BobCAD, WOW!

[Bob La Londe]

Wow! All I can say is wow. No I have not actually used it. I have not even started the demo version. Still I have to say, "WOW!"

I downloaded the demo last night, then I downloaded all the third party stuff it needs to work. I went to bed while that was still installing. This afternoon I got a call from a high pressure salesman from BobCAD. I mean high pressure. I told him upfront I could not afford $3500 dollars for his software, and the only reason I downloaded the demo was becaus I was considering buying somebody else's copy and then paying BobCAD for transfering the ownership key. Pay for tech support if I needed it.

He didn't like that much. He was bound and determined to sell me something.

In the middle of all this he basically told me that the demo is 70% brain damaged, and then he proceeded to hard sell me. I tried to comment that I wasn't sure I wanted to commit to any price for a piece of software if I couldn't even try it and make sure it would work for me, "but it will work for me, "He will guarantee it.""

He even offered me a smoking trade show deal of some kind on the latest software for a fraction of the price. He just didn't want to take no for an answer, tried to imply that I wouldn't get a legal copy if I bought it from somebody else, and just before he tried to set the hook with his smoking price he hit me with his kicker, "All these conversations are recorded so you can be assured anything I am telling you is true."

He lost me then. After politely listening to his sales pitch for over 20 minutes he decided to tell me he had been illegally recording our conversation. (Probably just a sales gimmick, but either he lied to me or he was committing a crime.) Just for the heck of it I pushed him to tell me what his smoking price was. (I had to ask him six times.) It was a good price. Still I figure $10 would have been too much at that point.

I'm sure BobCAD is some smoke awesome software, and I'll regret it for the rest of my life that I didn't buy it at his killer price, but I'm kinda pissed about all the time I wasted even downloading the brain dead demo now. I'm about 95% decided to uninstall the demo without ever running it for the first time.

Wow!

[stevespo]

Sorry you had to deal with that. My experiences with their salespeople over the past 3+ years have been nothing like that. They've been very fair and easy to deal with. Yes, they do call from time to time, but it's not excessive and no high pressure sales pitch. Mostly I've dealt with Mario, so I can't say about the other folks.

You should go ahead and use the demo for a while. You might just find that it suits your needs. For the most part, I enjoy it and it works for me. I have my frustrations, but overall it has a lot of functionality and great bang for the buck.

I honestly have never understood their pricing strategy. It seems like they always end up selling for a small fraction of the list price eventually. I'd call back, ask to talk to the supervisor, explain your experience and get some assurance that if you move forward, it will never happen again. Perhaps if they get enough of this feedback, things will change.

Steve

[ZipSnipe]

Yeah they do use some high pressure sales people but I had no problem telling them "NO and sorry just wanna try it out".

You have to remember salesmen are like predators and if they sense hesitation in your voice they will clamp down on you!!!

[harley4ever]

Ive dealt with it too. Once I changed my number, one company I was SURE to never give it to was bcc. They'll hound you till your blue in the face.

[MrWild]

I'm deaf. I have no problems with phone calls. Emails on the other hand... Don't worry about losing the deal. As they pester you more, they come down in price.

[Chipload]

BobCAD/CAM sinks. I mean it smells so bad it has ASS written all over the software. Sure the CAD works but the CAM just blows....

- No Coolant Fuction: It is not possible to choose between Primary, Secondary, or Off for your coolant selection. At best, you in Hard code it into the post. But if you understand advance post functions, one can make coolant a selectable option but it just silly to me that the software engineers at Bobcad did not make coolant a selectable function already.

- Tool Library: Good Idea, but it dose not work IMO. Manual tool? System tool? Why are you crashing bobcad? Don't you like using both?

-Tapping Feedrate: It is not timed with the spindle rpm.
example:
85sfm with a 1/4-20 tap = 1298.7043rpm
1298.7043rpm/20tpi= 64.9352 IPM

This is correct except for the machine tools I am familiar with do not turn at 1298.7043 rpm. They only turn at whole numbers like 1298 rpm which would make the feedrate to be 64.9 IPM

All the small issues I have ran into with BobCAD/CAM makes it frustrating for me to use. I sometime wonder if BobCAD/CAM employs anybody that knows how to program machine tools.

