Just wandered into the world of CNC!

[Neale]

Mike - you're at the opposite end of Devon to me (near Totnes) but I've been playing with CNC stuff here since we moved to the area about 8 years ago. Would be happy to meet up sometime when it's allowed again! I'm on my Mk2 which is a damn sigbt better than my MDF-and-threaded rod Mk1 and happy to compare notes.

I'm a convinced Fusion 360 user (which runs on Mac). The built-in CAM means that it gives you both CAD and CAM in one package but other peoiple prefer other solutions for a whole range of perfectly valid reasons.

I have played a little bit with UGS and grbl and while they work fine, I prefer other things. I'm not sure that I wouldn't prefer a cheap used PC off eBay and a copy of LinuxCNC but again, tastes differ widely! These are just "free" options and clearly the field opens up if you start paying.

[MikeInDevon]

Thanks Neale for your reply. It would be great to meet up as I'm sure I would learn a great deal and who knows by the time this lockdown ends I might even be able to share some of my knowledge!? I've heard that Fusion360 is good but at the moment I'd prefer something that is free to download, then I can make all my mistakes without it costing an arm and a leg. I suspect for a MkII I would turn away from grbl and move to something quicker and move scaleable but for now grbl and UGS appear to do most of what I want. I guess I'm very much in the school of upgrade/move as and when the need arises. I will probably use the machine mostly for cutting things out accurately, in particular gear wheels for clocks and other projects I have in mind.

[Muzzer]

....I've heard that Fusion360 is good but at the moment I'd prefer something that is free to download, then I can make all my mistakes without it costing an arm and a leg. I suspect for a MkII I would turn away from grbl and move to something quicker and move scaleable but for now grbl and UGS appear to do most of what I want......

Fusion 360 IS free to download and use. It would only start to cost you if you ran a commercial business off it, with turnover exceeding $100k or so. As Neale says, you can run it on Mac if you prefer but it include everything you could possibly need in one environment and has a very active and supportive user and developer base