Why you shouldn't buy SprutCam

[philbur]

Congratulations to you and your husband.

Phil

[Steve Seebold]

I have a seat of BobCad V23 and by the time I paid for the training, tech support and maintenance, I had as much in it as I had in a seat of GibbsCam, and believe me, GibbsCam was a LOT easier to learn and with the purchase, I got free tech support for a year.

I have had my seat of BobCad for 3 years and haven't been able to make a part with it yet.

[Knires]

Congratulations to you and your husband.

Phil

Thanks for the congratulations Phil. Those are actually my hands (husbands) on my wife's belly. I guess I did a good job of washing the crud off my hands

We have a two week old girl right now, so my shop time is dropping, but she is inspiring me to more projects already.

As for the CAD, SprutCAM does what I want (and more) and have been happy with it. Lots of guys in the local metalworking group have BobCAD/CAM and seem to like it, but it isn't for me. I have Cut2D and love it for simple things as well. To each their own.

[aldepoalo]

I have a seat of BobCad V23 and by the time I paid for the training, tech support and maintenance, I had as much in it as I had in a seat of GibbsCam, .

I hate to call you out but this is just not true. We have 1 Steve Seebold @ Seebold Engineering in our database, which I am guessing is you. Unless there is another Steve Sseebold living in CA that purchased BobCAD in 6/1/09

The software you were sold was under $1000 ( V23 Standard and V21 Express ) and we all know that Gibbs CAM sells for much much more.

Not to mention BobCAD CAM doesn't ever charge for maintenance!!!!

[aldepoalo]

Knires

I created an STL file for you to use to create a lithopane. It's based on the picture of you and your wife.

You should be able to mill this in what ever CAM package you are using in back light it and walllla you have a really cool keep sake.

Congratulations!



gif hosting

[Sp-4renegade]

im outa here, this bobcad nut. dont know if I should through up or puke.

[David Bord]

What 4th axis support does Sprut have? That's one thing BobCAD (even my old V23) does have going for it-- basic 4th support for way less $ than most anybody else I checked into.

Full continous 4 and 5 axis. You can carve a statue if you wanted to.

David

[philbur]

You challenged him and didn't follow through. He produced a 3D stl from a picture to demonstrate what you challenged him on and it makes you feel sick????

Posters on this forum in the main are smart enough to consider alternatives in an open and constructive manner without getting all defensive and tribal. Throwing insults at the guy just because his proposal is unpopular only shows your own ignorance.

Phil

im outa here, this bobcad nut. dont know if I should through up or puke.

[mrquacker]

im outa here, this bobcad nut. dont know if I should through up or puke.

Actually what he did was legit. If you look up the privacy policy on the bobcad website, disclosing customer information to third parties is allowed.

[aldepoalo]

me quackery,

I didn't disclose any thing about steve, that he hadn't t already put out there. I just set the record straight.

[Steve Seebold]

I hate to call you out but this is just not true. We have 1 Steve Seebold @ Seebold Engineering in our database, which I am guessing is you. Unless there is another Steve Sseebold living in CA that purchased BobCAD in 6/1/09

The software you were sold was under $1000 ( V23 Standard and V21 Express ) and we all know that Gibbs CAM sells for much much more.

Not to mention BobCAD CAM doesn't ever charge for maintenance!!!!

Yep, that's me and every time I talked to someone at BobCad I was told "you need to PAY for training, that's $750.00. You need to PAY for tech support, that's $750.00. No one ever told me the rate for training was $150.00 an hour. If they had, I would have said some really bad words and hung up the phone, but it seemed like the only number anyone knew was $750.00.

Yes I did pay much, much more for my GibbsCam, but it will do MUCH, MUCH more with FAR FEWER keystrokes. My GibbsCam came with tech support for the first year, after that I had to pay for maintenance, but when you pay for maintenance with GibbsCam, you also get free upgrades for the year.

There's no point arguing about it. You like it, you teach it, you understand it, I don't. Enough said.

Steve

[aldepoalo]

Ok,

Just to clear a few things up.

1 on 1 web training $150 an hour with a video recording

3 day training seminar $750

Phone support level 1 $249. Level 2 $399. Level 3 $499

With most cad cam systems you ll neeed some kind of training and support. These are just some of the options we offer.

