Newbie- SO HOW IS CAMSOFT WORKING FOR YOU????

[Marcos Ruarte]

How's camsoft working for you guys???? Gotto be careful otherwise one can get banned in a heart beat here.

[Bob Pierre]

So far it's been several years. I have come along way since then and have got very good at making the system do what we need. So I guess we can say camsoft has been working okay. If you are a newbie you'll have a lot to learn to get good. Otherwise I would suggest you get camsoft to recommend a installer to help you on the first one.

Bob

[Karl_T]

Camsoft is simply the most capable open source control out there. IMHO nothing else comes close.

The complaints you see are almost entirely from folks new to the control that are in over their heads and don't understand why its not working. Learning to install Camsoft does have a steep learning curve. Many folks, myself included, struggle with their first install. I would not suggest doing Camsoft as your first refit. And I would further suggest doing a simple machine first.

Once you become proficient with Camsoft, making a machine do your bidding is just about the most fun that can be had, with all your clothes on

karl

[Marcos Ruarte]

Originally Posted by Karl_T Camsoft is simply the most capable open source control out there. IMHO nothing else comes close. The complaints you see are almost entirely from folks new to the control that are in over their heads and don't understand why its not working. Learning to install Camsoft does have a steep learning curve. Many folks, myself included, struggle with their first install. I would not suggest doing Camsoft as your first refit. And I would further suggest doing a simple machine first. Once you become proficient with Camsoft, making a machine do your bidding is just about the most fun that can be had, with all your clothes on karl

when you say a simple machine you mean... maybe a 2 axis machine??? would that be easy?? do you know Ruben???

[Karl_T]

Originally Posted by Marcos Ruarte when you say a simple machine you mean... maybe a 2 axis machine??? would that be easy?? do you know Ruben???

Ruben and Earnie are the two smartest tech people I know.

My history, I bought a Mazak M4 twin turret lathe with a failed Camsoft install. I soon found out I was in over my head. So, I backed up and re did my stepper mill with Mach over to Camsoft. Then I changed it over to servos and added a professional operator panel. When I went back to that Mazak it was a piece of cake.


If you've got a two axis machine, get just the two axis running under a default setup. Then start adding capabilities. For me, the secret was to keep plugging away, one small issue at a time. I was fortunate, there was no outside imposed time deadline.

Now that I've done a few, the software takes very little time. Doing a pro job on the electrical hardware is the key. That is still very time consuming.

karl

[HuFlungDung]

So Karl, are you hanging out your shingle yet? If you've done a few, you must have either a full shop, or at least the beginnings of a customer list

I'd fully agree that it takes a lot of time to do the first one. Being under a time constraint to get it done and go make parts would be next to unbearable. You'd have to almost regard retro #1 as a hobby, with potential to pay you back, someday.

I don't know if it would be wise to get someone else to do it. That is because then you would not understand it. So it would become 'their control' instead of 'your control'. IF that other someone is at your beck and call to fix or modify stuff as you see fit, and you've got ample $$ to hand over for their trouble, then I suppose you don't need to really understand what is under the hood. But the point of Camsoft is to understand what is under the hood.

[Karl_T]

Originally Posted by HuFlungDung So Karl, are you hanging out your shingle yet? If you've done a few, you must have either a full shop, or at least the beginnings of a customer list

I'd hang out a shingle but; I'm not cheap, I don't travel, I won't be rushed, and I don't cut corners. My goal early in life was to be independantly wealthy. I've settled for just being independant.

I've got a big lathe, chucker lathe, and knee mill running Camsoft. I'm working on a plasma cutter. My wire EDM and big mill both have old but working controls. They will get camsoft someday.

Karl

[Carlo Rechi]

I have no shingle but I will do a Camsoft install. I love to do this now. She is beautiful system. I am independent, not cheap and don't like to travel like Mr. Karl.

Carlo

[Citron]

I might as well though my hat into the ring and offer my installation services for people that want high speed machining. I have got the CamSoft system honed in to go faster and tighter than the Fanuc and Fagor systems my customer originally had.

Johnny

[Farmers Machine]

I started programming in 1997. I never really understood how G1 X10. could make a computer move a piece of steel. After retrofitting a large gantry oxy fuel torch only 2 axis and having a very very smart man explain what was what, Cam Soft tells the Galil card what to do and the Galil card makes the motors go. we did this one under a ridiculous time schedule because I was holding a PO from a demanding customer with a ridiculous delivery date. After all of the dust has settled down, and making a few changes to the default CBK file I could not be any happier with the control and the retrofit. I dont know if it is Vista or a cheap computer, but one day when it was 112 degrees inside the shop where the torch works it locked up about half way through the part. Powered down and restarted the control and she hasnt missed a lick since. If you study and read the manuals over and over, you can do anything with this control. Kinda leanin toward the idea of not buying another new CNC machine because of the ability of the Cam Soft control to work on any machine that moves,spins,makes chips or sparks.
Big thumbs up
The Farmer.

[ontheroad]

My wife wanted me to write this.

I read what the farmer wrote here to my wife and she said it sounded just like me. I like to read the forums but I don't write. Everything is true he wrote. The Camsoft people must think I am doing a 180 on them because I complained in the beginning. It was me. You Camsoft people did good by me and stuck with us. It was my son and Camsoft that made this happen. The wiring was over my head. The whole retrofit came out good in the end and I really like it now. I thought I would be a man and say so.

John

[Al_The_Man]

Originally Posted by ontheroad I read what the farmer wrote here to my wife John

How come farmer was writing to your wife
Al.