New CAD/CAM application, seeking testers

[alman]

Can't say that I'm a big fan of the UI. Too much mousing around (no keyboard shortcuts at the moment) and at times a different ribbon comes up which was a bit confusing. Having to hit 'Done/Cancel' and 'Close' for shapes/outlines was a bit non intuitive.

Making a tool path is a bit of a conundrum. Didn't see where to set in/out/on/pocket, etc. Setting feed/speeds for the selected tool didn't quite jump out at me either.

Got this error after attemping to save a toolpath and the resulting toolpath had some possible errors in the code.

The goal of having different ribbon tabs (changing tabs) is to limit the tools or options you are presented with while you are doing a particular operation. For example, if you are inserting a rectangle shape, you won't see tabs relating to splitting a line in two. Because of the changing tabs, the Done/Cancel buttons become necessary.

Toolpath. I've included a screenshot. In this case laying out a rectangle. There is a "Toolpath" Tab where you would specify location of on, inside, outside. To specify pocketing you would choose Filled.

Speed and feeds. Another screenshot showing part of the tool library. The goal here is make things a set and forget operation. You have the option, but not requirement, so that each tool can have a separate spped/feed for a given material. The way Techne works is you choose the material you are working with. When you generate toolpaths the program then uses the speed/feed appropriate for that material.

This operates alot differently than PartWorks. In PartWorks select a shape and then generate a toolpath independently. Techne tightly binds the toolpath options to the shape, when you get to the actual toolpath creation you are no longer setting options.

If you still have the file that caused the error, would you please email it to me. There is a Bug reporting command on the main File menu that will show an email address.

Thanks for the feedback.

Joe

[Nancy]

Announcing new software that is relative to CNC machining and asking for beta testers are perfectly acceptable on this forum. But continued discussion, reports and explanations should go to the developer's website or email. Thread closed.