We need a TopSolid support forum!

[byte]

cool

[Hardmill]

Not a bad idea
There are several NX users










PEACE

[CNCAppsJames]

Yes, my shop spent three years/$250K  on a failed implementation of Catia
Other than an 80 hour class condensed to 40 hours I didn't spend much time with it.
It was an epic failure

I remember you going through that...

Dassault's main problem is their dealers (at least the ones I've been in touch with) don't know squat about manufacturing. They can usually answer all the CAD/CAE questions, but manufacturing... not so much. That's our world, which, makes CATIA about as useful as an elephant in a tree.

I never had any problems with the CAD side of things. It was pretty straightforward and logical. The CAM... even after I had 10 years of pretty regular (20-30 hours per week) use, I still fought with things.

[TSmcam]

Ah feck... I missed this topic completely

No wonder Hardmill was asking about me LOL

Several points...

1) Gcode: TS made your head hurt? Take some headache pills. You of all people would be good with TopSolid

2) It has a steep learning curve, but seriously, the steepness is more to do with falling into the trap of trying to use it like Mastercam. When I "switched off" my Mastercam thinking, it all fell into place

3) James, I have Solidworks, and believe me, after using TS for Design, it is WAY more capable, and I really like the work flow.

4) Mastercam users talk about Machsim... LOL, TS's machine simulation is way more easy to build machines in.

Yeah, yeah, I'm a cheerleader. But after having my blinkers removed, its quite refreshing. Plus, as some of you know how I got to this point, you can understand I why like TS more than MC    

Dang its refreshing being able to talk openly about TopSolid here, unlike over at OutHouse

[gcode]

Yeah, yeah, I'm a fanboi cheerleader. But after having my blinkers removed, its quite refreshing. Plus, as some of you know how I got to this point, you can understand I why like TS more than MC

Given the way you personally were treated by the ivory tower, and the way the ivory tower treats
NZ Mastercam users, you would probably prefer a hammer and chisel to Mastercam  

[TSmcam]

Yeah, yeah, I'm a fanboi cheerleader. But after having my blinkers removed, its quite refreshing. Plus, as some of you know how I got to this point, you can understand I why like TS more than MC

Given the way you personally were treated by the ivory tower, and the way the ivory tower treats
NZ Mastercam users, you would probably prefer a hammer and chisel to Mastercam  

LOL, well said gcode Indeed, that still really bugs me, more so the way they listened to lies and acted soley on them.

Ah well, at least I have something else to work with

[Matthew Hajicek]

Ok, so here's a question.  I'm running a captive one-machine prototyping shop for a medical device company, and they've decided to divest themselves of all physical work and go virtual.  One of the founders (who left the company a few years ago to start another venture) is likely to buy out the shop and facility sometime in the next few months.  I'm going to stay on and run the machining department, with a small fraction of ownership, and we're going to add another mill, a Swiss, and a CMM/vision system for starters.  Prototek and CNC Software are saying that the Mastercam licenses cannot be transferred with the shop, so we'll be buying CAM from scratch.  What's the case for switching to Top Solid (or something else) vs re-purchasing Mastercam?  I haven't yet trained myself in the new interface much beyond launching Vericut, I'm still using X9, so there's learning curve either way.

[TSmcam]

[quote="Matthew Hajicek" post_id=6372 time=1612901721 user_id=57]
Ok, so here's a question.  I'm running a captive one-machine prototyping shop for a medical device company, and they've decided to divest themselves of all physical work and go virtual.  One of the founders (who left the company a few years ago to start another venture) is likely to buy out the shop and facility sometime in the next few months.  I'm going to stay on and run the machining department, with a small fraction of ownership, and we're going to add another mill, a Swiss, and a CMM/vision system for starters.  Prototek and CNC Software are saying that the Mastercam licenses cannot be transferred with the shop, so we'll be buying CAM from scratch.  What's the case for switching to Top Solid (or something else) vs re-purchasing Mastercam?  I haven't yet trained myself in the new interface much beyond launching Vericut, I'm still using X9, so there's learning curve either way.
[/quote]

In terms of "whats the case", are you wanting to know what is involved in making a switch/implementing?

Like any other CAM system, it is a case of sorting post processors, and getting relevant training.

TopSolid are pretty good with post processors. Their posts generally work "out of the box" and are relatively easy to modify to alter the format. Unfortunately, the post customisation has to be done through the reseller, as the posts are effectively encrypted, although end users can purchase the post utility.

