Sprutcam 8 worth it?

Hi all,

I've not used my 1100 much these last couple of years, and when I did I used solidworks 2013 and HSMworks. The solidworks license was enabled through work and since I just retired, it is likely to go away at some point. I can't upgrade hsmworks because of the solidowrks 2013 vintage and in any case it's not 3D. So.....when I got my Tormach it came with a Sprutcam 8 license. I have heard that sprut is a little hard to learn, but like most things, once you learn the eccentricities it's no problem. Is it worth my while making Sprut8 my go to CAM package? I own it, but have never used it and I would like 3D capabilities. As to a drawing pakage, if and when solidworks goes away are there any suggestions?

thanks!

Personaly I never liked a subscription software, where you have to pay every year for the privilege of using it and a new update or two..

I use Rhino 4 for CAD, it is a 3D package, buy it once and its yours... educational it was about 150 dollars, full price was at the time about 800 dollars. Rhino was relatively easy to learn as well.

I use Sprutcam 7, it was hard ( for me) to learn but after learning it, it works well and is a 3D cam package.

This is what I have used since 2/1/2012 and am very happy with it.

Sprut 8 may have a leaning curve but once you get it you'll be set. I have been using Sprut since 2008 and all of the revisions up to now. A new CAD would be the inexpensive version of Alibre.

I am still using SprutCam 7 bought back in 2007 along with the Tormach. Also own Solidworks 2010. I also don't like subscription software or software that has you put your stuff up on the cloud. I was using both vintage Solidworks and vintage SprutCAM along with vintage Mach3 today to design and run a part on my vintage Tormach. Both software programs and the Tormach have been long paid for and continue to work just fine for me. I see no reason to put out more money for new software as these programs works perfectly fine. Yep SprutCAM has a steep learning curve but is very a powerful 3D CAM IMO. Search the web the Sprut tutorials for 7 & 8 are still out there although they disappeared from Tormach website. Here is the part I just made a 9" diameter ring with a 782mm diameter curve machined in (remember the manual trepanning this is the same part BUMP). Need to play with the parameters in Sprut 7 to get a better surface finish though it will just take more time with more passes of the 1/2" ball end mill. But Sprut did generate the Gcode for the Tormach with no modification. Vintage SprutCAM , vintage Solidworks, and vintage Tormach still works well for me.

Don

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I see no reason to put out more money for new software as these programs works perfectly fine.

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I mean, I still edit text files with vim, so I really can't argue against that opinion :-)

I have also used sprut for years. As others mentioned it can take time to learn. I use newest version and still find it frustrating. Still not ready to learn free fusion, but cost is compelling. I use iron cad for cad models. Very easy to use , very easy to draw incredibly complex models. Makes the modeling almost fun. I do have to pay to play but find both to be decent tool$ and they make my mill shine as a tool.

Edit
Iron cad innovate module only. Full program cost is 5x

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Originally Posted by jwatte

I mean, I still edit text files with vim, so I really can't argue against that opinion :-)

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Well I don't use FORTRAN IV on 80 column punch cards anymore like I did back in 1971 nor DOS though. However Gcode hasn't advanced that far from it's paper tape beginnings ;-)


Don
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I’ve had my PCNC 1100 since July, 2011 and in order to keep the investment manageable I opted not to buy Sprutcam. I had a seat of GibbsCam that was serving me well.

I used GibbsCam at the last job I had and while I was there I bought a seat of GibbsCam. It was super expensive, but I haven’t regretted my decision for a second.

I’m still running Mach III as well.

I started out with SprutCam 7 and still use it. Because it's taken dyslexic-me a long time to learn how to use it I don't really want to upgrade and have to learn or relearn new features of SprutCam 8.

Several years ago I bought a used laptop computer from a retiring engineer. That laptop had Solidworks 10 on it already so I went about learning how to use that particular CAD software by trial and error and by watching many YouTube tutorial vids. After the same several years of learning how to use the SprutCam7 software I also learned how to use the SolidWorks 10 software as well. The combination of the two are working out well for me now.

I recently signed up for online classes offered by TITANS OF CNC to try to get a better grasp of manual programing. My SprutCam software will occasionally give me tool paths that contain needless moves that I want to be able to change or eliminate. I mention this because as part of the perks of joining this FREE online class structure you can download for free copy of the FUSION 360 CAM software. If you're looking for another CAM software to try out that may or may not have an easier learning curve perhaps FUSION 360 may be what you're looking for.

These online tutorials offered by Titans Of CNC also produces tutorials that show detailed programing using Fusion 360. I don't know if your version of SolidWorks 2013 automatically self-destructs at a certain point in time but if it doesn't it IS compatible with the Fusion 360 software.

Although I was able to download it successfully I've never used it. I didn't really want to go through the process of learning another CAM software; especially when I'm just now getting to where I've figured out enough of my SprutCam software to meet my particular needs.

MetalShavings

So far - and thanks for all the inputs - it sounds like it's worth the effort to try it. I think I found the dongle, little blue thing, doesn't say "sprut" on it, but I guess when I get around to firing it up I'll find out!

I wouldn't tell anyone who’s happy with their tools to stop using them, but if you’re starting from scratch now I cant see why you’d want to start with anything other than Fusion. The Startup license makes it free for hobby or low-end commercial use and there are hundreds of hours of free training videos out there to help learn it. The toolpaths it generates are some of the best of tools I’ve used, though I’ve never had the chance to try something like Mastercam or NX.

