[KEYTEEM]

Hi everyone , can you tell me if this is correct or not .
if you want to design with software (any in general), then you need to actually have three forms of it?
1 mach3 to run the cnc machine
2 cad to design in
3 cam to ? transfer info to mach3?
i am trying to get all my ducks in a row and not sure if all three
are needed or not. can cad transfer to mach3 , ?

definately noobie questions huh?
like always i appreciate your feedback

[lakeside]

you got it unless you want to do art work the you need software to vectorize images

[Al_The_Man]

Cad makes the drawing, Cam enters the tool paths and tool offsets etc, which generally includes a post processor to convert to the type/make of machine you have. CaM programs usually have a file transfer also, but not always.
Al.

[KEYTEEM]

i thought so, thanks .
do you know of a comparison on software of these types that anyone has done ?

[lakeside]

with software you should try all the demos you can after you set a price range. the cost of the cad/cam can be from $500 to $5000 plus add ons. Bobcad will sell version 20 for $500 and you can do 3d work. Version 21 with Bobart the sales price is $1500 but you should be able to get version 20 with bobart for about $1000.If you are doing just simple work the are many cad/cam system to choose from. But what ever you buy take the time to learn the software and not just run tool paths.

[ger21]

Mach3 comes with LazyCAM for free. It will work fine with any inexpensive CAD programs, even free ones like A9CAD. www.a9tech.com That should get you going just fine without spending any money.

If you want to do more 3D work, you'll need to spend some money.

[KEYTEEM]

Thanks for the help , i'll see how far i can go with alibre and mach3
, and mach3 seems like an awesome program for the money .