[lynnsaunders]

Buying CAM software is difficult. Pricing seems to require talking to a sales person who is after your contact information mainly and getting the most they can from you since many have pricing flexibility. Features are explained on the vendors website but the price matrix is not. I am hoping this thread will do a few things.

1. Grow to a comprehensive list of CAM packages in the marketplace
2. Give reviews by our members of how well they perform.
3. Summarize features and what options cost.
4. Ease of use.
5. Length of learning curve.
6. Quality of learning tools/documentation.
7/ Etc

I will try and keep our matrix updated as I have time and welcome help in that endeavor. However I hope the help will come from the user community and not the vendor community.

Name--------------------------Runs in SWorks-----------------------Price
BobCad---------------------------Yes-----------------$150-$2500!!Negotiate
OneCNC----------------------------?---------------------------------$3k
CamWorks--------------------------?----------------------------------?
SolidCAM--------------------------Yes--------------------------$1.5k-$10k
Gibbs-------------------------------?----------------------------------?
VisualMill---------------------------Yes----------------------------$1k-$4k
FeatureCAM-------------------------?----------------------------------?
DFS---------------------------------?----------------------------------?
MasterCAM--------------------------?----------------------------------?
WorkCNC----------------------------?---------------------------------$4k
PowerMill----------------------------?---------------------------------$7k
Dolphin--------------------------------?----------------------------------<$1k
SurfCAM------------------------------?-----------------------------------$10k+
Cut2D----------------------------------?------------------------------------$150
Cut3D----------------------------------?-------------------------------------?
CAM Bam----------------------------?------------------------------------$150

[harley4ever]

The 2 I use aren't in here. Dolphin CAD/CAM and Surfcam.

I mostly use Dolphin and bought it for under 1K.

Surfcam is nice for our heavy 3D workload which isn't often. Obviously, well above 10K.

[firepoker1965]

Cut2D really works well and it is only $150.00. I also have Cut3D but it only cuts , it cannot create 3D models.I use Sketchup models or look for 3d models on the internet.Vectric also sells 3D "graphics"

[FUBAR62172]

I got V23 Pro with BobArt,Predator and 2 Dungles for $640 and so far for a low priced cad/cam software it's great :bat:

[harley4ever]

$640? Ouch? I just read on another forum someone got bobcads new 24 software with predator, bobart, bobnest, and a 2nd dongle for $125. But, then again their prices are everywhere.

[diyengineer]

You didn't list CAMBAM!! Very very good.

http://www.cambam.co.uk/shop/

$149

[AussieMatt]

Also list EdgeCAM, I used it to build my CNC love it, it does run SW files and will update them, but does not run inside of Solidworks.

Right now I am trying to find an alternative as my machine is a for hobby/ (latter used for prototyping designs I am working on), and for now I cant afford a$11K AUD software for the hobby side (if I was making money I would be getting EdgeCAM straight away).
I need something sub $3K in Aus that can work with MACH3, and has 3D profiling (contouring) 3-Axis and 4-Axis milling that is easy to use, (I don't care about the most fastest path), but I do care about the final look of the parts and being able to edit the paths to my liking.

Any comets welcome.

BTW there is way too many CAM packages and non so far I have liked that are cheap, they just don't do much at all.

[awerby]

The US and Australian dollars aren't too far apart these days, so VisualMill is well within your budget. The Expert version supports 3d profiling and 4 axis toolpaths, and it works well with Mach3 (a Mach3 postprocessor is included). It's fairly easy to use, and comes with great support. The downloadable demo won't write code, but you can generate toolpaths and simulate them to get a feeling for how it works. If you get up early (or stay up late) you can get an guided tour of the program's features: http://www.mecsoft.com/

Andrew Werby
www.computersculpture.com

[gkoenig]

I'm going through the CAM evaluation stage right now. I'm an industrial designer who's come to the conclusion that learning how to make my own parts for design/development work would be extremely valuable as would knocking out a handful of widgets on occasion (3D printers are great, but nothing beats real metal!). I'm about 6 months away from buying a machine and wanted to spend the time getting familiar with the CAM side of the equation. I have a seat of SolidWorks, so I've mostly focused on SW integrated cam. I've designed plenty of milled and turned parts and have a basic grasp of CNC concepts, but have zero practical experience.

The packages I've downloaded and started playing with so far:

HSM Works struck me as the most impressive so far. Extremely easy to use, very intuitive and solidly reliable. It is clearly a very well written piece of software. Having said that, I am *extremely* hesitant to invest my time in learning it due to the Autodesk buyout.

SprutCam seemed super un-intuitive to me. The interface is horrendous and the documentation struck me as written by someone for whom English was a 2nd language.

