Differences/recomendation excalibur and ONECNC

[John F]

I am evaluating Excalibur and OneCNC software to purchase.
I was wondering if anyone had any input on technical support, or recomendations as to which is more user friendly. I use Cimatron currently and want to put one of these on the shop floor to aliviate G-Code programming at the machine control.

[MPE racing]

John,
I have used AusCAD which was what it was called before OneCNC. In fairness to it, I didn't use it much, but I really prefer Excalibur to it. I'm in Brisbane Australia(so is OneCNC by the way to the best of my knowledge) and I find it easier to speak with Don and get help from him than I would normally recieve from someone right here in Brissy.
Personally I believe this to be the biggest factor for Excalibur.
Aside from that, the post processor is very easy to configure to suit your particular machine.
I honestly believe you would be very happy with Excalibur if you decided on it over another package.
So in answer to your question, Technical support is excellent.....Even across the other side of the world, very easy to talk to and actually wants to help you with your concern.
I also find it user friendly, but I guess it is what you become used to.
I hope this helps..........Greig

[Cruncher]

We had Xcad which is Excalibur we tried to use it but the the 3d roughing which dosent work properly ruined a few jobs and cost us so much that we got rid of it and purchased Mastercam. We needed an extra seat of cam have since bought Onecnc also and you cant even compare it to Excalibur as far as 3d is concerned especially. We believe Onecnc is better than Mastercam. Our main use for cam is machining solids from Solidworks so I would check with other users that have actually used both before in a full on 3d situation because I assure you we have and thats our view.
Another view which I hope helps.

[MPE racing]

I had problems with the 3D machining before the last update as well. But that is fixed now.
Here is a link to a 3d job we just did for a customers Harley drag bike.
http://www.stripbike.com/ubb/Forum10/HTML/000052.html

I used plunge roughing on this job and then machined with a 16mm ball cutter.

Came out just like the 3D drawing........

Greig

[John F]

They look great but they won't fit on my Jeep. LOL

Actually we will be using the software for 2d machining only. I am the only one that does 3d programming and I use Cimatron. Excalibur or OneCNC is for the others that do not know how to program w/ cimatron. Right now they program pockets and holes at the controller. The software should save us hours each week.

[Merlin]

John,

One big difference between Excalibur and OneCNC is in the associative machining. Excalibur has always been able to update the toolpath whenever the model geometry changes or the operation parameters change. This is available in both the Shop Floor product and the full product. Since you are looking at the 2D machining only, the Shop Floor product is the way to go and is much much less expensive! BTW...Cruncher's comments are well taken but the XCAD/XCAM product was obsoleted a few years ago for Excalibur. and there have been many changes made since then. Good Luck in your search for the right product.

[HuFlungDung]

I used to think in terms of buying the cheapest to get 2d, as though 2d were a less complex thing to handle. However, this is typical of me being stuck in the paradigm of "geometry-based CADCAM", as if the only concern is the accuracy of the code output, and ability to handle 3d roughing and finishing in various ways.

However, since I have been exposed to and use the OnecncXP series, I see the fallacy of thinking in terms of buying a program that focuses on the bare output of nc code, heck Bobcad will do that!

Onecnc's NC manager is a far greater tool than I realized. It is a superior asset for controlling multiple processes in 2d work, which can become very complicated, and make plain old 3d look like child's play.

Make sure that whatever you buy has something comparable to Onecnc's NC manager. This function is available in the cheapest version Mill Production XP, which is the entry level 2.5d package.

[John F]

Thank you for your advice and input.

I believe Excalibur and One CNC can do the job. They are very simillar in interface and can produce the quality of tool path. We have to chose between the two and take everything into account.
Ease of use (I have to train 5 people) Flexibility ie being able to manipulate the software to do what I want. And technical support. Obviously I do not know thier full potential and what may work better for us but I need to weigh everything in my descision. And ultimatley the descision is not mine. I can make very strrong recomendations but I don't cut and sign the check.

I just believe that nearly any software will be an improvement over programming at the controller yes even BobCAD. That is what we are looking to eliminate. Cimatron has nearly every funtion that any software I have evaluated and probabbly has more options inside each function. Plus with over 15 seats company wide we will not be changing 3d programming software any time soon. It is difficult to use but I can get it to do almost anything I want. Hopefully I will be getting exposed to Five axis programming late this year. That will be the greatest challenge.

Sorry Got off on a tangent.

This site has been helpful in making my descisions

[SRT]

Merlin,
If I understand your previous post, are you saying that there is a difference in the way Onecnc & Excalibur handle associative machining? I don't have a good grasp on the associative machining definition. I would like to know better what this encompasses, and also what is the difference in the way the 2 mentioned softwares address this process.
Thank you.

[SRT]

Post script to above message:
"Anyone" who can answer either of the above 2 questions that I asked Merlin, please feel free to jump in here with your thoughts!
Thanks

[Merlin]

SRT

Associative machining it where the actual machining task is linked to the geometry in the drawing. Therefore, when for example a circle that was previously used in a drilling operation is moved to a new location, all machining tasks that used that circle are updated as well. This means you don't have to redo any machining operations when you change the model. This feature is new to OneCNC...just made available in the XP product. The lower end OneCNC products do not have this feature that I am aware.

Since the Excalibur Shop Floor product is the same as the Full product except without 3D surface machining, you get all of the power and machining optimization found in the full product...including associative machining.

[SRT]

Merlin,
I'm wondering, as you describe the one circle feature being moved to a new location, with all the tasks following along, would the same apply if the whole model were moved to a new location would the associative machining be able to handle all of those feature moves as a group.
Does Excalibur have the capability to make working with rotary tombstone programming easier, such as if parts were origionally placed at one location but then were relocated to a different position later, would that be possible with a little programming or would it be an involved process to accomplish.
Thank you.