[Jim Estes]

I bought the upgrade to V20 and they also sold me on the Bob-Art. I don't know how often I will actually use the Bob-Art, but it will be nice to have it if I do decide to do some of that kind of work. The importing of files is dead right, I imported a couple of different files that I couldn't import into V17 and they were awesome, not a line or arc or even point out of place.

One concern I have is the documentation, how detailed is the manual? The manuals I got with V17 were ok, but left me with a lot of questions that I had to answer on my own thru trial and error. I downloaded the demo, and from what I can figure out it will be a vast improvement over trying to do 3d work in V17. Seems that creating surfaces is now an easy thing to do. I haven't gotten too deep into toolpaths, but from skimming thru it, it reminded me a lot of Mastercam, with all the tool details, roughing and finishing passes and such.

How much modification can be done to the post processor? Can it be completely modified for anything you need or is it limited to only certain variables? (I need to change the Peck Drill, Peck designator, from a Q to an E, can that be done in the post?)

I'll try and let you guys know how it works out for me. BTW, I am mainly going to be using it for Moldmaking, 3D milling mostly.

Jim

[harolda]

I Want To See That Bobart Work Before I Buy It Does Any One Have It Working???????????????

[Chamm128]

How much did you spend for it?? I downloaded the demo of Bobart, but haven't really played with it yet.

[brtlatjgt]

They were running a westec special. They e-mailed me a coupon and said if I bought v20 they would throw in bobart for free.

[Jim Estes]

One thing I realized about Bobcad years ago when I bought V17, there is always a lower price. I knew that whenever I bought V20 it wouldn't be long until I saw it advertised for less than I paid, that's just how it works. It kind-of bothers me that there is no set price for this software, but hey what can you do? The guys got to make a living, and if they have to dicker on price to keep their families fed then I ok with that.
One thing I was not aware of is that there is a software registration process you have to go through before you can unlock the software to the full version. I was in a pinch to get this software up and running so I installed it on my shop pc. I am now wondering if I should have waited until I got a new pc but I can't do anything about that now either.
I am currently working on getting my setup right for my machine, the old setup I used for V17 worked ok for sending and receiving and even the program start and stop and configuration of coordinates and decimals and such, but I can't figure out where my drilling cycles are. I haven't had time to really work with it though I've been busy with other work.
I was really impressed with the manual, a far cry from the three booklets and the hand-out I got with V17. There is extensive instructions about how the mouse works and how to pick entities and such, which is one part of V17 that still gives me fits sometimes.
There is a section in there about scripts and how to modify them, so I think I will be able to modify the G83 cycle to work for me, but first I got to read the book.

I'll keep you guys updated.

BTW, Chamm128, I won't say how much I paid, because as soon as I do someone will post that they got the upgrade cheaper, and I am in no hurry to hear that although I know I will.

Jim

[Jim Estes]

Well I have learned a bit more about V20 and I have to say I like what I see. It has some quirks, things I don't understand exactly and things that should probably be different. But for the most part it is leaps and bounds better than v17.

One thing that gave me fits is that when you create a small surface and then zoom out to look at the overall part, the 3d surface is not in the position that it should be. I think it is this way so that you can see the different geometry, but it messes with your mind when you are looking at it, makes you think it moved for some reason. Another quirk I have found and I can't explain, is that when I generate a toolpath using a surface, there is a difference between what you put in the dialog boxes and what you get in the program. I programmed a tapered surface with the top of the work being at 0.0000 and the depth of the cut to be -0.3510. the resulting program had a maximum cutting depth of -0.3265. I don't understand what happened, I used the program and the X-Y coordinates where exactly right, I just had to adjust the Z to make the cut to proper depth.

My computer died on me today too, so I am going to be buying a new computer, and I have e-mailed Tech Support to find out what I need to do to get it onto the new pc.

Maybe a better PC will solve this problem.

Jim Estes

[carbidecraters]

Jim 20 has some nice features. I think 17's interface was alot better as it followed the early mastercam programs. We bought 19 and one month later they has 20 for sale...they didnt mention 20 was even in the works when we bought it. Also these programs have a feel like they were rushed out the door....service and satisfaction on bobcad programs ....I give it a 3 out of 10. I liked 17...19 and 20 can kiss my arse

[Mac T. Knife]

So when you register Bobcad, It's "locked" onto the pc you install it on??

My computer died on me today too, so I am going to be buying a new computer, and I have e-mailed Tech Support to find out what I need to do to get it onto the new pc.

Maybe a better PC will solve this problem.

Jim Estes

[Scott V]

I Want To See That Bobart Work Before I Buy It Does Any One Have It Working???????????????

I bought Bobart 3d when it first came out. I needed 2d (plasma) but nobody told me that Bobart 3d would not work. One day they contacted me about something else and I told them what happened. They let me trade in my 3d for 2d or upgrade for $100.00. I just traded to the 2d stuff.

It really is very easy to use, and will do a better job of some stuff then adobe streamline. It will not smooth the paths like adobe but it will do a better job of bringing in marginal type files. It is easier to see your changes in your bit map then adobe. You have to convert it first in abobe, where bobcad you can slide a control and see the changes real time.

[Jim Estes]

Mr. Knife,

I'm not sure how they do it, but I had to fax them a sheet with two codes that came up whenever I installed the software. They then faxed me back another code that I input into the software and that unlocked the software from the demo mode. My old shop pc took a dump and now I can't get it working again. So now I have to find out what I need to do to get it onto a new pc, I'm hoping I don't have to pay more money but I am sure it won't be as easy as asking for them to let me install it on another pc.

