[Jewelry making - Article 01408] - [Orchid] CAD/CAM - 3Design vs ArtCam JewelSmith

[Dan Schafer]

========[ Invite a Friend - http://www.ganoksin.com/invite.htm  ]========

Dear CAD/CAM users,

    Can any of you CAD/CAM experts help me?  I have been reading many
    good posts on Orchid regarding CAD/CAM software and now I need your
    more detailed suggestions.  I presently I am looking at two CAD/CAM
    software companies, who I believe offer excellent systems to the
    jewellery industry. 

    I have been impressed with ArtCam JewelSmith from Delcam. They are
    obviously a big company located in the UK and well situated
    throughout the world.  I believe they exist in about 100 different
    countries and are well situated in the engineering CAD/CAM
    environment.  They first started to address the jewellery market with
    ArtCam in 1994 with windows 3.1 (version 1).  At this time I think it
    was a rather basic 2D software program.  They continued to upgrade
    the program and in 1997 they added ArtCam Pro (version 3). Then in
    2003 they added the Jewellery Edition (version 6), real-time
    rendering, new modelling tools etc.  From what many of you have said,
    this program has a good short learning curve and can produce good
    work from a 2D sketch very quickly. 

    Rather recently I have come across the 3Design software by a French
    company, Vision Numeric. I've only heard it mentioned a few times on
    Orchid, so haven't done my home work as well as with Delcam.  I
    believe 3Design was first established in 1988, and unlike Delcam
    focused on the graphic arts and industrial engraving plus molds and
    tools industry from the begining.  I know that the 3Design software
    is Java based, which means it can run on Mac, IBM, Linux etc.  I am
    not aware of the precise upgrade path 3Design has followed but know
    that they have focused on the Jewellery industry as well. 

    My question is simple.  I am not a computer geek, I am a practical  
     person that knows each of the above companies can give me a
    convincing sales pitch.  They seem both to be serious contenders for
    the CAD/CAM jewellery market.  Can any of you out there who are using
    these programs give me any "hands on" references of your experience
    in using either of these two CAD/CAM software packages? I am well
    aware, the investment is not only in the original cost of the
    software, but even more so in the hours that one will take either
    learning the software.  I'm looking for a program with a short
    learning curve. 

    Can any of you more knowledgeable people comment on the software
    platform of each product.  Is one a two dimensional system tweaked
    into a half hearted 3 dimensional system while the other a full 3
    dimensional CAD/CAM package? 

    I'm still learning and would like to hear from some of you who are
    professionally and practically experienced users. 

Thanks to you, and thanks for Orchid,

Myron


____________________________________________________________________
T h e   O r c h i d   L i s t
Open Electronic Forum for Jewelry Manufacturing Methods and Procedures
____________________________________________________________________
Orchid FAQ:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/faq.htm
Orchid Archives:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/archive
Orchid Galleries:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/gallery.htm
Invite a Friend:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/invite.htm
____________________________________________________________________
Tips From The Jeweler's Bench - Article Archive
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/borisat/tip_sear.htm
The Jeweler's Selected Bibliography List
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/jewelry-books
Buy Orchid Jewelry:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/shop
____________________________________________________________________
-Unsubscribe:
-Email: orchid-request AT ganoksin.com Body=unsubscribe subject=blank
____________________________________________________________________