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Sick of Fusion 360 / Affordable Alternatives

Hardplates

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May 8, 2019
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What once was a free country
I am so sick of the constant updates and crashing and it wanting an internet connection. As far as the CAD CAM aspect of it I am pleased. I will admit I have yet to do any research but is there any affordable "stand alone" software out there that is comparable. Say in the couple thousand $ range?

It has served me well and introduced me to the world of trochoidal tool paths but I'm not some guy playing in his basement, I'm a business and get VERY frustrated and ANGRY every time it crashes and or doesn't work.

I do 3 axis mill work and 2 axis lathe work, nothing crazy. I would love Esprit but that is way out of the question.

What's out there?

PS I run older machines so I need to be able to smooth out the tool paths since my controllers will not do that.
 
OneCNC. A very easy program to use, great support from Patrick in California. I've never used the lathe, but the milling works great, especially for 4th axis stuff, and wire is good as well.Check with OneCNC West
 
I would also like to know of any.

You could call bobcad which will in turn call you several times a day for the next year worse than a timeshare salesman.

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I am so sick of the constant updates and crashing and it wanting an internet connection. As far as the CAD CAM aspect of it I am pleased. I will admit I have yet to do any research but is there any affordable "stand alone" software out there that is comparable. Say in the couple thousand $ range?

It has served me well and introduced me to the world of trochoidal tool paths but I'm not some guy playing in his basement, I'm a business and get VERY frustrated and ANGRY every time it crashes and or doesn't work.

I do 3 axis mill work and 2 axis lathe work, nothing crazy. I would love Esprit but that is way out of the question.

What's out there?

PS I run older machines so I need to be able to smooth out the tool paths since my controllers will not do that.

what kind of computer are you running? i do relatively heavy programming with fusion and i've only had it crash once or twice this year. you might have issues with hardware, drivers etc.
 
what kind of computer are you running? i do relatively heavy programming with fusion and i've only had it crash once or twice this year. you might have issues with hardware, drivers etc.

A MSI with an i7, SSD and 32 gig of ram. It's likely my snail paced internet and it having trouble updating. I also don't like them constantly changing things. What I do is pretty simple and I don't need new or re arranged features, just the ones there to work. If and when I buy software outright I will get a new laptop and never connect it to the interwebby
 
You're getting out at a good time. The changes coming to their subscriptions are horrifying for any business.

If you are looking at basic mill/lathe, you'd be surprised how 'affordable' some of the big guys can be. They want you in their eco-system for when you end up going into the multi axis stuff since that's where the money is. Wouldn't hurt to have Mastercam or Esprit send you a quote....and they won't hound you like Bobcad does so nothing to fear.
 
A MSI with an i7, SSD and 32 gig of ram. It's likely my snail paced internet and it having trouble updating. I also don't like them constantly changing things. What I do is pretty simple and I don't need new or re arranged features, just the ones there to work. If and when I buy software outright I will get a new laptop and never connect it to the interwebby

Ya, it does not like that.
 
You're getting out at a good time. The changes coming to their subscriptions are horrifying for any business.

If you are looking at basic mill/lathe, you'd be surprised how 'affordable' some of the big guys can be. They want you in their eco-system for when you end up going into the multi axis stuff since that's where the money is. Wouldn't hurt to have Mastercam or Esprit send you a quote....and they won't hound you like Bobcad does so nothing to fear.

basic mastercam 3 axis package is right around 12k retail. not counting maintenance.
 
I'm going to look into oneCNC a little bit. Anyone else use that?

Keep the suggestions and experiences coming.

It is my understanding you do not need to maintain the maintenance agreements if you don't want updates????
 
I'm looking at Smartcam. I currently have Edgecam and am tired of paying huge maintenance for software to do programming way past the level that we need, and software that NEEDS tech support. And produces bloated code. And horrible licensing issues. i understand the older control limitations, I have them too.
I had Smartcam years ago and I miss the complete control it gave me over the geometry, now it's press and play and hope for the best with most software, or so it seems. Plus the cost is reasonable - I posted a price quote somewhere here in the past year. IIRC the purchase price with support is about what I'm paying for maintenance now.
 
We use solidworks/solidcam and it's actually very affordable all things considered. When I first got started they let me make 6 month+ payments.
 
If all your doing is 3 axis work and 4th positional 4th stuff I would be inclined to recommend Solidworks and HSMWorks. That is what I've been using going on 8 years. HSMWorks has one of the best CAM workflows I've used and inside Solidworks it is seamless and has proven to be very stable over the years. I've tried all types of CAM programs and nothing comes close to the integration and smooth workflow that HSMWorks provides. Not saying the other programs aren't suitable but if you like a smooth experience, HSMWorks is excellent.


