Student using Mastercam HLE

Mastercam Demo/Home Learning Edition (HLE) is free CAD/CAM software download for demo and educational purposes. It is a trial version of Mastercam that can be used to learn at home.

Whether you are an industry professional, student, or teacher, if you are looking for a way to get more familiar with CAD/CAM software, Demo/HLE delivers the full suite of Mastercam with few restrictions.

  • CAD/CAM Demo/HLE does everything but post G-code.
  • Files are saved in EMCAM format (not compatible with industrial versions of Mastercam).
  • Post processors are not included or supported.

Mastercam Demo/HLE can be used to create geometry and then program the geometry using Mastercam toolpaths. The results can be verified visually, but they cannot be exported to control a CNC machine tool.

  • Stay up to date with the latest version of Mastercam.
  • Full 3D CAD modeling.
  • Context-sensitive help available from all dialog boxes.
  • Robust 2D through Multiaxis cutting strategies.
  • Explore Mastercam products including Mill, Lathe, and Router.
  • Intelligent, stock-aware toolpaths.
  • Complete tool library and custom tool support.
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Get your free copy of Mastercam Demo/HLE today!

Features


Demo Icon

Free Trial

When a new version of Mastercam is released, simply uninstall your current Demo/HLE and request a download of the most recent software, so you can keep up with the latest features and functionality.

Accelerated Finishing logo

Accelerated Finishing™

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

Solidworks

Mastercam for SOLIDWORKS®

Get familiar with a powerful combination of the world's leading modeling software and the world's most widely used CAM software.


Advanced Toolpaths

Reduce costs and cut programming time
with advanced toolpaths like Deburr and Equal Scallop. Extend tool life with proprietary Dynamic Motion™ toolpath strategies that maximize material removal rate and reduce cycle times.


Valuable Experience

Build your expertise using the CAM software that more schools teach—and more professionals use—than any other.*


Full Access

Whether you want to see if Mastercam has the tools you need for your business or you want to practice Mastercam at your own pace and learn on your own time, the free Demo/HLE allows you to explore a comprehensive software package.

*CIMdata 2019

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.


Minimum Recommended
OS Windows10 64-bit Professional Windows 10 (version 1903 or later) 64-bit Professional
Processor Intel® or AMD 64-bit processor, 2.4 GHz or faster Intel i7 or Xeon® E3, 3.2GHz or faster
Memory 8 GB 32 GB
Video OpenGL 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.
Monitor 1920 * 1080 resolution 1920 * 1080 resolution, dual monitors
Storage Hard drive with at least 20 GB free USB and/or DVD drive (depending on installation media and licensing method) Solid State Drive (SSD) with at least 20GB free
3D Mouse
3Dconnexion 3D mouse

Connection to Internet and email is recommended for installation, support, and updates.


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 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 X7 MU2 was the last release to support Windows 7 32-bit OS.

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 memory. For large toolpath generation and simulation, we recommend 32 GB 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 4 GB 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.

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

The majority of our internal systems utilize dual monitors and we find this to be more productive. A second monitor allows applications such as Mastercam Simulator, Code Expert, Tool Manager and other applications to run on the secondary monitor while Mastercam utilizes the primary 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 some display issues with these configurations.

STORAGE

We have found that one of the best computer upgrades is to invest in a Solid State Drive (SSD). These drives are now priced at a point which makes them a good investment. Many of our test systems employ a smaller primary SSD 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.

ANTIVIRUS SOFTWARE

Most computers today have some kind of antivirus 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.

Add-Ons


Case Studies



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.

  • Online and local training
  • Network of innovation
  • Educational resources
  • What's New documentation for Mastercam and Mastercam for SOLIDWORKS®

Please contact a local Mastercam Reseller for additional information and expert advice about products and services to meet your exact needs.