[shred]

Full continous 4 and 5 axis. You can carve a statue if you wanted to.

David

Without spending multi-$K on extra axis? Cool. The whole package is less than Alibre wants for just the 4th add-on...

[Steve Seebold]

Ok,

Just to clear a few things up.

1 on 1 web training $150 an hour with a video recording

3 day training seminar $750

Phone support level 1 $249. Level 2 $399. Level 3 $499

With most cad cam systems you ll neeed some kind of training and support. These are just some of the options we offer.

I was able to get training at a local community college for about $75.00 and that included parking. AND, I was making parts after the first three hour class.

You'll never convince me that the nick name bestowed upon BobCad is not well deserved

[cheetahcnc]

New tactics, high pressure blogging. Why all the 'how great my stuff is' sales pressure intensity? Even if it was really "free", I mean "free", no cost at all, not even cost of a stamp "free", I would pass on BC. I received so little, for so much money, no deal they ever offered me today would make up for that.

On a lighter note, seriously looking into Sprut, as they offer a nice package with the PCNC 1100 purchase. Not at all interested in various levels of phone support packages. If you need all that phone support to use the software, it cannot be very user friendly. Never once needed phone support for AutoCAD, V-Carve Pro, or Cut3D. Answers were common, and quickly found on the web. I did not have to call them back and have the line endlessly ring (personal experience with BC).

Jim

[aldepoalo]

Lol high pressure blogging.... that's funny.

How about instead of how really great my system is, maybe I am saying it s not as bad as you are making it out to be. Like I said sprut cam is good software, even the vetrics lines are good, and so is BobCAD. They all have a place in the shop, and it s all about knowing how to use them. They all ned training to get the most out of them. If you don t agree then you must be special.

[DiverBob]

Ive been following this thread for a while and thought I'd speak up on my experience with BobCad.
I purchased an earlier version several years ago (I don't remember the version) and wasn't able to figure out how to do anything with it. The only good thing was it got me a much better price on another CAD software package, Vector 32. I used that software for quite a while but it like pulling teeth. I never did become comfortable with the user interface. The experiences with the software put me off on doing any serious CNC work for a while.
I finally got back into CNC work and needed something that my limited budget could afford. After spending a lot of time reading about various packages (good and bad) the common thread on BobCad was people who got training were generally satisfied and people who didn't tended to hate it. My budget dictated going with BobCad but I also sprang for the video series at the same time. That was what really made the difference for me! BobCad has its limitations and does some quirky things at times but overall it's been a winner for me. I just finished machining 2, 12 sided plates that are 14 inches across on my 770. That required a lot of thought processing to get that to come out!
I primarily use it for 2.5D work, I haven't tried the 3D capabilities although I plan on starting to in the future - I may have to try out some of the other packages at that time.
Right now I'm satisfied with BobCad v23, haven't seen a need to upgrade yet.

[SCzEngrgGroup]

Since this thread seems to be becoming as much about BobCAD as anything else.... I've steered clear of BobCAD due to the MANY dozens of horror stories I've heard over the years of their incessant and highly intrusive high-pressure sales tactics, including never-ending phone calls. For that reason, I've never taken a serious look at it, and won't even download a demo from their website, as I don't care to be hassled. Were it not for that, I'd be giving it a serious look.

In the meantime, I've gotten by with SheetCAM.

Regards,
Ray L.

[aldepoalo]

This was the sample part I wanted to do the challenge on, not the stl of the image....


gif hosting

I've uploaded the stp file so anyone that wants to participate can.

[jid2]

I looked at BobCAM for Solidworks and downloaded the trial - and received the phone call from sales within almost seconds of the download! But they were friendly enough and followed up at a reasonable level. I wasn't a fan of the software or the interface/solidworks integration, so I told them I was moving on. I unsubscribed from their almost daily email blasts and all is well. So overall it wasn't that painful. If I had to buy cheaper software I might consider it - but I'll likely save my pennies and just go with HSMWorks or Solidcam.

HSMworks will rough that part file above in a single operation using HSM toolpaths, and then finish it with one or two more depending on the tolerance requirements. Click-Click done.