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Need advice to evolve

J

james siffel

Cast Iron
Joined
Jan 19, 2011
Location
telford, pa
Hey pm'ers, im stuck and have exhausted all resources i can find, im a ten year( late to the game) cnc machinist, ive set up, manually programmed, and troubleshoot/ran everything except edms and hmc's. My dilemma is hands on cad/cam, i dont have the time or money to go to school, i work o/t as much as possible to pay for two kids and a house. Ive been through the false promises of employers saying during hiring "we will send you or teach you". The software i see is so expensive, at least the ones that shops actually use. I understand how everything works, i just need hands on, whats the full deal on software, ive met guys who say "ive got a copy of this or that" did they steal it? Whats my best course of action? I love machining, but im very bored doing stuff thats for "operators" i need to go beyond where i am. Any advice is greatly appreciated! Thank you
 
I also became a paramedic, then now doing masters and get even less sleep, then to do medicine and never sleep to afford a big ass shed with my own HAAS one day. Full circle :D
See what featurecam and spaceclaim offer.
 
Easier said than done, but if you need over time to keep personal finance's in check your in a hole. Get that straight first. Money helps yeah, but you have to be able to have some spare capacity in your life if you want to peruse this kinda stuff. Hence start by living within your means, even if just for a bit. Go get the skills, better your self, then go after more money else were. Theres no magic to this stuff, just time and practice.

When it comes to CAD theres several free 2d versions these days for any operating system. no 2 are totaly alike, but if you can work one, chances are your going to be able to work another one. By the time you have a couple under your belt, a third is pretty easy. Cam is much the same. Though the free - sample offerings are a lot more limited on that side out side of the student versions.
 
Learning CAD, and CAM is relatively easy.
Its also quite a lot of work.

Similar to learning to fix a modern car.
Not all of it is logical, and a lot of the (famous) programs are really poor, in terms of user interface and useability.

It takes about 200 hours minimum to master a complex program.
Rhinoceros 3D, Autodesk 3D studio, Photoshop, Solidworks, C, to name some samples.

An iterative approach, willingness to work through the samples, and grit, will easily get you there.

Mastering:
At a minimum,
knowing most of the commands,
shortcuts, and before you start-
-what will be your workflow,
-whats the most effective method,
-how long will it take,
-how big your model will be,
-how good will it be, for * this* use,

..are all signs that You actually know what you are doing.

Most people are only so-so with sw tools they work with all day.
Just like in metals fab, many people are really far from mastering the work.

A good person is easily 2-4x more productive than someone who just does the work.

The desire to excel can easily push you into the better category.
If you add the ability to re-do, and make mistakes, its hard not to succeed.
 
Before I bought Solidworks some years back (only to hear later that you're just renting - Damn fine print!) you were able to download a trial version off their website. It was the real deal, but you might have been limited on saving or printing options. (It used to print a watermark to the tunes of - not for commercial use??)
Download that if still available and start playing around with it. HSMWorks have a free 2.5D Cam plugin for Solidworks.
Youtube is your friend! There is a tutorial on how to do just about everything on there. Tea-time, lunch-time and whenever you have a moment, you'll be up and running in no time.

You already have the biggest element to success - The desire to learn!
Good Luck
Pieter
 
you are in Telford PA, you could take a solidworks class at Montgomery county community college for about $350. It's called 3D drafting or something, listed under the Engineering classes. Be careful though, some teachers teach more theory than others, and you get less computer time. Email the professor and find out. I think some classes are one night a week for 3 hours, like 6:30p to 9:30p. That's your best bet.
 
Thomas Paine said:
you are in Telford PA, you could take a solidworks class at Montgomery county community college for about $350. It's called 3D drafting or something, listed under the Engineering classes. Be careful though, some teachers teach more theory than others, and you get less computer time. Email the professor and find out. I think some classes are one night a week for 3 hours, like 6:30p to 9:30p. That's your best bet.
Click to expand...

I think this is the way to go. Yes, you can get something like Fusion 360 or an "unpaid copy" of SW and self-teach but best practices are really important, and having a professional you can ask questions of makes you learn far faster and better. If you can take the class and get SW student edition (<$100, 12-month license) I think that's the very best, low-budget way to get into CAD/CAM.

I work with people who have been using CAD for years but paint themselves into corners all the time and have to come to me to bail them out, because they never learned best practices for sketching, modeling, assembling, drawing... The good news is that once you learn best practices on one system, they'll serve you well in whatever new CAD system your next employer uses.
 
+1 on DraftSight if you want something free to poke around on, and +2 on getting some training so you don't get stuck.

Lot's of tutorials & youtube videos out there if you absolutely can't go to/afford a class.
 
I'm using Inventor, it was free because I'm in academia. I think you can download a trial for free, if you can, then also download Inventor HSM. HSM will be limited to 2.5d, but that will be fine for learning. Youtube has a ton of great videos to help you get started, also there is the Autodesk HSM forums which is also a great tool if you have questions.
 
My main reason for recommending Fusion 360 is that once you finish your course what then. You no longer qualify for the student version of Solidworks and you need to go out and buy it.
Solidworks, I'm guessing, is the most used CAD software at the moment and it is a good product but Fusion isn't that much different (I'll probably get flamed for saying that) and is a good deal cheaper plus it comes with 3+2D CAM.

The flip side is, to an employer saying you know solidworks is going to carry more weight than knowing fusion.
 
I just really wish solidworks would come out with a cheaper non academic version, that the layman on the street could afford to use - play with at home. Its real nice software, but i can't justify the cost of a new small car just to use it. Last price i got qouted was £7k which is just too damn much for what i need it for. The inventor fusion is something im seriously watching, it may well be the balance of capabilities - price i can justify.

Worth adding that if you go the autocad route, its shocking how bad the user interface is if your use to modern user friendly programmes. Again for the money thats pretty damn sad.

Currently im not running a windows machine - linux Ubuntu hence my options are way more limited, but for simple 2d cad im real impressed with Q cad and the price is pretty damn good too for what it does.
 
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