's specialized toolpaths to cut your project. These fast, reliable cut strategies are easily modified, letting you quickly try out a variety of cut techniques for the perfect result.

Machine It On-Screen

Using Mastercam's solid-model verification, you can see an on-screen simulation of your cut part before you put stock on the machine.

Output Code To Your Machine

Quickly create G code for your machine using Mastercam's extensive post processor library.

Combining an Artist's Eye With a Computer's Ease

Mastercam Art puts sculptured 3D artwork within everyone's reach - without the need to be a surface modeling expert. You quickly shape and change your model on-screen until it looks just the way you want it. Art has great visualization tools and instant editing features, including dimensional and non-dimensional input options.

Save your knowledge

It's common to re-use your creation settings on various jobs. Mastercam Art lets you save off your favorite combinations, ready to be used again in an instant.

Quick Creation

Mastercam Art's power is its abilit to create complex organic surfaces with a few simple clicks. Once you have selected the basic outline of your project, you can quickly "puff it up" by applying a cross-section to it. You can create your own, or use a dynamic cross-section from the included library.

Easy Refinement

You choose to refine your cross-section shape "by eye" through clicking and dragging control points on the graph, or with mathematical precision by entering values.

Sculpting Options

Mastercam Art's various application styles let you add, subtract, intersect, and blend multiple organic shapes. You can test a variety of dramatically different looks by simply choosing various application styles for each shape.

Beginners can create their first complex models by defining shapes from clipart or their own scanned artwork. Experienced CAD/CAM users have a full range of modeling tools to create even more sophisticated pieces. And in all cases, Mastercam Art tracks your model step by step, allowing quick and easy modifications any time you want.

Rough Model Gets Precise With a Single Click

Model using a "quick" screen resolution for fast redraws and experimentation. You can boost the resolution at any point to get a crisp model with as much detail as you need.

Experimentation Made Easy

Quickly undo and redo your modeling steps, ensuring that your model is always flexible and you can go back to previous versions.

Stack It Up In Minutes

Artistic Tools

From Picture to Sculpture

Mastercam Art delivers powerful, easy, artistic tools, including the ability to create a 3D model directly from a digital image. Scan in a photo, and Mastercam Art will create an organic, sculpted piece using the highlights and shadows as guidelines for height.

Textures

Adding a textured or patterned surface to a model significantly increases the detail, level of intricacy, and thus the perceived value. Mastercam Art automates this process. Simply select the boundary to fill and then select a texture. Each texture has illustrated parameters for easy customization. You may also make custom textures from raster or bitmap images.

Wrapping

Mastercam Art lets you wrap your art on a cylinder and cut it. Enter your cylinder dimensions and Art will automatically create an unwrapped cylinder for you to create on. Next, create your design and Art can wrap it up for you so you can visualize it in the round. Apply your toolpath and cut it on your 4-axis machine.

Single-click Mold Creation

After you've created your "positive" model, you can convert it into a mold with one simple mouse click. It can also automatically reverse your text.

Instant Editing/Save Your Knowledge

Track your project step by step with Mastercam's Relief Manager. You can instantly adjust, reorder, or edit each element, letting you put the finishing touches on your project and giving you complete control. Hide and show elements for fast design changes.

Toolpaths

Once you've modeled your project, Mastercam Art gives you a wide variety of cutting techniques to ensure the part comes off the machine exactly how you imagined it.

Accuracy and Speed

Mastercam Art's toolpaths are created specifically for accurately machining artistic surfaces. Built with an eye toward speed, these toolpaths give you machine-ready results - usually in seconds.

Pick the Perfect Technique

Mastercam gives you a powerful set of techniques and strategies to fit every project. Roughing toolpaths use big tools for quick stock removal, while finishing toolpaths use smaller tools to pick up the detail. You can choose ball, bullnose, flat, and a variety of taper cutters.

Machine at the Resolution You Need

Mastercam Art starts with a clean "canvas" to which you add your art. These canvases can easily be combined into a single project, letting you model highly detailed work on a "high resolution" canvas section and looser work on a "medium resolution" section. This can dramatically speed your modeling and programming time. You can also put these canvases on different machining planes for added flexibility.

Save Your Knowledge

Mastercam's Operations Manager lets you edit your cut strategies at any time, and generate a new toolpath with a single click. You can also save off successful sets of strategies, and apply them quickly to future jobs.

See it Before You Cut It

See what your part will look like when it comes off the machine with Mastercam's solid-model toolpath verification. Watch the part being cut on-screen, and inspect it by rotating and zooming in on any detail.