Mastercam supports many types of machines, each with a choice of levels of functionality, as well as offers optional add-ins for 4-axis and 5-axis machining.

It also represented a fundamental shift in the way the application was configured. With Version X the application became a true Windows-based application, as opposed to one ported over from DOS. Prior to Mastercam 2017 was Version X that was introduced in 2005. With the release of Mastercam 2017, Mastercam entered the 3rd interface in the product history moving to a familiar Microsoft Office tab format. In November 2018, Mastercam launched, a website content-driven platform for Mastercam users. Mastercam's name is a double entendre: it implies mastery of CAM ( computer-aided manufacturing), which involves today's latest machine tool control technology and it simultaneously pays homage to yesterday's machine tool control technology by echoing the older term master cam, which referred to the main cam or model that a tracer followed in order to control the movements of a mechanically automated machine tool.

Mastercam also offers a level of flexibility that allows the integration of 3rd party applications, called C-hooks, to address unique machine or process specific scenarios.

Mastercam users can create and cut parts using one of many supplied machine and control definitions, or they can use Mastercam's tools to create their own customized definitions. CNC Software, LLC is now located in Tolland, Connecticut. Since then, Mastercam has grown into the most widely used CAD/CAM package in the world. Mastercam, CNC Software's main product, started as a 2D CAM system with CAD tools that let machinists design virtual parts on a computer screen and also guided computer numerical controlled (CNC) machine tools in the manufacture of parts. They are one of the first to introduce CAD/CAM software designed for both machinists and engineers. Founded in MA in 1983, CNC Software, LLC is one of the oldest developers of PC-based computer-aided design / computer-aided manufacturing ( CAD/CAM) software. Mastercam (also MasterCAM) is a suite of Computer-Aided Manufacturing (CAM) and CAD/CAM software applications.

Mastercam software