Official Luthiers Forum!

I am the cheap type of guy and try to do things the least expensive, especially when it is something that I dont HAVE to do. Buying software is one of those areas.

I have seen some of these Rhino drawings, and it looks similar to the BobCAD that I use, but different enough that I would like to try it out. Is there a cheaper way of buying it? The prices on the web site are astronomical, especially when you figure the products I would make with it wouldnt even pay for the software if I had it.

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Reguards,

Ken H

you can download Rhino for free and try it out...it just limits you to 25 saves.

Rhino is the most bang for the buck I've seen...if I remember right, I found a deal and got Rhino, RhinoCAM, and Rhino Art for about $800. That's not too bad for CAD...!

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http://www.PeakeGuitars.com

oh yeah...the site is www.Rhino3D.com

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http://www.PeakeGuitars.com

Thanks Parser!
They are advertising a price of well over $5,000 for the program, which is totally out of the question. I'll check out the program and see if I can find it for the price you are quoting.

Thanks again,
Ken

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Reguards,

Ken H

Rhino US$995.......from the Rhino site, and that's retail.

Novedge...............Get it for $788 and save $207

I did a quick search on the net and the $788 is the best price I Have found. I rep for Madcam which is a cam plugin for Rhino, and can set you up with a 30 no limit demo of that as well. If you go to the Madcam site you can download the demo there and it will run a few lines of code as is, but I can get you a timed key for the full version.

Mike

What exactly does Novedge and madcam do that Rhino doesnt do?

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Reguards,

Ken H

Novedge is a reseller. MadCAM is a CAM package. Rhino is a CAD package - by itself, it will not generate G-code for your CNC. You need to pair rhino up with a CAM package such as RhinoCAM or MadCAM in order to generate code. I use RhinoCAM at home and have had very good success with it. It is setup pretty similar to MasterCAM but it is a fraction of the cost. I don't have any experience with MadCAM, but I have heard that this is also a capable package (I believe it is more common over in Europe).

Whether you go with Rhino + MadCAM or Rhino + RhinoCAM, both ways are a great value. Industrial strength software such as SolidWorks + MasterCAM would run you at least $15,000. You can do a lot of the same things...it just won't have all the bells and whistles.

Drop me a line if you need some help getting started, I would be happy to help!

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http://www.PeakeGuitars.com

Student versions are $149.00. If you take a class at a local Tech school you may qualify or if you have a family member in school they can purchase at the student price and then you can look over their shoulder

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tim...
http://www.mcknightguitars.com

I already have BobCAD/CAM and it works fine, but I like the look of the rhino and it seems to be the more popular. I really didnt want to make a big investment in another program that will do what I can already so with what I have.


Somebody has made an add-on to Rhino that is supposed to be just for guitars, but I dont remember the name of it.

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Reguards,

Ken H

Hi Ken,

I too was a Bobcad/cam user for years. In fact, I started buying it in 1991 and bought every version up to 18. I then tried 20 and hated it. Once I made the decision to go to Rhino, I have never looked back......and neither will you. I will give you a piece of advice I wish someone had given me. If you decide to get Rhino, do not try to apply what you have learned with Bobcad in your learning process with Rhino. It might not be as bad with the later versions, but I quit buying at 17 and I'm telling you it is like black and white! I would also recommend you do something I didn't do, but still plan to, and I am an old codger! Take the 3 day training courses. They will cost you nearly as much as Rhino, but if I had done that instead of trying to self teach, I would have made money instead of wasting time.

If you want to model something in Bobcad and send it to me, I will be glad to put a toolpath on it for you. If interested, pm me.

Mike

I don't see what a guitar specific plugin could do that isn't already offered between Rhino and the Visual Mill integration (RhinoCAM and/or Visual Mill)

If you're on a budget then Rhino/Visual Mill (aka: RhinoCAM) is the best bang for your buck CAD/CAM bundle. If you're rolling in cash then Rhino/MasterCAM is best but probably not worth the $10,000 extra and Visual Mill is closing the gap on what that 10K gives you every year.

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Bob Garrish
Former Canonized Purveyor of Fine CNC Luthier Services

[quote="Bob Garrish"]I don't see what a guitar specific plugin could do that isn't already offered between Rhino and the Visual Mill integration (RhinoCAM and/or Visual Mill)
quote]


Where is this at? Something new, or something I have missed?

Mike

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http://www.PeakeGuitars.com

Hi Parser,

No....this is what I was referring to.

"I don't see what a guitar specific plugin could do that isn't already offered"

Who has a specific guitar plugin? I didn't see one on the VM site and I know for sure Madcam doesn't have one.

Mike

Ken mentioned he had seen one, that's what I was referring to, so you'll have to ask him

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Bob Garrish
Former Canonized Purveyor of Fine CNC Luthier Services

The CAD program I saw and have looked at was advertised over on the cnczone website for a long time, but I dont see the ad for it now. It was mainly meant to be an aid for doing custom electrics, but had some acoustic stuff int here as well. I never did download a demo or onything because it was an add-on to a more expensive CAD program that I wasnt going to buy anyway.

If I stumble up on it again, I'll post the link.

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Reguards,

Ken H

Man.....I completely missed that sentence! I thought Bob was on to something but wasn't telling!

Mike

Naw, pick up a copy of Rhino and a calculator and you've got all the CAD tools I have!

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Bob Garrish
Former Canonized Purveyor of Fine CNC Luthier Services

Thanks Bob,

I already have Rhino, and a dial caliper. Does that mean I am a luthier?

Actually I have several guitar models in the computer, some mine and some another gentleman's archtops. Once I get some time to take a breath, I'm going to try my hand at cnc'ing some parts.

Mike

About as much as walking around without pants makes me Donald Duck

The most important tool is in my noggin and yours, too!

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Bob Garrish
Former Canonized Purveyor of Fine CNC Luthier Services