Program of preference????

[richahrens]

Bleeth,

Thanks for the explanation.

I currently cut about 8-10 cabinets per month but have the opportunity to make carcasses for others in my area who will then finish them. Nothing I do seems to fall into standard sizes.

I have a link for ecabinets from thermwood but was not aware i need to get a dongle. Where and how much?

My machine came from a luthier as a Buddy but I moved everything to the larger alpha table as I did not want the longer powerstick setup. I also wanted the high z to do some timber brackets with mortises and tenons.I

Perhaps it makes more sense to use a different program for what I want to do with cabinets. I just want to buy software once and invest the time to learn it once. Hence the reason I am seeking input from the forum in this regard. I'm currently also conflicted over Aspire vs Fusion 360. Will either of those work for this application?

Kindly,

Rich

[dlcw]

Bleeth,

Thanks for the explanation.

I currently cut about 8-10 cabinets per month but have the opportunity to make carcasses for others in my area who will then finish them. Nothing I do seems to fall into standard sizes.

I have a link for ecabinets from thermwood but was not aware i need to get a dongle. Where and how much?

My machine came from a luthier as a Buddy but I moved everything to the larger alpha table as I did not want the longer powerstick setup. I also wanted the high z to do some timber brackets with mortises and tenons.I

Perhaps it makes more sense to use a different program for what I want to do with cabinets. I just want to buy software once and invest the time to learn it once. Hence the reason I am seeking input from the forum in this regard. I'm currently also conflicted over Aspire vs Fusion 360. Will either of those work for this application?

Kindly,

Rich

I've been using eCabinets for 10 years now. I build about 200 cabinets a year, in a one-man shop. I've developed a whole seed library based on how I like to make cabinets. All my cabinets are custom sized. If a customer needs a 23.375" cabinet that's what I make. Ecabinets is VERY good at making changes to cabinets this way. You will need to find someone willing to part with their copy of ShopbotLink and the dongle that goes with it as Thermwood is not selling that anymore. eCabinets itself will not output directly for a Shopbot CNC. That is what the Shopbot Link software is for. Support for eCabinets is VERY good. Shopbot Link is plenty stable for what I need. The only downside (if you wish to call it that) is that you will need Shopbot control software 3.6.44 as the 3.8 series doesn't support the Link. I've found 3.6.44 good enough for what I need my machine to do. I don't need froofroo frills that are in the 3.8 versions. 3.6.44 is about as solid as you'll get. I run a PRSAlpha 96x60 with a 2.2hp spindle and have never had a problem.

If you do decide to go with eCabinets, I would HIGHLY recommend subscribing to their training videos as the learning curve is pretty intense. There is no drag and drop in eCabs, it's all driven by changing parameters. You'll have to learn all the parametric interactions so you don't get burned, and yes, I'm speaking from experience... LOL.

There are still a few of us around that use the eCabs/SBLink package to make a living. Everyone has been good at helping others get up to speed.

I've looked at other packages but have always come back to eCabs. To my tiny brain, it makes sense to me. And to switch at 60 years of age would require unlearning and relearning a whole new approach and vocabulary and I'm not sure my brain can, or is willing, to do that. If you're just getting started and have many years ahead of you, I would recommend looking at one of the other packages out there as eCabinets is geared toward Thermwood CNC machines.
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