which CAD/CAM

pescadoman

pescadoman

Randy
Silver Member
I've done the searches and it seems most use BobCad(at least around here). I've looked at Mesh, Vectric, BobCad(I love the cold calling btw), Rhino and RhinoCam(which I have a legit version of, but they want a 400.00 transfer fee to put it in my name?? I got it with documentation and serial when I bought my cnc), Mastercam(which Carmelli recommends).

Aspire seems to be the easiest and I know Tony(Guerra Cues) uses some version of it, but he isn't doing any intricate inlay work.

Aspire can "wrap" and do 4th axis as part of it's program, so that would be nice.

I'm looking for something to grow with essentially, as learning a single program is hard enough....

Yes, I've tried the trials and Aspire is the easiest it seems, but the trial won't produce Gcode.
 
In cue making you only use about 10% of a cad cam program..... Bob Cad is a little difficult to learn but once you do, it works nice...........

You probably don't need a $10,000 software package.

Kim
 
You should grab the phone and call me. Of course it produces gcode. After you draw your design you need to create the tool path, then you need to pick your post processor and click the SAVE button.
Intricate work? Not like black boar or other big names but what you see on the picture is 0.030" thick ivory and 2mm abalone dots.

ydy9uqyv.jpg
 
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LGSM3 said:
the bigger question is, What is your goal in the end?
Click to expand...

I want to make Thomas Wayne love it:D

Seriously though. I'd like a program I can grow into and do BB kind of work. That is not within my means at the moment(years and years away perhaps), but I don't want to have to spend more money and relearn a new program.

I suppose the learning curves on all true Cads are fairly steep, which is why I was asking about Aspire. Aspire seems pretty simple by comparison..
 
pescadoman said:
I want to make Thomas Wayne love it:D

Seriously though. I'd like a program I can grow into and do BB kind of work. That is not within my means at the moment(years and years away perhaps), but I don't want to have to spend more money and relearn a new program.

I suppose the learning curves on all true Cads are fairly steep, which is why I was asking about Aspire. Aspire seems pretty simple by comparison..
Click to expand...

U can pull off BB type stuff with damn near anything. To do Tw type stuff then mastercam or the likes, talent and a mountain of practice is sorta helpful. You could certainly get it done with less if u have one hell of an imagination and just like to do things the hard way. I just finished a q that concludes my use of bobcad. I'm now switching to MC because it will positively do what I want.
 
Guerra Cues said:
You should grab the phone and call me. Of course it produces gcode. After you draw your design you need to create the tool path, then you need to pick your post processor and click the SAVE button.
Intricate work? Not like black boar or other big names but what you see on the picture is 0.030" thick ivory and 2mm abalone dots.

ydy9uqyv.jpg
Click to expand...

The TRIAL in Aspire does NOT produce Gcode. I'm not trying to bust your balls here Tony, but you didn't read my post. I can see how it works from start to finish. The cue you posted is certainly nice, but I don't want to spend thousands of dollars on a Cad program for something that could be programmed manually.
 
pescadoman said:
The TRIAL in Aspire does NOT produce Gcode. I'm not trying to bust your balls here Tony, but you didn't read my post. I can see how it works from start to finish. The cue you posted is certainly nice, but I don't want to spend thousands of dollars on a Cad program for something that could be programmed manually.
Click to expand...

I did read your post.
Then you need to explain yourself better because if you're looking for a software that does BB stuff automatically then you are wasting your time.
Aspire or VCarve Pro is by far the easiest software to learn. Bobcad, MC require a bigger learning curve. They also have a other milling features that you probably can't find in Aspire.
I have been learning this stuff all by myself...
Are you saying that you can do barbels and the other inlay I did manually? Then look no further and don't waste your money, notepad will do the trick.
Like Jake said here is about what you are trying to accomplish.
Aspire does produce gcode that you can paste in Mach3.

I'm not a CNC guru by all means, I know a bit of the aspire capabilities since it is what I have been using. Jake, Royce among others in the forum can probably help you further from this point on.
 
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pescadoman said:
I want to make Thomas Wayne love it:D

Seriously though. I'd like a program I can grow into and do BB kind of work. That is not within my means at the moment(years and years away perhaps), but I don't want to have to spend more money and relearn a new program.

I suppose the learning curves on all true Cads are fairly steep, which is why I was asking about Aspire. Aspire seems pretty simple by comparison..
Click to expand...

Go to Craigslist and find a used computer with Mastercam already loaded and with a key ( printer port ).
Much better deal than buying the inferior software to MCam imo.
Even an older version of MCam ( 5 yrs or newer ) still runs circles around Bobcad.
 
Hi,

My friend is a master machinist and teachs CNC in a local college.

He likes Gibbs over Mastercam. I have played with it in his lap top and it is really cool software!

