Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Visual Mill vs Visual Mill Basic questions

Hi Bob,

I considered dropping you a note before I made my post but if I did
that then no one else would have access to the information. It
seems to me that sharing information is what these groups are for,
and I'm probably not the only person who is just getting their feet
wet (or damp) with CNC who has similar questions, so maybe you
could put a couple of paragraphs together and post them to the list
if you get a few moments free.

3 axis milling seems like it should be fairly straight forward with
cutting on the side or the end (or both if traversing and plunging) of
the end mill. I can see some of those extra items as being
preprogrammed features that let the production machinist who is
trying to do some finicky job just select an item and plug it in,
rather than having to sit down and generate a bunch of manual
code. If that is the case, then the full package is very likely to be
an excellent investment for that person.

I'm sure that if the Basic version does everything you want that
would probably be true for me. But I see all that "stuff" and start
thinking "wow, lookit that - is that something that I might really
need and should scrape up 4X the money?" I get uneasy when I
start thinking about spending serious (for me) money on stuff and I
don't feel like I have enough information to make what feels like an
informed decision. I try not to be penny wise and pound foolish,
but then I also don't want to spend a lot more than I really need to
get a good product that does an adequate job for me.

I'd like to get to where I could make some motorcycle engine
cases and cylinder heads (not H-D stuff, and ports would be
roughed out and turned over to a pro for finishing - no 5 axis
machining needed). It seems like the Basic package would let me
do everything I could do on a manual mill, as well as stuff like
smooth curves and transitions that are often a "get it close on the
mill and then get out the big bastard file" now.

I don't mind the prospect of maybe needing to do a little light
sanding to do a final smoothing. But I don't want to have to resort
to the big file - that's what I'd be spending money on CNC to avoid
doing.

thanks,
Michael