CAM programs

[HomerSimpson]

I started building my CNC router 18 months ago. One of the most time consuming aspects of the build has been determining which CAM program to buy. I tested alot of free or very low cost packages to start with and settled on CamBam. For only a $150 it provides alot of value. My machine is 3-axis but controls 4 stepper to do so. I just added a 5th stepper for the 4th axis, a lathe in this case. A number of packages allow you to wrap one of the axis around the A axis so that you are still only controlling 3 at a time. If you have a 3D model that you want to carve on the lathe though, I think I need a CAM package that has true 4 axis capability. I've been compiling information on as many packages out there as possible and downloading demos where possible. I thought that other people could use this information. Feel free to add to it.

Product Trial? Website 4/5 axis Retail $ Ed/Hobby $

AlibreCam Y alibrecam.com $1,600 $170
Aspire Y vectric.com N $2,000 no
Bobcad Y bobcad.com
Cambam Y cambam.info N $150 no
Camworks N camworks.com Y
Cimatron N cimatron.com
Cut3D Y vectric.com $300 no
DeskProto 6 Y deskproto.com Y $350
DolphinCam Y dolphincadcamusa.com Y $599 $399
Easymill Y easymill.co.uk Y 2500gbp 375gbp
Edgecam N edgecam.com
EZCam N ezcam.com
Featurecam Y powermill.com Y
Gibbs N gibbscam.com Y
Hypermill N openmind-tech.com
Madcam N madcamcnc.com Y $2,000 $929
Mastercam Y mastercam.com Y
Meshcam Y grzsoftware.com
NCL N nccs.com
OneCNC N qarm.com.au Y
Powermill N powermill.com
Rhinocam Y rhinocam.com Y $2,000 no
Solidcam Y solidcam.com
Sprutcam Y sprutcam.com Y $4,370
Surfcam Y surfware.com Y $800
Vcarve Y vectric.com $600 no
VisualMill Y mecsoft.com Y $5,000 no
WorkNC N sescoi.com Y no
ZW3D N zwsoft.com Y

[arvidj]

Thanks for making the information available.

I am trying to do similar research for both CAD and CAM. As a hobbyist I am price sensitive but many of the sites do not list prices … many seem to be on a ‘call us for a quote’ basis. I feel bad about wasting their time answering the phone and providing me with a quote that is not even close to something I could afford. I understand that for commercial sales they want to establish the contact and then go thru the sales and marketing incantation but as I say, I feel bad about wasting their time to tell me they do not have anything in my league.

[magnum500sw]

so what one have you decided ? i am going threw the same thing , trying to decide on a software will make your head hurt .

[awerby]

From your list above it looks like DeskProto's the winner, if you want something capable of carving in 4-axis mode, but I should point out that the price you list is just for students or hobbyists. A commercial copy is considerably more.

As an online retailer, I'd like to be able to list more prices - it would certainly save me some time, and my customers as well. I'm not hiding them because I want to capture your information. But manufacturers, at least in the US, due to some recent Supreme Court decisions which turned anti-trust law on its head, can now dictate pricing to independent resellers, and can prohibit them from advertising even "list" prices. So many of the prices on my site are simply "too low to publish"...

Andrew Werby
ComputerSculpture.com — Home Page for Discount Hardware & Software

[HomerSimpson]

It would be very time consuming to adequately test all of these packages. I did download and install the demo/trial version of all that were available. I then tried each one. This was not a scientific process of evaluation. I simply opened each one and if I can quickly navigate my way around to do what I want, it stays on the list. There's a common set of things each of them needs to do so if you can't get it to do them in a small amount of time, then I dropped it.

So, I either dumped it because it has a poor user interface or the maker doesn't offer a hobby price.

Here's my top few:

1. DeskProto - Very nice interface. Wizards make it even easier. $350 for hobby price. Up to 5 axis machining!
2. Vectric suite of tools (Aspire, Cut3D, Vcarve, etc) - Very nice interface as well but no hobby pricing. I may reconsider this if I go pro.
3. Cambam - Fairly good interface, although could learn alot from the above packages. Can't beat the $150 price for the capability with lifetime upgrades.

Try them out yourself and post your findings for the community. As I said before, I'm amazed at how many packages there are, and how much time I have spent since getting into CNC, evaluating/learning them.

[victorofga]

simpson

i using vectric programs since 2009.. in that time was not so many program on the market...

about this year front someone showed me a topic...
Vectric Forum • View topic - VCarve looks like Artcam ?

i knew about artcam and some connections.. however after this i checked out better and find, express for 150 will import everything i need... i dont want really compare programs here,but express has some feats aspire dont have... tough,it would be useful..
later i want to shift to visualmill... beyond reliefs, these programs very hard to work.. while visualmill really strong for 3d works..

about a year before delcam started to market artcam express... for 150 express makes vcarving, all type of 2.5d toolpaths, you can import 3d models, more advanced way than into aspire..
you can rotate models to exact angle, also you can merge several models, unlikely 3dcut can not..
not automated slicing, but theres a free program, netfab, that can slice stl models very exact..

so basically for 150 you can make almost everything like vcarvepro, plus cut3d... even machining like in aspire..

for modeling, theres hexagon, a free subdivision modeling sw.. you can model reliefs, and full 3d models too... aspire makes only reliefs..
with hexagon only your imagination the limit.. you can accompany with dazstudio, and you can make immediately torso, of a human about 10 min...
you can output a model of ahand within a few min... just try it..

if you like to add details for your models, 3dcoat for 350 has 3d sculpting ability... the next modeling stuff is zbrush.. unbeatable..
sculptris also free...

one ofmy friend mailed mecsoft... he got some price on visualmill... so i would try if i were you.. who knows,they migth have a hobby price..
2000 dollar i think a little out of hobby price..


but you can look around and many more modeler ...

[MichaelHenry]

SprutCAM is available at a considerably less than $4,400 at SprutCAM America - Home, especially if purchased with a Tormach mill. It is sold in several versions, starting at less than $1k and there are several tutorials available through the above site and on YouTube.

Mike

[HomerSimpson]

Victor,

Great suggestions! I don't know how I missed Artcam express. I downloaded the trial and it looks great, especially for the price ($150). Seems to have some of the key functionality of the Vectric products that I like. I also downloaded several of the others you've suggested, although couldn't make Sculptris work on my Win7 32bit computer.

Seems like for a hobbyist, you'd be hard to beat the combo of Deskproto ($350), which will do my true 3 and 4 axis stuff, and Artcam Express for 2 and 2.5D engraving work. Thanks.