[ZeroBacklash]

I am looking at buying this https://www.aliexpress.com/item/CNC-...876301059.html
The 5 axis version.
It seems to be a russian machine. However I am wondering what CAM software will be capable of G code generation for full 5 axis for the router?
Suggestions would be highly appreciated!
Thanks in advance!

[dharmic]

5 axis cuts out a lot of players.

The big boys like PTC Creo, Solidworks + SolidCAM, Autodesk Inventor + HSMWorks, Catia etc you're looking north of £10,000 per seat for five axis simultaneous CAM and modelling. For the kind of budget you're looking at with a machine like that, probably not the best match!

The guys at ZWCad seemed pretty happy to make a deal on a hobby sale and were pretty helpful when I was evaluating. Seemed pretty comprehensive but I don't know if there's much of an english speaking user base for it.

After the harassment that ensued after an initial enquiry I would not go anywhere near dolphin or bobcad. IMO a bunch of used car salesmen that will tell you anything to get a sale then, from tales I've read on here, blame you when it turns out the stuff you asked and paid for doesn't exist. I wouldn't trust 'em as far as I could throw them.

Fusion 360 is free for non-commercial (eg hobbyists, students etc) or startups earning under USD100k and it supports 5 axis simultaneous milling. You'll likely end up driving a machine like that with Mach3 and 5 axis post processor files are kicking around for 360 to suit Mach3. I've switched to it at home, there are things it can't do that others can but there are usually workarounds and it's under pretty active support and development. Plus five axis for free. A pain that the file storage stuff is all cloud based but, hell, it's free!

I'd personally start off with Fusion 360. It's a decent learning platform and moderately productive and, by the time you start hitting limitations you'll at least have a better understanding of what questions to ask in a more comprehensive package.

[ZeroBacklash]

5 axis cuts out a lot of players.

The big boys like PTC Creo, Solidworks + SolidCAM, Autodesk Inventor + HSMWorks, Catia etc you're looking north of £10,000 per seat for five axis simultaneous CAM and modelling. For the kind of budget you're looking at with a machine like that, probably not the best match!

The guys at ZWCad seemed pretty happy to make a deal on a hobby sale and were pretty helpful when I was evaluating. Seemed pretty comprehensive but I don't know if there's much of an english speaking user base for it.

After the harassment that ensued after an initial enquiry I would not go anywhere near dolphin or bobcad. IMO a bunch of used car salesmen that will tell you anything to get a sale then, from tales I've read on here, blame you when it turns out the stuff you asked and paid for doesn't exist. I wouldn't trust 'em as far as I could throw them.

Fusion 360 is free for non-commercial (eg hobbyists, students etc) or startups earning under USD100k and it supports 5 axis simultaneous milling. You'll likely end up driving a machine like that with Mach3 and 5 axis post processor files are kicking around for 360 to suit Mach3. I've switched to it at home, there are things it can't do that others can but there are usually workarounds and it's under pretty active support and development. Plus five axis for free. A pain that the file storage stuff is all cloud based but, hell, it's free!

I'd personally start off with Fusion 360. It's a decent learning platform and moderately productive and, by the time you start hitting limitations you'll at least have a better understanding of what questions to ask in a more comprehensive package.

Thanks for info, they are pretty profound!
1. Fusion360 seems to be cloud based right? Are there any offline based options similar to Fusion 360? The last what I heard of Fusion 360 doesn't support true 5 axis support, just 3 axis and indexing on the remaining 2. Would probably be sufficient for me.
2. So what would that post processor file do? G-code is pretty standard right so if Fusion 360 woud output a standard G code file, wil the post processor alter it and then feed it to Mach3?
3. Is Linux CNC and Fusion 360 combo easy to setup?

Thanks in Advance!

[dharmic]

Fusion 360 is cloud based, kinda. You download and install the app on your local computer, but all your files get stored on their servers and IIRC some of the more complex operations (FEA maybe, generative stuff and so on) get shipped back to their cloud servers for processing.

That, for me, was a big downer. You can export and import from the cloud environment to your local machine but it's (deliberately, I guess) a real PITA particularly with big assemblies of linked files.

Remember that Fusion 360 is like Autodesk's gateway drug into their cad/cam environment. When questioned about the cloud aspect of it their response was pretty much "tough sh1t. If you want it all local, buy Inventor and HSMWorks. If you want cheap/free, enjoy the cloud".

Full simultaneous 5 axis on Fusion 360 Ultimate (which is what you get if you're eligible for the free licence or pay $1500 a year) and 3 + 2 (or maybe only 3?) for the cheaper standard Fusion 360.

G-code is anything but standard. There are so many vagaries of how machines interpret it once you get past the most basic G00 and G01 codes you'd be amazed. Mach3, for example, only supports arcs locked to XY, YZ or XZ planes with an optional orthogonal component for helixes. If you want to create an arc on a plane which is 45º off a standard one, for example, you have to do it with line segments. But another machine might say "yep, define the plane using some G or M code then go nuts with your G03".

Very few CAM programs generate g-code right off the bat. They start off with some intermediate control language which then gets pushed through post to create the machine specific g (or other) code.

I've not played with Linux CNC but it can't be hard from the Fusion side of things - NYCNC was prolifically churning out 360 + Tormach videos and Tormach just use LinuxCNC. So there's some decently corporate backed post processing sauce available for that.

[awerby]

If 5th axis indexing is sufficient for your needs, take a look at DeskProto. It's mostly intended for machining mesh models, but they've added some 2.5D functionality in the newest (7.0) version. We sell the commercial edition for $995.

If you need full continuous 5-axis CAM, check out VisualMill Premium 2018. It has all the bells and whistles you might want, and Mecsoft will configure a post-processor for no extra charge that takes into account the unique kinematics of your particular machine. We sell it for $9000.

Both of these programs are full-ownership permanently-licensed software that don't need a web connection to operate (although VisualMill needs to connect for initial license registration).

Andrew Werby
computersculpture.com