5x10 dyna, I need software

[blacksheep10]

I have autocad 2000 (I think), am self taught and probably still don't know what I'm doing.
I have whatever basic cut program came with my dyna when it was new in 06 or so, and the aforementioned CAD.
My needs:
1) Nesting.
I cut several things (beadlock rings etc) with large open center areas that I want filled with various tabs and such so the plate doesn't go to waste. The painfully long way I do it now is go to CAD, select and copy what tabs I want and drop them into the center, save as and go to the G code generator on dyna and create a whole new Tap file every time. I would swear when I used to have stuff cut by the guy in town with a plasmacam that he was scanning stuff, dragging it to the area he wanted it from a "bin" of parts laying there, clicking on them to make a toolpath and hitting cut. I would love to be able to drag and drop, lead in and make a toolpath semi-quickly.
2) Scanning
Again, on the plasmacam I watched work, I would take a piece of beer box the shape I wanted in and he would scan it on an old Wal Mart scanner and import it, click the start points and push cut. I want to be able to do this as my CAD is terrible, and even worse when I'm trying to draw a file off of a crudely cut template that doesn't have square edges.
3) Text / Ornamental stuff
If I want to write something and cut it, or make a leaf (random example) what do I need here.


What I am asking is what kind of software do I need to buy to make my life easier. Scanning and making a toolpath would be huge. I have folks bring stuff over quite a bit that I have to scale, measure, waste a half hour drawing (slow in CAD) and sometimes recut if I've made an error. Maybe there are things the Dyna software does that I'm not aware of.

Thanks in advance
Kelly

[WSS]

Originally Posted by blacksheep10 I have autocad 2000 (I think), am self taught and probably still don't know what I'm doing. I have whatever basic cut program came with my dyna when it was new in 06 or so, and the aforementioned CAD. My needs: 1) Nesting. I cut several things (beadlock rings etc) with large open center areas that I want filled with various tabs and such so the plate doesn't go to waste. The painfully long way I do it now is go to CAD, select and copy what tabs I want and drop them into the center, save as and go to the G code generator on dyna and create a whole new Tap file every time. I would swear when I used to have stuff cut by the guy in town with a plasmacam that he was scanning stuff, dragging it to the area he wanted it from a "bin" of parts laying there, clicking on them to make a toolpath and hitting cut. I would love to be able to drag and drop, lead in and make a toolpath semi-quickly. 2) Scanning Again, on the plasmacam I watched work, I would take a piece of beer box the shape I wanted in and he would scan it on an old Wal Mart scanner and import it, click the start points and push cut. I want to be able to do this as my CAD is terrible, and even worse when I'm trying to draw a file off of a crudely cut template that doesn't have square edges. 3) Text / Ornamental stuff If I want to write something and cut it, or make a leaf (random example) what do I need here. What I am asking is what kind of software do I need to buy to make my life easier. Scanning and making a toolpath would be huge. I have folks bring stuff over quite a bit that I have to scale, measure, waste a half hour drawing (slow in CAD) and sometimes recut if I've made an error. Maybe there are things the Dyna software does that I'm not aware of. Thanks in advance Kelly

Without question the "premium" package from DT will do all the above. we-cim will nest part-in-part quickly and apply leads instantly. CuttingShop will take your scan and you can trace it or let the software draw and tweak it. The plasmacam guy had all his parameters set-up already making your template easy to do. I have a 11x17 flatbed scanner that I use for just this. Technically, if you have a good camera with a flat lens and a known size (include a steel rule or straightedge in the pic), you can take the jpg (raster) right into cutting shop. Text is a strong point w/cuttingshop, you can do text on an arc too.

The big plus is the support from we-cim. The guy who wrote it, is the guy who trains and helps you. He knows cuttingshop too. Gary (we-cim) lurks around here too, he might chime in? Talk to him and give Leon@DT a call and question him too. I remember discussing this topic with Leon way back and him saying that eventually I would run ("nest") everything through we-cim, even single parts. I thought that was kinda weird, but literally everything runs through there now. If we-cim gives you trouble with the drawing it is usually a "problem" drawing, the lion at the gate so to speak. Saves lots of time and material. Both equal $$.

WSS

[magma-joe]

blacksheep10,

I would 2nd what WSS said. I have been using We-cim since 2006. We-cim comes as a package with Cutting Shop (Arbor Image). It is a powerful package, well worth the cost.

DynatorchHome

Magma-joe

[blacksheep10]

From what I can see, $2145 is the lowest step to get into what I want to do? Keep dealing with my headaches or do a $2k jump. Darn

[gwittlock]

Blacksheep

Check out Home. View the demosand if you have any questions at all I would be happy to talk to you about your needs. No pressure at all even if you want to talk about options.

Gary Wittloc

[RAW]

I've been screwing around for years with various pieces of software.
CorelDraw and DXFTool.
Then AutocadLT, CorelDRAW and DXFTool.
Then I found Sheetcam.
Then I started using Rhino3D and Sheetcam.

I recently did some Gotomeeting calls with Gary at Wittlock Engineering. He showed me what We-Cim can do and how it views the DXF files I create in Rhino3D.

I wish I had just done the We-Cim thing years ago. It would have saved me a lot of headache.

As soon as I recover from our house move, I plan on purchasing WE-CIM.