Cam justification

[gcode]

After the first couple of steps your only regret will be that you didn't start sooner

[crazy^millman]

Oh really use to make 4th axis roll dies with a converstional but hey that is just me. I have also made Indy car parts with a conversational bad thing is you got to have the Drawing then do the work to that point the biggest reson for havign a Cam program to being with. I did 3d stuff without a Cam program for years and hated every damn hour and day of doing it that way but I got it done and did a good job doing it that way. I come across harsh all the time it seems guess that new imporved me is gone oh well. I can only tell you I have seen program and been around Tecksoft, Edgecam, Gibb, and Used Mazatrol, Autocad, and the good old calcator with Macro to make parts and I like the flexability of Mastercam the Easy to learn post language that makes alot of sense most of the time. I think it will be up to the type of work you think can justify a program that will give you the ability to grow as a company or the program that will get you by. I can sya if you want to start talking about money we can go after soem unigraphic program and look at their cost or look at what soem other programs call 5 axis program that si nothing more than a glofied indexer. I have used Mastercam for very complex 3d surfacing, 4th axis surfacing, and 5th axis surfacing and it rock the freaking boat and I also am very glad to have this place in which to have met so a great group of knowledgeable people. I just say you take it for what it is worth and decide what is best for you and your company.

 

Crazy Millman

[Bob_Looney]

You need to s l o w d o w n a little crazy.

Looking thru the manual that I printed off the power CD, it looks like there is a lot of pretty nice funtionality there.

I'll start messing with the demo.

[Thad]

quote:

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You need to s l o w d o w n a little crazy.

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Millman only has one speed....overdrive!

 

Welcome to the board, Bob.

 

Thad

[Gary]

Mastercam does have alot cheaper packages out thier if all that is needed is 2-d stuff and you can still machine and draw from 3-d parts. All in what you doa to make the moola.

[P_Scott]

camguymtl and Bob L.,

 

Take it from an ex-Smartcam Free-form programmer. I've been there before. In 1999 I was using Smartcam V11 to program prototype and production thermoform molds for a packaging company. I was also programming their 2-D die plates and backside drilling and gating the molds. At the time, Smartcam to me was the BOMB. I went to my reseller to ask questions about programming with Smartcam to make my job easier and more efficient. Our designers were using Pro-E and every IGES seemed to be missing at least one fillet or radiused surface that Smartcam simply wouldn't convert. During that "tech support" session, my reseller was also showing two other customers some 2-D toolpath functions with Mastercam V7. My jaw dropped that day. Even though there wasn't 3-D toolpath associativity in Mastercam at the time, the 2-D toolpaths were monumentally better than Smartcam was ever going to get. To think I could change a fillet size in the corner of a profile and regen the toolpath instantly without having to delete it and start it over or trim that area out and redo the toolpath for just the corners was amazing. I have never looked back. The learning curve was much quicker than I could've imagined. There are many similarities between Smartcam and Mastercam. The advantage with Mastercam however is the time savings in modifying current toolpaths or utilizing the same operations for "families" of parts. You make one program and you can borrow from it and use it for something else. Make a few changes and save it as another new program. It takes seconds, not minutes, to make a change to the current geometry and regenerate the toolpath. Today with V9's newer, faster, better toolpaths, I can run circles around any job that I programmed previously with Smartcam.

 

The company that I used to work for and programmed with Smartcam, now is one of our clients who uses Mastercam. They can bring in a Pro-E part file directly from their designers seats, without having to "clean up" an IGES file or replace surfaces that were missing. And the post processors also take advantage of toolpath filtering, helical arcs, full-arc output along with many high-speed features that aren't available in Smartcam.

 

Sorry for the novel reply. Smartcam was a great tool in it's time. That time has passed. Move on to better things. It's like the difference between using a paint roller to paint a wall yourself, or a professional painter using an air compressed paint sprayer to do the same wall. The roller works fine, but the pro will have more rooms done by the time your one wall is painted. Make the switch now, before a company using Mastercam takes business away from yours. JMHO. I hope this helps.

 

[ 11-17-2003, 02:07 PM: Message edited by: Peter Scott ]

[MACHINEMASTERG]

+1

smartcam user 1988-1990

MASTERCAM USER 1990-to infinity and beyond>>>>>

[gcode]

quote:

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Make the switch now, before a company using Mastercam takes business away from yours.

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End of Story

[kkominiarek]

There's no doubt Mastercam is more advanced than Smartcam. I know, I used

Smartcam for about 8 years. There are however a couple of options I miss from

Smartcam....but that's another thread.

 

You may want to try a formula similar to this one if your boss is looking for #'s.

 

If Mastercam lets you program 10% quicker than Smartcam.......

 

2080 hrs/yr x 10% = 208hrs x $40/hr = $8320

 

 

You can adjust #'s to fit your situation.

[CAM-mando]

Bob,

 

Welcome.

 

Smart Cam User 1991 - 1995 and again 2000-2001.

 

MasterCam the rest of the time.

 

Toolpath associativity +1000 you have the ability to tweak cycle times where it would be impractacal before.

 

Allows the operation libraries James mentioined.

 

Good Translators.

 

This Forum is a great resource.

 

For most work I find that the more complex it becomes the greater the edge to MC for efficiency. I always seemed to be walking on eggshells in complicated SmartCam process models with lots of toolpath geometry. Masking and all that for no other reason than to prevent an accidental mouse click that might reverse a dirrection or delete a tiny entity that will take forever to find. ... I prefer the MC way.

 

POST Processors ... MAKE SURE you understand what you need and what your dealer is willing to provide to get you the code you want. Alot of the folks here customize their own posts, but it takes time to learn that. If you want perfect code for all your machines, you may need to get your dealer to quote that.

 

Also get a clear understanding on the update policy through your dealer as there are some changes going on in that area.

 

CAM teh "Justified"

 

[ 11-18-2003, 12:43 PM: Message edited by: CAMmando ]