CAM Software Options - Prices

I recently decided to look into getting some different CAM options to make life a little quicker on some more complicated machines I am looking at.

We are using SolidWorks / Fusion 360 for our CAD stuff.

Requirements where ability to support simultaneous 5 Axis milling as well as live Tooled , y Axis Sub spindle lathe.

I found the process to be very annoying and the amount of BS spewed out by vendors was amazing, how do any of them stay in business. Some people I spoke to had no idea what their own software actually was or costed ...

Anyway, I would have loved to find the prices in the open but they are all kept hidden so this may help someone else out, I will add to it as I get more responses.

CamWORKS Premium - $14k and annual subscription is $2825.00 and Posts where $1000 per machine - you can stop paying and keep using the version you have - 5 Year Cost $27300

PowerMILL Ultimate - 1 year is $10k USD , if you would like to do a 3 year subscription the price will be $30k USD - you stop paying you loose access - 5 Year Cost $40000

Esprit - $40k initial purchase with support for two machines and then $5500 per year maintenance - you can stop paying and keep using the version you have - 5 Year Cost $62 000

BarnFab said:

I recently decided to look into getting some different CAM options to make life a little quicker on some more complicated machines I am looking at.

We are using SolidWorks / Fusion 360 for our CAD stuff.

Requirements where ability to support simultaneous 5 Axis milling as well as live Tooled , y Axis Sub spindle lathe.

I found the process to be very annoying and the amount of BS spewed out by vendors was amazing, how do any of them stay in business. Some people I spoke to had no idea what their own software actually was or costed ...

Anyway, I would have loved to find the prices in the open but they are all kept hidden so this may help someone else out, I will add to it as I get more responses.

CamWORKS Premium - $14k and annual subscription is $2825.00 and Posts where $1000 per machine - you can stop paying and keep using the version you have - 5 Year Cost $27300

PowerMILL Ultimate - 1 year is $10k USD , if you would like to do a 3 year subscription the price will be $30k USD - you stop paying you loose access - 5 Year Cost $40000

Esprit - $40k initial purchase with support for two machines and then $5500 per year maintenance - you can stop paying and keep using the version you have - 5 Year Cost $62 000

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Have you tried different resellers?

With Camworks and Solidworks through Hawk Ridge, we get a discount for going multi year on the subscriptions, and also negotiate a payment plan for the subscription payment. Have come out ahead since everyone keep raising their prices year after year.

604Pook said:

Have you tried different resellers?

With Camworks and Solidworks through Hawk Ridge, we get a discount for going multi year on the subscriptions, and also negotiate a payment plan for the subscription payment. Have come out ahead since everyone keep raising their prices year after year.

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To be clear I am not saying the above numbers are the best you can get I am just saying they are what we have been given at the moment to show people what this stuff costs, I am sure someone will soon point out we don't have Fusion 360 listed

Is Topsolid on your radar at all?

BarnFab said:

Requirements where ability to support simultaneous 5 Axis milling as well as live Tooled , y Axis Sub spindle lathe.

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These machines are two totally different animals.

While it would be nice to have a single CAM system for both types of machines, I wouldn't let that be a dealbreaker. I'd sooner put in the effort to learn two different CAM packages that are ideally suited for each application, than deal with the frustration of getting the wrong CAM package that doesn't do what I need it to.

Furthermore, a lot of us here on the forums who use SY lathes don't rely exclusively on CAM. We program the turning and milling separately in CAM, post it out, and piece them together manually, adding in snippets from previous programs we've written. It offers a level of control that you simply won't get from most CAM packages and it can be just as fast.

Lastly, when shopping for 5-axis CAM, you'll want to identify some specific features that you'll need. Finishing with a barrel cutter? Not all CAM packages support it yet.

If you are going to do a lot of programming, and complicated programming, I recommend going with a higher tier, truly integrated cam system; it will make you money. Any decent cam system will be able to post edit-free files with zero editing required. Time spent editing and going back and forth between multiple cam systems, not to mention possible a cad system as well, are like making payments on a better cam system that you don't have. (Yeah, I just paraphrased Henry Ford lol)

Areo Defense said:

If you are going to do a lot of programming, and complicated programming, I recommend going with a higher tier, truly integrated cam system; it will make you money. Any decent cam system will be able to post edit-free files with zero editing required. Time spent editing and going back and forth between multiple cam systems, not to mention possible a cad system as well, are like making payments on a better cam system that you don't have. (Yeah, I just paraphrased Henry Ford lol)

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Boy, truer words were never spoken....you're probably spending the money, whether you know it or not! LOL

Macturn said:

Is Topsolid on your radar at all?

