advises???

[TomT]

hello everyone

Anybody in here know Cimatron? which is the latest version of Cimatron? please tell me to compare between Mastercam package and Cimatron package for molds???

Thanks averyone in advance

Tom T

[Elad]

This forum is for Mastercam users only,

I belive you will not find help on other cad/cam softwares.

Before i bought mastercam,i also chacked Cimatron.

If you would like to know the diffrence,contact Mastercam's and Cimatron's dealers,they will be happy to show you what they got.

[This message has been edited by elad (edited 07-20-2001).]

[Guy]

Elad I don't think this forum is for Mastercam users only . But what Tom want to have is the advantage to use MCam instead of Cima...something.

Tom J'ai jamais entendu parler de Cimatronm mais je peux te dire que Mastercam vas vraiment bien . Moi j'ai encore V6.13 et j'adore

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Guillaume Côté

Hexco inc, Montreal Canada

Stainless steel specialist

[Kenneth Potter]

I have Cimatrom Ver 11,

It has a great electrode maker & mold building tools.The interface is a Bit tacky for me, The Lathe seat sucks, It IMHO it has some good surface building tool sets, Surface control point editing Kicks butt.Creating surface fillets & blends is very powerful.9k for Surface pack with mold & electrode builder add on. Software support & training sucks. Be prepared to pay high mantainace fees to stay up dated.Post & support for the NC Cimatron is over priced.

[Rekd™]

Ken is right.

It is VERY expensive to buy and maintain. It is also VERY VERY powerful. But with that power comes complexity. Also be aware that, if you're used to the upgrades provided for Mastercam, you're in for a big let down every time Cimitron releases an update. They've always been buggy, and I would recommend NOT deleting the previous version before upgrading. It's that bad. Tech support, as Ken said, sucks. It's like pulling teeth to get support from them. They are not in the US, and seems to me that they don't really care about the support that much.

Once you get used to it, though, you can create complex programs fairly quickly. It is, in my opinion, considerably more powerful than Mastercam. But there are very few shops that actually need that much more power.

If you're doing anything but THE MOST COMPLEX programming, I'd suggest sticking to Mastercam.

Also, Elad... This forum is a great place to get advice from peeps about 'the other' software packages out there. I've had the pleasure of using several of them, including but not limited to GibbsNC, Virtual Gibbs, Cimitron, Surfcam, Bob*cough*cad, Geopath, EZMill and a few others. Mastercam is, IMHO, the best all around. With the awsome interface, configurability, usability, support, CHooks, and the post processor configurability.

Kudos to the entire CNC team!!

Rekd

[This message has been edited by Rekd (edited 07-21-2001).]

[Simtech]

Tom,

Here's where reality kicks in ...

We at Simtech are presently the eastern Quebec Mastercam dealer and offer support, posts, sales, training and anything else concerning the CNC consultation field.

In Montreal, Cap Tech takes care of the same things we do. They also give excellent support, training and so on.

Needless to say, that this type of support for a product provides you with assurance of a product that will meet and exceed your expectations. (We also monitor what's going on in this forum!!)

Cimatron, from my experience, is a very good CAD/CAM package. Like Ken was saying though, it is pricy, almost no support (especially in Quebec), updates are very buggy and costly. Add MoldPlus L3 to Mastercam and you will get basically the same functionnality.

To get good advice on both products, bring in a rep for each product. Make them model,program and mostly cut a typical part on your machine.

You will find that Mastercam dealers do not tend to sell a box with a CD, but rather help implement a CNC environnement that takes into account the CAD/CAM/DNC aspects of your business. I always state that the job starts after we have installed the software, others tend to see their job ends after the sale.

If you need any other advice, you can e=mail me directly at [email protected]

Luc Simoneau

Simtech CNC Consultants inc.

Eastern Quebec Mastercam Reseller

 

[Guest CNC Apps Guy 1]

The reseller I used to work for was the same way. That's where we kicked the tar out of the competition. I believe nobody in Southern California can even so much as hold a candle to CAD/CAM CONSULTING SERVICES INC. in service, in capability, and customer satisfaction. The President, and a few other people in the organization are 5 Axis gurus. Everything from cylinder head porting, to aerospace, you name it, they can support it. Mastercam's dealers are the envy of every CAD/CAM company and Mastercam is fortunate to have the caliber of professionals reselling their product they do. That is a big reason why Mastercam IS the Leader in CAD/CAM.

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James M.

Mastercam Enthusiast

[Kenneth Potter]

The problem with Cimatron is ---->SMALL SHOPS DONT USES IT. The interface is goofy complex million mouse clicks Dumb. IF not for the strong surfacing tools & mold building utilitys it would sit on the shelf unused.My partner loves it " go figure". Multi veiw ports ,each with its own independant ucs(C-plane)makes it a dream to design molds. Its not a ram & cpu hog like Mastercam. & hardly no problems with video cards. Trim surface can be converted to parent at that last surface trim state.You can convert inch to metric & metric to inch with one mouse click!(Really nice).

Help files------WHAT HELP FILES!!!!! gotta pay for that one on one class suck training BS. ITS File management system SUCKS! but the grafixs is great. Mastercam IMHO is the better buy for the money.BUTTTT if you want real mold building PIT BULL power & ya got lots of money to spend ! Take a look at Tebis software 30k to 40K. NUff said.

[Rekd™]

Very nicely put, Simtech.

And Ken, you're correct in the millions of mouse clicks.. Cimitron REQUIRES a 3 button mouse. In order to be effecient in Cimitron, you will essentially need to learn to play the piano!! (The Piano keyboard being your mouse!!)