ArtPath software or the best equivalent?

[alex wight]

I used to use this software when i worked a Sabre 404 (gerber). Is it possible to use this software with whats going to be my home made cnc router? if so, how much would i be expecting to pay. If not , whats the best equivalent?. I,m ok with computers (not a wizard), and i,m looking to start learning the software that i,m going to be using, whilst my build is in progress. Thank you in advance.

alex

[Lee Roberts]

Hi Alex,

Not over familiar with ARTpath or Auto-Carve myself, if you would rather the beast you know then give Spandex in Bristol a call they should be able to help you with a price and so on. Tel: 01454 616 444 - http://spandex.co.uk (http://www.spandex.co.uk)

Have a look at Aspire (http://www.vectric.com/WebSite/Vectric/aspire/aspire_index.html) and/or vCarve Pro (http://www.vectric.com/WebSite/Vectric/vcp/vcp_index.htm) from Vectric, there are a number of users here using both and Vectric (http://www.vectric.com) has quite a fan base.

.Me

[alex wight]

thank you lee, funny you should say speak to spandex, as thats where i used the maching, the scottish spandex. I,ll have a wee look at the ones you suggest, and see how i get on. Thanks very much, and i,ll let you know how i get on.

alex

[martin54]

thank you lee, funny you should say speak to spandex, as thats where i used the maching, the scottish spandex. I,ll have a wee look at the ones you suggest, and see how i get on. Thanks very much, and i,ll let you know how i get on.

alex

Vetric have a free download for their software so you can download & try it out yourself to see if you get on with it, they also have some tutorials which looked to be pretty good & a forum which is well supported. Worth having a look at although I don't suppose it will suit everyone.

If you have any software like Corel, Illustrator that is vector based then you can use that for design work but you then need a cam program to convert the exported files to G code for mach3 to run.

[Musht]

There is also Artcam from Delcam, Express starts reasonably at 100 quid but a lot of features are extra

CNC Software For Woodworking, Jewellery, Sign Making, Routing, Milling, Carving and Engraving | ArtCAM 2011 (http://www.artcam.com/)

Meshcam and Meshcam Art ,full functioning demos that can cut own parts

MeshCAM Art - Artistic CAD/CAM Software (http://www.grzsoftware.com/art/)