[Fadal Error]

Lol... It's been well over a year since the last release??????? "Updates" are free as the version goes....

You know as well as we do that V22 was very buggy and rather than work out the bugs, V23 was released. Now V23 users are left hanging with software that still has bugs while V24 is coming out.

It really comes down to the old adage, "You get what you pay for."

I have come to believe that Bobcad is good software for the money, but it does not do what it is claimed to do. There are specific examples in this thread that show that Bobcad sales people over-promised and under-delivered.

I would hope that honest reviews of the product, such as these, would be available to potential customers.

[BurrMan]

You know as well as we do that V22 was very buggy and rather than work out the bugs, V23 was released. Now V23 users are left hanging with software that still has bugs while V24 is coming out.

There you go again with stating what you dont know!!! I DONT believe that about V22.... I had it loaded until only about a month ago when I got rid of the computer it was on... I could do pretty much anything in it that I needed to do, short of the new features that were added to the toolpaths! The initial release caused problems, but by the last build, it worked.. I proved that many times to these types of posters that are going on here today..

Everytime BobCad comes out with a new release, there are a couple threads like this where some people who have NEVER been in the forum, and most arent even users of the software, want to do their little "badmouthing"...

It is really pathetic.

I would hope that honest reviews of the product, such as these, would be available to potential customers

What a joke... A few guy's who feel jerked somehow, and your all over the "honest reviews!!!!"

A couple months ago, I was apologizing as you were saying that I "shut you down"... I felt maybe I didnt give you a chance.. But after sitting back and watching, it's clear to me now... You are not looking for any type of resolve, and your motive is just to come in the forums and post "how disappointed you are that "BobCad doesnt wortk!!!" It's continuous and shows you for what you are...

Doesnt work for YOU!!!!!! Hmmmm.....

And next you want to lay out your diatribe of Some little "Particular" that you cant get it to do..

I dont have GOUGING.. I can enter and exit the parts wherever I want! I cut Very complex surfaces with it..

You see, I know how to setup my BOUNDRIES properly.. You think it should work the way that YOU want it to..... Any fool knows this is NEVER the case!

This pretty much goes for all the whiners here in this thread.

[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pwd-Kn1RKiE"]YouTube - green day-time of your life en vivo (live)[/nomedia]

Good ridance to you!

[Ron Dunn]

Gee, BurrMan, if you were down at Jonestown you'd have been right at the front of the line, chugging the kool-aid before anyone else could get to it ... all those people would have been SAVED!

Seriously, do you believe that ALL the complaints about BobCAD ... the sales practices and the software ... that we've heard over, and over, and over, and over, for YEARS ... do you believe they're all made up by one or two disgruntled customers????

It isn't just this forum. Go to any forum related to CAD/CAM and type in "BobCAD". Assuming it isn't BobCAD's own forums you'll find more complaints than credits.

How do you explain the fact that this appears to be the most complained about software and company in the CAD/CAM field? Goblins and pixies making mischief???

[segengineering]

Hi everyone,
This all seems to be getting into a lets slag BobCad off debate.

Well in genral BobCad works, yes there are a few flaws, yes the are some areas that need to be improved, but all in all it works !

The main areas of concern would seem to be the sales department at Bobcad, if senior people at BobCad can't or won't get these people sorted, or retrained, or even in perhaps some extrem cases fired, then all these forums will continue to Slag the product off.

I think that if it wasn't for a lot of the misleading sales, then most people would be happy with what they have got from Bobcad.
My big issues is the lack of DONGLE licensing for V24, all the portability of BobCad as gone, for a small shop owner thats a real big problem.
People say you can Deaurthorize V24 and move it to any other PC, but you try it on a Friday afternoon, so that you can load it at home to use over the weekend, then move it back to the shop on Monday morning, its impossible.

If we want things to change, then let everyone here, email BobCad Support, everyday, if they are in undated with emails all asking for DONGLE Licensing, and better sales people, they may get the message. If you can't be bothered to email BobCad, then why moan to us on here. I can't change BobCad by you posting on here but maybe we can together if we email BobCad support.

