List of CAD/CAM Software

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.

Thanks and I agree with your thinking, there is a section in this forum called 'source' that could be better utilised. For example the same questions keep coming up like, which CAD/CAM software, proximity switches, belts & pulleys, etc.
If there was an index to various topics for information without the discussion posts it would be great.

Don't forget Draftsight - probably the best free 2D CAD package available at present.

For a CAM, I use Sheetcam and service is fantastic. True this is only 2 1/2D, but has served me well. It is kept up to date and new features are promised.

I searched for the perfect program to cut my .dxf files but couldn't find one. Eventually I gave up and wrote my own. It is wonderfully simple, does lovely graphics and I wouldn't use anything else...
.
Anyone thinking about doing the same, don't :hysterical:

Just a quick search, it's knowing when to stop.

InventorCAM - http://www.inventorcam.com/
Sketchup - http://sketchucam.jimdo.com/
FreeMill - http://mecsoft.com/freemill/
Links to quite a few free & cheap - http://www.eland.org.uk/pages/Misc/cadnotes.html

No one mentioned Vectric yet ?

Ideal program for routers and similar work, good and helpful user base.

MasterCam would be the best and most used in the world for CNC software -------2D/3D/5 axis/Router/RobotMaster for 6 axis machining -But its not cheap -----Most of the other ones you mentioned are used for drawing and some don't have machining capabilities/G code processing

John,

Vectric is listed last on the top list, which in my view really does not do it justice as Vectric is a family of CAM software with one that is professional grade CAD/CAM program (mainly for Furniture, Cabinet, and sign-makers but has more uses as well). They are Cut2D (have not used), Cut3D (own and use regularly), VCarvePro v7 is current version (I own and use on many projects), PhotoVCarve (great for Lithophanes among other uses), and the top of the hill Aspire (don't own a copy yet). If you are looking for good software with solid support without a huge bill I would seriously look into these.

I also use CamBam for Engineering type 3D work (Cut3D work on a plane of a work surface and as such has some limits). Takes a bit more time to do proper set up but is a very good product. I have used others but, currently don't.

CAD side of things I use ViaCAD Pro v8 which does most of what I need done and work well with both 2D and 3D modeling. I am fortunate enough to be a beta tester for them on ViaCAD and Shark which does give me some bias but they are a good product for the cost.

Biggest issue for CAD/CAM is ROI; that and learning curve. Some of the modern CAD packages try to get folks stuck with them by having such a huge learning curve that once you have gotten over it you don't want to go through the headache again. So for a small shop I would strongly suggest going with solid programs that do the job instead of bells and whistles.

Just my 2p Michael

artcam express is worth a mention, about 100 quid, good software for the money.

Desk Proto is easy and good 3D CAM package. Good for 4th Axis work has well.

DeskProto: 3D CNC machining for non-machinists. STL file milling for any CNC milling machine

I only need to cut 2D parts so my workflow/software is:

CAD: AutoCAD (expensive and probably more capable than hobbiest needs) - create drawings and convert into dxf file(s)

CAM: dxf file into Vectric Cut 2D (excellent, simple to use, intuitive, good forum/support, around £120 seem to remember) to create toolpaths and generate Gcode

PostProcessing: MACH3 (full version, around £115) to turn Gcode into commands sent to the CNC machine to cut out parts

Works well for me for cutting out plywood, balsa, liteply, and the occasional aluminium part.

I downloaded the excellent and free 'Blender' software today with a view to using it as my 3D design tool, it can export to stl files, but having loaded it up I feel the learning curve is way too big.
I'm thinking Aspire may be a good all rounder for the stuff I want to produce but mainly due to the cost I'll need to look a lot deeper first.

Vectorworks, feature in this months 'Furniture & Cabinet Making' magazine

VectorWorks UK

Hi

I would add the following "artistic" scupting orientated packages

Sculptris - free and amazing
Zbrush - paid

Not for engineering - expressive and freeform but they have a place after all the keyword is CADesign.

Hi Eddycurrent

I am very happy with Aspire - try the demo version, you can only output Gcode for some prebuilt examples but apart from
that its fully functional, seems to be a good responsive company.

Blender has fans but I cannot recall many who do not report issues regards the learning curve which is down to a rather idiosyncratic interface rather than complexity in what you are doing. Blenders roots are in animation rather than modelling and
it was developed as an inhouse tool to be used by pro's in that field - over the years they have tried to improve the interface but I think they have a way to go. There are some books for Blender and if you want to give it a serious go I would recommend buying one of the books - online docs and tutorials often lack something in this respect.

