2021 CNCCookbook CAM Survey Results
2021CNCCookbookCAMSurveyResultsBob WarfieldCopyright 2021 by CNCCookbook, Inc.Every year, CNCCookbook surveys readers on theirCAM Software. The results provide an invaluableguide to CAM for the CNC World.
OverviewEvery year CNCCookbook surveys readers on their CAM Software. The results are a unique andinvaluable guide to CAM for the CNC World.This year we received over 300 responses.Product Managers at a variety of CADCAM companies, large and small, tell me they find theresults very valuable in their own planning. There’s really no other source of information quite likethese surveys, so I wanted to get these initial results out as soon as I could.We’ve done these CAM surveys in 2010, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020 and now2021, so there is historical data to compare against when looking for trends. Note that the 2021results are actually 2020, we just felt it would look funny to publish 2020 in 2021, especially given weconducted the survey at the beginning of 2021.As in the past, we divide the market into 3 segments:High-End: More expensive packages with more functionality.Tiered: Modular packages available in a range of configurations that span from the Low-End to theHigh-End.Low-End: These are inexpensive packages often used by Hobbyists, but as we’ll see, at least onepackage has come up-market to the Professional World.Let’s start by taking a look by category at market share.22021 CNCCookbookCAM SoftwareSurvey
CAM SegmentsCAM Breakdown by Segment2021 CNCCookbook CAM Survey8%39%53%T3High EndTieredLow Endhis year, High End CAM was 39% of our responses, Tier-priced CAM is at 53%, and the Low End is at 8%.These numbers are basically unchanged from last year’s results.Whereas last year’s numbers reflected some loss of share of the High End to Fusion 360, this year’snumbers show that trend has stopped, at least for now.2021CNCCookbookCAM SoftwareSurvey
CAM Market Share by Segment:High EndHigh End CAM Market ShareCNCCookbook 2021 CAM mWorkNCVisiCAMEstlCAMEspritPTC 0.6%1.8%TopSolid0.9%Radab0.9%Pro/NC0.9%NCG Cam 35.0%2021his year, High End CAM market share is still led by Mastercam, which has an overall (not just high endshare) share of 28.9%. Last year they had 29.2% share, so they’ve contracted a bit.In second place we have SolidCam at 7.9%, down from last year’s 9.5%. And in third place, PowerMillhas risen from 3.2% to 6.1%.2021CNCCookbookCAM SoftwareSurvey
CAM Market Share:Tiered SegmentTiered Segment CAM Market2021 CNCCookbook CAM Survey45.1%45.5%Fusion36024.2%20.5%Vectric / Aspire11.2%10.3%BobCAD/CAM8.4%8.3%HSMWorks (Non Fusion 360)Inventorcam0.0%5.1%3.8%Mecsoft (Visual and 5%1.9%0.0%5.0% 10.0% 15.0% 20.0% 25.0% 30.0% 35.0% 40.0% 45.0% 50.0%20202021In this category, Fusion360 leads, with 45% overall market shareVectric / Aspire showed the biggest change in going from 24.2% down to 20.5% this year. Most of the othersdidn’t change all that much.52021CNCCookbookCAM SoftwareSurvey
CAM Market Share:Low EndLow End Segment CAM Market Share2021 CNCCookbook CAM lidworks CAM8.3%3.0%4.2%PrototrakDolphinCAMDesk bide Create4.2%Candle4.2%Camotics4.2%Alibre 021CamBam remains #1 and even grabbed share to rise from 24% to 33%. MeshCam lost a little share,moving from 15% to 12%.62021CNCCookbookCAM SoftwareSurvey
Overall CAM Market ShareOverall CAM Market Fusion360Fusion360Aspire /MastercamVectricMastercamVectric / Fusion360)4.4%4.4%HSMWorks (Non Fusion orcam2.4%VisualMill / s2.4%CamBam2.0% 3.2%NX2.0%SprutCam1.7% 2.7%Mecsoft (Visual and RhinoCAM)Edgecam1.7%2.0%0.7%HypermillEsprit1.5% acam1.0%1.4%0.7%DelcamSurfcam0.7% ional (PathPilot)0.7%1.0%EstlCAM 0.5%0.7%1.0%PTC Pro/E1.5%Esprit 0.5% 1.0%OneCNC0.2%ZW3D 0.5%FeatureCAM0.7%0.5%PTC Pro/E .2%Catia 0.2%ZW3D0.7%Carveco 0.2%0.7%WorkNCTopSolid 0.2%WardCam0.3%0.2%SolidworksCAM 0.2%VisiCAM0.3%Radab 0.2%Unigraphics0.3%SwiftCamPrototrak 0.2%0.3%Solidworks CamPro/NC 0.2%0.3%NCG Router-CIMCam Solutions 0.2%0.3%PartmakerMicrovellum 0.2%0.3%0.5%Okuma AdmacParts0.2%DolphinCAM0.3%Millwrite0.5%Desk Proto 0.2%0.3%MakerCamCimatron 0.2%0.3%MADCamCentroid 0.2%0.3%Kcam40.2%CarbideCreate0.3%JSCutCandle sion0.3%EnRouteArtcam 0.2%0.3%Catia0.2% 1.0%Alphacam0.3%Cad KeyAlibre CAM bookCAM 0.9% 12.8%15.0%15.0%202120.0%20.0%25.0%25.0%30.0%30.0%
