AutoCad vs other software

[toddmaci]

Hello,

I will be purchasing a ShopBot in about 6 months and wanted some feedback regarding design software. I am currently taking a AutoCAD course at a local college to get some experience mechanical drawing.
What would you recommend for design software? Can I get by with the parts wizard/VcarvePro? I am looking to hire myself out to small cabinet shops, sign shops and anyone else who will pay me for CNC work( part time) . Do they generally provide you with diagrams of what they want cut?
I have zero experience with CNC (I have woodworking experience) but consider myself a fast learner. Any input would be appreciated.

Todd

[aaasigncom]

YOUR NEW SHOPBOT WILL COME WITH 2 PROGRAMS TO GET YOUR STARTED, ONE WILL BE V CARVE PRO. SOME CUSTOMERS WILL HAVE .DXF FILES FOR YOU. IF NOT YOU CHARGE FOR DRAWINGS AND TOOLPATHING JUST LIKE ANY OTHER SERVICE YOU WILL OFFER. YOU SHOULD ATTEND ALL THE SHOPBOT WORKSHOPS NOW THAT YOU CAN GET TO. THERE ARE ALOT OF OTHER CAD PROGRAMS THAT ARE EASIER AND FASTER TO LEARN. IF YOU CAN SWING IT, ARTCAM WILL FIT 90% OF YOUR DESIGN NEEDS

[harryball]

Hi Todd, welcome to the adventure.

Don't feel like you have to jump in with expensive software and learn everything all at one time. Start with the basic software, kick back, read the forums and enjoy what you are doing. Once you master the basic stuff... you'll know when to jump up to more complex software.

You first need to understand how the software relates to the machine. This can be a challenge but to keep it simple think about it in 3 parts.

1) CAD This is design work and what you are learning in AutoCAD. It can be applied to many aplications (CNC, Laser, Milling etc...) It is basically the drawing and can be as simple as a circle and as complex as an F15 fighter.

2) CAM This is the software that converts drawings into code (shopbot code or G code etc...) for your machine. CAM is generally more specific to CNC, plasma, Laser etc...

3) Controller Software This is what runs the code generated by the CAM software. It is very machine specific. The Shopbot Controller is what you'll use on the shopbot.

Since Shopbots should be shipping with VCarve Pro by the time you receive yours...

VCarve Pro is a CAD/CAM software package. It is userfriendly and relatively simple but powerful for 2D and 2.5D work. It allows you to draw and create toolpath files (.sbp files for the shopbot) and even allows you to preview them.

The Shopbot controller software runs the CNC machine but it can run in preview mode.

I suggest you download the VCP4 demo and the shopbot controller software and give it a whirl. You can create your own things in the demo but I think you can only cut the demo files.

If you spend your time now studying and practicing, you'll be in better shape than most of us were when we got our bots home.

Robert

[ryan_slaback]

Do new bots really ship with Vcarve Pro? I bought mine in July 06 and it only came with Part Wizard and the control software.

[fleinbach]

Ryan,

Yes, I read another post that new shopbots will ship with Vcarve Pro. I believe I read the first ones to ship with it will be after October 19th.

[bob_reda]

Not only does it come now with vcarve 4 it also comes with cut 3d. These programs will have different names, but its the the vectric software. I was at Johns shop bot camp when it was announced.

[bcammack]

CMS IntelliCAD is an excellent value as a substitute for AutoCAD.

[joelinkous]

I've messed around with Archimedes CAD a bit, and it seems simple enough. It's open source though, so you get a half-good program for zero cost.

[mffrr]

How many people are using intellicad. I currently use turbocad, corel x3 and vcarve pro - but I am most comfortable with autocad. I have tried the intellicad demo and can't find a thing wrong with it. It seems too good to be true. Would appreciate any feedback.

[bcammack]

It's part of our production process. Countertop templates come in, are cleaned up, and then digitized into a list of points. A Lisp routine in IntelliCAD turns the list into a rough set of shapes that are further refined into a formal set of 2d CAD drawings in IntelliCAD.

After that we pass them into ProNest and GibbsCAM for the CNC programming phase for the FlowJet, Omag, and Northwood CNC routers.

We pick up young folks out of the local technical school for our CAD people. They're trained in AutoCAD and seem to transition to IntelliCAD pretty seemlessly.

The only complaint we've ever had is that the version we use doesn't "explode" text into line segments. This prevents us from projecting text with the setup lasers over the routers. We circumvented that by creating a library of letters as line segments in individual blocks that they can insert into drawings with toolbar buttons and macros.

[blurredvis]

As a CAD tech that uses AutoCAD every day, i can tell you that there are definitly easier programs out there to master. AutoCAD has soooo much to it that many people overlook and can seriously screw you up in the long run. Intellicad and Turbocad are both pretty good but i honestly like using Rhino3d the best for most of my designs. It is primarily a 3d NURBS based modeler but 2d work is quite fluid.

I recommend the combination of Rhino3d and RhinoCAM as a powerful 3d/2d/2.5d CAD/CAM package.

[joelschuman]

Matthew has it right! I started with TurboCAD and Rhino, but now use Rhino for everything, including plain old 2D profiles. Lovely software. Both Rhino and TurboCAD have great supportive user communities, like ShopBot, and that makes a huge difference when you're starting out.