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I was wondering the same thing as well....will be curious to hear what they end up selecting, and what they think of their choice after getting to use it for a while.

Macturn said:

Is Topsolid on your radar at all?

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I have not looked at it, do you use it / recommend it ?>

Areo Defense said:

If you are going to do a lot of programming, and complicated programming, I recommend going with a higher tier, truly integrated cam system; it will make you money. Any decent cam system will be able to post edit-free files with zero editing required. Time spent editing and going back and forth between multiple cam systems, not to mention possible a cad system as well, are like making payments on a better cam system that you don't have. (Yeah, I just paraphrased Henry Ford lol)

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In my situation I have no budget and will buy what I think is best for my application as like you mention investment is worth it. Funnily enough the more $$$ the application the better the response. So far PowerMILL is the worst to deal with so I will not be going that way.

Esprit have been most responsive and knowledgeable

Orange Vise said:

These machines are two totally different animals.

While it would be nice to have a single CAM system for both types of machines, I wouldn't let that be a dealbreaker. I'd sooner put in the effort to learn two different CAM packages that are ideally suited for each application, than deal with the frustration of getting the wrong CAM package that doesn't do what I need it to.

Furthermore, a lot of us here on the forums who use SY lathes don't rely exclusively on CAM. We program the turning and milling separately in CAM, post it out, and piece them together manually, adding in snippets from previous programs we've written. It offers a level of control that you simply won't get from most CAM packages and it can be just as fast.

Lastly, when shopping for 5-axis CAM, you'll want to identify some specific features that you'll need. Finishing with a barrel cutter? Not all CAM packages support it yet.

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I hear what you are saying and I haven't ruled out different systems. Currently I run the VF with 4th of Budget Fusion 360 the main reason for looking at upgrades is to get best machine utilization and knowing a good crash will cost me more than the software pretty quick so looking to comfy with something that will do as much as possible.

BarnFab said:

Requirements where ability to support simultaneous 5 Axis milling as well as live Tooled , y Axis Sub spindle lathe.

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For Mastercam, if you want the 5 axis mill/turn then you need the mill/turn package which goes for about $10k.
For a standard y axis live tool lathe, you do NOT need the mill/turn package. But you do need a lathe package. Don't know the price offhand but it's not expensive.

Orange Vise said:

Furthermore, a lot of us here on the forums who use SY lathes don't rely exclusively on CAM. We program the turning and milling separately in CAM, post it out, and piece them together manually, adding in snippets from previous programs we've written. It offers a level of control that you simply won't get from most CAM packages and it can be just as fast.

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Not to hijack the thread but good into here, thanks for that. I'm considering an SY lathe and was hoping this was an option.

I’ve been using CAMWorks for quite some time now and a few years back they introduce these packages, I’ve always hated them cause there are modules I don’t use, I only needed a mill package, until this week actually, I bought my first turning center.

I have the CAMWorks Milling Professional package, which in comparison for pricing (upfront) was comparable to MasterCam’s Milling package. Maintenance is more, being CAMWorks only runs in SolidWorks so you have basically two maintenance packages, but the Professional bundle comes with the following - 3 Axis Milling w/ Undercutting, 4/5 Axis Indexing, Turning, Mill-turn, 2.5 Axis VoluMill, Sub-Spindle, Rotary Milling, and Cimco Editor/ DNC

So in comparison price wise you are getting a little more with CAMWorks if you have use for the included modules. I won’t recommend CAMWorks for Turning or Mill-turn, I have never used it, but it’s kind of nice I had my turning center delivered and I don’t have to buy/add a turning module to my seat, it’s already there.

I paid $12k for my seat in 2019, that included a SW Standard seat. You can save a little going with CAMWorks Solids, which is a dumbed down version of SolidWorks Standard, I also have the 3 axis Volumill and 4th Axis Simultaneous add on to my package. I just did a 3 year maintenance last month for just under $10k. Like I said the maintenance is a little higher being us CAMWorks users also have to pay for the SW maintenance. Which drives me nuts! Hoping SW acquires CAMWorks and builds a better package deal for us CAM first users.

