Anyone using EZ CAM?
- Thread starter drbris
- Start date
Ken226
Alibre Super User
I have no experience with it, but am interested. I've been using CamBam, which isn't very intuitive and is pretty basic in it's capabilities.
Which version of EZ cam are you demo'ing.
It appears to use the same licensing model that Alibre uses. A perpetual license, with annual maintenance fee of you want access to updates and upgrades. Is that about right?
I'll download a demo version and try it out.
Which version of EZ cam are you demo'ing.
It appears to use the same licensing model that Alibre uses. A perpetual license, with annual maintenance fee of you want access to updates and upgrades. Is that about right?
I'll download a demo version and try it out.
Last edited:
jcdammeyer
Senior Member
I bought the license for MecSoft's AlibreCAM to be able to do 4 axis. I am still furious with the discontinuation of their collaboration. Although I have a licensed copy of VisualCAM 2021 it requires the stp file to be imported. It cannot import the native AlibreCAM file. That means when selecting a circle it's selected as two half circles. Annoying to use. Also discover that you need to go back into the CAD system to change something to make machining and an hour worth of CAM design is tossed in the toilet.
However the good news is that with Alibre25 the AlibreCAM 2020 version still works and MecSoft has been good enough to continue allow that license to function. It occasionally crashes. Sometimes even takes out ALibreCAD too.
For me this will the the last year of licensing. If Mecsoft and Alibre cannot work out their differences and make VisualCAM an integrated AlibreCAM again (after all it cannot import AD_PRT files, only STP file) this will be my last year of paying for nothing. None of the upgrades have improved my productivity why bother... And theoretically it's a perpetual license node locked for both. So as long as I lock down here it should work forever on this PC?
But so far it works. This is the AlibreCAM result.
And then here's the stp file saved as vcp after importing using the MecSoft CAM features to do the same thing. As I said, the most annoying thing is a change to the AD_PRT results in the entire left column vanishing because the AD_PRT file has to be exported as STP and that doesn't include CAD info along with none of the original figures used to create the part.
This is VisualCAM not VisualCAD. At one point I was trying out VisualCAD and like Fusion360 my brain has a lot of trouble with their user interface. Exercise in frustration. I'm not headed into the Fusion360 camp for CAD. Nor into the VisualCAM for CAD.
However the good news is that with Alibre25 the AlibreCAM 2020 version still works and MecSoft has been good enough to continue allow that license to function. It occasionally crashes. Sometimes even takes out ALibreCAD too.
For me this will the the last year of licensing. If Mecsoft and Alibre cannot work out their differences and make VisualCAM an integrated AlibreCAM again (after all it cannot import AD_PRT files, only STP file) this will be my last year of paying for nothing. None of the upgrades have improved my productivity why bother... And theoretically it's a perpetual license node locked for both. So as long as I lock down here it should work forever on this PC?
But so far it works. This is the AlibreCAM result.
And then here's the stp file saved as vcp after importing using the MecSoft CAM features to do the same thing. As I said, the most annoying thing is a change to the AD_PRT results in the entire left column vanishing because the AD_PRT file has to be exported as STP and that doesn't include CAD info along with none of the original figures used to create the part.
This is VisualCAM not VisualCAD. At one point I was trying out VisualCAD and like Fusion360 my brain has a lot of trouble with their user interface. Exercise in frustration. I'm not headed into the Fusion360 camp for CAD. Nor into the VisualCAM for CAD.
Ken226
Alibre Super User
So, I spent most of the day trying to figure out this EZ Mill Express demo, watching videos and reading through the manual. I can't get anything, to do anything. Either the demo has everything locked out, or I just can't figure it out.
The EZ Mill forum has, like, zero posts.
I'm going to stick with CamBam. It was hard to learn and has no HSM or advanced toolpaths, but with the user made plugins and excellent forum, It does everything I need.
Alibre Cam would be nice, but I don't think that's an option.
Generating the code to engrave this barrel took about 5 minutes with CamBam.
The EZ Mill forum has, like, zero posts.
I'm going to stick with CamBam. It was hard to learn and has no HSM or advanced toolpaths, but with the user made plugins and excellent forum, It does everything I need.
Alibre Cam would be nice, but I don't think that's an option.
Generating the code to engrave this barrel took about 5 minutes with CamBam.
bigseb
Alibre Super User
I used to use EZ-CAM way way back, in the early 2000s. Versions 11 through 15 is what we used and to be honest it was decent. Very flexible, especially when one creates user specific cycles using VB. I've heard that it's gone downhill a lot since then but can't personally confirm that.
American product with support in Turkey. Make of that what you will.
American product with support in Turkey. Make of that what you will.