i need an alternative to torchmate cad cam. having dongle issues in the middle of a job that could potentially sink the company. cannot handle this kind of screw up. anyone have a suggestion?
A lot of non-torchmate users use SheetCam. Alternatively, I had to replace a dongle awhile back. It was pretty easy.
I've never used it but to my knowledge it generates toolpathing code and offers nesting features etc. There are several CAD programs available for designing parts. Any retailer that carries PC software usually has a coupe options available at a reasonable price (example Best Buy). Affordable software for toolpathing is more limited from what I've seen. By the time you buy both you'd probably be better off replacing your dongle.
ya i need a program for designing too. im gonna try out bobcad. yes replacing the dongle would be easier but the funds arent there to replace it and even at that i cannot risk this kind of thing happening again. i am anal about taking care of it because i understand its value and it still crapped out on me. so i spent 16 hours cutting stuff out by hand to make the deadline. had i not made the deadline an entire cemex plant would be down right now. i absolutely cannot afford mishaps like this with the size of jobs and companies im doing work for. so someday i may replace the dongle. but for now i need to figure something else out or the table is as good as scrap. and im failing to see why i have to pay to replace the dongle when i bought it in the first place and its a legitamate software problem. im not catching an attitude or anything just simply explaining my thought process. for the price of a dongle it needs to come with a spare with a time limit on it or something so this kind of thing doesnt happen. this mishap almost cost us a half a million dollar contract (which would have bankrupted the company). its not a risk i will take again. im gonna find a backup and hopefully Lincoln can make this right. if not ill have to find a backup for my backup lol
Is the dongle view-able through windows, meaning does it show up as a removable drive, did you verify license files (products.ini and products.lcf) were not replaced. Copy the files off of the dongle and place them into your TM Cad folder on the C drive. A replacement dongle is 165.
sometimes it comes up as cadlink sometimes it doesnt come up at all. but even when it does come up, i cannot save or it errors out and boots me. nothing has been changed with the files. it was working fine and then the dongle stopped registering. and theres no point in copying files off the dongle as no matter what the program wont operate correctly without the dongle itsself. i tried that route already when i first got it. (to prevent some bs like this happening.)
If $165 bucks would solve your problem I would get 2 and save half a million dollar job from screwing up. Heck $165 is chimp change compared to what these machines can make you an hour. Larry
well after talking with lincoln, its not exactly that simple. i think ill be getting a new dongle but i am still in the process of finding a good alternative.
The educational software package could be a decent option. It allows you to have multiple seats with one master work station. I have reversed a USB port on the back of my desktop and installed the security dongle inside to avoid any mishaps. Design at home or in different locations and transfer to the master work station to export. Doesn't eliminate a security dongle but adds flexibility. Just a thought