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Originally Posted by sansbury

I wouldn't tell anyone who’s happy with their tools to stop using them, but if you’re starting from scratch now I cant see why you’d want to start with anything other than Fusion. The Startup license makes it free for hobby or low-end commercial use and there are hundreds of hours of free training videos out there to help learn it. The toolpaths it generates are some of the best of tools I’ve used, though I’ve never had the chance to try something like Mastercam or NX.

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Fusion makes you put your work on the cloud. No Thanks. Also I own SprutCAM software not borrow the software like Fusion and are at the whim of Autodesk.

Don

I think fusion is only free for 12 months, then it's $500 a year.
Still probably a bargain, but I'm an occasional user and I do own Sprut8 so as long as it's not a total dog (although I am wondering why 8 customers were rolled back to 7 by Tormach) it's definitely the cheaper option.

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Originally Posted by Don Clement

Fusion makes you put your work on the cloud. No Thanks. Also I own SprutCAM software not borrow the software like Fusion and are at the whim of Autodesk.

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I own a cloud SW business (completely different industry) so I think I have a bit more insight into how businesses think about this stuff. The most expensive part of many software businesses isn't R&D, it's sales and service. AD has little to no interest in trying to sell licenses to small-dollar customers because you're spending 85 cents to sell a dollar of license that maybe costs you 30 cents to support. Giving the product away at a basic usage level allows you to identify who the high-value clients are and focus sales on them, while all of us free users get support from Youtube and forums that cost little to nothing.

So it's literally more profitable to give the product away to most users and sell it to a few, than it is to try selling it to everybody. Software is largely cheaper than it has ever been.

As another example, look at Photoshop. In 20 years it's never had a real head-to-head competitor, and for a long time your only legal choice was to pay $800 for a CD. Of course, cracked copies were everywhere, and Adobe largely ignored it since they knew that hobbyists and the odd starving artist were never going to spend a grand on a legal copy. Now that they have Creative Cloud and can check license on every use, they didn't jack the price through the roof--you can get the Photography Pack with Lightroom for $10/month. Again, this is a product that has been close to a monopoly for twenty years, so there's no competition forcing them to keep prices low.

If Autodesk decides in a year or two to charge me $10 a month for an integrated CAD/CAM/CAE/EDA system, I'm fine with that. I understand money is tighter for some but let's be realistic, these are $10-20K machines we're running and most don't think twice about spending $20-$30 on an endmill.

And this isn't even getting into all the advantages... I can run Fusion (or Onshape, which I still like better for solid CAD) on my Mac, and there's no dongles or other weird licenses to worry about. I bought an Alibre perpetual license and over the years that became something I could only run on the ancient laptop it was installed on, and then not even that. And I *love* being able to move a hole or tweak a feature on a model in CAD and just clicking "generate" in CAM and 95% of the time I don't have to do anything else. With separate CAD/CAM products it's easy to end up redoing lots of work for minor adjustments.

Blah, blah, cloud-vs-no-cloud is probably like debating religion at this point anyway, like I said, if your stuff works for you, then make chips and be happy! I however am happy to welcome our new cloud overlords as the hobbyist/small-timer has never had better, cheaper CAD/CAM tools than we have today.

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Originally Posted by widget_maker

I think fusion is only free for 12 months, then it's $500 a year.

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Not true - the Startup License is annual, but can be renewed so long as you still meet the conditions (student/non-commercial/commercial less than 100k/yr sales).

FWIW, Fusion's CAM is based on HSMWorks, so it might well be more familiar to you than Sprut.

Good information, thanks. I guess my decision will be made if my old company realizes I still have access to a solidworks license (albeit 2013). If that goes, then Fusion becomes very attractive.

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Originally Posted by sansbury

Not true - the Startup License is annual, but can be renewed so long as you still meet the conditions (student/non-commercial/commercial less than 100k/yr sales).

FWIW, Fusion's CAM is based on HSMWorks, so it might well be more familiar to you than Sprut.

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Besides being free for many it has a huge following of users. I see endless examples of what people are doing with it. I noticed pp now has a fusion connected probing system also. Sprutcam is just not used by that many people.

I thought the free fusion was very limited on it 4th axis capabilities. Has that changed?
That is one thing I like about SC
Thanks



QUOTE=sansbury;2288178]I wouldn't tell anyone who’s happy with their tools to stop using them, but if you’re starting from scratch now I cant see why you’d want to start with anything other than Fusion. The Startup license makes it free for hobby or low-end commercial use and there are hundreds of hours of free training videos out there to help learn it. The toolpaths it generates are some of the best of tools I’ve used, though I’ve never had the chance to try something like Mastercam or NX.[/QUOTE]

I think there are no limitations, other than you have to renew your license.
There may also be limitations around the advanced online "cloud credit" stuff -- you don't get any of those.

I just set up a simple flowing shape, and rendered a multi-axis "swarf" toolpath, and it seemed to work. (Can't cut it on my 440 of course :-)

If the last Solidworks questionnaire I took is any indication, cloud integration is coming to Solidworks as well. It was very easy to see by the questions they asked that they are concerned about Autodesk and cloud based software.

I used to be in the same boat as many of you. The idea of having anything on the cloud (I still hate that term) was a deal breaker for me. Now I fully embrace it. Anything created in Fusion can be exported to the file format of your choice for backup if that's an issue.

And the community around Fusion is something SprutCAM just can't compete with. I liked Sprut 7 when I was using it, but getting support for questions I had was like pulling teeth. With Fusion, a quick online search for the problem you're having usually yields all the answers you need.

Like Sansbury said, if you're happy with Sprut and Mach, then make chips and smile. But if you're just starting over again, and need options, I'd start looking towards the future now. It's coming.