VisualMill for SW hung up my SW install until I removed it.

SolidCAM is, so far, the clear winner. It isn't nearly as slick a piece of software as HSMWorks, but it is darn close. It is also clearly the sort of product that is going to be around for a while and is made by a stable company. The online videos and training are the best of any package so far (the SolidCam Professor series is excellent compared to everyone else). If the evaluations keep going they way they are, this is what I'll be getting. Since I am a few months away from purchasing a machine, I am hoping SolidCAM will let me use a version without G-code output to keep learning outside the 30 day demo window.

Esprit is what the shop that makes most of my parts runs. They were on Delcam before, but got a seat with their purchase of a Mori NTX1000S. They were so impressed with it, they switched the whole shop over to Esprit. It is 30% more than anything else in field and the learning curve is a bit steep. They like it because it works really well across all their machines (Mori VMCs, an HMC, live tooling lathes, the NTX and a few Citizen swiss machines). They are especially impressed by how Esprit handles the Citizens (which are a PITA to program, but very powerful). Given the price of the class of machines they run, the $20k for the full-featured seat of Esprit is a no brainer - this is a fraction of a percentage of the total tool investment they have made. Way too expensive for my tastes and over capabilitied.

I have to say, coming from a product design background, a lot of these CAM guys would do well hiring a human interface guy/gal and spending some money on a graphic designer. Even without the stability issues, VisualMill could be way higher quality if they put a little more thought into the look and feel of the thing and got the graphics out of pixelated 1990s era look.

[diyengineer]

I have to say, coming from a product design background, a lot of these CAM guys would do well hiring a human interface guy/gal and spending some money on a graphic designer. Even without the stability issues, VisualMill could be way higher quality if they put a little more thought into the look and feel of the thing and got the graphics out of pixelated 1990s era look.

Agreed, if anyone snagged a designer from apple,google, or microsoft they would be king.

[APinSoFla]

SprutCam seemed super un-intuitive to me. The interface is horrendous and the documentation struck me as written by someone for whom English was a 2nd language.

SPRUT Technology, JSC.
Office 6, Autozavodsky pr. 1
Naberezhnye Chelny
423815, Russia

[gkoenig]

SPRUT Technology, JSC.
Office 6, Autozavodsky pr. 1
Naberezhnye Chelny
423815, Russia

Well, that explains that...

You would think that a company selling $1000+ seats of software could afford a couple of thousand for a solid translator.

On another note HSM Works is back in contention in my book. Talked to the guys there and read forum posts and their open letters about the Autodesk acquisition and it is clear that they fully intend to continue supporting SolidWorks at full feature set. Also, scuttlebutt from a friend who knows some high-up folks at Autodesk says that their enlightened strategy that is driving their HSM and T-Splines acquisitions recognizes that supporting competing CAD platforms is a highly profitable endeavor. Even so, the plan is to get Fusion and Inventor up to snuff enough that users like me will *want* to switch.

Given how boneheaded and etherial all the talk from SolidWorks has been lately, with lots of business-speak, very little concrete direction shown publicly and two of the most promising technology startups on the SW platform having been acquired by a big competitor, it wouldn't surprise me to see Autodesk come through and dangle a new CAD platform in front of me that I would want to switch to.

HSM Works also promised (though I would press them to put it in writing) that any future, subscription seats of HSM will be transferable across platforms. So if I do ever switch to Inventor down the road, my license would go straight across or simply be floating. That's quite interesting...

Final data point: HSMWorks with 3D Milling and 3+2 is $7500 and the sub is $1500/yr, with full upgrades and support.

[fisvii77]

Autodesk inventor now offers 2.5 cam package with version 2014 hsmexpress and it is great for the price if your starting out $29 dollars can get you 3 years of student edition, suggest anyone starting out as I am to maybe go this route. fairly easy and intuitive to use, not bad at all for a cad/cam package again $29 us dollars off of ebay for a legitimate license 3 years

[warrenb]

You'll be sorry buying software from EBAY. It won't be legitimate. Also, HSMexpress 2.5 axis is free from Autodesk.

[victorofga]

for hobbywork it ranging from zero.. there are many free out on th emarket..

the other end, example a kuka robot you might start with 20K or more.. it just all pending you using for..
for moldmaking the 20K I think a deep discounted price...

so its rather pending of what it used for, than brands.. the more comfortable the more expenses..


from ebay only buy original install discs.. they are still not fully legal.. but at least they are not stolen or hacked.. example with an old autocad 14 or autocad 2000 you don't go wrong, but they still a good asset...

downloaded versions and passwords I cant imagine they would be legit on any way..