TopSolid has full machine kinematics for simulation, so if you have models of your machines, they can be built within TopSolid, using the same assembly techniques as used in CAD.

Feel free to ask any questions

[neurosis]

[quote="Matthew Hajicek" post_id=6372 time=1612901721 user_id=57]
I haven't yet trained myself in the new interface much beyond launching Vericut, I'm still using X9, so there's learning curve either way.
[/quote]

The only little tidbit that I will offer and then I will leave it up to our resident expert, is that you would probably be able to fumble your way through the new MC interface and figure it out in a pretty short amount of time.

You will almost for sure need to get trained on TopSolid or you will be beating your head against the wall.

There are quite a few videos out there of TS in action now just so you can get a peak at what it's capable of.

[Matthew Hajicek]

Unfortunately, the post customisation has to be done through the reseller, as the posts are effectively encrypted, although end users can purchase the post utility.

Basically the same as Mastercam then for a five axis post.

What's it cost for Topsolid for 3+2 or full five, with a post?

Am I right to assume that Topsolid handles Swiss better than Mcam?

[gcode]

[quote="Matthew Hajicek" post_id=6372 time=1612901721 user_id=57]
 Prototek and CNC Software are saying that the Mastercam licenses cannot be transferred with the shop, so we'll be buying CAM from scratch.  What's the case for switching to Top Solid (or something else) vs re-purchasing Mastercam?  I haven't yet trained myself in the new interface much beyond launching Vericut, I'm still using X9, so there's learning curve either way.
[/quote]

You can't transfer a license by it's self, buy you can obtain the license if you buy the company that owns the license.
and
At some point Mastercam has changed it's policy
I just checked the download pages at Mastercam.com and Mastercam is available for download all the way down to X3
though I believe X8 or X9 is the sunset version at the moment
and
because this is not Mastercam.com or eMC I can say this  
A full boat seat of Mastercam 2021 (Lathe, 3D, and Multiaxis) will set you back about $21K
5X posts run $3K to $5k depending on where you buy them
I suspect maintenance varies from dealer to dealer but it's runs about $2300/year

[gcode]

https://cimquest-inc.com/mastercam-cad-cam-investment/">https://cimquest-inc.com/mastercam-cad-cam-investment/

X9 sunset with the release of 2021
MC17 will sunset this spring with the release of 2022

[neurosis]

[quote="Matthew Hajicek" post_id=6409 time=1612914865 user_id=57]

Basically the same as Mastercam then for a five axis post.

What's it cost for Topsolid for 3+2 or full five, with a post?

[/quote]

My old TS price sheet (are we allowed to talk about this here? It feels dirty ), it's a little old, but it shows that full 5 axis TS is about 17K without lathe included.  To add the post and machine definition for full 5axis is an additional 4k per machine/post. 3k for 5axis positional. 3 and 4 axis posts are cheaper but not cheap.  The pricing for lathe posts and machine definitions gets a little messy.

The one thing that you do get over MC with the machine definitions is Kinematic Awareness

[Matthew Hajicek]

#1 I'm not up with buzzwords - what's the "captive bit" (captive one-machine prototyping shop)?

#2 You say the old founder is buying back the business.
Mastercam licenses can be transferred with new ownership - i did this when I sold my old company.

"Captive" meaning the shop is owned and controlled by the company that gets the parts, all one company.  The founder is buying the physical facility and everything in it, including the machining department, but not the whole company; upper management, some engineers and accountants, and the IP will remain as the original company.  That's the sticking point for not being able to transfer the Mastercam licenses.

[Matthew Hajicek]

[quote="Matthew Hajicek" post_id=6409 time=1612914865 user_id=57]

Basically the same as Mastercam then for a five axis post.

What's it cost for Topsolid for 3+2 or full five, with a post?

My old TS price sheet (are we allowed to talk about this here? It feels dirty ), it's a little old, but it shows that full 5 axis TS is about 17K without lathe included.  To add the post and machine definition for full 5axis is an additional 4k per machine/post. 3k for 5axis positional. 3 and 4 axis posts are cheaper but not cheap.  The pricing for lathe posts and machine definitions gets a little messy.

The one thing that you do get over MC with the machine definitions is Kinematic Awareness
[/quote]

So it looks like financially it's about a tossup, though with the kinematics we may not need Vericut which would put us ahead.  I currently have a single seat of Vericut Single Platform for the one machine; even if I can transfer that (which they say would be no problem) I'd have to expand that license for the second mill and the Swiss unless the CAM has good enough verification.