Hi.
I'm sorry to ask what seems to be one of the most common questions around here. But every need is special, so I'm hoping for some answers on this for my setup/use.


My use.
Woodworking: nesting plywood/mdf, sign making, shaping wood in 3D, double sided routing.
Metalworking: Milling aluminium/acrylic/etc, small parts/gadgets/inventions/prototypes
Probably a 4th axis later (my controller already handles 4 axis)


My setup:
CNC-Step High Z T-1000
Prototools Prototype in House - Heiz T-1000 CNC Machine (with 5-Channel Controller)
High-Z Turbo — CNC STEP USA


I'm all new to the exciting world of CNC. I've always modeled my woodworking projects in Inventor and/or AutoCad, so I think I'll handle the CAD part. The CAM part is all new to me though.


Going the Inventor/HSM Works path is way out of my budget. 2.5D is free, but 3D costs a leg and an arm, and I don't even think I'll have access to Inventor in the future.


I bought Vectric vCarve Pro to get me going. It's really easy to use for sign making and nested 2D/2.5D cuts. But I know I will need 3D routing, so I tought I'd upgrade to Vectric Asipre. Coming from the AutoCad/Inventor corner I feel that Aspire is a little bit too "artsy" for my taste. Of course I don't master Aspire after using the trial version for a couple of weeks, but I do find it hard to make "real" dimensioned drawings. And the 3D part of Aspire is kind of a bitmap concept, which I'm not very comfortable with precision vise.


So, I downloaded Rhino a couple of days ago, and I already like it. Nurbs is new to me, but they seem to enter my head quite easily.


Now for the software part:
I'll go the Rhino path. I think it will serve me well.


As for CAM I'm thinking of either MadCAM or RhinoCAM. Or maybe even Visual Mill (i.e. RhinoCAM but separate from Rhino).


MadCAM is interesting because of the price (compared to HSM Works) and I also like that MadCAM is Swedish, like me.
I read a lot about Aspire being awesome and easy to use. Should I give it another try?
Visual Mill is on the list because I might be able to use my Inventor models easier that way. Or would it be easy enough to import the Inventor models into Rhino and use CAM from within Rhino?


I would also like to know what features I would need from MadCAM och RhinoCAM. Booth of them puts "remachining" in non-entry level version. Do I need remachining? (probably not since I don't even know what it is)


Either way I would probably start with an entry level 3 axis version since I don't even know if I'll buy a 4th axis.


Nothing is decided yet. Feel free to turn every thought upside down if you think I'm on the wrong path.


I'd like to squeeze booth CAD and CAM into a budget of approx 2,000 - 2,500 USD. I haven't found any prices for RhinoCAM. It might be out of my budget..


Enough with stupid newbie questions for now.
Hoping for some enlightening answers.


//Michael