[Jay Kyle]

Oh man did I just get stung!! I knocked over my laptop from the couch to the rug but it landed on the back right on the dongle and busted it. A quick call this morning to OneCNC and they tell me it will cost $200 to replace the dongle!!@#%!!!!

That combined with it not meeting with my expectations on the drawing side (the CAM side is great) means I've had it!! I'm ready to sell this package for real!

For Sale:
OneCNCXR2 Mill Professional w/ 4th Axis and a new dongle.

Jay

[miljnor]

don't feel too bad about the 200.00. Most cad/cam manufacturers make you buy a whole new seat for a replacement dongle (they must think everyone is either stupid or is trying to pull a fast one over on them)

[lakeside]

What the heck is a Dongle it sound like it's something on a coyote?

[Jay Kyle]

The whole concept of a dongle I find insulting and obsolete, why attach a ball and chain to my computer. I find it like the gas station washroom key with a tire rim attached to it (sorry I'm still feeling a little sore by it all).

Jay

[sdantonio]

A dongle is insulting, I agree.

Lakeside, it is a little plug that comes with the software and usually attaches to your rs-232 port . The software polls it at startup to see if it is there. If not, the software won't start up. It's a early 1990's way to ensure you bought the software. Most respectable companies like AutoCAD abandoned dongles years ago (at least I haven't seen one used since autocad 13).

You can often find hackers who have made programs that will trick the software into thinking the dongle is present when it is not (not that I would ever use or endorse cracked software).

[lakeside]

Well That Explanes It. It's Something A Cyote Has And You Can Get Screwed by It

[HuFlungDung]

Ouch! Did it damage the port on the computer as well? That is quite a bit more likely than damage to the dongle itself. Is it a USB or parallel dongle?

You might confirm the damage by trying it to install it on another computer.

[miljnor]

One post on a cyote and I'm ruined for life!

let it go man!

[lakeside]

ok just having a little fun

[ChrisJ]

Hi Jay,

I have to say I guard my USB dongle like I would if I had a Ferrari. In fact I have to wonder which I would miss more if either were lost. I have mine on my keychain. I dread the moment when I go in my pocket to grab my keys and the dongle is not there.

I have to say I would take a deep sigh of releave if I lost my dongle and all I got charged was $200 for a replacement. I am not sure what OneCNC's policies are on lost dongles.

Jay you say that the CAD portion does not meet your expectations. What are you trying to model that the software is struggling with? If you are struggling with the CAD portion maybe some of us users can help you. Give us an example of what you typically model and I am sure we could put up some pictures or a video showing you a method or two on how to accomplish drawing it.

Chris

[Jay Kyle]

It was a USB dongle, and it bent sideways, when I pulled it out of the USB port it fell into two pieces. The laptop only slipped down from the couch and the rug has underlay so it wasn't much of a drop at all.. but enough to do the damage. The computer is fine (fortunately).

As for the CAD side, this is something I've been struggling with for some time. I already own Alibre and I REALLY like the parametric drawing style. OneCNC is (I think) more of a 3DStudioMax style of drawing tool - a fundamentally different approach ( or it seems to me) than the parametric style. So every time I switch from Alibre to OneCNC I get all choked up as it's so different.

My goal has always been to have a single tool that can fufill my drawing and CAM requirements. This is driven by a desire to have a consolidated look and feel to the commands & style of the app.

My lasted pet peeve is trying to draw a cabinet base and chip tray system (similar to the Tormach) for my mill. I decided to do it on OneCNC so I could really learn the CAD side. So that turned out okay, but now I want to print out 2D drawings to use in the shop.. I struggled ..and gave up all the while thinking how easy it would be in Alibre.

I'm sure some folks would say I'm using the wrong tool for the wrong job.. but my desire for that consolidated tool remains none-the-less.

Jay

[sdantonio]

Hi Jay,

Chris beat me to part of what I was going to say with asking what you are trying to model. If your looking for an outstanding true 3D CAD system for modeling fairly complex shapes and them cutting them, Rhino3D can't be beat. And it's very easy to learn. There is also a CAM pluggin called MadCAM that looks really good too. There is a free evaluation copy available (just google "Rhino3D") and you'll find it. Version 4, due in september, is supposed to be hugely betterer (to use my bestest english).