Only issue is HSMWorks (owned by Autodesk but included in your Fusion subscription) may be killed off sometime in the near future so getting a license to work after that happens may be a losing battle. I'll be in the same boat as you if that happens.
 
A MSI with an i7, SSD and 32 gig of ram. It's likely my snail paced internet and it having trouble updating. I also don't like them constantly changing things. What I do is pretty simple and I don't need new or re arranged features, just the ones there to work. If and when I buy software outright I will get a new laptop and never connect it to the interwebby

Sounds like it may be cheaper to upgrade the internet. A reasonable fast Internet is cheap now. Or you could pay the $10k+ and get the high end software without the yearly maintenance and be set for life. Ever try to do CAD/CAM on a laptop? I have two 27" monitors here in the shop but when I try to do some work on my laptop I find myself always zooming in and out and getting very frustrated.
 
I have a question. Not trying to be critical or trying to tell people how to spend their money. I'm just fascinated by the number of threads that come and go with a common theme. Cheap cad/cam.

How much do you have invested in your shop? Between machines, inspection equipment, tooling, even for a small shop probably close to 1/2 mil?

But 10-15K for a decent cam package to make it all run smooth is out of the question? Seriously, think it through.

Another thing that cracks me up. I know of so many shops that finally broke down and paid 20K or so for mastercam, but then install it on their kids old PC with no graphics or memory.

All a matter of priorities?
 
Sounds like it may be cheaper to upgrade the internet. A reasonable fast Internet is cheap now. Or you could pay the $10k+ and get the high end software without the yearly maintenance and be set for life. Ever try to do CAD/CAM on a laptop? I have two 27" monitors here in the shop but when I try to do some work on my laptop I find myself always zooming in and out and getting very frustrated.

Faster internet is not an option where I am. I'm in the middle of nowhere and that's just how I like it. I do everything on a laptop with 14", 32" and 42" screens.
I have a question. Not trying to be critical or trying to tell people how to spend their money. I'm just fascinated by the number of threads that come and go with a common theme. Cheap cad/cam.

How much do you have invested in your shop? Between machines, inspection equipment, tooling, even for a small shop probably close to 1/2 mil?

But 10-15K for a decent cam package to make it all run smooth is out of the question? Seriously, think it through.

Another thing that cracks me up. I know of so many shops that finally broke down and paid 20K or so for mastercam, but then install it on their kids old PC with no graphics or memory.

All a matter of priorities?

10-15k is far more than I've ever paid for a machine so yes I am apprehensive. If Fusion is around $21 a month I don't see why something decent shouldn't be able to be had for $3Kish. I'm not looking for something for a 5 axis mill turn center. There is Fusion and then there is high end stuff, I would like something in the middle.

Anyone know what OneCNC goes for?
 
Right! The cloud storage of files was a no go for us and then things not working when internet was down (which happens here fe time to time even though we have dual carrier connections)

Having dedicated software that is offline has solved so many headaches for us. Between solidworks pdm and keeping files on a dedicated freenas server to virtualizing workstations for cad/cam.

I never did update that thread I made about that topic but....it's working so dang smooth!



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Solidworks can be had for $4000 sometimes less and they will do payments.

Solidcam can be had for $1600 for Xpress and $4000-5000 if you want imachining which I suggest getting. Same they will do payments.


For $8000 all In for some really powerful software....it's hard to beat.

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Faster internet is not an option where I am. I'm in the middle of nowhere and that's just how I like it. I do everything on a laptop with 14", 32" and 42" screens.


10-15k is far more than I've ever paid for a machine so yes I am apprehensive. If Fusion is around $21 a month I don't see why something decent shouldn't be able to be had for $3Kish. I'm not looking for something for a 5 axis mill turn center. There is Fusion and then there is high end stuff, I would like something in the middle.

Anyone know what OneCNC goes for?

I used to run OneCNC, older version. Was crap. I mean it worked, but CAM side was quirky. When trying to do a 2 axis contour it would try to follow the end of radius line and you would get out of plane errors. Had to delete all those end of radius lines to do CAM, then redo them to work on the model

Bought it because it would output heidenhain conversational.

Kid dumped the pockets of may jacket out in a restaurant and dongle was gone. They wanted full price to replace it.
Nope

10k or more plus yearly maintenance is fine if you do CAD for a living. I make parts for a living, might spend double digit hours on CAD a year.

There is little on the market that is not 100 times more expensive than Fusion, so, as annoying as it can be, there is no competition at that price point

OneCNC allows you to not pay maintenance and resell the product, but it is still many thousands

The program[fusion] basically runs on your computer, the internet is for storage, and some advanced functions I think.

you 'should' be able to leave it un updated for periods of time if you only run one computer
 
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