G Wizard software expiring - VOTE to renew for $150

This is a request to vote to renew the G Wizard feed/speed software that we use to calculate the feedrates for the BigCNC.
This is for a 3 year license for ~$150. (they have some sales and might have a makerspace discount so it may come out cheaper).

I don’t use this software often but it can save you some time and materials to get the feedrate just right.

Yea

i vote yes!

I vote Yes.

I didn’t even know we had this. It would have saved me from distracting, uninteresting math.

Yes we got it when we got VCarve Pro for the CNC. It is installed on the BigCNC.
Pretty easy to use.

Brad:

Here is a little FAQ from the CNC Cookbook GWizard purchase page. (well hidden, believe me!)

It seems to indicate that a repurchase is not strictly necessary, unless we have a copy that underestimates the HP for our spindle.

John2pt0

What happens at the end of my subscription? How can do I renew?

When your subscription ends, all of the features will continue to work except there will be a limit on spindle power based on how long you subscribe. You get 1 HP (about 700 watts) for each year of subscription. You can stop and start multiple subscriptions and they all add up. We call this GW Lite, and it’s perfect for educators, hobbyists, and users with smaller machines. A 1 HP spindle machine only needs a 1 year subscription to have lifetime use–there’ll be no other charges or hidden fees!

I don’t like subscriptions, what can I do?

It’s no problem–just purchase the lifetime version and you’ll have no more subscription worries.

Does Your Software Require an Internet Connection?

Not continuously–it needs to connect when installing and then once every 28 days after.

Can I switch plans?

Of course! You can upgrade to a longer term and receive full credit any time up to halfway through your current subscription. After that, if you purchase one of the other plans, it’s added on to your existing plan.

What discounts are available?

Quite a few, actually. There are volume, educational, bundling, and a host of other discounts available. Visit our Cheapskate page to learn more.

Yes I read that.
What is the HP of our spindle?

in the words of Monty Python,
"I don’t know that…aaaaaaaa! (Goes flying over a chasm…)

Also, I don’t think I’ve ever encountered a non-expired version anywhere,
so I’ve never been able to change the horsepower, anyway!

I dug around and found the spindle is 2.2kW or ~3 hp.

So I’ll check tonight. I’m thinking we got two years before so it would support up to two HP. So really we should only buy one year, if that was is true.

So, to clarify, if we do one more year, we will have completed the “one year per HP” deal and would have it for free thereafter?

Yes, no?

Yes.

I will dig into what time we have so far.
If we purchased two years, then we would only buy one more year to get the 3HP for our spindle.

Brad

Thanks for the work!

John2pt0

I vote yes.

John2pt0

Looks like our software is locked to 1HP, so we need to buy at least 2 years.
I’ll check into the two individual years and three year bundle oric prices.
I’ll leave the vote up, but will only buy what we need.

Thanks,

Brad

Finally got everything closed out with the GWizard program.

We purchased an additional 3 year license. (They didn’t have a two year and it wasn’t much more than the one year).
Since our spindle is 3 HP we should be set. Once the license expires you get to keep the program (with updates) for the max HP for the number of years. So we will be good for up to 4HP spindle after the 3 years are up. Until then we can put in a gazillion HP. :slight_smile:

I was able to get a Makerspace discount so the total cost was $95.19.