A few issues in a very good thread:
I agree that CAD in itself is not designed to be the most user-friendly of programs, but I do think that we (the industry) are going to receive the second major benefit of CMCs when we learn to use it. It's sad that Wizard's research shows that 95% of us simply give up for whatever reason. I have to admit to being part of that and resolve to teach myself the system.
I must apologize, Edd, for not getting over to the Wizard booth at the LV show and hanging out. It was certainly my intent and I ran out of time with my one abridged day of attendance. I wanted to talk about the successes we've had with the bold Jr. Rental program and the CAD issues, as well.
Getting the Wizard into our shop has been the real boon of efficiency and capability that I hoped it would be. The rental program has its advantages and disadvantages. The real advantage is that Wizard fixes things, and by having so many units out there, the company knows what needs work and what really is working. The disadvantage is that custom designs with lots of corners could really add up in costs, and that one never adds to their asset base by renting.
The corners thing is just an issue which someone needs to dynamically fit their business; if you need more corners, go to the full rental program. If you find yourself buying more corners yet, it's time to own a machine. (And if you're not charging for corners anyway, you're letting dollars out the door which are rightfully yours)
This will become more of an issue only when people become more familiar with CAD capabilities and begin to use them more extensively. Remember the above design which had 837 corners. Regardless of what I said, it's tough to charge someone $84 for an opening. I suspect that we're going to have to follow the lead of the vendors in this issue; charge a flat (or hourly) fee for the design and become proficient enough so that it doesn't take a week to design something.
The thing which strikes me about CAD is it really seems to me to be a matter of drawing arcs and lines, then telling the computer that you want to hook them together. Having watched a DeltaCad demo and not having followed up on the Wizard's VCad, I can't see whether it's as simple as it seems. I'll try to follow up on this.
With all this training going on at trade shows, software managers, would it be possible to distill some CAD training into a 3-hourish seminar at a trade show? The people who do the training are critical; they need to understand the core of the software and the ultimate product of a cut mat. Probably not that many of you out there.
Sideline issue of not having time to talk with key vendors: Being at shows is very expensive and certainly tough to justify for all the vendors. On the other hand, we framers pack in all the classes we can and have been conditioned to think that we're not getting all the benefit of the experience unless we're getting to a class.
The last day of a show is just a bad time to try to visit with people, especially with shortened hours of 10-2; yet this is all the "pure floor" time we're given. I was talking with some folks who were trying to pack up the booth, give me a little time and were clearly (and justifiably) worried about making a 5:00 flight departure time.
I guess, as a business owner, I need to go into a show with a more tightly outlined structure. Perhaps missing a class is the cost of talking to a key vendor and I was unprepared this time by not already making those decisions. On the other hand and knowing it's already an expense, what would be the potential benefit to everyone if vendors "left behind" a certain number of representatives who were flying out the next day? Besides the benefit of being able to line up consultations even into the evening, there'd be someone there to handle the logistics nightmares which inevitably result in the late rush of getting everything out the door. (The Myers-Briggs folks tell me that sales types thrive on this stuff, but that's another issue and somebody still has to clean up the mess). I can tell you that I was personally ready to commit to a couple of things which I ran out of time on, and now I'll wait until the next opportunity for face-to-face talks.
Now. Back to the CMC. I know that Wizard is very sensitive to the idea that having another machine is "trading up", and I agree that, for most businesses, the Wizard definitely will meet their needs perhaps in perpetuity. Having said that, however, I do believe that Wizard has positioned themselves as THE entry-level system, which implies, due in no small part to Wizard's own success, that there is such a thing as moving up. Edd's job is to work and overcome those issues so that the Wizard won't ultimately be left behind by businesses "moving up".
The Wizard does have limitations which can be worked through, such as the 8-ply issue or the distance to the edge, that other machines don't. It is noisy and wheezy, whle the other machines seem "stouter" by their smooth, silent operation. Only in certain cases, however, are these really breadnbutter issues, which means that the Wizard, unless your economics or particular business positioning points to something else, is really the system of choice for most of us who need to get something into the shop right away. As framer said a long time ago, whatever machine you choose, get one now! And you'll never be sorry that you did. Having crossed that line ourselves this past year, I'm really glad that we took that advice.
and also sorry that this was another long post.... forgive!