MasterCAM traning material Wanted

[bonpon]

Hi all,

I am looking at purchasing master cam books to learn by myself. If anyone interested to sell me their used copies, please contact me.

Thanks!

[mastercamguru]

With all due respect, if you paid for Mastercam, you must have considered the fact that you need to learn how to use it. For the kind of dollars to buy Mastercam it sounds suspicious that you would be looking to save money on the learning curve.

At any rate, there are plenty of cd's and books available. If you are looking for second hand I doubt you will have much luck on E-bay or Craigs list.


You can learn online with Streaming teacher:

http://www.streamingteacher.com/home/index.aspx

Or find books here:

http://www.emastercam.com/resources/

Or cd's here:

http://www.tipsformanufacturing.com/...stercam_x.html


I would suggest that you accept the fact that learning Mastercam is an initial investment that is not worth skimpimg on. Struggling with an unfamiliar software can cost you more in downtime than the cd's and books put together. A small investment now will undoubtedly pay off in the long run.

[bonpon]

Well, I have not bought a software. I borrow the software from my friend because he switched to other CAM software, and he's too busy to teach me - although I do ask him some questions. At this stage, I really want to try it out and make sure that I am able to do this. I am starting my own business, and I have a lot of free time on my hand, so I didn't want to rush in and sign up for classes.

As you can see in my other posts, I am still comparing between MasterCAM and SolidCAM.

But THANK YOU for the list. For anyone in the future that come across this post, here is what I have so far:

http://www.emastercam.com/resources/
http://caminstructor.com/index.php?p...alogue&ptype=2
http://www.mastercam-cadcam.com/mc%2...ips/thumb.html
http://www.volumesdirect.com/SearchR...CategoryID=265
http://www.techedu.com/Mastercam.asp
http://www.tipsformanufacturing.com/...stercam_x.html
http://www.tipsforcadcam.com/category/342301
http://www.streamingteacher.com/home/index.aspx

[mastercamguru]

Ok I have the picture now.
You should probably try the demo versions of each software. That way you can compare the most recent releases of each. If you are comparing an older version of one to a newer version of another you may inadvertantly make an expensive decision you will have to live with.

I should know, I bought Surfcam only to throw it in the garbage to replace it with Mastercam.

If you are looking to do alot of mold work, you might want to consider Mastercam and Moldplus together. Mastercam is probably the best I have seen for 2-d work. Very good for 3-d work, but if you are doing very complex 3-d work, you might want to look into Moldplus. It is very fast, and most would say the toolpaths are much better. On the downside most high end 3-5 axis software is much more tedious to use for simple 2-d paths.

All things considered---Mastercam would be a good starting point. If you need something more toward the high end you can always add Moldplus or similar.

Good Luck

[bonpon]

I wouldn't even bother to actually tries to try different demos. One program is already exhausted.

I am using CNC for a door panel mill work. Definitely not any 3D complicate work. So my theory is that since I am not doing the most complicate work, and I going to choose a software that:

1. works with SolidWorks
2. have a large user base (by looking at number of message posts on this forum!)
3. have easy access to training material. some software just doesn't have anything available!

Thanks!

[mastercamguru]

Well then I think you are in luck. As Mastercam fits all of those criteria.

1.Mastercam is very compatible with Soliworks

2.Has a huge user base. If you can't find help here check out the emasercam forum you will find alot of the same people there too.
www.emastercam.com

3.As you already know there is plenty of learning material available

[bonpon]

So far so good. I am going to pick up some materials. If you know anyone in GA that knows MasterCAM, please let me know. I have some complex/workflow questions I would like to ask. Once I understand the workflow situation, I will know what to look for.

When I started looking into CNC at the beginning of last week, I had absolutely no idea about CAD/CAM/Controller. Now I understand the workflow, and I nailing one point by one point.

Thanks!

[mastercamguru]

Good luck... and looking forward to seeing you in the forum in the future