EdgeCam 10.5 Y axis milling on lathe ?

[tricky]

Hi folks,

Anyone use EC 10.5 to do lathe work with c,y axis and sub spindle ?

Desperatly trying to find a easy to use package which dosn't require me to cut and paste several programs together.

Any help / sugestions much apreaciated.

[mikewsk2]

EdgeCAM does Mill/Turn machines with C,Y,B with sub-spindles very nicely. You have to have the correct licenses to do this, but if you have it then it should be real easy. You will to make a post for the machine (you can also ask you local reseller) through Code Wizard. There should be no cutting and pasting of your NC code.

What type of machine is it, like make and model?

[tricky]

Hi Mike,

Its a CTX310 V6 with Fanuc 32i
(8" chuck, 65mm bore, 6" sub spindle, full C to both, Y axis, B axis to move sub)

The options on software arn't important at the moment, we are going to narrow our search down to a couple of systems and then go on their training courses and only then make a purchase decision on what cam system to buy.

Have featureCAM turn/mill demo cd at the moment and not overly keen on that (apart from the fact that eds has been bought by Delcam)

PCFapts won't support a sub spindle unless you cut and paste programs, its also being phazed out buy Fanuc.

Fanuc manual guide i PC is a possible, but they don't do a demo cd just a presantation cd and you can't really produce cad type drawings from it as far as i know.

One CNC turn/mill as a single package isn't out yet.

I would rather not buy a pathtrace/delcam product as most people say that they screw you for support contracts after the first year, on top of paying £5k in the first place.

I wan't a package that should be easy to use like OneCNC rather than a package you need to be trained on.

Any ideas ?

thanks

[mikewsk2]

as with most CAM software (Gibbs, EdgeCAM, Espirit) the maintenance will be i believe 10-15% of the software costs. this isn't that big of a deal when you consider that EC has 3 releases a year. The only ones I would consider would be EdgeCAM and Espirit. Gibbs, you don't have good control over the toolpath and MasterCAM is terrible on Mill/Turn.

EdgeCAM has a strong hold on the mill/turn arena. And you have Code Wizard which no other CAM software even offers. This gives you the ability to make and have more control of your posts. Your not tied to your reseller for a post, so you can make changes very easily and even make a new one for whenever you get a new machine down the road.

[mikewsk2]

Who makes that machine? I have done similiar Daewoo's and Mazaks with no problems at all so you shouldn't have any issues if you went with EdgeCAM. What area are you in, if you don't mind me asking?

[tricky]

Thanks for the info

Its a Gildemester made in Italy.

I think you might be a bit biased considering your job

But all sugestions greatfully received

[mikewsk2]

True, but I have used Gibbs and Espirit for programming in the past. Since you're in the UK support shouldn't be an issue, since EC is developed there.

Good luck.

[Mike Mattera]

Dont let the maintenance cost deter you. ALL major Cad & Cam software packages have a maintenance. Edgecam is doing extensive engineering to stay progressive with the multi axis market. You cant update your Cad software and not take advantage of the latest time saving benefits of the the Cam update. Multi axis lathes are complex. Innovations are being made everyday by Edgecam to make it easier to program your machine. That's.... the machines you have today and the machines you'll get tomorrow.

What are your engineers using for Cad now? That should make a difference in your decision as well.

Mike Mattera

[tricky]

We use OneCnc XR2 Pro at the moment for milling, some old basic thing for doing geometry for turning.

We have never used a proper CAM system for turning, but with our new machine on its way we will have to sort out a package of some description.

Anyone used Fanuc PCFapts or Manual Guide i PC ?