Hot dickerty, TurboCAD and CAM and training CD's for 200 bucks on evil bay plus only $25 for trans-pond shipping :D

With the cheap dollar that was a no-brainer even if it turns out to be junk.

Question is am I entering an exciting and profitable new world of 3D design, or should the box have a metal health warning on it?

Can't help thinking you usually get what you pay for, but surely it can't be worse than AutoCAD r14 3D which I loathe with a real passion :D

Disappointed, it does marvellous rendering but I am having a terrible time doing simple stuff like moving and rotating. It is just too likely to deny me position snaps and angular constraints. eg: I want 90 degrees, best I can get is plus minus .1 degrees off 90. I will persevere but I get a distinct impression this software is more for 'making pretties' than serious CAD :(

To rotate parts, I use the select tool. Select the part, then type the desired rotation angles at the bottom of the screen. Very accurate.

I have noticed that for compound angles it is sometimes best to rotate one axis, select another part, then select the original again and continue rotating another axis. That gives TurboCAD a chance to reset the part axes to the coordinate system you are working with.

Grid snaps work fine also. Do you have the grid (and grid snapping) turned on?

- Just Gary

As a second thought, I have found the examples at http://www.cadcourse.com/winston/ very helpful for learning TurboCAD. The tutorials are for older versions, but definitely will give you the feel for using the program. The baseball seam is a good one, since it teaches SEKE (Single Entry Keyboard Equivalent) use and snapping.

Good luck!

- Just Gary

I'm having more luck since I downloaded the 12.5 upgrade :D

I can now use the 'hold shift' for angular constraint, haven't dared set to anything but 90 yet. OTOH it doesn't just pop up a yellow box and refuse to do any rotate with snaps or constraints like before, a serious improvement.

The snap to grid started working when I prioritised it 200, way beyond everything else.

Still haven't figured out how to apply ORTHO when I move something, or how to get the relative co-ords (displayed for the move) to reflect the snap rather than some arbitrary screen pixel location.

It still feels more like CorelDraw than AutoCad, perhaps I'm misunderstanding the program philosophy, I shall persevere :)

I was wondering what version you were using. I recently bought 12.2 and CAM off ebay. Being a dutiful software user, I downloaded and installed the V12.5 update patches. I have been using TC for many years...no expert, but lets me do what I want to do. Think I starte with version 3, stuck with version 7 for a very long time.
Going into v12, the snaps are definately more tedious and have to be tweeked to get to a more familiar feeling.
One issue...if you install the CAM in version 12.5...it doesn't work properly. The render, green material removed lines and even the "part" gray color outline do not function correctly (render doesn't work, no green lines at all, gray line is a single vertical line and not a box shape as it should be).
I uninstalled everything, deleted out TC 12 related folders to eliminate .dat files and etc. Reinstalled V12.2 and CAM v3.5. Now the render works, green lines are there, gray box is there. Don't know what ugly things to expect from the unpatched v12.2.
Got a reply from TC today that they recreated the issue I had and suspect an ACIS issue and will try to fix the defect. I hunted all over the web to find someone with similar issues...hope posting this will help others when they are trying to learn the CAM and it doesn't work like the tutorial says it will.

I'm using V14.2 at work as of about a month ago. I had been using V7 for years and finally got tired of the crashes and inability to read IGES files. I have not tried CAM on it (yet) but plan to pick it up when I finally buy the Tormach PCNC 1100 I'm currently drooling over. I'm still looking for a separate CAM program since the TC one is 2.5d only, and I want 3d as well.

If you want to loan me your CAM plugin, I'll try it out for you! :D

I was surprised at the difference in look and feel from V7 to V14, but have adapted fairly quickly. I have not had it crash yet, and I'm getting used to how it works.

One thing to always pay attention to in TC is the workplane. If you set it to the front view and then go back to the top, you can get frustrated. Almost all of my snapping is either grid, vertex, or the "S" key, which is no snap. Sometimes I have to use center. Changing the origin of the selected part with the "D" key and then selecting a corner can help too.

I normally will move the part where I want it using a snap and then check the X, Y, and Z positions on the bottom of the screen to verify it. Moving the Z is usually easiest by just typing the new value and pressing enter.

Regards,

- Just Gary

I got my bundle today, and likewise immediately ran the 12.5 updater. When I had the described issues, I went first to the ReadMe file where it listed recommened resolution of 16 bit. Tried changing it with no joy.

