FeatureCAM 2018 Released

[mark.gadsden]

FeatureCAM 2018 has now been released. You should be able to find it in your Autodesk Desktop Application. If it is not visible there then you should be able to access it from your Autodesk account page here.  

The main features of FeatureCAM 2018 are:

• Ribbon interface - UX design improvements
• Automatic angle for parallel finishing
• Automatic 3+2 positioning
• Swiss synchronization
• Spiral toolpath improvements
• Laser machining (with PartMaker in FeatureCAM Ultimate)
• Keyway broaching (with PartMaker in FeatureCAM Ultimate) 
• Workflow improvements (with PartMaker in FeatureCAM Ultimate)

For more details please see http://www.autodesk.com/products/featurecam/features/features-by-release or view the full readme here.

Thanks,
Mark

[Anonymous]

I can not download this at all......

All links do not work.

[sanjay.thakore]

Hi - we usually update the website a few days after the product has been released.

The links should be working now. 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the quick reply Sanjay!

I just checked again and get the same results...

http://www.autodesk.com/products/featurecam/features/features-by-release

[Anonymous]

Even the "Get Free Trial" link is busted...

http://www.autodesk.com/products/featurecam/free-trial

[sanjay.thakore]

Oh dear - what link within "features by release page" are you trying? Maybe try deleting your cookies...

I think the only link that is not working at the moment is the free trial. This should be updated within a day or two. 

The free trial page is here: http://www.autodesk.com/campaigns/featurecam-free-trial (its downloading 2017 at the moment - again within a day or two it should be updated to the 2018 version)

[Anonymous]

Again, thanks for the heads up Sanjay

I am clicking on the "Get the latest release" button, and it takes me to my account, and there is no download available for FC 2018

I saw that FC 2018 was released but I could not download it from my desktop app or from the website.

You are correct it sends me to FC 2017 download.

So, I came here to see what was going on.

Will check back in a few days.

[acad-caveman]

Might be something with your account.

At first I also had only 2017, but a day later 2018 showed up.

Downloaded and installed yesterday without issues, however I do not believe the Web-download works.

I had to go through the desktop app, just as I did with Inventor PDSU.

[cfarber]

If you can wait to download FCAM 2018 I would it is very glitchy and horrible layout takes double the mouse clicks to what 2017 can do in half the clicks. Also macros dont seem to work at all either by using winrap or by using them as a user feature.

[tshea-fri_eng]

Yes, it does seem unstable and glitchy. Screen flickers quite a bit, it has crashed on me several times, lost all my work with the last one. I'm getting used to the user interface and actually starting to like it. Things are more spread out, but it's easy to access everything by scrolling the mouse wheel. I can't find a Save NC Code button unless I open up the code first, which is an extra step. Having some issues accessing my post as well. I copied mine from the 2017 file, and still had to browse and click on them to get it to change.

[cfarber]

Its too bad you lost your work. I think we all know how that feels.

I don't know how you had yours set up but I had all my toolbar grouped icons (ldrop down icon) separated so I had close to 50-70 icons all arrange by type all the line icon by each other all the circle icons and so on so it was truly 1 step (click draw) to draw a line, circle and so on and not multiple steps now (click click draw, or scroll click draw). Also after trying to customize the ribbons the whole system became unstable with argument errors that I cant get to go away even after reverting back to stock ribbon layout. 

On top of this all I cant seem to find the option to turn off the pop out descriptions. They are driving me nucking futz!!!!!

that is the only spot I have been able to find the post nc button also.

Featurecam used to be nice I feel it has taken a turn for the worse. I hope they can come up with a way to make it possible for the icon people to use icons and the ribbon people to use ribbons. 

[Anonymous]

As far as the screen flickers goes- I turned off use graphic hardware.  It helped with the flickering on the graphics, but there is still a lot of flickering.  It's like going to a Disco!

It is kinda weird though, that I have a high power Nvidia Quadro K1200 graphics card and cant utilize it.

[tshea-fri_eng]

Yup, I have the same card. That shouldn't be the problem since it's the
one they tell you is needed for FeatureCam. Hope the bugs are worked out
soon. Surprised they would release this with so many issues. I just had
my 4th fatal error of the day, this is sucking quickly...

--
Tim Shea
Friday Engineering, Inc.
17 Everberg Rd.
Woburn, MA 01801
Shop: (781)932-8686
Cell: (781)389-0610
www.fridayengineering.com



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[cfarber]

I am running NVIDIA quadro m1000m video card and I'm not seeing any screen flickering. But I have had many crashes and ribbon argument errors.

[Anonymous]

I too have had all of these issues, and some.

At least FC 2017 still runs without a problem, as I can slowly move into 2018

As for now I will be sticking to 2017, wish that was not the case, but it is.

The new GUI is very inefficient, please bring our customizable tool bars back, and you can still keep the ribbon an option for those who like it.

In other words, it slows me/us down.

I have tried adding functions to the Quick access toolbar and the software gets very buggy from there, and the icons are so small its almost not worth the effort.

Just one question: Since you are partners with Microsoft do you have to make the layout look like Office 2013?

The functionality of this software just dropped down one notch, if not 2.

This is just my opinion, and maybe it will grow on me.....as humans we resists change, it is only natural.

[tshea-fri_eng]

I have the Nvidia Quadro K1200 on my desk top, and the M1000M on my laptop, but haven't updated that one yet. Another annoying feature is the help that pops up when you hover for any time over an area, blocks out entering info until it disappears. Maybe this can be switched off, but I haven't found a way to do that yet.

[cfarber]

TOTALLY AGREE WITH YOU ON THE POP OUT HELP!!!! There used to be an option to turn that off But that option seems to be axed with this update. 

[Anonymous]

See attached:

Click on the ? in the upper right hand corner, in the window that pops up uncheck the "Show dynamic help"

[sanjay.thakore]

If you navigate to the top right corner of the UI, there are 2 question mark icons. The one to the right, invokes a drop down with a 'dynamic help options' area. You can switch it off from there. 

[cfarber]

Thank You Sanjay!!!!! That is a sight for sore eyes.