I haven't heard back from them yet so I guess I'll be giving them a call tomorrow.

Jim

[Jim Estes]

Well I'm back up and running with version 20 and it's a good thing too because I have a ton or work to do.

The new computer makes 3d work a lot faster. It is a bummer though that the new pc doesn't come with a floppy drive, but oh well I can get a thumb drive and do a lot more with it.

[HuFlungDung]

Jim,
If you really need a floppy, look for one of those multi-purpose card reader things, with floppy drive included. It plugs into USB. Its nice, I have one for my newest computer. But, if you can use the flash drive instead, that is great.

[Jim Estes]

I bought myself a "Jump Drive" today, plugs into USB port and holds 128 MB is compatible with both computers. I think it will work great.

I'm not sure if I explained, but I have two computers that I use, one I do the designing and programming on, and the other is just used to drip feed to the machine. My design computer took a dump shortly after I got my upgrade. But the new pc is working great, and there was no hassle getting the codes to install to the new PC. I was sure that they would need a code or something from my old junk computer in order to let me put it on another computer, but to my surprise Jennifer (at Bobcad) made the process painless.

Now I can get back to learning more about programming.

Something I really like about V20 is that it is much more versitile in the drawing phase of design. I can draw and edit geometry much much faster than before, mostly because of being able to select geometry without first choosing an option. The snap features are a lifesaver, although you must be careful when working around smaller entities.

Jim

[Jim Estes]

Ok, I'm getting used to V20 and I can do most of the 2d work pretty well. I did however have a minor catastrophe a couple of days ago. I did a "Finishing" pocket routine and didn't realize that the finishing was using the selected geometry as the toolpath, so I cut my pocket 0.125" /side too large. Luckily I didn't hit the water lines.

I am in the process of working on a mold to create a part that has no straight edges. it is totally 3D with arcs on all edges. I have created the solid of the cavity itself and have created surfaces for the parting line. The problem I am having is that my surfaces don't join exactly at the edges, I used the same geometry to create all the surfaces, but there are tiny gaps between some of the arcs. I tried using the fillet option but it won't work, I get the message saying, to make sure the radius is not too large. This in itself is not a problem, because I will use a ball endmill to cut the cavity and the electrodes for the EDM, but I want to know how to prevent these "gaps" from showing up again.
Also, does anyone know how to "trim" surfaces? I know I can use the Boolean function to modify solids but what I wanted to do was to take a contoured parting line and trim it down to the size block I will be using.
I tried taking the surfaces I created for the parting line and stitching them together as a solid, but when I created a cube and then did a Boolean "diffference" I get either a solid block with no parting line, of a parting line with no block. When I tried to "extrude" the parting line down, and then do the Boolean Difference function, BobCad stopped responding. Is there an easier way to take a contoured parting line and make it a solid block from that contour down?
One other thing I can't understand about V20 is the "Organize and Optimize" function. From what I read, this function is supposed to correct geometry that is slightly out of alignment, or am I competely wrong about that? When I used that function, I couldn't tell that it did anything to my geometry. The other function in that menu also didn't do anything for my geometry. Anyone know what they do for sure?

What I am learning about V20 is that it is a powerful program, but if you don't do everything right, you get bad results. I am learning, but it is a slwo process. I gave myself a ehadache today trying to create a skin surface. Every time I tried to create the skin, I would click the wrong side of my mouse and have to start all over again. I can never remember whether I need to right click or left click. I think I've got it figured out though. The problem I was having was that I had a chain of entities to select as a path, and after setting the direction, I would click on the last entity but it would select a chain including a section between the beginning and the end of the chain. After hours of checking and re-checking geometry for gaps and stray lines and arcs, I finally figured out how to get it to select the chain.
Whenever I think about it, it really is amazing how much more advanced drawing I am doing now compared to V17. With V17 I had mightmares trying to machine a simple skin surface. Now I am stitching skin surfaces together and having a tough time figuring out how to put radii in the corners. Leaps and bounds I guess.

I'll keep you guys posted on how the mold turns out.

Jim

[CNCdude]

Jim,
I would definately agree that V20 is indeed light years ahead of V17. We basically keep the V17 around for beginners and for those that only need basic functionality at a $200 price tag. We actually still sell V17 as the Hobby PRO. It works great, is well documented and has a complete CD training video library. We have also upgraded thousands of V17 users to the new V20 system. How's that mold going?
CNC Dude

[Jim Estes]

That mold I am working on is finally making progress. When I took on that job I had V20 in mind to do the 3D work. I had no idea that I would have such a steep learning curve. It was kind of silly for me to think I could just start programming with new software that is 3 versions newer than I was using, without any training. But the manual covers most aspects of the software, and the training CD is great to show you the various ways to create surfaces. I should finish the mold this week, it is turning out better than I thought it would a week ago. The hardest part about using this software, or any software for that matter is drawing the part in 3D without getting bits and pieces of geometry scattered around the drawing. I advise anyone who is programming 3D, to cleanup the geometry and make sure there are no extra entities prior to creating surfaces.

BTW, is there a feature in V20 to take a series of line segments and turn them into a radius? I get solid models from a customer of mine, and it will have line segments that compose radii. I would like to simplify my surfacing by taking those lines and making a radius, is that possible in V20?

Thanks,
Jim