Did I just waste $700?

[matt_raymond60]

Bringing my Shopbot back to life after a few years and my old ArtCam program was obviously dead to the world so I bought VCarve Pro thinking that was a good move with the intention of upgrading to Aspire a little ways down the road. Now I am seeing threads about VCarve Pro not being compatible with Shopbots? Am I out of luck? I assumed if Shopbot has it for sale on their website that it would work with their product...

Matt

[chiloquinruss]

These guys appear to do aftermarket for many machines. Might be worth a look. Russ

https://jtechphotonics.com/?p=3851

[steve_g]

Vectric products work with ShopBots as well as ever! HOWEVER, there is no longer a ShopBot OEM version. The deeply discounted SB version would only work with SB products and upgrades were handled through SB. Now, any purchases, updates or upgrades are handled directly through Vectric. The sticker shock has made me less of a Vectric fan… and for that matter, less of a ShopBot fan! Someone somewhere fumbled the relationship.

On the plus side, if you have multiple brand machines in your shop, the non ShopBot versions have post processors for most of them!

SG

[tlempicke]

[QUOTE=steve_g;207063]Vectric products work with ShopBots as well as ever! HOWEVER, there is no longer a ShopBot OEM version. The deeply discounted SB version would only work with SB products and upgrades were handled through SB.


First off does anyone out there think that a piece of software should include updates and support forever? We all like the enhancements and support, but in fact it does cost money to produce. The folks at Vectric have always been great about responding to their customers and making sure that their products work as advertised. They can not afford to give their stuff away any more than you can afford to give away the stuff you make with that software.

The only thing that you need to make Vectric software work on any machine at all is the proper post processor. Look in the help section of the software and you should find a tutorial on how to write a post processor and instructions on how to install it in your program. If you can't write your own try on the forum here or at Vectric and you should be able to get either a post processor or some help in modifying an existing one.

[Rob Gunn]

Personaly I have had VCarve for 8+ years and have never had any issue. Its worked on my old ShopBot, my Bob's CNC and my Bridgeport CNC. Vectric has supplied me any post processor that I needed for any machine free of charge.

[srwtlc]

Your only problem (if it is an issue) is that your old Artcam files will not be able to be opened in Vectric's products.

[jTr]

Matt,

Now I am seeing threads about VCarve Pro not being compatible with Shopbots?

Preposterous.
Compatibility is there.

I did exactly as you plan, start with VCarve Pro, Upgrade to Aspire. Did this in December, a few hours of video tutorials and I'm now producing original 3D carvings for furniture grade cabinetry. Couldn't do it without, and at $2000, it's a screaming bargain for my one person shop.
(Have you checked out KCD or similar high-production software pricing? You could buy a new pickup for what it costs, plus annual maintenance fees equal to or exceeding $2,000...)

Now you need to invest time in watching/learning from their tutorials. (As you would with any software purchase) Here's where you find the key to unlocking it's full potential.

Can't sign off here without noting, when I bought my machine about 8 years ago, Partworks was pretty rudimentary compared to what VCPro has become. Vectric continually updated/upgraded it over the years, adding more features and functionality, morphing into VCarve Pro. By the time I bought Aspire upgrade, they'd already released numerous features from it down to the VCarve Pro level already, and I can only recall about 1 upgrade charge of maybe $150 - $200 over 8 years. I just finally grew to the point where it was essential to generate and significantly modify my own creations in 3D.

No, I don't think you wasted $700, but it is up to you to make the time to practice and you'll get the most out of what we are all saying here is wise investment.

Jeff