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Here is a question I got in an email. I thought it would be relevant for all.

Email:
It is not very user friendly and I was wondering if you have had any experience with BobCad? I also purchased BobArt but that limits the depths you can do when importing a picture to route. Any suggestions or help will be greatly appreciated.

Response:

BobCAD and BobART
I actually don't have much experience with these, but I have it on the schedule to buy and produce some videos with them. Too bad it won't be till late summer or early fall. Up front I picked Rhino 3D and RhinoART. Sounds like we picked exactly opposite.

I have had great luck modeling signs(Text,Images) just in Rhino 3D. Like anything though, it has a learning curve. I have heard that detail with BobART is not that great or could be better. I have found something similar with RhinoArt. Talking with others, it seems to be better then BobART for detail, ease of use.

Maybe some others can chime in if they have used both and can make a good comparison.

Have a good one,
Ivan

I use BobCAD-CAM at home and at work. The work version has BobART but I haven't found a need for it yet. It doesn't seem to be very interpretive when going from a raster to a vector drawing. A lot of cleanup work is needed. That's just me looking over the shoulder of someone else doing that kind of work on it.

I mainly use BobCAD for 2-D work and plotting arcs to turn on CNC machines.

In the past when I was running the waterjet and laser, I used BobCAD daily to draw up and code 2-D parts. Now, I'm in the CNC shop and use it mainly at home for personal projects.

Here is a 2-D part I made using BobCAD. I took a bitmap image and pasted it in BobCAD, then plotted points throughout the image and just connected the dots and smoothed the straight lines into arcs. It took some time and patience. This was cut out on the laser in 1/32 stainless steel and decorated with black and red costume jewels. It's a school's mascot. Westmore Jaguars.

The image I started with...


Vector image for cutting out on the laser...

I Use version 21 and plan on getting V23. No, I don't work for BobCAD. It works very well for me in CAD CAM and don't have a large problem with porting images in but I tend to let the wife do the moving of rastor to Vector and she tends to use Inkscape more from not taken time to get used to BobART than do to the program not working well. There is a learning curve to the program and once you get to know the keyboard shortcuts and how to use some of the commands within BobCAD it runs very nice.

Michael

i am studying bobcad-cam training professor 21.234videos. it's taking time but i am starting to absorb what is being taught.went to 17wk cnc training course at night.learning on old machines was my first exposure to cnc.i kind of feel i'm getting in on the back end of this trend.i have machining exp. but employers want 5yrs. exp. any ideas?
thanks jeff.

I've used both Rhino and BobCad-Cam. I really wish I'd spent the extra cash to buy Rhino. At the end of the day they are leagues apart. I've got V22 and its downright unfriendly.

I've managed to side step this though by using Google Sketchup with a plugin to generate DXF files and then only use BobCad-Cam v22 for the code. Even then I edit it.

Customizing the program to suite your machine is impossible and the BobCad-Cam team are not very helpful. The last time I contacted them with full specs of my product the only reply I got was phone me from the Training Sales Manager.

I still use the program but admit I loathe using it. I think BobCad-Cam are a bunch of amateurs that scam people out of hard earned cash by using very excellent sales techniques and promises they never intend to fulfill.

Only my wife has gotten any joy from BobCad. I was drinking huge amounts of very strong coffee to stay awake during the training videos I got with my package. She thought it very funny as my head nearly hit the desk as I battled to maintain consciousness with that monotonous voice.

For a package not worth more than $100, I feel really cheated by BobCad.

Wow, I thought it was just me. I purchased V19 in 2005, but had to put it aside due to career changes. I use WINPC, a 2D cad program for my plotter and was able to at least understand it enough to learn it. I finally registered V19 so that I would get the 45 days of tech service. All I have heard from BobCad is V19 is no good and I need to invest in V23. V19 wasn't junk when they sold it to me!? I am going to try to get some use out of my investment on V19, even though they told me not to call back for tech assistance. Until then, I am shopping for another program and will do more research before I buy.