List of CAD/CAM Software

[EddyCurrent]

Anybody tried these, free and from Autocad, you have to take a look, quite unbelievable really.
http://www.123dapp.com/create

Also this; http://www.wintopo.com/
Free version available, Raster to Vector, exports to DXF, I can confirm it works great with Cambam.

[magicniner]

however, it does lack features such as roughing out cuts. You would need to create an offset surface in your CAD programme and run that one first.

Can't you just lie to the software about cutter OD and cutter length (or Z zero) to make the job much simpler?
:-)

[EddyCurrent]

Check this one out, free but you have to revisit each 60 days, CAM and simulator
http://cncsimulator.info/

[EddyCurrent]

DOS based "8 axis CNC interpreter", alternative to Mach3 ?
http://www.dakeng.com/turbo.html

[NB70]

G-code ripper now has an auto probe function for cutting 2D designs on uneven surfaces (like the mouse in the picture).

[EddyCurrent]

multi axis CAM - it's open source

http://www.cnc-toolkit.com/

http://www.youtube.com/user/cnctoolkit/videos

you might need this too, cnc-toolkit is a plugin
http://www.turbosquid.com/Gmax

[Robin Hewitt]

multi axis CAM - it's open source

I looked at a video...

He drew a back and forth XY tool path in 2D
He projected it down on to the surface of a sphere to get 2.5D
He turned the tool so it stayed perpendicular to the sphere surface to get 4.5D
He ran it in software emulation, well it seemed to do something
He exported part of a G code using cut and paste.

I don't think you have to be a geek to see this is somehow lacking.

[EddyCurrent]

I don't think you have to be a geek to see this is somehow lacking.

Yes, being open source it's lacking in cost. But in any case I like to keep adding to this thread which I think is useful for eveyone.

[Jonathan]

CNCtoolkit has been mentioned on this forum before. I've played with it a bit and it is quite capable - though I've not cut anything with the code it generates. This member on youtube however has made some worthwhile toolpaths using it:

[BilboBaggins]

Good day all.

Quite often I see posts regarding what CAD or CAM software is out there, so I was thinking about making a list of known CAD / CAM Software.

Here are the following I know off the top of my head.

Alibre Design
AutoCAD
CamBam
BobCAD/CAM
Dolphin CAD/CAM
Draftsight
FreeMILL
Inventorcam
MasterCAM
Sheetcam
Sketchup
SolidCAM
SolidWorks
SurfCAM
Vectric

I know most are out of the price range for a hobbyist.

It would be nice if we could make up a full listing of the software out there, what it supports and price ranges.

Thanks for your time.

Best Regards.

Can we add Ucancam , Having just been updated to V10 and priced around £120/£160 for the standard version or £320/£400 for the Pro version (Pro offers full 3D machining support etc)

It is usually given with Chinese machines if you want something better than the 'copied' type 3 and Artcam.

On the up side, the list of features are high, on the down side, some of the English can be quite Chinglish.