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Thread: Does anyone use Bobcad?

  1. #1
    DanHofer@Comcast.net Guest

    Default Does anyone use Bobcad?

    If any of you have read my previous posts, you know that I'm a beginner to CNC. I have many questions. The biggest mystery for me now exists as the magic that occurs between design work and the machine cutting my design.

    I know I can design a part using a product like Autocad or BobCad. I know the end result of this is G code acted upon by the machine controllers. I also know that my rendering of a part does not factor in the cut a tool will make. I think there is software used between the CAD software and the machine that is used to create tool paths and G code.

    I've been looking at a product called BobCad. It appears to be targeted at CNC type of operations. (As compared to Autocad which is targeted at a much wider audience: architects, civil, mechanical, electrical engineers, etc.). Does anyone use BobCad? If so, do you have any good or bad feedback regarding it's use with Shopbot?

    Also can someone detail for me in simple terms the steps they perform to go from design to cutting and what products they use for those steps?

    Example:

    Design: Autocad
    Toolpath: Acme
    G code: Acme etc.

    Any input would be greatly appreciated.

    Best Regards,

    Dan Hofer
    DanHofer@Comcast.net

  2. #2
    rgbrown@itexas.net Guest

    Default

    Dan,

    ShopBot has a DXF to SBP converter as part of the aoftware package. They also supply "Part Wizzaed" that does 2D and "2 1/2D" toolpaths - I am told.

    I have been using VECTOR and like it. Others use many kinds of design/toolpath software.

    I like RHINO for a CAD package. I haven't found the part I can't cut with a combination of RHINO/VECTOR. At times I do have to get creative.

    Ron

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Apr 1999
    Location
    Rock Hill SC
    Posts
    500

    Default

    I use Bobcad and for the most part I like it. It lacks a lot of the whiz bang features many other packages have but the fact is that they tend to confuse and slow me down rather than help.
    Probably the biggest reason NOT to buy Bob cad is the paranoid copy protection scheme that they use. If you have a hard drive crash on a weekend you are just out of luck!
    The cost of the program is not as important as the amount of time you will spend learning it. I would (Were I to do it again) buy the most popular program on this site because of all the good help you can get.
    Parts Wizard is So So. I have it but I seem to spend more time trying to think like the guys who wrote the program than I do getting work done. It was a good program but they hobbled so many features in order to sell it at a lower price that my CD resides among my copies of AOL.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Posts
    252

    Default

    Dan,

    Just my two cents, I would go with Vector CAD/CAM. Support it much better, has a direct Shopbot "post processor" and with the new NURBS features, it really is a great package. Has almost all the same tools as Bobcad but I think the CAM section (that part of the program that actually generates the machine movements) is better than Bobcad.

    For the record, I originally started out with Bobcad and spent the time learning to use it proficiently. I later switched to Vector and have not looked back! While the switch was a little more difficult than if I had started with Vector in the first place, it was been well worth it, especially since the NURBS section was added.

    Also, support it MUCH better than Bobcad. Really important when you are first starting out.

    Just my two cents,

    Bruce Clark

  5. #5
    papadaveinwy Guest

    Default

    dan depends on your application if you are doing things like signs (2D) then just use something like correl draw and save as a dxf then let the "Bot's" software figure everthing else out. its fast and simple that way. David in Wyoming

  6. #6
    papadaveinwy Guest

    Default

    Dan here is the process for using somthing like Correl draw 1. draw design 2. save as dxf 3. import dxf into shopbot software (fc comand) 4 fill in the blanks 5. start the router. very simple you can do that on any design program that saves as a dxf and it will convert a tiff,a g-code and more. David in Wyoming

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Location
    Flatwood Designs, cambridge Ohio
    Posts
    273

    Default

    Bruce,

    I'm interested in knowing more about the NURBS software. I'm an avid Vector user and like the format. I'm interested in getting a little bit of 3d work built into my dimensional signage and have looked at Rhino as well as Vector NURBS upgrade. These programs seem to fit my pocketbook, However, I don't want to have to become a mathmatician to learn to use these programs. Any feedback from a nurbs user would be great. I've been to the Vector site but the info on the software is limited other than " heres what you can do" type stuff and some of the terminology is a bit GREEK to me.

    Thanks
    Bill

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Posts
    252

    Default

    Bill,

    Don't know if this will help, as I am learning it myself. What the basic premise for the 3d stuff is this: You draw "controlling" geometery (the perimeter) and then let Vector "interpolate" a surface.

    For example, I wanted to make a propeller for a windmill. What I did was load the wing cross section into Vector and sized it to my requirements. I then used the NURBS portion to create a surface between these two cross sections (the tip being smaller than the root). From here I was able to generate a 3D path that let me cut the the wing surface from a solid piece of wood.

    Really, the only thing you have to worry about is the perimeter shapes. There is no math involved in the surface creation process (least not for the user).

    The best place to find out more information about Vector NURBS is their surface creation forum at:

    http://www.imsrv.com/cgi-bin/discus/discus.cgi

    Then follow the Vector 3d surface and modeling link. In there you will find some how to tutorials along with some information about each of the surface commands (including how to use them).

    Hope this helps,

    Bruce

  9. #9
    DanHofer@Comcast.net Guest

    Default

    All,

    Thank you for the wonderful replies. They help a lot.

    I see ShopBot partners with ArtCam. Would this be a wise choice for some moderately sophisticated wood carving?

    Best Regards,

    Dan Hofer
    DanHofer@Comcast.net

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