Overall Share AnalysisLooking at overall share for 2021, we can see just how much Fusion360, Aspire/Vectric, and Mastercamdominate the CAM world. Here are the highlights:-While still at the top, Fusion360 hasn’t grown overall share by much and neither has MasterCam.-Aspire/Vectric is down slightly from 12.8% to 10.9%.-HSMWorks is flat, Solidcam is down slightly.-CamBam is up a pretty good tick from 2.0% to 2.7%. This may reflect interest in packages that aresimpler to use than F360 at a time when F360 prices are rising from free.-Powermill, a former customer satisfaction winner in these surveys, is solidly up from 1.2 to 2.4%.In general, there’s been a fair amount of fluctuation in share, but it’s hard to say exactly what’s driving it.82021CNCCookbookCAM SoftwareSurvey
CAM Market Share:CNC RoutersHere the market shares for CNC Router users.CNC Routers are often used quite differently than CNC Mills. In particular, they do a lot more artistic worksuch as signs and corporate logos. It’s not surprising, therefore, that the Aspire / Vectric software dominatesthis segment.Compared to last year’s survey, there is a lot more variety. That likely reflects CNCCookbook gaining a lot moreCNC Router users in our readership. The leaders on this chart are relatively unchanged except that Type3dropped off.92021CNCCookbookCAM SoftwareSurvey
Customer Satisfaction AwardsWhich packages did customers love the most? There’s a lot more detail in the eBook (seebelow), but here are the winners.Tied for first place with very close scores are PowerMill and HyperMill:Congratulations to the PowerMill team! This marks the second time PowerMill took the gold as they also had it in 2016.102021CNCCookbookCAM SoftwareSurvey
Congratulations to the HyperMill team!112021CNCCookbookCAM SoftwareSurvey
Silver AwardsCongratulations to the Mastercam team!Customer Satisfaction Award Winners over the YearsWe think the customer satisfaction awards are a big deal as they represent actual user’s evaluation of thesoftware. After all, who would know more than actual users who live with a package day after day and use it to do theirwork?Here is the roster of Customer Satisfaction Award winners over the years:PowerMill 2021 & 2016SprutCAM 2020 & 2016SolidCAM 2018 & 2017HyperMill 2021Mastercam 2021Siemens NX 2020Gibbscam 2018CamBam 2018Surfcam 2017122021CNCCookbookCAM SoftwareSurvey
Satisfaction ScoresHere’s the big chart of all customer satisfaction scores. Note that we only include packages below that had atleast 5 responses.CAM Software Customer Satisfaction ScoresCNCCookbook 2021 1.33Fusion360Inventorcam1.431.361.33Mecsoft (Visual and RhinoCAM)Gibbscam1.08BobCAD/CAM1.081.29Vectric / Aspire1.17Camworks1.17HSMWorks (Non Fusion kbookCAM SoftwareSurvey20211.001.201.401.601.802.00
CAM Software GripesBiggest CAM Software GripesCNCCookbook 2021 SurveyWants Feature Recognition / Templates0.9%Cloud Issues0.9%3D Toolpaths2.1%Support Issues2.1%4 and 5 Axis2.7%Not Configurable Enough or Tool Libraries2.7%Post Issues3.3%Update Issues3.6%Poor Feeds & Speeds3.6%Poor Docs & Training3.6%Poor Simulator3.9%Slow5.7%Too Expensive6.3%Instability / Bugs7.7%Poor CAD or CAD Integration13.7%Poor UX17.0%Inefficient G-Code / Lack of Power0.0%20.5%5.0%10.0%15.0%20.0%What are the biggest gripes users have with their CAM Software? You can see them laid out above.Number one this year (up from 14% last year) is lack of power. Whether this is lack of a particular type oftoolpath or inability to control the paths enough, this is all about an inability to make the g-code do what theuser wants.Poor UX (i.e. usability, user interface, hard to learn, hard to use) was second, and about the same as last year.CAM is hard to learn and use, it seems.Third was the builtin CAD or the CAD integration. The actual percentage of complaints is higher, almost 14% vsabout 12% last year.Fourth was instability, though at 8%’ish was lower than the 12% reported last year.142021CNCCookbookCAM SoftwareSurvey25.0%
CAM Software Gripes (Cont’d)Configurability is an interesting one. Shops want CAM to capture their best practices without having toconfigure them manually over and over again.Poor feeds and speeds also came up repeatedly, as it has in prior years. In general, CAM Feeds and Speeds aremediocre at best. Get a stand alone Feeds and Speeds calculator like G-Wizard and you’ll do a lot better. Infact, I’ll make a standing offer to all CAM companies—we’d love to work with you to integrate our world-classfeeds and speeds engine with your software.152021CNCCookbookCAM SoftwareSurvey
