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Lathe software?
- Thread starter rick-b
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Not yet, but I'm probably going to buy the full version in the next day or so - thanks to your post. I'd never heard of it before.
They don't offer a trial version, sadly. So I'm about to spend quite a bit of time watching their training videos to try to get more info about the workflow and capabilities than the Youtube snippets. If it doesn't look horrible I can stomach a $500 gamble.
I'm very interested in having an easy, non-internet way to program my new (to me) lathe that is installed directly on the lathe PC. I use Fusion for milling and design, but I don't trust F360 not to mess around with pricing (again). So even though I'm having a custom F360 post written as we speak, I see Kipware as insurance at minimum.
If I do get it I'll try to report back with my impressions.
Thanks, I would appreciate that. I have been looking at it for awhile, but because my lathe uses a funky form of G-code I was told I would have to also by their G-code converter which adds more to the price and being over here in Australia it's not $500 it's more like $1100 gamble. It would be way easier if you could get a trial version. At the moment my son does all my drawing on 360 or Solidworks and I thought the kipwareT would be easier for me to learn.
I finished going through their training videos and online manual. It's pretty good, but not what I'd call comprehensive.
My lathe is also a bit funky, but at least the base is Fanuc with some OEM mods - not a total oddball dialect.
You might also consider the GWizard Editor (comes with conversational software). I had no luck with it when I tried the F&S calculator, but I was also extraordinarily new at CNC at the time. That one is available for free trial.
GWizard won't work for my needs as it has no live tooling options - that's why Kipware looks promising. But if you've got a 2-axis lathe it might be the ticket. Just be aware that it will take quite a bit of time to 'set up' the conversational. You'll have to define all the conversational software outputs so they work for your dialect of G-code.
Basically you'll be creating a custom post-processor - but in English and not some cray-cray C+ programming language.
My lathe is also a bit funky, but at least the base is Fanuc with some OEM mods - not a total oddball dialect.
You might also consider the GWizard Editor (comes with conversational software). I had no luck with it when I tried the F&S calculator, but I was also extraordinarily new at CNC at the time. That one is available for free trial.
GWizard won't work for my needs as it has no live tooling options - that's why Kipware looks promising. But if you've got a 2-axis lathe it might be the ticket. Just be aware that it will take quite a bit of time to 'set up' the conversational. You'll have to define all the conversational software outputs so they work for your dialect of G-code.
Basically you'll be creating a custom post-processor - but in English and not some cray-cray C+ programming language.
Yer, I have both the wizard and wizardE they are good but no real help with this machine. That's why I was hoping the Kipware T would work and yes I did the same thing I looked at all the youtube stuff, looked at the manual and swapped some emails with them but it hasn't really left me with a lot of confidence it will work for me or it's going to be that easy to lean on the run. It has been near imposable to find someone who really does use it contrary to what they say in their adds.
I was told even though my machine was new, it used real early Fanuc lathe G-code but I have not found which one. at this point, I either learn to hand-code it or try writing a post-processor for 360 or something.
I was told even though my machine was new, it used real early Fanuc lathe G-code but I have not found which one. at this point, I either learn to hand-code it or try writing a post-processor for 360 or something.
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- Jan 2, 2019
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I'm using LinuxCNC but I have no idea if it would work for you.
It doesn't have the "easy to use" features that Kipware advertises but I'm pretty sure whatever issues you're having with gcode could be overcome using it. There's a very active user base and as FOSS software your only investment is your time.
I will be watching this thread though because I'd never heard of Kipware and it does look interesting.
Cheers,
John
It doesn't have the "easy to use" features that Kipware advertises but I'm pretty sure whatever issues you're having with gcode could be overcome using it. There's a very active user base and as FOSS software your only investment is your time.
I will be watching this thread though because I'd never heard of Kipware and it does look interesting.
Cheers,
John
John,
Yes, it does look interesting and that one reason I end up back looking at it. As for an "active user base" are you talking about Kipware or LinuxCNC?
Because if you're talking about Kipware point me to it because I haven't found anything yet.
