Message Thread:
Looking for JMH
3/10/16
Hey guys, I have been away from this forum and cabinet drafting for ten years. I just recently came back and now must learn Microvellum. I have a million questions, but for now I will just say beware.
3/10/16 #2: Looking for JMH ...
Kari, I been on Microvellum for about two years now and it's not so easy for drafting However for programing a CNC it's very good. Has its issues and a steep learning curve but the out put can be huge.
Training is very important
Good luck
3/10/16 #3: Looking for JMH ...
Thanks so much... there is relatively no training here.... mostly vague question answering... Hence my return to WoodWeb! We are using MV 6.7 with a very customized platform, I am just hoping that once I understand the program a bit more, I can find some clear answers here. I appreciate the support!
3/10/16 #4: Looking for JMH ...
HI Kari,
Welcome back to the forums. There are a few of us using Microvellum. I've been a user since '06. If I were you I would make sure your company is on support. I would also make an update plan for the future. Microvellum has come a LONG way since v67. Alot of the things that were a problem in 67 are much easier with the newer updates. And you can migrate most if not all of your library data too. Good Luck!
3/14/16 #5: Looking for JMH ...
Kari,
I've been using Microvellum for a few years now. Without training, the software will be very difficult to manage and become efficient. I haven't had much training either, but we are producing a lot of custom cabinets with it. I urge you to get some help with it somehow.
Chris, I have been programming machines for longer than I care to remember, but with nested machines, Microvellum is very poor when it comes to producing decent code. If you just want code and don't care about machine control, it will get the job done though.
3/14/16 #6: Looking for JMH ...
Mike,
I'm part of the User Advisory Board for Microvellum. Not an employee, just part of a board made up of MV customers, who get a "first look" at upcoming products. Nested code has improved dramatically in the past year. We now have stay down nesting, which I'm really enjoying.
3/14/16 #7: Looking for JMH ...
Gary, I'm thinking of going to TechCon out in Oregon. I'm not on the latest version of the software. Do you think its worth attending without that update.
Thanks Chris
3/14/16 #8: Looking for JMH ...
Chris,
I'm going to TechCon. I think it will be worthwhile, as they have a solid training curriculum for both days. Are you up to date with your support? If you are, I believe the updates are free.
3/15/16 #9: Looking for JMH ...
Gary,
I would be interested in seeing stay down nesting. I have seen it with other products and it seems like it might be worth while. Issues I have are with lead in, lead outs, dado machining, and cutting order. The nesting has gotten better over the last couple of years, but only marginally so. Obviously Microvellum is not a full CAD/CAM system and I never expected that, but there is room for improvement.
3/15/16 #10: Looking for JMH ...
Mike,
what kind of machine are you running?
3/15/16 #11: Looking for JMH ...
Nested based. Fanuc control.
3/15/16 #12: Looking for JMH ...
Mike,
If you had a Weeke, I was going to give you a few of the files I had ran. Not sure exactly how to show you an example.
Below is a blurb about it. Basically, it will make one giant route that cuts all your parts out, so the tool ramps into the material for the border cuts only once. I like it alot. I do think it has helped with tool life, and throughput on the router.
http://www.microvellum.com/microvellums-stay-down-nesting-decreases-cnc -cycle-times-extends-tool-life/
3/15/16 #13: Looking for JMH ...
Gary,
Tool life and spindle life would be extended for sure. Mostly because of the ridiculously short ramp in move that are default in Microvellum. The type of lead in, that cannot be changed by the way, generates too much heat and reduces tool life, so the stay down method would be a huge improvement for the perimeter cutting. Do you know when will it be released to the rest of us?
3/15/16 #14: Looking for JMH ...
Mike,
It's available within MV now to the general public. It is an upgrade however, and you'll need to contact your rep for pricing. I'm also attaching a snapshot of my toolfile showing where to change the ramp length and offset from the cutline. You can set this to whatever you'd like. (within reason I'm sure).
View higher quality, full size image (1012 X 654)
3/15/16 #15: Looking for JMH ...
I will have to check the extra cost. We just paid to have our unique construction requirements migrated to a new library. We had to do the same when moving from 6.7 to 7. It was a disaster when we imported our library to Toolbox 7. Looking forward to the cabinet carcass being a sub-assembly.
3/16/16 #16: Looking for JMH ...
Mike,
I would definitely recommend downloading the latest library and taking a look. I really like everything as a subassembly. I don't build a lot of cabinets but was happy with just setting up the globals and running it. I have a custom library for the bulk of our work that I'm now incorporating the subassembly methodology in.
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