Came here to see what might be said, and thankfully found your entry on the first thread I looked at.

Heart felt thanks for a much shorter evening trying to sort this out.

Being a brave/dumb sole... after reinstalling, I'm going to try the 12.3 update and see if the same glitch shows up???

Paul, Central OR
MiniMechanicals

*****


I recently bought 12.2 and CAM off ebay. Being a dutiful software user, I downloaded and installed the V12.5 update patches.

One issue...if you install the CAM in version 12.5...it doesn't work properly.

Got a reply from TC today that they recreated the issue I had and suspect an ACIS issue and will try to fix the defect. I hunted all over the web to find someone with similar issues...hope posting this will help others when they are trying to learn the CAM and it doesn't work like the tutorial says it will.

Just a follow-up...

I reinstalled TC Pro v12.2 and CAM 3.5, and ran it through the tutorial steps to verify everything was working... and was.

I then ran the v12.3 upgrade and tried again, opening the saved project. The pocketing Removed Material didn't show up as green when rendered, even though it was there in wire frame... so I deleted the operation and regenerated it. All seems to work now.

Still need to check other functions...

Paul, Central OR
MiniMechanicals.com

Take a minute to send an email to Turbocad support. http://st.imsisupport.com/index.php?d=4&Next=Next&pf=t

They didn't seem to be aware of the issue...but have recreated the same problems I had. Seems if the 12.5 update is necessary...then it should work with the CAM.

As a side note...seems the CAM version is proprietary to the version of TC...in other words, if the CAM didn't ship with the CAD...it most likely will not work. I got an upgrade offer for the latest TC and they advised that the CAM was another $299 and the old version would not work.

I did send a message to TC support, and got the following response:

Ticket ID: 11494-4710042120

Last Post:
----------------------------------
Hello Paul,

Thank you for your info.

Regards,
Igor Streltsov

*****

TCPro 12.3 upgrade with CAM and Machanical Pack have been running stable ever since I got past the first few hangs. It does seem to grab a lot of CPU time, but may be due to several other factors on my bloated WinXP Pro install.

The TC 12 upgrade page seems to indicate the 12.5 upgrade only provides Vista compatability. Most of the feature adds and bug fixes are listed under the 12.3 upgrade. So unless TC Support releases a 12.5 fix, I'm going to be content with my currently stable running 12.2 install with 12.3 upgrade.

And yes, I also understand TCPro add-ons are version specific, and add their own costs during the upgrade purchase... and the cost goes up with each older version you're upgrading from. Probably more bang for the buck to upgrade to TC Pro/CAM 14 through the same vendor we got our bundles from, and wait for TC 15 being superceeded by the next version to make that jump. It costs extra to stay on the bleeding edge! :D

Paul, Central OR
MiniMechanicals.com

I was just pointing out the compatibility issue with the CAM so some poor sole doesn't buy a CAM CD and find out it doesn't work with their version of TC. I just got a CNC mill and hope to get some use out of the TC CAM and the "lite" DNC program included with it. Going to route the DNC to a Dynapath Delta 20 controller with a wireless Serial Device Server...or so is the plan. Hope I can figure out how to set up the machine in the CAM....lots of new ground to cover. Of course, a used CNC mill is like a used car...so the ball screws are all torn out right now waiting on new balls to replace the worn out ones....

Update: From the beginning of April to the end of May, TurboCAD support has not updated the patch issue I found, doesn't respond to questions on the ticket and neither does any other part of TubroCAD.

I am certain I will not be purchasing any of their upgrade offerings considering poor product support. I very much hate taking the effort to do the tech work for another company's product then have them drop the ball on the whole thing...very dissapointing.

After a number of un-answered additions to my TCC support ticket, I finally received a reply today. They will not be fixing the v12.5 update patch to allow the CAM to function properly. The say the v14 and v15 CAM work, except you need to have that version of TC too...so the cost of their mistakes is back on the owner.

I have also noticed that if doing a chain mill conture that the tool is not offset in the toolpath rendering or simulation. The advertised concept that the CAM doesn't require a post processor is bogus...it just means the owner has to build their own using the cam editor and very very little documentation. The fact that there are three build in machine controllers is enough evidence that post-processing is involved. Good luck on building your own.

I have gotten good use of TC for drawing over the years, but the CAM was a total waste of money. There are lower cost CAM's out there that work much better.

I can understand TCC not having any interest in fixing older versions...but it doesn't entice me to spend money on newer versions of a poor product and sloppy work.