[braidmeister]

I just acquired 2 CNC lathes, both of which will be controlled via Mach. I'm having a tough time finding a decent CAM program that will do all the 2D lathe operations (facing, parting, grooving, threading etc)...Is there anything decent out there in the sub-$1000 range that you guys have used or can suggest? I know BobCAD is a possibility, but I'd rather avoid it if I can.

TIA
-B

[DareBee]

VisualTurn is $1500
Comes with XPertDNC and MetaCut
http://www.mecsoft.com/Mec/Products/visualturn.htm

[drwc]

Check out littlemachineshop.com for visual turn, they have excellent pricing

[braidmeister]

Thanks guys. I did a live demo today with Mecsoft and another vendor. I gotta say, it looks like a nice program. After seeing the live demo I have a better idea of the workflow...so now I can try the demo program here and see if I can do something all the way through.

This is unchartered territory for me...I can do anything in nearly any material on a CNC router, but the lathe is a whole new animal!

Thanks for the low price tip...I emailed them today actually and it was $775...that's $475 less than retail!

-B

[MetalZilla]

Try Web Machinist Special Deal!

[datac]

I'm have the same dilemma... and so far, been hanging on to my money. When I see some of the under $1200ish lathe cam options discussed, I sure see a lot of unhappy comments. Enough at least to make me hold back for now.

I see plenty of comments from people who tend to say that programming for a lathe is so easy compared to a 3 axis router or mill, that they just do it by hand.... While I can find my way around 3 and 4 axis stuff pretty darn well, for some crazy reason, I find lathe to be a more difficult endeavor. It's probably just me and being old !

My hopes are that one of the newcomers from the last 8 years or so will put something out for the $500 mark, but I'm still waiting. You'd think that someone like Vectric could put out something easy enough. I'm not paying more than that for some of the comments I have read about whats out there.

I've heard that CamBam has a lathe plugin, but can not find enough discussion about it to feel comfortable with purchasing it.

There looks to be a nice little program made by Denford called QuickTurn 2d design..... again, virtually NO discussion anywhere, but I have been thinking I should email them and see if I can buy a copy of it in my target amount. I did use the demo and it looked like I could understand it.

Hope someone shows up here with a really great answer here because I too would like to stop hand coding. Currently, I use my controls "teach/learn" functions to move thru the rough motions and save to TXT. Then I come back in and change the dimensions to be what I want. I'd like something more visually modern.

[hp84117]

Cambam can be downloaded and used 40 times without charge. The lathe functionality is very limited. I don't have a good lathe cam solution so I use Cambam for what it will do and hand code the rest.

Alan

[jim-c]

Im looking for Lathe software too. I just converted a G0752. I hoping someone chimes in with a good recommendation.

[awerby]

Mecsoft's VisualCAM/Turn is still the most complete program, with a host of features usually found only in much more expensive software. As well as the stand-alone version, there are plug-ins for Solidworks, Geomagic Design and Rhino. The list price on VisualTurn has come down to $1250, and we sell it for less than that: ComputerSculpture.com ? Tool Paths Software

[LeeWay]

Take a look at Dolphin.
I use it and like it. It won't break the bank.

[MichaelHenry]

You might also want to look at SprutCAM sold by SprutCAMAmerica in the US. They are a part of Tormach and the price for a version that includes 5-axis plus turn ops is pretty cheap if you buy a Tormach mill. There's a 30-day trial available so you can try before you buy.

Mike

[Stutank]

If you are after something relatively simple, try Ezilathe (download from the Mach3 Forum, It's free).
It has many useful tools for creating Gcode for the lathe.
Even processes DXF's into good Gcode that can be fine tuned if needed.
It also includes screwcutting, that seems to work very well.

[WayneCFR]

I've been watching the online videos and reading up on KipwareT. Looks pretty good and not a ton of money. Its more of a conversational style...you just input your data into the selected page of the type of machining yo want to do....ie Facing, Grooving, Turning etc. I'm thinking that it will do probably 90% of what I need and with a bit of effort I can hand code the rest. If you ask them nicely they'll let you play with it for a bit too!

I've been trying to test the CamBam lathe thing but its just not friendly! Also...looking at the turning wizards in Mach3 turn.....they might just do the trick too. Thing is.....I've been searching for "affordable" lathe cam for the past week and not having a ton of fun.....so I decided to give it a rest and just go to the Mach3 user manual for lathe....as I am in "learning mode", reading like a fiend so I can soon (??) convert my 12X36 lathe to cnc. Turns out the Mach3 turn has wizards for the basics....who woulda thunk it!