Wizard VCADD Saga

jvandy57

SGF, Supreme Grumble Framer
Joined
Jul 5, 2001
Posts
1,410
Loc
Savannah, GA
A while back there was some posts regarding the Wizard and trading in and stuff. They thread then went towards using the software and this, that and the other thing.

WizardEdd asked me to comment on my learning curve with the VCADD software, others have posted that the've used it and find it easy and more have posted that it was hard to use.

Well I've completed my first project on VCADD and here's the rest of the story......

Originally, I scanned in an image in Corel Draw and moved it to VCADD via a dxf file. VCADD saw it with no problems and when I sent it to the tracing page it saw it fine, only when I went to cut it it wanted to use about 600 corners, this was not cool. What I did was this, I redrew the scanned image in VCADD by using circles and stuff, reading the directions in the downloaded VCADD manual and using 3 point arcs and snapping to points. I did this right on top of the scanned image and then when I was finished I deleted the scanned image. What I ended up with was the Logo of the company that I work for. It took 28 corners to cut, which isn't bad, but the size was larger than I would have liked. I still don't have my scanner reconnected to my new computer as I'm still trying to find a compatible board but when I do I'll show all the image.

If you have any questions ask away, I am still learning the software and have a way to go. Then again I know about 1/100th of Corel and what it can do. All in all it wasn't necessarily easy to use VCADD but it wasn't impossible, I believe if I had a good full day to devote to the software I would be kicking out some interesting designs. I do believe that at this point I can accomplish what I set out to when I purchased the software.

Be aware that the VCADD software is an additional $150.00 with the Wizard Jr. Program and is included free with the regular rental program. I still believe that the $150.00 was a good purchase for me.

Also, let me say, that I did all this without contacting the Help Desk, but I am sure that the few problems I had could be fixed by them.

Just my take on things,
 
I sure hope you have a labor charge built in to compensate for your design time

Sounds like a lot of work, but then, as you know, I'm a real computer dummy who can't figure out half the regular Wizard templates.
 
O forgot to ask:

Would it be cheaper to let Wizard do it? I know they'll do the designing and cutting for you.

You may want to comment on that, or let Edd pipe in.
 
I haven't tried to scan an image in. But, I taught myself to use the vcadd program, using the Wizard manual, last summer. In the past, we've had Wizard do the programming, and just send us the disk. But, they raised their prices. So, when I had an idea for a framing contest, I decided to teach myself the program. It turned out pretty well. And, I've designed a couple of special cuts for customers, since then. I found the program a little complicated, but not to bad. With practice, I learned that right clicking the mouse brought up a cheat menu. But, yes, I would definately charge for design and programming time, just like Wizard does. Because, the time spent on computer programming is time spent on the customer's order.
Heather
 
Jerry/Michael et al.

First, to Jerry thanks for your objective post. I would whole-heartedly agree, CADD is not simple but not impossible either.

Michael is on to something with the design time charging thing. As I have posted on other topics, our work with Jay Goltz has taught me that many framers fail to charge adequately for their time. At $50 per design, our service on difficult designs is a steal. However, like Jerry and Heather I like to know how to run a program and have the luxury of deciding whether to pay someone to do it, or to do it myself. Clearly on a basic CADD design it may not take you very long to do it yourself, therefore our $50 fee might not be such a great deal.

We are investigating other programs and/or techniques for more easily scanning and copying images into our software. Our recent customer survey indicated a good number of our customers were desirous of that feature. We will alert the media when we've found a solution.
 
Edd and All,
Definitely would charge for design time and am looking forward to the jay goltz thingy. Scanning the image in Corel and transfering it was EASY, it was just that the number of corners VCADD and Wizard Cutting came up with was unbelievable. The dxf file was read as 100's of little lines by the tracing program. The OCR/Trace program that is supplied comes from Corel, but you need to convert a bitmap image into a vector image, then convert it to dxf. Again this isn't hard, but the trace program still reads these images as a LOT of corners. If you could fix the trace program to see the dxf file in more realistic terms, then it would be a breeze to do most images.
 
As a related topic, Mizz po' framer had axed me to build her a v-groove profile with radiused corners that she could scale onto various openings.

the one I did blew up the system. I'll go to the Wiz website and see what I can scrounge up but I don't know exactly what happened. It seems to be related to the fact that a CMC needs to go both directions to cut a v-groove but I'm not quite sure how to tell it to do that.
 
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