Centroid Community CNC Support Forum

In my last/first post I had questions about setting up the Acorn controller and using the DB-25. You guys got me up and running and I had been playing around in Fusion360 creating simple designs. I guess Fusion switched models and is no longer free with limitations past 30 days. So I guess my question is, for a DIY/Hobbyist woodworker, what's a reasonably priced CAM/design software? I would like to be able to make signage and maybe take 2D designs and turn them into toolpaths for engraving or embossing.

I have ESTLCam and designed a couple of things but it creates .tap files. I wasn't sure if they were compatible with Acorn so I use NCViewer to kind of check my work before I take it over to the CNC and load it into Acorn. Everything looks good in NCViewer but when I load it into Acorn the "preview" of the toolpath doesn't match what comes up on NCViewer. Is there a way to convert .tap to .nc?

TL;DR:
For a DIY/Hobbyist woodworker, what's a reasonably priced CAM/design software?

Is there a way to convert .tap to .nc?

Will Acorn work with .tap files?

Thanks,
Brian

For engraving, freeware Inkscape works well.

Vectric makes good software for routers also.

Uwe

I will check them out. Thanks for the reply.

Vectric VCarvePro or Aspire, probably the best bang for the buck.

Tap files will work just fine, but depending on the post processor, there may be some things that need editing in the post processor to make the output fully compatible. For example, it may output % instead of ; for comment lines, and that will cause an error. Tap files are just text files like any other. You could rename it to .nc, .cnc, .txt, and they'll all work the same.

Fusion 360 on sale is under 400 bux...just have to keep an eye out. The benefit to fusion is CAD and CAM!!!

Unfortunately, that's 400 bux/year for the first year.

tblough wrote: ↑Mon Feb 06, 2023 1:11 pm Unfortunately, that's 400 bux/year for the first year.

Yeah, but after you make lots of parts for lots of money it' pays for itself...9-)

bmiller618 wrote: ↑Mon Feb 06, 2023 9:54 am So I guess my question is, for a DIY/Hobbyist woodworker, what's a reasonably priced CAM/design software? I would like to be able to make signage and maybe take 2D designs and turn them into toolpaths for engraving or embossing.
....
For a DIY/Hobbyist woodworker, what's a reasonably priced CAM/design software?

For signage, and/or engraving or embossing, it is hard to beat Vectric's VCarve Pro or Aspire. They are a bit pricey upfront (around $1000) but once bought, they are yours to own. No yearly subscription or anything like that!

Fusion 360 for personal use, formerly known as Fusion 360 for hobbyist use, is free online CAD for qualifying non-commercial users as a 3-year subscription.

https://www.autodesk.com/products/fusion-360/personal

Hugo

What I loved about Fusion 360 is parametric design. If you do it right, changing the dimensions of one part will change everything related in the design. But you really have to think that way to make it work that way. There were tons of other pieces I never used. I tried to make the CAM part work with my CNC, but never made it happen.

Vectric seems more suited to artistic design. It's easy to design a piece and put it into the CNC machine. It's also very well supported.
For a woodworker making casework, Fusion360 is probably more productive. If you are making signs with artistic embellishments, Vectric is great. But as was mentioned, it's expensive upfront but no annual costs.