Beware of BobCad 2007/V22

If you are considering buying BobCad 2007/V22, beware. To give you guys a heads-up, I purchased the software a few months ago and have had nothing but problems. The software is very unstable and crashes repeatedly thus causing downtime and also corupt and unfixable files. It doesn't do what it was sold to do and has many issues running on Vista....We have depended on the software and have lost us thousands of dollars of downtime.....I have asked for a refund and bobcad will not do it and am being forced to hire an attorney for selling me a melon.....They have also had many complaint reported to the Better Business Bureau in Florida..... I wished I knew this before I bought it..

If you want a relaible Cad/Cam software, look-up RhinoCam...It is a little bit more in price but is better and more reliable then Bobcrap.

Sounds like you went through a lot of trouble. May I ask what brand and type of PC you were using to run BCC??

Dell XPS, Dual core processor 2.33Ghz, 2gig Ram, Video Card: 512 Mb Nvidia GeForce Go 7950 GTX, hard drive: 200 GB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive, operating system, Vista Ultimate 32 bit.

Vista seems to be causing a lot of aches and pains for CAD/CAM Softwares. Mastercam, Solidworks, Catia, Pro/E and other major suppliers are only recommending XP SP2.

As for the PC it's self, it looks pretty good for CAD/CAM, but is more suited for Video Games. All you would need to do to change it would be to get a Graphics Card for DCC (Digital Content Creation) OpenGL 2.0 and DirectX9.0 based software.

Sorry you had all this trouble and good luck in your future endeavors.

Hmmm....Running on XP pro and Vista Home basic pretty good for me.

All my systems are up to date on all updates available both here and at the shop.

The laptop is not much but new and the system I built at the shop is pretty good but older hardware.

I can't say why some have so much trouble and others do not but it works very well once the post was modified to what I like.

I have had an occasional glitch (graphics and an error) that causes me to close and reopen the one at the shop (XP Pro) but it lets me save when closing. It does not happen very often though.

That's wierd but it crashes on me all the time and the last time it did, my file would not re-open and my drawing was lost! and in vista, the predator simulation does not work right and causes image tracing and spuratic flickering; and yes I have download the newest drivers and set my graphics to high; however my computer is a "Gaming" Computer and should not have these problems based on it's speed and design.....when I talked to Bobcad about them, they blamed the problems on me, not the software and did not want to help. Come to find out, They do not have one vista system to run there tests on prior to sending out their product....And from reading the forums and BBB, I am not the only person whom has had problems with it.

I have two Dell XPS's one with Vista and the other in XP and I have the same problems....When I loaded the newest upgrade from Bobcad, it caused me more issues.....The bottom line is, I can not use a program that crashes and corupts files. I bought RhinoCam and it is awesome and have not had one issue.

another happy bobcad customer...just wait, they will "fix" the problems and try to sell you v23 in 6 months


thats funny because the salesman that sold me v22 told me i could get my money back if i wasnt satisfied...after trying once and just being put off on tech support, i just dumped the software instead of dealing with them

i got a little bit of crashing, but i didnt make it to the point of figuring out why...i did notice that my other version of bobcad started to act funny and crash after v22 was installed...could be a coincidence, im about to research it and find out why

i actually just started working through rhinocam...i decided to give it a go finally since i like rhino so much

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Originally Posted by Blanshan91

however my computer is a "Gaming" Computer and should not have these problems based on it's speed and design....

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Drivers for gaming video cards are optimised for video games, not CAD/CAM software. Some CAD/CAM companies put out approved video card lists, and gaming cards are seldom found on those lists. But having said that, most high end gaming cards will run most CAD/CAM adequately. Just don't assume they always will.

