Practical experience: ESPRIT vs NX CAM?

[trochoidalpath]

Looking for some practical perspectives here as I abandon Autodesk.

I'm pretty much settled on SolidEdge for CAD. That leaves me with a couple of choices on the CAM side. Right now, I need 3+1-axis milling. I will probably need true 4th axis (well, wrapped paths would be sufficient) and am hoping to add Y-axis turning at some point next year.

I had my heart set on ESPRIT, but there's a quite good promotion available for SolidEdge CAM Pro (aka NX CAM). I've had demos of both and the ESPRIT workflow looks more straightforward, their machine simulation looks great, but it's quite a bit more expensive and it's enough of a difference that I'm trying to figure out if it's worth it.

Anyone with practical experience with both mind sharing their thoughts? Thanks!

 

[plutoniumsalmon]

Looking for some practical perspectives here as I abandon Autodesk.

I'm pretty much settled on SolidEdge for CAD. That leaves me with a couple of choices on the CAM side. Right now, I need 3+1-axis milling. I will probably need true 4th axis (well, wrapped paths would be sufficient) and am hoping to add Y-axis turning at some point next year.

I had my heart set on ESPRIT, but there's a quite good promotion available for SolidEdge CAM Pro (aka NX CAM). I've had demos of both and the ESPRIT workflow looks more straightforward, their machine simulation looks great, but it's quite a bit more expensive and it's enough of a difference that I'm trying to figure out if it's worth it.

Anyone with practical experience with both mind sharing their thoughts? Thanks!

Hello. Can you please tell me what promotion. I have esprit. I like it though I find it clunky at times. What annoys me the most is the inability to clear error messages in 20xx when reusing an old operation on new geometry. I use it for my Y lathe where the parts are relatively simple, I know that I would not enjoy it as much if I had to use it for milling especially if had to make changes to the model. For that I would like my cam to live with my cad. Their support is great though and once you get past the clunkiness its very quick to use and program with.

 

[trochoidalpath]

Hello. Can you please tell me what promotion. I have esprit. I like it though I find it clunky at times. What annoys me the most is the inability to clear error messages in 20xx when reusing an old operation on new geometry. I use it for my Y lathe where the parts are relatively simple, I know that I would not enjoy it as much if I had to use it for milling especially if had to make changes to the model. For that I would like my cam to live with my cad. Their support is great though and once you get past the clunkiness its very quick to use and program with.

Thanks for the thoughts! I'll PM you the promo info.

I find that I usually don't swap much between CAD and CAM -- I usually completely design the part, then figure out how to program it. So I am hoping that separate CAM isn't too bad. I know with SolidEdge, "CAM Pro" is a seat of NX CAM with a different icon... I'm not sure I would say that they are "integrated" in the sense of, say, Fusion.

 

[Qwan]

Thanks for the thoughts! I'll PM you the promo info.

I find that I usually don't swap much between CAD and CAM -- I usually completely design the part, then figure out how to program it. So I am hoping that separate CAM isn't too bad. I know with SolidEdge, "CAM Pro" is a seat of NX CAM with a different icon... I'm not sure I would say that they are "integrated" in the sense of, say, Fusion.

I recommend going integrated if you need cad. That way you'll have a parametric model which is associated to all your cam operations not to mention class leading modeling, drafting and assemblies if you go with a top tier software. I haven't used Esprit but I've heard it's great for turning. Posts of comparison's say NX is better for milling. I know I love NX milling. If Esprit is pricey then have you considered a full on seat of NX?


NX 1946

 

[trochoidalpath]

I haven't used Esprit but I've heard it's great for turning. Posts of comparison's say NX is better for milling. I know I love NX milling. If Esprit is pricey then have you considered a full on seat of NX?

Yeah, I looked into a full seat of NX. For CAD + a 3+2-axis CAM license it's not that bad -- a few thousand dollars of premium -- but for 5-axis there is a huge price jump relative to SolidEdge. I do not really need crazy advanced CAM, so SolidEdge is likely fine. I don't think I see an extra $15K worth of value in pure NX for me.

 

[josephk]

5 axis jump is not 15k it should be around 5, 15k jump is total machining package which includes g-code simulation, feature based machining author, turning, wire edm I believe, and more

Sent from my E4810 using Tapatalk

 

[trochoidalpath]

5 axis jump is not 15k it should be around 5, 15k jump is total machining package which includes g-code simulation, feature based machining author, turning, wire edm I believe, and more

The jump from SolidEdge + CAM Pro 5-axis (SE445) to NX 5-axis (NX13440) is like $16.5K according to the pricing data I got -- NX Total is even more. CAM Pro 3-axis to 5-axis is like $7K.

 

[lathe&mill]

What Autodesk program are you abandoning?

 

[trochoidalpath]

What Autodesk program are you abandoning?

Fusion. I'm just done with it -- it's crashed on me three times in the last hour, and I am not doing anything at all complex.

 

[lathe&mill]

Fusion. I'm just done with it -- it's crashed on me three times in the last hour, and I am not doing anything at all complex.

Yeah I have the occasional crash especially with new updates. I assume you're using a decent computer?

 

[trochoidalpath]

Yeah I have the occasional crash especially with new updates. I assume you're using a decent computer?

Yes -- about as good as you're going to get.

There are a lot of things to like about Fusion. You get a lot for your money, for sure. I hope it puts some pressure around both pricing and price transparency on the rest of the market. But I really hate feeling like I'm fighting with my tools, and Fusion is doing that to me.

 

[lathe&mill]

Yes -- about as good as you're going to get.

There are a lot of things to like about Fusion. You get a lot for your money, for sure. I hope it puts some pressure around both pricing and price transparency on the rest of the market. But I really hate feeling like I'm fighting with my tools, and Fusion is doing that to me.

I switched back to the old tool library and thats made the experience much better. They are working on the new one but its still terrible.

 

[plutoniumsalmon]

OH,

If you are getting an esprit demo dont sent your part in advance to get programmed. Or watch them from the start when they program it. I am not saying Esprit is bad its just a little different. The salesman will just drop a bunch of pre configured files onto geometry and make it look too simple. Something with a lot of pockets around a turned part that requires milling would be good.

 

[trochoidalpath]

OH,

If you are getting an esprit demo dont sent your part in advance to get programmed. Or watch them from the start when they program it. I am not saying Esprit is bad its just a little different. The salesman will just drop a bunch of pre configured files onto geometry and make it look too simple. Something with a lot of pockets around a turned part that requires milling would be good.

Yeah, I gave them two (fairly simple) parts and they programmed them in the demo. It's definitely quite different from "normal" path-driven programming but I liked what I saw. It's always different seeing vs doing, though....

 

[josephk]

The jump from SolidEdge + CAM Pro 5-axis (SE445) to NX 5-axis (NX13440) is like $16.5K according to the pricing data I got -- NX Total is even more. CAM Pro 3-axis to 5-axis is like $7K.

I was talking about the addition of 5 axis toolpaths(NX30409) to NX Cad/Cam 3 axis package(NX12451), I don't know anything about SE

 

[CORONA VIRUS]

I have used both. For complicated work, NX, hands down. Esprit is acceptable. There was a time when Esprit was the goto package for wire edm work. When they changed their user interface years ago a lot of wire edm guys were upset. But, that goes for any mass change. Their mill package is very capable, but tends to be a bit click burdensome. I would definitely choose Esprit over mastercam, surfcam or gibbscam. But, it is not as capable as NX or Catia.