CAM Software Gripes: Part 2This year, I am changing the format of how we will report the specific gripes for the top CAM packages.Instead of a chart, I am just going to list the gripes that are over 10% of respondents for a package.BobCAD/CAM-12%: Inefficient G-Code / Lack of Power-24%: Instability / Bugs-18%: Poor CAD or CAD Integration-18%: Support IssuesCamBam-20%: Inefficient G-Code / Lack of Power-20%: Instability / Bugs-20%: Poor CAD or CAD IntegrationCamworks-18%: Inefficient G-Code / Lack of Power-18%: Instability / Bugs-18%: Poor CAD or CAD Integration-18%: Poor Docs & TrainingFusion 360- 26%: Poor UX- 15%: Inefficient G-Code / Lack of Power-11%: SlowGibbscam-44%: Poor CAD or CAD Integration-11%: Not configurable enough-11%: Post Issues-11%: Poor Feeds & Speeds-11%: Slow162021CNCCookbookCAM SoftwareSurvey
CAM Software Gripes: Part 2(cont’d)HSMWorks (Non Fusion 360)-19%: Inefficient G-Code / Lack of Power-19%: Poor CAD or CAD Integration-14%: Update Issues-10%: Poor UX-10%: Too Expensive-10%: Poor Feeds & SpeedsHypermill-29%: Too Expensive-29%: Poor Feeds & Speeds-14%: Poor UX-14%: Poor CAD or CAD Integration-14%: Poor SimulationInventorcam-29%: Poor UX-14%: Inefficient G-Code / Lack of Power-14%: Poor CAD or CAD Integration-14%: Too Expensive-14%: Poor Docs and Training-14%: Poor SimulationMastercam-21%: Poor CAD or CAD Integration-21%: Too Expensive-15%: Poor UXMecsoft (Visual and RhinoCAM)- 73%: Inefficient G-Code / Lack of Power172021CNCCookbookCAM SoftwareSurvey
CAM Software Gripes: Part 2(cont’d)Siemens NX-44%: Poor UX-22%: Inefficient G-Code / Lack of Power-22%: Poor CAD or CAD Integration-11%: Poor Docs & TrainingPowermill-22%: Poor CAD or CAD Integration-20%: Poor UX-11%: Inefficient G-Code / Lack of Power-11%: Post IssuesSolidCam-33%: Inefficient G-Code / Lack of Power-22%: Instability / Bugs-22%: Slow-11%: Poor CAD or CAD Integration-11%: Poor SimulationVectric/Aspire-30%: Inefficient G-Code / Lack of Power-13%: Poor UX-10%: Too Expensive-10%: Slow-10%: 4 and 5 Axis182021CNCCookbookCAM SoftwareSurvey
CAM DemographicsWhat type of CNC Work do you do?CNCCookbook 2021 SurveyRouter, 24.8%Turning, 20.8%Plasma, 0.9%EDM, 1.9%Other, 2.1%Laser, 0.7%Waterjet, 0.5%Milling, 50.5%In terms of the type of CNC Work respondents are doing, the majority is CNC Milling, followed by Routerand Turning work. There’s a smattering of other activities that probably would’ve been larger had they beenactual choices on the survey rather than write-ins.Are you evaluating new CAM Software currently?This year, 20.61% of respondents are considering new CAM Software to replace the package theycurrently use. That’s way up from last year’s 17.81% of respondents.Most were probably hunkered down and not looking to spend on anything unless absolutely requiredduring the Pandemic Year.192021CNCCookbookCAM SoftwareSurvey
Have you ever used Conversational Programming instead of CAM to save time?45% of respondents have used Conversational Programming to save time over CAM. That score is downfrom last year’s 45% result.Conversational Programming is a time saving and simpler alternative to CADCAM for certainjobs. I like to think of it as making it super easy to do all the sorts of things manual machinists do justby filling out a quick wizard.Conversational Programming can be delivered as a stand-alone software package like our GWizard Editor or it can be built right into your CNC Control. It can make it a breeze to make simpleparts or to add simple features to other parts.Here’s G-Wizard Editor’s list of Conversational Turning Wizards to give an idea:202021CNCCookbookCAM SoftwareSurvey
