Switching to 5-axis, and doing it well, can be very difficult. It is not "plug and play", there are so many new variables (software, controller, mill and parts) Many 5-axis parts need special functions. For instance, you need a totally different 5-axis cutterpath to cut an impeller than you use for a turbine blade. Which are totally different than cutting a deep cavity, or tire tread or show tread. Just because a package says it has 5-axis, doesn't mean it has 5-axis for your application. Then, it's not enough to have a 5-axis post processor for your mill, but can the software work around the mill's idiosyncrasies and can it make the mill run smoothly? Some controllers do 5-axis well, some not so well, what can the software do to help this? I would not plunk down any money without being able to evaluate the software on my parts, seeing them run on my mills. For me, WorkNC does brillant roughing, smooth and efficient. But their Auto-5 is the frosting on the cake for deep parts.

quote: Privately held companies ARE the most suceptible to purchase especially in a tough economy.But that didn't answer or address the question, how he knows they are up for sale. I'm guessing he's guessing. Cimatron bought out Gibbs a few years ago (overpaid imho) - I don't think they are in immediate danger. Cimatron's financials are easier to digest, as they are a publicly held company.

quote: Like Cimatron, Sescoi are in the doo-doo with the owner apparently making it known that he's open to offers. A downward trend in development spend means they're not up on the high-end systems like PowerMILL with poor tools for toolpath editing, boundary and geometry creation. It's *old* software, it doesn't even support multi-core processing. How exactly do you know they are open to offers? I thought they were a private company. Also, they do, or announced, multi threading. Saw that release on MCADcafe or seomthing. http://www.sescoi.com/index.php?id=pr&pr=industrie2010&L=7