Re: ZW3D Should I buy Pro's & Cons.
In regards to ZW3D. I have been using VX (renamed to ZW3D) since version 7. I am up to date on the latest version 2014sp.
I have not done much in the CAD side of the program. I have done LOTS of fixing imported files. It will handle any bad geometry I can throw at it. It is very good for a job shop that has a lot of mold or surfacing work to do.
The CNC side is very nice and the new Chinese owners have done great improvements.
The cons... It is not an intuitive program at all. There is a lack of training and tutorials available. There are few people using it and you will be using it alone. There is nothing intuitive about the CNC interface.
The pros... It is affordable. The modelling capabilities are very good, very solid, and very high end. The CNC side is very good.
If you are a one man shop you can't beat the price and it does everything I need it. That being said be prepared to spend a lot of time learning all the little ins and outs of the commands because the new owners are still learning. Their forums are getting better so there's help available easier now that when I started. If I had unlimited funds I would go with something else but the capabilities in another main stream CAD CAM package easily approaches the $20,000 range for what ZW is doing for $5000.
I will be keeping updated with the latest release. The past 2 years has seen more improvements than the previous 10 years.
Re: ZW3D Should I buy Pro's & Cons.
Thanks Warren!
A well thought out and cogent review, I couldn't agree with you more.
In fact I am in discussions with my channel manager to address the interface. It does need a more intuitive workflow to make it more usable to anyone needing to get on top of the features of the program in a reasonable time frame. However, modifying the software takes time and so we are also focusing on providing more training modules in English.
If you have any suggestions in that regard, please feel free to PM me at any time.
By the way, the 2015 version is now available.
Re: ZW3D Should I buy Pro's & Cons.
Hi,
I have been using ZW3d 2010 version and really like it. I have thought about updating several times but there has been such a mix of reviews that I have just held off as what I have works. Maybe I will reconsider if the latest versions really work and there is a return of support.
Robert