Official Luthiers Forum!

I have been having a blast with my Chinese 6040 machine, I use v carve pro to cut inlays and make parts, the cad software I use is Designcad3dmax and while it does fine for 2d the 3d portion is not very "friendly" so now I want to step up to 3d and use my machine for fretboards and bridges, along with other projects my cnc can handle, I am just about to order Rhino v5 and haven't decided on 3d cam software yet , Rhino on Noveedge is $799 slightly more than I would like to invest but there seems to be very little in between???????? So I was just looking for a little advice on cad software before I put the order in... or possibly just a little "push"!!!!!!!

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MK5acoustics.com

I have several thousand hours experience doing 2D in Autocad. I have Rhino3D 4.0 and I have figured out a few things in 3D, but making the transition is tough for me! I have tried several CAM packages and CamBam is awesome for 2D+ but a challenge to get 3D machined. I have figured out a few things, but others things I haven't mastered, like carving just the back of a neck (No heel or headstock). I have also tried Solidworks and I was totally lost there...

How do you like your 6040 CNC? Who did you buy it from?

I love it , has worked perfectly for me so far, I did change the cables out with shielded cable, bought at home depot , and added home switch's....its very accurate I am cutting out some MOP inlay tonight using v carve pro and with a offset of .001 on the pocket the inlays fit perfectly...got it off of EBAy

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MK5acoustics.com

I've been using MadCam with Rhino for the past several years and have been very pleased with it--especially for the price. It's very easy to use, at least in my opinion, and works as a plugin within Rhino so toolpats are saved as additional layers within the model. I too use VCarve for my 2 and 2.5 D stuff.


Dave

what about Rhino that's what I am thinking of getting for my cad program???? and was looking a cut 3d since v carve pro is so easy to use...

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MK5acoustics.com

Cut 3D is a very basic raster type 3D toolpath type of package, it's not going to be able to accomplish what you're after.

For anyone having difficulty transitioning to 3D, I would strongly suggest starting at the beginning and going through the basic tutorials provided with whatever package you select. Once you've gotten past the basics, there are thousands of tutorials on Rhino, SolidWorks etc. on YouTube. There's also pay sites that for not a lot of money can take you far ion your 3D work.

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http://www.birkonium.com CNC Products for Luthiers
http://banduramaker.blogspot.com

Ok rhino it is, order tonight!!!

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MK5acoustics.com

What about meshcam??

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MK5acoustics.com

I'm in the same position, and I'm stuck between MadCAM and RhinoCAM right now. They both seem very similar, so its hard to tell which one is REALLY better. Hopefully someone can chime in and tell the true differences that has used both.

I have decided on Rhino v5 though, for CAD. By far the most powerful CAD package that I've found for the $$.

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Jason McGowan
M&S Guitars
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United States of America, looks like another silent night
As we're sung to sleep by philosophies that save the trees and kill the children....
Casting Crowns

I use Rhino5 and MadCAM and am very happy with both.

RhinoCAM was a strong contender for me until they decided to do their extremely steep price raise and yearly subscription scheme.

Yearly subscription? As in the software is only good for a year?

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Jason McGowan
M&S Guitars
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United States of America, looks like another silent night
As we're sung to sleep by philosophies that save the trees and kill the children....
Casting Crowns

Yes that was the scheme last year, but just checking their site right now it seems like they've abandoned that idea. Which is good.

http://mecsoft.com/storenorthamericamod/

Well, that's not entirely true. Even under the subscription model, the software still worked, you just don't get updates.

I have VisualMill for SolidWorks which is the same as RhinoCAM. From what I understand, they're fairly comparable packages.

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http://www.birkonium.com CNC Products for Luthiers
http://banduramaker.blogspot.com

Ah thanks for the correction Andy. I went the MadCAM route instead so you would know better than I as a VisualMill user.

Maybe you can shed some light then. From what I understand, MadCAM and VM are extremely similar exempt for one biggie that MadCAM doesn't let you save operations or something like that? I might be confusing MadCAM with another package though.

e.g. If I make machining strategies I like, I can save them off to a file and re-use them in other parts. Is that not true with MadCAM?

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http://www.birkonium.com CNC Products for Luthiers
http://banduramaker.blogspot.com

Andy could you please explain what you mean by saving machining strategies? I am a US reseller of Madcam and am not sure how to try to answer what you just said, and I feel quite sure it is a difference in the use of particular words.

Mike

Sure, e.g.:

Let's say I come up with a machining operation set for a neck or fretboard or something like that. It's got 2D profiling, 3D stuff etc etc… and now I make a new neck model.

With VM, you can save the machining operations as a single file and import them into the new part. Then you just go through and associate all of your geometries to the existing MOPs (machining operations) and you're done.

This way all of your tool choices, feeds & speeds, entry/exit etc. are preserved and you don't have to start from scratch. I use this feature all the time as it saves a lot of work and a lot of mistakes. Vectric has a similar feature.

It's very possible that I'm confusing CAM packages as I just vaguely recall that someone on this board was complaining that they had to re-do work often with one of the CAM packages. Very well could have been a different one and if so I take it back.

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http://www.birkonium.com CNC Products for Luthiers
http://banduramaker.blogspot.com

I've just noticed your address, I'm in Lakeside on a regular basis - if you need any help with Rhino PM me.

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www.morganguitarworks.com
www.morgancustomguitars.com

Hey Andy don't take anything back......putting stuff out there is how we learn. My main problem is I do not get to use Madcam nearly as much as I would like. Way more of my time is in Rhino getting ready for the cam process. Madcam does save a file, or really gives you the option to save it with all the info for that particular file included......I have never tried what you are describing, so I cannot address it, but I know someone who can and will email them in the morning.

Is the file you speak of a txt file? If so, can you pm me an example so I can get an idea of what I am looking for.

I make no bones about the fact that many of the people I have helped learn Madcam over the years, surpass my expertise rather quickly. Anything I can learn, I am ready.

Mike

Wait, it says Wales on your post. My Lakeside is in the US near San Diego.

Yep, I spend half my life in San Diego - right now I'm on Creekford Drive off Wintergardens, 92040

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www.morganguitarworks.com
www.morgancustomguitars.com

Strange, I responded last night but the post disappeared.

The file is not a text file, it has the extensions .vkb which stands for visual mill knowledge base. I tried opening it in a text editor and its definitely a proprietary format. I can still send you one but you'll need a copy of visual mill to open it.

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http://www.birkonium.com CNC Products for Luthiers
http://banduramaker.blogspot.com

!!!! I could walk there! I grew up in Lakeside, moved away for 35 years, and moved back in 2010! I'm at the corner of Sapota and Golden Ridge!

Andy can you do a screen shot of it?

Mike