[jbaz]

I'm evaluating SolidCam hands on after watching some of the Professor videos on YouTube because it looked like it was very simple yet intuitive. I have already spent way too long learning a couple other packages enough to the point where I could truly evaluate them, so I was looking forward to SC because it looked like a short learning curve.

Now that I am evaluating it though I can't find a single shred of formal documentation on the software. Everything from the New User PDF/training to the so-called "documentation" (SolidCAM 2013 - SolidCAM + SolidWorks CAD/CAM software) is simply video tutorials/exercises on various models.

I can't find anything that actually walks you through or gives an explanation the every option and step of the software. Those tutorials will be great when I can actually get to the stage I can use them, but at this point I can't even figure out how to create a new machine. I see they have a list of many machines prefixed with "gMill" but mine isn't there. I was able to create a new machine in the iMachining database, but that doesn't set the "CNC-Machine" or the Control.

I was able to define my stock and CS without even watching a tutorial, which gave me hope this was going to be a well thought out package, but then again there are nuances I can't figure out how to do and there seems to be no manual.

A perfect example is I can figure out how to define my stock to a box the exact size of the model, and I can see how you can change the stock with absolute measurements, but how can you center the stock automatically? All of the other 8+ packages center the model automatically inside the stock box. So if the model is 1.5" wide in Y, and I change the stock Y to 2", there will automatically be .25" extra on each side unless I define otherwise. In SolidCam the only was I can see to do that is to do the math myself and add it to the offsets. Not the end of the world, but small things like that I hope are in this software because it is the small tasks that add up overtime that limit output.

Sorry to go on a tangent, just explaining some of the things as a brand new user that are frustrating me and if I could locate traditional docs like you find with most all software offerings I'm sure it wouldn't have taken me more than a couple minutes to find the answer but instead I'm hunting through tutorials that skip over all the important things like setup and detailed options and go straight to toolpath examples on various models. This doesn't help me know how it will perform for my machine so it doesn't allow me to even begin learning it until I can get the basic parameters setup.

Can someone point me to the real documentation if I am overlooking it or point me towards a different source that goes through the software in depth?

Thanks!

[converterk]

SolidCAM Tutorial Video1 (Stock Material) - YouTube This video from 2011 shows how to set up stock. Hope this link works.

[Brakeman Bob]

There are PDF manuals and tutorials available. Talk to your reseller and I am sure they would let you have them

[jbaz]

Thanks for the link, I guess it is a work around for now so I can at least get one test out this thing before the evaluation is over. That sucks you have to manually draw a block for the stock and define it centered around model instead of SolidCam just automatically offseting the model to the center of the stock. Seems like quite a hassle for something that is usually a single click in most packages to have the model automatically centered in the part when it is larger than the model.

BTW, I am told what I described is considered the official docs.. they are just interactive training PDFs that link to videos and sample files. What comes in the Help menu are all links to various PDF training guides, but these are all exercises on tool path strategies for various models from what I can tell, nothing that goes into how you define a new machine, create a new post, explain each setting/option you'll encounter on the various pages. So much of it just takes for granted you've been using the software for a while, which is why doing training videos is a terrible replacement for a true manual IMHO.

With a true manual every aspect of the software is addressed so you can reference any question you have simply. With the training videos I can replicate what they do and know the "how" but not the "why" on all of it because sometimes they say "Oh and we'll check button X, and select option Y... ok, hit apply" and you don't have a clear understanding what those options do and why they chose them.

If someone has a link to a real manual, meaning something like a 200 - 300 page document that you find with most other offerings that has an index and all that fancy stuff, please provide a link as it would be super helpful.

If it weren't for the lack of docs I would think Solidcam would be really growing on me, but that is stifling my desire to get much further without having a solid reference docs.

The other major problem I have it it crashes about every other time I try to do something in the simulator popup window. Either I switch tabs or check an option and it just crashes and then I have to restart Solidworks also to get it restarted. I'm running on a Vista 64 PC though and I'm willing to upgrade to Win7 or 8 if that would help it if I move forward, but who knows. Anyone else having crashing issues? Or maybe a better question is anyone running it on Vista 64 without any crashing?

[R.M.S.]

All the documents are located in C:\Program Files\SolidCAM2014(<-- depending on year)\Documentation
Every install has a complete set of manuals that will have an answer to every question you could ever have.
Stick with Solidcam you will be happy you did.