Hello Everyone, Thank you all for your honest opinions. I'm glad to see that people here are willing to speak their mind on CNC routers with no reason to repeat any adspeak or official company tagline. As I said before my CNC Machine experience has been with Thermwood exclusively. My machining needs are not as specialized as some of the individuals here on this thread but I do appreciate everyone taking the time and effort to respond. We vacuum form or thermoform plastic parts and were looking to use the machine to create our molds. We have been told that REN board and MDF were ideal materials for moldmaking and even aluminum. What would the top 5 brands or makes of CNC Router / Controller would everyone or anyone recommend? Should we start a poll or survey? I'm looking for a real world, user based opinion and not that of a salesperson. I do know that there are a few brands of CNC routers available for sale but the end users, I'm sure would be able to point me in the right direction. Thanks in advance.

Thermwoods are flimsy? What do you mean exactly? Are they unreliable, weak, fragile, problematic? Please explain because as you know CNC Routers aren't cheap and I don't want to make a big dollar mistake. Just so you know we vacuum form or thermoform plastic parts and were looking to use the machine to create our molds. We have been told that REN board and MDF were ideal materials for moldmaking and even aluminum. Any thoughts? Anyone? Thanks in advance

Yes, I did speak with Jeff and he was able to supply me with a quote for the whole job but I'm not sure if my boss going to pull the trigger and get the updates done. He has asked me to look at any alternatives that may be available.

Hello All This is a question for all the experts here in emastercam .com. We have a 1990 model 70 Thermwood that needs to be updated with a 9100 SuperController. In addition to updating the controller we have been told that the machine needs to be completely rewired. My question is which is the better controller? Are there any users out there who have experience with CNC Motion in PA.? They have been great to deal with so far but my own CNC experience is limited to using a Thermwood 91000 SuperController. Both Thermwood and CNC Motion have both recommended the same thing. Complete rewiring and new controller. Anyone out there have any thoughts? We're on the fence right now as to what to do. Restore our current machine to today's standards with new state of the art controllers or trade in and get a new or previously enjoyed machine that's a couple of years old? Thanks in advance

I have a problem with SW and MCAM. When I open files in MCAM X the file extension appear to be cut off. *sldprt only shows up as *sld. As a result of the missing characters the model does not convert and appear in the MCAM X graphic window. When I physically type in the "prt" on the end of the filename, the part comes in no problem. This can't be normal. Any ideas? Thanks in advance

We own a late 1990 Thermwood Model 70 serial number C70048122190SD9 with a 9100 Controller, 5'x10' table, 2- dual spindle heads. 1 head is currently operating on the right side and the head on the left is idle. We would like to know what the current market value of this 5-axis router might be. We would also like to get an estimate for getting the controller updated to a 91000. Is this machine worth upgrading or would a previously enjoyed machine be more cost effective? Can anyone recommend a Canadian company preferrably Ontario who can service, troubleshoot and repair this machine. I would like to be able to use this machine without having it go into E-STOP for no visible reason, just plain execute its HOME command. I've talked to the people at Thermwood but their solutions are frighteningly expensive. I've gotten answers to these questions from various sources but have decided to have the fine people here at eMastercam.com answer these questions. Thanks in advance

Thanks again everyone for your time and effort. It looks like MastercamX may stick around for a little longer until an Edgecam USER or USERS comes along and offers up better reasons to make the switch. Resellers need not apply.

Thanks to everyone that has replied. Anyone else out there have anything else to add? Anyone switch from Mastercam to EdgeCAM or have the luxury of both at their place of business?

