Conversational Programming for the Woodworker

[Andrewg]

Thanks guys. Looking into your prompts, the picture is kind of confused! Was intending to use UCCNC, which like Mach3 supports both Macros and Plugins. Using these it appears interactive Wizard becomes possible and quite a few have been developed looking at their forums. However it is hardcore coding to make your own.

So it seems what I am looking for sits more comfortably within CAM than Controller and requires it to have simple CAD capabilities. Thanks Kit for pointing me to Camban, that is a more grown up version of Carbide Create. Critically it has both the basic drafting capability of CC and the plug-in/automation architecture of the machine controllers.

Both the woodworkers with CNC routers I know are wedded to some version of Aspire, which give them the combined CAD/CAM platform to get things done. I guess I will eiither have to have a PC in the workshop capable of running Fusion, or have two workflows: Camban or Aspire for 2.5D in the workshop and Fusion for full 3D.

[JAZZCNC]

Both the woodworkers with CNC routers I know are wedded to some version of Aspire, which give them the combined CAD/CAM platform to get things done. I guess I will eiither have to have a PC in the workshop capable of running Fusion, or have two workflows: Camban or Aspire for 2.5D in the workshop and Fusion for full 3D.

Unless you are using a 4th or 5th axis then you can't machine 3D in one sitting. Best you can do is 2.5D without turning the work over to finish a true 3D object.
Even if you use Fusion to create a true 3D model the G-code it's spitting out will only be 2.5D code when using 3-axis and aspire will do everything fusion will in that respect.
Your only selecting the surfaces on a 3D model which can be accessed by a 3 axis interpolation, if you want to access undercuts etc of a true 3D model then you will need to re-fixture or add another axis or two.!