Re: BobCAD/CAM

>I plan to use Visualmill as a cam but it is only 2.5D though they
>offer a more $ which supports more axis.

The "Basic" entry level version of VisualMill/RhinoCAM supports both
2.5D and 3D, although the machining methods available in 3D are
limited. However, I find for prototyping 3D parts it works fine, I'm
sure it would cut a lot faster with the better routines in the full
version, but for me it works fine for me 3D parts. You can download a
demo version from www.mecsoft.com, it costs around $1200. in a bundle
with Rhino.

However most of my work is 2.5D, and for that I usually use SheetCAM
from www.sheetcam.com . If you do 2.5D work this is one of the best
deals out there. Its a cam only package, you use the 2D CAD tool of
your choice to draw a top down view of your part, read it into
SheetCAM and then assign machining processes (pocket, contour, drill,
tap) to the various outlines and holes in your drawing. Its solid and
well supported, and I really like how the generated G code is really
well commented, much better than the VisualMill code. This makes it a
lot easier for me to get my head back into what some code is going to
do (tools needed, etc) if I haven't run it for a while.

Paul T.