Hey Matt,
I very much agree with the previous post. All software will get you to "point B" from "point A", it is just the speed and ease of doing so that is so different. Like all CNC programming software, SolidCAM is not like learning to breath. It definetly takes some time and assistance. If you go it on your own, you will eventually find your way, but it could be a bloody path (it was for me). Normally, I'm not much into videos and most other online help garbage, but try
http://www.solidcam.com/solidcam_pro..._en,43120.html. Its a series of videos that actually is quite good. As for "is SolidCAM the best path"? It is if you don't want to spend rediciluous amounts of time and frustration pushing and pulling files to a CAM program outside of SolidWorks. You also have to learn another modeller that all seperate cnc programming software has. Once you modify your design and you see SolidCAM update your tool paths, it is defintly worth the cost of admission! I hope this helps,
Shaun