Rick
 
This is a fun topic!

For me, I've never used MasterCam, but I do know it outshines all the other listed here. I have used, and do currently use BobCad for some of my stuff. A lot of it is actually just hand coded.

The comment about needing a particular level of Cad because a design could not be done with hand coding is not quite right. Of course, any design could be hand coded. It'd take a while, and drive you nuts, but it can be done. I find myself hand coding a lot of things. Of course, I use the Cad programs to do the hard labor, but I find it easier to hand code all the tool changes, work coordinate changes, shifts, indexes etc.

The bottom line is this. If you want to be the limit to your cue's designs, then get the smaller softwares. If you don't want to be the limit to what designs you can do, then buy one of the big ones like MasterCam. Me personally, my design limitations has not surpassed my Cad limitations, so I'm fine where I'm at. If I had it to do over again, I'd go with MasterCam.


Royce
 
Guerra Cues said:
I did read your post.
Then you need to explain yourself better because if you're looking for a software that does BB stuff automatically then you are wasting your time.
Aspire or VCarve Pro is by far the easiest software to learn. Bobcad, MC require a bigger learning curve. They also have a other milling features that you probably can't find in Aspire.
I have been learning this stuff all by myself...
Are you saying that you can do barbels and the other inlay I did manually? Then look no further and don't waste your money, notepad will do the trick.
Like Jake said here is about what you are trying to accomplish.
Aspire does produce gcode that you can paste in Mach3.

I'm not a CNC guru by all means, I know a bit of the aspire capabilities since it is what I have been using. Jake, Royce among others in the forum can probably help you further from this point on.
Click to expand...

Jesus....

What I'm saying is that I want something that does intricate and complicated work and you show me barbells. Sorry, but barbells really don't show me much about the capability of a cad/cam program. Maybe they do. How difficult was it to draw them? How long did the program take? I'm not sure how you expected me to react Tony. I guess I'm not like you.......you learn ALL BY YOURSELF and not post on shopbot, call other cuemakers, machine companies for help. I'm asking for some help here and maybe...just maybe, someone else is reading this and getting some help as well. SO, if you have something helpful to add, I would welcome it. PLEASE stop telling me the trial version saves G code.

BB all by itself? Come on sir.. I'm trying to ask legitimate questions before I shell out 2 grand(that is what you paid....right?)for Aspire.

What I'm saying is I realize It will take at least 6 months or more to actually get decent with it.

What I'm saying is that I know Aspire is easy to use, I've used it in the TRIAL(which does NOT produce Gcode...)

What I'm saying is that I HATE Bobcad because of the sales calls and 7am(really...more than once).

What I'm saying is that I don't want to invest 1000's and then grow out of it in 5 years....

Please don't misunderstand my ambition for arrogance. I want a tool that is capable. I don't expect it to more than a tool.

"you can't buy talent"
-Jerry McWorter
 
Randy, No one software will do everything and easy.Aspire allows fonts for text etc, stretching and moving around a shape or object in 3 planes if required.
You have to figure out, Is the software capable of drawing and producing the code for the shapes/parts you want to create.Aspire is great for engraving or 3d wood carving etc. I have not used it to make an outer shape and an inner matching shape.
I have made inserts and matching components with SolidWorks and the HSMWorks cam software that works from within SW, this is the full 3d commercial cad cam software.
Anyone who has the SW licence can also get the HSMWorks express for free, limited to 2 1/2d work.The back plotting and work piece /tooling simulation is great for seeing what is actually happening with the generated Gcode. You can also backplot existing Gcode and see what it is doing. Very helpfull at times.
 
Randy,

I am a phone call away dude, also I never said the trial saves GCode, I have a full version so I don't know. I only told you how it saves the GCode generated. Funny is that I didn't call any cuemakers on Aspire because nobody uses it... Not sure where you got that one from.
Aspire has a forum that you can signup for and people there are very knowledgeable and are always ready to help.
Good luck with your search...

pescadoman said:
Jesus....

What I'm saying is that I want something that does intricate and complicated work and you show me barbells. Sorry, but barbells really don't show me much about the capability of a cad/cam program. Maybe they do. How difficult was it to draw them? How long did the program take? I'm not sure how you expected me to react Tony. I guess I'm not like you.......you learn ALL BY YOURSELF and not post on shopbot, call other cuemakers, machine companies for help. I'm asking for some help here and maybe...just maybe, someone else is reading this and getting some help as well. SO, if you have something helpful to add, I would welcome it. PLEASE stop telling me the trial version saves G code.

BB all by itself? Come on sir.. I'm trying to ask legitimate questions before I shell out 2 grand(that is what you paid....right?)for Aspire.

What I'm saying is I realize It will take at least 6 months or more to actually get decent with it.

