We're using Surfcam now (as our replacement for SmartCAM). 99% of our work is in 3 and 4 axis (we use Mazak's Mazatrol for 2d). Surface and geometry creation is very powerful, though somewhat cryptic at times. You need to apply some basic rules of geometry to create some elements, meaning not as "User Friendly" as some other software (I personally abhor that term, as meaning 'we'll do your thinking for you').
The machining capabilities are very powerful. Just about whatever and however you care to machine you can use your imagination. There are no macro capabilities, but all the operations in the operations manager are Windows OLE objects so they can be cut/copy and pasted into the same window or another open Surfcam window. In the current release (2002) they have added cutter path/geometry associativity which speeds up regen. They've added some wire EDM enhancements about 2 revs ago, I was at a training session with our wire guys and they said it was greatly improved. Their translators are the best I've worked with. Pretty much seamless from Solidworks using Parasolids and Pro-E using IGES. They have also added a Pro-E direct translator as an option. Sincerely, Chuck Glawe Courtesy Corporation Mold & Tool Div. mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.courtesycorp.com -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Monday, July 29, 2002 9:32 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: RE: [mfg-smartcam] SurfCam to replace SmartCam ? I looked at Surfcam a couple of years ago. In my opinion, Surfcam's geometry creation/editing tools are fantastic, and it's milling is great, but it's wire edm capabilities were very basic. I really liked what I saw in the milling module. Cost in January 2000 was quoted around $5K for a seat of Surfcam 2-Axis Plus. If you bought more than one seat, they quoted a 25% discount for each additional seat. The basic milling package would most likely be cheaper. I haven't kept up with the exact enhancements made to the product since then, but the wire module was supposed to have been improved, and VBA was supposed to have been added which would allow for customization. Chris Kocourek Flextronics -----Original Message----- From: Design [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Monday, July 29, 2002 8:24 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [mfg-smartcam] SurfCam to replace SmartCam ? I would like some feed back on SurfCam? Now trying out the trial version and seems to work well. Does anyone know cost for basic Milling Package? Thanks design ====================================================================== To find out more about this mailing list including how to unsubscribe, send the message "info mfg-smartcam" to [EMAIL PROTECTED] ====================================================================== ====================================================================== To find out more about this mailing list including how to unsubscribe, send the message "info mfg-smartcam" to [EMAIL PROTECTED] ====================================================================== ====================================================================== To find out more about this mailing list including how to unsubscribe, send the message "info mfg-smartcam" to [EMAIL PROTECTED] ======================================================================
