[cheenky]

currently I have a mori seiki sl-3 with a yasnac 2000gII control, a matsuura mc500v mini master with a yasnac 3000gII control, and a nakamura tome tw-20 with a fanuc 0t-b. as of right now the only machine up and running parts is the sl-3, and since most of the parts i've had to make aren't overly complicated, i've been getting by with just drawing out the toolpaths in a cheap CAD program. my main need for CAM software will be for the mill and will need 3D milling capabilities. my main concerns are post processor availability, low learning curve, flexible toolpath options, and good user support. i would also be looking for software that can program the sub-spindle on the tw-20 for picking off (not sure if this is the correct term) and running the 2nd op on the part while the main spindle moves on to the next part. i'm not going to say cost isn't a factor, and i have no problems spending money to make money. but if i have to spend a month's worth of income and it takes me 2 months or more of classes to learn to use the software proficiently, i don't think i'd have the time or attention span to follow through with it as my current workload is enough to keep me planted in front of my sl-3 every hour i'm in the shop. any advise and/or recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

[DareBee]

There really is no such thing is simple CAM, it is all very complicated and powerful software.
I suggest you start downloading demos and playing with them, you will soon decide whether it is simple for you or not.
I am wondering where you are going to get these 3D parts/surfaces that need machined?
It may be critical that you get CAM that can handle whatever format of model your customers are sending you.
I have been using a Pro CAM software for 8-10 years and do not consider myself proficient, mind you it is on-again off-again usage.

[mcphill]

I think your expectations are off base. CAM product are all hard, and the things you want to do sounds above and beyond what 99.9% of users do with it now. Sounds to me like your best option would be to outsource your CAM programming to someone that is "really good" at it. You will save the cost of the software, you will have a limited learning curve (whoever you hire would need to learn your machine and get a post working for it), but sounds like it could be WAY cheaper for you in the long run...

[cheenky]

thanks for the advice and suggestions. outsourcing the programming was an option that had come to mind and is still an option i am considering. i'm fairly comfortable using solidworks, am seriously considering buying a seat of it in the near future so maybe i'll try out hsmxpress since i won't be needing 3d milling capabilities just yet. i should clarify, by "proficient" i mean that i don't want to be running to the forums or asking for user support every time i am trying to make a part. i am also considering alibre/geomagic since i really don't do any complex 3d surface parts. i'll probably try to try out some demos, but i find myself letting the demo period expire before i can give them a fair shake.

[turmite]

Before you buy anything, seriously take a look at this combo.

Rhino Community
madCAM CAM plug-in for Rhino3D

Download the free trials and see what you can do. There are support forums here on the zone for both these, and they do work.

Mike

[cheenky]

thanks for the suggestion turmite. i had used the free version of Rhino quite a bit maybe 6 or so years ago. i'll give it another whirl and see how i like it.

edit: upon a quick inspection, i noticed madcam doesn't have a turning/lathe module... might not be what i'm looking for.

[CNCdude]

I would recommend doing some research like the other guys suggest. Sounds like you know what you want and depending on your budget there are some great products available. Odds are, the CAD program you use can output/save out a STL file or Iges type file that most CAM products can bring in and go from there. There is a good whitepaper available on cadcamsoftware.com. It's called "5 Easy Steps To Choosing a CAD/CAM Product." At least it could help you in the discovery process. Good luck in your discovery process!

[wwendorf]

I have used several cad/cam packages. I have settled on the following combinations.


2d CAD/CAM
Alibre CAD for drawing, DolphinCadCam for simple 2.5d CAM

3d Cad/Cam
Alibre CAD for drawing, SprutCam for 3d and 4d work

Sprut takes a little bit to get used to, but if you watch the videos and play for a few weeks, you can do some great stuff with it. It really does require some knowledge of CAM tho. I almost purchased VisualMill (aka AlibreCAM), and it works great. Probably a bit easier to operate than SprutCam, but it is more expensive. SprutCam is one of the best bangs for the buck that you can get (IMHO).

Wade

[dansutula]

Cheenky,
For milling, I recommend that you take a good look or trial-of MecSoft's products, such as VisualMill or VisualMill Lite (or whatever they call it-the lower cost version), or the VisualMillforSolidWorks VM4SW, which is great if you are going to migrate into SolidWorks. We/I have been using it since version 1.0. It has been extremely user friendly from day-one and now has amazing features, stability and excellent customer service too. Like anything, I recommend you try whatever you are considering, before you buy.
Google it and you will find lots of us very satisfied VisualMill customers.
Good Luck,
Dan

[cheenky]

Dan,

thanks, i may have a look, but i've been messing around with visualturn and haven't been able to really grasp the basics of it (maybe a couple of hours of looking through it). from what i understand mecsoft doesn't really do anymore developing of visual turn so that may not be the option for me as i would like a package that is expandable so i won't have to learn another CAM package/system.

so far i've downloaded the demo version of FeatureCam and must say it seems fairly easy to grasp.

[wwendorf]

Check out the SprutCamAmerica.com website. They have a lathe tutorial tutorial that is really good. You can also get a 30 day demo of sprutcam. All in all, it's a very powerful package. I was grumping at first about it, but I really like it now. I've also gotten really fast with it.

Wade