In terms of vast differences in time, I think this would be more applicable to 3D programs, where the math is heavily intensive and the "points" generated by the software are subjective to the mathematics each CNC software producer uses. In this case, you will see differences in finish, and cycle time on the machine.
Drilling holes and tapping and pocketing you likely won't discover much, and will likely just be wasting your time. These are all 2D routines which would be more affected by step-over per pass, feeds/speeds, and machine capability for acceleration/deceleration (NC programs should be tested on the same machine). Unless you are talking strictly about, oh, lets say spiral milling down a complex 2D shape, where ESPRIT has this capability, but maybe Mastercam doesn't? I don't know. There would be such minor differences, I don't think you'd get much out of it unless you were to compare what each software actually can do, And that would take a while to learn each well enough to make an educated comparison.  |