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Post by ecwebster on Apr 17, 2017 18:21:50 GMT
I just ordered my Machine and am trying to get the software together. I normally use sketchup for my cad needs and wanted to continue using it, however needed a cam program I liked Meshcam but didnt want to speed $250 for it and so i found estlcam and liked it, Has anyone had experience with it? link to estlcam |
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Post by delhome88 on Apr 17, 2017 18:47:59 GMT
I love Autodesk Fusion360. Its free for hobbyists and does both CAD AND CAM in one program. Kind of a learning curve for it but there are plenty of tutorials on YouTube.
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Post by andrew on Apr 17, 2017 22:49:08 GMT
I think you'll find most here lean towards Fusion360. It's super robust as well as free. There is a fairly steep learning curve if you're not familiar with any sort of CAD or 3D design. For me it really depends on what I'm wanting to do. For simple things (and even some complex things) Easel is quick and easy. For more complicated things or multi part assemblies Fusion360... Honestly though I haven't done anything so far that I couldn't have done with Easel. I'm still pretty green with CNC stuff. The CAD part is my daily bread and butter (work in architecture with AutoCAD daily). The CAM part is a whole new ballgame. That's what I like about Easel, it's easy and gets you to cutting things pretty quick and lessens the frustration of learning Fusions in and outs... I am using Fusion here and there though as I learn it. So yeah, my take is it depends on what you're trying to accomplish.
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Post by Derek the Admin on Apr 18, 2017 2:52:51 GMT
Fusion 360 is pretty outstanding for the cost (FREE to hobbyists). It has some things that I don't like, but it's a good resource. It's very weak in the 3D relief carving area. I find that it chokes on even a moderately complex 3d model. I would look at Estl, MeshCam, or Cut 3D for those needs.
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