@Atom: There is nothing wrong with having a different view and I accept that is what you think. I am less inclined to support the notion that the provided software should be an alpha version shipping with Snapmaker because other software is available. I donât know any software provider who provides alpha software to their paying customers. I have been an alpha tester for some software but I knew what I was doing because I usually signed an NDA and was allowed to play with a pre-production copy for fault finding and suggestion purposes. I have signed up to several beta testing programs that have requested similar feedback and possibly because they offer an incentive to test expensive software, but I have known that is what I was signing up to.
I purchased Snapmaker because ostensibly it provided an experience with three different aspects of computer controlled making. I was told that the software was Mac compatible but I was not told the CNC aspect was driven by alpha software. It was primarily the CNC aspect I was interested in and had I known that the software was alpha software, I would never have purchased Snapmaker.
Today, version 3.8.0 Luban states as soon as you click on the CNC segment icon⊠Warning This is an alpha feature that helps you get started with CNC carving. Make sure you Read This First - Safety Information before any further instructions. From my viewpoint this machine has been in production for 4 years and you are expecting users to use alpha software for one of its major functions. I was unaware that alpha software was what I would be getting. When is Luban moving to beta status and when is it likely to be gold master status? From the questions I see in these forums concerning Luban, I would say that many other people are experiencing issues with Luban.
Your response suggests that Snapmaker are in error by trying to reinvent the wheel. Well⊠I think that is a reasonable point of view if there was only one wheel available (Fusion 360?) but other companies have produced software that suggests that it could be done. I have mentioned Easel before now and they answer many questions for the new user by having software that is user friendly and encourages people to look deeper at the processes involved. I have looked at using Cura, Simply 3D, Aspire and a couple of other software packages and currently i am trying to use Carbide Create.
This should demonstrate that I am not beyond learning something new, even at 72 years old. It should also show you that Snapmaker shipped with inadequate software and it has taken me some months of wasted time trying to make Luban work. Snapmaker should be honest and advertise their machinery with a statement along the lines of⊠You will have to supply the software to slice, carve, etch and print. On that basis I would have purchased a different machine.
Thank you for trying to explain but the quadrant matter is still obscured to me. When files are processed in Luban (laser etching and CNC carving because I have not done any 3D printing yet) they appear in the centre of the work area. When a file generated elsewhere is processed in Luban, it appears in the top right quadrant. What is the process for making that imported file appear in the centre of the Luban workspace? e.g. Carbide has four different settings from which the user can choose the zero point where the tool will start. Not documenting things which are known to the development team and then have to be asked by users repeatedly is not good practice and must waste inordinate amounts of staff time.
User support would be needed far less if there was adequate documentation. Video presentations do not constitute documentation. Why does the user have to endure this ridiculous chase around the houses every time real information is being sought?
In summary:
Paying customers should never be expected to use alpha software
Fusion 360 is not how I want to start my CNC learning experience
Lack of documentation leaves new user floundering
Documentation would support new users better than ad hoc forum questions
Addendum added after 3 hours following using Carbide Create and its tutorials.
The tutorials are models of clarity and excellence. I can do what I need to do in this software without round tripping to a vector design software. It bears a great similarity to standard design software conventions and is specific to CNC machining. It even handles all of my fancy text fonts without a hitch.
Snapmaker team cannot have it both ways⊠either the view that it wont be reinventing the wheel is the one to believe, in which case Snapmaker team must create a method whereby importing files created in all other CNC software for makers is easy (the caveat being that Luban must permit moving the file to the correct zero point) or Snapmaker team should ask each of the suppliers of good making software to include a Snapmaker option.
You may gather from the foregoing that I have found Carbide Create very simple to understand and logical to operate. My view is that Snapmaker are misguided in not taking care of their own software issues in house because I am now considering Shapeoko. It is probably a very well thought out CNC machine and if the machine lives up to the ease of use of the software, I will be able to become productive immediately.
In a nutshell, here is what I am thinking right now, Adam. Regardless of how fantastic the hardware may be, it is a lump of dead metal without the software. The software should be viewed as equally important as the hardware for it is what gives the hardware its fantastic abilities.
) has said that the company is a start up and one should be patient. I guess there could be something to that but I discover that the Snapmaker project has been running for more than four years. On that level, I think the alpha software for CNC is a message that Snapmaker were not prepared for people to want to use the CNC aspect of the machine. I cannot speak to the 3D printing because I have not yet tried that, because the laser required a lot less work setting up and a lot less knowledge. The CNC was also a natural fit for me because I have some experience of engineering.
