Use of turbocad with shop bot software

[pmc]

I am considering puchasing a Shop Bot CNC system. Has anyone used Turbocad drawings for input into a Shop Bot system? Your comments are appreciated.

 

[ehpoole]

I have not used TurboCAD for CNC (ShopBot), but I do use TurboCAD Pro (well, Platinum actually). I'm not a heavy user, but I do use TC for complex drawings and layouts so that I can better visualize a project and calculate part dimensions. If you don't already own TurboCAD, I strongly recommend the Pro or Platinum versions if you intend to create 3D drawings. In the Pro and Platinum versions, you can actually manipulate parts as rendered 3D objects, making picking and placement much easier IMHO. I originally purchased the Standard (now Deluxe) version of TurboCAD way back in version 7 but I always struggled with TC until I accepted an offer from them to upgrade to Pro -- once I gained the ability with Pro to work with parts as 3D (draft) renderings, it all became more intuitive for me. On the other hand, 2D drawing was always pretty intuitive for me (not unlike drafting). (FYI: Platinum = Pro + Architectural + Mechanical plugins)

Although most of the consumer CNC applications out there will take CAD drawings (many will take most any line drawing for that matter) and create a control file based on that input, TurboCAD has available a 2.5D CAM (Computer Aided Machining) upgrade that should be able to create the CNC control files directly based on the actual CAD drawings (rather than you manually inputting parameters in ShopBot software based upon a vectorized line drawing). TurboCAD can also create just about any sort of export file format you can dream of (within reason). As a general rule, if the device will accept Autocad files, it should also accept a TurboCAD drawing exported in the appropriate Autocad format.

If you have any questions of this sort, the very best people to talk to would be the folks at ShopBot.

The following comes directly from the ShopBot Wiki:
http://shopbotwiki.com/index.php?title=TurboCAD
http://shopbotwiki.com/index.php?title=TurboCAD/CAM

Other discussions:
http://www.cnczone.com/forums/turbocad_cam/110901-questions_turbocad_cam_capabilities.html
http://www.rockler.com/faq/faq_whyshopbot1.cfm

 

[tmerrill]

The answer to your question would depend a lot on what you plan to create and make with your ShopBot. I purchased mine 8 years ago, purchased both TurboCad and Corel Draw soon after, and have never used either program to create a project.

If you purchase your ShopBot new, it will come with two programs called Partworks and Partworks 3D, which is written by a company called Vectric and identical to their products called V-Carve Pro and Cut3D. The only difference is the ShopBot branded programs only allow cut files to be created for a ShopBot, the Vectric products work with hundreds of CNC brands.

If you are going to invest any time learning a new program, I would suggest you start with Partworks/V-Carve Pro as it is a very easy program to learn and use, but extremely powerful with what it can do.

If you go to the Vectric website (links below) you can download a fully functional trial version of any of their programs. You can preview everything you make on the computer screen, but the limitation of the trial versions is you can't create cut files to actually make anything on your machine (with the exception of included samples).

After you download the trial versions, there are hours of video tutorials you can watch which take you through the steps of various operations.

Finally, the Vectric forum is a great place to learn and ask questions. Again, anything written about V-Carve Pro applies to ShopBot's Partworks.

Partworks 3D is a program designed to take a 3D model created in another program and create the toolpaths to machine it on your CNC.

The flagship product is called Aspire and you can purchase this directly from Vectric or through ShopBot. It has all the features of Partworks/V-Carve Pro plus adds a very powerful suite of 3D modeling tools for creating your own 3D models.

Here is the link for the trial programs:
http://www.vectric.com/WebSite/Vectric/products/download_products.htm

Here is the link for the tutorials:
http://www.vectric.com/WebSite/Vectric/support/support_vcw_tutorials.htm

I know there is a lot of info here. Ask if you have any other questions.
Good luck on your decision.
Tim

 

[tmerrill]

Sorry, got carried away with my post and didn't answer your real question.

Yes, you can use drawings created in TurboCad with Partworks/V-Carve Pro. You would export it from TurboCad in one of the formats recognized by Partworks, such as .dxf, and then import it into Partworks. You would then use Partworks to generate the toolpaths (cut files) and it is these files that will be input into the ShopBot Control software to actually control the machine.

The point I was trying to make in my first post is in most cases you can do everything in Partworks/V-Carve Pro and eliminate the need for a third program and the export/import steps.

Tim