software evaluations

[mike hide]

Is there any comparative evaluations available , or at least some explanation when the use of one particular software is preferred over another ?

I hear some folks using, meshcam ,mach 3, sheetcam,turbocam etc please .....confused

[ger21]

I don't know of any, but the ones you mention all have different applications. Mach3 controls machines, MeshCAM creates g-code from 3D models, SheetCAM creates g-code from 2D drawings.

[mike hide]

I don't know of any, but the ones you mention all have different applications. Mach3 controls machines, MeshCAM creates g-code from 3D models, SheetCAM creates g-code from 2D drawings.

Being a moderator I understand a reply that is somewhat noncomittal as most that I mentioned advertise on this group. however it does show some insite .

As a total novice, I tend to believe that the programs that do the most difficult tasks [as I see it] could do the less demanding quite easily .For instance Meshcam for 3D machining should acconplish 2D stuff quite easily. this might be the case but other systems might well do the lesser task more efficiently or perhaps do a better job .

AS one reads the group is s obvious many use mach 3, however a user recently wrote using mach 3 for all operations but codeing ,for that he used sheetcam even though lazycam was available , there was no explanation why?

So I am not really asking which system is the best but what each system will do and more importantly what it will not do or at least not do hat well ,

In the end I would like to have a single software system driving my machine for economic reasons alone but realize I may need more than one software program. I have built the machine and am ready to fire up the operational system [hobbycnc 4 axis control] ,so one to the next phase....mjh

[ger21]

I don't think that many people actually have enough experience with competing packages to give you an honest comparison.

I am a MeshCAM user, although I don't actually have a finished machine to use it. But I've been playing around with it since the very first beta, and had a lot of input in it's development, as have a lot of other users. I can tell you that MeshCAM will NOT do 2D at all, let alone quite easily. It's designed for 3D models, in .stl format or .dxf mesh format ONLY. It's very easy to use, and hard to beat for the price. Support is excellent, and the author listens to his users.

MeshCAM competitors would be Vectric's Cut3D and ArtCAMs' Millwizard. All 3 will do basicaly the same thing. I've never tried the Cut3D demo, but have tried Millwizard several years ago. I believe that Millwizard is probably the most basic of the 3. Cut 3D may be the most user friendly, from what I here. MeshCAM supports 4th axis, which I don't believe the other 2 do. I think that Cut3D supports more file formats. Again, hard to compare when you only use one.

As for SheetCAM vs LazyCAM. I've never liked LazyCAM myself, so have only played with it very little. The newer version is much better than the original, and a lot of people really like it. I've played with early betas of SheetCAM, and it is really good at what it does. Converting 2D drawings to g-code. LazyCAM also has the ability to convert graphic files, which SheetCAM does not. SheetCAM has features that LazyCAM does not, but the Pro (pay) version has some of those features. Since I don't use either one, I can't go into much detail. I wrote my own g-code converter that works in AutoCAD, which is what I use for 2D work.

Since LazyCAM is free (With Mach3), I'd recommend seeing if it will meet your needs. If not, check out the trial of SheetCAM.

The reason Mach3 is used by just about everyone, is because it has more features than anything else in it's price range, and is the only package that works in newer versions of Windows without needing additional hardware. Some will argue, but most will say it's just better than the competition, what little there is.

One note is that if you need more time with trial versions of both SheetCAM and MeshCAM,, email the authors and they will usually give you a time extension on their demos.

[dertsap]

software all depends upon what your needs are :
if your controlling a diy machine there is mach or emc controlers ,
for simple geometry creation and toolpath creation there are free softwares out there such as gcam or gsimple ,which are good enough for hobbiests

if needing professional software then your into a whole other ball game