Satisfaction with Camsoft?

[kurbelgehause]

Hello All,

I'm looking at retrofitting a K&T horizontal machining center with a Camsoft professional control system. I've heard good things about Camsoft but all second hand or from salesmen. Not discounting what i've heard/been told; would anyone who has lived with it on a daily basis care to offer opinions on how good it really is?
My shop has a limited budget and we'll only get one shot to do this right.
I've read the sales literature and the system seems well thought-out and solid. However, I've found the most reliable evaluation to be the experience of those who have actually had to use it to earn a living.

Thanks for your help.

Ray

[HillBilly]

If you plan on using the software to control the tool changer I would suggest seeing a machine in person with this arrangement before spending $$$$$$.

Darek

[Karl_T]

I'm one of Camsoft's greatest proponents. I'm a hobbyist on steroids, retired control engineer. I first installed Camsoft on a stepper knee mill. Then on a Mazak M4 twin turret lathe with a 16 speed gear box. As time permits, I'm retrofitting a Hardinge CHNC super precision lathe.

Camsoft has the most capabliity of any open system control out there. The architecture of using a dedicated galil control computer for motion control and the host PC for the user interface and logic is brilliant.

Learning to install Camsoft has a very steep learning curve. Their technical help is excellent, but they do assume you know all about the hardware side yourself and have already spent considerable time learning the software. They are not there to teach retrofit 101. There has been more than a few people express disatisfaction with Camsoft. IMHO, These folks all underestimated the task, didn't take the time to learn, and then expected the tech. department to solve all the problems for them.

The toolchanger will most surely be your most difficult area. Camsoft has several default tool changer routines. One will be similar to yours, but not exactly the same. You have to understand exactly how every component of the tool changer logic works together.

If you're hiring an integrator to preform the above tasks, the ablilities of this person will determine the success of your project. These folks are all independent contractors and, of course, some are better than others.

Karl

[Carlo Rechi]

Iam more than Satisfied. I have to admit these people really know there stuff. There are fantastic and very smart. I thought I had known a lot about CNC before I started but they have shown me plenty. I started off slow wiring but the software was fantastic. The most open system I ever seen or used. You can do anything you want with it. I may have said a few things in the beginning but I have now used it more and see how good it really is.

Carlo

[Bob Pierre]

I have known these people for a long time. I can vouch for the people and product. They have been there for twenty something years. They know more about CNC than any other company I have worked with.

I will say though you must know your machine and it's wiring. They aren't much help past their own terminal strips. They have many installers and dealers that they will offer to send in to do the retrofit if you ask. They also have many tool change routines for different machines they will gladly give you but won't tell you how to wire it. I know. I would say that if you do have to do any logic and don't know PLC ladder logic than this is the best product on the market by far.

[camsoft]

Thanks for the kind words Karl, Carlo and Bob. They are noticed.

Tech Support
CamSoft Corp.
(951) 674-8100
support@camsoftcorp.com
www.cnccontrols.com

[murphy625]

Its good stuff..

I use the Factory Automation version so I can't say its being adapted to a CNC center but what I use it for can be just as complex in certain aspects.

I can make this thing sing and dance with the Camsoft package.. There is a learning curve but once you figure it out, the power is in your hands.

They have good tech support also...

[Citron]

For Colin and other Cam soft fans.

I too share everyones over all good things about Cam soft. I have looked hard and they are the over all best for a real machine shop like ours. It was scary at first not knowing what needed to be done because I never did this before but they did help us through it. Another guy did the wiring and we couldn't of pulled this off if we didn't have their technical support people to speak with.

I want Cam soft to do well because I want them to be there making it better and think it's the best product for our shop. I like Fanuc but can't afford a Fanuc unit it was $30000. Fagor and Anilam wanted between $8000 and $15000 to do the same machine.

I found a Tool changer file for our machine in the Macro.mac file that almost fit our machine to a tee. All I had to do was change some IO numbers and add some WaitUntil commands and was able to do it my self in one day. To me that is a big deal!!! I do know a little ladder logic but was able to understand and write Camsoft logic with NO experience. The Fagor and Anilam people said they would have to quote me 8 weeks to write the tool changer!!!


For Colin

When you asked about G54 and G43 these are there in my cbk file and seem to work like you would except. I think it is a matter of preferance on which method you choose.

What I found was that the T code did all these offsets togethet at the same time. This was new to me. I didn't know to use T at first cause I had to always add G54 or G43 before.

The T seems to add the tool height, length, size, wear and custom offsets that I haven't explored yet.

The T# M6 changes my tool plus adds all the offsets at the same time. I guess you could also add G54 or G43 too if you wanted.

Johnny

[JerryFlyGuy]

So, I'm back to re-evaluating control software, and wondering.. Does Camsoft have any type of kinematic software built into it? I've got the CAM software but need a control software that has Kinematics for tool offsets on 5 axis.

Jerry

[camsoft]

Jerry,

The topic of Kinematics is very broad. You should contact our sales dept with specifics regarding your application.

To answer your questions directly. Yes, we do have Kinematics ability built into the later version of CNC Professional by the way of routines that calculate the Kinematics prior to final motion. Think of Kinematics as a fancy word for mechanical mathematics. If the calculations from original G code X,Y,Z,4th,5th axes positions are to be done and translated on-the-fly to new positions for multiple axes machines inside the CNC Control rather than pre-calculated in G code or CAD/CAM than CamSoft owns a patent on this. We also have several macros that a user can adapt him/her self that are pre-written for specific applications which would allow you to specify pivot points, distance lengths, angular limits, degree to linear conversations and also wrist or elbow routines. However, all these are very machine unique and almost always need to be customized.

Tech Support
CamSoft Corp.
(951) 674-8100
support@camsoftcorp.com
www.cnccontrols.com

[JerryFlyGuy]

Thanks! So your kinematics model is really a post processor for the post? Is it a fairly tedious thing to do?

Jerry

[camsoft]

Jerry,

You're welcomed.

That may not be the best words to describe it but we understand what you're saying and yes it could be thought of as an internal customizable post processor in kinematics terms.

Tech Support
CamSoft Corp.
(951) 674-8100
support@camsoftcorp.com
www.cnccontrols.com