Here is the story guys. I was a hardcore Surfcam user for about 10 years. I am in the process of learning CamWorks. It is VERY cool, but very different. So far it does everything Surfcam could do and then some...actually, more than some. I am taking the steps to become a certified user so I have had a good amount of time using the software. I am located in California and I have an AWESOME reseller. Not only have I used Surfcam, but I have also used Gibbs, Pro-man and a little Mastercam. CamWorks does all the things that these packages can do plus it has this thing called a Tech Database that comes fully stocked with a lot of the most commonly used processes. This database is fully customizable as well as the tool library. One of the coolest things is that you can make custom tool libraries for your specific machines. So if you have the same tools loaded in the same machine all the time, you can program CW to recognize that and only use the tools that you have available when it AUTOMATICALLY recognizes features. I played with Solidcam before switching to CamWorks and it really didnt compare. If you have any specific questions about how CamWorks stacks up, please let me know.

I hope you like welding your molds.

CamWorks is TERRIBLE for mold work.
It's 3D toolpathing isn't even close to SurfCAM.

SurfCAM is a MUCH better 3d Machining system.

How is the tool path control ,as far as being able to cutomize tool path for material situations.

I've seen most of those cams at westech, but Gibbs seems to work best for me, I been useing gibbs for 12yrs. There new version 8.0.6 just came out.

No I don't like welding my molds. But as far as Surfcam 3D vs. Camworks 3D, here are a couple of tests.

1- Run SC's 3d offset on a complex mold, then run the equivelent tool path in CW. First of all, CW will do it in a fraction of the time and it will machine the WHOLE part. What other camparisons are there? Planar? 3D Rough? CW has all that. SRM doesnt even work, so dont even bring that up. Now that have that RapidRough piece of junk that doesnt work either. What milling stratagy are you using that CW gouges and SC doesnt? I would really like to know so I can watch out for it.

2- Undo. I dont need to say anything else.

As far as customizing the program for specific material situations it is great. You can just customize your Database for each specific material. Then when you pick that tool and you pick that material, the change is already made.

What is SRM?
just curious.

What is SRM?
just curious.

Step Reduction Milling. It does work great, I don't know what issues Mdlmkr has with it. I've had great results with it, even with the default settings, and used it whenever I could. I now use UG, and to get the same result is far more hassle than Surfcam, and not as clean as SRM.

As for 3D offset, yes it is slower than molasses in January, but makes a very nice toolpath from my experience. It is being re-done in the next release, and will be a lot faster.

I agree about the lack of global undo. Undo is available in some functions, but should be available for everything from the beginning of the session to the end. They need to fix that.

I have used camworks since 2001 release. I have seen it come a long way. I still think that it has a long way to go. There are some great featurs of the software, but there are a lot of items lacking or needs improvements.

I am very interested in hearing about the lacking items. I havent had a chance to really push the software to the limits yet...yet. I would like to know what I have to watch out for.

How is your support channel? I have tried to get support from Teksoft with no results.

The first reseller I started with was OK, but I had to change to another for better support. I have had good support when I needed it. I think if you are a machinist, you will see that the software is being written by a software programmer. When you do a tool path, you see extra tool path that you do not need. You have to change your setting to correct this, but then that setting effects other tool path. The database is a great tool for the software but I think that they need to make it easier to share. I run multiple seats of Camworks and sometimes my database gets currupted when we install new updates. I have about 100 user defined tools that we need to share and about 1000 custom features in the database. I would recomending backing up your database often.

Thank you so much for the input. I will make sure to backup my database often.

I have been hearing good things about the current release of CAMWorks.

In the past, the complexity of the initial setup was a HUGE turnoff.

I was surprised to learn that recently GSSL actually purchased TekSoft so it doens't surprise me that some people are having support issues.
Unfortuantely that's par for the course in the short term with a change of ownership.

Back in 2000, GSSL sold and/or licensed it's code for 3d algorithms to Licom Systems AlphaCAM.
Planit bought Licom very shortly thereafter.
That brought lots of short term changes but they weathered the storm and are back stronger then ever.

My opinion is CAMWorks 2007 is absoultely worthless for 3D work. Teksoft has so many issues to deal with they cannot even issue patches because they do not know where to start.

The software shuts down our systems and then will not recognize the license. The 3D toolpaths nearly grind the video to a halt even on simple paths.

Go to the Teksoft forum to see what is happening to the CAMWorks population.

Its hard to think that a cam system is "worthless". It sure sounds like your computer needs some updating or at least your video card.

I have been using the software enough now to know that there are some bugs, but "worthless"...I don't know about that.

Maybe you should check to see if you have a video card that is on the supported list from SolidWorks.

Dual Core 4400 AMD Athlon 64 X2 Series Processor with 2 X 1 MB L2 Cache. Two (2) Western Digital 74 GB Raptor Series 10,000 RPM Hard Drives in RAID 1 Stripe, a Western Digital 400GB RAID Editon 7200 RPM Hard Drive,
four (4) OCZ Titanium 1 GB High Performance, low latency 2-3-2-5 SDRAM for 4 GB of System RAM with Heat Spreaders, NVIDA Geforce 7900GTO 2 GB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card. I think I'm up to date. I have no problems running SolidWorks or SurfCAM. I also did not encounter any problems until I upgraded to CAMWorks 2007.

mdlmkr try doing a surphircal shape in a mold Cavity and see if it out puts Radial code and does not facet the sides of the cavity.

I have heard this to be a be problem.

That nvidia gforce card is a gaming card isn't it? It may be the reason for the slow simulation display, it might be using software rendering. Check on the Teksoft forum for any tweaks using the AMD chip.

Currently I'm using a 4 year old Dell P4 with a Powerleap CPU upgrade to 2.8 and 2 Gigs of ram with a 4X AGP FireGL 2 videocard, works very good.

Yes, the older versions of CamWorks, before 2006EX, was a bit slow generating the 3D code, but it always did what I wanted it to do.
I've made many small prototyping and short run molds without any problems.
And have made many short run parts and lots of prototype parts using 2D and 3D, never a problem with the code.

The current version of Camworks is by far the best. SP0 of 2007 had some bugs, but Teksoft was quick to release a fix. Now, you should be using at least SP1.1 of Solidworks and SP2 of Camworks, I've had no problems yet.

I don't use the AFR, I tried it in an older version and didn't like it.
But for anyone having database problems with upgrades, you should always use the import feature for the new database. Yes, if you are having problems with CWX crashing, it might be a problem using an older database with the updated version, mostly with the 3D stuff.

enat

I enjoy using CW for the 2 1/2 D work. The 3D + can get tricky and very slow on large files, 20Mb and up. These files are common in mold making. The software is definitely not tailored for mold making. For that we use SurfCAM.