Newbie shopbotter....what software to use.....AutoCAD familiar plus...

[imadethat]

I am a cabinet shop/funiture maker. buying a new shopbot.will be using it for flat panel work as well as 3-d carvings and profile cut-outs. we currently use AutoCAD 2002 2d and 3D work, I have experience with Corel,Illustrator,and other 3d modeling programs as well. My question is what software should we be using for the 3d work in shopbot. we are considering ArtCAM but it is very pricey. and will other software do the same thing and do the cam work too.

[bjwat@comcast.net]

Gabriel,
When doing 3D think of it with 2 distinctions. One piece of software is going to design the 3D part, the other is going to generate 3D toolpathing from that 3D file. ArtCAM contains the ability to do both of these.

I have had a lot of success using Rhino3D to make 3D items, and the 3D probe to scan things in. I currently use MillWizard to do the 3D toolpathing. It contains the same technology (I am told) that ArtCAM uses to generate 3D toolpaths. And...the best part is...MillWizard only costs $250 from ShopBot.

-Brady

[gerald_d]

Can I suggest that you guys join this thread (http://www.talkshopbot.com/forum/messages/31/1832.html?1066243423) that was also started today?.

[gerald_d]

Maybe that other thread is not such a great idea - seeing that it is specifically in the "Corel" part of this Forum. (Didn't realise that Corel had its own sub-topics)

Gabriel, to answer your question, you need to tell us a little more about this "3d" work that you envisage. One man's 3d could be another man's 2.5d or even 2d.

Do you see yourself using a ball nose cutter and cutting lines less than 0.05" apart for a couple of hours to finish one square foot? That is real 3d.

With your AutoCad, and the "freeware" PartsWizard/Vector that you get with the Shopbot, my guess is that you could cover 95% of all your profitable jobs with that.

[ssmith@skeeball.com]

Gerald, Vector is no longer "freeware" included with the Shopbot package. But I agree that AutoCAD, Part Wizard, and the SB dxf converter work for 95% of the files.

[gerald_d]

Thanks Scott. Sad to see "Vector" being moved off this list (http://www.shopbottools.com/software.htm) and hardly ever being mentioned here at the Forum any longer. Reminds me of the old saying: "For the want of a nail, the shoe was lost. For the want of a shoe, the horse was lost. For the want of a horse, the . . . . . . . . . "

Anyway, for those buying used ShopBots, do try and get the Vector that was supplied with them, and take the trouble to understand the CAM side (.dxf to .sbp conversion). Don't bother with trying to design in Vector.

[ssmith@skeeball.com]

It is sad. I bought my Bot 3 months after they stopped including Vector. Because of all the good things you say about Vector I would love to get my hands on one for a test drive.
Until I followed your link I didn't know ShopBot stopped selling it also.