What I'm saying is that I know Aspire is easy to use, I've used it in the TRIAL(which does NOT produce Gcode...)

What I'm saying is that I HATE Bobcad because of the sales calls and 7am(really...more than once).

What I'm saying is that I don't want to invest 1000's and then grow out of it in 5 years....

Please don't misunderstand my ambition for arrogance. I want a tool that is capable. I don't expect it to more than a tool.

"you can't buy talent"
-Jerry McWorter
Click to expand...
 
Guerra Cues said:
Randy,

I am a phone call away dude, also I never said the trial saves GCode, I have a full version so I don't know. I only told you how it saves the GCode generated. Funny is that I didn't call any cuemakers on Aspire because nobody uses it... Not sure where you got that one from.
Aspire has a forum that you can signup for and people there are very knowledgeable and are always ready to help.
Good luck with your search...
Click to expand...

Thank you Tony
 
I have tried to draw in these cad/cam programs and for the life of me I found it to be a pain in the butt.

I learned AutoCAD and just transfer DXF file to cam program and execute code. Go take a night course at your local community college and learn AutoCAD. Learning how to draw with AutoCAD will take less time than trying to learn how to draw with any cad/cam program in that someone is teaching you in a class and you can learn to draw quickly. Drawing is the most time consuming part as it only takes a few minutes to convert DXF file to code with most Cam programs.

Just my 2 cents.

AB
 
Randy,

You are right about Bob Cads aggressive sale push.

I have their number in my phone and just don't pick it up.

When I upgraded from V17 to V23 I was able to talk them down to less than half the price they were asking and got them to add nesting and bob art with 2 extra licenses for real cheap. They are like whores and can be had cheap if you hold your ground.

When ever they said no to my extreme low ball offers I just said that I really did not need it. They always called back and took the low ball offer.

I also got the training videos real cheap a few years ago by just saying no thanks if they did not accept my low ball offer. I guess what I am saying is the aggressive sales thing can work in your favor.

For 2D inlay work Bob Cad is very good for me with my Cue Monster. When I go to radial geometry stuff I think I will be upgrading to Gibbs and a higher end CNC machine.

Everything in cue making is a progressive march forward and Rome was not built in a day. Bob Cad has been very easy for me to learn and it gets easier every day as I get more fluent with the details and more nuances of the software.

JMO,

Rick
 
Brickcues said:
I have tried to draw in these cad/cam programs and for the life of me I found it to be a pain in the butt.

I learned AutoCAD and just transfer DXF file to cam program and execute code. Go take a night course at your local community college and learn AutoCAD. Learning how to draw with AutoCAD will take less time than trying to learn how to draw with any cad/cam program in that someone is teaching you in a class and you can learn to draw quickly. Drawing is the most time consuming part as it only takes a few minutes to convert DXF file to code with most Cam programs.

Just my 2 cents.

AB
Click to expand...

Well said.

My primary software in my full time job is Solid Edge 3D modeling. I’ve also been using Autocad for 20+ years. They both translate flawlessly into my Bobcad V23 so I haven’t really used my Bobcad to draw much. Hard to teach an old dog new tricks some times.
 
CAd Cam

I envy DanO and his skill at solid edge. I'm currently working on learning that program.
You can rent a basic version of it for 19.95 a month.
I use Bobcad/cam V25 and find the drawing side ok for flat 2d stuff, but not very nimble
in 3D.
The program that will work best for you is the one that you know best. They all have shortcuts and tricks.
The more of these you are comfortable with the better your experience will be. Most recent advancements in the cam side has been oriented to
4/5 axis machining. Very few of us will ever really do any of that. I'd look at the interface.
Lots of cuemakers have Mcam V9. It's a really great program with all the features you could ever want. My only knock on it is that it has an old interface.
Mcam X6 has a great modern interface but cost a butt load. Bobcad V25 doesn't have all the features of Mcam X6,
but I think it has a better interface than Mcam V9. Just my opinion, and just wanted to point out some more things to consider when deciding on which program to use.
I my perfect world, I'd be drawing in Solid Edge and doing cam in Mcam X6.
 
Thanks Steve,
I envy everyone’s cue making abilities. It’s not what you know but how you apply it and your finished product. I was lucky enough to be sent to Ford’s program in Detroit for 6 weeks to learn solids on SDRC Ideas 10 years ago. Pretty much the Top Gun class for solid modeling. Then 2 weeks on Chryslers Catia which blows by the way. Jumped over to Solid Edge shortly after. (Very close but better than Solid Works). Solid Works is easier to get a working copy is why it’s more popular though.

Buy a Hightower & learn basic cue building skills – check.
Build your own CNC – check.
Find the time to apply your skills – dooh!

My CNC is collecting dust and not from wood!
 
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