BobCAD v24 is there anything better for £150? Any help will be great thanks

[suesi34e]

Hi guys,

I am having a tricky time as to what CAD CAM software to go for. What I wish to do is this, draw 3D parts in AutoCAD and then use the DWG in the CAM software. I can get BobCAD v24 for about £150 is there anything better for the that kind of money or anything to consider? I am only going to use the software every now and then.

I did think about CamBam but I guessed there may be better support for learning BobCAD v24

Many thanks

Suesi

[magicniner]

I only have experience of V25 but if you ask about V24 there are some experienced users on the CNCZone BobCad forum who will usually respond usefully to such a query, if you go with V24 and there is a Training Professor DVD set available for your version it's well worth getting hold of this and working through it.

Version specific advice is important as I understand there have been serious step-changes in functionality between versions, I've seen comments about 3D functionality being poor which must refer to pre-V25 versions as V25 and above have good 3D CAD and CAM, provided you use the training material and learn how to use the system,
Regards,
Nick

[Musht]

Meshcam?



http://www.grzsoftware.com/

[JAZZCNC]

Steve I've got the training DVD's for V24.

[suesi34e]

Hi Nick,

Thank you for taking the time to put down your thoughts here for me.

All the best

Suesi

[suesi34e]

Hi Musht,

I have had a quick look at Meshcam but to be honest I do not have the knowledge to make a decision, not the right one anyhow! I will read up a bit on it though and look on YouTube for some videos.

Many thanks

Suesi

[suesi34e]

Hi Jazz,

That is great mate. Perhaps we can have a chat about software when we next speak. But for now the training DVD's sound good I need all the training I can get!

Many thanks

Suesi

[Musht]

Meshcam is really a CAM program in that it dosen`t have any drawing facilities internally, need to upgrade to Meshcam Art for some CAD functionallity integrated.

Thats pretty universal amongst this type of software, pay more cash get a higher level of integration at the very top end get things like Aspire that integrate everything for people who`s time is money.

If can tolerate doing some things in one program and others in another can save a lot of cash and produce identical end results.

That said , for a beginner like me anyway, have an OK workflow using Sketchup for CAD and exporting a .STL to Meshcam which makes the machining decisions for me pretty much ;-)

[suesi34e]

Hi Musht,

Thank you for your msg. I appreciate you pointing out a bit more about Meshcam but I would not be drawing much in a CAM package even if it has a CAD part. I would sooner draw in AutoCAD or similar and export a DWG or DXF.
Meshcam looks good but I am thinking BobCAD V24 could be easier to learn. I know I am going to regret saying that!
Many thanks for your help here
Suesi

[suesi34e]

Hi Musht,

Thank you for your msg. I appreciate you pointing out a bit more about Meshcam but I would not be drawing much in a CAM package even if it has a CAD part. I would sooner draw in AutoCAD or similar and export a DWG or DXF.
Meshcam looks good but I am thinking BobCAD V24 could be easier to learn. I know I am going to regret saying that!
Many thanks for your help here
Suesi
...............

[suesi34e]

Hi Musht,

I am sorry, I was getting Meshcam confused with another CAM package that is why I thought BobCAD could be easier to learn. Now I am looking a at YouTube videos of Meshcam it looks simple as far as CAM packages go. I did just the same thing the other day with two place names!

Many thanks

Suesi

[GEOFFREY]

[QUOTEI did just the same thing the other day with two place names!

Many thanks

Suesi[/QUOTE]

It only gets worse!!! G.

[Musht]

Theres a lot of SomethingCAM packages about, its not easy not to get confused ;-)

CamBAM also offers a free trial and works very well for 2D, cutting things out of a flat plane.

Personally found Meshcam easier for 3D cutting and harder for 2D cutting, then the Vectric 2D module seems popular here....

Try the free trials of things and see which you feel most comfortable with.

It`s the one that gets the object off the screen and into your hand that wins :-)

[Robin Hewitt]

It`s the one that gets the object off the screen and into your hand that wins :-)

There is also the consideration about whether it cuts like a router in a series of parallel passes :distrust: or like a CNC mill following water lines :chuncky:

I did write an instant gratification program once, I gave it a shape and it gave me a tool path, I then tweaked the parameters to make it credible. It was buggy but I think it is the way forwards, it should not be difficult to get a tool path, you shouldn't have to understand everything before you can see if it works for you.

[suesi34e]

Hi GEOFFREY,

It only gets worse, I hope not! I am not sure I should be let loose on CNC machines!

S

[suesi34e]

I think what you say about trying the CAM packages is very wise that is what I will do next, then I will decide.

Many thanks

S

[suesi34e]

Thanks for your reply Robin, I will see what I come up with!

All the best

S

[Ger21]

Meshcam is really a CAM program in that it dosen`t have any drawing facilities internally, need to upgrade to Meshcam Art for some CAD functionallity integrated.

MeshCAM ART does NOT give you ANY CAD capabilities. It allows you to import colored bitmaps and assign heights to the different colors, and blend and smooth them. It takes a considerable amount of skill to create quality work with this method, and even then it's main use it for artistic type carvings.



I am sorry, I was getting Meshcam confused with another CAM package that is why I thought BobCAD could be easier to learn.

Imo, BobCAD is probably one of the most difficult CAD/CAM programs to learn. A see many of it's users trying to justify the difficult learning curve and quirky functionality because it's cheap and powerful.