What part data is stored by CAM Assist?
CAM Assist will temporarily handle your part’s geometry data on CloudNC’s servers during processing, but it does not permanently store your CAD/CAM model or reuse it without permission. The data that is retained long-term is minimal, typically for logging or improving the service (and even that is anonymized). All customer part data is kept confidential and is encrypted during transit to the cloud and at rest on the servers. Essentially, once CAM Assist generates your toolpaths, the heavy geometric data of your part isn’t kept indefinitely – CloudNC doesn’t build a library of customer models behind the scenes. They also explicitly state they do not use your part data to train AI models without consent. So, beyond transient processing and perhaps storing the results for your session, CAM Assist isn’t an archive of your IP.
Why is the storage of part data important in CAM Assist?
This is crucial for intellectual property and security concerns. Machine shops often deal with proprietary designs, and they need to know using CAM Assist (a cloud service) won’t leak their part designs or give CloudNC ownership of them. Knowing that the data is encrypted and stored in secure data centers (with certifications like SOC2, etc.) provides reassurance. Also, the fact that they don’t train the AI on your specific part data means your designs aren’t inadvertently feeding a global model – a concern some have with cloud AI services. It matters in terms of compliance too: if you have NDAs or ITAR restrictions, you need to know where your data goes. In fact, for ITAR, they offer GovCloud as we discussed, meaning data can even be kept in specific regions. The minimal storage approach means if someone wanted to stop using CAM Assist, they don’t have to worry that their old part files are sitting on CloudNC servers – once processed and done, the part geometry isn’t kept hanging around except maybe in an encrypted log form for support/troubleshooting (and even that likely gets purged over time). Essentially, it strikes a balance between using the data to compute toolpaths in the moment and not abusing or retaining that data afterward.
Where can I find official statements or adjust data retention?
CloudNC’s full security FAQ or agreements would outline this. They mention: all data encrypted in transit & at rest, and that they adhere to frameworks like SOC2, Cyber Essentials Plus, aiming for ISO27001. The statement “we don’t train our AI based on any customer data” is a clear indicator that part files are not harvested. If your company requires a certain data policy, you could likely arrange terms or use GovCloud if needed, to ensure compliance. There isn’t a user toggle like “don’t store my data” because by default they don’t store beyond what’s needed to deliver the service. If, for instance, you want them to delete any cached data immediately after, you might contact CloudNC support – but the architecture likely already dumps detailed geometry once toolpaths are generated. The only information that might persist could be summary statistics or usage logs. If you’re particularly cautious, inquire about their data retention period: many cloud services auto-delete files after X days if not needed. Adjusting on your end mostly means deciding if you need GovCloud (for US export-controlled data) – in which case, CloudNC will route your data to that environment. Otherwise, trust their standard cloud which is highly secure. Always ensure you’re using secure connections (the software does that by default) and follow any guidelines they give (like not including sensitive info in filenames, etc., if that’s a concern).
How else could part data storage be known in CAM Assist?
- Data retention policy of CAM Assist
- CloudNC part data security
- Does CAM Assist keep my CAD files? (No, beyond processing)
Related articles to part data storage
- Who can access the part data after upload?
- What does CAM Assist learn from over time? (not from your specific data)
- What is GovCloud? (for special data handling