Thanks for reading, I do hope we get together on this and try to get things changed

[GaryCorlew]

I have Bobcad and it works OK for me. It is different from any other cam program I have used which made it more difficult to get used to. I bought mill, lathe, and art, although I only use lathe. I have messed around with mill and art some but not enough to be proficient with them. I did not buy ver 22 because of all the problems I had read about it, I have ver 23, at first threading was wrong it would way deeper than it should have, and I junked the very first part I tried to do with it right in front of a customer!. Being new to Bobcad I should have looked at the Gcode and verified it was right, but I just assumed it was right, I was making a 7/8-9 thread and I stopped the lathe when I saw that the top of the thread was razor sharp rather than having a flat on the top. I complained about it and they told me that I should buy support and they would solve the problem, they were trying making me think that it was the way I was doing it rather than a software problem, I knew different because I know how to calculate the proper depth. I told the woman they were nuts! I was not going to pay support to fix an obvious math error in their software! Anyways after a couple of fixes put out by Bobcad they had unlocked the crest height so I could type it in myself which sort of solves the problem and at least now when I post the code I know its right and that makes me a happy camper! I have not upgraded to V and probably will not because of finances, Surprisingly Bobcad has not been calling me and hounding me, well maybe they have but when someone calls me if they do not put their name out on the caller ID then I do not answer.

[TheBigJW]

I had V23 for a while w/ the dongle license...learned how to use my CNC VMC with it...I paid $500 on ebay for it and for what I needed, I was happy with its capabilities for what I needed at the time....

Recently I decided to upgrade to a plugin that ran in Solidworks in order to save time in toolpath edits after model edits...I was evaluating a few packages, including BobCAD Pro V1... At first glance, it looked pretty sweet....it looked the same as V23 and ran in Solidworks - very cool right? After testing for a few days, I was somewhat happy, but also not close to being ready to make a decision.... I received a phone call and was told I could get 2 licenses at $1250....seemed like a good deal - 2d and 3d capabilities for under $1500....to good to be true....but I didn't want to make a decision that day...no issues...I told them I would call if I decided on their product...

The next day I got another call - $1,000 if I bought that day.... I fell for it...

2 days later, I found that I couldn't use simple Solidworks features to cut 2D pockets easily - I had to go create more sketches, and do some fudge work on the model to get simple pockets to run tool paths....additionally I had one model w/ 6 pockets in it - no matter what I tried, BobCad would only recognize 4 pockets - even if I selected them individually... I had tech support log into my machine -their answer - "wow, this is a first...we dont know what the problem is".... Needless to say, I was refunded within an hour....I consider myself lucky...

I ended up looking into higher end packages - it seems like there is a lot of time wasted in trying to make lower end packages work, so I bit the bullet and evaluated MasterCAM X5 for Solidworks, and HSMWorks... I went with HSMWorks in the end, and am extremely satisfied thus far.

You really dodged a bullet there with X5 dude. Good call.

John

[MBX5]

Wow this thread is starting to get nasty....

Well before I get flamed for bashing Bobcad I want to add to my post - I believe that you get what you pay for....and for the money I think V23 was a good package.... I haven't used V24 so I can't say anything about it... My experience with V1 Pro for Solidworks ended up in me switching to another package - the issues I had were real....the experience I had with sales was real...I normally dont fall for high pressure tactics, but I did this time...

If BobCad fixes some of the "bugs" that I found in my case in V1 pro, they are on the right track in my opinion...inexpensive plugin for Solidworks with 3D capabilities - good stuff.... The program flow was just like what I had in V23.... There were just some issues with simple geometry selection that in the end made me choose something else... Could I have "gotten by" with it - possibly with some changes to how my model features were constructed from the beginning in the SW tree....was it still worth $500 per license - maybe... In my case I didn't want the hassle with work-around in my solidworks models so I went elsewhere...

[johnmac]

I'm not trashing BobCAD for bugs in the software. I figured that came with the price, and accepted that. I am though, disappointed that the software I chose has a reputation for the sales tactics that BobCAD has. I don't mind cautioning potential buyers of what they may be in for.

If you go to other cad-cam forums, is there the same level of complaining about the company as there is about BobCAD?

John

[Fadal Error]

Never mind. I'm bailing out of this thread.

[mcphill]

Let me start by saying that the general sales practices at BobCAD suck. So what? Get over it... Make it work for you.

I have used BobCAD for several years now. It does everything I need it to. I cut molds and complex 3D objects, create toolpaths for several customer's machines, etc. I don't feel I was lied to at all. Is it flawless? No. Can I make it do what I want? Yes. That said, it DID actually take some effort on my part (Oh gosh! I had to learn something!) in order to use the software properly.

