Experienced CPP User Wanted (and CPP concerns)

[sbd1]

Concerns
After speaking with Gary Campbell yesterday I've been using the free version to figure out if it's worthwhile investing in. While I see the value in this type of app & I think Ryan's done a good job of creating a simple & inexpensive solution for some situations, I'm not sure that it is something that really works well enough or is supported well enough for me to be able to learn & use.

I've read the help file, watched the videos (both of which I found very unhelpful) & read all the posts I can find in here & anywhere else online. And I still have some significant questions. While I appreciate possibly being able to ask you helpful guys some questions, I ultimately need to feel like I'm actually supported somehow as a customer. I've sent Ryan two inquiries for help with no response (although both were in the last 24 hours), I'm still concerned about its value to me.

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Pre-purchase Questions
So let's say for sake of argument that I'm too simple to understand how this app works well enough to use it (even though I've been in woodwork & using computers for over 2o years). If someone can tell me that it can do the following, then I would be willing to buy it & hire someone to train me.

1) Does it support a 2nd Z axis router? If so, what's involved?

2) I build my wall cabinet gables with a notch out of the back edge near the top (to clear a hanging rail I screw to the wall & hang the cabinets from). Can I add this feature (and others) to the gables of wall cabinets as a default? I'm not willing to add it to each gable in the nesting sheet manually every time. If so, what's involved?

3) Can I build my own type of cabinet? ie: Square corner base & wall.

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Help Wanted
I need to start cutting a kitchen! I'm willing to pay someone (who's experienced) $xx/hr to spend some time online (using TeamViewer & phone) with me to explain & train me quickly. Anyone need some beer money?

What are your thoughts?
Daren

[sbd1]

So, after sleeping on it I realize that my previous message may have been perceived as rather harsh so I wanted to clarify. Obviously I'm frustrated with trying to get some parts cut, but I think CPP is a great little program with allot of potential. Thanks to Ryan for making it available to us at a reasonable cost! I just think it could use a little help - and so could I.

I would really appreciate anyone willing to spend a little time with me on this.

[kevin]

I learn so much on this form I feel it would be rude to charge

With that said its a great program I not interested in swithing to the link just yet .What cabinet parts does make boxes really good it won't deign a kitchen or be a selling tool .

I;ve used it almost 3 years ,Yes you can use second z .I have a air drill it was tricky to set up and there where problems

I design my kitchen with Kitchen Draw

If you want to send a couple of your cabinet size I;ll punch it in for you.

There is a learning curve but well worth it .After making cabinets with a cnc theres no going back

Whats hard is setting up cabinet parts for your need

www.kdunphy.com (http://www.kdunphy.com)

[Ryan Patterson]

Daren,

Learning new software is sometimes hard exceptionally cabinet making software. The hardest part is understanding all the settings. I do give free training support when needed. If anyone else is interested I can setup for a group web class.


Your email I had just gotten your email.
1) Does it support a 2nd Z axis router? If so, what's involved?
>> Yes you can use a second Z. What is involved depends on what version of SB3 you can run. If you can use 3.6.44 then it is fairly easy to get setup. If you have an older PRT that can only run using 3.4.27 then it is a little more involved.

2) I build my wall cabinet gables with a notch out of the back edge near the top (to clear a hanging rail I screw to the wall & hang the cabinets from). Can I add this feature (and others) to the gables of wall cabinets as a default? I'm not willing to add it to each gable in the nesting sheet manually every time. If so, what's involved?
>> There is a user option for this. I will email you how do get the user options working.

3) Can I build my own type of cabinet? ie: Square corner base & wall.
>> The square corner base is not yet supported. You can use a diagonal corner then modify the nested part to make a square corner.

[sbd1]

THANK YOU GUYS FOR RESPONDING!!

Kevin, I love your comment "I learn so much on this form I feel it would be rude to charge". I appreciate your offer to enter some cabinets for me but I think I need to learn how to use this software for myself.

