How CAM Connect works
How CAM Connect carries tool data into your CAM software and programs back into Tooling Metrics, and why both directions matter.
When a CNC programmer selects a tool and sets cutting parameters in CAM software, those choices are the ground truth — they are what the machine will actually run. Without integration, those choices have to travel from the CAM program into Tooling Metrics by hand: someone reads the program, types the tool numbers and parameters into a separate system, and hopes nothing is transcribed wrong. CAM Connect eliminates that step entirely.
What CAM Connect does
Section titled “What CAM Connect does”CAM Connect connects Tooling Metrics to CAM software in both directions.
Outward: The engineer generates a tool library export in Tooling Metrics. CAM Connect delivers this to the CAM software as a ready-to-use tool library — every tool assembly with its full ISO 13399 parameters, geometry, and connection codes. The programmer starts their CAM session with Tooling Metrics tools already loaded, not a blank library.
Inward: After programming is complete, the programmer exports the setups back to Tooling Metrics via CAM Connect. Tooling Metrics receives the full project structure automatically: every setup as a Job, every toolpath as an Operation, every tool assignment linking back to the exact tool assembly the programmer used, and the actual cutting parameters from the CAM program.
Why bidirectional matters
Section titled “Why bidirectional matters”Export-only integration — where tool data flows one way into CAM — solves half the problem. It avoids manual tool setup in CAM. But it leaves the return trip manual: after programming, someone still has to reconcile the CAM output back into Tooling Metrics.
Full bidirectional integration means the CAM program is the engineering record in Tooling Metrics. There is no reconciliation step and no second entry point where errors can creep in. The spindle speed in the NC program and the cutting data in the Setup Sheet are the same number because they came from the same source.
Authentication
Section titled “Authentication”CAM Connect authenticates using your Tooling Metrics API token. The token identifies the user. Each user has their own token, so the CAM software works with that user’s access, and tool library exports and project imports are attributed to the correct user. To create your API token in Tooling Metrics, click your avatar at the bottom of the sidebar → Setting → API Tokens tab.
Supported CAM software
Section titled “Supported CAM software”- Autodesk Fusion — See Connect Autodesk Fusion for setup and usage.
More integrations are in development. If you use a different CAM software, contact support to request it.
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