BobCAD, like ALL SOFTWARE, has bugs. Did you know even your OS has bugs, can you believe that Microsfot stopped selling Windows 3.1 and made people upgrade to Windows 95 and STOPPED SUPPORTING 3.1?! The horror! They wouldn't even give them a new copy of 95 if they had bought 3.1! Now several versions of Windows later Microsoft is peddling this new Windows7 crap - I will bet you anything that before they get it right, there will be a new version of Windows that Microsoft will start hawking, despicable....

[oknups]

I was not bashing the program, rather the sales personal.
I made a RFQ about a machine, and got a software sales pitch.

When I finally was able to speak to a gentleman in machine sales, he informed me that the machine I wanted to buy was no longer being sold. He took the time to ask me what my intended use was, and was kind enough to recommend other machines in my price range which were not their products. He closed with asking if I would still consider Bobcad software.

That sort of professional help not a sales pitch, was appreciated.

I would have bought the machine, and software had it been available, I would have considered the software alone if the initial sales contact had been honest.

[Tat2nu]

Wow, I guess I hit a whole bundle of nerves with that one. My complaint is not with my salesman, Devon was actually very pleasant and helpful. I am also not complaining about the software because I did not get a chance to properly evaluate it and probably never will. My complaint is with the poor business practices of the company itself either by instituting overly aggressive sales techniques or not overseeing its sales force to see that it has the customers best interests in mind. I am not sure which is the underlying issue but If any company does not have its customers best interests in mind then it will not be around very long at all and we should all know that. I personally do not have time for anyone or any company that does not show me the basic levels of respect that everyone deserves regardless of whether they are spending money with you or not. Common human decency is not too much to ask.

Everytime BobCad comes out with a new release, there are a couple threads like this where some people who have NEVER been in the forum, and most arent even users of the software, want to do their little "badmouthing"...

It is really pathetic.

And just because someone is not on here whining all day every day does not mean that they have never been in the forum. I have been reading and selectively posting in this forum since 2006. I just do not care to get caught up in all the drama. I was posting here simply to inform others of my experience with Bobcad and you all can make of it what you wish. I was not picking a fight or looking for solutions, just trying to help others that may come behind me. The truth is that almost all of the complaints I read about Bobcad relate to business practices and not the software. If you consider that the people who are having issues with the software just might not be very bright hobbyists to start with that probably eliminates the validity of many of those claims. People with real claims against the software might just be trying to get the VW Bug to perform like the Ferrari. I am looking for a functional software that is at the low end of the pricing spectrum so I do not expect it to do everything that the $30k+ packages do or process information as fast on the simpler features. I just know that if I give a customer a quote it is good for more than just a few hours and would feel like a thief if I charged them more within the following week. I also know that if I give someone an evaluation period for my product and they want to purchase before that time is up that is great but to try and force a sale before that period is over looks like you are trying to hide something. I remember my shady days of car sales and how we use to sit and watch the car leave the lot because once that rear bumper crossed the side walk on into the street it was a done deal and we could get paid and the customer could change their mind at any point before that even if the paperwork was signed. Just bad business... that is all I am saying.

Marc

[oknups]

scroll way down at the bottom of the link

BobCAD-CAM | CAD-CAM Software for CNC Machines including: Mill, Lathe, Wire EDM, Laser, Plasma, Waterjet, Routers and much more.

read line 5.

"BobCAD-CAM does not offer 100% satisfaction guarantees on any software sold. BobCAD-CAM offers a free demo on our web site for all products sold. This allows prospective and existing customers the opportunity to test the software risk free before the time of purchase. It is the responsibility of the consumer to ensure the BobCAD-CAM software fits their specific machining needs before the software is purchased."

The salesman promised 100% satisfaction, no questions asked money back guarantee. He did this via phone conversation, and when asked to respond to it in the RFQ he declined. He also promised that if I bought the software within 24 hrs, the cost of it would be deducted from the package deal I originally inquired about. Buy the software now and learn it before the machine arrives. This guy knew all the angles. Needless to say said package deal did not exist.

Buyer Beware.

[jrmach]

Originally Posted by BurrMan View Post

Everytime BobCad comes out with a new release, there are a couple threads like this where some people who have NEVER been in the forum, and most arent even users of the software, want to do their little "badmouthing"...

Careful,some-one might accuse you of being a Dick again.Thats ok,we still like you.he,he.

