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Tell me AD isn't killing of Featurecam now!!!
Featurecam 2022 is out! Heck yeahhh,,,(Joke)
- Thread starter g-coder05
- Start date
Mhajicek
Active member
I just wish the ribbon bar interface fad would go die in a fire.
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Oh my, the whole reason I’m back on 2014. That ribbon absolutely blows.
I have to be honest, I like the ribbon interface. For complex software like CAM though, it needs a high resolution screen so that you can fit all your most often used tools on a single tap and cut down on the amount of tab switching.
If only the ribbon were the biggest problem FC had...
If only the ribbon were the biggest problem FC had...
Thinking about this a little more, and I'm really confused.
The fact that they added a new feature (as trivial as it is, black isolines is a new feature rather than a code maintenance job) means that somebody at AD is still working on it.
I'm not really sure what that means. If I were in charge at AD Manufacturing, I would not employ someone to spend a year adding a feature that would take a few hours to implement.
Either they have one guy still working on FC who has zero morale left due to the obvious project death march, who maybe even quit a few days/weeks after the 2021 release and this is all he had done in that time, or they have one guy still working on FC who is actually doing some real work on it, but is seriously overburdened and didn't have anything substantive ready for the 2022 release timeframe.
The latter seems like wishful thinking, and the former seems extremely unlikely, because why bother with this release at all if that was the case? Somebody still has to maintain the release...
Is there a third option that I'm overlooking??
The fact that they added a new feature (as trivial as it is, black isolines is a new feature rather than a code maintenance job) means that somebody at AD is still working on it.
I'm not really sure what that means. If I were in charge at AD Manufacturing, I would not employ someone to spend a year adding a feature that would take a few hours to implement.
Either they have one guy still working on FC who has zero morale left due to the obvious project death march, who maybe even quit a few days/weeks after the 2021 release and this is all he had done in that time, or they have one guy still working on FC who is actually doing some real work on it, but is seriously overburdened and didn't have anything substantive ready for the 2022 release timeframe.
The latter seems like wishful thinking, and the former seems extremely unlikely, because why bother with this release at all if that was the case? Somebody still has to maintain the release...
Is there a third option that I'm overlooking??
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They removed PartMaker again.
Herding Cats
Hardplates
AD is a bunch of jerkoffs and the marketing department feels it will help keep people on subscription or whatever......but you already knew that
Mud
Well-known member
When are we going to get the "Unified, Seamless" CADCAM solution I heard about so often in years past? 
Mhajicek
Active member
Just got an email, Mastercam is dropping dongle support. Starting in a year you'll be forced to use "software activation" online if you buy a new seat.
Herding Cats
Hardplates
So like you have to go online every so often for it to keep working? I chose a solidcam license key rather than a dongle but they just email it to me and I install it on the computer. The computer never has to go online even to activate the license.
In an age where oodles of people are going with the cheapest software available now is not the time to alienate your users. I can see many people either taking a step down or biting the bullet and taking a step up
ChipSplitter
Member
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Actually, I was a ribbon hater until I realized that the scroll wheel on your mouse will zoom through it.
It's not bad...……...but I still set up Solidworks with all toolbars and a bazillion icons.
I have bigger dogs to hang than fussing about a ribbon bar that's customizable anyhow. (If you take the time, you can set up your own tab, call it anything you want, and put all your tools on it.)
It's not bad...……...but I still set up Solidworks with all toolbars and a bazillion icons.
I have bigger dogs to hang than fussing about a ribbon bar that's customizable anyhow. (If you take the time, you can set up your own tab, call it anything you want, and put all your tools on it.)
PAnderson
Member
Yeah, and AD now owns Camplete. I'm just dying to see what they do to that.
Mud
Well-known member
That's unsettling but inevitable I guess. Some companies have been charging MORE to have cloud licensing, so you can move from PC to PC without the dongle, so this would be a plus for those people who want that. I've never liked the dongle, but prefer it to all the other schemes.
I once had an edgecam dongle fail, had to mail it back in for replacement. Asked "what happens if it gets lost in shipping?" "You have to buy a new seat, so you better insure it. So - $135 to insure a $15K dongle in UPS???? A dongle that probably cost $25?
I'm testing out Fusioon. Comcast is upgrading lines in my county, so I've lost internet intermittently recently. I tried to start Fusion while it was down, there's no way to do that so I was out of action for a whole day. The safest procedure is to leave it run 24/7, and just switch from machine to machine as needed. It's actually handy, because I don't have to carry data or a dongle home at night to work at home. I can see it's attraction for folks who aren't skeptics.
I don;t know if MC is going to do it the same way, will be interesting to see the rest of the story.
AJ H
Active member
Fusion is making the little guys more competitive than ever possible. Working on a side gig startup right now and it's all I can do to scrape together the iron itself. Without Fusion I'd be stuck finger fucking programs. 5 figures on software is just out of the question, but for $300 a year I can program my live tooling sub-spindle machine, my 2 axis lathes, and 3 axis mills, not all of them even the same control but the posts are free too! I know everyone keeps saying the other shoe will drop and the price will skyrocket but I'll worry about that when it happens
Mhajicek
Active member
I don't like to take the time to move my mouse cursor away from the work, find an icon to click on, and move it back. I use access keys in the dropdown menus in X9, have been running by keystrokes since V5 in 1995. Often I'll have touch-typed the function with my left hand before I consciously realize what it is I'm trying to do.
Using shortcut keys is good, but requires you to move your left hand between the keyboard and the spacemouse.
I find that I tend to keep my left hand mainly on the spacemouse, and jump to the keyboard for shortcut keys only when I am not using the spacemouse, otherwise I keep my hand on the spacemouse and use the ribbon or mouse gestures instead of shortcuts. Right hand jumps to the keyboard only when I need to type numbers in on the numpad.
Mhajicek
Active member
Yeah, my left hand moves between the keyboard and Space Pilot. I usually start spinning the model with the trackball, then take over with the Space Mouse when my left hand gets there.