Wizards for drilling

[odonatas]

I just watched the tutorial on drilling in Sprutcam. What a frigging nightmare.

It took over 8 minutes to define the tools and drill the holes. I can do the same operations in GibbsCam in 2 minutes or less.

In all fairness it is an 8 and a half minute tutorial with intro splash screen, how to define a new tool, theory explanation, alternate technique shown, a couple simulations and what to do if the original defined hole depth is too short, time not typically spent by an experienced user.

Odo

[Don Clement]

Actually, $18,000.00 is not that expensive. I know guys who have spent upwards of $60,000.00 per seat for some really high end software.

I had GibbsCam when I had my shop, and when I sold it the guy who bought it was a Mastercam user so I brought my Gibbs home with me.

I didn't just buy Gibbs to program my Tormach

Thanks Steve! You just showed how much of a bargain SprutCAM is at ~$1K with the same capabilities as other CAM software costing 18-60 times as much. BTW I used what was saved in buying SprutCAM to buy Solidworks Simulation Premium so my prototypes can be virtually realized and in addition optimized before any chips are even made on my Tormach. The savings I got from using SprutCAM saved me way more time overall in my prototyping process not to mention a ton of money.

Don

[Rendrog18]

For me there is no need for wizards or CAM for just drilling holes. I program drilling in G-code.

Don

You program coordinates and everything? Seems like using Sprut or some other CAM would be much quicker for a drilling pattern that isn't simple. A wheel bolt pattern for example, id imagine there would be a lot of geometry to program there.

[Steve Seebold]

Thanks Steve! You just showed how much of a bargain SprutCAM is at ~$1K with the same capabilities as other CAM software costing 18-60 times as much. BTW I used what was saved in buying SprutCAM to buy Solidworks Simulation Premium so my prototypes can be virtually realized and in addition optimized before any chips are even made on my Tormach. The savings I got from using SprutCAM saved me way more time overall in my prototyping process not to mention a ton of money.

Don

You're right Don, you saved a bunch over GibbsCam, but when I bought it, in 1999, I was doing 4 and 5 axis work, turning and multitask machining. As well as up to 7 axis turning and wire EDM.

I'm not sure if SprutCam has those capabilities. At least not now.

I bought it because I had reached a point in the company where I was working there no further room for me to advance and I was getting burned out just running machines. The company had their own product and it was just run the same parts over and over again.

When I had my shop, I almost never took a job that was more than 25 pieces. In face, my business card said "one to ten pieces is our specialty".

I can see my part in GibbsCam before I machine it as well. I can see it in either solid block form or in finished part form. Either way, I know what the cutter's going to do before I post the program.

With Sprutcam, can you post your program, set your tools, pick up your edges, load your program, press the green button and walk away from the machine knowing that your program is right and you'll come back to a good part? I can do that with Gibbs.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying Sprutcam is not a good program, but I had Gibbs when I bought my machine and as long as it still works, I see no reason to change.

[Don Clement]

You're right Don, you saved a bunch over GibbsCam, but when I bought it, in 1999, I was doing 4 and 5 axis work, turning and multitask machining. As well as up to 7 axis turning and wire EDM.

I'm not sure if SprutCam has those capabilities. At least not now.

I bought it because I had reached a point in the company where I was working there no further room for me to advance and I was getting burned out just running machines. The company had their own product and it was just run the same parts over and over again.

When I had my shop, I almost never took a job that was more than 25 pieces. In face, my business card said "one to ten pieces is our specialty".

I can see my part in GibbsCam before I machine it as well. I can see it in either solid block form or in finished part form. Either way, I know what the cutter's going to do before I post the program.

With Sprutcam, can you post your program, set your tools, pick up your edges, load your program, press the green button and walk away from the machine knowing that your program is right and you'll come back to a good part? I can do that with Gibbs.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying Sprutcam is not a good program, but I had Gibbs when I bought my machine and as long as it still works, I see no reason to change.

SprutCAM does that for ~$1K.

5 years ago when I was considering a Tormach PCNC some guy over on the PM blogged that I should go with a full VMC with real CAT40 toolholders and not some converted milldrill with a 4th axis rotary table and cheap TTS, also that if one could not borrow $50k that one should not be in business. I wonder if that guy is one of those who borrowed way over his eyeballs and is now upsidedown and out after the big economic meltdown. i.e. the great recession. The thing about Tormach is that it allows one to afford the capabilities of the big dogs without risking going underwater to do it.

Don

[Steve Seebold]

You are so right about the Tormach, Don. When I went in to business in 2001 though, there were no machines like the Tormach. If there had been, for what I paid for my FADAL, I could have had 5 Tormachs. I paid $72,000.00 for my FADAL in January 2001.

As an EX FADAL and Haas owner, I have yet to find anything they would do that the Tormachs won't. I just finished a job that had a lot of 3D surfacing on it. The other machines would have been a little faster, but they would not have done a better job.

[philbur]

You could use a calculator:

Bolt Hole Pattern Calculator

Phil

You program coordinates and everything? Seems like using Sprut or some other CAM would be much quicker for a drilling pattern that isn't simple. A wheel bolt pattern for example, id imagine there would be a lot of geometry to program there.

[philbur]

Or use the bolt circle wizard. You don't need to fire up Sprutcam for something so simple:



Phil

[Rendrog18]

Or use the bolt circle wizard. You don't need to fire up Sprutcam for something so simple:



Phil

Cool, thanks Phil, I didnt know this existed, where can I find it in mach?

[Bob Adams]

Drilling using your CAD program, checkout this PDF.
http://stcnc.tripod.com/sitebuilderc...illingEasy.pdf
Bob Adams
CNC Projects

[philbur]

Just look under wizards in the drop down menu across the top of the opening Mach screen.

Phil

[LUCKY13]

Cool, thanks Phil, I didnt know this existed, where can I find it in mach?

This one will not do a single hole, you need to use the Multi-Hole app in the newfangled wizard. (found at the same place if you have it-bought it).

woops just noticed a bolt pattarn is what you wanted anyway.


Jess