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  1. #1
    Hot dickerty

    Someone was selling BobCad-Cam on fleabay, did I just buy a $1995 package for $400 including postage :confused:

    Or was I ripped?

    I'll let you know

    V21 BobCad-Cam 3D Cad/Cam Software for Mill, Lathe, Laser, Router, Plasma, etc.
    Authorized Bobcad dealer inventory liquidation.
    New software and comes with brand new valid Bobcad license.


  2. #2
    Quote Originally Posted by skittles View Post
    Is bobcad better than solidworks + solidcam?
    No idea :confused:

    Bit disappointed when I uploaded my .dwg to the demo BobCad and it didn't take line/arc thickness in to account. I was up to the small hours reading the manual last night, couldn't understand why they were telling me how to draw lines and arcs rather than faces and surfaces. Then around page 200 they started wrapping surfaces on to lines and arcs and, whey hey, it suddenly started to look really good

  3. For most V21 does everything you want to do unless you are getting into extremely fine micro or Very large Macro projects and you have to download the Post code engines for your type of controller (though they say they will build one for free for any system).

    Got mine for £135.00 back in December from BobCAD direct. Love the program and no it is not a full bells and whistles item but it so far is doing the job. No I don't work for them nor do I get any money or funds from them.

    All CAD programs have a learning curve. When you start dealing with those that have a huge amount of ability the curve gets steeper. BobCad has an easier learning curve than Mach3 (when really trying to indepth understand what is going on and not just running code and trying to keep it clean).

    But hey, If you live life be prepared for the curve.

    Michael

  4. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by Kip View Post
    How are you getting on with it Robin?
    Never actually unwrapped it, BobCAD called me and sold me a dongle thing that converts the V23 demo into the "reel thang", along with a full set of training discs.

    I like the dongle approach 'cause I can have it loaded at home and at the shop without separate licences.

    Gave it an AutoCAD outline, extruded it a bit and G-code magically appeared. Then a morning rewriting the output script thing so I got G-code I could use.

    Then decided to remake the riser blocks I use to bolt metal to the machine bed, then found a bug in my mill driver software, a nasty little, devious bug so it was some time before the penny dropped.

    If it did a vertical shift at the end of an arc it lost position on the Z axis

    Turned out that the arc could end a tiny fraction off the required X,Y. It then scaled the Z feed speed to allow for the cut angle in the X,Y and everything went to hell in a hand basket. Massive Z feed rates, lost steps, goodnight Vienna.

    Now that's fixed I can go back to trying my BobCAD G-code and cut the cheeks for the new mill Z axis screw.

    Robin

  5. #5
    What mill driver software ?

    .
    John S -

  6. Mach3 is the best that I have run across. Great support wonderful running program and will only drive you slightly mad in the process.

    Have been doing test cuts with the Bob Cad and my mill getting good results and having to do some edit work on the post processor as it keeps switching to imperial when i use metric and a few other minor bugs that i am finding ways to get it smooth.

    Sorry to hear about the Z going south on you hope things get back the way they need to be soon for you.

    Michael

  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by m.marino View Post
    Sorry to hear about the Z going south on you hope things get back the way they need to be soon for you.

    It's all fixed, the wonderful thing about my software is I have the source code and the compiler on the same computer that drives the mill. I can fix bugs on the fly.

    I do as much as possible in AutoCAD then export a dxf file. I get the tool paths from someone else's software then merge them back in with the original dxf on screen.

    I can move or locate the tool referencing any circle on the dxf and I always have bolt holes in the workpiece for clamping. The dxf circles locate the bolt holles for drilling, they then locate my riser blocks on the bed. I bolt the work down to the risers then start cutting.

    Works for me

  8. #8
    I like the bit where he has to check with his supervisor to see if it's okay to give you that deal he's just thought of, specially for you. There are just 3 of this special bundle left over after a show, a never to be repeated offer.

    If you say yes to the offer, he immediately starts selling you the dongle. Say no thanks and down comes the price. After the dongle you start on the extended technical support, but as you've probably already had the training CD set sweetener thrown in you actually don't need that.

  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by Hemsworthlad View Post
    Bobcad must be feeling the crunch!!. . . . on sunday I downloaded V23 demo and to do so I had to register.
    Monday afternoon a very nice Bobcad sales person with a very cool "hot dickerty dawg" southern american accent phoned.
    After nearly 15mins . .(normally tell them to piss off after 20secs but is voice was fun listening and I was bored". .telling me how wonderful and how much money bobcad could save me we got to the nitty gritty of price. . . . . Bobcad Pro V23 + V23 Art normally 4,500 dollars lol
    TO ME £300 Quid. . . . .. . .Still too dear for a yorkshireman thou:nope:. . told him to go away and sharpen his pencil
    Somebodys feeling the pinch
    I had a very similar experiance. I knew after downloading the demo they would call but I thought I would get a week to play around with it. Not a bit of it, I downloaded at midnight and got the call at about 3 pm gmt.
    Anyway to cut a long........... I bought the lathe/mill package for £300
    I went for the download as the cd / manual was an extra $50.
    Then I discovered that to transfer from one computer to another would involve a fee. Plus the download looked a bit tricky and I had a dodgy broadband connection at time. So, I decided to pay the extra and get the cd and although a dongle wasn't mentioned by said smooth talking American, I discovered here on this forum that a dongle exists so decided to obtain that as well.
    Thats when my problems started or perhaps they started when I downloaded the demo !
    Bobcad have not answered my mails apart from a mail saying somebody would be in touch, ( they havn't) I will try and phone soon but I am feeling a bit pissed, especially as I was welcomed into the Bobcad family and was expecting good customer support.

    Be Warned !!! Phil.

  10. #10
    I have the Vectric products, Dolphin and Bobcad V21, apparently V22 was crap and isn't listed any more ? and I refuse to go to v23 as it's dongle controlled and they way I get thru USB sticks is no ones business, I must get 3 a week posted back to me.

    Vectric products are good, very good support and a user base who have nothing bad to say about the program, that has to mean a lot.

    Dolphin is equally as good on support and features but it is limited to 2 1/2D with a tiny bit of 3d inbuilt but it doesn't profess to be a 3D program.

    Bobcad tries to be master of all but doesn't succeed, it has to have the worst CAD/CAM reputation in the world, do a web crawl.

    Vectric and Dolphin compliment each other, Vectric I class more as an arty program than and engineering program which Vectric will agree with, it can do engineering based parts, the loco wheel we do at shows was programmed in Vectric to show how easy it is but at the end of the day it's more a sign carving and engraving program which it excels at.

    Dolphin IS an engineering program, you can engrave with it but it's not as intuitive as Vectric.
    Where Dolphin score is it's ability to do a part 8 different ways, doesn't mean to say 7 are wrong and in most cases any will do but on some long jobs 10 minutes playing what if can save a lot of time and it's very easy to order the sequence of cuts.

    Both Vectric and Dolphin won't write code until you are happy with the screen simulation and if you want to alter anything you can then post code again.
    Bobcad up to V23 was different in that it wrote code on the fly, profile by profile, won't to change anything and it was a cut and paste operation.

    Vectric do a starter program called Cut2D that gets you started cheaply, dolphin do a hobby version but you have to contact them for pricing but it is affordable.

    .
    John S -

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