CAM Software

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Thread: CAM Software

  1. #1
    Member sen2two's Avatar
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    Default CAM Software

    I do all of my design work in SolidWorks. I am looking for the best CAM software to use on my Partner 1D with Centurion 5 controller. What would be the best to use in my situation? I have zero experience with CAM software at the moment. I don't want to invest hours of learning into one software when another might be a better choice.

    Any recommendations?

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    Default Re: CAM Software

    Can you show or describe your typical part to be tooled and programmed?
    There are too many variables to determine .



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    Member sen2two's Avatar
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    Default Re: CAM Software

    The variety of things that I make is also very wide. I wouldn't say I have a "typical" part that I machine.



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    Default Re: CAM Software

    Take a look at Visual CAD-CAM Mill 2018 for Solidworks from Mecsoft (AKA VisualMill) . It plugs into the Solidworks workspace and offers a range of features in an ascending range of versions from Standard to Premium, depending on what you need and can afford. (We offer a discount which helps make it more affordable.)

    Andrew Werby
    computersculpture.com

    [FONT=Verdana]Andrew Werby[/FONT]
    [URL="http://www.computersculpture.com/"]Website[/URL]


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    Member sen2two's Avatar
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    Default Re: CAM Software

    I have access to FeatureCAM as well as a series of training videos and files to learn it.

    I am just not sure if some software's will work better considering the machine and controller is much older than the software I will be using.

    I am starting from zero, so I am not sure if it even matters what CAM software I choose?



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    Member moldcore's Avatar
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    Default Re: CAM Software

    If money is an issue then Fusion 360 is very cheap compared to others, but I'm not sure if it has a post for the Centurion 5. BTW, all Centurions controllers use the same post. That shouldn't be a problem because there is a huge community of Fusion 360 users on the net that can help. It is cloud base however but that doesn't seem to be a bother to many users. If I were stating a new business again I would go that route. We've been using Surfcam here since 1996 with no issues with the Centurion controllers but up front it's 30 times the cost of Fusion 360 and annual maintenance is 5 times the cost with no discernible difference in features from what I've seen. I believe if you're doing less than $100k per year it may even be free or close to it.



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    Default Re: CAM Software

    I use fusion 360 which uses the same cam engine as hsmworks which is a solid works plugin. I've only done 2 runs with it on the Milltronics so I'm far from an expert.

    Minimize short moves which is ultimately what causes issues with older controls with limited look ahead.

    Playing with the smoothing feature shrank my file size and eliminated a lot of the short moves from my roughing passes.



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    Default Re: CAM Software

    Fusion will work, it's CAD portion is pretty weak, so if you design in Solidworks you can import into Fusion just for the CAM. I thought, not positive though, that HSM works was free with Solidworks.... if so I never heard anything but good about it. I'm not a fan of cloud based software and use Alibre 2018 for my CAD, and Sheetcam and Fusion 360 for my CAM. 90% of my stuff is simple 2.5D so I rarely get into the 3D programming.



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    Default Re: CAM Software

    I use Draftsight from the makers of Solid Works so I get emails from them trying to get me to use Solid Works. I remember seeing one introducing Solid Works Cam for Solid Works. Sounds like the same concept as Fusion 360 where one file contains the model and CAM information. If you are already using Solid Works might be worth checking it out. I use Fusion 360 and so far have not programmed anything for my Milltronics mill (not up and running yet) but have used it for a few projects on my Centroid controlled mill. I use the generic Fanuc post for it and it works just fine for me so far. I believe Fusion 360 is free if you make under 100k. Even if you are over that the standard 3 axis product only runs $40 per month or 300 per year. In the year that I have been using it, they have made several major improvements to the model environment as well as to the drawing environment and Cam sections. I use it as a Hobbyist and and could not justify using anything else with it being free to me. The only CAM software I had used previously was BobCAD Cam and a very little bit of 2.5 D in MasterCAM 7.0. I would not recommend BobCAD CAM to anyone and I was using it for very basic 2.5 D router work at my place of employment. Give Fusion 360 a try - there is a 30 day free trial and there are tons of videos on getting started. Since you say you are starting from scratch, I recommend TITANS of CNC: Academy as a place to start.



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    Default Re: CAM Software

    Hi All, More and more I am hearing and seeing good things about Fusion 360. Is it the end all of end all's? probably not, BUT it is a very good tool and can be modified to make it do what you want. see gunmakers thread, pretty cool IMHO. https://www.cnczone.com/forums/millt...58692-cnc.html

    The basic post as I have seen is OK for C1, C5, C6 and C7 controls. Gunmaker shows "stuff" can be done.

    sportybob



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    Default Re: CAM Software

    I used Rhino to do the cad work for my 3d printer, but switched to Fusion 360 because it has the CAM built in. It works well and plays nice with my VM-16 for the most part. The only problem I have had so far is that when I tried to contour the sprockets I make, it would make a mess when trying to round the corners. Im guessing its flipping G2/G3 because it makes a loop into the part. I was told by a friend that owns an aerospace cnc shop to e-mail them a copy of the gcode and an image of what its doing, I just have not had time yet.



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    Default Re: CAM Software

    Try looking at the drawing in those areas, Zoom in. look for any overlapping lines or arcs.
    what can / does happen is the cutter comes t the end of a segment and the next segment starts behind the cutter current position. The control does not have "reverse" so it will do a "bat turn" to get the cutter lined up again.

    Also look at the post and see if it is doing the cutter comp or is the control. that same with "trig help" the control has both turned on. if the cad / cam is also doing the calculations there could be problems. ( it's kinda like having both girl friends show up at the same party. what ever happens it will be interesting ;-)

    The controls trig help and or cutter comp can be turned off in the MISC Prams "special flags"

    sportybb



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    Member single phase's Avatar
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    Default Re: CAM Software

    I have to agree Fusion 360 is unbeatable for the money.

    We use it for lathe CAM but it has plenty of bugs. They fix some of them and others go unfixed for a year. I have been an active reader of their forum since they created it.

    One of the difficulties of its lathe CAM engine stems from wanting it to do anything out of the ordinary. As one of many examples if you are using standard holders there is a bug that limits you from rotating the tool. The details are all on their forum. Suffice it to say it is not a mature lathe CAM product.

    The mill CAM functionality is much better and I could almost see a professional shop using it.

    The Fusion 360 CAD functionality is very good and very stable because it comes form the myriad of seasoned Autodesk engineers that make many professional CAD products like Inventor and Autocad.

    For my mill CAM software I use Open Mind Hypermill. It runs inside of Inventor or Solidworks. If you are a professional machine shop it would be worth looking at. But it is very expensive and not as popular here in the states like mastercam is.

    CAM software is expensive and very hard to justify for hobbyist machinists. That is why I recommend Autodesk Fusion 360. But professional machine shops should look for professional software.

    If you are using Solidworks for CAD, then learning enough about Fusion 360 CAD is not going to be difficult. And you will need to know how to use it if for no other reason than to make slight changes to your model while in the midst of doing your CAM programming.

    Cheers
    SF



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