CAM functionality? (vs. BobCad 19)

[cgriffin]

CAM functionality? (vs. BobCad 19)

I'm considering ADE as an all-in-one for 3d CAD as well as CAM, sending the g-code to my VMC. I've currently got BobCad 19, which is supposed to be able to do this, but haven't used it yet. It's so rudimentary, I haven't had the patience to try more than converting DXF's to g-code.

What is your experience with AD's CAM ability? Should I just export my AD files and CAM them with BobCad? Should I just stick with BobCad?

Thanks,
Cliff

 

[Anonymous]

Alibre doesn't really com with CAM unless you purchase the Expert version and use Sprutcam. Even so it is a watered down version of Sprutcam and it expires after 1yr. If you truly want CAM Bobcad is the cheapest on the market. However, Visual Mill and Sprutcam can be purchased separately from Alibre for slightly more than Bobcad and are probably a lot easier to use. I downloaded the trial versions of Bobcad, Visual Mill, and Sprutcam last month and played with all of them. Bobcad was definitely the most rudimentary however they have a lot of customers that actually use them in a production environment. Visual Mill was very easy to use and their website boasts a lot of high end customers. Sprutcam was also very easy to use, but the program is not developed in english and sometimes the english translations aren't as great as they could be. The most bang for the buck probably comes from Sprutcam, however I have never actually used any of these to create a part on my CNC machine. I am in the process of putting a new control on an old Bridgeport CNC mill and I will hopefully have some real experience soon.

 

[cgriffin]

lenitech,
Thanks for the info. We own Version 19 of BobCad. We purchased it recently, and my main machinist hasn't had time to learn the 3d design capabilities of it. He tried the tutorial, which is so basic it didn't really give him any skills. On the other hand, he was able to make simple parts after little time with Solid Edge and also with another mid-range program.

There's a BobCad training seminar coming up soon, so I was going to send him...but then saw that with all costs added up, it'll be about $1500...so I did some research to see if any CAD programs in that price range were worth looking into, and found that it was about the cost of ADE (the Expert version, hence the E). So, yes, I'm ok with buying the Expert version, or Pro or whatever. I just am curious if it's worth the extra money, or should I stick with the basic version and just do the G-Code generation with BobCad.

Thanks again,
Cliff