Who is with me?

Moderators: Jason Susnjara, Larry Epplin, Clint Buechlein, Scott G Vaal

Would you like to have a new Forum on Version 5?

yes
2
20%
no
8
80%
 
Total votes: 10

Michael E. Campbell
Junior Member
Posts: 48
Joined: Thu, Jun 01 2006, 5:12PM

Who is with me?

Post by Michael E. Campbell »

I would like to suggest a new forum. It would be about Version 5. We hear so much about it, and yet nothing. Being in a family run buiness, we are holding our breath to know if v5 is going to be a business tool or lieability. We would like some assurance. It would nice to have info on it, such as release date, new features, and input from the beta testers. Please let your voice heard.
Thank You,
Soup
Bill Rutherford
eCabinets Beta Tester
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Post by Bill Rutherford »

Mike,
Part of the conditions of Beta testing is to not share our findings on the regular forum. That having been said, I think V5 works extremely well. I am rather troubled that you think V5 could possibly be a liability. Many users are already getting very good results from V4 and V5 can only build on that. Have you been succesfully using V4 for what you need? If so then you will LOVE V5.
Bill Rutherford
North Woods Manufacturing
Full service CNC Machining
and Edge Banding
http://www.northwoodsmanufacturing.com
Michael E. Campbell
Junior Member
Posts: 48
Joined: Thu, Jun 01 2006, 5:12PM

Not a liability, but...

Post by Michael E. Campbell »

V4 has been working well for what we need. I just get frustrated sometime with the quirks. I have an AAS in CAD. The company I am working for wants to use ECabinets for their company. I am used to programs like Autodesk Inventor when I hear of parametric, and V4 falls short of that.
Thank You,
Soup
DanEpps
Wizard Member
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Company Name: Dan Epps
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Post by DanEpps »

Keep in mind that you are dealing with an ad hoc cabinet/furniture design program and not a general CAD design application. eCabinets is parametrically-driven to the degree necessary to acomplish creating cabinets and furniture but unlike general CAD systems, you will never be able to design, say, an internal combustion or jet engine with it.

Remember also that it has to be easy enough to use that it will be used. Most small cabinet shops don't have the luxury of having degreed engineers on staff that understand parametric CAD applications but they do understand very well how to build cabinets and furniture. That is the target market of eCabinets.

Having spent some time in this forum I've come to believe that Thermwood has struck a pretty good balance of complexity and ease of use in eCabinets. There is a lot of complexity that is hidden from the user for the sake of making the software easy to use in the shop. Not shielding the user from this complexity would certainly have made the software less complex to create but far more difficult to use.

There will most likely always be areas that you will need to use a CAD program to create a certain part that can't be produced in eCabinets. Another alternative is to prevail on the generosity of forum members to \"whip up\" something for you if you don't have/don't understand CAD.

I know this segued off your poll question but I hope it helps to demystify some of the quirks in eCabinets.

DISCLAIMER:

These are my personal opinions and are not meant to be demeaning to anyone, whether you understand CAD or not or you are an engineer or not.
:lol:
Michael E. Campbell
Junior Member
Posts: 48
Joined: Thu, Jun 01 2006, 5:12PM

Thanks

Post by Michael E. Campbell »

Thank you for answering and explaining the software a bit to me. That was the sort of info I been wanting to know.

MEC
Jean G Voyer
Guru Member
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Company Name: Janot Interiors Ltd
Location: Calgary, Alberta, Canada
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Post by Jean G Voyer »

I know the beta testers can't tell us what they are doing but Thermwood can tell us if everything is on target and progressing according to plan, even with a little more details.
We are getting restless and I think it's understandable.
Jean-Gabriel Voyer
Janot Interiors Ltd
www.customcabinetscalgary.com
Dell Precision PWS490, Intel Xeon CPU,3.00 GB Ram, Window XP Pro, Quadro Fx 3500
DanEpps
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Re: Thanks

Post by DanEpps »

Michael E. Campbell wrote:Thank you for answering and explaining the software a bit to me. That was the sort of info I been wanting to know.

MEC
I glad you took my comments the way I meant them. Often, the way I say things come off the wrong way and people get offended (that's the reason for the "disclaimer").

It is a tough act, balancing a complex program and making it easy to use. I was in the computer industry for over 30 years before chasing the dream and doing what I truly loved--woodworking. I have a BS in computer science and I don't do CAD!

You will like version 5. Everything in version 4 is still there with some improvements. New features have been added that you will love and wonder how did we ever get by without this.
Geo Noeth
Senior Member
Posts: 168
Joined: Fri, Jul 15 2005, 6:35PM
Location: Charlotte NC

Post by Geo Noeth »

Well ver. 4 is a very usful tool for my very small shop. Almost everything I build is done with e-cabs.

