Very Smooooooth!

[weslambe]

I just installed version 3.17(?) and it's great. The arches that I cut come out much smoother than with the old dos version. I am impressed with the quality of the cut.

I could hear the difference in the ramping when I used the "K" to move the gantry around. Like I said, smoooooooth.

[sheldon@dingwallguitars.com]

Is this still in beta testing or is it solid enough for production work?

[gerald_d]

I understand that it is out of beta, but the version changes are still a little too often for me.

[bob buttons (Unregistered Guest)]

thats a great question when will a stable version be ready . also why does the dxf converter drop behind the main screen? the updates are very frequent. any idea on this TED? thanks

[srwtlc]

I used both versions when V3 first came out of beta back in October. I too found that V3 controlled my machine much smoother/quieter. I had to switch back to the dos version occasionally to run some custom files that V3 wouldn't work with. I've sent Shopbot a number of bug reports over the last few months, and as of the last release many of the major bugs seem to be gone. I've been using V3 exclusively since the January release. Sure there are a few smaller bugs (runtime errors, no returned value, and cosmetic things), but I have not had it mess up during cutting once. This last week I had the same file running in a loop for 16 hours straight with no problems. I do a lot of repetitive cutting where I change blanks after one is done, and then hit a momentary switch on the x-car after changing out the blank, which brings the machine/file out of a "WAIT HERE" state and continues on until it's done with that one (and so on).

Take note though, if you have speed and ramp parameters set at the beginning of your files as I do, there are some extra place holders (,,,) with V3. I have had to change each file that I haven't used with v3 yet as I go.

So, to sum it up, yes, it is stable enough for production work. For me anyway.

Scott

[Drayrj@buffalostate.edu]

Is anyone using FORM-Z software on their shopbot?

[davidallen]

I tried Form-Z several years ago, but dropped it for Rhino.