[DeepPlaya]

I'm looking at Alibre as a lower cost solution (and yes I'm sure not quite as powerful) than the very impressive SolidWorks. I found Mecsoft and SprutCAM make a CAM plugins which appears to be well integrated which I like. I'm wondering if anyone has any feedback on them good or bad.

Maybe you all have a stand alone app you prefer? I'll be using MAch3 for CNC.

Thanks,
-patrick

[dbrija]

The Sprutcam plugin is just the equivalent of exporting IGS and importing to Sprutcam. Nothing you change in the Alibre model changes in Sprutcam. The Mecsoft Visual Mill (when purchased through Alibre) on the other hand, runs in the Alibre environment and they are synced together. However, IMO, you get way more capability for your money with Sprutcam (I have used both).

In addition, Mecsoft now does VM support, not Alibre (was a real problem until this change).

[DeepPlaya]

Thanks for the info. I really like the idea of that integration. I probably need to do some more reasearch on CAM in-general and how different tools vary. I'll do that in the General CAM forum.

I come from the computer, did you mean VM as in Virtual Machine (like running a copy of Linux on your Windows PC) or something else?

Thanks,
-p

[dneisler]

I believe he meant VM = Visual Mill/Alibre CAM.

[dbrija]

Correct. VM = Visual Mill.

[DeepPlaya]

<Ignore that... >

I got really confused ignore that post if you were notified in email. Here's the part that is correct.

OK, that was a very packed full comment. After about an hour I now understand what you meant. Let me unravel...

Mecsoft makes Visual Mill and Alibre CAM (and other products). AlibreCAM used to be solid and supported by by another company. That changed in October 2012 when MecSoft announced they would be supporting AlibreCAM directly.
Alibre CAM returns to its ancestral home! @ MecSoft Corporation

Thanks,
-p

[DeepPlaya]

Quotes I got for AlibreCAM:

$1250 for Standard
$2500 for Pro
$5000 for Expert
There is an additional fee for a premier support subscription.

Price of AlibreCAD
Alibre - Alibre Design product comparison
$1299 for Pro
$2399 for Expert
again with additional fees for a support subscription.


-p

[dbrija]

Quotes I got for AlibreCAM:

$1250 for Standard
$2500 for Pro
$5000 for Expert
There is an additional fee for a premier support subscription.

Price of AlibreCAD
Alibre - Alibre Design product comparison
$1299 for Pro
$2399 for Expert
again with additional fees for a support subscription.


-p

After you price Sprutcam, the choice becomes easy...