Well I'm glad I'm not the one responsible for digging this up!
OneCNCXP then OneCNCXR, now OneCNC XR2 is on release.
XR2 has the coolest 4th and 5th axis modules. They went to the EMO show in Europe and demoed it,
on user files!. People were astounded by the simplicity of use. And it
is really easy to use, even for a new user to sit down and experiment a bit, and he's off and running.
The modelling functions have come a long way since XP, too. If you are in the market for cadcam, its worth your while to demo XR2, and compare what you see with any other cadcam out there. XR2 has also significantly improved in solid and surface modelling functions: work on any plane, extrude and cut bosses and holes (tapered or straight), starting from 2d outlines. Even more advanced surface filleting than before.
And, you still don't have to pay any middleman, nor pay any royalties on translators nor verification utilities nor DNC utilities. Its all in the package, its all genuine OneCNC. You don't need to attend a workshop to learn how to use it, and their support forum contains lots of ready help and information from the questions of 2 years worth of users already. As time goes on, the actual number of new questions has declined I think, due to the developer's response to user difficulties. Because the whole program is coordinated under one developer, it all works together. And its still 100% windows (has been from the ground up in the X series) and is ready for 64bit.
XR2 also has a new "Trace image" function to help you import and trace images in preparation for engraving.
To give an example of how the developer listens, one problem users were having with their machines was the fact that at high feedrates, the machines would leave a little bit of a blip on a milled profile, where the tool ramped on and off the profile. Even though OneCNC's math was perfect, machine performance was lacking, so they added in a user specified overlap value, to allow the tool to easily kill off that hump in the profile.
There is a lot to be excited about in XR2. The machining routines are almost unchanged from XR, except for the major advancement in applying them to 4th and 5th axis operations. And the post modifications are still as easy as ever, even for these advanced modules.
I'll stop now and let the MasterCam X'ers have a turn