For me Blender ultimately fails (for modelling) because I believe that CADCAM software should be inherently intuitive to use - in my book if you have to look in the instruction manual (much) then at a useability level the software fails - of course complex software may need a complex interface so I am over generalising but at the same time I think Solidworks amply demonstrated over a decade ago that solid modelling could be easy and intuitive, you should be able to dive in and have fun rather than spend time wrestling with an interface.

When I first used Aspire I was reminded of my first encounter with Solidworks when it originally came out - nice easy interface, very little need to read before you play which is of course a great way to learn.

Aspire does lack full parametric modelling in the sense that when you change a 2D vector (drawing) the object you previously created from it does not update - it is orphaned, sign writers wanting to experiment through a lot of possible fonts may find this slightly taxing but full parametric modelling is not trivial to implement since changes to one feature can affect a subsequent feature. This is not to say that you cannot alter features once created, there is an impressive array of post processes that can be applied but at the same time it may be easier to simply delete a feature and start over (if for instance you have changed your mind regarding which font to use for text). Now that I am used to this I really do not mind I just adjust my workflow a little.

Given the price I am very pleased and indeed impressed with Aspire it runs without complaint on my windows8 machine although I do run with an i7 processor so I would probably be blissfuly unaware of any performance issues.

BTW also consider *.obj files as a good way to transfer models from one piece of software to another.

F-Engrave is a free CAM program for engraving and V-Carving.

At the moment I'm favouring this setup.

This is still a free download !
CAD Autodesk Labs Inventor Fusion

Then for the CAM side, Vectric Cut3d and VCarve Pro seem to cover everything I need.

I created a quick form in fusion and the Vectric software handles it very well. (just using the trail versions at the moment)

MeshCAM seems okay too but the Vectric software will work as one complete system.

Found this lot, loads of software listed.

Font For Cnc Machine - free download suggestions

Ucancam V9 . Thats what the Chinese use. I think i am going to trial it, to see what it does but is quite promising for the price.

Ucancam - says it's for engraving but then goes on to show other stuff, I'm going to trial it too. (Edit: website says it needs a dongle)
Interesting photo on their website, rotary axis engraving, gives me an idea for converting a wood lathe maybe.

Attachment 11031

Got this email, might be of use to someone.

We have been running a Special Offer Promotion for visitors to the Model Engineering Show in Sandown Park. We have decide to provide this offer to other hobby users.
The offer is - PartMaster Milling for £95, PartMaster Turning for £125 or BOTH for only £195.
This offer expires on Sunday 22nd December 2013.
To take advantage of the very special offer, please visit.
Home

Quote:

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Originally Posted by EddyCurrent

Got this email, might be of use to someone.

We have been running a Special Offer Promotion for visitors to the Model Engineering Show in Sandown Park. We have decide to provide this offer to other hobby users.
The offer is - PartMaster Milling for £95, PartMaster Turning for £125 or BOTH for only £195.
This offer expires on Sunday 22nd December 2013.
To take advantage of the very special offer, please visit.
Home

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I am downloading the trial now. Do you know of a comparison table between these and the more expensive Dolphin 3DCAM? apart from the 5th axis, what will be the difference? That could affect me, i mean.

Personally, for a mill you'd be better spending £93 on CamBam, and saving a couple quid (or 209 if you happen to need a commercial license!).
One thing to note, the hobby license is usually for the previous version. The current commercial packages are on V12, while that hobby offer is for V11, however I don't think there is that much difference between V11 and V12...

As for the main difference between standard and pro, from what I could figure out, it's mainly to do with 3D files. The trail version is only for the standard version, and they're website is pretty rubbish for comparing products (the US site is a lot better).

Whilst hypnotising myself on CNC youtube vids last night, I came across HSMExpress for Solidworks, which I don't think has been listed?

Link: HSMXpress | HSMWorks • Integrated CAM for SolidWorks

It looks to be similar to the awesome SolidCAM/IMachining CAM software, but would be very interested if anyone has experience with it, as I'm about to get hold of Solidworks for CAD work.

Ooops srryI forgot to mention it appears to be "free".