Yes, it does look interesting and that one reason I end up back looking at it. As for an "active user base" are you talking about Kipware or LinuxCNC?
Because if you're talking about Kipware point me to it because I haven't found anything yet.
- Joined
- Jul 5, 2014
- Messages
- 2,772
I'd not heard of it either. I'm old school, when I had my other two cnc lathes I did 99% of the programming by hand. But I'm not opposed to learing new ways of doing things. My lathe will be delivered tomorrow.
There is a full version for $395, and a lite version for $175. You can upgrade from lite at any time. I asked about a trail version and this is the response I got just a few minutes ago.
Hello ... and thank you for your software interest. "Playing" and "learning" new software can be a daunting and time consuming task. Over the years we have found that users rarely put the time and effort into fully evaluating a title ... lose interest ... or simply try to make the product do things it wasn't designed to do and get frustrated. From our business end ... "trial" versions often lead to time consuming and costly support issues perhaps for clients who may never even commit to making a purchase. Some clients use the "trial" as a one-and-done and never really intended to pursue a purchase in the first place. For these reasons and others ... "trial" versions have not proven to be a good option for us or our potential clients. But we do offer multiple ways for you to make an intelligent decision : (1) The option that seems to work the best and makes the most sense ... We offer free, live, online demonstrations where you can see the software in action and ask questions / get answers in real time. It's just like a live in-house demonstration. We schedule live demos every day during the week during our normal business ... or we can set-up a schedule for off-hours if that would work better for your schedule. You can get additional information and set-up a schedule through this link : https://www.kentechinc.com/webex_request.html (2) We offer very in-depth training options for Kipware® users including video training and online manual websites ... which you can explore. Exploring the content there will give you a good idea of how the software operates and the features available ... here are the links : OnLine Manual Website : https://www.kentechinc.com/Kipware_Manual/index.htm Video Training Website : https://www.kentechinc.com/Kipware_Video_Training_Catalog/index.htm (3) In-Depth Video Presentations ... We offer TONS of in-depth videos on our YouTube channel from presentation videos to videos that show the software in action. You can view all our in-depth videos and learn how Kipware® works at your own schedule and pace. Here is the link if you have interest : https://www.youtube.com/user/KTSoftware
There is a full version for $395, and a lite version for $175. You can upgrade from lite at any time. I asked about a trail version and this is the response I got just a few minutes ago.
Hello ... and thank you for your software interest. "Playing" and "learning" new software can be a daunting and time consuming task. Over the years we have found that users rarely put the time and effort into fully evaluating a title ... lose interest ... or simply try to make the product do things it wasn't designed to do and get frustrated. From our business end ... "trial" versions often lead to time consuming and costly support issues perhaps for clients who may never even commit to making a purchase. Some clients use the "trial" as a one-and-done and never really intended to pursue a purchase in the first place. For these reasons and others ... "trial" versions have not proven to be a good option for us or our potential clients. But we do offer multiple ways for you to make an intelligent decision : (1) The option that seems to work the best and makes the most sense ... We offer free, live, online demonstrations where you can see the software in action and ask questions / get answers in real time. It's just like a live in-house demonstration. We schedule live demos every day during the week during our normal business ... or we can set-up a schedule for off-hours if that would work better for your schedule. You can get additional information and set-up a schedule through this link : https://www.kentechinc.com/webex_request.html (2) We offer very in-depth training options for Kipware® users including video training and online manual websites ... which you can explore. Exploring the content there will give you a good idea of how the software operates and the features available ... here are the links : OnLine Manual Website : https://www.kentechinc.com/Kipware_Manual/index.htm Video Training Website : https://www.kentechinc.com/Kipware_Video_Training_Catalog/index.htm (3) In-Depth Video Presentations ... We offer TONS of in-depth videos on our YouTube channel from presentation videos to videos that show the software in action. You can view all our in-depth videos and learn how Kipware® works at your own schedule and pace. Here is the link if you have interest : https://www.youtube.com/user/KTSoftware
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