SolidCam

len_1962

So I see Onshape has partnered with them, so will SolidCam be able to see the changes or will it run inside of the Onshape window?

Currently SolidCam\InventorCam run inside of SW and Inventor.

?

lenny

douglas_1

I'm very interested in this.  I'm a long-time Solidcam for Solidworks user.  Hopefully you can teach them how to make a proper GUI.  HINT: Their GUI sucks!  I like the software, but it's buggy and painful to use sometimes.

len_1962

I like HSMWorks better, but that an't gonna happen here.

mcconnell113

currently they aren't partners but maybe in the future. autodesk owns them and they're still in solidworks so maybe in the distant future we will see such a thing

douglas_1

HSMWorks is pretty great!  I tested it quite a bit and I am a Fusion user.  Great interface and very modernly coded application that will utilize every bit of your CPU.  That being said, 3D iMachining in SolidCAM is pretty flipping great.  You can almost get similar results with Adaptive Clearing in HSM, but iMachining takes the guess work out of feeds and speeds for different milling situations and adjusts them dynamically throughout the roughing, i.e. easing into corners or thin areas.  Yet it still allows for as much control and adjustment when needed. 

len_1962

I know Ken Merrit at SolidCam really well, saw him at SWW here in Phoenix last month.

I got a funny smirk from him when I mentioned Onshape and how it would be cool if they would work inside of OS

mcconnell113

I'm excited for both mastercam and solidcam as I know them both. I've used mastercam for a while and I've watched tutorials on solidcam never machined with it but pretty confident that I easily could adapt.

murray_1

I'd love to be able to get proper 3D CAM without paying an arm and ten legs for it. HSMXpress is great value for 2.5D (free!) but all the nice features are kept for the expensive version which rules it out for me outside of work. For serious amateurs, Sprutcam seems better value for full 3D but is still pretty expensive. I'm hoping OS can offer something exciting like the CAD that has proper 3D content!

scott_2

douglas_1 said:

iMachining takes the guess work out of feeds and speeds for different milling situations and adjusts them dynamically throughout the roughing, i.e. easing into corners or thin areas.

That isn't a good thing and represents a fundamental difference in approach between Adaptive Clearing and iMachining. iMachining isn't able to accurately calculating constant chip load based on in process stock. So it has to adjust the feeds & speeds to compensate for that. So it becomes a problem when using small diameter tools and the chip load varies on tight internal corners. You end up with tools breaking. The HSM developers were the first to figure out the algorithm for constant chip load and make trochoidal toolpaths work, hence they have been evolving the Adaptive Clearing toolpath far longer than anyone else, and as a result are a long way ahead with its maturity.

lonnie_1

scott_2 said:

douglas_1 said:

iMachining takes the guess work out of feeds and speeds for different milling situations and adjusts them dynamically throughout the roughing, i.e. easing into corners or thin areas.

That isn't a good thing and represents a fundamental difference in approach between Adaptive Clearing and iMachining. iMachining isn't able to accurately calculating constant chip load based on in process stock. So it has to adjust the feeds & speeds to compensate for that. So it becomes a problem when using small diameter tools and the chip load varies on tight internal corners. You end up with tools breaking. The HSM developers were the first to figure out the algorithm for constant chip load and make trochoidal toolpaths work, hence they have been evolving the Adaptive Clearing toolpath far longer than anyone else, and as a result are a long way ahead with its maturity.

While there may be differences in the core theories, I would not say HSMworks is way ahead of them.  If I am not mistaken when the adaptive kernel was first written they tried to sell just the kernel to CAM developers and could not get anyone to bite and it eventually became the core of HSMWorks.  However that developer no longer works at HSMWorks either.
I am pretty sure the HSM idea started way before the HSMWorks Kernel was even thought of.  Probably could trace it's roots back to the 1980's in the aerospace industry.

I am also looking forward to see what the Onshape partners come up with for a cam system.  I hope they choose a mature cam system that already has an extremely strong core set of tools in place. After using a system for the last 3 years that has a great UI but limited tools it has become clear that if I have to choose between the tools and UI it will be the tools. I hate to say it but you can work around a poor UI but not a lack of tools.  I don't see HSMWorks ever being interested developing a product here, heck they can't even keep up the ones they already have.