On the cad front I believe Moment of Inspiration is worth a mention - I only have a trial version as yet but it has excellent support from the creator (one of the guys who developed Rhino) and is a real easy NURBS modeller to get into... I'm planning on buying it once v3 is out of beta.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Washout

Link: HSMXpress | HSMWorks • Integrated CAM for SolidWorks

It looks to be similar to the awesome SolidCAM/IMachining CAM software,

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According to your link that one doesn't support high speed milling (HSM) toolpaths, so their choice of name for the software is somewhat misleading. Their example toolpath image looks very generic - if that's the best they can come up with to advertise their product it doesn't bode well.
If you want to use HSM paths, like trochoidal milling, then you would need IMachining or some other program which supports it. However if you're happy with the sort of toolpaths that the likes of CAMbam and Aspire generate, and happen to have solidworks, then it could be a good option as it's free.

From a couple of days i am playing with NX Cam 9 trying and starting to learn bit by bit, and i used Aspire till now. Its like jumping from driving a 3 wheel child bicycle to flying a Boeing .
So write down that cam too in the list. At the top of it! of course its shamelessly expensive and unreachable.

Jonathan,

May I point out that Aspire has a few thousand professional shops using to generate their code and income. No it is not the same as IMachine CAM and it does not have the price tag to go with it. There is also a few that I personally know of in the professional realm that are using CamBam for production grade work. While they do not use some of the more advance logarithm that you find in IMAchine and NX they also don't come with the price tag that those programs do. I have had the enjoyment of using T-Flex CAD/CAM/CAE software and while it is NX based it is still out of many folks budget.

Artsoft, CAMaster and Gibb's CAM are also wonderful software that very much do the job, again it comes down to price point and ROI. Not all shops NEED the high end, Expensive software that makes ROI a very difficult item unless you are in the market to be able to charge the rates that are required to recover that kind of investment (that or independently wealthy).

I suppose the most efficient software in terms of cost/performance is that which is the cheapest and does your job to the required standard within what you consider an acceptable timescale and amount of effort.

another very simple software for cutting and engraving 2D shapes CNC Drawing Software
Here you can create thin fonts, very easy repeat picture and make it ready for engraving

Hi Guys,

Does anyone know what the catch is with this software free mill. It says there is no restrictions but then the down load link says 'demo'. The two dont seem to add up to me. Has anyone had a play with this is any verdict?



Thanks in advance,

I'm not 100% sure, but I think the current version of Freemill runs in side the demo of VisualCADCAM. The Freemill portion is unrestricted. It is a bit limited, mainly because it doesn't do roughing.
At one time it was a standalone product, but that was quite a few years ago.

I looked at this last night and as Gerry says there is no roughing / finishing so I forgot about it right away.

Then I came across this HeeksCAD and HeeksCNC

Hi Spluppit,

I downloaded 'freemill' a few months ago and have briefly experimented with it. The splash screen mentions other programmes which they are trying to sell you, but the basic freemill is actually free and works unrestricted.

I've ran a few STL 3d models through it, created toolpaths, and then simulated a run in Mach3. The toolpaths seem to be OK, and it all works as far as I can tell (not actually machined anything with it).

The user interface is very nicely laid out, with a walkthrough style process to get you from start to finish and you'll quickly get the idea - 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. I also noticed a few little 'bugs?' in that when I went back to the feed and speed section to try and optimise the run time, I had to try several times to get it to remember the new figures.

But for a free and simple (if basic) 3D CAM programme I think it is worth a download, if only to start to appreciate the additional things you need to think about for 3D work over 2D work.

edit: my post has crossed Eddy's and Gerry's but we're basically saying the same thing.

This is cheap and does 3D file conversion and terrain height maps, plus other great stuff.

AccuTrans 3D MicroMouse - Home

I'm looking for a cad/cam program but undecided between vectric or artcam. Both look good as I'm only using my machine to cut toys out of wood, mdf or making toy boxes. So undecided , what does everyone else think?

I've looked at just about the lot and finally decided on CamBam. At first it seemed a bit naff but after watching videos on YouTube I decided to give it a better go. It's more 'manual' than other offerings but once you get the hang of it it's great, plus it's quite cheap.

These were the series of 6 videos that convinced me, you might not be interested in the subject so just pretend he's making a toy of some sort.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeBWo95eOfs

I'll watch videos today and see if it will do. Thanks Eddy , I'll be alright as long as it's idiot proof.:-)

Hi,

I hope it is OK if I add this (I'm the programmer): http://www.estlcam.com

The homepage is currently German only - but the program has an English user interface and provides English tooltips with explanations.
It can do 2d / 2.5d work based on .dxf files, some basic 3d with STL files and also includes a CNC controller using an Arduino.

Christian