Is your CAM Software integrated within your CAD Software?65.1% of respondents said their CAM is integrated with their CAD. That score is down from last year’sresult of 68%.Several folks wrote into the “Other” category that their CAM software was “associative” with theirCAD program. What that means is even though they don’t run together in the same window, makingchanges to CAD are automatically reflected in CAM.That associative linkage delivers 90% of the value of a true integration.Do you modify your CAM-generated g-code by hand?Results:-Frequently: 12.2%, down from 14% last year-Sometimes: 54.7% (up from 52% last year)-Never: 33% (down from 34%)Being able to modify your CAM’s g-code can be a powerful tool. If your shop lacks this capability, you’remissing out on a lot of opportunity to improve automation and profitability.To get an idea what’s possible, check out 37 things your CAM won’t do for you that g-code programmingcan. It will show you what’s possible with a little g-code programming added to CAM.Our respondents use this capability to do the following kinds of things:Most Common Changes Made to CAM G-CodeCNCCookbook 2021 SurveyRearrange order of toolpaths3%Special Ops (Facing, Chamfers, Gun drilling, Bar Feeder)4%Compensate for Post Issues or CAM errors4%Error Avoidance & Operator Productivity5%Add documentation to program5%Change home position for operator convenience7%Change Offsets8%Change tool numbers9%Code Cleanup: Efficiency, Faster, Unneeded Moves, etc.11%Other18%Adjust Feeds and Speeds26%0%212021CNCCookbookCAM SoftwareSurvey5%10%15%20%25%30%
As you can see, by far the most common change made to CAM-generated g-code is feeds and speeds.Not surprising considering how poor CAM-generated Feeds and Speeds are rated in this survey.Other activities include modifying the tool numbers (so you can load your tool changer differently),general code cleanup, work offset-related changes, changing where the table stops at various points inthe program, and adding documentation so programs are more readable.Here’s the list of one-offs from the “Other” category:Change cut depthsConvert toolpath y-coordinates to a-coordinatesDelete some parts from a runEnable through spindle coolantLoop, Sub Program, main Program OrganizationM00, M01MacrosModify 4th axis positionModify Tool Change positionQ parametersRemove Tool Length CompensationScale or Rotate WorkSpindle DirectionTool pickup and put away222021CNCCookbookCAM SoftwareSurvey
How do you test or proof your CAM-generated programs?Proofing programs to avoid crashes and other errors is critical before you run them on a machine. Here’show the survey respondents go about testing their programs:-17.92% Cut “air” on the machine (up from 13.41% last year)-62% run the code through the CAM simulator (down from 63.06% last year)-9.68% use a stand alone simulator (up from 8.71% last year)The remainder use some combination of the three.Note that trusting the CAM Simulator is down. Most people do trust them. What can be more sexy thanwatching that simulation? It’s full 3D and you’d swear it has to be accurate.The issue is the way CAM program simulators work. If your CAM program includes a true CNC gcode simulator, then yes, it can be used to help test g-code programs.The thing is, most CAM programs don’t. They just plot the same geometry information that wasused to create the g-code output by the postprocessor. This allows for subtle bugs to creep in that arenot detectable in the CAM backplot.For example, bugs in the post cannot be detected this way because the post is downstream ofthat geometry info. In other words, you aren’t really performing an independent test on the g-code.Relying on this type of simulator is fraught with peril.Because of that, a lot of experienced machinists insist on a separate simulated backplot as asanity check for their g-code before they’ll run it. It doesn’t cost very much or take very long to havethis peace of mind, so it’s something you should consider.Proving programs is just one of the reasons folks rely on our G-Wizard Editor software. We wrotean article that details the sorts of problems a simulator like G-Wizard can eliminate from yourprograms:5 Ways G-Code Simulators Crush CNC Errors232021CNCCookbookCAM SoftwareSurvey
CAM Software Survey. his year, High End CAM was 39% of our responses, Tier-priced CAM is at 53%, and the Low End is at 8%. These numbers are basically unchanged from last year’s results. Whereas last year’s numbers reflected some loss of share of the High End to Fusion 360, this year’s
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stud. When mounting the Cam Follower, it is easy to fix its location by tightening a set screw to the stepped por-tion. Thus, this type is suitable when a large number of Cam Followers are used in a machine such as a pallet changer. Cam Follower G Taking over the basic performance of Standard Type Cam Follower, this cam follower realizes a .
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