Your CAM system is 10 years old. The vendor went out of business. You can't export in modern formats. You've looked at replacing it with new CAM software, and it's £100k+ just to license, plus months of retraining.
Or you could build a bridge.
The Legacy CAM Problem
Legacy CAM systems (Mastercam 2010, old Siemens NX, proprietary shop systems) are great at what they do: they run your machines. But they were built in an era when software didn't talk to other software.
So your CAM outputs:
- G-code files (which your machine understands)
- Maybe a PDF setup sheet
- Sometimes an XML or CSV file with metadata (if you're lucky)
But it doesn't integrate with your quoting system, your CRM, your timesheet system, or your production scheduling software. So you're stuck doing data re-entry: operator reads setup sheet, types job into timesheet, manager manually checks CRM for delivery date.
The Common "Solutions" (And Why They Don't Work)
Replace The CAM
Cost: £50–200k for new software
Time: 3–6 months for retraining and migration
Risk: High. Your operators know the old system. New system might not suit your specific workflows.
Realistic outcome: You spend 6 months and £100k, and your production is slower for a year while everyone learns.
Manual Workarounds
Cost: Basically free upfront
Time: 2–3 hours per day per person doing data re-entry
Outcome: You're paying someone's salary to copy data from one system to another. Forever.
The Better Option: Build A Bridge
Instead of replacing the CAM, build a lightweight integration layer that translates what your CAM outputs into what your modern systems need.
What This Looks Like
Your CAM outputs a setup sheet PDF (or text file). A small script:
- Reads the setup sheet
- Extracts tool list, speeds/feeds, machine type, job ID
- Pushes that data into your quoting/CRM system
- Creates a digital job card that operators see instead of paper
Or:
- Your CAM generates G-code files with metadata in the filename (job#_revision_date.nc)
- A script monitors the folder where CAM outputs files
- When a new file appears, it reads the metadata and logs the job into your timesheet system
- Operator punches in, system shows them the right job automatically
Why This Works
No CAM replacement needed. Your operators keep using what they know.
Cheap. A custom bridge typically costs £3–10k to build, depending on complexity.
Fast. 2–4 weeks to design and deploy.
Low risk. If it breaks, you fall back to manual workarounds (which is what you're doing anyway).
Real Example: Bridging Old Mastercam to CRM
A shop was using Mastercam 2008. Setup sheets were PDFs printed and posted at the machine. When a job finished, the operator manually logged hours into Excel, and someone manually entered that into the CRM the next day.
We built a bridge:
- Mastercam now generates setup sheets as PDFs + a companion text file with job metadata
- A small application monitors the folder where setup sheets are created
- When a new sheet appears, the app reads metadata and creates a digital job card (simple web page)
- Operator scans a QR code on the card, clocks in, and the timesheet system logs it automatically
- At day-end, timesheets sync to CRM (one API call, no manual entry)
Result: 4 hours/week of manual data entry eliminated. Cost: £7,000 one-time investment.
If someone's spending 4 hours/week on data re-entry (at £20/hour loaded cost), that's £80/week or £4,160/year. The bridge pays for itself in 20 months, and then you're just saving money every month after.
What To Ask Before Building A Bridge
1. What does your CAM actually output? Can it export XML, CSV, or structured text? Or just PDF and G-code?
2. Where is the data you need? Is job metadata in the filename? In a PDF? Embedded in G-code comments?
3. What's the bottleneck? Is data re-entry the pain point, or is it something else?
4. How many integrations? Does data need to flow to one system (CRM) or multiple (CRM, timesheet, quoting)?
Answer those four questions, and you'll know if a bridge is worth building.
The Future Optionality
The nice part about building a bridge: you're not locked in. If in 5 years you decide to upgrade CAM, you can adapt the bridge to read the new system's output. Or replace it entirely (now that you know which integrations matter).
You've bought time to make that decision without being forced into it by technology debt.