Steven

[lakeside]

Personal I Had Rino 3d And Thought It Was Junk But It Cheap That The Only Thing It's Got Going For It And If Your A Do It You Selfer Money Matter But It Still Junk Software

[ChrisJ]

I have Alibre too. I spent most of my time learning how to model is OneCNC and less in Alibre.

I have taken models that I drew and assembled in OneCNC and ported them over to Alibre to utilize some of Alibre's capabilities such as dimensioning a drawing/part or using the assembly part of Alibre to publish a file using the ModelPress Publisher addon. So... maybe give this method a try.

I would have to agree that the approaches when modeling in one versus the other are different. I find OneCNC to be easier, but I do loose the parametric features in the process. I get around the lack of this feature by saving my construction chains and cutters on separate layers. This way if I ever had to start from scratch because I found a mistake that I couldn't fix easily, I can breeze right through creating a new model using those saved items.

Chris

[sdantonio]

Mike,

That is the first really negative review of Rhino I have seen. Everyone has their own likes and dislikes. I have only used AutoCAD and Rhino. So it is possible that I don't know any better yet. The guitar making folks out here mostly seem to swear by it (as opposed to swearing at it). My main use is violin making which is right along the same lines. It is possible our musical subculture here has found one of the few really good uses for it. Also, one would have to ask which version you used (I have never seen anything that predates V3 sp 4). So it is possible v2 was crap and I would never have known it. Also, if you expected it to work like autoCAD it never would. Not designed that way. If you were looking at it from that perspective it would appear cheap.

So from Jay's desire to have a all-in-one super CAD system it definitely would not be the answer.

Steven

[lakeside]

It Was V2 And What I Do Is Some Very Complex 3d Molding On A Commercial Basis Not As A Hobby And That Why For Your Do It Your Self The Software Is Fine I Said The Same Thing About Bobcad Version 17 And Now I'm Running Bobcad Ver 21 And Love It Rhino Is A Basic 3d Package I Used Pro-e(way To Much Money)surface Cam(great Software If You Need To 4 Axis) but in a commercail aplacation where you have differnce controller and need more that on post whats rhino gut I can't even think of a company in the Boston area that has ever ran the stuff

[Jay Kyle]

So what's a fair price to ask for my setup.. is $5k too much?

OneCNC XR2 Mill Professional w/4th Axis, a new dongle, and the 'Mastering ONECNC XR' book.

Jay

[lakeside]

Guitar and violin are not complicated form the real skill is the craftsman that make them not the software

[sdantonio]

Mike,

Been making them by hand since 1984. One of my early acoustic guitars was the prefered studio instrument at Birkwood studios (a small recording studio in eastern Massachusetts). That is when a musical group came into record and wanted something other than electrics on their recording and didn't have a good studio instrument. Studio instruments typically have different qualities than stage instruments. Most high of the top professionals have at least 2 sets of instruments, one for stage and one for in studio.

The CNC only speeds up the rough carving. Does the physically hard part, but the technically easy (unskilled) part.

[sdantonio]

Mike,

I can see from what you describe that Rhino wouldn't be the best for you. For me it's perfect because I'm making basically odd shaped plates (actually more like soup bowls) of uniform thickness (to start off with). Then the skilled part starts, i.e. voicing the instrument by hand. But having a desire to get into cellos and double basses (the markup on violins isn't really worth it), and not wanting to destroy the cartilage in my elbows, I choose to use a CNC router to get rid of 90% of the wood to begin with.

Rhino isn't a CAD for doing extremely intricate shapes (though I'm told v4 will incorporate a lot more CAD features similar to autoCAD. So V4 may be more to your liking. But it's still fundamentally a modeling system at heart. But only you can determine that from you own needs. If someone is looking for a new system though, I can only recommend what works for me. Through various sources I have been able to collect a wide variety including solidworks, mastercam, autocad, bobcad and a few others I can't remember. For my needs Rhino is the easiest to use and best of the lot. But again, I can only speak for my applications.

I just noticed your location. I went to school a couple of towns over from you.