Re: software questions

Starcast

I gotta say that there has been a lot of talk about drawing parts to the path
size rather than real size. This surely does rub me the wrong way. I draw
the part to the size that I want and then use my CNC's (EMC's) tool diameter
offset commands to make the cuts. That way I can easily adjust for reground
cutters without having to go back to Vector and run a new batch of gcode.
And I can put in several tool diameters for the same real tool and use
different offsets for different places on the part if I need to tweek.

Ray

>    From: "starcast82" <rh@...>
>
> I'm new at this so bear with me. From my understanding of CNC
> software, If I use AutoCad I am basically drawing the toolpath of the
> cnc and not the object itself ? Is there a program where you draw the
> object and then the computer plots all the paths and does all the
> calculations determined by cutting width of your tool(Is this what a
> CAM program is) ? Is there a difference between a CAD program and a
> CAM program ? I currently have Autocad and TurboCNC and trying to
> decide how it fits together and if there is other recommended
> software to use or if I need a CAM program also. Thanks for the help.