In my conclusion I meant to say Surfcam and Powermill
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In my conclusion I meant to say Surfcam and Powermill
Well I voted Catia, but it really depends on your Application, Needs, and Over All Machining Capabilities. Meaning 3,4,and 5 Axis Machinery, and what type of Parts you make.
I would say that between Pro-E Wild Fire, and Catia V5 because they have the most options for Machining.
Quote:
Originally Posted by dave1987
I think Edgecam is good for 2D machining and powermill good for 3D
What about VX it is an excellant program and I think you will find it will stand up to all these programs if not even exceed them.
Chad,Quote:
Originally Posted by Chad_Clark
Care to elaborate on that? I saw a demo of VX a few weeks ago, and the Rep was big on the CAD side of it and while it did seem impressive there, he didn't go too far into the CAM side, because it probably wasn't his forte.
What he did show certainly looked interesting though. He said they were adding some toolpaths in Version 13, and that they were adding an algorithm similar to that of Surfcam's Velocity for roughing. It can't be too similar though because of the patent. My software rep has become a dealer for VX because he was looking for a better modeling solution for ease of use and efficiency. He says VX is the ticket. I'm hoping to get a demo disk from him soon. I'd like to see some others elaborate also.
Mastercam
I have been programming 5-Axis Cnc machines for about 5 years. Ive used Licom's Alpha cam; Very user friendly but not the best for 3d or 5Axis, it used some of the same machining strategies as cimatron. Delcam; not bad at all, good for working with solids. Without a doubt the best software to date is Open Minds HyperMill. It makes light work of solids and after spending ten years on Alphacam i felt the migration was easy. It is one of the most comprehensive Cam packages i have ever had the pleasure to work with. Maybe thats why the MacClaren Racing team now use it.
Why isn't that on your poll
Danny
Finecut advanced engineering
There would be a lot to go into and I will do that once the VX forum is added to the CAD/CAM forums. It is an excellant modeler and handles all machining aspects from 2D all the way up to 5 axis machining. What you have heard from your reseller is the truth and there is an obvious reason why he has started to offer VX. It's technology is highend and is continuing to grow.Quote:
Originally Posted by Cammotion
Easy and powerful: SolidCAM
I bought VX for home (£16500) and for work,at the time it looked good, in practice it damn hard to use.although ive had training twice and also my partner we still can't get to grips with the cam side. Depocam has the same CAM functionality and its far less hassle to use. We don't even use the modeler much as the interface is so fiddly i admit that it has a lot more capability dealing with surfaces and patching models up but for ease of use and productivity Solidworks is far better.
I've used Mastercam & Edgecam.
Edgecam takes some time to learn, but I like it better that Mastercam
The code generator (post proc.) program is the best part
Hi, you say it takes time to learn,,,, could you please expand on that. Do you mean days, weeks, months. how long to generate your first useable program that will cut, but not break the tool or gouge the part ?
In my experience, creating a program on any CAM system takes some time possibly several days or weeks depending on the complexity. High quality 3d simulations, combined with a trial and error approach works well with any cam system. You can easily simulate your machining and check for crashes gouges etc...
The best part of Edgecam for me was the ability to get the program to post exactly as I wanted it to. Unless you happen to have a new machine and a CAM package that has the exact post for how your machine is configured, posting a "perfect" program can be difficult. Usually some manual editing is required. Edgecam's Code Generator (post processor) feature is intimidating at first, but it works awesome once you understand how it works.
Nearly every user window in Edgecam has a help button on it. It opens a help window specific with info about the feature you are trying to use.
What kind of parts will you need to program?
Hi Snafu350
Hi Snafu350,
Thank you for this confirmation. Please keep on telling everybody this and they will believe you. From my experience this is also the case of users in the UK. Long prep, long calc time(somtimes no toolpath is generated), lack of good visualisation no graphical toolpath editor, post processor that does not give exactly what you want,
So why do you all keep on saying that this package is the best for 3D, do you not think it is time you changed to a solution that solves all your problems... Yes there is one out there, easy to use, lots of toolpath types to choose from (will cover all your wants without resorting to Macro's or API's) reliable, QUICK, reduced "fresh air cutting". good postprocessor, setup sheets etc. Will work with "family of parts", mirror image part from current part, good cad package included. But you get what you pay for. Buy the cheapest and that is what you get, if you expect a quality solution and good toolpaths, you have to purchase a quality product.
look at my other posts, or on my web page.
:drowning:
Hi Snafo350
Sorry i forgot to say this important thing for you.
I have several customers who have ONE SINGLE license of WorkNC, and they drive multiple machines. One Guy, who will confirm this, at one point drove 21 large CNC mills from ONE license, these mills are running 24/7. for him to read your positng about a 3D program taking days or weeks would have men standing round waiting. He is into press tools manufacture.
Another runs 7 machines from one licence, these are large prototype models in ureal (model board) cutting CATIA models. But for the average engineering company, toolpath generation should be measured in minutes. I remember i went to do a presentation to a prospect who has your software and when we started he produced a stop watch, i asked what it was for, "to see how long you take", i told him i had already finished 1 toolpath, while we were talking about it.... and the second one was 50% through;;;;;;
The stop watch went back in the pocket.
(nuts)
tony
so i take it you find edge cam lacking too
but when it works properly it is good but alter one "modifier" and its a lottery
what happens (in my experience)
just my 2p's worth
Hi Mike, in my experience of meeting lots of users of many systems, the general comment is that there is no other to beat it as a 2D solution, or for use in a production environment. But when they upgrade to 3D it is a totaly different thing,
When you say "modifier" i presume you are talking about a different parameter, ie change the stepover or tolerance or create a new boundary, it is then that things go astray ? is this true for all the toolpaths ???
In my prefered solution you can change anything, even the type of toolpath stratergy, ie a planar finish can be changed to a drilling operation, or a contour finishing can be changed to a parallel pencil trace (approx 40 different types of toolpath, to suit every need imagineable)
:confused:
Hi Tony,Quote:
Originally Posted by Tony the Ferret
You have surely piqued my interest. How, or maybe a better word would be why, would you ever need to change a planar tool path to a drilling operation?
Is contour finishing the same thing as z level finishing? There are so many terms from so many different companies it is sometimes hard to follow all these different discriptions of machining strategies.
Mike
While this is true with Level 3 Mastercam, how would you create a Free Form Wire Frame Tool Path???Quote:
Originally Posted by Tony the Ferret