BobCad 21 corrupted parts?

I'm having circles become distorted in BobCad 21 on multiple computers.

I draw a circle. move it around, draw more stuff and them when machined the circle is not a perfect circle but more like the shape of an eye with the horizontal distance longer than the vertical. I go back to BobCad screen and check the drawing and sure enough, it's not a true circle.

Another concern,
Draw a circle,
go to Cam and writ the code,
open new drawing in Cad
in Cad, select the code you just created for the circle,
under "edit", select geometry from NC

What appears in the new drawing is far from a perfect circle, not even close.

This seems to happen more and more if I keep working and modifying a drawing. Kinda like an error keeps getting compounded every time a drawing is changed.

Any similar experiences?

I have never had anything like this happen to me. Been using V21 for several years, now trying to get the hang of V32.

This seems pretty much directly related to the issue in your other post regarding drawing the circles. I probably haven't had V21 on a computer in over a decade, but I recall it was pretty robust back then (I started with V17 or V18, been too long to remember). Of the many versions I've had over the years, it stands out in my memory as being one that I had very little trouble with. At the time, I had a toolchanger that needed a post processor that would send a tool call for the next tool, not the current tool that needed changing since it had a dual head with one getting the tool preloaded. The only software at the time that could automate that was Bobcad, and I had even bought a much more expensive license of OneCNC Mill XP which couldn't output the right code.

The only thing I can suggest is that you may want to start with a fresh installation of the software. Back in the day, I would reinstall Windows XP and all the software I used about once every year or two, often replacing the harddrive with a new one (more for peace of mind in a dusty woodshop environment). Reason was that things did get buggy at some point and the only way to get back to normal was to start over. XP was pretty good as well, but I think the combination of the harddrives at the time, XP and Bobcad just led to problems after a certain amount of use.

I can say it never did anything like that when I was using it. And at the time I was using it daily for jobs that often involved cutting circles. Whatever the cause, it is definitely not normal and reads as a bug to me. Since I know it is not a bug that was there when I used it, it seems more likely to be a bug from a corrupted installation. Hope that helps!

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Originally Posted by mmoe

This seems pretty much directly related to the issue in your other post regarding drawing the circles. I probably haven't had V21 on a computer in over a decade, but I recall it was pretty robust back then (I started with V17 or V18, been too long to remember). Of the many versions I've had over the years, it stands out in my memory as being one that I had very little trouble with. At the time, I had a toolchanger that needed a post processor that would send a tool call for the next tool, not the current tool that needed changing since it had a dual head with one getting the tool preloaded. The only software at the time that could automate that was Bobcad, and I had even bought a much more expensive license of OneCNC Mill XP which couldn't output the right code.

The only thing I can suggest is that you may want to start with a fresh installation of the software. Back in the day, I would reinstall Windows XP and all the software I used about once every year or two, often replacing the harddrive with a new one (more for peace of mind in a dusty woodshop environment). Reason was that things did get buggy at some point and the only way to get back to normal was to start over. XP was pretty good as well, but I think the combination of the harddrives at the time, XP and Bobcad just led to problems after a certain amount of use.

I can say it never did anything like that when I was using it. And at the time I was using it daily for jobs that often involved cutting circles. Whatever the cause, it is definitely not normal and reads as a bug to me. Since I know it is not a bug that was there when I used it, it seems more likely to be a bug from a corrupted installation. Hope that helps!

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Thanks for such an in depth post. I too have been using BC for a long time. seems like it was ver 15 for a short bit then 17..Never cared for any of the versions beyond 21 since they did a total rebuild and I don't like learning new software. I'm sure the latest BC's are great but I just need basic 2.5 D on a pretty basic mill. No tool changer..etc..

I'm not even sure they support V 21 anymore?

I'm almost positive there are no more than one or two people (at most) at Bobcad that were around when V21 was new and I'm pretty sure they don't support it. Not really surprising, my youngest was still in diapers back then and is now attending RIT.

If your machining needs haven't changed since you bought V21, it's pretty hard to criticize sticking with it so long as it keeps working. Personally, the things I get asked to cut get more and more complicated while those designing the components continue to push the boundaries of what can realistically be produced. On top of that, 3d printing has raised those expectations even further. In an environment such as that, you have to stay reasonably current on the software end just to keep up with expectations. In my opinion, that is the main reason to update and not everyone faces those problems.

I know I'm a dinosaur, I just hate learning new software when the "old" software did exactly like I wanted to and fit like an old leather shoe, soft and comfortable. I started with BC 15 back in 2000. They came on board as a sponsor of my fighting robot that did a lot of killing on the TLC channel show "Robotica". We also went on to fight the Britts outside London on a show called "Robot Wars". Not sure the management that I made a deal with will support me anymore so far as a reinstall? As stated, That person probably isn't even there anymore.