I'm seeking the opinion of professionals out there in the field making their living in CNC machining. We are reassessing our CAM software and are considering looking at Edgecam because of its compatibility with Solidworks. I have been told by the users on this forum that Solidworks is the program to use for designing aesthetically pleasing automotive aftermarket parts. As an Industrial Designer, I've tried using Mastercam X and have found its CAD capabilites to be limiting and frustrating for me to use. How well does Mastercam read Solidworks files? How do Mastercam and Edgecam compare to one another? Pro's and Con's any useful information would be appreciated. I need a users opinion and not a Salesperson's opinion. I will be posting this thread on Edgecam's user forum if they have one. You can reply here on this thread/forum or [email protected] Thanks in advance

It would apply dimensions automatically according to the view selected on the drawing does MCAMX have this function or similar function? I tried the create, dimension, ordinate, window function but it made the drawing virtually unreadable and the view itself almost invisible. also I can't seem to locate the border template or title block function? Anyone know where it can be found? My solid layout drawings are just views with no title block. Can anyone point me in the right direction? Thanks in advance

automatic deimensioning by view

18) should be bundled with Solidworks so it would be much easier to design/ modify parts and just send them through MCAM for machining

18) should be bundled with Solidworks so it would be much easier to design/ modify parts and just send them through MCAM for machining

anyone who complains about parametric programming has never done enough of it to be good at it. Making changes to a design on MCAMX is archaic at best and does not update any features related to it like points and splines. You better off just starting all over again insted of modifying point locations, line lengths. MCAM is great for CAM work but near worthless for design work.

Thanks to everyone who have responded. Anybody else? Keep the comments coming I would like to be more informed before I bring in the sales professionals for a demo

Hello everyone This question may have been posed before but I didn't see anything similar in the last 3 months. To all users out there I am thinking about getting a CAD system because I feel that the CAD portion of MCAM is somewhwat limited. I have used Pro/E since ver.18 but am wondering what the new favorite CAD system might be that communicates efficiently with Mastercam. Thanks in advance.

We own a late 1990 Thermwood Model 70 with a 9100 Controller, 5'x10' fixed table, 2- dual spindle heads, Hand Held Programmer with Pulse Wheel. I have been unable to find a solution to this problem.

Hello Everyone I am having a problem with our Thermwood CNC machine. I created a circle toolpath on MastercamX but what was machined ended up looking like a tennis ball. I need to know why this is occurring. The tool would run thru the part and create an arc on both sides as shown cutting my workpiece in 3 pieces. I would run the sample toolpath which I have enclosed for you to see. Everything looks to be fine on the preview screen but when our CNC machine reads the file I get the result you see in the two photos. You can see on the table and on the preview screen on the controller. Can anybody help? Thanks in advance

What does this mean? "current date is not inside valid time limits for the SIM" I am unable to open MastercamX Please help Thanks in advance

the link does not seem to be working

Any other ideas? Anyone?

These are some questions that I have on creating surfaces using Iges data. Looked at the manuals no info regarding surface creation using Iges data. Should the curves be converted to NURBS? or Parametric? Use C-hook "RmNodes" and adjust the node points to .02- Window all the curves at once? Create Spline- Copies of Iges curves? Manual? or Automatic? Smooth Splines by removing nodes-Delete the nodes one by one? Use Loft Surfaces I have tried using Loft Surfaces but the results don't look like anything I could use Is there a specific way or order to pick the curves? The surface seems to do everything but stay within the curve boundaries. Is there a step by step methodology to creating surfaces using Iges data I am new to the Mastercam World and need help. ProE allowed me to pick the curves and presto it is done surfaces or patches, just had to make sure that the direction of the curves is correct. Is Mastercam that simple? Thanks in advance to everyone

I followed the instructions that were sent with my updated code along with those in the installation guide. The code that I was sent does not have *.NHCODE extension. I have a red HASP key. The code that I was sent has an*.HCode extension I installed it anyway for both HASP and NetHASP but I keep getting a "no SIM found " message and the program exits when I click OK Anyone have any ideas?

I did the search earlier and found out that Quadro is the way to go with MastercamX but I just found out that the Quadro FX1300 is $830 CAD is there an alternative? or similar offering from another company? anyone selling a new or previously enjoyed system that will run X? this 2.7 GHz celeron is unable to spin or zoom shaded models without thinking for a long time or crashing. Thanks in advance

I've done the search and everything seems to be pointing to the Quadro FX line of video cards. Which card should I use if all I plan to do are 3-axis toolpaths, parts that I plan to machine are surfaces which are no larger than 5'x10'. We vacuum form parts here so no undercuts allowed. All our parts are single mold with no male or female mating molds. Please help we need a new computer to run X and I would like to come up with an accurate estimate for the purchasing department. Thanks in advance