RE: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Vector Cam

Vince,

Yes this is a hobby list, but you will rapidly find that CNC is a very
expensive hobby. We had this same discussion about a month or so ago. My
take on the general consensus is that people just starting out with CNC
feel that any software with a price tag $100 or more is too expensive
for hobby use. On the other hand it seems many people who have a machine
up and running will gladly pay much more for software. I think it has
something to do with looking at the total amount spent on the machine.
When you are just starting and setting your budget for $30/axis drives
and hoping to get a machine together for a few hundred $$ conversion
cost than the software seems out of the price range. After you get the
machine together and running and have upgraded the drives to $1xx/axis
Geckos, get accustom to buying $25 couplers and pulleys, start pricing
and buying ball screws, etc. spending a few hundred $$ on software
becomes trivial. It also can rapidly become the least expensive way to
increase your capabilities.

In my mind you really need to budget at least $300 - $700 for software.
What that will buy you is a machine controller package ($0 - $200, EMC,
TurboCNC, Mach1, DeskWinNC/DeskCNC, CNCPro) and a CAD/CAM package ($300
- $500, Vector, Dolphin, DeskCNC). Yes I know that there are plenty of
people who are using free CAD/CAM tools, but it can be a frustrating and
limiting way to go. I think you will find that anyone who had invested
in a real CAD/CAM package and invested the effort to learn it thinks it
was money well spent. I have never hear a person that bought Vector or
Dolphin say they prefer to use one of the freebies.

Just for the record, my investment in software was all made before I
started dealing in the Sherline products. The software I have was all
bought for hobby usage. OK, I will admit that like many on this list I
do from time to time use my hobby machines to make something I can sell
and therefore generate some cash out of it. But that is an option
available to all of us and it is a great way to defray the costs of this
hobby.

Bottom line is this hobby costs $$ and like most things in life the more
expensive stuff works better. Yes you can put together a machine for a
couple hundred $$ using threaded rod, Home Depot slides, wood parts,
and free software and it will have some capabilities. For someone
starting out and trying to learn this hobby it can be a smart way to go.
But it will not have the capabilities of a Sherline, Taig, mill drill,
or a Bridgeport. On the other hand if someone's goal is to have a hobby
cutting parts for their model railroad buddies and a CNC machine is just
the tool to get the job done than it probably makes sense to spend some
money out of the chute as the hobby is really cutting chips not building
machines.

Bottom line is different people approach this hobby in different ways
and with different resources. Same as every other hobby. Heck, I have
one neighbor who wanted to get into boating and bought a canoe. I have
another who bought a $20,000 speed boat instead. Both are recreational
boaters, but they had different resources and needs. Same thing applies
in the CNC world. What you will find interesting is that you can learn a
lot from both ends of the spectrum and then pick for yourself what suits
you the best. My best advise is keep an open mind and don't let the $$
scare you.

Tim
[Denver, CO]
Sherline products at Deep Discount
Mach1 and DeskCNC with credit card ordering
www.KTMarketing.com/Sherline

> -----Original Message-----
>
> I thought this list was geared toward hobby type support,
> shying a bit from Commercialism that any Internet Search
> would only point you to. The retail price seems a bit steep
> from where I'm standing. A price maybe a business could
> afford, but the Hobbyist? What is the discount offered to list people?
>
> You deal in Sherline products.... Of course you would have
> plenty invested in software for many reasons, could easily
> deduct from taxes the full amounts, and possibly make plenty
> of cash using this software to create perfect duplicates each
> time. But if you take my point of view, its slightly
> different. But let me dive into my safe-zone and say, "This
> is from my (hobbyist) point
> of view." :)
>
> Hey! one more thing! Just celebrated New Years at my home
> and my 1 year old girl wouldnt sleep so I was holding her.
> Just as the clock hit 12:00 my kid threw-up on me worse than
> I've ever experienced. My wife and I laughed our asses off!
> Man,... Is that a bad omen or what!!!??? I even took a final
> sip of my Champagne only to realize afterwards that some
> went in there too! Gast!!
> So I hope yours went better than mine!
>
> Happy New Year!
>
> Vince