Looking for CAM software

[matthewsx]

The challenge with any closed source software is that it only takes one change in management or ownership to change business policies. It's nice when companies make their products available free or reduced cost for students, hobbyists, etc. but if there's a bad quarter or a philosophical change at the top then all bets are off. This is especially troubling when the program stores files in proprietary formats or online with their own servers rather than letting you save or export to industry standards.

Open source software eliminates this by making the source code freely available, something that isn't super helpful if you're not a programmer but it means that if there's a disagreement between the people working on the project all they have to do is fork the code and each team can do their own thing (look at how Open Office became Libre Office after Oracle started doing things some of the team didn't like).

I'll admit I'm biased towards open source but when you look at what's happening with business today it really makes sense to have software that's not tied to the fate of one company. Having the source code freely available means that instead of having one group of developers working for a single company you have many programmers all over the world to find bugs and add features without corporate constraints. It also opens opportunity for entrepreneurs to add features and sell support packages that people want. Simply put it is a better, faster way to make quality software.

That's why I'm using FreeCad and LinuxCNC

Cheers,

John

 

[hman]

Durn good points, John! Thanks!

 

[rwm]

I think that the people at Fusion have hope of knocking off Solidworks (D'assault Systemes) as the industry leader. Their strategy seems to be to get a lot of beginner users familiar with the product so they become the default. When these people eventually become the decision makers for industry they will be biased towards Fusion and stick with it. Apple had a similar idea when they started. They realized that if they became the dominant computer manufacturer for schools the kids would eventually grow up and buy Macs. They were right.
BTW the cost for them to let hobbiests use their software is Zero. They are just hoping you or your company will pay the license fees someday.
Robert

 

[cjtoombs]

I think that the people at Fusion have hope of knocking off Solidworks (D'assault Systemes) as the industry leader. Their strategy seems to be to get a lot of beginner users familiar with the product so they become the default. When these people eventually become the decision makers for industry they will be biased towards Fusion and stick with it. Apple had a similar idea when they started. They realized that if they became the dominant computer manufacturer for schools the kids would eventually grow up and buy Macs. They were right.
BTW the cost for them to let hobbiests use their software is Zero. They are just hoping you or your company will pay the license fees someday.
Robert

Yes, the cost is zero, but it's surprising how many people in business don't see it that way.

 

[rwm]

Lost opportunity cost I guess. But I assume they have figured out that hobbyists and startups are not going to pay the expensive fees. It is hard to justify unless you are making income from the software.
Robert

 

[macardoso]

I think that the people at Fusion have hope of knocking off Solidworks (D'assault Systemes) as the industry leader. Their strategy seems to be to get a lot of beginner users familiar with the product so they become the default. When these people eventually become the decision makers for industry they will be biased towards Fusion and stick with it. Apple had a similar idea when they started. They realized that if they became the dominant computer manufacturer for schools the kids would eventually grow up and buy Macs. They were right.
BTW the cost for them to let hobbiests use their software is Zero. They are just hoping you or your company will pay the license fees someday.
Robert

Honestly, I don't see Fusion playing that business model. Autodesk already has Inventor which is a much more featured and traditional software package targeted to compete with Solidworks. I think Fusion is aimed to get the business of anyone who is unwilling to pay the price of Inventor/Solidworks and instead uses some lower tier software.

Autodesk offers licenses for a good chuck of their software under similar terms as the hobby version of Fusion (including Inventor). It would be surprising if they pulled the rug out from everyone's feet.

 

[RJSakowski]

There is some cost involved. Autodesk supplies support for non paying Fusion users. Cloud space isn't free. Non paying users take up bandwidth during the relatively frequent updates.

 

[shonteff@sbcglobal.net]

I have been using Rhino cad and cam for a few years. However the Windows 10 upgrade has ended my cam use and MecSoft will not offer support because it is a few years old. I was told the upgrade messed up the dongle. Any way I want to up grade my cam software. I make custom sewing machines so a lot of small precision parts. The last upgrade was an extremely bad experience. I bought a new computer. Then the Cad Cam package would not work so I upgraded them both. Then the CNC Jr still would not work . I had to but all new motors and electronics. So this computer upgrade was $13K.

Now I am in need of a good new CAM package to make my tools paths. Any advice would be great. This is for a home shop not General Motors

Harry
San Francisco

 

[Mini Cooper S]

I have been using Rhino cad and cam for a few years. However the Windows 10 upgrade has ended my cam use and MecSoft will not offer support because it is a few years old. I was told the upgrade messed up the dongle. Any way I want to up grade my cam software. I make custom sewing machines so a lot of small precision parts. The last upgrade was an extremely bad experience. I bought a new computer. Then the Cad Cam package would not work so I upgraded them both. Then the CNC Jr still would not work . I had to but all new motors and electronics. So this computer upgrade was $13K.

Now I am in need of a good new CAM package to make my tools paths. Any advice would be great. This is for a home shop not General Motors

Harry
San Francisco

I use Alibre Atom, I find it very intuitive and thus easy to use. I added AlibreCam from Mecsoft (I know you may not be happy with them) and have a very nice setup especially for the price. Like you, I am a home shop, not General Motors but I have yet to run into a part that I was not able to model with Alibre Atom although I am sure that it has limitations.

Richard
Cedarburg, WI

 

[shonteff@sbcglobal.net]

I use Alibre Atom, I find it very intuitive and thus easy to use. I added AlibreCam from Mecsoft (I know you may not be happy with them) and have a very nice setup especially for the price. Like you, I am a home shop, not General Motors but I have yet to run into a part that I was not able to model with Alibre Atom although I am sure that it has limitations.

Richard
Cedarburg, WI

Thanks I am looking into it.