Re: BobCad Cam v24 vs 27, is it worth the extra $$$
Take with a grain of salt, as I have only briefly used V27:
I ended up taking a chance in buying because I heard that pricing was negotiable and for the hobbyist, very reasonable pricing can be obtained. I also picked up from numerous people's experience V25 and V26 were significant improvements from what was out there before. I am a former CamBam user myself and I can say that the integrated simulation in BobCAM means I will not ever be going back to CamBam. It's already helped me catch errors that would have meant redoing a part. I would consider the CAM stand-alone though, so don't think you should pay extra for the CAD side. It's a nice to have thing if you got to draw something but I would put my money towards another package for that.
I'm not sure what the price you are getting V24 for is, but I got V27 3 Axis Pro for what I would call a very reasonable price.
CNC: Making incorrect parts and breaking stuff, faster and with greater precision.