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Esprit Cam Users

HSM_CHIEF

Aluminum
Joined
Aug 2, 2017
What’s everyone’s take on Esprit Cam software for programming a 3 axis vmc? I’m currently using HSM works and it gets the Job done but I’m doing a lot of mold and die finishing work of complex geometries and shapes. I know esprit is a very powerful software but I was just wondering if it would be difficult for me to switch over without any “formal” training on the software. let me know what you think! Thanks in advance!
 
What’s everyone’s take on Esprit Cam software for programming a 3 axis vmc? I’m currently using HSM works and it gets the Job done but I’m doing a lot of mold and die finishing work of complex geometries and shapes. I know esprit is a very powerful software but I was just wondering if it would be difficult for me to switch over without any “formal” training on the software. let me know what you think! Thanks in advance!

You're not gonna hop right on it and start pumping out parts. It takes a bit to wrap your head around featured based programming. I went from Mcam into Esprit and I was lost, stuck it out and it was totally worth it.
The software is very good. When you start getting into automation it's amazing.
 
What’s everyone’s take on Esprit Cam software for programming a 3 axis vmc? I’m currently using HSM works and it gets the Job done but I’m doing a lot of mold and die finishing work of complex geometries and shapes. I know esprit is a very powerful software but I was just wondering if it would be difficult for me to switch over without any “formal” training on the software. let me know what you think! Thanks in advance!

I haven't used Esprit but I have heard it's very good and their wedm is highly regarded. I don't know what mold/die specific capabilities it has so if you need some specialized modules such as mold/die design or electrode design I recommend you check on it.
I don't recommend it but if you don't intend to do any formal training it could be a very long, rough road ahead for you. Try to find any resources you can- forums, videos, whitepapers, etc-.

I know there can be a huge allure to specific software but when looking to buy try to keep an open mind; there may be a different solution out there which could be a better fit for your type of work.
 
Hey guys thanks for the responses and currently we are using Esprit to program our wire edm machines and we are very happy with it. That being said it’ll be nice to have a few people that at least understand the user interface... I’m hoping esprit has some more in depth finishing strategies that HSM sort of lacks... its tough sometimes to get a toolpath to layout and do exactly what you want it to do in HSM works... btw were in the plastic injection molding type of work along with a little Powder metal compaction tooling.. currently programming a sodick uh650L fully linear machine so I want to be able to use the machine to its full potential and I just feel that HSM works isn’t the best choice for us.
 
Not to poop on esprit, I have it for the lathe, but I am not sure how good it is for surfacing, seems it would be difficult to set boundaries. I have hsm as well and it is a bit annoying to get the surfacing close to ok but I can see how it's a lot faster than esprit. I don't know what to recommend but I would want something else than esprit, but then again I don't have much experience.
 
Not to poop on esprit, I have it for the lathe, but I am not sure how good it is for surfacing, seems it would be difficult to set boundaries. I have hsm as well and it is a bit annoying to get the surfacing close to ok but I can see how it's a lot faster than esprit. I don't know what to recommend but I would want something else than esprit, but then again I don't have much experience.

I've still don't get it. Why do people want to give feedback on a product they have never used? You haven't used Esprit for surfacing but you don't think its very good....wtf? You've used HSM and you can see how it's much faster but you haven't used Esprit soooo.....?

Esprit is plenty capable, quick, easy to use in 3X work. Much more capable than your HSM....and yes I've used both.
 
I've still don't get it. Why do people want to give feedback on a product they have never used? You haven't used Esprit for surfacing but you don't think its very good....wtf? You've used HSM and you can see how it's much faster but you haven't used Esprit soooo.....?

Esprit is plenty capable, quick, easy to use in 3X work. Much more capable than your HSM....and yes I've used both.

Hello.
I was mainly trying to point out the fact that parts of it a little more difficult to run than HSM even at the stage that I use it, and that I believe that difficulty to be compounded when going to more difficult things. Yet again, I might be wrong. For my 3d work I set a tonne of boundaries and can see how it is a little annoying on Esprit. It is probably better but it also seems that there are even better things out there.
 
We just got pretty extensive demos from Esprit and Powermill trying to decide which way to go on a few things, and Esprit has won the turning and Swiss business, but honestly Powermill had much better workflow and a better interface (we felt) for the milling side of things.

That said, part of our decision is having two separate programmers (one for turning, one for milling, but that's an oversimplification) so we'd need two seats no matter what so they aren't tripping over each other on the network license.

And Powermill didn't just have an edge in surfacing - the hole formation part of it was really slick. Tons of option and all easy to get to.
 
We just purchased a seat of Esprit for our turn/mill machines. Have not really gotten into it yet, but it appears fairly complex to learn. The Esprit tech was over and said if you have a week of undisturbed time, you can begin to get your head around it. Esprit is having a "boot camp" soon, and I heard it is a great place to go. They have beginner all the way up to advanced classes. Cant remember where it going to be.
 
Hey guys thanks for the responses and currently we are using Esprit to program our wire edm machines and we are very happy with it. That being said it’ll be nice to have a few people that at least understand the user interface... I’m hoping esprit has some more in depth finishing strategies that HSM sort of lacks... its tough sometimes to get a toolpath to layout and do exactly what you want it to do in HSM works... btw were in the plastic injection molding type of work along with a little Powder metal compaction tooling.. currently programming a sodick uh650L fully linear machine so I want to be able to use the machine to its full potential and I just feel that HSM works isn’t the best choice for us.

