[cncadmin]

What is he options for a Cad program from cost to features? What options for a CAD/CAM program from cost to features? Please share your thoughts in this Wiki.

[CharlesCook]

Hi also new to CNC zone and software. Contemplating buying artcam express. Any ideas or suggestions on software? I want to make my own vacuum form moulds with my new cnc router.

[ledaero]

This question is too wide-ranging.

I have recently gone through the process of tooling up for CAM from a starting position of nothing.

I ended up with Sketch-Up Pro, CAMBAM and a couple of different g-code senders, but they are particular to my piece of motion control hardware (tinyg).

My mate, who has almost identical setup has gone for Pro Engineer, ESTLCam and a Protoneer board with some sort of GRBL Gcode sender.

I am comfortable with a bunch of different prototyping/CAD systems, but find that for the kinds of things I want to do, Sketchup is both quick and easy to make a visualisation/test fit model.

Some apps just put themselves out of the running by virtue of their function - Mach3 and LinuxCNC, for example. I don't have a parallel-port implementation, so both of those were of no use to me whatsoever.