Production and die machining are fundamentally different.
CAD/CAM for these applications must be fundamentally different.

Most CAD/CAM systems are essentially meant for die machining, with production milling and turning as offshoots. The reasoning behind this is that production machining is very simple and requires little or no programming skills, while die machining requires a lot of programming skills. The truth is that both are equally complex, but the complexities are different.

Production machining	Die and Mold machining
Accounts for 90% of CNC machining	Accounts for 10% of CNC machining
2D profiles and hole positions	3D surfaces
Wide variety of machining operations, each with unique tool path	Small variety : mostly milling of surfaces, pockets
Large variety of tools - 20 in milling, 15 in turning	Small variety, mostly end mills - less than 5
Number of tools in a single part is large - typically 8 in turning, upto 50 in milling	Small number - less than 5
Complex cutting parameters selection	Simple cutting parameters selection
Complex machining process sequencing	Few processes, simple sequencing
NC program has canned cycles and subprograms	Mostly linear interpolation motions
Cycle time is critical	Cycle time is less critical
Cycle time estimation  is done often and is critical	Seldom done, not critical
Documentation is important : process sheet, tools list, cycle time calculation	Not required