Personally, when considering CAD/CAM options, I think it is a BIG mistake to over-look the impact of separate CAD and CAM, and having to export/import through STEP/IGES/whatever. In many, if not most, cases, even a simple change to the part, can cause the CAM to lose the geometry when the model is re-loaded, and you'll have to go through and manually re-select the geometry for ever operation. On complex parts, this is a BIG PITA. with integrated CAM, you update the model, and the CAM will, with rare exceptions, remain correct and up-to-date automatically. Solidworks/HSMXpress is very good in this respect, and I would NEVER go back to non-integrated CAD/CAM, as it saves me a HUGE amount of time and effort.

As far as what one CAD/CAM will or won't do, or will or won't do easily, it's largely a matter of personal preference, previous experience, and the users willingness to adapt to the tools way of doing things. There are, unquestionably, some systems that are far more efficient than others, at least in some respects. But, to a large extent, everything becomes "easy" once you know how to do it. I've played with dozens of CAD and CAM packages over the years. Some were very easy to come up to speed on, others were not. I've always found BobCAD cumbersome, and frequently obtuse. With Solidworks, I felt right at home after just a few hours, because it was so similar to Alibre/GeoMagic, which I had used previously. Someone who started with BobCAD could well feel exactly the opposite. So, bottom line, you'd be well advised to get the demo versions of ANY systems in your price range, and see how they work FOR YOU. That, after all, is all that really matters.

Regards,
Ray L.