The verdict in three sentences
CIMCO Edit is, by its maker’s account, the most widely used CNC program editor on the market, and it earns that position: multi-dialect editing and backplot to 5 axes, Fanuc Macro B support, external subprograms across the major controls, solid simulation with gouge detection. What it doesn’t offer is a kinematic cycle time model built from your machine’s dynamics, and that one job is all UltraNC does, free, in any browser. The two answer different questions, and plenty of shops will want both.
At a glance
| UltraNC | CIMCO Edit | |
|---|---|---|
| Time model | Motion planned: per-axis accel, cornering from true path radius, jerk-limited S-curve if required, user machine profile (rapids / accel / jerk / tool change / G28 home) | Backplot timing without a user kinematic machine profile (no accel/jerk limits to set) |
| Editing & workflow | No editor, viewer/simulator only | Full NC editor: compare, NC-Assistant, tool manager, DNC, Mazatrol viewing add-ons |
| Dialects & axes | Generic 3-axis mill / router / laser / plasma, dwell units read by dialect | Fanuc, Haas (incl. G12/G13, G150, M97), Heidenhain, Siemens, Mazak, Okuma… 3/4/5-axis mill, turning, mill-turn |
| Subprograms & macros | Plain subprograms expanded (M98 incl. packed P, M97, o-call, nested). Macro B variables not yet (disclosed per file) | External subprograms across major controls, plus Macro B local variables and G65 calls with arguments |
| Cycles on the clock | Drilling/boring cycles, pecks, L repeats, bottom dwells, feed retracts, rigid tapping with reversal time, tool changes, G04 dialect-aware dwells | Cycle plotting by dialect, timing not driven by a user dynamics profile |
| Stock / gouge checking | 3-axis stock removal in the browser (needs WebGPU): carves a virtual stock as the program runs, and a rapid that ploughs through material is visible in the carved stock. Automated gouge detection and stock compare are not offered | Solid simulation add-on: material removal, gouge detection, stock compare |
| Honesty about limits | Per-file “Good to know” notes name anything not fully modelled | Simulation error reporting |
| Platform & price | Free, browser, phone/tablet friendly, files never uploaded, free embed | Paid per seat, Windows desktop |
Where CIMCO Edit wins
Almost everywhere except the clock. If your day is editing programs, verifying code in a specific dialect, debugging macros, detecting gouges automatically, or moving files to machines over DNC, CIMCO Edit is the professional tool for that and UltraNC doesn’t compete with it. Nothing on this page should talk you out of a licence your shop already gets value from.
Where UltraNC wins
The time number, and getting to it from anywhere:
- A motion planned estimate from your own machine profile: rapids, acceleration and, if required, jerk.
- Corners, tool changes, dwells and tapping reversals are all on the clock.
- Cycles and subprograms run in full. Anything not modelled is named in a per-file note.
- Runs in any browser: shop PC, phone or tablet at the machine. No install, no licence server.
- Files are never uploaded, and the free embed puts the same viewer on any web page.
- Free, deliberately.
The physics behind the estimate is in feed rate vs. cycle time. The overhead most estimates skip is in non-cutting time.