[jaysteel]

I'll bash Bob/Cad. If you read my reply I have every reason to do so. I understand bugs and all that other stuff. But I even went so far as to send drawings to Bob Cad, because I only wanted to do a certain job, and was assured their software could do the job. A simple text based cut. And after months was told there software couldn't do the job. That sucks. Couldn't they have taken the job as I sent it over to them and said - Hey the software can't do your job?- No they didn't, they just sold me software I couldn't use and they-because I sent them files I needed cut are dishonest to be sure. It was a $1000.0 lesson I learned to stay away form BOB/Cad.
Also I'm reading in this thread that all software has bugs, and it does a lot of stuff I need it to do, and it's great software, and you should be appreciative of all the stuff it does for the price.
But I'll reiterate, I sent drawing to them asking if their software would do the job I wanted it to do, and was assured it would.
But it wouldn't and if I had a number of different applications I wouldn't be so harsh.
But I only wanted the software to do ONE CERTAIN JOB and was assured it would, and it didn't.Even after knowing what job I needed done.
That's deplorable. That's despicable.

[dertsap]

. A simple text based cut..

that sounds too simple
have you tried posting the file and ask questions here , seems a couple of the guys on here (Burrman for one) have the software figured out quite well

[TheBigJW]

I'll bash Bob/Cad. If you read my reply I have every reason to do so. I understand bugs and all that other stuff. But I even went so far as to send drawings to Bob Cad, because I only wanted to do a certain job, and was assured their software could do the job. A simple text based cut. And after months was told there software couldn't do the job. That sucks. Couldn't they have taken the job as I sent it over to them and said - Hey the software can't do your job?- No they didn't, they just sold me software I couldn't use and they-because I sent them files I needed cut are dishonest to be sure. It was a $1000.0 lesson I learned to stay away form BOB/Cad.
Also I'm reading in this thread that all software has bugs, and it does a lot of stuff I need it to do, and it's great software, and you should be appreciative of all the stuff it does for the price.
But I'll reiterate, I sent drawing to them asking if their software would do the job I wanted it to do, and was assured it would.
But it wouldn't and if I had a number of different applications I wouldn't be so harsh.
But I only wanted the software to do ONE CERTAIN JOB and was assured it would, and it didn't.Even after knowing what job I needed done.
That's deplorable. That's despicable.

Have your credit card company do a charge back. You didn't get what you paid for. If it's not to late.

John

[nfrees114]

I have no problem with the salespeople. I've dealt with used car salesman plenty of times. I don't like being promised something that I feel I didn’t get. I feel that it is BobCAD's duty to make sure I feel I did get what I thought I was going to get.
That's the problem I'm dealing with with them right now. I bought the nesting software a few months ago for $300. had a demo on it while they were going 100 MPH I was trying to take notes. Then I'm forced to learn the way around it on my own. I was told there were a lot of videos on YouTube of nesting and I looked this weekend and there isn't one video... I know the milling pretty good but the nesting I have no idea. So the next thing is I call tech support (which I have had TERRIBLE luck with in the past). They tell me my subscription is out (which is another crazy thing. I work in a business with 20 tech support people) if you're going to sell a product you should have people there to help you when it glitches... and not make them pay $100's for it.... Well I finally got 1 free support session because I said I didn't think the software was working correctly. I sent them 3 files of what I was having problems with. They said they weren't sure what was going on and they'd call me back. I haven't gotten a call back. I'm in a rock and a hard spot because I WILL NOT pay for tech support when it takes 3 hours to get a call back. and even sometimes overnight. so until they help me work out the bugs or what I am doing I will say the product isn't working correctly. Once the company that sold me the product helps me with the product I will say "it's a good working product". Which brings me to Burrman. You have helped me in the past and I appreciate that greatly! How did you learn what you know? Playing with the software? Taking the courses? Because I’ve played with the milling software for over a year and until Alan at bobcad told me “oh yeah, you can’t use system tools and manual tools in the same part or it will crash” I had no idea. How on earth do you “learn” that. that’s why I think calling tech support for a few simple questions is needed, and should not be paid for…. So Burrman, if you have this much expeariance and know so much why don’t you put out a cheat sheet for all of us “beginners” and maybe we won’t have these problems… or maybe BobCAD should hire you to do there videos….. I do very much appreciate you help!! As for BobCAD tech support…… I think it’s a complete JOKE!!

There you go again with stating what you dont know!!! I DONT believe that about V22.... I had it loaded until only about a month ago when I got rid of the computer it was on... I could do pretty much anything in it that I needed to do, short of the new features that were added to the toolpaths! The initial release caused problems, but by the last build, it worked.. I proved that many times to these types of posters that are going on here today..

Everytime BobCad comes out with a new release, there are a couple threads like this where some people who have NEVER been in the forum, and most arent even users of the software, want to do their little "badmouthing"...

It is really pathetic.



