Re: holes, collets, counterbores, guitar bridges. More

>--- In CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO@y..., "FIK" <vrojas@p...> wrote:
> On CAD CAM. So far it all sucks. Not one company "imho" has yet to
>figure out the basic starting point for us beginners, and believe it
>or not we are the target market cince the bg companie can afford CNC
>literate 20 year olds who can't turn a lathe on. That first thing
>for any CADCAM is to define the unworked part and how it is oriented
>on the work lane, be it lathe or mill. Until CADCAM can let us
>junkststers sketch in some scrap iron treasure clamped to a milling
>table, then aproach how we are going to reduce to some wonderful
>creation the whole concept is lost on me. I have everyoones demo
>version here and they are chapters of assumptions ahead of me. Slow,
>down, let me get the "thing" on the table, let me tell the CADCAM
>what drills I have and how I planned on working it. So many Caned
>cycles and tool librarys don't consider or make it easy to write
>some of this approach our own way. So Fred,Mike Miligan, Warren at
>Surfcam, help us draw a workpiece and define it n the work table
>before introducing vectors and all kinds of new stuff. All the
>stuff. I do appreciate the free demos and the email helps and the
>support. I am not ungrateful, I am frustrated that your assumptions
>that I might be working with some industry standard mormal stuff
>isn't adequate for the edge I work on.

Johnno,
Sorry but I'm missing something here.
You state:- " That first thing for any CADCAM is to define the
unworked part and how it is oriented on the work lane, be it lathe or
mill.
Why can't you just draw your unworked part ? In Dolphin and Vector
you just need to draw a rectangle and that's your unworked part.

Next you say:- "let me tell the CADCAM what drills I have.
Fine, no problem that's what tool files are for. Just start a
drawing, select tools, fill in all the ones you have / use / need and
save the file. After that you can select from this same file for all
your parts.

Canned cycles DO help to make it easy. Can you remember all the
variables for peck drilling? I can't, I just click peck drill and it
fills in the blanks from the selected profiles.
Remember the more up market you go the more of the features you
require are supported. By the same ruling you are in a different ball
game as regards cost. MOST of the up market programs that support
this way of working, Mastercam, Alphacam, and I believe Featurecam,
have annual maintainance contracts of about $1,000 to $1500 per year.
Far in excess of the cost of programs such as Vector and Dolphin who
offer free maintainance.
You pays your money and takes your choice.

John S.