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RhinoCAM questions

metronorth

Hot Rolled
Joined
Jun 30, 2004
Location
Brampton Ontario Canada
I have been reading opinions on this forum regarding 3D CAD programs and have tried a couple. My experience is with UG and I like what I have seen so far in short time that I have used the Rhino package. But I have questions that you can probably help me with. At $895 US, it appears that you are getting great value in the CAD package. Am I missing something or is it really that good for the price? Rhino also lists several CAM packages. Do they work well? Can I get code quickly? Does Rhino work well with other CAM packages and does it work well with solids imported from other CAD systems? If you have experience with Rhino please let me know. I am considering this package to use mostly for creating parts and programs for a fairly simple 3 axis mill.

Thanks in advance, Glenn @ Metro North.
 
Hi Glen,

At $895 US, it appears that you are getting great value in the CAD package.
You can get Rhino cheaper than list. Check out www.ob.com or www.novedge.com.

I have purchased products from both, and have never been disappointed.

Am I missing something or is it really that good for the price?
Yes, it is great CAD bang for the buck. Not only is it great out of the box, but it is customizable like nothing I have ever seen. You can make macros (which is common for a lot of software), you can write "scripts" using RhinoScript (which is a free set of tools that work with VBScript), you can use Visual Basic, C#, C++ and so on. Personally, I have created tools that produce G-code for plate drilling on a Haas and a Fadal, APT output for 5-axis drilling on our Hermle, and continuous 5-axis engraving. The latter actually works better than WorkNC's 5-axis engraving. :D

There is also 24/7 support on the Rhino newsgroup which will get your questions answered within minutes, often by the developers themselves.

As for CAM, we use Rhino with WorkNC. It has been a very successful combo. We also import solids from Mechanical Desktop in STEP format, and this works very well too.

I can't speak for too many other CAM packages, but I have looked at numerous demo's and they all import Rhino surfaces or solids very nicely.

Hope this helps,

Dan
 
I'm using RhinoCam pro which is bacically VisualMill running inside of Rhino. I like it very much. It is simple and powerful. I do prototype work and a lot of 3d surfaces and this fits my shop well. I'm using it to run a Fadal 3016.


Ted
 
Hi,
I have been using RhinoCAM for a few months - mostly a Visual Mill user. Use Visual Mill to import and program Rhino models for molds. Also get STL files from customers and and so it is nice to have the ability to machine both surfaces and meshes. Have had good results with it so far.
 
Hello Dan,
I am doing in the same topic like you. I want to create toolpath and then generate NC code(XYZAB) for 5 axis milling machine (Trunion type) by using Rhinoscripts. I just need the coordinate points (XYZAB).
Could you please share your strategy or even your code would be very helpful for me.
Appreciate your help.
Best regards,
Lam
 
Rhino is the Leatherman of CadCam. It can read and write just about anything and being a surface modeler you can quickly fix files that choke lots of other programs. No matter what else you use you'll probably find it useful. I don't use it every day like I did for six years but it is still my goto frustration reliever.
 
Wow, this is an oldie!

Here in 2017, we use both madCAM and RhinoCAM2017. Our main CAM is still WorkNC, and Rhino continues to work like a champ. With regard to using RhinoScript to generate 5-axis toolpaths, I've done that in the past as I mentioned back in 2006. But at this point in time, it's tough to beat what CAM programs will do for you. WorkNC came a long way, and I abandoned my 5-axis scripts when I re-wrote everything in Python. WorkNC, madCAM and RhinoCAM can all do positional and simultaneous 5-axis, so there was no point in the DIY solution anymore.

Dan
 








 
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