For those who have tested 2027...

[gcode]

Yeah it doesn't leave time for optimization having a new release every year

my comment was directed at the EverPath suite.
these are totally new toolpaths, driven by a totally new interface.
Developing and releasing these in one normal release cycle seems to be a very bold schedule to me.

[jstell]

Bold, or wishful thinking (like MGS in 2023).
The tool editing in 2026 comes to mind.
Seems like everything that gets migrated to the now ubiquitous "function panel" (starting with drill point selection in 2019) needs a re-do after introduction.  I'd love to see a two-year development cycle for this very reason.

[Dylan Gondyke]

The milling team has brought some significant improvements to holemaking solids selection time lag for 2026 R2- hoping to hear some good feedback from users when the time comes. We recognize it is a pacing issue for 2026 and we're working on users having their cake and eating it too, in regards to model-driven features as well as speed on large feature sets.

[JParis]

2025 will probably be my last version. I don't see any compelling reason to upgrade unless they fix the file size/lag issues.

I haven't been privy to internal numbers for many years at this point....I do however still talk to a LOT of people...

Mastercam in the last few years, seems to have lost a sizeable chunk of their maintenance customer base. That supposition is based on my converstions alone and no other data, so it is admittedly a small  sliver of a very large pie. Maybe it doesn't hold on the macro scale....but I know a lot have dropped it and some have added other titles.

I mean is the push to try to entice new customers with the "bells & whistles" approach..I dunno, it feels that way...

Sandvik of course is a later player to the game, most new sales pre-date them, so the $$ flow comes mostly from renewals....sure there are new sales but the bread & butter is renewals...it is essentially "free" cash flow....if that takes a sizeable hit, it's real in light of the new sales....

Yes, some of these changes are absolutely necessary and have been for many years. Throwing all new, not really well thought out features feels like a bit of a "hail mary"...there has been a ton of consolidation in the CAD/CAM realm...that's a lot of outlay for a limited income stream at this point. I don't think anyone will argue against the notion that the market is well saturated.

[SuperHoneyBadger]

in regards to model-driven features as well as speed on large feature sets.

You know we like it crunchy around these parts. Can you give us the 101 on the internal differences between driving a path from a surface, vs a solid? I know it to say surfaces are "pure math" (easier to manipulate and run calculations on, for some reason), but why are solids not? Are faces made of a bunch of smaller units in the backend, are we dealing with a tessellated bunch of triangles when a toolpath looks at a solid vs a user's eyeballs? Inquiring minds want to know.

[jstell]

Mastercam in the last few years, seems to have lost a sizeable chunk of their maintenance customer base.

Geez, I wonder why.

[megatronprime]

I haven't been privy to internal numbers for many years at this point....I do however still talk to a LOT of people...

Mastercam in the last few years, seems to have lost a sizeable chunk of their maintenance customer base. That supposition is based on my converstions alone and no other data, so it is admittedly a small  sliver of a very large pie. Maybe it doesn't hold on the macro scale....but I know a lot have dropped it and some have added other titles.

I mean is the push to try to entice new customers with the "bells & whistles" approach..I dunno, it feels that way...

Sandvik of course is a later player to the game, most new sales pre-date them, so the $$ flow comes mostly from renewals....sure there are new sales but the bread & butter is renewals...it is essentially "free" cash flow....if that takes a sizeable hit, it's real in light of the new sales....

Yes, some of these changes are absolutely necessary and have been for many years. Throwing all new, not really well thought out features feels like a bit of a "hail mary"...there has been a ton of consolidation in the CAD/CAM realm...that's a lot of outlay for a limited income stream at this point. I don't think anyone will argue against the notion that the market is well saturated.

I interacted with some new customers last year, they seemed to think it was a big upgrade, it all depends what u are doing with the software too, It's always worked great for me..

[beej]

I used MC2026 for a few months. I hated it but figured I get used to it eventually. I always do, but I had a repeat job that was simpler to stay in 2025. It was like a breath of fresh air and I just stayed in 2025 and never went back to 2026.

[megatronprime]

They are trying to catch up but are just grasping at straws at this point.

2025 will probably be my last version. I don't see any compelling reason to upgrade unless they fix the file size/lag issues.

Ahh, that's too bad, hopefully it gets fixed before that happens

[jstell]

It was like a breath of fresh air and I just stayed

2022 since MGS turdification in 2023.  In 3x or 3+1, even 3+2, there is nothing new that provides benefit, just more clicks and more bugs.  Every version, I try to use it, check out what's new, try to just deal with it, but they always break more stuff than they fix, and it always seems like the new stuff is released half-baked, and doesn't get debugged for a year or two, by which time they've added/broken more stuff that just disrupts workflow with no upside.

[Zoffen]

You know we like it crunchy around these parts. Can you give us the 101 on the internal differences between driving a path from a surface, vs a solid? I know it to say surfaces are "pure math" (easier to manipulate and run calculations on, for some reason), but why are solids not? Are faces made of a bunch of smaller units in the backend, are we dealing with a tessellated bunch of triangles when a toolpath looks at a solid vs a user's eyeballs? Inquiring minds want to know.

I imagine the whole development scenario it went something like this:

1.Develop Solid Selection functionality

2. Do not optimize because its working

3.Embed this into the core of the software and boom now we have "Solid Selection" fucitonality

4.Build years of features onto this non-optimized "Solid Selection"

5. When users complain of how slow it is, add "Workarounds" to make it faster.

6. Rinse and repeat untill we are where we are at today where a possibly complete rewrite of that functionality needs to happen to really "optimize" it.

7. Ignore this need for a few more versions untill the users get really pissed of.

8. Add more workarounds to make the user happy...



Nothing is more permanent than a temporary solution!

[Newbeeee™]

is the push to try to entice new customers with the "bells & whistles" approach...... most new sales pre-date them

Back in year 2000 at the place I was Eng manager of, the boy used to always chase the great new customer. "This one, is gunna be big"
We were already tier 1 for GE uk, Goodrich, Ham Sundstrand, Shorts, Applied Materials....
We'd be constantly in the shit, with a new customer and a few new test parts for them, trying to fit them in and all their associated specific QA requirements associated with them, interrupting the business bread and butter work and fucking up delivery schedules for existing customers.
Constructed nightmare all of his own making.

I learn't many things there on how not to run a business, and one of the primary ones was "look after your existing customers".
And if you do want to rid one, PLAN to gradually phase them out, without harm to the business.
And certainly don't do what he did, and tell one of them to "get your fucking work out of here as quickly as possible" because it's a small world and people talk....

[JParis]

"look after your existing customers".

Well they threw that baby out with the bath water when they jacked up maintenance few and did away the multi-seat discount....

They some what mitigated last year but I am betting the damage was already done.

[Newbeeee™]

Well they threw that baby out with the bath water when they jacked up maintenance few and did away the multi-seat discount....

They some what mitigated last year but I am betting the damage was already done.

I will always argue, Sales is the hardest job in the world. You're always on parade, have to pick yourself up when knocked down or lost work, and put the brave face on to the next potential customer and smile etc. I hated doing it.

Keeping existing customers should be easy.
Price, is taken for granted because you wouldn't have them in the first place if you were too expensive.
All you have to do, is look after them - do as they ask and you must always deliver.
Even a bar, will run a loyalty deal for existing customers - :belch: !

[gcode]

This looks like an example of how not to treat a customer.
He asked for another seat on his existing nethasp and enquired about a subscription license.
He ended up with a subscription license
From the guy's post, I have a feeling he has no idea what a subscription license really is, and that he's in for a rude awakening next December.

eMC