Re the video card issue, both of my XPS computers, one with Vista and one with XP, I only have the graphic issues on the Vista verison.....but Bobcad says it is not a Bobcad problem, it is a computer problem....So I loaded the Bobcad software on another Vista computer and still had the same problems....Just last thursday, I talked to the head guy at Bobcad and he tols me that Bobcad was built for XP, not vista...which is funny because the salesman told me the opposite...Whatever....I have never had issues like this with any software that I have purchased in the past 15 years and it is not worth the money....I should have know it was junk to come down on the list price and sell it to me for nearly 2K less......but I have learned my lesson.

So far I love Rhino....I upgraded to Vista via a new computer purchase, so I had a choice; 1) purchase the 2008 AutoCad (because drawing in Bobcad is useless) for drawing purposes because it is Vista compatable and then the RhinoCam for my milling, or buy RhinoCad/CAM package and do my drawing and toolpaths in the same software. My worry at first was how long it would take me to draw in Rhino, but the cool thing is, the drawing and commands are nearly idential, unlike BobCad which sucks and slow to draw with and lacks simple tools. I went with Rhino on both the drawing and the toolpath and it has been great....Rhino is releasing a new version in January which I am eager to use. Because it is new, it may have bugs but I know the verison I have now works great with no issues but will give it a try.

This issue with Bobcad and not issuing me a refund have already got me and my attorney looking into the matter. I am compliant with all there terms regarding refund. After reading the forums and the Better Business Bureau reports with there numerous complaints and with bobcad inability to work with people and fix the problems without charging you and not refunding money has pushed me into a legal movement based on principle alone. I will not let them rip people off on junk software. If anyone else has problems like this, let me know!!

FWIW, I have BobCAD V22 on a Dell Precision with XP2. Rhino works great, as do other CAD programs (e.g. Alibre). BobCAD crashes on me about every 4 hours. I've just gotten in the habit of saving every 10 minutes and dealing with it. I knew their software was mediocre on stability & development - and thus made sure I negotiated the best deal I could. I *hope* the software becomes more stable with newer releases, but I have severe concerns about how BobCAD uses the registry & other windows installation functions.

I will say that it's unacceptable that I professionally coded software package is so unstable.

Blanshan, BobCAD-CAM is looking into your situation. As I understand that you have a grievance, I also ask that you do what you can to restrain yourself and try to remain somewhat professional while we examine the circumstances and handle accordingly. Thank you.

CNC Dude

Hey guys,

I would like to make a couple of points:

1) Vista, while it is a decent operating system for home use and some office use, lacks direct support for OpenGL. That is, it runs OpenGL as a Layer in Direct3d and not on its' own.

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Come to find out, They do not have one vista system to run there tests on prior to sending out their product

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This statement is not correct. BobCAD has done testing of the software on Vista (Business Pro), to ensure that the program will open and operate normally and that the dongle is recognized. Not all instances of Hardware were tested, due to the multitudes of configurations available on the market.

2)

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i did notice that my other version of bobcad started to act funny and crash after v22 was installed...could be a coincidence, im about to research it and find out why

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Version 22 or 2007 does not install over or use any of the same files, including dlls, that older version use. In essence, it is not possible for Version 22 to influence the operation and performance of Version 21 or before.

3)

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I can't say why some have so much trouble and others do not but it works very well once the post was modified to what I like.

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Software problems can arise for many different reasons like programs loaded at startup, hardware and drivers, just to name a few.

Blanshan91, I would like to know who you spoke with in support. It seems odd that they would pass the issue off as a user error. Did you log them into the computer so that they could see the problem first hand and were they able to reproduce it?

Regards

Bill,
After looking deeper, I understand that there may have been some Vista issues that were investigated and that are continuously being looked at. However, for the record, it is important that when you post threats and complaints of this nature that you be honest and straight rather than general and slanderous. The majority of your complaints that we have on record have to do with general software usage and indeed training. There is an abundance of training available at all levels of the software in which we can deliver if you would avail yourself to these solutions. Many customers do, and many customers achieve great success. In the future it would be recommended that you post honest and accurate data so as to not mislead the general public that are actually seeking out effective manufacturing solutions.

CNC Dude