CAM

Use of computers to control production processes; in particular, the control of machine tools and robots in factories. In some factories, the whole design and production system is automated by linking CAD (computer-aided design) to CAM.

Linking flexible CAD/CAM manufacturing to computer-based sales and distribution methods, creating a computer integrated manufacturing system, makes it possible to produce semi-customized goods cheaply and in large numbers. Computers are commonly used to control industrial processes in many industries, from petrochemicals and steel, to electronic engineering and food processing.

cam

Part of a machine that converts circular motion to linear motion or vice versa. The edge cam in a car engine is in the form of a rounded projection on a shaft, the camshaft. When the camshaft turns, the cams press against linkages (plungers or followers) that open the valves in the cylinders.

A face cam is a disc with a groove in its face, in which the follower travels. A cylindrical cam carries angled parallel grooves, which impart a to-and-fro motion to the follower when it rotates.

Cam

A family of mute swans with their young, photographed on a backwater of the River Cam in Cambridge. Swans can expect to produce between four and six cygnets each year.

View of ‘the backs’, Cambridge. The term refers to the lawns and college gardens lining both sides of the River Cam as it flows through the town. Trinity College and the tower of St John's College can be seen in the background.

River in southeast England. It rises in Ashwell, Hertfordshire, and flows 65 km/40 mi northwest and northeast through Cambridgeshire, and then into the River Ouse, 6 km/4 mi south of Ely. The Cam is joined at Hauxton by the River Granta, which rises in Essex, and is known thereafter as either the Cam or the Granta. It is navigable as far as the city of Cambridge.