RhinoCAM 2012 Standard

Review posted February 23, 2010

I just purchased RhinoCam 2.0 Standard and have been using it for two months for 3D prototype work in plastic.

Setup:
GOOD: Very easy. I installed software on Windows 7 Pro.

Configuration:
GOOD: Settings are fairly comprehensive.
BAD: The tool description section needs improvement. Unfortunately, when a tool is modified, its only modified in the .3dm file you're working with. If you save your tool library, and then import into .3dm file, RhinoCam does a merge, whereby you end up with duplicates of everything or some tools are missing. Wish List: I would like to have the option for a full rewrite of tools within a .3dm file when a library is imported.

Toolpaths:
GOOD: Multiple kinds of tool paths, horizontal, spiral,etc available.
BAD: After speaking to tech support with my tool path issues, I found out early on that RhinoCam does not have much intelligence when cutting parts. Often times the tool does not reach the bottom of a part, or its cutting air rather than the part. The solution is to essentially cobble together horizontal, spiral, etc. tool paths and constrain the cut regions. Getting RhinoCam to do what you want is very tedious and labor intensive. Wish List: More intellegent tool path construction by RhinoCam.

Simulation:
GOOD: Exceptional graphics and detail. This is probably the best feature of RhinoCam. Just be sure you have a fast computer. I originally tried RhinoCam on an 8year old PC, 1.6Ghz and got very slow animation at 1 frame/15 seconds. So I ended up buying a new PC, 3.4Ghz quad core, and now RhinoCam simulates beautifully.

All in all, RhinoCam 2.0 is a good program with some features that need improvement.

--Ken H.