I'm quite sure that ver. 5 will be even better. Until the release ver. 4 is doing the job quite nicely. So I guess I would rather see them get it right than rush it out too quickly. Having said that, I don't have anything against getting an update.
Glenn Warner
Senior Member
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Company Name: Expressions in Wood
Country: UNITED STATES
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Post by Glenn Warner »

I think if you read Ken's message about the new Thermwood facility, any doubts about the viability of e-cabinets will diminish or disappear. I liken us early adaptors on ecabs to being alongside Mr. Ford, when that first model T came off the line; or beiing with Mr. Gates when he got the rights to DOS. Ecabs is gonna be big, fellas, real big!

Glenn
David Norton
Guru Member
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Company Name: Custom Trim and Millwork
Country: UNITED STATES
Location: Lawrenceburg,Tennessee

Post by David Norton »

All you reall need to do is browse the \"customer's image\" forum to see what this software is capable of. Ver. 5 can only enhance what we are already able to accomplish. I have already converted one shop in the Nashville area, and helped to train their designer in the ways of Ecabs.As you can tell I am pro Ecabs all the way :D

And yes, I was the 1st to attain \"guru\" status! Whoopee :D
Dave Norton
Michael Kowalczyk
eCabinets Beta Tester
Posts: 284
Joined: Tue, May 10 2005, 11:35AM
Location: Houston, Texas

Post by Michael Kowalczyk »

As a beta tester I also can not tell you anything about it but if you read Ken's post(s) they are on a tight schedule and I believe it is set to be released in mid to late July. It will be shipped with the first edition of the Ecabinet Systems magazine that will have your V5 cd in it to the best of my recall.

You can look at this post for release info

http://www.thermwood.com/forums/viewtop ... ght=#12203

V5 has stuff that is WELL WORTH THE WAIT :D

To see where Ecabinets is heading I would also recommend reading ALL of Ken's books. All are available in paper back and some can be downloaded.
I have all of them and have read each of them and some more than once. They are pretty much right on target.

If you have not made arrangements to attend the IWF in Atlanta this August, I would highly recommend that you do. I beleive that V5's capabilities will be showcased along with the many new programs that will be implemented with the rollout of V5. Sorry I can not share more but do a search here for Ken's posts and read them. I think he has already mentioned what some of the new features are.

I look forward to the fellowship and sharing with other Ecaber's at the IWF.

thank you,
Michael Kowalczyk, GM

HP-Elite Quad Core Q6700-4 MB ram, Nvidia GeForce 512 MB Dual HP 22" flat panels, Windows 7 ultimate 64bit SP1
Brian Rowland
Junior Member
Posts: 79
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Location: Norman, Oklahoma

Post by Brian Rowland »

ONE of the things I love about this forum is that there is never any bickering or sniping, it is always civil and friendly. Questions and comments are always addressed with patience and respect.

Having said that, Michael, I take offense at the content and the spirit of your original post in this thread for several reasons.

First, suggesting the need for a forum about version 5, as if there has been some conspiracy to keep information from leaking out. There has been much dialogue in this forum between members and the thermwood team about version 5, including a tentative schedule for release and new features which have been added.

Second, your statement that you are waiting with baited breath to find out if version 5 will be a tool or a \"liability\", and that you want assurance. The current version 4 is already a fantastic tool, fully capable of performing all the tasks needed to run a cabinet shop.

eCabinet Systems can never be a \"liability\" for the simple reason that, you don't have to use it!

It seems to me the only liability facing the owner of a small cabinet shop using eCabinets, lies in hiring someone to run it who is not up to the task. In which case, that person IS a liability. The software is not.

I fully grasp the irony in touting the civility of this forum before posting a somewhat sharp response. I am still very new to eCabinets, but already I feel a sense of loyalty. I'm really impressed and frankly, inspired by thermwood/susnjara's vision of a co-operative and a network of small shops. I think it's brilliant, and that is why, even though they don't need it, I feel compelled to offer my defense of the software.
Mike Bowers
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Post by Mike Bowers »

Won't this become a forum about V5 as soon as its released? :roll:
We love what we do, we do it well.
DanEpps
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Company Name: Dan Epps
Country: UNITED STATES
Location: Rocky Face GA

Post by DanEpps »

Whoa now Brian...it's usually my remarks that people take offense to :?

I took Michael's comments a little differently.

There have been many posts concerning new features in version 5. So many in fact, that I think Michael was concerned that his investment in training and experience in version 4 would be lost when version 5 is released. That is what I took to be his \"liability\" comment, not what one generally thinks of as a business liability.

My take is that he was mere looking for assurances that he wasn't going to have to reinvest time and $$$ again to stay competitive. I think we have allayed those fears for him even though we can't really discuss the specifics of version 5.
Tom Houser
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Post by Tom Houser »

Well as much as I hate to I agree with Dan :shock: . I have come to understand some of the major difficulties in upgrading this program (or any program of this level) and there are always some bugs with new releases. I find myself sitting back and reading the forum a lot before doing the upgrade. In fact there is usually a new minor upgrade to cure small bugs before I upgrade :) . I'm just not smart enough to figure it out like the big guys. It again amazes all the work that Thermwood does to bring out a bullet proof program. All IMHO
Thom Houser
http://www.thouser.com
A person who never made a mistake
never tried anything new.
A. Einstein
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