What a joke... A few guy's who feel jerked somehow, and your all over the "honest reviews!!!!"

A couple months ago, I was apologizing as you were saying that I "shut you down"... I felt maybe I didnt give you a chance.. But after sitting back and watching, it's clear to me now... You are not looking for any type of resolve, and your motive is just to come in the forums and post "how disappointed you are that "BobCad doesnt wortk!!!" It's continuous and shows you for what you are...

Doesnt work for YOU!!!!!! Hmmmm.....

And next you want to lay out your diatribe of Some little "Particular" that you cant get it to do..

I dont have GOUGING.. I can enter and exit the parts wherever I want! I cut Very complex surfaces with it..

You see, I know how to setup my BOUNDRIES properly.. You think it should work the way that YOU want it to..... Any fool knows this is NEVER the case!

This pretty much goes for all the whiners here in this thread.

YouTube - green day-time of your life en vivo (live)

Good ridance to you!

[SBC Cycle]

....Which brings me to Burrman. You have helped me in the past and I appreciate that greatly! How did you learn what you know? Playing with the software? Taking the courses? Because I’ve played with the milling software for over a year and until Alan at bobcad told me “oh yeah, you can’t use system tools and manual tools in the same part or it will crash” I had no idea. How on earth do you “learn” that. that’s why I think calling tech support for a few simple questions is needed, and should not be paid for…. So Burrman, if you have this much expeariance and know so much why don’t you put out a cheat sheet for all of us “beginners” and maybe we won’t have these problems… or maybe BobCAD should hire you to do there videos….. I do very much appreciate you help!! As for BobCAD tech support…… I think it’s a complete JOKE!!

Visit the BobCAD user forums every day you can, not just when you are having a problem. I'm not saying YOU do this, I'm just saying that I know that you can't mix system and manual tools because someone already had that problem and because I try to read the forums AS OFTEN AS POSSIBLE, I found out. I don't have to ask a lot of questions because I'm pretty damn sure I've found every solution to my problems by simply reading the forums.

Sorry, not Burr but he seems to be taking flak for no other reason than being the biggest help on this sub-forum.

[SBC Cycle]

Gee, BurrMan, if you were down at Jonestown you'd have been right at the front of the line, chugging the kool-aid before anyone else could get to it ... all those people would have been SAVED!

Seriously, do you believe that ALL the complaints about BobCAD ... the sales practices and the software ... that we've heard over, and over, and over, and over, for YEARS ... do you believe they're all made up by one or two disgruntled customers????

It isn't just this forum. Go to any forum related to CAD/CAM and type in "BobCAD". Assuming it isn't BobCAD's own forums you'll find more complaints than credits.

How do you explain the fact that this appears to be the most complained about software and company in the CAD/CAM field? Goblins and pixies making mischief???

My honest opinion? The low price is the source of most of the complaints. If we can speak frankly here and not get any personal feelings hurt, I've noticed that the "squeakiest wheels" tend to be from hobby users. I try not to take it personal but I don't know how many users I've seen that woke up one day and decided they wanted to be machinists. Now for 5000 bucks you can pick up a decent, cheap import CNC mill and for 500 bucks get the latest BobCAD is offering. Do they really think this **** is this easy? Yeah, for some reason they do.

So they get the mill, get the BCC, fire everything up, and find out that 500 dollar software won't make you a machinist. First little sign of trouble and they run to the forum, spend exactly "zero" time searching for a solution, and pound off a rant about how the software doesn't work. Pardon me, but I'm running 4 Fadals and 2 Haas VF3s 7 days a week with it. So when I hear, hey I'm having trouble with such and such and could someone help me figure out what I'm doing wrong, fine. But when I hear "this BobCAD doesn't work and it's garbage", your just trolling.

My suggestion to people who don't want to take the time to learn the software and all the little nuances is to just pony up the ~15k for MasterCAM. I know people who didn't know snot about machining make parts with it. But before you do, take a peek inside any of the other CAM forums and you will find the same old complaints about bugs, workarounds, crashes, etc. Go ahead, do a search. Find me one CAM software that doesn't have complaints about bugs.

BobCAD has bugs. I'm not happy they weren't fixed before V24. I'm not upgrading. But the software will work, will make you money, and will make nice parts, even if it does do things a seasoned machinist might not.

I'm not a BobCAD cheerleader. You can find numerous posts I've made here with similar complaints that I've heard in this very thread. The difference is that I'd rather spend the larger proportion of my time machining, even if it means using a "workaround" to get it done.