The death of motorcycle fourms

Matthew Hajicek · July 13, 2022, 04:12 PM

Quote from: TSmcam on July 13, 2022, 03:23 PMSure. But TS is still independently owned, and Mastercam isn't

It would be a sad day to wake up and find all the CAD/CAM applications are now owned by Sandvik or AD though.

I believe Esprit is owned by Hexagon. Does someone else own Hexagon?

TSmcam · July 13, 2022, 04:21 PM

Quote from: Matthew Hajicek on July 13, 2022, 04:12 PMI believe Esprit is owned by Hexagon. Does someone else own Hexagon?

Not sure. Thats a good question. I either didn't realise (or more likely forgot LOL) that Esprit was now owned by Hexagon.

gcode · July 13, 2022, 04:35 PM

Quote from: TSmcam on July 13, 2022, 03:23 PMSure. But TS is still independently owned, and Mastercam isn't

Wasn't MC a family owned business until they sold out to Sandvik

TSmcam · July 13, 2022, 04:59 PM

Quote from: gcode on July 13, 2022, 04:35 PMWasn't MC a family owned business until they sold out to Sandvik

You know MC was family owned.

TopSolid isn't family owned.

So not a Guru · July 14, 2022, 05:58 AM

Quote from: gcode on July 11, 2022, 07:30 PMhttps://www.revzilla.com/common-tread/why-are-online-motorcycle-forums-drying-up-and-dying

Interesting with many parallels to eMC

What are the parallels of this to EMC?

So not a Guru · July 14, 2022, 06:00 AM

Quote from: gcode on July 12, 2022, 05:16 AMI misread that.. I was thinking $149/year and I wasn't biting
I can't think of any way to justify that kind of money.
The front page says you get "feeds and speeds" in the Premium subscription
I don't recall the old site doing anything like that

It has feeds and speeds only for a few mfg.

YoDoug · July 14, 2022, 08:54 AM

Quote from: TSmcam on July 13, 2022, 01:17 PMThey do indeed. But they don't rely on it. They have other avenues

TS is still independently owned, and they have no plans to cave in. TS for teh win! LOL

In late 2018 Siparex, and investment group took over TopSolid from Missler. That is why it is just TopSolid now. I would guess that as long as revenues are decent they will not sell the brand, but you never know. I do know they have about 50mil in annual revenue. It's not a small company, just not very good market in the US to they seem small over here.

https://www.siparex.com/en/participation/topsolid/

TSmcam · July 14, 2022, 01:07 PM

Quote from: YoDoug on July 14, 2022, 08:54 AMIn late 2018 Siparex, and investment group took over TopSolid from Missler. That is why it is just TopSolid now. I would guess that as long as revenues are decent they will not sell the brand, but you never know. I do know they have about 50mil in annual revenue. It's not a small company, just not very good market in the US to they seem small over here.

https://www.siparex.com/en/participation/topsolid/

It is always hard to tell, but they seem very happy with the structure. They're putting a lot of effort into the product, and also ancillary products. So which are good, and some that need a bunch of work.

Actually, it would be more accurate to say that TopSolid have been buying up companies. Their Inspection and Shopfloor products are companies that were bought by TopSolid, and rolled into the TopSolid product.

They do seem very small over there, but I think that is more market exposure more than anything. As you know, it is a very capable product. And gets more capable every release.

Incogneeto · July 14, 2022, 01:57 PM

Ahem !! My Motorcycle fell on me.

I thought this was a motorcycle thread??

CNCAppsJames · July 14, 2022, 02:22 PM

Quote from: So not a Guru on July 14, 2022, 05:58 AMWhat are the parallels of this to EMC?

Pretty much this to a T;

QuoteIn most cases, it was likely to be a community of warm and welcoming people who had gathered. There were as many people asking questions as giving answers and it was awesome. Trolls were few, moderation by volunteers was adequate, and most people genuinely wanted to help. Often, you could find deep and detailed writeups and how-tos from people creating genuinely wonderful user-generated content because A) they really loved posting helpful stuff and B) it was before most people were aware that all commercial enterprises on the internet are using you and your content for their own profit.

TSmcam · July 14, 2022, 04:06 PM

Quote from: CNCAppsJames on July 14, 2022, 02:22 PMPretty much this to a T;

Yep.

Ah, I remember the good old days of emc. I would post up a question, and in the morning, I would check the post and find several helpful replies. And often, a sub conversation would have developed, covering another topic, sometimes related, sometimes not.

Not now. Pretty much crickets.

Actually, it is almost like that for a lot of forums nowadays. Even here at times.

But fuggit... its Friday.. So beer and bourbon time for me in five hours.

neurosis · July 14, 2022, 05:21 PM

Quote from: TSmcam on July 14, 2022, 04:06 PMEven here at times.

Usually on weekends. Which comes a day later for us on the other side.

YoDoug · July 15, 2022, 05:45 AM

Quote from: TSmcam on July 14, 2022, 01:07 PMIt is always hard to tell, but they seem very happy with the structure. They're putting a lot of effort into the product, and also ancillary products. So which are good, and some that need a bunch of work.

Actually, it would be more accurate to say that TopSolid have been buying up companies. Their Inspection and Shopfloor products are companies that were bought by TopSolid, and rolled into the TopSolid product.

They do seem very small over there, but I think that is more market exposure more than anything. As you know, it is a very capable product. And gets more capable every release.

The only thing that worries me is that as AD and hexagon keep getting bigger they can offer bigger piles of cash to the smaller companies. At some point they may offer TS enough money that the investment group would jump at it. I remember reading an article by Bill Gibbs about a decade ago that said we are entering the "acquisition" stage of CAM software. He posited that there was just not enough new first time customers and getting customer to switch CAM was too difficult to add up to any meaningful growth for CAM companies. He said the only way to do it was through acquisition. Of course this was only a short time before he sold Gibbscam.

CNCAppsJames · July 15, 2022, 07:33 AM

Switching CAM systems is easier for smaller companies. The last few switches I've seen were related to equipment support. Guy went from HSMWorks to Esprit. He's got a Matsuura MX, Matsuura ES, and a Puma Lathe and he's getting an EDM and considering a swiss. He wanted something that could do all 3 equally well. And somethign that olkayed nice with his CAMplete. He kinda likes it.

mkd · July 15, 2022, 08:13 AM

It's going to be interesting to see how sandvik and AD roll the post processing and verification into their respective CAM systems.
NX and Hypermill already have it integrated to some degree.
IMS is working on code simulation using MC/module works machine sim. Looks promising.
Was forced to work with an IHS mastercam post this week instead of CAMplete. What an absolute shit fest.