Ryan, I'm so happy that you are reachable & are willing to help. I really want to buy your software because I think it will work well for me. You're right, learning technical software is always a challenge & understanding the settings are difficult too, but until I knew that it could do what I need it to do it's not worth investing in. At this point I'm feeling allot better about it.

I'm eager to get some training from you ASAP, whether it be as a group or alone, and as I mentioned before, I'm even willing to pay you for your time to help me get going faster. When are you available?

As for my questions:
1) I'm running SB control version 3.6.16. Do I need to upgrade to 3.6.44?
2) I look forward to learning how to modify parts with 'user options' in your email when I get it.
3) Your temporary solution for square corner cabs is OK with me for now. I'm glad to hear that it sounds like you will someday support them though.
4) NEW Q: Does CPP also do drawer boxes somehow?

Thank you

[sbd1]

Just a note to let anyone interested in CPP know my experience.

I think CPP has great potential & in the beginning (when I first heard about it & started testing it) I was really excited to purchase it & start using it fully. But shortly after starting I had a couple of questions about things that were poorly explained & did not work as expected. I wanted to get these answered before I actually purchased it. I've found that customer service usually doesn't get any better once they have your money, so I like to get a feel for a company/product/service BEFORE I open my wallet.

I believe I tried hard to get assistance & info from many sources (like this forum) before purchasing this program, including contacting Ryan. After several unsuccessful attempts to get complete answers from Ryan he offered to have an online demo where he would answer some questions. I was excited & looked forward to getting more details from him about connecting on the day he mentioned, but they never came. As a matter of fact, that day came & went without a word from him.

So that made the decision for me to go with eCabinets.

I now recall reading several posts in this forum about people trying to get a hold of Ryan (you could almost feel the long sigh as people posted & waited indefinitely for some help to their questions, which usually came from other ShopBotters in this forum graciously offering what they could) & then after long periods of silence he would suddenly appear with a brief reply - I think this was a good indication of what to expect.

[garyc]

Daren...
Ryan may be off the grid for the weekend, I can give you answers, but not 100% guaranteed perfect answers.

1) Your choice, but there have been some improvements to the MTC system since 3.6.16, but it is one of my "ol standbys"

2) User options will allow you to add many custom geometries to your cabinets, but have a higher (longer) learning curve.

3)...

4) You can use a wall cab with no doors, appropriate side and bottom materials, sized to your required drawer box size. This workaround is used in many cabinet design programs.

[ken_rychlik]

If you think the learning curve is steep for CPP you will be in way over your head in ecabinets. :rolleyes:

Ryans program works well. He is very helpfull to me, and it may have something to do with a frustrated user (you) wanting a lot of his time while using the Free version of the software.

Ecabinets will do anything you want it to, but plan on spending MONTHS to get good with it.

If you have specific questions about either program, post them one at a time to get good results with answers. Just ranting about something won't get a positive response most of the time. Also posting a lot of questions at once will scatter the answers.

Take care and good luck whatever you decide.
Ken

[kevin]

You get what you put into it

Post some of your work to see your needs are

Like I said its a tool cpp

[gene]

Daren,
Ryan had a webcast the other day . I wish that you could have watched , maybe it would have answered some of the things that you are not familar with . I have been using it and its good for me. there is another program called cabinetpro , if you really want to see no support try them.

[sbd1]

I have worked with very expensive & complicated parametric software in my woodworking history, so I know a little about what SHOULD be going on with this type of software. But I'm not a programmer, nor do I want to spend tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars to build a few cabinets, so I knew I needed to make a compromise.

I still think CPP has great potential, and I also think that Ryan is a nice guy. But there are some gaping holes in his software & the documentation is very weak. Both of which I could have lived with had I been able to reach him, or more importantly, known that my emails even reached him. Communication is obviously the downfall of this product for me. You may think that I'm being harsh because I only used the free version, but I would have gladly paid for it had I felt there would be reasonable support available.

Please don't construe this as a rant or a bash - I spent the time writing this simply to provide others with MY experience. I have already purchased eCabinets.

[gene]

My Apology , i did not mean to offend anyone . Best wishes on the E cabinet software . I hope all goes great for you.