Using onecnc xp for woodworking ?

[RandMan]

Anybody out there using ONECNC XP for woodworking, especially routing ?

I have Rhino/Visual Mill 5 basic but I will need to either upgrade to the full VM5 product to pick up better toolpath strategies or switch gears to another product. The OneCNC XP demo looked pretty good but it's hard for me to tell how it stacks up feature wise to VM5. They look close from what I've seen. VM5 seems pretty awesome as does Rhino but I thought I'd ask the experts here.

Thanks

[CNC Pro]

I've been using OneCNC XP Professional for about 7 months. The majority of my work is in wood. I've had pretty good luck with OneCNC, in fact I've been considering upgrading to Expert. I also am using Rhino 3-D, this has proven to be a very good software for the money.

[RandMan]

So you do your design work in Rhino and use XP Pro for CAM work or do you hybrid in some manner ? Rhino is enough like ACAD that I'm pretty at home using it. I noticed that OneCNC's design tools used pop-up boxes for simple things like coorinates which turned me off. I wondered it most people used it for design and CAM or just CAM.

What features are you needing that are in XP Expert ? They told me I didn't Expert because I'm not doing mould work. I've had less straight answers than I'd like from their sales & mktg which I why I went VM.

Thanks for the feedback.

[OneCNC]

Sorry to hear that you have not felt as if your questions have been answered adequately.

To be direct the difference between OneCNC XP Professional and Expert lies primarily in several additional toolpath strategies, parting line tools such as find difficult join lines, create outbound surfaces, split model at Z Level or by intersecting surface. independent axis scaling are among a few.

As far as the designing in OneCNC vs Rhino you are comparing two distinctly different design objectives.

While Rhino is more of a freeform surface modeler OneCNC is a true Hybrid design system with its core users being the mechanical design industry.

OneCNC is a true NURBS based CAD/CAM system that provides direct model machining, whether the model is created in Rhino, Catia, SolidWorks or SolidEdge the data imported and machined is exactly as it was designed. There is no "conversion" to more primitive data types such as STL, which in our opinion are pretty much worthless as they cannot be changed, repaired or improved for accuracy and offer limited gouge protection.

OneCNC Expert and Professional also contain an extensive list of proven 2/2.5D machining functions that themselves are a stand alone product in our Mill Production. So in fact you are getting a very well rounded product in OneCNC.

One thing that may be of interest is that many users of your system have contacted us looking for a better solution and have switched to OneCNC based off of the advantages we have provided them in all aspects not a single area.

These are just a few reasons off the cuff and there many more but the real answer is what is best for your shop and the type of work you are doing and intend to do.

Hope this helps.

OneCNC-USA
(877) 626-1262

[HuFlungDung]

Hi Randman,

How elaborate is the stuff you are cutting? Some guys use OneCNC to cut wooden patterns for castings. This is pretty well identical in complexity to any mold or die work in metal.

If you are only cutting 2d with a router, then perhaps Mill Production XP would serve. But, if you want more functionality, including actual modelling with surfaces and solids, you will want Mill Professional XP.

Just so that you don't "overbuy" at the start, I would begin with Mill Professional XP, and upgrade later if you find you need it.

I have no experience with VMill to give you a blow by blow comparison.

But, I am extremely pleased with the OneCNC XP series software. It has a nice simple interface which is a great convenience. The NC manager is fantastically powerful, and lets one edit his toolpath strategies with incredible ease. I am thankful on a daily basis for this, because I do a lot of small lot work and one offs, so I can spend a lot of time entirely within the OneCNC interface trying out various strategies, and then running them in simulation or toolpath preview (yes, two different options). Even after cutting the first sample part, I may decide I did not like the way I chose to do it, so I go right back to the computer and whip up a whole new program in just a few minutes.

I can't believe how OneCNC has changed my attitude about machining in general. I love a tough job now, because I know I can program it at a decent price for the customer, without giving away hours of time trying to make a program.

