![]() ![]() Sketchup is easy to use and free, and there are a million plugins to help you do everything you can think of. I’m looking for something that will work for doing hobby activities, making signs, puzzles, toys, etc.Ĭlick to expand.Well, I am biased, but have you looked at Sketchup + SketchUcam ![]() ![]() I don’t have extra money to buy software only to discover it is too cumbersome or complex. I have looked at Mach 3/4, Vectric software, and MeshCAM. Can any of you provide recommendations for software that would allow a seamless operation from drawing to machining? I have purchased all new hardware from the Openbuilds Store to build me a new machine similar to the OX, and would like to have a software solution ready when the machine is finished. I currently own BobCad and TurboCAD 21 Platinum and TurboCNC for controlling the actual CNC machine. The current software requires me to draw the part, save the file as a DXF, open a DXF to GCode converter, and then run the GCode through a simulator to verify that the conversion has been successful. I have been using software that purchased on eBay or other websites, and though they function, I am looking for a solution that is less labor intensive from CAD to the CAM process. The image above shows a newly made PCB that has been routed and is also drilled ready for electronic components to be inserted.I have been doing CNC as a hobby for many years using a machine that I built using MDF, roller skate bearings, storefront aluminum, and black gas pipe (machine designed by John Kleinbauer at ). This allows one to manufacture PCBs using the copper isolation method, this is done using the Router cutter to create individual tracks on the blank copper PCB material using the generated GCode of the PCB design. All the software used thus far has been Open Source and is as follows LinuxCNC for the machine controller, KiCAD for PCB design, pcb2gcode for the conversion of the Gerber file generated by KiCAD into GCode for the CNC Router. The router will be used for the manufacture of printed circuit boards, it can also be used to machine Plastic and Aluminium parts for research and student projects using suitable 3D CAD software such as FreeCAD. Its purchase was jointly funded by the School and the Research Groups of Professor Al Dearle, Professor Simon Dobson and Dr Miguel Nacenta. A new CNC Router has just been undergoing its initial testing and calibration procedures. ![]()
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