EckFab
Aluminum
- Joined
- Feb 19, 2013
- Location
- Wichita Kansas USA
Hello,
I own and operate a manufacturing business, currently our CNCs consist of a Mazak SQT and a Mazak V515 with M-Plus control. Was going to lean on a local programmer to do our more complex mill programs as the lathe is all conversational and the Mazatrol on the mill only gets us so far. Turns out he is super slow and not going to work out... My operator is talented at Mazatrol with some experience with MasterCam. Looking to purchase CAM software so that we have more control of our own product's processes but also for flexibility job shopping. Currently using griffo bros for communication to the machines but feel we should get something more universal as we may change machine makes down the road.
The vertical mill is a 4 axis(indexing) which we will soon be turning into a 5 axis with a KME rotary for simply indexing a ton of drilled holes in one of our in house plastic parts. Looking for a CAM on a budget to let us move forward but also something worth while that we could grow with and progress, not a hobby shop situation. Plus we need customer service as we are deadlines and time is very valuable. Was quoted BobCAD 5 axis standard, 3 axis pro, with 1 year subscription, 1 year support, and training dvds for $5k. It sounds like a good deal, especially in comparison to other more expensive lines. Yes I have seen a lot of bad forums about BobCAD but two things stuck out to me. One I was seeing most of the negative stuff only in 2007 to 2012 and two I think its a lot of forum drama made by people who don't understand the word work. I am not saying I know BobCAD is good or bad but by seeing the posts and no real data to back up claims I think lazy people are who to blame for blowing the bad reputation out of proportion but then again I could be wrong. My gut says that the V29 would probably suit our needs very well.
Is buying the New V29 BobCAD a good step or should we try to somehow rummage up a used copy of an older 5 axis version or possibly another CAM option? We could simply start out with a 4 axis but will be needing 5 axis in the coming months which I assume would make buying used a little trickier. Down the road we plan to bring SolidWorks in house as well as we are currently outsourcing our it for our complex sheet metal assemblies. It looks like BobCAD and SolidWorks work well combined.
Thanks,
Ethan
I own and operate a manufacturing business, currently our CNCs consist of a Mazak SQT and a Mazak V515 with M-Plus control. Was going to lean on a local programmer to do our more complex mill programs as the lathe is all conversational and the Mazatrol on the mill only gets us so far. Turns out he is super slow and not going to work out... My operator is talented at Mazatrol with some experience with MasterCam. Looking to purchase CAM software so that we have more control of our own product's processes but also for flexibility job shopping. Currently using griffo bros for communication to the machines but feel we should get something more universal as we may change machine makes down the road.
The vertical mill is a 4 axis(indexing) which we will soon be turning into a 5 axis with a KME rotary for simply indexing a ton of drilled holes in one of our in house plastic parts. Looking for a CAM on a budget to let us move forward but also something worth while that we could grow with and progress, not a hobby shop situation. Plus we need customer service as we are deadlines and time is very valuable. Was quoted BobCAD 5 axis standard, 3 axis pro, with 1 year subscription, 1 year support, and training dvds for $5k. It sounds like a good deal, especially in comparison to other more expensive lines. Yes I have seen a lot of bad forums about BobCAD but two things stuck out to me. One I was seeing most of the negative stuff only in 2007 to 2012 and two I think its a lot of forum drama made by people who don't understand the word work. I am not saying I know BobCAD is good or bad but by seeing the posts and no real data to back up claims I think lazy people are who to blame for blowing the bad reputation out of proportion but then again I could be wrong. My gut says that the V29 would probably suit our needs very well.
Is buying the New V29 BobCAD a good step or should we try to somehow rummage up a used copy of an older 5 axis version or possibly another CAM option? We could simply start out with a 4 axis but will be needing 5 axis in the coming months which I assume would make buying used a little trickier. Down the road we plan to bring SolidWorks in house as well as we are currently outsourcing our it for our complex sheet metal assemblies. It looks like BobCAD and SolidWorks work well combined.
Thanks,
Ethan