oky fellers now i got my machine moveing in mach3 what programs to use that r free CAD / CAM witch one first or do i get them both .... remember free iam learning and free is good
oky fellers now i got my machine moveing in mach3 what programs to use that r free CAD / CAM witch one first or do i get them both .... remember free iam learning and free is good
Fusion 360
Gerry
UCCNC 2017 Screenset
http://www.thecncwoodworker.com/2017.html
Mach3 2010 Screenset
http://www.thecncwoodworker.com/2010.html
JointCAM - CNC Dovetails & Box Joints
http://www.g-forcecnc.com/jointcam.html
(Note: The opinions expressed in this post are my own and are not necessarily those of CNCzone and its management)
As far as I know there is no really good free software out there. Everything that is really good, helpfull and not a pain in the a.. has a price.
I would recomend to start of with a basic FILOU NC Version or a Hobby License if you're not makeing money with your machine. Spend a few $$ and learn something right and enjoy it instead of haveing a hastle and not getting anything done.
I have been looking around for the same thing for quite a while.For basic shapes cut from sheet material you may be ok with DXF2CNC and for engraving text there is a bit of free stuff around.If you need to cut 3D objects and have stl models of them,Pycam is a free download although it seems to take quite a while to compute the toolpath.Another one worth a look is the latest update of Freecad (version 0.16) I had an older version and found it a bit frustrating,like other parametric software,then my computer reminded me that a new version was available and I installed it.I was very pleased to find it now includes a CAM workbench and I will be experimenting with it in the next couple of weeks.
The older version of CamBam is free, I used it , but am finding the free hobby lic that fusion 360 has, is working better for me.
Fusion 360 is professional package and it free to hobbyists.