Unless things have changed, I believe you can try OneCNC XP for 30 days, since there is no working hands-on demo for the XP series. This will give you a much better feel for how it fits your needs.

Once you get onto solid modelling, you will not want to go back to 2d. Lots of guys model in other programs and import into OneCNC. Its whatever suits you: there is no use relearning stuff you already know if you can help it. The benefit is, that many smaller operators can use only OneCNC for design and machining and complete the entire job cycle, without learning two softwares (or paying for 2, either).

[RandMan]

Thanks for info. I'm a one-person shop on a budget and I can't afford to buy a package that was more fluff than features and have to buy a second. That being said it seems impossible to get specific feature comparisions between competing products. Everybody's sales people slam everybody else and compare themselves to the previous version or two of their competitors. It makes it difficult to feel good about buying anything unless you know people doing similar things successfully with a given system.

I went with Rhino and VM5 because I could download functional demos that I could use to design MY parts and see it work. The only downloadable demo I had for OneCNC was the 2000 Mill that was very klunky and reminded me too much of BobCAD that costs $500.

If your design capabilities are much more oriented toward mechanical design please name a few key capabilities that will produce tangible results in my designs/parts. Same for CAM. I may be wrong but some of the capabilities you list for Expert (thanks for doing that) are also supposed to be features of VM5.

Thanks

[RandMan]

Hu - Thanks for the insights. One of the really great things about this forum is the feedback from masters like you. I've read enough detailed information from you that I am confortable that OneCNC works well in a real shop making real money I have to try to figure out if it works better than the current track I'm on with Rhino&VM5.

I'm going to be cutting guitar parts including routing contoured tops and such. While I bet these could be done in 2.5d with a lot of toolpath time, I think the carved surfaces would be best done in 3d. I'm doing my 2d designs in Intellicad for the precise drawing of acad and them bringing them into Rhino for the solids work. Designing and machining all in one tool would be great but as long as they play well in the sandbox all is well. VM has some CAD stuff that I havn't played with yet.

Being able to edit the toolpath strategies sounds powerful.

I'll ask again about the trial period because I got a different answer when I asked about a month ago.

Thanks

[HuFlungDung]

Randman,

You should make an appointment with Michael Reyes at OneCNC for an online demo. This is how you get to see the XP series "at work", instead of the user demos of the older version. You will need to be on the phone, and on a highspeed internet connection at the same time.

Have some kind of a decent test file ready to send in, with a plan in mind for what you expect him to do with it.

If you already have Intellicad and Rhino, you don't have to throw them away. I hear that Rhino is still highly recommended for artistic types of work, but Rhino won't cut it for you. OneCNC will.

Most of us who design in OneCNC are thinking more along the lines of mechanical components that must fit other components, so we don't get involved in trying to draw freeform shapes. That is not saying you couldn't but you have to know how.

[keithorr]

If you are routing wood, I think 2003 MillPro is enough. I use it and it is nothing like the product you compare it to. It doesn't have the same toolpaths as XP but it's enough for a start.
It is close in features to the visualmill basic on the cam side. I didn't try the cad side of the VM demo so I can't comment.

[anoel]

Rand,
Here's a tele body that I modeled in Rhino. It was very easy to do and a body like this can be done solely in 2.5d. I have cut this body out in wood and it turned out quite nice. And the tool paths were all contours and pockets with no 3D solids to give you an idea.

I've been playing with a couple of carved top ideas in Rhino and find that it is more than capable of producing excellent results. Tool paths for this stuff should most definitely be done by a program that supports NURBS. Polys are not going to cut it very well. I've got to find an afforable CAM solution also for doing nice 3d toolpaths as well.

[peter]

hi rand
here a picture of a wooden mold used in the pattern making industry manufactured using onecnc
best regards
peter

[peter]

heres the opposite side
give the guys at onecnc a ring
the proof is in the pictures
visit www.onecnc.com