Re: CAD/CAM questions

>--- In CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO@y..., "mueller914" <mmueller@n...> wrote:
> I've been testing out CAPSmill, Vector and Bobcad....I "really"
>like
> CAPSmill, but the price was way out of my league from what I've
>seen
> on thier web site, do they really offer that much of a deep
>discount?
>

I did some testing on this a couple of months ago and was less than
impressed with some of the features. There were some serious bugs in
the DXF import and the support was less than helpful. Two days
sometimes just to get an email reply.
What capped it for me was the off hand way they advised me to
reformat my hard drive and reinstall their buggy program.
It's a very basic 2 1/2D package that looks good but a lot of the
features like the power used curve are not that important. The price
doesn't reflect it's limitations. There are better programs out there
for the money.
If you are someone who also needs a lathe and mill package then
remember this is only a mill package the lathe module is another
seperate program at X 2 the cost.

John S.

> I have the full version of MasterCam 8.1 at my disposal, but it's

not

> the easiest to learn so I have not done much with it. (I'm spoiled

by

> being a Pro/E user for 7 years and I want everything to operate the
> same way when I draw a part)
>
> I read somewhere that Vector and OneCNC are based on BobCad, but

who

> knows?? If I find the web site again, I'll post it.
>
>
>
> --- In CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO@y..., "southstar66067" <southstar66067@y...>
> wrote:
> > Hi,
> > I'm new to this group and also new to CNC & CAD/CAM. I just got

a

> > Bridgeport EZTRAK 3 axis mill and I'm looking at CAD/CAM

software.

> I
> > was looking at CAPSmill, Bobcad & FeatureMill when I came across
> this
> > group. I did a search and have read a lot of the posts here

about

> > software and see that Dolphin and Vector are the favorites at

this

> > group.
> > I'm just using the machine for a hobby so Featuremill is out of

my

> > price range. I was leaning towards the Bobcad because of their 4
> cd
> > training package and my inexperience. How is the training for
> > Dolphin and Vector?
> > Are there truly a lot of differences between the software's when
> you
> > are a hobbyist? On one of the posts someone mentioned a problem
> with
> > random movement of the Z-axis with Bobcad and that Vector was a
> > similar design. Is this still a problem with the newer version

of

> > software? Is this common?
> > Do Dolphin or Vector discount their software to the hobbyist?
> > CAPSmill discounts their software almost 70% which makes it
> > attractive. I have downloaded a couple of 30-day trial versions
> and
> > played with them, but with my limited cad experience it all seems
> > difficult at times. Any help and suggestions will be appreciated.
> > Thanks
> > Bill Pedersen