For $300 BOBCAD/CAM is good, but it is only because other software in this price range is also clumsy to use. However, if one is to choose to upgrade BOBCAD with high speed pocketing, Predator verifcation, customer support, ect. you would be well on your way to purschasing other softerware you may find easier to use.

[Allen123]

You know as a CAD CAM user for many years now, I've heard the good the bad and the ugly about BobCAD software. Yet for some reason the company is still around and has more threads than almost anything else out there.

1) Is BobCAD good software?

Well for those who know how to use it they would say it is.

2) Is BobCAD an aggressive sales company?

YES they are, their sales team is relentless and they will do everything they can use earn your business.

3) Should you do business with them?

Well I guess that is up to you, you would have to evaluate your needs and their software, see if the two match up.

BobCAD's doesn't get a bad name for it's software, it's mainly their sales team. Not to say I agree with the sales tactics, but sometimes it's more about what the software will do for you and how much it cost. BobCAD seems to understand this and will make you a ridiculous offer to earn you business.

If you're a small shop and have a small budget and you need some software for mechanical design and machining, BobCAD might just be the right tool for you.

You would have to download a demo and test it yourself. BobCAD-CAM | CAD-CAM Software for CNC Machines including: Mill, Lathe, Wire EDM, Laser, Plasma, Waterjet, Routers and much more.

If you get a call from a salesman you know what to expect, so use that to your advantage. Play hard to get and the price will come down to something more than reasonable. Hell what do you have to lose?

[Bob La Londe]

ROFL

I did download the demo. In fact its such a large file that I left it to download and went home. Before I had a chance to install the demo the first salesman called.

That's just a little more than aggressive.

Now, if he had just listened to me when I said I needed to demo it first I might have gone further, but that salesman was so gungho to make the sale that he told me that I wouldn't be able to do anything with the demo. He just wanted me to make the purchase right then without even trying it.

Now think about that for a minute.

I did.

Then I deleted the demo from my computer without ever trying it. I took me over a year to get them to stop calling me.

So while I do appreciate your rationalized response I disagree. They are a little more than just aggressive.

[mcphill]

If you are still looking, give SprutCAM a try. VERY powerful for the price.

Download it here:

Downloads SprutCAM Your Safe Partner for wire EDM, lathe, milling, turn-mill, 2, 2.5, 3, 4 & 5 axis CNC machining - SPRUT Technology Inc.

If you buy it, get the best price, and US support here:

SprutCAM Software | Tormach | We provide personal small CNC machines, CNC tooling, and many more CNC items

And you can try to see an honest comparison of features here:

BobCAD vs. SprutCAM Discussion

down a few posts from the top, along with the reason I am at the end of the road with BobCAD...

[Allen123]

1

[Allen123]

Well everyone in entitled to their opinion. BobCAD has worked for me, and I assume many other shops.

In the end it's just software. Which ever product you choose just make sure it has the tools you need for the parts you need / want to make. There are many options out there in the market, it's all this product bashing that really just isn't needed.

The best way to find out if BobCAD or any other software is the right choice for you is to do a live demo. Videos and downloads are great, but the one on one experience is the best. Really one of the biggest difference I see between lower cost systems and the high end stuff has to do with a salesman coming into your shop and showing you the software.

Call up the software company tell them what you want to do and have them show you how do it in the software.

If the tech you speak with can show you the software will do what you need then, their you go. Work with the sales team and get the best package for the best price.

My experience with BobCAD is they are eager to help you, they want to demo the software with you and show you just what BobCAD can do.

I started with BobCAD V15, so I have seen the company grow and the software mature. It's a good piece of software and I make money with it.

Some of the bashing comes from upset users and rhetoric that really isn't based on the software itself but a person experience that you or I will never understand.

Ever had someone rub you the wrong way, well that what happend Bob La Londe, I guess he feels it's his personal mission to look out for the rest of the world, or maybe it's just he way of getting the sales guy back for being a jerk to him ( in bob's eyes )

It makes it hard to get "facts" out of the information and for me it's a big turn off.

[robotique]

This make me glad i used fake information when filling out their form. I hate salesmen, I try to avoid them when possible.