he Dietrich's 3D CAD/CAM system works with parametric processes, rather than with mere shaping of volumes. This means that the shape and size of a tenon, for example, can be changed, or even deleted, without effecting the other processes on the beam. All processes are shown on the screen in 3D and in the context of the entire structure. Instead of drawing each beam up piece by piece and hacking the joints and dimensions into the machine yourself, you do your design in 3D and the machine parameters are created while you work. The tools and processes that the machine will use are determined while you create the design. Changes are applied easily and quickly by selecting single processes and editing the parameters. The result is a What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get machine control file for all mayor beam processors.