Before I begin, please accept my apologies in advance for what may seem like a completely stupid question ! I'm new to CNC.........

I am considering buying a TRIAC mill, believed to be from around 1994. I don't have a serial number, but I do know the machine is fully enclosed and with a 6 station tool changer and supports Fanuc or Heidenhain simulated interchangeable controls.

I want to create my drawings in Autocad, and use these to generate the machine program. I keep getting conflicting information suggesting this is'nt possible, but I'm not convinced this is true. I posted a note on the Denford forum, but as yet I've not had any replies, so perhaps it is impossible.

So, can I draw my component in Autocad, post process it using tools to be defined, then download into the machine and have the part cut ? Sounds simple to me, but am I missing something ?

I also see a number of people have switched to Mach3 control. Assuming all the existing electronics are sound, is there any advantage to this ?

Thanks for any help !

Jason