Anyone using Delcam Power Shape software?

Just wondering if there are any other people using this stuff for surfacing, solid modeling and 3D mold designs?

If there any of you out there, are you having as much fun with it as I am?

Hi Ten
Iv'e been using Powershape for about 7 years.

I really like the way it works. There are jobs that were made so much easier with this program.
When you get an iges file from someone else, isn't it is a treat to be able to inspect it and find all the surprises.

The capability of PowerShape is actually mind boggling, and I view the developers in England as geniuses.

Surface modeling and then being able to get into the nitty gritty of changing those surfs through boundary and curve edits.

Personally I am not fond of solid modeling, even in PS. It seems that to create something with solids, first you make a block and then cut away everything you don't want. With surface modeling you start with nothing and create your part by building up one surface after another. I prefer the latter.

It is neat though, how one can take a surface or set of surfaces and turn them into a solid, which you can then use to work on other solids, and then turn the whole works back to surfaces.

I smile every time I start PowerShape.

Hal

as unbelievable as it seems more people are using delcam than onecnc. wonder why.
maybe because it is one of the best packages out there?

It is neat though, how one can take a surface or set of surfaces and turn them into a solid, which you can then use to work on other solids, and then turn the whole works back to surfaces.

Click to expand...

I can do this with Rhino at 1/10 the price.

Dan

i can do his with rhino for free

Hal,

Have you ever tired Rhino to see how it compares to PowerShape ? DelCAM tends to be very expensive and frankly I'm very worried about what DelCAM will do to FeatureCAM. Rhino has a free downloadable evaluation and I think you might find things in Rhino you prefer over PowerShape... and vise-versa. Rhino is certainly worth your (and anyone else’s) time to look at.

www.rhino3d.com

Right now the filleting isn't great in Rhino but I have no doubt that this problem will finally be dealt with when V4 of Rhino is released. Rhino has the best documentation in the business and I think Rhino V4 is going to be a blockbuster release.

Jon Banquer
Phoenix, Arizona

Hi Jon

I have downloaded Rhino to check it out and I have a few questions and comments.

After creating lines or arcs in Rhino, how does one change endpoints, angles and elevations of a line or change centerpoints, diameters and angles of arcs.
In PS double clicking a line or arc opens an editor where you can make those changes, or for example, you can just grab the endpoint of a line and stretch it to wherever you want.

On the evaluation version, one is supposed to be able to make 25 saves before that is disabled. I have never saved anything, always selecting no when I closed the program, so I was surprised when in the middle of doing something I got a message saying that saving a model was disabled.

There are a lot of buttons!

The models I have imported into Rhino (as IGES files) have come in cleanly. That is a good sign.

I look at modeling and machining software as a voyage of discovery, they all have their strong and weak points.

There are a lot of buttons!


Hal

Hi Hal,

In Rhino, type POn (PointsOn)and select your line. Control points will now be visible, and you can move those around to alter your line. This is also applicable to circles, ellipses, surfaces etc. (If "POn" doesn't work, it's because I made up this alias myself. It's been so long since I started with Rhino, I don't remember if this is an alias by default, or if I made it)

Diameters of circles can be changed by offseting the circle one way or the other. If you are looking for the ability to just click it, enter a new diameter, and the circle changes to that diameter, you will not find it. Remember, Rhino is not parametric. Having said that, some things can be done with scripting, and inputing circle (or arc) diameter changes would be fairly simple to script.

As for your save troubles, I can't help you other then to remind you that translations out of Rhino are considered saves. If you have done translations (and you indicate that you have) this has used up saves.

As for the buttons, Rhino's interface is completely customizable. You can have as many, or as few buttons as you like. I have one toolbar docked to the left, and that is all. It works for me, but I have seen others with rows of icons every where. I guess it's whatever "floats your boat".

Did you notice the auto-complete function in Rhino? If you start typing a command, the command prompt will display possible commands and you can select out of a list with you mouse. Type the first couple of letters, and the list narrows. Also, options for commands are pickable in the command line with you mouse.

If you have any other questions, I would more than happy to help. Start a separate thread so that we don't hijack this one any further than we aready have.

Dan

Hi Dan
I'm sorry it has taken so long to respond to your help. I havn't had much opportunity to evaluate Rhino further.
I think that simple things like lines and arcs should be easy to alter after they have been drawn. Have you ever used PowerShape? Lines and arcs are altered with ease through an editor or screen manipulation.
A lot of individuals say this or that CadCam package is the best, and I have appreciated those opinions.
I want to explain some of the reasons why I like PS.

Below is a screen shot of the line editor.

This editor pops up after double clicking any line, and the line is highlighted in yellow with a direction arrow. If you grab either end of that line (with the line editor visible) and move it to any other point (or snap it to any other geometry) the values in the text boxes update immediately. Also changing the values in the boxes updates the screen position of the line when you hit tab or enter.



The arc editor below works in a similar fashion.



Hal

Have you ever used PowerShape?

Click to expand...

I looked at it a couple of years ago. I recall it being okay, but not enough to justify 10X the price of Rhino. Multiply that by the 20 seats we would need to replace Rhino, and you have an ROI that is impossible to achieve.

Besides that, I had some issues with the Delcam sales people that would keep me from wanting to ever deal with them again.

As far as those screenshots, the line tool could easily be scripted in Rhino, the arc may be a little trickier, but I don't think it is impossible.

That's one of the features of Rhino that I like the best. There are many levels of programming, from simple macros, to C++ that can be used to make your own commands. I prefer RhinoScript(which uses the VBScript language) and VB6. I have around 140 custom commands that I have made that do some simple things (like extract IJK vectors) all the way to 5-axis drilling and simultaneous 5-axis engraving.

Dan

If you were put off PowerSHAPE due to price, have a look at www.powershape-e.com. Delcam seem to have released a new version which is free. As far as I can tell, you can use it free for as many designs as you like (with all functionality including save). However, when you want to manufacture from the part you need to export it and at that stage you pay per export or per conversion to the full version of PowerSHAPE. Delcam already had a similar pay-per-use system for their data exchange software PS-Exchange.

I think for people doing lots of designs (to evaluate them) and only taking a few of these forward for manufacture this seems an amazing deal. Even for the typical toolmaking customer it is a cheap and easy way to get going with the software.

I think for people doing lots of designs (to evaluate them) and only taking a few of these forward for manufacture this seems an amazing deal. Even for the typical toolmaking customer it is a cheap and easy way to get going with the software.

Click to expand...

It's an interesting way they have to demo the product. You can use it free for tinkering around, but when it's time to be productive you pay then. Maybe not such a bad idea. However, if you use it twice it would have bought a seat of Rhino that you could then use forever.

Dan