Not sure how far your decision criteria goes but have you considered how good the software is at automating your workflow? Some things to look at might be accessing functionality with C programs or parameter and expression linking to spreadsheets...
 
I've still don't get it. Why do people want to give feedback on a product they have never used? You haven't used Esprit for surfacing but you don't think its very good....wtf? You've used HSM and you can see how it's much faster but you haven't used Esprit soooo.....?

Esprit is plenty capable, quick, easy to use in 3X work. Much more capable than your HSM....and yes I've used both.

Goooose would you say esprit has some more advanced finishing strategies that could help me out? HSM works seems Great for doing production style work or work without much 3D surfacing. I agree that it does have a nice work flow and a more modern looking interface... when I look over to the people program the wire machines it looks like esprit is from 2006 with the blocky layout... not that it really matters
 
Ive not stayed in a holiday inn...

But I've used esprit for 8 years, and Mastercam for 10 years prior.

Moving to Esprit was HELL. Nothing made sense.
I still find, unless using the automation features in Esprit, that Mastercam is faster for BASIC toolpath generation.
Also, simple 3d contouring toolpaths will generally be easier in Mastercam.

Where Esprit shines, in MY opinion, is automated toolpath generation, and the level of control\simplicity during complex multiaxis toolpaths.

That being said, it will take you quite some time to really get your shit tight and really understand how Esprit "sees" the way it looks at making the toolpaths.
Only then, will you be able to really have the control you might be after.

I agree, the current offering of Esprit looks like something from 2000.
I was a beta tester, and offered a lot of feedback for the upcoming "Esprit TNG".
That was painful, and very interesting at the same time :\

Goose knows his shit with esprit. Not sure his background.
 
I was trained on Esprit and I like it with the exception of the optical surface. So tiny click buttons! Sometimes with CAD files converted to CAM the software doesn’t pick up the contour but you can enlarge and spot gaps. Rounding errors or incoherent designs can cause gaps or overlaps. It takes a little time to get used to the tool management but once familiar with that you can predispose your lathe to full capability. My first training lathe was a Schäublin 180 CCN.
 
Goooose would you say esprit has some more advanced finishing strategies that could help me out? HSM works seems Great for doing production style work or work without much 3D surfacing. I agree that it does have a nice work flow and a more modern looking interface... when I look over to the people program the wire machines it looks like esprit is from 2006 with the blocky layout... not that it really matters

More advanced? Guess it depends on your definition of advanced. I have never come across a part I couldn't do with the 3D paths. Esprit has 2 levels of 3D paths, Freeform and Mold. You def want the mold paths.

Ya, the old Esprit interface is dated but TNG has that Microsoft Office layout that pretty much everyone is transitioning to now. The buttons on a software package don't bother me much as long as the solids/verificaiton all are up to date.

As someone else brought up about workflow and automation/integration, if this is something you are considering, Esprit wins again. I think Esprit could be the only CAM software that has VBA. VBA is also standard in all of the Microsoft Office products, SolidWorks has it too....not that you couldn't use a 3rd software to do this integration, VBA is just easier.

I've said this many times, Esprit strong point, in my mind, is automation. You will be programming parts faster and you'll still have complete control over the toolpath.
 
More advanced? Guess it depends on your definition of advanced. I have never come across a part I couldn't do with the 3D paths. Esprit has 2 levels of 3D paths, Freeform and Mold. You def want the mold paths.

Ya, the old Esprit interface is dated but TNG has that Microsoft Office layout that pretty much everyone is transitioning to now. The buttons on a software package don't bother me much as long as the solids/verificaiton all are up to date.

As someone else brought up about workflow and automation/integration, if this is something you are considering, Esprit wins again. I think Esprit could be the only CAM software that has VBA. VBA is also standard in all of the Microsoft Office products, SolidWorks has it too....not that you couldn't use a 3rd software to do this integration, VBA is just easier.

I've said this many times, Esprit strong point, in my mind, is automation. You will be programming parts faster and you'll still have complete control over the toolpath.

Goose
didnt Espirt come out with that interface shortly After Smartcam folded up? or where they using it the same time?. If I remember correctly smartcam and Espirt had some of the same type of programming features. Smartcam was fantastic for molds and faster than shit for print to programing to run time. and one of the only softwares you could change/manipulate individual tool paths with.
I remember a little rift of something going on between smartcam and another company thought it was esprit way back when.
 
Not sure how far your decision criteria goes but have you considered how good the software is at automating your workflow? Some things to look at might be accessing functionality with C programs or parameter and expression linking to spreadsheets...

Are you talking about something like NX being able to use expressions such as dimensioning for parts/models? Like P3=P1 /2? Just curious... I found that was really cool, but never got to experiment with it too much in my short time with NX.
 
Goose
didnt Espirt come out with that interface shortly After Smartcam folded up?
Smartcam folded? This must be recent news as last I heard they just switched to the subscription model this year.
Anyways, no. Their interfaces are coompletly different, both old and new. I think the only similarity between the two is the use of 'KBM', even though both utilize it differently

Are you talking about something like NX being able to use expressions such as dimensioning for parts/models? Like P3=P1 /2? Just curious... I found that was really cool, but never got to experiment with it too much in my short time with NX.

Simple expressions is just the beginning with what can really be done. 'P3= some information in an excel doc' for example. This is something that can be done in the above mentioned KBM. Very cool stuff.
 








 
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