I have bought a few packages over time from Gibbs, BobCAD, and now I run SWX CAM Pro. I also had the option to use OneCNC as well and liked it.

Overall, I like SWX CAM Pro as I pay $600 per year maintenance on that only. I think all in SWX and CAM are $3000 per year per seat. My reseller sold me my posts for like $750 but my posts were for a 3 axis Kitamura and a Prototrak.

If you are shopping for a CAM Package I would suggest the following:

• Find the packages you like and ask for demo / evaluation versions and not a sales Demo. The sales demo will only show you the flashy parts and you won't see how hard or easy it is to make programs with the Software
• Assess how well the CAM software will work with your CAD software. It is always better if it takes native files vs STEP, IGES, or other formats.
• Use one of your models to program and post a program. I don't like in SWX CAM where some of the machining parameters are located. It does a good job on using the solid model geometry, but for through features you have to force it below the bottom surface, also where you make the tool go in multiple or one pass is not intuitive. Only in use will you see these gotchas
• I think for you Fusion 360 would be a good option and as far as I can tell Fusion 360 CAM would be a good choice as it has a lot of posts available. I know it works with Fusion CAD and Solidworks files. I am not sold on the browser type packages but it is pretty low price wise on a monthly basis and no maintenance.
• If you are looking at stand alone packages shop for everything as a package. Make a list of the machines, controllers and configuration of post processors you need and bid on everything as a package. Also confirm a number of post edits or hours allowed to customize posts. This way you can compare each vendors price as a package and you can budget correctly. Also don't accept we will provde free posts and they are good. They always need one or two tweaks. When I bought Gibbs for example, I was looking at MasterCAM and Gibbs. MasterCAM wanted money for training, posts, etc. The Gibbs sales person offered me one day onsite for him to get me up to speed, a stock post for my one machine, and say 2 or 3 post changes to make it work for my machine (email support for post changes) MasterCAM got real agressive like one day or even hours before I was ready to pull the PO for Gibbs.

The reality is that as a shop if you are growing you will need more posts, training and more seats. This is the first option you have to see how much support and help you can get from your reseller. You should feel that the price and package is fair and you are buying a starter setup that will get you going quickly.

don't forget about SolidCAM another CAM that runs inside SW.

New to the market - Dolphin CADCAM V15

See website for prices and full details

New Milling Features include:-

Advanced toolpaths for 2D and 3D Machining

REST (Residual Stock) Machining
Adaptive Roughing and Finishing
Surface Finishing Toolpaths
Flatlands Detection - Roughing & Finishing
Pencil Line Machining
Trochoidal Toolpaths
Vertical Wall Detection
Rotary Machining
Full Machine Tool Simulation


Full features list and brochure is available on our new website.

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See our full product lineup of Milling, Turning & Wire EDM here
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Best regards
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Dolphin CADCAM Systems Ltd
[email protected]

Thanks for the feedback, lots of options and so far Esprit is still in front and have been by far the best to deal with. It has amazed me how many options self eliminated simply by their lack of engagement or knowledge alone.

im using sprutcam for 3axis and wire edm. Good pricing. I got free posts because they already had them

So after way to many hours of research, demo's and thought I ended up going with esprit as I felt it was the best option for my application and offered the best chance of getting optimum performance out of my machines.

The appeal of having certified and tested Posts with effective machine models and crash avoidance as well as great simulation for all three machines in one package was a good thing.

Not saying Esprit is the only option out there but from everything I looked at it was the most comprehensive, best supported and addressed all my concerns.

It was not cheap by any means by neither is crashing a machine, programing inefficiently or leaving machine capability on the table when you are a small shop.

I will report back a few months from now as to if I made a mistake or not but I have 60 days with a no questions asked 100% refund should I not be happy after I have given it a good test drive.

Powermill is awesome software.

SteveEx30 said:

Powermill is awesome software.

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Funny you say that as I did look into it but to be honest the guys I spoke to at Autodesk where completely useless and that along with the fact Autodesk doesn't have a good reputation for support or honoring contracts was enough to make me look no further into it.