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Switch from Creo w/manufacutring to OnShape with CAM studio for 3 axis milling
john_ferguson402
Member Posts: 17 ✭✭
I've been using Creo and before that Pro/E for many years. I'm running a Sherline Mill and Chinese 6040 Router both running with a LinuxCNC controller I built myself. LinuxCNC looks a lot like a basic Fanuc to the Creo output, but Creo has a Post editor (GPost) which has let me optimize what I do to work best with my machines - or at least I think so. I'm a bit astonished that ONShape CAM studio doesn't include Post editing but maybe most customers are more conventional equipment and don't need it.
OnShape CAM apparently lets you edit your machines which may satisfy my requirements.
My Creo subscription renews in January so now seems a good time to switch to OnShape which I've been using for design of 3DPrint projects. I find OnShape to be much quickjer than Creo - but that may be more due to the way I wqrk despite having over 30 years with Creo and its predecessors back to Release 8 with Pro.
Is there anyone else here that has faced this situation?
john ferguson St Petersburg, FL
Answers
I can't help you with CAM, but I can chime in and say that I started CAD with Release 6 of Pro/E and around 2003 got more into Solidworks, and over the last 5 years or so have transitioned fully to Onshape. As Director of Product at an electric scooter company I switched them from Creo to Onshape. To me, it's been a breath of fresh air to not worry about managing the challenges of a file based PDM system and operating system/hardware compatibility/installation issues, etc. Also never losing work and being able to freely branch/merge/collaborate has been huge.
Simon Gatrall | Product Development Specialist | Open For Work
I, too, now prefer OnShape for the work I do, quicker and less burdened with improvemenmts. I still have a Sparc10 and Release 12 (1993?) which can do everything I need except import modern foreign CAD information. I'm retired and none of what I do is commercial, just working down my backlog of projects I alway wanted to do.
I've kept a paid subscription and use Creo when I have to cut metal, but for all of the printing, OnShape is perfect, and it's drawing system is so much easier than Creo's although I confess that I may have lost my touch.
If you go back to Release 6, that would have to be close to the begining in 1988. For me, it was love at first sight.
I have 3 machines in my hobby shop that all use a LinuxCNC -based system as the controller and was also disappointed to discover that there is no post editor for CAM Studio. In my case, a customised post would probably be required to utilize some of the accesories that the machines have. I have the free Onshape account, but would consider a Pro account with CAM Studio once the latter product is more fully developed.
I suppose there's no reason I couldn't buy my own Post editor. Pro/E didn't come with them when i got started with this in 1988/9. It seems to me that I used one from an outfit in Montreal. I can't remember if it had editing capabiliity. Maybe that was an extra I didn;t need at that time because we were only using a single mill which used Fanuc code.
I don't know if it does, but would kiri Moto website do the job?
HI St.
My impression is kiri Moto is 2 1/2 axis which won't be enough for what I do.
My suspicion is that Post editing is not an issue with what OnShape preceives to be their major CAM market, and certainly not those of us who are running weird systems, like LinuxCNC
It would be nice to hear Onshape's policy on this. If they don't intend to support "non-standard" CNC systems that would be good to know and those of us that would like that capability can just move on.
Hi John, i believe it can do four axis.
I think there is a video on YouTube. I'll see if i can find and link tomorrow.
Ste_Wilson. I looked at it and it does look like it would do what I need to do. I've just gotta spend the time with one of my already done projects to see how i'd do it with kiri:moto.
I looked at kiri Moto and it lacks (not surpsiingly, and not unfairly) the features I use and suppose I've gotten use to over the years with Pro/E - Creo and CAM studio for some reason seems to be offered a bit reluctantly to folks like me, so it will be another year with Creo. .